Rom 3:21-31 - the most important passage of Romans, and perhaps, also the hardest. I finished writing the sermon at 3:30am on Sunday morning, slept for a few hours, read over it and touched it up a bit, and preached it.

The lateness of my preparation is not (entirely) due to the lack of work beforehand. It was just that there were so many things to cover in the passage. Things that I needed to explain include:

1. Context of this passage in relation to Romans 1-3, and also the latter part of the book
   
2. Righteousness of God
   
3. How this righteousness is apart from the law, and yet the law and the prophets testify to it
   
4. Faith
   
5. Fall short of the glory of God
   
6. Justification (declare righteous)
   
7. Grace
   
8. Redemption
   
9. Sacrifice of atonement (propitiation) & blood
   
10. God's justice past and present
    
11. Relationship between faith and law/obedience
    
12. How the law is not nullified by faith but rather upheld

How's that for a jam-packed passage?!? 12 things! Plus there's the whole legal metaphor throughout Romans 2 onwards culminating in this passage. For example, look at my own translation of Rom 3:21-26:

²¹ But now apart from the law a righteousness of God has been revealed to which the law and the prophets testify, ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For there is no difference, ²³ for all sinned and fall short of the glory of God ²⁴ and are declared righteous freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God presented as a propitiation through faith in his blood, to demonstrate his righteousness - because the sins of the past were overlooked ²⁶ in the forbearance of God - to the demonstration of his righteousness in the present time, so that he might be righteous and declaring righteous the one who is of the faith of Jesus.

It's a very wooden translation (i.e. rigid and not flowy English), but I've underlined all the words which are related to righteous. If you compare it with the NIV, it's translated using different words, so you don't see the repetition. It's the antithesis of Rom 3:20 ("Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law;" NIV). What is not possible by law is possible by faith. We can now be legally declared righteous because of Jesus' death and resurrection. I don't know how people found the sermon. But I'm just relieved that it's over now. If you are interested in the transcript, you can download it here. There's a small possibility of an audio version for download as well. If so, I'll post the link here when I get it.

Praise God for his mercy in justifying us (declaring us as righteous) through the work of his Son Jesus. Pray that those who heard the sermon will put their trust (faith) in him and not their personal goodness. Give thanks that God was able to use me to bring such an important message to his people.

Now onto to essays...