Romans: Future Justification Anticipated in Present Faith (Part 2)

Paul's Epistle to the Romans has been especially illuminating to me lately, and I wanted to share what I've learned.  I have recently come to a better understanding of especially the first four chapters of this letter than I have ever had.  I shared about what I had been learning about the first two chapters of Romans a little over a week ago; I'd like to conclude by sharing some thoughts on chapters 3-4.

Last time I mentioned that there is a major theme in Romans 2 that often goes unnoticed: namely, that Paul says that on the final day of judgment, we will either receive or not receive a justification "according to what each has done." (Rom 2:6)  A verdict will be passed on that future day, and the verdict will depend on whether one has "by persistence in doing good [sought] glory, honor and immortality." (v.7)  In 2:17-29, Paul begins describing how Jews (Israel), who were supposed to be the means through which God's salvation would go out into all the world (anticipating to some extent what Paul will say in chs.3-4) have in fact became a part of the problem themselves.  They were supposed to be "a guide for the blind, a light for those in the dark" (v.19; cp. Isa 42:6; 49:6), but they have in fact failed to live up to this identity.

Romans 3
So this raises the questions Paul asks in ch.3 (see! there is a flow to the argument; Paul is not haphazard in Romans!): First, "is there any advantage to being a Jew, then?" (v.1)  "Sure there is!" argues Paul.  "Not least of which is that the Jews have been entrusted with the very oracles [scriptures] of God!" (v.2)  Second, "will our [the Jews'] unfaithfulness nullify God's faithfulness, then?" (v.3)  That is to ask the question, if salvation was to come to all nations through Israel--if they were to be "a guide for the blind, a light for those in the dark"--but Israel has been faithless to this covenant plan, then will God also be faithless?  By no means! (A good Southern English translation of the Greek here would be: "Ain't no way!")  God is going to move forward with his plan to rescue all of creation through Israel despite the fact that Israel is faithless.
How and when will this occur?  "But NOW..." (v.21) is not just a simple conjunction.  The "now" refers to the present.  NOW God is going to display "his righteousness" (that is his faithfulness [cf. v.3] to the covenant plan of redemption for the whole world through Israel), despite Israel's faithlessness.  He will do this through the "faithfulness of Jesus Christ." . . . which is a much better translation of the phrase pistis Jesou Christou in v.22 than "faith in Jesus Christ.  (Think of how this verse sounds if we keep "faith in Jesus Christ" = "faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe" = a bit redundant don't you think?  But if we translate, as we should, "the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all who believe" now we are talking about the righteousness of God being revealed in Jesus' (the Israelite's) own faithfulness on behalf of faithless Israel [to death on a cross? cf. Philip. 2:1-11] and also about how we participate in that act [i.e. by believing in him].)  This is how Paul can then speak of being "justified by faith apart from the works of the Law" (3:28) and not contradict what he says just a chapter before in 2:6 and following.  This "justification by faith" is a present justification that anticipates that final justification spoken of in ch.2!  We can hear the future verdict now, says Paul, and we can he the verdict "justified" in the present on the basis of the faith alone because Jesus Christ has been faithful in his death and resurrection to the righteous plan of God.

Rom 4
Then Paul discusses Abraham.  AND THIS IS NOT A DIGRESSION OR A MERE EXAMPLE!  The point of bringing Abraham into the discussion is tied to the question in 3:3: Has God remained faithful to the covenant despite Israel's faithlessness to it?  The covenant promises begin with Abraham, so to Abraham we must go to answer this question.  Even back at Abraham we find, says Paul, that "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." (v.3)  This "justification", this "being made righteous" ("to justify" and "righteous" are a part of the same Greek root dikaios), has always been attained by faith alone--even back with Abraham.  And if Abraham is justified by faith, then so are we (vv.23-24).  The plan has not changed.  And although Israel was faithless to this covenant plan, God was faithful, even from the very beginning with Abraham.  God's promise to Abraham that we would become a father of a great family has come true: "He is the father of us all!" (v.16b)--Jew and Gentile alike through the faithfulness of the Messiah/Christ, Jesus.

In sum, this is the new insight I hear from Paul in these chapters: Justification is two-fold.  One day, all of us--Jew and Gentile alike--will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and either be declared "justified/righteous" or not.  This is the moment of what we might call "future justification."  But NOW (3:21) this verdict is offered in the present to those who believe in Christ, on the basis of his faithfulness to God's covenant with Israel.  We can hear the verdict "justified/righteous" in the present, and that verdict will be a true anticipation of the future verdict we will hear at the final judgment, which is according to what we have done.  This has been God's plan from the beginning, with Abraham, so that we can say that to "be justified" is essentially to be incorporated into Abraham's family--the family God is producing for him in faithful accord with the covenant he made with him, for the purpose of the eventual restoration of all creation.


If you're following the logic, you might ask, "How does Paul know that the lives of those who are justified freely 'by faith alone' in the present will necessarily produce the kind of "persistence in doing good" (2:7) that is to be the criteria for justification in the future?"  I believe this is exactly the question Paul seeks to answer in Romans 5-8, and that ultimately his answer is that this hope is secured by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives (5:5), whom Paul would affirm that we receive at this point of present justification.  The one who has truly been "justified by faith alone" receives the Holy Spirit, whose fruits will necessarily be produced in our lives so that we may stand at the final judgment and "receive according to what [we] have done." (2:6)


I invite your feedback.  I know this discussion is dense, but I hope you'll see that it is rich and alive, too!