Romans Study: Chapters 3-4

Chapter links: Study Summary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, God, Questions.

Romans Chapter 3 Sentence-by-Sentence Section

Return to the Chapter Overviews in Romans with this link.

links to sentences in this chapter:

C3-S1 (Verse 1), C3-S2 (Verse 1), C3-S3 (Verse 2), C3-S4 (Verse 3), C3-S5 (Verse 3), C3-S6 (Verse 4), C3-S7 (Verse 5), C3-S8 (Verse 5), C3-S9 (Verse 6), C3-S10 (Verse 7), C3-S11 (Verse 8), C3-S12 (Verse 8), C3-S13 (Verse 9), C3-S14 (Verse 9), C3-S15 (Verse 9-11), C3-S16 (Verse 12), C3-S17 (Verse 13-18), C3-S18 (Verse 19), C3-S19 (Verse 20), C3-S20 (Verse 21-26), C3-S21 (Verse 27), C3-S22 (Verse 27), C3-S23 (Verse 27), C3-S24 (Verse 27), C3-S25 (Verse 27), C3-S26 (Verse 28), C3-S27 (Verse 29), C3-S28 (Verse 29), C3-S29 (Verse 29-30), C3-S30 (Verse 31), C3-S31 (Verse 31)'

Our chapter theme is: 'Religion Does Not Save'.

In Chapter 3 Paul deals with several foolish arguments from religious people who try to justify their sinful lifestyle s. Then Paul anticipates the arguments that he is eliminating the Law when he is eliminating their using the Law to excuse sin. Paul ends the chapter with we establish the law. Basically, this chapter establishes that God's Law does not provide any excuse for any sin done by any one. God's Law condemns all sin the same way and it does not matter what position someone has nor does any other excuse which might be claimed by someone.

Paul concludes this chapter with: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Romans 3:28). The Jews had the advantage of knowing the Law and what God called sin. They knew what to not do while the Gentiles did not, yet both were judged the same. God demanded faith from all men.

The most used non-prepositional word in this chapter is God with 20 occurrences. The second most used non-prepositional word in this chapter is Law with 11 occurrences. The third most used non-prepositional word in this chapter is faith with 8 occurrences. Then comes righteousness with 5 occurrences. This chapter could be called 'Law meets God's righteousness'. in this chapter we find that God is greater than the Law. We also find out that the law does not provide righteousness but faith in God does get us God's righteousness.

Below are summaries of each sentence and, below them, is a chapter summary based upon the sentence summary.

Based upon the ending of chapter 2, Romans 3:1 asks two questions and the verses that follow answer the questions. (Please follow this link to all of the Questions that Paul asks in this epistle.) Please notice that this chapter is built upon the prior chapter and can not be properly understood if taken out of context. In our sentence Paul asks: "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?" His answers point to the spiritual things brought by these two things. The problem that people had then, and that people still have, is that they look only at the physical for things which have a spiritual significance. And, while God emphasizes the spiritual, most men ignore the spiritual.
3:2 says, that being a physical Jew has the advantage of unto them were committed the oracles of God. It is a lot easier to keep a Law you know than to keep a Law that you don't know. However, beyond that the word oracle speaks of a law with spiritual significance. Thus, we see that the "Jews" were given spiritual truth even if they chose to ignore all spiritual lessons.
3:3 says, that the unbelief of some does not make the faith of God without effect ('not able to cause a change'). God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). When God created this world, He made certain laws, such as the rules of Math and the laws of true science, which never change no matter what circumstances occur. Likewise, God put laws into His word which never change no matter what circumstances occur. If someone can not jump off a cliff or building, with nothing between them and the ground at least one hundred (100) feet below, and suffer no damage because they put aside the law of gravity with their own will, then they can not put aside any precept of the word of God by refusing to believe
3:4 tells us let God be true. That thou [God] mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. When people claim that God isn't fair or something else like that, God's Word proves that He did exactly what He said. When people try to judge God, God overcomes them with the truth that He said what would happen and He did exactly what He said He would do. Thus, let God be true.
3:5 starts with But, which connects it to the subject of the prior sentence while going in a different direction. In context with the surrounding sentences it is (essentially) saying: if our unrighteousness commend [shows the value of] the righteousness of God, Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? Basically, people were saying that their sin showed (commend) how the righteousness of God was so much better than what men did. That is, people might not notice the righteousness of God except for the fact that these other people were so bad that people started looking for the opposite. Then they claimed that since their evil is what made people notice the righteousness of God, that God owed them and would be unrighteous to punish them (taketh vengeance) for their sin. Paul is basically asking who would be so foolish as to believe that convoluted erroneous so-called 'logic'?
3:6 says, God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? this error is the basis of a popular heresy today that claims God understands and that everyone will be saved after they do a little time in Purgatory and similar lies. If God does not judge the world and taketh vengeance then God would be unrighteous because He allows tribulation to happen to those people that try to do right.
3:7 asks why yet am I also judged as a sinner if my lie causes the truth of God to abound. After all, God wants His truth to abound and He shouldn't be condemning those that causes the truth of God to abound. However, the truth is that our lies do not causes the truth of God to abound and those who claim that their lie causes the truth of God to abound are lying about that claim.
3:8 basically says what I said above and concludes that the liars mentioned above have a damnation that is just.
3:9 says, that while the hypocrites of the last few sentences are sinners for their doctrinal lies and errors, Paul has already shown that we are all sinners. Therefore, we are not better than they are and pointing out someone else's sin does not excuse our sin.
3:10-11 are well quoted and all that Paul has proven to this point shows that what God wrote in His Word (As it is written) is truth, as Paul argued in 3:4.
3:12-18 is a continuation of the quotes that Paul started in 3:10. Please see the detail notes for the links to the Old Testament text that Romans 3:10-18 is quoting.
3:19 says, Now (based upon all said so far and the verses quoted), the Bible show that the Law condemns those under the Law that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Nobody is going to claim that they are righteous or that God didn't warn them about the Law that condemns them. Then our sentence adds: and all the world may become guilty before God. This tells us the same thing as 3:10 (There is none righteous, no, not one) only says it a different way.
3:20 says, Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. The only possible conclusion (Therefore) is that the Law teaches us about our sin and does not justify us.
3:21-26 is a complex sentence that tells us that the righteousness of God and redemption and propitiation and the remission of sins and the forbearance of God and justification are only in the person of Christ Jesus and he gives us these things as we believeth in Jesus. (have a lifestyle belief in Jesus).
- First, we are told that the righteousness of God without the law is manifested (revealed in every possible way). Therefore, we can have God's righteousness without the law.
- Next, we are told that it is by faith of Jesus Christ. That is: the faith that belongs to (of) Jesus Christ is what gets us God's righteousness without the law. Jesus Christ died with the faith that He could change all truly saved people and give them God's righteousness. However, this is only done upon all them that believe.
- Next, we are told: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Notice that this is not an independent sentence even though people quote is as if it were. In fact, it is part of the larger sentence and tells us why Jesus Christ died with the faith that He could change all truly saved people.
- Next, we are told that we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. That is: we must enter into (through) the redemption (His paying for our sins so that we can be freed from the sins and stop our sinning).
- Next, we are told that His propitiation is for the remission of sins that are past. Notice that this does not include future sins in spite of what people claim. Please see the detail Study for more of an explanation of this truth.
- Finally, we are told that Jesus Christ did this that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. That is: Jesus Christ makes us 'just as if we never sinned' when we are first saved and he continues to makes us 'just as if we never sinned' for sins that we do after our initial salvation but only if we continue to believeth in Jesus (makes us 'have a lifestyle of believing that we need to follow the example of Jesus for how to live in the flesh').
3:27 has 5 sentences which tell us that boasting is excluded by the law of faith. Please see the note for this sentence, in the Detail Study, for all Bible references to the word boast and for how we are to boast about things done by the Lord but not about anything else.
3:28 tells us that the only possible conclusion is that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
3:29-30 has three sentences that tell us that God is the God of the Jews and of the Gentiles and that He will justify both.
3:31 concludes the chapter with we establish the law.

Our first chapter gave us the basis for building a ministry. The second chapter told us 'Don't be a hypocrite!'. Or, said another way: 'Live the message that you preach'. Our third chapter is about the Jews but can be applied to any religion. People claim that they can serve God at home just as well as they can do in church. However, out chapter tells us otherwise. People who don't go to church think they are OK with God when they are not. 2Timothy 3:16 says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:. None of these (doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness) can a person provide for themselves. That is the basic message of our chapter. The Jews, and many religious people, believe their religious activities make them righteous before God. Those activities don't do that. Going to church is supposed to teach us the truths of the Bible (chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God). With the oracles of God we learn about our sin and God's plan for resolving the problems that are the result of our being sinners. Without church to teach us about our sin and need for salvation, which includes ongoing sanctification, we would miss the blessings of God, and even suffer the wrath, which we have already been warned about. Our chapter tells us that we are sinners who are not justified before God and the advantage of church is that it is to deliver this message to a world full of people who are heading towards Hell while they believe that they are OK.

One outline for this chapter (from Treasure of Scripture Knowledge) is:

3:1-2 : The Jews' prerogative.
3:3-8 : which they have not lost.
3:9-19 : howbeit the law convinces them also of sin.
3:20-27 : therefore no flesh is justified by the law.
3:28-30 : but all, without difference, by faith, only.
3:31 : and yet the law is not abolished.

C3-S1 (Verse 1) What advantage then hath the Jew?

Based upon the ending of chapter 2, this chapter starts with two questions and then the sentences that follow answer the questions. Recall that the last sentence of chapter 2 defined Jew and circumcision. This question deals with the Jew and the next question is a matching one for circumcision. In that prior sentence we learned that both are truly spiritual in nature and the claims that they are purely physical were false. Both are what I call Biblical 'bridge' items. The last sentence in chapter 2 established the 'spiritual foundation' of these Biblical 'bridge' items. The answers to these first two questions provide the 'connecting part' of the Biblical 'bridge' items.

In addition, to what Paul says in this chapter, he returns to the subject of God's people in chapter 11:18. In particular, please see 11:1-2, 11:15-23 and 11:28-29. Please also consider Esau who said And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? (Genesis 25:32). Consider Romans 9:13 which tells us As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Also consider Hebrews 12:16-17 which calls Esau a profane person who was rejected when he would have inherited the blessing. Thus, we see a real danger in doing as many saved people do and look down on the Jews.

Please be sure to follow the links that are within the sentence outline above to find notes related to those words and to find links to other places where that word is used. When the links within our sentence lead to another Study, please also go to the top of the Study (or section within the Lord Jesus Christ Study) to get the definition, the particular application of this verse, and links to other verses with the same application.

Please see the note for 11:7 for places where the Bible asks a form the question What then?.

Please see the note for Jude 1:16 about the word advantage. That note has links to every place in the Bible where We find this word along with the full definition from Webster's 1828 . The functional definition is: 'Any state, condition, or circumstance, favorable to success, prosperity, interest, or reputation'.

Please see the note for Galatians C2-S9 about the word Jew. The functional definition is: 'a contraction of Judas or Judah. A Hebrew or Israelite'. Please also see the note for Matthew 27:37-LJC about the phrase King of the Jews.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'advantage. Ro 2:25-29; Ge 25:32; Ec 6:8,11; Isa 1:11-15; Mal 3:14; 1Co 15:32; Heb 13:9 General references. exp: Isa 40:21.'.

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C3-S2 (Verse 1) or what profit is there of circumcision?

This sentence is joined to the prior by starting with an or. The note above explains these questions and the following sentences provide the answers. Please see the note above and those below.

Please see the note for 11:7 for places where the Bible asks a form the question What then?.

Please see the note for Matthew 25:30 about the word unprofitable. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'Bringing no profit; producing no gain beyond the labor, expenses and interest of capital; as unprofitable land; unprofitable stock; unprofitable employment. 2. Producing no improvement or advantage; useless; serving no purpose; as an unprofitable life; unprofitable study. Job. 15. 3. Not useful to others. 4. Misimproving talents; bringing no glory to God; as an unprofitable servant. Matt. 25 '. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C13S3 and 2Timothy C3S10 about the word profit. The functional definition for this word is: 'to proceed forward, to advance'.

Please see the note for 4:10 which has links to all places in Romans that use any form of the word circumcision or uncircumcision. The functional definition, of the word circumcision, is: 'An outward sign of a spiritual covenant. It is used symbolically, by the word of God, for all who rely on keeping religious rules to make them right with God'. The main application found in the New Testament, is: 'the circumcised Jew but symbolically applies to all who rely on keeping religious rules to make them right with God'. The main application, of the word uncircumcision, found in the New Testament, is: 'the non-Jew but also symbolically applies to all who rely on faith to make them right with God'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. exp: Isa 40:21.'.

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C3-S3 (Verse 2) This sentence is the answer to prior two questions.

Equivalent Section: Context of the answer.

Much every way:.

Equivalent Section: Detail of the answer.

chiefly,
because that unto them were committed the oracles of God..

Being a physical Jew has the advantage of unto them were committed the oracles of God. It is a lot easier to keep a Law you know than to keep a Law that you don't know. Being a spiritual Jew has the matching advantage of having access to God. We read of many times, such as the mother of Samuel (1Samuel 1), when God's people could bring their petitions to him. All had to go to the Temple but the Gentiles were not allowed even the access that the common Jew had. In addition, the Jew had the advantage of being a Biblical 'bridge'. Thus, Naaman (2Kings 5) had to go to the man of God in Israel for him to act as a 'bridge' between Naaman and God. What the priests did for the common Jew that were supposed to do for the Gentiles. Thus, we see the Jew had much advantage in every way. This advantage came to them because (as our Second Equivalent Section says), unto them were committed the oracles of God.

Likewise, circumcision also provided much advantage in every way. Physical circumcision was a constant reminder to the man that his most personal and imitate part of life was to be dedicated to the Lord. Obviously, the less personal parts of life were also to be dedicated to the Lord. The man and wife also had a constant reminder that their personal and imitate relationship was supposed to be controlled by the Lord. Just as the Jew was supposed to be a 'bridge' between the Gentiles and God, so also did circumcision act as a 'bridge' in the family of God so that God's children could pray for each other and help each other understand the Lord. We were already told that circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit. Thus, we see advantages to circumcision which are similar to the advantages to the Jew.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C4S17 and Psalms 119 about the word way. The functional definition is: 'How we get from our present condition/place in life to the time that we face the judgment of God upon our life'.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 11:5 about the word chief. The functional definition is: 'Highest in office or rank; principal'.

Please see the note for Romans C1S10 about the word because. The functional definition is: 'provides a effect where the effect and effect are both in the past'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C9S26 about the word commit. The functional definition is: ' To do a premeditated act or to trust another to do it'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 5:12 about the word oracle. The functional definition is: 'the word of God coming from the most holy place in the temple'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Much. Ro 3:3; 11:1-2,15-23,28-29 because. Ro 2:18; 9:4; De 4:7-8; Ne 9:13-14; Ps 78:4-7; 147:19-20; Isa 8:20; Eze 20:11-12; Lu 16:29-31; Joh 5:39; 2Ti 3:15-17; 2Pe 1:19-21; Re 19:10 committed. 1Co 9:17; 2Co 5:19; Ga 2:7; 1Ti 6:20 the oracles. Ro 1:2; Ps 119:140; Da 10:21; Ac 7:38; 2Ti 3:15-16; Heb 5:12; 1Pe 4:11; 2Pe 1:20-21; Re 22:6 General references. exp: Ex 25:16; Isa 40:21.'.

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C3-S4 (Verse 3) For what if some did not believe?

This sentence starts with For, which connects it to the prior sentence. However, rather than giving the reason for what was said there it gives the reason why an assumed objection does not apply. It effectively answers 'So what!' to the question of what if some did not believe? 'Won't their unbelief invalidate the spiritual application of belief?'. The next sentence adds another question to this one and the sentence after that provides Paul's answer. In addition, to Paul's answer I would remind the reader that all through this epistle and all through the Bible we see God dealing with us on an individual, and personal, basis. Your unbelief has no effect upon my personal belief and my resulting relationship with God. 2Peter 2:4-10 tells us how God spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness and how God turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly ; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. Thus, we have two examples where the unbelief of everyone around God's child did not affect how God responded to their belief.

Paul deals with the unbelief of God's people (within this epistle) in Romans 9:6, 10:16, 11:1-7 and 11:20-30. This is contrasted with the belief of Abraham in 4:20. In addition, Hebrews 3:7-4:11 tells us that God's people could not enter into God's rest. (Please see the note for Hebrews 4:8 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for details on God's rest). We also see that unbelief stops God from working in Matthew 13:58; Matthew 17:20; Mark 6:6 and Mark 16:14. We see the man wise enough to cry Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief in Mark 9:24. 1Timothy 1:13 tells us that we can obtain mercy if we stop our unbelief.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief' and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'if some. Ro 9:6; 10:16; 11:1-7; Heb 4:2 General references. exp: Ac 28:24.'.

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C3-S5 (Verse 3) shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

This question is added to the prior question and answered in the next sentence. Please see those notes. Please also note that this question says the faith of God, not 'our faith in God'. Basically, God offers His faith to His children but leaves us with our free will. Thus, each of God's children can personally accept or reject God's faith in many different areas of life. God's faith is that He can do things through the lives of His children if they only 'trust and obey'. When we 'trust and obey' then God does His work through our life and His faith becomes our faith.

One of the reasons for unbelief is that men see how unreliable the promises of men are and make the mistake of believing that God is the same way. The Bible deals with this error in Numbers 23:19; 1Samuel 15:29; Isaiah 54:7-9; Isaiah 55:6-11; Isaiah 65:12-16; Jeremiah 33:24; Matthew 24:35; 2Timothy 2:13 and Hebrews 2:13-18.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Please see the note for Romans C3S25 about the word faith. That note has many links to many other notes which deal with this doctrine in different ways. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C1S3; 2Corinthians C1S17; Galatians C3S27; Ephesians 6:23-LJC; Philippians 1:25-26 and 2Timothy C1S2 about the word faith. The functional definition is: 'an action word that is based upon a belief in a promise found within the Bible with the action dictated by the Bible and the understanding that our action does not force God to act nor determines when or how God acts but proves that of our own free will we are giving God permission to act in and through our life to do what He promised within His Word'. Please also see the notes for Colossians 1:1 and Titus 1:1 about the word faithful. The functional definition is: 'Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties of religion. Full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy. being true to oneself, to one's nature, to any promise given, and to any trust committed'. Please also see the note for Hebrews 3:1-LJC about Christ Jesus is faithful. Please also see the notes for Romans 4 and James 2:21-LJC about Abraham's faith. Please also see the note for 2Timothy C1S2 about the phrase faith: unfeigned. Please also see the note for 2Peter 2:3 about the word feign. Please also see the note for Romans C10S12 about the phrase faith makes us not ashamed. Please also see the note for Ephesians C1S2 about the phrase just shall live by faith. Please also see the note for Romans C11S6 about the phrase just shall live by his faith. Please also see the note for Romans C3S29 about the phrase justification by faith. Please also see the note for Romans C3S25 about Law and faith. Please also see the note for Romans C9S28 about live / walk by faith. Please see the note for James 2:14 for links to every verse in the New Testament where the words faith and works contained within the same verse.

Please see the note for Galatians 4:17 for links to place in the Bible where the word effect is used and for links to place in the Bible where the word affect is used along with the definition from Webster's 1828 Dictionary for each word and a discussion on the deference between these two words. Please see the note for Matthew 8:10 about the phrase none effect. The functional definition for this phrase is: 'made it so that God's word could not change the lives of people'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'shall. Ro 11:29; Nu 23:19; 1Sa 15:29; Isa 54:9-10; 55:11; 65:15-16; Jer 33:24-26; Mt 24:35; 2Ti 2:13; Heb 6:13-18 faith. Ps 84:7; Joh 1:16; 2Co 3:18; 2Th 1:3; Tit 1:1-2 General references. exp: Ac 28:24.'.

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C3-S6 (Verse 4) Answer to the prior two questions.

Equivalent Section: Is not possible!

God forbid:.

Equivalent Section: Why it is not possible!

First Step: Trust God's character.

yea,
let God be true,
but every man a liar;.

Second Step: Trust God's Word.

as it is written,
That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings,
and mightest overcome when thou art judged..

When people claim that God isn't fair or something else like that, God's Word proves that He did exactly what He said. When people try to judge God, God overcomes them with the truth that He said what would happen and He did exactly what He said He would do. We see in the Word Study on Truth that Jesus Christ is the personification of God's truth. That Study has every verse in the Bible which has any form of the word truth. While there are certainly many verses in the Bible which teach the truth of this sentence without using the word true, that Study should provide the reader with plenty of verses to do their own Study related to this sentence.

What Paul is saying here is that God is true even if every man in the world disagrees with God. The word let, as we have seen elsewhere, is the action verb of Creation. Thus, you have a better chance of destroying all of Creation than you have of making God to not be true. Since truth is part of God's character and God never changes (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), Our First Step is to 'Trust God's character' when dealing with the prior two questions. God gives us His faith and His character is such that He will not give us something unreliable. Therefore, if someone claims that God gave them an unreliable faith, you can be sure that any faith they received did not come from God and that they rejected what God did actually offer them.

In our Second Step we read as it is written and talks about when thou art judged. When our Second Step says as it is written, it is providing a quote from Psalm 51:4 which was where king David confessed his sin with Bathseba. If the king could not dispute God's word, no one else could. This is actually teaching a very important doctrine. We should not 'stand' on our own opinion or abilities when the Word of God provides the answer. Neither should we 'stand' on the opinions or abilities of other people, not even those of our religion, when the Word of God provides the answer. Only God's word is always true. Therefore, whe3n we are judged by others we should 'stand' only on the word of God if we want to overcome.

Take these two steps together and it should be obvious why that are equivalent to God forbid. This phrase is used when someone wants to emphatically say that something is absolutely impossible. We find this phrase used in 24 verses, of which 15 are in the New Testament. Those verses are: Genesis 44:7, 17; Joshua 22:29; 24:16; 1Samuel 12:23; 14:45; 20:2; 1Chronicles 11:19; Job 27:5; Luke 20:16; this verse, Romans 3:6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11; 1Corinthians 6:15; Galatians 2:17; 3:21; 6:14. Please also see the note for 1Timothy 4:1 about the word forbid. The functional definition is: 'Literally, to bid or command against'.

Please see the note for Philippians 2:17 about the word yea. The functional definition is: ' word that expresses affirmation or assent. It sometimes introduces a subject, with the sense of indeed, verily, truly, it is so'.

The word let was the action word used in creation. Today, people use this word to mean 'allow'. However, the true Biblical meaning is: 'make this happen and use the power of creation to do so'.

Please also see the note for Romans C9S19 about the phrase What is man.

Please see the note for Galatians C1-S15 about the word liar. The functional definition is: 'A person who knowingly utters falsehood; one who declares to another as a fact what he knows to be not true, and with an intention to deceive him'.

Please see the note for Romans 15:15-16 which has links to every place in Romans where forms of the word write are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C15S13; 2Corinthians 1:13-14; Galatians C3-S12 and John 20:31-LJC for the same word. Please also see the note for Romans 3:9-11; the Study called Prove and Ephesians C1S3 which has links to every place in Romans that uses the phrase it is written along with other info on that phrase. Please also see the note for Romans 4:23-25 which has a good sized note about doctrine related to the word written.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 10:3-6 about the word might. The functional definition for this word is: 'Having great power and able to accomplish things which most people can not do'. Please also see the note for Revelation 4:8-LJC about the phrase Almighty.

Please see the note for 7:12 which has links to the verses where he exact word of just is used and for the Webster's 1828 definition. Please also see the notes for Galatians 2:16-LJC and 2Peter 2:9-LJC which also talk about the same word. Part of the definition from Webster's 1828 is: 'Conformed to rules of justice; doing equal justice'. The just are people who have been justified. The popular religious definition is: 'made just as if I never sinned'. However, when we study the word justify in the Bible, we see that that definition is not adequate because true Biblical justification includes having the righteousness of Jesus Christ added to our spiritual legal record. Therefore, the true Biblical definition of justification is: 'having the sins on my legal record in heaven blotted out and replaced by the righteousness from Jesus Christ'. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify. Please also see the note for Ephesians C1S2 about the phrase just shall live by faith. Please also see the note for Romans C11S6 about the phrase just shall live by his faith. Please also see the note for Romans C3S29 about the phrase justification by faith. Please also see the note for 2Peter 2:9-LJC about the word unjust.

Please see the note for Romans 11:1 about the phrase I say. The functional definition is: 'Uttering in articulate sounds or words; speaking; telling; relating; reciting'. Please also see the note for Revelation 1:8 about the word saith. Please also see the note for Romans C10S28 about the word gainsaying. Please also see the note for Matthew 26:1 about the word sayings (plural). Please also see the notes for Romans C15S15 and 2Corinthians 2:17 about the word speak. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 3:12-14 about the word speech. Please also see the notes for Ephesians C4S15 and 1Peter 2:1 about the phrase evil speaking. The words speaketh and saith mean that the person 'keeps on keeping on doing the saying'.

Please see the note for 2Peter 2:19 about the word overcome. The functional definition is: 'To conquer; to vanquish; to subdue; as, to overcome enemies in battle'.

Please see the notes for Romans C2S2 and Philippians 1:9-11 about the word judgment. Please also see the notes for Romans C14S16 and 2Corinthians 5:10 about the judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11). Please also see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; 1Corinthians 1:10 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the word judge. Please also see the notes for Romans 14:8-LJC and 2Thessalonians 1:9-LJC about the phrase judgment without mercy. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C4S5 about the phrase we are to judge. Please also see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; Galatians C5-S6 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the phrase judged by works. Please also see the note for Ephesians C5S6 about the phrase judgment by us. Please also see the Section called: 'Minor Titles of the Son of God' in the Doctrinal Study called: Significant Gospel Events.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'God forbid. Ro 3:6,31; 6:2,15; 7:7,13; 9:14; 11:1,11; Lu 20:16; 1Co 6:15; Ga 2:17,21; 6:14 exp: Ga 3:21. let God. De 32:4; Job 40:8; Ps 100:5; 119:160; 138:2; Mic 7:20; Joh 3:33; 2Co 1:18; Tit 1:2; Heb 6:18; 1Jo 5:10,20; Re 3:7 but every. Ps 62:9; 116:11 that thou. Job 36:3; Ps 51:4; Mt 11:19'.

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C3-S7 (Verse 5) Another error taught by religion.

But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God,
what shall we say?.

This sentence starts with But, which connects it to the subject of the prior sentence while going in a different direction. In context with the surrounding sentences it is (essentially) saying: if our unrighteousness commend [shows the value of] the righteousness of God, Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? Basically, people were saying that their sin showed (commend) how the righteousness of God was so much better than what men did. That is, people might not notice the righteousness of God except for the fact that these other people were so bad that people started looking for the opposite. Then they claimed that since their evil is what made people notice the righteousness of God, that God owed them and would be unrighteous to punish them (taketh vengeance) for their sin. Paul is basically asking who would be so foolish as to believe that convoluted erroneous so-called 'logic'? If you really think about this claim it should be obvious why Paul connected it to a God forbid.

There are 20 verses in the Bible which use unrighteousness. They are:

Leviticus 19:5 is part of the Mosaic Law and says Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Leviticus 19:35 is part of the Mosaic Law and says Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
Psalms 92:12-15 says, The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:...To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him..
Jeremiah 22:13 says, Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;.
Luke 16:9 is part of a parable about the mammon of unrighteousness.
John 7:18 is part of an answer from Jesus when He was challenged about His doctrine. He said that seeking the glory of God was not unrighteousness.
Romans 1:18 says, that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men... The note for that sentence has a lot to say about unrighteousness and the relationship it has to ungodliness and to truth.
Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.
Romans 2:8 is part of a larger sentence which says But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath... This is a significant sentence with a good sized note which explains 'Results of God's judgment of all people'. The unrighteous receive a different result than the righteous receive.
Our current sentence.
Romans 6:13 says, unrighteousness results in sin.
Romans 9:14 asks Is there unrighteousness with God? and answers with God forbid.
2Corinthians 6:14 says, that righteousness should have no fellowship with unrighteousness and light should have no communion with darkness.
2Thessalonians 2:10 is talking about the Beast of Revelation and calls him that Wicked. This sentence says that His coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish...
2Thessalonians 2:12 is the next sentence and says what God will do to his followers That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Hebrews 8:12 says, that God will be merciful to their (house of Israel) unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. This is in the Millennium.
2Peter 2:13 tells of the judgment that the unrighteous will receive.
2Peter 2:15 says, that the unrighteous follow the way of Balaam the son of Bosor.
1John 1:9 tells us how to be cleansed...from all unrighteousness..
1John 5:17 plainly says that All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. this sin unto death is a very important doctrine that is ignored by most saved people today.

In addition, to those verses, we see unrighteous is used in another 9 verses. They are:

Exodus 23:1 is part of the Mosaic Law and says Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
Job 27:7 Calls on God to count his enemies as unrighteous.
Psalms 71:4 is a prayer to be delivered from the unrighteous.
Isaiah 10:1 warns of Woe to the unrighteous.
Isaiah 55:7 is a often quoted verse which says Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon..
Luke 6:11 asks the question If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
1Corinthians 6:9 asks Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? It then goes on to name 10 sins which are unrighteous.
Hebrews 6:10 says, For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister..

Further, the word unrighteously is used in Deuteronomy 25:16 which says For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.. The such things are named in Deuteronomy 25:7-15 and are basically ways that people act when they don't want to obey the Spirit of the law.

Please see the notes for Romans C16S1 about the word commend. The functional definition is: 'To represent as worthy of notice, regard, or kindness; to speak in favor of; to recommend'.

Please see the note above about the word unrighteous.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'But if. Ro 3:7,25-26; 8:20-21 what shall. Ro 4:1; 6:1; 7:7; 9:13-14 exp: Jos 7:8; Heb 11:32. General references. exp: Job 13:7; Ps 119:137; Pr 1:16.'.

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C3-S8 (Verse 5) Main Question.
Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance?

God is never unrighteous. The word vengeance occur 45 times in the Bible and we read repeatedly that vengeance belongs to God because He knows when and how and how much to give and still remain just and righteous. Any time that man seeks vengeance he sins because this is something that God has reserved for Himself. Further, man messes it up with the wrong timeans/or the wrong amount and/or the wrong way. Paul only put this question in here so that he could provide the answer to the ignorant and foolish.

Paul already dealt with this subject in 2:5. We also see Paul deal with similar subjects in 3:19; 9:18-20 and 12:19. In each case the people who receive God's vengeance have rejected the message from God and made it clear that they will never listen to God's message but will deliberately continue in their sin.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

Please see the note for Romans 12:19 which has links to every verse in the Bible which uses any form of the word vengeance and separates those verses which talk about God taking vengeance from the verses which talk about man taking vengeance. Please also see the note for Romans 13:4 which has links to every verse in the Bible which uses any form of the word revenge.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Is God. Ro 2:5; 3:19; 9:18-20; 12:19; De 32:39-43; Ps 58:10-11; 94:1-2; Na 1:2,6-8; 2Th 1:6-9; Re 15:3; 16:5-7; 18:20 General references. exp: Job 13:7; Ps 119:137; Pr 1:16.'.

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C3-S9 (Verse 6) Another God forbid.

Qualifier.

(I speak as a man).

What Paul says.

Equivalent Section: Is not possible!

God forbid:.

Equivalent Section: Why it is not possible!

for then how shall God judge the world?.

The interpreters included the (I speak as a man) because God gave them the wisdom to know that some devil would convince someone to claim that the prior question is a serious question from God that He wants us to consider and form an opinion on. Our current sentence is the answer to the prior question and the first phrase in if gives us the perspective of this answer.

Then a lot of fools and spiritually immature people would believe a false doctrine from a devil because they heard it from someone that they thought of as a 'good Godly man'. Just to be clear: the prior question is NOT a question for us to seriously consider and if anyone does propose it we are to answer from God's Word with God forbid!!.

The error that this sentence answers is the basis of a popular heresy today that claims 'God understands' and that 'everyone will be saved after they do a little time in Purgatory' and similar lies. If God does not judge the world and taketh vengeance then God would be unrighteous because He allows tribulation to happen to those people that try to do right. Several times we read where someone prays for God to bring judgment. Many times it is something like king David prayed in the Psalms where he was asking God to not just stop people from hurting God's people but also asking God to use those people as an example to discourage others from hurting God's people. I'm going to leave it to people with more wisdom than I have to decide how to advice others who want God to bring judgment. The only thing that I will say, doctrinally, is that the Bible very clearly teaches that God will judge each of us and that His judgment is just and righteous and for God to fail to judge anyone would be for God to become unrighteous. These couple of sentences make it clear that such an event is impossible. We see forms of judge in 292 verses within the Bible. We see forms of witness in 192 verses within the Bible. We see forms of law in 534 verses within the Bible. There are also other words related to this concept within the Bible. Remember that in the Gospels we read about lawyers (Matthew 22:35; Luke 7:30; 10:25; 11:45-46; 11:52; 14:3) who made their entire career from Biblical law. Forjust a small sampling of the places where the Bible tells us that God will judge the world in righteousness, please see Genesis 18:25; Job 8:3; 34:17-19; 34:23; Psalms 9:4; Psalms 9:7-8; 11:5-7; 36:5-6; 50:6; 96:13; 98:9; 145:17; Isaiah 45:19-21; Jeremiah 12:1; Ezekiel 18:25-29; Daniel 4:37; Zephaniah 3:5; Acts 17:31.

Please see the note for Romans 3:4 which has links to all of the verses which say God forbid. Please also see the note for 1Timothy 4:1 about the word forbid. The functional definition is: 'Literally, to bid or command against'.

Please also see the note for Romans C9S19 about the phrase What is man.

Please see the note for Romans 16:25-27 which gives links to every place in the New Testament that uses any form of the word world and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 . Please also see the notes for 1Timothy 1:15; 2Timothy C1S5; 1Corinthians C1S19 and World in 1John about the word world. The functional definition is: 'The world is not the earth but is all of the people in the earth and often is used for the majority opinion / thought process. that opinion / thought process is the result of lost people thinking that they know better than God does and believe Satan's lie'. Please also see the note for John 9:5 about the phrase light of the world.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'I speak. Ro 6:19; 1Co 9:8; Ga 3:15 General references. exp: Job 13:7; Ps 119:137; Pr 1:16.
God forbid. Ro 3:4 exp: Jos 22:29; Ga 3:21. Forthen. Ge 18:25; Job 8:3; 34:17-19; Ps 9:8; 11:5-7; 50:6; 96:13; 98:9; Ac 17:31 General references. exp: Jos 24:16; Job 13:7; Ps 119:137.'.

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C3-S10 (Verse 7) Another religious lie that Paul is showing to be foolish.

For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory;
why yet am I also judged as a sinner?.

Our lies do not causes the truth of God to abound and those who claim that their lie causes the truth of God to abound are lying about that claim. This type of claim is why Jesus called religious leaders hypocrites. Our sin does not cause God glory and only a hypocrite would claim otherwise. That is what Romans 6 is all about. Also, Romans 9:19-20 deals with the claim that 'God forced me to sin'. In Ezekiel 18 God said that He would remove a proverb is used by His people which basically said that God forced the children to do the sins of their fathers. Isaiah 10:6-7 tells us of God bringing judgment upon His people for trying to claim this lie. 23 and Acts 13:27-28 tell us how the religious leaders thought that they were proved righteous by crucifying our Lord. No matter what excuse is given, it is never right to do wrong in order to accomplish righteousness.

Please see the note for Romans 15:17 which has links to where this epistle talks about glory. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C15S36; Ephesians C1S2; 2Corinthians 10:14-LJC and Colossians C1S6 about the word glory. The functional definition is: 'Abundance, wealth, treasure, and hence honour, dignity of God; of the mind or heart; Splendour, brightness, majesty of Jehovah , the infinite perfections of God'. Please also see the note for Matthew 17:1 about the phrase Jesus Christ return in glory. Think about the 'Mount of transfiguration'. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines glory as: '(Heb kabhod; Gr. doxa). (1.) Abundance, wealth, treasure, and hence honour (Ps 49:12); glory (Ge 31:1; Mt 4:8; Re 21:24,26). (2.) Honour, dignity (1Ki 3:13; Heb 2:7; 1Pe 1:24); of God (Ps 19:1; 29:1); of the mind or heart (Ge 49:6; Ps 7:5; Ac 2:46).

(3.) Splendour, brightness, majesty (Ge 45:13; Isa 4:5; Ac 22:11; 2Co 3:7); of Jehovah (Isa 59:19; 60:1; 2Th 1:9).

(4.) the glorious moral attributes, the infinite perfections of God (Isa 40:5; Ac 7:2; Ro 1:23; 9:23; Eph 1:12). Jesus is the "brightness of the Father's glory" (Heb 1:3; Joh 1:14; 2:11).

(5.) the bliss of heaven (Ro 2:7,10; 5:2; 8:18; Heb 2:10; 1Pe 5:1,10).

(6.) the phrase "Give glory to God" (Jos 7:19; Jer 13:16) is a Hebrew idiom meaning, "Confess your sins." the words of the Jews to the blind man, "Give God the praise" (Joh 9:24), are an adjuration to confess. they are equivalent to, "Confess that you are an impostor," "Give God the glory by speaking the truth;" for they denied that a miracle had been wrought'. The note in Romans provides the full definition from Webster's 1828 along with links from other commentators.

Please see the notes for Romans C7S26 and especially Sin in 1John about the word sin. The functional definition is: 'a violation of God's law' (1John 3:4). Please note that religious people call certain groups of people sinners. because they fit a religious definition which may have nothing to do with God's law. Please also see the note for Matthew 9:10 about the word sinners. The functional definition for this word is: ' One that has voluntarily violated the divine law; a moral agent who has voluntarily disobeyed any divine precept, or neglected any known duty'. Please note that this designation applies to saved as well as to lost. As 1John 3:4 tells us, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the Law.

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C3-S11 (Verse 8) The included section of this sentence is separated below.

Each phrase below has equal importance.

And not rather,
(See Below),
Let us do evil,
that good may come?.

Below is the part of the sentence from the parenthesis.

(as we be slanderously reported,
and as some affirm that we say).

This sentence starts with And, which attaches it to the prior sentence. Then the not rather offers an alternative to the question of why yet am I also judged as a sinner?. Thus, this sentence is an alternative result of the lie claimed by hypocrites that the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory. We need to look at these sentences together to make sense of them. Our current sentence is the 'ELSE' in computer programming logic to the prior 'IF'. This is what the hypocrites claim that God wants us to do. God's judgment upon them and all that believe their lie is the next sentence (whose damnation is just). NO, God does not instruct us to teach Let us do evil, that good may come but when we do and teach that we are judged as a sinner.

The Included Part of this sentence [(as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,)] tells us the lies that these hypocrites told about Paul. Notice that he says that they slanderously reported. They can not match Paul in an open debate so they are going behind his back and telling lies about what he truly said. Paul corrects their doctrinal in Chapter 6. Here we see that Paul suffered as we are told about in Matthew 5:11 and 1Peter 3:14-17. Paul says more on this subject in Romans 5:20; Chapter 6 and Romans 7:7. We also see much more in the Subject Study called False things According to the Bible.

Please see the note for Luke 12:31 about the word rather. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'The use is taken from pushing or moving forward. L. ante, before. But he said, yea rather, happy are they that hear the word of God and keep it. Luke 11. 1. More readily or willingly; with better liking; with preference or choice. My soul chooseth strangling and death rather than life. Job. 7. Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3. Ps. 84. 2. In preference; preferably; with better reason. Good is rather to be chosen than evil. See acts 5. 3. In a greater degree than otherwise. He sought throughout the world, but sought in vain, and no where finding, rather fear'd her slain. 4. More properly; more correctly speaking. This is an art which does mend nature, change it rather; but the art itself is nature. 5. Noting some degree of contrariety in fact. She was nothing better, but rather grew worse. Mark 5. Matt. 27. The rather, especially; for better reason; for particular cause. You are come to me in a happy time, the rather for I have some sport in hand. Had rather, is supposed to be a corruption of would rather. I had rather speak five words with my understanding - 1Cor. 14. This phrase may have been originally, "I'd rather," for I would rather, and the contraction afterwards mistaken for had. Correct speakers and writers generally use would in all such phrases; I would rather, I prefer; I desire in preference'.

Please see the note for Romans 7:19 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word evil along with the Webster's 1828 definition of the word evil. The functional definition is: 'Both the source and consequence of things which people consider to be really really bad. The source and / or result can be natural or spiritual or any combination thereof. However, even what seems to be a natural source can actually be caused by a devil, especially when the recipient is a child of God. In all cases the result is deliberately intended and caused, which is what separates evil from the accidental'. Please also see the note for 1Peter 4:15 about the word evildoer. Please also note the conincidence between the Devil and the word evil since the Devil is the source of much evil. Please also see the notes for Ephesians C4S15 and 1Peter 2:1 about the phrase evil speaking. Please also see the note for Philippians 3:2 about the phrase evil workers. Please also see the note for Hebrews 4:12 about the phrase evil heart. It should be obvious from Paul's writings that he would never promote 'Both the source and consequence of things which people consider to be really really bad. The source and / or result can be natural or spiritual or any combination thereof. In all cases the result is deliberately intended and caused, which is what separates evil from the accidental.'

Please see the note for Romans 7:12 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses the word good along with the Webster's 1828 definition and an explanation why the definition that I use for good, when dealing with the Bible, is: 'that which comes from God'. In our sentence we see that good does not come from evil. It should be easy to see how my definition fits within this sentence. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 5:10 about the word good. The functional definition is: 'what comes from God'. Please also see the note for Romans 11:22 for links to every place in the New Testament where the word goodness is used. Please also see the note for Mark 2:28-LJC about the phrase Good Friday.

We find forms of the word slander only in: Numbers 14:36; 2Samuel 19:27; Psalms 31:13; Psalms 50:20; Psalms 101:5; Proverbs 10:18; Jeremiah 6:28; Jeremiah 9:4; Romans 3:8; 1Timothy 3:11. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'n. 1. A false tale or report maliciously uttered. and tending to injure the reputation of another by lessening him in the esteem of his fellow citizens, by exposing min to impeachment and punishment, or by impairing his means of lining; defamation. Slander, that worst of poisons, ever finds an easy entrance to ignoble minds. 2 Disgrace; reproach; disreputation; ill name.
SLA'NDER, v.t. to defame; to injure by maliciously uttering a false report respecting one; to tarnish or impair the reputation of one by false tales, maliciously told or propagated'.

Nave's Topical Bible provides references for the word slander as: 'Comes from the evil heart: Lu 6:45. Often arises from hatred: Ps 109:3. Idleness leads to: 1Ti 5:13. Evil people addicted to: Ps 50:20. Hypocrites habitually: Pr 11:9. A characteristic of the Devil: Re 12:10. Wicked people love: Ps 52:4. Those who indulge in, are fools: Pr 10:18. Women warned against: Tit 2:3. Wives of God's servants should avoid: 1Ti 3:11. Christ was exposed to: Ps 35:11; Mt 26:60. Rulers exposed to: Jude 1:8. Servants of God exposed to: Ro 3:8; 2Co 6:8. The nearest relations exposed to: Ps 50:20. Saints exposed to: Ps 38:12; 109:2; 1Pe 4:4. Saints should keep their tongues from: Ps 34:13; 1Pe 3:10. Saints should lay aside: Eph 4:31. Should be warned against: Tit 3:1-2. Should give no occasion for: 1Pe 2:12; 3:16. Should return good for: 1Co 4:13. Blessed in enduring: Mt 5:11. Characterized as avoiding: Ps 15:1,3. Should not be listened to: 1Sa 24:9. Causes anger: Pr 25:23. Effects of: . Separating friends: Pr 16:28; 17:9. Deadly wounds: Pr 18:8; 26:22. Strife: Pr 26:20. Discord among brethren: Pr 6:19. Murder: Ps 31:13; Eze 22:9. The tongue of, is a scourge: Job 5:21. Is venomous: Ps 140:3; Ec 10:11. Is destructive: Pr 11:9. End of, is mischievous madness: Ec 10:13. People shall give account for: Mt 12:36. Punishment for: De 19:16-21. UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO: Ex 23:1; De 22:13-19; Job 5:21; Ps 41:6-9; 50:20; 101:5; Pr 10:18; 25:23; Jer 6:28; 9:4; Ro 1:29-30; 1Co 4:13; 6:10; 2Co 12:20; Jas 4:11; 1Pe 2:1; 2Pe 2:10. INSTANCES OF: Joseph by Potiphar's wife: Ge 39:14-18. The land of Canaan misrepresented by the spies: Nu 14:36. Of Mephiboseth, by Ziba: 2Sa 16:3; 19:24-30. Of David, by his enemies: Ps 31:13; 35:21; 41:5; 64:3; 140:3. Of Naboth, by Jezebel: 1Ki 21:9-14. Of Jeremiah, by the Jews: Jer 18:18. Of Jesus, by the Jews falsely charging that he was a winebibber (wino): Mt 11:19. That he blasphemed: Mr 14:64; Joh 5:18. That he had a demon: Joh 8:48,52; 10:20. That he was seditious: Lu 22:65; 23:5. That he was a king: Lu 23:2; Joh 18:37; 19:1-5'.

Torrey's Topical Textbook provides references for the word slander as: 'An abomination unto God: Pr 6:16,19. Forbidden: Ex 23:1; Eph 4:31; Jas 4:11. INCLUDES: Whispering: Ro 1:29; 2Co 12:20. Backbiting: Ro 1:30; 2Co 12:20. Evil surmising: 1Ti 6:4. Tale-bearing: Le 19:16. Babbling: Ec 10:11. Tattling: 1Ti 5:13. Evil speaking: Ps 41:5; 109:20. Defaming: Jer 20:10; 1Co 4:13. Bearing false witness: Ex 20:16; De 5:20; Lu 3:14. Judging uncharitably: Jas 4:11-12. Raising false reports: Ex 23:1. Repeating matters: Pr 17:9. Is a deceitful work: Ps 52:2. Comes from the evil heart: Mt 15:19; Lu 6:45. Often arises from hatred: Ps 41:7; 109:3. Idleness leads to: 1Ti 5:13. The wicked addicted to: Ps 50:20; Jer 6:28; 9:4. Hypocrites addicted to: Pr 11:9. A characteristic of the devil: Re 12:10. The wicked love: Ps 52:4. They who indulge in, are fools: Pr 10:18. They who indulge in, not to be trusted: Jer 9:4. Women warned against: Tit 2:3. Minister's wives should avoid: 1Ti 3:11. Christ was exposed to: Ps 35:11; Mt 26:60. Rulers exposed to: 2Pe 2:10; Jude 1:8. Ministers exposed to: Ro 3:8; 2Co 6:8. The nearest relations exposed to: Ps 50:20. Saints exposed to: Ps 38:12; 109:2; 1Pe 4:4. SAINTS: Should keep their tongue from: Ps 34:13; 1Pe 3:10. Should lay aside: Eph 4:31; 1Pe 2:1. Should be warned against: Tit 3:1-2. Should give no occasion for: 1Pe 2:12; 3:16. Should return good for: 1Co 4:13. Blessed in enduring: Mt 5:11. Characterized as avoiding: Ps 15:1,3. Should not be listened to: 1Sa 24:9. Should be discountenanced with anger: Pr 25:23. EFFECTS OF: Separating friends: Pr 16:28; 17:9. Deadly wounds: Pr 18:8; 26:22. Strife: Pr 26:20. Discord among brethren: Pr 6:19. Murder: Ps 31:13; Eze 22:9. The tongue of, is a scourge: Job 5:21. Is venomous: Ps 140:3; Ec 10:11. Is destructive: Pr 11:9. End of, is mischievous madness: Ec 10:13. Men shall give account for: Mt 12:36; Jas 1:26. Punishment for: De 19:16-21; Ps 101:5. Illustrated: Pr 12:18; 25:18. Exemplified: Laban's Sons, Ge 31:1. Doeg, 1Sa 22:9-11. Princes of Ammon, 2Sa 10:3. Ziba, 2Sa 16:3. Children of Belial, 1Ki 21:13. Enemies of the Jews, Ezr 4:7-16. Gashmu, Ne 6:6. Haman, Es 3:8. David's enemies, Ps 31:13. Jeremiah's enemies, Jer 38:4. Jews, Mt 11:18-19. Witnesses against Christ, Mt 26:59-61. Priests, Mr 15:3. Enemies of Stephen, Ac 6:11. Enemies of Paul, etc. Ac 17:7. Tertullus, Ac 24:2,5'.

Thompson Chain Topics provides references for the word slander as: 'General References to: Ps 31:13; 101:5; Pr 10:18; 11:9; Jer 9:4. Examples of: 2Sa 10:3; Job 1:11; Ps 50:20; Am 7:10; Lu 7:33. Of Christ and His Disciples: Mt 9:34; 11:19; Lu 23:2; Ac 2:13; 6:13; 24:5 False Accusations, general references to: 1Sa 1:14; Ne 6:7; Job 2:5; 22:6; Jer 37:13; Mt 5:11; 27:12; Lu 6:7; 1Pe 3:16'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 11:2 about the word report. The functional definition is: 'To bear or bring back an answer, or to relate what has been discovered by a person sent to examine, explore or investigate; as, a messenger reports to his employer what he has seen or ascertained'.

Please see the note for Titus 3:8 about the word affirm. The functional definition is: 'To make firm; to establish, confirm or ratify; as, the Supreme court affirmed the judgment'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'if the truth. Ge 37:8-9,20; 44:1-14; 50:18-20; Ex 3:19; 14:5,30; 1Ki 13:17-18,26-32; 2Ki 8:10-15; Mt 26:34,69-75 why yet. Ro 9:19-20; Isa 10:6-7; Ac 2:23; 13:27-29 General references. exp: Ge 27:35; Job 13:7.'.

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C3-S12 (Verse 8) whose damnation is just.

This is the result received by the hypocrites (whose) of the two prior sentences. This sentence tells us that rather than justifying these people, God gives them damnation and that judgment is just.

Please see the note for 13:2 which has links to all of the verses in the Bible which use any form of the word damn, along with a short note on each and the Webster's 1828 definition. The functional definition is: 'Sentence or condemnation to everlasting punishment in the future state; or the state of eternal torments'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'we be. Mt 5:11; 1Pe 3:16-17 Let us. Ro 5:20; 6:1,15; 7:7; Jude 1:4 General references. exp: Ge 27:35; Job 13:7; Joh 11:50.'.

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C3-S13 (Verse 9) What then?

This question is asking What comes after (then) concluding that the hypocrites, of the last few sentences, have a damnation (that) is just. This question is the transition point into the next doctrinal subject that Paul will tell us about.

Please see the note for 11:7 for places where the Bible asks a form the question What then?.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'what then. Ro 3:5; 6:15; 11:7; 1Co 10:19; 14:15; Php 1:18'.

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C3-S14 (Verse 9) are we better than they?

Here we see Paul continuing his format of asking Questions and then providing the answers. The answer of No follows this question of are we better than they (the hypocrites of the last few sentences). While these hypocrites are sinners for their doctrinal lies and errors, Paul has already shown that we are all sinners. Please see the note for Romans 7:20 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word sin along with a the Webster's 1828 definition and a shorter definition. Therefore, we are not better than they are and pointing out someone else's sin does not excuse our sin.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'are we. Ro 3:22-23; Isa 65:5; Lu 7:39; 18:9-14; 1Co 4:7'.

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C3-S15 (Verse 9-11) Answer to previous question.

Equivalent Section: Short and absolute.

No,
in no wise:.

Equivalent Section: Answer with evidence to support it.

First Step: Proof already given.

for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles,
that they are all under sin;.

Second Step: Evidence from scripture.

Equivalent Section: No one does the right thing the right way.

As it is written,
There is none righteous,
no,
not one:.

Equivalent Section: No one even tries to find out how to do the right thing the right way.

There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God..

This sentence provides the answer to the question in the prior sentence. It provides two equivalent answers, one short and definite and the other with evidence supporting it. In addition, the next two sentences provide additional quotes from scripture. This answer has more scriptural support than most statements that Paul backs with scripture. He wants to be sure that the reader understands that this answer comes from God and His Word and that it is not just what Paul says.

The First Step of Paul's evidence is for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. That is what he has been doing since C1-S9 (For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith) and his opening statement of this proof was in C1-S10 with the emphasis on all. (For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.) that is: God's requirement is The just shall live by faith but, as Paul proved, there are times in all of our lives where we failed to live by faith. Therefore, we are not completely living up to being the just and we are under the wrath of God until we get under the mercy of God . As Paul will show in this chapter and throughout the remainder of this epistle, the result of God's mercy is that boasting...is excluded and we are justified only by the faith of Jesus Christ. Please also see the Study called Prove for an explanation of this important doctrine and for notes on all the verses in the Bible which use any form of the word prove. The word prove is: 'An action verb whereby someone provides evidence which allows a claim to continue to stand, no matter what test or circumstance the claim is put through.'

The Second Step of this sentence and the next two sentences are a combination of quotes from the Old Testament where the same truth is taught many places and many ways. (Mainly) Old Testament verses which are related to phrases in this sentence include:

it is written: this exact phrase occurs 80 times in the Bible and 63 times in the New Testament. (Please see the Study called Prove which provides links to these verses.) In Romans we find this phrase in 1:17; 2:24; 3:4; this sentence; 4:17; 8:36; 9:13; 9:33; 10:15; 11:8; 11:26; 12:19; 14:11; 15:3; 15:9; 15:21. Please see the note for Ephesians 1:7-12 for links to every place that the New Testament uses It is written or have ye not read. Please also see the note for Romans 15:15-16 which has links to every place in Romans uses any form of the word write. is used. Please also see the note for Romans 4:23-25 which has a good sized note about doctrine related to the word written.
There is none righteous, no, not one: Job 14:4; 15:14; 25:4; Psalm 14:1; 53:1; Jeremiah 17:9.
There is none that understandeth: Psalm 14:2-4; 53:2; 94:8; Proverbs 1:7, 22, 29-30; Isaiah 27:11; Jeremiah 4:22;Hosea 4:6.
there is none that seeketh after God: Job 21:14-16; Isaiah 9:13; 31:1; 55:6; 65:1; Hosea 7:10

Please see the note for Romans 16:19 which has links to where this epistle talks about forms of the word wise. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C1S12 about this word. Please also see the note for Romans 1:14 about the word unwise. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C1S12 about the word wisdom. The functional definition, of the word wise, is: ' the right use or exercise of knowledge; the choice of laudable ends, and of the best means to accomplish them'. In addition, the phrase no wise means: 'no amount of wisdom can accomplish the task'.

Please see the note for Romans 15:15-16 for links to all of the places in Romans where any forms of the word Gentile is used along with the definition from Webster's 1828 and notes from other commentators. The functional definition is: 'In the scriptures, a pagan; a worshipper of false gods; any person not a Jew or a Christian; a heathen'. Please also see the note for Galatians C2-S4 about this word.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C14S2 about the word understand. The functional definition for this word is: 'under and stand. the sense is to support or hold in the mind. 1. to have just and adequate ideas of; to comprehend; to know; as, to understand a problem in Euclid; to understand a proposition or a declaration. 2. to have the same ideas as the person who speaks, or the ideas which a person intends to communicate'. Please see the note for Matthew 13:14 about the word understood. The functional definition for this word is: 'The past tense of understand'.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C10S24 and The S and P's of 2Timothy 1 about the word seek. The functional definition is: ' to go after, and the primary sense is to advance, to press, to drive forward, as in the L. peto. 1. to go in search or quest of; to look for; to search for by going from place to place'. Please notice that our sentence uses the word the word seeketh, which means they 'keep on keeping on seeking after God'

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'proved. Gr. charged. Ro 1:28-32; 2:1-16 that they. Ga 3:10,22
As it is. Ro 3:4; 11:8; 15:3-4; Isa 8:20; 1Pe 1:16 there. Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3 none. Ro 3:23; Job 14:4; 15:14,16; 25:4; Jer 17:9; Mt 15:19; Mr 7:21-22; 10:18; 1Co 6:9-10; Ga 5:19-21; Eph 2:1-3; 5:3-6; Col 3:5-9; 1Ti 1:9-10; 2Ti 3:2-5; Tit 3:3; 1Jo 1:8-10; Re 21:8; 22:15
none that understandeth. Ro 1:22,28; Ps 14:2-4; 53:2,4; 94:8; Pr 1:7,22,29-30; Isa 27:11; Jer 4:22; Ho 4:6; Mt 13:13-14,19; Tit 3:3; 1Jo 5:20 seeketh. Ro 8:7; Job 21:15-16; Isa 9:13; 31:1; 55:6; 65:1; Ho 7:10'.

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C3-S16 (Verse 12) More verses to back Paul's claim.

First Step: God gets nothing for His investment.

They are all gone out of the way,
they are together become unprofitable;.

Second Step: No one even obeys God.

there is none that doeth good,
no,
not one..

This sentence and the next are a combination of quotes from the Old Testament where the same truth is taught many places and many ways. These sentences are a continuation of the prior sentence where we read As it is written. Please remember that these verses show that we are all under sin and that (as a result) our damnation is just. Old Testament verses which are related to phrases in this sentence include:

They are all gone out of the way: Exodus 32:8; Psalm 14:3; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Isaiah 53:6; 7-8;
they are together become unprofitable: Genesis 6:6-7;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one: Psalm 14:1; 53:1; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 64:6.

Please see the note for Philippians 1:27-28 about the word become. The functional definition is: 'In general, to suit or be suitable; to be congruous; to befit; to accord with, in character or circumstances; to be worthy of, decent or proper'.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C13S3 and 2Timothy C3S10 about the word profit. The functional definition is: 'to proceed forward, to advance'. Please also see the note for Matthew 25:30 about the word unprofitable. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'Bringing no profit; producing no gain beyond the labor, expenses and interest of capital; as unprofitable land; unprofitable stock; unprofitable employment. 2. Producing no improvement or advantage; useless; serving no purpose; as an unprofitable life; unprofitable study. Job. 15. 3. Not useful to others. 4. Misimproving talents; bringing no glory to God; as an unprofitable servant. Matt. 25'.

Please also see the note for Romans 11:22 for links to every place in the New Testament where the word goodness is used and see the note for Romans 7:12 for links to every place in Romans where the word good is used. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 5:10 about the word good. The functional definition is: 'what comes from God'. Please also see the note for Mark 2:28-LJC about the phrase Good Friday.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'They are. Ex 32:8; Ps 14:3; Ec 7:29; Isa 53:6; 59:8; Jer 2:13; Eph 2:3; 1Pe 2:25 become. Ge 1:31; 6:6-7; Mt 25:30; Phm 1:11 there is none. Ps 53:1; Ec 7:20; Isa 64:6; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Tit 2:13-14; Jas 1:16-17 General references. exp: Lu 17:10.'.

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C3-S17 (Verse 13-18) More verses to back Paul's claim.

Equivalent Section: their tongue brings a painful death.

Their throat is an open sepulchre;
with their tongues they have used deceit;
the poison of asps is under their lips:.

Equivalent Section: they seek to cause much pain.

Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood:.

Equivalent Section: they seek to cause much destruction and misery.

Destruction and misery are in their ways:.

Equivalent Section: they don't know how to be peaceful.

And the way of peace have they not known:.

Equivalent Section: they don't fear God's judgment.

There is no fear of God before their eyes..

This sentence is a combination of quotes from the Old Testament where the same truth is taught many places and many ways. Please remember that these verses show that we are all under sin and that (as a result) our damnation is just. Old Testament verses which are related to phrases in this sentence include:

Their throat is an open sepulchre: Psalm 5:9; Jeremiah 5:16.
with their tongues they have used deceit: Psalm 5:9; 12:3; 36:3; 52:2; 57:4; Isaiah 59:3, Jeremiah 9:3-5; Ezekiel 13:7.
the poison of asps is under their lips: Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 20:14-16; Psalm 140:3.
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Psalm 10:7; 59:12; 109:17-18;
Their feet are swift to shed blood: Proverbs 1:16; 6:18; Isaiah 59:7-8.
Destruction and misery are in their ways: 1Samuel 5:11; Job 30:12; Proverbs 10:29; Isaiah 15:5.
And the way of peace have they not known: Isaiah 57:21; Isaiah 59:8. [Please see the note for Romans 10:19 for links to every place in Romans where forms of the word know are used.]
There is no fear of God before their eyes: Genesis 20:11; Psalm 36:1; 8:13; 16:6; 23:17.

We find forms of the word throat in: Psalms 5:9; Psalms 69:3; Psalms 115:7; Proverbs 23:2; Jeremiah 2:25; Matthew 18:28; Romans 3:13. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'n. 1. the anterior part of the neck of an animal, in which are the gullet and windpipe, or the passages for the food and breath. In medicine, the fauces; all that hollow or cavity which may be seen when the mouth is wide open. 2. In seamen's language, that end of a gaff which is next the mast. 3. In ship-building, the inside of the knee-timber at the middle or turns of the arms; also, the inner part of the arms of an anchor where they join the shank; and the middle part of a floor-timber'.

Please see the note for John 19:41 about the word sepulchre. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'first mentioned as purchased by Abraham for Sarah from Ephron the Hittite (Ge 23:20). this was the "cave of the field of Machpelah," where also Abraham and Rebekah and Jacob and Leah were burried (79:29-32). In Ac 7:16 it is said that Jacob was "laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem." It has been proposed, as a mode of reconciling the apparent discrepancy between this verse and Ge 23:20, to read Ac 7:16 thus: "And they [i.e., our fathers] were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor [the son] of Sychem." in this way the purchase made by Abraham is not to be confounded with the purchase made by Jacob subsequently in the same district. of this purchase by Abraham there is no direct record in the Old Testament.'.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C12S8; 1Corinthians C14 and Philippians 2:9-11 about the word tongue. The functional definition is: 'a human language'. Also see language in Acts 2:6.

Please see the note for Romans C1S16 about the word deceit. The functional definition is: 'fraud'.

We find forms of the word poison in: Deuteronomy 32:24; Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 6:4; Job 20:16; Psalms 58:4; Psalms 140:3; Romans 3:13; James 3:8. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: '(1.) Heb hemah, "heat," the poison of certain venomous reptiles (De 32:24,33; Job 6:4; Ps 58:4), causing inflammation. (2.) Heb rosh, "a head," a poisonous plant (De 29:18), growing luxuriantly (Ho 10:4), of a bitter taste (Ps 69:21; La 3:5), and coupled with wormwood; probably the poppy. this word is rendered "gall", q.v., (De 29:18; 32:33; Ps 69:21; Jer 8:14, etc.), "hemlock" (Ho 10:4; Am 6:12), and "poison" (Job 20:16), "the poison of asps," showing that the rosh was not exclusively a vegetable poison. (3.) In Ro 3:13 (comp. Job 20:16; Ps 140:3), Jas 3:8, as the rendering of the Greek ios'. The Morrish Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'The poison of serpents and of asps is used in scripture symbolically for the judgement of God and for the malignity inherent in the wicked. De 32:24,33; Job 6:4; 20:16; Ps 58:4; 140:3; Ro 3:13. the tongue is "an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." Jas 3:8. Job 6:4 apparently alludes to arrows being poisoned'.

We find forms of the word asp in: Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 20:14; Job 20:16; Isaiah 11:8; Romans 3:13. The definition of this word is: 'a type of poisonous snake. Also called an adder'. Torrey's Topical Textbook provides references for this word as: 'Dangerous to travellers: Ge 49:17. DESCRIBED AS: Venomous: Job 20:14,16. Not to be charmed: Ps 58:5. ILLUSTRATIVE: Of obstinate rejecters of God's Word: Ps 58:4-5. Of the enemies of God's people: Ps 91:13. (Venom of), of the speech of the wicked: Ps 140:3; Ro 3:13. (Venom of), of injurious effects of wine: De 32:33; Pr 23:32. (Deprived of its venom), of the effects of conversion: Isa 11:8-9'.
We find forms of the word adder in: Genesis 49:17; Psalms 58:4; Psalms 91:13; Psalms 140:3; Proverbs 23:32.

Please see the note for Mark 7:7 about the word lips. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'besides its literal sense (Isa 37:29, etc.), is used in the original (saphah) metaphorically for an edge or border, as of a cup (1Ki 7:26), a garment (Ex 28:32), a curtain (Ex 26:4), the sea (Ge 22:17), the Jordan (2Ki 2:13). to "open the lips" is to begin to speak (Job 11:5); to "refrain the lips" is to keep silence (Ps 40:9; 1Pe 3:10). the "fruit of the lips" (Heb 13:15) is praise, and the "calves of the lips" thank-offerings (Ho 14:2). to "shoot out the lip" is to manifest scorn and defiance (Ps 22:7). Many similar forms of expression are found in Scripture'.

Please see the note for Luke 1:64 about the word mouth. The American Tract Society Dictionary defines this word as: 'Is sometimes used in Scripture for speaker, Ex 4:16; Jer 15:19. God spoke with Moses "mouth to mouth," Nu 12.8, that is, condescendingly and clearly. the law was to be "in the mouth" of the Hebrews, Ex 13:9, often rehearsed and talked of. "The rod of his mouth," Isa 11:4, and the sharp sword, Re 1:16, denote the power of Christ's word to convict, control, and judge; compare Isa 49:2; Heb 4:12. the Hebrew word for mouth is often translated "command," Ge 45:21; Job 39:27; Ec 8:2; and the unclean spirits out of the mouth of the dragon, Re 16:14, are the ready executors of his commands'. Forms of this word are used, in this Gospel, in: Romans 3:14; Romans 3:19; Romans 10:8-9; Romans 10:10; Romans 15:6.

Please see the note for Philippians 4:18 about the word full. Please also see the note for Colossians 2:9 about the word fullness. The functional definition for this word is: 'Replete; having within its limits all that it can contain'. Please also see the notes for Romans C15S11 and Galatians C5-S15 about the word fulfill.

Please see the note for Galatians C1-S4 about the word curse. The functional definition is: 'Doomed to destruction or misery'. The word accursed is similar the word curse. The difference is that something which is accursed has that state permanently While a curse can be removed. Further, When someone is accursed, they spread the curse to everything associated with them like leprosy did. We also find forms of this word in this Bible book in: Romans 9:3 and Romans 12:14.

Please see the notes for Ephesians C4S15 and Colossians C3S14 about the word bitterness. The functional definition is: 'Bitterness is symbolical of affliction, misery, and servitude'.

Please see the note for Luke 1:76 about the word feet. Fausset's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'n. plu of foot. Sandals covered only the soles, so that the feet needed washing when coming from a journey. In Joh 13:10 a distinct Greek word expresses bathing the whole person and washing the feet; "he that is washed (leloumenos) needeth not save to wash (nipsasthai) his feet, but is clean every whit." When one has been, as Peter, once for all wholly forgiven in regeneration, and so received the bathing of the whole man, i.e. justification through faith in Jesus, he needs no repetition of this as Peter requested; all he needs is cleansing from the soils that his feet contract in his daily life walk. Hence we daily pray, "give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as," etc. (1Jo 1:9.) So the priests in entering the house of God (Ex 30:19). It was an act of humble deference to guests to wash the feet (Lu 7:38-44; 1Ti 5:10). Disciples, after Christ's example, were to wash one another's feet, "by love serving one another" (Ga 5:13). the sandals were taken off in entering a house, hence the command to Moses (Ex 3:5) and to Joshua (Jos 5:15); compare Ec 5:1. to put them on was to prepare for active duty (Eze 24:17); whereas mourners went barefoot (2Sa 15:30). to "cover the feet" was the delicate expression for easing oneself, preparatory to which the loose garment was let fall to cover the person (1Sa 24:3; compare margin 2Ki 18:27). Putting the feet on captives' necks, as Joshua did (Jos 10:24), symbolizes complete mastery (Ps 110:1; 1Co 15:25; Isa 60:14).'.

Please see the note for Mark 14:24 about the word shed. The functional definition for this word is: 'To pour out; to effuse; to spill; to suffer to flow out'.

Please see the note for Colossians C1S3 about the word blood. The functional definition is: 'The fluid which circulates through the arteries and veins of the human body, and of other animals, which is essential to the preservation of life'. Please also see the note for Matthew 26:28 about the phrase blood of Christ. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians 10:16-LJC about the phrase Christ and blood.

Please see the note for 1Timothy 6:9 about the word destruction. The functional definition is: 'a pulling down; subversion; ruin, by whatever means'.

Please also see the notes for Romans C14S22 and 1Corinthians C3S17 about the word destroy. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians 10:10 about the word destroyer.

We find forms of the word misery in: Judges 10:16; Job 3:20; Job 11:16; Proverbs 31:7; Ecclesiastes 8:6; Lamentations 1:7; Lamentations 3:19; Romans 3:13 3:16; James 5:1. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind. A man suffers misery from the gout, or from great afflictions, distress, calamity,and other evils. Misery expresses somewhat less than wretchedness. Misery is as really the fruit of vice reigning in the heart, as tares are the produce of tares sown in the field. 2. Calamity; misfortune; natural evils which are the cause of misery. And mourn the miseries of human life'. Please also see the note for Matthew 21:41 about the words miserable / miserably.

Please see the note for Romans 12:18 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses the word peace along with a short note for each and the definition from Webster's 1828 . The functional definition is: 'In a general sense, a state of quiet or tranquility; freedom from disturbance or agitation; applicable to society, to individuals, or to the temper of the mind'.

Please see the note for Romans 10:19 for links to every place in Romans where forms of the word know is used. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C1S11; Galatians C3-S9 and know in 1John about the word know. The functional definition is: 'A clear and certain perception of that which exists, or of truth and fact; and the perception of the connection and agreement, or disagreement between various truths and acts. Within the Biblical usage is the knowledge that comes only from personal intimate experience'. Please see the notes for 2Peter 1:2-LJC; 2Peter 2:20-LJC and Philippians 1:9-11 about the word knowledge. Please see the note for Romans C11S4 about the word foreknow. Please see the note for Romans C6S5 about the phrase Know ye not. Please see the note for 1Corinthians C16S17 about the word acknowledge. There are different levels of knowledge which can vary based upon their source, how the knowledge is obtained and more. True Biblical knowledge includes the most intimate and personal type of knowledge which comes from personal experience.

Please see the Study called The Fear of the Lord and the note for Romans 11:20-21 for all of the places where Romans uses the word fear. The functional definition is: 'A painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger. Fear expresses less apprehension than dread, and dread less than terror and fright. the force of this passion, beginning with the most moderate degree, may be thus expressed, fear, dread, terror, fright. Fear is accompanied with a desire to avoid or ward off the expected evil. Fear is an uneasiness of mind, upon the thought of future evil likely to befall us'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C12S13 about the word eye. The functional definition is: 'Sight; view; ocular knowledge'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'throat. Ps 5:9; Jer 5:16; Mt 23:27-28 with their. Ro 3:4; Ps 5:9; 12:3-4; 36:3; 52:2; 57:4; Isa 59:3; Jer 9:3-5; Eze 13:7; Mt 12:34-35; Jas 3:5-8 the poison. De 32:33; Job 20:14-16; Ps 140:3 General references. exp: Jer 5:16.
General references. Ps 10:7; 59:12; 109:17-18; Jas 3:10
General references. Pr 1:16; 6:18; Isa 59:7-8
General references. exp: Isa 57:21.
General references. Ro 5:1; Isa 57:21; 59:8; Mt 7:14; Lu 1:79 exp: Isa 48:22.
General references. Ge 20:11; Ps 36:1; Pr 8:13; 16:6; 23:17; Lu 23:40; Re 19:5'.

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C3-S18 (Verse 19) Why God's Law.

Equivalent Section: Who the Law talks to.

Now we know that what things soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law:.

Equivalent Section: Why.

that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world may become guilty before God..

This sentence says Now (based upon all said so far and the verses quoted), the Bible show that the Law condemns those under the Law that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Nobody is going to claim that they are righteous or that God didn't warn them about the Law that condemns them.

We find it is written 80 times in the Bible and 63 times in the New Testament. We find have ye not read 8 times. When our sentence says Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it is referring to these verses where the hearer was directed to God's written law that they were trying to ignore. With that many references to what the law saith, no one has any excuse for saying that they didn't know.

In chapter 1 Paul showed that God's righteousness is revealed in the lives of His people who obey the gospel. He also showed that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Then in the start of chapter 2 Paul said Therefore thou art inexcusable, of man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. He went on from there and proved his statement from chapter 1 that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, including that done by religious men who thought the law would protect them from the wrath of God while they lived in ungodliness and unrighteousness. Paul also showed that there was no difference between those under the law and those who were not under it because God had revealed himself to each and all would be judged according to the revelation that they had received.

After that he dealt with the question of 'Why are we Jews and have circumcision?' His answer was that God gave both to draw them closer to Him and give them a personal relationship with Him, and provide all of the advantages that such a relationship provided. Thus, being Jews and having circumcision were not an excuse to live worse than the Gentiles but were supposed to help God's people live better than the Gentiles. All of this led to the question For what if some did not believe?, which meant that some of God's people did not live better than the Gentiles but actually lived worse in spite of being Jews and having circumcision. This led to Paul's statement that their damnation is just, which he followed with all of the evidence from scripture which showed that God had warned them repeatedly.

Thus, we see the basis for Paul's Now. He said all that he did before this so that he could make the statements which follow and not have to deal with objections that he already dealt with.

The first statement, following Paul's Now, is in our current verse and (essentially) says that the law will stop every mouth (eliminate all excuses for sin). God wants to provide His salvation but as the saying goes, 'You can't get a man saved until after you make him realize that he is lost'. That is what Paul has done here. When he says all the world may become guilty before God, and bases that claim upon all that he already said (Now), only a fool who has shut off his brain would think that he is not heading for Hell and the lake of fire. This then is the basis upon which Paul makes his next statements where he tells us that the righteousness of God that we each need is only by faith of Jesus Christ and that we are justified only by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Lots of people jump to the verses which are later in this chapter after making just a few statements to people to convince them that they are lost. The result is that very few people understand and appreciate all that went into providing their salvation because, while they knew they were lost, they did not really understand how lost they were and what the consequence of that condition was. The result is that they loveth little because they think that little is forgiven when they got saved (Luke 7:36-50). Yes, I know that we often will lose many people if we take too long with the gospel and that they will not listen long enough to really appreciate how lost they really are. However, once people are saved they should be shown all that went into Paul's Now so that they would realize how much was really forgiven with the (hopeful) end result being that Jesus would say that they loved much.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C6S1; Galatians C2-S10 and Psalms 119 about the word law. The functional definition for this word is: 'the set of written or commonly understood rules for acceptable behavior and which can be used by a legal system for punishing offenders'. Please also see the note for Galatians 3:10 about the phrase book of the law. Please also see the note for Revelation 13:8-LJC about the phrase book of the life. Please also see the notes for Romans C3S31 and 1Corinthians 9:21-LJC about the phrase kinds of laws that apply to us tday. Please also see the note for Romans C3S27 about the phrase law of works. Please also see the note for Romans C3S25 about the phrase law and faith. Please also see the note for Galatians C3S22 about the phrase Mosaic Law added. Please also see the note for Hebrews 10:28-29 about the phrase New Testament replaces only the religious part of the Mosaic Law. Please also see the note for Hebrews 19:29-LJC about the phrase religious part of Mosaic Law. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 11:10 about the word stop. The functional definition of it is: 'To cease to go forward'.

We find forms of the word stopped in: Genesis 8:2; Genesis 26:15; Genesis 26:18; Leviticus 15:3; 1Kings 18:44; 2Kings 3:19; 2Kings 3:25; 2Chronicles 32:3; 2Chronicles 32:4; 2Chronicles 32:30; Nehemiah 4:7; Job 5:16; Psalms 35:3; Psalms 58:4; Psalms 63:11; Psalms 107:42; Proverbs 21:13; Isaiah 33:15; Jeremiah 51:32; Ezekiel 39:11; Zechariah 7:11; Acts 7:57; Romans 3:19; 2Corinthians 11:10; Titus 1:11; Hebrews 11:33. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'pp. Closed; obstructed; hindered from proceeding; impeded; intercepted'.

Please see the note for Romans 16:25-27 which gives links to every place in the New Testament that uses any form of the word world and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 . Please see the notes for 1Timothy 1:15; 2Timothy C1S5; 1Corinthians C1S19 and World in 1John. The functional definition is: 'The world is not the earth but is all of the people in the earth and often is used for the majority opinion / thought process. that opinion / thought process is the result of lost people thinking that they know better than God does and believe Satan's lie'.

We find forms of the word guilt occurring 40 times in the Bible and, in the New Testament in: Matthew 12:7; Matthew 23:18; Matthew 26:66; Mark 14:64; Romans 3:19; 1Corinthians 11:27; James 2:10. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'Criminal; having knowingly committed a crime or offense, or having violated a law by an overt act or by neglect, and by that act or neglect, being liable to punishment; not innocent. It may be followed by of; as, to be guilty of theft or arson. Nor he, nor you, were guilty of the strife. 1. Wicked; corrupt; sinful; as a guilty world. 2. Conscious. In Scripture, to be guilty of death, is to have committed a crime which deserves death. Matt.26. Tobe guilty of the body and blood of Christ, is to be chargeable with the crime of crucifying Christ afresh, and offering indignity to his person and righteousness, represented by the symbols of the Lord's supper. 1 Cor.11'.

Thompson Chain Topics provides references for the word guilt as: '(examples of): Joseph's Brethren: Ge 42:21; Ex 9:27. Israel in the Wilderness: Nu 21:7. The Jews of Ezra's Time: Ezr 9:6. The Psalmist: Ps 40:12. The Scribes and Pharisees: Joh 8:9. Guiltiness: Le 7:18; 17:16; 19:8; 20:19; Nu 5:6; 15:31; 30:15; Eze 44:10. Guilty Conscience: Joseph's Brethren: Ge 42:21. Pharaoh: Ex 9:27. Ezra: Ezr 9:6; Job 15:21. The Psalmist: Ps 40:12. Belshazzar: Da 5:6. The Scribes and Pharisees: Joh 8:9. Guilty Fear: Ge 3:8; 45:3; Le 26:17; Ps 53:5; Pr 28:1; Isa 2:19; 24:17; 33:14; 66:4; Da 5:6; Mic 7:17; Heb 10:27'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'what things. Ro 3:2; 2:12-18; Joh 10:34-35; 15:25; 1Co 9:20-21; Ga 3:23; 4:5,21; 5:18 that. Ro 3:4; 1:20; 2:1; 1Sa 2:9; Job 5:16; 9:2-3; Ps 107:42; Eze 16:63; Mt 22:12-13; Joh 8:9; 1Co 1:29 exp: Ga 2:16. and all the. Ro 3:9,23; 2:1-2; Ga 3:10,22 guilty before God. or, subject to the judgment of God. General references. exp: Le 12:3; Eze 18:3; Mt 22:40; Lu 10:26; Joh 16:9; 1Co 1:29.'.

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C3-S19 (Verse 20) The only possible conclusion.

Equivalent Section: the law does not justify.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight:.

Equivalent Section: the law teaches us that we sinned.

for by the law is the knowledge of sin..

This sentence tells us that the only possible conclusion (Therefore) is that the Law teaches us about our sin and does not justify us. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines justify as:

L. justus, just, and facio, to make.

To prove or show to be just, or conformable to law, right, justice, propriety or duty; to defend or maintain; to vindicate as right. We cannot justify disobedience or ingratitude to our Maker. We cannot justify insult or incivility to our fellow men. Intemperance, lewdness, profaneness and dueling are in no case to be justified.
In theology, to pardon and clear form guilt; to absolve or acquit from guilt and merited punishment, and to accept as righteous on account of the merits of the Savior, or by the application of Christ's atonement to the offender.
To cause another to appear comparatively righteous, or less guilty than one's self. Ezek. 16.
To judge rightly of. Wisdom is justified by her children. Matt. 11.
To accept as just and treat with favor. James 2.

In printing, to agree; to suit; to conform exactly; to form an even surface or true line with something else. Types of different sizes will not justify with each other.

Forms of justify are found in 22 verses within this epistle. (Obviously, the Bible says far more in other places within the Bible.) the verses within this epistle are: 1:17; 2:13; 3:4; 3:8; this verse; 3:24; 3:26; 3:28; 3:30; 4:2; 4:5; 4:25; 5:1; 5:9; 5:16; 5:18; 7:12; 8:30; 8:33. Please note that this chapter has more verses which use justify than any other chapter. This chapter is dealing with legal principles and the number of these occurrences show us that justify is a legal principal.

There is more to the Biblical doctrine of justify than what most people think and the popular definition of: 'just as if I never sinned' is wrong. Please notice that our definition above includes 'to vindicate as right'. A professional criminal may never have been proven to have broken the law, but that does not make him 'vindicated as right'. True Biblical justification not only requires the removal of the heavenly legal record of or in but it also requires adding the legal record of Christ's righteousness to our legal record. In addition, the justification which we received at our initial profession is not enough. We must have further justification through our saved life by allowing Jesus Christ to work in and through our life.

Our next sentence is attached to this one by starting with a But. Please remember what was presented in this note and the prior note as they form the basis for what Paul says in the next sentence.

Please see the note for Romans intro about the word therefore. The functional definition is: 'what follows the therefore is a future result that is based upon what came before the therefore and only seen there'.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 12:12 about the word deed. The functional definition is: 'That which is done, acted or effected; an act; a fact; a word of extensive application, including whatever is done, good or bad, great or small'.

Please see the note for Romans C8S1 about the word flesh. The functional definition is: 'a particular part of the body of man and animals'. Please also see the note for 8:8 for the difference between walk after the flesh and in the flesh. Please see the note for 8:8 for the difference between walk after the flesh and in the flesh.

Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C13S9; 2Corinthians 2:17 and Colossians C1S6 about the word see / sight. The functional definition is: 'The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view. this word is often used symbolically for spiritual understanding'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Therefore. Ro 3:28; 2:13; 4:13; 9:32; Ac 13:39; Ga 2:16,19; 3:10-13; 5:4; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5-7; Jas 2:9-10 no flesh. Job 25:4; Ps 130:3; 143:2; Jas 2:20-26 in his sight. Job 15:15; 25:5 for by the. Ro 7:7-9; Ga 2:19 General references. exp: Ge 3:11; Mt 22:40; Joh 16:9; Ro 3:28; Eph 2:9.'.

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C3-S20 (Verse 21-26) God provides a solution to our legal problems.

Equivalent Section: the righteousness of God.

First Step: the righteousness of God is not dependent upon the law.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets;.

Second Step: the righteousness of God...is by (the) faith of Jesus Christ.

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:.

Equivalent Section: No difference based upon attributes of man.

for there is no difference:.

Equivalent Section: God's solution to the problem all men have.

First Step: Why no difference.

For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God;.

Second Step: God's solution.

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus :.

Equivalent Section: God provided for the remission of sins.

First Step: God made the righteousness of Jesus Christ able to provide the remission of sins.

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood,
to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God;.

Second Step: God told us about it.

To declare,
I say,
at this time his righteousness:.

Equivalent Section: God provided for our justification.

that he might be just,
and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus..

This is a complex sentence that tells us that the righteousness of God and redemption and propitiation and the remission of sins and the forbearance of God and justification are only in the person of Christ Jesus and he gives us these things to those people who believeth in Jesus. Within this sentence we have several different legal terms / precepts and three different sets of names for the Son of God. Each of these terms and names differ in details but each tell us how 'God provides a solution to our legal problems'. Therefore, while we cover the differences found between various Equivalent Sections, please keep in mind that they all are just different views of the same solution provided by God.

This sentence is basically the last argument that Paul gives in the chapter with the remaining sentences being statements of conclusions based upon what has been said. in this chapter Paul proves that we are not justified by deeds of the Law but by faith.

This sentence starts out with But, which connects it to the prior sentence while going in a different direction. The prior sentence started out with Therefore and is a summary of all of Paul's arguments from the beginning of the chapter up to that sentence. The summary in the prior sentence is by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his (God's ) sight. The notes for that sentence and the 4 sentences before it (directly or indirectly) provided links to over 200 verses where the Bible supports the statement of that sentence. Therefore, it is only stating what can be found many places within the Bible.

Now this sentence, which starts with a But, is still dealing with our justification, while it goes in another direction. In fact, it pretty much goes in the opposite direction. While the prior sentence tells us how we are not justified, this sentence says Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Thus, the two sentences tell us that there is no redemption by the Law but there is redemption in Christ Jesus.

Please use the link in the sentence outline, above, to access the note in the Relational Prepositions Study. As explained there, we must maintain our ongoing personal relationship that is in Christ Jesus in order to be justified for sins done after our initial salvation. He will not leave us but we can leave Him. And, if we do so, we will not be justified and will meet those sins at the judgment seat of Christ. Please also see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to promises made in the New Testament outside of the Gospels. Being justified is a promise but we must meet God's requirement in order to receive the promise.

Here, Paul is contrasting justification by works to justification by faith. However, Paul is telling us much more within this complex sentence. Within this sentence we have five Equivalent Sections, which are five different ways of saying the same thing. Each Equivalent Section is telling us how God took care of our legal problem that was the result of our own violating of His Law. The five Equivalent Sections can be labeled as we see in the division by punctuation (above). That could also be labeled as:

God provides righteousness by faith of Jesus Christ, which is outside of the Mosaic Law.
Our legal status in God's court is not determined by our birth.
Everyone broke the Law but God took care of that problem for those who are in Christ Jesus.
God used forbearance and set Christ Jesus as a propitiation in order to give some people his righteousness.
God did what was necessary in order to be just while He became the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Within this compound sentence are doctrinal statements based upon the roles of Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus and God. We get different things from God the Father and different things from each of the different roles on God the Son. Within this one sentence we (again) see that different things come from different roles and that we can not get some things by approaching God the wrong way (going to the wrong role). (Please follow the links in the division of the sentence above. Those links go to significant notes which explain the differences in the names used and why each name was used where it was used.)

in this sentence we read that God the Father is just and God the Father is the justifier. We read that God the Father justifies him which believeth in Jesus but this is connected (same sentence) with certain legal aspects that are linked to Jesus Christ and to Christ Jesus. The relationship between Christ and the church is pictured as the relationship between a man and his wife (Ephesians 5:32). When a marriage occurs, the preacher declares them 'man and wife' when the vow is said and believed. However, this declaration is based upon the assumption that there will be a consummation of the marriage and refusal to consummate the marriage is grounds for declaring the marriage to be void due to fraud. Likewise, God declares a person to be saved (have an ongoing personal relationship with the Son of God) upon the vows (of salvation) being said and believed (him which believeth in Jesus) with the understanding that this covenant relationship will be 'consummated' with the legal aspects of this sentence that are linked to Jesus Christ and to Christ Jesus. (That is, the saved person is changed by the ongoing personal relationship with Christ. And, this understanding is proven by the changes brought into the life of everyone when they get married.)

The second role (after God the Father) that we will look at is the role of Jesus. Before we ever respond to the Son of God through His role as Christ, God the Father declares us to be justified based upon what Jesus already did. The saved definitely have some things which are forever and have some blessings that are not forever. There is a definite division between the two. Unfortunately, many good people put this division inside Christ in spite of the fact that 1Corinthians 1:13 asks the rhetorical question of Is Christ divided? the Bible actually teaches that this division is between the roles of Jesus and of Christ, which is one of the major problems with the common erroneous practice of using Jesus and Christ interchangeably. Please see the note for 3:26 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details on this important doctrine.

Please notice that our sentence has an and in the Equivalent Section which tells us that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. These are two separate phrases within this Equivalent Section and they don't mean the same thing. The word just is a one-time event. This happens at our initial salvation. However, the word justifier is an action verb for an ongoing action by God. In addition, the requirement for receiving this promise is the word believeth ('an ongoing lifestyle of belief'). Further, this 'ongoing lifestyle of belief' must be in Jesus. Therefore, this phrase means that we must remain in a proper relationship to Jesus. That requirement also means that we must continue to follow His example for how to live in the flesh and avoid ongoing sin in our lives. (This ongoing justification is a promise from God. Please see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to promises made in the New Testament outside of the Gospels.)

God the Father is the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus, which means that God justifies us ('removes the record' / agrees to Blot out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us). However, God only does this for him which believeth in Jesus. This qualifier means that we follow the example that Jesus gave us when He set aside His power as God and lived in human flesh using the Power of the Holy Ghost. (Please see the study called Jesus used the power of Holy Spirit.) think: when God and death fight, death loses. The Son of God had to set aside His power as God so that He could die as a human man. Once in Hell, He took back His power as Lord and defeated death, but that could only happen after He died as a human man. (Please see the note for Acts 2:36).

So, in order to have God the Father justify us, our sentence says that we must meet His qualification of believeth in Jesus. This means that we follow the example of Jesus by looking into the Gospels (not believing some religious liar) and determining What Did Jesus Do?. As we follow the example that He gave us by living in human flesh using the Power of the Holy Ghost, we show that God was just to save us while refusing salvation, and justification, to someone who listened to the same gospel as us and said the same prayer as us, but refused to agree to live according to the example that Jesus gave us. That is, God refuses to be...the justifier of him which (refuses to) believeth in Jesus because then God would not be just to save some people while refusing to save others. This requirement for us to live what we claim to believe is also said, but in different ways, in the other Equivalent sections.

The next role to look at is the role of Christ Jesus. We have one Equivalent Section of this sentence which has two Steps and uses the name of Christ Jesus. Many people (myself included) have been guilty of not only taking part of this Equivalent Section out of context but of also dropping one of the two Steps. The result is that some people believe that they can be saved while accepting only part of God's plan of salvation and while actually rejecting part of God's plan of salvation. Yes, all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, but that is only the First Step of this Equivalent Section and we should tell them at least the Second Step which is that we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. If they are not willing to have and maintain their ongoing personal relationship with Christ then they will not have the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

This Second Step has several critical things that pertain to true Biblical salvation and many of the doctrinal errors that are taught about salvation are due to people ignoring these things. We are justified freely, which eliminates works salvation and debt (Romans 4:4). This is also true because we are justified...by his [God's ] grace. But notice that this Step also says that this justified is through. Since our sinful habits are not instantly removed at the instant of our profession but happen one at a time throughout our life, this redemption that we go through it is not one-time event but is a time-consuming process. In addition, it is by God's grace. That means that it is God's grace which takes us through the process of redemption and receiving God's grace is not one-time event in the lives of the saved. (The Bible uses grace 170 times in 159 verses. Please see the notes for 4:4 which has links to where Romans uses grace). Therefore, the redemption that is in Christ Jesus is something that happens repeatedly throughout our life in this sinful flesh. God declares us to be justified based upon our vow, at our initial profession, that we will maintain an ongoing personal relationship that will last throughout our life in this sinful flesh. That ongoing personal relationship allows Christ to redeem us and it is after we are redeemed that God has the proof which justifies His saving us in the first place.

As was explained above, a marriage is declared to be in existence based upon the vows said which will be fulfilled in the future. So also are we declared 'saved' based upon the basis of our vow to have and ongoing personal relationship with the Son of God which will be fulfilled in the future of when we made our profession. As part of our ongoing relationship with Christ Jesus we get redemption from our ongoing sin which is due to our own sin nature and sinful flesh. As Christ Jesus redeems us, He saves his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21; James 5:20) [remove them from their present sinful condition (Matthew 8:25; 14:30)]. Formore details on this doctrine, please see the note for 3:24 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study.

In our backward progression through these Equivalent Sections of this sentence, we now come to the First Equivalent Section. Here we are told that the righteousness of God without the law is manifested (made revealed in every possible way' Webster's 1828 ) ..righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Please notice first that the righteousness of God is by faith of Jesus Christ and not by our faith. Secondly, notice that the righteousness of God is upon all them that believe. If the righteousness of God is manifested...upon all them that believe then the world will see the righteousness of God made 'revealed in every possible way' upon the 'visible' life of all them that believe. One more time we see what Paul has said repeatedly through this epistle up to this point, and will continue to say throughout the rest of this epistle. True Biblical salvation is 'visible to the eye'. God makes a difference in the lives of saved people and a 'positional salvation' that allows someone to mock God by living in sin while claiming a mansion in heaven is not Biblical. (Please see the note for 3:22 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details on the use of this name of the Son of God within this sentence.)

All through this Study we have seen that one thing builds upon another throughout this epistle. The note for the prior sentence showed how everything said so far supported it. Likewise, we can see the same thing for this sentence even though it takes the opposite point of view from the prior sentence. Romans 1 told us that the God of the Bible judged people according to their works and not according to some professed lie. It opened with telling us that we are called to be saints and that we are to be a servant in the same way as Paul was. We also learned that God gives us grace and our position as saved people for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name. We also saw that ..the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. So chapter 1 started this epistle by contrasting those who did obedience to the faith (and the resulting blessings) to those who did ungodliness and unrighteousness of men and received the wrath of God.

Then chapter 2 told us that there was no excuse for people who knew the truth but lived in sin while judging others for being sinners like they were. Romans 3 starts out with Paul proving that we are all unrighteous (3:10) and that God's Law is not made of none effect by the unbelief of some. Also, salvation by faith does not give license to sin. This led to our current sentence and verse. Please see the note for Romans 7:20 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word sin along with a the Webster's 1828 definition and a shorter definition.

What I have tried to show in this note is that our legal 'right standing' before God is started through the ministry of Jesus and built from there by the ministry of Christ combined with the ministry of Jesus. Some aspects of our legal 'right standing' requires emphasis on the ministry of Christ above the ministry of Jesus (Christ Jesus). Some aspects of our legal 'right standing' just requires both ministries with that aspect starting when we make our initial profession and growing after that (Jesus Christ). Romans also teaches that those people who claim salvation (through Jesus) but reject a changed life (through Christ) are not meeting what this sentence claims to be the requirement for righteousness before God. This sentence says that the righteousness of God is given to us by faith of Jesus Christ. As has already been pointed out, this is the faith that belongs to Jesus Christ and His faith is supposed to make the righteousness of God 'clearly visible to the eye' of the lost person who looks at our life. So the question is 'How does He do this?'

The simple answer to that question is that God the Father does these things through the person of God the Son. God the Son provides what we are told about in this sentence through different roles that He has and that have already been explained. Now only a fool would claim that he could explain all that God does and all of the ramifications of what God does. However, within the limits of human understanding we can see what the Bible says and with the help of God (James 1:5) we can achieve some understanding of what God does. Having said that, I realize that even with as large as this note is (and as large as the related notes are), there is a lot more that can be said about these subjects, and that others have said about them. Indeed, if the reader uses the Search function provided on this site to search for certain words used in this sentence, they will far more said about these subjects in several other notes on this site. That said, there is definitely more said by other people, especially when it comes to the application of these Biblical principles. This site does not try to be the final word on these subjects. It does try to provide enough understanding so that the reader can use their own spiritual gift of wisdom and, with God's help, use the understanding provided to apply these principles in their own life and the life of others.

With that said, we will go back through this sentence from a different perspective. (This pass will be shorter.) We have looked at the various names of the Son of God and how He, along with God the Father, provide us the things found within this sentence. The details of this sentence were explored, but not completely. While complete details were not provided, what was provided should be sufficient to start the reader on their own detailed study. The prior pass went from the end of the sentence to the beginning. With the understanding provided so far, we can start from the beginning and look as what is said based upon sentence structure.

This sentence tells us about how 'God provides a solution to our legal problems'. Each Equivalent Section tells us about this same subject but takes a different perspective of it. Think of the story of 5 blind men describing the same elephant while they touch different parts of the elephant.

In the First Equivalent Section we have two Steps which tell us about the righteousness of God. When we receive the righteousness of God, our 'legal problems' are solved. We receive the righteousness of God in two distinct steps. In Matthew 4:7; Mark 1:11-13 and Luke 4:1-13 we read how Satan tempted Jesus by misquoting Psalms 91:11-12. What Satan quoted was accurate but left out a critical part of the original text. Thus, we see that leaving out a critical part of a Bible text is using the method of the devil. That is what a lot of people do to distort the doctrine that is talked about in this First Equivalent Section. Many people who agree with the First Step (that 'The righteousness of God is not dependent upon the law'). However, they err when they leave out the Second Step ('The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe'). We have already seen the importance of the role of the Son of God known as Jesus Christ. What we need to recognize here is that this Step says that it is His faith and that faith is unto all and upon all them that believe. A lot of people are led into error by denying that God provided His faith because they are actually relying upon their own faith. In addition, they, and / or others, deny that His faith is upon all them that believe. If they truly have His faith then there is absolutely NO way that they can prevent His faith from making the righteousness of God 'clearly visible to the eye' of the lost person who looks at their life. Therefore, we must conclude that anyone who claims to have the righteousness of God, but does not have results which are 'clearly visible to the eye', either is not saved or does not truly Biblically believe.

Moving on to our Second Equivalent Section we see that there is 'No difference based upon attributes of man'. This Equivalent Section starts with for and tells us why the prior Equivalent Section said what it did. That Equivalent Section told us that we needed the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, and this Equivalent Section tells us that there is no difference. Implied is that there is no difference between the 'self-righteousness' of various men. Further, there is no denying that the 'self-righteousness' of hypocrites is unrighteousness. Since our Equivalent Section told us that there is no difference between the 'self-righteousness' of various men, we can see why we need the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Thus, we each have a 'legal problem' with our unrighteousness which God solved with the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. (Please see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to promises made in the New Testament outside of the Gospels.)

Please see the note for 3:22 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details on the faith of Jesus Christ. Please see the notes for 3:27 which has links to where Romans talks about faith. Please see the Study called Relational Prepositions for more verses which use of with a role of God. Please follow the link provided to see this unique usage of words within the Bible. Please also see the explanation at the top of the page that is reached By this link.

The note for Romans 3:5 provides links to every verse which uses the word unrighteousness along with a small note on each verse. There are 535 verses which use forms of the word righteous in addition to those which use unrighteous. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins. The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used.

Continuing with our third Equivalent Section we see why 'God provides His solution to the problem that all men have.' As has already been discussed, 'God's solution' is a Two Step process and we are using the method of Satan when we leave out the Second Step to 'God's solution'. Once more we see that this Equivalent Section starts with the word For and tells us why God says that there is no difference between the 'self-righteousness' of various men. His First Step is a well-known, well-quoted and well-preached verse. In all of that, some people explain what the Bible means by come short of the glory of God while others take even this verse out of context by ignoring the word and pretending like only the first phrase of this Step is in the Bible. Of course, when we truly understand what the Bible means by come short of the glory of God, then we see the need for the Second Step of our third Equivalent Section. That Second Step has already been discussed in detail. Thus, the First Step shows us our need for the righteousness of God and our Second Step shows us that we are justified only by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We have already seen that this justification requires an ongoing redemption that is only applied as we maintain our ongoing personal relationship that is in Christ Jesus. (Please follow the link provided to see the unique usage of in that is within the Bible. Please also see the explanation at the top of the page that is reached By this link.) thus, we see that 'God provides a solution to our legal problems' when 'He justified (us) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'. Please see the notes for 2:2 and 3:6 which has links to where this epistle and the Bible talks about judging. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify. This sentence tells us that God is just when He justifies the saved. The exact word of just is only used in 5 verses of Romans. Please see the note for 7:12 which has links to those verses and for the Webster's 1828 definition.

Now we come to our Fourth Equivalent Section which tells us that 'God provides a solution to our legal problems' when 'God provided for the remission of sins'. Once more we see a Two Step process and are reminded that we are following the methods of Satan if we ignore either Step. Once more we see that religious hypocrites try to ignore our First Step which tells us God hath set forth (Christ Jesus) to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. One of the main things that the devil-led Biblical Antichrists of today deny and teach against is his (Christ Jesus) blood and 'God's solution to our legal problems' that includes Christ Jesus becoming a propitiation through faith in his blood. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines propitiation as 'the act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious. 2. In theology, the atonement or atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage his wrath and render him propitious to sinners. Christ is the propitiation for the sins of men. Rom.3. 1 John 2.' We only find this word used in this verse, 1John 2:2 (where we are told that we have an advocate with the Father) and in 1John 4:10 (where we are told that true love was shown to us when God sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins). Therefore, we see that Christ Jesus shed His blood to provide 'The act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person:...the atonement or atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage his wrath and render him propitious to sinners.' While this is true we also have to notice that our sentence says through faith in his blood. Therefore, anyone who believes the lie taught by Biblical antichrists that we don't need the blood, has not met God's requirement to receive the propitiation through faith in his blood. As a result, they can not be saved and must pay for their own sins with an eternity in the lake of fire.

please use This link to see the 'Minor Titles of the Son of God' found within the Bible along with links to where the Bible uses those titles. The title in this sentence is Propitiation.

So, the first phrase of our First Step is attacked and denied by devil-led Biblical Antichrists of today who want us to face the judgment of God without a propitiation for His wrath against our personal ungodliness and unrighteousness. In addition, our second phrase is in effect at the same time because these phrases are separated by commas. Here we run into more false doctrine which is even preached by 'good Godly people'. That is, people ignore, and even deny, the truth of the words of sins that are past. They preach a doctrine that excuses people ignoring the teachings of 1John. Rather than get into a lengthy statement I will summarize and let the reader go to the Book Study on 1John for details. Basically, God has two legal systems: the great white throne system and the judgment seat of Christ. When we get saved God uses the blood of Jesus Christ to blot out the record of our sins that are recorded in His great white throne system. He adopts us as sons and puts us under the judgment seat of Christ system. At the same time God applies the blood of Jesus Christ to our sins that are past. Since God removed us from His great white throne system, we no longer will end up in Hell or the lake of fire, but our sins which are done after we initially get saved still need remission. That is what our ongoing relationship with Christ Jesus provides, as has already been discussed, and is what 1John teaches us how to get after we are saved.

In order to get the remission of sins that are present and/or future, we need to receive his righteousness (the righteousness of Christ Jesus). This only happens through our ongoing relationship with the Son of God that is in Christ Jesus. This relationship allows us to become His workmanship...unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). That means that as we 'trust and obey', Christ Jesus, He applies his righteousness to our lives to cause us to 'Stop our Sinning'. After we 'Stop our Sinning', then He can work through our lives to produce good works.

That covers the first two phrases of this Step and we still need to deal with our third phrase which is going on at the same time as our other two phrases. Here we read that these two other things are happening through the forbearance of God. As we have already seen, in this sentence, through is used for an ongoing process and is not a one-time event. Since this phrase is happening at the same time as the other two phrase, it should be obvious that this phrase is also ongoing. The ongoing event is the forbearance of God. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines forbearance as 'the act of avoiding, shunning or omitting; either the cessation or intermission of an act commenced, or a withholding from beginning an act. Liberty is the power of doing or forbearing an action, according as the doing or forbearance has a preference in the mind. the forbearance of sin is followed with satisfaction of mind. 2. Command of temper; restraint of passions. 3. the exercise of patience; long suffering; indulgence towards those who injure us; lenity; delay of resentment or punishment. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long suffering? Rom. 2.' please see the note for Romans 2:4 which is the only other place in Romans which uses the word forbearance. Please see the note for Romans 15:1 which has links to sentences within Romans which have a form of the word bear (verb) along with a working definition of the word.

Thus, we see that God is refusing to act on our sins that we do, after we get saved, and is refusing to act on an ongoing basis, while He lets Christ Jesus be a propitiation and apply His blood to our ongoing sins so that He can save us from the ongoing sins be removing the sins from our present physical life. Again, much of this doctrine has already been talked about within the note for this sentence.

Hopefully, the reader can see why our First Step is labeled 'God made the righteousness of Jesus Christ able to provide the remission of sins'. However, we need to notice that our First Step says that God hath set forth. God provided the way but God does not force His way on anyone, especially not on His children. Thus, we have our Second Step which says To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness. (Please see the note for 11:1 for links to every place that Romans used the phrase of I say. Paul uses this phrase when he introduces his own point into an ongoing discussion.) that declaration is in the gospel of Christ. Several prior notes in this Study have already explained that the gospel of Christ is the 'good news that Christ can change our life after our initial profession'. Once more we see that this involves an ongoing relationship, just like every other phrase in this sentence required. Thus, we see, once more, that 'God provides a solution to our legal problems' when 'God provided for the remission of sins'.

Finally we come to our Fifth Equivalent Section which tells us that 'God provides a solution to our legal problems' when 'God provided for our justification'. This Equivalent Section is discussed in detail in the This verse within the Lord Jesus Christ Study. That note explains how God being just happens at the same time as God is the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. As explained there, when we believeth in Jesus we are making a one-time vow to start an ongoing personal relationship that is pictured, in the Bible, by the relationship between a man and his wife. Just as a marriage is declared to be fraud and void if there is not a consummation of the marriage, so also is our declaration of salvation declared to be fraud and void if there is not a consummation of our vow to have an ongoing personal relationship with Christ Jesus (Please follow the link provided if more details are needed.) thus, we see that 'God provides a solution to our legal problems' when 'God provided for our justification'. Please see the Study called Relational Prepositions for more verses which use in with a role of God. Please follow the link provided to see this unique usage of words within the Bible. Please also see the explanation at the top of the page that is reached By this link.

Hopefully, this is enough detail. If anyone really wants more please send an email that stated the problem and the Biblical basis for saying that there is a problem. :-).

Please see the note for Romans 16:25-27 which gives links to every place in the New Testament that uses any form of the word manifest and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 . Please also see the notes for Romans C3S20; Romans C16S33; 1John-Manifest. The functional definition is: 'made available, in this world, for extensive examination that uses multiple means to accomplish the examination'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 11:4 about the word witness. The functional definition is: 'someone who is qualified to testify in court and is available to do so if the court requests'. Please also see the notes for 2Corinthians 13:1 and Colossians C3S13 about the phrase two or three witnesses.

Please see the notes for Luke 1:76; Romans C16S33 and Romans C12S5 about the word prophet. The worldly definition is: 'One that foretells future events; a predicter; a foreteller'. However, John the Baptist was a prophet and he told no future event. Therefore, the true Biblical definition is: the functional definition is: 'a person who tells us what God actually says, which is usually different from what religion says. In Old Testament times, a prophet of God was verified by his telling a true prediction of future events. In New Testament times, a prophet of God is verified by comparing his doctrine to what the word of God literally says'. Please note that 1Corinthians 14:3 tells us: But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. This is what the word of God tells us is the true job of a true prophet of God. It is not 'foretelling the future'. Please note that 1Corinthians 14:3 tells us: But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. This is what the word of God tells us is the true job of a true prophet of God. It is not 'foretelling the future'. Please also see the Study called Jude; false prophets. Please also see the notes for Romans C12S5; 1Corinthians C11S4 and 1Thessalonians 5:20 about the words prophecy / prophesy. The functional definition for this word is: 'The world claims that this word means a foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come. True Biblical prophecy is telling the Law of God when religious doctrine took people away from the truth. Before the word of God was complete, true prophecy was accompanied by a true telling of a future event to show thayt the message came from God. Since the word of God has been complete, true prophecy matches the word of God to correct doctrinal error. the prophecies recorded in Scripture, when fulfilled, afford most convincing evidence of the divine original of the Scriptures, as those who uttered the prophecies could not have foreknown the events predicted without supernatural instruction.'. Please also see the Prophecies and Prophecy Fulfilled Sections for Bible references to resurrection.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Please see the note for Romans 12:6-8 about the word different. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'a. Distinct; separate; not the same; as, we belong to different churches or nations. 2. Various or contrary; of various or contrary natures, forms or qualities; unlike; dissimilar; as different kinds of food or drink; different states of health; different shapes; different degrees of excellence.'. Please also see the note for Romans C10S13 about the phrase no difference in people. Please also see the notes for Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25 and James 2:1 about no respecter of persons.

We find forms of the word short in: Numbers 11:23; 2Kings 10:32; Job 17:12; Job 20:5; Psalms 89:47; Romans 3:23; Romans 9:28; Romans 16:20; 1Corinthians 4:5; 1Corinthians 7:29; 1Thessalonians 2:17; Hebrews 4:1; Revelation 1:1; Revelation 12:12; Revelation 17:10; Revelation 22:6. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'Not long; not having great length or extension; as a short distance; a short ferry; a short flight; a short piece of timber. The bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it. Is. 28. 2. Not extended in time; not of long duration. The triumphing of the wicked is short. Job 20. 3. Not of usual or suffifient length, reach or extent. Weak though I am of limb, and short of sight. Pope. 4. Not of long duration; repeated at small intervals of time; as short breath. 5. Not of adequate extent or quantity; not reaching the point demanded, desired or expected; as a quantity short of our expectations. Not therefore am I short Of knowing what I ought. Milton. 6. Deficient; defective; imperfect. this account is short of the truth. 7. Not adequate; insufficient; scanty; as, provisions are short; a short allowance of water for the voyage. 8. Not sufficiently supplied; scantily furnished. The English were inferior in number, and grew short in their provisions.'. Please also see the note for Mark 13:20 about the word shorten.

Please see the note1Corinthians C7S29 for about the word free. The functional definition is: 'Being at liberty; not being under necessity or restraint, physical or moral; a word of general application to the body, the will or mind, and to corporations'.

Please see the Study called Relational Prepositions for more verses which use the word through with a role of God. Please follow the link provided to see this unique usage of words within the Bible. Please also see the explanation at the top of the page that is reached By this link. The functional definition is: 'the relationship is a barrier until we enter it on one side and come out on the other side of the relationship in order to receive the blessings'.

Please see the notes for Romans C8S21 and Ephesians 5:15-16 about the word redemption. The functional definition is: 'Ransoming; procuring deliverance from captivity, capture, bondage, sin, distress or liability to suffer, by the payment of an equivalent'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 5:15-16 about the word redeeming.

Please see earlier in this note about the word propitiation. The functional definition, of the word propitiation, is: 'The legal act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person'. Please also see the note for 1John C2S2 about this word.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians 1:11 about the word declare. The functional definition is: 'Made known; told explicitly; avowed; exhibited; manifested; published; proclaimed; recited'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 9:22 about the word remission. The functional definition is: 'not making us suffer the just punishment for our sins'.

Please see above within this note about the word forbearance. Please also see the note for Colossians 3:11 about the word forbearing. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines Forbearing as: 'ppr. 1. Ceasing; pausing; withholding from action; exercising patience and indulgence. 2. a. Patient; long suffering.
FORBEARING, n. A ceasing or restraining from action; patience; long suffering.'

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'righteousness. Ro 1:17; 5:19,21; 10:3-4; Ge 15:6; Isa 45:24-25; 46:13; 51:8; 54:17; 61:10; Jer 23:5-6; 33:16; Da 9:24; Ac 15:11; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21; Ga 5:5; Php 3:9; Heb 11:4-40; 2Pe 1:1 exp: Ps 89:16; 98:2; Joh 16:10; Ga 3:21. being. De 18:15-19; Lu 24:44; Joh 1:45; 3:14-15; 5:46-47; Ac 26:22; Heb 10:1-14 and the. Ro 1:2; 16:26; Ac 3:21-25; 10:43; 28:23; Ga 3:8; 1Pe 1:10 General references. exp: Mt 11:13; 22:40; Ro 3:28.
which is. Ro 4:3-13,20-22; 5:1-11; 8:1; Php 3:9 unto all. Ro 4:6,11,22; Ga 2:16; 3:6; Jas 2:23 and upon. Isa 61:10; Mt 22:11-12; Lu 15:22; Ga 3:7-9 for there. Ro 2:1; 10:12; Ac 15:9; 1Co 4:7; Ga 3:28; Col 3:11 General references. exp: Ro 3:28.
all have. Ro 3:9,19; 1:28-32; 2:1-16; 11:32; Ec 7:20; Ga 3:22; 1Jo 1:8-10 come. Heb 4:1 of. Ro 5:2; 1Th 2:12; 2Th 2:14; 1Pe 4:13; 5:1,10
justified. Ro 4:16; 5:16-19; 1Co 6:11; Eph 2:7-10; Tit 3:5-7 through. Ro 5:9; Isa 53:11; Mt 20:28; Eph 1:6-7; Col 1:14; 1Ti 2:6; Tit 2:14; Heb 9:2-14; 1Pe 1:18-19; Re 5:9; 7:14 exp: Eph 2:8; 2Pe 1:1. General references. exp: Le 16:14; Nu 7:15.
set forth. or, foreordained. Ac 2:23; 3:18; 4:28; 15:18; 1Pe 1:18-20; Re 13:8 to be. Ex 25:17-22; Le 16:15; Heb 9:5 (Gr) 1Jo 2:2; 4:10 through. Ro 5:1,9,11; Isa 53:11; Joh 6:47,53-58; Col 1:20-23; Heb 10:19-20 exp: Eph 2:8; 2Pe 1:1. Todeclare. Ro 3:26; Ps 22:31; 40:10; 50:6; 97:6; 119:142; 1Jo 1:10 remission. or, passing over. Ro 3:23-24; 4:1-8; Ac 13:38-39; 17:30; 1Ti 1:15; Heb 9:15-22,25-26; 10:4; 11:7,14,17,39-40; Re 5:9; 13:8; 20:15 General references. exp: Ex 37:6; Le 16:14; Nu 7:15.that he. De 32:4; Ps 85:10-11; Isa 42:21; 45:21; Zep 3:5,15; Zec 9:9; Ac 13:38-39; Re 15:3 and. Ro 3:30; 4:5; 8:33; Ga 3:8-14 General references. exp: Le 16:14; Nu 7:15; Ro 3:28.
that he. De 32:4; Ps 85:10-11; Isa 42:21; 45:21; Zep 3:5,15; Zec 9:9; Ac 13:38-39; Re 15:3 and. Ro 3:30; 4:5; 8:33; Ga 3:8-14 General references. exp: Le 16:14; Nu 7:15; Ro 3:28.'.

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C3-S21 (Verse 27) Where is boasting then?

We find forms of the word boast occurring 20 times in 19 verses of the Bible. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'to brag, or vaunt one's self; to make an ostentatious display, in speech, of one's own worth, property, or actions. 2. to glory; to speak with laudable pride and ostentation of meritorious persons or things. I boast of you to them of Macedonia. St. Paul. 2. Cor.9. Usually, it is followed by of; sometimes by in. 3. to exalt one's self. With your mouth you have boasted against me. Ezek.
BOAST, v.t. to display in ostentatious language; to speak of with pride, vanity or exultation, with a view to self-commendation. Lest men should boast their specious deeds. 1. Magnify or exalt. They boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. Ps.49. 2. to exult in confident expectation. Boast not thyself of tomorrow. Prov.27.
BOAST, n. Expression of ostentation, pride or vanity; a vaunting. Thou makest thy boast of the law. Rom.2 1. the cause of boasting; occasion of pride, vanity, or laudable exultation. Trial by peers is the boast of the British nation. '.

All of verse 27 (sentences 21 through 25) tell us that boasting is excluded by the law of faith. Many people see this sentence and claim that all boasting is wrong. However, the Bible teaches otherwise. The Bible actually teaches that boasting of what God does through the lives of men is good while all other boasting is evil. Boasting is closely tied to pride. Below are the verses in the Bible which show this division, but first I would have the reader consider the story of David killing Goliath as told in 1Samuel 17. 1Samuel 17:28 tells us And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. David did not answer his older brother but 1Samuel 17:34-37 tells us And David said unto Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, the LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. So now, was it God's will for David to kill Goliath? the obvious answer is 'Yes.' in this story David used a shepherd's sling. His older brother would have been a shepherd before David and have learned to use a shepherd's sling also. Hebrews 111:6 tells us But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Both brothers would have learned to use a shepherd's sling. Both would have been diligent enough with their practice that they could hit a non-moving object, a rabbit, a bird and even the occasional single wolf. But the older brother ran for men with spears and bows when a whole pack of wolves came to a lion or a bear came. But David didn't do that, as we see in these verses which have been quoted.

My brother is a good enough hunter that he has chosen how many dear to take every year for at least 25 years. One year at Christmas he showed a video with at least 25 dear that he choose to not take. Several had at least 6 points and several were literally below his tree stand because you could see the toes of his boots in the video. Now, consider that quality of hunter and realize that he has taken at least 2 bear. He once explained that all bear hunters pack a 45 because even a 50 caliber magnum can deflect off of a bear's skull and the hunter wants multiple opportunities to stop the bear if the first shot doesn't drop the bear. Yes, that shot might eventually kill the bear but if it doesn't drop the bear the bear can kill the hunter before he dies.

Now return to the story about David. Think about the power difference between a modern gun and a shepherd's sling. Think about how close David had to be to that lion and that bear (verb) in order for the stone from a shepherd's sling to knock them out long enough for David to slit their throats. Think about how accurately he had to hit them for his stone to not deflect and realize that David was moving, his sling was moving and the lion and bear (verb) were moving and were close enough to David to believe that he was lunch. With that in mind, do you really want to challenge David's statement that LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine, especially since God often puts people in the same circumstances when they start bragging about their own achievements or start trying to shut the mouth of someone who is bragging about what the Lord did through their life? think about the fact that God had Samuel pass over Eliab and choose David for king. Answer the question: who really was full of pride: David, who bragged about what the Lord did through his life, or Eliab who said 'don't listen to his boasting. David is full of pride'?

With this story in mind, let's look at the verses in the Bible which use forms of the word boast. The verses which show that is right and good to boast about what the Lord has done are:

Psalms 34:1-3 says, A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. of magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. Here David is clearly in a bad position but he says My soul shall make her boast in the LORD. This first time of proper boasting is done when most people want to cry and complain. Here is how we get the blessings of the Lord in times of trouble.
Psalms 44:8 tells us In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah. Here we sure told to boast in God.
Isaiah 61:6 tells us But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. the Jews will boast about what God has done when the millennium comes.
Romans 2:17 tells us that the Jews makest thy boast of God but then didn't put their faith in God. We can boast of God but we need to back that boast with acts of faith.
Romans 2:23 tells us that the Jews makest thy boast of the law. we can boast about the things that God provides but we must follow that boast with acts of faith.
2Corinthians 7:14 tells us that Paul boasted to Titus about what God had done in the lives of the Corinthians.
2Corinthians 8:24 tells us that Paul boasted to other churches about what God had done in the lives of the Corinthians.
2Corinthians 9:2 tells us that Paul boasted to other churches about what God had done in the lives of the Corinthians.
2Corinthians 9:3 tells us that Paul boasted to other churches about what God had done in the lives of the Corinthians.
2Corinthians 9:4 tells us that Paul boasted to other churches about what God had done in the lives of the Corinthians.
2Corinthians 10:8 tells us that Paul could boast about the things that Christ did through his life but that he didn't because he didn't want to terrify them.
2Corinthians 11:10 tells us how Paul boasted about how God worked in the Churches of Achaia.

The verses which show that is wrong to boast about anything but what the Lord has done are:

1Kings 20:11 tells us Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. We are not to brag about what we are going to do but only open our mouth after it is done.
2Chronicles 25:19 tells us Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast:.. It is wrong to boast that you have done what the Lord has done through you.
Psalms 10:3 tells us For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. in this Psalm we see a prayer for God to bring judgment upon those people who boast of wrong things.
Psalms 49:6 tells us They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; I goes on to say that all of the money in the world will not redeem anyone.
Psalms 52:1 tells us Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, of mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. this Psalm goes on the describe the error of a boasting person and what God will do to them.
Psalms 94:4 tells us How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? this Psalm describes people who have set out to destroy God's people and God. The psalmist prays for God to bring vengeance.
Psalms 97:7 tells us Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods. this psalm says what God will do to those who boast themselves against God.
Proverbs 20:14 tells us It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth. We aren't supposed to boast about beating another human.
Proverbs 25:14 tells us Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain..
Proverbs 27:1 tells us Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Isaiah 10:15 tells us Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. Isaiah was warning about judgment coming upon God's people who thought God needed then and did not dare judge their sin.
Ezekiel 35:13 tells us Thus, with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. the ne4xt verse says Thus, saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
Acts 5:36 tells us For before these days rose up theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. this was said by Gamaliel to warn the Pharisees to be careful about what that did to the apostles. He advised them that if they were doing this in the flesh then it would come to nothing, like what happened to theudas. However, if the apostles had the backing of God them they would find themselves fighting against God.
Romans 1:30 Is part of a sentence naming all of the kinds of people that God will judge.
Romans 11:18 tells us Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Please see that note.
2Corinthians 10:13 tells us that Paul would not boast and claim for himself what God did in the life of someone else.
2Corinthians 10:15 tells us that Paul would not boast and claim for himself what God did in the life of someone else.
2Corinthians 10:16 tells us that Paul would not boast and claim for himself what God did in the life of someone else.
2Corinthians 11:16 tells us that Paul boasted about what God did in his life, but not to bring God glory but to show that he could boast (foolishly) as much as any other man. He was trying to show them that boasting which brings us glory, even if it is about God, is wrong.
2Corinthians 11:17 tells us that Paul boasted about what God did in his life, but not to bring God glory but to show that he could boast (foolishly) as much as any other man. He was trying to show them that boasting which brings us glory, even if it is about God, is wrong.
Ephesians 2:9 tells us Not of works, lest any man should boast. No one in heaven is going to boast about haw got they were or what they did the get there.
2Timothy 3:2 says, For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, It is talking about how men will turn from God doing the last days.
James 3:5 tells us Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
James 4:16 tells us But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'righteousness. Ro 1:17; 5:19,21; 10:3-4; Ge 15:6; Isa 45:24-25; 46:13; 51:8; 54:17; 61:10; Jer 23:5-6; 33:16; Da 9:24; Ac 15:11; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21; Ga 5:5; Php 3:9; Heb 11:4-40; 2Pe 1:1 exp: Ps 89:16; 98:2; Joh 16:10; Ga 3:21. being. De 18:15-19; Lu 24:44; Joh 1:45; 3:14-15; 5:46-47; Ac 26:22; Heb 10:1-14 and the. Ro 1:2; 16:26; Ac 3:21-25; 10:43; 28:23; Ga 3:8; 1Pe 1:10 General references. exp: Mt 11:13; 22:40; Ro 3:28.
which is. Ro 4:3-13,20-22; 5:1-11; 8:1; Php 3:9 unto all. Ro 4:6,11,22; Ga 2:16; 3:6; Jas 2:23 and upon. Isa 61:10; Mt 22:11-12; Lu 15:22; Ga 3:7-9 for there. Ro 2:1; 10:12; Ac 15:9; 1Co 4:7; Ga 3:28; Col 3:11 General references. exp: Ro 3:28.
all have. Ro 3:9,19; 1:28-32; 2:1-16; 11:32; Ec 7:20; Ga 3:22; 1Jo 1:8-10 come. Heb 4:1 of. Ro 5:2; 1Th 2:12; 2Th 2:14; 1Pe 4:13; 5:1,10
justified. Ro 4:16; 5:16-19; 1Co 6:11; Eph 2:7-10; Tit 3:5-7 through. Ro 5:9; Isa 53:11; Mt 20:28; Eph 1:6-7; Col 1:14; 1Ti 2:6; Tit 2:14; Heb 9:2-14; 1Pe 1:18-19; Re 5:9; 7:14 exp: Eph 2:8; 2Pe 1:1. General references. exp: Le 16:14; Nu 7:15.
set forth. or, foreordained. Ac 2:23; 3:18; 4:28; 15:18; 1Pe 1:18-20; Re 13:8 to be. Ex 25:17-22; Le 16:15; Heb 9:5 (Gr) 1Jo 2:2; 4:10 through. Ro 5:1,9,11; Isa 53:11; Joh 6:47,53-58; Col 1:20-23; Heb 10:19-20 exp: Eph 2:8; 2Pe 1:1. Todeclare. Ro 3:26; Ps 22:31; 40:10; 50:6; 97:6; 119:142; 1Jo 1:10 remission. or, passing over. Ro 3:23-24; 4:1-8; Ac 13:38-39; 17:30; 1Ti 1:15; Heb 9:15-22,25-26; 10:4; 11:7,14,17,39-40; Re 5:9; 13:8; 20:15 General references. exp: Ex 37:6; Le 16:14; Nu 7:15.
that he. De 32:4; Ps 85:10-11; Isa 42:21; 45:21; Zep 3:5,15; Zec 9:9; Ac 13:38-39; Re 15:3 and. Ro 3:30; 4:5; 8:33; Ga 3:8-14 General references. exp: Le 16:14; Nu 7:15; Ro 3:28.'.

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C3-S22 (Verse 27) It is excluded.

All of verse 27 (sentences 21 through 25) tell us that boasting is excluded by the law of faith. The subject of this sentence (It) is the boasting of the prior sentence. Although about 1/3 of the verses shown above say that it is OK to boast of what God is doing, the context of this chapter makes it clear that the boasting which Paul is talking about is the wrong kind. Since it is excluded, all of this type of boasting is to be completely barred from our entire life.

We find forms of the word exclude only in this sentence and Galatians 4:17. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'Properly, to thrust out or eject; but used as synonymous with preclude. 1. to thrust out; to eject; as, to exclude young animals from the womb or from eggs. 2. to hinder from entering or admission; to shut out; as, one body excludes another from occupying the same space. the church ought to exclude immoral men from the communion. 3. to debar; to hinder from participation or enjoyment. European nations, in time of peace, exclude our merchants from the commerce of their colonies. In some of the states, no man who pays taxes is excluded from the privilege of voting for representatives. 4. to except; not to comprehend or include in a privilege, grant, proposition, argument, description, order, species, genus, etc. in a general sense.'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Where. Ro 3:19; 2:17,23; 4:2; Eze 16:62-63; 36:31-32; Zep 3:11; Lu 18:9-14; 1Co 1:29-31; 4:7; Eph 2:8-10 General references. exp: 1Co 1:29; Eph 2:9.'.

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C3-S23 (Verse 27) By what law?

All of verse 27 (sentences 21 through 25) tell us that boasting is excluded by the law of faith. Paul asks this question because your opinion and his opinion do not command the actions of my life. However, a law, especially a law from God, does have the power to command the actions of my life.

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C3-S24 (Verse 27) of works?

All of verse 27 (sentences 21 through 25) tell us that boasting is excluded by the law of faith. Paul asks if boasting is excluded by the law of works. This was the law followed by the religious leaders who crucified Jesus Christ. Paul has spent all of this time showing so far showing us that this religious law brings the judgment of God. The summary of Paul's argument is in the sentence in 3:21-26 where he proved that religious works do not get us God's righteousness but give us 'self-righteousness', which will take us to Hell. In addition, it allows the type of boasting that 2/3 of the verses listed above tell us that this type of boasting will bring the judgment of God upon us. Paul is deliberately putting this question in here so that we don't read over it lightly and forget all that he just said against the law of works.

verses which talk about our doing the works of the law of works include:

Psalms 119:26 which says It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law. Our trying to do God's work instead of letting Him work through our life makes void thy law.
Romans 4:15 which says Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. please see the note for that verse within this Study.
Romans 7:5 which says For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. This verse tells us that what we do under the law of works brings death. Please see the note for this verse within this Study.
Romans 9:32 which says Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. forthey stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. the Jews, who followed the law of works ended up stumbling over their Saviour because He opposed the law of Works. Please see the note for this verse within this Study.
Romans 13:10 which says Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. the person relying upon the law of works does not have love in his religious works. Please see the note for this verse within this Study.
Galatians 2:6 which says Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. please see the note for this verse within that Study.
Galatians 3:2 which says This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? this section of Galatians gives us more detail on this subject. Please see the note for this verse within that Study.
Galatians 3:5 which says He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?. This section of Galatians gives us more detail on this subject. Please see the note for this verse within that Study.
Galatians 3:10 which says For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.. This section of Galatians gives us more detail on this subject. Please see the note for this verse within that Study.

Please also see the note for Romans 9:10-12 for links to every place that the Romans uses some the word works. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C3S13; Galatians C2-S10 and Philippians 1:1 about the word works. Please see the note for Romans C3S27 about the phrase law of works. Please see the note for Philippians 3:2 about the phrase evil workers. Please see the note for Romans C11S10 about the phrase works are seen of men. Please see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; Galatians C5-S6 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the phrase judged by works. The basic Biblical definition of work is: 'to move, or to labor'. Please see the note for James 2:14 for links to every verse in the New Testament where the words faith and works contained within the same verse.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'of works. Ro 9:11,32; 10:5; 11:6; Ga 2:16 General references. exp: 1Co 1:29; Eph 2:9.'.

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C3-S25 (Verse 27) Boasting is excluded by the law of faith.

Equivalent Section: Not by the law of works.

Nay:.

Equivalent Section: Polar opposite of the law of works.

but by the law of faith..

All of verse 27 (This sentence and the last 4) tell us that boasting is excluded by the law of faith. This sentence summarizes what has been said in the prior sentences and encompasses all of those references. The phrase the law of faith is not found anywhere else in the Bible. However, our consistent rule of grammar in the Bible (a colon followed by the word but is only used for polar opposites) gives us a good definition by taking the polar opposite of what we found in the references listed above. In addition, in Matthew 23:23 Jesus said that faith was one of the weightier matters of the law, which is one of the reasons that Paul said we establish the law in a few more sentences. In addition, we find law and faith is used in the same verse in: the next sentence; 3:31; 4:13; 4:13; 4:14; 4:16; 9:32; Galatians 3:2; 3:5; 3:11; 3:12; 3:23; 3:24 and Philippians 3:9.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians C2S11 about the word nay. The functional definition is: 'A denial and refusal which much more strongly meant than a simple No'.

Please see the note for Romans 6:14 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the in and through our life to do what He promised within His word law along with a the Webster's 1828 definition and considerations about several laws which apply to saved people during the church age.

Faith occurs 247 times in 231 verses of the Bible. Faith occurs 39 times in 34 verses of Romans. Those verses are: 1:5, 8, 12, 17; 3:3, 22, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31; 4:5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20; 5:1, 2; 9:30, 32; 10:6, 8, 17; 11:20; 12:3, 6; 14:1, 22, 23; 16:26. Please see all of these notes to see how faith is used in Romans. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C1S3; 2Corinthians C1S17; Galatians C3S27; Ephesians 6:23-LJC; Philippians 1:25-26 and 2Timothy C1S2 about the word faith. The functional definition is: 'an action word that is based upon a belief in a promise found within the Bible with the action dictated by the Bible and the understanding that our action does not force God to act nor determines when or how God acts but proves that of our own free will we are giving God permission to act in and through our life to do what He promised within His word'. Please also see the notes for Colossians 1:1 and Titus 1:1 about the word faithful. The functional definition is: 'Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties of religion. Full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy. being true to oneself, to one's nature, to any promise given, and to any trust committed'. Please also see the note for Hebrews 3:1-LJC about Christ Jesus is faithful. Please also see the notes for Romans 4 and James 2:21-LJC about Abraham's faith. Please also see the note for 2Timothy C1S2 about the phrase faith: unfeigned. Please also see the note for 2Peter 2:3 about the word feign. Please also see the note for Romans C10S12 about the phrase faith makes us not ashamed. Please also see the note for Ephesians C1S2 about the phrase just shall live by faith. Please also see the note for Romans C11S6 about the phrase just shall live by his faith. Please also see the note for Romans C3S29 about the phrase justification by faith. Please also see the note for Romans C3S25 about Law and faith. Please also see the note for Romans C9S28 about live / walk by faith. Please see the note for James 2:14 for links to every verse in the New Testament where the words faith and works contained within the same verse.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'but by. Ro 7:21,23,25; 8:2; Mr 16:16; Joh 3:36; Ga 3:22; 1Jo 5:11-12 General references. exp: 1Co 1:29; Eph 2:9.'.

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C3-S26 (Verse 28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

This is the only possible conclusion of what Paul has said in this chapter. Please also see the notes for 4:5; 5:1; 8:3; Galatians 2:16; 3:8; 3:11-14 and 3:24. Please also see Acts 13:38-39.

We find forms of the word conclude in: Acts 21:25; Romans 3:28; Romans 11:32; Galatians 3:22. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'v.t. L., to shut; Gr., contracted. the sense is to stop, make fast, shut, or rather to thrust together. Hence in Latin, claudo signifies to halt, or limp, that is, to stop, as well as to shut. See Lid. 1. to shut. The very person of Christ--was only, touching bodily substance, concluded in the grave. this use of the word is uncommon. 2. to include; to comprehend. ForGod hath concluded them all in unbelief. Romans 11. The scripture hath concluded all under sin. Galatians 3. The meaning of the word in the latter passage may be to declare irrevocably or to doom. 3. to collect by reasoning; to infer, as from premises; to close an argument by inferring. Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Romans 3. 4. to decide; to determine; to make a final judgment or determination. as touching the Gentiles who believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing. Romans 11. 5. to end; to finish. I will conclude this part with the sppech of a counselor of state. 6. to stop or restrain, or as in law, to estop from further argument or proceedings; to oblige or bind, as by authority or by ones own argument or concession; generally in the passive. If they will appeal to revelation for their creation, they must be concluded by it. The defendant is concluded by his own plea. I do not consider the decision of that motion, upon affidavits, to amount to a res judicata, which ought to conclude the present inquiry.
CONCLUDE, v.i. 1. to infer, as a consequence; to determine. The world will conclude I had a guilty conscience. But this verb is really transitive. the world will conclude that I ahd a guilty conscience--that is here the object, referring to the subsequent clause of the sentence. See Verb Transitive, No.3. 2. to settle opinion; to form a final judgment. Can we conclude upon Luthers instability, as our author has done. 3. to end. A train of lies, that, made in lust, conclude in perjuries.'. The functional definition for this word is: 'To close an argument by inferring'.

Please also see the note for Romans C9S19 about the phrase What is man.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Ro 3:20-22,26; 4:5; 5:1; 8:3; Joh 3:14-18; 5:24; 6:40; Ac 13:38-39; 1Co 6:11; Ga 2:16; 3:8,11-14,24; Php 3:9; Tit 3:7 exp: Ro 3:30; Eph 2:9.'.

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C3-S27 (Verse 29) Is he the God of the Jews only?

This sentence and the next two that tell us that God is the God of the Jews and of the Gentiles and that He will justify both. Please see the notes for 2:2 and 3:6 which has links to where this epistle and the Bible talks about judging. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Ro 1:16; 9:24-26; 11:12-13; 15:9-13,16; Ge 17:7-8,18; Ps 22:7; 67:2; 72:17; Isa 19:23-25; 54:5; Jer 16:19; 31:33; Ho 1:10; Zec 2:11; 8:20-23; Mal 1:11; Mt 22:32; 28:19; Mr 16:15-16; Lu 24:46-47; Ac 9:15; 22:21; 26:17; Ga 3:14,25-29; Eph 3:6; Col 3:11 exp: Nu 35:15.'.

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C3-S28 (Verse 29) is he not also of the Gentiles?

The obvious answer to this question is Yes, which we see Paul state in the next sentence. In addition, Paul also talks about God being the God of the Gentiles (in this epistle) in 1:16; 9:24-26; 11:12; 15:9-13; 15:16. Further, we can read about the same thing in: (Genesis 17:7-8; Psalms 67:2; Psalms 72:17; Isaiah 19:23-25; Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 16:19; Zechariah 2:11; Zechariah 8:20-23; Malachi 1:11; Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 9:15; Acts 22:21; Acts 26:17; Galatians 3:14; Galatians 3:25-26; Ephesians 3:6; Colossians 3:11. Please see the notes for 2:2 and 3:6 which has links to where this epistle and the Bible talks about judging. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify.

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C3-S29 (Verse 29-30) God is the same to all men.

Equivalent Section: the God of the Bible is the God of the Gentiles.

Yes,
of the Gentiles also:.

Equivalent Section: God justifies all men using faith.

Seeing it is one God,
which shall justify the circumcision by faith,
and uncircumcision through faith..

This sentence tells us that God justifies all men using faith. The difference between the circumcision and the uncircumcision is that the circumcision is by faith and the uncircumcision is through faith. First, notice that Paul uses the circumcision instead of Jew and he uses the uncircumcision instead of Gentile. The circumcision are people who are raised believing in the God of the Bible. From their youth they have the true faith and just have to follow it (by). (Not follow the religious rules made by men which add to or take away from true faith in God's Word.) the uncircumcision are raised with a faith in a false god which God's grace must get through. Please see the note for Ephesians 2:8-9 which explains through faith in more detail. Please also see the following verses and associated notes which also deal with justification by / through faith: 3:28; 4:11; 10:12-12; 8:3; Galatians 2:14-16; 3:8; 5:6; Philippians 3:3 and Colossians 2:10-12. Please see the notes for 2:2 and 3:6 which has links to where this epistle and the Bible talks about judging. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify.

Please see the note for 4:10 which has links to all places in Romans that use any form of circumcision or uncircumcision. The functional definition, of the word circumcision, is: 'An outward sign of a spiritual covenant. It is used symbolically, by the word of God, for all who rely on keeping religious rules to make them right with God'. The main application found in the New Testament, is: 'the circumcised Jew but symbolically applies to all who rely on keeping religious rules to make them right with God'. The main application, of the word uncircumcision, found in the New Testament, is: 'the non-Jew but also symbolically applies to all who rely on faith to make them right with God'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Ro 3:28; 4:11-12; 10:12-13; Ga 2:14-16; 3:8,20,28; 5:6; 6:15; Php 3:3; Col 2:10-11 exp: Jas 2:19.'.

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C3-S30 (Verse 31) Do we then make void the law through faith?

All of this discussion about law versus faith makes many people think that Paul has said that faith has made void the law. In fact, many preachers today preach 'We're not under law we're under faith'. Some preach that we are law-less, which is error. Some preach that no part of the Mosaic Law applies to us, which is error. Some preach that no part of the Old Testament applies to us (except the part they choose to use) which is foolish error. All of these errors ignore what Paul says in the next sentence and in the next chapter. All are guilty of following the method of a devil by taking scripture out of context.

In 4:1-13 Paul uses Abraham as an example to show that he was not under the Law but obtained righteousness through the promise of God by Abraham acting in faith. Then in 4:14 we read For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect. Paul goes from there to provide general principles about faith and how God uses faith to impute righteousness. We also see in Jeremiah 8:8-9 where God's people declared themselves to be We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us and that they had made the Law of God vain because they have rejected the word of the LORD. Yes, they kept the letter of the law but ignored the Spirit of the law. As Jesus said in Matthew 15:3-9, Thus, have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. We also find Paul explaining this same thing, but using another method, in Galatians 2:21 and Galatians 3:17-19. Thus, this behaviour is not new and the error of it is explained in more than one place within the Bible.

We find forms of the word void in: Genesis 1:2; Numbers 30:12; Numbers 30:13; Numbers 30:15; Deuteronomy 32:28; 1Kings 22:10; 2Chronicles 18:9; Psalms 89:39; Psalms 119:126; Proverbs 7:7; Proverbs 10:13; Proverbs 11:12; Proverbs 12:11; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 24:30; Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 4:23; Jeremiah 19:7; Nahum 2:10; Acts 24:16; Romans 3:31; Romans 4:14; 1Corinthians 9:15. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'a. L. viduus, divido. Gr. 1. Empty; vacant; not occupied with any visible matter; as a void space or place. 1Kings 22. 2. Empty; without inhabitants or furniture. Gen. 1. 3. Having no legal or binding force; null; not effectual to bind parties, or to convey or support a right; not sufficient to produce its effect. thus a deed not duly signed and sealed, is void. A fraudulent contract is void, or may be rendered void. My word shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. Is. 55. I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. Jer. 19. 4. Free; clear; as a conscience void of offense. Acts 24. 5. Destitute; as void of learning; void of reason or common sense. He that is void of wisdom, despiseth his neighbor. Prov. 11. 6. Unsupplied; vacant; unoccupied; having no incumbent. Divers offices that had been long void. 7. Unsubstantial; vain. Lifeless idol, void and vain.
Void space, in physics, a vacuum. 1. to make void; to violate; to transgress. They have made void thy law. Ps. 119. 2. to render useless or of no effect. Rom. 4.
VOID, n. An empty space; a vacuum. Pride, where wit falls, steps in to our defense, and fills up all the mighty void of sense. Th' illimitable void.
VOID, v.t. 1. to quit; to leave. Bid them come down, or void the field. 2. to emit; to send out; to evacuate; as, to void excrementitious matter; to void worms. 3. to vacate; to annul; to nullify; to render of no validity or effect. It had become a practice - to void the security given for money borrowed. 4. to make or leave vacant.
VOID, v.i. to be emitted or evacuated.'.

Please see the note for Romans 6:14 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word law along with a the Webster's 1828 definition and considerations about several laws which apply to saved people during the church age.

Please see the note for Romans C3S25 about the word faith. That note has many links to many other notes which deal with this doctrine in different ways. The functional definition is: 'an action word that is based upon a belief in a promise found within the Bible with the action dictated by the Bible and the understanding that our action does not force God to act nor determines when or how God acts but proves that of our own free will we are giving God permission to act in and through our life to do what He promised within His Word'. The functional definition for the word faithful is: 'Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties of religion. Full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy. being true to oneself, to one's nature, to any promise given, and to any trust committed'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'do we. Ro 4:14; Ps 119:126; Jer 8:8-9; Mt 5:17; 15:6; Ga 2:21; 3:17-19'.

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C3-S31 (Verse 31) Conclusion of the chapter and set-up for the next chapter.

Equivalent Section: Can not happen.

God forbid:.

Equivalent Section: Faith establishes the law.

yea,
we establish the law..

Paul gives his explanation in the next chapter. Simply put, there was nothing wrong with the Mosaic law but the error was in the way that men used it. Instead of letting the Mosaic Law teach them about the character and commands of God so that they could put their trust in the person of God, they used the Law to teach that God had no choice but to bless them because they kept certain parts of the Mosaic Law. As Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 : Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. No one who is under a set of laws is allowed to pick and choose which parts they want to keep and which parts they want to ignore. Faith is not against the Mosaic Law but was a part that man tried to ignore.

As already mentioned, some people in the church make the mistake of believing that, because we are not under the Mosaic Law, that we are law-less. However, 3:27 tells us that we are under the law of faith. Likewise, 8:2 tells us that we are under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Galatians 6:2 tells us about the law of Christ. Romans 7:2 tells us about the law of her husband. Romans 9:31 tells us about the law of righteousness. Romans 7:23 tells us about the law of my mind. Luke 2:22; Luke 24:44; John 7:23; Acts 13:39; Acts 15:5; Acts 28:23 and 1Corinthians 9:9 all mention the Law of Moses, and the church is required to keep only the 'moral' part of the Law of Moses. Luke calls the 'moral' part the Law of the Lord (Luke 2:23-24; Luke 2:39). This is very similar to the Law of God, which we find in Romans 7:22. Romans 7:25. 1John 5:11-12 tells us the Law of life. James 1:25 and 2:12 tell us the Law of liberty. In Acts 22:3 we see the law of the fathers and in Acts 25:8 we see the law of the Jews. Both of these are man made religious laws, which we do not keep. Romans 7:21 tells us about the law of evil. Romans 7:23 tells us about the law of sin. 8:2 tells us about the law sin and death. These and many more are established (proven to be more reliable than the laws of nature) by the life of the saved person. (Please see the note for Matthew 18:16 which gives links to every place in the New Testament that uses any form of the word stablish and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 .)

Please see the note for Matthew 18:16 about the word establish. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'to set and fix firmly or unalterably; to settle permanently. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant. Gen.17. 2. to found permanently; to erect and fix or settle; as, to establish a colony or an empire. 3. to enact or decree by authority and for permanence; to ordain; to appoint; as, to establish laws, regulations, institutions, rules, ordinances, etc. 4. to settle or fix; to confirm; as, to establish a person, society or corporation, in possessions or privileges. 5. to make firm; to confirm; to ratify what has been previously set or made. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law. Rom.3. 6. to settle or fix what is wavering, doubtful or weak; to confirm. So were the churches established in the faith. Acts.16. Tothe end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness. l thess.3. 7. to confirm; to fulfill; to make good. Establish thy word to thy servant. Ps.119. 8. to set up in the place of another and confirm. Who go about to establish their own righteousness. Rom.10.'. Please also see the note for Romans 16:25-27 which gives links to every place in the New Testament that uses any form of the word stablish and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 . Please also see the notes for 1Thessalonians 3:13; 2Thessalonians 2:17; 3:3 and James 5:8-LJC about this word. The functional definition is: 'To fix; to settle in a state for permanence; to make firm. In lieu of this, establish is now always used'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'God. Me genoito, literally, let it not be, and which might be rendered less objectionably, far from it, by no means. Ro 3:4 exp: Mt 15:4; 1Co 6:15. yea. Ro 7:7-14,22,25; 8:4; 10:4; 13:8-10; Ps 40:8; Isa 42:21; Jer 31:33-34; Mt 3:15; 5:20; 1Co 9:21; Ga 2:19; 5:18-23; Heb 10:15-16; Jas 2:8-12'.

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Romans Chapter 4 Sentence-by-Sentence Section

Return to the Chapter Overviews in Romans with this link.

links to sentences in this chapter:

C4-S1 (Verse 1), C4-S2 (Verse 2), C4-S3 (Verse 3), C4-S4 (Verse 3), C4-S5 (Verse 4), C4-S6 (Verse 5), C4-S7 (Verse 6-7), C4-S8 (Verse 8), C4-S9 (Verse 9), C4-S10 (Verse 9), C4-S11 (Verse 10), C4-S12 (Verse 10), C4-S13 (Verse 10), C4-S14 (Verse 11-12), C4-S15 (Verse 13), C4-S16 (Verse 14-15), C4-S17 (Verse 16-17), C4-S18 (Verse 18), C4-S19 (Verse 19-21), C4-S20 (Verse 22), C4-S21 (Verse 23-25)'.

Our chapter theme is: 'Justified By Faith'.

We, like Abraham, are justified by faith and not by works, Law or religion. (See 5:1 which is based upon chapter 4 [Therefore being justified by faith].)

After Paul eliminated the claim that people were justified by keeping a law, he then eliminates claims of being justified by relationship to a just man or by acting like him (keeping religious rules). Paul uses Abraham and David as examples and shows that righteousness is not through the law but is by grace which is of faith and is to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham.

Thus, Paul has shown that we will all by judged by God for the things we do in this life and those people who deny coming judgment are fools. He then went on to show that people who were trusting in religion to get their sin past the judgment were also fools. After that he eliminated all claims that law or relationship provided justification for sin. He has led us to the conclusion that the only thing left to justify us is faith. God promised to give us grace and to count it for righteousness if we act in the faith of Abraham. Faith does not make us righteous, God's grace does. Our faith only justifies God giving grace to us while refusing it to others.

The most used non-prepositional word in this chapter is faith with 10 occurrences. The second most used non-prepositional word in this chapter is righteousness with 8 occurrences. The third and fourth most used non-prepositional words in this chapter are Abraham and father with 7 occurrences each. This chapter could be called 'The faith of Abraham produces righteousness and he is our father only if we live his faith'.

In addition, this chapter teaches us another important doctrine. Imputed occurs 4 times. Impute occurs once and imputeth occurs once. That gives us 6 occurrences of forms of the word impute. When we look at how often a word occurs we need to check all forms of the word. In Romans 4, impute is the legal concept that God uses to give some people righteousness while denying it to others.

Below are summaries of each sentence and, below them, is a chapter summary based upon the sentence summary.

4:1-3 hold four related sentences. The second and third sentences start with For, which means they give the reason for the first sentence. These sentences tell us that if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory but also no on can glory before God. Therefore, Abraham was not justified by works but, as saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Our chapter starts by telling us how scripture says that Abraham was justified. And, since God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), this is also how we are justified.
4:4 tells us that when we work, someone owes us and they give us pay out of debt and not out of grace. The devil has convinced many people of the lie that there is a conflict between grace and works. However, there is no true Biblical conflict. God gives us His grace, and an attached spiritual gift. We can not earn either of them. Only after we have God's grace, and the attached spiritual gift, can we do the works of God. Thus, God's grace enables us to do the works and the works are the result of receiving God's grace. Therefore, it is impossible for there to be a conflict between the two.
4:5 says, God is righteous and all who want to be in His heaven also must be righteous (Psalms 1:5). This sentence tells us how to be counted righteous by God so that we can go to heaven. Notice that this sentence starts with But, which gives it the same subject as the prior sentence while going in a different direction. That sentence told us what we get when we worketh and this sentence tells us what we get when we worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly . God is not a man whom we can put into our debt by working for Him. Since we need God to count us as righteous in order to get into heaven, and we can not put God into debt where He owes us a place in heaven, we must get God to count us righteous another way. This sentence gives us this 'other way'.
4:6-8 says, that David said the same thing in Psalm 32:1-2. These verses use the word impute, which is to bring a legal charge. 1John 3:4 tells us Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Many people misunderstand 1John 3, especially 1John 3:9 which tells us Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. However, 1John 3 isn't saying that we don't do the deed of sins (which 1John 1 says, we are guilty of doing) but that when the saved do the deeds of sin, God does not impute them to us. That is, God deals with the saved as His children and does not bring a legal charge against them in His legal system. 1John 3 is a detailed explanation of this word impute that is used here.
4:10 has two questions and a statement. 4:11-12 follows with a more detailed explanation of that statement. Basically, God reckoned righteousness (4:1-8) to Abraham while Abraham was still in uncircumcision. Therefore, circumcision does not provide righteousness but is done as a sign of the righteousness received after the righteousness is received. Today we are baptized instead of being circumcision and baptism is done after we receive righteousness by being saved and not before. .
4:13 gives the reason (For) of Paul's prior sentence and does not provide all of the detail given elsewhere. Therefore, it is easy for people to miss the depth that is behind this summary type of statement. This sentence tells us how the promise was given. It says it was not given through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. That is the main point of this sentence. However, it also says that it was not given to Abraham, or to his seed. This phrase is explained more in Galatians 3:13-18 which tells us that the promise was not given to Abraham and all of his physical legal (through the law) seed (Jews), but it was given to a particular seed which is Christ. Hebrews 10 explains how Christ did not receive the promise through keeping the Law but by faith. Galatians 2:16 and Philippians 3:9 tell us that we are justified by the faith of Christ. A car starter switch does not carry all of the power required by a car starter motor but actually carries the small amount of power required to give the solenoid permission to carry all of the power that is truly required by the starter motor. In the same way, our faith is not enough to save us. Our faith is only sufficient to give Christ permission to apply His faith and it is His faith that actually saves us. If people understood that there would be far less need to have assurance of salvation. It not only is His faith that actually saves us but it is also His faith that keeps us saved. So when we return to this sentence and read that the promise would be fulfilled through the righteousness of faith, we need to understand that the faith which fulfills this promise is not our own but that of Christ. Our faith only gives Christ permission to apply His faith to our life and it is His faith that gives us the results of the promise. All of this is explained further by the next sentence which is in 4:14-15.
4:14-15 has three Equivalent Sections. The middle Section tells us the law worketh wrath. God sends people to Hell and the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14-15) because they violate the Law (1John 3:4). The last Equivalent Section tells us for where no law is, there is no transgression. Until there is a law saying that people can't murder the government can't punish people for committing murder. Before the Law, God dealt with people (like He dealt with Abraham) on a personal basis. God did not formally charge them with violating a Law but they still didn't get to go live in His home called heaven unless they received His grace. (How God dealt with those sinners is not part of this sentence.) the first Equivalent Section of this sentence tells us the main thing that Paul is saying in this sentence which the second and third Equivalent Sections explain. In the first part we are told that faith is made void and God's the promise made of none effect (is useless) if they which are of the law be heirs. (If people could demand that God let them into heaven by keeping a Law then they would not have to live by faith and God wasted His breath speaking a promise that is already guaranteed by Law.) the only thing that the Law can do is increase your punishments after you are put into the Lake of Fire.
4:16-17 is a single sentence which holds an included sentence and includes several parts which need to be individually understood before we combine all of them so that we can understand the whole sentence.
- The first part of our sentence says: Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace. God wants all men to understand that they get into His personal home, called Heaven, by God's grace. And, in order to receive God's grace, we must go to God by faith.
- The included part says As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations. Thus, we see that what Paul is writing here is based upon scripture. Some (most) of the Jews excluded Gentiles and hid the Law from them believing that by doing so they excluded the Gentiles from Heaven. They also believed that their actions made the Jews better than the Gentiles. However, the Bible that gave the Law to the Jews also said that Abraham would be a father of many nations. (The word many means more than just the Jews.) therefore, those Jews were wrong to try to exclude Gentiles, which were the many nations" that Abraham was promised to be a father of.
- In order to give us more than we could earn be keeping a Law, God made salvation of faith. He also made it be by grace so that He could excuse people who did not meet all of the standards of a Law through no fault of their own. Someone whose brain stays the level of a two-year-old should not be excluded because he didn't meet the standard that he did not have the capacity to meet. That's why Paul says to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed. (To all people who fulfilled God's requirement to receive the promise.)
- God knew how some Jews would hide the Law from Gentiles and so God made sure that the Gentiles could still receive the promise in spite of the wrong actions by some Jews (“to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham).
- Going on, we read before him whom he believed, even God, that is, Abraham believed before God.
- Further, we are told that God quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. That is, God is not limited by our rules or the Laws of nature or by what Satan did to man or anything else outside of His own promises.
- Putting it all together, we have that the promise of salvation is given by God's grace to those who believe God's promise and live by faith in order to receive God's promise. It does not matter what Satan or Jews do, God is not restricted by anyone or anything and He will give salvation to all the seed who believe His promise.
4:18 gives an example of how Abraham believed God's promise and lived by faith. It says that Abraham against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations. God spoke a promise to Abraham and Abraham lived a life showing that he believed Gods promise and God said So shall thy seed be. This is explained in the next sentence, which is added to this one. .
4:19-21 is a single sentence which is added (And) to 4:18.
- The first Equivalent Section of this sentence says that Abraham refused to consider the physical condition of his body or of his wife's body and was not weak in faith.
- The Second Equivalent Secction, of this sentence, gives us the details which prove that Abraham was not weak in faith. First, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. This means he wasn't one of these people who claim to believe God's promise while they worry and fret about how God will do it or when God's going to do it or about anything else about the promise. Abraham truly believed 'God said it. I believe it. That settles it.'
- The second evidence of Abraham's faith that we are told about is that he was but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Lots of people claim to be strong in faith but you hardly ever hear them giving glory to God, especially when their faith is challenged by an unbeliever or detractor.
- Finally, Abraham was fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Lots of people claim that they are this way but this is the conclusion (result) of the first two parts. Anyone who is worrying or fretting or even failing to often give glory to God is not really fully persuaded that God can and will keep His promise.
- One real simple test is what percentage of your gross income do you put into God's work based upon His promise to provide for your needs? the couple of examples in the Bible where Abraham staggered was over food. You try to only staggered twice in over 100 years.
4:22 tells us that Abraham actually proved his faith to devil loving neighbors. Therefore, because of how he showed his faith in action, it was imputed to him for righteousness. Abraham did not earn righteousness and while God did not have to count Abraham's faith as righteousness, especially in consideration of his sin, God decided to personally take care of Abraham's sin record (imputed) because Abraham proved he believed God's promise by his faith.
4:23-25 is a single sentence which starts with Now and lets us know that this is the conclusion (result) of all that Paul has been teaching. This conclusion has three Steps.
- In the First Step, we are told that it not written for his sake alone but was written for our sake. God put His word into writing so that we could verify claims about God. Any claim, about God, which does not match the word of God is a lie.
- This truth is also directly said in the Second Step. It says But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed. We can also have righteousness imputed to our sin account if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
- The third Step tells us how God imputes righteousness to our sin account. Romans 6 explains that we need to live differently than we did before our salvation and that this difference is due to the fact that Jesus our Lord was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. If we do not let Him change our life after we are saved then we are not justified. We will meet our sins at the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11).

This chapter basically tells us that everything related to salvation is based upon our acting in faith that is based upon the promises of God. Nothing of salvation is earned by keeping religious works. Our religious acts are in obedience to God and are done after we have a personal relationship to him through salvation. Religious acts, such as going to church, are done mainly for the benefit of men, as explained in the prior chapter. However, receiving the blessings of God, including salvation and further blessings after our initial profession, requires faith.

As our chapter explains, acts of faith are not reckoned of...debt. We can not say that God 'owes' us as a result of an act of faith. We can not demand that God give us something when we want and the way that we want but true faith believes that God will keep His promise, but that God determines when and how He does so. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all. Grace can not be earned nor demanded. When we obey in order to receive God's promise, even when we know that God might not keep the promise in this life, God counts imputes to (us) for righteousness. (See 4:22-25 for the details.)

One outline for this chapter (from Treasure of Scripture Knowledge) is:

4:1-9 : Abraham's faith was imputed to him for righteousness.
4:10-12 : before he was circumcised.
4:13-15 : By faith only he and his seed received the promise..
4:16-23 : Abraham is the father of all that believe.
4:24-25 : Our faith also shall be imputed to us for righteousness.

C4-S1 (Verse 1) Paul uses the 'Father of the faithful' for his example.

What shall we say then that Abraham our father,
as pertaining to the flesh,
hath found?.

The first four sentences in this chapter tell us that if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory but also no on can glory before God. Therefore, Abraham was not justified by works but, as saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. in this chapter we are told about the importance Abraham's faith. It:

4:6, 4:11, 4:22 : was imputed to him for righteousness.
4:9-12 : was imputed before he was circumcised.
4:13-14, 4:16, 4:20-21 : was required in order to receive God's promises.
4:1, 4:11-12, 4:16-18 : made Abraham the father of all that believe . .
4:23-25 : became the model for us to have righteousness imputed.

Notice that Paul starts out putting the context of this chapter into the flesh. Religious deeds, including obedience to the law, are done the flesh. (Please see the note for Romans 8:1 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word flesh. Please see the note for 8:8 for the difference between walk after the flesh and in the flesh.) Paul has just spent an entire chapter making the argument that we are not justified by keeping the law but by faith. Now he is going to show them that a personal relationship with God, that is based upon faith came before the law. However, while God's people were in Egypt, they neglected their personal relationship, forgot their responsibilities, and didn't know how to deal with God. When God met them after they crossed the Red Sea, they didn't want a personal relationship with God but wanted Moses to act as their priest. Therefore, God gave them the law to show them how to act so that they could re-establish a personal relationship based upon faith, like Abraham had. But the people misunderstood and established a relationship based upon doing works of the law instead of basing their relationship on faith. Now, Paul is trying to show that we need to come back to a relationship based upon faith.

We see Paul ask this question (What shall we say?) in several verses of Romans: Romans 3:5; Romans 4:1; Romans 6:1; Romans 7:7; Romans 8:31; Romans 9:14, Romans 9:30. (Please also see the note for Romans 11:7 for places where the Bible asks a form the question What then?, which is a slightly different question.) We see similar wording for what others saith in Romans 3:19; Romans 4:3; Romans 10:8; Romans 11:2, Romans 11:4.

We find the answer to Paul's question in other places of the Bible besides in the following sentences. That is, other places which teach the same spiritual lesson include: Isaiah 51:1-2; Matthew 3:7-9; Luke 3:7-8; Luke 16:19-31; John 8:33-41; John 8:52-59; Acts 13:26-29; 2Corinthians 11:22-31. In addition, we find the conclusion to Paul's argument starting in 4:16

Please see the note for Romans C15S15 and 2Corinthians 2:17 for links to where speak is used in 2Corinthians along with the full dictionary definition and links from other commentators. The functional Biblical definition is: 'To utter words or articulate sounds, as human beings; to express thoughts by words'. Please also see the note for Romans 11:1 about the phrase I say. Please also see the note for Revelation 1:8 about the word saith. Please also see the note for Romans C10S28 about the word gainsaying. Please also see the note for Matthew 26:1 about the word sayings (plural). Please also see the notes for Ephesians C4S15 and 1Peter 2:1 about the phrase evil speaking.

Please see the note for Hebrews 2:16 about Abraham. The functional definition is: 'The father of the faithful'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 1:5 about the word father. The functional definition is: 'the man who passes his character to the son'.

We find forms of the word pertain occurring 45 times in 44 verses of the Bible and, in the New Testament in: Acts 1:3; Romans 4:1; Romans 9:4; Romans 15:17; 1Corinthians 6:3-4; Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 5:1; Hebrews 7:13; Hebrews 9:9; 2Peter 1:3. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'to belong; to be the property, right or duty of. Men hate those who affect honor by ambition, which pertaineth not to them. He took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah. 2 Kings.12. It pertains to the governor to open the ports by proclamation. 2. to have relation to. Acts.1'.

Please see the note for John 1:41 about the word find. The functional definition for this word is: 'Literally, to come to; to meet; hence, to discover by the eye; to gain first sight or knowledge of something lost; to recover either by searching for it or by accident'. The word found is the past-tense form of the word find.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'what. Ro 6:1; 7:7; 8:31 Abraham. Isa 51:2; Mt 3:9; Lu 3:8; 16:24-25,29-31; Joh 8:33,37-41,53,56; Ac 13:26; 2Co 11:22 exp: Jas 2:21. as pertaining. Ro 4:16; Heb 12:9'.

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C4-S2 (Verse 2) Abraham could not glory before God.

First Step: Why look at Abraham.

For if Abraham were justified by works,
he hath whereof to glory;.

Second Step: Limit of any glory before men.

but not before God..

This sentence is a two Step explanation of why Paul choose to look at the life of Abraham. All of the Jews knew that Abraham could glory and, in fact, many felt that they shared in his glory because they were the descendants of Abraham. However, while they might not like it, they had to agree with Paul's limit to Abraham's glory. Every time we see Abraham meet God he worshipped God. Also, Abraham built several altars and made sacrifice, even though he had no law telling him to do so. Further, the Jews who refused a personal relationship with God, but wanted Moses to be their priest, were just as much their ancestors as Abraham was. So, whatever limit there was on how much Abraham could glory there was an even greater limit the ability of the modern Jews to glory. Please see the notes for 2:2 and 3:6 which has links to where this epistle and the Bible talks about judging. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify. Please see the note for Romans 15:17 which has links to where this epistle talks about glory.

Paul already provided the doctrine behind this sentence back in 3:20-28. Also, Philippians 3:9 tells us And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Thus, while our righteousness is useless, the righteousness from God that comes through the faith of Christ is everything that we need. In addition, we see that even Abraham didn't have perfect righteousness. Genesis 12:12-18 and Genesis 20:9-13 tell us of Abraham's sin. Joshua 24:2 tells us that he was an idolater. In addition, Galatians 3:22 tells us But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe and that all included Abraham. In addition, to not having any value in his own righteousness, Abraham could not glory in the righteousness that was given to him because of 1Corinthians 4:7. Therefore, we are left with the conclusion of 1Corinthians 1:29 (That no flesh should glory in his presence).

Please see the note for Hebrews 2:16 about Abraham. The functional definition is: 'The father of the faithful'.

Please see the notes for Romans C9S8; 1Corinthians C3S13; Galatians C2-S10 and Philippians 1:1 about the word works. Please see the note for Romans C3S27 about the phrase law of works. Please see the note for Philippians 3:2 about the phrase evil workers. Please see the note for Romans C11S10 about the phrase works are seen of men. Please see the notes for Romans 8:1-LJC; Galatians C5-S6 and Revelation 19:2-LJC about the phrase judged by works. The basic Biblical definition of work is: 'to move, or to labor'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Abraham. Ro 3:20-28; Php 3:9 he hath. Ro 3:27; 15:17; Eze 8:9; Jer 9:23-24; 1Co 9:16; 2Co 5:12; 11:12,30; 12:1-9; Ga 6:13-14; Eph 2:9 but. Ge 12:12-13,18,20; 20:9-13; Jos 24:2; 1Co 1:29; 4:7; Ga 3:22 General references. exp: 1Co 1:29; Eph 2:9.'.

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C4-S3 (Verse 3) For what saith the scripture?

Paul points us back to scripture and doesn't leave us with just his argument. Please see the note for Romans 16:25-27 which gives links to every place in the New Testament that uses any form of the word scripture and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 .

Please see the note for Romans 16:25-27 which gives links to every place in the New Testament that uses any form of the word scripture and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 . The functional definition, of the word scripture, is: 'the books of the Old and New Testament; the Bible. the word is used either in the singular or plural number, to denote the sacred writings or divine oracles, called sacred or holy, as proceeding from God and containing sacred doctrines and precepts'.

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C4-S4 (Verse 3) The quote.

Abraham believed God,
and it was counted unto him for righteousness..

This sentence quotes Genesis 15:6 and our prior sentence said: For what saith the scripture?.

Paul bases his further arguments in this chapter (example: 4:5, 9, 11, 22-25) on this quote. This quote is also referenced in Galatians 3:6-8 and James 2:23.

In Galatians Paul is dealing with people who started our with a personal relationship with God, that was based on faith, and reverted to religious works for sanctification. Paul called them foolish and all of Galatians teaches the same thing as we find in these chapters of Romans only uses a different method of presentation.

James 2 is telling us how to live our faith and includes the well-known verse which says Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (James 2:17). The verse mentioning Abraham is the last in an argument on the proper way to live by faith.

Pastor Traxler (Rochester Hills Baptist Church) Pointed out that the account of Abraham shows that he had a faith that:

'worked' (Genesis 21:25-31). When Abraham first met Abimelech Abraham was afraid because he was not living his faith. When they met the second time Abimelech was afraid because Abraham was living his faith and Abimelech could see God working in the life of Abraham as a result of Abraham's works of faith. This matches James 2.
'worshipped' (Genesis 21:33). Please see the note for Word Study on Worship for more details. As that Study points out, as we see in Galatians, worship is part of a personal relationship with God. We worship in a Biblical manner both privately and publicly.
'waited on God' (Genesis 21:34). at this time, according to Genesis 21 Sarah had born Isaac. Isaac was weaned. Abraham had cast out Hagar and Ishmael, which were the fruits of the flesh. Abraham now waited for direction from God so that God could work through his life.

In the notes for verses within this chapter are links to other places in the Bible, such as in the Gospels, where we are told that we must have a faith that is like Abraham's if we are going to claim God's promise to save all who have a faith like Abraham's. Our faith must also cause us t: 'work', 'worship' and 'wait on God'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 2:16 about Abraham. The functional definition is: 'The father of the faithful'.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C4S1 about the word account. The functional definition is: 'an entry in a book or on paper of things bought or sold, of payments, services etc., including the names of the parties to the transaction, date, and price or value of the thing'.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'what. Ro 9:17; 10:11; 11:2; Isa 8:20; Mr 12:10; Jas 4:5; 2Pe 1:20-21 exp: Ga 4:30. Abraham. Ge 15:6; Ga 3:6-8; Jas 2:23 counted. Ro 4:5,9,11,22-25; Ps 106:31'.

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C4-S5 (Verse 4) We have a debt to anyone who works for us.

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace,
but of debt..

This sentence starts out with Now, which means it is based upon what was already said in this chapter. The first 4 sentences are the basis for the entire chapter. Paul starts his further arguments by adding an obvious fact to what has already been said. When we work, someone owes us and they give us pay out of debt to us and not out of grace.

Within this sentence we see that we can not earn God's grace and can not put God into debt to us. Please see the note for Ephesians 2:8-9 which explains this relationship between faith and grace in detail.

The word reckon is used in accounting for money, accounting for our spiritual reward and for legal matters. All of these require someone to be precise and exact with significant or severe consequences for error. Thus, we see this word associated with debt, as already mentioned. Our sentence tells us that, yes, there will be an exact and precise reckoning of our spiritual reward but that reckoning is based upon grace and not because we put God into our debt.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C9S26 about the word reward. The functional definition is: ' Recompense, or equivalent return for good done, for kindness, for services and the like'.

Please see the note for 8:18 which has links to verses which use any form of the word reckon and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 . The functional definition is: ' to count; to number; that is, to tell the particulars'.

Please see the notes for Romans C4S5; Romans C4S17; Galatians 1:1 and Ephesians C1S2 about the word grace. The word grace is usually presented as 'God's riches at Christ Expense'. However, that obviously does not fit in James 1:11. So while that is the main application within the Bible, the true definition is: 'that which makes the source look good'. We are given God's grace for the expressed purpose of making God look good. The Bible uses grace 170 times in 159 verses. We find grace within Romans in 1:5, 7; 3:24; 4:4, 16; 5:2, 15, 17, 20-21; 6:1; 6:14, 15; 11:5, 6; 12:3, 6; 15:15; 16:20, 24. All of these verses have notes which discuss the various applications of God's grace and it would be worth the reader's time to review those applications within this epistle of doctrine.

Please see the note for 8:12 which has links to every verse in the Bible which use debt and provides a dictionary definition. The functional definition is: 'Indebted; obliged to'. please also see the note for Romans 13:8 which has links to every place in the Bible that deal with the word owe and provides the definition from Webster's 1828 .

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Ro 9:32; 11:6,35; Mt 20:1-16 exp: Ge 6:8.'.

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C4-S6 (Verse 5) God's righteousness is not earned.

But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly ,
his faith is counted for righteousness..

Our sentence is a promise from God. Please see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to promises made in the New Testament outside of the Gospels.

God is righteous and all who want to be in His heaven also must be righteous (Psalms 1:5). This sentence tells us how to be counted righteous by God so that we can go to heaven. Notice that this sentence starts with But, which gives it the same subject as the prior sentence while going in a different direction. That sentence told us what we get when we worketh and this sentence tells us what we get when we worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly . God is not a man whom we can put into our debt by working for Him. Since we need God to count us as righteous in order to get into heaven, and we can not put God into debt where He owes us a place in heaven, we must get God to count us righteous another way. This sentence gives us this 'other way'.

Romans 5:6-8; Romans 9:31-33; Romans 10:3 and Romans 11:6-8 also tell us about this difference. So also does Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:8-14 and Philippians 3:9. This sentence is based upon 3:21-30. The functional definition of the word ungodly is: 'A lost person whose lifestyle shows that they are lost and have nothing to do with obeying and trusting God'. Jesus tld us about believeth in John 5:24 where He said Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life..

Notice first that it says that God justifieth the ungodly . Until we are willing to admit that we are ungodly , God will not justify us no matter how much work we do. Since we need to be justified in order to go to heaven (see the prior chapter which proved this point and is the basis of this chapter), and since our work won't make us justified, we have to accept God's way to be justified, which means that we must first admit that we are ungodly (lost). Second, our sentence says that we must believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly . Believeth means 'trust and obey'. We see the promise of God, obey what He tells us to do in order to give Him permission to work in our life. God never takes away anyone's free will. Therefore, He does not work in their life unless they explicitly do the required act of obedience which shows that, of their own free will, they are giving Him permission to work in their life. Further, our act of obedience does not force God to work, nor does it specify when or how God will keep His promise. Abraham is still waiting to receive some of the things that God promised. However, he kept doing the acts of faith he had not yet received the results of past acts of faith and even though the things that God promised were physically impossible. (See Paul's example starting in 4:18.)

It is a lifetime of 'trusting and obeying', (doing acts of faith), in spite of how impossible God's promises seem and in spite of not receiving the promises immediately, that God says is counted for righteousness. This is also in spite of the fact that we start out as ungodly .

Please see the note for James 2:14 for links to every verse in the New Testament where the words faith and works contained within the same verse.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Forms of ungodly . Webster's 1828 dictionary defines it as 'Impiety; wickedness; disregard of God and his commands and neglect of his worship; or any positive act of disobedience or irreverence.' However, that definition leaves a lot to be desired when we look at how the Bible actually uses this word. The functional definition of the word ungodly is: 'A lost person whose lifestyle shows that they are lost and have nothing to do with obeying and trusting God'. Forms of this word are used in 2Samuel 22:5; 2Chronicles 19:2; Job 16:11; 34:18; Psalms 1:1 , 4-6; 3:7; 18:4; 43:1; 73:12; Proverbs 16:27; 19:28; Romans 1:18; 4:5; 5:6; 11:26; 1Timothy 1:9; 2Timothy 2:16; Titus 2:12; 1Peter 4:18; 2Peter 2:5-6; 3:7; Jude 1:4, 15, 18. In addition, there are many places which describe the ungodly , without using that specific word, such as Joshua 24:2; Zechariah 3:3-4; many places in Psalms and proverbs; 1Timothy 1:13-15 and Titus 3:3-7. Further, there are other notes in in 1Peter, 2Peter and Jude which can be found by going to the Book Study and doing a FIND (CTRL-F) and then putting ungod in the FIND field. (Do not enter more or some forms of ungodly will not be found.) Also, those notes refer the reader to the Subject Study called False things in the Bible because these people get their beliefs from false teachers.

Please see the notes for 2Corinthians 11:2 and 2Peter 2:9-LJC about the word Godly.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'But to. Ro 4:24-25; 3:22; 5:1-2; 10:3,9-10; Ac 13:38-39; Ga 2:16-17; 3:9-14; Php 3:9 believeth. Ro 4:24; 3:26-30; 8:30-34; Joh 5:24; Ga 3:8 ungodly . Ro 1:17-18; 5:6-8; Jos 24:2; Zec 3:3-4; 1Co 6:9-11; 1Ti 1:13-15; Tit 3:3-7 his faith. Ro 4:3; Hab 2:4 General references. exp: Ro 3:28.'.

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C4-S7 (Verse 6-7) David said the same thing.

Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man,
unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered..

This sentence and the next one tell us that David said the same thing in Psalms 32:1-2. We also see a similar truth in in Micah 7:18-20.

These verses use the word impute, which is to bring a legal charge. (The next sentence gives us the definition from Webster's 1828 along with verses which use the word impute.) 1John 3:4 tells us Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Many people misunderstand 1John 3, especially 1John 3:9 which tells us Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. However, 1John 3 isn't saying that we don't do the deed of sins (which 1John 1 says, we are guilty of doing) but that when the saved do the deeds of sin, God does not impute them to us. That is, God deals with the saved as His children and does not bring a legal charge against them in His legal system. 1John 3 is a detailed explanation of this word impute that is used here.

We also see God imputeth righteousness without works described in Romans 4:11 which says And he (Abraham) received...a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had...that righteousness might be imputed unto them (who believed) also:. Please see that note for more details. We also see this doctrine in Romans 4:22 which says And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. (Please see that note for more details.) the Bible uses the word impute to show that more than righteousness can be imputed. Those other verses are dealt with in the note for the next sentence (below). In addition, to verses which use the word impute, we see the blessedness of this sentence (which results from when God imputeth righteousness without works) also described in verses such as:

Romans 3:22 which says Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:. Please see that note for more details.
Romans 5:18-19 which says ...For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. All of Romans 5, especially these verses and the related ones, tell us the legal process that is involved in imputation. Please see the notes for Romans 5 for more details.
1Corinthians 1:26-31 which says that ...God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty...But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption... This section describes our calling. When we answer our calling, we receive the righteousness, and more, that God gives through imputation.
2Corinthians 5:21 which says For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. this verse tells us what it cost God so that He could impute righteousness to us.
Ephesians 2:8-10 which says For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. forwe are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.. These verses tell us the non-legal considerations of imputation, including the requirement that we let God change our life so that we 'Stop Our Sinning', and thereby justify God imputing righteousness to our heavenly legal account. Please see those notes for more details.
Philippians 3:9 which says And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:. Once more we see that this blessedness comes through our ongoing relationship with Christ. Thus, once more, we see that imputation requires our letting Christ live through our life.
2Timothy 1:9 which says Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Once more we see that salvation is followed by a calling. We also see that this is in Christ Jesus, which once more shows us the blessedness comes through our ongoing relationship with Christ. Thus, once more, we see that imputation requires our letting Christ live through our life so that we can answer our calling. Please see that note for more details.
2Peter 1:1 which says Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Peter makes it clear that our faith is through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. If we aren't willing to let His righteousness work in our lives then we can not get the faith of salvation through His righteousness. The rest of 2Peter makes it clear that this have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness is something that comes after our initial profession. That is, letting our Saviour Jesus Christ show us how to live in this flesh increases our like precious faith as we let the righteousness that is imputed to have the effect that God intends. Please see the notes for that epistle more details. As described there, God first imputeth righteousness, then that righteousness leads us to act in faith which is God's work in and through our life, which increases our like precious faith and God's glory.

These verses, and more, describe the results of God imputing righteousness without works. We have that righteousness because God imputes it to us [without (our) works] as our sentence says. The Bible uses the word impute 15 times and 6 of those times are found within this chapter. Understanding this chapter and the next is probably one of the best ways to understand how the Bible uses this word impute. In particular, we see that the last sentence of this chapter summarizes the chapter and the use of the word impute. The next chapter shows us how God applies this legal concept to our lives. Thus, this chapter provides the foundation for God imputing righteousness and the next chapter provides the explanation of that legal action.

King David has a special place in the Bible and in Jewish history. Amoung other things, he wrote most of the Book of Psalms. Please see the note for Luke 1:26-27 about the house of David. Please see the verses in the New Testament about Jesus being the Son of David.

We find forms of the word describe in: Joshua 18:4; Joshua 18:6; Joshua 18:8; Joshua 18:9; Judges 8:14; Romans 4:6; Romans 10:5. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'v.t. L. to write. 1. to delineate or mark the form or figure; as, to describe a circle by the compasses. 2. to make or exhibit a figure by motion; as, a star describes a circle or an ellipsis in the heavens. 3. to show or represent to others in words; to communicate the resemblance of a thing, by naming its nature, form or properties. the poet describes the Trojan horse. the historian describes the battle of Pharsalia. the moralist describes the effects of corrupt manners. the geographer describes countries and cities. 4. to represent by signs. A deaf and dumb man may describe a distant object. Our passions may be described by external motions. 5. to draw a plan; to represent by lines and other marks on paper, or other material; as, to describe the surface of the earth by a map or chart. 6. to define laxly.'.

Please see the note for Romans 12:10-13 for links to every place in Romans where the word bless is used. Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C10S13 and Galatians C3-S10. The functional definition is: 'receiving, or wishing another to receive, the spiritual good from God which produces spiritual joy even while it might make us less happy in the flesh'. Please note: this is a different definition from what is commonly taught.

Please also see the note for Romans C9S19 about the phrase What is man.

Please see the note for the next sentence about the word impute.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

Please see the note for James 3:6 about the word iniquity. It has links to every place in the New Testament where We find this word along with the full definition from Webster's 1828 and links from other commentators. The functional definition is: 'ongoing lifestyle sins'.

Please see the notes for 2Corinthians 2:7; Colossians C1S3 about the word forgive. The functional definition is: 'legal action which removes the ongoing legal consequence without removing the requirement to restore anything lost as a consequence of the crime. True Biblical forgiveness also requires true Biblical repentance and the forgiveness will be removed if it is shown that the criminal did not truly Biblically repent'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians 11:15 about the word cover. The functional definition is: 'an item which conceals another item with a barrier that can not be penetrated'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'blessedness. Ro 4:9; De 33:29; Ps 1:1-3; 112:1; 146:5-6; Mt 5:3-12; Ga 3:8-9,14; 4:15; Eph 1:3 imputeth. Ro 4:11,24; 1:17; 3:22; 5:18-19; Isa 45:24-25; 54:17; Jer 22:6; 33:16; Da 9:24; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21; Php 3:9; 2Pe 1:1 without. Ro 3:20-21,27; Eph 2:8-10; 2Ti 1:9
General references. Ps 32:1-2; 51:8-9; 85:2; 130:3-4; Isa 40:1-2; Jer 33:8-9; Mic 7:18-20; Mt 9:2; Lu 7:47-50'.

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C4-S8 (Verse 8) Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

As noted above, this sentence and the prior one tell us that David said the same thing in Psalm 32:1. While the sentence and note above dealt with the considerations of imputation, this note will deal more with the word itself.

Webster's 1828 dictionary defines impute as: 'to think, to reckon; properly, to set, to put, to throw to or on. 1. to charge; to attribute; to set to the account of; generally ill, sometimes good. We impute crimes, sins, trespasses, faults, blame, etc, to the guilty persons. We impute wrong actions to bad motives, or to ignorance, or to folly and rashness. We impute misfortunes and miscarriages to imprudence. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Rom.4. 2. to attribute; to ascribe. I have read a book imputed to lord Bathurst. 3. to reckon to one what does not belong to him. It has been held that Adam's sin is imputed to all his posterity. Thy merit Imputed shall absolve them who renounce their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds.'

The word impute occurs 15 times in the Bible, including the prior sentence where we see the places that the Bible says that God does imputeth righteousness without works. Now in this sentence we see that God will not impute sin, but as several of the verses below show us, we must fulfill the requirements of imputation or God will not impute rightesousness. That is, we must do the works of faith.

Impute is: 'to add to the legal record of a person'. Only God can have our legal record in Heaven changed. And, God can impute sin or God can impute righteousness.

This sentence, and the prior sentence combined, is also a quote of Psalm 32:2. We see the same doctrine taught in 2Corinthians 5:19-20. Hopefully, while you reads the following notes you will be able to see that impute is a legal concept involved in judgment the results in someone receiving, or not receiving, the consequence of a legal judgment. In addition, as pointed out in the note for the prior sentence, there are ongoing considerations attached to imputation, such as the person who receives imputation is expected to respond in the expected manner. We see forms of imputation used in:

Leviticus 7:18 says, that God will not impute righteousness if someone does not bring a sacrifice as commanded by God. We have to agree to obey God before He will impute righteousness.
Leviticus 17:4, God says that He will impute blood against the person who perverts a sacrifice. Notice that this verse and the prior show two different levels of error and two different levels of judgment by God.
In 1Samuel 22:15 the priest said that the king should not impute guilt for a crime because of a technicality, and Saul ordered the priest and all of his family killed anyway. Thus, we see that men can impute evil even though God does not do so.
In 2Samuel 19:19 Shimei tried the same thing with David. David did not impute a crime against Shimei, but told Solomon to kill him the next time he messed up, which Solomon did. Since he wanted to play technicalities with the Law, technicalities were used to bring him to justice.
Psalm 32:2 says, Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. this is the verse which this sentence, and the prior sentence, are quoting.
Habakkuk 1:11 says, Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. this is a prophecy about the Chaldeans, which we see fulfilled in Daniel. The king of Babylon imputed the actions of God to his false god.
The prior sentence. Please see the note above.
This verse / sentence.
Romans 4:11 tells us that we can have righteousness imputed to our legal account if we live by the same type of faith as Abraham had. Please see the note for that sentence.
Romans 4:22 says, And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. this sentence and the next sentence provide the conclusion of this chapter. They tells us why God imputed righteousness to Abraham and what we need to do to have God impute righteousness to us. Please see the note for that sentence.
Romans 4:23-25 finishes the conclusion of this chapter. Please see the note for that sentence.
Romans 5:13 is part of the most complex sentence in Romans 5 and is the main sentence of that chapter which tells us the legal consequence of imputation. Please see the note for that sentence which has a lot more details.
2Corinthians 5:19-20 says, the same doctrinal truth as Psalm 32:2 and this sentence combined with the prior sentence. It tells us that ...God was in Christ...and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.. The main thing which saved people are to do is the 'Great Commission', which is to bring the word of reconciliation to a world that is dying and heading towards the lake of fire.
James 2:23-24 teaches us that the results of God imputing righteousness is the works of faith. This entire chapter in James teaches us that if we claim to have faith, but do not have the works of faith, then we are a liar.

Please also see the note for Romans C9S19 about the phrase What is man.

The meaning of the word wilt, does not match what is found in a man-written dictionary. The true Biblical meaning is: 'The will applied at a lifestyle level. That is: a decision of will which does not change throughout the life.'. Please also see the note for Philippians 1:15-17 about the word will. The functional definition for this word is: 'That faculty of the mind by which we determine either to do or forbear an action; the faculty which is exercised in deciding, among two or more objects, which we shall embrace or pursue'. Please also see the note for Philippians 1:15-17 about the word will. The functional definition for this word is: 'That faculty of the mind by which we determine either to do or forbear an action; the faculty which is exercised in deciding, among two or more objects, which we shall embrace or pursue'. Please also see the note for 1Peter 2:15 about the phrase will of God. That note has links to every place in the Bible where we find this phrase along with notes on each reference. In particular, that note explains that the good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God are not three different levels of the will of God but, in fact, are three attributes of the single will of God. As that note explains, there is only one will of God for each circumstance in life but we receive variable rewards or punishment based upon how well we obey the will of God or how much we disobey the will of God. Please also see the Message called The Will of God for the application of these verses in the life of the believer.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'to whom. Isa 53:10-12; 2Co 5:19-20; Phm 1:18-19; 1Pe 2:24; 3:18'.

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C4-S9 (Verse 9) the blessings of imputation are available equally to all who come before God.

Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only,
or upon the uncircumcision also?.

The rest of this chapter is spent answering this question, including the next question and answer. Further, this question has more relevance today than many people would believe. Remember that back in 3:29 we said that 'the circumcision are people who are raised believing in the God of the Bible. The uncircumcision are raised with a faith in a false god which God's grace must get through.' therefore, when Paul uses circumcision in this verse it includes those people who are raised in a faith that believes the literal word of God. There are a lot of people who are raised to believe that 'they're God's special people because they were raised in the right religion'. Quite often these people 'look down their nose at people raised in another religion'. The people who are 'raised in the right religion' need to consider the spiritual part of Paul's answer as much as any Jew ever needed to consider it. Remember; Paul uses Jew and circumcision differently in this epistle.

Please see the notes for Romans C12S9; 1Corinthians C10S13 and Galatians C3-S10 about the word bless. In particular, please see the note for Galatians which explains why the commonly accepted dictionary definition is wrong. The functional definition is: 'receiving, or wishing another to receive, the spiritual good from God which produces spiritual joy even while it might make us less happy in the flesh'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'Cometh. Ro 3:29-30; 9:23-24; 10:12-13; 15:8-19; Isa 49:6; Lu 2:32; Ga 3:14,26-28; Eph 2:11-13; 3:8; Col 3:11'.

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C4-S10 (Verse 9) for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

This is referencing Genesis 15:5-6. This sentence started with For, which means it is giving an answer to the prior question about circumcision. Abraham did not receive circumcision until Genesis 17:10. Abraham did not circumcise the people until Genesis 17:23-27. Both of these events are years after Genesis 15:5-6 when faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. We also see that Paul brings out this conclusion further within his answer to this question.

In the Bible, the word reckon is used in accounting money and for accounting our spiritual reward and for legal matters. All of these require someone to be precise and exact with significant or severe consequences for error. This method of accounting is used with mammon and for spiritual reward even though the two are opposites. We also saw in 4:4 that mammon is reckoned for debt while our spiritual reward is based upon grace. We can not put God into our debt. While 4:4 spoke about the concept, these verses give us an application of that concept.

Please see the note for Hebrews 2:16 about Abraham. The functional definition is: 'The father of the faithful'.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'for we. Ro 4:3'.

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C4-S11 (Verse 10) How was it then reckoned?

This question is answered in the next three sentences with the third next having the more detailed answer. Basically, God reckoned righteousness (4:1-8) to Abraham while Abraham was still in uncircumcision. Therefore, circumcision does not provide righteousness but is done as a sign of the righteousness received after the righteousness is received. Today we are baptized instead of being circumcision and baptism is done after we receive righteousness by being saved and not before. Baptism is required before we can join a religion which teaches believing in the God of the Bible and raising your children to believe in the God of the Bible. As we have already seen, such people are called the circumcision within this epistle.

The word reckon is used in accounting for money, accounting for our spiritual reward and for legal matters. All of these require someone to be precise and exact with significant or severe consequences for error. This method of accounting is used with mammon and for spiritual reward even though the two are opposites. We also saw in 4:4 that mammon is reckoned for debt while our spiritual reward is based upon grace. We can not put God into our debt. While 4:4 spoke about the concept, these verses give us an application of that concept.

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C4-S12 (Verse 10) Paul asks if Abraham was reckoned righteous in circumcision or in uncircumcision .

when he was in circumcision,
or in uncircumcision?.

We see Paul making each step of his logic very clear to everyone so that there can be no possibility of a mistake. Other places Paul says something and people might miss what he is saying if they don't have the right Bible knowledge in their background. In those instances, people have to receive the right training or they have to do their own Holy Spirit led Bible research. However, in this instance Paul is giving his answer as one would talk to a mentally slow person. Yet for all of that, people still miss the message. However, they will have no excuse when they face their Lord in judgment because He made it clear enough for even the mentally slow person to understand. We are not judged and blessed by God because we are 'in the right religion' (in circumcision). Abraham was blessed for his actions of faith before he was in circumcision.

For those people who might want to argue with Paul's claim:

Genesis 15:5-6 says, And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. this is before the events that are recorded later in Genesis.
Genesis 16:16 says, And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. this is after Abraham received righteousness.
Genesis 17:1 says, And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.. 99 - 86 = 13 years later.
Genesis 17:10 says, This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between means you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. this is when Abraham was circumcised.

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C4-S13 (Verse 10) Abraham was blessed for his actions of faith before he was in circumcision.

Not in circumcision,
but in uncircumcision..

People of today use the same wrong argument as the Jews used except that they argue about baptism instead of circumcision. That is: the Jews insisted that everyone had to be circumcised before they could be saved. Today, people insist that everyone had to be baptized before they can be saved. However, from the spiritual view, there is no difference between circumcision and baptism. Both are to be done after a person accepts God as their Lord in a personal relationship. Both are used as a physical sign to other people and declare the spiritual relationship that the person has with God. Jesus was not baptized in order to be saved but He was baptized before He started His ministry. Baptism is done after we receive righteousness by being saved and not before.

Uncircumcision is found in 2:25, 26, 27; 3:30; 4:9, 10, 11, 12.

Circumcision is found in 2:25, 26, 27, 28-29; 3:1; 3:30; 4:9, 10, 11, 12; 15:8.

Genesis 17:10 tells us that circumcision was given as an outward sign (4:11-12) of a spiritual covenant. As an adult, Abraham would have understood this. Ishmael also should have understood since he was at least 13. Isaac was 8 days old when he was circumcision. He would not have understood at that time, so it was a commitment on his parents part to raise him to understand and all indications within the Bible show that Abraham and Sarah did that. However, we don't see Jacob doing anything with God until he was about 70 and Esau was hated (Malachi 1:3; Romans 9:13). Therefore, Isaac did not do a proper job of teaching his sons about this covenant, and most Jews also failed in that way. As a result, the Jews looked for religious signs (Matthew 12:39; Matthew 16:1-4; Matthew 24:30; Mark 8:11-12; 13:4; Luke 11:29-30; 21:7; John 2:18; 6:30; 1Corinthians 1:22; 14:22). We see that God gave the Jews further signs in places like Exodus 12:13 and 31:13-17, but God made sure that they understood the spiritual significance of the sign. God also reminded them of the spiritual significance of the sign in places like Ezekiel 20:12-20, but most of them ignored the spiritual aspect and taught their children to only look at the physical sign. We still find religious people doing the same thing today.

We also see, in the next sentence, that circumcision was given a seal to the spiritual contract (covenant). There can not be a seal to a contract unless the contract exists first. The spiritual contract (covenant) is mentioned in Deuteronomy 30:6; 2:28-29; 2Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30 and several other places. Unfortunately, today, as then, the religious person concentrated on the outward sign while ignoring the inward spiritual contract (covenant) and seal.

The functional definition, of the word circumcision, is: 'An outward sign of a spiritual covenant. It is used symbolically, by the word of God, for all who rely on keeping religious rules to make them right with God'. The main application found in the New Testament, is: 'the circumcised Jew but symbolically applies to all who rely on keeping religious rules to make them right with God'. The main application, of the word uncircumcision, found in the New Testament, is: 'the non-Jew but also symbolically applies to all who rely on faith to make them right with God'. Please see the note for Colossians 2:10-12 for links to every place in the New Testament where the words circumcise / circumcision are found. Please see the note for Galatians C2-S3 about the word circumcised and how it relates to our relationship with God. Please also see the note for Acts 7:51 about the word uncircumcised. The functional definition for this word is: 'What Jewish believers called the non-Jews who relied on faith to make them right with God'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'not in circumcision. "Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness," at least 14 years before he was circumcised; the former having taken place some time before Ishmael's birth, at which time he was 86 years old, and the other when Ishmael was 13 years of age, and Abraham 99. Ge 15:5-6,16; 16:1-3; 17:1,10,23-27; 1Co 7:18-19; Ga 5:6; 6:15'.

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C4-S14 (Verse 11-12) Abraham became the father to all who also walk in the steps of that faith .

Equivalent Section: Abraham received a seal as evidence of his salvation.

And he received the sign of circumcision,
a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised:.

Equivalent Section: Why Abraham received the seal when he did.

First Step: Abraham became the father of all them that believe.

that he might be the father of all them that believe,
though they be not circumcised;.

Second Step: His children were also imputed righteousness.

that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:.

Equivalent Section: Circumcision is the result, not cause, of righteousness.

And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only,
but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham,
which he had being yet uncircumcised..

This sentence starts with And, which adds it to the prior sentence. The prior sentence does not make sense by itself. In fact, the sentences from 4:9 until this one are actually the same thought that has been broken into different sentences to emphasize that each part is important in its own right. Thus, this sentence is actually added to everything starting at 4:9. Therefore, this sentence is added to the thought that Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness when he was in uncircumcision. As a result, our first phrase (And he received the sign of circumcision) makes sense because you don't get an acknowledgement of accomplishment until after you actually have the accomplishment. That is, circumcision / baptism / 'join the church' all happen after someone truly gets saved. Look at the second phrase of our First Equivalent Section. The phrase of the righteousness of the faith which he had definitely means Abraham was saved. The phrase of which he had yet being uncircumcised means Abraham was saved while he was circumcised. Our First Equivalent Section tells us that the sign of circumcision is a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had. Thus, the sign of circumcision was given after Abraham was saved.

In our Second Equivalent Section we see a two Step process which (that) tells us 'Why Abraham received the seal when he did'. In our First Step we see the first reason which is that Abraham might be the father of all them that believe, with the emphasis being on the word all. In Matthew 3:9 and Luke 3:8 we read about John the Baptist telling religious leaders Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.. (All of the references to John the Baptist are in sequential and in book order and reachable within This document.) In the note for John 8:34 is an explanation of that section in John where Jesus tld the religious leaders I know that ye are Abraham's seed.. and If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. thus, we have a distinction which matches the distinctions which Paul makes in this chapter. In order for Abraham to become someone's father they must be his children. According to Jesus (in John) that means ye would do the works of Abraham. People who truly believe, according to the Biblical use of the word, also act upon that belief and do the works which the belief requires. What's more, the second phrase of our Step tells us though they be not circumcised. Thus, according to God's Word, being of Abraham's seed or being circumcised doesn't matter to God when He determines (that) righteousness might be imputed unto them also (people are saved). Please see the notes for Romans 4:6-7 and for Romans 4:8 which explain how God imputeth righteousness without works and provide the definition from Webster's 1828 along with links to every verse in the Bible which uses any form of the word impute.

Back in 3:22 we were told that the righteousness of God, which our current Equivalent Section is talking about our receiving, is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Thus, it is based upon spiritual action (believe) and not upon some religious sign. It was already shown that for Abraham to be our spiritual father, and for us to receive the righteousness of God, we must be his spiritual children by having the same belief as he had. We are also told this fact in 4:16-18; 9:6; 10:4; 10:11; 2Corinthians 12:18; Galatians 3:7; 3:22; 6:16; 2Peter 2:21. We also see where God counts people as spiritual children of Abraham who are not his physical children, and refuses to count his physical children as spiritual children until they get saved in Matthew 8:11; Matthew 16:16; Luke 16:23-31; 19:9; John 3:15-16; 6:35-40; 7:37-38; 8:33-39; 11:25-26; Galatians 4;22-31.

Now we come to our third Equivalent Section which has three phrases that tell us 'Circumcision is the result, not cause, of righteousness'. Our first phrase tells us that Abraham is the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only. Without going into all of the detail, this means that someone can be saved without 'getting circumcised' or 'joining the right church'. Our second phrase tells us what God does require when it says but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham. Our third phrase tells us why when it says which he (Abraham) had being yet uncircumcised.

Thus, each of our Equivalent Sections tells us that salvation (righteousness might be imputed) is not determined by outward religious evidence but by a belief which results in the person walking in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham. Thus, we see the promise that we can have righteousness imputed but it comes with the requirement (might be) of our walking in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham. (Please see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to promises made in the New Testament outside of the Gospels. Please see the note for Romans 8:1 which has links to sentences within Romans which deal with the word walk along with the definition from Webster's 1828 and further clarification on the use of this word.)

Please see the notes for Romans 14:1 for links to every verse, in Romans, which uses the word receive along with a short note for each and the definition from Webster's 1828 .) the functional definition, of the word receive, is: 'To take, as a thing offered or sent; to accept'. In addition, please see the note for Matthew 10:41, which explains that in order to truly receive a person, we must receive their character as our own.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 12:12 about the word sign. The functional definition is: 'A token, pledge, or proof, Ge 9:12-13; 17:11; Ex 3:12; Isa 8:18. Also a supernatural portent, Lu 21:11; and a miracle, regarded as a token of the divine agency, Ex 4:7-9; Mr 8:11'.

Please see the note for 1Corinthians C9S5 about the word seal. The functional definition is: 'an evidence of their authenticity'.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

Please see the note for Hebrews 1:5 about the word father. The functional definition is: 'the man who passes his character to the son'.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. The note for Romans 3:5 provides links to every verse which uses the word unrighteousness along with a small note on each verse. There are 535 verses which use forms of the word righteous in addition to those which use unrighteous. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins. The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please see the notes for 3:27 which has links to where Romans talks about faith.

Please see the note for Romans C4S8 about the word impute. The functional definition is: 'To charge; to attribute; to set to the account of;'. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. 1John 3 is a detailed explanation of the word impute.

Please see the note for Romans C8S1 as Ephesians C4S1 about the word walk. The functional definition is: 'take small repeated steps. This word is used symbolically for the small things which we do regularly in our life without thinking about those things'. Please also see the note for Romans C9S28 about the phrase live / walk by faith.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 12:18 about the word step. It has links to every place in the Bible where We find this word along with the full definition from Webster's 1828 . The functional definition of it is: 'To move the foot; to advance or recede by a movement of the foot or feet; as, to step forward, or to step backward. In the Bible, a step is often used for a small movement that is repeated regularly so that the accumulation results in a large change'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 2:16 about Abraham. The functional definition is: 'The father of the faithful'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'the sign. Ge 17:10; Ex 12:13; 31:13,17; Eze 20:12,20 a seal. Ro 2:28-29; De 30:6; 2Co 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30; Re 9:4 righteousness. Ro 4:13; 3:22; 9:30; 10:6; Ga 5:5; Php 3:9; Heb 11:7; 2Pe 1:1 father. Ro 4:12,16-18; 3:22,26; 9:6,33; 10:4,11; Mt 8:11; 16:16; Lu 19:9; Joh 3:15-16,36; 6:35,40,40,47; 7:38-39; 8:33; 11:25-26; Ga 3:7,22,29; 6:16 exp: Ge 4:21. That righteousness. Ro 4:6 General references. exp: Ge 12:2; 17:24; Le 12:3; Lu 5:39; Ac 10:47; Ro 3:30; Ga 3:9.
to them. Ro 9:6-7; Mt 3:9; Lu 16:23-31; Joh 8:39-40; Ga 4:22-31 in the steps. Job 33:11; Pr 2:20; Song 1:8; 2Co 12:18; 1Pe 2:21 General references. exp: Le 12:3; Mr 7:5; Lu 5:39; Ro 3:30.'.

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C4-S15 (Verse 13) Why God saves using faith.

For the promise,
that he should be the heir of the world,
was not to Abraham,
or to his seed,
through the law,
but through the righteousness of faith..

Our sentence is a promise from God to Abraham that was made through the righteousness of faith. This is the pattern by which we receive all promises from God during the 'Church Age'. And, Paul explains this requirement in Romans 4:16-17. Please see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to promises made in the New Testament outside of the Gospels.

This sentence gives the reason (For) of Paul's prior sentence and does not provide all of the detail given elsewhere. Therefore, it is easy for people to miss the depth that is behind this summary type of statement. This sentence tells us how the promise was given. It says it was not given through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. That is the main point of this sentence. However, it also says that it was not given to Abraham, or to his seed. This phrase is explained more in Galatians 3:13-18 which tells us that the promise was not given to Abraham and all of his physical legal (through the law) seed (Jews), but it was given to a particular seed which is Christ. Hebrews 10 explains how Christ did not receive the promise through keeping the Law but by faith. Galatians 2:16 and Philippians 3:9 tell us that we are justified by the faith of Christ. A car starter switch does not carry all of the power required by a car starter motor but actually carries the small amount of power required to give the solenoid permission to carry all of the power that is truly required by the starter motor. In the same way, our faith is not enough to save us. Our faith is only sufficient to give Christ permission to apply His faith and it is His faith that actually saves us. If people understood that there would be far less need to have assurance of salvation. It not only is His faith that actually saves us but it is also His faith that keeps us saved. So when we return to this sentence and read that the promise would be fulfilled through the righteousness of faith, we need to understand that the faith which fulfills this promise is not our own but that of Christ. Our faith only gives Christ permission to apply His faith to our life and it is His faith that gives us the results of the promise. All of this is explained further by the next sentence.

In Genesis 12:3 we read And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. please note that this promise was not to Abraham's physical descendants but to them that bless thee. That requirement is done by people with faith in this promise In Genesis 17:4-5 we read As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.. Many nations is more than just the physical descendants of Abraham. In Genesis 28:14 we read And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. the physical descendants of Abraham certainly have not spread abroad as this verse says and Galatians 3:16 explains that this promise was to Christ.

We find forms of promise 118 times in 112 verses of the Bible. We find forms of promise 72 times in 69 verses of the New Testament. We find forms of promise 10 verses of Romans: 1:2; this sentence; 4:14; 4:16; 4:20-21; 9:4; 9:8; 9:9; 15:8. Please see the notes for Romans C4S15; Galatians C3-S15; 1Timothy 4:8 and Titus 1:2 about the word promise. Those notes have a considerable discussion about the promises of God. Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines this word as: 'a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it, either in honor, conscience or law, to do or forbear a certain act specified; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made, a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of the act'. Please also see the Section on Promises in the Doctrinal Studies called SignificantGospel Events and Significant New Testament Events.

Please see the note for Romans C8S16 about the word heir. The functional definition is: 'We give the title to a person who is to inherit after the death of an ancestor, and during his life, as well as to the person who has actually come into possession'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 2:16 about Abraham. The functional definition is: 'The father of the faithful'.

Please see the note for Galatians C3-S17 about the word seed. The functional definition for this word is: 'Webster's 1828 dictionary defines seed as: 'SEED, n. 1. the substance, animal or vegetable, which nature prepares for the reproduction and conservation of the species. the seeds of plants are a deciduous part, containing the rudiments of a new vegetable. In some cases, the seeds constitute the fruit or valuable part of plants, as in the case of wheat and other esculent grain; sometimes the seeds are inclosed in fruit, as in apples and melons. When applied to animal matter, it has no plural. 2. that from which anything springs; first principle; original; as the seeds of virtue or vice. 3. Principle of production. Praise of great acts he scatters as a seed. Waller. 4. Progeny; offspring; children; descendants; as the seed of Abraham; the seed of David. in this sense, the word is applied to one person, or to any number collectively, and admits of the plural form; but rarely used in the plural. 5. Race; generation; birth. Of mortal seed they were not held. Waller.
SEED, v. i. 1. to grow to maturity, so as to produce seed. Maiz will not seed in a cool climate. 2. to shed the seed.
SEED, v. t. to sow; to sprinkle with seed, which germinates and takes root'.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'For the. Ge 12:3; 17:4-5,16; 22:17-18; 28:14; 49:10; Ps 2:8; 72:11 through the. Ga 3:16-18,29 but through. Ro 4:11 General references. exp: Ge 22:16; Ga 4:28.'.

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C4-S16 (Verse 14-15) Why God does not use the law to save.

Equivalent Section: the law can not replace God's promises.

For if they which are of the law be heirs,
faith is made void,
and the promise made of none effect:.

Equivalent Section: the law produces a different result.

Because the law worketh wrath:.

Equivalent Section: the absence of law produces anarchy.

for where no law is,
there is no transgression..

This sentence has three Equivalent Sections. The middle part tells us the law worketh wrath. God sends people to Hell and the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14-15) because they violate the Law (1John 3:4). The last Equivalent Section tells us for where no law is, there is no transgression. Until there is a law saying that people can't murder the government can't punish people for committing murder. Before the Law, God dealt with people (like He dealt with Abraham) on a personal basis. God did not formally charge them with violating a Law but they still didn't get to go live in His home called heaven unless they received His grace. [Please see Romans 2:12 and 5:16 ] We find related teaching in Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 19:7; Romans 3:31; Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:18-24; Galatians 5:4; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews7:19; Hebrews7:28. In these verses we see that a personal relationship is greater than any law, including God's Law and that God's law does not have the power to make void, or replace, what God established as being available only through a personal relationship with Him.

The first Equivalent Section of this sentence tells us the main thing that Paul is saying in this sentence which the second and third Equivalent Sections explain. In the first part we are told that faith is made void and God's the promise made of none effect (is useless) if they which are of the law be heirs. (If people could demand that God let them into heaven by keeping a Law then they would not have to live by faith and God wasted His breath speaking a promise which would be replaced by Law. However, laws are impersonal and promises are personal. Therefore, laws can not replace promises.) the only thing that the Law can do is increase your punishments after you are put into the Lake of Fire.

No place in the Bible teaches us that keeping the law will get us into heaven. Many places in the Bible teach us that breaking the law brings God's wrath. We find similar teachings here in Romans in: 2:5; 3:19; 5:20; 7:7-11. We also find similar teaching in other places of the Bible such as: Numbers 32:14; Deuteronomy 29:20-28; 2Kings 22:13; Jeremiah 4:8; Lamentations 2:22; Ezekiel 7:19; Zephaniah 1:18; Acts 17:30-31, 1Corinthians 15:56; 2Corinthians 3:7-9; Galatians 3:10, 19; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6; 1John 3:4.

While I could go into much more detail, the precepts which are involved with each of these Equivalent Sections, they are well covered in detail elsewhere on this site. therefore, we will move unto the next sentence. Please see the notes for 3:27 which has links to where Romans talks about faith. Please also see the note for Romans 6:14 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word law along with a the Webster's 1828 definition and considerations about several laws which apply to saved people during the church age.

Please see the notes for Romans C4S15; Galatians C3-S15; 1Timothy 4:8 and Titus 1:2 about the word promise. Those notes have a considerable discussion about the promises of God. Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines this word as: 'a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it, either in honor, conscience or law, to do or forbear a certain act specified; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made, a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of the act'. Please also see the Section on Promises in the Doctrinal Studies called SignificantGospel Events and Significant New Testament Events.

Please see the note for Matthew 8:10 about the phrase none effect. The functional definition for this phrase is: 'made it so that God's word could not change the lives of people'.

Please see the note for Romans C1S10 about the word because. The functional definition is: 'provides a effect where the effect and effect are both in the past'.

Please see the notes for Romans C4S16; Galatians C5S20; Ephesians C4S11 and Colossians C3S6 about the word wrath. The functional definition is: 'Violent anger; vehement exasperation; indignation'. Please also see the note for Colossians 3:8 about the phrase children of wrath.

Please see the note for 1John 3:4 about the word transgress. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'To pass over or beyond any limit; to surpass. 2. In a moral sense, to overpass any rule prescribed as the limit of duty; to break or violate a law, civil or moral. to transgress a divine law, is sin. Legislators should not transgress laws of their own making.
TRANSGRESS', v.i. to offend by violating a law; to sin. Chron 2'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'For if. Ro 4:16; Ga 2:21; 3:18-24; 5:4; Php 3:9; Heb 7:19,28 made. Ro 3:31; Nu 30:12,15; Ps 119:126; Isa 55:11; Jer 19:7 General references. exp: Ge 22:16; Lu 10:26; Ga 4:28.
Because. Ro 1:17; 2:5-6; 3:19-20; 5:13,20-21; 7:7-11; Nu 32:14; De 29:20-28; 2Ki 22:13; Jer 4:8; La 2:22; Eze 7:19; Zep 1:18; Joh 3:36; 15:22; Ac 17:30-31; 1Co 15:56; 2Co 3:7-9; Ga 3:10,19; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; 1Jo 3:4; Re 6:16-17; 19:15 where. Ro 2:12-13; 5:13 General references. exp: Lu 10:26; Ga 4:28.'.

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C4-S17 (Verse 16-17) The included section of this sentence is separated below.

How Abraham became a father of many nations.

First Step: God made salvation of faith.

Therefore it is of faith,
that it might be by grace;.

Second Step: God established the desired end result.

to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed;.

Third Step: God made salvation open to all who walk of the faith of Abraham.

not to that only which is of the law,
but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham;.

Fourth Step: God declared Abraham to be the father of all who walk of the faith of Abraham.

who is the father of us all,
(See Below),
before him whom he believed,
even God,
who quickeneth the dead,
and calleth those things which be not as though they were..

Below is the includes part of the sentence, which references scripture.

Each phrase below has equal importance.

(As it is written,
I have made thee a father of many nations).

This sentence has an included quote and has several Steps which need to be individually understood before we combine all of them so that we can understand the whole sentence. God let the KJV translators know that some people would require the knowledge that what Paul said came from scripture and was not just something he was arguing on his own. Therefore, God had the KJV translators include this part.

Romans 4:13 told us a promise from God to Abraham that was made through the righteousness of faith. That sentence gave us the pattern by which we receive all promises from God during the 'Church Age'. And, Paul explains this requirement in our current sentence. Please see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to promises made in the New Testament outside of the Gospels.

The included quote says As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations. This is a quote of Genesis 17:4-5. We see the physical fulfillment in Genesis 17:16; Genesis 25 and Genesis 28:3. This promise is also referred to in Hebrews 11:12. Please see the note for Romans 15:15-16 which has links to every place in Romans where forms of the word write are used. Please also see the note for Romans 3:9-11 which has links to every place in Romans that uses the phrase it is written along with other info on that phrase. Please also see the note for Romans 4:23-25 which has a good sized note about doctrine related to the word written.

Now, in this sentence, we see that there is also a spiritual fulfillment of this promise. The main sentence, which this quote is included within, explains how God does the spiritual fulfillment. The concept of a spiritual son is that the spiritual son takes on the character of the father. The minor difference for spiritual children is that they have the main characteristic as the spiritual father, but are not as closely aliened with the character of the spiritual father as a spiritual son is. For example, Paul trained many men but only called three son. All of the Biblical references to son, in the New Testament, are found in the verses document. An Overview explanation of the Biblical use of son can be found in the Overview document.

Some (most) of the Jews excluded Gentiles and hid the Law from them believing that by doing would make the Jews better than the Gentiles. However, the Bible that gave the Law to the Jews also said that Abraham would be a father of many nations. Therefore, those Jews were wrong to try to exclude Gentiles, which were the many nations that Abraham was promised to be a father of. In order to give us more than we could earn be keeping a Law, God made salvation of faith. He also made it be by grace so that He could excuse people who did not meet all of the standards of a Law through no fault of their own. Someone whose brain stays the level of a two-year-old should not be excluded because he didn't meet the standard that he did not have the capacity to meet. That's why Paul says to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed. God knew how some Jews would hide the Law from Gentiles and so God made sure that the Gentiles could still receive the promise is spite of the wrong actions by some Jews.

Going on, we read that God quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. That is, God is not limited by our rules or the Laws of nature or by what Satan did to man or anything else outside of His own promises. Putting it all together, we have that the promise of salvation is given by God's grace to those who believe God's promise and live by faith and it doesn't matter what Satan or Jews do, God is not restricted by anyone or anything and He will give salvation to all the seed who believe His promise. Please see the note for Romans 8:11 which has links to every verse which use any form of quicken and provides a note on how the word is used in each verse.

With those background concepts, we can get into the details of this sentence. It starts with Therefore, which means that it is the direct result of what came before it. While I could start at the beginning of this book, I will start at the beginning of this chapter and assume that the reader has already seen prior notes which show the support from the start of the epistle.

We find, in our First Step, the phrase that it might be by grace. The Bible uses grace 170 times in 159 verses. Please see the notes for 4:4 which has links to where Romans uses grace. We also see our first 7 sentences explain that we get grace (4:4) from faith (4:5; 4:9; 4:11; 4:12; 4:13; 4:14) and not from works (4:2; 4:4; 4:5; 4:6). We also see in those sentences that we receive the righteousness (4:3; 4:5; 4:6; 4:9; 4:11; 4:13) that we need in order to get into heaven (be saved) when we believeth on him (God) that justifieth the ungodly (4:2; 4:5) and receive His grace which is given to those who live by faith. We also saw that the sign of circumcision (4:9; 4:10; 4:11; 4:12) was added because of the faith that Abraham already had and it was not the other way around. (Our third Step depends upon this prior sentence.) From circumcision Paul moved onto the promises (4:13; 4:14) that God made to Abraham, which our Second Step deals with. Again, these promises were connected to the righteousness of faith, (4:13) which is the main subject of our current sentence. Then we saw that the law worketh wrath, (4:13; 4:14; 4:15) and we all definitely need to be saved from the wrath of God, which Paul already covered in 1:18; 2:5 and 2:8. Since the law could only make things worse, God provided the alternative method of faith to remove the prior effects of the wrath of God. Our Fourth Step tells us that God removes those prior effects when He quickeneth the dead. (Please see the note for Romans 6:2 which has links to sentences within Romans which deal with death. That note also provides the Webster's 1828 definition and the true Biblical doctrine.)

Thus, we see that each Step, within this sentence, is the result (Therefore) of what has been said earlier in this chapter. Having dealt with that basis, we will now move onto the details of the individual Steps.

Our First Step tells us that the direct result (Therefore) of all that has been presented up to this point is that it is of faith, that it might be by grace. The it of this Step is the promise, that he should be the heir of the world that God gave to Abraham based upon the righteousness of faith. Notice that our phrase says it is of faith and that it is by grace. Please see the note for Ephesians 2:8-9 which explains this relationship between faith and grace in more detail.

Thus, our First Step tells us God's method of salvation while our Second Step tells us why God choose this particular method. Notice that we are told to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed. The result (end) that God wanted was that salvation would be available to everyone and that nothing could take away His method (be sure). We already saw where the Jews tried to exclude Gentiles and we can find all throughout history different religious groups tried to claim that other groups were excluded for one reason or another. However, all of the exclusion pl and fail when confronted with the truth of God's method. That is why so many religions try to claim that true salvation is by another method than what is presented here. This plan excludes no one. Their plan would allow them to exclude people that they don't like.

In our third Step Paul makes a special point of saying that the law can not exclude anyone from God's plan of salvation. Explaining about the law and how it is applied to the truths of the gospel is one of the reasons that Paul wrote this epistle. Please see the note for Romans 6:14 which has links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word law along with a the Webster's 1828 definition and considerations about several laws which apply to saved people during the church age. Our current sentence uses law for the Religious part of the Mosaic Law only. The context makes this limit clear. Our sentence does not say that all other laws, such as the Law of Gravity, no longer apply to saved people.

That leaves us with our Fourth Step. (The included part has already been covered.) the first phrase of this Step is who is the father of us all. This is a repeat of what was said a couple of sentences prior (C4-S14) where we saw that in the note for John 8:34 is an explanation of that section in John where Jesus tld the religious leaders I know that ye are Abraham's seed.. and If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. this repetition of the phrase the father of us all, is the basis of doctrine. The first thing that this Step tells us is that, doctrinally, all saved are to do the works of Abraham. Our second phrase is before him whom he believed. Here is our faith. We believe the promises of God, like Abraham did, and we do the works of Abraham based upon that belief and not based upon some vague hope that we will have enough good works or something else. In order to believe like Abraham did we have to get a personal promise from God. That only happens from our purposely seeking God's promises in the word of God and having God's Spirit tell us personally that that promise is for us personally. Sitting in church and hearing of God's promises from someone else will not work. That isn't personal enough.

Look at the second last phrase of this sentence which say who quickeneth the dead. In the Bible, quicken is defined as: 'being made spiritually alive and responsive to the Spirit of God in our physical life'. It should be obvious to the reader how this definition fits with everything else that we've seen so far in Romans. In our sentence we see five steps to our being saved by having the faith of Abraham. God made a plan, God made a promise available to all, God required all to have the faith of Abraham and in our fifth Step we see that we must have a physical life which shows what we claim to believe. That is what it means to be quickened. Formore detailed notes about being quickened please see the notes for Colossians 2:10-12; 2:13-15; Ephesians 2:1-3 and 2:4-7. Those notes include links to every place that the Bible uses this word. In addition, phrases such as quickened us tgether with Christ are explained and show us that this quickening is part of our ongoing personal relationship with God. Simply put, people who claim salvation and never have God change how they walk in this life have followed some 'plan of salvation' which does not match God's plan as we see in this sentence, chapter and epistle.

In our last phrase of this sentence we see and calleth those things which be not as though they were. The and adds this phrase to the prior phrase and, since both phrases are within the same Step, means that the two phrases are to be happening concurrently. Here is our true proof of faith (Hebrews 11). God calleth those things which be not as though they were and Abraham proved that he believed God because he lived as if the things which God promised were already true, even though he did not see them (which be not). As the saying goes: 'God said it, I believe it, and that settles it'. Now all that we have to do is 'walk our talk'. However, as shown in the notes about quicken (see above), that is part of our ongoing personal relationship with God and requires us to be quickened together with Christ.

Thus, our Fourth Step has several phrases which tell us the same thing said different ways. (Please see the note for Romans 1:1 to find links to every place where this epistle uses forms of the word call.) God's plan of salvation includes us 'walking our talk'. As said elsewhere, those people who claim salvation but don't 'walk their talk' are following a different plan than what we see laid out in this sentence.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 11:15 about the word end. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines end as: 'in Heb 13:7, is the rendering of the unusual Greek word ekbasin, meaning "outcome", i.e., death. It occurs only elsewhere in 1Co 10:13, where it is rendered "escape."'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 2:16 about Abraham. The functional definition is: 'The father of the faithful'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 1:5 about the word father. The functional definition is: 'the man who passes his character to the son'.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Please see the note for Romans C8S11 about the word quicken. It has links to every place in the Bible where this word is found along with notes for each usage. The functional definition is: 'made spiritually alive'. Please also see the notes for Ephesians C2S1; Colossians C2S8 and 1Peter 3:18-LJC about this word.

Please see the notes for Romans C6S4; 2Corinthians 2:15; Philippians 1:19-20 and Colossians C1S4 about the words dead / death / die the functional definition is: 'an ongoing process of corruption which starts at conception and continues until the body is completely destroyed. Physical death is used for the one-time point when the soul and spirit are forced to leave the corrupted body. Spiritual death is also used for the one-time point when the soul and spirit are forced to leave the presence of God. When the Bible uses death for these events, it assumes that the reader understands that the one-time-event is the pinnacle of an ongoing process. Within the Bible, death is to be understood to be an ongoing process, even while highlighting the ultimate point of victory for the process'. Please also see the notes for Sin in 1John; Romans C2S4; 1Corinthians 8:11-LJC and Galatians C3-S26 about the phrase sin unto death. Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C11S34 about the phrase sleep is physically dead but spiritually alive.

Please see the note for Romans 1:1 about the word call. Please see the note for 1Corinthians C1S3 about the word call. That note has links to notes in every New Testament book where there are links to every place where the particular book uses this word. The functional definition is: 'To command another to help or to cry for help, hence to pray (Ge 4:26)'. Please also see the note for Romans 10:13; 2Thessalonians 3:1-LJC; Ephesians 5:8-LJC and 1John 4:14-LJC about the phrase call upon the Lord. The note for Romans 10:13 has links to every place in the Bible where we find the words call and Lord used together, along with a small note on each reference.

Please see the note for Romans 15:15-16 which has links to every place in Romans where forms of the word write are used. Please also see the note for Romans 3:9-11 which has links to every place in Romans that uses the phrase it is written along with other info on that phrase. Please also see the note for Romans 4:23-25 which has a good sized note about doctrine related to the word written.

Please see the note for Romans 1:5 about the word nation. The functional definition is: 'A body of people inhabiting the same country, or united under the same sovereign or government'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'of faith. Ro 3:24-26; 5:1; Ga 3:7-12,22; Eph 2:5,8; Tit 3:7 the promise. Heb 6:13-19; 2Pe 1:10 but to. Ro 4:11 the father. Ro 9:8; Isa 51:2 General references. exp: Ge 13:16; Lu 10:26; Ga 3:9; 4:28.
I have. Ge 17:4-5,16,20; 25; 28:3; Heb 11:12 before him. or, like unto him. Ro 3:29 who quickeneth. Ro 4:2; 8:11; Mt 3:9; Joh 5:21,25; 6:63; 1Co 15:45; Eph 2:1-5; 1Ti 6:13 calleth. Ro 8:29-30; 9:26; Isa 43:6; 44:7; 49:12; 55:12; Ac 15:18; 1Co 1:28; Heb 11:7; 1Pe 2:10; 2Pe 3:8 General references. exp: Ge 13:16; Ga 4:28.'.

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C4-S18 (Verse 18) How Abraham 'walked his talk'.

First Step: Abraham had hope based upon the character of God.

Who against hope believed in hope,
that he might become the father of many nations;.

Second Step: Abraham believed the promise of God.

according to that which was spoken,
So shall thy seed be..

This sentence gives an example of how Abraham believed God's promise and lived by faith. It says that Abraham against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations. God spoke a promise to Abraham and Abraham lived a life showing that he believed Gods promise and God said So shall thy seed be. This is explained in the next sentence, which is added to this one. Our Second Step is referring to Genesis 15:5-6. But, since this is the Second Step, it came after the First Step where Abraham had hope (5:2; 5:4-5; 8:20; 8:24; 8:23; 12:12; 15:4; 15:13). Abraham's hope was based upon Genesis 12:1-2 where God said Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:. Abraham did not know how God would keep this promise. God could have had many people join him to become this great nation, but Abraham hoped that it would be his physical son, since God did not say how He would do it.

Please see the note for Romans 8:24 which has links to every place in Romans where the word hope is used. As pointed out there, I urge the reader to prayerfully read each of the sentences in Romans that use the word hope, with the accompanying notes that are in this Study. All of them are doctrinally significant and many are complex sentences. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C13S10 and Philippians 1:19-20 about the word hope. The functional definition is: 'hope is like faith in that both require us acting upon our belief before we have any factual evidence that we are correct. However, where faith is based upon a promise found in the word of God, hope is based upon the character of God when there is no written promise found'.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Please see the note for Hebrews 1:5 about the word father. The functional definition is: 'the man who passes his character to the son'.

Please see the note for Romans 1:5 about the word nation. The functional definition is: 'A body of people inhabiting the same country, or united under the same sovereign or government'.

Please see the note for Philippians 2:1 about the word accord. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this word as: 'ppr. 1. Agreeing; harmonizing when two notes are in a music chord, they move together, up or down, to the next note. th' according music of a well mixt state. 2. Suitable; agreeable; in accordance with. In these senses, the word agrees with or refers to a sentence. Our zeal should be according to knowledge. Noble is the fame that is built on candor and ingenuity, according to those beautiful lines of Sir John Denham. Here the whole preceding parts of the sentence are to accord, i.e. agree with, correspond with, or be suitable to, what follows. According, here, has its true participial sense, agreeing, and is always followed by to. It is never a preposition'. Please also see the note for Psalms 119:23 about the phrase according to works.

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C4-S19 (Verse 19-21) How Abraham displayed his faith.

Equivalent Section: Abraham refused to consider the physical condition.

And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead,
when he was about an hundred years old,
neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:.

Equivalent Section: Abraham's actions which displayed his faith.

First Step: Abraham eliminated sources of unbelief.

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief;.

Second Step: Abraham kept his faith strong by constantly giving glory to God.

but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God;.

Third Step: Abraham let nothing cause him doubt.

And being fully persuaded that,
what he had promised,
he was able also to perform..

This sentence is added to the prior sentence by starting with an And. There we read Who against hope believed in hope... Now this sentence is adding information about Abraham's faith to what we were told about his hope just like Abraham added faith to his hope. Both faith and hope require us to act upon our belief. The difference is that faith is based upon a belief in the promise of God and hope is based upon a belief in the character of God. When we first get saved we don't know a lot about the promises of God other than His promise to save us. Therefore, we all start out acting upon our belief in the character of God (hope) and add to it faith as our study of God's Word and participation in church teaches us more about the promises of God. However, since we can not always find a promise for what we need, we must continue our walk with God using both faith and hope.

The first Equivalent Section of this sentence says that Abraham refused to consider the physical condition of his body or of his wife's body and was not weak in faith. The second (equivalent) half of this sentence gives us the details which prove that Abraham was not weak in faith. So both Equivalent Sections tell us about Abraham's faith but each Equivalent Section looks at it differently.

In the First Equivalent Section of this sentence we see that 'Abraham refused to consider the physical condition'. In order to do this, the first thing that Abraham did was make sure that he was not weak in faith. However, we need to notice the word being, which is 'an ongoing condition of existence'. That, coupled with the fact that this phrase is separated from other phrases by commas, means that this phrase was ongoing at the same time as the other phrases within this Equivalent Section.

Moving on to our second phrase we see he considered not his own body now dead. There's a saying that goes 'There's no fool like an old fool'. Most people would consider a 100 year old man wanting to become a father an 'old fool'. However, Abraham had the promise of God and the fact that he not only fathered and raised Isaac, but also fathered and raised other sons by Keturah (Genesis 25) shows us that he really was not an 'old fool'. Therefore, we see that doing what the world says is 'foolish' is not necessarily so but that is true only when we have an actual promise from God (not from religion) as the basis of true faith.

Moving onto our next phrase we see that this all happened when he was about an hundred years old. The fact is that he also had all of that living in faith and hope that continued in spite of what appeared to be foolishness because God did not appear to be keeping His promise. Lots of people criticize Abraham for fathering Ishmael (Genesis 25), but none of those critics has lived as long as Abraham had already done at that time. Further, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but did like a lot of us do and thought that maybe God was waiting for him to do something. We need to keep in mind that Hebrews 12:1 tells us Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses and that cloud of witnesses is referring to all of the people in Hebrews 11, which includes Abraham and Sarah. A witness doesn't just see what goes on but they also testify in a court of law. That means we will personally face them at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10 and 2Corinthians 5:10-11) where we will have to answer to them personally for any criticism we make of them.

In our last phrase of the First Equivalent Section we read neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. All adults understand that after a certain age women lose the ability to get pregnant. Not only did Abraham have faith, but Hebrews 11:11 also tells us Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. thus, we see that true Biblical faith allows God to makes the physically impossible become true. Therefore, we should be able to understand the physical conditions and everyday evidence which required ongoing daily faith and hope to overcome and those had to continue until Abraham was about an hundred years old.

In the Second Equivalent Section of this sentence gives us the details which prove that Abraham was not weak in faith. First, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. This means he wasn't one of these people who claim to believe God's promise while they worry and fret about how God will do it or when God's going to do it or about anything else about the promise. Abraham truly believed 'God said it. I believe it. That settles it.' In order to do this Abraham had to fight a daily battle with the things of this world, his flesh and the devil in order to not fall into unbelief. None of us can fight an enemy non stop by being purely defensive. We have to aggressively drive off the enemy on a regular basis so that we get some rest. Therefore, this phrase is not suggesting that Abraham was like a rock that does nothing while a man beings in tools to destroy the rock. He had to be actively fighting against evil so that it ran from him instead of attacking him non-stop.

We find examples of people who staggered at the promise of God in: Numbers 11:13-23; 2Kings 7:2, 19; Job 12:25;Psalms 107:27; Isaiah 7:9; Isaiah 19:14; Isaiah 29:9; Jeremiah 32:16-27; Luke 1:18.

We find examples of people who were encouraged by God when they refused to stagger at the promise of God, or find encouragement from God to do so in: 2Chronicles 20:15-20; Isaiah 35:4; Daniel 10:19; 11:32; Haggai 2:4; Zechariah 8:9, 13; Luke 1:45; 1Corinthians 16:13; 2Corinthians 12:10; Ephesians 6:10; 2Timothy 2:1.

Webster's 1828 dictionary defines stagger as: 'v.t. 1. to reel; to vacillate; to move to one side and the other in standing or walking; not to stand or walk with steadiness. Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow. 2. to fail; to cease to stand firm; to begin to give way. The enemy staggers. 3. to hesitate; to begin to doubt and waver in purpose; to become less confident or determined. Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. Romans 4.'

The second evidence of Abraham's faith that we are told about is that he was but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Lots of people claim to be strong in faith but you hardly ever hear them giving glory to God, especially when their faith is challenged by an unbeliever or detractor.

When things were going really bad for me personally, I started doing a couple of things that I really believe made all of the difference in the world and are what led to God getting me out of my problems. First, I resolved to have a praise testimony for every Wednesday service and every Friday RU meeting. Fora long time that required me to personally write down, before I went to bed, something that happened that day which I could use as a praise. Doing the physical writing increased my ability to remember these blessings. Secondly I had to actively seek the chance to speak my praise and when I wasn't always given a chance during services, I started seeking people outside to tell the praise to. As a result, I stopped being a 'perpetually angry' person and many people now tell me they are amazed at how I can be encouraging in any situation. However, that wasn't enough. I had to start thanking God for everything including the problems and enemies which God used to give me an attitude adjustment. However, I couldn't do that until after I started witnessing for God on a regular basis. My witnessing brought me questions that I had not thought about and my coming up with answers to those questions adjusted my own attitude. After I had the attitude adjustment, I understood which says Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please see the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.. Doing this things on a regular basis allowed be to change from a 'Why me!!?' person to someone who did praise God while being literally 'out of my mind' from pain or drugs after an accident that had many non-believing doctors saying that I had undeniable multiple miracles.

Based upon my personal experience I strongly believe that Abraham was strong in faith because he was giving glory to God (praise and thanks) on a personal basis and trying to do so daily. In addition, we should notice that this Step starts with but. That means that Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief because he was strong in faith, giving glory to God. These methods not only keep us strong in faith but they also allow us to personally stagger not.

Finally, Abraham was fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Lots of people claim that they are fully persuaded but this is the conclusion (result) of the first two parts of our sentence. Anyone who is worrying or fretting or even failing to often give glory to God is not really fully persuaded that God can and will keep His promise. We do not have to be fully persuaded that 'we can hold on' or that anything else is possible if it depends upon us. How big is your God? Talk is cheap. Abraham's persuasion was based upon his God and had nothing dependent upon himself. We need to do the same. It is easy to say that we are trusting a big God but the real proof is in our walk which backs our talk.

When we find ourselves tempted to stagger, we need to consider the places in the Bible which tell us that God can do any good thing that He promises. We find such assurances in: Genesis 18:14; Psalms 115:3, Jeremiah 32:17; Jeremiah 32:27; Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37; Luke 1:45; Romans 8:38-39; Romans 14:3; 2Corinthians 9:10; Hebrews 11:19.

One real simple test is what percentage of your gross income do you put into God's work based upon His promise to provide for your needs? the couple of examples in the Bible where Abraham staggered was when he went to Egypt, which is a type of the world. Romans 13:8 says, Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Many churches and people made the doctrinal error of believing that certain exceptions to this rule were OK. I personally made this mistake. How many have mortgages or believe they are OK to expand a ministry? How many people have car lo and and other debits? these debits to worldly banks are interfering with our testimony, our ability to go where God wants when God wants and our ability to preach the true (whole) gospel. These lo and are only one way that God's people 'go to Egypt'. Consider what else God might ask you about at the judgment seat of Christ. Consider that Abraham only staggered twice in over 100 years, that we know about. I personally would have a hard time matching that record.

Please see the note for Romans 14:2 for links to every verse, in Romans, which uses the word weak along with a short note for each and the definition from Webster's 1828 . Please also see the note for 1Corinthians C4S12 about this word. The functional definition is: 'The primary sense of the root is to yield, fail, give way, recede, or to be soft. 1. Having little physical strength; feeble'.

Please see the note for John 11:49-50 about the word consider. The functional definition for this word is: 'To fix the mind on, with a view to a careful examination; to think on with care; to ponder; to study; to meditate on'.

Please see the notes for Romans C7S30; 1Corinthians C6S20; Ephesians 4:5-LJC and Colossians C1S4 about the word body. The functional definition is: 'The frame of an animal; the material substance of an animal, in distinction from the living principal of beasts, and the soul of man. Used symbolically for the framework for sin including all parts of it'. Please also see the note for Colossians C1S6 about the phrase body of Christ.

Please see the note for Matthew 19:29 about the word hundredfold. This gives us the count of years that Abraham had been alive at the time of this event.

Please see the note for Luke 1:7 about the word year. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines this word as: 'Heb shanah, meaning "repetition" or "revolution" (Ge 1:14; 5:3). Among the ancient Egyptians the year consisted of twelve months of thirty days each, with five days added to make it a complete revolution of the earth round the sun. the Jews reckoned the year in two ways, (1) according to a sacred calendar, in which the year began about the time of the vernal equinox, with the month Abib; and (2) according to a civil calendar, in which the year began about the time of the autumnal equinox, with the month Nisan. the month Tisri is now the beginning of the Jewish year'.

Please see the note for Hebrews 11:11 about Sarah. The functional definition is: 'The wife of Abraham and an example for Godly women'.

Please see the note for Luke 1:15 about the word womb. Webster's 1828 defines this word as: 'the uterus or matrix of a female; that part where the young of an animal is conceived and nourished till its birth. 2. the place where anything is produced. The womb of earth the genial seed receives. 3. Any large or deep cavity. Womb of the morning, in Scripture, the clouds, which distill dew; supposed to be emblematic of the church bringing forth multitudes to Christ. Psalm 110.'.

Please see above within this note about the word stagger.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Please see the note for 2Corinthians 10:3-6 about the word strong. The functional definition for this word is: 'Having physical active power, or great physical power; having the power of exerting great bodily force; vigorous'.

Please see the notes for 2Corinthians 5:5 and Philippians 4:15 about the word give. The functional definition is: 'Bestowing; confering; imparting; granting; delivering'. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 9:8-11 about the word given. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 9:7 about the word giver.

Please see the note for Romans 8:38-39 for links to verses which use the word persuade along with the definition from Webster's 1828 dictionary. The functional definition is: 'Influenced or drawn to an opinion or determination by argument, advice or reasons suggested; convinced; induced'.

Please see the note for Romans 15:28 which has links to everywhere the Bible uses a form of the word perform along with the definition from Webster's 1828 . The functional definition is: ' to do; to execute; to accomplish; as, to perform two days' labor in one day; to perform a noble deed or achievement'.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'being. Ro 4:20-21; 14:21; Mt 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; Mr 9:23-24; Joh 20:27-28 considered. Ge 17:17; 18:11-14; Heb 11:11-19 General references. exp: Ge 17:24; 21:5; Ps 22:4.
staggered. Nu 11:13-23; 2Ki 7:2,19; 2Ch 20:15-20; Isa 7:9; Jer 32:16-27; Lu 1:18,45 but was. Isa 35:4; Da 10:19; 11:32; Hag 2:4; Zec 8:9,13; 1Co 16:13; 2Co 12:10; Eph 6:10; 2Ti 2:1 General references. exp: Ge 17:24; Ps 22:4.
fully. Ro 8:38; 2Ti 1:12; Heb 11:13 he was able. Ro 14:4; Ge 18:14; Ps 115:3; Jer 32:17,27; Mt 19:26; Lu 1:37,45; 2Co 9:8; Heb 11:19 General references. exp: Ps 22:4.'.

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C4-S20 (Verse 22) And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

This sentence tells us that Abraham actually proved his faith to devil loving neighbors. Therefore, because of how he showed his faith in action, it was imputed to him for righteousness. Abraham did not earn righteousness and while God did not have to count Abraham's faith as righteousness, especially in consideration of his sin, God decided to personally take care of Abraham's sin record (imputed) because Abraham proved he believed God's promise by his faith.

This sentence is added to the prior by starting with an And. That sentence was added to the sentence before it by starting with an And. So we have the statements that Abraham had Biblical hope based upon God's character. He added faith based upon God's promises. He lived a life which displayed both before a lost world and the result (therefore) was that God imputed (it) to him for righteousness.

The note for Romans 1:18-19 provides links to the 50 times in 41 verses of this epistle that forms of the word righteous are used. Please also see the notes for Romans C1S10 and Galatians C2-S16 about the word righteous / righteousness. The functional definition is: 'doing the right thing, as defined by God, the right way and at the right time with the right purpose'. Please also see the note for Ephesians 4:7-LJC about the phrase righteousness of the Law. Please also see the notes for Philippians 1:9-11; James 3:18 about the phrase fruit of righteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C4S7 about the phrase imputeth righteousness. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:5 and Romans C1S16 about the word unrighteousness. Please also see the note for Romans C2S5 about the phrase obeying unrighteousness. The note for Romans 1:29 is part of the summary of chapter 1. That note provides the definition from Webster's 1828 and shows the relationship between unrighteousness and several other sins.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'it was imputed. Ro 4:3,6 General references. exp: Ps 22:4.'.

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C4-S21 (Verse 23-25) How to apply the truths of this chapter in lives today.

First Step: Realize that God put these truths into the Bible to help other people.

Now it was not written for his sake alone,
that it was imputed to him;.

Second Step: Realize that it applies to us if we meet God's condition.

But for us also,
to whom it shall be imputed,
if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;.

Third Step: Realize that Jesus our Lord went through what He did for us.

Who was delivered for our offences,
and was raised again for our justification..

This sentence starts with Now and lets us know that this is the conclusion (result) of all that Paul has been teaching. This conclusion has three Steps. In the First Step, we are told that it not written for his sake alone but was written for our sake. (Please see the note for Romans 15:30-32 which is the only other place in Romans where any form of the word sake is used.) this is also directly said in the Second Step. It says But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed. We can also have righteousness imputed to our sin account if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. The third Step tells us how God imputes righteousness to our sin account. Jesus our Lord was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Our First Step tells us to believe and act upon what is written in the Bible. Seven times in the Gospels we read where Jesus said have ye not read. He said this in criticism of people who claimed to be religious leaders but who relied upon what other men told them instead of their own personal reading and studying. 133 times in 128 verses of the KJV text we see where something was written. (There are another 13 times in the notes which tell when and where an epistle was written.) (Please see C3-S15 which has links to places in this epistle which use it is written.) Almost all of these things are things that God (directly or indirectly) had men write which have a legal consequence which involves judgment. When it comes to legal judgment we are held responsible for all that was written and not for just the little bit that we heard or read. Our Second Step talked about what is imputed and about Jesus our Lord. This entire chapter is about imputation (see C4-S7) which definitely affects legal judgment. In addition, as explained in the This verse within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, this verse uses Jesus our Lord for legal judgment. In addition, our third Step talks about our offences and our justification, which are also involved in legal judgment. Therefore, every Step of this sentence is dealing with legal judgment and that is the main subject of this sentence. Specifically, it is telling us how to avoids the legal damnation which is our just due.

1John 5:13 has an and in it which a lot of people like to ignore, but which can not be ignored if we are to rightly divide the Word of Truth (2Timothy 2:15). Following that and we read that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Since 1John 5:13 says, that it was written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, the and tells us that increasing our belief on the name of the Son of God (spiritually maturing after initial profession) is a critical requirement to getting saved. That spiritual growth requires us to read, study and understand what is written in the Bible, which is what our First Step is getting at. People who just sit on their 'blessed assurance' in church do not have the evidence that our prior sentences told us that Abraham and Sarah had. Our sentence starts out with Now, which means after we read and studied and did what came before this sentence. Further, the it of it was written is referring to the therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness of the prior sentence. The therefore of that sentence makes it the conclusion of all that led up to it and part of what led up to it was C4-S18 and C4-S19 where we read that Abraham's walk matched his talk. Therefore, our only possible conclusion about our First Step is that we must read, study, understand and do what was written. Since you can not take a Second Step until after you do the First Step, we can not get the promises of the further Steps in this sentence until after we do the First Step.

Our Second Step starts with But, which means it has the same subject as the First Step while going in a different direction. This Step is still talking about what was written. Where that step told about how God imputed righteousness to Abraham, the change of this Step is the recipient and says that we can also have God impute righteousness to us. This Step says that it shall, which means there is absolutely no question about the result. This is a promise which is the basis of faith. However, as seen all throughout this site and the Bible, we see that there is a God given condition (if) and we will only receive the promise if we do what in the conditional clause. The conditional clause is believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.

All through this chapter we have seen that true Biblical belief requires action. Further, Paul provides more specifics in chapters 6, 7 and 8. Further many places tell us that we will be judged by God for our works. That judgment is related to the role of Lord in the Jesus our Lord of this Step. And while the This verse within the Lord Jesus Christ Study tells us about the legal aspects of that judgment as related to this sentence, we also need to consider the role of Jesus when it comes to our works. Specifically, there is a lot of truth in the saying What Did Jesus Do? because how He acted, as reported by the Gospels, is our example of how to live in this weak human flesh by the power of our indwelling Holy Spirit. Please see the study called Jesus used the power of Holy Spirit.

In our third Step we read Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. While I could go into detail, I will make it simple. Who was delivered for our offences is speaking of His payment for our sins which allows God to blot out the record of our personal sins and save us. Was raised again for our justification is added (and) to our salvation. There are many other places in the Bible and this epistle. (Please see the notes for 2:2 and 3:6 which has links to where this epistle and the Bible talks about judging. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify.) Basically, as we let God work through our life to do His workmanship and as we let Him remove our sins from our current life in the flesh, God is justified in saving us and He makes us justified. This change after our initial profession comes be acting like He tells us to do since He was raised again for our justification. It was after He was raised again that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). As seen in the Overview document, Christ is the role of the Son of God that is used to cause these changes in our life after our profession. However, just as we see in this Step, the addition (and) of this change is mandatory and if we will not accept this addition (and) then God will not give us His salvation.

Please also see the note for Romans 15:30-32 which is the only other place in Romans where any form of the word sake is used. The functional definition is: 'Final cause; end; purpose; or rather the purpose of obtaining'. Please also see the notes for 1Corinthians C9S16 and 2Corinthians 2:10-11 about this word. Please also see the note for Philippians 1:29-30 about the phrase sake, for His. Please also see the note for 2Corinthians 4:8-10 about the word forsake.

Please see the note for Matthew 4:4 about the word alone. The functional definition for this word is: 'Separately; by itself'.

Please see the note for Romans 10:14 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of believe. The functional definition is: 'To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge. When we believe upon the authority of another, we always put confidence in his veracity'. In addition, the difference between a 'head belief' and a true 'heart belief' is that a true 'heart belief' causes a person to act upon what they claim to believe. Further, the word believeth is: 'an ongoing lifestyle heart based belief'. Any so-called belief, which does not result in a changed life is only a 'head belief'and does not receive the promised blessings of a true Biblical belief. . In the Bible, belief is contrasted with unbelief. Please see the note for Romans 3:3 for links to every place in Romans that uses any form of unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C3S5 and Hebrews 3:7-12 about the word unbelief. Please also see the note for Romans C10S15 about the phrase belief changes life. Please also see the notes for Romans 3:26-LJC and John 20:31-LJC about the phrase believe in Jesus / Christ. Please also see the note for John 6:40 about the phrase believe on. That note has links to every place in the New Testament where we find forms of this phrase along with an explanation of the usage. Please also see the note for Romans C4S21 about the phrase belief (true) requires us to do.

Please see the notes for Romans 14:9 for links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word rose / rise along with a definition. The functional definition is: ' to get up; to leave the place of sleep or rest or death'. Please also see the note for Colossians 2S7 about this word. Please also see the note for Mark 10:1 about the words arise / arose. The functional definition for the word arose. is: 'The past tense of the verb, to arise'. The functional definition for the word arise / arose. is: 'To ascend, mount up or move to a higher place; as, vapors arise from humid places'. Please see the notes for 1Corinthians C15S32 and John 6:39 about the word raise and see the note for 1Peter C1S2 about the word resurrection. The functional definition for this word is: 'Bringing dead people back to life as opposed to a belief in reincarnation which says that the same spirit is given a new physical body in this physical reality. This is one of the cardinal facts and doctrines of the Gospel. If Christ be not risen, our faith is vain (1Co 15:14). In addition, there are times when this word is used for something being lifted higher physically, but even then the Bible reference often has a symbolic spiritual meaning in addition to the physical meaning.'. Please also see the Prophecies and Prophecy Fulfilled Sections for Bible references to resurrection. Please also see the note for John 20:2-LJC about the phrase risen Jesus is Lord. Please also see the note for 1Peter C1S2 about the word resurrection. Please also see the note for Romans C8S11 about the phrase resurrection of Christ. Please also see the note for Romans C8S11 about the phrase resurrection of Jesus. Please also see the Prophecies and Prophecy Fulfilled Sections for Bible references to resurrection. Please see the Appearances of Jesus Christ After the Resurrection Section within the Time Sequence of Gospel Events Study.

Please see the note for Mark 9:31 about the word delivered. The functional definition for this word is: 'Freed; released; transferred or transmitted; passed from one to another; committed; yielded; surrendered; rescued; uttered; pronounced'.

Please see the note for Romans C14S27 about the word offence. The functional definition is: 'a violation or breach of a law, custom, rule, etc'.

Please see the note for 7:12 which has links to the verses where he exact word of just is used and for the Webster's 1828 definition. Please also see the notes for Galatians 2:16-LJC and 2Peter 2:9-LJC which also talk about the same word. Part of the definition from Webster's 1828 is: 'Conformed to rules of justice; doing equal justice'. The just are people who have been justified. The popular religious definition is: 'made just as if I never sinned'. However, when we study the word justify in the Bible, we see that that definition is not adequate because true Biblical justification includes having the righteousness of Jesus Christ added to our spiritual legal record. Therefore, the trueBiblical definition of justification is: 'having the sins on my legal record in heaven blotted out and replaced by the righteousness from Jesus Christ'. Please also the note for 3:20 which has links to where this epistle talks about justify. Please also see the note for Ephesians C1S2 about the phrase just shall live by faith. Please also see the note for Romans C11S6 about the phrase just shall live by his faith. Please also see the note for Romans C3S29 about the phrase justification by faith. Please also see the note for 2Peter 2:9-LJC about the word unjust.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge provides Bible references for this sentence as: 'General references. Ro 15:4; 1Co 9:10; 10:6,11; 2Ti 3:16-17
for us. Ac 2:39 if we. Ro 10:9-10; Mr 16:16; Joh 3:14-16; Ac 2:24; 13:30; Eph 1:18-20; Heb 13:20-21; 1Pe 1:21 General references. exp: Ac 10:40; 1Co 15:13; Ga 3:9.
General references. Ro 15:4; 1Co 9:10; 10:6,11; 2Ti 3:16-17'.

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Romans Study: Chapters 3-4

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