Notes on Romans from a Message Preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 4 Verses 13 to 25: Justification by Faith: Is the Beginning Not the End Justification by faith begins a life of faith It takes us beyond what we can grasp here and now It is a way of looking at the world, of understanding our life, of dealing with problems, of living for Christ in a world hostile to faith in principle and hostile to Christ in Person There is a great danger and a great temptation in the life of the believer once the great truth of justification by faith is grasped to look upon salvation as something which is now passed and is in the past, and now I can get on with my life as I please. We can then become connoisseurs of ministry, enjoying the meetings and preaching but going away unaffected and unchallenged by the Word of God, because we’ve already done salvation! We’re saved now and so that’s the end of the matter! Justification by faith is not the end of the matter it is the beginning of the matter! The Gospel is:

1. A hope which I embrace
2. A relationship which I enjoy
3. A reality which I live for

• The Scope of Gods promises (4:13-14)
• The Certainty of Gods Promises (4:15-16)
• Our Standing in Gods Promises (4:17)
• The Seed and the Substance of Gods Promises (4:16-18)
• The Strength of Gods Promises (4:19-20)

The Scope of Gods promises (4:13-14)

“Heir of the world” (v13) At a time in Abraham’s life when he did not even possess the land under his tent God promised him everything under the sky! Might say that property was not Abraham’s strong point! Herds and oxen and cattle yes (Gen12:16) but property no By the end of his life all that he owned of the land God had promised was the grave in which he had buried Sarah. Here is a consistent theme of Gods dealings in grace with men:

• When God will choose a man to go before Pharoah He chooses Moses: “10And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 12Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say” (Ex4:10-12)
• When God will choose a man to face the Midianites, he will choose Gideon, a farmer and not a soldier, “15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. 16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:15-16)
• When God would choose a man to lead and rule a nation He would choose a Shepherd boy “6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep” (1 Sam 16:6-11)
• When Christ would call 12 disciples He would call fishermen not theologians!
• When God chose an evangelist for the gentile world, who better to chose than a man totally opposed to the gospel, a persecutor of Christ! Run that one past me again! Ah well you say God didn’t really chose him for that calling, he converted him to that calling: “15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace”

The promise of God to Abraham “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13; cf. Gen 22:17-18, massively outstripped the experience of Abraham up until that point. Why is Abraham described as “our Father” (Rom4:1,12,16) and why are believers even today referred to as the “children of Abraham” (Gal3:7) Was he the first man ever to have faith? No, ever before Abraham exercised faith there were men like Abel, Enoch and Noah, all recognised for their faith! What was so distinctive about Abraham? Was it not the quality of the faith which he exercised? “Who against hope believed in hope,” Romans 4:18. Faced with so many obstacles, so much to contradict the convictions of faith, so many problems in opposition to Gods promises Abraham believed and he kept on believing! Abraham allowed his expectation to go beyond his experience! Abraham’s vision extended beyond the horizon of natural experience! “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world” (Romans 4:13) – how much of the world do you have? Well the ground under my tent! “Father of many nations” (4:17) – up until age 86 how many children do you have? Approximately? Give or take 1 or 2? Approximately 0! What about your wife? Aged 76 and never had any children! Then in the next 13 years, up until aged 99 years – 1 son to a slave girl! Do you ever think the Devil whispered in his ear: ‘get real Abraham’ or ‘come on Abraham, face reality,’ or ‘face the facts Abraham’ or ‘is it not about time you started to take things into your own hands Abraham’? On more than one occasion that was precisely what did happen: Consider the tension with Sarah his wife: “And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife” (Gen 16:3) – 10 years she had waited, was that long enough? Had Sarah had enough after 10 years? Had there been tension there between Sarah and Abraham for 10 long years? Consider the temptation presented to Abraham by the King of Sodom (Gen 14:21-23), that would increase Abrahams inheritance a bit wouldn’t it? It would give him a start? Consider the testing of Abraham (Gen 22) – just when he begins to make progress with Gods promises, he has a son, now he is to take that boy and offer him on the altar! Surely God is mocking you now Abraham. Abraham was a man whose faith could not be shaken, whose trust in his God could not be broken. Abraham allowed his expectation to go beyond his experience! By faith Abraham attained the unattainable! Faith takes the handbrake off of God’s inheritance. If works could never have earned the inheritance that Abraham gained what about the believers inheritance in 1 Peter 1:4-5? How could works ever earn an inheritance like this? The believer’s inheritance: “ἄφθαρτος” – incorruptible – used of the character of God: Rom1:23; 1 Tim1:17 “ἀμίαντος” – undefiled “ἀμάραντος” – fadeth not away The believers inheritance in 1 Peter chp 1 is “ready to be revealed” (1:5), that which is revealed in 1 Peter 1:7 is the person of Christ! If a man could never earn the inheritance of the world how could anyone ever earn Christ as his inheritance? Two great truths in 1 Peter chapter 1, the opening chapter of an epistle that has so much to say regarding the trials and testing and turmoil of the Christian experience and the “trial of your faith” to believers going through the fiery furnace of affliction as did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo of old:

1. 1 Peter 1:18 – I belong to Christ because He has bought me, He has purchased me, ‘I am redeemed and I know it full well’
2. 1 Peter 1:4 – Christ belongs to me! ‘I am His and He is mine forever’! Our inheritance is “in Christ” (Eph1:3,11,14) , our inheritance is an “eternal inheritance” (Heb9:15)

Two great truths in 1 Peter chapter 1, the opening chapter of an epistle that has so much to say If God desires me to enjoy Christ and to have an inheritance in Him, this is truly something that would never be possible by works. Some things you could work for in life: new watch, maybe new car, perhaps eventually pay off the house! There are some things, it doesn’t matter how much I might work for them I could never earn them: Buckingham Palace, the Taj Mahal! When preaching the gospel we often point out that Gods standard is too high to reach (Rom 3:23) and so it is. In chapter 4 we see that Gods salvation is too great to Deserve It was faith and it inly could be faith that would bring Abraham into a salvation of:

• Infinite potential
• Limitless possibility
• Eternal prospect
• Unimaginable power
• Unbreakable promises

Works could never earn a salvation of this magnitude! Gods salvation was too great to earn!

The Certainty of Gods Promises (4:15-16)

The fulfilment of Gods promises are certain – for they rest upon Him and not upon us. Not upon our works but upon faith in Him If the fulfilment of Gods promises in salvation rested upon us neither David nor Abraham would have gained salvation! To gain such an inheritance could only ever be on the basis of faith No amount of good work or self effort could ever have brought Abraham into an inheritance of the world!

Our Standing in Gods Promises (4:17)

The Seed and the Substance of Gods Promises (4:16-18)

The promises given to Abraham did not germinate and come to fulfilment until much later on, many of them, not until after his death. 1st Isaac, then Jacob, then Jacob's 12 boys and then 12 tribes by those 12 boys after 430 years of captivity in Egypt and then about 2000 years after that the birth of the promised seed in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The fufillment and germination of Gods promises went beyond the limit of a lifetime: "many nations" (4:17) "many nations" (4:18)

The Strength of Gods Promises (4:19-20)

The power, not mine, God was able to work even with a dead man (4:19)! God’s strength brings life from the dead! God’s strength brings liberty from our own liability! We can all make excuses, God looks for great expectations rather than great excuses! Because Gods promises are fulfilled by Gods power the Glory is all of God: "giving Glory to God." (4:20)

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

Notes on Romans from a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 4 Verses 1 to 8: Justification by Faith is A Full Salvation

1. Righteousness is Credited (4:1-5)
2. Sin is Cleansed (4:6-8)

2 Errors of Mark 10:17-31:

1. Salvation is Deserved: “what shall I do that I may inherit...” (10:17); “all these have I observed” (10:20)
2. Salvation makes no Demands: salvation ultimately makes the demand of discipleship (Mk8:34), implicit in saving faith is that I see the need for salvation and implicit in this is repentance from the way I was going. Faith in Christ means turning away from sin, Satan and self.

Often emphasis the 2 sides to a sinner coming to Christ: repentance and faith:

1. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Act 20:21)
2. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” (Heb 6:1)

“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mar 1:15)

They are of course part and parcel of the same thing

1. Repentance: “μετανοέω” - a change of mind:
2. Turning to Christ in faith is Turning form sin

Repentance from sin is implicit in faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ One of the reasons that justification by faith alone does not mean I can be saved and still live as I please! Right from the start faith in Christ demands and implies repentance from sin!

Justification by Faith is a Full Salvation: 2 Aspects to this Full Salvation: answering to to faith and repentance Pervading Judaism and there in Mark chapter 10 was the idea that when it comes to salvation you get what you deserve Abraham was often presented as an example of this – he got what he deserved: served God from age 3 years kept the law before it was written The 1st of 7 men responsible for bring the Shekinah glory into the tabernacle Only righteous man in his generation Abraham's path to salvation was very different form the way many Jews imagined it to be:

• Called out not from perfection to follow God but form idolatry: “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.” (Jos 24:2-3)
• At times marked by incomplete obedience (Gen11:31; 12:5), not until Terah dies does Abraham fully obey the commandment of God and move out of Haran! Is it possible that Abrahams disobedience resulted in the death of Terah to bring Abraham to obedience? It is a feature of Abrahams life that: Abraham's obedience brings blessings to multitudes and Abraham's disobedience brings problems to those around him (cf. Pharaoh in Gen 12)
• At times imperfect faith was: Gen 12:10 doubted Gods ability to meet his need in famine conditions; he went down to Egypt. A minor matter? A reasonable decision? One made without consulting the Lord! Reasonable, rational, responsible but but not guided by the Lord. Did it matter? from that he gained flocks from the flocks strife developed between Abraham and Lot, the strife resulted in the separation of Abraham and Lot as a consequence Lot went down towards Sodom as a result Lots daughters were born and brought up in Sodom as a consequence of this Lot when he was rescued from Sodom was alone in a cave with 2 girls educated and indoctrinated in the ways of Sodom. the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters resulted in the Moabites and the Ammonites (Gen 19:37). It was the Moabites and the Ammonites who oppressed Israel for years and it would be Ammonite and Moabite wives that Solomon would one day take to himself, they would bring in idolatry to the nation of Israel and ultimately the removal of the Kingdom (1Kings11:1ff). In other words that simple step of 'minor' disobedience ultimately was responsible for the greatest attack that Abraham's descendants experienced on gaining and enjoying the promises of Gods covenant with Abraham! How important to be obedient in every step for Christ! Not only that but in Egypt Abraham gained a servant girl Hagar from whom came Ishmael and the Arab nations and Islam, who to this very day hate and attack Israel! It is so often the small, the apparently inconsequential decisions of life that have huge consequences for the future. The path and the journey through life takes a lifetime of decisions and directions and determination and walking yet the briefest of decisions at one of lifes crossroads can profoundly change the direction of life forever! There may only be a few steps of a difference between turning right and left but they completely change my direction. The difference between faithfulness and failure may only be the difference of 2 or 3 footsteps. A simple, sensible but not spiritual decision to move from famine to food can spell disaster in the longer term.
• At times interrupted communion (Gen12:8; 13:4) – no altar in Egypt?
• At time inadequate appreciation of Gods purpose (Gen15:2)
• At times impatience with Gods timing and Gods methods (Gen16:1-5) – Abraham knew it was wrong (Gen16:5)
• An incomplete appreciation of the power and ability of God (Gen 17:17-18)

So was Abraham saved because he was perfect?

Was Abraham justified by works? (Rom4:2) Abraham was justified by faith (Gen15:6)

Was God indebted to justify Abraham (Rom4:4)? Did Abraham get what he deserved? If righteousness was reckoned as it was earned then the righteousness reckoned to Abraham would have been an imperfect righteousness, for Abrahams works were imperfect.

Sin is Cleansed (4:6-8) If Abraham got more than he might have expected then David received less than he might justly have deserved – a full salvation! In 2 Sam 24:1, 10-16 – 3 days of pestilance were cut to 1 day! Was God just in saying 3 days of pestilence as a punishement (24:13)? Surely God is just! So what do we say when instead of going for 3 days of pestilence God gives 1 day and then stops destroying Jerusalem? If one is justice then the other is surely grace! The pestilence was stayed by the grace of God (2 Sam24:16) and that in response to the repentance of the sinner (2 Sam24:17) Cf. also: “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” (2Sa 12:13) Why should David die? “The soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezek 18:4,20) David had broken the commandments:

• Thou shalt not kill – Uriah
• Thou shalt not commit adultery
• Thou shalt not steal
• Thou shalt not covet
• Thou shalt not bear false witness
• He caused the heathen to blaspheme

David desired and pursued Bathsheba The punishment for any 1 broken law was death David broke 7 commandments

For defrauding his brother of offspring God slew Onan (Gen38) was God righteous? For raping Dinah God allowed the men of Shechem to be slain – was God righteous? God said: “thou shalt not suffer a murderer to live” was God righteous?

By the righteous standard of the law David ought to have been put to death. So what is 2 Sam 12:13 all about? Grace! Not only that but the law would have condemned Bathsheba to death too but not only is she allowed to live but from Bathsheba comes Solomon, wait for the punch line: “and the Lord loved him” called his name “Jedidiah” : “Loved of the Lord”

So David can speak of:

• A 4 fold blessedness (Rom4:6-9)
• A triple forgiveness: (Rom4:7,8)
• A double negative (Rom4:8)
• A single justification

A triple forgiveness: (Rom4:7,8) “Forgiven” (4:7) : 863 : “aphiemi” – to send forth / to send away, to dismiss: to remove the sins from someone Used of a debt cancelled (Matt18:27, 32, 35) – forgiveness is not merely the suspension of a payment, a payment holiday where the debt remains but we can stop paying it up, forgiveness means the debt is removed, it is cancelled 'I can forgive but I can't forget' often has harboured within it a grudge pointing to no forgiveness at all! Forgiveness is not the shell around the nut of bitter resentment! Gods people must be a forgiving people because Gods people are a forgiven people! Forgiveness removes presence of the debt Forgiveness removes the power of that sin (Matt9:2,6; Mk2:5,7,9) “aphiemi” – used of the Lord sending away the multitude (Mk4:36) “aphiemi” – used in “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Mat 4:11) That's good the Lord has “forgiven” my sin but He still knows about it! “who's sins are covered” : “ἐπικαλύπτω” - a double word 'epi' and 'kalupto' – covered over! Well they are forgiven – put away and they are covered over – not seen by God but what about if God brings that covering off? Will they not come back to haunt me? What if God changes His mind? “will not impute sin” - double negative – “will not ever impute sin” - “will not at all impute sin” “impute”: “λογίζομαι” : to credit or to reckon Sin is cancelled – a debt removed and forgiven Sin is covered Sin is never credited again It is possible to be saved and then to be determined to live under a constant cloud of oppression and guilt for past sin – that is not honouring to Christ! The man sick of the palsy had to take up his bed and walk The man of the Gaderenes had to leave the grave yard, go and tell and go and show. Paul had to “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” (Acts9:6) God has purchased a people at great cost to enjoy a full salvation Righteousness Credited and Sin cleansed.

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

Notes on Romans from a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie:



Romans Chapter 4 Verses 1 to 5: 'Justification by Faith : Is by Faith Alone'

1. Justification by Faith is Nothing New
2. Justification by Faith is Faith in the Person of Christ
3. Justification by Faith : Is by Faith Alone
4. Justification by Faith: Is by Faith Alone

In all that has been said so far there is one obvious objection: that salvation seems to come too cheap, too easy, goes contrary to human intuition that so great and valuable a possession as eternal life and forgiveness should come so easily, after all is it not the case that the greater the value of a commodity, the higher the price and the higher the price the longer and harder we have to work to pay for it?
Perhaps too in a sense the whole idea of justification by faith offends our human sense of justice, can it really be the case that a person can be a terrible sinner and yet can have their sins simply forgiven, they can go free from the court of heaven and be declared not guilty by the Judge of the universe Himself? Is such a thing feasible? Is such a suggestion even fair?
The example is often given what about the church going, clean living, hard working woman who does her best all of her life and yet does not trust Christ for salvation can it really be that she is lost and yet the thief or criminal or murderer who confesses, repents and believes goes to heaven?
Surely the clean living, church going, hard working life of the respectable counts for something? Is that not just as good as the faith of the criminal?
Is it not faith plus something else?
In this section we have the Great Objection, and as Paul faces this kind of objection Paul name the hard working, respectable, religiously minded and respectable kind of individual that the Jew would have in mind: Abraham himself, the father of the nation of Israel!
Paul brings to our attention one of the most remarkable and influential characters in history, I say that not only as a Christian but it is evident today even from the political sphere. Abraham gave rise not only to the nation of Israel but the faith and salvation story of Abraham underpins the Christian gospel and from Abraham came not only Isaac the forefather of the nation of Israel but so too Ishmael and from him the Arab nations.
Christianity, Judaism and even Islam all claim links to this remarkable character.
He was for the Jew the very epitome of morality, piety and godliness – surely Abraham proves that you only get to heaven if you earn it?
Jewish tradition built up Abraham even beyond his noble character in scripture.

According to the Rabbis and Jewish tradition Abraham:
Was the 1st of 7 men who by their own merits brought back the Shekinah – the cloud of the presence of God into the tabernacle!
Was the only righteous man of his generation
Began to serve God from age 3 years
Even before the law was written he had managed to fulfil it!
If anyone ever contributed anything to their salvation it was surely Abraham!
It was of course not only in Jewish circles in days gone by that this question was asked, it is still very much with us today.
In the past a great source of confusion came from Roman Catholicism which teaches that faith and works together save
Perhaps the greatest source of confusion today however would come not so much from Roman Catholicism but rather from the Charismatic movement – salvation is faith plus some kind of dubious experience, supposedly spiritual in nature, an experience such as speaking in tongues or being slain in the spirit. The confusion that is being sown is real and serious. It is tragic to hear people tell you they are saved, to ask how they were saved and hear a story about someone putting their hands on them, a warm feeling coming all over them and giving them the Holy Spirit! This is not salvation!
It maybe perspiration but its not salvation!
Is salvation by faith, plus something else?
Is salvation available by alternate means altogether, come to that, so often teachings which begin as faith + something else end up just with the something else and drop the faith altogether.

When faith alone is watered down to faith and works, faith and works very quickly becomes watered down even further to works alone, we'll go along to our church and that will do us! Christ and His Word and His salvation becomes an embarrassment. We are left with a dead and barren and shallow thing, the religious state of Judaism in the days of the Lord Jesus: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Mat 15:8)
Not only did Luther and the reformers need to take a stand in their day that salvation was by faith alone so too do we in our day, the confusion still abounds.
So what about Abraham, if ever anyone could have added anything to his salvation it must have been Abraham.

In vs1 we are confronted with the greatness of this great man.
The fact that he was a great man could hardly be disputed, gave rise to the nation of Israel, a nation with whom God had tremendous dealings, brought them out of Egypt by 10 plagues, brought them in as promised into their land, spoke to them by the prophets and fulfilled His promises and prophecies, in particular in bringing forth Christ.
It seems evident that this man had something
God spoke with him, he spoke to God and with Abraham God made His covenant, here was a man who had a relationship with God!
How did that relationship come to be? Why was Abraham great?
Was Abraham a great man and thus he had a relationship with God?
Did a relationship with God make Abraham a great man?
“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?” (Rom 4:1)
Abraham was particularly remarkable because of what Abraham found “as pertaining to the flesh”
Some commentators will interpret that verse as “our father pertaining to the flesh” - the trouble is this isn't true, Abraham is not our father according to the flesh, neither was he the physical father of those to whom Paul was writing – these people were mainly gentiles – non Jews (Rom1:13)
One of the truly remarkable features of Abraham that makes him the subject of this chapter was the fact that he unquestionably had a relationship with God and that relationship with God was evident in His life.
One of the objections we sometimes hear to the great doctrine of justification by faith is that it is too easy and that you can say you believe and then live as you please and still go to heaven!
When we speak of true biblical faith, real faith is faith that brings me into a relationship with God.
Real faith, biblical faith is relationship faith: (Heb11:1ff; Rom4:5).
Real saving faith brings a real relationship with the Saviour and a real relationship with the Saviour brings the evidence of that relationship in my life.
So often there can be a profession without any reality.
Sadly we do often here of claims that folks are saved, on the basis of a profession of faith made many years before but with no real evidence in the life ever to back up such a claim.
This was not the case with Abraham.
We cannot judge a mans heart: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2Ti 2:19)
As men and women met the the Lord Jesus down below, how did they know that He was the Son of God?
Most of them did not sit down with the OT scriptures and work it out from first principles! Some of them knew nothing about the OT scriptures: the Syrophenician woman, the Roman Centurion – gentiles by nationality!
They knew that He was the Son of God because of His:

1. Words and His Works
2. Miracles and His Ministry: 7 sign miracles of Johns gospel, marked him apart as having authority over the creation – he is the creator.
3. His life and His death (the centurion and the thief on the cross)

There was no mistaking that here was a man marked by the very character of God, His relationship with the Father was evident in His life:

• “I and My Father are one” (John10:31)
• “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” (Joh 10:37-38)
• “But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.” (Joh 5:36)
• The relationship of Christ to The Father was unique as John 10:31.

The principle does however flow down to the believer:

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (Joh 17:20-23).

Is that not something that ought to be evident?
The essence of Christianity is a relationship with God through Christ and such a relationship must be evident in the life of the believer!
Abraham is presented as an undeniable example of a man with a relationship with God because God did such a mighty work in him, in particular, in his “flesh”.
I wonder if people were looking for the big answers to the big questions, if they were looking to get in touch with God would they see it in me?
Would they come to me?
Is the reality of relationship evident in my life?
Faith is fruitful! As it was in the case of Abraham.
“Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” (Luke 3:8)
The law works wrath (v15) and faith brings fruit (v13)
The reality of that relationship with God was stamped on Abraham's “flesh”, in what way?

1. Circumcision (4:9-12) – Gods covenant promise
2. Covenant (4:13, 17, 18) – The fulfilment of that covenant promise – He did indeed become the father of a great nation
3. Children (4:19) – 100 years of age and Sarah 99! “Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” (Heb 11:12) – no question about Abraham's fruitfulness.

In a most remarkable way this mans very flesh was marked by the power of God!
He bore the scars, he saw the seed and one day from his line came the Saviour!
A life truly touched by the finger of God!
But was any of his undeniable greatness due to himself?
Was Abraham a great man:

1. Because of what he did
2. Because of what God did in him?

The contrast is the contrast between:

1. Salvation by works: I do it and give it to God
2. Salvation by Grace through faith: God does it and gives it to me.

Was Abraham great by virtue of:

1. The Power of his own flesh?
2. The Privilege of the covenant?
3. The Product of his own effort?

The Power of his own flesh?
He was dead (4:19)

The Privilege of the covenant?
He was uncircumcised (4:10)
Abraham was not waving about in the air the terms of a religious privilege or birth or merit that he had earned or even that he had been born into, he didn't even have it at the point God credited him as righteous!

The Product of his own effort?
Consider the works done and the promises fulfilled in Abraham (4:13, 17, 18), many of them were fulfilled in Abraham after His death, in particular the bringing forth of the nation of Israel, not immediately from Abraham but through Isaac and then Jacob and Jacobs 12 sons, eventually maturing into a might nation of over 3 million people coming up out of Egypt!
From that nation the person of Christ!
Did Abraham have anything to contribute here?
This was not an empire that Abraham built! It was after he had died!
Why was Abraham great?
Not by virtue of the work done by him but by virtue of the work done in him!
The greatness that became Abraham's in “the flesh” (4:1) was received from God, it had to be.
Abraham's greatness, and Abraham's salvation was:

1. Constructed in Grace (4:10)
2. Consisted of Grace (4:17,19)
3. Concluded in Grace (4:17,18) even after his death

How then did it commence?
It would seem strange that a mighty work done by God in the life of Abraham Constructed in Grace (4:10) which Consisted of Grace (4:17,19) and which Concluded in Grace (4:17,18) somehow commenced in self effort and works!
For the whole work to have commenced with Abrahams self effort would detract from everything that God was doing in his life!
It would give Abraham room to boast: “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.” (Rom 4:2).
Yet it is an established principle of Gods word that in the work of salvation only God can boast, it is all of Him and for His glory (Isa 40:5ff).
In all that we can observe in the life of Abraham God has moved out with and beyond the principle of giving a man simply what he deserves!
God has consistently moved according to the principle of grace!
For God to commence such a work and out pouring of Divine grace by virtue of the works of Abraham, or on the basis that Abraham deserved it would surely undermine the grace and Glory of the work which God was doing.
It would be like starting a wedding with a funeral dirge
Commencing a funeral with a wedding march
Starting a meeting of weight watchers with a fish supper and bottle of irn bru.
All of Abraham's greatness was a greatness granted by grace!
Abraham's greatness, and Abraham's salvation was:

1. Commenced in Grace (4:3)
2. Constructed in Grace (4:10)
3. Consisted of Grace (4:17,19)
4. Concluded in Grace (4:17,18) even after his death

It was all of grace!
It is not really the subject of Romans chp 4 but if salvation commences with Grace it continues with grace and if I get into a rut spiritually I will only get out of that rut by seeking His grace and His help and not by self effort!
Justification is by Faith alone, man can add nothing!
Not even Abraham added anything to his salvation!

From a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on:

Romans Chp 3 Vs 21 – 31; 4: 1-12 Justification by Faith – Is Trusting The Person of Christ


3 Key Words:


Righteousness (v21) – a “righteousness apart from the law” - we considered Gods righteous Standard in chapters 1 – 3 and in this transitional verse we noted a Righteousness from God that is able to bring salvation rather than damnation, justification rather than condemnation. We found an example of a righteousness of God that saves in the book of Joshua, in Rahab the Harlot saved on the basis of righteousness! Gods Righteousness is not only a standard but it also becomes a standing by faith in Christ.




Redemption (v24) – for that we went to the book of Exodus and to the Passover, we found a 7 fold redemption in Exodus chp 6, God would release His people from their Burden and from their Bondage to draw us to Himself. We saw the key words of Release, Removal, Redemption, Relationship and Responsibility! They were brought out of Egypt by a “mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut26:8) and led out by a little lamb! We asked the people of Israel, how was it that you were brought out of Egypt and we heard their reply: 'it depends on which way that you look at it!' From the perspective of the Jew they were led out under the blood of the lamb, from the perspective of the Egyptian they came out under the blood of the firstborn! How often we must be humbled: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isa 55:8), “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” (1Pe 5:6). We say our redemption prefigured in Exodus brought out under the blood of the lamb and brought out under the blood of the first-born! (1 Peter1:18-19)




Propitiation (v25) – We went to the book of Leviticus and to the 16th chapter to see this truth prefigured in the OT in the blood stained 'mercy seat.' Propitiation deals with the problem of sin by the power of the blood at the place of mercy. The priest came in with a purity imputed, the white linen covered him before the presence of God. Propitiation has 3 aspects: God ward it is God satisfied, Man ward it is man justified and Christ ward its is Christ crucified. As simple as I could make it and as deep as I knew it! God satisfied, man justified and Christ crucified!

We have learned an important lesson:

1. Righteousness apart from the law we saw it in Joshua
2. Redemption by blood we saw it in Exodus
3. Propitiation – we saw it in Leviticus
   

You and I have discovered that the roots of our salvation go deep, very deep into the OT scriptures!

In fact they go even deeper than that:

1. Righteousness apart from the law, a righteousness of God that saves we will see goes back even beyond the book of Joshua, in Romans 4 we will see that it goes back to at least Abraham in Genesis chp 15!
2. Redemption – whilst so clearly seen in Exodus, the first mention of redemption is in fact in the book of Genesis: “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” (Gen 48:16). Interestingly this is a redemption from evil!
3. Propitiation – we saw it in Leviticus, but again we could go back much further than that! The first mention of the Hebrew word for atonement goes back to Noah and His ark – pitched within and without with pitch (Gen6:14)! Possibly we could go back even further still to the garden of Eden: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Gen 3:21)

There are many links here with the outworking of the great purposes of God from generations gone by!
There is more to your salvation and mine than you ever understood the day you were saved!
Salvation does not consist in understanding a process but resting in a person!
This of course is exceedingly important!
If the way of salvation was new it would be extremely suspect! Either God has had no interest in the world up until the past 2000 years, or God is not righteous in His dealings with men excluding much of human history from salvation or this means of salvation is completely fabricated!

James Montgomery Boice sees the significance of this: “All this is proof of Christianity's timeless validity. If Christianity were merely something founded by Jesus Christ some 2000 years ago it might be interesting but it would have no more ultimate claim upon us than the dogmas of any other human religion”

If the roots of our salvation go deep into the OT scriptures then, all of this raises the very interesting question of wither or not it was possible for men and women to be saved before the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? Did salvation begin with us?
We must acknowledge that there are many things that were unclear, incompletely apprehended by the OT believers, suggested by OT texts and made explicitly clear in the NT:

• Job : “Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.” (Job 9:1-3) – Jobs understanding of the means of justification by faith seems at least at the beginning of the book of Job to be incomplete. Yet God describes Job at the very beginning of the book: “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8)
• Abraham: called in Gen 12, a relationship with God in existence in chp 13 with the erection of an Altar at Hebron, called “Abraham of the most High God” in chp 14 by Melchezedek and yet Abrahams question at the beginning of chapter 15 indicates an incomplete understanding of Divine purpose: “What wilt thou give me seeing I go childless?” (15:2)
• Isaac: in a covenant relationship (26:24) yet in Genesis 27 he seems ready to bless the wrong boy, the one through whom Christ would not come!
  The prophets: 1 Peter 1:10 – their understanding was incomplete, there was a need to search, a need to enquire and a need to seek further revelation.
• Daniel – clearly a man of God from the beginning of the book of Daniel: Dan2:47; 4:18; 5:14; 6:3, 10, 16, 22, 26 and in Dan 9:23 “thou art greatly beloved” and yet it is not until Dan 9:24ff that we have the revelation of the details of the coming of Christ and His death for sin (9:24) and Gods plan of salvation!

Add to all of this the quite clear and explicit statements in the NT that certain aspects of Gods plan of salvation were deliberately hidden from past generations as mysteries, many of them fundamental to our appreciation of the Gospel:

1. Mystery of the Gospel (Rom 16:25; Eph 6:19)
2. Mystery of the Cross of Christ (1 Co2:7)
3. Mystery of the Rapture (1Co15:51)
4. Mystery of His Will (Eph 1:7-10) - All things in Christ
5. Mystery of Christ (Eph 3:3,4;Col 4:3 ) – the Gentiles fellow heirs and of the same body.
6. Mystery of Christ and the Church (Eph5:32)
7. Mystery of Christ in you the hope of Glory (Col 1:26,27)
8. Mystery of Godliness (1 Tim 3:16)

Consider also that the OT peoples had the “parable” (Heb9:9) and had a “shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things” (Heb10:1) and we begin to see that many of these OT saints could not have had the fullness of the appreciation of the Person and Work of Christ which is possible for us!


This is perhaps most clearly stated in Heb 2:2-3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;” (Heb 2:3). It is quite clear that the message of the Gospel of Gods free grace and saving power “began” to be preached in the fashion which you and I are familiar with only with the advent of Christ Himself!


This of course is already strongly implied in: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” (Rom 3:25)


Where does that leave us then practically?

Romans Chp 1 told us that mankind with only the testimony of creation stands condemned if they reject that testimony to Gods eternal Power and Godhead.

Romans chp 2 tells us that man with conscience and the testimony to the righteousness of God stands condemned and

Romans chapter 2 tells us that man with the OT covenant stands condemned for falling short of the standards they profess to hold dear!

So here we are today with the testimony of :

1. Creation,
2. Conscience
3. Covenant
4. Christ in the New Testament scriptures as well as the preaching and teaching of those OT scriptures!

What a tremendous privilege and what an awesome responsibility!

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; “ (Heb 2:1-3)

There must well have been aspects to the work of salvation that some of these OT believers did not appreciate, that seems clear!

Yet the roots of salvation go deep into those OT scriptures!
In Romans chp 4 we find specific mention of 2 prominent OT characters who found that salvation!
Furthermore it is clear form the gospels that many others in the OT were saved by the work of Christ:

• Elijah and Moses on the mount of transfiguration
• “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. “ (Luk 13:28)

We must acknowledge that there are many things that were unclear to them, incompletely apprehended by the OT believers, yet the scriptures are clear many of them were saved!
How is this possible?
They may not have fully understood Gods Plan of Salvation or the Process of Salvation but they did trust in the Person who was able to justify and save them.
These OT saints depended upon the same:

1. Person – Christ
2. Principle – Justification by Faith
3. Prospect – Salvation and Eternal Life

Not only do the roots of our salvation go deep into the OT scriptures but so too the Saviour.

These OT saints all depended upon Christ for Justification:

1. Moses: “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” (Heb 11:26); Deut 32:2-4; 15-18; 1 Co10:1-4 “that rock was Christ” (1Co11:1-4).
2. Abraham: Gal3:8, 16 – the Gospel of the future blessing in Christ; John 8:56.
3. David: Psalm 110:1; Heb 1:13; Matt 22:41-46: Davids Lord was Christ! Acts 2:25, 29-32
4. Jacob: Gen 28:12-13; John 1:41 – Jacobs ladder, his connection between heaven and earth, was Christ!
5. Daniel: Daniel 10:5-18; 8:15; 10:9-10, 16; Rev 1:13-17 – Daniel encountered the same person as did John!
6. Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:25-26) who will protect them in the flames? Surely the God whom they serve, the “Son of God”.
7. Prophets: Moved by the Spirit of Christ (1Peter1:11)

These OT saints all depended upon Christ for Justification!
Justification then we would conclude from the pattern of the OT scriptures came when these OT believers exerted faith in a Person, the Person of Christ, rather than Faith in a Process or faith in their understanding of a process!
Some did not understand the process but they benefited from it by faith in the Person!
Salvation came when they exercised faith in the justifier: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Rom 4:5)
This is the same means by which you and I are justified and saved in the NT:

1. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Act 20:21)
2. “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2Ti 1:12)
3. “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luk 23:42-43)
4. “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” (1Pe 2:6)
5. “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Mat 18:6) – were these little ones saved? Certainly: “he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” (1Pe 2:6) – did they understand propitiation, redemption and justification by faith?
6. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”(Joh 5:24)
7. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”(Joh 6:40)
8. “Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” (Joh 12:44-46)
9. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Joh 3:16) – spoken to Nicodemus before the death and sufferings and resurrection of Christ!
10. Consider also: Luke 8:48; Acts 20:21; Acts 26:18; Acts 8:37; 13:39; 16:31; Col 2:5-7; 2 Tim 3:15; Heb 6:1; 12:2; James 2:1; 1 Peter 1:21; Rev 14:21.

Justification comes by faith in the person of Christ rather than from my understanding of the work of Christ – God doesn't save us because we are smart enough to be able to work it all out!
God does not save me because I have faith that the process of justification that it is good, true and right! Job for example didn't even understand the process!
God does not save by virtue of the fact that I have a sufficiently strong grasp or a deep enough appreciation of the truth concerning the person and work of Christ!
God doesn't save you once you become a 'mature' Christian, God saves whilst you are “yet without strength” but willing to exercise faith, that is to trust and depend upon Christ for salvation.
Neither does He save by my participation in the activities of Christianity, my knowledge of the Bible!

Consider the following scriptures:

1. 1 Co13:1-2 – My knowledge of spiritual truths and my confidence in those spiritual truths as dependable Divinely revealed facts, of itself does not profit, there must be “love” the product of a relationship with Christ personally (Gal 5:22; John 13:34-35; John 15:9, 12; 1 John4:7) – knowledge of the process is of no profit without knowledge of the person!
2. 2 Co 3:6 - “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2Co 3:6) – facts and the appreciation and understanding of them alone does not save!

Derek Tidball: The Message of the Cross: The Bible Speaks Today
“The object of our faith makes all the difference. Only faith in Christ enables us to appropriate justification personally. To have faith in Him requires us to relinquish faith in anything else or anyone else as the hope of our salvation. It is to trust in Him entirely and exclusively.” (p197)

John Stott:
“Faith is the eye that looks to Christ, the hand that lays hold of Him, the mouth that drinks the water of life. And the more clearly we see the absolute adequacy of Jesus Christ's Divine – Human Person and sin-bearing death the more incongruous does it appear that anybody could suppose that we have anything to offer. That is why justification by faith alone, to quote Cranmer again, 'advances the true Glory of Christ and beats down the vain glory of man.”

Philip Graham Ryken: The Message of Salvation: The Bible Speaks Today:
“Faith is merely the instrument of our justification, the channel by which we receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is often described as the empty hand that reaches out to receive the gift of Gods righteousness.” (p202)

JC Ryle:
“True faith....is but laying hold of a Saviour's hand, leaning on a husbands arm and receiving a physicians medicine. It brings with it nothing to Christ but a sinful man's soul. It gives nothing, contributes nothing, pays nothing, performs nothing. It only receives, takes, accepts, grasps and embraces the glorious gift of justification which Christ bestows”

Philip Graham Ryken: The Message of Salvation: The Bible Speaks Today:
“it is not faith itself (or even the doctrine of justification by faith) that saves us. Rather it is Christ who saves us and faith is simply that way that we appropriate Christ.” (p202)

What do we mean by Faith?

“Faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be and that He will do what He has promised to do and then to expect this of Him.” (CH Spurgeon)

“knowledge...belief...trust” (CH Spurgeon)

“awareness...assent...commitment” (Lloyd Jones)

1. Know it
2. Accept it
3. Rest in it

C Gordon Olson: 'Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism'
“Faith has to be more than mere profession, more than intellectual assent to certain propositions about the gospel. It is the appropriation or receiving of Christ into the life, which means trust in the person and work of the Divine Messiah (John 1:12). The essence of Evangelicalism is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. Nothing less will do.” (p287)

Dr. Norman Geisler: Systematic Theology: Vol 3 Sin Salvation
“In short, faith (belief) implies trust in, commitment to, obedience to and hope (confidence) in its object. As applied to faith in Jesus, the implications for saving faith are clear: It is the kind of belief that has trust and confidence in Christ for salvation and thereby implies a commitment to follow and obey Him.” (p518)

As a consequence of the means and source of salvation, to grow as a Christian means to develop and grow in in Christ! Our salvation begins with faith in Christ as the source and supplier of salvation and thus to grow as a Christian is to grow in our relationship with Christ and our appreciation of Christ!
If our salvation were to be rooted in works then to grow as a Christian would mean to grow in works!
If our salvation were rooted in the knowledge of facts then to grow as a Christian would primarily mean going on an intensive college course or training school!
You can tell a lot about what a Christian is depending upon for their salvation by their approach to Christian maturity!
Christian maturity thus lies in a deepening relationship with Christ, often referred to as the 'knowledge' of Christ, a word and idea first used in scripture within the context of a relationship, that of Adam and Eve:
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2Pe 3:18)
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” (2Pe 1:2)
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 1:5-8)
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” (Eph 1:17)
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” (Php 3:8)
Salvation comes not from my understanding of a principle or a process but rather on the basis of the work completed by Christ (Rom3:25) by means of faith He becomes my Saviour the moment I trust Him (Rom 3:28)

All who have ever been saved have been saved by the same means:

1. Saved by the same person – Christ
2. Resting in the same principle – Justification by Faith
3. Looking for the same prospect – salvation
4. Saved by the same power – the blood of Christ
5. All on the basis of the same propitiation.

“To say that we are justified “through Christ” points to His historical death; to say that we are justified “in Christ” points to the personal relationship with Him which by faith we now enjoy. This simple fact makes it impossible for us to think of justification as a purely external transaction; it cannot be isolated from our union with Christ and all the benefits which this brings.” (John Stott)

Does all of this mean then that the details of the gospel don't matter?
Just so long as I believe in Jesus?

Not quite! For faith is:

1. Defined by Gods Word (Rom1:2; 3:21; 10:17, 20; 1Peter1:11)
2. Born of Gods Word (1Peter 1:23)
3. Sustained by Gods Word (1 Peter 2:1)

The common thread in justification by faith is that it was always faith in Christ and in His ability to make the sinner right!
My faith must be in the real Christ of God and not in a figment of my imagination.
The faith I exercise is faith in the Christ of Gods revealed Word.

John Wesley:
“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. I began to pray with all my might for those who had in a more especial manner despitefully used me and persecuted me. I then testified openly to all there what I now first felt in my heart.” - The conversion of John Wesley aged 35 years!

Taken from a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 3 Verses 21 – 31; 4: 1-12 Justification by Faith – Nothing New! 3 Key Words:

1. Righteousness (v21) – a “righteousness apart from the law” - we considered Gods righteous Standard in chapters 1 – 3 and in this transitional verse we noted a Righteousness from God that is able to bring salvation rather than damnation, justification rather than condemnation. We found an example of a righteousness of God that saves in the book of Joshua, in Rahab the Harlot saved on the basis of righteousness! Gods Righteousness is not only a standard but it also becomes a standing by faith in Christ.
2. Redemption (v24) – for that we went to the book of Exodus and to the Passover, we found a 7 fold redemption in Exodus chp 6, God would release His people from their Burden and from their Bondage to draw us to Himself. We saw the key words of Release, Removal, Redemption, Relationship and Responsibility! They were brought out of Egypt by a “mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut26:8) and led out by a little lamb! We asked the people of Israel, how was it that you were brought out of Egypt and we heard their reply: 'it depends on which way that you look at it!' From the perspective of the Jew they were led out under the blood of the lamb, from the perspective of the Egyptian they came out under the blood of the firstborn! How often we must be humbled: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isa 55:8), “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” (1Pe 5:6). We say our redemption prefigured in Exodus brought out under the blood of the lamb and brought out under the blood of the first-born! (1 Peter1:18-19)
3. Propitiation (v25) – We went to the book of Leviticus and to the 16th chapter to see this truth prefigured in the OT in the blood stained 'mercy seat.' Propitiation deals with the problem of sin by the power of the blood at the place of mercy. The priest came in with a purity imputed, the white linen covered him before the presence of God.

Propitiation has 3 aspects:

1. God ward it is God satisfied,
2. Man ward it is man justified and
3. Christ ward its is Christ crucified.

As simple as I could make it and as deep as I knew it!

God satisfied, man justified and Christ crucified!

We have learned an important lesson:

1. Righteousness apart from the law we saw it in Joshua
2. Redemption by blood we saw it in Exodus
3. Propitiation – we saw it in Leviticus

You and I have discovered that the roots of our salvation go deep, very deep into the OT scriptures! In fact they go even deeper than that:

1. Righteousness apart from the law, a righteousness of God that saves we will see goes back even beyond the book of Joshua, in Romans 4 we will see that it goes back to at least Abraham in Genesis chp 15!
2. Redemption – whilst so clearly seen in Exodus, the first mention of redemption is in fact in the book of Genesis: “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” (Gen 48:16). Interestingly this is a redemption from evil!
3. Propitiation – we saw it in Leviticus, but again we could go back much further than that! The first mention of the Hebrew word for atonement goes back to Noah and His ark – pitched within and without with pitch (Gen6:14)! Possibly we could go back even further still to the garden of Eden: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Gen 3:21)

There are many links here with the outworking of the great purposes of God from generations gone by! There is more to your salvation and mine than you ever understood the day you were saved! Salvation does not consist in understanding a process but resting in a person! This of course is exceedingly important! If the way of salvation was new it would be extremely suspect! Either God has had no interest in the world up until the past 2000 years, or God is not righteous in His dealings with men excluding much of human history from salvation or this means of salvation is completely fabricated!

James Montgomery Boice sees the significance of this: “All this is proof of Christianity's timeless validity. If Christianity were merely something founded by Jesus Christ some 2000 years ago it might be interesting but it would have no more ultimate claim upon us than the dogmas of any other human religion”

If the roots of our salvation go deep into the OT scriptures then, all of this raises the very interesting question of wither or not it was possible for men and women to be saved before the death of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Did salvation begin with us?

We must acknowledge that there are many things that were unclear, incompletely apprehended by the OT believers, suggested by OT texts and made explicitly clear in the NT:

1. Job : “Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.” (Job 9:1-3) – Jobs understanding of the means of justification by faith seems at least at the beginning of the book of Job to be incomplete. Yet God describes Job at the very beginning of the book: “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8)
2. Abraham: called in Gen 12, a relationship with God in existence in chp 13 with the erection of an Altar at Hebron, called “Abraham of the most High God” in chp 14 by Melchezedek and yet Abrahams question at the beginning of chapter 15 indicates an incomplete understanding of Divine purpose: “What wilt thou give me seeing I go childless?” (15:2) Isaac: in a covenant relationship (26:24) yet in Genesis 27 he seems ready to bless the wrong boy, the one through whom Christ would not come!
3. The prophets: 1 Peter 1:10 – their understanding was incomplete, there was a need to search, a need to enquire and a need to seek further revelation.
4. Daniel – clearly a man of God from the beginning of the book of Daniel: Dan2:47; 4:18; 5:14; 6:3, 10, 16, 22, 26 and in Dan 9:23 “thou art greatly beloved” and yet it is not until Dan 9:24ff that we have the revelation of the details of the coming of Christ and His death for sin (9:24) and Gods plan of salvation!

Add to all of this the quite clear and explicit statements in the NT that certain aspects of Gods plan of salvation were deliberately hidden from past generations as mysteries, many of them fundamental to our appreciation of the Gospel:

1. Mystery of the Gospel (Rom 16:25; Eph 6:19)
2. Mystery of the Cross of Christ (1 Co2:7)
3. Mystery of the Rapture (1Co15:51)
4. Mystery of His Will (Eph 1:7-10) - All things in Christ
5. Mystery of Christ (Eph 3:3,4;Col 4:3 ) – the Gentiles fellow heirs and of the same body.
6. Mystery of Christ and the Church (Eph5:32)
7. Mystery of Christ in you the hope of Glory (Col 1:26,27)
8. Mystery of Godliness (1 Tim 3:16)

Consider also that the OT peoples had the “parable” (Heb9:9) and had a “shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things” (Heb10:1) and we begin to see that many of these OT saints could not have had the fullness of the appreciation of the Person and Work of Christ which is possible for us!

This is perhaps most clearly stated in Heb 2:2-3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;” (Heb 2:3). It is quite clear that the message of the Gospel of Gods free grace and saving power “began” to be preached in the fashion which you and I are familiar with only with the advent of Christ Himself!

This of course is already strongly implied in: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” (Rom 3:25)

Where does that leave us then practically? Romans Chp 1 told us that mankind with only the testimony of creation stands condemned if they reject that testimony to Gods eternal Power and Godhead. Romans chp 2 tells us that man with conscience and the testimony to the righteousness of God stands condemned and chapter 2 tells us that man with the OT covenant stands condemned for falling short of the standards they profess to hold dear! So here we are today with the testimony of Creation, Conscience and Covenant and NT scriptures as well as the preaching and teaching of those OT scriptures! What a tremendous privilege and what an awesome responsibility! “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; “ (Heb 2:1-3) There must well have been aspects to the work of salvation that some of these OT believers did not appreciate, that seems clear! Yet the roots of salvation go deep into those OT scriptures! In Romans chp 4 we find specific mention of 2 prominent OT characters who found that salvation! Furthermore it is clear form the gospels that many others in the OT were saved by the work of Christ: Elijah and Moses on the mount of transfiguration “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. “ (Luk 13:28) We must acknowledge that there are many things that were unclear to them, incompletely apprehended by the OT believers, yet the scriptures are clear many of them were saved! How is this possible? They may not have fully understood Gods Plan of Salvation or the Process of Salvation but they did trust in the Person who was able to justify and save them.

These OT saints depended upon the same:

1. Person – Christ
2. Principle – Justification by Faith
3. Prospect – Salvation and Eternal Life

Not only do the roots of our salvation go deep into the OT scriptures but so too the Saviour.

These OT saints all depended upon Christ for Justification:

1. Moses: “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” (Heb 11:26); Deut 32:2-4; 15-18; 1 Co10:1-4 “that rock was Christ” (1Co11:1-4).
2. Abraham: Gal3:8, 16 – the Gospel of the future blessing in Christ; John 8:56.
3. David: Psalm 110:1; Heb 1:13; Matt 22:41-46: Davids Lord was Christ! Acts 2:25, 29-32
4. Jacob: Gen 28:12-13; John 1:41 – Jacobs ladder, his connection between heaven and earth, was Christ!
5. Daniel: Daniel 10:5-18; 8:15; 10:9-10, 16; Rev 1:13-17 – Daniel encountered the same person as did John!
6. Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:25-26) who will protect them in the flames? Surely the God whom they serve, the “Son of God”.
7. Prophets: Moved by the Spirit of Christ (1Peter1:11)

These OT saints all depended upon Christ for Justification! Justification then we would conclude from the pattern of the OT scriptures came when these OT believers exerted faith in a Person, the Person of Christ, rather than Faith in a Process or faith in their understanding of a process! Some did not understand the process but they benefited from it by faith in the Person! Salvation came when they exercised faith in the justifier: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Rom 4:5)

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

From a message preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on: Romans Chapter 3 Verses 21 to 31 & Leviticus Chp 16: Propitiation Surely the very first discovery that we make on our spiritual journey is that there is a God! We make come to this discovery by means of considering:

1. Creation – the subject of Romans chp 1
2. Conscience – the moral order Romans chp 2
3. Covenant – God speaking by His Word – Romans chp 2
4. Cross – Romans Chp3 – there were those of course who first came face to face with the reality of Christ at the Cross: the centurion: “Truly this man was the son of God” (Mk 15:39); the thief on the cross: “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” (Lk23:42)

The 2nd significant discovery which we make on our spiritual journey is that the fact there is a God doesn't solve our problem, for He is for some reason afar off, He is an offended God: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isa 59:2)

The solution to this 2nd great discovery is the 3rd spiritual discovery, the subject of our meeting tonight: The subject of propitiation.

Many years ago, as Adolf Hitler was rising to power in Germany in 1930's, another German, Gerhard Kittel was compiling a dictionary of NT words: TDNT, 10 volumes, Prof. Kittel when he comes to define 'propitiation' takes over 20 pages! I'm not going to take 20 pages! I'll take 3 fingers!

Propitiation has 3 dimensions:

1. Upwards – God satisfied
2. Backward – Man justified
3. At 90 degrees, side to side, bringing in the breadth of Gods mighty work of salvation – Christ Crucified.

Propitiation: 'God satisfied, Man Justified by Christ Crucified'

Only 1 way to be right with God. Everyone who has ever been right with God, was right with God by this very means: by the power of the sacrifice of Christ! See that in various places in scripture:

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Joh 14:6);

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Act 4:12)

See it again here in Romans 3: as God forgave men there sins in days gone by, men who trusted and rested that God could forgive sin, exactly how it would be that God could forgive their sins remained in part obscure:

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Heb 11:13)

“Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” (1Pe 1:10-12)

“Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?” (Job 9:1-2)

It seems clear that Godly men of old knew that God would and that God could save the sinner but at times they were at least in part in ignorance as to How God would save the sinner. David is clear that his sins are forgiven (Rom 4:7; Psalm 32:1,2; Psalm 51:7-14) A question mark hangs over all of the OT scriptures, how can a just God forgive sins? It is not until “this time” (Rom 3:26) that God has revealed and declared His righteousness in forgiving the sinner His sins. If His righteousness was ever under question, the answer is now given, and His righteousness is 'declared' (3:25).

Leviticus Chp 16: Propitiation Pictured:

1. The Problem - of sin (16:1-2)
2. The Place - of relationship / of meeting / of mercy (16:2)
3. The Purity - of the priest
4. The Power - of the blood
5. The Problem - of sin (16:1-2)

The whole subject of atonement, in one of these little echoes of scripture is interestingly prefaced by the loss of a son! The subject of redemption was likewise prefaced by the loss of a son, brought out under the blood of the lamb and under the blood of the firstborn son!

1. The first mention of the meal offering (Gen 4:3) – linked with the death of a son.
2. The first mention of the sin offering (Gen 4:7) – linked with the death of a son
3. The 2nd mention of the ascending offering (Gen 22:2) – linked with the death of a son!

The chapter begins with a reference to the loss of Aarons 2 sons: to the problem of sin and the consequences of sin. Verse 1 takes us back to Leviticus chapter 10 to the death of Nadab and Abihu who "offered strange fire before the Lord" (10:1) Possibly they were drunk (Lev 10:9) with their judgment impaired and compromised So serious was their sin that Aaron their father was not even permitted to mourn for them (10:6) There sin although specific to them is a picture of the consequences of all sin: separation from the presence of God Linked with the problem of sin we have the reason that sin is such a problem: the Holiness and the Righteousness of God This too is how Rom 3:21-31 begins The Problem of Sin in chapters 1 to 3 of Romans, linked with the Righteousness of God in condemning men and women (Rom3:23) God reminds Moses in Lev 16:1-2 of the Righteousness that keeps men out The question is - is there a righteousness that can bring men in? We have previously seen that there is a righteousness of God that saves from wrath, we saw that in the case of Lot and Rahab There is a righteousness of God that saves from judgment Is there a righteousness that draws us near to Himself? Not only can Gods righteousness save us from WRATH but can Gods righteousness bring me into Relationship? These 2 are not the same thing. Nadab and Abihu died under the wrath of God - for drawing near to God with strange fire - they died You could avoid dieing like Nadab and Abihu by not drawing near to God with strange fire! That would save me from His WRATH! But it wouldn't bring me into RELATIONSHIP with Him. Is it possible for God not only to save from judgment but also to bring me into His presence? We need to be sure about this for if we get it wrong the consequences are huge: "and died" (16:1) Not good enough to do what we think, do what we please or 'come as you are to worship'! To fail to meet Him and to fall short of Him is to fail to meet He who is Life and Light and Love! The stakes are high! Agreed? Can Gods Righteousness not only:

Bring us out - of wrath can it also: Bring us into Relationship?

The Place - of relationship / of meeting / of mercy (16:2)

3 Closely related words in this chapter:

1. Mercy Seat
2. Atonement
3. Propitiation

Very simply we might consider these 3 words as referring to:

1. Mercy Seat – The Place / Object (16:2)
2. Atonement – The Sacrifice (16:6,10)
3. Propitiation – occurs when the place and the sacrifice come together, it is the blood stained mercy seat (Rom 3:25) – in Rom 3:25 you notice the importance of the blood!

God would meet with Aaron the High Priest, but at 1 place; the "mercy seat" "mercy seat": Heb. 'kapporeth' from the Heb. word 'kippur' - atonement 'Yom Kippur' : the Day of Atonement What is 'atonement' - 'at-one-ment' - reconciliation - relationship Mercy seat is the place of reconciliation or relationship "mercy seat": 'kappoerth' in Greek the word is 'hilasterion' What does that have to do with me and our studies in Romans? Rom 3:25: 'propitiation' : 'hilasterion' The place of the mercy seat becomes a picture of the work of Christ! Place where God and man could meet 16:2, but only when a condition had been fulfilled: 16:14 when blood was sprinkled

The Power - of the blood (16:11-15) As it was with redemption so too it is with propitiation – the power is in the blood. Don't want to make the message unnecessarily complex and the debate of scholars goes beyond the simplicity of our thoughts on Rom 3:25 but there is a little problem with the translation / interpretation of Rom 3:25, over the precise meaning of "propitiation" Not everyone agrees that the word here 'hilasterion' refers simply to the mercy seat: The article is perhaps wrong for this meaning to hold We note the importance of "His blood" in Rom 3:25. So some scholars have suggested that really it is not so much the mercy seat that Christ is been likened to but rather the sacrifice whose blood was sprinkled upon the mercy seat. In reality of course the 2 go hand in hand The picture and the pattern are seen foreshadowed quite clearly here in Leviticus chapter 16 The mercy seat had no power without the blood sprinkled on it Without the blood, the mercy seat was merely an aspiration and not a reality Without the blood there was still no relationship The mercy seat in fact took its name from the sacrifice: the 'kapporeth' and the 'kippur' The place has no real significance without the sacrifice Today we can have every vestige, every outer appearance of religion, bibles, baptisms, names, routines, services, prayers but if the sacrifice, the power of the death, dieing, suffering and resurrection of Christ is absent, the whole thing is powerless It is as powerless as a mercy seat with no blood! It is the blood that puts the mercy into the mercy seat! Why was the blood so powerful? It was the blood of sacrifice (16:11, 14-15) for sin - blood of the sin offering Sprinkled 7 X – Gods work, cf. Redemption 7 X in Exodus chp 6. In picture sin was transferred from the offerer to the offering The sacrifice was consumed with fire as the wrath of God fell on the sacrifice Perhaps a little echo in Lev 16:14 of a looking forward to of something more: "eastward" : the side of the rising sun, that is how Malachi chp 4 ends with the "sun of righteousness rising with healing in His wings" The day of of atonement looked forward to the dawning of a new day! The Purity - of the priest (Lev 16:4) "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." (Rev 19:8) The sacrifice not only brings the offerer in but makes him fit to come in. God satisfied, man justified by Christ crucified!

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

From a Message Preached by Dr J Stewart Gillespie on:


'Showing and Sharing the Righteousness of God' (Romans Chp 3 Vs 19 to 31)


God Shows His Righteousness in Salvation
There is a light that shines through the whole of scripture from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.
The Word of God makes me aware that that Light and the apparent source of that Light are not one and the same!
The Word of God distinguishes between the source and the substance
Generally the ancient mind failed to do this: the commonest god to be worshiped by pagan man: Romans, Egyptians, Philistines, Hindus was the sun god. Why? Because the sun was regarded as the source of all light. Not so in the Word of God.

Genesis chapter 1: Light is present from day 1 but the sun is not created until day 4

From Genesis to Revelation the light may well be linked with the sun, the light may well shine as the sun rises morning by morning and diminish as the sun sets evening by evening but long before the sun ever arose for the first time there was Light and long after the sun has sunk for a final time, below the horizon of eternity; the true Light will still shine forever.
In life my great passion must be to look beyond the horizon of time to lay hold of the eternal Light which radiates from God Himself!
We often think of the 2 interchangeably but they are not, a bit like light and the sun!
In Genesis chp1 ever before God creates the sun He says “let there be light” and at the end of all things there is no sun any longer in heaven for “the Lamb is the light thereof” (Rev21:23).
The sun and the light are helpful to us as a picture of the distinction between source and substance
It is especially helpful when we recall that 'light' is often given to us in scripture as a picture of Gods righteousness (1 john1:7-10)

“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest...” (v21)
"manifested" - revealed or shown “φανερόω” from the Gk word to shine! Gods righteousness is able to shine, in its own intrinsic light independent from the law as the light and the sun!
Just as it is possible for the light to shine without the sun, so it is possible for righteousness to shine without the law.
It is Gods righteousness before it is ours :
Not an inferior righteousness
Given by God, not Gained by man
Gods righteousness comes down not worked up
Experienced by man not earned by mans efforts
Gods righteousness is as operative in salvation as in condemnation
Gods righteousness is satisfied by justification not denied
Not playing off one Divine attribute against another!
God is always what He is, unchanging
"I am the Lord I change not."
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever"
God is not sometimes all knowing
God is not sometimes all powerful
God is not sometimes Holy
God is not sometimes righteous
It is not His love and grace desiring to save against His righteousness refusing to save.
Sometimes we are painted a picture of God being in internal tension, His Righteousness desiring to condemn man and His Grace and Mercy Desiring to save man, this is not the case.
Rather Gods righteousness comes through His grace (3:24)
In salvation God is not working in order to deny an essential attribute of His being rather to satisfy that essential attribute of His being! 'I AM just behold and see, let the universe and the heavens examine, I have saved sinners from hell and I am the justifier of those who believe in Jesus.'
Gods righteous work of salvation is not a contradiction of His condemnation of mans sin but rather a consequence of his condemnation
Gods righteousness in salvation is not a different righteousness
It is the attainment of that righteousness by a means other than the law (3:21)
That righteousness which commences as Gods (3:21) continues as mans (3:22)
It is righteousness as a state not a second class righteousness, not a make do righteousness as if we couldn't manage it the proper way, so this will do instead!
This is "Gods righteousness without law" (3:21)
In other words we often think of righteousness as a standard, that standard is the law.
The law did not give rise to righteousness because something or someone gave rise to the law!
Therefore the righteousness which we have in the law is really a reflection of the righteousness of God which He gave in the law.
To put it another way: the law doesn't give righteousness, righteousness gave the law!
The law was Gods means of conveying His righteousness, like the sun is His means of conveying His light but He is not restricted to it!
So Gods righteousness is greater than the law, since the righteousness gave the law.
We may well reasonably ask the question: is there more to Gods righteousness than we know in the law?
The answer is yes! 'The righteousness of God without the law' (3:21)
This is an interesting idea but not a new one; that Gods Righteousness is greater than the law and extends in scope even beyond the law that He gave because it has already been “witnessed by the law and the prophets,” really the theme of Romans 3:21-31 and chapter 4.

Is there discernible in the OT scriptures:

A Righteousness of God “without law”?
A Righteousness of God that saves rather than condemns?

Gods righteousness in law is a righteousness that condemns man that finds fault with man, that ushers in judgment (3:20):

Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18 & 19)
Gods righteousness in law condemned Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen18:20) : “sin” - the knowledge of “sin” is by the law (Rom3:20), where there is no law sin is not imputed (Rom5:13) so they were under the law – perhaps Gods Creatorial and moral law of Rom 1 or the “law” of conscience (Rom2:14-15). In condemning Sodom and Gomorrah God acted in righteousness as a judge (Gen 18:25). But Lot and his 2 daughters and his wife were brought out of Sodom and Gomorrah! Was he legally righteous? cf. Gen 19:8; 20,32,33. Yet God was acting in righteousness in dealing with this matter (Gen18:25). God was righteous in condemning Sodom.
God was righteous in saving Lot!

Rahab the Harlot (Joshua chp 2) – condemned to die on at least 3 accounts by Gods righteousness in the law: as a cananite, as an inhabitant of Jericho, as an harlot maybe even as being a false witness (2:4), yet Rahab was saved out of Jericho! On what did she depend for her salvation? What gave her the confidence to betray her own people and trust in the Lord? “Ye shall also show kindness” (2:12).... “true token...” (2:12). This is a righteous principle: kindness for kindness, like for like, devotion for devotion! Yet how could she lay claim to Gods righteousness and to that of the righteousness of His servants? She was not righteous and had no righteousness of the law? Gods righteousness condemned her, how could she rest upon that righteousness? We may well say to Rahab: 'I would keep quite about righteousness if I were you!' It was Gods righteousness that would condmen her. Here was a righteousness apart from the law. “We will deal kindly and truly with thee” (v14). A pledge of fairness and righteousness. The righteousness of God that condemns her is the righteousness of God that is able to save her. Gods righteousness condemns Jericho.
Gods righteousness saves Rahab!

The Man Born Blind (John chp 9)
In John chapter 9 the Lord will create eyes and give light, He will save from blindness. What does that have to do with the righteousness of God? How is Christ revealed in John chp 9? Remember that each miracle in John's Gospel is a “sign”, Christ is being revealed as the “light” in Johns Gospel! There are 2 features of light in the scriptures:
Light reveals and illuminates understanding
Light brings in Gods righteousness (1John1:5-7)
It is as Christ is revealed as the righteousness of God that He moves to save this man from darkness. The Light of God, a picture of His Righteousness, a righteousness which does not utterly destroy this man but which illuminates this man in his darkness.

God Shares His Righteousness by Faith (v22)
Gods righteousness unobtainable by law / by deeds (3:20) is attainable by faith, ours by “faith” (3:22)

Rahab put out the scarlet thread
Lot went out of Sodom and Gomorrah with the angel, did not look back
The blind man went and washed in the pool of Siloam.

If the righteousness of God is not by law then I do not do nor do I keep something to gain it, so how do I gain Gods Righteousness without law?
I rest in it! I depend upon it! I trust in Him!
The righteousness of God is not bound by rules / codes / acts / deeds and therefore cannot be received by rules, codes, acts or deeds, it is received by faith!
Grace brings justification (v24).
How can God make me righteous if I am a sinner?
There are 2 words that appear in this section which in English are quite different but in Greek are in fact very similar: righteousness: 'Standard of God ' and justification: 'Standing before God.'
God Satisfies His Righteousness by Faith (3:25-26)
Salvation does not run contrary to Gods Righteousness
Salvation is constructed by Gods Righteousness
The Cause of Salvation lies in Gods Righteousness : “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (Jas 4:17). If there was a way to save men and women and to maintain Gods character if God failed to take that step He would not be perfectly righteous!It would constitute a sin of omission! The plan of salvation is thus in one aspect a product of righteous necessity! God cannot fail to be less than perfectly righteous! The angle could not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot was out (Gen19), a scarlet thread was provided for Rahab, Christ did not walk by on the other side of the blind man as the did the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan!

Salvation is constructed by Gods Righteousness The whole plan of salvation is carefully constructed in such a way as to maintain Gods righteousness. Salvation is not a way of getting off with sin! It is the means of buying back the sinner (3:24). God in saving the sinner provides a sacrifice for the sinner.
If God saves, God sacrifices (3:25).
The cost is real and the cost is paid.
The righteousness of God is built into the whole plan of salvation.
Righteous ends by righteous means (3:25,26).
Salvation is Completed and Concluded in Gods Righteousness Gods work in the past in “remitting sins” (v25) is fulfilled now at this time (3:26) in the work of Christ.
God Saves by His Righteousness - not mine (3:27-31)