This week on Things Unseen, we're taking a quick helicopter tour of Paul's massively

important letter to the Romans.

And I said earlier in the week that it divides fairly neatly into four sections. Yesterday we traced

his argument through chapter 1 verse 1 to chapter 3 verse 20. Its conclusion, we're all guilty

before a holy God. We stand, condemn, and there's nothing we can say in our defense.

Our mouths are shut. We are hopeless and we are

helpless. And then, although our mouths are shut and we want to look down in shame,

we see these glorious words of Chapter 3, verse 21. But now the righteousness of God

has been manifested apart from the law. Incidentally, you'll never feel the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.

Incidentally, you'll never feel the wonder of these words just by memorizing this one text.

But if you meditate on chapter 1, verse 18 to chapter 3, verse 20,

then you will see what overwhelmingly wonderful good news these works really are.

The righteousness that is lacking in us has been provided by God.

It's absolutely staggering.

The holy God we have actually offended to the point of our condemnation is the very God

who delivers us from it. He now in Jesus Christ counts as righteous through faith.

And he does this without compromising his own righteousness. It's absolutely staggering. This is what

makes grace amazing to us. Don't you sometimes think that when John Newton's

amazing grace is sung so heartily by people who are really quite indifferent to Jesus Christ that

what they really mean is that what's amazing is that they really deep down deserve it. But as long as you think that, grace will never be

amazing to you. The big question, of course, is how can God be just and at the same time justify

ungodly sinners? Well, Paul's answer is found in Romans chapter 3 verses 21 to 24. It's often called the

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