EXEGESIS AROUND ROMANS 3VS23 By Awotiku Akinlayo David

EXEGESIS AROUND ROMANS 3:23
Let's do that Romans 3:23
If u follow Paul from d beginning of that letter, there is something he's trying to spell out for d Roman church.
He is trying to show them who they were when they were in sin and how Christ has given us freedom by his blood.
How they are informed that righteousness of God is revealed only in faith.
The just shall live by faith and faith only.
Rom. 1:17.
He preached to them, and he's not ashamed of d gospel.
He also stated how many other people have rejected that gospel, they rejected God.
They instead rejected God's salvation.
And God will not force his salvation on anyone.
So God allowed them made their choice. That's why bible said he gave them to a reprobate heart.
That means he let them have their choice.
Unknowing to this kind of people is that man is doomed already to perish and God is d only way to escape destruction, so when they reject God's escape root which is salvation, they are condemned already.
So moving to chapter two, he started exposing their self-righteousness life, hypocritical and judgmental lifestyle of the people, those people are even Jews, yet they reject God's righteousness by faith, going about trying to establish their own righteousness
They thought since they are of the Jews and descendant of Abraham then they are d only one that can please God, they didn't know that we please God only by faith not good lifestyle.
Paul made them see that God does not care of their descendant, as none of them will not escape judgment.
Paul now told them to check well if they are really obeying ALL D LAWS OF MOSES.
Paul even accuse them that they are even worse than d gentiles.
These Jews teach that people should not steal yet they are found stealing.
What they are preaching against are mostly what they do daily.
Paul is saying Jews are not righteous neither are d gentiles, hence before God, no one is righteous.
Everyone is a sinner.
Circumcised or not, it is of no effect before God
Jews or gentiles, neither is more pleasing than others.
ALL ARE SINNERS.
Moving to chapter 3 niyen ooo
See verse 9, Paul said What then? Are we better than they?
That is are we the Jews better than d gentiles? No in no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and gentiles that THEY ARE ALL UNDER SIN.
He now quoted from d old testament to tell us that there is none righteous on Earth, no not one.
I think it will be Ecc. 7:20
Reading d chapter 3 downward, u will see that he started staying out the lifestyle of sinners
Then in verse 19, Paul said the law came.
Actually, before d law, people were sinning and doing many wrong things yet it was not imputed unto them to have done wrong
See what I meant in Romans 5:12
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
See verse 13 very well.
Sin was in d world but was not imputed because there is no law.
Sin came into d world through Adam
I mean sin gained access into d world by Adam, sin entered into d world through Adam.
Now a question for u
If sin was in d world already and people were sinning too.
But sin was not imputed to anyone until d law came.
So what is d essence of d law?
Why did d law came?
Did Adam not know that what he did was wrong?
Did he not know that God didn't like what he did?
Of cos he knew.
And d law has not come as that that time
Are u also aware that God does not punish people for sinning?
Don't worry...we will do it another time.
See ehnnn, people's lifestyle was terrible, even d good that they are doing were seen as evil before God.
See gen. 6:3 to confirm that.
Did u know what d Jews were doing?
They were thinking they are d only one righteous before God, so they castigates gentiles, they will call gentiles sinners as though they too are saints.
They felt they are d only one righteous because they are seed of Abraham.
They see themselves pleasing to God by doing good works, performing all d necessary rituals that Moses use to performs, they were doing those religious things to be pleasing to God.
So it's not that everything about their conducts are wickedness.
D greatest wickedness is trying to assume they are righteous before God and castigate gentiles to be sinners.
They believe they are more perfect than gentiles.
That's d greatest sin.
Self-righteousness!
So y was d law given?
So simple
See verse 19
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. 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.
It was given to show them that they can NEVER be righteous by good works.
Whatever good they do, they will still in one way or d other guilty of something.
No matter how good u are in conduct, u can never be pleasing to God
NEVER NEVER NEVER See what James said in James 2:10
AMP: For whosoever KEEPS the Law [as a] WHOLE but stumbles and offends in one [single instance] has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.
So no matter how righteous u think u are, u will always break one law, and d punishment is as though u have break ALL.
There is no way u think u can be justified by doing good.
U just can't help it.
To think u can be justified by works, itself is to be proud and that's even a sin.
So none was righteous.
ALL HAVE SINNED!
Now where I'm going gangan is this verse 23
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 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: 23 For all have SINNED, and COME SHORT of the GLORY of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is IN CHRIST JESUS:
Now if u follow closely, I said earlier in chapter 1 that the Righteousness of God is by faith
Faith in what?
In what God will do.
Now this verse says that righteousness is without d law.
Which means law is excluded for everyone who has faith.
That is, u are not bounded by d law if u are under d faith of God.
That is if u believe, then u are not under d law anymore.
Because d righteousness of God is APART from d law.
D law has nothing to do to us who has received our righteousness by faith.
So what's d righteousness?
D next verse
By faith of Jesus Christ to us who believed!
That means what differentiate people is not Jews and gentiles, rather it is sinners and believers
They can be Jews or gentiles.
If u are a believer, then u are pleasing to God
But if u are a sinner it means u have rejected God's Righteousness by faith and hence u are bounded under d law
That means d law will judge sinners by conduct but faith will judge believers by nature.
For ALL have SINNED!
Who are d all?
EVERY BODY.
Remember Romans 5:12, sin came into d world and hence All have sinned
Y did All sinned?
That's what we will now examine next.
Or, how did ALL sinned?
Let's examine sin
In that Romans 3:23
D word sinned is in d Greek is 'hermatano' it means to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize) that is (figuratively) to err especially (morally) to sin: - for your faults offend sin trespass.
TO MISS D MARK.
Have u seen d game of dart?
Where they will put one circle object on a wall and put a bull eye in d middle.
They will now give u a pointed thing to throw from distance and aim d bull's eye.
Do u know that game?
So when a man throw that arrow and it didn't hit d bull eyes then it is say that that person has hermatano.
Which figuratively means, God has a plan for man, but when man didn't hit that plan
God had a target for man, but when man didn't hit that target,
THEN MAN SINNED!
So if u go back to d story of Eden, there were two trees that has name,
Tree of life
Tree of d knowledge of good and evil.
God's aim and Target is for man to choose tree of life but man missed it and went otherwise
Don't forget, I think I have said it earlier that Genesis was a revelation so it's subject to interpretation.
This means there is no literal tree, those trees are just representing what God says.
D tree of life means life and life is Christ Jesus.
So d tree of life symbolize Christ.
So man was given a free will to choose life, u know God will not force his life or love on people.
So it means God offered man life and man rejected life.
So a man who does not have life has sinned!
He has missed God's mark for man.
God's mark is God's glory, so man has fell short or come short of the glory of God, that's what it means that man sinned!
And from Eph. 2 that we read today, u saw that WE WERE DEAD IN SIN.
(Vs 1 & 5)
Why are we regarded to be dead?
Because we didn't have life
Because we have sinned
Because we have missed God's mark
Because we have fallen short of God's glory
Don’t forget that God told Adam that in d day that Adam shall eat from that tree, he will die.
So when Adam sinned, he died oooo
He didn't literally fall down and die but Bible said He died o, and that means death is spiritual.
Death is spiritual.
Death is an absence of life.
Don't forget Adam rejected life.
By rejecting life, he sinned and what does sin pays someone who commits it?
DEATH!!!
Now, note something
In d day u shall eat it, ye Shall die
OR In d day u shall eat it, I will kill u.
Which one did God said?
YE SHALL DIE
Good! So God didn't do d killing
It's very important to note that.
GOD DIDNT DO D KILLING!
Sin is potent and a great rewarded to give to everyone who commit it, DEATH.
Again, God does not punish sin.
We will explain better next time.
Romans 6 23
For the WAGES which sin PAYS is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of GOD is ETERNAL LIFE through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.
Can u see that sin is wealthy enough, it is buoyant enough to pay his wages and salary to people?
He pays people accordingly with DEATH
Ezekiel said Whosoever soul that SINNETH shall DIES.
So sin paid Adam his wages which is death.
And death is a separation from God.
So when Adam sinned, he was separated from God and hence got death.
He obviously rejected Life
And to reject life is to accept death
And I said already that Christ is Life.
So what does it mean to sin?
It is to reject Christ who is life.
So Paul said ALL HAVE SINNED,
That means all have rejected Christ.
Anyone who is not in Christ has rejected Christ.
Anyone that does not have life is dead.
Can u now see that to sin is a condition?
A condition of death!
Sin is a condition of death.
D absence of life.
It's like this
Sin is what was done when u reject life and d result for rejecting life is obviously death.
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to know his way…
Matt. 9:36
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having a Shepherd.
Sin is a condition of going Astray from God and once u are not in God then u are in death Because God is life.
Cleared abi?
And fall short of the glory of God.
Let's see d word "come short"
It's in d Greek 'hustereō' to be later that is (by implication) to be inferior; genitivally to fall short (be deficient): - come behind (short) be destitute, fall, lack, suffer, need (be in) want be the worse.
To be later of a purpose.
Come behind of a plan.
To be deficient of something
To lack something
To suffer from something u don't have.
To be the worse.
It's like this, God wants to make man in his image, that was his original plan.
So he made man
But he wants man to freely choose life so that he will be God's image by his own will.
But man didn't choose life
So Adam came behind of d life of God.
And that life in man is d glory of God.
Adam was not yet in God's image, he was still in process of becoming God's image so base on d free will God gave him, he appealed to him to choose life but Adam didn't.
Hence Adam came short of that plan of God for man.
And if u will remember d Romans 5:12 we quoted Earlier, u will see that Adam gave sin access to d word.
That is, Adam rejected life and d action of rejecting life is sin, he disobeyed God's word.
D fact that no one was originally in God's plan for man made all man become sinner.
That's why that verse said FOR THAT ALL HAVE SINNED.
So I said all come short of d glory of God.
It means by coming short of God's glory is to miss that plan of God for man.
What is that plan?
To make man in God's image.
What is now God's image?
Also
What is now d glory of God?
Heb. 1:2-3
2 AMP: [But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] SON (JESUS), Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order]. 3 AMP: He is the sole expression of the GLORY OF GOD [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the PERFECT IMPRINT and very (EXPRESS) IMAGE of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high,
So, reading this.
I can now reconstruct my question:
Who is the image of God?
Who is the glory of God?
Response: Jesus is the glory of God according to Heb. 1:1-3 u just quoted
He is also the image of God
Question: So, who is d one that come short of God's glory?
I mean how do u define anyone that come short of God's glory according to Romans 3:23
Response: Anyone that reject Life which is Jesus
Question: Are u among them?
Response: Technically yes but since I have accepted the life of Jesus am no longer among them
Question: Exactly!!!
So now that u have accepted life, does that verse apply to u anymore?
Response: No
Because you are already in God's image, u are in God's glory, u are in CHRIST
Therefore u are already in God's plan.
That will mean anyone in CHRIST is no longer come short of God's glory!
Now read verse 24 well...
Romans 3:23-24
AMP: Since all have sinned and are fallen short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives. All are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace through redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus.
GLORAYYYY!!!
We are no more among those who have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory
Rather we are the ones made right and justified FREELY before God through Christ.
I call you blessed
I hope this help.
If you are enlightened by this, please do well to let me know,
Awotiku, Akinlayo David
#ISTANDFORTHETRUTHOFTHEWORDOFGOD
© AUGUST 2020