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JUSTIFIED BY FAITH
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE ROMANS
CHAPTER 3
Welcome back! So
glad to have you here for more Daily Bread. Let me remind you what Paul was
writing about when we left off. He was explaining that to be Jewish is not
about being born with Jewish blood, it’s about being Jewish in your heart
and your spirit.
Paul goes on with
a little question and answer style of teaching, so put on your thinking caps
while we study it together.
Q ... What advantage is there then, or what
profit is there to be born Jewish?
A ... Much, in every way. Mostly because the
messages of God were written to them.
Q ... Well, what if some Jewish people did not believe, would their unbelief
make the Faith of God untrue?
A ... Certainly not. Yes, let God be true, but every man a liar, as
it is written (by David in
Psalms 51:4),
That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome
when thou art judged.
Q ... But if our unrighteousness commend (makes right or worthy) the
righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who takes
vengeance? (I speak in human terms)
A ... Certainly not, because then how shall God judge the world?
Q ... Because if the truth (faith in the reality) of God has become
more clear through my lie for His glory, why am I still judged as a
sinner? And not instead (as we’ve been slanderously spoken of and as
some claim that we say), Let us do evil, so that good may come of it?
Whose condemnation is deserved. What then? Are we (the Gentiles) better
than they (the Jewish)?
A ... No, in no way, because we have before found out
the TRUTH, both Jewish and Gentiles, that they are all under sin, as it
is written (by David in
Psalms 14:1-3),
There is none righteous, no not one,
there is none that understand,
there is none that seek after God.
They are all gone out of the way,
they have together become useless,
there is none that do good, no, not one.
Psalms 5:9
Their throat is an open sepulchre (grave),
with their tongues they have used deceit,
the poison of snakes is under their lips,
Psalms 10:7
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness
Isaiah 59:7,8
Proverbs
1:16
Their feet are swift to shed blood,
destruction and misery are in their ways,
and the way of peace have they not known
Psalms 36:1
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Sooooo, using
scripture, Paul just showed us that we’re all subject to sin, whether we’re
Jewish or Gentile, it matters not. We are all under sin. We all sin.
BUT ...
We’re not all under the
law (the Old Testament). In fact, nobody is under the law unless they choose
to be. And when a person chooses to be under the law, they are obligated to
obey it. Paul explains:
Now, we know that whatever things the law says,
it says to those who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world may become guilty before God.
So, by the deeds of the law,
no man shall be made righteous in God’s eyes,
because by the law is the knowledge of sin.
To say this simply, if there are no rules to break, everything is within
the law. Once rules are introduced, then you know there is right and wrong
(sin). If you didn’t know what wrong was, you couldn’t have any sin.
But now, the righteousness of God without the law is
clear,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
That is the righteousness of God which is by Faith of
Jesus Christ
for all and upon all them that believe,
because there is no difference,
for all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God,
being justified without cost by His
Grace
through the redemption (freeing of sin)
that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God has given to be an atoning sacrifice
through Faith in His blood,
to declare His righteousness
for the forgiveness of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God,
to declare now, His righteousness,
that He might be just
and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus.
Q ... Where is the bragging then?
A ... It is eliminated.
Q ... By what law? Of works?
A ... No, but by the law of Faith. Therefore we conclude that a man
is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law.
Q ... Is he the God of the Jewish only? Is He not also of the
Gentiles?
A ... Yes, of the Gentiles also. He is one God, who will justify the
Jewish by faith and the Gentiles through faith.
Q ... Do we then make the law void
through Faith?
A ... Certainly not, we establish the law by way of Faith
Works are not only things that you do, they can be your attitude or a train
of thought, or anything that comes from you, humanly speaking. Here, Paul is
pointing out that nothing that is “of you” can get you into Heaven. Being
Jewish, although it is not something that a person can control, is still a
human trait that Jewish people possess, therefore, it is not a means by
which you can obtain eternal life.
Faith is the key. It doesn’t matter if you do a dozen
good deeds per day, if you give 20 percent of your income to the poor, or if
your family is in the direct bloodline of the tribe of Ephraim, without
faith, your “works” are useless. Following the law is a “work." It does not
admit you into Heaven. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t follow the law.
It means that if you have Faith, you will want to follow the law,
effortlessly. It will come naturally to you, because it is written in your
heart by the Hand of God. (Hebrews
8:6-10)
Next time we’ll talk a
little more about faith, as we continue with Paul’s letter to the Romans,
right here at Daily Bread.
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