Righteousness through Faith
21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[a] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
August 1962 found me assigned to a MASH unit (mobile army surgical hospital) in the wilds of a foreign country called “South Carolina.” I was a member of an aggressor army with a non-surprising name suggesting the United Soviet Socialistic Republic. Our tents were set up in a large field and we treated the occasional soldier with an injury, stress related to heat, or some general malady. The maneuver lasted for about two weeks. During this time, the two combined armies experienced 9 deaths. 8 of these were accidental and one was judged to be murder. Even playing war is dangerous.
There were 5 physicians assigned to our unit. 2 were general medical officers, one was a general surgeon from Brooklyn, N.Y., and 2 were obstetricians. (No, we delivered no babies during the war games.) Despite being from Brooklyn, the general surgeon was understandable, but the need for instruction in southern culture was obvious.
The major keys to a successful practice of medicine are the history and physical exam. Gene, the surgeon, had never spoken “southern” before nor even heard such. So, I gave him a possible presentation in East Tennessee. The patient said, “I was out in the field when I got swimmy headed, so I hunkered down but I creeled my ankle. It began to pone up and I was afeared that it might fester and beal, so I came on in.” Translation: “I felt faint and as I crouched I twisted my ankle and it began to swell. I feared it might get infected and drain so I sought medical advice.” His response was “Oh.”
One of the Biblical words that we must understand is “justify”. In modern everyday usage it speaks of entitlement. If I contract to work for you, do so to our agreement, then I am justified to expect remuneration. However Paul’s use of the word in Romans has a different connotation. It means to be treated as sinless or cleansed. It is presented as a legal term defining one’s statue before God as the result of the justifying action (cleansing) by the salvific work of Jesus. We appropriate this cleansing action by faith in Jesus and not by works.
4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:4-9
The understanding of grace is a critical word to allow us to comprehend how we sinners are made perfect in the eyes of God. Our standard for comparison is not another individual for all of us are flawed by sin. Romans 3:23 indicates that “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” Our standard is the perfect Jesus and what we desperately need is the crediting of His purity to our account. This is accomplished by faith in Christ that is gifted by the Holy Spirit. So accomplished, God accepts us as being pure as is His Son Jesus. Why does God do so? It is the result of His graciousness. Grace is simply unmerited love. Love is gifted not in response to works or ritual but is given because of the nature of who God is. God loves us as His creation and accepts us as newly created humanity because of our acceptance of Jesus as our Sinbearer.
Our vocabulary progresses because we understand the language of Biblical salvation. Sinners, violators of God’s law by thought or deed; justified, treated as sinless, and cleansed by Divine action; Grace, unmerited love that pours from the heart of God because of who He is and not because of the sinners accomplishments.
Now we are confronted with the idea of mercy and the provocation of such by circumstance.
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Exodus 33:17-20
Whereas the grace of God is without threshold and is gifted to the just and the unjust, mercy is meted out by choice. Simply , it may or may not be granted by God dependent upon His choosing. Recall that it is faith in Jesus as the Christ that saves us. This faith is gifted as a merciful act of God. What is it then that triggers God’s mercy that gives this essential aspect of faith so necessary for salvation?
The longest, most detailed sermon of Jesus which is recorded for us is the Mount Sermon contained in Matthew Chapters 5-7. This is a “believer’s sermon” and is not directed to those who do not know Him. Critical is the understanding that a proper attitude is essential for Kingdom participation and living. Underlying the proper understanding of attitude is that God is offended by pride and responds favorably to humility. At the heart of this is that we are created and not Creator. We are subject to judgment because of our disobedience. Disobedience is defined simply as sin. Sin is defined not by the law of the state or any secular power but as defined by the Bible. It is sin that separates us from God and destroys fellowship. We desire to sing “Have my own way” when the hymn directs us to “Have Thine own way, Lord.” Our response to sin determines where God gifts mercy to us or not.
Thank you for your mercy.
Mairzy doats and Dozy doats, and Liddle Lamzy divey_Dr. Charles M. Wender [ 27:15 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download