August 30, 2026

God’s Glory Was Out of Reach

The fundamental human problem is that we are guilty of sin. This guilt weighs on us, and because of this guilt, we are facing the justice of God against our sin. We are, by nature, children of wrath. No matter how bad or good we are, we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory.

The Anglican Bishop Handley Moule put it this way: “The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of it [God’s glory]; but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they.”

We live in an age that has been described as the “triumph of the therapeutic.” Over the last century, the world has tried to remove the concept of sin, guilt, and shame, replacing it with the idea of self-expression and self-care. The idea was that if humanity could throw off religious ideas around sin and guilt, we would all be free from shame and free to live as we please without feeling weighed down. (See more on this idea in this article from Modern Reformation.)

This has not worked. In fact, people are more anxious than ever in the culture around us. People are trying to justify themselves through identity politics, social causes, and virtue signaling. In all of this, we have become less and less forgiving and less and less merciful. Cancel culture is a symptom of this, as people posture themselves as righteous by canceling others as unrighteous. Even when we try to deny sin, we still know justice must be done. We want justice.

No matter how hard we try to redefine sin, our guilt remains. Our consciences speak to us that we are guilty. Whether we admit it or not, we are guilty before the Righteous Judge for our sin. The ultimate solution to our problem of sin and guilt cannot be found through therapy, drugs, sex, self-esteem, or self-care.

In the courtroom, we stand with a guilty verdict hanging over our heads. We have a legal debt we cannot pay, and we are facing the sentence for our sin. We are guilty, we are slaves, and we need someone to dismiss our charges and pay our debt. We need a Savior. We need this gift of God’s grace.

But Now…

Paul begins this section with two words that bring a sudden jolt of hope. After laying out the case of our guilt, he writes, “But now…” He has just gone into great detail about how evil, sinful, and warped humanity is, and told us that no human being could be justified before God through works of the law. We are left with the question: What is our hope? Then he says, “But now…” There’s a “but” to all of this.

By Grace Through Faith

The righteousness of God, manifested apart from the law, comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. All of humanity is under sin — Jews and Gentiles alike. No matter where you come from, no matter what you have done, no matter how good or bad you think you are, you can be made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ.

The thing about a gift is that it’s something you don’t earn. It’s not given with the expectation of reciprocity; it’s given merely to bless the person it’s given to. Our Father in heaven has given us the gift of grace through his only Son. We didn’t earn any of it, and there’s no way we could repay it.

Grace means free and undeserved favor. Justified means to be declared “not guilty” and “righteous.” Justification is more than merely a pardon — it’s a pronouncement that no punishment can be justly inflicted upon you for your sin. Since you are pronounced righteous at the beginning of your walk of faith, and not at the end, there’s no way it could be a matter of works.

Justification is a legal term from the courtroom, but redemption is a marketplace term. Redemption refers to a ransom, which is “buying a slave out of bondage in order to set him free” (Bruce, 109). All of humanity is under sin, and in order to be justified by God’s grace, there first had to be a ransom payment made to redeem us — to buy us out of our slavery. Jesus came to be this ransom for us.

Paul also tells us that Christ was put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. In Greco-Roman literature, this word, hilasterion, meant something that served as an instrument to regain the goodwill of a deity (BDAG). To propitiate someone carries the idea of appeasing their anger. It also carries the idea of atonement, which is the act of making satisfaction for an offense or injury. The propitiation by his blood was the sacrifice that made satisfaction for our sin, appeased God’s wrath, and removed every barrier to us having a relationship with God.

Just and Justifier

The cross demonstrated God’s righteousness by showing that God is just. The sins Jesus paid for on the cross covered the entirety of human history, looking backward to Adam and Eve and forward to the last person who will receive this grace by faith. God is both the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Grace Received by Faith

Faith does not earn us anything. It’s not a new kind of work we have to do to be saved. Faith’s value is found only in the one in whom it is placed — Jesus Christ. All faith does is believe and receive this gift of grace.

So all the guilt we carry has been paid for on the cross by Jesus. You don’t have to cancel other people, live with shame, or be crushed by anxiety. You don’t have to prove to others that you are righteous by the politics or causes you support. Bring your guilty conscience, your failures, your identity, and your shame to Jesus. Look at the cross — he paid the price for all of it.

By faith, receive his grace. That is a verdict that cannot be overturned or appealed — an eternal pardon and change of status before God, available to all who believe. What used to be out of reach is now within reach because of Jesus. Receive this gift of grace by faith.