This is Romans lecture number 8. Romans lecture number 8. We're on part 3 in the overview of the book of Romans, the outline that is, Salvation in Christ Alone. Paul has already presented, greeted the Romans, presented his theme. and made clear that all mankind are full and that's the need for salvation. Man needs to be saved. And now Paul tells us that salvation comes in Christ alone. Paul's going to talk about justification, sanctification and glorification, but right now For the rest of Romans chapter 3, verses 20 to the end of the chapter, Romans chapter 4 and Romans chapter 5, Paul is going to focus on justification, the act of God declaring a sinner righteous in God's sight at the moment that he or she first believes. Remember that in justification the believer is saved from the penalty and the power of sin. Now, later on, Romans 6 and 7, Paul's going to talk about sanctification, and in Romans 8, he's going to talk about glorification. Keep that in mind. Now, Paul sees, we're going to see when we get to Romans 8, Paul sees justification, sanctification, and glorification as an unbroken chain. A lot of our Arminian brothers see people who can be justified and then either not enter into sanctification or the sanctification process breaks down. Paul does not see it that way in Romans 8 verses 28 to 30. God works everything for our good and he does that by fully conforming us to the image of his son. And basically Paul says those who are justified will also be glorified, Romans 8.30. So keep in mind that when we break down salvation and we look at justification, sanctification, and glorification, it is one salvation that is being viewed in its different aspects But all three of those aspects come together because justification, once a person is justified, he will be sanctified and glorified through the work of Christ in his life. Now Paul says that justification is through faith in Christ in chapter 3 verse 20 to verse 31 at the end of the chapter. Brief introduction, remember Paul is teaching his version of the gospel. He declared that all men are condemned, and now he discusses how God saves the sinner. The first aspect of salvation, as we mentioned, is justification, and that's what Paul was talking about. Now, verse 20, we already covered it, so we're not going to spend a lot of time on it, but we need to read it. It's a transition verse, Romans 3.20, because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. And so the law does not justify, remember it reveals the holiness of God, and because man cannot keep God's holy standards, the law also reveals the sinfulness of man, so therefore the law reveals man's need for salvation. It's a tutor to lead us to Christ, Galatians 3.24. Verses 21 to 26, If the law does not justify, how does God justify the sinner? How does God save the sinner? Paul discusses that in these verses, 21 to 26. Look at verse 21. Now, by the way, in verse 21, Paul answers the question, what? In verse 22, he answers the question, how? And in verse 23, he answers the question, why? Now, the what is God's righteousness is revealed. Look at verse 21. But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. So God's righteousness is revealed. But Paul says it's apart from the law, because man cannot be declared or made righteous through the works of the law. Still, even though God's righteousness, and by the way, you've got to have God's righteousness in order to get into heaven. You can't get there with human righteousness. Isaiah 64, 6, I believe, says that our own righteousness is filthy rags before the Lord. So, God's righteousness is revealed apart from the law. Still, it's witnessed by the law. You see, Paul's not saying that Salvation through faith in Christ makes the law evil. No, the law is also the work of God and it is to lead us to be saved. But Paul says that though God's righteousness is revealed apart from the law, it is witnessed by the law. And it depends on the context. The law can refer to many different things, especially in Paul's writings. Paul, just about every possible meaning of the law could be met and it depends on the context what it means. The law could mean the Mosaic Law. Okay? The law could mean the first five books of the Bible, which pretty much is the Mosaic Law, the Pentateuch. The law could mean the entire Old Testament. The law usually, without the definite article in front of it, law could be God's moral law and the conscience of a man, the law written in their hearts. But in this particular context, where it says that the righteousness of God is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets, Then, the context right there tells us that he's talking about the first five books of the Bible, the five books written by Moses, because the Law and the Prophets was a common title for the Old Testament. You could call the whole entire Old Testament just the Law, or you could call it the Law and the Prophets. In fact, I believe there's even a passage in the Gospels where If I remember correctly, I hope I'm not giving out bum scoop here, but the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, I believe. And so you could break it down further, but here with the Law and the Prophets, it's talking about the first five books of the Bible. Now, how was God's righteousness revealed? Now, by the way, how was God's righteousness given to man? Well, Paul's going to mention that in verse 22. The what is God's righteousness? How is it revealed? That's going to be answered in verse 22 through faith in Jesus. So how is Jesus, the righteousness of God, by the way 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 30 tells us that Jesus Christ is our righteousness. How does the Old Testament law, the law of Moses, How did it testify of Jesus? Well, in Genesis 3.15, we're told that one is to be born of the woman, the seed of the woman, will crush the head of the serpent, who is Lucifer, who led mankind astray, led man to his fall, even though the serpent would bruise his heel. So right there was a prediction that one will come who will be born of a woman, who will defeat Satan and the works of Satan who led man astray even though Satan would take some action against him and deal some type of damage to him. So implied in that passage you could find clues to the virgin birth the crucifixion of Christ, Christ's resurrection and the second coming and then finally after the millennial reign the tossing of Lucifer into the flames of hell. All that you can find clues for in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. Genesis 12 verses 1 to 3. In that passage, Abraham is promised that God is going to raise from him a mighty nation, but it says, through his seed, all the nations on earth will be blessed. Now the blessing is twofold. Number one, the seed of Abraham, the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to be the savior of mankind. And number two, the spiritual savior of mankind. And number two, the Lord Jesus Christ is also going to physically save the planet and bring peace and righteousness, a reign of peace and righteousness as he rules on earth for a thousand years. Exodus chapter 12, the Passover lamb being sacrificed. It must be an unblemished lamb without any broken bone. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb. 1 Corinthians 5, 7. The Lord Jesus Christ, they did not break any of his bones and through the blood of the lamb, we are passed over for judgment by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole book of Leviticus, with all the animal sacrifices, The author of Hebrews tells us that the blood of animals cleansed no man of his sins, but they pointed forward to the day when God would send the perfect Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. And then Deuteronomy 18, Moses tells us that a prophet like him would arise among the people, and then he basically says that based on a person's response to this prophet, that will determine their eternal destiny. And so there's many strong predictions of the coming Messiah and Savior of mankind in the law so that God's righteousness, which comes through faith in Jesus, was witnessed by the law in the five books of Moses. But it was also witnessed by the prophets. Now when prophets is used in this sense, then even the Psalms are considered under the classification of the prophets, otherwise they would be classified, I believe, under the writings. But the win is by the prophets, so Psalm 22, when King David said, they pierced my hands and my feet, they cast lots for my garments. Isaiah 53 talks about the fact that the Messiah, like would be silent before his persecutors like a lamb sent before the shearers and would suffer and die for the iniquity of the people. Daniel 9 predicts that the Messiah, verses 24-27, the Messiah would be executed before the temple is destroyed which occurred in 70 AD. Micah chapter 5 verse 2, that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Zechariah chapter 9 verses 9 and 10, that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. The Jews would mob him and say, Hosanna, which means save now, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And then verse 10 says that the day will come when he will reign from sea to sea and his dominion will have no end. And so again, Paul is emphasizing the fact that God's righteousness, God's way of salvation, the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is not something new that the Christian church came up with. It was taught in the Old Testament and though salvation is apart from the law, it was witnessed by the law and by the prophets. So that's the what? God's righteousness is revealed. How is it revealed? Verse 22 answers that question. It is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ. Take a look at verse 22. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe, for there is no distinction. So God's righteousness is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. God has no favors, there's no distinction. All are condemned, yet all can be saved by God's grace through faith in Christ. Now 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. Basically, righteousness is our ticket to heaven. and we can't earn, we can't achieve God's righteousness on our own, therefore we need God's righteousness as a free gift. Well, it comes to us through Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5.21 reads as follows, He, meaning God, made Him, meaning Jesus, so God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I don't have it listed in the notes, but if you look at 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 30, 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 30, and that passage reads, but by his doing, You are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Jesus Christ is our ticket to heaven. When you stand on the judgment day, God the Father is not going to let you into heaven because of your righteousness, your own righteousness as filthy rags before the Lord, but because of the righteousness of Christ credited to your account, imputed to your account, you will be allowed into heaven. Now, we don't have time to turn there, but also in Jeremiah, I believe, 23, verse 5, one of the names of the Lord is the Lord our righteousness. And I think I know what it is in the Hebrew, but I don't want to guess, because if I'm wrong, I'll have to correct myself next week. And so, God's righteousness is revealed to man through faith in Jesus. And of course, this is the basic salvation message that the Apostle John taught, that's taught throughout the scriptures. The Apostle Paul is emphasizing salvation by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. John 3, 16 to 18, it's smeared throughout the Gospel of John. You can find salvation message literally on every page, but in John 3.16-18 a clear presentation of the gospel of salvation. through faith in Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged, he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And then John 6, 47, truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. And so, the righteousness of God is revealed to man through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. Again, God has no favorites because all mankind, both Jew and Gentile, are condemned. We're all sinners. Yet, we can all be saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. Verse 23, now God's... The what? Is God's righteousness is revealed. How? Through faith in Jesus. Why? Because all have sinned. In other words, we couldn't earn God's righteousness on our own, so we need to receive God's righteousness as a free gift through faith in Jesus Christ. By the way, this Romans chapter 3, verses 20 to the end of the chapter is probably the most systematic presentation of justification, of salvation through Christ in the scriptures. If a Bible student could master this passage here, he's going to be able to present the gospel in a very clear and coherent manner. But verse 23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Now, the word for sin there is hamartia. It means to miss the mark, to fall short of God's perfect righteousness. You know, God created us to glorify Him. However, we all need God's righteousness to do so. And since we fall short of God's righteousness, we fall short of God's holy standards, we fail to glorify God to the extent that he has created us to glorify him. But hamartia, there's many Greek words for sin. Parabasis means to willful transgression. to cross a forbidden boundary, it's willful disobedience. But hamartia means to miss the mark. If you were aiming at a bullseye and aiming for the ten ring, if you missed the ten ring and your arrow landed in the nine ring, you might feel real good about that. But God would say you missed the mark. You fell short of perfection. You fell short of God's perfect righteousness. And so all have sinned and because of that, God's righteousness is revealed to us not through the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, Paul emphasizes the fact that justification is a free gift in verse 24. If a person does not understand that justification is a free gift, they have misunderstood the gospel message. Verse 24. being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. And so Paul tells us justification is a free gift. Now the word for free gift is dōron, dōron in the Greek. Now Romans 6.23 says the same thing, although a different word, a different Greek word is used for gift there. Romans 6.23 says, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's charismata, like the charismatic gifts type of thing, but of course it's not talking about the charismatic gifts, but the same Greek word is used for those gifts as well. But that's used for the free gift there in Romans 6.23. But Paul uses doron, here in Romans 3 verse 24. But justification, our salvation is a free gift. It's something that we did not deserve. Paul tells us that we're justified as a gift by his grace, by God's grace. So justification is by God's grace. The Greek word is charis. It means unmerited favor. We could not earn God's favor. It comes to us as a free gift. it is God's charity, our word charity comes from charis, the word for grace. And so we're justified as a gift by God's grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Now the word redemption, Apollo, Apollo tro-sells, there's a lot of different variations for this word and Most variations are easier to pronounce than that one. But the word for redemption, it means to deliver or free someone by paying a ransom price. To deliver or free someone by the paying of a ransom price. Now with the Jewish and as well as the Roman culture, you could redeem land or slaves. Many times the slaves would be sold in the slave market and the man could pay the ransom price for them and redeem the slave and then choose to set the slave free. And also if somebody owed money to another person and they didn't have the means to pay it, their land could be confiscated and what would be done would be a legal document, a scroll would be drawn up and they would write down all the contents of the land on that scroll, it would become the title deed and that would be rolled up And then on the outside of the scroll, there would be a list of all the requirements that would need to be met in order to redeem. The price that would need to be paid to redeem or buy back the land. And then it would be sealed seven times with seven seals. You'll see the significance of that as you study the book of Revelation. So it's a title deed and in order to buy back the land, redeem the land, the price would have to be paid. Now the price Maybe the person who lost, had their land confiscated, maybe they'd come up with the ransom price. Then again, maybe they would have a friend who would be willing to redeem the land for them, pay the price for them, and buy back their land for them. But redemption means to deliver or free someone by paying a ransom price. And what Paul is speaking about here is the fact that Jesus Christ redeemed us by paying the price for our sins. He died on the cross for our sins and he paid the price for our sins. Now let me say something here. There's a false theory of the atonement, of Christ's death on the cross of Calvary. There's a false view which teaches that Jesus Christ, when he redeemed man and paid the price by dying on the cross for our sins, that he paid the price to Satan. that since we're in Satan's kingdom until we're saved, Jesus had to pay a ransom price to Satan to buy us back from Satan. Number one, Jesus did set us free from Satan's kingdom, but number two, and we need to recognize this, he did not pay the ransom price to Satan. What Jesus did to get us from Satan out of Satan's kingdom was basically Jesus walked up to Satan and beat the living tar out of him. We need to recognize that Jesus Christ, our God, doesn't owe Satan a dime. And our God isn't going to pay a penny to Satan. Obviously he's not going to pay a penny to Satan. He's not going to pay the precious blood of his son. in payment to Satan for mankind. So where did this payment go to? Who is the recipient of it? Basically, Christ, by dying on the cross for our sins and paying the price for our sins, He paid the price, He paid the ransom fee to God's justice. Because God is just, He must punish all sin. God's justice and his holiness demands that he punish all sin and so by Christ dying on the cross for our sins as a substitute, as a sacrifice for our sins, the ransom price was paid to God's justice and not to Lucifer. That's very important for us to understand. Now the cost of justification. Paul speaks about this in verse 25. talking about Christ Jesus, he says, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. I just love Paul because he just, it's like every three words, he brings up entirely new theological concepts. By new what I mean is new to the discussion. They just throw in a word like propitiation. They'll throw in a little passage like he passed over the sins previously committed. And it's just like, you know, you could preach an entire passage on any one of these phrases here. Obviously due to time constraints we're not going to be able to do that, but the cost of justification He talks about Christ, basically what it cost for sinners to be justified was the slaughter of God's own son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God, the second person of the Trinity, became a man and physically died on the cross for sins. Christ was, it speaks about him in verse 25 being publicly displayed. What that is talking about is the public shame of crucifixion where a man would be executed as a criminal and would be naked upon the cross, lifted up for all those passing by to see. The most shameful way in the history of mankind for a person to die was the shame of crucifixion and Christ was publicly displayed because he took our shame for us. Remember, before mankind sinned in the garden, Genesis 2.25 said that Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed. After they sinned, they covered themselves with fig leaves. Because the fig leaves wouldn't last too long, God slaughtered innocent animals, probably in their presence, and then clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins and covered them because of their shame. Because of sin, We have shame and the Lord Jesus Christ took our shame upon himself by being publicly displayed like a criminal and suffering the shame of crucifixion. God punished Jesus for our sins. Two key concepts here in the death of Christ on the cross. Number one is the concept of substitution. Substitution. Jesus Christ died in our place. Give you an illustration from a football game. If you substituted one quarterback for another quarterback, you sent in a quarterback to relieve another quarterback. Well, Jesus Christ, when he was on the cross, he was taking our punishment for us He was substituted for us. And God poured His wrath out upon Jesus so that He does not have to pour His wrath out upon us. Now, He does give us the freedom to accept or reject His forgiveness and salvation through Jesus. So if we choose, we can take God's wrath forever and ever. By the way, Jesus only had to suffer for six hours on the cross. Because, you see, sin by definition is rebellion against an ultimately worthy being, i.e. God. Therefore, sin deserves the ultimate punishment possible, which is the eternal torment in the flames of hell. But Jesus Christ only had to suffer six hours on the cross for mankind. He didn't have to suffer for all eternity in hell. And the reason being is because Jesus Christ is the ultimate, He is fully God and fully man. He is the ultimately worthy sacrifice. The ultimately worthy substitute for mankind. And so He can suffer just for six hours and He can cover an infinite number of sins. But Jesus Christ, we need to recognize He was our substitute on the cross It just says the animals were substituted for people, although of course the blood of animals did not forgive a man a sin that pointed forward to Christ. Christ was our substitute. He took our punishment for us. And we need to recognize the concept of sacrifice, that Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the cross. Paul calls Him our Passover Lamb, 1 Corinthians 5, 7. In John chapter 1, verse 29, John the Baptist sees Jesus and he says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Two passages in 1 Peter that we need to look at. Peter brings out this idea of Jesus Christ suffering for our sins as our sacrifice, sacrificed in our place, substitute for us, taking our punishment for us so that we could be saved. But in 1 Peter 2, verse 24, Peter says this, And he, meaning Jesus, and he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you were healed. It means basically spiritually healed in the context of Isaiah states which is what Peter is quoting in the last portion there. But Jesus Christ took our sins upon himself and in his body on the cross and was punished in our place. 1 Peter 3.18 Peter says this, For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, or made alive by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit raising him from the dead. But Jesus Christ died for our sins once for all. He's not re-sacrificed or even re-offered. in the Catholic masses, as Roman Catholics believe, he died once for all, as Hebrews says over and over again, the just, he was the just one, the righteous one, for the unjust, that's us, for mankind, the unrighteous ones. But God punished Jesus for our sins, Jesus died as our substitute, as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Now Paul uses the word propitiation that Christ suffered as our propitiation. Propitiation means satisfaction. In other words, Christ's death on the cross satisfied the requirements of God's holiness and His justice. We could not meet the requirements of God's justice But the Lord Jesus Christ is suffering on the cross, satisfy the requirements of God's holiness and justice so that God could save the unjust, you and I. And then Paul talks about, uses the phrase in verse 25, in his blood. In his blood he's talking about the fact that Christ's death covered our sin. By the way, there's a lot of people talking about that Jesus spilt one drop of blood for every sin that man ever committed, or one drop of blood for every man that ever lived, and that type of thing. There's nothing mystical meant by this. If Jesus had bled, if he cut his knee when he was a kid and he bled, that blood wouldn't forgive anybody of their sins. There was nothing mystical about the blood of Jesus. All it means is that we're saved by the blood of the lamb or cleansed by the blood of the lamb. The fact was, suppose you took an animal, a lamb, for an Old Testament sacrifice and you stabbed it and then you set it free and let it run away bleeding. That would not be an acceptable sacrifice. You see the lamb had to bleed. to the point of death. She had His blood to the point of death. So all that the blood of Jesus refers to is the fact of Christ's death. It's a symbolic way or a poetic way of saying that we are saved through the death of Christ. Now also in verse 25 it says, "...in His blood through faith." Through faith. This is how we accept Christ's salvation. The word for faith is pustuo. It means to trust in or rely upon or depend upon. So we don't just believe that Jesus is God and Savior, but we also trust in Him and rely upon Him and depend upon Him for salvation. We accept Him not only as the Savior of mankind, but as our own personal Savior. To believe We need to do more than just believe the right things about Jesus. We also need to believe in Jesus. It's kind of the difference between having faith that Yo Shmo is a police officer believing that Joe Schmoe is a police officer and believing in him as a police officer that if you call out to him when somebody's beating you up, he's going to come over and do a good job and protect you. So it's not just belief about Christ, but it's also belief in him, not just mental assent, not just head knowledge, but also heart commitment and trust in Christ for salvation. Paul says also in verse 25 that Christ's death demonstrated God's righteousness. How did Christ's death demonstrate God's righteousness? Well, the fact of the matter is, God, because He is righteous, because He is completely righteous, you know, an imperfect judge can say, well, you know, that guy committed a crime, but it's a first offense, I'm not gonna, I'm gonna let him go. We'll dismiss it. But God is totally righteous, and as a totally righteous God, God cannot forgive sin unless it has been paid for in full. God's justice demands that sin be paid for in full before He forgiveth. Therefore, Christ's death showed us how much God hates sin. God hates sin so much. You know, it wasn't like God arbitrarily said, well, I want to provide a way where I'm going to forgive man's sins. I'm going to throw them some kind of fruit out of heaven, and if they just eat that fruit, they'll be saved. No, God couldn't just arbitrarily choose a way. And God's righteousness demanded that the sin be paid for in full before he forgive it therefore Christ's death showed how much God hated sin that he punished Christ in our place in order to atone for our sin. Paul then talks about in verse 25 the forbearance of God he passed over the sins previously committed all this means, all Paul means by this is that Christ's death on the cross paid for the sins of all time. Now, many people were saved in the Old Testament, the Old Testament saints. So many people were saved in the Old Testament times through Christ, even though Christ had not yet died. Now, some people might have concluded that, hey wait, if Moses could go to heaven, and some of the other saints could go to heaven and there was no ultimate sacrifice, ultimately worthy sacrifice at that time, then some people might conclude that God was allowing sin to go completely unpunished. And that's not the case. He passed over the previously committed sins knowing that the day would come when His Son would suffer on the cross and pay the penalty for the sins of mankind. In verse 26, Paul tells us that Jesus Christ demonstrated God's righteousness. Look at verse 26 of Romans 3. For the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just and the justifier and the one who has faith in Jesus. You see, God is just because no sin has gone unpunished. He punished all sin in Jesus. So God remains just. He has punished all sin. Yet, God is the justifier of sinners because He is able to forgive the sinner since all sin has been paid for by Christ. And so we accept God's salvation through faith in Christ, through trusting in Jesus for salvation. So God is just No sin has gone unpunished. He punished all sin in Jesus and he's the justifier. He's able to forgive the sinner and remain just because Jesus Christ paid the price. So then Paul asks the question, if Jesus won our salvation for us, Where is there room for boasting and justification in verses 27 and 28? Look at verses 27 and 28. Where that is boasting, it is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. So where is the boasting and justification? You see, we could boast If, that's a big if, we could boast that we were saved by the works of the law. You know, because then we could say that we saved ourselves, we earned our own salvation. But the fact of the matter is that none of us are saved by the works of the law. We cannot earn our salvation. Therefore we cannot boast if we are saved by a law or principle of faith. We could only boast in our Savior, Christ. You see that the power of faith and the merit of faith is not in our faith itself. It's in the object of our faith. There are many Pharisees that are going to burn in hell forever who had more faith than I have. But the faith that they had, they placed in their own works and their own righteousness to get them to heaven. And their own righteousness was not able. or worthy enough to get them to heaven. But what little faith that I have, I placed it in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is both willing and able to save me. And so, if we can boast, but not in ourselves, we can only boast in the Lord. 2 Corinthians 10.17, Paul says, But he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. You want to brag, brag about what Jesus did for you, because he did it all by providing for you salvation by dying on the cross for your sins. And of course, Ephesians 2.8.9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, but of the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast. We have no reason to boast because we are saved by God's grace alone. It's a free gift that we don't deserve. We're saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. We are not saved by works. We did not earn our salvation. Therefore, we should boast in the Lord and in Him alone. Now, Paul emphasizes that all can be justified. Look at verse 29. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of the Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also. But I did read verse 28, didn't I? I'll put it in skip button. I'm going to read it just in case I missed it there. Verse 28. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law, and because of that, man cannot boast. But in verse 29, Paul points out that our God is the God of both Jews and Gentiles. You see, he created both and he has provided salvation for both. And therefore he can say both through faith. Verse 30. Since indeed God who will justify the circumcised, that's the Jew, by faith, not by works of the law, but by faith, and the uncircumcised, that's the Gentile, through faith is one. So there is only one God and he can save both Jew and Gentile through faith alone in Christ alone and therefore Jews are not saved by the works of the law. Now Paul talks about it, he doesn't want people to get the wrong idea, so everybody is thinking well Then I can, you know, you can just trust in Jesus and do whatever you please. You're teaching a license to sin. That's not what Paul taught. Listen to what Paul taught about true saving faith in the final verse in Romans chapter 3. Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be. On the contrary, we establish or fulfill or uphold the law. So true saving faith doesn't put the law aside. Instead, it upholds the law. Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 12, verses 30 and 31, that the whole law can be summed up in loving God with everything you got, and loving your neighbor as yourself. Paul in Romans 13.10 tells us that love does no wrong to a neighbor, love therefore is fulfillment of the law. James 2.26, James tells us, just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. So true saving faith produces good works. in our life. Ephesians 2.8.9 we've been reading, but let's take a look at Ephesians 2.8-10. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, but of the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You see, true saving faith produces good works. Galatians 5, 22-23 tells us the Holy Spirit empowers us to keep God's laws and to produce His fruit through us. Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the root of salvation. Christians, therefore, do not do good works to get saved. They do good works because they are saved. So, in conclusion, all our condemned sinners all deserve the flames of hell. God is just, He must punish all sin. Still, God is love and He has provided salvation for us. God punished Jesus for our sins. Yet, He is love. God is love. He will not force us. True love gives us the freedom to accept or reject His love. God will not force us to accept His forgiveness and salvation. We have the freedom to accept or reject God's forgiveness and salvation by accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ as our Savior. In Matthew 11, 28, Jesus Christ said, Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. John 14 says, he told us, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Paul teaches that salvation comes by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.