OH WHAT A FINE MESS THEY HAVE GOT THEMSELVES INTO

By Watchman Dean July 26, 2012 A short study in Romans Chapter 3

I have a fascinating yet startling thing to show you. People quote the following verses to prove why they were born a sinner and they are going to die a sinner. They are, therefore, quoting the scripture and claiming it as an adequate description of WHO they are right here, right now. Let's look at it:

Romans 3: 9-10
9 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; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
It never occurs to them that verse 10 ends in a colon. Which means it, by itself is an incomplete sentence. I also doesn't occur to them that the original Romans letter was not written in verses, (like the Quran was). So let's read what else the author had to say about these people who want to CLAIM his words as adequately describing and applying to them!

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Well, actually, I've had plenty of scriptural discussions with people that apply Romans 3: 9-10 to themselves and in fact, verse 11 DOES adequately describe them, so touche!

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Many of them throw this into the mix. It's evidence to them that man is trapped in sin forever (Adamic Curse). They love to quote this one as well to show that "no one can be righteous," No one can be good! They are applying verse 12 to themselves as well. Okay, fine, let's read what the author SAYS about them.

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not

known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

They NEVER quote this part! It clearly says the people who NEVER DO GOOD "destruction and misery" are their ways, they shall "know no peace" (as opposed to the "peace that passes understanding" promised to the believers who follow Christ's example). It says there "is no fear of God in their eyes." That's another one that adequately describes them. They'll brush off sinning as if it's like a sneeze and nonchalantly say "remember you have Grace, God's not going to beat you up with a baseball bat when you sin." They have no fear of God in their eyes. 19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 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. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 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: Here's where they start using trickery with the text! They say "we are no longer under the law" so this part of the text

doesn't apply to us (but he's still talking about the SAME THING here and the SAME TYPE OF PEOPLE those who NEVER do good). The writer of Romans says that those types of people are GUILTY. He says that when you KNOW the law you KNOW your sin (so clearly he's not advocating the abolishing and removal of the law). Then he talks about "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ." Here's the tricky part. They say that's not "doing righteousness" that's believing you are "righteous" by the blood of Christ "even though you are still a sinner in reality." They say God doesn't see them as sinners anymore, even though they still are. They make the sin that the writer of Romans just described "righteousness" just by BELIEVING it's righteousness! I kid you not, this is what they do. They ignore the writings of John who said "BE NOT DECEIVED he who DOES righteousness is righteous even as HE is righteous." The righteousness which is by faith is what James described when he said "show me your faith without your works and I'll show you my faith BY my works." True faith in Christ causes you to DO righteousness. The righteousness that comes by faith is not just an "imputed" righteousness whereby you are washed clean of your sin (while your sin remains) and now God SEES you as righteous. That is a lie. They often skip verses 19 through 20 and go straight to this:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ

Jesus: 25 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;
They quote verse 25 and stop there. They teach that GRACE brings you redemption and makes you "righteous in God's sight" and that's the end of it. They then say you don't HAVE to do good works, you don't HAVE to do righteousness. You already are in God's sight. Yet the writer of Romans doesn't say that. He says that Christ "appropriated" our PAST sins and this is done through faith in his blood so that the righteousness could be DECLARED "for the remission of sins of the past" (the sins that we ONCE did IN THE PAST). Remission means "cessation or stagnancy." The writer here says that our sinful behavior is NOW in the PAST! He says nothing about "Past, present, and FUTURE sins" but that is how they quote it. Oh yes they do! The writer is saying that our PAST sins are "No MORE" when we believe! Most stop at verse 25 but some do read a bit more.

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
And verse 30 is where they ALWAYS stop, but there is ONE MORE VERSE. We will read it in a moment and it will FLOOR YOU that they left it off. They teach that if we all went out and through faith did Righteousness then we'd be able to BOAST before God at his throne, so to keep that from happening he LOCKED US all in a sin curse from the day we were born so that "no man could boast" in his presence. Yet the writer here says no such thing. The writer here says our righteousness (righteous deeds that we DO through faith) does not come through fleshly observance of the LAW and we shall know this always, so that, we cannot BOAST of our good deeds (the good deeds we have been DOING). They teach that man is justified by "faith alone" but that is not what Romans 3:28 says. It says justified by FAITH without the DEEDS of the law. (And the subject here is being circumcised NOT DOING ACTS OF LOVE COMMANDED US BY CHRIST). They then say that because Paul tells the Romans that they are justified by faith and not by CIRCUMCISION this means that you don't have to DO THE DEEDS OF THE MORAL AND RIGHTEOUS LAW anymore! That is "loving" and Christ COMMANDED

US TO LOVE. So they are claiming that Paul told them all you have to do is believe in Jesus and then you don't have to follow him (deeds of the law). Like I said, they are tricky aren't they. Paul never said this. He said you can't DO THE DEEDS OF THE LAW by OBSERVING the law (in your flesh). But you CAN do the deeds of the law through FAITH in his blood (faith in the Holy Spirit who was sent as a direct result of him shedding his blood). Through faith in HIM (in Christ and in his Spirit of love) we are TRULY justified for our SINS COME TO AN END! That is the message of Romans. Yet, they who desire to say the "law is dead" and we don't have to keep it (do deeds of righteousness) AFTER we are "saved" (receive Christ) leave this verse off in Romans 3. Here it is:

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Righteousness by faith does not void the law! It ESTABLISHES the law, for the Holy Spirit comes and writes the law in our hearts and in our minds and we keep the law out of LOVE rather than by observance of law! Yet we STILL keep the law, becoming a LAW IN AND OF OURSELVES and "establishing the law" as Paul puts it. What a mess they have made of the true Gospel! Jeffrey D. Dean, Sr. (Pseudonym Watchman Dean)