Romans 3:10 | Literal definition of Sin: “to miss the target”. Literal definition of Righteousness: “everything as it should be”. But remember: sin is not just action or inaction, it is a thing “living in me,” as Paul says in Romans 7:17-20. We learn in Romans 5:12 that we “contracted” sin from Adam, passed down to us bodily.
Romans 3:20 | We learn two important facts here: (1) Righteousness is DECLARED—not earned! (2) The law has no power to help us in terms of becoming righteous, rather it helps us become CONSCIOUS of sin! See also Romans 8:3.
Romans 3:21 | The “righteousness from God, apart from law” is what Scripture calls the Gospel (which means Good News). See Romans 1:16-17. And it is has been around since the beginning, as proclaimed by the “Law and the Prophets” (what we call the Old Testament)! See Genesis 15:6!
Romans 3:22-25 | Righteousness (the state of everything being as it should be) comes through Faith, which is active trust in God’s promises. Or put another way, Faith is living your life on God’s Terms! He promises you and me that He has declared us perfect in His eyes! FREELY! It happened through Jesus! Through what HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED!
Romans 3:25 | The Greek word, HILASTERION, literally means “mercy seat”. It is a Biblical “hyperlink” which takes us to the Old Testament, to the temple, behind the curtain, to the Ark of the Covenant (see Exodus 25:17-22!!!!), to where the High Priest sprinkled the blood in the Most Holy Place where the Glory of the LORD tabernacled among us! All of those stories, all of them came together on a hill outside Jerusalem, where JESUS was sacrificed FOR YOU!
Mark 15:37-38 | At the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. It was 60 feet tall by 30 feet wide, thick enough to prevent anyone from falling through it. See Hebrews 9. No longer is there any separation between you and God! Through Jesus, those of us who were far away have been brought near! You and I are forgiven. See Ephesians 2:8-13!
Dig Deeper: Jeremiah 29:1-14, 30:1-11, 31:1-37, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 24:45-47, Acts 13:38-39, Romans 5:1-8, Galatians 3:2, Galatians 5:1-6, Hebrews 10:10-17.