The Justified
Proverbs 17:15; Romans 3:21-4:12
"Christ died for the ungodly."
(Romans 5:6)
At first glance, the two readings for today appear contradictory. Proverbs tells us the Lord considers anyone who "justifies the wicked" (ESV) an abomination. Yet in Romans Paul refers to God Himself as the one who "justifies the wicked" (NIV) and therefore demands our trust. (The word "justify" in these verses means "to declare innocent.") How could God decry the justification of sinners and yet do so Himself?
To answer this question is to peer into the very heart of the Christian faith. God is not unjust or lying when He calls His church - a company of sinners - "the justified". God can declare the wicked to be righteous because Christ, their representative, accomplished two great acts on their behalf. First, He suffered in our place, taking away the eternal consequences of our wickedness. But that's not all. Christ also obeyed the entire law in our place, crediting His perfect record to us through faith. So God can "justify the wicked" because He sent The Righteous One to live and die for us.
INSIGHT
"Justification is the doctrine by which the church stands or falls."
(Martin Luther)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Ezekiel 5-6
Psalm 133
Galatians 3-4
Proverbs 17:15; Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
the LORD detests them both
Romans 3:21-4:12
New Living Translation (NLT)
Christ Took Our Punishment
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses[a] and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.[b] 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
Romans 4
The Faith of Abraham
Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith."[c]
4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:
7 "Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sins are put out of sight.
8 Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of sin."[d]
9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles?[e] Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. 10 But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Footnotes:
a. Romans 3:21 Greek in the law.
b. Romans 3:30 Greek whether they are circumcised or uncircumcised.
c. Romans 4:3 Gen 15:6.
d. Romans 4:8 Ps 32:1-2 (Greek version).
e. Romans 4:9 Greek is this blessing only for the circumcised, or is it also for the uncircumcised?
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