FREEDOM FROM THE PENALTY OF SINS Chapters 3:21-5:11

Paul begins this subdivision of the epistle with: "But now...". This is a fundamental expression indicating that he is now turning to something in contrast to what he had been saying. He had been giving us the bad news about the human race; now he is going to present the good news that God has for fallen man. Therefore, the revelation of the blessings of the gospel begins here in chapter 3:21. From this verse to chapter 5:11, Paul explains how God in righteousness can save sinners who believe in His Son, through His work of justification and reconciliation.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

Chapter 3:21-31

Chapter 3:21 – He says: "But now without [separate from] the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested." In this statement, Paul takes us to the cross of Christ. The righteousness of God was there "manifested" in its perfection for all to see. (In Greek, this phrase is in a tense that indicates that the manifestation of the righteousness of God is something that occurred and now remains as a testimony for all to contemplate). The manifestation of the righteousness of God is not something He does in people to make them understand and believe the gospel. (That is a different work of God produced by the life-giving power of the Spirit, which those who teach about the Bible call "Illumination.") Rather, the manifestation of the righteousness of God points to something God did at the cross and made known through the gospel for all to understand and believe. If people looked at the cross of Christ with the understanding that faith gives, they would see the righteousness of God manifested in its perfection.

As mentioned in our comments on chapter 1:17, "the righteousness of God" has to do with the way in which God is able to save sinners without compromising what He is in Himself as a holy and righteous God. The fact that Paul says that this righteousness is "of God" shows that God is the source of it. He created the plan of salvation for man. The need for the righteousness of God is great. Man's sin created a dilemma. Since God is a God of love, His own nature requires the blessing of man, because He loves all men. But, being a holy God, His holy nature justly requires that man be punished for his sins (Ps 89:14; Heb 2:2). If God acted according to His heart of love and brought men into blessing without judging their sins, it would be at the cost of His holiness, and thus He would cease to be righteous. He cannot do that and still be righteous. On the other hand, if God acted only according to His holy nature and judged men according to the claims of divine righteousness, all men would justly be sent to hell – but the love of God would never be known. How then can God save men and at the same time remain righteous? It is here that the gospel emerges so tenderly. It declares the righteousness of God and announces the good news that He has found a way to satisfy His holy claims against sin and, at the same time, reach out in love to save sinners who believe.

All this is because of what He did at the cross of Christ; it was there that God took up the whole question of sin and settled it for His own glory and for the blessing of man. He sent His Son to be the Sin-bearer, and in His sacrificial death, God judged sin according to the requirements of His holiness. At the cross, the Lord Jesus took the believer's place before God and bore the judgment of sins in His "body on the tree" (1 Pet 2:24). His work "finished" at the cross (John 19:30) rendered a complete satisfaction to the claims of divine righteousness and paid the price for the believer's sins, and also for all the contamination of sin in creation (Heb 2:9 – "that He might taste death for all things" – JND). More than that, at the cross, the love of God was displayed in the best way, for He gave His only begotten Son as the Sin-bearer. With the question of sin fully settled, God came to men with the good news that He can – on a righteous basis – redeem, forgive, justify and reconcile the sinner who believes. Thus, the gospel presents God as being "Just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (chap. 3:26). Nothing will work better for the believer's peace than learning that God saved him and that He did so in righteousness.

It is interesting to note that, in presenting the gospel in this passage in Romans, Paul does not begin with the love of God, but rather with the righteousness of God. This is because God's claims against sin must be satisfied first, before the love of God can be proclaimed to man.

The perfect righteousness of God Is witnessed in the Savior's blood; It is at the cross of Christ that we find His righteousness, yet wonderful grace.

God could not let the sinner pass, His sin demands that he die; But at the cross of Christ we see How God can save, yet be just.

Sin rests on the head of Jesus It is in His blood that the debt of sin is paid; Severe justice cannot demand more, And mercy can deliver its provision.

Hymnary The Little. Flock. No. 67 Ap.

Paul also says that the righteousness of God is “apart from the Law”. The Mosaic Law, as we know, is a system based on works that rewards man for doing what is right (Luke 10:28) and condemns man for doing what is wrong (James 2:10). By declaring that the righteousness of God is “without” Law, Paul was indicating that this blessing that God has for man is assured to him on a principle completely different from that which depended on his behavior. The righteousness of God, therefore, is not what man can do to save himself; it is about what God has already done. Thus, the righteousness of God is not God demanding something from man (as the Law does), nor is it man acting for God (as man-made religions try to do), but rather, it is God acting for man in love and grace to save sinners, but at the same time, not compromising what He is as a holy and righteous God.

Paul also adds: “being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets”. This means that the righteousness of God in providing salvation for men was foretold in types and shadows of the Law, and was also announced by the prophets of Israel (see chapter 1:2). There are several references to these things in the Old Testament. For example, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), the high priest placed the blood of a victim “on the mercy seat”, pointing in type to the work of Christ satisfying God's claims against sin. He also placed some of the same blood on the ground “before the mercy seat”, also pointing in type to the work of Christ securing the basis of redemption on which the believer rests. Another example is found in Psalm 85:10. It says: “Mercy and truth have met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other”. This is a reference to the finished work of Christ, meeting God's holy claims against sin and opening the way for God to reach sinners in love.

The Righteousness of God Is Not Something Transmitted, Poured Out, Transferred or

Communicated to Believers

Some modern translations state: “a righteousness that comes from God” (Rom. 1:17, 3:21, 10:3 – NIV) or “the righteousness that comes from God” (Phil. 3:9 – NIV), but these are not the best translations. First, “a righteousness” is misleading. It sounds as if God had many different righteousnesses on hand and simply chose one for the believer. On this error, J. N. Darby observed: “A righteousness of God, I have already noted, is as if there were several... now that changes the whole sense of the passage” (Collected Writings, vol. 33, p. 86).

Second, translating as “that comes from God” or “that proceeds from God” conveys the thought that the righteousness of God is something that is transmitted to the believer or placed upon him. This, however, is not true, because if God gave His righteousness to us, which is what that phrase suggests, then He would no longer have it! Regarding this mistaken idea, W. Scott said: “God cannot grant what is essential to Himself” (Unscriptural Phraseology, p. 10). He also said: “It is not the placing of a quantity of righteousness in a man” (Doctrinal Summaries, p. 15). On this, J. N. Darby commented: “A man being righteous is his position in the eyes of God, not a quantity of righteousness transferred to him” (Collected Writings, vol. 23, p. 254). F. B. Hole said: “We should not read these words [‘righteousness of God’] with a commercial idea in our minds, as if they meant that we came to God bringing a certain amount of faith for which we received in exchange a certain amount of righteousness, just as a shopkeeper on the other side of the counter exchanges goods for money” (Outlines of Truth, p. 5). God gave righteousness (Rom. 5:17) in the sense of having secured it for humanity in the risen and glorified Christ. Thus, Christ has been made righteousness to us (1 Cor. 1:30), and He is our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21; compare Jeremiah 23:6, 33:16).

The Righteousness of Christ – A Non-Biblical Expression

“The righteousness of Christ” is another term that is often used by Christians, but this expression is not found in the Scriptures. Many use it in reference to Christ's perfect life of obedience, and imagine that this was imputed to the believer's account as righteousness. It is certainly true that Christ's life on earth was perfect – He was holy and righteous in all His thoughts, words and actions – but His perfect life was not vicarious (substitutionary). The Scriptures do not teach that the merits of Christ's life perfect are imputed to the believer as righteousness. It is what Christ accomplished in His death – not in His life – that made it possible for God to save people who believe. This is what we announce in the gospel. If Christ's righteous life could be imputed to the believer as righteousness, and the believer could thus be saved and blessed by His life, why would God want Christ to go through the agony of the cross with all its sufferings?

Faith in Jesus Christ