The Turning Point: But Now

A Sermon on Romans 3:21-31

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Scripture

Romans 3:21-31 ESV

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory …

Sermon Description

When God interrupts human history, everything changes. Up until this point in Romans, Paul has emphasized wrath and judgement for all since all are guilty of sin and under condemnation. The tone of this letter completely changes in this section with these two small words: “but now.” In this sermon on Romans 3:21-31 titled, “The Turning Point: But Now,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones breaks up the text into two main sections, outlining that Paul has finally begun to discuss the way of salvation and the characteristics of the way of salvation. After much talk of wrath and destruction, it seems like a relief to see that the Lord has provided a righteousness and revealed it. This righteousness is by nothing that anyone has done because it is received only through faith. Both Jews and Gentiles can rejoice because this gift was planned before the foundation of the world, entirely by God’s grace, and open to all. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that everything about salvation points to the glory of God. Any idea that humanity has concerning salvation should always conform to this one passage of Scripture and nothing about salvation should deny any of these statements.

Sermon Breakdown

The gospel is entirely God's. It is God's righteousness, God's provision, God's plan.
The gospel was planned before the foundation of the world. It is not an afterthought. It was witnessed to in the Old Testament law and prophets.
The gospel provides a righteousness from God, not earned by following the law. It is received by faith alone.
The gospel is available to all, Jew and Gentile, because all have sinned and fall short of God's glory.
The gospel is a free gift of God's grace. We cannot earn or deserve it.
The gospel was made possible through Jesus Christ's redeeming work. He is the means of our salvation.
The gospel is consistent with God's character, giving Him all the glory. It is not earned or deserved by us.
The gospel shows God is the God of the whole world, not just the Jews. The righteousness is available to all.
The gospel honors and confirms the law. It does not do away with the law but establishes it.

The Book of Romans

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.