Romans 4: Abraham justified by faith pt 1.

¹³It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

Through the righteousness that comes by faith. It isnt what we do its what we believe that saves us. Abraham didnt live his life by the law, instead he lived his life through faith and faith along. This seems to be pauls main message in these first few chapters of Romans.

¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

So continuing on what paul was saying in chapter 3. We are not saved people because we follow the law but instead it is because of our faith that we are saved.

Romans 3:Righteousness Through Faith

²¹But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²²This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

thats how much God loves us. His justice is different than the justice in our world today. Gods righteousness is expressed through us, his followers with faith. none of us are any better than each other. we all fall short from the prize.. yet god saves us...thats true love

²⁷Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. ²⁸For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. ²⁹Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

going to the timeline, this whole chapter in romans deals with jews and gentiles in the society. Jews at the time believed that the rituals and mindsets they had meant that they were the "chosen ones". Paul brings up in this chapter that they are wrong and alot of times I think we forget that. Our faith and belief in God is what defines us not laws or rituals that society has brought up.

Romans 3: No one is Righteous

⁹What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. ¹⁰As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
¹²All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
¹³"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
¹⁴"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
¹⁵"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷and the way of peace they do not know."
¹⁸"There is no fear of God before their eyes."

¹⁹Now 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 held accountable to God. ²⁰Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

this passage is so reassuring and convicting... as a leader sometimes we forget that. Sometimes we do think we are better and think we are righteous when indeed we' re not. When I read this I feel convicted..I mean really what right do any of us have to think we are better or more right than each other. It isnt enough just to live following the law but we really have to believe in it.

Romans 3:Gods Faithfulness

¹What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ²Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

so being a jew was good...it meant that they had a high standing with God.

³What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? ⁴Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:
"So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge."

God will be faithful to us even when we dont have that much faith in him

⁵But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) ⁶Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? ⁷Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" ⁸Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.

Paul has basically thought of every counter that any one could say.

Is ok to sin to see how righteous God is? NO! even though Gods righteousness is shown through our imperfections it does not mean that he has allowed us to be better than those who sin. God is still perfect and has every right to judge us. He judges us as evenly as he judges non sinners.

Overall this passage isnt very long and the message is pretty simple. The one thing that really stuck out to me is that even though we are not perfect god will still shine through us. and that just because we want to see gods righteousness we are still held to a higher standard. That our God is a fair and great God.