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NASB | Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 3:23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, |
Bible Question:
1.What does Paul mean by sin? 2.What does Paul mean by law? 3.What does Paul mean by faith? 4.What does Paul mean by justification by faith? I was asked these questions by a friend and i want to get responses from you guys about what you think. Thanks! |
Bible Answer: One thing that you need to keep in mind about Paul was that he was the first century version of a lawyer. He was also quite possibly the most well educated man in the first century, or among the most educated. When you read his epistles, especially Roman, Ephesians, and Galatians, you see how legalistic and precise he can be. He uses alot of legal terms and descriptions, and his analogies are things that can be proven in a court of law, like his analogy of the Runner who trains. It's a good idea to keep such things in mind when studying Paul's epistles. 2) Law I started here because clarifying this helps set a foundation of Paul's beliefs of the other 3. When Paul speaks of the Law, in most cases, he is speaking about the Laws of God that was recorded by Moses. There are cases where he is referring to the Laws of the land, such as when he points out his roman citizenship. There are instances where he refers to a person's own judgements and preconceptions as a law. Romans chapter 2 is one of Paul's largest sections on what the Law is. He refers to the Laws of Moses, and how when a person, be they jew or greek, is effected by the Laws of Moses. He also makes a clear distinction between the "Letter" of the Law and the "Spirit" of the Law, and how all of mankind are judged by one or the other, depending on if the Law was presented to them or not. 1) Sin Sin is more than not obeying God's Law. The Law, as Paul points out in Romans 2, was never intended to Save mankind from the dangers of sin, but rather to show everyone what God has set as a standard of "perfection". Paul even points out that the Law is near impossible to follow 100 percent correctly 24/7. That at some point in your life, you "WILL" transgress the laws of God. Sin, as Paul points out, is a state of Man. He calls it the "old man" in one place. It is so much a part of who you are prior to salvation, that it is near inseparable except with the power of God. So, sin, according to Paul, is not simply breaking the law, but rather who you are before salvation. 3) Faith Faith, according to Paul, is the means on our behalf by which Salvation is made possible. Paul makes a solid case that salvation is only possible by both God and Man working together. God takes the initiative and displays his power and mercy on those sinful people who display the believing faith in him. It's the start of a building relationship that forms between God and man. We are saved by the Grace of God, as Paul says in Ephesians 2. That Grace is bestowed upon us through the channel that is formed from our believing Faith in Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to say that salvation is a gift from God, only possible through him. 4) Justification by Faith Because of our sinful state, we are little more than criminals, reguardless of how good we try and obey the Law. By all records, guides, and status symbols and the like, we all deserve the death penalty immediately. However, because of the possibility of salvation by the Grace of God through the channel of Faith, our sinful state is removed. Paul describes this as taking off the "Old man" and putting on the "New Man". With this "new Man", we have a new status before God, that of being Justified .. or by our legal terms today, we are aquitted of all past wrong doings and found innocent. Paul makes it sound that Faith not only provides a channel by which God's Grace reaches us for Salvation, but also a means by which the punishment endured by Jesus christ can be applied to our sinful state. Meaning, our Faith in Jesus christ also allows God to apply the punishment endured by Jesus, his death on the cross, as the proper punishment for our sinful state. This allows us to continue to live on, building the relationship with God, innocent of all past evils. God found a means to be able to pay for sin. Jesus dying on the cross was a blanket punishment that each of us individually deserve to endure. However, by the means of God's grace, through our Faith, the punishment that we deserve to pay is automatically halted and the death of Jesus christ is applied in it's place. This entire message being written and read here now can be summed up by one simple and single word ... Mercy. Jesus loves you, Jesusman |
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