Rachel Workman: 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. Thank you Jesus for your obedience. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, And because of this we need to show compassion on one another. Each and every one of us have made mistakes and each and every one of us have sinned. 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. All of mankind can rejoice in the faithfulness of Christ. Even those who came before Christ.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. Never are we to believe or say that we have secured our salvation on by our own deeds. It is only through faith in what Christ has already done for us that our salvation is secure. Salvation is a free gift offered to everyone. It has nothing to do with the work or deeds we do on this earth. Our deeds come when we desire to please Christ not because our salvation depends on it.
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John Burnett: 25 For indeed
circumcision is of value if you practice [v]the
Law; but if you are a transgressor [w]of
the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So if the [x]uncircumcised
man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be
regarded as circumcision?27 And he who
is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you
who [y]though
having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a
transgressor [z]of
the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is
circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly;
and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by
the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. All this circumcision talk makes me cringe in pain at the
thought of it. Never have quite understood this passage.
All the World Guilty Knowing that all the world is
guilty of sin (ourselves the most) should help us to look at the world with a
certain pair of glasses. We all need Jesus glasses.
3 Then
what [a]advantage
has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of
all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What then? If some [b]did
not believe, their [c]unbelief
will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?4 May it never be! Rather, let God
be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written,
“That You may be
justified in Your words,
And prevail when You [d]are judged.”
And prevail when You [d]are judged.”
5 But
if our unrighteousness [e]demonstrate
9 What
then? [g]Are
we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that
both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“There is none
righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.” Cannot be more clear than these verses. When we say someone was a good man, we are really lying because these verses clearly state that is not the case. Only in our sinful minds can we find anyone good and those standards are from Satan. Everyone is good according to those standards.
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.” Cannot be more clear than these verses. When we say someone was a good man, we are really lying because these verses clearly state that is not the case. Only in our sinful minds can we find anyone good and those standards are from Satan. Everyone is good according to those standards.
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now
we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are[h]under
the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become
accountable to God; 20 because by
the works [i]of
the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for [j]through
the Law comes the knowledge of sin. The
only purpose of the law is to show us how impossible it is for us to be
righteous/perfect. This knowledge of how sinful we are should only drive
us to seek our Savior Jesus Christ more and more.
Sorry I am late with these.
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Krista Cook:
ALL
of us have sinned and fall short...thankful for His grace and redemption each
day!
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Mike
Grimm: 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known,
to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This
righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ALL
sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our holy God. ALL sin,
therefore, leads to death (because it disqualifies us from living with God),
regardless of how great or small it seems. Don’t minimize “little” sins or
overrate “big” sins. They all separate us from God, but they all can be
forgiven. 24 and all are justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Justified means to be declared not guilty. It’s as if the sin never
happened. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his
perspective, it is as though we had never sinned.
Redemption refers to Christ setting sinners free from slavery to sin.
Christ purchased our freedom and the price was his life.
25 God presented
Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be
received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his
forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— Christ is our sacrifice of atonement. In other words, he died
in our place, for our sins. God is justifiably angry at sinners. They have
rebelled against him and cut themselves off from his life-giving power. But God
declares Christ’s death to be the appropriate, designated sacrifice for our
sin. Christ then stands in our place, having paid the penalty of death for our
sin, and he completely satisfies God’s demands. His sacrifice brings pardon,
deliverance, and freedom. Paul shows that God forgave all human sin (even those
in the Old Testament) at the cross of Jesus. 26 he
did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just
and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is
boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No,
because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that
a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Christianity is unique in teaching that the good deeds we do
will not make us right with God. No amount of human achievement or progress in
personal development will close the gap between God’s moral perfection and our
imperfect daily performance. Good deeds are important but they will not earn us
eternal life. We are saved only by trusting in what God has done for us.
Why
does God save us by faith alone? (1) Faith eliminates the pride of human effort
because faith is not a deed that we do. (2) Faith exalts what God has done, not
what people do. (3) Faith admits that we can’t keep the law or measure up to
God’s standards—we need help. (4) Faith is based on our relationship with God,
not our performance for God. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes,
of Gentiles too, there is a way to be declared not guilty—by
trusting Jesus the Christ to take away our sins. Trusting means putting our
confidence in Christ to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to
empower us to live the way he taught us. God’s solution is available to all of
us regardless of our background or past behavior. 30 since
there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the
uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify
the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. The moral code revealed in the law can serve to guide our
actions by holding up God’s moral standards. We do not earn salvation by
keeping the law (no one except Christ ever kept or could keep God’s law
perfectly), but we do please God when our lives conform to his revealed will
for us.
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Tomorrow’s reading for Romans 4:1-8
4 What then shall we say
that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something
to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say?
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”[b]
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