francisdesales said:
The Bible clearly states MANY people are righteous...Here is an example:
"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife [was] of the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Luke 1: 5-6
Francis...Yes you are correct. But lets go a little further... Why were they righteous? Where they righteous on there own or were they righteous through God...Why was Abraham righteous? Why was Lott righteous?
They were righteous because God imputed his righteosness upon them....
I suspect you already knew this based on the last part of your statement...
francisdesales said:
Since the Bible, ALL of it, is the Word of God, we KNOW that it cannot contradict. Thus, Paul is certainly not meaning that NO ONE is righteous in the same sense that Luke writes about Elizabeth and Zacharias. If you read the context of Romans (the Psalms that Paul draws on and the Judaizers that Paul is refering to), it should be clear that Romans 3 is telling Judaizers that JEWS were often God's worse "enemies", both to David and to Paul. Merely being Jewish didn't guarantee salvation. Not even circumcision guaranteed it - as Abraham was justified before becoming Jewish...
There is some truth in this...I really appreciate this statement you made.....''Since the Bible, ALL of it, is the Word of God, we KNOW that it cannot contradict''.....What Paul is saying here and bare with me as I am a little pressed for time....but as you know Romans chapter 1 through 7 is all about us being condemed by the Law....Paul in his opening statements in Romans is setting up for chapter 8....
Lets take a quick look here Romans 3:9-18
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.â€Â
13 “Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceitâ€Â;
“The poison of asps is under their lipsâ€Â;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.â€Â
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.â€Â
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.â€Â
Now lets go look at this exchange that started a little earlier.....in verse 1
The Skeptik: If all you have said in Romans 2:17–29 (go back and read it) is true, then what is the advantage of being a Jew and what profit is there from circumcision?
3:2 PAUL: The Jews have had many special privileges. The most important is that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. The OT Scriptures were given to Jews to write and to preserve, but how have the people of Israel responded to this tremendous privilege? On the whole, they have demonstrated an appalling lack of faith.
The Skeptik: Well, granted that not all Jews have believed, but does this mean that God will go back on His promises? After all, He did choose Israel as His people and He made definite covenants with them. Can the unbelief of some cause God to break His word?
3:4 PAUL: Certainly not! Whenever there is a question whether God or man is right, always proceed on the basis that God is right and every man is a liar.
The Skeptik: If that’s the case, why does God condemn us? If our unrighteousness causes the righteousness of God to shine more gloriously, how can God visit us with wrath? (Paul is brilliant here that in quoting these words, he is using a typically human argument. Kinda like us....)
3:6 PAUL: Such an argument is unworthy of serious consideration. If there were any possibility of God’s being unrighteous, then how could He be fit to judge the world? Yet we all admit that He will judge the world.
The Skeptik: But if my sin brings glory to God, if my lie vindicates His truth, if He causes man’s wrath to praise Him, then how can He consistently find fault with me as a sinner?
PAUL: Let me interrupt to say that some people actually accuse us Christians of using this argument, but it is a slander.
The Skeptik: Why wouldn’t it be logical to say, “Let us do evil, that good may come�
PAUL: All I can say is that the condemnation of people who talk like that is well-deserved.
(Actually this last argument, stupid as it seems, is constantly leveled against the gospel of the grace of God. People say, “If you could be saved just by faith in Christ, then you could go out and live in sin. Since God’s grace superabounds over man’s sin, then the more you sin, the more His grace abounds.†Paul answers this objection in chapter 6.)
The Skeptik: Are you saying, then, that we Jews are better than those sinful Gentiles?
That leads up to and parallels the next question in Paul’s presentation. He has shown that the heathen are lost; the self-righteous moralists, whether Jews or Gentiles, are lost; the Jews are lost. Now he turns to the question: Are all men lost?
The answer is, “Yes, we have already charged that all people are under the power of sin.†This means that Jews are no different from Gentiles in this respect.
3:10 Francis, If you need further proof Paul says, that proof is found in the OT. First we see that sin has affected everyone born of human parents and then we see that sin has affected every part of a man.
Ps. 14:1, Tells us
1''The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.â€Â
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.''
2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
Back to Romans...
3:11 “There is no one who has a right understanding of God. There is no one who seeks after God†. If left to himself, fallen man would never seek God.
It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that anyone ever does.
3:12 “All have gone astray from God. All mankind has become corrupt. There is not one who lives a good life, no, not one†.
3:13 “Men’s throats are like an open tomb. Their speech has been consistently deceitful†(Ps. 5:99 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.(Ps. 140:3Their conversation flows from poisonous lips).
3:14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and hatred†(Ps. 10:7 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.)
3:15 “Their feet are swift to carry them on missions of murderâ€Â
3:16 “They leave a trail of ruin and miseryâ€Â
3:17 “They have never known how to makepeace (Isa. 59:8The way of peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace).
3:18 “They have no respect for God†(Ps. 36:11 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes).
francisdesales said:
What does the Scriptures say? That no one can earn righteousness. But it certainly DOES NOT say that no one IS righteous... God can make whom He will righteous. He does it through the Spirit.
Regards
So again Francis, the scripture does say ''10 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;...........
The ''only'' way we are made righteous is through Jesus Christ... We are clothed in his righteousness when he becomes our saviour...Since we are on this side of the Cross, God will no longer impute his righteousness on anyone, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, He is the Light of the World, and nobody goes to the father but through Jesus....So if you live according to the Law, you are doomed....... since there is none who is righteous, no not one........
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