By: Obed Pineda
In the winter of 57 – 58 AD, the Holy Spirit moved the apostle Paul (cf. 2nd Peter 1:21) to scribe what has repeatedly been referred to by the majority of Biblical scholars as the most profound of all of his epistles. Indeed, this widely agreed upon synopsis of the regal letter written to the Romans is not an exaggeration when it is constituted that the epistle’s objective is to teach the subject of justification accurately. It cannot be denied that properly comprehending the grace of God has proven to be a difficult lesson to learn as evidenced by the plethora of false doctrines that have sprouted from the improper handling of Holy Writ. Curiously, everyone concedes that God’s grace is “the undeserving gift” as the apostle to the Gentiles explains in Ephesians 2:8, but the quibble appears when the time comes to explain how exactly His grace works. The fact that the Roman letter was Divinely inspired to correct the many, many misconceptions that have risen about grace proves that this subject has tragically been constantly misunderstood and abused by humanity. There is no wonder why the apostle emphatically rectified, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it” (Romans 6:1-2)? Thus, while Paul waited in the city of Corinth (cf. Romans 16:23, 1st Corinthians 1:14) he was chosen by the Spirit of God to put in order the doctrines of justification and salvation with this epistle. It is imperative to keep in mind that to justify someone means to hold that person as being upright in a matter. What this means is that a person is cleared from either a debt or an offense, which undoubtedly demonstrates that said person participated in something that originally placed him in that predicament. Ergo, the apostle promptly reveals in the first three chapters of the letter that because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” man was in desperate need of justification (Romans 3:23). It is irrefutable that sin is a choice that every human being made in cognizance, thus making us “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). This alienated God from His creation because man was no longer holy “without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14b). One must not forget that although God is merciful, He is righteous as well (cf. Exodus 34:6-7, Romans 2:1-11). Therefore, it was necessary that sin be dealt with accordingly so that the perfect justice of God be upheld, but in a manner where man was not eternally lost. Paul explains, “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” (Romans 3:21-26). The grace of God is unveiled in that He gave humanity His Son as the propitiation (i.e. the atoning sacrifice) that would perfectly appease His divine justice. This sacred Scripture manifests that God’s grace is Him providing a pathway to redemption for man, where it would not cost him his soul. However, Paul verifies that grace alone cannot save man since grace is the road that God created for man to be able to escape the tyranny of sin. Thrice the apostle Paul links grace and obedience in this passage with the word “through” (Romans 3:22, 24, & 25). This triple repetition is an emphasis that grace has been made available to all men, but must be obtained by men in order to enjoy its blessings. Indeed, God has freely given the world the answer to the sin problem, but it is now the responsibility of the world to either accept or reject God’s gift. The apostle details in his Roman letter, “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). Once again, God’s grace is that He provided a road that leads to sanctification, but man must “enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Still, it has been the prerogative of this series to substantiate that the celestial gift, which is His grace through faith in Christ Jesus, is the gift that keeps on giving. This absolute truth was at the heart of the conversation held by the Master and the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob (cf. John 4:1-26). Paul, in his letter where he establishes the proper understanding of justification and salvation, elaborates upon this marvelous lesson in the first eleven versus of the fifth chapter of Romans. Paul illuminates that the gift of God was not constricted to pardoning the world’s sin through His Son’s perfect sacrifice, and demonstrates the several additional blessings found in this process that man is truly unworthy of. He appropriately reiterates that these blessings can only be enjoyed by those who have “been justified by faith…through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). In the same verse Paul confirms that peace between God and man is achieved when he obeys the Gospel (cf. Ephesians 2:13-16). Since the sin that separated the sinner from God has been purged, the justified Christian now has access to the Father (cf. Romans 5:2, Ephesians 2:17-18) and is then anchored by the hope of the promise of salvation (cf. v. 3-4, Hebrews 6:13-20). Paul continues to espouse that God gifts man the assurance of His love, through His inspired Word (v. 5, Titus 1:1-3), revealing the incredible depths of this love for mankind (v. 6-8, 1st John 4:9-11). This pure love opened the windows of heaven where God’s riches of mercy poured generously, sparing mankind from His righteous wrath (v. 9, Ephesians 2:1-10) and secured through His only begotten Son’s atonement sacrifice reconciliation with the world (v. 10-11, 2nd Corinthians 5:14-21). Knowing the overabundance of gifts that God’s grace provides, it becomes odd that man still rejects it. Perhaps the only logical explanation for this oddity, is that man still has not learned to correctly identify the celestial gift.