Who Is A Jew?

Apostle Paul:  For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the Law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. Romans 2:28-29 (NLT)

The Jewish people hold an important role in the Holy Scriptures. Jews are in God's family and an heir to God’s promises (Romans 9:4). God revealed His glory to the Jews, made covenants with the Jews and gave them His Law (Romans 9:4). Even more, God gave the Jews the privilege of worshiping Him and receiving His wonderful promises (Romans 9:4). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the Jews’ ancestors, and Jesus Christ Himself was a Jews as far as His human nature is concerned (Romans 9:5).

Yet in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul has redefined the term Jew. According to the Apostle Paul, a real Jew with membership into God's family is based upon our heart devotion and obedience to Him (Romans 2:28-29). Everyone whose hearts are right with God through wholehearted faith are real Jews — that is, part of God's family (see also Genesis 15:6; Psalms 40:4; Jeremiah 17:5-10; Habakkuk 2:2-4; Galatians 3:6-7). Genuine faith in God makes one a real Jew (see Romans 4:9-17, 23-25; see also Matthew 12:48-50). In fact, Abraham himself was declared righteous by God through his faith alone in God and His promises (Genesis 15:6; see also Romans 4:11, 22-24). The Apostle Paul emphasized that we cannot depend our external actions without first depending on our internal heart trust in God. Through our wholehearted faith to God, we are declared righteous (justified, purified) and receive a new life from God (Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:15-16). Even more, God sends His people the Holy Spirit to live within their hearts through genuine faith in Him (Acts 15:8-9; Acts 10:44, 47; Acts 11:17-18). The Holy Scriptures promise that anyone who seeks the Lord your God will find Him if we will seek Him with “all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29, NKJV).

Since the Old Testament, God has always defined membership into His family with all the privileges of membership based upon our faith – wholehearted devotion and obedience to Him (see also Deuteronomy 10:12-16; Jeremiah 4:4). Various rituals and ceremonies (e.g., baptism, the Lord's Supper, church membership) do not guarantee our membership into God’s family. The true and living God wants our genuine love and obedience to Him inside our hearts (see also Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Our genuine love for God is to be total involving our whole being – heart, soul, body, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30). Eventually, our genuine love for God leads to love, kindness and goodness towards others (see Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; John 13:34; 1 John 4:19-21). Genuine faith in God always leads to good deeds and moral actions in the world (see Matthew 3:8; Galatians 5:22-23). In fact, the Apostle Paul only knows of a Gospel that leads to moral actions (see Romans 12 through 15). People are not saved by good and moral deeds but they are certainly saved for goodness, mercy, and kindness (Micah 6:6-8; Ephesians 2:8-10).

Apostle Paul:  Well then, has God failed to fulfill His promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham does not make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too. Romans 9:6-7 (NLT)

In the Old Testament, God made an unconditional promise to Abraham to bless Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3). The Apostle Paul reminded the people that the true children of Abraham are not just his biological descendants (Romans 9:6-7; see also John 8:33-47). According to the Apostle Paul, Abraham’s true descendants are all those who trust in God and in what Jesus Christ have done for them (see also Romans 2:29; Galatians 3:7). A true Jew is one who has had an inward spiritual experience in the heart to the true and living God (Matthew 3:9). In other words, true Jews are those people that have ACCEPTED Jesus as the Messiah (Galatians 3:6-9). Those who believe in Jesus Christ are only Abraham’s descendants with all rights, privileges, and responsibilities (Galatians 3:7).

Apostle Paul:  In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this Good News to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. Galatians 3:6-9 (NLT)

In Romans 4:1-25, the Apostle Paul stressed that Abraham believed God and God declared Abraham righteous because of his faith alone (see also Genesis 15:6). The Apostle Paul used Abraham’s faith to prove that God deals with all people on the same terms – faith (belief) in Him. Sadly, the Apostle Paul’s enemies (also called “legalists”) taught that only the natural descendants of Abraham are Jews because these individuals possess the Law and are circumcised. However, possession of the Law of Moses and physical circumcision do not make one Jewish and membership into God’s family (see Acts 15:1–29). Even birth into a Jewish family does not make one Jewish. According to Apostle Paul, God says that people of faith (circumcision of the heart) are God’s spiritual children and Abraham is the father of all believers – Jews and Gentiles ((Romans 2:28–29; see also Exodus 6:12; Leviticus 26:41; Jeremiah 6:10). “Circumcision of the heart” means to “to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart” (Deuteronomy 30:6; see also Jeremiah 4:4). According to Apostle Paul, a true Jew is one who inwardly depends on God and obeys Him, not one who relies on external appearance and the approval of people (Romans 2:29).

Even more, the Apostle Paul speaks of a true Jew as one “born after the Spirit” (Galatians 4:29). The true sign of belonging to God is the regenerating power of God’s Holy Spirit within a person’s heart (see Titus 3:5). Being of a seed of Abraham does not make one an Israelite, for Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. But only Isaac – the child of the promise or faith – was counted as Abraham’s true seed. In the Apostle Paul’s understanding, the children of promise are those who believe in the God of Abraham and their faith is accounted or imputed to them for righteousness (Romans 9:6–13). The Apostle Paul identified the true Israelites (Jews) not as those who had physically descended from Abraham but as those who demonstrate the same kind of faith demonstrated by Abraham. In other words, Abraham’s descendants are those who share Abraham’s faith in God (see also John 8:44). Abraham was the physical and spiritual father of the Jewish race (see John 8:33, 39, 53; Acts 7:2; Romans 4:12). Also, they are referred to as the “seed” or “descendants” of Abraham (Galatians 3:16; Hebrews 2:16). According to Apostle Paul, all believers in Jesus Christ (Jews and Gentiles) are called Abraham spiritual children (Romans 4:11-12). Therefore, the Apostle Paul goes on to say in Romans 4 that all that believe after Abraham are his true descendants. Therefore, the Apostle Paul not only redefined what it means to be a Jew but he also says that Abraham’s true descendants are all of those that exercise the same faith of Abraham and trust God and not necessarily those born into a Jewish family.

Apostle Paul:  Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the Law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. . . . I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the Law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. Galatians 3:2, 5 (NLT)

According to Apostle Paul, through our faith in Jesus Christ God sends true believers His Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:2, 5). The moment one believes from the heart that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ); one also receives the Holy Spirit. In other words, all true believers in Jesus Christ receive the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the unmistakable evidence of salvation (Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16; I Corinthians 6:19–20). The Apostle Paul clearly taught in both Romans and Galatians that one receives the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus Christ (see Romans 5:5; Romans 8; Galatians 3:2, 5). The Holy Spirit is the Author of a believers’ new birth (John 3:5; see also 2 Corinthians 5:17). The Apostle Paul stressed that just as one begins the Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit, so one must grow by the Holy Spirit's power. God’s Holy Spirit gives believers the power and strength to live for God and this power comes through our faith in God’s saving activity in Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection (Romans 1:16-17).

And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. Genesis 15:6 (NLT)

References

King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.

KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

Woman’s Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Loyd, Melton, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament. Columbia Campus: Erskine Theological Seminary, 2014.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.

Victory Over Sin!

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace (favor and mercy)? Of course not! . . . Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in (yield) to sinful desires (cravings, lusts, evil passions). Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right (good) for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master . . . . Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace (favor and mercy). . . . Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through (union with) Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:1-2, 12-14, 22-23 (NLT)

In Romans 3:21-5:21, the Apostle Paul has given us readers all the wonderful and grand blessings that come with genuine faith in Jesus Christ. These blessings included salvation, grace, fellowship (peace) with God, righteousness, joy, and many other gifts. Sadly, people were beginning to believe that their faith in God’s saving activity in Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection now also gave them the right or license to sin. In other words, some devious people believed “the more I sin, the more God has to forgive me, right? Then I can live any way I want and continue sinning!” The Russian monk Rasputin, for example, concluded, “I’ll sin more to earn more forgiveness.”  Rasputin lived a bizarre life of immorality and wickedness.

In every age, many people have criticized the doctrine of righteousness (justification) by alone faith in Jesus Christ on the incorrect belief that this doctrine leads to sin or a license to live an immoral lifestyle. Some people incorrectly guessed if we are treated as righteous with God by faith and we no longer have to follow the Old Testament Law of Moses, then evil works will not condemn us either. So, why then should we be concerned about our sin or attempt to live a godly life? Previously, the Apostle Paul taught in Romans 5:20: “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Therefore, some believed that no matter how great our sin, God’s grace is greater than all our sins. In other words, the Apostle Paul’s enemies argued people can sin boldly and continually because God’s grace will always be available, despite their sinful and wicked lifestyle. Theologically, this belief is known as antinomianism.

The Apostle Paul was horror-struck and disgusted at the mere suggestion of continuing in sin and wickedness once we have experienced God’s grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. In Romans 6, the Apostle Paul reacts to the “Now I have an excuse to sin” line of thinking with shock and outrage. Starting with Romans 6 and continuing through Romans 8, the Apostle Paul teaches the true meaning of God’s grace and our victory over sin. Just because where sin abounded God’s grace super-abounded and forgave our sins (Romans 5:20), a true believer in Jesus Christ WILL NOT be drawn to a continue lifestyle of sinning and wickedness. The Apostle Paul teaches that the availability of God's grace (favor and mercy) must never become an excuse for careless living and moral slackness. According to the Apostle Paul, a true believer that has wholeheartedly accepted Jesus Christ naturally has an appreciation of God’s grace (favor and mercy), so that the end result in a surrendered and obedient life unto God out of a heart filled with gratitude and love. Through our genuine faith in Jesus Christ, God sends believers His Holy Spirit to live within believers’ hearts to empower them to live godly lives (see Romans 8). Through God’s Holy Spirit, believers live from a heart oriented towards God which naturally leads to living according the fruits of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16-23). “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT). Our genuine faith in Jesus Christ means we have died to sin and wickedness and alive through God’s Holy Spirit to live dedicated and committed to God (Romans 6:1-2, 22). The very best proof of genuine belief in Jesus Christ is a believer with a changed life. The Apostle Paul encouraged believers to “count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Jesus Christ” (Romans 6:11).

In fact, the Apostle Paul encouraged believers in Jesus Christ NOT to let sin rule in our bodies (flesh) (Romans 6:12). Sin must never be a way of life (lifestyle) for genuine believers in Jesus Christ because we have died to sin and no longer live in sin (Romans 6:2). The idea of a believer in Jesus Christ continuing in sin is entirely contrary to the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ. Sin is hateful, destructive, and deadly. To further illustrate this point, the Apostle Paul uses baptism (Romans 6:3-4). In our confession of faith in Jesus Christ, believers in Jesus Christ have been baptized into Jesus Christ’s death and united with Him (Romans 6:4; see also Acts 2:38).

Moreover in Romans 6:5-6, the Apostle Paul compares our genuine faith in Jesus Christ to slave imagery. As believers, our bodies are no longer to serve sin because God has graciously declared us righteous (justified, acquitted, declared not guilty) through our faith in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Through our genuine faith in Jesus Christ, we have been united or joined with Him and given a new life (Romans 6:4-5, 11). Thus, our evil lusts (motives, desires, and goals), bondage to sin, and our love of sin also died with Jesus Christ through our genuine faith in Him. Now, united by faith with Jesus Christ in His resurrection life, believers have unbroken fellowship with God and freedom from sin's shackles (see also Ephesians 4:21-24 and Colossians 3:3-15). Our “old self” and our sinful nature, died once and for all through faith in Jesus Christ. God has freed believers from sin’s power (Romans 6:6) and now we can choose to live for Jesus Christ (see Galatians 2:20). Even more, a genuine believer’s life is a life no longer oriented toward self, selfish desires and sins but towards God. In other words, genuine believers in Jesus Christ live for God’s glory and not self! Believers’ world view is different and is no longer slaves to sin (self) but toward God, heaven, and righteous living.

Therefore, the Apostle Paul calls ALL believers in Jesus Christ to become in practice what they already are in their status before God – dead to sin and alive with God (Romans 6:8-10, 12-13). Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul realized believers still live in a fallen and sinful world. For clarity, true believers are not sinless but we are free from sin’s shackles and power! So, the Apostle Paul encourages believers in Jesus Christ not to live a careless and selfish life but a new life oriented in godly living.

In summary, ALL PEOPLE (Jew and Gentile) are made right with God by faith alone in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-4:25; see also Galatians 2:16-17). Through our wholehearted faith in Jesus Christ, God has given us believers through His Holy Spirit a new life and sin's power is broken and buried (Romans 6:2-6; see also 2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s Holy Spirit gives true believers the desire and heart to WANT to live good and moral lives rather evil; therefore, believers in turn obey God’s moral laws (Romans 6:14-15). True believers choose God as their Master and to give themselves wholeheartedly (fully) to God – heart, soul, mind, and strength (Romans 6:16-18; see also Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). The Apostle Paul develops Jesus Christ’s words, “No person can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Even more, God gives believers a new nature as we are now dead to sin (self) and made alive to God (Romans 6:5, 11). According to the Apostle Paul, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 20, NLT). Finally, God gives believers a new freedom to not let sin control us but surrender our hearts to God for God’s control (Romans 6:12-16). Yielding to sin ultimately brings death; while yielding to obedience to Jesus Christ brings life and righteousness. Through a true believers’ wholehearted devotion to God, a believer is no longer a slave to sin but a slave of righteousness that leads to life and death (Romans 6:19-23). Sin pays wages — death! However, God pays wages too — new life with God that begins on earth and continues forever with God (Romans 6:23).Therefore, believers are to “not treat the grace of God as meaningless” (Galatians 2:21, NLT).

Also, Apostle Paul’s enemies accused him of preaching a “cheap grace.” The Apostle Paul taught throughout the book of Romans that God’s grace eliminated our need for obedience to the Law of Moses (Jewish Law). Sadly, some devious people believed everyone can now live sinful, wicked and selfish lives. The Apostle Paul reminded the readers in Romans 6 that our genuine faith in Jesus Christ is a new orientation toward God and NOT a license for an immoral lifestyle! Our genuine faith creates a new set of values with a DESIRE to please God and not a requirement or demand to please God according to the Law of Moses. According to the Apostle Paul, believers either are a slave a righteousness or a slave of sin but NOT BOTH (see also Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). Whoever we serve is our god! Besides, the Apostle Paul knew nothing of a faith that causes a person to live careless and selfish (see Apostle Paul’s ethic section at Romans chapters 12 through 15). Believers are now slaves or instruments of righteousness and no longer slaves of sin (Romans 6:13).

Apostle Paul:  For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. . . . He (Jesus Christ) gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. Titus 2:11-12, 14 (NLT)

God’s grace has brought salvation and our righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection (Titus 2:11). Therefore, we are to say “NO” sin, ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and “YES” to self-controlled, upright and holiness (Titus 2:12).  Repeatedly, the Apostle Paul explained that genuine faith in Jesus Christ must be accompanied by godly living (see Romans chapters 12 through 15; see also Titus 2:1-2, 4-5, 10; Titus 3:8). The Apostle Paul taught continually that ALL believers in Jesus Christ are to deny sin and live righteous lives for good deeds. True salvation should always produce good actions (Romans 12:12:1-2; see also Titus 2:10, Ephesians 2:10).

Because Jesus Christ sacrificially died and redeemed (rescued) all humans – Jews and Gentiles) from our sin disease by faith (1 Peter 2:24), we are now free from sin's power and control (see also Mark 10:45). There must be in a believer's life that final and complete surrender of their whole bodies and hearts to Jesus Christ. In other words, we are “dead to sin” and “crucified with Christ” (see Romans 6:7; Galatians 2:20). But we are not only dead to sin; we are also ALIVE in Jesus Christ.

God sent His only begotten Son (Jesus Christ) into the world that we might live through and be united Him by the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:9). As true believers, Jesus Christ now lives WITHIN US through the power of His Spirit (see Acts 10:34-38). God’s Holy Spirit gives genuine believers the power and understanding to live godly, upright and self-controlled lives that does good in the world and not evil (Titus 2:11-14). According to the Apostle Paul, believers are to use their bodies as “instruments of good” for God and not evil (Romans 6:13; see also 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Philippians 1:20-21).

Therefore, a true believer’s salvation involves the double work of redeeming (delivering) us from God’s wrath, judgment and guilt (Romans 3:24) and producing holiness, goodness, and love (Titus 2:14). True believers are not only free (redeemed) from judgment for our sins, but we are also purified or cleansed from sin's power and influence (Titus 2:12, 14). In other words, the same grace that redeems (rescues) us also reform our lives and make us holy and godly. Sin is no longer be a true believer’s master (Romans 6:14; see also 1 John 2:15-17). To help believers fight against sin, wickedness, and evil lust, the Apostle Paul reminds believers that God’s Holy Spirit is available for the calling to help believers to say “YES” to goodness and holy living for Jesus Christ (see Romans 8).

References

King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.

KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

New Student Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Loyd, Melton, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament. Columbia Campus: Erskine Theological Seminary, 2014.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.

Blessings of Faith

Therefore, since we have been made right (justified, acquitted, declared not guilty) in God’s sight by faith, we have peace (reconciliation, unity, fellowship) with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege (grace) where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice (filled with joy), too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance (perseverance, patience, fortitude). And endurance (perseverance, patience, fortitude) develops strength of character (approved faith, tried integrity), and character (approved faith, tried integrity) strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright (righteous) person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right (justified. Acquitted, declared not guilty) in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation (wrath). For since our friendship (reconciliation, unity, fellowship) with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. . . . Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. . . . For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other Man, Jesus Christ. . . . Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other Person (Jesus Christ) obeyed God, many will be made righteous. Romans 5:1-12, 14-15, 18-19 (NLT)

The next significant section of Romans is chapter 5. Up to this point, the Apostle Paul has proved that the whole world is guilty sinners before a holy and righteous God and that no one can be saved by religious deeds, such as keeping the Jewish Law (see Romans 1:18-3:23). The Apostle Paul has explained that God's way of salvation has always been “by grace, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8-9; see also Psalms 1:3; Psalms 40:4; Jeremiah 17:5-10; Habakkuk 2:2-4) and he has used Abraham as illustration (Romans 4:1-25). Since the Old Testament, God has always wanted to be the first place in our daily lives and our wholehearted trust, love, and obedience for Him first and foremost (e.g., see Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Joshua 24:14-15; Matthew 22:37). God wants people to walk faithfully and humbly with Him as we wholeheartedly trust in Him for all our needs and desires (see Micah 6:6-8; Habakkuk 2:2-4).

Romans 5 divides naturally into two parts:  Romans 5:1-11 and Romans 5:12-21. In Romans 5, the Apostle Paul is describing the results or blessings from our justification (righteousness) that comes through genuine faith in Jesus Christ, particularly in describing Jesus as the new Adam. Our righteousness as genuine believers in Jesus Christ is not simply our guarantee of heaven, but our righteous is also the source of tremendous present (current) blessings.

The first blessing of faith is “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Peace with God is equivalent to “shalom” which means we have wholeness, completeness, and a restored relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, peace with God is not a peaceful feeling such as calmness, warmness or tranquility. Instead, sincere believers in Jesus Christ have a full, rich and new relationship with God because we have been declared righteous (justified, acquitted or not guilty) by God through wholehearted faith in Jesus Christ (see also Romans 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18). Before our faith in Jesus Christ, we were God’s enemies and hostile with God but now we are God’s friends and have been reconciled to a holy God (John 15:15; see also Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:21-22). In fact, the Apostle Paul calls genuine believers in Jesus Christ God’s own children (Galatians 4:5). There is no more hostility between genuine believers and God because Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross brings our unity and fellowship with God.

With this peace with God, we also gain access by faith into God’s grace (Romans 5:2). The Apostle Paul states genuine believers in Jesus Christ stand in a place of highest privilege. Our Lord Jesus Christ now ushers genuine believer into the presence of God. In other words, genuine believers can come directly into the presence of the true and living God (1 John 2:1-2). This access is described as continual and ending access to God’s goodness and power through faith in Jesus Christ. The heavy curtain (veil) in the Temple that separated people from God has been removed by Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45; Hebrews 9:1-14; Hebrews 10:19-22). In Jesus Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles have full access to God (Ephesians 2:18; Hebrews 10:19-25) and can draw on God’s inexhaustible riches of the grace (Ephesians 3:20-21). Now, the purpose for which God created humans can be realized as we can now reflect God’s glory through our wholehearted faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23; see also Genesis 1:26-28).

With our new peace and access to God, genuine believers in Jesus Christ can “rejoice in suffering” (Romans 5:3; see also James 1:2-3; 1 Peter 1:6-7). This is the Apostle Paul’s version of “no pain and no gain.” Sadly, suffering is a natural part of life for all humans and no one can escape trials and hardships (John 16:33). But for genuine believers in Jesus Christ, our suffering has a purpose or meaning (Romans 5:4) because our trials work for us and not against us. Our trials bring us closer to God and make us more like Him (Romans 8:35-39). Also, our suffering produces endurance (perseverance or patience), this endurance produces tested, tried and proven character, and character produces hope! Hope is one word that dominates the book of Romans. Even with the bad times and uncertainty there is still hope and our hope in God separates the believer and the non-believer. The believer knows what God has done in this world will be completed in another world.

Our hope is God’s blessed assurance of our future destiny into His present and eternal glory. This hope does not disappoint or leave us empty “because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5, see also Romans 8). Genuine believers in Jesus Christ gets this hope through the presence and gift of the Holy Spirit that God freely gives to all wholehearted believers in Jesus Christ. In other words, the believer has the abiding and continual presence of the Holy Spirit. When a person first believes in Jesus Christ, God pours out His love and Holy Spirit into a believer’s heart (Romans 8:9).

From Romans 5:1-5, the Apostle Paul has moved from faith (Romans 5:1) to hope (Romans 5:2-4) to love (see also 1 Corinthians 13:13). Note also how the first three of the “fruit of the Spirit” are experienced: love (Romans 5:5), joy (Romans 5:2), and peace (Romans 5:1). Faith (Romans 5:1), hope (Romans 5:2), and love (Romans 5:5) all combine to give the believer patience in the trials of life and this patience helps true believer to grow in character and become a mature child of God (James 1:1-4).

Next, the Apostle Paul teaches that while we were sinners God sent His Son (Jesus Christ) to die for humans (Romans 5:6-8). Romans 5:6-8 refers back to Romans chapters 1 through 3. Occasionally, one may die for a good person but Jesus Christ died for us humans when we were in the depths of our utter sins and wickedness. In other words, Jesus Christ did not require us to go through cleansing and wait for us to improve ourselves. Instead, Jesus Christ graciously died for us humans while we were at our worse.

In Romans 5:9-11, the Apostle Paul teaches “we have been saved from God’s wrath” through wholehearted faith in Jesus Christ. By Jesus Christ graciously giving His life for sinners, God’s wrath (judgment) has been turn from us humans through our genuine faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death (see Romans 3:25). In these verses, there is a future dimension because these verses discuss God’s wrath and wrath refers to the end time. Yet, we are saved from God’s wrath (judgment) through our wholehearted faith in Jesus Christ. Also in these verses, the Apostle Paul describes salvation (Good News) by using the images of present reconciliation. For the Apostle Paul, reconciliation has two dimensions:  reconciliation with a holy God to a sinful people and reconciliation between humans to humans (see also Jesus’ teaching at Matthew 22:34-40). Our reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ removes our hostility with God and we become God’s friends, like Moses and Abraham (Exodus 33:11; 2 Chronicles 20:7; John 15:15; see also Jeremiah 9:24; Colossians 1:21-22; James 2:23).

Starting at Romans 5:12, the Apostle Paul explains human death; this view is also accepted in the pagan (non-Christian) world. All people agree that physical death came about because of the consequence of human sin and this is everyone’s connection with Adam and Eve. The entrance of sin and death into the world is traced Adam and Eve from which all humankind came. Physical death is the penalty for sin and ultimately the symbol of spiritual death – separation for the true and living God (see Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:8).

Even more, the Apostle Paul clearly states that the principle or law of sin was at work in the world even before the Law of Moses (Jewish Law). However, the Law of Moses exposed the sins of all humankind (Romans 5:13) because the Law acts like a mirror to expose sin. Thus, when the Law of Moses came along, the Law made our sin even worse. The Law makes us aware how much we have sinned against God because we now have God’s righteous commandments.

People did not start sinning with the Law of Moses because the condition of human sinfulness goes back to Adam and Eve when they broke (rebelled against) God’s single commandment (Genesis 2:15-17; see also Genesis 3:1-6). In fact, selfishness was the essence of Adam and Eve’s sin because they wanted to be their own god. The essence of all sin is selfish. Sinners live their lives oriented for self (self-centered or “me-first”) and not God-centered and they want to become their own god. Therefore, the problem of human sin described in living color in Romans 1 through 3 is a problem that begins with Adam and Eve and continues to rule today (Romans 5:14). The Apostle Paul does not clearly say we humans inherited our sinful nature from Adam and Eve but leaves this ambiguous. Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul just says we humans sin because of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:16).

Yet, the Apostle Paul stresses that Adam was a type of One to come (Romans 5:14). In Romans 5:12-21, the Apostle Paul contrasts Adam with Jesus Christ. As already mentioned, the human race began with Adam and Eve, the originator or the first human. Adam and Eve introduced sin and death into the world and that death now affected all people – Jew and Gentile (see Romans 1:18-3:20). Yet, Jesus Christ came as the second Adam and brought righteousness and life (Romans 5:18-19). Jesus Christ not only did not sin, but He graciously and sacrificially died for human sins (Romans 3:25). Therefore, Jesus Christ delivers (redeems, saves) and produces not death but life and righteousness (see Romans 3:21-5:11). In summary, Adam brought judgment and condemnation into, while Jesus Christ brings righteousness and life.

Some people take the Apostle Paul’s reasoning in Romans 5 as universalism in a sense that Jesus Christ’s death and sacrifice for sins will save all people in the end because all people were affected by Jesus’ redemptive work on the Cross. Yet, the Apostle Paul is not adopting universalism. In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul clearly states that God’s free gift of redemption through Jesus Christ’s death is only received through our genuine FAITH in Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection (see Romans 3:21-4:25). The Apostle Paul clearly preached that some people could be lost if they reject God’s gift of grace (redemption, salvation, and deliverance) from eternal death through faith in Jesus Christ (see also Ephesians 2:8-9). Thus, Jesus Christ’s redemptive work affected all people (1 John 2:2) but to be effective, God’s gracious gift of righteousness and life must be received by genuine faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17; see also John 3:16). 

References

King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1987.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Loyd, Melton, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament. Columbia Campus: Erskine Theological Seminary, 2014.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.

Greatest Cure For Sin Is Faith!

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him . . . . We are made right with God by placing our faith (belief and trust) in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone have sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness (grace), declares that we are righteous (justified and declared not guilty). He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us (redeemed or ransomed) from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin (atonement). People are made right with God when they believe (trust) that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right (justified) in His sight when they believe (trust) in Jesus. . . . our acquittal (justification or righteousness) is not based on obeying the Law. It is based on faith. So we are made right (justified and made upright) with God through faith . . . and not by obeying the Law. . . . There is only one God, and He makes people right (justified or not guilty) with Himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Romans 3:21-28, 30 (NLT)

The next section of Romans is Romans 3:21-4:25. This section is further divided into Romans 3:21-31 and then Romans 4:1-25. Previously, the Apostle Paul revealed that all people (both Jews and Gentiles) are unrighteous (Romans 1:18-3:20). In this next section, the Apostle Paul teaches that God has revealed our complete cure from the sin disease and unrighteousness that has infected all people. The main focus of the book of Romans is revelation God’s righteousness (Romans 1:16-17). Evident is the fact that both Jews and Gentiles alike are ALL unrighteous sinners before a holy and righteous God. Even more, all people are lost, infected with a sin disease, and fall short of God’s righteousness and glorious standards (Romans 1:18-3:20, 23).

Yet, God has graciously provided a cure to our sin disease that was also previously revealed by the Old Testament Law and the Prophets (Romans 3:21; see also Micah 6:6-8). We are cured from our sin disease and declared righteous (justified and not guilty) by wholeheartedly believing and trusting in God’s saving activity through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s unique Son, who in His kindness freely takes away our sins (Romans 3:21-24). This is God’s free gift and to receive God’s free gift only requires faith. This faith (trust) means placing our personal confidence in Jesus Christ to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us (through the Holy Spirit) to live holy lives in accordance to God’s righteousness. Even more, God's solution to sin is available to all people regardless of our backgrounds or past behaviors. God sent His one and only Son (Jesus Christ) to take the punishment for human sins and to reconcile all people to God through our faith (Romans 3:25; see also 2 Corinthians 5:21). When we believe and trust God, a great exchange takes place. We give Jesus Christ our sin disease, and He gives us His righteousness, forgiveness, and salvation (see also 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). In other words, God places the righteousness of Jesus Christ on our records in the place of our own sinfulness. And no one can change this record. As the righteous Judge, God declares us humans not guilty, removes all charges of sin from our record, and set us from the bondage (power) of the sin disease (Romans 3:24).

In the Person of Jesus Christ is revealed God’s perfect righteousness. God used Jesus Christ’s sacrificial blood on the Cross and our faith in God’s saving activity as the means of saving humans from His holy wrath and curing our sin disease. Our righteous and acquittal as not guilty is based not based on our good deeds but on what Jesus Christ has done and our wholehearted faith (trust and belief) in Him (Romans 3:27). So, we all saved (Jews and Gentiles) by faith in Jesus Christ from our sin disease and God’s wrath against all sin (Romans 3:28-29). God treats all people the same, whether Jews or Gentiles, and we are all acquitted from guilt, sin, and God’s wrath (punishment) by faith.

Then, the Apostle Paul illustrates our righteousness (or justification) by faith alone from the life of Abraham (Romans 4:1-25). The Holy Scriptures teaches that Abraham simply believed God, and that is why God canceled Abraham’s sins and declared him righteous or “not guilty” of sin (Romans 4:1-3, 22; see also Genesis 15:6). “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3, NIV). In other words, God “reckoned” (Romans 4:4, 9-10) and “imputed” (Romans 4:6, 8, 11, 21-24), as well as “counted” Abraham as righteous as a gift received through Abraham’s faith in Him. The Apostle Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 in Romans 4:3 and Genesis 15:6 is also quoted two more times in the New Testament to demonstrate that our salvation by faith was nothing new (see Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). Even in the Old Testament, God looked for wholehearted faith and trust in Him, not perfection (see also Psalms 1:3; Psalms 40:4; Jeremiah 17:5-10; Habakkuk 2:2-4). God’s blessings were given to people by faith (trust) in Him and not obedience to any rules, rituals or ceremonies (Romans 4:16). “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence” (Jeremiah 17:7, NLT).

Wholehearted faith and trust in the true and living God has been the standard since the Law of Moses and proclaimed by Joshua, David, Elijah, Jeremiah and many other Old Testament prophets (Romans 3:21). For example, Moses taught that we must “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, NLT). Joshua proclaimed to the people, “Now respect the Lord and serve Him fully and sincerely. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. But if you do not want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. . . . As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15, NCV). The Prophet Elijah proclaimed: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel . . . . so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:36-37, NIV). Most important, Jesus Christ came to point people back to God and to love Him with our lives. Jesus Christ taught, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38, NLT). Therefore, the teaching of wholehearted faith (trust and belief) by the Apostle Paul and throughout the New Testament is not new but has also been proclaimed throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. We are saved by faith in the true and living God — the same way people were saved in the Old Testament! Twenty-one times in Hebrews 11 you find the same words “by faith” – wholehearted faith in the true and living God. Even more, the clause “living by faith” is quoted frequently in the New Testament to support the teaching that people are saved by God’s grace through faith (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 10:38-39). In other words, God declares us righteous because of our faith in Jesus Christ. This has been called God’s free gift, by God’s grace, “through the redemption that come by Jesus Christ”, and “through faith”.  Furthermore, our genuine faith brings glory to God. “Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God” (Romans 4:20, NLT).

To reinforce his teaching on faith, the Apostle Paul used Abraham as a good example of living by faith (Romans 4:1-25). When God spoke to Abraham, Abraham listened. God asked Abraham to trust Him and His promises. Abraham trusted and obeyed God and God declared Abraham righteous because of this trust (Genesis 15:5-6). God accepted Abraham not because he led a perfect life but because of his responsiveness to God’s promises (Romans 4:13). When God told Abraham to look at the stars and said “So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5, NIV), Abraham believed God's promises. The Hebrew word translated “believed” means “to say amen.” God gave a promise, and Abraham responded with “Amen!” Simply put, Abraham trusted God to keep His promise of providing him and his wife Sarah a son even though Abraham and his wife were old and well past childbearing age (Romans 4:18-19). When God told Abraham that he would give him and his wife a son who would have many descendants and become a great nation, Abraham believed! And because his faith was strong, Abraham did not worry about the fact that he was too old to be a father at the age of one hundred, and that Sarah his wife, at ninety, was also much too old to have a baby. Abraham never doubted God but believed God and Abraham praised God for this blessing even before it happened (Romans 4:-18-20). Abraham was completely convinced and sure that God was well able to do anything He promised. And because of Abraham’s faith, God forgave Abraham’s sins and declared him righteous (Romans 4:21-22). The Apostle Paul used the example of Abraham to assure the church in Rome and all people today that God will accept us as He accepted Abraham — when we believe the promise that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God, filling us with God’s goodness (Romans 4:24-25).

Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of the Jewish nation (Romans 4:1, 12). Yet Abraham is also declared the spiritual father of who believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 4:11; see also Galatians 3:1-18). In other words, Abraham is the father of all who truly believe and trust God, both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7, 29). Abraham did not become righteous (justified) by his good actions (Romans 4:4) because he was far from perfect. The book of Genesis reveals that Abraham’s life was full of bad moments as well as good moments because Abraham's life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures as well as goodness. Sometimes, Abraham even strayed from God’s path. Yet, Abraham ALWAYS remained faithful to God and trusted in Him, similar to other Old Testament heroes like Noah, David, and many others (see Hebrews 11). In other words, Abraham always looked to God and God alone as his Leader and King for all of life. Like Abraham, God wants everyone to have faith in Him and His promises. God wants us to follow Him completely and make Him the center of our daily lives (see also Matthew 6:33). “Those who are right with God will live by trusting in Him (Habakkuk 2:4, NCV). Our righteousness (justification) from God does not come by our obedience to rules, rituals or good deeds but by faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross for our salvation and righteousness (Romans 4:5-9; see also Ephesians 2:8-9). The true and living God graciously accepts all people from every nation who wholeheartedly (sincere and genuine) trust in Him as Abraham (Romans 4:17).

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 (NIV)

What is the meaning of the word “sin”? Some sins seem bigger or worse than others. Yet, the Holy Scriptures states that any sin – big or small – makes us humans sinners and separates us from a holy and righteous God. All sin leads to death regardless of how great or small the sin may seem. The word “sin” either as a verb or noun has three dimensions. First, sin can mean breaking God’s Old Testament Law such as lying, committing adultery, coveting (jealous), or murder. These sins are direct violation of God’s Commandments and normally defined as sin. This can also be defined as transgression or breaking the Law. Second, sin is also defined as the failure to become what God has entrusted us to become as defined at Romans 3:23 in stating “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This has been described as sins of commission and sins of omission. In other words, this dimension of sin is not transgressing God’s Commandments or breaking the Law but “falling short of the glory of God” and failing to become what God intended for all people to become from the beginning of creation. All humans were created in God’s imagine and was created to reflect God’s glory (Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:4-8; see also Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; Hebrews 2:5-9). We often fail to become when we waste our opportunities and live our lives contrary to God’s intentions. Third, sin is defined as rebellion. Rebellion is probably the most fundamental aspect of sin. Not only does one disobey God’s Command and fall short of God’s glory, but one does not WANT to become what God wills. In essence, this sin is selfishness and wanting to be god – a “me focus.” The first definition of sin is action while the second definition of sin is inaction. However, the third definition of sin is an internal attitude of the heart and of the mind. While the first and second definitions sin can be done in ignorance, but the third dimension of sin is simply a willful rejection, disobedience or rebellions against God and God’s will. This definition of sin is described as “heart hardened” or a willful neglect of God and God’s will. Through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, God empowers believers in Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit to WANT to live holy lives in accordance to God’s righteousness and holiness.  In other words, God gives genuine believers of Jesus Christ a new heart and new internal attitude that wants NOT to rebel against God but to want to obey God wholeheartedly.

By the Apostle Paul emphasizing faith, he is not saying that God's Laws and Commandments from Old Testament are unimportant (Romans 4:13). Instead, the Apostle Paul is teaching that Jesus Christ saves us by FAITH ALONE from our internal sin and rebellion. Then, God empowers from within through His Holy Spirit to obey God’s moral laws and commandments and perform good deeds (Titus 3:3-8; see also Ephesians 2:8-10). “But—When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His grace and mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of His grace He declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7, NLT). The Holy Spirit not only helps us do the right thing but helps us do the right thing with pure motives – a heart obedience or “circumcision of the heart.” Therefore, through faith in Jesus Christ’s finish work, we are declared righteousness by God and we are also sanctified whereby God makes the believer more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. God's saving power and abundant blessings are experienced by those who genuinely believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16-17). God’s righteousness is graciously given to those who BELIEVE (Romans 3:22; see also Hebrews 10:19-25). The object of our faith is Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again from complete death.

Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? . . .  For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” . . . So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith . . . That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it was not just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God. Romans 4:1, 3, 11, 17-25 (NLT)

References

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

New Student Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992.

The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1987.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Loyd, Melton, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament. Columbia Campus: Erskine Theological Seminary, 2014.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.

All Are Sinners!

But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they would not worship (glory) Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. . . . They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. . . . For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But He will pour out His anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. . . . For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the Law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. . . . 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, are under the power of sin. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him . . . We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness (grace), declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 1:18-21, 25, 2:5-11, 28-29, 3:9, 21-24 (NLT)

The next big section of the book of Romans is Romans 1:18 through Romans 3:20 and then Romans 3:21 through Romans 3:30. In Romans 1:18 through Romans 3:20, the Apostle Paul states clearly that ALL people – Jews and Gentiles – are sinful and lost and we all stand before God guilty (Romans 3:23). From Romans 1:18 throughout Romans 3:20, the Apostle Paul thoroughly explains to both groups – Jews and Gentiles – why they need Jesus Christ and the power of the Gospel (also called the Good News). The Gospel message is the “power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith” (Romans 1:16-17, NLT). No one can claim by their own efforts or merits to be good or right in God's sight. All humans have a deadly disease – sin and this sin disease also makes us guilty of the death penalty (Romans 3:9, 23; see also Romans 6:23). Yet God has graciously offered all humans a cure and lifeline for this disease and the answer is Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8). The Apostle Paul gives us the cure to our deadly disease in Romans 3:21-30. Our sin disease can only be cured and we can be found not guilty through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-30; see also Romans 10:8-10). This means wholehearted faith in in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Apart from God’s saving activity in Jesus Christ, we have no hope and meaning in life.

First of all, the Apostle Paul explains in Romans 1:18-32 that all Gentiles (non-Jewish) are guilty sinners without Jesus Christ. God has graciously revealed Himself and His qualities to all humans through His creation. Humans know that there is a true and living God who had the wisdom to plan and the power to create the natural world (Romans 1:20). True facts about God are not hidden in creation as these facts are “clearly seen” (Romans 1:20). In looking at the created world, all people can see abundant evidence of God’s existence and power. ALL of creation reveal the Creator – the true and living God (Psalm 19:1-4; Psalm 29:3-9; Psalm 104:1-30). “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands” (Psalms 19:1, HCSB).

Moreover, God gives Gentiles “the work of the Law written in their hearts” (Romans 2:15). All people know in their hearts that God exists, as well as God’s moral requirements (Romans 1:21, 32; Romans 2:14-15). In other words, Gentiles have an inner sense of right and wrong. This inner judge, the Holy Bible calls “conscience”, is an inner sense of what God requires. Around the world all people in every society have an inner sense of God’s moral law. The Gentiles have a sense of sin, a fear of judgment, and an attempt to atone for sins and appease whatever gods are feared.

Yet, Gentiles humans have suppressed or rejected the truth about God in order to live their lives independent of God and God’s ways (Romans 1:21-22), and turned the truth about God into a lie (Romans 1:25). In essence, Gentiles have chosen a selfish, rebellious and prideful lifestyle without wholehearted dependence, trust, and faith in God (Romans 1:21, 25, 28). Instead of looking to God and trusting, the Gentiles saw themselves as the center of the universe and made themselves into god with their selfish plans and decrees (see also Genesis 3:1-7). The temptation in the Garden was to live separate from God (pride or arrogance) and not living in submission and dependence on the true and living God. Because of their rejection of God (sin), “God gave them up” to their own selfish desires and self-centered life-styles (Romans 1:24, 26). Sin is often identified as deeds, such as stealing, murder, adultery, or lying (see Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:1–21). However, sin is really an attitude deep within the human heart and is often expressed as “I know better than God” or “I want it my way.” This attitude led Adam and Eve to that first disobedient act in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:3, 6). To follow our own selfish wills, lusts, and desires in disobedience of God and God’s Word is to put self in the place of God and become our own god (Proverbs 3:5, 7; Proverbs 14:12). Sin is selfish!

Therefore, God allowed Gentile humans to go on with their sins and reap the sad consequences of all sin. This is the meaning of Romans 1:18, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven” (literal translation). God’s wrath is not limited to the end-time judgment of the wicked (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 19:15; Revelation 20:11-15). Here in Romans the wrath of God is His abandonment or the turning over of the wicked to their sins (Romans 1:24-32). God revealed His wrath, not by sending fire from heaven, but by abandoning sinful humans to their lustful and selfish ways and the tragic consequences that flows from sin and rebellion against God. In other words, the wrath or judgment of God is going on right now because God gave them up (Romans 1:24, 26, 28) and let them suffer the consequences. Thus, the wrath of God is present! The pain, suffering, torment, and agony we experience are expressions of the very wrath of God because of our sinfulness, selfishness and the sinfulness of others. God's wrath results when we reject God and God’s holy standards. The greatest wrath and judgment God can inflict on humans is to let us have our own way and suffer the consequences. Sin hurts all people — individuals, families, and whole societies. Once caught in this downward spiral, NO ONE can pull themselves out this deadly pit except God! So, “People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking and to do things they should not do” (Romans 1:28, NCV). The Apostle Paul names twenty-four specific sins the Gentile humans did, all of which are with us today – sexual sins, homosexuality, greed, hatred, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, and gossip. “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents” (Romans 1:29-30, NLT). (For other lists of sins see Mark 7:20-23, Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 5:10-11; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 2 Corinthians 12:20-21; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 4:31; Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:5, 8; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:2-5; Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:15).

Not only are the Gentiles sinning, the Jewish world is also guilty of sin! (Romans 2:1 – Romans 3:20). In these verses, the Apostle Paul gives extensive detail, space and evidence to discuss Jewish sinfulness. The very things Jews condemned in the Gentiles, they themselves were practicing! Jews believed that they were free from God’s wrath and judgment because they were God's “chosen people”. In His goodness, God had given Israel great material and spiritual riches: a wonderful land, a righteous Law, a Temple and priesthood, God's providential care, and many more blessings. God had patiently endured Israel's many sins and rebellions, and had even sent them His Son, Jesus to be their Messiah. Yet, Israel rejected God’s Messiah – Jesus. When God measured the deeds of the Jews, He found them just as wicked as the Gentiles. Nevertheless, the Jew boasted they had God’s Law. Yet, Paul stated that the Jews’ possession of the Law did not count but only the actual practice of the Law. According to the Apostle Paul, being a Jew meant nothing if the person did not obey God's laws. Paul goes on to explain that a real Jew is one whose heart is right with God and obeys God inwardly (see Romans 2:25-29). God want a heart relationship with all people – Jews and Gentiles and not just religious rituals and actions (see Jeremiah 4:4; see also Isaiah 1:10-20; Isaiah 66:3; Jeremiah 6:20; Jeremiah 7:22-23; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21; Micah 6:6-8). The Apostle Paul made it clear that membership in God's family is based on internal, not external, actions and qualities (Romans 2:28-29). All whose hearts are right with God are real Jews and apart of God's family (see also Galatians 3:7). Attending church or being baptized, confirmed, or accepted for membership is not enough. God desires our wholehearted trust, obedience, and allegiance to Him and not merely an outward physical actions and deeds (Romans 2:25-29; see also Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 9:26; Ezekiel. 44:9). The Jewish people had the religious actions, but not the inward heart devotion and attitude God so desires. God wants justice, mercy, and humility from all people as these good deeds and heart attitude summarized the whole Old Testament law (see Micah 6:6-8; see also Matthew 22:34-40; Matthew 23:23). God not only sees the deeds but He also sees the “thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

In summation, the Apostle Paul taught that ALL people of the world stand guilty before a holy and righteous God with a deadly sin disease (Romans 3:9-23). Both Jews and Gentiles (religious and irreligious) are guilty before God. The Apostle Paul quotes from Psalms and Isaiah to show that, from head to foot, we are all lost sinners. Romans 3:10-18 provides collections of Old Testament quotations that the Apostle Paul gives to underscore his charge that both Jews and Gentiles are under the power of sin (see Psalms 5:9, 10; Psalms 14:1–3; Psalms 36:1–4; Isaiah 59:7, 8). Essentially, there is a universality of human guilt and sin – the whole world is guilty, Jews and Gentiles! Sadly, no human cure and no human good deeds can declare us not guilty and cure our sin deadly disease. We cannot save ourselves (Romans 3:20). We can do good works, but good works are not good enough to save us (Ephesians 2:8–9). Even when we humans try to obey the Old Testament Law, we fail miserably!  Neither Jew nor Gentile can obey God's Law without God’s help. Only God can save us from sin because we are all trapped by a deadly sin disease.

Romans 3:21-30 discuss God’s solution and cure to sin. These verses are normally called the “Good News of the Gospel.” However, Romans 4 completes the Good News message by providing us how we can all access God’s cure. So, the Good News of the Gospel is not that God sent His Son to die for ungodly sinners but also that God’s Son died for us and we all have access through faith. Romans 4:1-25 describe the access to the Gospel for all sinful people. The Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 4 that access to God’s forgiveness and cure is by faith alone. FAITH is central to the Gospel. The Good News of the Gospel is not just that Jesus Christ died for ungodly people but that Jesus Christ died for us and we all have access by faith. In other words, access to God’s saving work through Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection is by faith. The Apostle Paul picks Abraham, the father of Judaism to support this argument of faith alone. God started the redemptive work with Abraham in Genesis 12 that culminates with the coming and return of Jesus Christ in book of Revelation. Abraham responded in faith to God’s call in Genesis 12:1–3 and this faith was accounted to Abraham as righteous (Romans 4:3; see also Genesis 15:6). Therefore, the Apostle Paul declared that wholehearted faith in God’s finished work found in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection can declare all people NOT guilty and finally cure our deadly sin disease (Romans 3:21-30).

Let everyone begin today by surrendering our wholehearted love, devotion and trust in God’s saving activity through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s unique Son (Romans 3:21-31). We are declared NOT GUILITY, RIGHTEOUS, AND SINLESS by trusting Jesus Christ to take away our sins (Romans 3:21-30).

But now God has shown us a different way to heaven (now and eternal) — not by “being good enough” and trying to keep His laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says He will accept and acquit us — declare us “not guilty” — if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending Him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in His kindness freely takes away our sins. For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from His wrath. In this way He was being entirely fair . . . . And now in these days also He can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins. But is not this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for He does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins. Then what can we boast about doing to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds; it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in Him. So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do. And does God save only the Jews in this way? No, the Gentiles, too, may come to Him in this same manner.  God treats us all the same; all, whether Jews or Gentiles, are acquitted if they have faith. Well then, if we are saved by faith, does this mean that we no longer need obey God’s laws? Just the opposite! In fact, only when we trust Jesus can we truly obey Him. Romans 3:21-31 (TLB)

References

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

Spirit Filled Life Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991.

The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1987.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Loyd, Melton, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament. Columbia Campus: Erskine Theological Seminary, 2014.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.

Wiersbe, Warren. With the Word Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991.

Only By Faith

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Romans 1:16-17 (NLT)

The Good News, also called the “Gospel”, is a message and a story of God’s saving activity through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s unique Son (Romans 1:1, see also John 1:14). Thus, the Good News is from and about the very Son of God, Jesus Christ! This message starts with Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry and continues with the apostolic preaching in the book of Acts.

The Good News message starts with the Jews first. “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). The Good News about God came "to the Jew first" in the ministry of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) (Matthew 10:5-7; see also Romans 1:16; Romans 11:18) and the first Apostles. Of course, the first disciples and apostles were faithful Jews who recognized Jesus as God's Messiah to the human race. Even more, the “very words of God” (Romans 3:2), the covenants, the Law, the Temple, worship, revelation of God’s glory, and the Messianic prophets came from the Jews (Romans 9:3-5). These privileges were given to the Jews not because of their superior merit or because of God’s partiality to the Jews. Instead, these privileges were necessary that the Gospel message begin at a particular point with a particular people, who in turn were responsible to carry the Gospel message throughout the world to all people.

The Gospel message has a life-changing power to change people's lives from inside the heart! This message, through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, does what no amount of mere human can do – to change! Only God can change a person as the Gospel is the power which blasts away self-complacency, self-delusion, and sinful self-reliance. This message of Jesus Christ had transformed the lives of the first disciples and apostles, including Paul’s own life, and they knew the Gospel could transform the lives of others. The outcome of the Good News is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

The basic meaning of the word “salvation” is “deliverance”. The Good News delivers sinners from the penalty and power of sin. Salvation is the great need of the human race (see Romans 10:1, 9-10). If men and women are to be saved, it must be BY FAITH in God’s saving activity through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The outreach of the Good News is for everyone – Jews and Gentiles without distinction of age, sex, race, or condition (Romans 1:16-17). All people are lost without Jesus Christ! But faith is the key to receiving the Gospel message and life-changing power. Most important, God does not ask people to behave in order to be saved, but to BELIEVE. Only faith in Jesus Christ’s finished work saves! By trusting Jesus Christ, our relationship with God is made right. So, “from first to last” God declares us to be righteous because of faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ. Simply put, the Good News is “the power of God” to change a person’s life by their faith.

Romans 1:16-17 are key verses of the book of Romans. In these verses, Paul announces the theme or thesis: “the righteousness of God.” The Good News is the power or “dynamite” or “dynamo” because through the Good News the righteousness of God is revealed. The word “righteousness” also means “righteous”, “just”, and “justified”. The basic meaning of righteousness is moral uprightness or doing the right thing for the right reason – a pure heart and pure motives. Righteousness is used in various ways in the Holy Bible, righteousness refers (1) to God's holy character (John 17:25), (2) to the gift everyone receives through faith in Jesus Christ’s finished work (Romans 3:21-22; Romans 5:17), and (3) to standards of right living (Romans 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:22). In the Person of Jesus Christ is revealed the perfect righteousness.

The Good News reveals a righteousness that is by faith. As sinners, we receive God’s righteousness from faith to faith that is righteousness is received by faith in Christ Jesus’ finished work and is in turn revealed in faithful living to God. In the Old Testament, righteousness was by works, but people soon discovered they could not obey God's Law and meet God’s righteous demands.

In Romans 1:16-17, Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4: “The just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, NKJV). In other words, “those who are right with God will live by trusting in Him” (Habakkuk 2:4 NCV) and trusting that God is directing all things according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted frequently in the New Testament to support the teaching that everyone is saved by grace (God’s gift) through wholehearted faith (see Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Ephesians 2:8) and should live by faith (Hebrews 10:38-39; Hebrews 11:6-7; see also Genesis 15:6). In essence, the Apostle Paul is emphasizing in Romans 1:16-17 that one can be righteous in God's sight only through faith. This faith means wholehearted acceptance of Jesus Christ, a personal trust, a confident surrender, and firm reliance in God and characterized by a life style of righteous living (see Paul’s teaching on righteous our living at Romans chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15). Wholehearted faith in God will always lead to moral living.

As we trust God, we are saved and find life both now and forever. Through faith in God’s saving activity in Jesus Christ, we receive salvation from the penalties of sin or past sins (Luke 7:50; Romans 1–3; Ephesians 2:8); present salvation from the power of sin in the daily life (Romans 5:10; see also Romans 6:3–11), and future salvation (or heaven) from the actual presence of sin (Romans 8:16–25; 2 Corinthians 4:16–5:10). If anyone believes the Good News that same person has life (union with God); otherwise he has death and separation from God. The basis of salvation is God’s grace (Romans 3:23–26) and the only means by which we sinners can receive God’s grace is through faith (Romans 10:9–17).

The Holy Scriptures discusses six kinds or expressions of faith. Doctrinal faith refers to the content of our belief (Jude 3). Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation (Acts 16:31). Justifying faith is a person’s reliance on the fact that God has declared one righteous through faith (Genesis 15:6). Indwelling faith is trusting God’s Word in and through us (Galatians 2:20). Daily faith is day-by-day dependence on God – the sanctification process (2 Corinthians 5:7). The gift of faith is a special ability received from God’s Holy Spirit (Hebrews 11:1–3). Illustration of this kind of faith is God’s hall of faith found at Hebrews 11. These individuals listed in Hebrew 11 experienced God’s blessing as a result of their faith and all pleased God by their faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Essentially, no one can please God without faith in Him (Genesis 15:6; Romans 1:17; Romans 4:20). Living by faith means we place our whole heart, our dependence, and our reliance on God first and foremost for all of life needs (Matthew 6:33; see also Habakkuk 2:4). This faith ceases from all self to all God. We are to live patiently and by trusting our sovereign God. The Jewish rabbis taught that there were 613 commandments for the ancient Israelites to obey if they wanted to be righteous. Psalm 15 reduces those commandments down to eleven. Isaiah 33:15-16 gives six requirements, and Micah 6:6-8 lists three requirements and to two by Isaiah again (Isaiah 56:1) and to one by Habakkuk 2:4 — faith! Faith (belief and trust) in God is of upmost importance rather than any works (see also Genesis 15:6; Romans 4).

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now EVERYONE is invited to come to God in this same way. This Good News tells us that God makes us ready for heaven—makes us right in God’s sight—when we put our faith and trust in Christ to save us. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scripture says it, “The man who finds life will find it through trusting God.” Romans 1:16-17 (The Living Bible)

References

King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.

KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

NLT Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2008.

Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Chicago, IL: Moody, 1995.

The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1987.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Morris, Leon. The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans Pub., 2012.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.