Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Romans 3:21-25, 27,28
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  June 14, 2020

Today begins a summer-long look at the Book of Romans, one of the most doctrinally rich books of the Bible. Paul, writing to a people he’d not yet met, wanted to lay out the Christian faith for them. In his letter to the Romans, it’s almost as if Paul is teaching them a Bible Information Class. So this summer, we’re going to take Paul’s class–Romans 101–and look at the Christian faith one word at a time. 

I want you to envision the teachings of the Bible like a wheel, an old-fashioned wagon wheel. Those kinds of wheels were full of spokes that supported the outer part of the wheel and all those spokes connected to a hub at the very center of the wheel. For the wheel to function properly, to remain strong and round, you need all of the spokes to remain connected to the hub. If you take out just a few of the spokes, the wheel will start to deform, become wobbly, and eventually break down.

All of the different teachings of the Bible are like spokes in the wheel. There is not one that is unimportant. There is not one teaching of the Bible that you can take away without weakening the Christian Faith. That’s why Jesus said last Sunday, “And by teaching them to keep all of the instructions I have given you.” That means we don’t major in the majors and minor in the minors. That means we don’t declare unity when we agree on the “big” teachings while agreeing to disagree on the “little” ones.

All that being said, all of the teachings of the Bible are connected to the hub. If you lose the hub, the rest of the faith is gone. And so it’s certainly appropriate today that we begin with the hub, the heart and core of the Christian Faith. The word we’re going to focus on today answers the question that is at the heart of every religion. It’s the question that is deep in the heart of every human being, whether they want to admit it or not. The question is simply this: How do I make myself right with God?

Whether you are willing to admit it or not, whether you fully recognize it or not, this question bothers you. But how you answer the question is the key. This is the hub of the Christain Faith. And thankfully, Paul gives us the answer here in Romans chapter 3. Let’s see what Paul has to say to us today. 

“But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it.” Right here, in verse 21, we come across our first big word–righteousness. And while that word is connected to our question today, that’s really the result of becoming right with God. And we’ll be focusing on that word next week. However, for our purposes today, we want to focus on the process, not the result. So, how do I make right with God? Before we dig into what Paul says, first we need to look at all of the wrong answers to the question. Every single one of us naturally gravitates to the wrong answers. If the question is: How do I get right with God? Any answer that starts with: “You must…” is automatically going to be wrong. Yet, that is exactly where we want to start, isn’t it? Why? Because that’s pretty much how we answer every other question. How do you change a tire? “You must…” How do you mow the law? “You must…” How do you eat healthier? “You must…”

How do you make right with God? “You must…” I can already tell you that what follows will be the wrong answer. However, usually, one of two things follows. In order to get right with God you must…be a moral person or you must…be a religious person. But folks, being moral or being religious doesn’t get you right with God.

Does that mean we are against morality? Are we against being religious? If you’re talking about as a way to get right with God, then yes, absolutely! Morality and being religious won’t get you right with God. Let me show you why.

Many people believe this: “God is good, so he loves good people.” So they think: “I’ll try and be a better person and God will love me.” Morality is being a better person. If you try to make yourself right with God through morality, you’ll either end up depressed or proud. Depressed because you’ll fail to be moral or proud because you had some successes in morality. But whether you’re depressed because you failed or you’re proud because you seemingly succeeded, you still failed. Trading failure for pride, which is sin, is simply trading one sin for another and no closer to God. Morality doesn’t work. 

So how about being religious? What does that even mean? Going to church, serving at the church, saying your prayers, reading your Bible, giving your offerings. If you do those things, will you make yourself right with God? If you think that way, you’re not alone. There was another group of people who thought exactly like that, and they were really good at carrying it out…the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They were the most religious people around. They were so religious that when they read in the Old Testament that God demanded a tithe, ten percent of their possession, they actually went to the spice cabinet and pulled out the oregano and the basil, the pepper and the parsley flakes too, and divided out 10% of each and took them to the temple as an offering! I have no idea what any of you give as an offering to the Lord, but none of you are parsing out your spices! Your religiosity, however great it may be, still doesn’t approach that of the Pharisees.

And then we hear Jesus say: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” There is no way! More religious than the Pharisees? Impossible! And that’s what God is saying to you today. Whatever your level of religiosity, it’s not enough. It doesn’t meet God’s standard. It’s not enough.

How can I make myself right with God? You can’t. Self-righteousness doesn’t get you right with God. Paul says in verse 23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Morality is not the answer. Being religious is not the answer. So how can I be right with God? There is hope! The answer is not found in you, though. Listen to Paul. “But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it.” A right standing with God is possible! And it comes from God! It comes apart from the law–moral or religious. So how do I get it? 

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe.” The righteousness we need to be right with God doesn’t come from us and what we do. It comes from trusting another. It comes from trusting in Jesus. Why? Why does it work this way? 

“In fact, there is no difference, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God publicly displayed as the atonement seat through faith in his blood.” And there it is, our big word for today–Atonement. I want you to look at the word atonement in verse 25. I want you to imagine that there’s a big slash between the first “t” and the “o”, and another slash between the first “e” and the “m”. You now have three separate words that really tell us what atonement means. At-one-ment. And really, isn’t that our question today? How do I get right with God is the same as saying, “How do I get at-one with God?

Adam and Eve severed the oneness they share with God when they listened to the lies of Satan. At that moment, they became God’s enemies. They were no longer at one with him. The only way that they could be at one with God again is if somehow, someway, satisfaction was made for the wrongs that had been done, the injuries that had been inflicted. We’ve already seen that satisfaction is not possible from our end. But God had a plan. He had a plan to redeem us, to buy us back from the slavery Adam and Eve had thrust us into. That plan was Jesus. God presented him as the sacrifice of atonement. Jesus was the satisfaction necessary to right the wrongs. Jesus lived the perfect life that was necessary to be at one with God. Then he offered that perfect life for us, in our place, to atone for the sins of the whole world. By shedding his blood for us, Jesus made us at one with God again.

How do I make myself right with God? I can’t, but Christ did. This is the hub of the Christian Faith. Every other doctrine hinges on this truth that God made us at one with himself again through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. And all of this is a free gift of God’s grace, the exact opposite of what we deserved. And it’s because of this sacrifice of atonement that our status before God is justified, not guilty. We are right with God. 

“What happens to boasting then? It has been eliminated. By what principle—by the principle of works? No, but by the principle of faith. For we conclude that a person is justified by faith without the works of the law.” My dear Christian friends, I really pray that you are moral people. God wants us to let our light shine before men so they may see our good deeds. I really pray that you are religious people, that you’re involved at Church, hearing God’s Word regularly in worship, studying your Bible, giving your first fruit offerings. I pray that you are those things because you are so thankful for your atonement. Those things are not reasons to boast. Those things do not make you right with God. But, because of the gift of faith, because of God’s work of making us one with him again, because God has declared you not guilty, that’s why you are moral. That’s why you are religious. Because you are so grateful for all that God has done, you will respond by doing his will and staying connected to his Word. 

Folks, this is the heart and core. This is the hub. Everything else we’re going to look at this summer is connected to this truth. Jesus made the all-sufficient sacrifice to make you at one with God. He gives you that sacrifice as a free gift. Because of that sacrifice, you are right, you are one with God. AMEN