You are free to use this gospel tract that I wrote up. Distribute it out to others as you please. I pray that this tract will prove helpful to your own ministry as you share the gospel with those around you.
Author crandallgl
Secure in Christ
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1
First things first! Let’s do a quick review. In chapter one of Romans, the gospel of Christ is presented to us. We learn from the first three chapters of Romans that we are sinners and cannot possibly save ourselves by our own “good” works. “For by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).
Then, we learn that God justifies every person that just believes the gospel of Christ. Every person that will believe that Christ died for their sins personally, was buried, and rose again the third day will be justified. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).
Then, Romans 5 explains that believers, being justified by faith, now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). We are no longer enemies of God. Instead, we are now His saints. Also, we’ve been given the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).
Then, Romans 6 declares for us that believers, who are justified by the faith of Christ and who have been given the Spirit, that they have been baptized into Christ. Therefore, we have been baptized into His death, buried with Him, and also risen with Him (Rom. 6:3-4). Therefore, we are dead to sin, but alive unto God through Christ (Rom. 6:2,11). Romans 6 tells us that we’ve died to sin. Romans 7 tells us that we’ve become dead to the law. We’ve been set free from both sin and the law, and joined to Christ.
Now we get to Romans 8. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” God justified us in Christ. God sanctified us in Christ. God gave to us the Spirit of His Son. Since we now are in Christ Jesus our Lord, there is now no condemnation to us.
“Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” He’s not saying that if we continue to do good works, then and only then will there be no condemnation to us. The Apostle Paul is simply describing for us those who are in Christ. 1) Those in Christ have no condemnation. 2) Those in Christ do walk after the Spirit. There is a condition that needs to be met in order to get into Christ. But, that isn’t our works. The condition is faith. If we believed the gospel presented to us in chapter 1, then we are in Christ.
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”
Romans 8:9-10
Romans 8:9-10 tells us that the believer is in the Spirit and that Christ dwells in them. They are for a fact in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God does dwell in them. How do you know if you have the Holy Spirit? If you have believed the gospel of Christ, then you do have the Spirit. Romans 5:1 says of the believer “being justified by faith.” Then in Romans 5:5 it says that the believer is given the Holy Spirit. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Compare Romans 5:5 with Galatians 4:6 and Ephesians 1:13.
When you believe the gospel, not only are you in Christ, but Christ is also in you. “And if Christ be in you” (Rom. 8:10). Christ does in fact dwell in you if you believed. Since Christ is in you (the believer), that means the body is dead. It’s dead because of sin. But, the Spirit (who also dwells in the believer) is life. The Spirit is life because of righteousness. Romans 8:10 is a good one verse summary of Romans 6.
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.”
Romans 6:6-8
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:2
When we trust Christ as our Savior by believing the gospel, our old man is then crucified with Christ. It is crucified so that the body of sin or the flesh might be destroyed so that we don’t have to serve sin anymore. We are set free from sin and joined to Christ, so that we may live with Him. That’s the law of the Spirit. The law of the Spirit says that we have life in Christ. It is life because of righteousness. God concluded all believers justified. Every believer is justified by faith, given the Holy Spirit, and joined to Christ. Since we have life in Christ, believers also have a blessed hope.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
Romans 8:14
“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”
Romans 6:3
The many who are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14) are the same many that are baptized into Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:4). These people are believers. Those who have trusted in Christ, who have believed that Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, are the same ones that have been given the Holy Spirit, baptized into Christ, and therefore are the same ones that are the sons of God.
Every believer has received the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15). The Spirit of adoption is leading each believer (each member of the Body of Christ) to the actual adoption that we happen to be waiting for mentioned in verse 23. “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”
The adoption of sons is our hope. Romans 8:29 says this. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” At the adoption, every believer will be conformed to the image of Christ.
This is according to the will of God. It is God’s will during the Dispensation of the Grace of God (Eph. 3:2) that man would be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). This is why he sent His Son. Romans 3:25-26 says that God set forth Christ to be a propitiation (satisfaction) in order to declare His righteousness. Christ is the propitiation, so that God may be just and the justifier of the person that will believe in His Son, Jesus.
It is God’s will to justify the person that will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, to sanctify them in His Son, and to give them the hope of eternal life by conforming them to the image of His Son. It is God’s will that we be presented perfect in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 1:27-28
“…always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
Colossians 4:12
It is God’s will that we be also glorified together with Christ. Romans 8:30 says “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
“…and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:2
“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:4
“Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2nd Thessalonians 2:14
According to Ephesians chapter 1, it is the will of God for believers to be chosen in Christ, so that we would be holy and without blame before God in love (Eph. 1:4). God predestinated us to the adoption of children or sons (Eph. 1:5; Gal. 4:5) “according to the good pleasure of his will.” Ephesians 1:6 continues to say that it was “to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” The last part of 1st Corinthians 1:21 says that “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
Therefore, to know that it pleases God to save us when we believe the gospel of Christ, we can also know the full assurance of Romans 8:31-39. Once we belong to God, redeemed by Christ’s blood, He will never let us go. No one can lay a charge against us, because it is God that justified us (Rom. 8:33). No one can condemn us, because it was Christ that died for us and is risen again, and is seated at the right hand of the Father (Rom. 8:34). No one can separate us from His love which is in His Son, Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39).
If you have not believed the gospel yet, do so now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. Believe and you will be saved and secure in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our Identification with Christ
“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Romans 6:3-4
While the first five chapters of Romans lays out for us our justification, chapters six through eight are about our sanctification. What does it mean to be sanctified? It simply means to be set apart. As saints we are set apart as holy or as “holy ones” unto God. We are set apart from this world. We may live in this world temporarily, but we are not of this world. For God has sanctified us by His Spirit. We are baptized into Jesus Christ by one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-13). Our bodies are the temple of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:17; 6:19). In Romans chapter six, the Apostle Paul tells us that because we are identified with Christ in His death, then we are also identified with Him in His resurrection. Knowing our identity in Christ, we then can know how we ought to serve God.
The end of chapter five and verse 20 said that, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Some will say that we should continue to sin so that grace abound. But Paul says at the beginning of chapter six, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein” (Rom. 6:1-2). When it says that we are dead to sin, that is a statement of fact. How can we that are dead to sin, live any longer in sin? The short answer is that we can’t. Now it is possible for us to dig up the past or to dwell on the past, and therefore continue to live according to our old lives. Therefore, it is possible to still sin and you will as long as we are still here on this earth in our old bodies. But the point that Paul is trying to make is that something happened to us when we believed the gospel of Christ. Romans chapter five talked about the difference between Adam and Christ. Those in Adam are made sinners and deserve judgment and condemnation. Those in Christ are made righteous and have justification of life (Rom. 5:18-19). Here in Romans six, it says we are dead to sin, but we are also “alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). Through or in Christ, we have new life and should go on living in that life.
The passage goes on to answer the question from verse two with another question in verse three. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” The fact that we, upon believing, have been baptized into Jesus Christ means that we were also baptized into His death. In other words, since Christ died, therefore, we died with Him. Baptism simply means identification. It doesn’t say that we were baptized in water. It says we were baptized into Christ and into His death. Verse four continues to say “therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). This is simply saying that we were baptized into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Compare Romans 6:3-4 with Colossians 2:11-12. Colossians 2:11-12 says, “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” Notice that our circumcision, burial, and resurrection are all by the faith of the operation of God. It was not by our doing. All we did is believe or trust in Christ and the cross. We’re circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. That is, made without human hands. The Jews, under the law, are called the “Circumcision in the flesh made by hands” (Eph. 2:11).
1st Corinthians 12:13 says, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” All believers are baptized by one Spirit into one body. The one body is the Body of Christ or the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). Galatians 3:27 says that all of us who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Ephesians 4:5 says that “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” The moment we believed that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day was the moment that the Spirit baptized us into Christ and therefore into His body. Therefore, since Christ died and rose again, then we too have died with Him and have that hope of being raised with Him. Romans 4:5 says, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”
Romans 6:6 continues on to say, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” In this verse, we have the old man and the body of sin mentioned. When a person talks about their old man in our day, they usually are referring to their own father. In chapter five, our old man is Adam. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). 1st Corinthians 15:49 says, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” It said that our old man is crucified with Christ. It was crucified with Him so that the body of sin, which is the flesh, might be destroyed or done away. The reason it should be destroyed is so that we should not serve sin. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). “But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14). In Galatians, we see both our old man and the flesh (or body of sin) being crucified with Christ.
First, we had to die before we could live with Christ. We had to be considered dead in order for us to be freed from sin. “For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6:7). Then verse eight continues, “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” Before Christ came, and therefore also the grace of God (Rom. 5:15), sin reigned unto death (Rom. 5:21). It had dominion over us. As Romans 7:5 says, “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.” And Romans 7:13 says that sin was working death in us by that which was good so that sin might become exceeding sinful. When we were in our flesh, all we produced was fruit or work unto death. “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death” (Rom. 6:21).In Romans chapter seven, Paul uses the illustration of marriage to illustrate his point that in order for us to be joined to Christ and to live with him, we first had to die to our old master (the law and sin). “For the woman which hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband” (Rom. 7:2). In verse three, it continues to say that “but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law” (Rom. 7:3). Romans 7:4 says of believers “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married [or joined] to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” So we died with Christ to be free from sin so that we may be joined to Him in order to live with Him as well. “Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him” (Rom. 6:8). Since Christ is risen from the dead, death no longer has dominion over him (Rom. 6:9). It therefore no longer has dominion over us either. We are to reckon or count ourselves to be “dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). We are to yield ourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead (Rom. 6:13).
The old no longer has dominion over us. The old man is crucified with Christ. Death no longer has dominion over Christ; because, He rose again from the dead. We believe we will live with him. We have been delivered from the law of sin and death. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). Where the wages of sin is death, the gift of God, on the other hand, is eternal life (Rom. 6:23). We’ve also been delivered from the bondage of the law of Moses. Galatians 3:25 says, “But after that faith is come we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” The law was our schoolmaster in order to bring us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). The faith in Galatians 3:25 would be specifically referring to the faith of Christ (Gal. 3:22). We were at one time “in bondage under the elements of the world; But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that are under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:3-5). We’re no longer in bondage. We’ve now received the adoption of sons, or at least we have received the Spirit of adoption and are waiting for the actual adoption (Rom. 8:15,23). Therefore Galatians 5:1 tells us to “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
Our old man is crucified with Christ. Our old man is put off. We have put on the new man, which is Christ and his body. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). In Romans 13:14, we’re told to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Ephesians chapter two explains that believers have been reconciled together in one new man or in one body (Eph. 2:15-16). Colossians 3:9-10 says, “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”
Therefore, because we are dead to sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:11), we then should not serve sin. Romans 6:12 continues on to say, “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Since God has given to us His Spirit (Rom. 5:5) and has sanctified us, therefore we should not let sin reign. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” The Holy Spirit, that we have dwelling in us, is able to quicken or make alive our mortal bodies. In chapter eight and verse three, the Spirit is the one that mortifies or puts to death the deeds of the body so that we may live. That is, the Spirit quickens our bodies and mortifies the deeds of the body or the flesh so that we may live for God or bring forth fruit unto Him (Rom. 6:22; 7:4). That way we don’t let sin reign and end up obeying sin (Rom. 6:12; 13:14; Gal. 5:16).
We were crucified, buried, and risen with Christ to be made free from sin and become servants of righteousness. “Being then made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness” (Rom. 6:18). We are to yield ourselves and our members (parts of our body) as instruments of righteousness unto God, and not as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin (Rom. 6:13). When we were servants of sin, we were free from righteousness and our fruit was unto death (Rom. 6:20-21). “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Rom. 6:22).
In conclusion, those of us who have believed the gospel of Christ (that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day), have been baptized into Jesus Christ. We were sanctified or set apart as holy by one Spirit into one Body. We got the Holy Spirit when we believed the gospel. It was the Spirit that then baptized us into Christ. We are also baptized into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, every believer is dead to sin. Our old man is crucified with Christ. But, we are also alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are risen with Christ. We’ve been set free from sin and joined to Christ, so that we could have eternal life in Him and be made servants of righteousness.
If you haven’t believed yet, do so now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! Believe that He died for your sins on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day and you will be saved. Not only will you be justified, but you will also be sanctified in Christ Jesus our Lord and identified with Him.
The Results of Justification
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:1-2
God has revealed His righteousness to us through the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16-17). He offers it to all as a free gift. Everyone that will have faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection will be justified. Justification simply means one who is declared righteous. To be made righteous is to be right (or to be in the right) in the eyes of God. It is to be made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). The world does the opposite of believing. Instead, the world holds the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). In other words, they hold it in their own works that are not right. Therefore, unbelievers aren’t declared righteous. Romans 3 declared that none of us are righteous and none of us do good (Rom. 3:10-12). How then could any of us be righteous? The answer is in Christ. Romans 3:22 says, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.” Christ fulfilled the righteousness of the law. He is righteous and does good. Those that will take God at His Word and believe in His Son that He died for them, will receive, as a gift from God, the righteousness of God. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, to declare God’s righteousness, so that God may be just and the justifier of the one that believes in Jesus (Rom. 3:25-26). Romans 4 declares for us that righteousness is reckoned to those who believe Him, not to the person that works. So, now what? What does it mean to be justified by faith? What are the results of justification?
First, since we believed God (that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead), we are now justified or declared righteous. The result of our faith in God is justification. We were declared righteous in Christ.
Second, now that we are justified by faith, we now have peace with God. We are no longer enemies of God, treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath (Rom. 2:5). We have been reconciled to God. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10). God did His part when He was “in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Cor. 5:19). God sent His Son and He fully paid the price for our sins and declared the righteousness of God. His work is finished. It is complete. He left us with the word of reconciliation to take to the world and beseech people (literally beg people/pray that people will believe) that they would individually reconcile themselves to God (2 Cor. 5:19-20). The way that people do that is to believe the gospel. When we believe the gospel, we become reconciled to God in one body (Eph. 2:16). We become joined to Christ (to the Body of Christ). “For he [Christ] is our peace, who hath made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14). “Having abolished in his [Christ’s] flesh the enmity” (Eph. 2:15) and the end of verse sixteen says, “having slain the enmity thereby.” It was by the cross that He made peace (Col. 1:20). We have peace with God the Father because He sees us in His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Third, not only do we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord, but we also have access into the grace that we stand in. Our standing in Christ is perfect. It’s complete. “And ye are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10). We are justified by faith. We have peace with God. We stand in the grace of God. God has made us to stand in His Son. We have the hope of the glory of God; and therefore, we can rejoice in that (Rom. 5:2). We are reconciled to God. We are no longer in Adam, but in Christ (Rom. 5:12-21). All believers have that hope of being delivered or “saved from wrath through him” (Rom. 5:9) and “shall be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10). According to 2nd Thessalonians, God has “chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and the belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:13-14). Colossians 3:4 says, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
However, our present state is still here on this earth. We are still waiting for the Son to appear in the air and for us to be caught up to meet Him there (1 Thess. 4:13-18). That’s why God has also given us the ability to access “into this grace wherein we stand.” We access by Christ and by faith. It’s, of course, by Christ that we have access in the first place. But then we have access to the grace of God anytime by faith. Since we are justified by faith, we then also access what we have in Christ by faith too (cf. Gal. 2:16,20). “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Ephesians 5:18 tells us to, “be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” Then, in Colossians 3:16 we’re told “to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” 2nd Timothy 2:15 tells us to study the Word of Truth rightly divided so that we may be approved workman. 2nd Corinthians 6:4 tells us that we should be approving ourselves as the ministers of God. Study the Word, hear it, and then believe it. That’s how we access what we have in Christ. And as we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7) we are then able to access what we have in Christ, in order to help us as we wait for the the Lord to come back, so that we can be those approved workman that God wants us to be.
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Romans 5:3-5
Therefore, Romans 5:3-4 continues on to say that we also glory in tribulations. Why? We know that tribulation works patience, patience works experience, and experience works hope. As we wait to appear with Christ in glory, we are to glory in tribulations right now. Tribulations help us to know Christ more. Philippians 3:10 says, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death.” We’re told to have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5). Christ died for sinners; and, He died for His enemies (Rom. 5:8,10). We are to forgive others just as Christ forgave us (Col. 3:13). “Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not” (Rom. 12:14). Paul rejoiced in his sufferings that he suffered on behalf of the church, the Body of Christ (Col. 1:24). Therefore, we too should rejoice in the sufferings that we go through, especially if it might further the gospel (Phil. 1:12). “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8). All of this doesn’t mean that we have to be looking for tribulation all the time. Just know that if we live godly (and we should), we will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). We will be faced with tribulations and temptations. But, what tribulations do is to teach us to be patient. The Thessalonians had “received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost”(1 Thess. 1:6). They had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:9-10).
Patience then produces experience. Like with pretty much everything, experience is the best teacher. In learning a new skill or craft, learning by trial and error is often best. Through experience we learn how to do something better the next time. We learn what things to avoid. Tribulations are for us to test ourselves, and for God to test us. Now, we can be thankful that we will be saved from the wrath to come and don’t have to go through the Tribulation that Israel is to go through. That will be a time of testing for the Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). That time is called the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7). However, even in the Dispensation of the Grace of God we still suffer tribulations. It’s still a testing, but nothing like what Israel will go through. Now, it’s important to note concerning our perfect standing in Christ that we are already approved unto God. It happened the moment we believed the gospel. As Ephesians 1:6 says, “wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” But, concerning our present state as we wait for the Son, we are to be presently, like Paul did, approving ourselves as the ministers of God. And we are to do it in all things. The “all things” are reference to all the tribulations/sufferings we might go through (the “all things” listed in 2 Cor. 6:5-10). In Colossians chapter one, Paul rejoiced in his sufferings for the sake of the Body of Christ (Col. 1:24), so that he would accomplish what God called him to do, which was to “make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). He was willing to suffer in order to make this mystery known to us in order to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:28). If we do what God has called us to do in this Dispensation of Grace, which is to preach the gospel and the mystery (or secret) of the gospel (Eph. 6:19) in order to present every man perfect in Christ, then we will be approved ministers of God in our own ministry as we wait for the Son. We are to be presenting the gospel so that more people may believe it and be made perfect in Christ the moment they first trust Christ as their Savior. We will be able to say in the end like Paul did in 2nd Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
Experience then produces in us hope. It gets us to remember and rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ. Our hope can help us to stop focusing on our ourselves while on the earth and instead, it can help us to focus our attention up above. “Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1-2). God has provided us a way to escape each temptation that we face (1 Cor. 10:13). Hope is defined for us in Philippians 1:20 as an “earnest expectation.” It’s a guarantee. While he gives us a way to escape each temptation right now, ultimately that way of escape is when we are caught up to meet him in the air. We can earnestly expect this to happen. For God is faithful! This hope makes us not ashamed. Why? It’s because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us (Rom. 5:5). We have both Paul and Abraham as our examples of not being ashamed. Paul declared in Romans 1:16 that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He knew that it is the “power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Abraham wasn’t ashamed of God’s promise to him. It says that he believed God (Rom. 4:3) and “against hope believed in hope” (Rom. 4:18). God has shown His love towards us when He sent us His Son to die for us. When we believed the gospel, we received hope. We received the Holy Ghost. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6; cf. Eph. 1:13; Rom. 8:9-11). This hope makes us not ashamed, because concerning our standing in Christ we know that we are made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). We know we’ve been reconciled to God; and, we know that we are complete in Christ and made perfect (Col. 1:28; 2:10). In Christ, we have justification of life (Rom. 5:18).
The rest of Romans chapter five explains for us the difference between being in Adam versus being in Christ. Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Adam sinned, and then we all sinned. We are all sinners. Therefore, death passed upon all men (mankind). Since Adam sinned, therefore “many be dead” (Rom. 5:15), and so “the judgment is upon all men to condemnation” (Rom. 5:18). But the good news is that through another man (the Son of God), that is Jesus Christ our Lord, came to us eternal life. In verse 15 it says that the grace of God and the gift (justification), which came by grace, came by Jesus Christ. The person that receives “abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17). Verse 19 says that many shall be made righteous because of Christ. We are taken out of Adam and put into Christ at the very moment we first trusted in Christ as our Savior. Knowing who we are in Christ, that we are justified by faith and have life in Him, that will help us to serve God as we wait for Jesus Christ our Lord to appear again.
In conclusion, because we believed God that He rose Jesus Christ from the dead, we then are now declared righteous before God. We are justified by faith. Since we are justified, we then also have peace with God. We are no longer enemies. We’ve been reconciled to God. It’s all because of Christ. It’s through what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross that we can have eternal life in Him and with the Father. We also have access by faith into the grace that we stand in. Knowing that we stand in Christ before God as justified, His grace will help us to serve Him as we wait for the Son from Heaven. We learn to glory in tribulations, knowing that it produces patience, and patience produces experience, and experience produces hope. We learn to keep preaching the cross and the mystery (that is the one Body), because it’s what gave us our hope in the first place. It’s the word of reconciliation that God has given to us to make known to the world so that more people may believe it and be made perfect in Christ. Hope makes us not ashamed, because what God has promised to us (the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2-3)), we know that He is able to perform. Let all of God’s saints rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
If you haven’t believed yet, do so now. Believe that Jesus Christ our Lord died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. If you believe, then you will be justified by faith. If you believe, you will have peace with God and will be able to rejoice with other believers in hope of the glory of God, because you will be made perfect in Christ.
The Solution
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.”
Romans 3:21-22
The gospel of Christ is the good news that Jesus Christ our Lord died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. The righteousness of God is revealed in it (Rom. 1:17). From Romans 1:18 to 3:20 we see the problem that mankind has when they try to go about establishing their own righteousness. We learn that we cannot save ourselves. Everyone has sinned against God and has come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). The world is just treasuring up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Rom. 2:5). We would all be doomed if it wasn’t for the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem again was that we have all come short of God’s glory, because we are all unrighteous. We don’t have righteousness. God’s righteousness was revealed in the law, but none of us could keep the law.
We learn that the main purpose of the law was to give the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20). Galatians 3:19 says, “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” Romans 3:19 says that it was given so that “every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Galatians 3:23 says, “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith that should afterwards be revealed.” Romans 3 has the idea of shutting or stopping our mouths. We have no defense before God. We’re all guilty. Galatians 3 has the idea that we were shut up or confined under the law like in a prison or enslaved to the law. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The law was added until the seed or the faith should come. The faith is, of course, referring to Jesus Christ our Lord (referring to the faith of Christ). The law was added to “bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). What the law couldn’t do (that is, to set us free), God did by sending us His own Son to condemn sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us (Rom. 8:3-4). Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of God, is the solution to our problem.
God has revealed His righteousness in a different way today. In Romans 1:16-17, it said it is revealed in the gospel of Christ. Here in Romans chapter three, it says God has revealed it without the law. “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested.” This means that it was revealed apart from the law. The next verse also says that God has revealed it by faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of Christ speaks of the faith belonging to Christ. It’s the faith that belongs to Him, comes from Him, and that is in Him. We’re not talking about our faith yet. Christ is faithful. In other words, He is full of faith. All three of these statements are saying that the righteousness of God is revealed to us through the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is revealed to us through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
His righteousness is offered “unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Rom. 3:22). It’s offered to all, but only those who believe will receive the gift of righteousness. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile today in the Dispensation of the Grace of God (Eph. 3:2). Anyone can believe and be justified by faith. We have all sinned and come short of His glory. Therefore, He has offered His righteousness to all. He’s offered it as a free gift. Romans 3:24 continues to say of believers, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The word freely simply means “without a cause” (cf. John 15:25). When we believe the gospel of Christ, we are justified freely or without a cause. There was no cause for us to be justified in and of ourselves. But when we believed in what Christ did for us, it says we were justified freely. It was a free gift (justification) that we didn’t deserve. But that’s why it’s a gift. That’s why it is by God’s grace. And it’s all through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It’s all because of what Jesus Christ our Lord did for us on the cross on our behalf by dying for us.
Once again, this gift is offered to all. That is, both Jews and Gentiles. Romans 3:25-26 says, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” God the Father has set forth His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the propitiation or the full satisfactory payment for our sins. Christ paid for all of our sins (the sins of the world). “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). We deserve death, because we have sinned against God. But, Christ fully paid the price for all of our sins, so that we may have life in Him, when we believe in Him. Paul has two declarations in this passage. The first one is that Christ was set forth as a propitiation in order to declare God’s righteousness “for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” The second declaration is to declare God’s righteousness “at this time.” Christ’s death on the cross paid for the sins of the people that lived prior to Christ, as well as paid the price for all of our sins today. God put up (forbearance of God) with the sins of the past, knowing full well that His Son would come and satisfy the payment for those sins. Acts 17:30 says, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” He has declared His righteousness through the cross of Christ, so that He may be just and the justifier of the one that will believe in Jesus. This is why we can conclude of the saints of the past, who were under the law, that they too are justified by faith. We conclude today that anybody who believes that Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose from the dead is “justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28). Romans 3 concludes by saying that God is both the God of the Jews and the Gentiles (Rom. 3:29). He will justify both the circumcision and the uncircumcision, if they believe (Rom. 3:30).
Romans chapter four explains for us that the righteousness of God has come to us through the righteousness of faith. “For the promise, that he should be heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13). The Apostle Paul uses Abraham as an example to explain how God’s righteousness came to us. Once again, it didn’t come through the law. If Abraham was justified by works, then he would have reason to glory (not before God though) (Rom. 4:2). Instead, verse three says that “Abraham believed God, and it [his faith] was counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3). We see in this chapter that righteousness was reckoned to Abraham by faith and while in uncircumcision.
First, Abraham believed God. Romans 4:5 says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Righteousness is given to the person that doesn’t work for his salvation, but simply just believes God. It is reckoned to the believing person as grace (as a gift from God). Romans 4:17-21 explains Abraham’s faith in detail for us. God had promised to Abraham that he would be the heir of the world, and the father of many nations (Rom. 4:13,17,18). He said back in Genesis 12:2-3 that “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” He said to Abraham in Genesis 15:18 “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” In Genesis 17, God promised that Sarah would bear him a son and shall call his name Isaac (Gen. 17:16,19). He trusted that God could quicken (or make alive) the dead and call those things that be not as though they were [alive] (Rom. 4:17). Romans 4:18 continues to say, “Who against hope believed in hope.” In other words, while it seemed to be beyond all hope Abraham still believed God. He knew that God had the power to quicken the dead. Verse nineteen says, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.”
Second, we also learn that righteousness was reckoned to Abraham when he was uncircumcised (Rom. 4:9-12). “How was it then reckoned? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision” (Rom. 4:10). Verse eleven tells us that that he received the sign of circumcision which was a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcisied. He had the righteousness of the faith before he was circumcised, so that he may be the father of all them that believe whether they be circumcised or not. This was the case so that righteousness might be imputed to even those who are uncircumcised. Therefore, Abraham is the father of both the circumcised and the uncircumcised (Rom. 4:12,16). When we believe the gospel of Christ, we become baptized into Christ, circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, and risen with Him (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:11-13). We are also sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13; Rom. 5:5; Gal. 4:6). The Holy Spirit is our seal today, not the sign of circumcision (circumcision made with hands (Eph. 2:11)).
If it was by the law, then what?
If Abraham was justified by works (Rom. 4:2), if he did receive the promise through the law (Rom. 4:13-14), and if they which are of the law be heirs (Rom. 4:14), then two things would be true. First, faith would be made void. Second, the promise would be made of none effect. “For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect” (Rom. 4:14). If we could be justified by our own works, then it wouldn’t matter if we had faith or not. The only thing that would matter would be if we truly kept the law. If we kept it, then righteousness would be reckoned to us as a debt (Rom. 4:4) and we would be heirs. But, as we’ve already seen in the book of Romans, we cannot keep the law. There is therefore no way for us to be justified by our works. We all deserve death. But thanks be unto God that He didn’t give Abraham the promise through the law, but instead he gave it to him through the righteousness of faith. Galatians 3:18 says, “For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.” It was through the righteousness of faith and by the promise of God, so that He could accomplish what He set out to do through His Son. By the faith of Christ, we now can have eternal life when we trust Christ as our Savior.
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”
Romans 4:20-21
The verses above is one of the best, if not the best, definitions we have on the word faith or what it means to believe. Believing God means trusting in Him, being fully persuaded, that God will perform that which He has promised to do. According to Galatians 3:16, we know that the promises were made to Abraham and his seed (which is singular, not plural). That seed is Christ. God performed His will through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When the Scriptures spoke of the faith of Christ in Romans 3, we learn that Christ Himself fulfilled the Father’s will. He came and fulfilled the law (Matt. 5:17). He kept it perfectly. Then He died for our sins (because we didn’t keep it), fully paying the price for our sins, and rose again from the dead. Christ condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us (Rom. 8:3-4). He did all that in order to declare the righteousness of God, so that God the Father may be both just (in dealing with our sin) and be the one who justifies the person who will believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Therefore, believers are now justified by faith because we belong to the promised seed. We belong to Christ. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29). Righteousness is imputed to us also, when we believe the gospel (Rom. 4:22-24). “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
In conclusion, the law was given to show us that we are all sinners. We’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But the good news or the gospel is that Jesus Christ our Lord died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. He fully satisfied the just payment for our sins by shedding His own blood on the cross on our behalf. God has revealed is righteousness through the faith of Christ, his work on the cross, so that we may be justified by faith when we believe what God has done for us. He offers it to all, both Jews and Gentiles, but only those that believe will be justified. His righteousness is reckoned to the believer by faith, by grace, and even if that person is uncircumcised. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15).
Again, if you haven’t believed yet, do so now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). Believe that He died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day for your justification (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 4:24-25). Believe and God will justify you.
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