Romans 3:19-28, the Second Reading appointed for Reformation Sunday, is a treasured passage for many Christians, but Lutherans might be the only ones who read this passage every year in celebration of the events of the Reformation, over 500 years ago. The key passage is the last verse: "We hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law." We are still trying to unpack all the wealth that is revealed in that verse. It will be the preacher's privilege to join in that long line of proclaimers who have lifted up this jewel to others.
(The following questions have been developed to answer fundamental questions regarding the function of the Word, a central concern of Law and Gospel preachers. These questions are best used alongside other fine sets of questions which also inform the exegete. For more insight into this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)
1. How does the Word function in the text? It is no surprise that the Word functions as both Law and Gospel in this text. The opening verses are all Law: "under the law,... held accountable to God,... no human being will be justified in his sight by deeds prescribed by the law." All of these phrases function as Law since they expose our need for Christ. The Gospel is also proclaimed: "apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed,...now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,... divine forbearance,... he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus." All these phrases function as Gospel for they lift up what God has done in Christ.
2. With whom are you identifying in the text? If we read the text and substitute personal pronouns whenever human beings are mentioned we can hear how this text is speaking directly to us. Some examples: (Law) "For we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to [us] who are under the law, so that [we] may be silenced, and [we] may be held accountable to God. For [we will not] be justified in his sight by deeds prescribed by the law..." (Gospel) "But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed...for [us] who believe... [we] are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...For we hold that [we] are justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law."
3. What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text? Since the Word functions as a call to obedience only when it invites us to live in a certain way in response to God's work, there is no call to obedience here. That call is certainly present later in the letter to the Romans, but not here.
4. What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text? The couplets needed are clearly present in this text. There are many examples, but a few obvious ones: under law/under grace; condemned by God/justified by God; sinner/saint; falling short/redeemed.
5. Exegetical work: Kittel has an excellent article on the Pauline use of dikaiosyne theo (righteousness of God). Briefly, he says this: "There can be no doubt that this is a subj. genitive. The righteousness of God is God's alone; man (sic) is taken up into it and set in it." (Theological Dictionary of the NT, vol. II, p. 203). Luther's insight was precisely this, that the righteousness of God was not the righteousness demanded by God, but the righteousness which was characteristic of God, which God in turn imparts to believers. In his lectures on Romans, Luther says, "We are not made righteous by doing righteous works, but rather we do righteous works by being righteous. Therefore grace alone justifies." (Luther's Works, vol. 25, p. 242). "What the law of works commands by its threats, this the law of faith accomplishes by believing." (Ibid., p. 243). In his classic commentary, Anders Nygren speaks of God's work in this way: "By the grace of God man (sic) is included in God's own righteousness. Just as wrath is an objective power which exercises its might to the destruction of man (sic), so the righteousness of God is also an objective power which exerts its might for redemption and life." (Commentary on Romans, p. 152). Nygren also addresses verse 25, the famously difficult verse to translate. The word translated in the NRSV as "a sacrifice of atonement" is the word ilasteprion, most precisely translated as "mercy seat." Nygren says that God set Christ forth as a "mercy seat". "The mercy seat was the place God manifested His presence in Israel... Now God has manifested his righteousness to man (sic), in that He presents Christ as a mercy seat. In Christ, God reveals himself in His glory...Whoever believes in Him is no longer under the wrath of God....Ever since the death and resurrection of Christ, the righteousness of God is a reality present and manifest in the world." (Ibid., pp. 156-159). This notion of mercy seat as a place where God's glory is revealed seems much preferred to "sacrifice of atonement".
6. How does the Crossings Community model work with this text? Chris Repp, in his fine 2017 analysis, uses a clear and common phrase, "Shut up!" to illustrate the Law and Gospel here. Through the Law we learn that we need to shut up - we have nothing to say that will justify us. Through the Gospel, we hear Christ say to the Law, "Shut up, I have justified this one." To see the entire analysis, go to crossings.org/text-study and type in the reference. There are other examples there as well.
Blessings on your proclamation!
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