Bill Acton :: Romans 3:21-31 - How God Makes Us Right

Sermon Outline for Romans 3:21-31

Justification – How God Makes Us Right

Romans 3:21-25

1. The Nature of Justification
   1. Definition: “An act of God’s free grace wherein He pardons all our sins, and declares us righteous through the righteousness of Christ given to us, and received by faith alone.”
   2. Justification is an act of God
      1. An act of pure grace
      2. An act of giving – imputation
   3. Justification means that God declares – pronounces – regards us as righteous
   4. Justice and grace contrasted
      1. Justice demands God’s best
      2. Grace provides God’s best
   5. Justice condemns the best
      1. Grace justifies the worst
      2. Justification is an absolute righteousness
         1. It is the righteousness of God – Rom 3:21
         2. The justified sinner is declared to be as righteous as God – 2Co 5:21
      3. It is more than forgiveness
   6. Justification is an imputed righteousness – Rom 3:21
      1. It is apart from the law
      2. It is the gift of God received by faith
         1. Faith – knowledge of the truth
         2. Faith – agreement with the truth
         3. Faith – commitment and trust in the truth
   7. Justification is a manifested righteousness – Rom 3:21
      1. In the person of Christ
      2. In the work of Christ
   8. Justice is an exclusive righteousness possessed only by believers – Rom 3:22
   9. Justice is an inclusive righteousness available to all – Rom 3:22-23
   10. Justice is a gratuitous righteousness – Rom 3:24
       1. Given freely by His grace
       2. Nothing in us to deserve it
       3. Nothing to do with our behavior
       4. It is entirely free – a free gift to those who deserve exactly the opposite
2. The Ground of Justification – Rom 3:24-25
   1. The ground of free grace – the union of justice and love
      1. Destroys guilt freely
      2. Destroys guilt on condition of justice
   2. The ground of Christ’s redemptive work
      1. Man was in debt
      2. Christ paid our ransom in full
   3. The ground of Christ’s propitiatory work – Rom 3:25
      1. Definition of propitiation – to render favorable
         1. To conciliate
         2. To render acceptable
      2. The atonement
         1. Covers sin
         2. Bears away sin
      3. Result
         1. God is satisfied
         2. God’s justice is satisfied
3. Justification Is Our Present Position – “Being Justified”