True Religion Part 4 (of 5). It starts with humility

 The Book of James: Signs of True Religion

 

LESSON THREE: True Religion begins with humility (Chapter 4)

INTRODUCTION 

At the Sydney rabbinical conference some years ago, one rabbi from Brooklyn said, "I have been praying and fasting, meditating and studying religion for 20 years. I have finally reached the level of humility. I am truly a nothing." 



He met Rabbi Goldstein from Jerusalem who nodded gravely. "I too have spent my life devoted to serving Hashem. Because of my great learning, I too am a nothing."



At that moment a janitor passed, holding his mop. Overhearing the conversation, and feeling quite spiritual, he interrupted. "You know what, i am also a nothing."

The rabbis looked away in disgust. "Who does he think he is, to be a nothing?"

       Yes, humility is a fascinating concept, an ever-elusive character trait, for which many of us are longing. And it’s one which rivets Ya’akov in today’s reading to his half-brother, the living Messiah, the Lord Yeshua. And to his words. It’s that idea of humility which underscores today’s reading.

1.     Three wars (The world, the flesh, the devil)

Verse one introduces us…. again to the subject of getting along with each other. We are moving into the philosophy of Ya’akov. He ponders why people are at war with each other. 

Even though “Hine ma tov…” means we should be in unity, we often are far from that. Whether in lockdown Covid time and ‘discussions’ or in great synagogue lawsuits or church fights over property and prestige, we often do not display the very character of the Almighty. Ya’akov saw it in his day between Galatians (5.15) or Corinthians (1 Cor. 6.1-8) as well. He has already mentioned class warfare between rich and poor. Next week he will zoom in on the problems of labourers and their bosses, but today he highlights the antagonism between people, speaking badly of each other. This is a flashback to last week’s sermon on the tongue. 

What is the cause of that interpersonal conflict or even national conflicts? Mention Afghanistan today and although most would not be able to find it on the map, we all know a little something of the problems there. 20 years ago on September 11, less than 30 people created a war that lasted until this week. They flew airplanes they highjacked into buildings and a field in Pennsylvania and the reaction of the US and her allies caused trillions of dollars of expense and thousands of deaths to add to the nearly 3,000 who died that tragic morning in New York City. 

What caused that? Ya’akov avers it is pleasures. The Greek work is ‘hedone’ from where we get hedonism, but by, the way, we also get the Garden of Pleasure in the beginning of the Bible, the Garden of Eden. God DOES want us to live a pleasant life, but when those pleasures are at the expense of others, and we demand to get, at whatever cost, that’s where wars come from. 

God has already told us that pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is to visit the widows and orphans in their distress and keep oneself unstained by the world. Here we see the world staining and infecting the members of the community of faith. How? By their lusts. Their needs to gain at whatever cost. 

The writer of Proverbs already told us that ‘ill-gotten gains do not profit’ (10.2) but we want it anyway. We long to have the life of the rich and the famous. We long to bat like Sir Donald or the Babe. We long to throw a pass like Patrick Mahomes and win as many Super Bowls as Tom Brady. We want the wealth of ‘that guy’ and the ease of the life of Bill Gates. But dear friends, we don’t have their life. We have our life. And that life is one we can have with God and with his people right where you live. 

The 10^th commandment is the flip side of the 1sst commandment. The first is God is. And don’t want anything else. The 10^th is ‘don’t covet’. IF you are content with your lot, with your life in God, with where he has placed you, then coveting is sin. I don’t want the life of Clive Palmer. I don’t want to be Justin Timberlake or Nelson Mandela. I want to be me, and I want to know God in my own person and pray and live in him today. 

Lusting to have the approval of others is deadly. 

Lusting to have the riches of the wealthy is deadly. 

Lust, as we have seen, leads to sin and that leads to death. 

Ya’akov calls the battle with ‘the world.’ Greek ‘kosmos’ that is, the world system. The world’s values. 

Even when we pray we don’t get what we ask because we are asking ‘amiss.’ We want to spend it on our own benefits. 

Michael Jensen wrote this week in his daily meditation about Matthew 7, and the summary of Yeshua in his admonition to ‘ask, seek and knock.’ He wrote this in part, “

“What are we asking, seeking, knocking? I don’t think Jesus here means ‘any random thing you like’. Asking here is not about Lamborghinis or diamond necklaces. That is not the promise being made here. The desire of the disciple is for the kingdom of heaven and God’s righteousness. His or her longing is to be at home with God, to dwell with him and to be at his table. So: here is what the disciple asks for, what she seeks, the door upon which he knocks. He or she is seeking admission to the fellowship of God’s people.”

Look at verse 4. He uses the term adulteress. You can’t miss that one. We are supposed to be the Bride of Messiah and not giving ourselves to another. We are to be faithful in our desires to him. When we look to the world and its values, we lose. We find wrong and thus do not get our requests answered. 

Weirsbe wrote this about the battle with ‘the world.’

“A Christian gets involved with the world gradually. First there is ‘friendship of the world “(4.4). This results in being spotted by the world (1.27) so that areas of our lives meet with the approval of the world. Friendship leads to loving the world (1 John 2.15-17) and this makes it easy to conform to the world (Roma. 12.2). The sad result is being condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11.32) and our souls saved ‘yet as by fire.” (! Cor 3.11-15)” (page 130)

WE also have to battle “the flesh.” That’s probably more in view in the opening of this chapter. 

Finally, we have to fight ‘the devil.’ We see that in verse 7. 

Those three forces, the world, the flesh and the devil all have an awareness of our weaknesses and our needs, our failures in the past and our lusts in these days. God will give you some measures to battle those and I’m so glad he sees to us.

2.     The answer to our lusts: Humility

Verse 7 introduces the answers to that whole battle. Submit to God. In summary that’s the real and the best. We acknowledge that there is a problem. We acknowledge that God is able to fix it. And then we submit, we surrender, we bow to his plans and his ideas. To his person and to his power to fix it. It’s not that we bow to a procedure. We don’t acquiesce to the Torah and Talmud and to the mechanics of religion. We submit. End of story. God is. We are not God. Let Him be who he is in you. 

The word ‘submit’ is actually an old military term that means ‘get into your proper rank.’ That ought to be clear. Let the General be the one. You be the private or sergeant and submit.

Then resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Don’t give him no place and don’t give him great place. Resist means to declare him having no right to your person or to your situation. Stand against him. It’s also military, isn’t it?

Verse 8, ‘draw near to God.’ Karov in Hebrew. Korban is the offering. Draw near with an offering. Don’t resist God; draw near, he is the welcoming God of our ancestors. It’s most natural when you are in war, or rather, have finished a battle, that you are battle-weary, fatigued. And you cannot spend any further energy. You have fought the world, the flesh and the devil, and now God says, ‘draw near.’

Why don’t we? We think God wants us to perform, to make up for all the wrongs we have committed. We are called into a relationship with God, not into performance. Draw near. Like walking into the ‘drawing room’ with God. The ‘lounge.’ What sounds like work there? NOTHING. It’s a place of relationship.

I know in the OT that God would promise to be with us if we did that, but in the NT, God promises to be with us at all times. Yeshua said, “Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the earth.”

My friends, draw near to God. He loves you. He wants to be with you. Relationships are like that. We want to be with each other. 

Verse 8 continues with ‘cleanse your hands you sinners.’ Sounds like COVID safe information. 

Verse 9: “Be miserable and mourn.” What? I just told you that you should rejoice. You should have a relationship with the Lord. That this will be a time of gladness with the devil having no place with us. How is this mourn possible?

“Let your laughter be turned into mourning.” He’s talking about those who are infected by the lusts of their demands. If you live like that, you will end up in tears. Here’s the solution. 

Verse 10. “Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord, and he will exalt you.”  Here’s the bad thing. You can get what you want. But no matter what you desire, no matter how much or how many you get, you will long for more. The Proverbs says, “riches makes itself wings.” (Prov. 23.5) If that’s you, weep. If that’s you, mourn. 

Humility is not a philosophy. It’s an action. Humility is drawing near to God and submitting to him. Surrender and white flag. “God, you are the only one who can solve my life. You can put my life into order, into the order it needs to have.” That’s how this works. 

What’s the source of our conflicts and wars? It’s US! It’s the lusts within us. 

How do you win? Humble yourselves ‘in the presence of the Lord.” Not ‘so that you can get to God and be in God’s presence.’ No, rather BECAUSE you are ALREADY in God’s presence. God has come to you. 

Don’t walk in with pride, saying ‘I am somebody.’ Rather, you declare to God, “You are Somebody! I long to be your man.” 

Verse 11ff. “Don’t judge your neighbour or else you are judging the Law.” Here’s what he’s saying in context. First, we lust after our neighbour and we conquer our neighbour.  We judge them as being deficient and ‘less than’ us. It will come back to bite us.

No, if you want to be a doer of the Word and not a judge of it, then humble yourself and embrace your neighbour.  Here in this Zoom room, and in all aspects of community, we are not here to judge one another. We are not here to choose rich over the poor. That won’t work. Humble yourself in God’s presence. God is with us, not because we are doing everything right. But because we are turning towards him.

You don’t have to turn 180 degrees to find him. Just turn 1 degree and he will match your investment.  In this season of Teshuva, we are pondering sin and lawlessness. We are thinking about sin and repentance. Some are thinking, “Maybe I ought to get right with God.” Good for you. The best way to do this begins with knowing God is right there, with you. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to jump so many hurdles to approach him.  It’s not about your own performance. He said, “Lo, I’m with you!”

Knowing God is with me, and then I can humble myself before him, and then before my brothers and my sisters. 

We won’t be demanding, nor judging, when we know in whose presence we are.

Verse 13 shows us the final section today, about God’s will and making plans. The merchants (the rich) would make plans and yet, there is no guarantee. Look how many people in these days have started businesses and then COVID hit and they went belly up. Ya’akov is reminding them that ‘tomorrow’ may never come. They didn’t have insurance companies and insurance policies in those days. If your supply of rice or timber is on a boat that shipwrecks, the product is gone, and your hope for profit is gone. 

Don’t boast about tomorrow (Prov 27.1). That’s pride. As if you are in control of life and the calendar.  My cousin in the US is going in tomorrow for an MRI because his doctor saw something on his kidney that wasn’t favourable the other morning. He’s not sure what it is. Once you start counting down your days, you don’t boast about tomorrow. You live in today. Not live for today, but live in today. 

Today, serve other people and keep yourself unstained by the world. 

Verse 17. The idea of Law, transmitted by the teacher (chapter 3 verse 1) to us, is that we might learn, so that we might practice. And if you know the right thing to do, be humble, draw near to God, submit to God, and then you don’t do that—that is defined as sin. 

Sin is either knowing the right thing to do and not doing it (breaking a positive commandment [the sin of omission]) or knowing the wrong thing not to do, and doing that (breaking a negative commandment [the sin of commission]). Sin is either of those. 

Avoid that, humble yourself before God, and he will give you everything you need. 

Next week we will talk more about the how to live in a blessed way in this world with one another. I’ll hope to see you then.  

INVITATION

Dear friends, if you’d like to have true religion, if you want to have that peace and right standing with God, and if you want to know Messiah personally like we do, then why not pray with us right now? If you’ve never given your life to Yeshua, he longs to be with you just now. Come and be cleansed from your sin.

Pray and ask God to show you how to have true religion. Ask him to forgive you your sins and to make you born again. 

Then let us know you have done this, won’t you? Write to us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) and tell us you have prayed for the first time. We want to send you some literature and welcome you to the family.  

And if you have any questions, use that same address, ok?

And join us next week as Bob continues the study of Yaakov, with True Religion: the blessed life.

Until then, Shabbat shalom.

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Our series’ outline (Today’s lesson in red)

1.     True Religion endures hardships and trials (Chapter 1:2-18)

a.   With joy and patience (Chapter 1:2-4)

b.   With godly wisdom (Chapter 1:5-8)

c.   From a proper perspective (Chapter 1:9-11)

d.   Given an understanding of temptation (Chapter 1:12-15)

e.   Knowing the father and his goodness (Chapter 1:16-18)

 

2.            True Religion consists of doing, not only hearing  (Chapter 1:19-2:26)

a.        First you must hear (Chapter 1:19-20)

b.        After hearing, doing is required (Chapter 1:21-27)

c.        In doing, show no favouritism (Chapter 2:1-13)

d.        Doing demonstrates our faith (Chapter 2:14-26)

 

3.            True Religion displays wisdom, not only information (Chapter 3:1-18)

a.        The problem of the tongue (Chapter 3:1-12)

b.        Contrast between heavenly and earthly wisdom (Chapter 3:13-18)

 

4.            True Religion begins with humility (Chapter 4:1-17)

a.        Friend or foe? (Chapter 4:1-6)

                                                                                       i.        Three wars (With others, with ourselves, with God)

b.        Drawing close to God (Chapter 4:7-17)

                                                                                       i.        Three enemies (world, flesh, devil)

                                                                                      ii.        Three admonitions (Submit to God, draw near, humble yourself)

 

5.            True Religion is blessed (Chapter 5:1-20)

a.        Not blessed, the rich oppression (Chapter 5:1-6)

                                                                                       i.        Be prayerful in economic troubles

b.        The blessing of patience (Chapter 5:7-12)

                                                                                       i.        Be prayerful in physical troubles

c.        The blessing of prayer (Chapter 5:13-18)

                                                                                       i.        Be prayerful in national troubles

d.        Blessing those who fail (Chapter 5:19-20)

Be prayerful in church troubles

 

Bibliography

Dickson, John (and Simon Smart), Vital Signs, Aquila Press, Sydney, 2006.

Martin, Ralph P., James, Word Biblical Commentary Series, Nelson Publishing, Nashville, 2006.

Ryken, L., Wilhoit J., Longman T., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, 1998.

Wiersbe, Warren, Be Mature, SP Publications, Wheaton, IL, 1978.

 

Actual text

James 4:1   ¹What is the source of quarrels and ^conflicts among you? ²Is not the source your pleasures that wage ^war in your members? ² You lust and do not have; so you ^commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and ^ado not receive, because you ask ¹with wrong motives, so that you may spend it ²on your pleasures. ⁴ You ^adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with ^the world is ^hostility toward God? ^therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture ^speaks to no purpose: “¹He ²jealously desires ^the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But ^he gives a greater grace. Therefore, it says, “^god IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” ^7 submit therefore to God. ^resist the devil and he will flee from you. ^8 draw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^cleanse your hands, you sinners; and ^purify your hearts, you ^double-minded. ⁹ Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. ^10 humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

 

James 4:11   ^Do not speak against one another, ^brethren. He who speaks against a brother or ^judges his brother, speaks against ^the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbour?

 

James 4:13   Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” ^14 1Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. ^15 1Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” ¹⁶ But as it is, you boast in your ¹arrogance; all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ Therefore, to one who knows the ¹right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

You are in a sinking ship... but there's hope. Romans Lesson Four: Chapter 3b

[To watch this on YouTube when it was first given on Facebook Live, and on Zoom, please visit https://youtu.be/KZD-D9XISy8 ]

The book’s general theme: How to be right with God.

Today’s topic: We are all in a sinking boat, but there is a patch to fix it!

Welcome to those of you who are new to our class in this the 4^th lesson, as we take up Paul’s comments recorded in chapter 3 of this seminal work The Book of Romans. So far, we have listened to the overture of the themes that the symphonic conductor introduced to us in chapter one including faith and the Sonship of Yeshua, our Saviour and the Gospel itself which is the power of God. We saw the apostolic priorities of Jewish people first, and also a comprehensive inclusion of Gentiles in the Kingdom of God. Then Rabbi Saul has painted a fairly comprehensive picture for all people that everyone is guilty of sin and thus worthy of God’s judgment. At least I thought it was exhaustive, but like the late-night infomercial says, “Wait, there’s more!” That’s where we pick up today’s lesson, from chapter 3, verse 9 to the end of the chapter. [For those online, the whole text is at the end of this blog]

Paul asks questions throughout this letter, and verse 9 gives us the next one. Are we better than they? Paul almost shouts his answer, NOT AT ALL! This notion that forgiven people are better than those who don’t believe is a Shanda. (Yiddish for ‘shame’) The point of the apostle’s argument so far is that we are all in the same boat and no one is the captain, no one is above and no one is below anyone else. Paul’s answer to his own query is “We have previously charged both Jews and Greeks”. Those two categories are all with which he is dealing at this point. Yes, of course, there are other categories, but in religion, these are the two at this point. 

He then quotes 8 biblical passages back to back to back. (Psalm 14.1-2, Ecclesiastes 7.20, Psalm 5.9, 140.3, Psalm 10.7, Prov. 1.16, Isa. 59.7-8, and finally Psalm 36.1.) The links are clear between each of these passages. Everyone sins. Sin results in penalty. Sin is not good. Sin brings death and the curse. And it malaffects the sinner so that he is left with nothing but misery. 

Listen to these considerations, 

1)    No understanding

2)    They are together unprofitable

3)    Their throat is an open tomb

4)    Mouth is full of cursing and bitterness

5)    Destruction and misery are in their ways

6)    They don’t know peace

Let’s just say, that sin is not the kind of thing you want to keep doing, at all, according to Paul. And in verse 9 we see the word ‘sin’ for the first time in this epistle. It won’t be the last time! And what is the litany of citations intended to correct? Those Jewish people who were claiming special status. Paul writes with clarity that there is not a single Jewish person alive who has not sinned and who will not continue to sin. It’s the “Bad News” with which Paul introduces his theses.

Given that all of us are hopeless, then what are our options? How can we, if we want to do so, get right with the Almighty? There are really only two. One, to fix it ourselves, by religious activity and religious dignity and propriety. We will earn our way into God’s favor. That’s called “Justification by works.” The other is what Paul has already told us in chapter one, and that’s “justification by faith.” We will see those contrasted again and again, both in Romans, and in our own lives.

THE LAW

There are many Gentiles in the community of faith who are captivated by and long to be part of something Jewish. I’m not sure that I am altogether unhappy with that. In fact, it gives me kind of a warm, glowing feeling inside. People affirm our religion. That’s a comfort, isn’t it? Thus, when Paul says in verse 19 “whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law’ then he seems to be excluding those Gentiles who fancy our religion. In fact, he’s making that point very clear. The law, a word Paul uses 70 times in this epistle, and with different meanings at times (which can be very confusing), is not for Gentiles. Never was. Never will be. We’ll get to that subject down the track in this letter again.

Every month I hear about another group or gathering of people using the title ‘messianic.’ On further investigation, I find out it’s often a group of Gentiles who want to please a God who demands obedience and is almost an agro-deity, never pleased, always angry. He judges those who fail. He keeps score. He’s the god imagined by the prodigal son while the boy was living in the pigpen. He’s the exact opposite of the God Paul came to know. And what and who I want you to know. In chapter 8 we will see this come to the front and I will give you a bit of a tease for it: NOTHING can separate you from the love of God in Yeshua. Nothing!

OK, back to verses 19-20. Listen to the purpose of the Torah in 19. It’s as if Paul is addressing those people exactly. “Whatever Torah says, … it’s “that every mouth is closed, and all the world is accountable to God.” It’s not about obedience and thus boasting. Verse 27 says, “where is boasting?” The point Paul is making is that Torah’s place is not to be accomplished but to close our mouths from boasting and to boast in the Lord!  Why? Verse 20: we understood our own disobedience through the schoolmaster of Torah. We understand sin, he says, by reading Torah. We all fall short, he insists in verse 23, that’s Jews and Gentiles alike. 

The Law is therefore GREAT in its usefulness to instruct us, to help us be humble, to school us, even these days. 

But wait a minute, if Torah informs us of our failures, where is there real and genuine hope? Remember, we titled this section, “First, the Bad News.” So, come on already, where is the Good news? How is a man to be made right (biblically the word is ‘righteous’) with God? 

Verses 21-22 tells us! The Torah and Nevi’im both announce and witness the righteousness of God apart from Torah. Gentiles don’t have to work harder to catch up with us Jewish people. Being right with God is a matter of righteousness and faith. 

My friend Ernie Gruen died some years ago and he would characterize some people whom I’m guessing are listening to this talk just now as Billy Goat believers. What’s a billy goat known for? Butting heads. He would announce something like Paul is saying here, that right standing with God comes to all people on the basis of their faith, and Ernie would hear someone say, “But…” and try to change the conversation. But, but, but… that’s billy goat believers, he would say. There are no ‘but’s’ in the answer to how is someone born again and how is someone made right with God. By faith in the righteousness of God.

Remember what Yeshua said of the Spirit of God who would come after Yeshua himself departed? 

 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; ⁹concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; (John 16.8-10)

Sin is unbelief, Yeshua said. Righteousness is summed up in Yeshua being received by the Father in heaven after the crucifixion because the door of “Approved” or “Right standing” is opened by the Risen One. 

Verse 23 is one of the most quoted verses from this letter. “All have sinned” implies what Paul has been teaching for the last two chapters, that Jews and non-Jews alike are the fallen short folks. Sinned (hamartia) means ‘missing the mark’ which is an archery term. We try; we shoot our arrows, and we just miss. Sins of omission and sins of commission are abundant. 

Honestly, self-evaluate just now. Yes, there are times when your fearless moral inventory will show you do a good thing, in fact, perhaps many good things. And you should feel that just now; you should rejoice that God is leading you to do good to and for others. And in your continued self-evaluation, you will unpack more and more of your own sinfulness. You will see that much of your good behavior springs from a desire to be known or to be adored or from a place of selfishness. That’s missing the mark. That’s failure. Paul wrote the Corinthians about this in his first letter. Chapter 13. 

“if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (13.3)

Doing good is excellent, as long as we are seriously loving and giving with no thought for ourselves or the good we will receive as a result. Sin is so insidious, even when we do well, we can fail, you know?

Sin in verse 23 both shows our wrongdoing and our wrong not-going. (Fall short or ‘lack’) What, you say? Sin both sends us to hell and prevents our going to heaven. It brings ruin and doesn’t help us get repaired. 

One word I want to highlight is in verse 24. It’s translated ‘redemption’ in our text. The Greek word is “apolutrosis’ meaning to deliver by paying the ransom. The word for ransom is ‘lutron’ and was the price, usually massive, to buy a slave off the trading block. 

Then did you see verse 25 and the use of the verb ‘pass over.’ That has to hearken our minds back to Moses and the Exodus. God spared the Hebrews because of the blood of lambs, and here in verses 25 and 26 the justifier is using blood to do this. Thanks be to God!

FAITH DISALLOWS BOASTING

Paul asks the question in verse 27. By the way, we will see a continual and steady stream of questions by the apostle throughout his letter. It helps put voice to objections by other billy goat believers, and then he will quickly answer those charges or allegations or objections. I like that about the apostle. 

What’s the question in verse 27? Where then is boasting? I watched the movie “Risen” again the other day. Hollywood made a great one there. Yeshua rises from the dead after being crucified under the auspices of a Roman tribune played by Joseph Fiennes. All the troubles of the possible responses of people to the story of the resurrection are played out. Very well, I might add. And at the end, when the apostles are going out in the power of God, their proclamations are wrapped in the love of God that Yeshua taught. There is no boasting in themselves. There is no betterness unfolding here; they are redeemed and Paul’s legal term (Justified) by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus. Real sinners who know the real bad news, when we meet the Risen One, rejoice. Why? Because of our accomplishments? Not even close… by the grace of God extended to us, since he is (verse 26) both Just (another word for righteous) and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

We are justified, that is acquitted of all wrongdoing. We are forgiven. And as in these days, once you are acquitted of a crime, there is no double jeopardy allowed. You cannot be brought to trial again. New evidence cannot be forthcoming. Why? All our sins were in view in the first trial! And the blood of Jesus is the propitiation (verse 25) or the application of mercy to us then and to the end of the age.

The final question of the chapter is about Torah itself. If faith is so special, does this nullify Torah? The apostle will answer that in the next chapter, but his one-shop answer in this one verse is “No way, Jose, faith actually establishes the Torah!” 

We will talk more about where Paul is going next week.

NEXT WEEK, this business of faith and credit and justification is personalized by looking at Torah itself, and our father Abraham specifically. Was Abraham a Jew or a Gentile when he was declared righteous? And how did he gain that declaration?

We have much more to get through in this letter, and I’m delighted to be able to read and help us understand it each Friday here from my lockdown in Sydney. 

[For those reading this online, please watch this 7-minute 47-second video which showcases with great graphics the first four chapters of this book.  https://youtu.be/ej_6dVdJSIU ] 

The actual text:

Rom. 3:9   What then? ^1aAre we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

¹⁰         as it is written, 

            “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

¹¹         THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, 

            THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

¹²         ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; 

            THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, 

            THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

¹³         “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, 

            WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” 

            “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;

¹⁴         “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;

¹⁵         “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,

¹⁶         DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,

¹⁷         AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”

¹⁸         “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Rom. 3:19   Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Rom. 3:21   But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who ¹has faith in Jesus.

Rom. 3:27   Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ^28 1For ^awe maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

Rom. 3:31   Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.