Romans Chapter 3 "The Power and Righteousness of God Revealed." This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org It is written and well documented in the Old Testament that Christ the Messiah would come and pay the sacrificial price so that by faith, upon repentance each soul would be forgiven of our sins. This doesn't show us that the law is bad, but it makes it clear to all of us that sin is bad. Even though every one of our sins are bad, God still loves each of us. This is what this third chapter is all about. Romans 3:1 "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?" Paul is asking; "Is there any good that comes from circumcision?" Romans 3:2 "Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." The "circumcision" is the "House of Israel", and it is still the duty of the Christian nations to protect God's Word, which is the oracles that God spoke, that was written down by the prophets of old. It is the responsibility of God's people, the Christians to see that these oracles are not deluded to the point of being a lie. You can tell the true man of God by the way he handles the oracles of God, which we call our Bible. Does he rightly divide the Word of God, or does he fragment the verses to be used in a fashion against what the Word of God intended it to be taught. The collar doesn't make a person a man of God, but it is what is in his mind and coming out of his mouth that sets him or her apart as being of God. Defending "the oracles of God" then is the first and foremost duty of the circumcision; and today the "circumcision" are called "Christians". Remember that when Christ went to the cross and died, the circumcision became of the heart, and not of the flesh. Circumcision is "the cutting away of all sin through the shed blood of Christ on the cross". It applies to men and women alike. Romans 3:3 "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" It doesn't matter what man does or says about his beliefs. Nothing changes God's Word, it is absolute. God is faithful to His Word whether you have faith in Him or not. Nothing you do can change the intent, the promises, and the love of God. God is just, and His Word spells out exactly how thing are between God and man, and God has given man the free will to make a decision as to what way he wants to go. From a man's [woman's] point of decision, each person sets his own direction of his faith in God, or by his rejection of God's oracles. Romans 3:4 "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, "That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged." God is always true to His Word and His promises, and when man goes against God's truths, he becomes a sinner [liar]. Paul quotes here Psalms 51:4; "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Thy sight: That Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, And be clear when Thou judgest." Do you realize that you are going to be judged by your sayings, by every word that you speak, and Paul is warning each of us that we might stop and think before we start to let those words flow from your mouth. Another verse that goes along with this is Psalms 62:9; "Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity." You can always count on God and His Word, however when the men of "high degree" speak words are twisted to their liking, and men of low esteem simply can not count on them for speaking the truth. Then when those Christians are banded together, their efforts are going against God's Word. The focus of their attention becomes the boasting of their own vanity. God looks directly into a man's heart, and what comes out of his lips, and that is what God judges on. You can count one one thing in life; God is always fair in His judgment. Many times you are judged by your own self and actions from your own mouth, for that is what God sees and hears. Thank God for repentance. Romans 3:5 "But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous Who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)." This is referring to the unrighteousness of whom ever is unrighteous. This is saying that if our unrighteousness, or falling short sets forth the righteousness of our Heavenly Father, then what can we say? Is God unrighteous to take vengeance on the unrighteous man? Of course not. You correct your children when they need correction, and you do it for their sake. Your duty as the parent knows that the child can be harmed if your child continues in that harmful way. Your only concern then to see that your child is safe, and that correction is made at the proper time so that the child can learn from his errors. When punishment is necessary, then it is given and it is given because you love your child, and not out of vengeance. Paul is making us think of this matter as a man towards his child, and not as some force far off in space. Our heavenly Father has emotions, and He loves His children, all of them, and this is why He does what He does. When He corrects He does it with love in accordance with His righteousness. God is always fair in His actions. Romans 3:6 "God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?" How could He judge? Romans 3:7 "For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie [sin] unto His glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?" If we were to consider God's actions unrighteous then He could not judge us in any way: However God is always fair in His judgments. God's fairness is something that you can count on, God will always keep His promises and remain constant to His Word at all times. He will punish when sin is committed and forgive upon repentance, when it is in "the name of Jesus". You may misunderstand what God is doing, at the time, but you can rest assured that God's actions are always just. When you come to the point of thinking that God is down on you, and you start feeling sorry for yourself, you have taken your mind off the reason why God would allow this to happen. Your mind should center on; what can I do to cause our Heavenly Father to change these circumstances. When those hard times come, that is the time to set your mind on rising up out of those difficulties. You start by repenting to the Father of all your sin, and trying to see where you went wrong. The remedy of your problem is in God's Word, and that is where you start your search. Things are never as bad as you think they are, for God is always fair. Romans 3:8 "And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) "Let us do evil, that good may come?" whose damnation is just." There were many in Paul's day that were running around saying that, "Paul says that he can be evil so that God can correct him, in showing that God can do good." The other part of that false statement that was being said, was that "When you sin, you give God the opportunity to show His grace." Paul is saying that some people accuse us of that, but that is just not so. "Whose damnation is just", means that God is "just" in bringing damnation on any person when they do evil. Romans 3:9 "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jew and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;" Are we Israelites better then the Gentile? Paul's answer is "No!" Paul had taught that all, Jews [Israelites of all the tribes] and Gentiles alike are all sinners, and under the penalty of sin. There is no one that is perfect. If you ever run across one of these people that say, "I'm saved by the grace of God, and I never sin." Look out for them. They may be saved by the grace of God, however there is no one in the flesh body that doesn't fall short of God's Word, in one form or another, that is why we must name those sins daily that we can remember, for when they are named to the Father, "in Jesus name" then they are taken from us. You may be breaking the health laws, or the food laws, or have taken part in a whisper [gossip], or even thought you got away with something that in your mind you knew wasn't just right, then in time your conscience convicted you of that sin. Are you starting to get the point? You could be breaking many laws that you just don't know about. Paul is pointing out to us that whether you are a Israelite or Gentile, all men [women] in the flesh break the law and sin, and that when we do sin and repent, God's grace forgives us of those sins. It is not a matter of God proving anything; for God is just and keeps His Word. It becomes a matter of man's own weakness in the flesh, and God's love and mercy in forgiving flesh man when he does fall. So the question comes up, "Is the law good?" Romans 3:10 "As it is written, "There is none righteous, no, not one:" It is written in the Old Testament, and Paul is quoting from Psalm 14:1-3; Psalms 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God". They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." Psalms 14:2 "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, And seek God." Psalms 14:3 "They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no not one." Then to sum it all up, our righteousness is as filthy rags, in comparison to our heavenly Father's righteousness. Romans 3:11 "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." There is no one that can say that he understands everything that God does. In our flesh body, our minds can only see and understand just a speck of the overall wisdom of God. There was a story of three blind men taken to a zoo and each one was allowed to touch a different part of the elephant. One the leg, one the tail, and the other the trunk, and from their touching of that one part they were to tell what they thought the elephant was like. Each one of us is given an opportunity to see only a very small part of God's overall wisdom, and from that those things revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, we try to piece together an understand of the picture of God's wisdom, only our minds simply cannot put it all together. Romans 3:12 "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Most of our striving to understand the mind of God and His control over us, is led by the Kenites leading our minds in a certain way. In Matthew 19:16 we read; "And, Behold, one came and said unto Him, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Then Jesus answered him. Matthew 19:17; "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Jesus pointed out to the man that there is no one that is good, only God. So to address Him as "Good Master", was to address Jesus personally as God. There is no one that can understand enough of the plan and Word of God that we can live in this flesh body without committing sin. We try and God counts that as good, but we should be more thankful to our Heavenly Father that in His love for us, He has sent His only begotten Son, and that through His Son's [Jesus'] sacrifice we have become acceptable to our Heavenly Father. Romans 3:13 "There throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:" Paul knew these Kenite religious leaders well, for he was educated under them, and did the bidding of their evil acts for many years. Paul knew their words well and exactly what their intentions were, and this is why Paul states this of the Kenites. Their mouths and the words coming from their throat were like a stinking dead body [open sepulchre]; for remember that Paul is talking about the Kenites here. John talks about these same Kenites in John 8:44; John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He [ [Cain] was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." The Kenites are the offspring of Cain, who was the first murderer. Cain was the very son of the devil, Satan, from the seduction of Eve in the Garden of Eden. The word "Kenites" from the Old Testament, in the Hebrew tongue are described in Strong's Hebrew dictionary, # 7014. "Qayin, Kah'-yin, Kajin, the name of the first child, also of a place in Pal. and of an Oriental tribe:-Cain, Kenite (s)." The other reference is in # 7017, "Qiyniy, (I Chronicles 2:55), from 7014, a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin:-Kenite." So we see the Kenites are not of lineage of Israel, never have been, but what about verse I Chronicles 2:55? I Chronicles 2:22 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem]; the Tarathites, the Shimaethites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab." The scribes are the records keepers, and those in charge of records keeping and the keeping of the scriptures. Here we see that the duties of the Levitical scribes, which were assigned to the tribe of Levite and the offspring of Aaron had been taken over by this oriental tribe called the "Kenites", that were offspring of the first murderer and the devil himself. These people are listed in the Scriptures which they then controlled with the house of Judah. This complete takeover was finished by the time Judah was coming out of Babylonian captivity, and returning to reestablish the temple worship. This gives then us a better understanding why Jesus did not get along with the Kenite religious leaders of the scribes and priests. Paul is calling those religious leaders liars, and because they twisted the truth of God's Word and made God's Word twisted to conform to their own traditions. This also tells us why they plotted to murder Jesus from the start, for "they are of their father, who was a murderer from the start." They spoke with the "poison of asps is under their lips", for they had the mind of their father Cain, and the heart of their father the "serpent" in the Garden of Eden. Romans 3:14 "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:" Romans 3:15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood:" When the Kenite can see where he can make a good deal, and take advantage of another, they are swift to make a deal. Their words are lies, and they are quick to shed blood. They are the ones that cried out, "crucify Him", when Pilate was going to let Jesus go. We are talking about the Kenites here, Those that took over the duties of the Levites coming out of Babylon about 450 years before Jesus Christ was born. Romans 3:16 "Destruction and misery are in their ways:" This is their nature, they bring destruction and misery, and when they leave, they leave destruction behind them. They start the confusion, and then they leave before the finger pointing begins, and the others dumb enough to follow them get the blame for the Kenites evil. Romans 3:17 "And the way of peace have they not known: Christ is the way of peace. Christ came into the world to bring peace, and Jesus said in John 14:27; "Pease I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." To know the way of peace is to know the ways of Jesus Christ. When Jesus came into the world, the Kenites [sons of Cain] plotted the murder Him, and this is the same as it is today, for the nature of the Kenites has never changed down through the centuries of time. The Kenites do not know the ways of Christ, because they have the mind of the father Cain, and the character of their father the devil. No, my friend, they have never known the way of peace. Romans 3:18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes." The Kenites don't believe in God and their atheistic systems prove it. They don't accept any part of the Word of our Heavenly Father, but seek to twist and distort the truth as Satan their father does. This is their position, and they don't care what anyone else thinks about it. Look around you today, and see who is taking over our government, our schools, and even moving into high positions in the churches and their seminaries. It is time to start waking up so that you will not be deceived by their lies and distortions. The Kenite mind is one of deceit, and that is what the Great Tribulation is all about, deception. Romans 3:19 "Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." Now we are going back and including the house of Israel at this time, as well as everybody else [Gentiles]. Every person on the face of the earth stand guilty before God. This is why we thank God for His mercy. Romans 3:20 "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." This could be very depressing to you if you did not know the Word, for the Word of God promised the coming of the Son of God, Messiah, Jesus the Christ. It is very important that you know that the law is knowledge of sin. The law is not bad, it is the sin that is bad, and it is the law that lets you know in your mind when you are sinning. The law sets the parameters that we stay within, to save ourselves many problems. Romans 3:21 "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;" Is the Law good? Yes! Are the prophets good? Yes! Why? Because they predicted the coming of Jesus Christ. The Book of Daniel even gave us the year that He would be born of the Virgin Mary. The prophets gave the location, as well as every detail of Jesus' life, and what He would say. Every detail of Christ's life is given by the prophets in the Old Testament. Have you read it? Paul is saying, How can you say the law and the prophets are bad, when the law and the prophets foretold all these things, and those prophecies came to pass. Romans 3:22 "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:" The righteousness of God is given by faith in Jesus Christ, and for all that receive His grace in repentance and faith, there is forgiveness. This offer is made to all people, including the Gentile, and even the Kenite when they accept Jesus Christ. When one believes in Christ they become part of the body of Christ, and within the body of Christ there is no difference. Notice that there is a condition God's righteousness that is offered to all men [women]. That condition is that it is "to them that believe". There is no difference in the qualification necessary to believe. It was important that the oracles [Word] of God was given to the children of Israel, and the purpose was that it be given to all of God's children. When you fall short on God's righteousness then you fall short on all parts of His Word. God's Word is for everyone. In Christ both Gentile and Israelite alike can have eternal life, and this gift comes in the faith and belief in Jesus Christ. What did this do to the Law, when Christ fulfilled the prophecies of His coming? Nothing, the law still remains as the yardstick of how we should live our lives, and it also shows us where we continue to fall short of His Word in the flesh body. It did not change the duties of either the Gentile or the Israelite, but it did give us salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Paul is saying that all men do not measure up to God's laws, and by this they have all sinned. Men simply cannot compare themselves to God, because of the imperfections in our nature and flesh bodies. Our flesh body will place demands over you spiritual body, and cause our minds to yield to the temptations of the flesh. When the flesh takes over on spiritual matters, it is time to tell your flesh urges to rest until the spiritual matters are tended to. Our old flesh nature fights against the new nature that God places within you, when you by faith repent and believe on Jesus Christ. Romans 3:24 "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" We all fall short, but our sins are justified, when we repent and place them on the cross of Christ. Then on a daily basis we mast also ask forgiveness for those things that we commit each day that are against God's Word. "Being Justified" means "to be made just, or innocent". Even though you were guilty, the Judge has declared you innocent, and that all charges be dropped, and removed from your record. That is what the Father has done, when you placed your sins on the cross of Christ, through repentance. "Grace" on the other hand is something that you received, that were paid by someone else. You received forgiveness and the inheritance of eternal life, at the expense of Jesus' blood that was shed on the cross. God the Father required the shedding of blood to be the price of the covering for sin. In the Old Testament that shedding of blood were done through the "blood sacrifices", and those blood sacrifices were a covering for that year only. When Christ went to the cross and shed His blood, that blood of Jesus Christ became the price paid for one and all times, for all that by faith believed on Him and repented in Jesus name. Why "in Jesus name"? That shows that you recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, and that you accept His blood sacrifice on the cross to be sufficient for your sins. "Jesus name" is our only credentials that God the Father will accept by anyone before His throne. You are showing that Jesus is your advocate at the throne of God in heaven. There are many false preachers that tell their people that once you are baptized, you sin no more. That just isn't so, for as long as you are in the flesh body you have the temptations, and you will sin. This is why each of us must ask God's forgiveness for sin daily. Many times people that have repented fall away from the Word and sin, then they think that something is wrong with them. They turn sour towards God's Word because their pastor told them they would not sin again. They think that their salvation just didn't take, and God has rejected them. "Redemption" is a "ransom that is paid in full". When the ransom was paid to redeem your soul, there is no other price to pay. It is complete, and nothing can be added to the shed blood of Jesus in the claiming of your soul. However, even though Jesus paid the price, if by choice you select not to be ransomed, your freedom that God gives each of us will allow you to stay a prisoner to your sins. It is like a prisoner of war being ransomed by the government, and they come to take the prisoner home. That prisoner then refuses the redemption rights that were paid on his behalf, and wants to stay behind with the enemy "by his own free will". Christ paid the price, and you can take it, or leave it. The ransom has been paid. God has given each of us free will to accept that redemption, or stay with the enemy. It become your choice. Romans 3:25 "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" "Propitiation" means "a new way". Notice that the "new way" of Salvation is through faith, or your receiving of the gift of Jesus Christ blood that was given for the ransom of your sinful soul. Notice that your repentance is for your "sins that are past". Friend this does not cover sins that you have not committed yet, but may in the future. When you commit those on a daily basis, then you ask forgiveness on a daily basis. Many teach that you don't have to worry about sinning again, for they are already forgiven. Mark that teacher well, for after we commit sin, we then ask forgiveness. If you want to find yourself guilty before the Father, then start asking for forgiveness for sins that you haven't done, for that means your sins are premeditated, and you are guilty right from the start. The "forbearance of God", is the patience and longsuffering that God has for each soul, as He waits for each of us to repent, and come to Him. Remember in II Peter 3:9; II Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Romans 3:26 "To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Your "justification" comes only when you place all of your sins at the foot of the cross. Then and only then will you name be cleared of all sin, from the only books that count, and those are the ones spoken of in Revelation 20:12; those books that were opened to judge the spiritually dead. Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." When you repented "in Jesus name", those sins were removed from those books, and only your name was placed in that book called the "book of life". The Father is the justifier that removed the charges of sin, because of the blood that was paid to redeem [ransom] your soul. Jesus Christ was the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world, and when you "believeth in Jesus", then your name is written in "the Lamb's book of life", and that is this "book of life" spoken of here. Once your name enters this book of Life, that becomes the time you are obligated to produce fruit for the Lord. You start by studying His Word, and getting to know what God expects of you. Then you plant the seeds of the truth of God's Word that others may come to know the Father's love also. Romans 3:27 "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of Works? Nay: but by the law of faith." When you come to Christ, then what have you to boast about? There is absolutely nothing that you have done for your salvation. The law only showed you that you fell short of His Word, and your works were nothing but filthy rags before the Lord. Friend, the only thing that you can boast of as a Christian is the Glory of God. Your faith in Jesus Christ is the only thing that you can completely rely upon, for it is what your entire life should be centered around. Romans 3:28 "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Therefore, when you sum up the entire chapter, man is justified only by the blood of Christ. The law can not justify him in any manner, because it shows him only where he has fallen. The law doesn't point to salvation because the law only points our your sins. In the twenty third verse Paul told us that "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God", and we know that because of the law. Our faith is started when we ask the Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ to forgive us of all our sins. Romans 3:29 "Is He the God of the Jews only? is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:" God is the Father and creator of every living soul, and that includes you. There are no dead souls yet, for when the flesh body dies, the soul returns to the father that gave it. All souls that were created in that first earth age are still living today, all of them. Ecclesiastes 12:7; "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it." The "dust" is the flesh body that is made of the dust, or elements of the earth. And the "spirit" is the intellect of that soul. Where the soul goes, the spirit goes also, for the spirit does the thinking of the soul. So when the flesh body dies and turns back to the elements of the earth, the soul and it's intellect, or spirit go back to the Father who placed that soul in that embryo of his [her] mother's womb at conception. Romans 3:30 "Seeing it is one God, Which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith." We have one God, and it is only He that does the justifying of both the circumcision by faith [the Israelite]; and the uncircumcision through faith, which is also the faith of the Gentile. That faith in both cases is the repentance of the individual, and accepting the blood of Christ on the cross as their payment for their sin. The word "Christ" means fully translated, "The anointed one of God as Savior". God the Father treats both the circumcision [Israelite] and uncircumcision [Gentile] the same way as far as faith is concerned. The duties that are set forth for each, the Gentile and the Israelite, do not change. Remember that the subject is "Salvation". Romans 3:31 "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Do we need the law any longer? We establish the law as far as the parameter, and areas of our lives that we live in. The law then is the fence that we build around each of us. It becomes the dos and don'ts that we set up to follow, and it is our conscience that become the watchman to keep us within the bounds of that fence. The law deals with our common sense that lets us know when we are overstepping the bounds that we create for ourselves, only you personally set those bounds for your life, based on the Word of God. God's Word sets the standards that we build our fences around, so it will not our own selfish nature that is used for these standards. The deeper we get into the Word, the more the size and shape of that fence around our lives will change. Then in our spiritual maturity, sin becomes our personal violation of the laws, common sense, and our own conscience. The problem that we face today is that the standards of the Bible have been removed from schools, and many homes have become fragmented. From this state of confusion we are developing a generation of children with no direction and no fences to limit their desires and actions. We are getting a generation of people out of control. We definitely need the law and order in our lives, but our faith in Jesus Christ is the most important thing and it starts with repentance. The law is our school master that will keep us out of trouble, and that is why it is essential that we have this fence built around us, called the law, for it helps direct our common sense. Those that say that Jesus Christ came to destroyed the law, simply do not know what they are saying. Even the thought of it is insanity. The ten commandments are the law, and it says, "Thou shalt do no murder". What they are saying then is that since Jesus Christ came it is alright to do murder, and that is not so. But that is exactly what some so-called teachers of God's Word would have us believe. Jesus stated in Matthew 5:17; "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill." The part of the law that was fulfilled were those blood rituals listed that were part of the blood sacrifices of the Old Testament. Upon Christ death on the cross all those blood ritual ordinances were done away with. That is all that was fulfilled by Christ death on the Cross. The rest of the law has become the laws that govern our land, and that our constitution was constructed from. Those laws give us the fences of our "bill of right" that we enjoy under the laws of our land. While the health laws give us instruction for living a healthy life for all those that hold to them, and do not violate their guide lines.
Home .~ Plough .~ Seeds .~ Vine .~ Potter .~ Seasons .~ Sonshine .~ Rain .~ Field |