The Sunday of the Reformation (NTA)

Romans 3:19-28

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰ For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

It is a very simple system. It appears in many schools. You get so many strikes or break the rules so many times, and then you get kicked out. God only had one rule. Adam and Eve broke that one rule, and now all of us are sinful creatures. For some reason, we already start with more than enough strikes to get kicked out.

No human being will be justified by the works of the law. The Law reveals our sin. The Law is the short story pointing how we have fallen. Many times the Law comes to us as a friend with encouragement, but desiring to turn on us and bury us. It can not help us remove our check marks, or filth.

God put forward or sent his only begotten Son Jesus Christ into the world to redeem the world from sin. He came to ransom your soul from those check marks or strikes. He pays the price for our crimes. He dies in our place. Jesus is the Justifier. We are all under the Law, but you are forgiven of all your sin.