Calvinism and Romans – Part 4
The message of the gospel is that God saves everyone who believes, both Jews and Gentiles, through Jesus Christ. Jesus was God’s choice from the beginning. Consider what Paul writes in Romans 3:21–22: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference.”
Notice these points. First, God’s righteousness is apart from the Law of Moses. The Law is not required for a person to be righteous. This would have been offensive to the Jew of Paul’s day, who held that righteousness came through rigorous practice of the Law and that he would merit salvation by that practice. To say the Law was not necessary was, to him, to say he could not be saved.
Second, the righteousness of God is through faith in Christ Jesus. Since the Law of Moses cannot save, God uses another. The one God has chosen is Jesus, and anyone who believes in Jesus may be saved, because that salvation is “to all and on all who believe.”
Is Paul speaking merely about individual people? No. He is speaking about the categories of Jew and Gentile. That’s why he says, “For there is no difference.” We ask, “Difference between what?” The answer is, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. The Jew who believes in Jesus will be saved. The Gentile who believes in Jesus will be saved. They will both be saved the same way, by faith in Jesus Christ. The Jew cannot be saved without Jesus Christ. The Gentile cannot be saved without Jesus Christ. If anyone is to be saved, it must be through faith in Jesus Christ.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley