Praise God, that Righteousness of God came to mankind as a free gift of His grace!
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The Book Of ROMANS.....A Systematic Teaching
- Thread starter Major
- Start date
Yes sir!!!!
Romans 3:22............
"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference".
When I was a young student, learning the Word of God, I approached it with the mind set that the grace of God had to go way down to the bottom of the barrel to reach the really BAD sinners, but didn't have to go down very far to reach the "Not So Bad Sinners".
Really dumb....right???At least I admitt it.
But of course I learned that the GRACE of God has to go all the way down to the bottom to reach every one of us. Each one of us is completly lost and doomed outside of Christ.
We are either completely saved IN Christ or we are completely lost OU of Christ. We ALL need the righteousness of Christ and there is no difference.
At this point, Paul has thoroughly and completely eliminated the possibility that anyone can be made right with God by following the law.
Having said that, and making it clear that no person has any hope of heaven by their own efforts, Paul has suddenly thrown open the door to another way to be made righteous. To be made righteous before God is the only way to be saved from God's wrath.
How do we get it??? Through Faith in Christ!
Paul sums up very clearly that the righteousness of God is available to humans through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. How is this possible?
1. Paul will go on to show that only Jesus ever kept the law perfectly.
2. He then died for the sins of all of us lawbreakers.
3. When we place our faith in Jesus, God gives us credit for His righteousness and receives Jesus' payment of His own death for our sin.
The verse ends with the beginning of a new thought: "There is no distinction." Paul means that there is no difference between any groups of human beings. He will say in the next verse that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. This includes every kind of people group: Jews, Gentiles, men, women, the oppressed, the oppressors, those who do good works and those who do not. Everyone sins, and none of us earn God's glory.
"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference".
When I was a young student, learning the Word of God, I approached it with the mind set that the grace of God had to go way down to the bottom of the barrel to reach the really BAD sinners, but didn't have to go down very far to reach the "Not So Bad Sinners".
Really dumb....right???At least I admitt it.
But of course I learned that the GRACE of God has to go all the way down to the bottom to reach every one of us. Each one of us is completly lost and doomed outside of Christ.
We are either completely saved IN Christ or we are completely lost OU of Christ. We ALL need the righteousness of Christ and there is no difference.
At this point, Paul has thoroughly and completely eliminated the possibility that anyone can be made right with God by following the law.
Having said that, and making it clear that no person has any hope of heaven by their own efforts, Paul has suddenly thrown open the door to another way to be made righteous. To be made righteous before God is the only way to be saved from God's wrath.
How do we get it??? Through Faith in Christ!
Paul sums up very clearly that the righteousness of God is available to humans through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. How is this possible?
1. Paul will go on to show that only Jesus ever kept the law perfectly.
2. He then died for the sins of all of us lawbreakers.
3. When we place our faith in Jesus, God gives us credit for His righteousness and receives Jesus' payment of His own death for our sin.
The verse ends with the beginning of a new thought: "There is no distinction." Paul means that there is no difference between any groups of human beings. He will say in the next verse that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. This includes every kind of people group: Jews, Gentiles, men, women, the oppressed, the oppressors, those who do good works and those who do not. Everyone sins, and none of us earn God's glory.
These last two verses are undoubtedly the most important truths on this earth (literally) and yet in order for a pastor to pack out his church building, all he has to do is preach/teach on Revelation (esp. 666)...sad
Sad........ but absolutely true!
And you know the worse part...........literally everyone knows what the Revelation means, even 666. Just ask any church member or Christain forum person!
Romans 3:23...............
"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God".
All = ALL, everyone.
Glory = Approval!
Sinned = Disobeyed God
Come Short = Missed the mark.
This is probably the most quoted Scripture in the Bible. It is the ONE Scripture that must be understood by the lost man which tells him what he is. Until a lost man understands that he is lost, he can not be saved.
Verses 21, 22, and 23 combine to points out that all people, without distinction, are equally deserving of wrath for our sin, and all people who are justified, without distinction, are justified through Jesus Christ.
The statement here is short and to the point: Everyone sins. Everyone has sinned. There is no one who does not sin.
I am sure that there are many Catholic believers on this forum. Now I do not say this to antagonize you or argue with you, but these 3 Scriptures confirm that even MARY was a sinner and needed a Saviour. YES....Mary was a sinner and needed to be saved!
Now before YOU post an argument or tell me how wrong I am.......PLEASE understand that i did not write the book of Romans.
YOUR argument has to be focused on GOD and not me. Now when you do that......pet me know what He says to you!
Listen my dear friends, there is no escape from this label........."SINNER". Paul does not offer any category besides "sinner," and everyone falls into it. The previous verse emphasized that there is "no distinction." The most moral of humans—relatively speaking—and the most perverse of humans are all in the same container: "sinner."
Worse, knowing the difference between right and wrong, even the law given by God, doesn't make us moral. The Greek word translated as "fall short" here is in the present tense. In reality, we keep on falling short. In other words, even knowing the consequences of our sinfulness is not enough to keep us from sinning (Romans 1:18–20).
Because none of us are sinless, all of us fall short of God's glory. That matters, because we cannot be saved from God's angry judgment against our sin except by being sinless. That is God's standard, and we all fall short of His "glory" because of our sin. God's glory, or the glory of Himself and His kingdom, is what He shares with those who are in His family, His children. Our sin, though, keeps us from sharing in His glory.
Fortunately, Paul follows this famous verse with the next one. It describes how we may reach God's glory, after all.
"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God".
All = ALL, everyone.
Glory = Approval!
Sinned = Disobeyed God
Come Short = Missed the mark.
This is probably the most quoted Scripture in the Bible. It is the ONE Scripture that must be understood by the lost man which tells him what he is. Until a lost man understands that he is lost, he can not be saved.
Verses 21, 22, and 23 combine to points out that all people, without distinction, are equally deserving of wrath for our sin, and all people who are justified, without distinction, are justified through Jesus Christ.
The statement here is short and to the point: Everyone sins. Everyone has sinned. There is no one who does not sin.
I am sure that there are many Catholic believers on this forum. Now I do not say this to antagonize you or argue with you, but these 3 Scriptures confirm that even MARY was a sinner and needed a Saviour. YES....Mary was a sinner and needed to be saved!
Now before YOU post an argument or tell me how wrong I am.......PLEASE understand that i did not write the book of Romans.
YOUR argument has to be focused on GOD and not me. Now when you do that......pet me know what He says to you!
Listen my dear friends, there is no escape from this label........."SINNER". Paul does not offer any category besides "sinner," and everyone falls into it. The previous verse emphasized that there is "no distinction." The most moral of humans—relatively speaking—and the most perverse of humans are all in the same container: "sinner."
Worse, knowing the difference between right and wrong, even the law given by God, doesn't make us moral. The Greek word translated as "fall short" here is in the present tense. In reality, we keep on falling short. In other words, even knowing the consequences of our sinfulness is not enough to keep us from sinning (Romans 1:18–20).
Because none of us are sinless, all of us fall short of God's glory. That matters, because we cannot be saved from God's angry judgment against our sin except by being sinless. That is God's standard, and we all fall short of His "glory" because of our sin. God's glory, or the glory of Himself and His kingdom, is what He shares with those who are in His family, His children. Our sin, though, keeps us from sharing in His glory.
Fortunately, Paul follows this famous verse with the next one. It describes how we may reach God's glory, after all.
Seriously! There were times when I was asked to to a verse by verse Bible study on the Revelation and it would be on the very 1st lesson /night that one or two people would say ............."yea, but I thought that..........I was told, it seems to ME that"!
Never ever failed!
It is kind of like, and I have had this happen many times where a man gets saved, then he is baptized and the next week he says to me.......
"Pastor, God has called me to teach a class! What room do you want me to start my class in"??????
God said..........."STUDY to show thy self approved, a workman"!
I have a REAL concern about those who CLAIM an anointing and God called me and have NO idea what they are preaching. Excited YES!
Dedicated, YES. Passionate, YES. Committed, YES!
To me, now to ME it is like being able to drive a car because I have two feet, and two hands and two eyes and then believe that .....
God has called me to drive semi-trucks to Alaska with out learning how to drive a semi-truck!
Romans 3:24............
"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"
3:23 described the universal human tragedy: Every one of us has sinned.
"FREELY" = Without a Cause.
That means that there is no explanation in us or for us.
God doesnt say that we are so good and so sweet and wonderful, I am going to do something special for them!
The truth is that there is nothing in us that would cause God to do what He has done for us.
Let me ask you a personal question....Would you give your child to be beaten and to die a humiliated death for ADOLF HITLER?
How about for Jeffery Dahmer? How about Jack the Ripper? How about John Wayne Gacy? Well, GOD DID!
We are justified without a cause! It is strictly by His grace which means that there is NO merit on our part.
Because of our sin, we have all fallen short of being able to participate in the glories of God and His family. In direct terms, this means nobody deserves heaven; we all have earned separation from God as a result of our own actions.
This verse describes the universal opportunity for every person. In spite of our sin, God has made it possible for us to be justified—declared righteous and sinless—by His grace. It is essential to understand what the Bible means by the word "grace."
Grace is receiving a good thing when we deserve a bad thing. Paul describes it that way here. God gives to us the opportunity to be justified in His eyes "as a gift."
As Paul has already made clear: We cannot be justified by following the works of the law. Why? Because none of us can do so without breaking the law. Everyone sins in that way. That's why God must justify us by His grace, as a gift we could never earn. This gift is given through faith in Christ to "all who believe" (Romans 3:22).
Paul adds another important word to this verse: redemption. God gives to us this gift of grace, this opportunity to be included in His family and to participate in His glory, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Redemption comes from a very specific word in the Greek.
That Greek word is Apolytrōs󠅍eōs which literally means "a ransom payment."
Our sin held us captive, unable to be included in God's family. The price of our sin was death. Jesus paid that price when He died for our sin on the cross. He paid the ransom for us. He redeemed us. He received the anger of God's judgment on our sin in His own body.
"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"
3:23 described the universal human tragedy: Every one of us has sinned.
"FREELY" = Without a Cause.
That means that there is no explanation in us or for us.
God doesnt say that we are so good and so sweet and wonderful, I am going to do something special for them!
The truth is that there is nothing in us that would cause God to do what He has done for us.
Let me ask you a personal question....Would you give your child to be beaten and to die a humiliated death for ADOLF HITLER?
How about for Jeffery Dahmer? How about Jack the Ripper? How about John Wayne Gacy? Well, GOD DID!
We are justified without a cause! It is strictly by His grace which means that there is NO merit on our part.
Because of our sin, we have all fallen short of being able to participate in the glories of God and His family. In direct terms, this means nobody deserves heaven; we all have earned separation from God as a result of our own actions.
This verse describes the universal opportunity for every person. In spite of our sin, God has made it possible for us to be justified—declared righteous and sinless—by His grace. It is essential to understand what the Bible means by the word "grace."
Grace is receiving a good thing when we deserve a bad thing. Paul describes it that way here. God gives to us the opportunity to be justified in His eyes "as a gift."
As Paul has already made clear: We cannot be justified by following the works of the law. Why? Because none of us can do so without breaking the law. Everyone sins in that way. That's why God must justify us by His grace, as a gift we could never earn. This gift is given through faith in Christ to "all who believe" (Romans 3:22).
Paul adds another important word to this verse: redemption. God gives to us this gift of grace, this opportunity to be included in His family and to participate in His glory, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Redemption comes from a very specific word in the Greek.
That Greek word is Apolytrōs󠅍eōs which literally means "a ransom payment."
Our sin held us captive, unable to be included in God's family. The price of our sin was death. Jesus paid that price when He died for our sin on the cross. He paid the ransom for us. He redeemed us. He received the anger of God's judgment on our sin in His own body.
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;".
"Propitiation." This is yet another weighty and meaningful theological word.
Propitiation comes from the Greek term, hilastērion, which means "sacrifice of atonement."
God literally gave Jesus over as the blood sacrifice to pay the debt of (or to atone for) our personal sins.
PROPITIATION points back to the cross of Christ! It was at that time that the Vail of the Temple was rent. That signified something very important. It meant that God was not hidden anymore. The Mercy Seat and God's grace was available to all who would come to the God on the Cross by faith and receive Him. Christ IS NOW THE MERCY SEAT OF GOD!!!!!
"God hath set forth" = God is the SOLE architect of YOUR eternal existence! He and only He is able to save you!
NO religion can save.
NO Man can save.
NO Church can save.
Only God can reconcile man to Himself!
I must be very careful here as I in no way want to sound bragadosuse! However.....this is some really GOOD STUFF and I encourage you to follow along and maybe invite a friend or three.
Having said that, now allow me to say to you that It's also important to note that this same term, hilastērion, is used in Hebrews 9:5 to describe the "mercy seat:" the place on the ark of the covenant where blood was placed for atonement (Exodus 25:17).
In other words, God expressed all of his righteous anger against our sin on Christ on the cross to the point of death, paying what we owed in full. This gift of the sacrifice of God's own Son to atone for our own sin must be received, Paul writes. We must receive this gift by faith. In fact, Paul will make clear through the rest of this letter that faith in this gift, this act by Christ on our behalf, is the only way for anyone to be made righteous before God and to be included in His family.
This brings us to a great question: Why did God do this for us? Why would He do this?
The answer Paul gives is that it is because of God's righteousness or justice. God did not say, "Your sins don't matter; I'll just ignore them." He fully poured out His justice against sin when sinless Jesus was sacrificed for sin on the cross.
Paul shows that this includes the sins of the past, before Christ died on the cross. He writes that God "passed over" those previous sins in an act of divine patience and perfect timing. Again, it's not that God failed to punish those old sins. It's that He stored up His punishment and poured it out on Jesus to fully satisfy the payment for those "former sins."
Praise God and somebody should say AMEN!
"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;".
"Propitiation." This is yet another weighty and meaningful theological word.
Propitiation comes from the Greek term, hilastērion, which means "sacrifice of atonement."
God literally gave Jesus over as the blood sacrifice to pay the debt of (or to atone for) our personal sins.
PROPITIATION points back to the cross of Christ! It was at that time that the Vail of the Temple was rent. That signified something very important. It meant that God was not hidden anymore. The Mercy Seat and God's grace was available to all who would come to the God on the Cross by faith and receive Him. Christ IS NOW THE MERCY SEAT OF GOD!!!!!
"God hath set forth" = God is the SOLE architect of YOUR eternal existence! He and only He is able to save you!
NO religion can save.
NO Man can save.
NO Church can save.
Only God can reconcile man to Himself!
I must be very careful here as I in no way want to sound bragadosuse! However.....this is some really GOOD STUFF and I encourage you to follow along and maybe invite a friend or three.
Having said that, now allow me to say to you that It's also important to note that this same term, hilastērion, is used in Hebrews 9:5 to describe the "mercy seat:" the place on the ark of the covenant where blood was placed for atonement (Exodus 25:17).
In other words, God expressed all of his righteous anger against our sin on Christ on the cross to the point of death, paying what we owed in full. This gift of the sacrifice of God's own Son to atone for our own sin must be received, Paul writes. We must receive this gift by faith. In fact, Paul will make clear through the rest of this letter that faith in this gift, this act by Christ on our behalf, is the only way for anyone to be made righteous before God and to be included in His family.
This brings us to a great question: Why did God do this for us? Why would He do this?
The answer Paul gives is that it is because of God's righteousness or justice. God did not say, "Your sins don't matter; I'll just ignore them." He fully poured out His justice against sin when sinless Jesus was sacrificed for sin on the cross.
Paul shows that this includes the sins of the past, before Christ died on the cross. He writes that God "passed over" those previous sins in an act of divine patience and perfect timing. Again, it's not that God failed to punish those old sins. It's that He stored up His punishment and poured it out on Jesus to fully satisfy the payment for those "former sins."
Praise God and somebody should say AMEN!
Every sin from now through eternity! ?
YES! From Adam to Revelation 19.
Since God is not bound by time, or should we say not restricted by time, all sins that we commit are known by God. Since sin is a legal debt and legal debts can be transferred, then all of our sin debt was transferred to Christ on the cross.
I guess that would address those who fear they might slip up in heaven and get the 'Boot'.
Romans3:26............
"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
If God is saving by faith in Christ and not by our works or merit, then where is boasting???? What do we have to crow about????
Listen folks, we can not even boast of the fact that we are all fundamental in our doctrine. By that I mean we all believe what the Bible says and we call our selves Christians. We have NOTHING to brag about! NOTHING!
Paul now answers that God did it to show His own righteousness when the right time had come. God showed He was just. His sacrifice of His Son for our sin made it possible for Him to offer to us eternal life without leaving human sinfulness unpunished. In addition to His love, God demonstrated His justice, His righteousness. More than that, God also wanted to be the "justifier" of those who have faith in Jesus. Only the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross accomplished both of these goals: to uphold the justness of God, and the merciful love of God.
When we trust in Christ for our salvation, for our place in God's family, our sin is forgiven. God is no longer the executioner-in-waiting. He becomes the "justifier." He changes His verdict from "guilty" to "redeemed." And He can do this with perfect holiness and perfect righteousness, because those sins have, in fact, been punished.
"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
If God is saving by faith in Christ and not by our works or merit, then where is boasting???? What do we have to crow about????
Listen folks, we can not even boast of the fact that we are all fundamental in our doctrine. By that I mean we all believe what the Bible says and we call our selves Christians. We have NOTHING to brag about! NOTHING!
Paul now answers that God did it to show His own righteousness when the right time had come. God showed He was just. His sacrifice of His Son for our sin made it possible for Him to offer to us eternal life without leaving human sinfulness unpunished. In addition to His love, God demonstrated His justice, His righteousness. More than that, God also wanted to be the "justifier" of those who have faith in Jesus. Only the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross accomplished both of these goals: to uphold the justness of God, and the merciful love of God.
When we trust in Christ for our salvation, for our place in God's family, our sin is forgiven. God is no longer the executioner-in-waiting. He becomes the "justifier." He changes His verdict from "guilty" to "redeemed." And He can do this with perfect holiness and perfect righteousness, because those sins have, in fact, been punished.
Romans 3:27............
"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."
We can brag on our children. We can brag on our grand children. But we can not brag on what we did to be right with God because there is nothing we can do to be right with God!
Shouldn't we have this in black and white? Paul says no.
That's the point. He calls it the "law of faith." Being made right before God in this way is all about faith in what God has done for us in and through Jesus. It's not about any law we can try to follow in our own strength and therefore be judged by.
"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."
We can brag on our children. We can brag on our grand children. But we can not brag on what we did to be right with God because there is nothing we can do to be right with God!
Shouldn't we have this in black and white? Paul says no.
That's the point. He calls it the "law of faith." Being made right before God in this way is all about faith in what God has done for us in and through Jesus. It's not about any law we can try to follow in our own strength and therefore be judged by.
Romans 3:28.........
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
JUSTIFIED = DECLARED NOT GUILITY!
BOOM-----THERE IT IS!
You can now take all of the Religious teaching you have heard, all the creeds, all the sermons and throw them in the trash.
Right here is the useful, concise and clear proof that our salvation is not, in any sense, dependent on good deeds, rituals, sacraments, or other behaviors.
Prior verses made it clear: we cannot and will not be seen as righteous before God on the basis of our own efforts (Romans 3:10). However, unless God declares a person to be "justified"—righteous, having no sin in need of punishment—that person cannot be with God. The unjustified person has earned God's angry judgment.
Paul has shown that nobody is able to reach this level of being justified by following the works of the law. Human beings can't do it. We sin. It's in our nature. Once we have sinned, the price of our sin is to be excluded from God's glory (Romans 3:23).
Thankfully, God provides a way—but only one way—for humans to be declared "justified." This comes through faith and not through works of the law. Later, Paul will expand on this to further prove that this salvation is entirely on the basis of faith, with no contribution or requirement of works, whatsoever (Romans 4:3; 11:6).
Paul is telling us that boasting is not allowed!!! We are declared NOT GUILITY by Faith in Christ Jesus!
Now Paul will drive the nail home in verse #29,,,,,,,,,,,,
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
JUSTIFIED = DECLARED NOT GUILITY!
BOOM-----THERE IT IS!
You can now take all of the Religious teaching you have heard, all the creeds, all the sermons and throw them in the trash.
Right here is the useful, concise and clear proof that our salvation is not, in any sense, dependent on good deeds, rituals, sacraments, or other behaviors.
Prior verses made it clear: we cannot and will not be seen as righteous before God on the basis of our own efforts (Romans 3:10). However, unless God declares a person to be "justified"—righteous, having no sin in need of punishment—that person cannot be with God. The unjustified person has earned God's angry judgment.
Paul has shown that nobody is able to reach this level of being justified by following the works of the law. Human beings can't do it. We sin. It's in our nature. Once we have sinned, the price of our sin is to be excluded from God's glory (Romans 3:23).
Thankfully, God provides a way—but only one way—for humans to be declared "justified." This comes through faith and not through works of the law. Later, Paul will expand on this to further prove that this salvation is entirely on the basis of faith, with no contribution or requirement of works, whatsoever (Romans 4:3; 11:6).
Paul is telling us that boasting is not allowed!!! We are declared NOT GUILITY by Faith in Christ Jesus!
Now Paul will drive the nail home in verse #29,,,,,,,,,,,,
Romans 3:29.-31...................
"Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
Paul knew that some religious Jews would object to what He was writing. Many still believed they would not be judged by God for their own personal sin because they were circumcised and followed the law—because they were law-observant Jews. Paul has carefully dismantled the logic behind that belief. First, nobody can follow the law perfectly, which means nobody can be deemed righteous in God's eyes on the basis of the law (Romans 3:10). Second, God holds all people to the same moral standards, since He gives all people an opportunity to recognize and seek Him (Romans 1:18–20).
Now Paul continues with two questions: Is God only the God of the Jews? Many Jews throughout Israel's history may have said yes to that question. Paul says "No, God is also the God of the Gentiles—the non-Jews." He is the only God, after all. All people must answer to Him. Therefore, it makes sense that God's perfect, ultimate, righteous judgment would carry the same standards for all people.
"Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
Paul knew that some religious Jews would object to what He was writing. Many still believed they would not be judged by God for their own personal sin because they were circumcised and followed the law—because they were law-observant Jews. Paul has carefully dismantled the logic behind that belief. First, nobody can follow the law perfectly, which means nobody can be deemed righteous in God's eyes on the basis of the law (Romans 3:10). Second, God holds all people to the same moral standards, since He gives all people an opportunity to recognize and seek Him (Romans 1:18–20).
Now Paul continues with two questions: Is God only the God of the Jews? Many Jews throughout Israel's history may have said yes to that question. Paul says "No, God is also the God of the Gentiles—the non-Jews." He is the only God, after all. All people must answer to Him. Therefore, it makes sense that God's perfect, ultimate, righteous judgment would carry the same standards for all people.
Does that include this post? (I'm just kidding)
CHAPTER FOUR
In this graet section of JUSTIFICATION by faith, we have seen that doctrine!
Paul has vividly stated that man is a sinner!
Then he told us that God provides a righteousness for sinners, and justification by faith has been explained.
Now he is going to illustrate this truth with TWO men out of the Old Test. ABRAHAM AND DAVID.
In Paul's day, Abraham and David were held in higher esteem than anyone else by Israel, Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew race and David was their greatest leader. Paul uses them mean to illustrate or to establish his statement in chapter THREE that there is agreement between the Law and the Gospel.
Although they represent TWO diametrically opposed systems, neither contradicts nor conflicts with the other. Even under the Law and before the Law, FAITH was God's sole requirement.
Abraham, before the Law was justified by faith. And David under the Law sang of justification by faith. What all of this means is that Paul is not presenting some kind of NEW and STRANGE doctrine which cancels out the Old Test. and leaves the Jews floating on the sea of life with no preserver.
Paul is going to illustrate that Abraham and David were in the same life boat which he is offering to his own people in his day and it is labeled......"JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH!"
In this graet section of JUSTIFICATION by faith, we have seen that doctrine!
Paul has vividly stated that man is a sinner!
Then he told us that God provides a righteousness for sinners, and justification by faith has been explained.
Now he is going to illustrate this truth with TWO men out of the Old Test. ABRAHAM AND DAVID.
In Paul's day, Abraham and David were held in higher esteem than anyone else by Israel, Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew race and David was their greatest leader. Paul uses them mean to illustrate or to establish his statement in chapter THREE that there is agreement between the Law and the Gospel.
Although they represent TWO diametrically opposed systems, neither contradicts nor conflicts with the other. Even under the Law and before the Law, FAITH was God's sole requirement.
Abraham, before the Law was justified by faith. And David under the Law sang of justification by faith. What all of this means is that Paul is not presenting some kind of NEW and STRANGE doctrine which cancels out the Old Test. and leaves the Jews floating on the sea of life with no preserver.
Paul is going to illustrate that Abraham and David were in the same life boat which he is offering to his own people in his day and it is labeled......"JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH!"
Romans 4:1..........ABRAHAM
"What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?"
Correct would be..."Our First Father". Tha nation of Israel began with Abraham.
If you have any Jewish friends or acquaintances who are Jewish as I have, you already know what I am about to say.
Now at least the ones I KNOW. I am sure someone will argue this point but the people I know who fit this category do not go beyond Abraham.
I have asked, what about Noah and Moses and Adam. They always say.......NOPE. we start and stop with Abraham.
Of course this leads to Paul's obvious question of......
"what, then, was the point of God's special relationship with Abraham and Israel? Was the law pointless? "
Paul ended Romans 3 by reassuring his readers that his teaching about faith in Christ upholds the law. He does not mean to do away with Israel's history. He restates the question in this verse. What was gained by Abraham?
Paul includes himself with the Jewish people in describing Abraham as their ancestor "according to the flesh."
In other words, all Jewish people, including Paul, were descended from "Father Abraham."
Paul will show in Romans chapter 4 that both Abraham's and David's relationships with God were by faith, and that their examples point to faith in Christ as the way to become right before God.
"What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?"
Correct would be..."Our First Father". Tha nation of Israel began with Abraham.
If you have any Jewish friends or acquaintances who are Jewish as I have, you already know what I am about to say.
Now at least the ones I KNOW. I am sure someone will argue this point but the people I know who fit this category do not go beyond Abraham.
I have asked, what about Noah and Moses and Adam. They always say.......NOPE. we start and stop with Abraham.
Of course this leads to Paul's obvious question of......
"what, then, was the point of God's special relationship with Abraham and Israel? Was the law pointless? "
Paul ended Romans 3 by reassuring his readers that his teaching about faith in Christ upholds the law. He does not mean to do away with Israel's history. He restates the question in this verse. What was gained by Abraham?
Paul includes himself with the Jewish people in describing Abraham as their ancestor "according to the flesh."
In other words, all Jewish people, including Paul, were descended from "Father Abraham."
Paul will show in Romans chapter 4 that both Abraham's and David's relationships with God were by faith, and that their examples point to faith in Christ as the way to become right before God.
Romans 4:2...........
"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God."
It was assumed that Abraham did good works, a lot of them. But what Paul is saying is that those good works were not the basis or the result of his salvation. Instead, they were the RESULT of his salvation.
James and Paul agreed on this. (James 2:21).
Hypothetically, Paul says, if Abraham had been justified before God by his works, he would have something to brag about. Of course, nobody can be justified by their works.
Listen, even if Abraham were justified by his works, though, he would have had to never sinned and had only done good works.
Abraham would not be able to boast about that to God.
Simply said, that means God, who is holy and sinless and perfect, would not be impressed with a human being's good works.
The idea, and or teaching that Human beings can be justified before God based on our own efforts/works is so silly that it is almost embarrassing to talk about it.
"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God."
It was assumed that Abraham did good works, a lot of them. But what Paul is saying is that those good works were not the basis or the result of his salvation. Instead, they were the RESULT of his salvation.
James and Paul agreed on this. (James 2:21).
Hypothetically, Paul says, if Abraham had been justified before God by his works, he would have something to brag about. Of course, nobody can be justified by their works.
Listen, even if Abraham were justified by his works, though, he would have had to never sinned and had only done good works.
Abraham would not be able to boast about that to God.
Simply said, that means God, who is holy and sinless and perfect, would not be impressed with a human being's good works.
The idea, and or teaching that Human beings can be justified before God based on our own efforts/works is so silly that it is almost embarrassing to talk about it.