We Are Able to Be Rescued When Jesus is our Representative...

This week, we are wrestling with the question "Where does our selfishness and rebellion come from? Why are we selfish and rebellious?" Yesterday, we discovered that the reason that we are selfish and rebellious is because we reflect our original representative, Adam. As a result of Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, sin not only entered the world; sin totally corrupted the world. Sin totally corrupted the world because we bear the consequences of Adam’s selfishness. In addition, we willingly follow in the footsteps of Adam by embracing selfishness and rebellion that results in acts or omission and commission that hurt God and other.

And ultimately, it is because of this principle of Adam as our representative that we can have hope that God would provide another representative, a second Adam that could represent us and live the life that we were created for in relationship with God and one another. And as the Apostle Paul continues in this section of this letter, we will discover a timeless truth that provides hope of the possibility of rescue as a result of this second Adam, this second representative. So let’s discover this timeless truth together, beginning in Romans 5:15:

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

In this verse, we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth that provides us hope of a rescue from the selfishness and rebellion that plague humanity as we reflect our original representative, Adam. And that timeless truth is that we are able to be rescued when Jesus Christ is our representative. In verse 15, Paul states that the free gift is not like the transgression. Paul then unpacks this statement by explaining that unlike the selfish rebellion and sin of Adam, which resulted in all of humanity following in his footsteps of selfishness and rebellion, the free and gracious gift of rescue that God extends to all humanity through Jesus Christ abounds to the many.

And it is here where we see the first of three reasons revealed to us by Paul as to why Jesus Christ is a better representative. First, Paul explains that Jesus is a better representative based on His actions. While Adam’s action of selfish rebellion and sin was credited to our account in a way that separated us from the relationship with God that we were created for, the transformational actions of Jesus Christ provided all humanity the opportunity to be rescued. Jesus entered into humanity in order to live the life we refused to live and die the death that we deserved to die for our selfishness and rebellion. And it was in Jesus willingness to be our representative and His actions here on earth that overcame the actions of our original representative, Adam.

But not only is Jesus a better representative based on His actions here on earth. As Paul continues to compare Adam and Jesus, we see a second comparison that provides a second reason why Jesus is a better representative, beginning in verse 16:

The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

In these verses, we see the Apostle Paul continue to compare and contrast the implications that the lives of Adam and Jesus have as our representatives. And it is in these comparisons that we discover the second reason why Jesus is a better representative than Adam. And that second reason is that Jesus is a better representative based on the results. First, in verse 16, Paul reveals for us a stark contrast in terms of the immediate results that Adam and Jesus life produce. Paul explains that the immediate result of Adam’s selfishness and rebellion was judgment and condemnation. All humanity was judged as a result of our representative Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion. And the judgment was that all humanity was condemned; all humanity was pronounced guilty of having a huge problem with God. Our original representative, Adam, brought judgment and condemnation to all.

Paul then explains that unlike our original representative, Adam, the immediate result of Jesus life, death, and resurrection was the free gift of justification. In spite of the countless acts of selfishness and rebellion that have been committed throughout history, the transformational intervention of Jesus Christ, who entered into humanity in order to be our representative by allowing Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus life, resulted in the opportunity for all humanity to be declared not guilty when it comes to having a problem with God. Unlike the first Adam who represented us, Jesus, as the second Adam, is a much better representative based on the immediate results of His life. For while Adam brought judgment, guilt, and condemnation, Jesus brought the free gift of rescue that declares us not guilty of having a problem with God.

Second, in verse 17, Paul reveals for us a stark contrast in terms of the ongoing and continual results that Adam and Jesus life produce. Paul explains that the ongoing result of the selfishness and rebellion of Adam was that death reigned over all of humanity. Death was large and in charge of the lives of all humanity after Adam’s first act of selfishness and rebellion. The evil power of selfishness and rebellion which entered the world upon Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, resulted in a separation from God and the relationship with God that we were created to experience for all eternity.

Paul then explains that unlike our original representative, Adam, the ongoing and continual result of Jesus life, death, and resurrection was eternal life in the relationship with God that they were created for in Heaven. Those who respond to what God has done for us through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader will experience the forgiveness of selfishness and sin and entering into the right relationship with God that they were created for. Instead of death exercising authority, we will experience eternal life as followers of Jesus. Unlike the first Adam who represented us, Jesus, as the second Adam, is a much better representative based on the ongoing and continual results of His life. For while Adam brought humanity death, Jesus Christ brought humanity the opportunity to experience life.

Third, in verse 18-19, Paul summarizes the stark contrast in terms of the immediate and ongoing results that Adam and Jesus life produce by reinforcing the timeless reality that one man’s act affected all men. First, in verse 18, we are reminded that through Adam’s one act of selfishness and rebellion, all of humanity was condemned as being guilty of having a huge problem with God; a problem that resulted in physical, spiritual, and eternal separation from God. However, through Jesus one act righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. When Paul uses the word righteousness here, he is referring to an action that meets the expectations of what is right or just.

Paul’s point here is that Jesus death on the cross satisfied God’s absolute justice by paying the penalty that all humanity faced as a result of the act of our first representative, Adam. And because of this one act by Jesus, justification is available to all humanity. All of humanity has the opportunity to be declared not guilty and experiencing the eternal life that they were created for with God.
And in case the members of the church at Rome missed his point, the Apostle Paul reminds the readers of his letter of this timeless truth again in verse 19. What is so interesting here is that the word disobedience, in the language this letter was originally written in, literally means to refuse to listen.

Paul then explains that Adam’s refusal to listen and instead selfishly rebel against God cause all humanity to be treated as sinners. This word, sinners, paints us a word picture of someone being treated as outsiders. Paul then explains that through Jesus willingness to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life, that all humanity has the opportunity to be treated as insiders who are involved in a right relationship with God. Because while Adam brought all humanity at odds with God, Jesus Christ brought all humanity the opportunity to be right with God.

Paul then concludes this section of his letter with a third reason why Jesus is a better representative than Adam. We will discover that reason tomorrow.

"Where Did That Come From?"

For the past several weeks, we have been looking at a section of a letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Romans, that reveals God's response that provides us an opportunity for rescue and forgiveness from the universal and insurmountable problem of selfishness and sin. Now whether this is your first time reading this blog or you have been following along throughout the past several weeks, you may find yourself wresting with a question. And that question, if you were able to share it with us, might sound something like this: “Well Dave, I have seen you write that all humanity has a problem when it comes to God. I have seen you write that we are selfish and rebellious and do things that hurt God and other and that it is our selfishness and rebellion that creates this insurmountable problem that puts us at odds with God. But Dave, while I can see that there are times that I am selfish; and while I can understand how selfishness can cause someone to have a problem with God and others; I have a question that you have not seemed to answer so far: why am I selfish and rebellious? Where does this selfishness and rebellion come from?

Have you ever found yourself asking that question? Maybe you have found yourself asking that question after you have done something that hurt someone else. Have you ever wondered “where did that come from” after you responded to a situation or circumstance in a very harsh or selfish way that hurts others? Have you ever asked someone, whether it was your spouse; whether it was your child; whether it was a friend; whoever it was “where did that come from” after they responded to you in a very selfish and rebellious way? And have you ever noticed that you do not need to teach children how to be selfish? You have to teach children many different things, but you do not have to teach children how to be selfish and rebellious. Why is that? Why are we so selfish and rebellious? And where does this selfishness and rebellion that plagues that human condition come from?

This week I would like for us to spend our time together looking at another section of a letter in our Bibles called the Book of Romans. And as we look at this next section of this letter, we will see that Apostle Paul answer this question and reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can be rescued from the universal and insurmountable problem that we have with God. So let’s look at this section together, beginning in Romans 5:12:

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of a first century church located in Rome by explaining that through one man sin entered into the world. When Paul talks about sin here, he is not referring to individual acts of sin. Instead Paul is referring to the destructive and evil power of selfishness and rebellion that causes us to do things that hurt God and others. Paul’s point here is that selfishness and sin made its entrance into the world through a single human being; and that single human being was Adam.

We read of sins entrance into the world in the very first book of the Bible, called the book of Genesis. In Genesis chapter 2 we read that God formed man, whose name was Adam, from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. God then gave Adam a job to tend the garden and name the animals and just one command to follow; don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But, as Adam named all the animals, he did not find a helper suitable for him and we read the first time that God said that something was not good; it is not good for man to be alone. So God caused Adam to fall to sleep and took one of his ribs and formed Eve, the first woman. However, instead of fulfilling his responsibility to lovingly, lead, protect, and provide for his wife, Adam cowardly chose to allow Eve to lead their relationship. God gave His command to Adam, who was expected to lead the couple in following the commandment. The result of Adam’s cowardly and selfish rebellion was disobeying God’s command and the evil power of selfishness, sin, and rebellion entered the world.

Paul then reveals for us two timeless consequences that the entrance of the evil power of selfishness and rebellion had on all humanity. First, Paul explains that death entered the world as a consequence of the entrance of the evil power of selfishness and rebellion. The world death here refers to the natural and spiritual death that humanity experiences as a divine punishment for selfishness and rebellion. It is important for us to understand that, from a Biblical perspective, the word death conveys the concept of separation. As a result of sin’s entrance into the world we experience physical death, which is the separation of our soul from our body. But not only do we experience physical death as a result of sin; we also experience spiritual death, which is the separation of us from God. Now if we physically die while being spiritually dead, we experience eternal death, or eternal separation from God. The evil power of selfishness and rebellion which entered the world upon Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, results in a separation from God and the relationship with God that we were created to experience for all eternity.

Second, Paul explains that death spread to all men, because all men sinned. As a result of Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, sin began to move across the landscape of all humanity throughout all of history, because all of humanity followed in the footsteps of Adam. All humanity throughout history has willingly engaged in acts of commission and omission that are committed against God and others that flow from our selfish rebellion against God and the word of God. Now a natural question that arises here would be “but Adam and Eve did not have the Ten Commandments. As a matter of fact, the Ten Commandments did not even appear until hundreds of years later, so how could they have been said to sin. This is a great question that the Apostle Paul; answers in the very next verse, so let’s look at it together:

for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Now to fully understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand what the word imputed means. The word imputed, in the language that this letter was originally written in, is an accounting term that means to charge to one’s account. When Paul refers to the Law, he is referring to the first five books in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or Torah. Paul’s point in verse 13 is that while sin was present in the world, while selfishness and rebellion was alive and well in the time before the Law appeared on the scene, this selfishness and rebellion was not charged to one’s account.

However, in verse 14, Paul makes it abundantly clear that just because sin was not credited to the accounts of those who lived before the Law was given, that does not mean that they did not suffer the consequences for their selfishness and rebellion. Paul states that nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses. Now Moses was the person that God used to lead the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt. And Moses was the person who not only received the Ten Commandments from God; Moses was also the person who wrote the Law or the first five books in our Bibles today.

Paul here is revealing for us the reality that death reigned, or exercised authority, over all of humanity, even those who lived before the Law was given to the Jewish people. Death was large and in charge of the lives of all humanity after Adam’s first act of selfishness and rebellion. When Paul uses the phrase “even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam” this phrase literally means just like Adam. Paul’s point here is that even those who did not selfishly rebel against God in the exact same way as Adam, but still selfishly rebelled and rejected God, still experienced the separation from God that comes as a consequence to selfishness, sin and rebellion.

And it is in these verses that we find the answer to the question “where does this selfishness and rebellion come from?” And the answer to that question is this: Our selfishness and rebellion comes from Adam, who functions as our representative. As a result of Adam’s act of selfishness and rebellion, sin not only entered the world; sin totally corrupted the world. Sin totally corrupted the world because we bear the consequences of Adam’s selfishness. You see, prior to eating the forbidden fruit Adam was able to either sin or not sin. But as a result of his selfishness and rebellion to God, sin entered and corrupted the world, resulting in Adam being no longer able not to sin.

Now theologians, who spend their entire lives studying the Bible, refer to Adam's decision to eat the forbidden fruit original sin. They also call the consequences that we bear as a result of Adam’s selfish decision total depravity. In other words, like Adam, we are not able not to sin. We are like a bird with a broken wing: just as a bird with a broken wing was created to fly, we were created with the ability not to sin, but we are flawed and broken as a result of Adam’s sin. But that doesn’t seem fair, does it?

Now many of you know that I am a huge fan of Michigan football. And when I am watching a Michigan game, nothing frustrates me more than when we are driving toward the end zone for a score and the left tackle gets a penalty for a false start. Do you notice that when there is a penalty in a football game that the whole team is penalized, not just the left tackle. The whole team is credited with the left tackles offense. It is the same with sin; Adam’s sin is credited to our account and we suffer as a result of Adams’ sin. We see this concept throughout Scripture. We see this in the story of Achan, which we look at in the restart series; we see this in the life of Daniel.

It is also important to see that Paul clearly states in verse 12 that we face death not because of Adam’s sin; we face death because of our own sin. And because of this reality, we are in need of rescue because we reflect our original representative. You see, Adam served as our representative, and because of that we are credited with Adam’s sin. And ultimately, it is because of this principle of Adam as our representative that we can have hope that God would provide another representative, a second Adam that could represent us and live the life that we were created for in relationship with God and one another.

We see this reality revealed for us when Paul makes a most interesting statement about Adam to close verse 14. He states that Adam is a type of Him to come. The word type here refers to an archetype that serves as a model or type of someone or something in the future. And as the Apostle Paul continues in this section of this letter, we will discover a timeless truth that provides hope of the possibility of rescue as a result of this second Adam, this second representative. We will discover this timeless truth together tomorrow.

Peace with God Provides Confidence in His Love...

This week, we have been looking at the timeless reality that our rescue results in peace with God. Yesterday we discovered the timeless truth is that our rescue that results in peace with God provides hope in the midst of our troubles and trials as we bear up and reflect Christ’s character in the midst of those trials, because we have fully experienced God’s love through the Holy Spirit.

And it is this experience of God’s love produces a second of two results that the peace with God that we have as a result of our rescue provides. And that second result is that peace with God provides confidence in His love. We see Paul reveal this reality for us, beginning in Romans 5:6. Let’s look at it together:

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

In these verses, we see Paul point out the first of two different aspects of God’s love that help provide confidence in His love as a result of the peace that comes from God’s rescue of us. Paul begins by explaining that while we were still helpless, at just the right time Christ died for the ungodly. By helpless, Paul is revealing that humanity was morally incapable of rescuing themselves in a way that would result in peace with God. Instead, at just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly in order to rescue the ungodly.

At just the right moment in history, Jesus Christ entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. And Jesus died for the ungodly. Jesus entered into humanity on died on the cross not for those who were seeking Him; Jesus entered into humanity and died on the cross for those who were content with leaving God out and living as though He did not exist. Humanity was not a race of people searching and seeking God; humanity was a race of people that were traitors and had turned their back on Him so as to ignore Him.

Now a natural response to what Paul says in verse 6 is “why would anyone die for someone who ignored Him, or worse yet, were traitors who turned their backs on Him”? Paul, anticipating this response, provides the reason why Jesus would die for those who ignored Him and lived as though He did not exist in verses 7-8. First, in verse 7, Paul readily acknowledges the reality that, as a general rule, human beings are very slow to sacrificially give up their lives in order to save another life.

Paul explains that on a rare occasion, someone will willingly sacrifice their lives in order to rescue someone who they view as being right with God and who lives their life that reflects their relationship with God. Paul then reinforces this point by acknowledging that there are occasions when someone would demonstrate the boldness and resolution necessary to sacrifice their lives in order to rescue someone who was a good moral person who lived their lives according to a high moral standard.

On occasion, human beings are provoked by a selfless love to sacrifice themselves in order to rescue those whom they view worthy of such sacrificial action. And as a culture, we respond to such sacrificial love that is demonstrated to those who are viewed as being worthy of such love by building monuments and memorials. We respond to such sacrificial love in action by naming streets and buildings after the one who made such a sacrifice. And such sacrificial and loving action provokes gratitude and thanksgiving from those who are impacted by such a sacrifice.

After readily acknowledging that human beings will occasionally demonstrate the courage to sacrifice their lives for someone they believe is worthy of such a sacrifice, Paul makes a timeless and true statement about God’s love. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. You see, unlike humanity throughout history, God’s selfless and sacrificial love was not simply bent towards those who He felt were worthy of such a sacrifice. God’s selfless and sacrificial love was not something that was simply reciprocated to those who loved Him first. The word demonstrates here, in the language this letter was originally written in, means to provide evidence of a characteristic or claim through action. When Paul talks about sinners, he is referring to those who are outsiders who were far from God as a result of selfishness and rebellion. Outsiders like me; outsiders like you.

You see you find yourself wrestling with the idea that God could actually love you. You find it hard to imagine that God could even remotely love you after all that you have done to Him and others. You feel like you need proof, you need evidence that God could love you. Paul is saying to you this morning “Here is the proof, here is the evidence. While you were an outsider that selfishly rebelled against God; while you chose to leave God out and live as though He did not exist; God responded to your choice by loving you enough to give what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away.

God loved you, even though you were an outsider that could not be further away from God, and provided the evidence and proof of His love by sending what was closest to Himself, His only Son Jesus Christ, who lived the life you refused to live and died the death you deserved to die. And here we see the timeless reality that God’s love is totally undeserved.

Here is a question for you that will put this reality in stark display; would you willingly give the person who was closest to you in order to rescue the person who was the furthest away from you? You know the person at your job or at your school or in your family that you felt constantly ignored you, rebelled against you, and even hurt you. The person who you would not even consider inviting out for a meal; would you give what was closest to you to die for that person. If we are honest all of us would say “no way”. And the reason why we would say “no way” is because “that person does not deserve it. That person is not deserving of my giving up what is closest to me”.

That is exactly what God did for me; and that is exactly what God did for you. God lovingly gave what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away and that love was totally undeserved. And it is the fact that God’s love is undeserved that enables us to have confidence in His love.

Paul then concludes this section of his letter by revealing for us a second aspect of God’s love that enables us to have confidence in God’s love in Romans 5:9-11:

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Paul begins by explaining that if we have been declared not guilty of having a problem with God as a result of placing our confident trust in Jesus life death and resurrection, by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, then we shall also be saved from the wrath of God through Him. In other words, the peace on account of being declared not guilty of having a problem with God through faith in Christ results in us being rescued from God’s right and just response to the selfish rebellion and sin of humanity that will occur at the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus will return to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death and judge all of humanity.

And to reinforce this reality, Paul asks a rhetorical question: “if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”? What is so interesting here is that the word reconciled, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to exchange hostility for a friendly relationship. If Paul were writing this question in the language that we use in our culture today, this question might sound something like this: If when we were hostile to God and at odds with God, God chose to exchange that hostility for a friendly relationship through Jesus death on the cross for our selfishness and rebellion, how much more then after having this relationship established by God, will we be rescued from God’s right response to selfishness and sin through Jesus resurrection from the dead to life.

Paul’s point here is that because Jesus was raised from the dead to eternal life, we also are rescued to experience eternal life with God. And here we see revealed for us the timeless reality that God’s love is unending. The rescue that results in peace with God provides us with a love from God that is unending. The peace that we have with God as a result of our rescue from God’s right and just response to selfishness and rebellion, provides us confidence that we will experience the love of God for all eternity in relationship with Him in Heaven.

And, in verse 11, it is this confidence that we have as a result of God’s love that should result in followers of Jesus taking pride in God, who took the initiative to exchange a hostile relationship with rebellious humanity for a friendly relationship with those He rescued by selflessly giving what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away. You see, our rescue results in peace with God. And it is the peace with God that we have as a result of our rescue that provides hope in the midst of our troubles and trials. And it is the peace with God that we have as a result of our rescue that provides confidence in God’s love. Because God’s love is both undeserved and unending.

So do you have peace with God? Do you have hope in the midst of the trials and troubles you may be experiencing? Do you have confidence in God’s love? You see, we can have hope in the midst of trials; we can have confidence in God’s love because God has provided the evidence of His love in His Son Jesus. God gave what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away. And that rescue results in peace with God. The peace with God that provides hope in the midst of the trials and troubles we experience here on earth. The peace with God that provides confidence in His love.

And the rescue that results in peace with God is available to all who place their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

So do you have peace?

Peace with God Provides Hope in the Midst of Troubles and Trials...

Yesterday we saw the Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth that occurs when we respond to God’s activity in our lives through the message of the gospel in a way that results in us being rescued from our selfishness and sin. And that timeless truth is that our rescue results in peace with God. In Romans 5:1-2, we discover that all humanity has the opportunity to experience rescue, relationship, and peace with God by placing one’s confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

And as the Apostle writes to the church at Rome, we see him reveal the reality that the peace that we have as a result of our rescue provides two important results. We see the first result that the peace with God provides in Romans 5:3-5. Let’s look at it together:

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

In these verses, we see Paul reveal for us the first of two results that the peace with God that we have as a result of our rescue provides. And that first result is that peace with God provides hope in the midst of troubles and trials. Paul explains that not only can followers of Jesus take pride in experiencing the eternal relationship with God that they were created for in Heaven as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus; they can also take pride in their tribulations here on earth. When Paul uses the word tribulations here, he is referring to the trials and troubles that we experience as we live life on earth that cause us distress.

Now a natural question that arises here is “why in the world would Paul say that we are to take pride in the troubles and trials of life on earth? Because I sure don’t take pride in the trials and trouble I experience”.

Paul answers this question by introducing a well known and generally accepted fact that the readers of this letter would be aware of. And that well known and generally accepted fact was that tribulation brings about perseverance. Now perseverance, simply put, is the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty. Paul’s point here is that the trials and troubles that we experience in life causes us and produces in us the ability to be able to hold out and bear up under the weight of those trials and troubles.

In verse 4, Paul then reminds the readers of his letter of the well known and generally accepted fact that perseverance brings about proven character. You see, character is like toothpaste; you never know what is inside until it is squeezed. You never really know what is inside someone; you never really know the character of a person until the troubles and trials of life squeeze them. Paul’s timeless point here is that proven character is revealed as the toothpaste that is squeezed out of us as we go through the troubles and trials of life here on earth.

Paul then states the well known and generally accepted fact that proven character brings about hope. Hope, as we saw earlier is to look forward to something with a confident expectation. As we hold up and bear up under the troubles and trials that we experience as we live here on earth, we begin the reveal and display that character that is within us. And as follower of Jesus respond to the troubles and trials of life in a way that produces and bring outs the Christ like character within, the result is a confident expectation to the future, when they will being able to experience the eternal relationship with God that they were created for in Heaven as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus.

That is why, in verse 5, Paul states that hope does not disappoint. The disappointment that Paul is referring to here is the shame and disappointment that comes to someone whose faith or hope is shown to be in vain. Paul’s point is that for the follower of Jesus, the trouble and trials of life do not produce shame or the thought that their faith is in vain. While the troubles and trials of life may produce hurt, pain, grief and sorrow, for the follower of Jesus, the troubles and trials of life produces and reveals the Christ like character that proves their faith instead of producing a sense of shame and angst that leaves them feeling that they have leveraged their life into something that was meaningless and futile.

Paul then explains that the reason why our hope, or our confident expectation of the future does not disappoint is “because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” We can have a confident expectation for the future as followers of Jesus in the midst of troubles and trials because God has caused us, at the core of our beings, to experience the affection that He has for us through the Holy Spirit. One of the roles that the Holy Spirit has in our lives is to enable us to experience that love that God has for us. God’s love is poured out; God’s love is fully experienced through the Holy Spirit’s ongoing transformational activity in the lives of followers of Jesus.

The timeless truth is that our rescue that results in peace with God provides hope in the midst of our troubles and trials as we bear up and reflect Christ’s character in the midst of those trials, because we have fully experienced God’s love through the Holy Spirit. And it is this experience of God’s love produces a second of two results that peace with God provides. We will look at that result tomorrow.

Our Rescue Results in Peace with God...

For the past several weeks, we have been looking at a section of a letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Romans, that reveals God's response that provides us an opportunity for rescue and forgiveness from the universal and insurmountable problem of selfishness and sin. This week, I would like for us to spend our time together looking at another section of this letter, where we will see the Apostle Paul shift the focus of his conversation with the members of the church at Rome.

And as Paul shifts the focus of his conversation, we see him reveal for us and timeless result that followers of Jesus experience when we embrace rescue from the insurmountable problem that our selfish rebellion and sin creates for us through faith in Christ. So let’s look at this timeless result together, beginning in Romans 5:1:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

Here we see the Apostle Paul, as he begins this section of his letter to the members of the church in Rome, reveal for us a timeless truth that occurs when we respond to God’s activity in our lives through the message of the gospel in a way that results in us being rescued from our selfishness and sin. And that timeless truth is that our rescue results in peace with God. If Paul was writing this letter in the language we use in our culture today, Romans 5:1 would sound something like this: Therefore, in light of the fact that we have been declared not guilty of having a problem with God as a result of placing our confident trust in Jesus life, death, and resurrection, by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, we have peace with God. Now when Paul uses the word peace here, this word literally means to experience a state of well being with God.

The reason that we are able to experience this state of well being with God is through our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, we can have peace with God not because of what we have done for God; we can have peace because of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. It was Jesus willingness to live the life we refused to live and die the death we deserved to die as a result of our selfish rebellion and sin that provides us the opportunity to have peace with God.

But not only can we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. In verse 2, Paul explains that through Jesus Christ, we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. To understand what this phrase really means, we first need to define some terms. The word introduction, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to gain access or a way of approach. Faith, as we have discovered throughout this series, is a state of devotion to Christ based on their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. The word grace refers to God’s Divine favor that is upon us based on His transformational activity in our lives. When Paul states that we stand in grace, he is explaining that we are able to live in the state or condition of grace. Paul here is revealing for us the timeless reality that as a result of placing our confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, we have access to experience God’s divine favor that comes as a result of His transformational activity in our lives.

As a result of responding to what God has done to declare us not guilty of having a problem with God by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, we are able to access and experience God’s divine favor as an ongoing reality in our lives. We are no longer at odds with God as being in opposition to God; we are now rightly related to God and experience the state of well being that comes with being at peace with God.

And because we can experience peace with God and access to God’s divine favor through our confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, Paul states that we can take pride in the hope of the glory of God. Followers of Jesus can take pride and have the confident expectation towards the future, when they will be able to experience the eternal relationship with God that they were created for in Heaven as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus.

Maybe you would readily admit that you lack peace when it comes to where you stand with God. Maybe you are here and deep down inside, you recognize that there is something between you and God, that you have done selfish things that hurt God and others. And it is this selfishness that creeps into your life and controls your life that has robbed you of peace and leaves you with little hope and lots of questions. Peace seems like a far away dream that is just out of reach.

If I have just described you, I have some good news for you. And the good news is that while there will never be anything that you can do for God that will give you peace with God, the reality is that God, through Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection, provides that opportunity for you to experience rescue and forgiveness. And that opportunity to experience that rescue, relationship, and peace comes by placing one’s confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

And as the Apostle writes to the church at Rome, we see him reveal the reality that the peace that we have as a result of our rescue provides two important results. We will look at the first of the two results that peace with God provides tomorrow.

The Only Difference between Christians and Everyone Else...

Yesterday we looked at a section of a letter in our Bible that revealed for us a timeless truth that is essential to embrace if we are to experience rescue from the insurmountable problem that our selfish rebellion and sin creates for us. And that timeless truth is that Rescue requires trusting God’s promise regardless of our circumstances. In Romans 4:13-22, Paul’s point to the members of the church at Rome, and us here today, is that Abraham confidently trusted that God was a promise maker and that God was a promise keeper.

And as a result of Abraham’s faith, as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, it was reckoned, or credited to him as righteousness. To reckon or credit literally means to put credit to ones account who has no credit or account. God gave credit to Abraham, who had no credit or standing before God. And what God gave Abraham was righteousness, which as we discovered earlier in this series is the quality or state of being right with God. As a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, Abraham was given credit by God as being right with Him.

And in the same way today, for us to receive rescue from selfishness and sin requires that we trust in God’s promise regardless of our circumstances. We see Paul reveal this reality for us as he concludes this section of his letter:

Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

Here we see Paul explain that the story of Abraham is recorded for us in the Bible to reveal for us the reality that all humanity throughout history receives rescue from selfish rebellion and sin only by placing their confident trust in God and His promises. For Abraham, it was his confident trust in God’s promise that he would be the forerunner who would be the Father of many nations, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Little did Abraham know at the time, that he would also be an example to follow, for all humanity, both religious and irreligious, as to how one can be rescued from the problem that selfishness and sin presents.

For the members of the church at Rome, and us today, when one places their confident trust in God’s promise of rescue from our selfishness and sin by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, it is reckoned, or credited to them as righteousness. God gives credit to those who had no credit or standing before God. And what God gives those who believe, trust, and follow Jesus as Lord and Leader is righteousness, which as we discovered earlier in this series is the quality or state of being right with God. Paul concludes by reminding us that Jesus Christ entered into humanity to be handed over to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that we could be treated as though we lived Jesus perfect life; so that we could be declared not guilty of having a problem with God.

So what are you focused on? Where are you placing your trust? Maybe as you look at your circumstances, you feel like there is nothing that you can possibly do to rescue yourself. Your circumstances are overwhelming: you have done selfish things that have hurt God and others that you are ashamed of. You feel that your circumstances are beyond repair.

And the reality is that you are absolutely right. And you are exactly like every other person on the planet. You see, Christians are not better than non-Christians; they are just different. And there is only one difference between a Christian and a non-Christian; the only difference between and follower of Jesus and those who do not follow Jesus is that the follower of Jesus has been forgiven and rescued. The follower of Jesus has responded to their circumstances of selfishness and rebellion by receiving the rescue that comes from trusting in God’s promises instead of our performance or our circumstances.

And the timeless hope we have is that we can receive the forgiveness of sin and enter into the relationship with God that you were created for by trusting in God’s promise by believing trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. Because, the timeless reality is that Rescue requires trusting in God’s promises regardless of our circumstances.

Our Rescue Requires Trusting God's Promises Regardless of our Circumstances...

Yesterday, we saw the Apostle Paul point the readers of a letter that he wrote to the members at a church in Rome to a story that is recorded for us in the very first book of the bible called the Book of Genesis. To understand what happens in Genesis 17, however, we first need to understand the context in which this story takes place. Some 13 years before this story, in Genesis 15, we see God remind Abraham, who was 86 years old, of His promise to make Him a great nation that would leave a great legacy.

However, 13 years later, Abraham is now 99 years old. And Abraham still has had no children. For 24 years Abraham remembered God’s promise that he would be the father of many nations. For 24 years Abraham remembered God’s promise of being the forerunner and example that a multitude of nations would follow. For 24 years Abraham remembered the promise of having an amazing legacy. And for 24 years that promise had remained unfulfilled. And it is in this context that we enter into this story in Genesis 17:1:

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. "I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly."

Now imagine yourself as Abraham in this story. How would you respond? You have waited for 24 years as a promise remained unfulfilled. How would you respond? What would you say? What questions would you have? “Really God? Because I am 99 years old it has been 24 years since you first made this promise to me. What are you waiting for”. Notice Abraham’s response:

Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. "No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. "I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. "I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

Abraham fell on his face in an act of faithful and obedient worship. In Romans 4:17, Paul explains that Abraham fell on his face to demonstrate that he was entrusting himself in complete confidence to God. The God who Abraham recognized as the One who created the universe from nothing and who had the ability to bring that which was dead back to life. When Paul uses the phrase “in hope against hope he believed”, this phrase literally means that Abraham, contrary to all human expectations, looked forward with complete confidence to God fulfilling His promise. Abraham, despite all evidence to the contrary, placed His confident trust in God’s promise that he would become the father to many nations.

And there was a great deal of evidence to the contrary. You see, Abraham had heard this promise before. This promise had rung in his ears for 24 years. There was also additional evidence, which we see Paul reveal for us in verse 19:

Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;

When Paul uses the word contemplated here, this word literally means to examine in a reflective manner. And as Abraham examined his body, here is what he saw. Abraham was 99 years old. And in Abraham’s day, there was no such thing as Viagra or Cialis. Abraham looked at his body and viewed it as good as dead, which literally means worn out. Then there was Sarah. Sarah was approximately 90 years old. And Abraham also had to reflect on the deadness of Sarah’s womb. When Paul refers to the deadness of Sarah’s womb, he is revealing for us the reality that not only had Sarah not had any children during her child bearing years, but Sarah had already passed through menopause.

Yet despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Paul explains that Abraham did not become weak in faith. His confident trust in God and His promises did not waver. His confident trust in God and His promise was not limited by the evidence that his circumstances presented to him. As a matter of fact the exact opposite occurred. And it is in Abrahams’ response to his circumstances and God’s promise that we see revealed for us a timeless truth that is essential to embrace if we are to experience rescue from the insurmountable problem that our selfish rebellion and sin creates for us. So let’s at Abraham’s response together, beginning in Romans 4:20:

yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Instead of responding to the overwhelming evidence of his circumstances by being unwilling to commit to God and His promises, Abraham leaned into and placed his confident trust in God and His promises. Abraham was devoted to follow God and trust God. And as a result of leaning into God and trusting God in the midst of his circumstances, Abraham responded in two specific ways that demonstrated his confident trust. First, in verse 20, we see that Abraham’s confident trust in God’s promises resulted in him giving glory to God. Abraham’s confident trust in God produced honor, praise and devotion to God.

Second, in verse 21, Paul explains that Abraham, “being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” Abraham was fully convinced that God would give them a child. And because he was fully convinced that God would keep his promises in spite of their circumstances, he was also able to perform. And yes, this is referring to sexual performance. Who says that Bible does not talk about sex? Remember, Abraham is 99; Sarah is 90 and is on the other side of menopause. I imagine that sex was not what it once was for Abraham and Sarah. Now in case you thing I am making more about this than what Paul is talking about here, just look at Sarah’s response to the idea of having a child that is recorded for us in Genesis 18:11-12:

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"

This phrase literally means, “after my wearing out, have I had sexual pleasure?” You see, God did not promise that He would provide them a child, by just placing a baby in Sarah’s belly. No, Abraham and Sarah were going to have a baby the old fashioned way. They were going to have to perform. Without Viagra or any other pharmaceutical aids. They were going to have to get past their age; they were going to have to get past Sarah’s menopause; apparently, they were going to have to get past the fact that intimacy between them was not as pleasurable as it used to be. Abraham was going to have to act on his confident trust in God and his promises.

And it as at this point that Abraham had a decision to make. Was he going to focus on his circumstances? Or was He going to trust in God’s promises regardless of his circumstances. And the decision that Abraham made was to trust in God’s promises regardless of his circumstances. And it was Abraham’s confident trust in God’s promises that enabled him and empowered him to perform. It was Abraham and Sarah’s willingness to act with confident trust in God and His promises that demonstrated their faith by which God graciously intervened in a supernatural way to provide for them a son, named Isaac.

And it is here that we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth that is essential to embrace if we are to experience rescue from the insurmountable problem that our selfish rebellion and sin creates for us. And that timeless truth is that Rescue requires trusting God’s promise regardless of our circumstances. You see, Paul’s point to the members of the church at Rome, and us here this morning, is that Abraham confidently trusted that God was a promise maker and that God was a promise keeper. And as a result of Abraham’s faith, as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, it was reckoned, or credited to him as righteousness. To reckon or credit literally means to put credit to ones account who has no credit or account. God gave credit to Abraham, who had no credit or standing before God.

And what God gave Abraham was righteousness, which as we discovered earlier in this series is the quality or state of being right with God. As a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, Abraham was given credit by God as being right with Him.
And in the same way today, for us to receive rescue from selfishness and sin requires that we trust in God’s promise regardless of our circumstances. Tomorrow, we will see Paul reveal this reality for us as he concludes this section of his letter to the church at Rome.

Abraham's Example of Rescue...

Last week, in Romans 4:1-12, we saw Paul introduce us to two people who played a prominent role in God’s activity throughout the history of the Jewish people. And through the lives David and Abraham, we discovered a timeless truth that our rescue requires trusting in God’s promise instead of our performance.

This week I would like for us to look at another section of a letter in our Bibles called the book of Romans. And in this section, we will see that the Apostle Paul has more to say about Abraham. And as Paul continues to unpack the example that Abraham provides when it comes to experiencing the relationship with God that we were created for, we will discover another timeless truth that is essential to embrace if we are to experience rescue from the insurmountable problem that our selfish rebellion and sin creates for us. So let’s look together at this section of this letter, beginning in Romans 4:13:

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of the church in Rome by reminding them that God’s promise to Abraham that he would be the father, or the forerunner who provides an example to follow, for all humanity was not based on his performance in keeping the Law, which are all of the commandments that are recorded in the first five books of our Bibles. Instead, God gave Abraham righteousness, or the state of being right with God, as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, not his performance. Abraham’s position as an example to follow, for all humanity, whether religious or irreligious, was based on his confident trust in God’s promise that is recorded for us in the first letter of our Bibles, called the Book of Genesis, which we looked at last week.

Paul then explains that “if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified”. But what does that mean? Paul’s point here is that if it was Abraham’s performance that enabled him to be right with God, then faith in God has no effect or impact on our relationship with God. In addition, if it was Abraham’s performance that made him right with God, then God’s promise is ineffective and powerless. Because, if we can be rescued from our problem of selfish rebellion and sin by our performance, then we do not need to have trust in God or His promises, do we?

In verse 15, however, Paul reminds the members of the church at Rome, and us here this morning, that those who attempt to do things for God in order to get right with God, are only given what they have earned, which is God’s wrath. To attempt to be rescued from selfishness and sin by trusting in our performance will only result in us receiving what we are owed for all our efforts, which is God’s right and just response to our selfish rebellion and sin when we refuse to follow God’s commands.

Paul then states “but where there is no law, there also is no violation”. In other words, when there is no legal or moral standard that we must meet by our performance in order to be right with God, then there is no way that our performance can cause us to fail to meet a standard that makes us right with God. Because, as we discovered last week, our performance never enables us to be rescued from the problem we have with God as a result of our selfishness and sin.

That is why Paul explains in verse 16 that is by faith, in accordance with grace, so that God’s promise of rescue by faith would be guaranteed to all the descendants of Abraham. God’s promise of rescue is valid across calendars and centuries, across continents and cultures, as a result of God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world. Paul’s point here is that Abraham provides an example to follow for all humanity, as to how one can be rescued from the problem that selfishness and sin presents. And that rescue comes from placing one’s confident trust in God and His promises. Paul then continues by pointing the readers of his letter to a story in the Bible that reinforces this reality in Romans 4:17-18:

(as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE."

Paul here points the readers of this letter to a story that is recorded for us in Genesis 17. To understand this story, however, we first need to understand the context in which this story takes place. Some 13 years before this story, in Genesis 15, we see God remind Abraham, who was 86 years old, of His promise to make Him a great nation that would leave a great legacy. Abraham responds to God’s reminder with a question “How is my reward going to great? I am 86 and have no children. I am getting old. You are going to have to give the reward to servant.”

God then makes an amazing and seemingly impossible promise to Abraham. Your servant will not be your heir. No, Abraham, you will have a child. And you will not have a small legacy. Your legacy, your descendants will be too great to count. Abraham responded to God’s promise by believing God’s promise. Now the word believed here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, is the same word for faith. It conveys the idea of entrusting oneself to someone in complete confidence. Abraham placed his compete confidence in God.

Now fast forward 13 years. Abraham is now 99 years old. And Abraham still has had no children. For 24 years Abraham remembered God’s promise that he would be the father of many nations. For 24 years Abraham remembered God’s promise of being the forerunner and example that a multitude of nations would follow. For 24 years Abraham remembered the promise of having an amazing legacy. And for 24 years that promise had remained unfulfilled. And it is in this context that we enter into this story in Genesis 17:1. Tomorrow we will look at this story and it's timeless implications for our lives today when it comes to our rescue from selfishness and sin.

Performance vs. Promise...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the Book of Romans where a man named Paul reveal for us the timeless truth that our rescue from selfishness and sin requires trusting in God's promise instead of our performance. After pointing followers of Jesus throughout history to the reality that both Abraham and King David were rescued by trusting God’s promise and not their performance, Paul concludes this section of his letter to the church at Rome by asking and answering a question. And it is this question and its answer that has profound implications for us today. So let’s look at this question together, beginning in Romans 4:9:

Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, "FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."

After speaking of God’s blessing of giving credit to Abraham when he had no credit with God as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, Paul asks a question. This question, if asked today, would sound something like this: When did God give Abraham the credit in his account that resulted in Abraham being declared not guilty and right with God? Was Abraham declared not guilty of having a problem with God and being right with God before he was circumcised or after? Now to understand what the Apostle Paul is asking here, we first need to understand what circumcision is and its significance to the Jewish people. Circumcision is a surgical procedure that involves removing the foreskin from the male genitals with a surgical knife, or in this case, a knife made of stone.

The reason that circumcision was so significant was that circumcision was a covenant sign that identified the Jewish people as being God’s people. Circumcision was an outward sign was done in order to demonstrate an inward commitment and relationship to God. Circumcision was a religious act that was required to be performed under the Law so that you would be able to be identified as being right with God as part of the Jewish religious system. Circumcision was something you did for God. By contrast an uncircumcised person was viewed as being in a state which was not right with God and not identified as being part of God’s people. Paul asks the question, and then points us to the answer by quoting Genesis 15:6, which we looked at earlier.
By why would Paul quote the same section of the Bible a second time? We find the answer in verse 10,

How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.

Here Paul reveals the reality that God’s blessing of giving credit to Abraham when he had no credit with God as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise occurred before Abraham performed any religious activity that God had commanded. You see, God’s command of circumcision is recorded for us in Genesis 17, when Abraham was 99 years old. However, Abraham was given credit by God as being right with Him some 13 years earlier, in Genesis 15:6, when Abraham was 86 years old. You see, God gave Abraham righteousness, or the state of being right with God as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, not his performance. Paul here is revealing for us the reality that our rescue has always required trusting God’s promises and not our performance. It has never been about what we do or our performance for God. From the very beginning, our rescue from the problem we have with God has always required trusting in God’s promise.

Now you may be wondering “Well, then why did God command Abraham do be circumcised if that had nothing to do with him entering into a right relationship with God? What good is circumcision? Paul answers this question for us in verses 11-12. First Paul states that Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised. The word seal here refers to something that confirms or authenticates something as true. The point that Paul is making here is that Abraham was circumcised in order to demonstrate and authenticate the fact that God had already given credit to Abraham as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise that made him right with God. Performing a circumcision did not cause Abraham to be credited as being right with God; performing the circumcision was a sign that Abraham was already right with God as a result of His confident trust in God’s promise.

That is why we are such strong proponents of baptism by immersion of those who have already professed their confident trust in Jesus Christ. Just as circumcision was in the Old Testament, baptism is on outward performance that serves as a sign that demonstrates and authenticates an inward faith. That is why we do not baptize infants or children until they have placed heir confident trust in Christ. And because Abraham was credited as being right with God prior to performing any religious activity, he was able to be the father, or the forerunner who provides an example to follow, for all humanity. Whether religious or irreligious, all of humanity has the opportunity to be rescued just as Abraham was rescued.

You see, our rescue requires trusting in God’s promises instead of our performance such as circumcision or baptism. Yet it is so easy for us to fall in the trap of trusting our own performance rather than God’s. It is so easy to trust in our own ability to believe as though believing was an activity that we perform instead of a gift we are given. It is so easy to trust our own performance when it comes to sticking to the decision instead of trusting in God’s decision. It is so easy to trust in our ability to choose instead of trusting in God’s choice and promises.

Have I just described you? Do you trust in your own performance for God when it comes to your relationship with God? Do you trust that your own performance will result in God giving you the credit that you need to be right with Him? If you are here this morning and are trying to trust in your performance for God, I just have a question? How’s it working out for you? Because, as we discovered earlier, God will only give you what your performance has earned. And do you really want God to give you what you have earned? You see, living life by performance for God usually results in a life that is filled with either pride or despair.

And, as we have seen, our rescue requires trusting in God’s promise instead of our performance. That is how Abraham and David were rescued; they were rescued by by placing their confident trust in God’s promise, not their performance. And the reality is that is always how it has been. All of humanity throughout history is rescued not by their performance for God, but by trusting in God’s promises for them. For those in the Old Testament, it was placing their confident trust in God and His promises. For those who lived in the New Testament, and for us here this morning, it is placing our confident trust in the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection provides the opportunity for forgiveness and the relationship with God that we were created for.

Because the timeless reality is that our rescue requires trusting in God’s promise instead of our performance.

Rescue Revealed by a King's Trust in God's Promise...

Yesterday, we looked at a section of a letter in the Bible called the Book of Romans. And in this section of this letter, we saw a man named Paul reveal for us the timeless truth that our rescue from selfishness and sin requires trusting in God's promise instead of our performance. Through an Old Testament story involving a man named Abraham, Paul explained that those who attempt to do things for God in order to get right with God, are only given what they have earned. To attempt to be rescued from selfishness and sin by trusting in our performance will only result in us receiving what we are owed for all our efforts. And as we discovered earlier in this series, our performance will never be able to rescue us from the problem we have with God as a result of our selfish rebellion and sin.

However, the person who trusts in God’s promise through the message of the gospel will receive credit to their account that previously had no credit. When we trust in God’s promise to declare us not guilty of our selfish rebellion and sin as we believe, trust, and follow Jesus as Lord and Leader, it is that confident trust in God’s promise that God credits our account as being right with Him. Because our rescue requires trusting in God’s promise instead of our performance. But Abraham was not the only prominent member of the Jewish people in the Old Testament that spoke of trusting in God’s promise instead of their performance. We see Paul introduce us to a second prominent figure in the Old Testament, beginning in Romans 5:6:

just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT."

Here we see the Apostle Paul point the readers of this letter, and us here today, to a section of a letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles, called the book of Psalms. This section of this letter was written by a man named David. To understand why King David is so significant we first need to understand who King David was and the role that he played in the Jewish nation. David was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse, who God chose to become King of the Jewish people. And it was David who was known as the greatest king that ever led the Jewish people. It was King David that led the Jewish armies to conquer their enemies. It was King David who captured Jerusalem and established it as their capital city. It was King David who established the Jewish nation as a military and political power in the world. And it was King David who was described in the Bible as a man after God’s own heart.

But notice what king David wrote when it came to his relationship with God which Paul quotes from Psalm 32:1-2. King David, in a Psalm of worship to the Lord, exclaims the blessings that come from being forgiven of the selfish and sinful actions that flow from a selfish and sinful heart. He exclaims the blessings of having our selfish and sinful acts of commission and omission forgiven. And he exclaims the blessings that come from the Lord not taking into account our selfish rebellion and sin. Now the phrase take into account is the same word that is translated credit or reckon.

King David is exclaiming the blessings that come because God does not credit our accounts based on our performance. Because King David knew what his performance was. And he knew that his performance would not rescue him or anyone else. He knew the blessings that came as a result of God giving credit to a person’s account that had no credit or account. And Paul wanted the members of the church at Rome, and followers of Jesus throughout history to know what king David knew, which is that our rescue requires trusting in God’s promise instead of our performance.

After pointing followers of Jesus throughout history to the reality that both Abraham and King David were rescued by trusting God’s promise and not their performance, Paul concludes this section of his letter to the church at Rome by asking and answering a question. Tomorrow, we will look at this question and answer that has profound implications for us today.

Our Rescue Requires Trusting in God's Promise Instead of our Performance...

Last week, we saw the Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth that provides for us a timeless hope. And that timeless truth that provides for us a timeless hope is that God rightly rescues from rebellion through faith in Christ. We left off last week discovering that because it is God’s activity and not our activity that rescues us from selfish rebellion and sin, there is no room for pride.

However, just like today, for some readers of this letter, there seemed to be resistance to the idea that we could only be rescued by faith in what God has done for us and not by what we can do for God. Their resistance was due to the fact that they believed that the message of the gospel nullified the law; In other words the message of the gospel seemed to make the Old Testament worthless and irrelevant. Last week, we saw Paul respond to this resistance with the strongest negative response possible and explain that the the message of the gospel does not undercut the teachings of the Old Testament; faith actually reinforces the teachings of the Bible.

Today, I would like us to look at another section of a letter in our Bibles called the book of Romans. And in this section, we will see the Apostle Paul respond to this resistance by some of the readers of this letter by showing that the message of God’s right rescue from rebellion through faith in Christ not only reinforces the teachings of the Bible. In his response, we will see Paul introduce us to two people who played a prominent role in God’s activity throughout the history of the Jewish people. And through the lives of these two prominent people, we will discover a timeless truth that is essential to embrace if we are to experience rescue from the insurmountable problem that our selfish rebellion and sin creates for us. So let’s look together at this section of this letter, beginning in Romans 4:1:

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Paul begins this section of his letter with a question: “what then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?” If Paul was here with us this morning and asking this question in the language of our culture today, this question would sound something like this: “Let’s talk about Abraham, who all religious Jewish people find their identity in as the father of the Jewish people. What did Abraham discover during his life about how to become right with God? How was Abraham declared not guilty of having a problem with God? What rescued Abraham?

Now to understand why Paul would even mention Abraham here, we first need to understand who Abraham was and his significance to the Jewish people. You see Abraham was the father of the Jewish people. He was the George Washington of the Jewish nation. Abraham was viewed with the utmost respect by the Jewish people. Abraham was the head of the family tree of the Jewish people. So this question would have grabbed the attention of every Jewish person reading this letter. The very people who were objecting to the idea that the message that rescue from selfishness and sin was by what God did for us instead of what we do for God. The very people who viewed God’s right rescue from rebellion by faith in Christ as nullifying the teachings of the Old Testament as being worthless and irrelevant. Because for those who were involved in the Jewish religious system, rescue from selfishness and sin came from what you did for God by keeping the requirements of the Law, which are the first five books in our Bibles today.

But notice what Paul states in verse 2: “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”? In other words, if Abraham was declared not guilty of having a problem with God by what He did for God, he has something to boast about. If Abraham was able to rescue himself by what he did for God by keeping the requirements of the Law, then he can take pride in his accomplishments. However, Paul then confronts the religious Jewish idea that our rescue from selfishness and sin came from what you did for God by stating that if Abraham was declared not guilty by his works, or what he did for God, he has something to boast about, but not before God. Paul is saying “well if Abraham was rescued and declared not guilty by what he did for God then he could take pride, but he wasn’t. Abraham was not rescued from his selfish rebellion and sin by what he did for God”.

And it is in this section of this letter that we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless truth about what rescues us from our selfish rebellion and sin. And that timeless truth is this; our rescue requires trusting in God’s promise instead of our performance. The Apostle’s point in verse 2 is that Abraham could brag and boast if his performance was what brought him rescue from selfishness and sin and brought him into a right relationship with God. But it wasn’t Abraham’s performance that rescued him and made him right with God. It was Abraham’s trust in God’s promise that rescued Abraham and made him right with God. And in the same way today, our rescue from the problem of selfish rebellion and sin cannot be achieved by performance. Instead, the only way that we can be rescued from our selfish rebellion and sin is by trusting in God’s promise. We see Paul reveal this reality through Abraham’s story, beginning in Romans 4:3. Let’s look at it together:

For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

Here we see the Apostle Paul point the readers of this letter, and us here today, to a story that is recorded for us in the very first book of our Bibles, called the book of Genesis. And while the Jewish readers of this letter would be very familiar with this story, some of us here this morning may not be quite as familiar. So let’s go back and look at this story together, beginning in Genesis 15:1:

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great." Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir." Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."

Earlier in the book of Genesis, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said “get up, leave your family and your country to go to a land that I will show you. Just get up and start walking. And once you get there, I will make you a great nation and make your name great”. Abraham was 75 years old at the time. Yet now, 11 years later, in Genesis 15, we see God remind Abraham, who is now 86, of His promise to him. Abraham responds to God’s reminder with a question “How is my reward going to great? There is no legacy. I have no children. I am getting old. You are going to have to give the reward to servant.” God then makes an amazing and seemingly impossible promise to Abraham. Your servant will not be your heir. No, Abraham, you will have a child. And you will not have a small legacy. Your legacy, your descendants will be too great to count. Now at that point, Abraham has a decision to make. What will he do with what he has just heard? We see what Abraham did in Genesis 15:6, which Paul quotes in Romans 4:3:

Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Abraham responded to God’s promise by believing God’s promise. Now the word believed here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, is the same word for faith. It conveys the idea of entrusting oneself to someone in complete confidence. Abraham placed his compete confidence in God and God’s promise. Abraham confidently trusted that God was a promise maker and that God was a promise keeper. And as a result of Abraham’s faith, as a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, it was reckoned, or credited to him as righteousness. To reckon or credit literally means to put credit to ones account who has no credit or account. God gave credit to Abraham, who had no credit or standing before God. And what God gave Abraham was righteousness, which as we discovered earlier in this series is the quality or state of being right with God. As a result of his confident trust in God’s promise, Abraham was given credit by God as being right with Him.

Paul then unpacks and applies the timeless truth contained in the story of Abraham to the members of the church at Rome, and to us here today, in verses 4-5. To help us understand what Paul is communicating here, let’s ask a question. Why do we work? Now, if we were to make a list of the reasons why we work, while there may be many different factors listed as to why we work, I believe that every list would have one common denominator; we work to get paid. And when we get our paychecks, we do not look at that paycheck as a gift, do we? No, we look at that paycheck as something that is due us, don’t we? I mean we worked hard for that money. For some here, you may feel like your paycheck does not reflect how hard you worked. However, none of us feel like our employer is paying us voluntarily as a favor, do we? Our employers would not pay us if we did not work for it, just out of the goodness of their hearts. Our employers pay us because they have to, they owe us that money; we earned that money through our work.

Paul’s point here is that in the same way, those who attempt to do things for God in order to get right with God, are only given what they have earned. To attempt to be rescued from selfishness and sin by trusting in our performance will only result in us receiving what we are owed for all our efforts. And as we discovered earlier our performance will never be able to rescue us from the problem we have with God as a result of our selfish rebellion and sin. However, the person who trusts in God’s promise through the message of the gospel will receive credit to their account that previously had no credit. When we trust in God’s promise to declare us not guilty of our selfish rebellion and sin as we believe, trust, and follow Jesus as Lord and Leader, it is that confident trust in God’s promise that God credits our account as being right with Him. Because our rescue requires trusting in God’s promise instead of our performance.

But Abraham was not the only prominent member of the Jewish people in the Old Testament that spoke of trusting in God’s promise instead of their performance. Tomorrow, we will see Paul introduce us to another prominent figure from the history of the Jewish people.

A Rescue that Removes Pride and Reinforces the Bible...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter in the Bible that reveals the reality that God rightly rescues from rebellion through faith in Christ. In Romans 3:21-31, we see a man named Paul reveal for us five different aspects of God's right rescue through faith. We have discovered that God's right rescue through faith is independent of our effort, is required by all, and results in a not guilty verdict. Paul then continues to reveal the implications that God’s right rescue from rebellion through faith in Christ have on humanity in Romans 3:27-30:

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

In these verses, we see the Apostle Paul ask a string of questions designed to reveal the timeless implications that God’s right rescue from rebellion through faith in Christ has on all humanity. First, Paul asks “Where is the boasting”? Paul then answers this question by stating that it is excluded. In other words, there is no room for pride when it comes to our relationship with God. Pride is shut out, there is no opening for boasting and pride to enter into a conversation about our relationship with God.

Now a natural push back or question that may arise here is “Why not? Why is there no room for pride”? Paul, anticipating this response, responds with a second question: By what kind of Law? Of works? If Paul was asking this question in the language we use in today’s culture, the question would sound something like this: “What religious, moral or ethical system did you perfectly follow to make you right with God? Was it what you did for God that enabled God to declare you not guilty of having a problem with Him?” Paul then answers this question by stating that it was the Law of faith. But what does that mean? Paul’s point here is that it is not what we do for God that can make us not guilty of having a problem with God. Instead, it is what God does for us through Jesus Christ; and it is the placing of our confident trust of what God has done for us through Christ and the message of the gospel that make makes us not guilty.

And it is here that we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us the reality that God’s right rescue through faith removes pride in human effort. It is because of God’s activity and not our activity that we are rescued from selfish rebellion and sin. And because it is God’s activity and not our activity that rescues us from selfish rebellion and sin, there is no room for pride.

Paul reinforces this reality in verse 28 when he states that we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. The Apostle had a strong point of view; and that strong point of view was that it was by placing ones confident trust in what God had done through Christ that resulted in a person being declared not guilty and being able to enter into the relationship with God that they were created for. Having a relationship with God was independent of what you did for God in order to remove the guilt that came from selfish rebellion and sin. And for the Jewish people of Paul’s day, this would have been viewed as a scandalous statement. This would have put Paul at odds with the religious people of his day, just as the message and teaching of Jesus often offended and put Him at odds with the self righteous religious people that He encountered.

Yet, instead of backing down, Paul laid down the gauntlet and dug his heels in with another set of questions: “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?” In other words, “do you Jewish religious people think that you have exclusivity because you are God’s chosen people? Do you think that you are somehow better that irreligious people because you go to church and try to do things for God?” Paul then answers his questions in a way that would have offended the Jewish religious people of his day: “Yes, of Gentiles also,”? This would have been incredibly offensive for a Jewish person because they took great pride in their religious heritage. They took great pride in having the Old Testament; they took great pride in having the temple; they took great pride in their traditions; they took great pride in what they did for God.

Maybe you are reading this and I have just described you. You take great pride in what you do for God and there is no way that God would look at irreligious people that same way He looks at you. And there is something within you that consciously or unconsciously believes that God chose you because of all that you did for God. Or maybe you would describe your life as being irreligious and rebellious. Your life has been spent running from God and rebelling against God. Regardless of whether you consider yourself religious or irreligious, from God’s perspective there is one way and only one way that anyone is declared not guilty of having a problem with God. There is only one way to receive rescue and redemption from slavery to selfishness and sin and enter into the relationship with God that you were created for. And that one way is through faith in Christ.

Paul explains that whether you are circumcised, which was a religious act that served to identify someone as being a part of the Jewish religious system, or uncircumcised, which referred to a person who was not identified as being a part of the Jewish religious system, freedom and rescue from selfish rebellion and sin comes by faith in Christ. Regardless of your past, good or bad, rescue and redemption comes not from what you do for God; rescue and redemption comes from believing, trusting, and leaning into what God has done for you through Jesus life, death, and resurrection. We are united by faith in Christ as part of the community of believers called the church, regardless of race, sex, or socio-economic factors. And this removes all possibility of pride. Now a natural question that arises here we see echoed by Paul in verse 31:

Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

In other words, then what is the point of the Old Testament? Why should I even read it? Because you seem to be saying that it is all about Jesus and faith and not about the Old Testament Law. So is the Old Testament worthless and irrelevant”? Paul responds to this question with the strongest negative response that is possible in the language that this letter was originally written in. At Wal-Mart this objection might sound like this: No bleeping Way!! Instead, Paul explains that faith actually establishes the Law. Here we see Paul reveal for us the reality that God’s right rescue through faith reinforces the Bible. The word establish here literally means to validate something.

Paul’s point here is that the Bible has always been about faith. Faith actually validates the message and the teachings of the Old Testament. And as we will see next week, the people who lived during the times of the Old Testament, just like today, were not rescued and redeemed from selfish rebellion and sin because of what they did for God. Just like today, the people who lived during the times of the Old Testament were saved as a result in placing their confident trust in who God is and what He called them to do. People throughout history have always been saved as a result of believing, trusting and following God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world. Next week, we will Paul reveal for us God’s transformational intervention and activity in the Old Testament.

And for us the timeless reality that provides hope is that God rightly rescues from rebellion through faith in Christ. We have seen that God’s right rescue through faith is independent of our effort. We have seen that God’s right rescue through faith is required by all. We have seen that God’s right rescue through faith results in a not guilty verdict. We have seen that God’s right rescue through faith removes pride in human effort. And we have seen that God’s right rescue through faith reinforces the Bible.

So are you trying to get right with God by what you do for Him? If that is you, here’s the question: How’s it working for you? Because the reality is that our attempts to do things for God only lead to either pride or desperation. Because there is nothing that we can do that will result in us being able to experience the relationship with God we were created for. However, as Paul reveals for us in this section of this letter, the timeless truth that provides us a timeless hope is that God rightly rescues from rebellion through faith in Christ. Because, it has always been about what God does for us that provides the opportunity for rescue, for forgiveness, and for us to experience the relationship with God we were created for.

The Rescue that Results in a "Not Guilty" Verdict...

Yesterday, we looked at a section of a letter in the Bible that reveals the reality that God rightly rescues from rebellion through faith in Christ. In Romans 3:21-31, we see a man named Paul reveal for us five different aspects of God's right rescue through faith. We discovered that God's right rescue through faith is independent of our effort and is required by all. All humanity is flawed and fallen and is completely helpless. And because we are all flawed and fallen, we all need to be rescued. And as Paul continues in this section of this letter, we see revealed for us exactly how God rightly rescues from rebellion through faith in Christ in verses 24-26:

being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Now to fully understand what Paul is communicating here, we first must wrap our mind around some terms. The word justified here is a legal term that means to be found or declared not guilty of something. In this case Paul is explaining that we are declared not guilty of having a problem with God. The Apostle then explains that we are not guilty as a gift by His grace. The word grace refers to God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world. God rightly intervened and acted in order to rescue from rebellion. How God intervened and acted in order to rescue from rebellion was through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

This word redemption is a huge word in our Bibles. This word was used in Paul’s day to describe what occurred at a slave market. In Paul’s day, if one needed additional labor or servants, one could go down to the local slave market, where people were placed into slavery as a result of debts that they had accrued and were unable to pay. There was no bankruptcy in Paul’s day, there was slavery. Thus people were sold to pay off their debts. So when Paul uses the words justify and redemption here, he is revealing for us the reality that God’s right rescue through faith results in a not guilty verdict. God rightly intervened and acted to redeem us, to rescue us from slavery to our selfish sin and rebellion through His Son Jesus in order that we would be able to be declared not guilty of having a problem with God.

In verse 25, Paul explains that God rescued and redeemed us through Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. But what does that mean? The word propitiation refers to the satisfaction of God’s right and just response to selfish rebellion and sin. This morning, God has every right to judge selfish rebellion and sin. And God cannot ignore His perfect Law and justice. God’s perfect justice demands that the selfish rebellion and sin of all humanity be punished. Otherwise God would not be just, would He?

So to demonstrate, or to prove to the universe that God is right, Paul explains that God sent His Son Jesus, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be publicly treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God’s right and just response to selfish rebellion and sin could be satisfied. You see Jesus publicly died on the cross to prove that God is perfectly just and that God is perfectly right. The cross is public proof that God is just and demands justice.

And it is in Jesus public execution for the selfish rebellion of all humanity that reveals that God’s rescue through faith results in a not guilty verdict for all humanity throughout history who demonstrated faith in God and the promises of God. When Paul uses the phrase “because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed”, the word forbearance literally means to display tolerance. In other words, prior to Jesus life, death and resurrection, God proved that He is was perfectly right and just by deliberately tolerating and putting up with the selfish rebellion of all humanity throughout history so that, at just the right time, Jesus would enter into humanity to live the life that we refuse to live and die the death we deserve to die.

And in verse 26, we see that it is through Jesus life, death, and resurrection that God proves that He is right and that He is not only just, but that He can also be the One who is able to declare the person who has faith and confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel as being not guilty of having a problem with God. Now, since there are a lot of 50 cent theological words in these verses, let’s look at these verses again, this time replacing the 50 cent words with what these words mean in the language of our culture today, beginning in Romans 3:24:

being declared not guilty as a gift by God’s intervention and activity through the rescue and redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as He publicly died on the cross to satisfy God’s right and just response to our selfish sin and rebellion through His life, death and resurrection. Thus we are declared not guilty through faith in what God did through Jesus. This was to prove that God is right and just, because in the tolerance of God He deliberately chose to put up with the sins previously committed; for the proof, I say, that God is right and just at the present time, so that He would be just and the One who declares a person not guilty who has faith in Jesus.

We are declared not guilty because of God’s gracious and generous intervention and activity in the world through Christ, whose public execution for our selfish sin and rebellion serves as the proof that God is right and just and the only One who can declare the person who has faith and confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel as being not guilty of having a problem with God.

Paul then continues to reveal the implications that God’s right rescue from rebellion through faith in Christ has on humanity. We will look at those implications tomorrow.