Sermon Notes - Romans 3:21-31 - God Stepped In - Littleby Baptist Church - September 22, 2024

1.        The verses we last looked at were some of those that reminded us that we are all sinners.

a.        Whether we would have grown up with the Law or not.

b.       We have fallen short.

c.        We are guilty.

d.       No one is righteous.

e.        None of us have sought God as we should have.

f.          Left to our own.

g.        Without faith in Christ.

h.        We have all turned away.

i.          Paul walked through how our words can easily lead us astray.

j.          It normally does not stop there.

k.        It is a slippery slope.

l.          Words tend to lead to actions.

m.     Things that may have just hurt us and our relationship with God at first, ultimately end up hurting others.

2.        Paul laid all of this out for us.

a.        The OT Law is there to help us understand that we are sinners.

b.       We are sinners.

c.        That we need a Savior.

d.       Thankfully Jesus died for us.

e.        Thankfully He is offering a gift of New Life through His sacrifice.

f.          All we have to do is accept it.

3.        We are picking up at:

4.        Romans 3:21

a.        ‘But Now’… things have changed.

b.       The OT Law condemned.

c.        There was no way humankind could save itself.

d.       But now, things are different.

e.        ‘The righteousness of God has been revealed’…

f.          It is no longer something only found in the Words of the OT Prophets.

g.        It is no longer something that we are looking to the future for.

h.        It is no longer someone we longed to see.

i.          God’s righteousness has been revealed!

j.          Things have changed!

k.        We have seen it!

l.          A time has come that the Prophets had foretold.

m.     A transition from judgement through the Law to a time of Salvation through the Grace of God.

n.        The Time Has Come!

5.        Romans 3:22

a.        Righteousness through faith.

b.       Not a bunch of rules.

c.        Not following the OT Law and sacrifices.

d.       Righteousness is found through faith in the one only Jesus Christ.

e.        Trusting in Jesus.

f.          Turning to Him.

g.        Repenting of our sins and choosing to follow Him.

h.        We are forgiven of our sins.

i.          Our debt is paid in full.

j.          We are made a new creation.

k.        We become Holy or set apart.

l.          We become righteous.

m.     Not that we are perfect.

n.        But as children of God with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we begin the Sanctification process.

o.        We begin to grow closer to our God.

6.        The verse ended with… there is no distinction.

a.        The process is the same for Jew and Gentile.

b.       Heritage does not matter.

c.        What we have done, the amount of sin in our lives… does not matter.

d.       Our God forgives us when we come to Him and repent and turn our lives over to Him.

7.        Romans 3:23

a.        No matter how ‘good’ we may think we are… we have sinned.

b.       No matter how ‘bad’ someone is… they have sinned.

c.        Without Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will be sent to the left with the goats and cast into the lake of fire because of our sin.

d.       Even if we are a good person.

e.        We are sinners.

f.          Every person who has, is, or will walk this earth is a sinner, except Jesus.

g.        We fall short of the Glory of God.

h.        We fall short of God’s standard.

i.          We suppress His truth.

j.          We don’t stay focused on Him.

8.        Romans 3:24

a.        ‘They are justified freely’…

b.       There is nothing we can do to earn the Grace we are being offered.

c.        It is a gift.

d.       One that cannot be attained through works or the law.

e.        It is attained through faith.

f.          A gift of grace.

g.        A gift made possible through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on that cross.

h.        Ephesians 1:7-8

i.          It was His blood that paid our debt in full.

j.          It was His sacrifice that made us Holy.

k.        A gift of Grace that we do not deserve.

l.          One that we can never pay for.

9.        Romans 3:25

a.        God Presented – God stepped in…

b.       God knew that we could not save ourselves.

c.        He knew that something had to be done.

d.       We were completely lost without His intervention.

e.        We need God’s help.

f.          We have fallen short of His Glory.

g.        Sin is part of who we are and there is nothing we can do about it.

h.        We need God to step in.

i.          And that is exactly what He did.

j.          He knew that we could not save ourselves.

k.        We are lost without His intervention.

l.          So, He took action.

m.     John 3:16-17

n.        Offering up the perfect atoning sacrifice…

o.        Read Romans 3:25 starting at “an atoning…

p.       The perfect sacrifice.

q.       Showing Grace, so that people would repent.

r.          Remember Romans 2:4

s.        God’s desire is that we would repent of our sins.

t.          Not face the eternal judgement that will come if we do not.

10.   Romans 3:26

a.        God is righteous and cannot be around sin.

b.       Yet, He loves us and wants to spend forever with us.

c.        What was He to do?

d.       Being a righteous God, He had to judge us for our sins.

e.        Being a loving God, and His desire to be with us drove Him to act.

f.          So, He sent Jesus to die for us.

g.        He provided a way to pay the price of our sins and allow us to spend forever with Him.

h.        Only God could do this.

i.          Only He could declare a sinner righteous through the only perfect sacrifice, our Lord Jesus.

11.   Romans 3:27-28

a.        There is nothing to boast about.

b.       Our ancestry does not save us.

c.        The Law does not save us.

d.       Our works does not save us.

e.        We are saved or justified by our faith in Jesus.

f.          Apart from that we are lost.

g.        We come to Jesus as broken sinners and He gives us… Salvation, Grace, Hope, Righteousness, and Life.

h.        Not because we earned it, but because we have faith in Him.

i.          Because of His Work… nothing we have done justifies it of us.

12.   Romans 3:29-30

a.        A couple of weeks ago we looked at a verse from Isaiah.

b.       Isaiah 49:6

c.        The Jewish people were to be God’s messengers to the ends of the earth.

d.       The God of the Old Testament may seem like He was the God of the Jewish people, but He is the God of the Jew and Gentile alike.

e.        This is easily confirmed from what we read in the New Testament.

f.          But it is true in the OT even if the Jewish people did not follow God’s leading.

g.        This was reenforced with Jesus’ sacrifice as His gift is for all, Jew and Gentile alike.

h.        Jesus’ gift is for anyone and everyone, all that have to do is repent and believe.

13.   Romans 3:31

a.        Paul just said that we are saved by faith, not by the Law or Works and here he says the Law is not nullified.

b.       Sounds a little contradictory.

c.        Paul is not saying that the Law needs to be followed as a commandment like in the OT times.

d.       The sacrifices are no longer needed.

e.        Circumcision is no longer needed.

f.          What Paul is saying is that the law is a guide, but let’s flip to chapter 8.

14.   Romans 8:1-4

a.        The Law is ultimately fulfilled by Christ followers walking according to the Holy Spirit.

b.       Letting the Holy Spirit guide us in this life.

c.        The OT Law was given to Sanctify the people, if they could follow it perfectly.

d.       The Holy Spirit is working in us to Sanctify us.

e.        As He is at work in us the law is fulfilled.

15.   As we sit here this morning, we may have something in our lives that we are wondering if God is at work.

a.        We may wonder if God can handle the situation we are dealing with.

b.       If He can handle our sin, our struggles, our pain, our challenge.

c.        Romans 3:25… ‘God presented him’… God stepped in.

d.       God provided a solution to our sin problem.

e.        One that addressed the sin of the world.

f.          If He can address the sin of all of creation.

g.        He can handle our individual sin, struggles, pain, or challenge.

h.        He can handle anything on our plate.

16.   As we close in prayer this morning… I want to encourage you to let God step in.

a.        If you want to pray about it, the altar is open.

b.       If you have yet to repent of your sins and turn your life to Jesus and would like to do so, the altar is open.