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Romans 3:24-25 - Restoring Man's Relationship With God.

Romans 3:24-25 (NCV) and all need to be made 
right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. 
They need to be made free from sin through Jesus 
Christ. 25 God gave him as a way to forgive sin 
through faith in the blood of Jesus death. This 
showed that God always does what is right and fair, 
as in the past when he was patient and did not 
punish people for their sins. 

Romans 3:24-25 (MSG) God did it for us. Out 
of sheer generosity he put us in right standing 
with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the 
mess we're in and restored us to where he always 
wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus 
Christ. 25 God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the 
world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in 
him sets us in the clear. God decided on this 
course of action in full view of the public - to 
set the world in the clear with himself through 
the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of 
the sins he had so patiently endured. 

INTRODUCTION

Salvation Is a Gift; You Dont Work for a 
Gift 
   If you were to ask a hundred people on 
the sidewalk, How do you get to heaven? 
youd get a lot of different answers that could be 
summarized by the idea that you have to earn your way 
to heaven. Youd hear things like, Try to 
be good and do your best or Work really 
hard at being a moral person or Do more 
good things than bad things in life. All of 
these ideas are based on works, not grace. 
   But salvation is a gift, and you dont 
work for a gift. Its free! You cant earn 
it, you cant buy it, and you cant work for 
it. 
   This is a fundamental difference between 
Christianity and every other religion. Christianity is 
the only religion thats built on grace. Every 
other religion is based on works, and you can 
summarize them in one word: do. There are 
certain things you have do in order to gain Gods 
approval, to gain bliss, to gain heaven. There are 
always rules, regulations, and rituals - something 
you have to do. 
   On the other hand, one way you could 
summarize Christianity is with the word done. 
Jesus Christ has already paid the price for you on 
the cross. Its done! 
   A guy asked me one time, Pastor Rick, 
what can I do to be saved? I said, Youre 
too late! (That kind of shocked him.) 
Youre about 2,000 years too late! What needed to 
be done for your salvation has already been 
done, and you cant do anything about it. 
   Jesus Christ already did it. He paid for 
your salvation on the cross, and its now a 
free gift thats offered to you. Thats why 
when Jesus was hanging on the cross, he said, 
It is finished. He didnt say, I am 
finished, because he wasnt. Hes still alive 
today. The it is your salvation. The plan to 
provide grace for every person is finished. 
   Romans 3:24 says, All need to be made 
right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. 
They need to be made free from sin through Jesus 
Christ (NCV). 
   You wont get to heaven based on what 
you do. You get to heaven based on what has 
already been done for you by Jesus Christ. 
   When we really understand grace, well 
accept it, because it is the greatest gift were 
ever going to be offered. [Daily Devotional by 
Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

COMMENTARY

Where the Wrath and Love of God Meet
   In our culture, sin is no longer 
considered an issue. Although some people might admit 
to making mistakes or being wrong, few will 
actually say, "I have sinned." The Lord, however, 
takes sin very seriously. Until we learn to see 
transgression as He does, we will never understand what 
happened at Christ's crucifixion. 
   The cross was God's perfect answer to a 
terrible dilemma. Because the Lord is holy and just, 
He hates sin and must respond to it with 
punishment and wrath. Yet He also loves sinners and 
wants to be reconciled with them. The cross of 
Christ was the place where God's wrath and love 
collided. 
   The only way to rescue fallen mankind 
from eternal punishment was to devise a plan 
whereby the Lord could forgive sins without 
compromising His holiness. There was no way to overlook 
transgressions; His wrath had to be poured out - either on 
us or a substitute. But there was only one 
possible substitute: the perfect Son of God. 
   So Jesus came to earth as a man and 
suffered the Lord's wrath for us as He hung on the 
cross. Sin was punished, divine justice was 
satisfied, and now God could forgive mankind without 
compromising His character. His wrath was poured out on 
His Son so that His love and forgiveness could 
be lavished upon us. 
   Because of human limitations, we'll never 
grasp all that happened while Jesus hung on the 
cross. We can begin to comprehend only the physical 
suffering He endured, but in the spiritual realm, 
Christ bore so much more - the very wrath of God. 
This costly redemption plan proves God's great 
love. [In Touch Daily Devotional by Charles 
Stanley at www.intouch.org re vss. 23-26] 

Justice and Mercy
   The sinful condition of mankind presents 
us with a dilemma: How can a holy, righteous 
God forgive our sins? If He deals with us only 
on the basis of His justice, every human being 
would suffer the eternal punishment of His wrath, 
which their sins deserve. But if He extends mercy 
instead of justice, no one would pay the penalty for 
sin, and God would then cease to be just. 
   There was only one way the Lord could 
stay true to His nature and at the same time 
forgive our sins. The solution was to satisfy His 
justice by pouring out His wrath on a substitute. 
Then the penalty for sin would be paid, and He 
would be free to extend mercy to sinners. This is 
the only plan that accommodates both aspects of 
His divine nature. So Christ came as our 
substitute; He took the punishment for our sin, enabling 
us to experience the Fathers mercy. Now, by 
placing faith in Jesus, anyone can be justified - 
that is, declared legally righteous. 
   Gods plan of salvation is simple 
enough for a child to understand. Yet at the same 
time, the complexities of the transaction that 
occurred at Calvary are far beyond human 
comprehension. Although we may not fully grasp what 
transpired there, we can know that the cross is the 
greatest possible display of the Lords love for 
us. 
   Can you even imagine the cost of your 
salvation? The magnificent plan of the Father and the 
willing cooperation of the Son prove your tremendous 
value in Gods eyes. From His perspective, you 
are worth all the pain and suffering that was 
necessary to secure your eternal presence with Him in 
heaven. [In Touch Daily Devotional by Charles 
Stanley at www.intouch.org re vss. 21-26] 

Gods Great Gift Isnt Traditionally 
Wrapped 
   The greatest gift ever given wasnt 
bought in a store. No cash exchanged hands. It 
wasnt even traditionally wrapped - instead, this 
gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed 
in a manger. 
   Yet it cost the Giver everything.
   The Bible says God sent his Son to Earth 
as the greatest gift ever. He came to die and 
make you right with God. Romans 3:24-25 says, 
Out of sheer generosity God put us in right 
standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of 
the mess were in and restored us to where he 
always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of 
Jesus Christ. He sacrificed Jesus on the altar of 
the world to clear that world of sin (The 
Message). 
   So why did Jesus have to die? Lets go 
back to the basics. 
      	Nobodys perfect. Ive never 
met a single person who is perfect, and  
        neither have you. I dont measure 
up to my own expectations, much less  
        Gods perfect standard - and 
neither do you. Weve all blown it. The  
        Bible says, All of us have sinned 
and fallen short of Gods glory  
        (Romans 3:23 CEV).
      	God is just. God wants to be fair. 
When somebody breaks a law, there  
        must be a penalty for it. When you 
break mans laws, you pay mans  
        penalty. When you break Gods 
laws, you pay Gods penalties. The Bible  
        says, The payment for sin is 
death (Romans 6:23 NCV). 
      	Jesus paid the price for our sin. 
The Bible says, God took the sinless  
        Christ and poured into him our sins. 
Then, in exchange, he poured Gods  
        goodness into us (2 Corinthians 
5:21 TLB). Jesus took on my sin and  
        your sin and all the sin that has 
ever been committed. Thats the Good  
        News, the Gospel. Jesus paid the 
price you could never pay. 
      	Accept Gods free gift. God 
offers us the free gift of salvation because  
        Jesus took upon himself our sin - 
but its a gift we must choose to  
        receive. The Bible says, To all 
who did receive him, to those who  
        believed in his name, he gave the 
right to become children of God (John  
        1:12 NIV).
   If you havent accepted Gods free 
gift of salvation, I pray you will make that 
decision today. Its one thing to understand the 
basics of how to have a relationship with Jesus. 
Its another to accept the gift. 
   And if youve already made that 
decision, I pray you share the Good News of Jesus with 
someone who needs to hear it. [Daily Devotional by 
Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

CLOSING THOUGHT

Christ, Our Righteousness
   The first three gospel writers spoke of 
redemption as a pardon of sin, or justification. John 
spoke of it as a life that Christ is to live in us 
- regeneration. In Paul's letters, however, we 
find both truths in beautiful harmony. 
   Paul first spoke of justification in 
Romans 3:21-5:11. Then he went on from 5:12 to 8:39 
to speak of the life that is lived in union 
with Christ. In Romans 4 he told us that we find 
both these things in Abraham: "Abraham believed 
God.... To him that ... believeth on him that 
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for 
righteousness" (v. 3, 5). Then, in verse 17, Abraham 
"believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead." Just as 
God considered Abraham's faith as righteousness 
and then led him to believe in Him as the God 
who can give life to the dead, so it is with 
every believer. 
   Justification comes when the eye of faith 
is fixed on Christ. But that is only the 
beginning. Gradually the believer begins to understand 
that he was at the same time born again, that he 
has Christ in him, and that his calling now is 
to abide in Christ and let Christ abide and 
live and work in him. 
   Most Christians strive, by holding on to 
their faith in justification, to stir themselves 
up and strengthen themselves for a life of 
gratitude and obedience. But they fail sadly because 
they do not know, do not in full faith yield 
themselves to Christ, to maintain His life in them. 
They have learned from Abraham the first lesson: 
to believe that God "justifieth the ungodly." 
But they have not gone on to the second great 
lesson: to believe in God "who quickeneth the dead" 
and daily renews that life through Christ, who 
lives in them and in whose life alone there is 
strength and fullness of blessing. The Christian life 
must be "from faith to faith" (Romans 1:17). The 
grace of pardon is only the beginning; growing in 
grace leads on to the fuller insight and 
experience of what it means to be in Christ, to live in 
Him, and to "grow up into him in all things, 
which is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). 
[Andrew Murray 365-Day Devotional Bible by Barbour] 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC

1 John 5:11, 12 - ETERNAL LIFE IS A 
RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS!!! 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220320-1151.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs