Justified, Redeemed – Romans 3:22b-24

Bethel Baptist Church – David Rising

Romans 3:22b-24; June 21, 2026 Sunday AM

Justified, Redeemed

Because we are sinners, we need the righteousness of God. To avoid eternal judgment, we need to be accepted before God.

That has been made possible by Jesus.

The book of Hebrews goes into great length to show the ministry of Jesus for us in terms of a High Priest. But that is a study for another time.

In the book of Romans, which we are studying, we hear the Apostle Paul reason like a lawyer to explain to us the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in this book he introduces us to important terms that explain the gospel.

We’ll see two of those terms this morning: justification & redemption.

Paul was called by Jesus to bear His name, and this letter – the book of Romans – is the magnum opus, the premier letter in the NT that explains what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. This gospel is what Paul preached wherever he went.

Romans begins by arguing that all people are under sin and stand guilty before God. Because God so loved us and sent His Son, Jesus, we have the privilege to stand in God’s presence clothed not in our own righteousness but in the righteousness of God.

That righteousness is granted to us by faith:

Romans 3:21–22 (NKJV) 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe….

Today we will look at verses 22b-23 and see more details about our salvation in Christ. Pray.

Our final point last week was that the gospel message is a universal message. The gospel is what we preach to everyone. It is applicable to all.

The blessing of the gospel comes by God’s grace through faith to all and on all who believe.

Paul drives home that same point in the next sentence Paul gives us starting at the end of verse 22. Notice the text:

For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

The point Paul makes in these verses is this:

1. There Is Only One Method for Salvation (3:22b-24)

The method for salvation is the same for everyone because everyone a guilty sinner standing in need of God’s righteousness.

Paul says there is no difference: all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.

We often quote verse 23 and use it in our Romans Road presentations to demonstrate that we are all sinners. That is not wrong, but it often leaves verse 24 out and the point Paul is making.

Paul is saying we are all sinners, but he is saying so to make the next point about justification and redemption.

Paul’s argument does not begin in verse 23. The “all” of verse 23 comes from verse 22: all who believe.

All who believe, as verse 24 concludes, are justified freely by God’s grace.

The first word of verse 24 “being” depends upon the subject of verse 23 “all” – all have sinned, all fall short, all are justified.

And the “all” of verse 23 draws from verse 22 “all who believe.”

Paul’s point is to say that the means by which God saves us is the same. There is no difference. All sinned. All fall short. All are justified by grace.

All who believe are justified. It does not make any difference whether one is a Gentile or a Jew, an Asian or an African. A man or a woman. A rich person or a poor person.

All who believe are justified by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Now, of course, we can use verse 23 to make our point that everyone is a sinner. But let me encourage you to stay in the context and then mention verse 24 and stay for verse 25 and 26.

In other words, use the context and let Paul’s argument give us a more complete the thought.

And so we see that God’s plan for our rescue is the same for everyone. It makes no difference what background we have, what status we enjoy in life, what wealth we have in the bank. All are sinners and all who believe are justified by God’s grace.

2. Falling Short of God’s Glory (3:23b)

Before we get into verse 24 and look at justification and redemption, let us think for a moment what Paul says here about falling short of God’s glory. What does that mean?

Paul pairs “all have sinned” with “fall short of the glory of God.” Are they one and the same?

To fall short (ὑστεροῦνται [pres,pass,ind,3p < ὑστερέω) means “to fail in some measure or condition” (L&N), to lack something (John 2:3, wine), to come up short (Hebrews 4:1, rest).

We might think of falling short in sports or in academics. There is a standard or a goal to reach, and by our best efforts we still might come up short and miss the mark. Long jumpers who don’t match the best distances literally fall short. They don’t qualify.

If God’s glory is the standard, then we certainly fall short!

When we think of the glory of God we think of light, brightness, something too shiny to gaze upon.

We might think of Moses’ glowing face as he absorbed the glory of the LORD as he encountered for days there on the mountain the glory of the LORD.

We might think of David’s Psalm 19 where he begins by stating that the heavens declare the glory of God. The heavens contain the bright stars, galaxies, that are beyond counting and beyond our human ability to comprehend.

We might think of Isaiah’s chapter 6 where he gets a glimpse of the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, where the seraphim cried one to another saying ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

All of these illustration of God’s glory remind us that we are not anywhere close to the awesome presence of God. We are just bits of dust He formed into a body.

Paul says that all have sinned and all fall short of God’s glory. It may be that Paul is describing us both from a negative and positive sense. Negatively, we actively break the law and we sin. Positively, we may seek to do what is good and right, but we still come up short.

In either case, we don’t make the cut.

As we get older, we discover that what we once could do we no longer can do. Those moments of discovery are very brutal and extremely discouraging.

That distance we could walk or run is no longer an option. That heavy object we could once move into place is no longer an option.

It can be very frustrating.

Think of that in terms of what Paul is saying here. No matter how hard we try, no matter how well we might do, no matter how hard we might prepare, we still fall short of God’s glory.

How can it be possible for us to stand in the presence of a holy God when we are so dirty and insignificant?

It is only possible with help. And might I add: as we get older, there is no shame in asking for help. In fact, asking for help is a sign of wisdom when we finally admit to reality.

In the spiritual realm, the same is true and it is a matter of life and death.

Remember, Jesus did not come to help those who are “well,” but those who are sick and admit it.

We need outside help, and that help comes to us through Jesus.

Since we are sinners and come up short, the answer is next:

Romans 3:24 (NKJV) 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

3. Justified by God’s Grace (3:24)

All who truly believe in Jesus are justified.

This term ‘justification’ as either noun or verb are key to understanding the gospel.

Justification is an important concept that describes what takes place at our salvation.

We did see this term back in chapter 2, but here Paul uses it directly in the explanation of God’s grace toward us in salvation.

Notice that this term is in a participle form “being justified” (δικαιούμενοι). A participle is a verbal adjective. It’s like a verb and it’s like an adjective.

God actively changes our status from condemned to justified.

You don’t have to figure out all the grammatical terms, but just know that verse 24 flows out of verse 22 & 23.

The point Paul is making is this: all who believe are justified freely by God’s grace. Yes, we were sinners and fell short of God’s glory, but now we are justified by Jesus through faith.

What does it mean to be justified?

The verb “to justify” (δικαιόω) has the same root as the word righteousness (δικαιοσύνη). Justification and righteousness are linked.

Our doctrinal statement has a specific entry on this word, and helps us to understand what it means:

X. Of Justification

We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification:

a. That Justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life, on principles of righteousness;

b. That it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood, His righteousness is imputed to us. Acts 13:39; Isa. 53:11; Zech. 13:1; Rom. 8:1; Rom. 5:1, 9.

When God justifies an individual, as verse 24 notes, He renders a judicial verdict. The sinner is declared righteous. God renders a judgment and instead of declaring the sinner guilty He declares us righteous. And as a result, the justified will not face His judgment and rather will be pardoned.

This is not the same thing as making someone righteous. The actual process of making us righteous is a process we define as sanctification. To sanctify is to clean up, and that is a process that takes a lifetime by God’s Spirit.

To declare us righteous means we are instantaneously set free from the penalty of our sin. We will learn in chapter 6 that it also frees us from the power of sin that once enslaved us. Of course, we still have to deal with the power of sin in our lives, but we have the strength of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit that we once did not have.

Notice that little adverb that comes after the word ‘justified’ that says so much: freely (δωρεὰν). This adverb is a derivative (L&N) of a verb (δωρέομαι) that means ‘to give’ – a gift.

God justifies the sinner freely – as a gift – and that gift flows from His grace (χάριτι < χάρις).

Grace is God’s unmerited favor, His kindness toward us. Where He could have shown us wrath due to our sin, rather He shows us love and compassion because of His Son, Jesus.

Our salvation is by God’s grace.

This is why we say in our doctrinal statement this important point:

VIII. Of the Atonement for Sin

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace;

Salvation is wholly of grace. There is not one thing that we contributed to our salvation. What we contributed was sin and disgrace.

What God freely gives to us is a pardon of sin and a thus new standing before Him.

That new standing is that we have been declared righteous. We are justified.

One of Charles Spurgeon’s best known books is entitled All of Grace. In the book he expounds with clarity the gospel of Jesus Christ. The subtitle to the book is this: “an earnest word with those who are seeking salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I recommend reading this book. You can find it in dozens of places on the web for free, and it is also in our church library. Much of it comes from Romans.

But you can get the summary of the book here in verse 24.

All who believe in Jesus Christ are justified freely by God’s grace.

Paul does not clarify it here as such, but I think that the phrase “God’s grace” is a reference to God the Father – His grace. His grace is shown to us through His Son, Jesus.

And so God justifies us, pardons us. We might then ask: why can God pardon us? What is the basis for it? We get a short introduction to it in the latter part of verse 24:

through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·

4. Justified through Christ’s Redemption (3:24)

The basis for our pardon is not simply God making a statement. Remember, we were guilty of sin and were awaiting the judgement of God for that sin. Romans 2 is very clear.

Our sin had a price and that debt had to be paid. Paul was strong on this point in chapter 2 when he quoted Psalm 62:12 and said that God “will render to each one according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6).

The basis for our pardon is the payment of our debt that comes through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Here is yet another term we hear about our salvation: redemption (ἀπολυτρώσεως).

We are justified through Christ’s redemption.

What does ‘redemption’ mean?

Some translate redemption as ransom. A ransom is a price someone sets to set us free.

Jesus paid the price for our sins. He ransomed us. He redeemed us.

If He did not pay the debt for our sins, we would have to pay that debt. And that debt, sadly, will be paid by all who reject the free gift of eternal life that is offered to them in the gospel.

This idea of redemption explains well how God can give us something that we have not earned or could not buy. Someone else had to pay.

The basis for God forgiving us and setting us free is that Jesus paid our debt.

I realize this is kind of elementary truth for most of you as you ponder these verses in Romans, but they are so profound and amazing. Yes, we need to be academic about how we come to understand these terms, but let us not be purely academic about what this means in our lives.

Just meditate upon this all for a moment here today.

If you were on death row for the crimes that you had done, and yet you learn that someone has paid your debt and you are now free to go? What would you do? How would you react? Would it be a calm “well, that was nice” or would there be a bit of a surge in emotion and joy in your heart that would spill over somehow?

I realize we are Baptists and as such we are often described as cold and boring, but can we rejoice a bit on this point and thank our Lord with some zeal as we think on these things? Praise the Lord for His amazing grace to us!

Notice that everything that Paul talks about eventually comes back to Jesus.

Here he mentions Christ Jesus (Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ).

Jesus is His name, and Christ is His title – the Messiah. He is the Anointed One. He is the One Whom God the Father has appointed as judge concerning the secrets of men (Romans 2:16):

Revelation 20:11–12 (NKJV) 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

The gospel offers us hope that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him into our lives because of the redemption that He accomplished on that cross.

In our next study of Romans we will look at the subsequent verses that explain more of the details of the work of Christ.

Application

Hymn # 406 – Thank You, Lord