How Christ Died for God – the Cross Exalts God’s Grace (Part 1)

Romans 3:27-28

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

(Verse 27-28) - The cross proves the utter futility of man’s coming to God in his own way and power. Where then is man’s boasting? Paul asks. In answer to his own question, he declares unequivocally, It is excluded.  Where is there ground or occasion of boasting or pride? Since all have sinned, and since all have failed of being able to justify themselves by obeying the Law, and since all are alike dependent on the mere mercy of God in Christ, all ground of boasting is of course taken away. This refers particularly to the Jews, who were much addicted to boasting of their special privileges; (See our notes at Rom. 3:1, etc).  The reference is to the glorying of the Jew (2:17), proclaiming his own goodness and the merit of his ceremonial observances.

It is excluded “It is completely shut out.” Glorying is on man’s part and has no part in any consideration of the issue of salvation. Excluded is in the passive indicating that this boasting is precluded from “outside” of itself – that is, by some other consideration – namely, the fact that salvation is entirely the work of God, and not of man.  Because the power of salvation is in the cross of Christ alone, man has no cause for self-congratulation or self-satisfaction—much less for the self-exaltation that is now so widely proclaimed under the guise of the gospel.

Paul reminded the Corinthian believers: “Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble” (1 Cor. 1:26). Paul was, of course, using those descriptions purely on the human level, because in God’s sight and by His standard, no person is wise, mighty, or noble. He goes on to say “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God” (vv. 27-29).

By what kind of law is boasting excluded, Paul asks. Is it on the basis of works? The word “law “here is used in the sense of “arrangement, rule, or economy.” By what arrangement, or by the operation of what rule, is boasting excluded? (See Gal. 3:21; Acts 21:20).  It is Literally by what kind of a law? or by what manner of law? What is the nature of the excluding law?

Of works - The Law which commands works, and on which the Jews relied. If this were complied with, and they were thereby justified, they would have had ground of self-confidence, or boasting, as being justified by their own merits. But a plan which led to this, which ended in boasting, and self-satisfaction, and pride, could not be true.  This is literally the works, of which the Jew makes so much. Is it a law that enjoins these works? No, but rather, in contrast, a law which enjoins faith. Paul does not suppose two laws and give the preference to one. There is but one divine law of ejectment (I love this word and I couldn’t resist using it – it means: the process of ejecting somebody or something, or of being ejected from somewhere and here refers to the quality of the Law that resulted in men being ejected or excluded from heaven and not included in the ranks of those acceptable to God), the quality of which is such that, instead of enjoining the Jews’ works, it enjoins faith. The old and the new forms of the religious life are brought under the one conception of law.

Again answering his own question, he declares, No, but by a law of faith. The implication is that the “Law” referred to here is a completely different kind of Law, distinct from the OT Law with which the Jews were familiar.  Not even Abraham, the father of God’s chosen people, was justified by works (Rom. 4:2). “For by grace you have been saved through faith,” Paul declared to the church at Ephesus; “and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).  This is the rule, or arrangement which proclaims that we have no merit; that we are lost sinners; and that we are to be justified only by faith and, by definition is completely distinct from the OT Law.

The attitude of true faith is exemplified by the tax-gatherer in the Temple, who “was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me, the sinner!’” (Luke 18:13).

The greatest lie in the world, and the lie common to all false religions and cults, is that, by certain works of their own doing, men are able to make themselves acceptable to God. The greatest error in that belief is its sheer impossibility. But the greatest evil of that belief is that it robs God of His glory.

Paul completely cuts the ground out from under works righteousness by declaring, For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works, even the good works done in response to God’s own Law.

What, then, is this saving faith that is completely apart from works? First we will consider some things that neither prove nor disprove true faith. Although they will be evident to some degree or another in true believers, they can also be evidenced, sometimes to a high degree, in unbelievers.

First is visible morality. A person can be outwardly moral and yet not be saved. Some pagans and cultists put many Christians to shame by their high standards of behavior. When a certain young man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” Jesus told him to keep the commandments and then proceeded to list some of the major ones. When the man responded, “All these things I have kept,” Jesus did not challenge his sincerity. According to outward appearance and his own human perception of obedience, the man probably was speaking the truth. But when Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor and then “come, follow Me,” the man “went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property” (Matt. 19:16-22). By his refusal to obey Christ, the man demonstrated that his outward obedience to the law was not done out of love for God or for the purpose of His glory but was done out of self-love and for the purpose of his own self-interest. When commanded to give all of his possessions as well as all of himself to Christ, he refused. And by that refusal, even his seemingly good works were exposed as spiritually worthless works, because they were done out of selfish motivation.

In fact, morality can actually be a hindrance to coming to Christ.  We ought to note a couple things.  First, true morality is impossible to those who do not know Christ.  True, Biblical morality is possible for fallen creatures only as result of regeneration and of the work that God does inside a person after one is redeemed.  That being said, it is possible for men to mirror or echo that true morality in a sort of pseudo morality that looks and works, in many ways, just like the real thing.  This is because Christians have an effect on society and that effect is communicated, exteriorly, to all who are a part of society.  Thus a society that contains many Christians will manifest Christian characteristics, even though everyone in it does not truly believe.  This is the case with our own society.  Genuine Christians had a profound effect on our country from it inception and our country manifested many of the marks of true morality.  Sadly that effect is now waning and we are seeing the morality of our nation failing and fading.  However, there are many who still have the outward signs of that morality present in their lives.  They are honest, clean living, etc.  The danger is that they mistake this appearance of morality for spiritual life and think themselves approved of God for its presence.  This is a catastrophic mistake as it leads men to believe themselves saved when they are, in reality, unsaved.

Second, intellectual knowledge of God’s truth is not necessarily a proof of saving faith. It is possible to have a great deal of knowledge about God’s Word and yet be unsaved. Like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, many scholars throughout the centuries have devoted their lives to careful study of Scripture. But because they did not believe or obey the truths they studied, those truths became a judgment against them, and they remained as lost as the primitive tribesman who is unaware that there is such a thing as Scripture. To his self-confident brothers in the flesh Paul said, “You bear the name Jew; and rely upon the Law, and boast in God,… [but] through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ just as it is written” (Rom. 2:17, 23-24; cf. Ezek. 36:20-23).  Again, we might note that such knowledge is actually a hindrance to coming to Christ in many cases.  Men cannot come to Christ without knowledge, but it is not knowledge that brings them to the Gospel. 

Third, religious involvement is not necessarily a proof of saving faith. In the Old Testament, the Lord repeatedly condemned the Israelites for their meticulous outward observance of the Mosaic ordinances and ceremonies while having no trust in Him. The ten virgins in Jesus’ parable had the same outward dress and carried the same kind of lamps. The fact that all ten women were spoken of as virgins suggests that outwardly they were all morally pure and religiously faithful. But five of them had no oil in their lamps, and because they lacked the oil of saving faith, they were disqualified from meeting the bridegroom, who represented Christ (see Matt. 25:1-13).

Fourth, active ministry in Christ’s name is no certain proof of saving faith. Outwardly, Judas was as active as the other disciples, witnessed by the fact that he served as their trusted treasurer. And obviously he considered himself a follower of Christ. But Jesus sternly warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:21-23).  There are many today who name the Name and yet are not believers because they do not even know what the Gospel really is!

Fifth, even conviction of sin does not necessarily demonstrate saving faith. Mental institutions throughout the world are filled with people who are so burdened by the knowledge of their sinfulness that they cannot function in society. Their sense of guilt became so overpowering that it drove them to insanity - but it did not drive them to Jesus Christ. Others who are convicted of their sin determine to reform themselves. Many people who have been long and deeply enslaved by a particular sin have been able, sometimes through sheer will power, to rid themselves of it. But successfully forsaking that particular sin in their own power makes them even more susceptible to other sins, especially pride. They are like the man who managed to rid himself of an evil spirit. But after a while the spirit returned and found the man’s life “unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first” (Matt. 12:43-45). Self-reformation drives a person further from God’s grace and therefore further from salvation.

Sixth, assurance of salvation is not an infallible mark of saving faith. The world is filled with people who are sincerely convinced in their own minds that they are right with God and that their place in heaven is secured. If being persuaded that we are Christians makes us Christians indeed, we would need no warnings about being deceived by false hopes. If it were not possible to believe oneself saved when one is not, Satan would have no way to deceive people about their salvation. Yet Scripture is full of warnings to unsaved people who think they are saved (Matt. 7:21-23; James 1:22).

Seventh, the experience of a past “decision” for Christ does not necessarily prove saving faith. If no evidence of godly living results from that event, no matter how strong and genuine the profession seemed to be, it is no proof of salvation.  This is perhaps the most heinous of the deadly sins, and the most prevalent in our current “Christian” era.  We tell men that if they ever made a decision, no matter what their lives have been like since, then they are saved.  This is because most today believe that it is man’s decision that determines whether or not a man becomes a Christian.  If that is true, then it is his decision that serves as the lynchpin for whether or not salvation occurs and not the choice of God for that individual.  The Bible declares that salvation is of God, from beginning to end, and that man’s part in it is entirely as a response to His gracious and prevenient activity in the life.  What a person thinks of this is the true lynchpin of the presence of saving grace in their lives.