Romans 3:21-31–Righteousness Through Faith In Christ (AKA: Adventures in Atonement–Part 7)

In my last post, I gave the analogy of the Torah being like a medical report that diagnoses cancer. As welcomed and vital as that medical report is, only a fool would think that because he has the medical report, that somehow that medical report will cure the cancer. Such is in the same case with the Torah: it’s job is to diagnose, not to cure. The cure has to come from somewhere else.

What’s the Cure for the Sin that the Torah Has Diagnosed?
And that “cure” is precisely what Paul reveals in 3:21-31: God’s righteousness that can cure that “cancer of sin” comes to us completely apart from Torah (3:21). Instead, it comes through the faithfulness of Christ, and comes to everyone who puts their faith in Christ. In 3:23-24 Paul spells it out: (A) All—both Jews and Gentiles—have fallen short of the glory of God; and (B) All—both Jews and Gentiles—are made righteous (i.e. justified) by God’s grace, through the redemption in Christ Jesus. That is the Gospel.

The Day of Atonement
In describing the actual work of Christ, Paul uses the Old Testament language regarding the Day of Atonement. It was on the Day of Atonement when the nation of Israel would offer a special sacrifice for the sins of the nations, and when the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood on the Ark of the Covenant, and thus atone for the sins of the nation. The actions themselves did not atone for Israel’s sins, but rather they were the prescribed actions that symbolically reflected their faith that God had, in fact forgiven their sins.

In that sense, those actions in the Old Testament foreshadowed the ultimate sacrificial atonement accomplished by Christ. The purpose of the Old Testament sacrifices was not simply a matter of “punishing sins,” although that was certainly part of it. The ultimate purpose of the Old Testament sacrifices was to restore a right relationship with God. After someone offered a sacrifice, the priests would eat their share, and then give a portion of that meat back to the person, who would then eat a meal in the Temple, in the presence of God. The meal was a celebration of that restored relationship with God.

It is in this light that the sacrifice of Christ should be seen—Paul says as much in 3:25-26. In the atoning sacrifice of Christ, God shows Himself to be truly righteous. He shows He is righteous and just by punishing sin, but then He also shows that He is the one who makes righteous the one who has faith in Jesus. God doesn’t just pardon us or acquit us. He can’t acquit us, for to acquit someone is to find them “not guilty”—and that simply isn’t the case: we are guilty! And He can’t just pardon us, for that would mean we’re forgiven, but no actual change within us happens. Instead, through Christ and through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, God actually works from within us to actually make us righteous.

Therefore, what we see is that keeping Torah doesn’t give you a relationship with God. The Torah simply gives the description of life once you have that relationship with God. But if Torah can’t establish that relationship, what can? Paul’s answer: God’s grace and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, whose atoning sacrifice applies to all sin for all time, even to sin committed before Christ.

Salvation: It’s About Creating a People for God’s Name (Not just Individuals)
Finally, it is worth noting that according to Paul the ultimate aim of salvation is not just a “one on one relationship with Christ.” Although that is certainly a part of it, the ultimate aim of salvation is to create a people for God’s name. If we can understand this is goal of salvation, then many other things in the New Testament become a lot clearer. Too often, we in America think that salvation is just about “my relationship with Christ, so that I can be saved and go to Heaven.” But then, once we get saved, what do we do? The implication is often that we just have to stick it out, try to be good, and wait until either we die or Jesus comes back. How to live in the here and now, and how to live righteously and allow yourself to be made righteous is something that often goes overlooked. But when we realize that God is creating a people for His name, and not just isolated individual Christians, we start to see that the way in which we relate to each other is intimately tied to the way God makes us righteous.

And the Conclusion Thus Far…
And so, Paul ends this part of his argument with three questions:

1. Where is boasting? Paul’s answer is that it is excluded. The Jew cannot brag that because he is circumcised, obeys the Jewish food laws, and observes the holy days, that he is “more righteous” than a Gentile Christian. Those “works of Torah,” those “Jewish identity markers” mean nothing in regards to righteousness. Just like a Christian cannot brag that because he goes to church, doesn’t smoke or drink, and has all his theology “correct” that he is “more righteous” than other Christians, or anyone, for that matter.

2. Is God only of the Jews? Isn’t He also of the Gentiles? Paul’s answer is an obvious YES! Of course! Yet, as Paul makes clear, God is the God of both Jews and Gentiles on the same grounds: not on the basis of Torah, but on the basis of Christ. What makes you righteous is the faithfulness of Christ, not your own “righteousness badges.”

3. Do we do away with Torah? Paul says “No way!” What we do away with are “the WORKS of Torah”—the Jewish identity markers that can do absolutely nothing in regards to righteousness. Certain things really are sinful and wrong (i.e. murder, promiscuity, lying, cheating, etc.), but some things simply aren’t. Christians are called to avoid sin; they shouldn’t take pride in superficial and irrelevant distinctions.

Paul essentially says that there’s a new Torah in town! It’s the “Torah” of faith! It is faith in Christ that actually empowers us to live the righteous life that the Torah spells out. In that sense, faith in Christ actually confirms the Torah.