Opening Prayer
Lord, teach us to believe Your justifying grace. Amen.
Text: Romans 3:23-28
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, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Devotion
How many glorious statements God has given us regarding the justification of sinners! How comforting and strengthening for our heart! When I believe in Christ, I am “justified,” that is, God accounts to me Christ’s merit and considers me to be righteous, as if I had never sinned. This was the opposite of what I deserved, for I have sinned and deserve eternal punishment. Yet God revealed His righteousness by forgiving instead of punishing, for Christ suffered the punishment and atoned for us by His blood. God’s righteous judgment was carried out on Him instead of us. This is the law of faith, given in God’s eternal plan: 1) that Christ takes the place of all people, so that His sacrificial blood avails for all and means that all have suffered for their sins; and 2) that all who believe are one with Christ and for His sake are considered righteous by God, so that no one can accuse them and nothing can condemn them.
God shows His righteousness: 1) by punishing sin, so that not one sin is left unpunished. Even that which through the ages He patiently tolerated is all punished according to the strict rule of righteousness. The punishment was laid on Christ: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2Co 5:21), and He has paid it to the last bit. God shows His righteousness: 2) by declaring everyone who receives Christ’s merit to be righteous. How could it be any other way, since Christ is perfectly righteous? Those who would still accuse and condemn believers have to deal with the righteous God Himself, for they deny and insult God’s righteousness. But if anyone takes credit for his own justification, as if he had faith by his own doing, or as if his faith were a meritorious deed, that person despises the right of faith and falls back under the condemning law of works. Let this stand firm before our spirit and be a sure rock of our salvation: “They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Closing Prayer
Give us the light of Your Holy Spirit, our gracious God, so that from the bottom of our heart we acknowledge that we have sinned and fall short of Your glory, and let Him enlighten us concerning the blessed law of grace and truth, our justification by faith in Jesus’ blood, so that from our whole heart we believe in it, find comfort in it, and thus receive everlasting salvation. Amen.
Hymn
This I believe – yea, rather,
In this I make my boast,
That God is my dear Father,
The Friend who loves me most;
And that, whate’er betide me,
My Savior is at hand,
Through stormy seas to guide me,
And bring me safe to land.
I build on this foundation, –
That Jesus and His blood
Alone are my salvation,
The true eternal good:
Without Him, all that pleases
Is valueless on earth;
The gifts bestowed by Jesus
Alone my love are worth.
Gerhardt: If God Himself be for me L 225:2-3 ELH 517:2-3 tr. R. Massie;
tune: Ist Gott für mich