But God has a way to make people right with him without the law, and he has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. ~ Romans 3:21
The theme of Romans is the gospel which means "good news" and it is all about how sinful man can be made right before God. The way sinful man is made right before God is by way of imputation. God freely gives or imputes that which is not ours. That Bible calls this justification. God makes a declaration that those who trust in His Son's finished work on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin are made right in His presence or worthy to be in His presence.
Beginning in Romans 1:19 through Romans 3:20, the Apostle Paul revealed the useless approaches of sinful man to make meaning out of his life. Since sinful man has this sense of lostness, guilt, loneliness, emptiness, and subsequent meaninglessness, he knows that there is more to life than what he has discovered. This, in fact, explains why religion exists. But the Bible is very clear that we can only be made right with God through the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. So, beginning in Romans 3:21 through the end of the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul shows us the only approach to life that works, and, it is the grace saturated life.
There are those who say there are only two religions in this world: the religion of human achievement and the religion of Christianity. I would beg to differ because religion all across the world underscores man's attempts to establish a relationship with God and that is impossible for sinful man. Having a proper understanding of religion reveals that Christianity is no religion at all because in Christianity God initiates a relationship with sinful man.
Beginning in Romans 1:18 and ending in Romans 3:20, we have learned that "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of sinful man." Paul has aptly shown that all men are guilty of sin and therefore deserving of the judgement of God. We have seen that man is without a defense because what may be known of God and His truth He has made clear through creation and man's conscience. In fact, in Romans 3:10 we discovered: "There is no one who is righteous." As a result, "There is no one who seeks God."
In the midst of all of this truth about the sinful condition of man, we learn that the Jews believed that they could be right with God by their adherence to perfect Law of God. But, man is imperfect and his attempts to earn God's favor is greatly wanting. Many think the Old Testament saints were made right with God because they performed sacrifices and they carried out certain rituals. That is not true. It is clear throughout the Bible that it has always been by faith in the God of the Bible that justified anyone before Him. The religious activities of the Old Testament saints was never the basis of God's acceptance of them. As we will see as we go through Romans, "The just shall live by faith." All of the sacrifices in the Old Testament were given because God intended for them to point the people to the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, as we come to our verse for today, we see that sinful man has been ushered into the courtroom of God and through God's Law man has been founded guilty. But, in that moment according to Romans 3:21, we read, "But God." The darkness of our sin can be dispelled. It was at that crucial moment in redemptive history when man was without hope that the God of the Bible revealed His righteousness.
In today's verse we read, "But God has a way to make people right with him without the law."
The first two words of this verse is God's great "nevertheless" given in the face of man's failure to make himself right before God. To be made right before God is highly misunderstood in our day. Often it is associated with man's good behavior. Most believe if their good behavior outweighs their bad, God will let them into heaven. This reveals they do not understand the perfect standard of God.
The most accurate understanding of righteousness is found in the word "worth." This sense of worth is the most essential element in human existence, and without it we cannot function as human beings. And then, along comes the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which announces that the worth we long for has been made available to us.
Notice the words "without the law." It is not the righteousness of man that makes us right with God. No, this worthiness before God is not the product of our adherence to the Law because we in our sinful state are incapable of measuring up to God's perfect standard of righteousness. The prophet Isaiah described our attempts to earn worthiness before God is as filthy rags. Our goodness can not earn a right and worthy standing before a holy God. So, we are introduced to the righteousness of God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, the Lord Jesus came as the total fulfillment of God's perfect and righteous standard. He always did the Father's will, He never sinned a sin or thought an evil thought or said an evil word of any kind. He was absolutely without sin and therefore He had a righteousness which perfectly fulfilled the law. In fact, He kept every law of God to perfection.
The Lord Jesus Himself said in Matthew 5:20: "Your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees if you're going to be in My kingdom."
The religious leaders of the Lord Jesus' day had a righteousness unacceptable before God. Their righteousness was flawed because they were sinful. This is why the Lord Jesus came to fulfill the Law or all truth. He did this so that we could vicariously benefit before the perfect God of the Bible. If God were to accept us as partially right then He would have undermined the truth. And, if that were the case, evil would have won.
The second half of today's verse reads, "and he has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about."
Those who believed in the God of the Bible who lived on this earth before the cross of Christ knew that the Law of Moses and all the 300 messianic prophesies of the Old Testament prophets were about One individual. The Law and the prophets bore testimony to the coming life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole Old Testament sacrificial system was a witness to mankind that One would come who would take away the sins of the world. In Psalm 32:1 King David prophesied, "Blessed is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned."
