As you gather together, please do not forget all the ways you can encourage and help one another by prayer, bearing one another's burdens, coming to each other's aid, and surrendering all to the care of our mighty savior Jesus Christ.
This lesson is a strong and important lesson. It may take two or three weeks to receive it into the heart. In this lesson we will learn that God has not only forgiven us, but even more, clothed us in the righteousness of Christ. This, as we shall see, is a great blessing, the highest possible honor, and the secret whereby we, even though we sin, can enter into the very presence of the living God and enjoy all the blessings of his sons and daughters. Let us begin this lesson with a prayer.
Oh Living God, we thank you that you have forgiven us of all our sins, reconciled us with you and one another, and healed us of our bitterness and sorrow. Now Father, help us to learn that we are not only forgiven, but even more, privileged to walk before you in righteousness all our days. Through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.
In our previous lessons we studied how God has forgiven us by the sacrifice of his Son on the cross. We also learned how to forgive others, to put forgiveness in action, and how we can be healed of the hate, bitterness, and sorrow that comes from unforgiveness. As we learn to forgive, we are commanded to love one another as Christ has loved us. Here are Jesus' words: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).
As we are forgiven and healed of our vices and sorrow, we come closer to Christ and know him even more deeply. Then we discover that, although God is healing us and we are more able to love, we are still so very far from loving as Christ loved. In fact, we discover that we have deep-seated, sinful habits and tendencies that are often very, very difficult to overcome. Such things as anger, laziness, lust, and selfishness afflict us. We may have trouble doing our daily disciplines of prayer and Bible reading, or fail to properly carry out our daily responsibilities. Resentments may eat away at us, no matter hard we pray and get others to pray with and for us. We may be addicted to alcohol and other drugs. In time, we may wonder if we are ever going to be free of our sin, if we will ever love as Christ loved, or if we will ever lead holy lives. The devil will tempt us, telling us that we are not true Christians, that we will always commit sins, and that, in the end, God will turn his back us, leaving us without his grace and favor. We may even fall, and be so ashamed that we can scarcely admit our sin to another and receive forgiveness and help.
God, however, is not defeated by these things. He provides for everything. In fact, as we hold to Christ in spite of our sins, he looks upon us with great favor and rejoices in us. To help us see this more fully, we are going to learn about justification as explained by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans. There we will discover that we are pleasing in God's eyes if we believe in his goodness as revealed in Jesus.
This lesson from Romans is very important. You may need more than one meeting to pray about it and receive its message. Think about it. Read it out loud. Discuss it among yourselves. Pray about it. Ask God to let his light dawn in your hearts, for if you receive this, you will always be free.
Before reading from Romans, it would be good for us to know something of its author, the apostle, Paul. He was born a Pharisee, a Jewish sect that taught strict obedience to the Law. When young, he persecuted the followers of Jesus. Then, one day on the road to Damascus to seek out and imprison Christians, the risen Lord Jesus appeared to him. This event is narrated in Acts 9:1-19. As a result of his encounter with Christ, Paul devoted the rest of his life to following Jesus, dedicating himself to preaching the gospel. He founded a number of churches, and some of his letters to these churches are in the New Testament. Eventually, he wanted to travel to Rome to strengthen the Christians there, and after that, he intended to travel to Spain. In order to introduce himself to the Roman Church, he wrote them a letter. We will be reading portions of this letter, but first, let us briefly survey how this letter begins.
After an introduction, Paul tells the Roman Christians that he is not ashamed of the gospel, and it is this gospel he will explain in his letter to them. He goes on to say that the wrath of God has been revealed from heaven against the whole of the human race. Those with the Law, that is, the Jewish people, fall under God's wrath because they do not keep the Law. Those without the Law do not recognize God's power and glory from the things that God has made. Rather, they make idols and worship them and give themselves over to all forms of depravity. As a result, all persons, everywhere, are in the power of sin, subject to the judgment of God, and perishing beneath his wrath. What help is there for us? Let us now read Romans 3:21-28 and notice the following points.
Romans 3:21-28
1. Verse 21. There is a righteousness from God apart from the Law. This righteousness is the righteousness of Christ and receiving this righteousness is not the same as keeping the laws of God. Christ fulfilled the law. He was sinless, the only righteous one. All the rest of us do not keep the law, whether the laws of Scripture or the laws God has written in our hearts.
2. Verses 22-23. This righteousness comes to believers through faith in Jesus Christ, to all those who believe that he died for them. Everyone needs this righteousness, for all fall short of God's glory. That is, all fall short of living a sinless life.
3. Verse 24. The word "justified" means at least two things: First, it means that God the judge has declared us "not guilty" since Christ suffered our penalty of death. This needs to be emphasized. We are not guilty because the penalty for our sin has been paid, and therefore, we are forgiven. Second, "justified" means that we receive the righteousness of Christ. That is, in God's eyes, we are accounted and considered righteous with the righteousness of Christ. This can be difficult to believe. Pray that God help you receive this as it is very, very important. We commit sins, but as we hold to Jesus, as we believe in his redemptive work, we are accounted, considered, and proclaimed righteous by God. He considers us clothed with the righteousness of Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). The word "redemption" comes from the slave market. We were slaves to sin, owned by the power of sin, but by his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus bought us back from slavery and set us free by giving us his righteousness.
4. Verse 25. God gave Christ as a sacrifice for our sin. Jesus died in our place. He atoned for us. His willingness to die for us was pleasing to God. God accepted Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. He turned away righteous wrath and declared us forgiven, but more than forgiven. God has decided that we have the righteousness of Christ as we hold to Christ.
5. Verses 26-28. His decision to account us forgiven and clothed with Christ's righteousness is his justice. His justice is his verdict: "You are not guilty, you have the righteousness of Christ." This justice is received in faith. That is, we do not look to ourselves, our own righteousness, or to our being able to keep the laws of God such as the Ten Commandments. Rather, we look to Christ, we hold to him, we claim him as our guarantee of God's favor. As we hold to his atoning work before God, we have faith, and God is honored as we honor his Son by holding to him in faith. We do not have faith in our faith, we have faith in Jesus, faith that by his atoning sacrifice we are always, always in God's favor. We need to believe this, for by believing this we honor God, know his deep, abiding favor toward us, and are set free. We are free because we no longer have to fret over our sins or feel condemned. As Paul will say, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ..." (Romans 8:1).
Let us summarize this: We daily commit sins that separate us from God and arouse his judgment against us. No matter how hard we try, we never fully defeat our sins. These sins wound our hearts and the devil uses them to destroy us and our relationship to God. We can pretend we do not sin by ignoring God's laws and our own conscience. We can look to ourselves and fight with all our strength against our sins, and thinking ourselves successful, claim that we are righteous. This will fail, for as Scripture says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (I John 1:8). Or, we can look to Jesus, hold on to him, fall before his cross, rely on him, thank him, and claim him as our righteousness. That is faith, having faith in Jesus Christ. As we do this, God looks with favor on us. He considers, regards, and accounts us righteous with the righteousness of Christ.
As we hold to Christ, we are clothed in his righteousness, even as we daily commit sins. We are both sinful and righteous at the same time, sinful by our own sins, but clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Then, wearing Christ's festive garment, we are acceptable to God, favored and blessed. God esteems us, not because we have conquered our sins, but because we look to the one who conquered them on our behalf. As we look to Jesus, God lifts up our heads and honors us as his sons and daughters. Then, in the words of Paul, "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2).
This, however, raises a question. If we are set right before God by holding fast in faith to Jesus' sacrifice for us, if we receive his righteousness as a gift from God, why then should we struggle to lead a holy life? Why should we, for example, try to keep the Ten Commandments, or any of the many things that we are called to do as Christians? Before addressing that question, however, let us consider the following questions for discussion.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you have any sins that you cannot seem to overcome? Do you believe that God forgives you of those sins, and even more, that you are righteous and acceptable in his sight because of Christ's sacrifice?
2. Has the devil ever entered your thoughts and accused you of things you do wrong, driving you downward, and never giving you peace?
3. When the devil accuses you, or you accuse yourself, or others accuse you, do you look to Jesus and thank him that he has made you righteous in God's eyes? Do you believe that God's high regard for you is more important than the devil's lies, your own opinions, or the opinions of others?
4. Do you ever feel ashamed and guilty in front of other people that seem "better" than you? Do you ever feel inferior to other people because you lack their abilities, education, wealth, or social status? Do you believe that God favors you, that you are of great worth, that you are as loved and important as anyone else because of God's love for you in Jesus Christ our Lord?
5. Do you ever condemn other people because they do not measure up, whether because they be immoral, or lazy, or not attractive, or poor, or irresponsible? Do you give to others the high regard that God has for you in Jesus Christ, even though you see their weaknesses? Are you able to treat them with love and acceptance, and when the opportunity presents itself, show them the better way of Christ Jesus? Do you pray for them?
6. Do you ever feel superior to other people because of your moral qualities, your education, or position? Do you realize that in God's eyes your righteousness, the righteousness you earned by your own efforts, is as "filthy rags"? Are you willing to believe the words God speaks in Isaiah 64:6? "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Instead of feeling better than others, are you willing to accept that your only justification is the righteousness of Christ?
As your small group discusses these questions, it would be good to pray together. Lift up your voices to God. You need his help. Pray for each other with the laying on of hands, beseeching the holy, living God to enable you to receive the righteousness of Christ that you may walk in newness of life and be free of all condemnation. Now, let us return to our previous question: If we have been set right with God because of the righteousness of Christ given to us as we believe in him, why do we need to lead holy lives? To address this, let us read Romans 6:1-14 aloud and consider the following points.
Romans 6:1-14
1. Verses 1-2. Here Paul asks if we should go on sinning since we have been forgiven and clothed in Christ's righteousness. He emphatically says we should not since we have died to sin. This death to sin occurred when Christ died on the cross. Although the sin of the world killed the Lord Jesus, he rose from the dead and destroyed the power of sin. Sin continues, but it has been defeated, and its final defeat will be evident when Christ returns.
2. Verses 3-7. Paul now describes baptism, and we will discuss baptism more thoroughly in future lessons. For the moment, being baptized by water means that we enter into Christ's death and resurrection. In baptism we die with Christ, and as we come out of the water, we belong to his resurrected life beyond the power of sin. We are dead to sin and no longer its slave. Therefore, since we have died to sin and been resurrected to the sinless life, we are to struggle against sin. It may, from time to time, defeat us for the moment. As we hold to Christ and struggle against sin, sin gives way -- sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. As this sin is defeated, we come closer to Christ, we know him better, and as we know him better, we understand that we still need to be justified, because sin, in this life, always lives in us, even as it is being defeated. By faith, however, holding to Christ, the final defeat of sin is certain, beginning in this life and fulfilled in the life to come.
3. Verses 8-11. All this is true because we belong to Jesus Christ. He died once, and sin died with him, and when he was raised from the dead, he entered the resurrected life beyond the power of sin. He is alive to God, and so are we because we are justified.
4. Verses 11-13. Here Paul clearly tells us that we should not allow sin to rule us. We must fight against it always, to the very end of our lives. Sometimes, this war is not difficult, although we must always be on guard. The things we have learned in these lessons, daily Bible study, prayer, helping each other, and holding each other accountable, will help you. At other times, the war can be very difficult. Nevertheless, as Paul will say in his letter to the church in Corinth, "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57).
5. Verse 14. Here Paul says sin shall not be our master. We are not under law but under grace. By this he does not mean we are free to break the law. He means that we are set right with God by what God did for us in Jesus and not by fulfilling all the demands of the law. We are not capable of fulfilling all the demands of the law. For example, we do not always obey the Ten Commandments. We are, however, able to receive the gift of Christ's righteousness by holding to him in faith.
Let us summarize: We are set right with God, with each other, and with ourselves because we have received the righteousness of Christ as we hold to the Lord Jesus in faith. We are also called to struggle against sin. Sin is being conquered in us as we repent, receive forgiveness, and are empowered by the resurrected Jesus. As God enables us to repent and receive forgiveness, we grow in love. Our sins still plague us, but even so, they are being conquered. Even as we conquer sin, we still sin, and therefore, we are always in need of Christ's justifying work. We are sinful and justified at the same time. Since we are justified, we are free of condemnation even as we are plagued by sin. Nevertheless, as we struggle against sin, it crumbles before the power of God and our thankfulness. Slowly but surely, over a lifetime, we walk in greater newness of life, utterly blessed to know God, to follow Jesus, and to know the love of Christian brothers and sisters. These blessings are so wonderful that the daily struggle against sin is, by comparison, a light and momentary affliction.
Questions for Discussion
1. Have you had periods in your life where you had a hard battle against sin? Have you given up the struggle against certain sins?
2. Have there been periods in your life where the struggle has not been so difficult?
3. Has God helped you defeat certain sins, hate, bad habits, and bitterness, and have you received the peace and joy that comes from knowing God's victory? Do you know others who have surrendered their lives to Christ, been delivered of sin and the devil, and received the joy of the resurrected life even in this life?
4. Do any of you need the laying on of hands for prayer and healing as we learned it in previous lessons? Do any of you need to confess any sins and receive forgiveness?
A personal comment: When I first became a Christian, over forty years ago, it took me a year-and-a-half of brutal struggle against sin and the devil before I could experience any peace. I did everything suggested in these lessons, and more, as will be described in future lessons. It was another three years before I received any sense of the love of God for me. I experienced this love after I learned that God justified me through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by relying on my own righteousness. Then, little by little, and over many years, God enabled me to work in his Kingdom. As we shall see, this Kingdom transforms everything into goodness, your life, your family, your community, and even the world. Working to bring about this Kingdom will bring you great joy.
In the beginning of the Christian life, the emphasis is often on being set free from sin and learning to walk in holiness of life. Once God has made some progress in healing your relationships with God and with those in your family, church, and community, he will begin to call you to work in his Kingdom. Then you will enter into the ministry that God has given you and fulfill the purpose for which you were created. The struggle against sin, and your need for justification, never goes away, but more and more, your emphasis will change, less on yourself, more on the utter joy of loving God and others and being loved by them. This is your inheritance. You can know God, walk with him daily, see Jesus face to face, hear his words, and enter into his glorious Kingdom. Let us end with a quotation from Paul and a prayer.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all?how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died?more than that, who was raised to life?is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:31-39)
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross that we might be always acceptable to you through faith in his glorious sacrifice. Help us always to hold to him by faith, and struggle daily against sin, that we might see you face to face and know the love that conquers all. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
In the next lesson we will review what we have studied and prepare for a time of thanksgiving.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
