Romans 3:26
26 To [pros] declare [endeixis], I say, at [en] this [nun] time [kairos] his [autos] righteousness [dikaiosune]:
that [eis] he might be [einai] just [dikaios], and [kai] the justifier [dikaioo] of
him [autos] which believeth [pistis] in [ek] Jesus [Iesous]. KJV-Interlinear
26 It
was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and
the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. ESV
No pardon or forgiveness could be given until the
penalty for sin had been paid. And thus
it was not until the Cross when Christ paid the penalty for sin, by enduring
the punishment for sin, in our place, was God able to offer salvation and thus forgive
to anyone who accepted His work in their place.
At this time, is the reference to the current time of
Jesus and the event of the Cross.
Now the Law, or the Mosaic Law, was the standard by
which no person could live. Anyone who
could not live by it, was of course condemned.
And since no person can live the perfect life demanded by the Law, then
all are condemned. Any little infraction, no matter how small, was sufficient for
guilt.
Adam took a simple bite from the forbidden fruit. God forbade it, but Adam violated that
rule. And obviously we have all cross
the line at some point in our life, and certainly many times, so by our own
thoughts and actions, we condemn ourselves, not to mention that we are the
product of sin, simply be being a descendant of Adam.
And as a result of our infraction, no person can
escape judgment, until the penalty has been paid. Thus, no person in the Old Testament could go
to heaven until after the Cross had been accomplished. And once accomplished, then all were free and
no longer bound by the sentence of sin.
It had been served.
So, God is righteous. God is just. And God is the justifier. No one else can fulfill that role, nor have
that authority.
And, we have but only to look at Him and His plan and
His effort and believe.
There is nothing more to do. We can do nothing more. To try to do more or to do anything of our
own, says that we reject God, reject Jesus Christ, and reject His effort,
because we believe that we need to do something that He did not. And only a fool would think that way.
