What is so important about Romans chapters 2 and 3 that warrants this writing?
Only that the key tenet of Christian doctrine is explained to us!
Here we will learn how Faith, Trust, Faithfulness, Righteous, Righteousness, God’s Grace, Jesus, The Law of Moses and works are all related and necessary for our salvation and how we are to live our lives for God.
Paul was a gifted writer led by the Holy Spirit, but his writings are difficult to understand – Peter even says so. That may be why not many people want to work at understanding them but if we don’t get what he’s telling us right, then we will form unbiblical and conflicting views of our salvation which will only lead to other wrong thinking, and we will be in a very real way weak handicapped doubtful Christians.
Now, I’m relying on a website named “Torah Lessons” and the series on the book of Romans which are taught by a Christian Jewish Rabbi. Why is it important that a Jew teach us? First, Paul was a Jew and highly trained in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. Paul is writing to the Roman believers in the Greek language, so he had to mentally translate from Hebrew word meaning into Greek meaning when making his points out of the Old Testament. It’s even worse translating from Greek to English.
Now, let’s get down to preparing ourselves to understand our Christian doctrine.
In Chapter 2 of Romans, Paul goes to great lengths to explain how we must have the faith and trust that Abraham had in God and to the Jewish believers in Rome, Paul is showing them there is nothing to be gained by their mere circumcision as though that gives them a pass from God’s Wrath. Both Jews and Gentiles have the same needs when it comes to salvation.
God promised Abraham who was almost 100 years old and Sara old as well and without a child that he would become the father of many nations, and Abraham believed God. God did what he promised, and we mostly think of the nation of Israel as Abraham’s ancestors. However, Paul explains that anyone who has faith and trust in God is a descendant of Abraham, both those who are circumcised and those who are uncircumcised.
God deemed Abraham as righteous because he believed Him. Now it wasn’t by works or deeds that God made this determination but by belief, faith and trust. If it had been by deeds, then Abraham would have earned it but that wasn’t the case, and we should never think of our works in that way at all.
And Abraham was found righteous before God while he was yet uncircumcised, and his circumcision came afterward as a seal of righteousness bestowed on him.
Those who are circumcised are dedicating their lives to God in faith, trust and love but if they don’t, their circumcision is worthless. And if someone lives their lives in faith, trust and love to God, their uncircumcision is counted as circumcision.
Now when Moses came along and brought Israel out of Egypt, God gave Israel the 10 Commandments which are the 10 basic divine statements about how we show love to Our Creator and to our fellow man. And then the remaining 600 + laws of the Torah rest upon the 10 Commandments, each of them a nuance or a case study of one or another of the 10 Commandments and each giving important instructions regarding everyday circumstances, behaviors and predicaments and showing us how to love God and love our neighbor in the midst of our circumstances.
Those circumstances shown in the Old Testament were that of an agrarian society using the technology of those times but there’s underlying principles that translate even to our times, so we have no standing to dismiss them outright.
Without loving God with all our heart, soul and strength and our neighbor as ourselves, the law is of no effect if it’s merely something done grudgingly.
This then leads us into what Paul teaches in Chapter3.
We’ll skip over some of it until we get to where Paul discusses our Christian doctrine which is vitally important for us to get right.
We are in a dilemma as ideally it is possible for us to obey everything in the Law. The problem for humanity is that from a practical point of view our evil inclinations are simply too powerfully developed for us to fully overcome them. So, we’re law breakers first in our minds and then in our outward actions and deserving of our punishment – separation from God.
No one is able to fully obey the Law, so it reveals just how high that standard is in order for us, by our own deeds, to achieve justification (righteousness). And even if we came close to obeying the Law, our underlying attitude as to why we do it matters a great deal to God.
There is no one alive who can be considered righteous based on their works and deeds. Because of our fallen natures, our evil inclinations, and the impossible circumstances of the corrupt world all around us, God’s
standard of righteousness cannot be met by any normal human being.
Are you feeling condemned, dejected and helpless now?
There is only one hope, and it is expressed in only one way. And that way doesn’t come from doing the Law, and yet it is in full conformance with the Law. And that way is that we must be “righteoused” by God. And we will be righteoused (justified) IF we trust in the faith of Jesus the Messiah.
If we are to be righteoused (justified) by God, we must place our trust in Jesus’ own faithfulness to His Father. THIS IS KEY!
Our human faithfulness will always be flawed, if not intermittent. If we have to rely on our own faith for salvation, we’re in trouble. I hear people talking all the time about their doubts. I can trust but still not have sufficient faith to be perfectly obedient to God. Our faith will be sufficient for some circumstances, but not for others. So in lieu of our faith, we are instructed to trust in Christ’s faith. If we trust in Him, God will substitute Jesus’ perfect faithfulness for our imperfect faith.
If you think about it, that’s what the sacrificial system in the Old Testament is all about. It’s taking a sinless animal (say a lamb) and substituting it for our sin payment so that we can be forgiven and made right with God if only for that day.
Christ provides for both (sin sacrifice and righteousness), yet He is not the one who actually bestows righteousness upon us. The Father is the one who reaches down to righteous us (to justify us) as a free gift by bestowing on us the payment that Christ made for our sins and taking on his faith and righteousness because we can never have our own.
And now, we are no longer under the Law for our own righteousness because we have the righteousness of Christ given to us.
Our entire theology hangs on understanding this: It is that this righteousness that we have had bestowed on us comes from God and is given freely to the one who receives it. And yet there is a cost even though we don’t pay it. Messiah paid that cost through his act, his deed, of permitting himself to be a sacrifice and a curse in our stead.
This from the dead sea scrolls sums up this key tenant of Christianity except for the trust we have in Jesus as how we get our righteousness from God but notice the phrase “God’s Truth” which I think we can say was Jesus!:
For to God belongs my righteousness and the perfection of my way, and the uprightness of my heart is in His hand. By His righteousness are my rebellions blotted out. For God’s truth is the rock of my steps and His power is the stay of my right hand; and from the fount of His righteousness comes my righteousness. The fountain of righteousness, the reservoir of power, and the dwelling place of glory are denied to the assembly of flesh. But God has given (those things) as an everlasting possession to those who He has chosen. For is a man the master of his way? No; mankind cannot establish their steps, for their righteousness belongs to God, and from His hand comes perfection of the way. And if I stagger, God’s mercies are my salvation forever; and if I stumble because of the sin of the flesh, my righteousness is in the righteousness of God which exists forever… He has caused me to approach by His mercy and by his favors He will bring my righteousness. He has righteoused me by His true justice, and by His immense goodness He will pardon my iniquities.