21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— Romans 3
If our experience of grace isn’t everything I’ve been talking about, it’s because we have tried to take a short cut to it. Romans 3:21-25 is the Gospel.
I believe this is so because of the way Satan tries to chip away at the elements contained in these verses. See how he tries to drag the law back in. See how he tries to cast doubt on faith being enough. See how he tries to label only the “worst” as sinners. See how he tries to convince that nothing that’s free can be worth anything.
Perhaps these days Satan has been most successful in taking the universality of sin out of the equation. When we speak of sin at all, it always seems to be someone else’s sin. For years it was divorce, until that affected a majority. Now it’s homosexuality. These sins du jour are certainly sin, but they are placed front-and-center to distract us from the unpleasant truth that all have sinned and not just a bit. All are totally depraved.
Grace can only shine in its ultimate brilliance because it emerges from ultimate darkness. Therefore, Plantinga points out, we load up on bland and inoffensive modern worship practices , “seeker-sensitive” though they may be, at our own peril. Catchy praise choruses and positive-thinking sermons are crowd pleasers, but sometimes the praise bands drown out the sobering reality of sin—not “unproductive habits,” but sin—and the consequent demand for confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Jeremiah, David (2006-03-07). Captured by Grace: No One Is Beyond the Reach of a Loving God (p. 30). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Only the painful reality of our own depravity and our total inability to do anything about it can lead us to the cross and the process of confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Then on through faith to the glorious justification and righteousness that His blood bought.
If grace doesn’t see the greatest thing God has done for you, you may be looking at your “Christianity” through rose-colored glasses. Make sure you have taken the path that starts at your own depravity. It takes a recognition of personal sin to appreciate a personal savior.
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