The Most Important Question:
How Can I Stand Righteous Before God?
Romans 3:19–28
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your precious Word, which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. As John pointed to Christ, and Luther to the Word, may we keep our eyes ever on your Word of truth which points us to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. May your Word endure all attacks from within and without, and the message of salvation by grace alone continue to be boldly proclaimed for the comfort of every troubled sinner. In Jesus name. Amen!
In Christ Jesus, whose righteous life has been credited to you, so that you might be justified freely by his grace through faith in him, dear fellow redeemed!
The most important question which every single person must ask is this: “How can I stand righteous before God?” On what basis is God going to let me into heaven? Every one of us needs to ask this question, because we will be judged. Whether it’s when you die or when every knee bows at Christ’s final return, you will have to stand before the holy, righteous, and just Judge of the living and the dead. This is most certainly true.
In the first two chapters of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he makes it clear that all people are guilty and will be judged. He gives a thorough and pointed picture showing that no one is innocent before God—neither Gentile nor Jew. He ends his preaching of the law, which comes right before our lesson, by citing the Psalms,
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
These words are sobering. Our hearts cringe and scream in defiance! Who do you think you are to accuse me? How dare you describe me in such a way! But the law of God shuts our mouths. We protest, but God says, “Be quiet.” Stop making excuses. There is no point.
If we want to be good enough for God, righteous in his sight, then we must fear, love, and trust in him above all things. We must keep every commandment, never dishonor, hate, lust, steal, cheat, lie, disparage, or covet. We must be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect. This is most certainly true.
Martin Luther tried to make himself good enough for God, but he learned that he could never make himself good enough. In fact, the more he tried to make himself good, the worse he became. Instead of working his way to heaven, he was digging a pit into hell. He did exactly what the Medieval Catholic Church told him to do. They taught that if you do the best you can do, God will give you grace to do better, and by cooperating with God’s grace, you will become good enough for God. However, if you do not become good enough for God in this lifetime, you would go to purgatory when you die and would there complete the process of becoming a saint through penance. This false teaching of salvation is based on works. It focuses on what you do instead of what God has done for you. It causes doubt and despair. Am I good enough? Have I done enough? These were the questions that drove Luther to despair. But then he learned that the church wasn’t speaking for God. So, he went to the Bible to see what God demanded. He found himself to be guilty. His mouth was stopped. He knew that he could not stand righteous before God by his efforts.
The law condemned Luther. It condemns you and me. You haven’t kept God’s demands. But through his study of Scripture, Luther learned that God justifies sinners, he declares them righteous, not by anything we do, but only on account of what Jesus did for us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith . . . that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. . . . Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
When Luther understood that the righteousness that God demands is given us in Christ, he said it was as if he had entered paradise itself! God freely gives us the forgiveness of sins. We can’t buy, sell, or earn it. Jesus paid the price in full with his death on the cross. Jesus was exactly what John the Baptizer proclaimed him to be, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”
The Reformation was not just about how Luther found peace with God. It’s about the Gospel that he discovered in the Bible. This matters for you. All have sinned. Whether they acknowledge it or not, whether they confess it or not, they have sinned. They stand condemned. But those who are condemned are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God reckons them to be just—righteous—not because of anything they have done or will do, but because of Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of the world! You have peace with God. You are justified by grace through faith in Christ. You are redeemed. You can stand before the judge, confident and secure in the forgiveness Christ won on the cross! It’s yours!
Yet, as one theologian put it, “Peace with God means in the same breath war with the self and strife in the world.” How true. A “yes” to God, means “no” to self and “no” to the world. True faith recognizes Christ as Lord, who makes us relinquish our own wisdom and thoughts, wishes and hopes. Faith submits itself to God’s Word. Pride, selfishness, and earthly glory have no place. There is no boasting before God—it is excluded. This is hard for our sinful flesh. We want to be in control, to be wise in our own eyes, and never admit that we have sinned—that despite all the efforts we make, we have fallen short.
Peace with God means not only war with our flesh, but war with the world. In Luther’s day, it was the false doctrine that you could cooperate with God to work your way to heaven. It was a lie that offered people hope by purchasing pieces of paper from the church. It put people in doubt and despair about how they could stand before God. While we live in a different religious climate today, the same is true—the Gospel is hidden by human traditions and opinions.
It’s popular today to think that if you do the best you can do, God will be good to you. The world tells you that if you serve your community, do more good than bad, you will be fine. Even churches tell you this. Churches preach a counterfeit gospel—a social gospel that is more concerned about man-made solutions to this world of sin, than the God-man who broke into human history to save us. Instead of finding righteousness in Christ, righteousness is found in what political party you belong too. Instead of seeing Christ as freedom from sin, people use Christ as freedom to sin. But these are all lies.
Have you been saying “no” to self, or do you simply follow your wants and wishes, and plan on repenting later? Do you always want to get your way, no matter what Christian brother or sister you offend? Do you get angry, disparage, covet, and lust with no concern for your soul? Have you been saying “no” to the world, or have you sought after the things that the world marks as worthwhile—money, power, and importance, while thinking very little of God and his Word?
Then confess your sins and run to Christ. Our entire Christian life will be one lived in opposition to our sinful flesh. We will fall short, but there is One who did not. Our Lord Jesus lived a perfect life and died an innocent death on the cross to pay for your sins. He doesn’t demand perfection, but repentance and faith in him. We are justified by grace through faith in him. Heaven is a gift of God—that is not dependent on your works or efforts!
We can be confident of our salvation because this is the message of Scripture—not man-made opinions or interpretations. Luther proclaimed this message with confidence because it was grounded on God’s Word, and the Word points us to Christ.
When Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the Castle Church door on October 31st in Wittenberg, Germany, he did not realize that this would be the beginning of the Reformation. Luther certainly wasn’t Lutheran in 1517, but he was well on his way. The more he studied the Scriptures, the more he became convicted to stand on the Word of God and to see that only God can give us the righteousness we need to enter heaven.
In 1521, Luther was called before Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms. At this time, Charles V was the most powerful man in the world. Luther hoped that this would be an opportunity to debate the truths of Scripture, but there was no debate. Instead, Luther was asked to recant his statements and books. But the lowly monk replied, “Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds and reasoning—and my conscience is captive to the Word of God—then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen!”
Luther was bold because he stood on God’s Word. You can be bold when you stand on God’s Word. The issues that Luther faced in the church of his day are quite different from the issues we face today. Yet, the most important question about how we can stand righteous before God is still the same. It will never change. Sinners need forgiveness of sin. We are sinners. We need forgiveness. We need Jesus. He has carried our sins to the cross and has made peace between God and us. We are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. We didn’t deserve it or earn it. We are justified freely by his grace and we receive it through faith alone. Amen.