“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 2^nd 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.” 2^nd Timothy 2:15 tells us to study the Word of Truth rightly divided so that we may be approved workman. 2^nd 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 2^nd 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.

“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.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.“

Romans 1:18

The problem lies with ourselves. God is a holy and righteous God. Therefore, he demands nothing short of perfection when it comes to His righteousness. He revealed His righteousness in times past through the law. He said in chapter two of Romans and verse thirteen that you must be a doer of the law, not just a hearer if you wanted to be justified. But, the problem is that none of us are righteous (Rom. 3:10). None of us do good (Rom. 3:12). Therefore, the wrath of God abides on every sinner, who believes not (John 3:18,36). All of our works are unrighteousness. We find ourselves in a dilemma. “How should a man be just with God?” (Job 9:2) The solution is of course through Jesus Christ our Lord. But the problem is that people refuse to believe in Christ and what He did for them on the cross. The problem is that the people of this world continue to hold the truth in unrighteousness.

There is a difference between the wrath of God being revealed and the day it will be poured out upon the earth. We know what God’s wrath is against. However, the day that God will execute His wrath is still yet future. Romans 2:5 says “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and righteous judgment of God.” They are treasuring up for themselves wrath against that future day of God’s wrath. Today, God is dealing with men by His grace.

What is the wrath of God revealed against?

According to Romans 1:18, the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. In other words, it’s revealed against all of man’s works, which are filthy (Isa. 64:6). Titus 3:5 tells us that we are saved “Not of works of righteousness which we have done.” Romans 3 shows us the contrast between being justified by the works of the law and being justified by faith. The conclusion we see in that chapter is that no flesh shall be justified in His sight by the works of the law, but only those who believe will be justified. While we may think of our works as good and righteous, the reality is they are seen as ungodliness and unrighteousness. Why is that? It is because all that we do in our flesh is done under sin (Rom. 3:9). Sin is working in the person’s flesh to produce works that are ungodly and unrighteous. The flesh, because of sin, produces only fruit unto death (Rom. 6:22).

What is the truth that unbelievers are holding in unrighteousness?

The verses prior (Rom. 1:16-17) spoke of the gospel of Christ. Paul spoke of how God’s righteousness was revealed in that gospel. The truth in this context would be the truth of the gospel of Christ. God has just told us His way of how to be justified. The world, instead of believing God, decides to do things their way. The world tries to establish their own righteousness by their own works, while under the influence of sin. God sees their works as unrighteousness. God sees what they do as holding the truth in unrighteousness. Instead of letting the truth of the gospel go out into the world, so that people may hear it and believe it, they are holding it or suppressing it. They are doing it in their own unrighteousness. They are doing it by their own works.

Paul explains this further by looking back at creation. What do we learn? What is happening today, is really no different than what happened in the past. God had revealed his truth to mankind through His creation. That truth primarily involved two things. That is, His eternal power and Godhead (Rom. 1:20). An example of His eternal power and Godhead can be seen in the creation of man. God made man in His own image (Gen. 1:26). He created us from the dust of the earth and breathed life into our nostrils and we became a living soul (Gen. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:45). Paul tells us that “forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (Acts 17:29). Since we were created in the image of God, then we know that we’re not created of gold, silver, or stone. We weren’t made by art or man’s device. So, why then would we think that the Godhead is like gold, silver, or stone made by art or man’s device? Here in Acts 17, the people at Athens ignorantly worshiped the true God (Acts 17:23). They knew God (had knowledge that there is a God), but they didn’t truly know who the true God is. More than that, God didn’t know them. Believers, on the other hand, knew God and they are known of God (Gal. 4:9). He didn’t recognize them as His sons. Therefore, they were not quickened (made alive) in Christ. They were still in Adam.

(In 1^st Corinthians 15:45, it tells us that “the first man Adam was made a living soul.” God breathed life into man’s nostrils; therefore, man was created. But then man fell by sinning against God. Adam sinned; therefore, sin entered the world and death passed upon all men (Rom. 5:12). The rest of 1^st Corinthians 15:45 says that “the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” In Adam, everyone was made a living soul. We all sinned. Therefore, we all have a need for a Savior to reconcile us back unto God. That person is the Son of God, who is Jesus Christ. God raised Christ up from the dead, who was “delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). He became a quickening spirit. In Christ, those who believe in Him are quickened (made alive) as well. Believers are alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:11). Christ made in himself one new man (Eph. 2:15). We are a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore, because believers are sons of God, God has given to us the Spirit of His Son into our hearts and we are known of God (Gal. 4:6-8).)

It says that “they knew God, but glorified him not as God” (Rom. 1:21). Even the people at Athens, during Paul’s day, had an altar with an inscription on it that read, “To the unknown God” (Acts 17:23). They knew that there is a God, but just didn’t glorify and worship the right one. Instead, the became “vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” They had “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man” (Rom. 1:23). And they “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Rom. 1:25). In the past, man took the glory of God and made it like unto a corruptible man. In other words, they made it like unto themselves. They brought God’s standard of glory down to their level, so that they would seem to be righteous in their own flesh. Not only are they changing the truth of God into a lie, but they are also making God Himself a liar as well (1 John 1:10; 5:10-12). They went through a lot of effort just so that they could judge among themselves and could appear to be righteous by their own works. The world continues do this.

Nothing has changed. The world is still the same (and even worse). God has now revealed the truth of the gospel (this time the gospel of Christ). He has revealed to us how we may be saved and justified in His sight by simply believing in what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us. But what does the world do. It does what it has always done. They keep on holding the truth in their own unrighteousness. They keep changing it into a lie, and therefore, they continue to make God a liar. They let every man be true in their own mind, and let God be a liar. They do it by changing the truth into a lie, and by serving the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). They serve themselves, instead of just believing in God. God has given us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, we can have eternal life. All we have to do is believe. Believe that He died for your sins personally, was buried, and rose again the third day and you will be saved. God will freely give His righteousness to you, if you will just believe. “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).

What is the standard by which God will judge men?

Romans 2:2 says “But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.” The judgment of God is according to truth. That is, the truth of the gospel. The truth that they hold in their unrighteousness. The chapter continues to say that God “will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). Then in down in verse sixteen it says “in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” God will judge the world according to their own deeds, their own secrets, their own unrighteousness. He will do it by Jesus Christ. He will do it according to the gospel of Christ. The world who holds the truth (the truth of the gospel) in unrighteousness, God will judge them because they believed not the truth.

What is each person treasuring up unto themselves that God will judge them for in the future?

“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.“

Romans 2:5

Every unbeliever, who holds the truth in unrighteousness, because of their hardened heart is treasuring up unto themselves wrath. Then there will come in the end that day of wrath where God will judge them. All of the world’s works are ungodliness and unrighteousness in God’s eyes. It is just building up in each person, continuing to harden their hearts towards God. One day God will judge them. God doesn’t force anyone to do anything. God has always given us two choices. Like with Cain and Abel, the choice is either to bring the fruit of your own labor or believe God. In Abel’s situation, believing God meant bringing an animal sacrifice for his sins. In our case today, believing God means believing that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again for our justification.

For all those that decide to bring the fruit of their own labor, God will judge you according to that. He will judge you according to your works. And the punishment will be the second death (the Lake of Fire, or Hell). Your fruit or work may be good (in your eyes), but if it was done under sin, then God considers it fruit unto death. The things you do in the flesh are done without faith. It’s faith that pleases God (Heb. 11:6). You’ll be condemned to Hell, because you decided not to believe that God had revealed his righteousness through Jesus Christ. It’s because you decided to hold that truth in your own unrighteousness thinking that you could establish your own.

Stop thinking that you can get to Heaven by your own works. Start believing in God instead. Believe that Jesus Christ died for all of your sins, was buried (buried your sins away forever), and that he rose again the third day. Believe and you will be saved. If you believe, then you won’t have to worry about treasuring up wrath against that day of wrath any more. That’ll be because you will be made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). You’ll be at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).

Who’s guilty?

All of us. The beginning of Romans 3 concludes that there is “none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). The law was given so “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). “Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). Again, stop thinking that you can save yourself. Instead, start trusting that God sent His Son to die for your sins and rise again for your justification. Believe and you will be saved. If you believe, then you will be justified from all things (Acts 13:39).

God has given us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, we can have eternal life. All we have to do is believe. Believe that He died for your sins personally, was buried, and rose again the third day and you will be saved. Trust Him! God will freely give His righteousness to you, if you will just believe. “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.“

Romans 1:16-17

When we study the Bible, the Word of God, the first thing that we must all come to an understanding of is the gospel (good news). If we don’t understand the gospel and believe it, then the rest of our study won’t really matter. The gospel is the most important doctrine that one can learn. Why? It is the most important, because it is what saves you. From our passage above we will set out to answer four questions. First, what is the gospel? Second, why is it the power of God unto salvation, not the power of man? Third, how is the fact that the righteousness of God being revealed significant? And lastly, why is it important that we believe this gospel, the gospel of Christ?

What is the gospel of Christ?

The gospel of Christ is that Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the Son of God, died on the cross for our sins (the sins of the whole world), was buried, and rose again the third day. Romans 4:24-25 says, “But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered up for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” 1st Corinthians 15 is the most clear. It says in verse one, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, wherein ye stand.” It continues on in verses three and four. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” Romans 5:8 tells us that “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 8:3-4 says that God sent His Son to condemn sin the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. Christ Jesus our Lord died for all of our sins with his own blood, and rose again so that we can have eternal life with God. He died for us, so that we could be declared righteous (or justified). The gospel is the solution to our problem.

Why is it by the power of God?

The gospel is the solution to our problem. What’s our problem? Well, we are sinners and cannot possibly save ourselves. The Apostle Paul in chapters one through three declares for us that all of us are guilty before God. Romans 1:18 starts out by telling us that the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. It says in verse 28 and 29 that God gave us up to our reprobate minds because we didn’t retain God in our knowledge, and that we were filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, etc. Chapter two starts out by saying that we are inexcusable. Then, Romans 2:5 says that we are all treasuring up unto ourselves wrath against the day of wrath. None of us can save ourselves or each other. If we could be saved by our own power or strength, then we would each have reason to boast in our own self (Romans 4:1-2). Also righteousness would be reckoned to us as a debt, not of grace (Rom. 4:4). This would be OK, if we actually could keep the whole law by our own works. But, the trouble is that we can’t keep the law. We’ve all come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). So, it needs to be and can only be by the power of God. It is God’s power that raised Christ from the dead. Can you raise yourself or someone else up? Man doesn’t have the power to do that.

• “If we believe on him [God the Father] that raised up Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 4:24).
• “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Rom. 6:4).
• “But if the Spirit of him [God] that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you” (Rom. 8:11).

The preaching of the cross, it says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, is the power of God to us who are saved. But, to them who perish it is complete foolishness. “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). The conclusion is that even the foolishness of God (which is the cross) is wiser than men. God is far more wiser than men. God used the foolish things, the base things, and the things that are despised to bring to nothing the things that are something (1 Cor. 1:28). He does this so that “no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Cor. 1:29). If we are to glory, then it should be in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31). So when God’s Word says that “no flesh shall be justified in his sight” (Rom. 3:20) and that we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” then we should believe it. When He says that He will save us if we just believe in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, then we should just believe him. Instead of trying to go about establishing our own righteousness (Rom. 10:4) we should just believe him, and let God save us. We need to be justified in His sight according to His way (not our way). God has revealed His righteousness to us, apart from the law, and through Jesus Christ Himself. He has revealed it freely by His grace (Rom. 3:24). It is a free gift. We don’t deserve it. But He gives it to us, if we will simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

How is the righteousness of God being revealed in the gospel significant?

The fact that we cannot possibly save ourselves, but that God has revealed His righteousness in the gospel of Christ is very important. What we couldn’t obtain ourselves, God has revealed it to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. “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” (Rom. 3:21-22). By nature we are ungodly and unrighteous sinners. “By one man sin entered, and death by sin” (Rom. 5:12). Isaiah 64:6 says “all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” And Romans 1:18 said that the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23a). God demands perfect righteousness. God is holy and righteous. He told Israel that they needed to be holy, because He is holy (Lev. 11:44-45). God also tells us today that we are to “present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1) (this is, of course, after we’ve believed). We are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:17; 2 Cor. 6:17). In Romans 2:6-13, Paul tells us that God will judge every man according to their deeds or works. “Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul that doeth evil” (Rom. 2:9). “But glory, honour, and peace to every man that worketh good” (2:10). “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (2:13). But the problem, as we’ve already addressed, is that we don’t work that which is good (Rom. 3:12). We work ungodliness and unrighteousness. We’ve come short of His glory. We are sinners. Therefore, no flesh can be justified in God’s sight. But, the good news is that God has revealed His righteousness through Jesus Christ our Lord. All we have to do is believe!

Why is it important for us to believe?

The righteousness of God is revealed without the law, or apart from it. It is revealed through Jesus Christ. It’s revealed by the faith of Christ. Those who believe in Christ and what He did for them will be justified by faith. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28). Believers are “made the righteousness of God in him (Christ)” (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, believers have the hope of eternal life, not death (Rom. 5:15-21; 6:23; Titus 1:2). According to Romans 5:2, we now “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” The same glory that we came short of in chapter three is now what we’ve obtained and look forward to when Christ, who is our life shall appear (Col. 3:4). We’ve obtained it by the our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those who don’t believe are still lost, spiritually dead, and under sin (2 Cor. 4:3-4; Rom. 3:9). Unbelievers are still treasuring up for themselves “wrath against that day of wrath and righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5). They will be judged according to their deeds and Paul’s gospel, the gospel of Christ (Rom. 2:2,6,16). Believers, being justified by faith, now have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). We are no longer enemies of God. God will still judge our works too, but while our bad works are burned up we at least will be saved (1 Cor. 3:15). Unbelievers, on the other hand, will be burned up with their works. It is important to believe that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead. That way you can be “saved from wrath through him” and be “saved by his life” (Rom. 5:9-10).

In conclusion, the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes it. God has revealed His righteousness through it. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot be justified in our own flesh by trying to do the law, because we are sinners. We can’t save ourselves. We have broken God’s law. The good news is that Jesus Christ, who is perfect, came into this world to save sinners. He came to die on the cross for our sins and rise again from the dead, so that we can have eternal life in Him. All we have to do is believe.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day and you will be saved (Acts 16:31; 1 Cor. 15:3-4).