Romans 3:27-31
Faith as what most of us would define is placing hope in something unseen. Paul says that true faith is in God’s work of salvation offered to us through the death and resurrection of Christ. Faith is believing in Christ the saviour and that He will carry out what He had promised. Faith has 3 basic elements; knowledge, moving of the heart and trust and commitment. We first come to know about Jesus and his work. Then we make the choice of believing and allowing the gospel to touch us personally. Many in the world who know the gospel do not believe in it, or worse, think that they believe in it when it actually means nothing to them. When Christ has taken root in the heart, we make that commitment to him. This is where Luke 9:23 takes place. We yield to Christ and go beyond the line from belonging to ourselves to becoming Christ’s disciples.
In these 4 simple verses, Paul states that justification by faith strictly excludes boasting. Firstly, boasting comes from pride, and pride is the greatest of all sins. One example is the tax collector vs the Pharisee. The tax collector in humility confessed his sins and admitted that he needed mercy and salvation. The Pharisee on the other hand, went to God and said “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” (This account is found in Luke 18:11-12)
Does any of what the Pharisee said sound familiar? How many times have we boasted to God about a ministry we’re in, a talent we have, the number of verses we have memorised, the amount of good deeds we have done or even the number of people we brought to Christ? Worse, some of us might even be boasting about our secular qualification, our high-paying jobs, our accomplishments in school or in our career. Be warned because this is not just seeking the approval of man but demanding approval from God. The Pharisee thinks he is deserving because he is a ‘better’ person. But salvation comes from the grace of God and not from any accomplishment so that no one is superior over another.
Are we like the Pharisee or the tax collector? Are we proud or do we recognise our wretchedness in the eyes of God? (Remember Phil 2:3)
Since we are justified by faith, does it mean that the commands of God are invalidated? We all know the answer is a “no”. Faith does not nullify the law but faith upholds the law. This is further explained in the later chapters. The law is meant to keep us holy and protect us from evil. We are called to be holy, to be set apart for God and the law is God’s standard for holiness. It is however a standard we failed to meet and thus need salvation. Jesus met the demand by suffering the law’s penalty in our place. Jesus was an atonement or propitiation for sin, so that God demonstrates his justice and justifies those who have faith in Christ. As such we are given righteousness of Christ from God as those who are justified by grace through faith.
