"This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. - Romans 3:25"
The Question Hidden Behind Forgiveness
Many people want forgiveness, but few people ask how forgiveness can be righteous. We like to say, “God is love,” and that is wonderfully true. But if God simply overlooks evil without judgment, is He still just? If a human judge released the guilty without payment, we would not call him loving. We would call him corrupt.
Romans 3 forces us to face this question. How can a holy God forgive sinners and still remain holy? How can God justify the ungodly without becoming unjust Himself? The answer is the cross.
The cross is not merely a symbol of comfort. It is the public display of God’s righteousness. At Calvary, God shows that sin has never been small, forgiveness has never been casual, and grace has never been cheap.
The Sins God Passed Over
Paul says God had “passed over former sins” in His divine forbearance. This does not mean God approved of them. It means God delayed the full display of judgment. For generations, sinners lived, sinned, repented, offered sacrifices, and received mercy. But the blood of bulls and goats could not truly remove sin. Those sacrifices pointed forward.
Every Old Testament sacrifice was like an arrow aimed at Christ. Every lamb on the altar was preaching a future Lamb. Every drop of blood was announcing that sin requires death. God was patient, but His patience was never moral weakness. He was waiting for the appointed moment when the true sacrifice would come.
At the cross, the long question is answered. God did not forget the sins of the past. He dealt with them in Christ. The cross reaches backward and forward. It explains how believers before Christ were saved, and it secures salvation for all who believe after Christ.
The Bridge Between Past and Future
This is why the cross is the bridge linking past and future. Abraham, David, Moses, and the prophets were not saved by their own righteousness. They were saved by grace through faith in the promise of God, looking forward to what Christ would accomplish. We are saved by grace through faith, looking back to what Christ has accomplished.
The direction of sight differs, but the Savior is the same. They looked forward through promise. We look backward through fulfillment. But all salvation flows through the blood of Jesus Christ.
This gives the Bible one united story. God has never had two ways of salvation. There is not one way for Israel and another way for the church, one way for the Old Testament and another for the New. There is one God, one mercy, one sacrifice, one Mediator, one cross.
Just and the Justifier
Romans 3:26 says God is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” This is the glory of the gospel. God does not stop being just in order to justify sinners. He justifies sinners in a way that displays His justice.
At the cross, sin receives its true sentence. The wrath of God is not denied. It falls on Christ as our substitute. Jesus stands in the place of sinners, not as an unwilling victim, but as the obedient Son who gives Himself in love. He bears the curse. He pays the debt. He satisfies justice. He opens the way for mercy.
This means the believer’s forgiveness is not fragile. It does not rest on God being lenient. It rests on God being righteous. If Christ has paid, God will not demand a second payment from those who are in Him. The cross is not merely an emotional sign that God cares. It is the legal ground of our peace.
Boasting Is Excluded
Paul then asks, “What becomes of our boasting?” His answer is simple: “It is excluded.” The cross leaves no room for spiritual pride. If salvation required our achievement, we could boast. If salvation depended on our moral record, we could compare. If salvation came through religious performance, we could rank ourselves.
But the cross destroys boasting. We are justified by faith apart from works of the law. Faith is not a trophy we place before God. Faith is the empty hand receiving Christ. It does not brag about itself. It clings to the Savior.
This is why the gospel creates humility. No Christian can stand at the cross and say, “I was wiser, stronger, or better than others.” The only honest confession is this: “I was guilty, but Christ died for me. I was helpless, but God showed mercy.”
One Cross for Every Nation
Paul also reminds us that God is not the God of Jews only, but also of Gentiles. If justification is by faith, then the door is open to all nations. The cross creates one people of God from every tribe, language, and background.
This matters deeply. The gospel does not belong to one culture. It is not the possession of one ethnic group, one denomination, or one spiritual class. The same cross that humbles the proud also welcomes the outsider. The same blood that covers Abraham covers the believer today.
The cross is the place where God proves He is perfectly just, perfectly merciful, and perfectly faithful to save everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.
- Truth Rock Ministry
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