Shepherds Bible Romans chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

# Now you will remember Paul had been speaking of God’s salvation to
the Jew first and then to the Gentile. Also remember that the Greek
word, which is translated Jew, means two things or two people, a son
of Judah and or a citizen of the land of Judeo.

1. What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of

circumcision.

# In other words, what profit is there in being good, or obeying the

law? Or, inasmuch as the law was given to the Israelites, what
advantage do they have therefore?

2. Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed
the oracles of God.

# Paul says it makes a lot of difference; it’s important that you, an Is-
raelite, understand this. Paul says it’s important mainly because God’s
promises were made to Israel. Now actually the things that would
happen in this world were to he accomplished as promised to the
people of Israel.

3. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith
of God without effect?

4. God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man is a liar; as it is writ-
ten, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest
overcome when thou art judged.
# Because man makes promises and doesn’t keep them changes
nothing. The Father won’t change; His promises are still in effect. see
Psalms 51:4 and 62:9 in connection with this verse. This might be
summed up: every man on his own falls short of the law, but Israel has
the advantage of God’s promises.

5. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what

shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a
man)

# The English translation is misleading here. Paul says he speaks as a

man speaks, or in other words, this is what men are saying... is our
breaking the law good because we then give God the opportunity to
forgive us?

6. God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

7. For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto His
glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?

# Paul is saying, if it were true that doing evil or breaking the law
helped God, then why would Paul still be judged a sinner?
8. And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm
that we say,) Let us do evil! that good may come? whose damnation is
just.

# Paul was being slandered. They were saying that he was teaching
these things,
and he is refuting it. Youunderstand that Paul was having great
difficulty getting the Sanhedrin and synagogue to accept the Gentiles,
as they had not been accepted up until this time
of Paul’s teaching. Many false things were said against Paul and his
teachings concerning the seed of Abraham in relationship to the
Gentiles.

9. What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have
before proved
both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

# Are the Israelites better than nonIsraelites? There is no man or

woman perfect. In fact, we’re all going to fall short.

10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

#See Psalm 14:1-3.

11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God.

# The exception to this is the remnant that seek God with a constant
perseverance, and you are a part of that remnant. You seek the deeper
truth and seek the deeper understanding of what the Father would
have you do.
12. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

# This refers again to the fact that if your salvation actually depended
on living by God’s law - the Ten Commandments and others - it would
be impossible.

13. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have
used deceit; the poison of the asps is under their lips:

# They speak so foul that it is like the stench from the open grave.
They talk about each other; they spread false rumors. The serpents’
(asps) father is the father of all lies, as it is recorded in the 8th chapter
of St. John,
and his people repeat what he says.

#Remember that normally Christians think in terms of personal sin,

and that is not necessarily what God is concerned with here, but rather
with the spiritual sin of forgetting who the true Father really is.

14. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

#Their foul mouth brings bitterness.

15. Their feet are swift to shed blood:

# They are ready, even eager, to shed blood and fight with anyone who
differs with their opinion. Whose blood was shed from this very poison
of the asp or serpent? It was Christ’s blood, yet from this came all the
blessings.
16. Destruction and misery are in their ways:

# In other words, they leave a trail of misery. Consider the world

today. Without knowing the full truth and understanding the plan of
God, misery and destruction abounds.

17. And the way of peace have they not known:

# Through whom does true peace come?

Through the teachings of God and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ,
who strengthens you and gives you courage, who stands behind you
as a foundation and stronghold.

18. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

# They don’t worry about God’s laws.

They don’t care what God thinks. They don’t care.

19. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to
them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God.

# In other words Israel is responsible to God’s law and for carrying out
His plan as foretold by prophets. By the law, we know we have sinned,
and the whole world is guilty on their own merit before God, as far as
the law is concerned.

20. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in
His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21. But nowtherighteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

# We are shown a new way, foretold by the prophets - that Jesus

Christ, the babe, would be born the true Son of God and through Him
would come a new way.

22. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto
all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

# Now, here is the new way, through Jesus Christ; but I want you to
see the qualification put upon that. The qualification is the word
“believe”. This seems freely given to everyone, but you the elect
understand that in addition to belief, we must know whom we mean
when we say we believe in Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? When will
He appear? Is it the real Christ or the false christ? You of the elect
know certainly that the false christ shall appear first, saying, I am
Christ. In fact, before we finish the book of Romans, we will become
aware that many have been blinded to the fact that the false one will
appear first. Therefore, it is mandatory that we believe in the real
Christ, the true and only begotten Son of God - in Jesus Christ - and not
be among the many that call themselves His bride today, but who will
not be virgins on His return, having already turned away to the false
christ. This is important. Understand this!!!

23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

# This is why we turn to Christ, to confide and talk to Him.

24. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus:
# He is the way. The redemption means to actually blot our sins away.

25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His
blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forebearance of God;
# This is a deep verse. Through Christ, it is possible to have forgiven
the sins that happened before Christ even was in the flesh and walked
the earth. Now this will puzzle many people, but you of the elect can
understand it is because of the millennium when all people will be
raised back to life to have an opportunity to choose to either love God
through Jesus Christ or to turn to worship the false christ. This is why
it can be said Jesus Christ is even a forgiver of sins in the past. Those
who died even before He came here will be brought back in the
millennium and given the right to choose eternal life by worshipping
God, the Father, and refusing the impostor, Satan. We have a fair and
just God; therefore this verse. Remember that until Jesus Christ came,
there was no promise to the Gentiles, but only to Israel.

26. To declare,I say, atthis time His righteousness: that He might

be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus.

# I don’t care what your particular sin may be, or how great.. if you
believe in Him when He comes, He has the power and authority to put
your sin away. As you well know, there is only one unforgiveable sin
and that is to deny that Jesus Christ is the true Christ. The only people
in a position to commit this sin are the elect, because you know better.
If you turn to the false christ when he comes, then you are turning
your back on the Holy Spirit.

27. Where is boosting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works?

Nay: but by the law of faith.

# What are you bragging about? Salvation doesn’t come by law or by

good works, but only by believing in Jesus Christ.
28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law.

# That law is our responsibility but that’s not what brings our
salvation.

29. Is He the God of the Jews only? is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes,
of the Gentiles also:

# Is He the God of Israel only? Does He save Israelites only? If the

Gentile has faith and believes in Jesus Christ, he will have salvation.
God judges no one in ignorance and the reason for the millennium is so
those who died in ignorance can be taught and have the right of choice.

30. Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith,
and uncircumcision through faith.

# The circumcision, those living by the old law. In other words, both
Israelite and Gentile will be judged by their faith. Understand my
words: that faith must be in the true Son of God.

31. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we
establish the law.

# And only with faith in Jesus Christ can we even come close to
establishing, or living, God’s law.