Reformation Sunday October 30, 2022
Romans 3:19-28
God's Courtroom
v.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.
Dear friends in Christ, for many years now one of the most popular genres of the movie and television industry has been that of the crime drama. Such programs like "Law and Order" that depict a crime being committed, the suspect eventually apprehended by the police, which then leads to a trial in the courts. Well such is the image that the apostle Paul is putting before us here in our text as he writes to the church at Rome concerning their (and our) situation before God Almighty.
The Law of God—that is the moral imperatives or commands of God to us regarding our behaviour toward Him and our neighbor (i.e. the Ten Commandments)—speaks to all those who are under the law. That's you and me. As created beings, we are naturally under the Law of God—beholden to Him as our Creator. This is true not just for the Christian, but for all human beings. As Paul clearly demonstrates by saying, "all the world," and "all flesh." Everyone who is in the world—everyone who has flesh and blood—is a creature of God—and therefore subject both to Him and His Law—whether we like it or not—whether we realize it or not.
Now God's Law is perfect and good and right. It teaches us how we are to love God and our neighbor properly: having no other gods, using His name rightly, respecting those in authority over us, not taking other peoples' belongings, looking after the well-being of our fellow man, honoring the husband and wife relationship in marriage, etc. However, because of our sinful natures that we have inherited from Adam, we have broken God's Law, failing to love God and neighbor properly, which means that we are subject before His court for judgement.
Now God's Law, though good, is unyielding. That means there is no wiggle room available to us to try and talk our way out from under His judgement. The Law speaks so that every mouth may be stopped up—blocked—closed—from trying to excuse or justify our sinful behavior.
Picture the scene: you stand in the Lord's courtroom, accused of gross sin against God and neighbor. The list of the charges against you goes on and on and on—from the time you called your sibling a "poopy head" when you were two years old, to the lie you told your friend yesterday, to the anger buried deeply in your heart right now. The Law of God speaks so clearly and eloquently—precise in its accusations—and there is nothing you can say against it that wouldn't be a lie. You are guilty. You are subject for your sins before God's court of justice. The Law clearly reveals this and makes it well known—even when we would try to ignore it.
That's a pretty bleak situation in which we find ourselves. We have been caught dead to rights. There is no acquittal for us to be found in the Law. There are no extra good works that we could perform to wipe away our sin—to remove our guilt. "For by works of the law no human being will be justified (declared righteous/not guilty) in His sight…" You as the defendant in God's courtroom are accused of grievous sin—and the evidence is undeniable—you are guilty!
In our television programs we enjoy watching, we LOVE this part of the show, right? The wrong doer being held accountable—the person who has been arrested actually going before the judge and receiving a just punishment for their crime. This is what makes the program worthwhile. We can't stand it when someone we know is guilty gets off scot free. However, we don’t quite feel the same way when we are the guilty party, do we? In terms of our sin, we are desperate for release—desperate for freedom—but the Law offers no hope, no reprieve—only justice and judgement—which means everlasting death in hell for the guilty sinner.
Such was what Martin Luther experienced as a young Christian man. As a monk and later priest, he wrestled greatly with the clear Law of God that declared Him guilty of all sin. He saw only God's wrath against him. The church's teachings at the time told him that if he could only work a little harder, be a little better, then maybe, just maybe, he could eventually work off some of his guilt and sin. But the harder he tried, the more the Law of God told him he failed. He despaired of ever reaching heaven.
That is, until Luther read and studied St. Paul's letter to the Romans. There he found Good News at last for himself and all sinners. For though Paul is abundantly clear here that no human can be justified before God by their own works of the Law—that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"—"but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe…are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith."
Do you hear that, beloved? There IS good news for the guilty sinner who stands accused in God's divine courtroom! For there is a righteousness—and acquittal—that sinners may receive. But it does not come from our works of the Law. Rather, it is a righteousness—a divine declaration from the judgement seat of God the Father—that we are not guilty—that indeed we are as pure and innocent as the driven snow! And this righteousness is found only through faith in Jesus Christ.
For in our divine courtroom setting, we the accused do not stand alone before the Almighty Judge—the Father. Rather, Jesus stands by us as our advocate—our defense attorney. But rather than trying some sneaky legal jargon to find a loophole in which we can wriggle out of our sin—instead Jesus points out that He has gone to the cross to pay the debt of our sin with His own life's blood. Indeed, the Father put Jesus forward as the "seed of the woman" who would come to undo the works of the devil—our accuser—to crush him and the effects of sin—by suffering our death for us. Jesus has taken your place, beloved, under the just wrath of the Father for your sin. He has paid your sentence in full—dying the death you deserve. Drinking the full cup of wrath that you might be set free, declared righteous.
That's right. Not only are we declared "Not Guilty," but we are found to be righteous—full of goodness. For Jesus' perfect life that He lived, is also credited to you by your faith in Him. For God must be just—sin must be paid for. Jesus' blood has paid that debt. The blood of Jesus has been poured out upon the mercy seat of God. Jesus took all our sin upon Himself, and in its place, He gives us His righteousness—His purity—His forgiveness and life.
How then could we as Christians possibly boast before the throne of God—or even our fellow human beings? Indeed, our bragging of our goodness is cut off—excluded. Not by a law of works—for even our good deeds are as filthy rags before God as the prophet Isaiah declares. Rather, our boasting is severed on account of the law of faith. For we know and believe that we are justified before God not on account of our works of the Law, but rather only through believing in Jesus and what He has done for us.
So this divine courtroom drama has a most unexpected plot twist at the end! The guilty party is acquitted—at the last minute—despite all the evidence. For their crime and punishment has been paid for by their own defense attorney—the Lord Jesus!
And this Good News leads us to have incredible comfort and joy all the days of our lives. Our guilty consciences are assuaged by the fact that Jesus has died for us. His blood has been accepted by the Father in full payment for all our sins. There is nothing more we can do or add to what Christ has already done. Now, we are free to love and serve God and neighbor as He would have us do, without the threat of our guilt and sin hanging over us. What joy, beloved! What comfort! What peace! "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law." Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus! Amen.
Romans 3:19-28
God's Courtroom
v.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.
Dear friends in Christ, for many years now one of the most popular genres of the movie and television industry has been that of the crime drama. Such programs like "Law and Order" that depict a crime being committed, the suspect eventually apprehended by the police, which then leads to a trial in the courts. Well such is the image that the apostle Paul is putting before us here in our text as he writes to the church at Rome concerning their (and our) situation before God Almighty.
The Law of God—that is the moral imperatives or commands of God to us regarding our behaviour toward Him and our neighbor (i.e. the Ten Commandments)—speaks to all those who are under the law. That's you and me. As created beings, we are naturally under the Law of God—beholden to Him as our Creator. This is true not just for the Christian, but for all human beings. As Paul clearly demonstrates by saying, "all the world," and "all flesh." Everyone who is in the world—everyone who has flesh and blood—is a creature of God—and therefore subject both to Him and His Law—whether we like it or not—whether we realize it or not.
Now God's Law is perfect and good and right. It teaches us how we are to love God and our neighbor properly: having no other gods, using His name rightly, respecting those in authority over us, not taking other peoples' belongings, looking after the well-being of our fellow man, honoring the husband and wife relationship in marriage, etc. However, because of our sinful natures that we have inherited from Adam, we have broken God's Law, failing to love God and neighbor properly, which means that we are subject before His court for judgement.
Now God's Law, though good, is unyielding. That means there is no wiggle room available to us to try and talk our way out from under His judgement. The Law speaks so that every mouth may be stopped up—blocked—closed—from trying to excuse or justify our sinful behavior.
Picture the scene: you stand in the Lord's courtroom, accused of gross sin against God and neighbor. The list of the charges against you goes on and on and on—from the time you called your sibling a "poopy head" when you were two years old, to the lie you told your friend yesterday, to the anger buried deeply in your heart right now. The Law of God speaks so clearly and eloquently—precise in its accusations—and there is nothing you can say against it that wouldn't be a lie. You are guilty. You are subject for your sins before God's court of justice. The Law clearly reveals this and makes it well known—even when we would try to ignore it.
That's a pretty bleak situation in which we find ourselves. We have been caught dead to rights. There is no acquittal for us to be found in the Law. There are no extra good works that we could perform to wipe away our sin—to remove our guilt. "For by works of the law no human being will be justified (declared righteous/not guilty) in His sight…" You as the defendant in God's courtroom are accused of grievous sin—and the evidence is undeniable—you are guilty!
In our television programs we enjoy watching, we LOVE this part of the show, right? The wrong doer being held accountable—the person who has been arrested actually going before the judge and receiving a just punishment for their crime. This is what makes the program worthwhile. We can't stand it when someone we know is guilty gets off scot free. However, we don’t quite feel the same way when we are the guilty party, do we? In terms of our sin, we are desperate for release—desperate for freedom—but the Law offers no hope, no reprieve—only justice and judgement—which means everlasting death in hell for the guilty sinner.
Such was what Martin Luther experienced as a young Christian man. As a monk and later priest, he wrestled greatly with the clear Law of God that declared Him guilty of all sin. He saw only God's wrath against him. The church's teachings at the time told him that if he could only work a little harder, be a little better, then maybe, just maybe, he could eventually work off some of his guilt and sin. But the harder he tried, the more the Law of God told him he failed. He despaired of ever reaching heaven.
That is, until Luther read and studied St. Paul's letter to the Romans. There he found Good News at last for himself and all sinners. For though Paul is abundantly clear here that no human can be justified before God by their own works of the Law—that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"—"but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe…are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith."
Do you hear that, beloved? There IS good news for the guilty sinner who stands accused in God's divine courtroom! For there is a righteousness—and acquittal—that sinners may receive. But it does not come from our works of the Law. Rather, it is a righteousness—a divine declaration from the judgement seat of God the Father—that we are not guilty—that indeed we are as pure and innocent as the driven snow! And this righteousness is found only through faith in Jesus Christ.
For in our divine courtroom setting, we the accused do not stand alone before the Almighty Judge—the Father. Rather, Jesus stands by us as our advocate—our defense attorney. But rather than trying some sneaky legal jargon to find a loophole in which we can wriggle out of our sin—instead Jesus points out that He has gone to the cross to pay the debt of our sin with His own life's blood. Indeed, the Father put Jesus forward as the "seed of the woman" who would come to undo the works of the devil—our accuser—to crush him and the effects of sin—by suffering our death for us. Jesus has taken your place, beloved, under the just wrath of the Father for your sin. He has paid your sentence in full—dying the death you deserve. Drinking the full cup of wrath that you might be set free, declared righteous.
That's right. Not only are we declared "Not Guilty," but we are found to be righteous—full of goodness. For Jesus' perfect life that He lived, is also credited to you by your faith in Him. For God must be just—sin must be paid for. Jesus' blood has paid that debt. The blood of Jesus has been poured out upon the mercy seat of God. Jesus took all our sin upon Himself, and in its place, He gives us His righteousness—His purity—His forgiveness and life.
How then could we as Christians possibly boast before the throne of God—or even our fellow human beings? Indeed, our bragging of our goodness is cut off—excluded. Not by a law of works—for even our good deeds are as filthy rags before God as the prophet Isaiah declares. Rather, our boasting is severed on account of the law of faith. For we know and believe that we are justified before God not on account of our works of the Law, but rather only through believing in Jesus and what He has done for us.
So this divine courtroom drama has a most unexpected plot twist at the end! The guilty party is acquitted—at the last minute—despite all the evidence. For their crime and punishment has been paid for by their own defense attorney—the Lord Jesus!
And this Good News leads us to have incredible comfort and joy all the days of our lives. Our guilty consciences are assuaged by the fact that Jesus has died for us. His blood has been accepted by the Father in full payment for all our sins. There is nothing more we can do or add to what Christ has already done. Now, we are free to love and serve God and neighbor as He would have us do, without the threat of our guilt and sin hanging over us. What joy, beloved! What comfort! What peace! "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law." Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus! Amen.