Romans 3:24 tells us that justification came freely by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
This free act of redemption yielded a justified people. Until that redemption, there was no grounds for a justified people. How did that redemption come to be? Verse 25 gives us the answer. Redemption came by the propitiation. The propitiation came through what is called here faith in his blood.
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
When first looking at this, you may think how is justification free as it states in verses 24 if I must have faith in his blood? This section of verse 25 is so important to understand. To misunderstand this is akin to Paul speaking about Israel in Romans 10:
Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
If you see righteousness coming from your faith, if you see God granting righteousness because you have faith then you do not understand the righteousness of God. As Paul would say you are ignorant of the righteousness of God and have devised a way to establish your own righteousness. Righteousness is not given upon a fulfillment/condition that man completes. Paul is telling us that righteousness is altogether outside of man. Righteousness has come without the law/without conditions.
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
The righteousness of God did not exist until the time Paul denoted with but now in 3:21. There were followers of God, there were those with faith prior to Christ’s coming, but the righteousness of God was now manifest, not then. God could not declare righteousness until righteousness was earned. So what do we mean by the phrase through faith in his blood?
Looking in the original language, the article THE precedes faith in verses 25. The propitiation is through the faith. Look back to Romans 1:17.
Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
From our earlier writing therein refers to the gospel of Christ. The first mention of faith is reference to this gospel of Christ. Romans 3:25 is telling us this propitiation is part of this faith, the faith, the gospel of Christ. The preposition in connects this faith with His blood. Without His blood, without the propitiation, the faith is not complete. Paul is showing us the importance of the shed blood of Christ to the gospel of Christ. There could be no gospel without His shedding of blood. Without this shedding of blood there could be no redemption, there could be no justification. This understanding of the accomplishments that occurred at the time of His shedding of blood is crucial to understanding the righteousness of God. The simple fact is that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Without the shedding of blood there is no righteousness. Without blood, none were made perfect. It took the shedding of blood, the blood of Christ, to accomplish these things just listed. Look at Hebrews 11:
Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
The promise that Abraham was given was that of righteousness. We will develop this more in chapter 4 or Romans, but it was a promise to him. This promise came from God. Abraham died not receiving this promise but looked forward to it. There was no righteousness to impute to Abraham when he lived. Verse 40 above shows that they, those of the Old Testament, those prior to the death of Christ, should not be made perfect without us. Paul showing us that all for whom Christ died were made perfect at one single moment. That moment is the propitiation that we are now studying. To give up on this concept as we move through Romans will be to miss this message; to miss righteousness of God. Very simply today faith has been made to be that condition of which a man must perform to be just with God. To think in this way is to miss the gospel completely. God has made us just by His Son. It has already happened.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Faith is given so that we may see the completed work of Christ. It allows us to rest on the gospel that culminated in His shed blood, His propitiation. That faith is our avenue to see the righteousness that is already ours. To turn that faith into a work is to pervert the gospel altogether and to say that what Christ did was close but now one more thing must be added. The matter at hand is serious. Look at the warning Paul gave in Galatians 1 as well as 1 Timothy 4:
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Paul is warning those who would hear him to beware of false teachers. They would present the gospel of Christ, but would pervert the message. This would not be an obvious worship of a foreign god. This gospel would appeal to those who were kept ignorant of the righteousness of God. It would be for those who pursue a gospel that fits the self-righteous nature of man that says what do I need to do to make myself just before God. Think of counterfeit money. The greatest of counterfeits is that which is most alike the real thing. Paul would tell us that unless all righteousness is ascribed to the work of Christ and His work alone, then you have perverted the pure gospel of grace that came by Jesus Christ.