Romans 3- The Good News

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But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 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: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus Romans 3:21-24

What is the gospel message? We are told to preach and share the gospel to everyone, but do you know what the gospel even is? The word “gospel” simply means good news, so what is the good news? Well you might say “Jesus died for your sins” and this is good news, but does the world understand this good news?

Well the Apostle Paul , under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, makes it clear “For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” All means all, correct? Every single person has fallen short of God, meaning we are all sinners, except The Lord Jesus Christ. Any other belief is against the Word of God. Everyone needs a Savior, everyone needs forgiveness and atonement for their sins. Everyone in the world is already condemned for their sins, headed to eternal Hell, with no hope and fully justified by our own actions. As the Apostle John said “He who doesn’t believe is condemned already” (John 3:18)

So when you start to understand all this, when you start to understand your level of depravity based from Gods moral law (The Ten Commandments) You understand that you desperately need a Savior. So how can we be forgiven? How can we be reconciled back to God? The only way is through our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) This is why Christ is the only way to salvation, there is no other way except by faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As the Apostle Paul says here “The righteousness of God , which is by faith of Jesus Christ,  upon all of them that believe” This is why Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became flesh and died for your sins on the cross. And on the 3rd day, He rose again and ascended at the right hand of God the Father. The only way you can be saved from eternal damnation is by faith in Jesus Christ. You can’t save yourself, there is nobody righteous, and your works will never save you, its only by faith in the works of our Lord Jesus Christ

So when you understand this, you understand why the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the greatest news ever! I’ll end with the words of the Apostle Paul “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” You are saved and justified , not by your own works, but by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the best news ever! Amen!

Romans 3- We are All Sinners

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What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 3:12-18

So who needs to be saved? We all need to be saved, as the Apostle Paul reveals here “Jew and Gentile, that they are all under sin” As Paul tells us “there is nobody righteous” This should be a humbling revelation for us all, we are all guilty of sin, breaking Gods Law and are worthy of eternal damnation. However most of the world doesn’t see it this way, most believe they are a “good person”, most people believe they deserve to be in Heaven, however as Jesus said “Nobody is good, except God alone” (Mark 10:18)

This is the whole point of the Law of God (The Ten Commandments) As the Apostle Paul states later “through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20) If you don’t believe you are a sinner, just walk through the Ten Commandments, Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever used Gods names in vain? Have you ever looked upon someone with lust? (Matthew 5:28) Have you ever hated someone? (Matthew 5:22) The reality is you are a sinner, God is holy and you have broken his holy laws, and as the Apostle Paul will reveal later “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)

As the Apostle Paul continues “there is nobody who seeks God, they have all gone their own way, there is none that does good, with their tongues they have practiced deceit, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, and there is no fear of God before their eyes” Now that you have been beaten up by The Law, hopefully you are coming to the understanding that you need Jesus Christ

And this is the good news (gospel) that God made a solution for guilty sinners like us all. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became flesh and died for the penalty of our sins on the cross. Then Christ rose again defeating sin and death, to give us eternal life. (1 Corinthians 15) When the Apostle Peter was preaching at Pentecost, the crowd was pricked at the heart, and they asked Peter what shall we do? Peter said ““Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37-38)

Everyone need Jesus, including you, including myself. This is why Jesus commanded us to share the gospel to everyone (Matthew 28:19) Tell someone the good news today, that there is hope for guilty sinners like us, Amen!

Romans 3- Light To The Gentiles

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What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged Romans 3:1-4

Many people quote the previous scriptures (Romans 2:28-29) to support their idea that God is done with the Jewish people. However if you continue in Pauls teaching here in Romans 3, you see that is not the case. As we learned you can never be saved by trying to “Keep The Law” or your own works such as circumcision, you must be Born Again in Christ, (John 3:3)  you must be circumcised in the heart. (Colossians 2:11)

However God has ordained and created the Jewish people to be a light to the Gentiles, (Isaiah 49:6) to bring the Word of God into the world, to bring forth the Messiah in the flesh. The foundation of the Church began with the Jewish people, when you reject Israel and the Jewish people, you are rejecting God’s chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6) We the Gentiles, the Church have been grafted into the family of God (Romans 11), don’t let your salvation in Christ produce ignorance and arrogance to Gods chosen people

Now alot of people confuse election with salvation, just because you are elect doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be saved. Consider the rebellion of Korah, these were Israelites, there were Gods chosen people, yet they rebelled against God and were sent straight to Hell.(Numbers 16:1-40) Consider the rebellion of the fallen angels, they left their positions with God to pursue the lust of the flesh, and they are in the chains of darkness waiting their final judgement (Jude 1:6)

So what advantage has the Jews? They were committed the oracles of God, meaning the Torah, the Word of God. They lived in the presence of the Living God in the Tabernacle and Temple, they seen the miracles and power of God, they brought forth The Christ, God in the flesh, heard his teachings, experienced his miracles, and witnessed his life, death, and resurrection. The Apostles were all Jewish and laid the foundation for the Church today, the Jewish Pharisee, who became the Apostle Paul, shared the gospel to all the Gentiles, so we can be saved. Great love and respect will always be for our Jewish brothers and sisters

As the Apostle Paul questions “Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?, Certainly Not (God forbid) God be True and every man is a liar” Don’t be confused by the blindness of many Jews today, this has been prophesied, in God’s timing Christ will save His Sheep (Romans 11, John 10) Amen

Romans 2- Circumcision of the Heart

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For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Romans 2:25-29

The grace of God through Jesus Christ is a beautiful and mysterious thing, many have a hard time understanding it by Gods grace we are saved and not by our own works. Consider what the Apostle Paul said  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9) We are saved by Gods grace through our faith in Jesus Christ, its not by our works, its by Christ works that he completed on the cross

So many people have a hard time accepting and understanding this concept of Gods grace, so the topic of circumcision would routinely come up to challenge Gods grace. Now you can substitute circumcision and insert and work that you believe will save you, and while this was a popular debate back in the 1rst century, this same topic is still being debated today. 

The confusion begins as God required circumcision , which is a sign of the Abrahamic covenant, to be part of the Mosaic Covenant. (Leviticus 12:2-3) As the Apostle Paul is saying here “if you are a breaker of the Law (sinner) your circumcision has become uncircumcision” The Jews were under the impression the act of circumcision saves you and makes you righteous being a child of Abraham. However Paul is revealing we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), and nobody can keep the law (Galatians 3:11) therefor when it comes to salvation, the act of circumcision will not save you, only faith in Christ can save you

Many people today still have this same attitude, if I do this and that, I will be saved. But the reality is, all our good works are filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6) we are only saved by the works of Jesus Christ. Then the Apostle Paul teaches us about the circumcision of the heart (Colossians 2:11) As Jesus said “ You must be Born Again or you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) We must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we need a new heart and mind of Christ.

 As Paul says here “He who is a Jew (Child of God) who is one inwardly , and circumcision is of the heart,  in the Spirit, not the letter (Law) The only way to salvation is Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) and not ourselves. The Law is written on our hearts, and we live for Christ because we love and obey him. Some people try to use this scripture to say the Jews have been replaced, that’s not the point of this teaching. Point is we are all Children of God (Jew and Gentile) through faith in Christ and not of ourselves, Amen