Re: reply
golfjack said:
Romans 3:23 says For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This verse is for unbelievers. This is why we need a Savior. Many Christians seem to think that verse is for them, but how can it if you are blood washed. Your problem could be that you don't know who you are in Christ. Kenneth Copleland has a teaching on this and if you find fault with it, I don''t know what to say. Wouldn't it would be better to preach something like the Believer is dead to sin. That is our spirits that are dead. I know you have a problem with spirit, soul, and body. This is what I first teach to a Believer. Our flesh can committ an act of sin. This is why we teach that we must renew our minds, and cast off the old with the Word of God. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. I believe the best way to preach to believers is to get them to make positive confessions about who they are in Christ, instead of going to the throne of grace like whipped puppy's.
I believe Christians beat themselves up way too much. And if a Preacher beats them up by preaching sin all the time, then they think God is throwing darts at them. What did the Father of the prodigal son do when he came back. He just welcomed him back into the family. There are so many verses in the Bible that tell us who we are in Christ, that can help a believer. My friend, wee have been forgiven of all sin ( past, present, and future). Doesn't Jesus plead the blood over us when we do sin? Besides that, a believer knows when he sins because he has a conscience. Bottom line, wouldn't it be better to have a God conscience than a sin conscience. If people have a problem with what I preach, then take it to God. Anyway, this is what I have been taught. And to complain about how one worships in Church is silly and ridiclulous.
May God bless, golfjack
Jack While I was at the Harvest Festival a couple of hours ago, I was thinking about this and was not going to say anything, but fealt I had to. I could not let it go. If I am wrong please show me so I can repent. This is the way I understand Romans. I have studied the entire book of Romans in the Greek. This book is very Rich in theology or very simple in simply reading it for what it says. Make no mistake about it, this book was written for the Christians..
Romans 1:1-7
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declareda to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedienceb to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
King James Version.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together withd you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
King James Version.
The Letter is addressed
to all believers in Rome, and not (as in other Epistles) to a single church. The final chapter of the letter indicates that there were several gatherings of believers in the city, and this salutation embraces them all.
Beloved of God, called to be saints. These two lovely names are true of all who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. These favored ones are objects of divine love in a special way, and are also called to be set apart to God from the world, for that is the meaning of saints.
Paul’s characteristic greeting combines grace and peace. Grace (charis) is a Greek emphasis, and peace (shalom) is the traditional Jewish greeting. The combination is especially appropriate because Paul’s message tells how believing Jews and Gentiles are now one new man in Christ.
The grace mentioned here is not the grace that saves (Paul’s readers were already saved) but the grace that equips and empowers for Christian life and service. Peace is not so much peace with God (the saints already had that because they were justified by faith) but rather the peace of God reigning in their hearts while they were in the midst of a turbulent society.
Grace and peace came from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, strongly implying the equality of the Son with the Father. I mention and say all of this because the book of Romans was clearly written for believers. Non of it was ever written for the non believer.It is the most complete exposition of biblical truths for the Christian in all the NT.
The context of this verse really starts in Verse 19, but I will start here.
Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God
King James Version.
3:19 Paul explains that when the law speaks, it speaks to those who are under the lawâ€â€the people of Israelâ€â€in order that every mouth, Jew and Gentile, may be stopped, and all the world be brought in guilty before God.
3:20 No one can be justified by keeping the law. The law was not given to justify people but to produce the knowledge of sinâ€â€not the knowledge of salvation, but the knowledge of sin.
We could never know what a crooked line is unless we also knew a straight line. The law is like a straight line. When men test themselves by it, they see how crooked they are.
We can use a mirror to see that our face is dirty, but the mirror is not designed to wash the dirty face. A thermometer will tell if a person has a fever, but swallowing the thermometer will not cure the fever.
The law is good when it is used to produce conviction of sin, but it is worthless as a savior from sin.
3:21 We now come to the heart of the Letter to the Romans, when Paul answers the question: According to the gospel, how can ungodly sinners be justified by a holy God?
He begins by saying that the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the law. This means that a plan or program has been revealed by which God can righteously save unrighteous sinners, and that it is not by requiring men to keep the law. Because God is holy, He cannot condone sin or overlook it or wink at it.
He must punish it. And the punishment for sin is death. Yet God loves the sinner and wants to save him; there is the dilemma. God’s righteousness demands the sinner’s death, but His love desires the sinner’s eternal happiness. The gospel reveals how God can save sinners without compromising His righteousness.
This is where this verse is misunderstood
This righteous plan is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. It was foretold in the types and shadows of the sacrificial system that required the shedding of blood for atonement. And it was foretold by direct prophecies. If need be I can look them up for you.
3:22 Verse 21 told us that this righteous salvation is not obtained on the basis of law-keeping. Now the apostle tells us how it is obtainedâ€â€through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith here means utter reliance on the living Lord Jesus Christ as one’s only Savior from sin and one’s only hope for heaven. It is based on the revelation of the Person and work of Christ as found in the Bible.
Faith is not a leap in the dark. It demands the surest evidence, and finds it in the infallible word of God. Faith is not illogical or unreasonable. What is more reasonable than that the creature should trust his Creator?
Paul goes on to tell us that this salvation is to all and on all who believe. It is to all in the sense that it is available to all, offered to all, and sufficient for all. But it is only on those who believe; that is, it is effective only in the lives of those who accept the Lord Jesus by a definite act of faith. The pardon is for all, but it becomes valid in an individual’s life only when he accepts it.
When Paul says that salvation is available to all, he includes Gentiles as well as Jews, because now there is no difference. The Jew has no special privilege and the Gentile is at no disadvantage.
Now all this sets up the next verse.
3:23 The availability of the gospel is as universal as the need. And the need is universal because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Everybody sinned in Adam; when he sinned, he acted as the representative for all his descendants. But men are not only sinners by nature; they are also sinners by practice. They fall short, in themselves, of the glory of God.
Sin is any thought, word, or deed that falls short of God’s standard of holiness and perfection. It is a missing of the mark, a coming short of the target.
Sin is lawlessness (1 Jn. 3:4), the rebellion of the creature’s will against the will of God. Sin is not only doing what is wrong but the failure to do what one knows to be right (Jas. 4:17). Whatever is not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). This means that it is wrong for a man to do anything about which he has a reasonable doubt. If he does not have a clear conscience about it, and yet goes ahead and does it, he is sinning.
“All unrighteousness is sin†(1 Jn. 5:17). And the thought of foolishness is sin (Prov. 24:9). Sin begins in the mind. When encouraged and entertained, it breaks forth into an act, and the act leads on to death. Sin is often attractive when first contemplated, but hideous in retrospect.
Sometimes Paul distinguishes between sins and sin. Sins refer to wrong things that we have done. Sin refers to our evil natureâ€â€that is, to what we are. What we are is a lot worse than anything we have ever done. But Christ died for our evil nature as well as for our evil deeds. God forgives our sins, but the Bible never speaks of His forgiving our sin. Instead, He condemns or judges sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3).
There is also a difference between sin and transgression. Transgression is a violation of a known law. Stealing is basically sinful; it is wrong in itself. But stealing is also a transgression when there is a law that forbids it. “Where there is no law there is no transgression†(Rom. 4:15).
Paul has shown that all men have sinned and continually come short of God’s glory. Now he goes on to present the remedy in the following chapters. Justification and sanctification.
While I am at it Romans Chapter 7 PAUL is speaking of himself as a wretched sinner. Some liberal teachers think paul is describing his pre conversion state, but this can very easaly disproved. easily
Prayfully consider what I have said here.
blessings,
Javier
