How can God possibly declare me to be ‘a righteous man’? Paul wrote about himself in I Timothy 1:13, ‘Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.’ He adds in verse 15, ‘Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.’ Paul knew that he was an undeserving sinner and we know the same about ourselves. SO, HOW CAN GOD POSSIBLY DECLARE US ‘RIGHTEOUS’?
For all of us, (for Romans, for you and me, for Jews and Gentiles, and for Paul himself) Paul wrote to the Roman Christians to explain the gospel’s impact for our spiritual lives. Romans 3:21-26 is a key text explaining HOW we can be RIGHTEOUS in the eyes of God. Paul says in vv. 23-25, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.’ There are deep concepts about salvation explained by Paul in these three verses.
This article will examine one of those deep concepts. REDEMPTION!!! The word Paul uses is the word s (English apolutrosis). In New Testament times, it was a word from the world of slavery. It means ‘to be set free from a situation where one is powerless to liberate oneself.’
You can almost imagine one standing on the auction block—being sold to the highest bidder. His life will not be his own. He will do the bidding of his master. If somehow, the one who purchased the slave decided that he was paying the asking price for the slave in order to set him free, that is the concept of redemption. Paul says this is precisely what happened to us as sinners. We stand guilty before God. We stand undeserving. But, even though we have fallen short of God’s glory, God presents Jesus as ‘a sacrifice of atonement’ on our behalf TO REDEEM US. He pays the price that sets us free from our bondage to slavery. As an old Christian song says, ‘He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away. Now I sing a brand new song ‘Amazing Grace’, because Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.’
The gospel is good news—it is great news—it is amazing news. Because of our redemption in Jesus Christ, I am righteous in the eyes of God.
Prayer: God, help me to live every day with a sense of awe because You have provided the means for me to be righteous before You.
Terry Brown
Abilene, Texas
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