God's Faithfulness
1What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. 3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:
"So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge."[a]
5But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" 8Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.
No One is Righteous
9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better[b]? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."[c]
13"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."[d]
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."[e]
14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."[f]
15"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know."[g]
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."[h]
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
4 comments:
oh man...this is the romans i love. paul's theological argument on human sin and righteousness is interesting. haha i have to admit, i had to read this one over again a couple times. so in the beginning, paul says that people were slandering christianity by saying that christians believed that we do evil so that good would result meaning that we sin so that God's glory is evident. and in answering that claim, vs 18 says, "There is no fear of God before their eyes." i think this really struck me because i realized what paul was saying. its not God who is making us to be sinful but as all of mankind fell to sin, we ourselves lost fear of God. in doing this, how is God glorified? if God created us to sin but we lose our reverence for Him i dont think God gains any glory. (i dunno if that makes sense)
in terms of righteousness i realize that its true what paul says. because there are all these laws, we see our shortcomings. so if theres anyone who could actually follow all the laws of God, could he be righteous? in the end we do all fall short of the glory of God and so the only way we are made righteous is through faith in Jesus (thats straight up gospel yo).
and so...what i learned from this chpt is that i cant help myself and im pretty messed up and very sinful but THANK GOD that he atoned for my sins (and everyone else's) thru Jesus
In this chapter, Paul lays it out, almost loud and clear. God's glory doesn't just shine in comparison to our own sinfulness, but His glory overflows when we, His children, live in righteousness and faith. I think sometimes I recognize my own unworthiness and wallow in it.. but then I forget that in repentance, in loving others, in obeying God by simply studying and adhering to the calling He has given me, God can be glorified if my heart is right and really seeking to praise Him in all that I do.
I really liked v.20: "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." It reminds me that my salvation isn't possible through obedience or somehow being a good person. I think a lot of times I try to improve myself by sheer willpower - thus forgetting that I'm basically incapable of any good on my own and could never be "declared righteous" because of anything I do. It's our faith that saves, and God's laws exist to remind us of our own shortcomings and to lean on that faith.
This chapter really shows how unworthy we are of God's glory. Verse 10 says that no one is righteous - even those Christians we know who seem so holy and perfect have fallen to sin at some point in their lives. Even so Jesus made the ultimate sacrific in order to save us from our sins, even though we are so undeserving.
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