Intro: Here’s where we’re going:
Faith Matters
1. No one is good enough
2. Only God could do the work…and He did
3. Life-changing faith is the difference maker
Romans 3:21-31 New Living Translation
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.
God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
Faith Matters
1. No one is good enough
2. Only God could do the work…and He did
3. Life-changing faith is the difference maker
A relationship with God has to be on His terms
Romans 3:21-23 New Living Translation
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
So many of us wrestle with the idea of “Am I good enough? Have I done enough?”
1) No one is good enough to have a relationship with a holy God.
Romans 3:24 New Living Translation
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
GRACE – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
2) Only God could do the work…and He did
Romans 3:25-26 New Living Translation
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Propitiation is the act of appeasing God’s wrath through sacrifice
The sacrifice has to be perfect, blameless, spotless – just like the Passover Lamb in Jewish history. That sacrifice was Jesus.
God is both just and justifier
God himself…gave himself…to save us from himself. God…paid…himself…so that we could have a relationship with Him and experience His glory.
Only God could do the work for us to have a relationship with Him…and He did!
Romans 3:7-31 New Living Translation
27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
3) Life-changing faith is the difference maker
22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
27 Our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.
28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith
31 Only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
Life-changing faith redefines your marriage, your parenting, your politics, your finances, your future.
Hebrews 11:1-2 New International Version
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Romans 10:17 New American Standard Bible
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Faith is not “blind”
James 2:14-20 New Living Translation
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?
15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Faith that changes our lives is because we love God so much that everything we do reflects that love.
Ephesians 2:8-9 New Living Translation
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
1 John 5:4 New Living Translation
For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
Sermon Based Questions
- What was encouraging, difficult, or confusing about the talk on Sunday?
- Why do you think people say, “They’re in a better place,” when someone dies, regardless of what kind of life they lived?
- When someone says they’re a good person, who specifically do you think they are comparing themselves to? Billy Graham? A drug dealer? The veteran who put their life on the line in Afghanistan? Jesus?
- How would you explain to a friend that God is both just and justifier?
- How has your faith practically changed your life?