Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Bigotry » Paul's argument against
Then what is the Jew's superiority? What is the good of circumcision? Much in every way. This to begin with ??Jews were entrusted with the scriptures of God. Even supposing some of them have proved untrustworthy, is their faithlessness to cancel the faithfulness of God? read more.
Never! Let God be true to his word, though every man be perfidious ??as it is written, That thou mayest be vindicated in thy pleadings, and triumph in thy trial. But if our iniquity thus serves to bring out the justice of God, what are we to infer? That it is unfair of God to inflict his anger on us? (I speak in a merely human way.) Never! In that case, how could he judge the world? You say, "If my perfidy serves to make the truthfulness of God redound to his glory, why am I to be judged as a sinner? Why should we not do evil that good may come out of it?" (which is the calumny attributed to me ??the very thing some people declare I say). Such arguments are rightly condemned. Well now, are we Jews in a better position? Not at all. I have already charged all, Jews as well as Greeks, with being under sin ??10 as it is written, None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have swerved, one and all have gone wrong, no one does good, not a single one. Their throat is an open grave, they are treacherous with their tongues, the venom of an asp lies under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift for bloodshed, their ways bring destruction and calamity, they know nothing of the way of peace; there is no reverence for God before their eyes. Whatever the Law says, we know, it says to those who are inside the Law, that every mouth may be shut and all the world made answerable to God; for no person will be acquitted in his sight on the score of obedience to law. What the Law imparts is the consciousness of sin. But now we have a righteousness of God disclosed apart from law altogether; it is attested by the Law and the prophets, but it is a righteousness of God which comes by believing in Jesus Christ. And it is meant for all who have faith. No distinctions are drawn. All have sinned, all come short of the glory of God,
Never! Let God be true to his word, though every man be perfidious ??as it is written, That thou mayest be vindicated in thy pleadings, and triumph in thy trial. But if our iniquity thus serves to bring out the justice of God, what are we to infer? That it is unfair of God to inflict his anger on us? (I speak in a merely human way.) Never! In that case, how could he judge the world? You say, "If my perfidy serves to make the truthfulness of God redound to his glory, why am I to be judged as a sinner? Why should we not do evil that good may come out of it?" (which is the calumny attributed to me ??the very thing some people declare I say). Such arguments are rightly condemned. Well now, are we Jews in a better position? Not at all. I have already charged all, Jews as well as Greeks, with being under sin ??10 as it is written, None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have swerved, one and all have gone wrong, no one does good, not a single one. Their throat is an open grave, they are treacherous with their tongues, the venom of an asp lies under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift for bloodshed, their ways bring destruction and calamity, they know nothing of the way of peace; there is no reverence for God before their eyes. Whatever the Law says, we know, it says to those who are inside the Law, that every mouth may be shut and all the world made answerable to God; for no person will be acquitted in his sight on the score of obedience to law. What the Law imparts is the consciousness of sin. But now we have a righteousness of God disclosed apart from law altogether; it is attested by the Law and the prophets, but it is a righteousness of God which comes by believing in Jesus Christ. And it is meant for all who have faith. No distinctions are drawn. All have sinned, all come short of the glory of God,
But if so, what can we say about Abraham, our forefather by natural descent? This, that if 'Abraham was justified on the score of what he did,' he has something to be proud of. But not to be proud of before God. For what does scripture say? Abraham believed God and this was counted to him as righteousness. read more.
Now a worker has his wage counted to him as a due, not as a favour; but a man who instead of 'working' believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, has his faith counted as righteousness. Just as David himself describes the bliss of the man who has righteousness counted to him by God apart from what he does ??7 Blessed are they whose breaches of the Law are forgiven, whose sins are covered! Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not count to him. Now is that description of bliss meant for the circumcised, or for the uncircumcised as well? Abraham's faith, I repeat, was counted to him as righteousness. In what way? When he was a circumcised man or an uncircumcised man? Not when he was circumcised, but when he was uncircumcised. He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them, as well as a father of those circumcised persons who not only share circumcision but walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had as an uncircumcised man. The promise made to Abraham and his offspring that he should inherit the world, did not reach him through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is adherents of the Law who are heirs, then faith is empty of all meaning and the promise is void. (What the Law produces is the Wrath, not the promise of God; where there is no law, there is no transgression either.) That is why all turns upon faith; it is to make the promise a matter of favour, to make it secure for all the offspring, not simply for those who are adherents of the Law but also for those who share the faith of Abraham ??of Abraham who is the father of us all
Now a worker has his wage counted to him as a due, not as a favour; but a man who instead of 'working' believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, has his faith counted as righteousness. Just as David himself describes the bliss of the man who has righteousness counted to him by God apart from what he does ??7 Blessed are they whose breaches of the Law are forgiven, whose sins are covered! Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not count to him. Now is that description of bliss meant for the circumcised, or for the uncircumcised as well? Abraham's faith, I repeat, was counted to him as righteousness. In what way? When he was a circumcised man or an uncircumcised man? Not when he was circumcised, but when he was uncircumcised. He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them, as well as a father of those circumcised persons who not only share circumcision but walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had as an uncircumcised man. The promise made to Abraham and his offspring that he should inherit the world, did not reach him through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is adherents of the Law who are heirs, then faith is empty of all meaning and the promise is void. (What the Law produces is the Wrath, not the promise of God; where there is no law, there is no transgression either.) That is why all turns upon faith; it is to make the promise a matter of favour, to make it secure for all the offspring, not simply for those who are adherents of the Law but also for those who share the faith of Abraham ??of Abraham who is the father of us all
And these words counted to him have not been written for him alone but for our sakes as well; faith will be counted to us as we believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Jesus who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised that we might be justified.