JUSTIFIED BY WORKS? (7 OF 26)
Scripture: Romans 2:12-29
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Justified by Works? (7 of 26)
Series: Romans:The Gospel of God
Jonathan McLeod
Romans 2:12-29
It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified (v. 13).
A CONTRADICTION?
In verse 13 Paul states, ''It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.'' Does this statement contradict what Paul later says in 3:20: ''by works of the law no human being will be justified in [God's] sight''? To be ''justified'' by God means to be declared righteous (i.e., innocent of sin).
GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALITY
In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul is claiming that all people-both Jews and Gentiles-are unrighteous (i.e., guilty of sin) and are the objects of God's wrath (i.e., righteous anger). The average Jew would have replied, ''But wait, I'm a Jew! I'm one of God's chosen people! I have God's law! I've been circumcised! God won't condemn me!'' [Briefly talk about Abraham, the law, and circumcision.]
Why did God decide to make the Jews his chosen people? It wasn't so God could play favourites.
God chose the descendants of Abraham to fulfill a purpose: to bless the other nations. God promised Abraham, ''In you all the families [i.e., nations] of the earth shall be blessed'' (Gen. 12:3). This blessing would come through Jesus, ''the son of Abraham'' (Matt. 1:1).
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
How can we be justified? Paul's main point is that no one can be justified by obeying the law. ''All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'' (3:23). But Paul continues, ''And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be rec ...
Series: Romans:The Gospel of God
Jonathan McLeod
Romans 2:12-29
It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified (v. 13).
A CONTRADICTION?
In verse 13 Paul states, ''It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.'' Does this statement contradict what Paul later says in 3:20: ''by works of the law no human being will be justified in [God's] sight''? To be ''justified'' by God means to be declared righteous (i.e., innocent of sin).
GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALITY
In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul is claiming that all people-both Jews and Gentiles-are unrighteous (i.e., guilty of sin) and are the objects of God's wrath (i.e., righteous anger). The average Jew would have replied, ''But wait, I'm a Jew! I'm one of God's chosen people! I have God's law! I've been circumcised! God won't condemn me!'' [Briefly talk about Abraham, the law, and circumcision.]
Why did God decide to make the Jews his chosen people? It wasn't so God could play favourites.
God chose the descendants of Abraham to fulfill a purpose: to bless the other nations. God promised Abraham, ''In you all the families [i.e., nations] of the earth shall be blessed'' (Gen. 12:3). This blessing would come through Jesus, ''the son of Abraham'' (Matt. 1:1).
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
How can we be justified? Paul's main point is that no one can be justified by obeying the law. ''All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'' (3:23). But Paul continues, ''And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be rec ...
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