Some Key Words (6/29/00-7/1/00)

Apart (choris [5565]):

separate, apart, without any, besides; at a space, apart from

Law (nomos [3551]):

distributing or administering, general law, divine law, the books of the Pentateuch, the OT, the Gospel, a principle of equal force with the law; anything established by usage, custom, or law, any law, precept, or injunction, a rule of action prescribed by reason, the Mosaic law, Christian religion; law, regulation, Mosaic or Gospel law, a principle

Righteousness (dikaiosune [1343]):

righteous and just, the essence of that which is just, that which fulfills the claims of justice, conformity with the claims of higher authority, God's uprightness or standard, to which we are expected to conform; the state of one who is as he ought to be, the condition acceptable to God, the doctrine concerning how we may attain to God's approval, integrity, virtue, purity of life, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting, justice or virtue; equity of character and act, Christian justification

Manifested (phaneroo [5319]):

to make known, show, the act of divine revelation, the follow on to apocalypse - that being the thing revealed, whereas phaneroo speaks to those it was revealed to (revelation [apocalypse] makes known [phaneroo]), to make public, to become or be made visible, to be made known; to make visible that which was hidden or unknown - whether by word, deed, or some other way, to make actual, realized, to make known by teaching, to be made known, to expose a person to view, show oneself, to become known, thoroughly understood as to who and what one is; to render apparent

Witnessed (martureo [3140]):

to bear witness, testify - implying praise or commendation, to confirm; to affirm that one has seen, heard, or experienced something, or that what is known is due to divine revelation, to give testimony, to give a good report, to implore; to be witness, testify

Prophets (prophetes [4396]):

one who speaks openly before another, the interpreter of the oracle, the interpreters of the future, one through whom God speaks, one who shows forth God's will, those who maintain the connection between the Church and God, messengers or communicators; one who speaks as moved by God, declaring what he receives to men as regards God's cause, the OT prophets, John the Baptist, the Messiah, men who plead God's cause by His authority, those who speak as the Holy Spirit gives them word; a foreteller, an inspired speaker, a poet

Faith (pistis [4102]):

being persuaded, belief - implying knowledge of, assent to, and confidence in the divine truth of the Gospel, or of religious truth in general, miraculous faith, the doctrine of faith, and justification thereby, Christian religion, fidelity, assurance, proof; conviction of the truth of a thing - specifically of man's relationship to God and divine things, including the idea of trust and holy fervor, the conviction that God exists as creator and ruler of all things, that Christ Jesus is the Messiah, the means of our eternal salvation, Christian beliefs, belief with confidence, fidelity, the character of one who can be relied on; persuasion, moral conviction, reliance upon Christ for salvation, constancy in our professed beliefs, the system of religious truth itself

Believe (pisteuo [4100]):

to believe, to give credit to, to have a mental persuasion, to be of opinion, to believe in or on Christ; to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in, the conviction and trust to which man is impelled by the law of soul, to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid, saving faith, intellectual faith, to entrust, to be entrusted; to have faith

Distinction (diastole [1293]):

a distinction, difference - as in the different sounds of musical instruments; variation

Sinned (hamartano [264]):

to sin, miss, not to hit, one who keeps missing the mark in relationship to God; to be without share in, miss the mark, err, be mistaken, to wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong, to violate God's law; to miss the mark, and so not share in the prize, to err, especially to sin

Fall short (hustereo [5302]):

behind, to come late, to be left behind in the race, failing to reach the goal, to fall short of the end, to fail to become a partaker, to fall back from, to be inferior in power, influence and rank, to fail, to be wanting or lacking, to suffer want, to be devoid of, lacking in excellence or worth; to be later, to be inferior, to fall short, be deficient

Glory (doxa [1391]):

appearance, reputation, glory, the recognition belonging to a person, honor, renown, form, aspect, that which catches the eye, commanding recognition, splendor, brilliance, all which is excellent in the divine nature, all that God will appear to be in His final revelation; an opinion, judgement, view; an estimate - either good or bad - concerning someone (always a good opinion in the NT - leading to praise, honor, and glory), splendor, brightness, magnificence, excellence, dignity, grace, majesty, the absolute perfection of God, the majesty of Messiah, the personal, perfect excellency of Christ, a most glorious condition, a most exalted state; very apparent glory

Justified (dikaioo [1344]):

to bring out the fact that a person is righteous, to make him righteous, to justify as a judicial act; to render such as he ought to be, to show one to be righteous, to declare one to be just, or as he ought to be; to show or regard as just or innocent

As a gift (dorean [1432]):

freely, undeservedly; gratuitously

Grace (charis [5485]):

a favor done without expectation of return, absolute freeness of God's lovingkindness to men, unearned and unmerited favor; good will, loving-kindness, favor, the merciful kindness by which God turns men's hearts to Christ, that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, loveliness, that which is due to grace - the spiritual condition of one governed by divine grace, the token or proof of grace, thanks, a recompense, a reward; graciousness of manner or act, the divine influence on the heart and its reflection in the life - including gratitude

Redemption (apolutrosis [629]):

redemption from, a ransom, a price paid, the recalling of captives from captivity through the payment of a ransom; a release effected by payment of ransom, deliverance, liberation procured by payment of ransom; ransom in full, Christian salvation

Propitiation (hilasterion [2435]):

mercy seat, the lid or covering of the Ark of the Covenant - where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement, where God promised to meet His people, Christ as the reality of the mercy seat, a place of expiation, an altar or place of sacrifice - not the sacrifices themselves, the symbol of the mercy of the power of God; relating to an appeasing or expiating, a means of appeasing, the cover of the ark of the covenant, whereupon the blood of the victim was sprinkled, the lid of expiation, an expiatory sacrifice, an expiatory victim; an atoning victim, the lid of the Ark of the Covenant

Demonstrate (endeixis [1732]):

proof, manifestation made by act, sign, evidence; indication

Forbearance (anoche [463]):

to hold, bear, indulgence, temporary longsuffering, the temporary character of God's attitude toward sin, a temporary suspension of wrath; toleration; self-restraint

Passed over (paresis [3929]):

to put on the side, bypass (a temporary state); a passing over, a letting pass, a disregard; toleration

Just (dikaios [1342]):

conformable to right, that which is right or just, that which is expected by the one who sets the rules, one who acts conformably with justice without any failure, one who has conformed his life to God's standards; observing divine laws, upright, virtuous, keeping God's commands, self-righteous, innocent, faultless, guiltless, wholly conformed to the will of God, approved by God; equitable in character or act, innocent, holy

Boasting (kauchesis [2746]):

the act of glorifying; the act or object of boasting

Excluded (ekkleio [1576]):

to shut out, to turn out of doors, to prevent the approach of one; to shut out

Works (ergon [2041]):

work, performance, the result of employment, any object to which one may have to attain, the object of doing work - usually as the result of cumulative effort, calling, labor done for Christ, moral conduct, Christ's miracles; business, employment, what one is occupied with, an undertaking, the product of work, an act, a deed; toil, an act

Maintain (logizomai [3049]):

to put together with one's mind, to count, to reckon or calculate, to value or esteem, to conclude, infer, believe, consider; to reckon, compute, count over, take into account, make an account of, to impute, to consider equivalent to - having like force and weight, to number among, to account, to weigh the reasons, deliberate, to gather, infer, to take into account, meditate on, to suppose, to judge, to determine, decide; to take an inventory, estimate

Circumcised (peritome [4061]):

to cut around, the cutting off of the foreskin, spiritual circumcision by putting off from the body the sins of the flesh; the state of circumcision - physical or spiritual, those truly consecrated to God, the extinction of passions and the removal of spiritual impurity; circumcision - the rite, the condition, or the people

Uncircumcised (akrobustia [203]):

to cover in the extreme, the foreskin, uncircumcision, outside the promises; having the foreskin, uncircumcised, a Gentile, a condition in which the corrupt fleshly desires are not yet extinct; an uncircumcised or unregenerate state or person

Nullify (katargeo [2673]):

to make to cease, to make unfruitful, to abrogate, make void, do away with, or put an and to, complete non-temporary cessation; to render inactive or inoperative, to cause to have no further efficacy, to deprive of power, to cause to cease, do away with, annul, abolish, to pass away, be done away, to be severed or separated from, discharged or loosed, to terminate all intercourse with one; to render entirely idle or useless

Establish (histemi [2476]):

to set, place, to stand, to remain, abide, continue, to stand still, stop, to cause to stand, establish, confirm, to be established, stand firm, to be confirmed, to appoint, to agree, covenant, to impute, lay to one's charge; to cause to stand, to place, to put, to set, to bid to stand by, to stand - as before the judge, to place, to make firm, to fix, to establish, to be kept intact, to establish a thing, to uphold or sustain the authority of anything, to set or place in a balance, to stop, stand still, stand immovable, stand firm - as a foundation, to continue unharmed, to be of a steadfast mind, one who does not hesitate or waiver; to stand

 

Paraphrase: (6/28/00)

21 In this time, God's righteousness has been made evident even where the Law is not known, just as the Law and the Prophets said it would. 22 His righteousness is coming to all who believe and have faith in Jesus Christ, without exception, 23 for all have sinned, without exception, and none can measure up to His glory, 24 rather, in His grace, he has given us the gift of justification through the redemption made in Jesus Christ, 25 who - as God required - gave public propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to display God's righteousness, in that He chose to thereby pass over and forgive our earlier sins. 26 It continues to display His righteousness even now, showing Him to be the justifier of all who have faith in Jesus. 27 Therefor, there is no reason for any to boast, for all possible reasons for boasting have been eliminated by the law of faith. 28 After all, we are telling you that man's justification comes by faith alone, and has nothing to do with his efforts to obey the Law. 29 Or do you still think God is only God to the Jews? Surely He is also God to the Gentiles? Certainly, He is! 30 The same God who justifies the circumcised by faith also justifies the uncircumcised through faith. He is One.

Key Verse: (6/28/00)

3:28 - How could one choose otherwise? Man is justified through no work of his own, but solely by faith in the work of Christ. [And even that faith is not his own doing, but is the gift of God.]

People Mentioned: (7/1/00)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (7/1/00-7/2/00)

3:21

 Ro 1:17 - God's righteousness is revealed by the Gospel through faith. Ro 9:30 - The Gentiles attained righteousness by faith, even though they had not pursued it. Ac 10:43 - The prophets all witness to the fact that those who believe in Christ will receive forgiveness of sins. Ro 1:2 - The promises of Scripture point to the work of Christ.

3:22

Ro 1:17 - In the Gospel message of Christ, God has revealed His righteousness to man. Ro 9:30 - It is through faith in this Gospel message that the Gentiles have come to the righteousness they didn't know to seek. Ro 4:5 - Faith is accounted to the believer as righteousness through no work of his own. Ac 3:16 - Faith in the name [office/work] of Christ has brought healing to the man who believes. Gal 2:16 - It is faith in Christ, not works that justify man before God, for no man is justified by the works of the Law. Gal 2:20 - With Christ in us, we recognize that our life is only by faith in Him. Gal 3:22 - Scripture has declared to all men their sinfulness, that all men might be given the promise of faith in Christ. Eph 3:12 - Our faith in Christ gives us boldness and confident access. Ro 4:11 - Abraham received the sign of circumcision without prior works, to become the father of all who believe. Ro 4:16 - Because the promise was by faith, it is made certain to all his descendants, both those of Law and those of faith. Ro 10:4 - Christ fulfills the claims of the Law in all believers. Ro 10:12 - God is God of both Jew and Greek without distinction, with the same offer to all who call Him. Gal 3:28 - Neither is there a distinction between male and female, slave or free, in Christ we are all one. Col 3:11 - In our renewal, all the distinctions that fleshly man has imposed are removed, for Christ is all, and He has infilled all without distinction.

3:23
3:24

Ro 4:4 - When one works, the pay is not a gracious gift, but simply the paying of a debt. Ro 4:16 - Faith and grace operate together to bring the promised salvation to all who believe. Eph 2:8 - Grace through faith, and even that faith a gift from God, has brought us to salvation. 1Co 1:30 - By God's doing, Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Eph 1:7 - The redemption coming through His blood, obtaining for us forgiveness in the richness of God's grace. Col 1:14 - Redemption and forgiveness of sins both are ours in Christ. Heb 9:15 - Christ, as the one who paid the redeeming penalty of the first covenant, is the mediator to us who are chosen of the new covenant promise.

3:25

1Jn 2:2 - Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. [it remains to them to accept the result.] 1Jn 4:10 - This was done because God loved us, not because we loved Him. 1Co 5:7 - The leaven of sin is removed from us, because Christ was our Passover sacrifice, Heb 9:14 - and His blood is far more efficacious than any lamb to cleanse us from our dead works to become living servants of God. Heb 9:28 - As He was offered sinless to bear our sins, He will return sinless to we who await Him for salvation. 1Pe 1:19 - Our redemption is in the precious, unblemished, spotless blood of Christ. Rev 1:5 - Christ is He who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood. Ro 2:4 - We are in danger of taking His forbearance and patience too lightly, when we forget that He led us to repentance out of His kindness. Ac 14:16 - In previous times, God allowed the nations to go their own way, Ac 17:30 - overlooking their faults in their ignorance. Now, however, the declaration of their sinfulness has gone forth, and all should repent.

3:26
3:27

Ro 2:17 - Many boast of being God-chosen while relying on the Law to prove their righteousness, Ro 2:23 - but even as they boast of being Law-abiding, they break the Law to God's dishonor. Ro 4:2 - If Abraham's works had made him righteous, he could have boasted about it, but even then, not before God, only before man. 1Co 1:29 - Since all is by God's choice, there is no place for us to boast of our accomplishments before Him. Ro 9:31 - Those who pursued the Law's righteousness never attained to the necessary obedience to that law.

3:28

Ac 13:39 - Through Christ we are freed from all the things the Law could never free us from. Eph 2:8-9 - Our salvation has come through faith, not by any work of our own - leaving us no place to boast in ourselves. Jas 2:20 - At the same time, a declared faith that does not produce works is a dead faith, [as a vine that produces no grape is a dead vine.] Jas 2:24 - The works make man's justified estate visible, where the simple declaration of faith does not offer proof. Jas 2:26 - For faith from which the fruit of works has departed is as dead as a body from which the spirit has departed.

3:29

Ac 10:34 - After events at Cornelius' house, Peter finally understood God's impartiality. Ro 9:24 - For He chooses us from amongst both Jews and Gentiles. Ro 10:12 - Yes, He is Lord of all, and gives of His richness to all who call upon Him. Ro 15:9 - It was written of in Scripture that God's praises should come from among the Gentiles, also. Gal 3:28 - All are one in Christ, with no regard for race, sex, or station.

3:30

Ro 10:12 - God is Lord of all, offering Himself equally to all who will call on Him. Gal 3:20 - God is one. Still. Ro 4:11 - The sign of circumcision was given to Abraham as a seal of his faith, so that those who come to God in faith can also know him as their father, even as Israel does. Ro 4:16 - For it is faith in accord with God's grace that makes us heirs to the promise to Abraham's descendants alongside those who are of the Law. Gal 3: 8 - This salvation of the Gentiles was preached to Abraham when he was told that all nations would be blessed in him. Dt 6:4 - The Lord God is one.

3:31

Mt 5:17 - Christ came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it, Ro 8:4 - thereby fulfilling the requirements of the Law in us, allowing us to walk in accord with the Spirit, rather than in accord with our flesh.

 

New Thoughts (7/3/00-7/5/00)

(7/3/00) This is going to take a few days to get through, especially given the time of year. Today, I'll consider the questions from 6/29. We'll see where it gets to from there.

Do I demonstrate my faith? Not anywhere near as often nor as well as I ought to. But in some ways, I feel that this is changing. Slowly, I am coming to understand the reality of God in my life. Slowly, I am coming to realize the fact of His power and His will.

Do I find ways of boasting? All too often. My pride is in constant need of humbling. When worship is powerful, I feel like it's been my doing. When God is present at the beginning of a service, I want to lay claim to being the reason. Sad. God, help me to remember always that it is Your doing and Your choice. All my efforts would be as naught without You to empower them and to make them holy.

Do I acknowledge my own sinfulness before God? Yes, and more quickly these days than I used to. On the other hand, I seem all to willing to remain unchanged by it.

Really? There's degrees of acknowledging aren't there. To admit is one thing, to agree that it is wrong is another. To put forth the effort of will to turn from that thing is another thing yet. God help me.

Do I accept the claims of the Law on my life? I think in many ways I'm still unclear to what degree the Law holds. Yet this section seems to make it clear - in spite of teachings to the contrary - that the Law remains in effect for us. God, would you bring understanding on this, please? This seems another of those areas where the truth is occluded by our feelings and by our traditions. Would You make clear to me how and in what degree the Law still stands for us? Where is the line to be drawn between obedience and legalism? Is it to be drawn? Were the Pharisees correct in concept, but flawed in act? I don't believe we are completely freed from the Law, for that doesn't accord with Scripture. Yet, it doesn't seem likely that the full law as spelled out in Deuteronomy is still in effect. This requires further prayerful study, I think.

(7/4/00) This is going to have to be brief. Just looking back over the parallel verses, and something new has jumped out to my attention: that our attempted works were a thing that we needed to be cleansed from! Even in our attempts to do good, we can only manage sinfulness when our attempts are by our own power. What a sobering thing. God, all too often I still try and do good things by my strength. Forgive me. I thank You for the sweetness of those times when I've remembered to allow You to operate through me, rather than try to take the controls myself. I pray that today, when I'm feeling particularly weak in myself, You would be my strength and my shield. I pray that for all of us - who are weak in the flesh, and yet going forth in Your name into the heat of the day. I pray that You would help all of us to recall both Who we are doing this for, and Who is actually doing it! I pray that You help us to keep our eyes on You, that You would glorify Yourself through us, that Your will would be done, and that the fruit of repentance will be found in many amidst the crowds this day. Lord, make of this nation once more a nation of prayer. Remind us today of our heritage, and give Your people and this nation a hunger to see that heritage renewed. Be glorified, today.

(7/5/00) Thank you, Lord, for an understanding of how James and Paul play together on faith and works. (7/2/00) Faith without works, or works without faith - both are equally dead. And what an image is provided of the dead state of workless faith: the body with soul departed. For works are after a fashion, the soul of faith. They are the expression of the heart of faith. And going back to Hebrews 9:14 again, it becomes clear that faithless works are a matter that still require repentance and cleansing. Why? Because of the motive behind the works. In such efforts, man seeks to justify himself, to set up a standard low enough to be reached. In such efforts, man denies his own very real need for a savior, and becomes satisfied in his own goodness as sufficient. Thus, he continues to fall short of God's mark, even while doing things God would approve of. Lord, even as a Christian, I find myself in constant danger of wandering after faithless works, works as an attempt to justify myself, works to appease my guilt feelings. Yet, at the same time, I feel like the works that evidence lively faith are missing. Can it be, oh God, that my heart is lying to me on this account? Oh, that it were. Yet I know that motive is of greater concern than deed. It's not a giver You seek, it's a cheerful giver. It's not works You seek, it's the works offered from love. Sometimes, I know, I've been there. Too often, though, I feel as though my motivation remains wrong. Oh, wash me from dead works, Lord. Enliven my faith to do the works of life, the works of love for You, the works that cannot help but flow from my joy in salvation, and my desire that others be saved.

Propitiation - Another Intermission: (7/5/00-7/8/00)