6. Romans - Justified By Faith (Romans 3:21-31)

For three chapters, Paul has been building a case against us. We may compare ourselves to others, point to the good we’ve done, or lean on our religious background—but eventually every defense collapses. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No exceptions. No loopholes. No amount of effort can undo what sin has done. If righteousness is the standard, then on our own, every one of us stands condemned.

But then Romans 3 gives us two of the most hope-filled words in Scripture: “But now…” God has made a way for guilty people to be declared righteous—not because we finally became good enough, but because Jesus was. Justification is offered freely to us, but it was anything but cheap. Our forgiveness was purchased by the blood of Christ. The Judge did not ignore our guilt; He placed its penalty upon His Son. Salvation is free to us, but it cost Jesus everything.

And that leaves us with an uncomfortable question: What are you trusting in? Your morality? Your church attendance? Your reputation? The fact that you’re better than you used to be—or perhaps better than the person sitting next to you? Paul strips every one of those things away until we are left with nothing to boast about except Jesus. This Sunday, we’ll discover why the worst news about us makes the good news of the gospel so breathtaking: the guilty can be justified—not by works, but by faith.

REMEMBER: This is our LAST WEEK WITH 2 SERVICES! Join us at 8am or 11am this week, and then October 4th we will be moving to one service at 10am!

-Pastor Ben

For this week's Scripture and notes:

https://bible.com/events/49652095