Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Bigotry » Paul's argument against
What advantage is there then in being a Jew, and what is the use of circumcision? A great deal, from every point of view. In the first place, the Jews were intrusted with the utterances of God. What if some of them have shown a lack of faith? Can their lack of it nullify the faithfulness of God? read more.
By no means! God must prove true, though every man be false; as the Scripture says, "That you may be shown to be upright in what you say, And win your case when you go into court." But if our wrongdoing brings out the uprightness of God, what are we to say? Is it wrong in God (I am putting it in ordinary human terms) to inflict punishment? By no means, for then how could he judge the world? But, you say, if a falsehood of mine has brought great honor to God by bringing out his truthfulness, why am I tried for being a sinner? And why not say, as people abuse us for saying and charge us with saying, "Let us do evil that good may come out of it"? Such people will be condemned as they deserve! What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one! Their throats are like open graves, They use their tongues to deceive; The venom of asps is behind their lips, And their mouths are full of bitter curses. Their feet are swift when it comes to shedding blood, Ruin and wretchedness mark their paths, They do not know the way of peace. There is no reverence for God before their eyes!" Now we know that everything the Law says is addressed to those under its authority, so that every mouth may be shut, and the whole world be made accountable to God. For no human being can be made upright in the sight of God by observing the Law. All that the Law can do is to make man conscious of sin. But now God's way of uprightness has been disclosed without any reference to law, though the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it. It is God's way of uprightness and comes through having faith in Jesus Christ, and it is for all who have faith, without distinction. For all men sin and come short of the glory of God,
By no means! God must prove true, though every man be false; as the Scripture says, "That you may be shown to be upright in what you say, And win your case when you go into court." But if our wrongdoing brings out the uprightness of God, what are we to say? Is it wrong in God (I am putting it in ordinary human terms) to inflict punishment? By no means, for then how could he judge the world? But, you say, if a falsehood of mine has brought great honor to God by bringing out his truthfulness, why am I tried for being a sinner? And why not say, as people abuse us for saying and charge us with saying, "Let us do evil that good may come out of it"? Such people will be condemned as they deserve! What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one! Their throats are like open graves, They use their tongues to deceive; The venom of asps is behind their lips, And their mouths are full of bitter curses. Their feet are swift when it comes to shedding blood, Ruin and wretchedness mark their paths, They do not know the way of peace. There is no reverence for God before their eyes!" Now we know that everything the Law says is addressed to those under its authority, so that every mouth may be shut, and the whole world be made accountable to God. For no human being can be made upright in the sight of God by observing the Law. All that the Law can do is to make man conscious of sin. But now God's way of uprightness has been disclosed without any reference to law, though the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it. It is God's way of uprightness and comes through having faith in Jesus Christ, and it is for all who have faith, without distinction. For all men sin and come short of the glory of God,
Then what are we to say about our ancestor Abraham? For if he was made upright by what he did, it is something to be proud of. But not to be proud of before God, for what does the Scripture say? "Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as uprightness." read more.
Now paying a workman is not considered a favor, but an obligation, but a man who has no work to offer, but has faith in him who can make the ungodly upright, has his faith credited to him as uprightness. So David himself says of the happiness of those to whom God credits uprightness without any reference to their actions, "Happy are they whose violations of the Law have been forgiven, whose sins are covered up! Happy is the man whose sin the Lord will take no account of!" Does this happiness apply to those who are circumcised, or to those who are uncircumcised as well? What we say is, Abraham's faith was credited to him as uprightness. In what circumstances? Was it after he was circumcised or before? Not after he was circumcised, but before; and he was afterward given the mark of circumcision as the stamp of God's acknowledgment of the uprightness based on faith that was his before he was circumcised, so that he should be the forefather of all who, without being circumcised, have faith and so are credited with uprightness, and the forefather of those circumcised persons who not only share his circumcision but follow our forefather Abraham's example in the faith he had before he was circumcised. For the promise made to Abraham and his descendants that the world should belong to him did not come to him or his descendants through the Law, but through the uprightness that resulted from his faith. For if it is the adherents of the Law who are to possess it, faith is nullified and the promise amounts to nothing! For the Law only brings down God's wrath; where there is no law, there is no violation of it. That is why it all turns upon faith; it is to make it a matter of God's favor, so that the promise may hold good for all Abraham's descendants, not only those who are adherents of the Law, but also those who share the faith of Abraham. For he is the father of all of us;
Now paying a workman is not considered a favor, but an obligation, but a man who has no work to offer, but has faith in him who can make the ungodly upright, has his faith credited to him as uprightness. So David himself says of the happiness of those to whom God credits uprightness without any reference to their actions, "Happy are they whose violations of the Law have been forgiven, whose sins are covered up! Happy is the man whose sin the Lord will take no account of!" Does this happiness apply to those who are circumcised, or to those who are uncircumcised as well? What we say is, Abraham's faith was credited to him as uprightness. In what circumstances? Was it after he was circumcised or before? Not after he was circumcised, but before; and he was afterward given the mark of circumcision as the stamp of God's acknowledgment of the uprightness based on faith that was his before he was circumcised, so that he should be the forefather of all who, without being circumcised, have faith and so are credited with uprightness, and the forefather of those circumcised persons who not only share his circumcision but follow our forefather Abraham's example in the faith he had before he was circumcised. For the promise made to Abraham and his descendants that the world should belong to him did not come to him or his descendants through the Law, but through the uprightness that resulted from his faith. For if it is the adherents of the Law who are to possess it, faith is nullified and the promise amounts to nothing! For the Law only brings down God's wrath; where there is no law, there is no violation of it. That is why it all turns upon faith; it is to make it a matter of God's favor, so that the promise may hold good for all Abraham's descendants, not only those who are adherents of the Law, but also those who share the faith of Abraham. For he is the father of all of us;
It was not on his account alone that these words, "it was credited to him," were written, but also on ours, for it is to be credited also to us who have faith in him who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus, who was given up to death to make up for our offenses, and raised to life to make us upright.
Fall of man » Man in consequence of » Unrighteous
As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright,
Verse Concepts
Gentiles/heathen » Gentiles being under sin
What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. read more.
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
Israel/jews » Jews being under sin
What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. read more.
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
The law of God » Man cannot render perfect obedience to
As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright,
Verse Concepts
Eternal life » Cannot be inherited by works
Those who by persistently doing right strive for glory, honor, and immortality will have eternal life,
Verse Concepts
As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one! read more.
Their throats are like open graves, They use their tongues to deceive; The venom of asps is behind their lips, And their mouths are full of bitter curses. Their feet are swift when it comes to shedding blood, Ruin and wretchedness mark their paths, They do not know the way of peace. There is no reverence for God before their eyes!" Now we know that everything the Law says is addressed to those under its authority, so that every mouth may be shut, and the whole world be made accountable to God.
Their throats are like open graves, They use their tongues to deceive; The venom of asps is behind their lips, And their mouths are full of bitter curses. Their feet are swift when it comes to shedding blood, Ruin and wretchedness mark their paths, They do not know the way of peace. There is no reverence for God before their eyes!" Now we know that everything the Law says is addressed to those under its authority, so that every mouth may be shut, and the whole world be made accountable to God.
Righteousness » None, by nature have
As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright,
Verse Concepts
Sin » There not being a single person who does not sin
It is just like the way in which through one man sin came into the world, and death followed sin, and so death spread to all men, because all men sinned.
Verse Concepts
What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. read more.
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
A man came up to him and said, "Master, what good deed must I do to obtain eternal life?" But he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter that life, keep the commandments."
Sin » Who is a sinner
Whoever commits sin is a child of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. This is why the Son of God appeared??o undo the devil's work.
Verse Concepts
What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. read more.
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
but if you show partiality, you are committing a sin, and stand convicted before the Law as lawbreakers.
Verse Concepts
The fruit of righteousness » Those that do not do righteousness
This is how the children of God and those of the devil can be distinguished: No one who does not act uprightly or who does not love his brother is a child of God.
Verse Concepts
What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. read more.
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
The goodness of the lord » There being none that do good
What does this mean? Are we Jews at a disadvantage? Not at all. We have already charged Jews and Greeks all alike with being under the control of sin. As the Scripture says, "There is not a single man who is upright, No one understands, no one searches for God. read more.
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
All have turned away, they are one and all worthless, No one does right, not a single one!
A man came up to him and said, "Master, what good deed must I do to obtain eternal life?" But he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter that life, keep the commandments."