God is righteous
- Then what is the advantage of the Jew? Or what is the benefit of the circumcision?
- Much in every way. For indeed, it’s primarily that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
- For what if some disbelieved? Their unbelief won’t nullify the faithfulness of God will it?
- May it never be! But let God be true though every man is a liar; just as it is *written: “that you might be made righteous in your words, and will prevail when you’re to be judged.”
- But if our unrighteousness proves God’s righteousness, what will we say: is God – the One who inflicts wrath – unrighteous? (I speak as a man might.)
- May it never be! Otherwise, how will God judge the world?
- But if the truth of God overflowed for His glory by my lie, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
- And why not say: “let us do evil so good might come”? Just as we’re blasphemously charged with saying and as some report us to say; their condemnation is just.
No man is righteous
- What then, are we better? Not at all! For we previously brought an accusation against both Jews and Greeks that all are under sin.
- Just as it is *written: “There is none righteous, not even one.
- “There is no man who understands, there is no man who seeks God.
- “All turned away; together they became like worthless spoiled milk. There is no man who does good; there isn’t even one.”
- “Their throat is a *open grave, their tongues were continually deceiving.” “The venom of asps is under their lips;”
- “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
- “Their feet are swift to spill blood,
- “complete ruin and misery are in their ways,
- “and they didn’t know the way of peace.”
- “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
- Yet we have known that whatever the law says, it speaks to the men under the law so that every mouth might be stopped, and all the world might be brought to trial, being guilty before God.
- Therefore, no flesh will be made righteous in His sight by the works of the law, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Righteousness from God through Jesus
- But now, the righteousness of God has been made known apart from the law, being testified of by the law and the prophets;
- even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus the Anointed for all the men who believe. For there’s no distinction,
- for all sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
- being made righteous by His freely given grace through the repurchase payment in Jesus the Anointed,
- who God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood for a demonstration of His righteousness, by the forbearance of God through the overlooking of sins which we have previously committed,
- for the demonstration of His righteousness in the present season, for Him to be righteous and also making righteous the man whose faith is in Jesus.
- Where then is the boasting? It was excluded. Because of what Law? Of works? By no means, but through the law of faith.
- For we consider a man to be made righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.
- Or is God only God of the Jews? Isn’t He also God of the gentiles? Yes! Of the gentiles too,
- since there’s indeed one God who will make the circumcision righteous by faith and the uncircumcision righteous through the same faith.
- Then, do we nullify the law through faith? May it never be! Instead, we establish the law.