Two words can really pack a punch.

God’s word takes us up and down mountains of theology, providing sharp dividing lines between one weighty theme and another.  This is accomplished perfectly with the simple word “but”. In scripture, “But now…”, “But God…”, and “But you…” are peaks, often bring us sweet relief from what would seem to be hopeless passages.

The beginning of Romans take us up the side of a mountain that is dark, with certain doom. There is no hope anywhere in the first chapters of Romans. It is the side of condemnation. We are tempted to use a few verses on this side of the ridge for relief and stability. We presume these verses are solid branches that we can grab ahold of to steady our feet, when in reality, if we are using them for assurance, they are just brittle, dried up twigs.

“…but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.” (Romans 2:10) Is there redemption in this verse? We soon find out, as we read on, that there is no one who does good. And if we are honest, we already knew that no one does good, according to God’s law, even before it is proclaimed to be so in black and white ink. We could be justified by the law, if we could do the law. But we can’t. So we won’t.

We have no hope in our traditions. We have no hope in our morals. We have no hope in our religions, our gods, or our practices. We have no hope in our judgements. We have no hope in our skills, our conclusions, or our decisions. We have no hope in our vows and our promises. We have no hope in what we do. We have no hope in who we are.

“As it is written, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;  ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;  THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”  (Romans 3:10-12)

There’s more.

“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”  (Romans 3:19, 20)

But wait…

In comes magnificent light that swallows up the darkness. In comes the peak of hope, the side of promise.

“BUT NOW apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith…” (Romans 3:21-25, emphasis added)

Grace!.. Faith!…Jesus Christ!…Apart from the Law!…Those who believe!…these are phrases Christians desire to shout from the rooftops when this great truth is revealed. Those who have faith, who believe in and on Jesus Christ will be justified!  Those who believe are counted as righteous, apart from works! (Romans 4:3-5)

It is God who saves.  And that by His pure grace; NOT by law keeping.  You will not get to heaven by being a good person.  That just isn’t how it works.  Jesus Christ is the end of the Law, for righteousness. If we be His, we have been placed in Him, and grace reigns.

The gospel of grace is foreign to our understanding.  Performance, competition, defeat, and success is what we know.  We do a little; we get a little.  We do a lot; we get a lot.  We do bad; we get punished.  We don’t do all we could; we get punished still by not getting all the “goods”.  This is how the world operates.  There is no getting around it. 

The gospel of Christ, clearly manifested in Romans 3:21 is different though. It is a whole new operation. The gospel of Christ enters in and turns everything upside down. When “But now” is brought into the argument, we are set free from the Law and death itself. Salvation and all spiritual blessings are given, apart from Law, apart from your very best efforts. The only way to salvation is to believe. And there is no more condemnation.

Aren’t you overjoyed that your ego has been crushed to pieces, creating wide-open space for God’s glory?

Let go of the twig!

Ground yourself in the “But now” of Romans 3:21

Later writings to come on just how far this “But Now” leads us into the Christian life, always looking back to blood of Christ and putting our faith in the gospel of grace.

Supporting verses:

All of Romans 1, All of Romans 2, All of Romans 3, Romans 8:1

For further reading:

Romans II, by Donald Grey Barnhouse

Please like and leave a comment if you found this post edifying. Blessings.