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The Book of Romans

Romans Chapter 4

  

God’s Faithfulness

1
SO

what advantage then does the Jew have? Or what value is there in circumcision?  2  Much in every way! Firstly, they have been entrusted with the oracles of God.

3 What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief nullify God’s faithfulness?  4  Certainly not! Let God be true, but every man a liar. As it is written:

“So that you may be justified in Your words,
and prevail and You judge”.

5 But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God more clearly, what shall we say? Is God unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)  6  Certainly not! If that was so, then how could God judge the world?  7  For if God’s truthfulness is enhanced to His glory by my falsehood, why am I also still judged as a sinner?  8  And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come?”as we are being slanderously reported as saying and some claim we say. Their condemnation is deserved.

No One Is Righteous

9 What then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that both Jews and Gentiles alike are under the power of sin,  10  as it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away,
together they have become worthless; there is no one who does good,
there is not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves;
with their tongues they practice deceit”. “The venom of vipers is under their lips”.
14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness”. 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery are in their paths, 17 and the way of peace they have not known”.
18“There is no fear of God before their eyes”.

19  Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  20  Therefore no flesh will be justified in His site by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

Righteousness Through Faith

21  But now, apart from law, the righteousness from God has been revealed, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  22  This righteousness comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,  23  since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  24  They are now justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  25  God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins previously committed.  26  He presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, on the contrary, by the law of faith.  28  For we maintained that a man is justified by faith apart from deeds prescribed by the law.  29  Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not also the God of Gentiles? Yes, of Gentiles too,  30  since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.  31  To then cancel the law by this faith? Not at all! On the contrary, we uphold the law.