In the third chapter of his epistle to the church at Rome the Apostle Paul begins by asking a rhetorical question: what advantage does the Jew (the circumcised) have over the Gentile (the uncircumcised) when it comes to salvation?  In verse two he answers the question, noting that the Jew has the great advantage of being exposed to the Holy Scriptures–the “oracles (Words) of God”–throughout his life.  The oracles (Words) he was referring to were the only Words of God in existence at that time–the Law and the writings of the prophets–the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi.  The New Testament would not come into being for another 50 years.  The apostles would build the New testament Church on the teachings of the prophets and the teachings of Jesus which they recorded during their ministries (Eph. 2:20).  The Jews had a distinct and powerful advantage because they already knew the Holy Scriptures, having lived in a culture where the Words of God governed every aspect of their national and personal lives.  The House of Israel was the world’s first church-state system of governance based on the written Word of Almighty God.

In verses 3 through 19 Paul lays out the past sins of the biological Jews who, since meeting the Lord at Mt. Sinai, had rebelled against Him to some degree.  Some, Paul said, simply did not believe what God had told them audibly, which was the reason they had to wander in the Sinai Desert for 40 years while the guilty generation died off.  Paul asks if the Jews’ lack of faith in God affected Him in any way.  “God forbid” even such a thought, was Paul’s answer.

In verses 5 through 9 Paul explains one of the sins the Jews engaged in that was particularly onerous and, from my standpoint, unbelievable.  Some (maybe many) of them were saying that their sins were in fact beneficial to God, and therefore He should reward them for sinning.  Their rationale was as follows.  Their sins gave Him the opportunity to display His grace, which made Him look good and endeared Him to the hearts of His chosen people.  Therefore, He should not judge them as sinners and bring curses/damnation on them?  Some were actually saying: “Let us do evil so that good may come.”  Paul says that their damnation was justified.

In verse 9 he places all sinners under God’s damnation (8).  He points out that everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, had sinned and were in need of forgiveness.  Note in verse 9 that Paul, using the word “we,” included himself in that group.  In verses 10 through 18 he separates those who had continued to sin from those who had stopped sinning after coming to the knowledge of God’s Truth.  Those who continued to sin he refers to as “they.”

Here he is referring to all Jews and Gentiles who, after learning about Jesus Christ had failed to embrace Him in spite of all that He had done and said.  All in that part of the world had heard about Him.  Word about His teachings and miracles had travelled far and wide.  People from far away had heard about Him and travelled many miles to be in His presence.  From the richest to the poorest, His fame had drawn a variety of people to Him.  And yet the vast majority of them rejected His message of the coming earthly Kingdom of God.  In the end those to whom He came personally (the Jews/circumcised) killed Him along with those whom He sent out with His Kingdom message.

In verse 19 Paul changes direction slightly without warning, as he often did.  Here he notes that every human being is under (subject to) the Law.  He notes that everyone in the world is guilty before God for having broken the Law.  First John 3:4 states that: “To transgress (break) the Law is sin; for sin is the transgression of the Law.”  Because everyone has broken the Law (sinned), each sinner’s sins must be forgiven and erased from his/her life’s history in order to be converted from sinner to non-sinner (saint).  This act of blanket forgiveness on the part of God is called JUSTIFICATION and is administered as an act of mercy–unearned favor due to the believer’s faith in His written promise to do so.

In verses 20 through 30 Paul expounds on a fact that had been rejected by some in the church.  This Truth concerns the Law and the part it plays in the act of JUSTIFICATION.  As Paul points out, the LAW PLAYS NO PART IN THE JUSTIFICATION PROCESS.  One cannot receive justification by obeying the Law.  This is yet another point at which professing Christendom makes another blunder–a huge one which has three parts.  Part one: THE CHURCH MISTAKES JUSTIFICATION FOR SALVATION (she also mistakes conversion for salvation).  She believes that performing a prescribed ritual, saying the prescribed words and being baptized saves the soul.  Law-keeping does not justify the salvation seeker.

Justification–the removal of all PAST sins–places one in a spiritual position to be converted, which involves turning from one’s previous sins, then walking (living) in the sinless condition in which justification has placed him.  The justified one is now without sin–righteous and holy in the eyes of God.  He is at the STARTING POINT OF THE SALVATION PROCESS.  This is where part two of the church’s blunder enters in.  Believing himself to have been saved, the church person believes he has arrived at the apex of the Christian walk, that the fix is in, that there is nothing else to do but “show up, pay up, ‘fess up repent up” following each inevitable sin, that the Law has been destroyed and plays no part in his life.  Nothing could be further from the Biblical Truth.  The justified person is neither converted nor saved.  Nor is his justification guaranteed in the future.  This leads us to part three of the church’s mistake relative to justification.  Have you ever heard a sermon on justification?  I have not.  Why?  Because the church believes that justification, conversion and salvation are one and the same.  The process of salvation takes these steps: recognition of what sin is, recognition of having sinned, conviction of having sinned, repentance of sin, justification, conversion from sinner to saint, living the saintly (holy) life throughout the remainder of life, salvation at the return of Jesus to earth.

Justification must be maintained by the (holy) salvation seeker.  To maintain his justification he must 1) stop going in the (sin) direction he has been going, 2) perform a 180 degree reversal of life, 3) then walk in the righteousness and holiness prescribed by the Holy Scriptures until death.  Only those who do so are true sons of God.  The Apostle John addresses this Truth in First John 2:6 where he states that, if we say we are Christ’s spiritual brethren, then we must prove it; we must “walk (live) as He walked.”  To do this one must OVERCOME Satan’s temptations to sin as did Jesus, Who addresses this issue in Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21 where He states that in order for church members to join Him in paradise they must OVERCOME the temptations of Satan to sin–AS HE DID.

Following the spiritual about-face (conversion) one must manifest following justification, one must walk in the opposite direction one had been going before justification.  Making the turn means nothing unless one totally changes his life to match that of Jesus Christ (Rev. 3:21).  Without justification, conversion is not possible.  Justification is having God forgive, erase and forget one’s PAST SINS (3:25).  Justification renders one righteous and holy.  The question then becomes, now what?  Here is another place where the church misses the spiritual boat.  It comes down to a question: following justification, can one then continue to sin and get away with it by repenting of one’s inevitable sins?  The church says “yes,” that, thanks to Adam, remaining sinless is not an option.  Is that what God says?

In Romans 2:13 the Lord, speaking through Paul, says to all salvation seekers: “It is not the hearers of the LAW who are just(tified) before God, BUT THE DOERS OF THE LAW SHALL BE (REMAIN) JUSTIFIED (IN THE FUTURE).”  THE MESSEGE IS CLEAR: IN ORDER TO REMAIN JUSTIFIED (HOLY) THE CLEANSED, FORGIVEN, PURIFIED ONE MUST GROW IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD UNTIL HE “COMES TO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST” (Eph. 4:13).  LET US ALL GROW IN GRACE, LOVE, FAITH, HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTIL EPHESIANS 4:13 IS OUR DAILY REALITY.  LET US THEN REMAIN IN THAT SPIRITUAL CONDITION UNTIL CHRIST RETURNS WITH SALVATION (1 PET. 1:4,5).  AT THAT TIME THE HOLY ONE WILL BE BORN AGAIN AND ALLOWED TO ENTER CHRIST’S GLORIFIED PRESENCE, HIMSELF (THE SAINT) ALSO HAVING BEEN GLORIFIED BY HAVING BEEN BORN AGAIN (1 JN. 3:2/ 1 COR. 15:46-52/ 1 THES. 4:13-18).  

In verse 31 Paul warns church people about rejecting the Law because they had been justified by faith in God’s grace.  He notes that faith does not nullify the Law.  Rather, faith establishes it in the heart of the true believer.  This means that once one is justified, one must obey the Law in order to maintain one’s justification (sinless) status (Rom. 2:13).  “Woke” Christianity proclaims that one need only believe one is saved and one is indeed saved.  God states that justification is simply the starting line for the “race” of life.  We all run the race, but only he who runs it according to the Law wins the prize of eternal life (1 Cor. 9:24/ Heb. 21:1).  In Philippians 3:13,14 Paul says that, because he had not yet received salvation, he pressed forward in obedience to God’s Law in order to receive the crown that had been laid up for him in heaven (2 Tim. 4:7,8).  In Romans 13:11 Paul reminds us that we have not yet received salvation, but that we are closer to salvation now than when we first believed.

As Paul says to us in First Thessalonians 4:17, those who rise to meet Jesus in the air during the first resurrection will “ever be with Him where He is.”  That paradise will be the Kingdom of God on earth.  Read The Kingdom of God and “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ….” Key words–Kingdom and Jerusalem respectively.  L.J.