Romans 3:19 ¶ Now we know
that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law:
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before
God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is
the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law
and the prophets; 22 Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God; 24 Being justified freely
by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting
then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is
justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is
he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30 Seeing it is one God, which shall
justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Paul makes an incredible statement here that no one can be
justified by the Law because the Law of God reveals that every person on earth
is guilty before God. The Law makes our sin obvious and our failure to please
God apparent. So, here is a great division, a great gulf if you will. The Law
convicts all of us of sin while faith in Christ justifies us in God. We are
convicted of sin and then we are forgiven by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as
our Saviour. Every person in the world, whether they have the Law or are
accused by their own conscience for even one sin, is standing in the dock
guilty and is only legally justified by faith in Christ. It is remarkable isn’t
it?!
So, the Law plays its function in our justification by convicting
us and declaring all mankind guilty before God. Remember how verse 23 is going
to ring a bell in the Jew’s head as they will remember the words of Solomon.
2Chronicles 6:36 If they
sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry
with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away
captives unto a land far off or near;
Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there
is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
But, we are made righteous, declared to be so, in Christ by our
faith in His righteousness and not our own. It is the sign of God’s ultimate
mercy.
The Law is not made void by this. It is not erased from being in
force. In fact, it is necessary to show us our status without Christ before
God. The Law is our prosecutor, and, in a manner of speaking, Christ is our
defense attorney. God is our judge.
25 Whom God hath set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this
time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus.
In the ancient world it was a well-known practice to try to
propitiate a god through a sacrifice or a ritual. The idea was to appease the
god’s anger and to try to obtain his or her favor and avoid their anger and the
consequence of their wrath. Christ is the only propitiation for God’s righteous
anger against the rebelliousness of mankind. By trusting in His righteousness
and by faith in His blood we obtain remission or forgiveness of sins, based
totally on God’s patience, restraint, and tolerance. It is Christ who justifies
us, renders us legally unblameable for past sins against God before God our
judge.
In English remission is the cancellation of a debt and remission
is linked as a synonym with forgiveness in the Bible with both words several
times translated from the same Greek word. Remission is important to understand
God’s forgiveness for the debt we owed to God is cancelled by the remissions of
sins because of His forgiveness. Remission goes along here with justifying the
believer due to the legal aspects of both words.
Modern definitions of remission include, “the cancellation of a debt, charge, or
penalty,” or, “a temporary recovery from a disease or the pain associated with
it,” and, “forgiveness of sins.”
In the era the King James Bible was
translated there was a thesaurus called Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae. This was compiled by Thomas Cooper in
1584. In it, remit, meant, “to acquit one of his debt; to forgive…”, and, “to
pardon and remit the punishment one has deserved.”
In 1587 Thomas Thomas’ Dictionarium Linguae Latinae et Anglicanae had, “to remit, or forgive, to
pardon.” Remission in those early dictionaries and
thesaurus in Early Modern English is listed as synonymous with forgiveness or
pardon.[1]
What does the Bible say? Clearly, in the verse in Romans we
know that Christ’s shed blood is required for the forgiveness of our sins.
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
John the Baptist preached the baptism
of repentance to the Jews for the remission of sins to prepare them for the Messiah.
Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness,
and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of
sins.
And when Peter faced the proselyte Jews after the
Resurrection he told them that they must receive this baptism of repentance to
receive the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
But, what about the Christian? Does remission mean forgiveness
and was this a special authority given to the Apostles only or was it for all
Christians?
The use of the word remission has to do with a debt that is cancelled. Many
would say that remission and forgiveness are distinct
and that if sins are remitted they not completely removed. But it is clear
that remission and forgiveness are synonyms. Remission is used by the Holy Spirit’s guidance after
Christ’s resurrection so the bond of forgiveness and remission is completed.
So, it is incorrect to say that remission only applies to the yearly setting
aside of sin and does not apply to the believer as the word is used very
clearly here in Romans and elsewhere where it is a reference to what results as
a consequence of forgiveness.
This
teaches us another very important point about forgiveness. Forgiveness,
remission, involves the cancellation of a debt and the forgoing of a punishment
that is rightly due but in and of itself does not imply restoration. Not
punishing mankind to eternal misery is not quite the same thing as giving him
fellowship with His Creator for eternity. That is the gift of God as we will
see. He does not forbear our punishment by non-existence. That isn’t the
alternative. The alternative to eternal suffering is eternal fellowship with
Him, eternal life.
[1] Ian Lancashire, editor, Lexicons
of Early Modern English, University of Toronto, https://leme.library.utoronto.ca/search/quick (accessed 1.21.2021)
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