Justificationby means of faith" is a familiar theme to many, and so it should be. We have been told that this topic should be the pith and core of every sermon. It is in fact the very heart of Paul's teaching. In the closing verses of Romans, chapter 3, Paul sets forth several great truths: (1) The purpose of the law, (2) universal sinfulness, and (3) the remedy for man's sin.
Paul's View of the Purpose of the Law. Ellen G. White emphasizes that the enemy of man has ever labored to disconnect the law and the gospel, but in the plan of God the two go hand in hand. Alexander Maclaren, the great Scottish preacher and Bible commentator, observed that every word of God whether command, doctrine, or promise, has in it some element bearing on the conduct of man; that God does not reveal simply that we may know, but that knowing, we may do what is right. The law is a swift witness to drive home to man's conscience the conviction of sin. Some would argue that it is a cruel act on the part of God to plague a man's conscience; that man is driven to distraction, to insanity, and even to death through the pangs of a guilty conscience. On the contrary, though remorse without repentance may indeed be a cruel and hopeless experience, conscience is a merciful gift, a prerequisite to a faith that saves.
Within the Jewish nation of the Old Testament there existed a more profound, a far deeper conviction of sin than was found in heathen nations. We need but contrast the heart-searching lament of many a psalm with the tone in Greek and Roman literature; yet we are told that certain prayers inscribed upon Assyrian and Babylonian tablets might almost stand beside Psalm 51, for there is a law written in men's hearts that awakens a measure of consciousness of sin. But on the whole, the deep sense of sin in Israel was chiefly a product of the revealed law. Therefore, the purpose of the law, whether in the Old Testament or written in the heart, is to bring men to Christ, who will provide the power that enables man to keep God's law. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law" (Rom. 3:31).
Paul's View of Universal Sinfulness. Undergirding Paul's teaching regarding the purpose of the law is the fact of universal sinfulness. In verse 20 is the negative statement: "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified." And in verse 23 follows the positive assertion that "all. have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
There is not so great a difference among members of the human race as we sometimes like to think. Men are alike in at least one respect: the fatal taint of sin is upon all. No matter in which direction we may travel, how far we may go, nor how degraded a specimen of humanity we may meet, we are all alike in that we are sinners. All are fundamentally alike in physical necessities, primal instincts, and most tragically of all, in the common experience of sinfulness. Jeremiah speaks of the human heart—not some human hearts—when he says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). The gospel would be better understood if the fact of universal sinfulness were more keenly felt.
In Romans 3:22 Paul makes a very direct statement. He says, "There is no difference." I have never been able to find a translation that says there is not much difference. The characteristics in which men are alike are far more important than are those in which they are different. The diversities may be superficial, but the identities are as deep as life. Christianity deals with the central similarities and brushes aside as of secondary importance the subordinate diversities. It deals with characteristics and facts common to humanity.
The gospel does not assert that there is no difference in the degree of sin. It is not a question of degree but of direction—not how far a ship has proceeded on her course, but which way she is headed. It is the "set of the sails." The New Testament does not teach that all darkness is of the same shade —that a man who tries according to his light to do right is on the same level with a man who disregards all obligations. Man admits faults and imperfections. He apologizes for slips and acknowledges weaknesses; however, these and all other names by which he may try to tone down the ugliness of an ugly thing do not change its nature. In spite of the conventional terms he may use to designate his ugly traits, they stand avowed as sin when the floodlight of God's law reveals their true character.
As the state of the malady does not make it different from another case of the same disease, so there is no difference in the fact of sin. And by the same token there is no difference in the fact of God's love for man. God does not love man because of what he is. Neither does He cease to love him because of what he is. We do not have to prime the inexhaustible fountain of God's love with our own merits. However, sin can make us incapable of receiving the richest blessings of that love. Man cannot prevent the sun from shining but he can and does draw the shutters. He cannot stop the stream from flowing, but he can and does turn away the pitcher from receiving the living water.
There is no difference in the way a man must receive salvation. The only thing that unites him to Christ is faith (Rom. 3:22). He must trust God, trust His sacrifice, trust the power of His living love. Man must trust Him with a trust that is self-distrust. Almost everyone has at least one friend into whose hands he would trust his very life without hesitancy. Why should we not trust Christ, our unfailing Redeemer?
The people with whom Paul is contending in this chapter were willing to admit that faith was essential to Christianity, but they wanted to add a little of their own morality. However, they could not lean half upon Christ and half upon themselves.
Neither can we. The feast that Christ provides is not a potluck supper to which everybody brings a dish. As we come to Christ we can only bring empty hands and a receptive heart and mind. It is not easy to get away from the idea of personal merit. The commentary of Ellen G. White on the last parable of Matthew 25 is that "those whom Christ commends know not that they have been ministering unto Him."—The Desire of Ages, p. 637. When they hear the Saviour's words of commendation they make perplexed inquiries.
There is no difference in the power of Christ for all. Naaman happened to be a nobleman and expected to be treated as one; therefore he was offended when Elisha treated him as a leper. But in the thing for which he came to Elisha he was no different from the most lowly leprous beggar in Samaria.
There are no incurables in Christ's presence. When He healed there was no difference between leprosy and a case of tonsilitis or a common cold. His record is that He healed all. And He is the same today.
Paul's View of the Remedy for Man's Sin. The message contained in verse 22 of this third chapter of Romans is so familiar to us that there is danger that we may lose the sense of its essential greatness and wonder. "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ." That God should give His righteousness, not only as coming from Him through Jesus Christ but as a part of His own perfection, is a truth that familiarity has largely robbed of its wonder. We need to meditate more upon this precious theme until it regains in our own experience the celestial light that belongs to it.
In this same passage (chap. 3:21-4:25) we find that faith is the condition of righteousness—Christ is the channel. But the essential point on which Christ is to be trusted is set forth in verses 24 to 26. There are some great words here! "Justified." "Propitiation." "Redemption." "Righteousness" of God. Being justified means being declared righteous by a judicial act. Justification is traced to its ultimate source in God's grace. And God's grace has been defined as His loving disposition. It has been illustrated as the hand of God reaching down to grasp the hand of man. Redemption, the medium of the bestowal of God's grace, implies captivity and liberation for a price. Verse 25 tells us that this ransom price was Christ's blood—His death. Recently a professor came to me proudly displaying a pin on his coat lapel indicating that he had, over a period of years, donated two gallons of his blood. Men pride themselves, and justifiably so, on being blood donors that the lives of others may be sustained. But Christ gave not a pint, not a quart here and there through His thirty-three years on earth, but He gave every drop of His blood and that blood was powerful enough to save from death unto eternal life every human being who has been and yet is to be born into the world.
There is perhaps no English word that can adequately portray all that the term "propitiation" implies. The meaning, however, is clear: Christ in His sacrificial death met the penalty of sin and made possible the pardon and reconciliation of all who have faith in Him. We must experience faith in Jesus Christ, and it must be faith in His propitiation if it is to bring us into contact with His redemptive power. What a marvelous arrangement this is! Jesus loves to have us come to Him just as we are. Here many fail. They want to make themselves better first. Some want to wait until they are older, not realizing that the days and years do not automatically make a man better. They only make him weaker. Redemption through Christ is the most sublime transaction in the history of the universe. The Holy One covers the sinner with His righteousness. "This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul. . . This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising."—Christ's Object Lessons, p. 311.
By an act of simple faith the sinner, defiled and lost, is given full credit for the earthly victories and the righteous deeds of Jesus. Man's redemption is assured by his acceptance. This is indeed the most uneven trade conceivable. All of my liabilities in exchange for all of His assets! No wonder the enemy of God and man is not willing that this truth of God's Word shall be clearly presented. He knows that if it is received fully, his power will be broken.
We note two phases of the transfer of the righteousness of Christ. First, it is imputed to the repentant sinner and then actually imparted to the Christian. "For if while we were hostile [enemies] we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, the more certainly, after being reconciled, shall we obtain salvation through Christ's life" (Rom. 5:10, Weymouth). So simple, yet so incomprehensibly wonderful! Paul calls this a mystery. It is indeed the mystery of
