Comments on Chapter 3

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO ROMANS

There is an obvious difference between the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Romans and his other messages. Every reader, going directly after reading, for example, the Epistle to the Corinthians , will feel the difference both in spirit and in approach. To a very large extent this is explained by the fact that when Paul wrote to the Church of Rome he was addressing a church in the founding of which he had taken no part and with which he had absolutely no personal connection. This explains why in the book of Romans there is so little detail regarding specific issues that his other messages are full of. That's why Romans , at first glance, it seems more abstract. As Dibelius put it: “Of all the letters of the Apostle Paul, this letter is the least conditioned by the present moment.”

We can put it another way. Epistle to the Romans Of all the epistles of the Apostle Paul, it comes closest to a theological treatise. In almost all of his other epistles he deals with some pressing problem, difficult situation, current error, or impending danger looming over the church communities to which he wrote. In the Epistle to the Romans The apostle Paul came closest to a systematic presentation of his own theological views, regardless of the confluence of any pressing circumstances.

TESTAMENTARY AND PREVENTIVE

This is why two great scholars applied to the book of Romans two great definitions. Sandy called it testamentary. It seems as if Paul was writing his last theological testament, his last word about his faith, as if in the Epistle to the Romans he exuded a secret word about his faith and his conviction. Rome was the largest city in the world, the capital of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. The Apostle Paul had never been there and he did not know if he would ever be there. But when he wrote to the churches in such a city, it was appropriate to set forth the basis and essence of his faith. Preventative is something that protects against infection. The Apostle Paul saw too often the harm and trouble that false ideas, perverted concepts, and misleading concepts of Christian faith and belief can cause. Therefore, he wanted to send to the churches of the city, which was the center of the then world, a message that would erect for them such a temple of faith that if infection should ever come to them, they would have in the true word of Christian teaching a powerful and effective antidote. He felt that the best defense against the infection of false teachings was the preventative influence of truth.

THE REASON FOR WRITING THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Throughout his life, the Apostle Paul was haunted by the thought of Rome. It had always been his dream to preach the gospel there. While in Ephesus, he plots to pass through Achaia and Macedonia again. And then he bursts out with a sentence that definitely comes from the heart: “Having been there, I must see Rome.” (Acts 19:21). When he encountered great difficulties in Jerusalem and his situation was threatening and the end seemed near, one of those visions appeared to him that encouraged him. In this vision, God stood next to him and said: “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, so SHALL YOU BECOME WITNESS IN ROME.” (Acts 23:11). Already in the first chapter of this letter Paul's passionate desire to see Rome is heard. “For I greatly desire to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift for your strengthening.” (Rom. 1:11). “So as for me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome.” (Rom. 1:15). It is safe to say that the name "Rome" was written on the heart of the Apostle Paul.

Epistle to the Romans The Apostle Paul wrote in 58 in Corinth. He was just completing a plan very dear to his heart. The Church in Jerusalem, which was the mother of all church communities, became impoverished and Paul collected monetary alms in its favor from all the newly created church communities ( 1 Cor. 16.1 and further; 2 Cor. 9.1 Further). These monetary donations had two purposes: They gave young church communities the opportunity to demonstrate Christian charity in practice, and they represented the most effective way of showing all Christians the unity of the Christian Church, teaching them that they are not just members of isolated and independent religious brotherhoods, but members one great church, each part of which bears the burden of responsibility for all the others. When the Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans , he was just about to go to Jerusalem with this gift for the Jerusalem church community: “And now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints.” (Rom. 15:25).

PURPOSE OF WRITING A MESSAGE

Why did he write this message at such a moment?

(a) The Apostle Paul knew that going to Jerusalem was fraught with dangerous consequences. He knew that going to Jerusalem meant risking his life and freedom. He really wanted the members of the Roman Church to pray for him before he went on his journey. “Meanwhile, I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive with me in prayers for me to God. So that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, so that my ministry for Jerusalem may be favorable to the saints.” (Rom. 15:30.31). He sought the prayers of believers before embarking on this dangerous undertaking.

(b) Big plans were brewing in Pavel’s head. They said about him that he was “always haunted by thoughts of distant lands.” He had never seen a ship at anchor, but he was always eager to go aboard to bring the good news to the people overseas. He had never seen a mountain range in the blue distance, but he was always eager to cross it to convey the story of the crucifixion to people who had never heard of it. And at the same time, Paul was haunted by the thought of Spain. “As soon as I take the path to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope that as I pass, I will see you.” (Rom. 15:24). “Having fulfilled this and delivered to them (the church in Jerusalem) this fruit of zeal, I will go through your places to Spain.” (Rom. 15:28). Where does this passionate desire to go to Spain come from? Rome discovered this land. Some of the great Roman roads and buildings are still there today. Just at that time Spain shone with great names. Many of the great men who etched their names into Roman history and literature came from Spain. Among them was Martial - the great master of epigrams, Lucan - the epic poet; there were Columela and Pomponius Mela - major figures in Roman literature, there was Quintillian - the master of Roman oratory, and, especially, there was Seneca - the greatest of the Roman Stoic philosophers, teacher of Emperor Nero and prime minister of the Roman Empire. Therefore, it is quite natural that Paul’s thoughts turned to this country, which gave birth to such a galaxy of brilliant names. What might happen if such people become involved in Christ? As far as we know, Paul never visited Spain. During this visit in Jerusalem he was arrested and never released. But when he wrote Romans , This is exactly what he dreamed about.

Paul was an excellent strategist. He, like a good commander, outlined a plan of action. He believed that he could leave Asia Minor and leave Greece for a while. He saw before him the whole West, an untouched territory that he had to conquer for Christ. However, in order to begin to implement such a plan in the West, he needed a stronghold. And so stronghold it could only be one place, and that place was Rome.

This is why Paul wrote Romans . That great dream came to life in his heart, and a great plan was brewing in his mind. He needed Rome as a base for this new accomplishment. He was confident that the church in Rome should know his name. But, as a sober person, he was also sure that the news about him that reached Rome was contradictory. His enemies could spread slander and false accusations about him. That is why he wrote a letter to the Roman Church, giving an exposition of the very essence of his faith, so that, when the time for achievements came, he could find in Rome a sympathetic church through which connections could be established with Spain and with the West. Because he had such a plan and such intentions, the Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans in 58 in Corinth.

MESSAGE PLAN

Epistle to the Romans is both a very complex and carefully thought-out letter in structure. To understand it more easily, you need to have an idea of ​​its structure. It is divided into four parts.

(1) Chapters 1-8, which deal with the problem of righteousness.

(2) Chapters 9-11, which are devoted to the question of the Jews, that is, the chosen people.

(3) Chapters 12-15, which deal with practical issues of life.

(4) Chapter 16 is a letter introducing Deaconess Thebes and listing personal greetings.

(1) When Paul uses the word righteousness, he means right relationship with God. A righteous person is a person who is in right relationship with God, and his life confirms this.

Paul begins with an image of the pagan world. One has only to look at the corruption and depravity that reigns there to understand that the problem of righteousness there is not resolved. After this, Paul turns to the Jews. The Jews tried to solve problems of righteousness by meticulously obeying the law. Paul himself experienced this path, which led him to ruin and defeat, for not a single person on earth can perfectly fulfill the laws and, therefore, everyone is doomed to live with a constant feeling that he is in debt to God and deserves His condemnation. Therefore, Paul finds the path of righteousness for himself - the path of absolute faith and devotion. The only right attitude towards God is to take Him at His word and rely on His mercy and love. This is the path of faith. We need to know that what matters is not what we can do for God, but what He has done for us. The core of Paul's Christian faith was the belief that not only can we never earn or become worthy of God's grace, but we don't need to earn it. The whole problem is purely one of grace, and all we can do is accept with amazed love, gratitude and trust what God has done for us. This, however, does not free us from circumstances, and does not give us the right to act at our own discretion: this means that we must constantly and always try to be worthy of that love that has done so much for us. But we no longer try to comply with the demands of an inexorable, strict and condemning law; we are no longer criminals before the judge; we are lovers who have given our whole life and love to the One who first loved us.

(2) The problem of the Jews was a tormenting one. In the full sense of the word, they were God's chosen people, however, when His Son came into the world, they rejected Him. What explanations could be given for this heartbreaking fact?

Paul's only explanation was that this too was a divine act. The hearts of the Jews were somehow hardened; Moreover, this was not a complete defeat: some part of the Jews remained faithful to Him. In addition, this was not without meaning: for it was precisely because the Jews rejected Christ that the pagans gained access to Him, who would then convert the Jews and all humanity would be saved.

Paul goes further: the Jew has always claimed to be a member of the chosen people simply by virtue of the fact that he was born a Jew. This was all derived from the fact of purely racial descent from Abraham. But Paul insists that the true Jew is not one whose blood and flesh can be traced back to Abraham. This is the man who came to the same decision about absolute submission to God in loving faith that Abraham came to. Therefore, Paul argues that there are many pure Jews who are not Jews at all in the true sense of the word. At the same time, many people from other nations are true Jews. The New Israel, therefore, does not represent a racial unity; it was composed of those who had the same faith that Abraham had.

(3) The Twelfth Chapter of Romans contains such important ethical provisions that it should always be placed next to the Sermon on the Mount. In this chapter, Paul lays out the ethical merits of the Christian faith. Chapters fourteen and fifteen deal with an eternally important question. There has always been a small circle of people in the church who believed that they should abstain from certain foods and drinks, and who attached special significance to certain days and ceremonies. Paul speaks of them as weaker brethren, since their faith depended on these external things. There was another more free-thinking part that did not bind itself to strict adherence to these rules and rituals. Paul considers them brothers who are stronger in their faith. He makes it quite clear that he is on the side of the brothers who are freer from prejudice; but he lays down here an important principle: that no man should ever do anything that might disgrace a weaker brother, or place stumbling blocks in his path. He defends his basic principle that no one should ever do anything that would make it difficult for anyone to be a Christian; and this may well be understood to mean that we must leave what is convenient and useful to us personally for the sake of our weaker brother. Christian freedom should not be exercised in such a way as to harm the life or conscience of another person.

TWO QUESTIONS

The sixteenth chapter is always posed a problem for scientists. Many felt that it was not really part of the book of Romans , and what it really is, a letter addressed to another church, which was attached to the Epistle to the Romans, when they collected the letters of the Apostle Paul. What are their reasons? First and foremost, in this chapter Paul sends greetings to twenty-six different persons, twenty-four of whom he calls by name, and who are obviously all intimately familiar to him. For example, he can say that Rufus’s mother was also his mother. Is it possible that Paul knew twenty-six people intimately? church he never attended? In fact, he greets many more people in this chapter than in any other message. But he never entered Rome. Some explanation is needed here. If this chapter was not written in Rome, then to whom was it addressed? This is where the names Priscilla and Aquila come into play and cause controversy. We know that they left Rome in 52, when Emperor Claudius issued an edict expelling the Jews (Acts 18:2). We know that they came with Paul to Ephesus (Acts 18:18), that they were in Ephesus when Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 16.19), i.e., less than two years before he wrote Romans . And we know that they were still in Ephesus when the pastoral letters were written (2 Tim. 4, 9). There is no doubt that if a letter comes to us in which greetings are sent to Priscilla and Aquila without another address, then we should assume that it was addressed to Ephesus.

Is there any evidence that leads us to conclude that chapter 16 was sent to Ephesus in the first place? There are obvious reasons why Paul stayed longer in Ephesus than elsewhere, and it would therefore have been natural for him to have sent greetings to many people there. Paul further speaks of Epenetus, "who is the firstfruits of Achaia for Christ." Ephesus is located in Asia Minor, and therefore such a mention would also be natural for a letter to Ephesus, but not for a letter to Rome. In the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16:17) speaks of "those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the teaching which you have learned" . This sounds like Paul is talking about possible disobedience to his own teaching, and he never taught in Rome.

It may be argued that the sixteenth chapter was originally addressed to Ephesus, but this statement is not as irrefutable as it may seem at first glance. Firstly, there is no evidence that this chapter was ever associated with anything other than Epistle to the Romans. Secondly, strangely enough, Paul never sent personal greetings to churches that he knew well. Neither in the Messages to Thessalonians neither to Corinthians, Galatians And Philippians to the churches that he knew well - there are no personal greetings, and at the same time such greetings are available in Epistle to the Colossians, although Paul never visited Colosse.

The reason for this is simple: if Paul had sent personal greetings to churches he knew well, then feelings of jealousy and envy might well have arisen among the church members. On the contrary, when he wrote letters to churches he had never attended, he wanted to make as many personal connections as possible. The mere fact that Paul had never been to Rome may well have motivated him to strive to establish as many personal connections as possible. Again, it is important to remember that Priscilla and Aquila really were expelled from Rome by edict, but is it not highly probable that, after all dangers have passed, they will return to Rome in six or seven years to resume their trade, after having lived in other cities? And is it not entirely conceivable that many of the other names belong to people who also went into exile, lived temporarily in other cities where they met Paul, and who, as soon as the danger was over, returned to Rome and their homes? Paul would have been delighted to have so many personal acquaintances in Rome and would have taken the opportunity to establish strong connections with them.

Below, as we will see when we move on to a detailed study of chapter sixteen, many names - the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus, Amplius, Nereus and others - are quite appropriate for Rome. Although there are arguments for Ephesus, we can accept that there is no need to separate chapter sixteen from Romans .

But there is a more interesting and more important problem. Early lists show extremely strange things related to chapters 14, 15, 16. The most natural place for doxology is end of the message. In the Epistle to the Romans (16,25-27 ) there is a hymn of praise to the glory of God and in most good lists it comes at the end. But in some lists it appears at the end of the fourteenth chapter ( 24-26 ), in two good lists this hymn is given and in one place and another, in one ancient list he is given at the end of the fifteenth chapter, in two lists he not in one place or another, but there is a free space left for him. One ancient Latin list lists the brief contents of the sections. Here's what the last two look like:

50: About the responsibility of the one who judges his brother for food.

This is undoubtedly the book of Romans 14,15-23.

51: About the Mystery of the Lord, which was kept silent before His suffering, but which was revealed after His suffering.

This is also undoubtedly the Epistle to the Romans 14,24-26- a hymn to the glory of the Lord. It is clear that this list of chapter summaries was made from a list in which chapters fifteen and sixteen were missing. However, there is something that sheds light on this. One list mentions the name of Rome (Rom. 1.7 and 1.15) completely missed. There is no indication at all of the place where the message is addressed.

All this shows that the book of Romans distributed in two forms. One form is the one we have - with sixteen chapters and the other - with fourteen; and perhaps another one with fifteen. The explanation seems to be this: when Paul wrote Romans , it had sixteen chapters; however, chapters 15 and 16 are personal and deal specifically with Rome. On the other hand, no other epistle of Paul presents his entire teaching in such a condensed form. The following must have happened: Romans began to spread among all other churches, at the same time, the last chapters that had purely local significance were omitted, with the exception of doxology. Even then, no doubt, it was felt that the Epistle to the Romans was too fundamental in nature for it to be confined to Rome and remain there, and therefore chapters of a purely local character were removed from it and it was sent to the whole church. From the earliest times the Church felt that the Epistle to the Romans is such an outstanding statement of Paul's thoughts that it should be the property not only of one congregation, but of the church as a whole. As we study the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, we must remember that men have always looked upon it as the foundation of Paul's evangelical faith.

THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD AND THE UNBELIEF OF MAN (Rom. 3:1-8)

Here Paul sets out in a very concise form his views on a very complex and important issue for him. We will understand him more easily if we imagine that he is arguing with an imaginary opponent. In a detailed presentation, this dispute would look something like this:

Opponent: From all that you have said, we can conclude that there is no difference between a pagan and a Jew, and that they are in exactly the same position. Is not it?

Paul: No way.

Opponent: What is the difference then?

Paul: First, they have what the pagans never directly had - the commandments of God.

Opponent: Fine! Well, what if some of the Jews disobeyed these commandments and were unfaithful to God and would you come under His condemnation? You just said that God gave the Jews a special position and special promises. Now you say that at least some of them were under the curse of God. Does this mean that God has broken His promises and shown Himself to be unjust and unfaithful?

Paul: Nothing like this! This proves that God favors no one and punishes sin wherever He sees it. The very fact that He condemns the unfaithful Jews is the best proof of His absolute justice. One would expect Him to overlook the sins of His special people, but He does not.

Opponent: Wonderful! All you have done is you have succeeded in proving that my disobedience allowed God to show His righteousness. My unfaithfulness gave God the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his faithfulness. My sin, therefore, is a great thing! He allowed God to show how good He is! I did evil, but good came out of it! You cannot condemn a person who gave God the opportunity to demonstrate his justice!

Paul: Such an argument does not deserve contempt! You only have to state it and you will see all its inconsistency.

Having analyzed this passage in this way, we will reveal in it certain fundamental thoughts of Paul regarding the Jews.

1) Until the end of his days, Paul believed that the Jews had a special relationship with God. This is exactly what the Jews themselves believed, in essence. The difference, however, was that Paul associated this special position with special responsibility assigned, in his opinion, to the Jews. The Jews believed that their special position gave them special privileges. What, according to Paul, was this special mission of the Jews? It was Divine prophecy. What does he mean by this? Paul uses the word logic, which in the Greek translation of the Old Testament usually meant the decree or word of God. In this case, Paul has this word logy stands for the Ten Commandments. God entrusted the Jews with commandments, not privileges. He told them: “You are a special people, so you must live a special life.” He didn't tell them, "You are a special people, so you can do whatever you like." No, he told them something completely different: "You are a special people, so you must do what I want." Lord Dunsany, who survived the First World War, once said to himself: “In some miraculous way I am still alive. I wonder what God wants from me, what should I do if He spared my life so specially?” But such a thought never occurred to the Jews. They could never understand that God's special choice destined them for a special mission.

2) Throughout his writings, Paul expressed three main points concerning the Jews. Here they appear in embryo; and, in fact, it took Paul this entire letter to deal with these three questions. It should be noted that Paul extends this condemnation to all Jews. He poses the question this way: “What if some of them were unfaithful?

a) He was absolutely sure that God was just in condemning the Jews. They had their own special place and were given special promises; and, precisely, this made their condemnation even more severe. Responsibility is always the obverse side of privilege. The more opportunities a person has to do the right thing, the greater the condemnation he will have if he does the wrong thing.

b) But not all Jews were unfaithful to God. Paul never forgot those who remained faithful to Him - and he was confident that this small part of those who remained faithful to Him - however small in number - constituted the truly Jewish race. The rest lost their privileges and were condemned. They are no longer Jews. The remnant faithful to God is the true people.

c) Paul was always confident that the rejection of the Jews God was not final and irrevocable. This rejection opened the door to God for the pagans; And, in the end, the pagans will bring the Jews back into the fold of the church, and the pagans and Jews will be one in Christ. The tragedy of the Jews was that they rejected the great mission intended for them to evangelize the world. Therefore, this task was handed over to the Gentiles and the plan of God, as it originally appeared, was diametrically changed, and now it was not the Jews who evangelized the Gentiles, as it should have been, but the Gentiles evangelized the Jews - a process that continues to this day.

1) The root of all sin is disobedience. The root of the Jews' sin was disobedience to the law of God known to them. As Milton wrote, "man's first disobedience" is responsible for paradise lost. When a person in his pride rebels against the will of God, sin is committed. If there were no disobedience, there would be no sin.

2) Modern man shows amazing ingenuity in justifying his sin. Here we encounter an argument that is encountered again and again in religious thinking: a sin committed gives God the opportunity to simultaneously show his justice and his mercy, that is, it is supposedly a good deed. This is a perverse argument. One could also argue - this would be essentially the same thing - that it is a good thing to break a person's heart, since it gives him the opportunity to show how much he loves you. When a person sins, he must apply his high mental abilities not to justify his sin, but to humility, to admit it in shame and repent.

A GODLESS WORLD (Rom. 3:9-18)

In the last passage, Paul insisted that, despite everything, the Jews had a special place in the divine system. It is natural, therefore, that the opponent of the theory of the chosen people of the Jews asks whether this does not mean that the Jews are in a better position compared to other peoples. Paul's response to this is that Jews and Gentiles are the same; if they are without Christ, they are under sin. Greek expression Gupo Hamartian, which we translate "under sin" forces us to think carefully. In this context goo stands for in the power of something, in submission to someone. IN Mat. 8, 9 the centurion says: “having soldiers under his command - Gupo Emauton. This means under my command. The schoolboy is gupo paidagogon, that is, under the direction of a slave assigned to him for supervision. The slave is gupo tsugon - under the yoke his master. In a state without Christ, a person is under the power of sin, and is helpless to get out from under its power. There is another interesting word in this passage. This word is found in verse 12, “(every) one of them is unprofitable.” This word ahreioo, what literally means make unusable. In one of its uses it means sour milk. Human nature without Christ is corrupt and good for nothing.

Paul is doing here what the Jewish rabbis were wont to do. In verses 10-18 he linked selected texts from the Old Testament. He doesn't present them exactly because he quotes them from memory, but he also includes quotations from Ps. 13,1-3; 5,10; 139,4; 9,28; Is. 59,7-8; Ps. 35.2. This was the usual way for rabbis to preach. He called haraz, that is, stringing pearls.

Here Paul gives a terrifying description of human nature without Christ. The English theologian Vaughan pointed out that these quotations from the Old Testament describe three properties: 1) Personality, whose main character traits are ignorance, indifference, perversity and worthlessness. 2) Language, whose tone is vicious, deceitful, malicious. 3) Behavior, whose characteristic features are oppression, injustice, intransigence. All this is the result of neglect of God.

No one saw the evil of human nature so clearly as Paul did; but it should be noted that the evil of human nature was for Paul not a call to hopelessness, but a call to hope. When we say that Paul believed in original sin and the depravity of human nature, we should never assume that this means that he has lost hope in human nature or views it with cynical contempt. Once, in his old age, William Jay said: “My memory is fading, but I will never forget that I am a great sinner and that Jesus Christ is a great Savior.”

Paul was well aware of the full atoning power of Christ. As a young man, William Rowby of Lancashire was concerned that his preaching was not being accepted by his parishioners. This plunged him into despair and he wanted to leave his service altogether. But then the reproach of a certain Mr. Moody reached him, who asked him: “Are they too bad that they are not worth saving?” This reproach forced William Rowby to return to his work. Paul believed that people who do not have Christ are foolish, but he never believed that they were so bad that they did not need to be saved. He was confident that what Christ did for him, Paul, He could do for any person.

THE ONLY WAY TO GOD'S TRUTH (Rom. 3:19-26)

The highest task of life is to know the truth of God. How can you have peace with God? How can you avoid feeling alienated and afraid in the presence of God? The Jewish religion answers this: “A person can achieve a right relationship with God by scrupulously fulfilling everything that is laid down in the law.” However, to say this means simply to say that it is generally impossible for a person to acquire the righteousness of God, for no person can ever fulfill all the commandments of the law."

Not by my zeal

I can obey the law.

What then is the use of the law? It is about making a person aware of sin. Only when a person knows the law and tries to satisfy its demands does he realize that he will never be able to fulfill it. The purpose of the law is to show man his own weakness and sinfulness. Is man then separated from God? Not at all, because the path to God lies not through the law, but through mercy, not through deeds, but through faith.

To show what he means, Paul uses three metaphors:

1) He uses a metaphor from judicial practice - justification. This metaphor suggests that man is facing the judgment of God. In the Greek text, the word used to express the concept of justify is diakione. All Greek verbs ending in oun, don't matter do someone with something, and make do with anyone, count anyone consider him as someone. If an innocent person appears before a judge, treating him as innocent means acquitting him. But the most important point in man's relationship with God is that he is guilty in the extreme, and yet God, with amazing mercy, views him, counts him and treats him as innocent. This is what justification means.

When Paul says, “God justifies the ungodly,” he means that God treats the wicked as if he were a good man. This is what struck the Jews to the very depths of their being. For them, treating a bad person as if he were a good person meant a sign of the judge’s immorality. “Whoever justifies the wicked and accuses the righteous are both an abomination to the Lord.” (Prov. 17.15). "I do not justify the wicked" (Ex. 23.7). But Paul says that is exactly what God does.

How can I know that God is like this? I know, because Jesus said it. He came to tell us that God loves us, no matter how bad we are. He came to us to tell us that although we are sinners, we are still dear to God. When we discover it and believe it, it will completely change our relationship with God; By realizing our sin, we are freed from fear and no longer separated from Him. We come to God with a repentant and broken heart, just as a repentant child goes to his mother, and we know that the God to whom we go is love.

That's what it means justification through faith in Jesus Christ. This means that we are in right relationship with God because we believe with all our hearts that everything Jesus told us about God is the truth. We are no longer those terror-stricken creatures alien to an angry God. We are children, lost, full of trust in the love of our Father; confident that he will forgive us. And we could never have found this right relationship with God if Jesus had not come to live and die to tell us how wonderfully He loves us.

2) Paul uses a metaphor with victims. He speaks of Jesus, "Whom God offered as a propitiation... for the forgiveness of sins"...

Paul uses the Greek word here to describe Jesus hilasterion. This word, in turn, comes from the Greek verb meaning propitiate. This verb has a lot to do with sacrifice. According to ancient custom, a person who broke the law made a sacrifice to God. The purpose of this sacrifice was that this sacrifice would avert the punishment that was about to be inflicted on him. In other words, man has sinned; sin immediately put him in a wrong relationship with God; in order to restore this correct relationship, man offered his sacrifice to God.

But experience showed that the animal's sacrifice did not reach the desired price. “For You do not desire sacrifice, I would give it; You do not favor burnt offerings.” (Ps. 50.18). “With what should I come before the Lord, bow down before the God of Heaven? Should I come before Him with a burnt offering, with yearling calves? But is it possible to please the Lord with thousands of rams and countless streams of oil? Will I give Him my firstborn for my transgression and the fruit of my womb for the sin of my soul?" (Mich. 6,6.7). People instinctively felt that if they had already sinned, then sacrificing an item of personal property would not correct what they had done.

Therefore Paul says: “Jesus Christ, by his submissive life and death for the sake of love, offered to God that sacrifice which really and truly atones for sin.” He insists that what happened on the Cross reopens the way to a right relationship with God; opens a door that any other victim was powerless to open.

3) Paul uses a metaphor from systems slavery. He talks about redemption in Christ Jesus. Greek word apolutrosis means redemption, deliverance, liberation. This means that man was in the grip of sin, and that only Jesus Christ could free him from it.

Finally, Paul says that God does all this because He is just and He considers everyone justified who believes in Jesus Christ. Paul never said anything more amazing. Bengel called this “the greatest paradox of the gospel.” Think about what this means. This means that God is fair and accepts the sinner as a just person. It would be natural to say: “God is just, and therefore condemns the sinner as a criminal.” But here we see the greatest paradox - God is fair, and for some reason, in His absolutely amazing mercy that Jesus brought to people, He accepts the sinner not as a criminal, but as a son whom He still loves.

What is the essence of all this? What is the difference between this and the old promulgated law? The main difference is this: the essence of the path of obedience to the law is what a person can do for himself; The essence of the path of mercy is what God can do and what He has done for man. Paul states that there is nothing that we will ever neither done, can't deserve it us forgiveness; only what God has done for us can help us achieve this; Therefore, the path to a right relationship with God is not through crazy, desperate, doomed attempts to be justified by our works; it lies in the humble and repentant acceptance of the loving graces that God has offered us in Jesus Christ.

THE END OF THE PATH OF HUMAN ACCOMPLISHMENT (Rom. 3:27-31)

Paul addresses three points here:

1) If the path to God is the path of faith and acceptance, then all human claims to one’s own achievements are gone. There were movements in Judaism whose adherents kept a kind of account book with God, where they entered their merits and losses. Often, a person would come to the conclusion that God was indebted to him. Paul is convinced that every person is a sinner and a debtor before God and that no one can return by the works of his own hands to the path of true relationship with God, and that there is no longer any reason for self-satisfaction and pride in his accomplishments.

2) But a Jew may object that this may be so for a pagan who has never known the law, but how can this apply to Jews who know it? In response to this, Paul draws attention to the phrase, which is the foundation of the Jewish faith, with which every service in the synagogue always began and still begins today: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, there is one Lord!” (Deut. 6.4). There is not one God of the day for the Gentiles and another for the Jews. God one. The path to it is the same for pagans and Jews. This is not the way of human actions; this is the path of trust and acceptance of faith.

3) But, the Jew objects, does this mean the end of the whole law? One might expect Paul to answer, “Yes.” But, in essence, he says, "No." He actually says that this strengthens the law. That's exactly what he means. Until this time, the Jew had tried to remain a good person and keep the commandments because he feared God and feared the punishment that would come upon him if he broke the law. This day has passed forever. In its place has now become love of God. Now a person must try to be good and keep the law given by God, not because he fears God and is afraid of His punishment, but because he feels that he must strive to be worthy of this amazing love. He strives for virtue not because he fears God, but because he loves Him. He now knows that sin consists not so much in breaking the law of God, but in wounding the heart of God, and therefore it is doubly terrible.

Let's take a human analogy. Many people are tempted to do bad things, but do not do it; but not because they are afraid of breaking the law. They wouldn't be too embarrassed if they were fined or even jailed for it. The only thing that holds them back is that they simply could not bear the sadness of the person who loves them. It is not the law of fear, but the law of love that forces them to follow the right path. This is how our relationship with God should be. We are forever freed from fear and horror of God, but this is not a reason for us to do as we please. We will never again be able to do as we please, for we will forever be forced to act virtuously according to the law of love; and this law is much stronger than the law of fear could ever be.

Commentary (introduction) to the entire book of Romans

Comments on Chapter 3

Cathedral of the Christian Faith. Frederic Gaudet

Introduction

I. SPECIAL POSITION IN THE CANON

Romans has always occupied first place among all of Paul's letters, and rightly so. Since the book of the Acts of the Apostles ends with the Apostle Paul's arrival in Rome, it is logical that his letters in the NT begin with the Apostle's letter to the church in Rome, written before he met the Roman Christians. From a theological point of view, this Epistle is probably the most important book in the entire NT, since it sets out the fundamental principles of Christianity in the most systematic way of any book in the Bible.

The book of Romans is also most remarkable from a historical point of view. St. Augustine converted to Christianity after reading Romans 13:13-14 (380). The Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther finally understanding what the righteousness of God means and that “the just shall live by faith” (1517).

The founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, gained assurance of salvation after hearing the introduction to Luther's Commentary on the Epistle (1738) read at the Moravian Brethren house church on Aldersgate Street in London. John Calvin wrote: “Whoever understands this Epistle will open the way to an understanding of all Scripture.”

Even heretics and the most radical critics accept the general Christian point of view - the author of the Epistle to the Romans was the apostle of the pagans. Moreover, the first famous writer who specifically named the author of Paul, was the heretic Marcion. This Epistle is also quoted by such early Christian apologists as Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, Hippolytus and Irenaeus. The Muratori Canon also attributes this Epistle to Paul.

Very convincing and the text itself Messages. Both the theology, the language, and the spirit of the Epistle point very specifically to the fact that its author was Paul.

Of course, skeptics are not convinced by the very first verse of the Epistle, which says that this letter was written by Paul (1:1), but many other places indicate its authorship, for example 15:15-20. The most convincing is probably the many “coincidences” with the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which could hardly have been invented on purpose.

III. WRITING TIME

Romans was written after 1 and 2 Corinthians appeared, since the collection of funds for the poor church in Jerusalem, which was going on at the time of their writing, was already completed and ready to go (16:1). The mention of Cenchrea, a Corinthian port city, as well as some other details lead most experts to believe that the Epistle was written in Corinth. Since at the end of his third missionary journey Paul remained in Corinth for only three months due to the indignation raised against him, it follows that the book of Romans was written during this short period of time, that is, around 56 AD.

IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND TOPIC

How did Christianity first reach Rome? We cannot say for sure, but perhaps the Good News was brought to Rome by Roman Jews converted in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10). This happened in 1930.

Twenty-six years later, when Paul wrote Romans in Corinth, he had never been to Rome. But by that time he already knew some Christians from the Roman church, as can be seen from chapter 16 of the Epistle. In those days, Christians often changed their place of residence, whether as a result of persecution, missionary activity, or simply for work. And these Roman Christians came from both Jews and pagans.

Around the year 60, Paul finally found himself in Rome, but not at all in the capacity in which he had planned. He arrived there as a prisoner, arrested for preaching Jesus Christ.

The book of Romans has become a classic work. It opens the eyes of unsaved people to their wretched sinful condition and to the plan that God has prepared for their salvation. New converts will learn from it their unity with Christ and victory through the power of the Holy Spirit. Mature Christians continue to enjoy the wide range of Christian truths contained in this letter: doctrinal, prophetic, and practical.

A good way to understand the book of Romans is to think of it as a dialogue between Paul and some unknown opponent. It seems that as Paul explains the essence of the Good News, this opponent puts forward a variety of arguments against it and the apostle consistently answers all his questions.

At the end of this "conversation" we see that Paul has answered all the basic questions regarding the Good News of God's grace.

Sometimes the opponent’s objections are formulated quite specifically, sometimes they are only implied. But no matter how they are expressed, they all revolve around the same theme - the Good News of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and not by keeping the law.

As we study the Epistle to the Romans, we will seek answers to eleven basic questions: 1) what is the main theme of the Epistle (1:1,9,15-16); 2) what is the “Gospel” (1:1-17); 3) why people need the Gospel (1.18 - 3.20); 4) how, according to the Good News, wicked sinners can be justified by a holy God (3:21-31); 5) whether the Good News agrees with the Old Testament Scriptures (4:1-25); 6) what advantages does justification provide in the practical life of a believer (5:1-21); 7) whether the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith can allow or encourage sinful life (6:1-23); 8) how Christians should relate to the law (7.1-25); 9) what motivates a Christian to live a righteous life (8:1-39); 10) whether God broke His promises to His chosen people, the Jews, by granting, according to the Good News, salvation to both Jews and Gentiles (9:1 - 11:36); 11) how justification by grace manifests itself in the daily life of the believer (12:1 - 16:27).

By reviewing these eleven questions and their answers, we can better understand this important Message. Answer to the first question: "What is the main theme of the book of Romans?" - unambiguous: “Gospel”. Pavel, without wasting any further words, immediately begins by discussing this very topic. In the first sixteen verses of chapter 1 alone, he mentions the Good News four times (vv. 1, 9, 15, 16).

Here the second question immediately arises: “What is the “Gospel”? The word itself means “good news.” But in the first seventeen verses of the Epistle, the apostle sets out six important facts regarding the gospel: 1) it comes from God ( v. 1); 2) it is promised in the Old Testament Scriptures (v. 2); 3) it is the good news of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3); 4) it is the power of God for salvation (v. 16) 5) salvation is for all people, both Jew and Gentile (v. 16) 6) salvation is by faith alone (v. 17) And now, after this introduction, we will move on to a more detailed consideration of the Epistle .

Plan

I. DOCTRINAL PART: THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD (Ch. 1 - 8)

A. Introducing the Good News (1:1-15)

B. Definition of the Good News (1:16-17)

C. Universal Need for the Good News (1.18 - 3.20)

D. The basis and terms of the Good News (3:21-31)

E. Consistency of the Good News with the Old Testament (Chapter 4)

E. Practical Benefits of the Good News (5:1-11)

G. Christ's victory over Adam's sin (5:12-21)

H. The Gospel Path to Holiness (Chapter 6)

I. The place of the law in the life of a believer (Chapter 7)

K. The Holy Spirit is the power for righteous living (Chapter 8)

II. HISTORY: THE GOOD NEWS AND ISRAEL (Ch. 9-11)

A. Israel's Past (Ch. 9)

B. The Present of Israel (Ch. 10)

B. The Future of Israel (Ch. 11)

III. PRACTICE: LIVING THE GOOD NEWS (Ch. 12 - 16)

A. In personal dedication (12.1-2)

B. In the ministry of spiritual gifts (12:3-8)

B. In relations with society (12.9-21)

D. In relations with the government (13.1-7)

D. In relation to the future (13.8-14)

E. In relationships with other believers (14.1 - 15.3)

G. In Paul's plans (15.14-33)

H. Treating others with respect (Chapter 16)

3,1 In the first eight verses of this chapter, Paul continues the theme of Jewish guilt. Here, as it were, a certain Jewish opponent appears who is trying to refute the words of the apostle. This discussion goes like this:

OPPONENT: If everything you said in verses 2:17-29 is true, then which then advantage of being Jewish And which at all benefits of circumcision?

3,2 PAUL: The Jews had many special privileges. One of the most important is that they are entrusted Word of God. The Jews were given the Old Testament Scriptures to copy and preserve. But how did the people of Israel react to this wonderful privilege? Overall he showed a terrible lack of faith.

3,3 OPPONENT: Okay, let's say that not all Jews were believers, but does this mean that God will not fulfill His promises? After all, He Himself chose Israel as His people and He Himself entered into a covenant with them. Can anyone infidelity make God break His word?

3,4 PAUL: Of course not! If the question arises who is right - man or God, then always start with the fact that God is right, and everyone the person is deceitful. David also wrote about this in Psalm 50:6: “...You are righteous in Your judgment and pure in Your judgment.” Our sins only confirm the truth of God's words.

3,5 OPPONENT: If this is so, then why does God accuse us? If our unrighteousness allows God's righteousness to shine brighter, how can He pour His anger?(And Paul notes that he is using purely human logic in asking this question.)

3,6 PAUL: This argument does not deserve serious consideration. If God could act unjustly, how could He then judge the world? But we all admit that He will judge the world.

3,7 OPPONENT: But if my sins add to the glory of God and if my infidelity glorifies Him loyalty, how can He constantly accuse me of being sinner?

3,8 Wouldn't it be logical to say here: "Should we not do evil so that good may come out?.."

PAUL: By the way, some people accuse us Christians of allegedly using this argument, but this is slander.

As for your statement, I can only say that those who argue like that deserve court.

(No matter how stupid the opponent's last argument may seem, it is nevertheless constantly put forward against the Good News of the grace of God.

People often say: “If salvation is given simply by faith in Christ, then you can go and sin calmly. If the grace of God covers human sins, then the more you sin, the more grace appears.”

The apostle will give a more detailed answer to this question in chapter 6.)

3,9 OPPONENT: That is, do you mean to say that We we still have advantage before these sinful pagans? Or are the Jews worse than the pagans? The answer to this question is that the Jews are no better and no worse.

All are sinners. And here the topic of the Message naturally moves on to the next question. Paul has already shown that the Gentiles are lost; also those who trust in their integrity are lost, whether Jews or Gentiles; the Jews should also be considered dead. And here comes the last question: “Are all the people really dead?”

And Paul answers: “Yes, we have already proven What All people are under power sin." This means, from this point of view, Jews are no different from pagans.

3,10 For further evidence we turn to the OT. First, we see how sin is transmitted from parents to children from the moment of birth (3:10-12), then how sin affects all human organs (3:13-18). We can express the same thought with the words: "... there is no one who does good, no no one"(see Ps. 13:1).

3,11 There is no one who has the right ideas about God. There's no one who looking for God(Ps. 13:2). If fallen man lived on his own, he would never seek God. If a person seeks God, then this happens only through the action of the Holy Spirit.

3,12 All walked away from God. All of humanity is mired in sin. No no one who would live a decent life, there is none(Ps. 13:3).

3,13 Larynx like a person open coffin, their speech is a constant deception (Ps. 5:10). “...The poison of the asp is under their lips” (Ps. 139:4).

3,14 Their lips full of slander and hatred (Ps. 9:28).

3,15 "Their legs they flee to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood" (Isa. 59:7).

3,16 They leave behind destruction and poverty (Isa. 59:7).

3,17 "...Their paths are crooked, and no one walking along them knows peace"(Isa. 59:8).

3,18 “...There is no fear of God before his eyes” (Ps. 35:2).

This is what God's "x-ray" of the human race looks like. He reveals to us universal unrighteousness (3:10); ignorance of God and independence from Him (3.11); deviation from the good and its complete absence (3.12). Man's throat is full of rottenness, his tongue is deceitful, his lips are poisonous (3:13); the mouth spews slander (3:14); legs are directed towards murder (3.15); after himself he leaves troubles and destruction (3.16); he does not know how to seek peace (3.17); there is no fear of God in him (3:18). So, we see the complete depravity of man, from which it follows that sin has affected both all of humanity as a whole and every part of human nature. Of course, an individual person did not commit all these sins, but by his nature he capable on this.

If Paul had wanted to give a more complete list of human sins, he could have added sexual sins: adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, perversion, bestiality, prostitution, rape, debauchery, pornography and other obscenities.

He could also add sins that war entails: extermination of innocents, atrocities, gas chambers, ovens, concentration camps, instruments of torture, sadism. He might have mentioned sins in the family: adultery, divorce, wife beating, callousness, child abuse. Add to this murder, mutilation, theft, robbery, embezzlement, vandalism, bribery and corruption. You should also enter here sins in a word: blasphemy, obscene jokes, lustful speech, curses, slander, lies, slander, gossip, insults, grumbling and grumbling. Add others too personal sins: drunkenness, drug addiction, pride, envy, greed, ingratitude, corrupt thoughts, hatred and irritability. The list seems to go on and on: pollution, racism, exploitation, fraud, betrayal, broken promises and much, much more. What other proof of the depravity of humanity is needed?

3,19 When God gave Israel the law, He used this nation as a test sample for all mankind. He saw that the Israeli people were corrupt, and quite correctly extended this conclusion to all humanity. An epidemiologist researcher does the same when, after taking a small sample of water from a well and discovering that it is contaminated, he claims that the entire well is contaminated.

So Paul explains here that when he says law, he says to those who under the law- to the people of Israel, in order to every mouth, Jew and Gentile, were blocked and to the whole world realized his guilt before God.

3,20 No one can make excuses by law. The Law was not given to justify people, but to help them realize their sinfulness. This is not knowledge about salvation, and the means know sin.

We would never understand what a curved line is if we did not know about a straight line. The law is like a straight line. By comparing themselves to him, people realize how twisted they are.

We can use a mirror to see dirt on our face, but a mirror is not meant to clean dirty faces. The thermometer shows that a person has a cold, but cannot cure it even if swallowed.

The law is good for convicting a person of sin, but it is useless for saving from sin. Luther wrote that the purpose of the law is not to justify, but to frighten.

D. The basis and terms of the Good News (3:21-31)

3,21 Now we come to the heart of Romans, where Paul answers the question: According to the Good News, how can a holy God justify ungodly sinners?

Paul writes that righteousness God's was revealed regardless of the law. This means that God did not reveal His plan, or method, for the righteous salvation of unrighteous sinners through the fulfillment of the law. Because God is holy, He cannot tolerate, ignore, or turn a blind eye to sin. He must punish sin. And the only punishment for sin is death. But at the same time, God loves the sinner and wants to save him. A dilemma arises. The righteousness of God requires the death of the sinner, but His love desires the sinner's eternal happiness. The Good News tells us how God saves the sinner without compromising His righteousness.

About this righteous plan the law and the prophets bear witness. It was foretold in symbols and images in the sacrificial system that required the shedding of blood to atone for sins. Direct predictions were also given (see, for example, Isa. 51:5,6,8; 56.1; Dan. 9:24).

3,22 The previous verse says that this righteous salvation is achieved Not through the execution of the law.

Now the apostle tells us how salvation is achieved - through faith in Jesus Christ. And here, “to believe” means to rely completely on the living Lord Jesus Christ as your only Savior from sin and your only hope of going to heaven. Salvation is based on the person and work of Christ as described in the Bible.

Faith is not a leap in the dark. It is based on irrefutable evidence and the inerrancy of the Word of God. Faith is also not something illogical or unreasonable. What could be more logical than that the creation should trust the Creator?

Also, faith cannot be considered some kind of merit, thanks to which a person earns his salvation. A person cannot boast that he believes in the Lord; he will be unreasonable if Not will believe. Faith is not an attempt to achieve salvation, but a simple acceptance of the salvation that God gives us freely.

Paul continues his thought by saying that salvation works for everyone and on all believers. It is for all, that is, it is available to all, offered to all, and sufficient for all. But it belongs only to those who believe, that is, it operates in the lives only of those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ by a concrete act of faith. Forgiveness is offered to everyone, but it comes into effect in a person's life only when he accepts this forgiveness.

When Paul states that salvation is for everyone, he means both Jews and Gentiles - after all, this is between them no difference. The Jews have no special privileges, and the Gentiles, in comparison, have no special obstacles.

3,23 The good news is as accessible to all as it is needed by all. And this is truly a universal need, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All sinned in Adam; when he sinned, he sinned as a representative of all his descendants.

But people are sinners not only by birth, they are also sinners by your own affairs. And they fall short of the glory of God in themselves.

TALKING ABOUT SIN

Sin is any thought, word, or deed that falls short of God's standards of holiness and perfection. This is a miss, missing the target.

An Indian whose arrow misses the target says, “I have sinned,” since in his language sin and miss are the same word. (The same is true for both Hebrew and Greek.)

Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4), the rebellion of the creature against the will of God. Sin is not only doing what should not be done, but also not doing what should be done (James 4:17). Everything that is not done by faith is sin (Rom. 14:23).

This means that it is sinful to do something the legality of which you doubt. If a person's conscience is uneasy about an action, but he still commits it, he sins.

“All unrighteousness is sin...” (1 John 5:17). “The thought of foolishness is sin...” (Proverbs 24:9). Sin originates in thoughts. And if it is encouraged and developed, it manifests itself in a specific action, and the consequences of this action are death. Sin is attractive when you are about to commit it, but terrible when it is already done.

Sometimes Paul defines sin and sins differently. He calls sins the wrong things we have done. And the concept of “sin” refers to our evil nature, that is, to what we ourselves are like. And what we are There is, much worse than what we do. But Christ died not only for our actions, but also for our sinful nature. God could forgive our sins, but the Bible says He cannot forgive our sinfulness,

that is, our sin. He accuses And condemns sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3).

There is also a difference between sin and crime. A crime is a violation of the law you know. Theft is sinful in itself.

But when the law prohibits stealing, it becomes a crime. “...Where there is no law, there is no crime” (Rom. 4:15).

So Paul showed that all people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Now he presents a solution to the problem.

3,24 Receiving justification freely, by His grace. The Good News tells us that God's justification of sinners is a gift, an unmerited favor. What do we mean when we talk about justification?

Word "justify" means "to recognize or declare righteous." For example, when a sinner accepts the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, God declares him righteous. In the NT this is the meaning most often attached to this word.

In a sense, a person can justify God through faith and obedience to His Word. In other words, by doing so he declares the righteousness of whatever God says or does.

And of course, a person can justify himself, that is, defend his righteousness (see Luke 10:29). But self-justification is a form of self-deception.

To justify does not mean do righteous. Like, for example, we can't do God is righteous, because He is already righteous. But we can declare the righteousness of God. Neither does God does the believer is righteous and sinless, but considers him to be so. As A. T. Pierson writes, “God, justifying sinners, calls them righteous when in fact they are unrighteous; does not impute sin where there is actually sin, and imputes righteousness where there is actually none.” (Arthur T. Pierson, Shall We Continue in Sin? p. 23.)

The well-known formula for justification is as if I had never sinned - insufficient. When God justifies a believing sinner, He not only takes away his guilt, but also clothes him with righteousness so that he is fit for heaven. "Justification leads from liberation to approval, from apology to encouragement." (Paul Van Gorder, in Our Daily Bread.) Forgiveness only frees one from guilt; justification ascribes righteousness to a person.

The reason why God recognizes ungodly sinners as righteous is because the Lord Jesus Christ made full payment for their sins by His death and resurrection. And when a sinner accepts Christ by faith, he is justified.

When James writes about justification by works (James 2:24), he does not mean that we are saved by works or by faith and works, but by faith manifested in good works.

It is necessary to understand that justification comes from God Himself. A believer knows that he is justified, not because he feels it, but because it is written so in the Bible. Scofield expressed this idea this way: "Justification is the act of God by which He recognizes as righteous all who believe in Jesus. And it is accomplished in God's consciousness, and not in the nervous system or feelings of the believer."

Here in verse 24 the apostle writes that we are justified for nothing. We do not buy or earn it, but simply receive it as a gift. Next we read that we are justified by grace God's. This means that justification occurs without any consideration of our merits. That is, we didn’t deserve it, didn’t look for it and didn’t buy it.

To avoid further confusion, we will now pause and consider the six different aspects of justification as set out in the NT.

It is said that we are justified by grace, faith, Blood, power, God and works; and there is no contradiction here. We are justified by grace - that is, we do not deserve it. We are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1) - which means we need to accept justification by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are justified by the Blood (Rom. 5:9) - this speaks of the price that the Savior paid for our justification. We are justified by power (Rom. 4:24-25) - the same power that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. We are justified by God (Rom. 8:33) - He is the One who declared us righteous. We are justified by works (James 2:24) - not in the sense that justification is earned by works; works testify to our justification.

Let's go back to verse 24 where we read that we are justified redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Redemption is the ransoming of something through the payment of an appropriate price. The Lord Jesus bought us from the slave market of sin. His precious Blood was the price He paid to satisfy the requirements of a holy and righteous God. If anyone asks, “Who was paid?” - it means he didn’t quite understand everything. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that this price was paid to anyone in particular - God or the devil. This ransom was the basis of the agreement that allowed the salvation of the wicked to be considered fair.

3,25 God offered Jesus Christ as a sacrifice of propitiation. The propitiation sacrifice is given to satisfy justice, turn away God's wrath, and show mercy based on the accepted sacrifice.

In the NT Christ is named three times propitiation. Here in verse 25 we read that those who turn to Christ in faith find mercy through the purity of His shed Blood. In 1 John 2:2 Christ is called the propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. His sacrifice is sufficient for the whole world, but effective only in the hearts of those who believe in Him. And finally, in 1 John. 4:10 God's love was demonstrated in that He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The publican’s prayer in Luke (18:13) may sound like this: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” He asked God to show him mercy without demanding retribution for his grave sins.

Also the word "propitiation" We meet in Hebrews 2:17: “Therefore He had to be made like the brethren in all things, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest before God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Here the expression “for the propitiation of sins” means their cancellation after payment of the appropriate payment.

In the Old Testament, the name of the lid of the Ark of the Covenant corresponded in meaning to the words “reconciliation” or "propitiation". On the day of atonement, the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat. And after this, the sins of the high priest and all the people were considered atoned for, or covered.

When Christ became the propitiation for our sins, He did something greater. He not only covered them, but also completely deleted.

Paul goes on to write in verse 25 that God gave Christ as a sacrifice of propitiation in His Blood through faith. Our faith should not be based on His Blood; we believe in Christ Himself. Only the risen and living Christ Jesus can save us. He is the propitiation. Faith in Him - the condition due to which propitiation applies to us too. His Blood- this is the price that He paid for us.

Christ's sacrifice shows God's righteousness in forgiveness sins committed before. This refers to sins committed before the death of Christ.

From Adam to Christ, God saved those who believed in Him based on the revelations He gave them. For example, Abraham believed God, and this was counted to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). But on what basis could God do this justly? After all, there was no sinless substitute, and the blood of a perfect sacrifice was not shed.

In other words, Christ had not yet died and the debt had not been paid. On what legal basis then could God save believing sinners in the Old Testament period?

The answer is that although Christ did not die then, God knew that this would happen and saved people on the basis of Christ's future sacrifice. Even though the Old Testament saints knew nothing about Calvary, God knew about it and extended Christ’s sacrifice to them when they turned to him in faith. In a very real sense, Old Testament believers received salvation on credit, based on the price yet to be paid. They lived looking at the future Golgotha, we - at the past. This is what Paul means when he says that Christ's propitiation demonstrated God's righteousness. in the forgiveness of sins committed before. We are not talking here at all about the sins committed by a person before his conversion, as many incorrectly believe. This point of view leads to the fact that the death of Christ relates only to sins committed before the rebirth, and a person is responsible for sins after conversion. No, Paul is writing about God's seeming leniency toward the sins of those who were saved before the cross. It may seem that He was simply excusing these sins or pretending not to notice them. Paul rejects this view. The Lord knew that Christ would make complete atonement, and on the basis of this he saved people.

So, the OT period was a time longsuffering God's. For at least four thousand years, God withheld His judgment on sin. Then, when the time came, He sent His Son to be the One who would bear sins. When the Lord Jesus took our sins upon Himself, God poured out all the wrath of His righteous, holy wrath upon His beloved Son.

3,26 So the death of Christ shows the righteousness of God. God is just because he demanded full payment for sin. And now He can justify sinners without turning a blind eye to their sin and without compromising His righteousness, since for them the perfect atoning Sacrifice was killed and then resurrected. Albert Midline expressed this truth in the following verses:

The Perfect Righteousness of God
Was revealed in the Blood of the Savior;
And at the cross of Christ we find
His righteousness and wonderful mercy.
God cannot leave a sinner unpunished -
After all, sin requires death punishment, -
But in the cross of Christ we see
How God can save us while remaining righteous.

Sin was laid on the Savior,
And by His Blood the debt was paid;
Strict justice satisfied,
And mercy can triumph.
The sinner who believes receives deliverance,
He can say, "The Savior died for me."
He can, pointing to the redemptive
Blood, Say, "This has reconciled me to God."

3,27 Where is that we could boast in this plan of salvation? It destroyed, closed, prohibited. What way this boast destroyed? Business ? No. If salvation could be earned by works, this would give rise to all sorts of self-congratulations. But when salvation is based on faith there is no reason to brag.

A justified person can only say, “I only sinned, and Jesus alone accomplished salvation.” True faith rejects all possibility of self-improvement, self-perfection and self-salvation, looking only to Christ as Savior.

Vera says:

Empty-handed I strive for Your cross;
Naked I come to You for clothing;
Helpless, I look to You in hope of mercy;
Soiled, I come to cleanse myself.
Wash me, Savior, or I will die.

(August M. Toplady)

3,28 Since there is now no way to boast, Paul repeats that a person is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law.

3,29 How does the Good News represent God? Is He exclusively God of the Jews? No, He is also God pagans. The Lord Jesus did not die for any particular nation, but for sinners throughout the world. And he offers the gift of salvation to everyone who desires it, both Jews and pagans.

3,30 There are not two Gods - one for the Jews and the other for the pagans. There is only one God and one way of salvation for all mankind. This God justifies circumcised by faith and uncircumcised by faith. Whatever the reason for using different prepositions ( By And through), this does not change the basis of justification, both require faith. (Cranfield points out that ( Romans, I:222) that attempts to find significant differences between these two prepositions are unconvincing. Augustine was probably right in attributing the difference to rhetorical diversity.)

3,31 But one more important question remains. If we say that salvation is by faith and not by the law, does this mean that the law is not needed at all and should be abolished? Does the Good News throw the law aside as unnecessary? No way, on the contrary, she approves the law and here's how.

The law requires absolute obedience. Breaking the law must be punished. This punishment is DEATH.

If a lawbreaker pays this price, he will perish forever. The Good News tells how Christ paid the price for breaking the law. He didn't treat it like something he could ignore. He paid the full fee. And now anyone who breaks the law can take advantage of the fact that Christ has already paid for it. Thus, the Good News of salvation by faith defends the law by asserting that its highest requirements must be and have been satisfied.

3:1,2 So, what is the advantage [of being] a Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision?
2 This is a great advantage in every way, but especially [in the fact] that they have been entrusted with the word of God.
Just now Paul, one might say, criticized his circumcised relatives, explaining that God values circumcised in spirit with the inner convictions of a man of God , and not those who are circumcised according to the flesh with the beliefs of this world. And it turned out that in the Jews, who with their mother’s milk absorb the feeling of superiority over all peoples, it turns out there is nothing special that would give them REASONS to rise above other peoples.

The Jews would have been greatly disheartened by such an unexpected turn of events. Therefore, Paul softened the blow of debunking his relatives: nevertheless, the Jews have enormous advantages in many ways (a greater chance to learn about God and get closer to Him, in the ancestry of Christ, in a more or less decent lifestyle, etc.).

But the main thing is that namely JEWS ACCORDING TO THE FLESH God entrusted His word to humanity - writing books of the Bible . And even if someone doesn’t like it, through the Jews according to the flesh the light of God’s truth came into the world.

The God of Israel (Jehovah) could not entrust the continuation of His word in the books of the Bible to a pagan, but not because he is less worthy or stupid. But because the Jew had the OPPORTUNITY to perceive what God said, for in the midst of His demands the Jew was “cooked” from birth and the Jew’s way of life was absorbed. And the one who knows the essence of the beginning(Old Testament) - will understand and the essence of its continuation (New Testament) .
It’s like a multi-part film: those who watch it first understand the continuation. And the one who missed it for many centuries or watched a completely different “film” all his life will not be able to understand the essence of the Almighty’s “film” - in its continuation.

For example, how would a pagan or a false prophet understand that when God commanded in the Law of Moses to take care of the threshing oxen, he gave this image for preachers? (see 1 Cor. 9:9).
But Pavel understood. Why? XGood knowledge of Scripture, the way of life of Israel and the holy spirit revealed to Paul the principle of God’s attitude towards those who work for the good of God’s people: all who “plow” in God’s field have the right to “thresh” with the hope of receiving a reward for their work.
The same is true with the understanding of all other prototypes of V.Z. - to clarify their essence in N.Z.

3:3 Because what? even if some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God?
Paul admits that yes, some Jews turned out to be, alas, not faithful and did not have God’s views, so what now? Is it really because of the unfaithfulness of the Jews that God himself cannot fulfill what he promised? Well, no, the Jews will not wait, so that because of them God will not remain faithful to His word.

3:4 No way. God is faithful, but every man is a liar, as it is written: Thou art righteous in Thy words, and thou shalt prevail in Thy judgment.
This is a person who can afford to be true and untrue to his promises; a person’s nature is deceitful: if he wants, he gives his word, if he wants, he takes it back. And God is ALWAYS faithful to His word and will fulfill His promises even for the Jews, despite the fact that they failed their God many times and betrayed Him.

3:5-8 If our untruth reveals the truth of God, then what shall we say? won't God be unjust when he expresses anger? (I speak from human [reasoning]).
6 No way. For [otherwise] how can God judge the world?
7 For if the faithfulness of God is elevated by my unfaithfulness to the glory of God, why else should I be judged as a sinner?
8 And should we not do evil so that good may come, as some slander us and say that we teach this way? The judgment against such is just.
Here Paul is ironic about the thoughts of those who lead an unrighteous lifestyle but do not want to change anything. Here are some thoughts from some of them:

They say, the more we sin, the brighter the contrast with the righteousness of God and the more complete is His glorification as Holy and sinless. Why, in this case, should we be scolded if, thanks to our NOT righteousness, the righteousness of God is magnified?!! Wouldn't God be unjust by punishing sinners whose sinfulness only serves to highlight the righteousness of God? Isn’t it more logical for us to multiply evil so that it serves the good of glorifying the righteousness of Jehovah against our, so to speak, background?! After all, against the background of dirt, cleanliness is always more noticeable.

This is how the people of Paul's time reasoned amusingly, trying to give a noble color to their sinfulness. But if we reason like this, then Satan should not be destroyed, but must be rewarded because thanks to him, Jesus passed such a test and became glorified and hardened, for if there were no Satan, there would be no tests. Yes, and it turns out that everyone who sows temptations and causes stumbling blocks for Christians today also needs to be thanked.

So it is like this: everyone serves in God’s intentions - including Satan. And those who sow temptations and do evil - too. Yes, only for the good fulfillment of your mission, the assessment and reward will be very different: for good deeds - God’s approval and eternal life, and for bad deeds - His wrath and non-existence forever.

But in such reasoning there was a nuisance for Paul, for those who reasoned in this way said that THIS is what the apostles TEACHED them. But Paul did not become nervous, he simply exposed their lies and left it to God to determine the severity of their action.

3:9 So what? do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already proved that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,
Paul continues the interrupted thought about the declared advantage of the circumcised Jews: despite the fact that they have been entrusted with much, they, like the Greeks, are by and large also sinners and no more righteous than the pagans.

3:10-12 as it is written: There is none righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands; no one seeks God;
however, the deplorable spiritual state of the Jews was predicted in ancient times by the prophets: and among them, alas, there is not one SEEKING GOD HIMSELF, everyone is exclusively busy searching for the benefits that flow from the presence of God among them.

The Personality of God and becoming like Him are not of interest to them; they are only interested in the benefits that can be obtained from Him. And there is no righteousness in this, even if everything looks decent and orderly.
This is a very relevant warning for us who have lived until the last times. It will never be superfluous to ask yourself a control question from time to time: am I currently looking for God HIMSELF, trying to know HIM, or looking only for those benefits that I can acquire through serving Him?

That's why it is said that
12 All THEY HAVE TURNED AWAY from the path of God and there is not one who does GOOD.
Not doing evil is NOT ENOUGH to become righteous. And GOOD lies only in becoming better, in order to be more like the PERSONALITY of the Creator in character and actions, to be clothed in the IMAGE of God.

3:13-16 Their larynx is an open tomb; they deceive with their tongue; the poison of asps is on their lips.
14 Their lips are full of slander and bitterness.
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 destruction and destruction are in their ways;
This type of “righteousness”, when goods are sought, and not God, is the bearer of slander, bitterness and hatred towards each other, for everything decent is done not out of love for God, but out of fear of being rejected by the society of God’s people. And in hatred the murderer is hidden, therefore the hands of the hater are covered in blood.

Allow them to do everything with impunity - will they lead the lifestyle that God forced them to lead by using the whip of the letter of the law and punishment for violations? That is the question. If the convictions of God do not become the inner convictions of His servants, then there is no benefit for them in serving; they are just as unrighteous as the pagans.

3:17,18 they do not know the way of the world.
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Such “righteous” people do not know the path of creation; they only destroy themselves and each other with evil and hatred; there is no fear of God in them, despite the fact that they are afraid of punishment. For the fear of God is not born because of punishment, but from love for God and His creations, from the reluctance to upset God and destroy what He creates, from love for His laws and the understanding that they are fair and lead to good at that time , how their violation leads to destruction. The fear of God lies in the inner desire to LIVE according to God, and not in the fear of punishment for sin.

All this can happen today to us, to worshipers of God, so we need to check ourselves and our motives in serving God.

3:19 But we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth is stopped, and the whole world becomes guilty before God,
Paul continues to develop the theme of the Jews' lack of advantage in regard to sin: the prophets foretold a deplorable spiritual condition for those who accepted the Mosaic Law, for Israel, and for those who joined them. Since even those under the law are accused of sinfulness, it turns out that the whole world in general is in a sinful state. And any mouth that tries to prove that the Jews are still better than the pagans because of the law of God is blocked: they are no better. After all, the mere presence of the Law of Moses did not make any of its participants righteous. Why?

3:20 because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
P The list of prohibitions of the law only shows WHAT of the listed things CANNOT be done and what can be done. Everything to do it is forbidden - considered a sin , and doing what is forbidden is, from the point of view of the law, sinner and is punished.
So it turns out that the law only described the TYPES of sins, and NOT the types of righteousness. Not breaking the points of the law does not mean being RIGHTEOUS in the eyes of God (no one will be justified by works of the law). Just like NOT doing evil does NOT mean DOING GOOD.

The righteous of God is the one who has realized God's attitude and made it WITH YOUR INNER BELIEFS , therefore, he will NOT lie, steal, or kill, even if a law is passed allowing all this to be done. This way of life is contrary to his inner convictions. His way of life does NOT change and does NOT depend on whether the Reds or Whites in the yard dictate their laws. Such righteousness is STABLE, and therefore has the right to eternity.

3:21-23 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has appeared, to which the law and the prophets testify,
22 The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ is to all and to all who believe, for there is no difference,
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
but despite the fact that EVERYONE, as it turned out, is in a sinful state (both those who do the works of the law and those who do not), NOW (now) there is an opportunity to see the example of Jehovah’s righteousness by believing Jesus Christ. Every believer in Christ can now become the righteous of God.
God gave this hope to all humanity.

3:24,25 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God offered as a propitiation by His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness in the forgiveness of sins previously committed,
Why NOWCan every believer in Christ become righteous? Because Jesus provided this opportunity to everyone as a gift, paying God for our sinful condition - BY YOURSELF. At the time of Christ’s arrival, or at the moment when a person recognizes Christ and takes his path, he has already managed to sin and therefore deserves death. Jesus justifies these sins ( done before) with their blood, so that those who wish could be justified before God and begin to approach Him already in this century. If the sins of people were not “covered” by the sacrifice of Christ, they would not have the opportunity to approach God in sinful form, since God is far from the wicked (Proverbs 15:29).

Now, with the opportunity to use the cleansing power of the blood of Christ for themselves, every believer has the OPPORTUNITY to draw closer to God, to know Him and to comprehend His worldview in order to do it OWN(to form the essence of God in oneself).
God was closed from people BEFORE Christ. Now He is open and forgives us former sinful way of life, is ready to draw closer to us and helps everyone to BECOME His righteous, with the help of the holy spirit, removing from us everything unnecessary and incorrect. There would be a desire for us to CHANGE according to the example of the righteous Christ - and God is now available to everyone.

The justification of Christ will operate not only for those who fit into time in the New Testament of this century, but also for all those who lived before him: it will also be necessary for the period of the thousand-year reign of Christ, when all the resurrected (the righteous and the unrighteous of all times) will be learn God's way of life. The righteousness of Christ will work for the good of mankind until not only those who participated in the first resurrection (co-rulers of Christ), but also all who are written in God’s book of life (Malach. 3:16) achieve holiness and find eternal life in God’s world (Rev.21:3,4,7)

3:26 during [the] longsuffering of God, to demonstrate His righteousness at this time, that He [may] be righteous and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
We are forgiven - all the sins we have committed BEFORE our acceptance of Christ, which God endured from everyone in anticipation of the coming of Jesus.
Using the example of Christ, God, in fact, planned to show a model of righteousness for those who wish to become His fans. Since the Creator was always far from the wicked, NOW Paul wishes that He would APPEAR to everyone who believes in Christ, that everyone could receive Him and embrace His essence, for NOW all are righteous in His eyes (He justifies everyone) thanks to the atonement Christ.

From this moment on, the one who believes that he can independently earn forgiveness of sins and eternal life from God is groundless in his hopes, and the one who believes that he receives forgiveness through the atonement of Christ has grounds for this from God.

3:27,28 Where is something to boast about? destroyed. What law? [law] affairs? No, but by the law of faith.
28 For we acknowledge that a man is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law.
Paul's summary of the advantages of the Jews: their advantage was only a zilch. The law they boasted so much about has now been replaced by another. And the countdown of righteousness will NOW come from the new law. And the main BASIS in it is not the thoughtless fulfillment of points, but faith in the messenger of Jehovah, the belief that he is an example of the righteousness of God, encouraging one to become a better person in heart and personality. Therefore, now every inhabitant of the earth will be able to become a righteous person, regardless of whether he has at least some relation to the works of the Mosaic Law or not.

3:29-31 Is God really [the God] of the Jews only, and not of the pagans? Of course, pagans too,
30 For there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcised by faith.
31 Do we then make void the law by faith? No way; but we affirm the law
The God of Israel (Jehovah) is the God of ALL inhabitants of the earth, regardless of nationality. He is the only one who has the ability and authority to make both the circumcised and the uncircumcised righteous through their faith in Jesus Christ.
However, Jews may have a question: “What is it that turns out, the new law, based on faith in Christ, has refuted the previous law of Jehovah?” No, he did not refute, but confirmed, for the previous law was precisely intended to ensure the conditions and possibility of the coming of Christ. Christ has come, which means that the previous law has also been fulfilled.

. Because what? even if some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God?

Having rejected all the provisions of the law with words "what is the advantage of being a Jew", sees a naturally arising objection and prevents it. What kind of objection is this? Next: if there is not the slightest benefit in those decrees, then why, finally, were the Jewish people chosen? This objection is resolved with his characteristic wisdom. In words he agrees and says that it is of great benefit to the Jews, and as proof of this he cites not the merits of the Jews, but the gifts of God. He did not say that the Jews were very superior to other nations because they did this and that well, but that “they have been entrusted with the word of God”, and this is God’s good deed, and not their superiority. What does "entrusted" mean? Given, entrusted; recognized the Jews as worthy and therefore entrusted them with heavenly revelations.

By saying this, he outwardly protects them; but with all this, he puts forward a new accusation, proving that they did not believe the words of God, which served to their honor. But he does not present this accusation on his own behalf. As if he were saying this: what good does it do to the Jews that they received the revelation of God when they did not believe it? It seems that this objection is resolved by justifying not the Jews, but God. If you do not believe, is it from God? Is it possible that their infidelity "will destroy the faithfulness of God", that is, the revelations and benefits entrusted to them? The unfaithfulness of the Jews not only does not cause God any harm, but, on the contrary, proves His great love for mankind, because He does not deprive those who subsequently dishonor Him of the benefits. You see how he accused the Jews of the very thing that they boasted of, that is, that they received the law.

. No way. faithful, but every man is a liar, as it is written: Thou art righteous in Thy words, and thou shalt prevail in Thy judgment.

I said above that some did not believe. Meanwhile, not some, but all, turn out to be unfaithful. Therefore, in order not to upset the Jews, he speaks wisely and presents what he has learned from experience in the form of an assumption. Let's say he says that everyone was unfaithful. What of this? And in this case it is justified. That is: if we judge and compare what God gave to the Jews and how they behaved before Him, then righteousness remains on the side of God, as David says ().

. If our untruth reveals the truth of God, then what shall we say? Wouldn't it be unfair when he expresses anger? (I speak from human reasoning).

. No way. For how else can God judge the world?

There is one objection here. Others could say: if from the fact that he benefited us, and we were ungrateful to Him, He turns out to be even more faithful; then why is He angry, that is, punishing us, if we became the reason for His justification and victory? This is the objection. The Apostle decides this very wisely and as a denunciation of the Jews. From the fact that God punishes you, it does not follow that you are the reason for God’s victory; for it is unfair for the winner to punish the one who was the cause of the victory. But God is not unjust: otherwise, how can God judge the world if He is unjust? Therefore, when God punishes you, and He is not unjust, it follows that you did not become the reason for His victory by sinning: for God could have won otherwise if you had not turned out to be evil. Words “I speak from human reasoning” have such meaning. So, he says, I answer to justify God according to human reason, that is, as only a sane person can answer: for the actions of God have some reasons incomprehensible to us, surpass human reason and do not need our protection.

. For, if the faithfulness of God is elevated by my unfaithfulness to the glory of God, why else should I be judged as a sinner?

. and should we not do evil so that good may come out, as some slander us and say that we teach this way? The judgment against such is just.

He repeats what was said before to make it clearer. If through my crime I appeared righteous and faithful; then why, finally, condemn me, who has contributed to the glory of God? In this case, I deserve not condemnation, but reward. And if this is true, then what the pagans say about us will also be true. The Gentiles heard Paul's words: “When sin abounded, grace abounded all the more”(), subjected them to ridicule and claimed that Christians say: we will do evil so that good will come out, we will sin more so that grace will increase. These words of the pagans, spoken by them to mock and mock us, also apply in the present case, if we assume that He reveals His goodness thanks to our depravity and ingratitude. But that's not really the case. The speech of the pagans is the speech of those who always speak lies. "Just judgment is upon such", that is, they will be punished fairly. So, by sinning, I do not become the reason for God’s justification, because I am condemned as a sinner; for if I had sinned for the glory of God, I would not have been condemned.

. So what? do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already proved that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,

. as it is written: There is none righteous, not even one;

. there is no one who understands; no one seeks God;

. they have all turned aside from the path, they are worthless to one; there is no one who does good, not even one.

. Their larynx is an open tomb; they deceive with their tongue; the poison of asps is on their lips.

. Their lips are full of slander and bitterness.

. Their feet are quick to shed blood;

. destruction and destruction are in their ways;

. they do not know the way of the world.

. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Having said above that the Jews have some advantage because the law has been entrusted and handed over to them, he now proves that they have no advantage due to their deeds. For, as those who did not preserve what was entrusted to them, they will be subject to great condemnation. Therefore, although they had some advantage, as chosen by God, but since by their deeds they dishonored God, who honored them and chose them, they not only no longer have any advantage, but will also be subject to greater condemnation.

He speaks as if on behalf of the Jews: “So, what? do we have an advantage" Are we, the Jews, who received the law and circumcision, superior to others, are we more pleasing to God than others? "Not at all". For the Jews, to say the least, sinned just as much as the Gentiles. Where can you see this? Of the prophets, namely David and Isaiah. For a speech that begins with the words: “no one is righteous” and ending like this: “the essence is full of oaths and sorrows”, belongs to David (), and speech from the words "Their feet are swift" to the words "they do not know the way of the world" belongs to Isaiah (); then the words of David () follow again.

So, he presents the most significant prophets as accusers of the Jews, and shows that they speak completely in agreement. Why, after the words of Isaiah, are the words of David again cited? For Isaiah speaks clearly of the Jews; David also speaks about them. Further, as soon as someone deviates from good, he immediately becomes useless. For depravity is nothing more than a perversion of natural impulses towards good: why, exciting a person to the unnatural, it makes him useless. For nature no longer uses it, just as it does not use it when administering the affairs of its sick. "Destruction and Damage" there is sin, for nothing destroys the soul more than sin, in its wrong way. For virtue, as our natural good, arranges a straight and smooth path for us, and depravity, as an unnatural matter, known for shortcomings and excesses, sometimes forces us to rush up and sometimes down, and therefore makes our movement uneven and difficult; not to mention the fact that she is preparing punishment for us after this. "They don't know the way of the world", that is, a pious life; for a godly life is the path of peace. “Take,” says the Lord, "My yoke... and you will find rest"(): this is the path to the true peace of Christ!

. But we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth is stopped, and the whole world becomes guilty before God,

. because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

So that the Jews could not object: this is not being said to us, he says: “If the law says anything, it speaks to those under the law”. What is the need, he says, to tell others when the law has been given to you? But Mosaic calls the whole law, not just the law alone, just as he now calls the prophecies of Isaiah and David law. In words "every mouth is stopped" depicts the boasting of the Jews and the unstoppable desire of their tongue. With them the prophet curbed him like a rushing stream.

The apostle does not mean that they sinned so that their lips would be blocked; but for this reason they were rebuked by the prophets, so that they would not represent their sins by their sins of ignorance and would not boast. And not only the Jews, but also "The whole world becomes guilty before God", that is, condemned, alien to boldness, not justified by one’s own deeds, but having a need for outside help, that is, the grace of Christ. Why do you, Jew, boast of the law, when you, along with the rest of the world, are guilty of not being justified by the works of the law?

. But now, regardless of the law, the truth of God has appeared, to which the law and the prophets testify.

If you, a Jew, boast about the law, then know that it is the reason for greater punishment for you. For through him you recognized sin, and whoever sins with consciousness faces greater punishment. But this happened due to your negligence, for you did not flee the sin that had become known to you, and therefore brought upon yourself greater punishment. How can you free yourself from this punishment? If you accept the truth of God, independent of the law. For God will justify us, even though we have no works; because he is omnipotent. He put it perfectly: “appeared” in order to show that the truth of God existed before, but was hidden. And with words "to which the law and the prophets bear witness" also shows that it is not something new, but that both the law of Moses and the prophets spoke about it, which is why it is worthy of acceptance; for although it is independent of the law, it is completely in accordance with the law and has the goal of justifying us.

. The truth of God through faith in Jesus Christ is in all and on all who believe, for there is no difference,

. because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

This truth, he says, that is, the justification by which God has justified us, descends on everyone through faith. When we bring faith, we are all justified, Jews and Gentiles. "For there is no difference". A Jew is not preferred to a Gentile because he has received the law. For he also sinned, since from the law he learned only how to recognize sin, and not how to avoid it. Even if he has not sinned as much as a pagan, he is equally deprived of glory, because he has offended God, and the offender reaps the fruit not of glory, but of dishonor. But don't despair. All are justified freely by the grace of God, and this grace comes through redemption, that is, through the perfect liberation made by Christ, for He justified us by giving Himself as a ransom for us.

. whom He offered as a propitiation by His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness in the forgiveness of sins previously committed,

. during the longsuffering of God, to demonstrate His righteousness at this time, that He may appear righteous and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.

He mentioned cleansing (by the sacrifice of propitiation) and blood in order to convince the Jew that forgiveness and justification are accomplished through Christ. If, he reasons, you believed that sins were resolved by the blood of sheep; then all the more are they resolved by the Blood of Christ, and if legal cleansing, being the image of Christ, had such power, then the truth itself has much greater power. “Purification” (purification) was the name given to the cover of the ark, decorated with cherubs placed on both sides of it. It pointed to human nature, which was the veil of Divinity that covered Him, but was glorified by the angelic powers serving him because of his union with God the Word. He said “offered” in order to show that deliverance by the Blood of Christ was predestined from ancient times for healing from relaxation, that is, death from sins committed before, during the forbearance of God. For although we enjoyed much goodness, we nevertheless became like those weakened and dead. And this happened "to tell the truth" God, so that not only He himself would appear righteous, but also others who were dead in sin could be resurrected and justified, just as the manifestation of wealth consists in someone not only being rich himself, but also being able to make others rich. So, do not be ashamed, being justified in this way. If God appropriates this work to Himself, that is, he exalts himself and boasts about it, as one who justifies us "currently", that is, when we reached the extreme limit and when we recognized ourselves as if weakened and dead, then why should you, Jew, be ashamed of such glory of God?

. Where is something to boast about? destroyed. What law? the law of affairs? No, but by the law of faith.

The Apostle proved that we will be justified through faith, why does the Jew rightly ask: where is that which you can boast about and be proud of? He doesn’t say: where is virtue? For the Jews had no virtue, but only boasting. And he continues: “destroyed,” which means: it’s no longer time to boast.

Before Christ it was timely to boast about the law, but now it is no longer timely, for it has become clear that boasting about it is useless. For if the law could justify us, then there would be no need for us in Christ. By what law, he asks, was it “destroyed”? Is it the law of works, that is, the one that says that the person who fulfills them will live ()? (For this is what the law of Moses said.) No, he answers; but by the law of faith, which justifies by grace and not by works. So he calls faith law; because the word "law" because there is one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by faith.

Having proved that justification is in the Blood of Christ, and not in works of the law, he ends his speech and says: from all that has been said, we conclude that every person is justified by faith. Do not be embarrassed by this, Jew, as if it were absurd. There is not a private God to save only you, and not every person. Here he shames the Jews and greatly frightens them, as fighters against God, if they do not allow that the pagans are saved through faith; for they do not believe that He is the God of all and provides equally for everyone.

One, he says, is God, that is, of Jews and Gentiles, who justifies the circumcised, not by law, but by faith, and accepts the uncircumcised through faith. Having mentioned circumcision and uncircumcision, he also recalls what was said above, where he proved that neither circumcision brings benefit when there is no work, nor does uncircumcision harm in itself. So, with both, faith is needed.

. So, do we abolish the law by faith? No way; but we affirm the law (ἰστώμεν ).

The saying that the law is overthrown by faith led the Jews into confusion. Therefore, he heals them with his great wisdom, saying that faith confirms the law. For what the law desired, that is, to justify a person, but could not do, this is accomplished by faith. Whoever has just believed has already been justified. So, faith did not destroy, but established the law. The expression ίστώμεν suggests that the law lay, and the one who lies must be raised and put in place.

 1 “What is the advantage of being a Jew?” 10 There is not one righteous. 21 Both Jew and Gentile alike are justified by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

1 So, what is the advantage be Jews, or what is the benefit of circumcision?

2 A great advantage in all respects, especially in, that they have been entrusted with the word of God.

3 For what? even if some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God?

4 No way. God is faithful, but every man is a liar, as it is written: “You are righteous in Your words and you will be victorious in Your judgment.”

5 If our unrighteousness reveals the truth of God, then what shall we say? won't God be unjust when he expresses anger? (I'm speaking in human terms) reasoning).

6 No way. For otherwise How should God judge the world?

7 For if the faithfulness of God is elevated by my unfaithfulness to the glory of God, why else should I be judged as a sinner?

8 And should we not do evil so that good may come, as some slander us and say that we teach this way? The judgment against such is just.

9 So what? do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already proved that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,

10 as it is written: “There is none righteous, not even one;

11 there is no one who understands; no one seeks God;

12 They have all turned aside from the way, even one of them is worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

13 “Their throat is an open tomb; they deceive with their tongue; the poison of asps is on their lips.”

14 “Their mouth is full of slander and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are quick to shed blood;

16 destruction and destruction are in their ways;

17 They do not know the way of peace.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 But we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth is stopped, and the whole world becomes guilty before God,

20 For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, to which the law and the prophets testify,

22 The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ is to all and to all who believe, for there is no difference,

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

25 whom God offered as a propitiation by His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness in the forgiveness of sins previously committed,

26 in time God's longsuffering, to demonstrate His righteousness at this time, yes will appear He is righteous and the justifier of the one who believes in Jesus.

27 Where is there something to boast about? destroyed. What law? by law business? No, but by the law of faith.

28 For we acknowledge that a man is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law.

29 Is it really God there is God Jews only, and not pagans too? Of course, pagans too,

30 For there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcised by faith.

31 Do we then make void the law by faith? No way; but we affirm the law.

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Epistle to the Romans of the Apostle Paul, chapter 3

1 So, what is the advantage of being a Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision?

2 This is a great advantage in every way, but especially in the fact that they have been entrusted with the word of God.

3 For what? even if some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God?

4 No way. God is faithful, but every man is a liar, as it is written: Thou art righteous in Thy words, and thou shalt prevail in Thy judgment.

5 If our unrighteousness reveals the truth of God, then what shall we say? won't God be unjust when he expresses anger? (I speak from human reasoning).

6 No way. For how else can God judge the world?

7 For if the faithfulness of God is elevated by my unfaithfulness to the glory of God, why else should I be judged as a sinner?

8 And should we not do evil so that good may come, as some slander us and say that we teach this way? The judgment against such is just.

9 So what? do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already proved that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,

10 As it is written: There is none righteous, not even one;

11 there is no one who understands; no one seeks God;

12 They have all turned aside from the way, even one of them is worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.

13 Their throat is an open tomb; they deceive with their tongue; the poison of asps is on their lips.

14 Their lips are full of slander and bitterness.

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 destruction and destruction are in their ways;

17 They do not know the way of peace.

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19 But we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth is stopped, and the whole world becomes guilty before God,

20 For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, to which the law and the prophets testify,

22 The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ is to all and to all who believe, for there is no difference,

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

25 whom God offered as a propitiation by His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness in the forgiveness of sins previously committed,

26 during the longsuffering of God, for the demonstration of his righteousness at this time, that he may appear righteous and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.

27 Where is there something to boast about? destroyed. What law? the law of affairs? No, but by the law of faith.

28 For we acknowledge that a man is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law.

29 Is God really the God of the Jews only, and not of the Gentiles? Of course, pagans too,

30 For there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcised by faith.

31 Do we then make void the law by faith? No way; but we affirm the law.