God Remains Faithful
1 Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? 2 Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.[a]
3 True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? 4 Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him,
“You will be proved right in what you say,
and you will win your case in court.”[b]
5 “But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.
All People Are Sinners
9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles,[c] are under the power of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”[d]
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”[e]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[f]
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”[g]
18 “They have no fear of God at all.”[h]
19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
6 comments:
obviously v1 is a rhetorical question... the answer is real bagels and knishes! ;-)
Paul is often the master of run-on sentences with multiple prepositional phrases, but can also be extremely terse and to the point, as in v20...
The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Pposted for gsiano - If you wanted to know something about your car's battery, you could probably read soemthing about it in a few sections of your owner's manual. But wouldn't it be smart to go to the section on the car's electrical system? The section of the bible that specifically delineates how we are saved is Romans. The sections that matter most are before us today.
Some people will say that Evangelicals make salvation easy. They say that being saved by faith alone is too easy. That in some ways that message is promoting sin! Check out verse 8 for those people.
Have a blessed day.
g
agreed fellas
nice comments guys...Romans is a great challenge...Does this passage prove that ignorance is bliss? The more law you know the more sinful you realize you are and the more your pulling from the grace reserve...It does test the whole reason why someone would want to find let alone take advantage of a relationship/holy loophole.
JLT, nice synopsis. Way to boil it down. No pun intended based on todays weather...
@TRM -- not my synopsis, Paul's
re: your comment... to quote the Boy Wonder: "holy loophole, Batman!"
I can imagine that the "loophole" argument falls into the "such things" piece of verse 8. You really have to make sure of your loopholes if you're going to use them.
8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.
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