In verse 23, Paul had just reminded us that all people have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God - paralleling what he has also said previously throughout Romans, that all men are condemned in their natural, lost state.
In these verses today, Paul provides the answer to the problem that we have as lost humans. These verses also give us a clear, biblical answer to the question that has been "debated" for many, many years throughout history: "What is salvation, and how do we obtain it?"
Keep in mind the audience being addressed are "all people that have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".....
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
"by his grace as a gift" is translated in the KJV "freely by his grace" - these do not differ in their meaning, both declare free grace, a gift of God.
I think it will help to make sure we have a solid understanding of the key words in these verses, words that we sometimes read over without really understanding the depth of what they mean.
justified: to render just or innocent, free, be righteous, to acquit.
grace: unmerited favor, a gift that can't be earned.
through: denotes the channel of an act, how something is provided.
redemption: ransom paid in full, salvation, deliverence
With these definitions, we can read verse 24 with a deeper understanding of what is being said.
We are justified (we are made just, innocent, and free, we are acquitted of our guilt) by His grace (by the unmerited favor of God, that can't be earned) as a gift, through (this indicates the path through which the free gift of justification is offered) the redemption (the path to justification is through a ransom that is paid in full) that is in Christ Jesus (this is where our redemption lies, he paid the ransom we couldn't afford).
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith
In this first part of verse 25, Paul is talking now about Jesus Christ - the one in which our redemption lies. Again, there are some words that we need to fully understand.
put forward: to place before, to exhibit/display, to propose
propitiation: atoning victim, to appease/satisfy
to be received by: same Greek word as "through" in verse 24, channel of an act.
faith: assurance, belief, reliance.
These definitions now offer a clear understanding of what this first part of verse 25 says:
whom God put forward (placed before us, exhibited to us) as a propitiation (as an atoning victim, whose purpose was to appease/satisfy God's wrath in our place) by His blood, to be received (the path through which we can receive this propitiation) by faith (declares the only way Christ's blood applies to us, if we have assurance, believe, and rely on the fact that it is the only means by which we are saved).
Paul took a lot of time driving home the point of man's sinfulness in the previous chapters. We need to realize who we are in our natural, lost state. We are purely evil, unbelievably arrogant, hopelessly pathetic creatures - content to flail around in the darkness of our own sinful lusts.
When we realize how evil we were, to the depths of our heart, mind, and soul - we can't argue what we deserve. Yet, God responds in mercy, offering us the opposite of what we deserve -
He declares us innocent of our sinfulness - justified - by an act of pure grace, that has nothing to do with anything we did, are doing, or will do, but is instead offered freely, as a gift. This free gift of acquittal is offered through a ransom that has been paid.
We must not forget that, while our justification is free to us, acquittal for our sins comes at a very high cost - it's a payment that we could never afford.
Jesus Christ was our ransom, He paid in full the debt for our sins that we could never afford. He was put forth to shed His blood, to satisfy the just anger of our Father over our sinfulness. Oh, what a wonderful, sad, amazing, sorrowful thing this is! And how does this ransom become applied to our debt? Through faith, believing, relying on the truth that this amazing sacrifice - made on our behalf - is sufficient alone to wash us white as snow in the eyes of our Father.
The ransom is paid in full!
The song "Amazing Love" has some amazing lyrics that really lay out the gift we have been given.
I'm forgiven, because you were forsaken
I'm accepted, you were condemned
I'm alive and well, you're spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be
That you my king would die for me
I'm accepted, you were condemned
I'm alive and well, you're spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be
That you my king would die for me
How many kings would be publicly humiliated, tortured beyond recognition, then killed, in order to set their people free? That takes amazing love!
Our problem laid out in verse 23 was that we are all condemned, due to our sin. The answer to this problem is that God provided to us, as a gift, justification through the redeeming blood of Christ - we simply need to have faith that the blood of Christ has the power to do what God says it does!
The clear, biblical answer to the question: "What is salvation, and how do we obtain it?" is laid out in these verses as well. Salvation is being justified, being redeemed, having our ransom paid in full by our Savior Jesus Christ, so that we can have a restored relationship with our God - both now and for eternity! It is obtained by faith in His blood alone!
It's important that we continue step back from our busy schedule and look at what God has done in light of who we were. The more we understand who we were, and the more we understand the power of the sacrifice made for us, the more we will live our lives full of gratitude - desiring to give God the glory He deserves for the mercy and grace He displayed!
I would love to read any thoughts on these powerful verses!
Next Post: 3.13.13
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