First Christian Church

By Bruce Humes

Pastor

The apostle Paul in his letter to the Roman believers wrote: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19, NKJV).

God, in his sovereignty, provided his people the Mosaic law to live by, but we also see in other parts of the Bible “that every mouth (meaning Jew and Gentile) may be stopped (without excuse)” as well as “all the world may become guilty before God.” The Greek meaning for “guilty” in this Scripture is “under sentence, condemned” so we see through the Mosaic law, we all are under sentence, condemned.

Paul continues in Romans 3:20 by saying,“Therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” These laws were not given to justify us in the sight of God, but to bring us to an understanding or knowledge of sin.

Think of it like this, we can look into a mirror to see how dirty our face is, but the mirror can’t clean our face. Or we can use a thermometer to check our temperature, but the thermometer can’t do anything for our fever. In both of these examples, we need something else to wash our face or reduce our fever. Likewise, the law convicts of sin, but is of no value in saving us from sin.

Paul tells us in verses 21-24 the thing that will give what we need: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.” We see that the law did nothing to save us, but in this verse, we see the righteousness of God being revealed through a plan that would do what is needed, and the witnesses were none other than the Law, which through its sacrifices foretold us of the need for blood atonement, and the prophets who prophesied of the coming savior.

Moving to verse 22-24, Paul writes, “Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” It’s through our faith, meaning our utter reliance on Jesus as our savior, that frees us from sin. Paul continues with “to all and on all who believe.” The phrase “to all” means it is offered to, available and sufficient for all. But is only “on those who believe” through their act of faith. It’s clear from God’s word that we all have fallen short of the mark God has set for us. We can’t be justified by the works of the law, so God in his grace, mercy and righteousness sent a redeemer to pay the full price for our redemption. In writing to the Galatians, Paul put it like this: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13 NKJV).

These scriptures can bring comfort to those who believe since Jesus did for us what the law could not do.

If you want to speak to someone at the church or if you have a need, call the church office at (562) 431-8810. Leave a recorded message, and someone will get back to you as quickly as possible.