For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. (Rom. 3:20, 22).

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).

In the previous post, we left mankind in a bit of a fix. The gospel tells us that all mankind—every person born since Adam was created—have sinned against a perfect and holy God, violating His law. Because all have sinned, all stand under judgment, subject to God’s eternal wrath.

Just Do Better?

We also saw that even if a man could live perfectly from this point on, he has already violated God’s law and is therefore subject to His wrath. Not only that, but Paul tells us, that “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Notice that Paul says that no human will be justified (that is, declared righteous, saved from God’s wrath) by keeping the law.

Why is that? Because the law does not produce righteousness. Instead, it produces “the knowledge of sin.” What does that mean? Its basic meaning is that the law sets the standard, and thus also the knowledge of what is sin (anything that violates that standard). However, as Paul will elaborate later, the law also arouses sin. If a parent tells a child, “Don’t go into the kitchen,” where is the first place the child will normally seek to go? The kitchen, of course—even if she had no thought of going to the kitchen before the command was given. So, the law can only tell you what is right and wrong. And, instead of giving you the power to obey, it actually tends to arouse sin in the flesh. The law simply can’t produce salvation.

By Faith Alone

Instead of keeping the law to be saved, God’s righteousness (and thus our justification) comes by another path: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” Justification by faith. In looking closely at this verse, we see a few important details:

• First, it is apart from the law. The righteousness of God is separate from the law, meaning the law is not the path to obtaining righteousness (as we have said many times in earlier posts, keeping God’s commandments is done from the ground of salvation, not the path to salvation).
• Second, the Old Testament writings (the Law and the Prophets) bear witness to it. Righteousness by faith stretches throughout biblical history, going back to Abraham and beyond, as we mentioned in the last post. The heroes of faith in the Old Testament weren’t righteous because they kept the law. All of them stumbled miserably. Rather, they kept the law because they had faith and thus were declared righteous in God’s sight.
• Third, the righteousness of God comes by faith in Christ. Paul is very specific here. Faith in Christ is the path to God’s righteousness (the justification of the believer). More specifically, this righteousness is given “for all who believe.” All who place faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are saved.

Jesus: The Way to the Father

What part does Jesus play in the gospel? Paul tells us, “Christ died for us.” What does this mean? Remember that the law requires death for sin. Jesus, then, died in our place and bore the penalty of sin—the wrath of God. He could do this because He lived a perfectly sinless life. He said, “I always do those things that please the Father” (John 8:29). Because He lived a perfect life, His death was not for Himself but in the place of others. Because He is God-incarnate (John 1:1-2), His death is sufficient for all (1 John 2:2; 4:10).

How do we know that His death was acceptable to God for our sins? Because He rose from the dead. Remember, death is the result of sin. Because Jesus never sinned, death had no claim on Him. He gave up His life voluntarily for us (John 10:11, 15, 17-18). His resurrection shows that He is righteous. And His righteousness is imputed (credited or reckoned) to those who believe in Him for salvation.

No Other Way

Many people say that there are many ways to God. There are, indeed, many man-made attempts to reach God. But they all fall short for several reasons:

The first reason is that of sin. Sin pervades every part of us and every part of creation. We are fallen people in a fallen world. Our best attempts to “reach God” fall woefully short of His standards.

Secondly, Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes through the Father but by me” (John 14:6, emphasis mine). That automatically excludes every other “way” to God. Either Jesus was right, and all other attempts are wrong, or He was wrong, and thus we have no reason to believe anything else He has said. But again, His resurrection proves that everything He said was true.

How is One Saved?

The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Their answer? “And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (v. 31). To be saved, one places his trust/belief/faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To put it another way, as Paul says,

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. . . . For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:9, 13).

This is the essence of the gospel. Turn to Christ in faith and trust.

[Note: Much of the material in this series has been adapted from my commentary The Righteousness of God: A Commentary on Romans.]