August 7-13

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This might be the longest post I’ve ever written, but in my defense, the “gospel” is also a pretty big topic.

In order to fully appreciate Paul’s letter to the Roman saints, it’s important to understand that chronologically, it is one of the last letters that Paul wrote (relative to the other letters included in the bible). If you read the letters in chronological order, we can watch Paul grow in his understanding of the gospel and in his ability to teach it. The letter to the Romans is one of the most succinct lessons on what the gospel truly is.

When I say the word, “gospel,” this can actually be a surprisingly confusing term. When we get up to bear our testimonies on Sunday, and we say, “I know the gospel is true,” what do we mean when we say that? In its most specific definition, gospel means “good news.” And what is the good news? It is nothing more and nothing less than the fact that Christ lived, suffered, died, and was resurrected for us, and that we have the opportunity to take advantage of His sacrifice and gifts. This is just one “definition” of the word gospel.

Sometimes, when we say “gospel,” it becomes vastly expanded to include doctrine about the temple, prophets, commandments, standards, church programs, etc. According to Gospel Topics, the gospel, “In its fulness,…includes all the doctrines, principles, laws, ordinances, and covenants necessary for us to be exalted in the celestial kingdom.” This definition of the gospel encompasses so much more, and I believe that this is what we mean in the latter days when we use the word.

However, when I say that Paul’s letter to the Romans is one of the most succinct lessons on the gospel, I mean the much simpler definition that simply surrounds Christ, His atonement, and how it affects us. This letter includes an incredible discourse on the atonement, but it has been greatly misunderstood. Let’s try to break it down. Paul teaches the same principles multiple times, and I might teach them in a different order than he taught them to try and explore some of the ideas that have taken hold in our own day.

We all sin and are unrighteous

One of the important principles that Paul lays forth is that we are all guilty of sin. It is repeated all throughout the beginning of Romans. 

Romans 3:9-10, 23

9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

As another reference to this principle, in the beginning of chapter 2, Paul is speaking to a “man” who isn’t necessarily real. As a means of teaching, Paul has created this “man” so that he could hold a conversation back and forth and explain some of the doctrine. In this conversation, the man is adamant that God judges the unrighteous. Paul responds by saying this man is guilty of the same sins. If God is going to call down wrath upon the unrighteous, then that includes all of us. If we are making judgment calls about another person and wanting them to receive their “just reward,” we should probably become perfect because we don’t want to receive our own “just reward.”

By teaching that we are all sinners, Paul sets the stage for the necessity of the atonement of Jesus Christ for each and every man, Jew and Gentile. This is significant because Paul teaches a lot of Jews who don’t fully understand that the law of Moses was literally put in place to teach them about Jesus Christ who would pay for their sins. Many Jews had come to believe that they were saved by the law of Moses. Paul was making it abundantly clear that we all need the sacrifice of Christ because we all sin.

Saved by Christ

Which leads to our next point: Christ is the one who justifies us. 

Romans 3:27-28

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

When Paul uses the word “justified,” he means that we are made righteous, clean, and perfect. We all sin so we are all unclean and cannot live with God. Being justified means that we have the opportunity to live with God again. When we are justified, we can receive salvation. Paul asks if we can boast of our works and then answers his own question: no. Justification comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Our cleansing comes simply from His sacrifice and nothing else. When we find ourselves standing before God at Judgment Day, and if we find ourselves clean from sin, it will be because our Beloved Brother did something that we could not do for ourselves. He cleanses. We cannot start acting righteous enough that it cleanses us from past sin.

If you want to drive it home a little further, here it is again:

Romans 5:1-2

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

It is by our faith in Christ that we can find ourselves clean. It is through faith that we can rejoice and have hope.

Paul also uses Abraham as an example of justification by faith. In Romans 4, Paul is trying to really drive home this principle to the Jews. They have believed that salvation comes through the Law of Moses for so long that Paul uses Abraham, a significant and revered figure in Judaism, to teach this point. He says that Abraham wasn’t justified because he got circumcised, one of the “works” required in the Law of Moses. Paul teaches that Abraham was justified by his faith in Christ, and that the circumcision was a token that he had been justified by Christ.

There is no denying that Paul taught this principle very clearly. However, this principle has been taken out of context to mean that our works mean nothing. There are many who believe that Christ doesn’t care about works at all. You can murder someone, but if you believe in Christ, you will be saved. Let’s talk a little bit about what Paul teaches about works.

Judged by works

Romans 2:6-10, 13

6 Who (God) will render to every man according to his deeds:

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

There is a lot here, but in essence, Paul teaches that God will render to every man according to his deeds. Those who do good will receive good, and those who do bad will receive bad, whether they are Jew and Gentile. And then Paul teaches this fascinating concept in verse 13: doers of the law will be justified.

What? I thought we just covered that people aren’t justified through works, but by faith. So what does Paul mean? How can both principles be true?

It is because judgment and justification are two different things. Justification offers salvation depending on the judgment of God. We will be judged according to our works. They do matter. That is why God gave commandments and specifically called them commandments. He expects us to try to become like Him. And if we have been judged worthy, justification cleanses us so that we can remain in the presence of God. In verse 13, it says that doers of the law will be justified; it doesn’t say that their works will justify them. Christ justifies them if they are doers of the law, if they keep the commandments.

Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

But Paul said that justification is given freely by grace! How does that make sense if we have to do good works?

Because being worthy is not good enough. Doing good and being worthy cannot give us salvation because we have all sinned, and only perfection can stand in God’s presence. We are not perfect or good enough. It still has to be given to us. And Christ does give it. He gives it freely in the sense that He doesn’t expect us to be perfect in order for us to receive His inconceivable gift. He gives it freely in the sense that He gave His life freely to pay for it. He wants to give it to us if we want to accept it to the extent that it changes us.

Because Christ paid justice, He became our debtor. Because He is our debtor, He sets the terms however He wants without fear of retribution from the requirement of justice. He does have terms. He asks us to be worthy. And if we are found worthy, His gift steps in (at no cost to ourselves), and justifies us so that we can stay in the presence of God.

If only belief in Christ was necessary, the devils would have been saved because they knew who Christ was. They recognized that He was the Son of God (Matthew 8:29). If belief was the only requirement set forth by Christ, why were the devils not saved along with the other believers?

What does worthy mean?

I used the word “worthy” very specifically because Christ does expect some level of works before He is willing to cleanse us so that we can stand in the presence of God. Worthy signifies that we have done “some level of works,” but it does not connote perfection.

The doctrine of what is right and wrong is always black and white; we have all committed wrong. Because of that we were in debt to justice. When Christ paid off justice and became our new debtor, He secured for Himself the right to judge us how He wants. What this means is this: Worthiness can look different for each and every individual. 

Christ is a perfect judge. How could He be a perfect judge if He didn’t take into consideration the fact that He placed some spirits into Christian homes and others in areas where Christianity would get them killed? How could He be a perfect judge if He didn’t consider that some people were working against generations of abuse while others were born into loving homes with secure attachments? He considers every single aspect of our mortal life, and He judges accordingly. 

When we look at the parable of the talents, we see how Christ judges. The first man received five talents and increased it to ten talents. The second man received two talents and increased it to four talents. The last man received one talent, buried it, and lost it. Though the return on His investment was very different, the master awarded the first and second man the same. It was only the third man who did not receive a reward. This story would have taught the same principles if the first or second man had not increased what they had been given but the third one had. That’s because it’s not about any definitive standard or finish line; it’s about what we do with what we’ve been given. Not all of us have received the same in mortality so Christ does not expect us all to return the same. But He does have expectations. 

This can be a little frightening when you are one who has received five talents. When you’ve been born into a family with the knowledge of Christ, received a testimony, been given every advantage, the expectations are going to be higher. Sometimes we extrapolate this principle to believe that we can’t ever sin because we know better, and Christ expects us to act according to our knowledge. Luckily, Christ is a better judge than that. We may have been given knowledge about what is right and wrong, but we were also given a fallen world with mortal bodies. 

If you made a bad investment in life, would you throw your money out the window? No, you would learn and become a better investor. Remember that repentance (growth and healing) are works that will be considered during Judgment Day. A deep and abiding choice to trust in Christ’s atonement and let go of our mistakes will also hold great sway. 

We believe that we are all sinners. We believe that we were in debt to justice, and there was no amount of good works that could erase our past mistakes and cleanse us enough to live with God again. We believe that Christ’s atonement is a gift that cleanses us so we can return to Him; it is not a gift that is earned because Christ knew we were incapable of earning it. It is a gift that is given freely. We also believe that Christ is our new debtor, and we believe that He expects us to grow while we’re here.