“Why not say…’Let us do evil that good may result’?” Rom. 3:8
As mentioned earlier, Romans 3 begins with 8 questions from an imaginary disputant. The second group of questions (the last 5 questions) deals with erroneous extrapolations of Paul’s teaching.
To extrapolate means “to infer by extending known information…” In math you can take an existing graph containing a curve and extend the curve beyond the set of data used to create the curve. The extended portion of the curve is the extrapolated portion. People were taking Paul’s teaching and extending it out beyond what Paul was actually saying and this extrapolation was filled with error.
The truths presented by Paul were that “our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly…”, and “…my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory…” It is a good thing to see God’s righteousness more clearly. It is also a good thing when the glory of God is increased in our eyes. The erroneous extrapolation was “Let us do evil that good may result.” The darkened nature of man is seen even in his grappling with truth. Paul said those who report that he teaches these things are justly condemned.
What is the accurate extrapolation from the truths taught by Paul? Paul has just concluded 2 chapters in which he thoroughly expounds on the depravity of mankind. No one is left untouched. The fall of man was cataclysmic and horrendous, affecting the nature of everyone. Man’s nature is to trade the truth of God for an image in the form of a cow. Man’s nature is to put confidence in a mark in the flesh (circumcision) while stealing and committing adultery. The darker the picture that is painted of man, the more brilliant is the character of God who is the righteous standard by which everything is measured.
If someone concludes from Paul’s teaching that it is ok to sin, they misunderstand Paul’s teaching. When Paul later teaches on the grace of God, the erroneous extrapolations rain down in a torrent….mainly along the lines that it is ok to sin. Paul teaches us to appreciate the horrendousness of sin and the beauty and magnificence of God’s righteousness and grace.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Romans 3:1-4 Questions About Jewish Specialness
“What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew…”? Rom. 3:1
The first 8 verses of Romans 3 begin with 8 questions from an imaginary disputant. The 8 questions can be divided into 2 groups. One group of questions (the first 3 questions) challenges Paul’s teaching by suggesting that Paul’s teaching diminishes the special privilege of being a Jew. The second group of questions (the last 5 questions) deal with erroneous extrapolations from Paul’s teaching.
Let’s talk about the first group of questions. “What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew?” This question is asked because Paul has just systematically in Romans 1 and 2 shown how Gentiles and Jews are both equally guilty and equally worthy of condemnation. Jews had always been the chosen people of God but if they are as guilty as Gentiles before God and if they are equally worthy of condemnation then the logical conclusion is that any advantage in being a Jew must not exist. Paul answers this logic by stating there is much advantage “in every way” In being a Jew. To prove his point, Paul says that Jews have been entrusted “with the very words of God.” A Gentile cannot make this boast. In the first century, only the Jews possessed the written word of God. Later in Romans, Paul expounds further on the advantages of being a Jew.
If righteousness comes from God by faith and some Jews do not have faith, then some Jews will be condemned. So, are the promises of God regarding Jews, only good to the Jews who have been made right with God through faith? Paul says that God is faithful to his promises concerning the Jews regardless of their faith.
A Gentile lady in the gospels (Matt 15) needing the supernatural help of the Messiah was forced to consider the specialness of the Jews. Jesus told her “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” The children were the Jews and the Gentiles were the dogs. She understood this. That is why she responded “Yes Lord…but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” The Jews are special but thank God, the blessings for them spill over to us Gentiles!
The first 8 verses of Romans 3 begin with 8 questions from an imaginary disputant. The 8 questions can be divided into 2 groups. One group of questions (the first 3 questions) challenges Paul’s teaching by suggesting that Paul’s teaching diminishes the special privilege of being a Jew. The second group of questions (the last 5 questions) deal with erroneous extrapolations from Paul’s teaching.
Let’s talk about the first group of questions. “What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew?” This question is asked because Paul has just systematically in Romans 1 and 2 shown how Gentiles and Jews are both equally guilty and equally worthy of condemnation. Jews had always been the chosen people of God but if they are as guilty as Gentiles before God and if they are equally worthy of condemnation then the logical conclusion is that any advantage in being a Jew must not exist. Paul answers this logic by stating there is much advantage “in every way” In being a Jew. To prove his point, Paul says that Jews have been entrusted “with the very words of God.” A Gentile cannot make this boast. In the first century, only the Jews possessed the written word of God. Later in Romans, Paul expounds further on the advantages of being a Jew.
If righteousness comes from God by faith and some Jews do not have faith, then some Jews will be condemned. So, are the promises of God regarding Jews, only good to the Jews who have been made right with God through faith? Paul says that God is faithful to his promises concerning the Jews regardless of their faith.
A Gentile lady in the gospels (Matt 15) needing the supernatural help of the Messiah was forced to consider the specialness of the Jews. Jesus told her “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” The children were the Jews and the Gentiles were the dogs. She understood this. That is why she responded “Yes Lord…but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” The Jews are special but thank God, the blessings for them spill over to us Gentiles!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Romans 2:5-16 God's Judgment
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” Rom. 2:5
Romans 1 states “The wrath of God is being revealed…” and in Romans 2 God’s wrath is being stored up for the day it “will be revealed.” OK, this is another easy one for us engineers…chapter 1 is talking about the wrath of God being present and continuous, and in chapter 2, it is talking about God’s wrath revealed in a single day in the future. In chapter 1, God’s wrath is being revealed by God stepping out of the way and allowing sin to run amuck. In chapter 2, God’s wrath is going to be revealed in a single day in the future “when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”
Romans teaches and clarifies for us something very important about God. It teaches that God judges.
Here is what can be observed in Romans 1 and 2 about God’s judgment:
1. Its reality is sensed apart from a written revelation. 1:32
2. It involves wrath against evil deeds. 1:32
3. Based on truth. Rules of justice (i.e. rightness) are not bent. 2:2
4. It’s inescapable for those who do evil. 2:3
5. It’s always right. 2:5
6. It is a judgment as to the rightness and wrongness of deeds 2:6
7. It includes a sentence. Those who do good…eternal life. 2:7 Those who do evil…wrath and anger. 2:8
8. It’s impartial. Jews and Gentiles alike will be subject to it. 2:10-11
9. It will be fair. If you were privileged and had the written revelation of God, that will be the basis of judgment. If your only source of truth is nature and in-born knowledge, that will be the basis of judgment. 2: 12-16
My own conversion was born out of a terrible sense of God’s impending judgment on me and a sentence of eternity spent in hell. Lord, these are frightful truths we are pondering…we stand in awe of who You are!
Romans 1 states “The wrath of God is being revealed…” and in Romans 2 God’s wrath is being stored up for the day it “will be revealed.” OK, this is another easy one for us engineers…chapter 1 is talking about the wrath of God being present and continuous, and in chapter 2, it is talking about God’s wrath revealed in a single day in the future. In chapter 1, God’s wrath is being revealed by God stepping out of the way and allowing sin to run amuck. In chapter 2, God’s wrath is going to be revealed in a single day in the future “when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”
Romans teaches and clarifies for us something very important about God. It teaches that God judges.
Here is what can be observed in Romans 1 and 2 about God’s judgment:
1. Its reality is sensed apart from a written revelation. 1:32
2. It involves wrath against evil deeds. 1:32
3. Based on truth. Rules of justice (i.e. rightness) are not bent. 2:2
4. It’s inescapable for those who do evil. 2:3
5. It’s always right. 2:5
6. It is a judgment as to the rightness and wrongness of deeds 2:6
7. It includes a sentence. Those who do good…eternal life. 2:7 Those who do evil…wrath and anger. 2:8
8. It’s impartial. Jews and Gentiles alike will be subject to it. 2:10-11
9. It will be fair. If you were privileged and had the written revelation of God, that will be the basis of judgment. If your only source of truth is nature and in-born knowledge, that will be the basis of judgment. 2: 12-16
My own conversion was born out of a terrible sense of God’s impending judgment on me and a sentence of eternity spent in hell. Lord, these are frightful truths we are pondering…we stand in awe of who You are!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Romans 2:1-4; 17-29 The Moral Condition of the Jew
“You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’ “ Rom. 2:23-24
Romans 2 begins with a Jew making an observation of those nasty people in chapter 1. I can hear him remark, “Those people in chapter 1 are a bunch of idolatrous, perverts!” Then Paul addresses this Jewish observer:
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” V.1
The Jews at this time had an advantage over everyone else. They not only had the truth of God revealed in nature but they had a written, revelation from God, Himself. I’d say that is quite a privilege! The Jews had a relationship with God like no other. They knew his will; they could talk about God from a position of authority and superiority. They even marked their bodies (i.e. circumcision) to identify their selves as having a special relationship with God.
But the problem for the Jews was the same problem for the Gentiles. There was something in their nature that acted completely contrary to the teaching of the written revelation.
“you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” v.21-23
Whatever anti-God bias was in the Gentile pagan, also resided in the Jew and resides in us from birth. As I’ve already said, just as a dog barks and a pig oinks, people have a built in nature to oppose God. The dark backdrop of humanity’s condition before God is further crafted in Romans 2.
How does God respond? That’s coming in the next email.
Romans 2 begins with a Jew making an observation of those nasty people in chapter 1. I can hear him remark, “Those people in chapter 1 are a bunch of idolatrous, perverts!” Then Paul addresses this Jewish observer:
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” V.1
The Jews at this time had an advantage over everyone else. They not only had the truth of God revealed in nature but they had a written, revelation from God, Himself. I’d say that is quite a privilege! The Jews had a relationship with God like no other. They knew his will; they could talk about God from a position of authority and superiority. They even marked their bodies (i.e. circumcision) to identify their selves as having a special relationship with God.
But the problem for the Jews was the same problem for the Gentiles. There was something in their nature that acted completely contrary to the teaching of the written revelation.
“you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” v.21-23
Whatever anti-God bias was in the Gentile pagan, also resided in the Jew and resides in us from birth. As I’ve already said, just as a dog barks and a pig oinks, people have a built in nature to oppose God. The dark backdrop of humanity’s condition before God is further crafted in Romans 2.
How does God respond? That’s coming in the next email.
Romans 1:18-32 God's Just Response to Rejection
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” Rom. 1:18-19
The previous email presented how God has revealed Himself through His creation and how His creatures took the truth of God revealed and exchanged it for a lie. The invisible Creator in some instances was depicted by a man-made sculptor of a cow. How does God respond to this rejection of Him as God? He rightly responds with wrath.
In Romans 1 God’s wrath “is being revealed”. “Us” engineers are known for being weak on grammar, but we’re smart enough to know that this phrase indicates something in the past that continues to the present. The question is, how is His wrath presently revealed? The answer:
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.” V.24
“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.” V.26
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” V.28
God’s wrath is revealed by Him stepping back and letting sinful desires run amuck. Mankind chose to go its own way and God stepped out of the way and let them be ruled by corrupt desires rather than by Him. Interestingly, if you step back and see what a mess the world is in… what a mess individual lives are in, it’s because of 2 things. It is because of a choice mankind has made to reject the truth of God. It is also because God in wrath said in effect “if you choose to be ruled by lies, I’ll step out of the way and let those lies run their course.”
“Astounding good news” is best understood against the backdrop of extremely bad news. Romans 1 helps understand the backdrop. Worship God for the astounding good news of a Redeemer!
The previous email presented how God has revealed Himself through His creation and how His creatures took the truth of God revealed and exchanged it for a lie. The invisible Creator in some instances was depicted by a man-made sculptor of a cow. How does God respond to this rejection of Him as God? He rightly responds with wrath.
In Romans 1 God’s wrath “is being revealed”. “Us” engineers are known for being weak on grammar, but we’re smart enough to know that this phrase indicates something in the past that continues to the present. The question is, how is His wrath presently revealed? The answer:
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.” V.24
“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.” V.26
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” V.28
God’s wrath is revealed by Him stepping back and letting sinful desires run amuck. Mankind chose to go its own way and God stepped out of the way and let them be ruled by corrupt desires rather than by Him. Interestingly, if you step back and see what a mess the world is in… what a mess individual lives are in, it’s because of 2 things. It is because of a choice mankind has made to reject the truth of God. It is also because God in wrath said in effect “if you choose to be ruled by lies, I’ll step out of the way and let those lies run their course.”
“Astounding good news” is best understood against the backdrop of extremely bad news. Romans 1 helps understand the backdrop. Worship God for the astounding good news of a Redeemer!
Romans 1:18-32 God Revealed and Rejected
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him…” “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator…” Rom. 1:21, 25
Romans 1: 18-32 is one of my favorite passages in Romans. It makes me think…it gives me some answers…it explains some things and prompts more questions. The passage is about a group of people, unlike the Jews, who do not have a written revelation of God; however, they are not ignorant about God. God has told them plenty about Himself through His creation.
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Rom. 1:20
How did people receive this gracious act of God revealing Himself? It’s really…. very strange!!! Rather than worshipping Him, adoring Him and bowing to Him, they rounded up some of the artsy people around them and said “make us another god.”
“…they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” Rom. 1:23
This is so strange, it’s laughable. Rather than embrace the true and living God who created the galaxies, the supernovas, quasars, gamma bursts, red giants, black holes etc. …they preferred in some cases….to sculpt a cow and say “this is God”. Now, I’m perfectly aware that they had no concept of supernovas, black holes etc. but they had a breath-taking night sky, beautiful daytime vistas, observations of an assortment of creatures, each with a unique and wonderful design. What’s wrong with these people? Why reject the truth when it is far superior to any conjured up imagination?
Mankind has something in its very nature that rejects God at the most basic level. Since the fall of man at the beginning of human history, this has been his nature. It’s a dog’s nature to bark, a pig’s nature to oink and a person’s nature to reject the truth of God. How does God respond to this?
Be patient…we’ll get there in the next email!
Romans 1: 18-32 is one of my favorite passages in Romans. It makes me think…it gives me some answers…it explains some things and prompts more questions. The passage is about a group of people, unlike the Jews, who do not have a written revelation of God; however, they are not ignorant about God. God has told them plenty about Himself through His creation.
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Rom. 1:20
How did people receive this gracious act of God revealing Himself? It’s really…. very strange!!! Rather than worshipping Him, adoring Him and bowing to Him, they rounded up some of the artsy people around them and said “make us another god.”
“…they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” Rom. 1:23
This is so strange, it’s laughable. Rather than embrace the true and living God who created the galaxies, the supernovas, quasars, gamma bursts, red giants, black holes etc. …they preferred in some cases….to sculpt a cow and say “this is God”. Now, I’m perfectly aware that they had no concept of supernovas, black holes etc. but they had a breath-taking night sky, beautiful daytime vistas, observations of an assortment of creatures, each with a unique and wonderful design. What’s wrong with these people? Why reject the truth when it is far superior to any conjured up imagination?
Mankind has something in its very nature that rejects God at the most basic level. Since the fall of man at the beginning of human history, this has been his nature. It’s a dog’s nature to bark, a pig’s nature to oink and a person’s nature to reject the truth of God. How does God respond to this?
Be patient…we’ll get there in the next email!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Romans Tangent #1 - Hermeneutics
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” II Tim. 2:15
Definition of hermeneutics is “a method or theory of interpretation and understanding of texts”.
I’ve been studying Scriptures for many years and over that time I’ve become opinionated about various approaches to interpreting Scripture. At this point in Romans, I would like to interject several opinions on Bible study in general.
Opinion #1: The original texts of Paul’s letter to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians etc. are understandable to the common believer with an average level of education. They are not necessarily only understood by scholars who in turn explain them to us in terms easier to understand. Think of whom these letters were written to….ordinary people, tanners, carpenters, farmers, slaves, masters etc. There is no indication that these believers needed a scholar accompanying each of Paul’s letters. Why do I consider this important? I think we avoid engaging our own brain in understanding the text and immediately rely on the brain of someone else through a written commentary or by not studying at all. When you engage your brain in a text, it does 2 things. It gives you a greater confidence in the meaning of a passage and it works it deeper into your brain.
Opinion #2: Language scholars who are profound experts in Greek, Hebrew and English developed our modern English texts of the Bible. Knowing all the nuances of the ancient languages and knowing the English language, they selected the very best English words for the text. I’m always a bit troubled when I hear someone read a passage of Scripture and declare that an English word should have been translated thus and thus which results in a completely different meaning of the passage. I’ll trust the scholars that gave the English word in the text. Bottom-line, you don’t need a Greek and Hebrew lexicon to have a meaningful study of the Scripture. There’s plenty written in plain English to grapple with.
Opinion #3: Generally, there is a flow of thought throughout a Pauline epistle. The words that build on previous words are important. In our Scripture studies, we tend to migrate to isolated verses and have no sense of how these verses fit into the flow of thought of the author. What if my mother wrote me a long, hand-written letter and I ignore 95% of it and took some scissors and cut out a sentence that made a good stand alone sentence and put it on the refrigerator? What would my mother think if she came to town for a visit and saw the sentence? She would probably ask, what did you think of the rest of the letter? Do you know the context of that sentence you cut out? I’m trying to emphasize here the systematic study of the Pauline letters in particular.
The gist of what I’m sharing could be construed to mean that I am anti-scholarship and anti-teaching. If one arrives at that conclusion, they’ve arrived at the wrong conclusion. The gist of what I’m saying is that ordinary Christians do not engage their brains to the degree possible. Commentaries, lexicons and the study of isolated verses are highly important but I wouldn’t exclude poking your nose directly into the Word of God and engaging your brain on the flow of thought and meaning of large passages.
Definition of hermeneutics is “a method or theory of interpretation and understanding of texts”.
I’ve been studying Scriptures for many years and over that time I’ve become opinionated about various approaches to interpreting Scripture. At this point in Romans, I would like to interject several opinions on Bible study in general.
Opinion #1: The original texts of Paul’s letter to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians etc. are understandable to the common believer with an average level of education. They are not necessarily only understood by scholars who in turn explain them to us in terms easier to understand. Think of whom these letters were written to….ordinary people, tanners, carpenters, farmers, slaves, masters etc. There is no indication that these believers needed a scholar accompanying each of Paul’s letters. Why do I consider this important? I think we avoid engaging our own brain in understanding the text and immediately rely on the brain of someone else through a written commentary or by not studying at all. When you engage your brain in a text, it does 2 things. It gives you a greater confidence in the meaning of a passage and it works it deeper into your brain.
Opinion #2: Language scholars who are profound experts in Greek, Hebrew and English developed our modern English texts of the Bible. Knowing all the nuances of the ancient languages and knowing the English language, they selected the very best English words for the text. I’m always a bit troubled when I hear someone read a passage of Scripture and declare that an English word should have been translated thus and thus which results in a completely different meaning of the passage. I’ll trust the scholars that gave the English word in the text. Bottom-line, you don’t need a Greek and Hebrew lexicon to have a meaningful study of the Scripture. There’s plenty written in plain English to grapple with.
Opinion #3: Generally, there is a flow of thought throughout a Pauline epistle. The words that build on previous words are important. In our Scripture studies, we tend to migrate to isolated verses and have no sense of how these verses fit into the flow of thought of the author. What if my mother wrote me a long, hand-written letter and I ignore 95% of it and took some scissors and cut out a sentence that made a good stand alone sentence and put it on the refrigerator? What would my mother think if she came to town for a visit and saw the sentence? She would probably ask, what did you think of the rest of the letter? Do you know the context of that sentence you cut out? I’m trying to emphasize here the systematic study of the Pauline letters in particular.
The gist of what I’m sharing could be construed to mean that I am anti-scholarship and anti-teaching. If one arrives at that conclusion, they’ve arrived at the wrong conclusion. The gist of what I’m saying is that ordinary Christians do not engage their brains to the degree possible. Commentaries, lexicons and the study of isolated verses are highly important but I wouldn’t exclude poking your nose directly into the Word of God and engaging your brain on the flow of thought and meaning of large passages.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Romans 1:16-17 The Theme of Romans (Revised 2-12-2010)
“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ “ Rom. 1:17
Righteousness….you don’t hear that word much in our current vernacular. However, you will hear that word in its various forms throughout Romans. It is a legal term as well as a practical term. It’s presented in a legal sense in the early chapters of Romans and in a practical sense in the latter chapters.
In a legal sense, it means “to be right” or “not guilty” in a court of law. Legally, someone who is perfect could credit their righteousness to you as long as they are willing to have your guilty behavior credited to them. When this legal exchange takes place, you, the original guilty party, have all the benefits of a “not guilty” verdict. You are legally “right” though your actions in a practical sense are wrong.
The radically bad news is that each of us has done wrong and deserves a declaration of “guilty” and the resulting sentence of hell. The astounding good news (i.e. the gospel) is that each of us wrongdoers are offered a righteousness from God. We are offered a “not guilty” verdict that is a just verdict because a legal exchange with God has taken place. The righteousness from God is received by faith… and from start to finish; faith is all that is required. This is why the Scriptures say those who are declared righteous, live by faith.
This brings us to where we’re headed in the first 3 chapters of Romans. In these chapters, I picture a courtroom with a perfect Judge. All of his judgments are perfect, never wrong, totally just. What is the verdict for those who stand before Him?
In Rom. 1:18-32, Gentiles…guilty!
In Rom. 2:1-4; 17-29, Jews …guilty!
In Rom. 3:9-20, Gentiles and Jews, every human being…guilty…no exceptions!
The gaps in the Scripture passages listed above are:
Romans 2:5-16 God’s judgment.
Romans 3:1-8 Answers to the Jewish skeptic’s questions regarding Paul’s teaching.
As we move forward in Romans, my prayer is that we comprehend with great thanksgiving, the “astounding good news”.
Righteousness….you don’t hear that word much in our current vernacular. However, you will hear that word in its various forms throughout Romans. It is a legal term as well as a practical term. It’s presented in a legal sense in the early chapters of Romans and in a practical sense in the latter chapters.
In a legal sense, it means “to be right” or “not guilty” in a court of law. Legally, someone who is perfect could credit their righteousness to you as long as they are willing to have your guilty behavior credited to them. When this legal exchange takes place, you, the original guilty party, have all the benefits of a “not guilty” verdict. You are legally “right” though your actions in a practical sense are wrong.
The radically bad news is that each of us has done wrong and deserves a declaration of “guilty” and the resulting sentence of hell. The astounding good news (i.e. the gospel) is that each of us wrongdoers are offered a righteousness from God. We are offered a “not guilty” verdict that is a just verdict because a legal exchange with God has taken place. The righteousness from God is received by faith… and from start to finish; faith is all that is required. This is why the Scriptures say those who are declared righteous, live by faith.
This brings us to where we’re headed in the first 3 chapters of Romans. In these chapters, I picture a courtroom with a perfect Judge. All of his judgments are perfect, never wrong, totally just. What is the verdict for those who stand before Him?
In Rom. 1:18-32, Gentiles…guilty!
In Rom. 2:1-4; 17-29, Jews …guilty!
In Rom. 3:9-20, Gentiles and Jews, every human being…guilty…no exceptions!
The gaps in the Scripture passages listed above are:
Romans 2:5-16 God’s judgment.
Romans 3:1-8 Answers to the Jewish skeptic’s questions regarding Paul’s teaching.
As we move forward in Romans, my prayer is that we comprehend with great thanksgiving, the “astounding good news”.
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