On The Sixth Day #16

Romans 3:25
propitiation, the sacrifice for sin, the mercy seat -- Greek: hilastērion [transliterated]

This Greek word is used in the Greek OT to refer to the “atonement cover,” also known as the "mercy seat" the cover that rested on the Ark of the Covenant in the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle. The atonement cover was prominent in the Day of Atonement ritual (Lev 16) and came to stand for the atonement ceremony itself. Paul characterizes Jesus Christ as God’s provision of final atonement for his people.

-- NLT Study Bible

So Jesus is the mercy seat.

hmmmmmmmm, ...


mercy seat, place of mercy, lid/covering of the ark of the covenant; Gr.: hilasterios,

LXX usage:

Exodus 25.17-22 "You are to make a mercy-seat/cover for the ark out of pure gold; it is to be three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet high. You are to make two k'ruvim of gold. Make them of hammered work for the two ends of the mercy-seat/ark-cover. Make one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; make the k'ruvim of one piece with the mercy-seat/ark-cover at its two ends. The k'ruvim will have their wings spread out above, so that their wings cover the ark, and their faces are toward each other and toward the mercy-seat/ark-cover. You are to put the mercy-seat/ark-cover on top of the ark. "Inside the ark you will put the testimony that I am about to give you. There I will meet with you. I will speak with you from above the mercy-seat/ark-cover, from between the two k'ruvim which are on the ark for the testimony, about all the orders I am giving you for the people of Isra'el.

Exodus 31.7 the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the mercy-seat/ark-cover above it, all the furnishings of the tent,

Exodus 35.12 the ark with its poles, mercy-seat/ark-cover and the curtain to screen it;

Exodus 37.6, 8-9 He made a mercy-seat/cover for the ark of pure gold, three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet wide. He made two k'ruvim of gold; he made them of hammered work for the two ends of the mercy-seat/ark-cover — one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; he made the k'ruvim of one piece with the mercy-seat/ark-cover at its two ends. The k'ruvim had their wings spread out above, so that their wings covered the ark; their faces were toward each other and toward the mercy-seat/ark-cover.

Leviticus 16.2, 13-15 Adonai said to Moshe, "Tell your brother Aharon not to come at just any time into the Holy Place beyond the curtain, in front of the mercy-seat/ark-cover which is on the ark, so that he will not die; because I appear in the cloud over the mercy-seat/ark-cover. "Here is how Aharon is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. He is to put on the holy linen tunic, have the linen shorts next to his bare flesh, have the linen sash wrapped around him, and be wearing the linen turban — they are the holy garments. He is to bathe his body in water and put them on. "He is to take from the community of the people of Isra'el two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. Aharon is to present the bull for the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and his household. He is to take the two goats and place them before Adonai at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aharon is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for Adonai and the other for `Az'azel. Aharon is to present the goat whose lot fell to Adonai and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat whose lot fell to `Az'azel is to be presented alive to Adonai to be used for making atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for `Az'azel. "Aharon is to present the bull of the sin offering for himself; he will make atonement for himself and his household; he is to slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before Adonai and, with his hands full of ground, fragrant incense, bring it inside the curtain. He is to put the incense on the fire before Adonai, so that the cloud from the incense will cover the mercy-seat/ark-cover which is over the testimony, in order that he not die. He is to take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy-seat/ark-cover toward the east; and in front of the mercy-seat/ark-cover he is to sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. "Next, he is to slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the bull's blood, sprinkling it on the mercy-seat/ark-cover and in front of the mercy-seat/ark-cover.

Numbers 7.89 When Moshe went into the tent of meeting in order to speak with Adonai, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy-seat/ark-cover on the ark for the testimony, from between the two k'ruvim; and he spoke to him.

Ezekiel 43.14, 17, 20 These are the measurements of the altar in cubits (where a cubit equals one cubit and a hand-breadth); from the drain up one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a projection all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar: the depth of the hollow which is toward the great mercy-seat/ark-cover, below this, two cubits, and its width, one cubit; and from the little mercy-seat/ark-cover to the great mercy-seat/ark-cover, four cubits, and the width, one cubit. The altar shall be four cubits, and from the altar and above the four horns, one cubit. The altar shall be twelve cubits long, up to fourteen wide, in its four directions, and its projection which goes all around it on all sides is half a cubit, so the outcropping all around is a cubit. Its stairs face to the east. Then He said to me, `Son of man, thus said the Lord, the God of Israel: These are the ordinances for the altar on the day of its construction, for offering up whole burnt-offerings and pouring out blood on it. You shall offer a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are the seed of Zadok, who approach me to minister liturgically to me, says the Lord God. They shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the mercy-seat/ark-cover, and on the step around it; and they shall make atonement for it.

Amos 9.1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said, “Strike the mercy-seat/ark-cover and the gateway of the temple shall be shaken. And cut through to the heads of all of them, and I wil slay the remnant of them with the sword. He who flees shall not get away, and he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.”

Some translations even use the term ‘atonement seat’ for ‘mercy-seat/ark-cover.’

OK -- I've taken a little tangent pursuing Romans 3 verse 25 and the word 'propitiation'. The Greek 'hilasterion' is used in the LXX for the Hebrew word 'kapparah' which is the word for the 'mercy seat' lid of the ark of the covenant.

My interest is the breadth of meaning of 'mercy seat' as it refers to the faithful sacrificial death of Jesus of Nazareth on that execution stake outside Jerusalem those many years ago.

So I present now some food for thought -- at least my own.

Rom 3:25 -- Comparative English Translations

(ALT) whom God Himself put forward publicly [as] a mercy seat [or, propitiation] through faith in His blood, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins having previously occurred in the tolerance of God,

(ASV) whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God;

(BBE) Whom God has put forward as the sign of his mercy, through faith, by his blood, to make clear his righteousness when, in his pity, God let the sins of earlier times go without punishment;

(Bishops) Whom God hath set foorth to be a propitiatio, through fayth in his blood, to declare his ryghteousnes, in that he forgeueth the sinnes that are past,

(CEV) God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life's blood, so that by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus.

(CJB) God put Yeshua forward as the kapparah for sin through his faithfulness in respect to his bloody sacrificial death. This vindicated God's righteousness; because, in his forbearance, he had passed over [with neither punishment nor remission] the sins people had committed in the past;

(DRB) Whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins,

(EMTV) whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, for a demonstration of His righteousness through the passing over of the sins having previously occurred, in the forbearance of God,

(ESV) whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

(Geneva) Whom God hath set forth to be a reconciliation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousnes, by the forgiuenesse of the sinnes that are passed,

(GNB) God offered him, so that by his blood he should become the means by which people's sins are forgiven through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In the past he was patient and overlooked people's sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.

(GW) God showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where God's approval is given through faith in Christ's blood. In his patience God waited to deal with sins committed in the past.

(HCSB) God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

(HNV) whom God set forth to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God's forbearance;

(ISV) whom God offered as a place where atonement by Christ's blood could occur through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because he had waited patiently to deal with sins committed in the past.

(KJV) 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 forbearance of God;

(KJV-1611) Whom God hath set forth to bee a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousnesse for the remission of sinnes, that are past, through the forbearance of God.

(LITV) whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, as a demonstration of His righteousness through the passing over of the sins that had taken place before, in the forbearance of God,

(MKJV) whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness through the passing by of the sins that had taken place before, in the forbearance of God;

(MRC) Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

(MSG) God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public--to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.

(Murdock) whom God hath preconstituted a propitiation, by faith in his blood, because of our sins, which we before committed,

(NAS77) whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

(NASB) whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

(NET.) God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed.

(NIrV) God gave him as a sacrifice to pay for sins. So he forgives the sins of those who have faith in his blood. God did all of that to prove that he is fair. Because of his mercy he did not punish people for the sins they had committed before Jesus died for them.

(NIV) God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

(NKJV) whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

(NLT) For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,

(NRSV) whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;

(NRSVA) whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;

(NRSV-CE) whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;

(RSV) whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;

(RSVA) whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;

(RV) whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, by his blood, to shew his righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God;

(TNIV) God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

(WEB) whom God set forth to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God's forbearance;

(Webster) 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 forbearance of God;

(WNT) He it is whom God put forward as a Mercy-seat, rendered efficacious through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness-- because of the passing over, in God's forbearance, of the sins previously committed--

(YLT) whom God did set forth a mercy seat, through the faith in his blood, for the shewing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God--

On The Sixth Day #15

Romans 3.21-31 God's Covenant Justice -

But now, quite apart from Torah, God's way of making people righteous in his sight has been made clear — although the Torah and the Prophets give their witness to it as well —and it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile, since all have sinned and come short of earning God's praise. By God's grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua.
God put Yeshua forward as the kapparah [mercy seat, place of mercy, lid/covering of the ark of the covenant; Gr.: hilasterios, LXX: Exodus 25.17-22; 31.7; 35.12; 37.6, 8-9; Leviticus 16.2, 13-15; Numbers 7.89; Ezekiel 43.14, 17, 20; Amos 9.1] for sin through his faithfulness in respect to his bloody sacrificial death. This vindicated God's righteousness; because, in his forbearance, he had passed over [with neither punishment nor remission] the sins people had committed in the past; and it vindicates his righteousness in the present age by showing that he is righteous himself and is also the one who makes people righteous on the ground of Yeshua's faithfulness.
So what room is left for boasting? None at all! What kind of Torah excludes it? A Torah that has to do with legalistic observance of rules? No, rather, a Torah that has to do with trusting. Therefore, we hold the view that a person comes to be considered righteous by God on the ground of trusting, which has nothing to do with legalistic observance of Torah commands. Or is God the God of the Jews only? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is indeed the God of the Gentiles; because, as you will admit, God is one. Therefore, he will consider righteous the circumcised on the ground of trusting and the uncircumcised through that same trusting. Does it follow that we abolish Torah by this trusting? Heaven forbid! On the contrary, we confirm Torah.

• "But now …"!!! so far [1:1 – 3:20] what has been established?
  
  • the court was in session
    
  • everyone was accused and in the dock
    
  • everyone was guilty
    
  • everyone was to be condemned
    
• had God made big mistakes
  
  • when he created everything
    
  • when he promised Abraham and called Israel
    
• would he go back on his promise, his covenant
  
  • yes, the world was full of wickedness
    
  • yes, God as judge must judge rightly and impartially
    
  • but – the world was also filled with those
    
    • who were oppressed by the wickedness
      
    • who cried out to God for the vindication he promised
      
• God now faces the problem of his righteousness – sort of a "catch-22"
  
  • if some had behaved well and others badly – problem solved
    
  • if Israel had behaved well and the nations badly – problem solved
    
  • but the complexity is that
    
    • Israel was called to be the solution for the WHOLE world
      
    • Israel was unfaithful to its calling [commission]
      
  • justice demands condemnation for all wickedness – and all are wicked
    
  • covenant demands a way of salvation and his intended way [Israel] has failed utterly
    
• N Wright puts it this way:
  
  • in Genesis 12 God calls Abraham to undo the problem
    
  • caused by Adam in Genesis 3 and thereby
    
  • get the original project [Genesis 1 and 2] back on track
    
  • now, faced with a world gone wrong
    
    • God has made this covenant and
      
    • he must be true to it
      
    • but the covenant people have let him down completely by being just another part of the world that needs saving
      
    • he cannot save ONLY them without being accused of partiality and unfaithfulness to his covenant
      
• what should be done? – can anything be done? – by whom?
  
• if it were a question only of God's justice, the answer would be simple: utter condemnation and destruction
  
• but that covenant thing makes it a question of God's covenant justice – his covenantal righteousness
  
• so what does 'righteousness' mean in the context of covenant?
  
  • it includes all of the aspects of simple justice: punishment of the guilty
    
  • but also includes the way God is true and faithful to the covenant to 'put everything to rights'
    
    • human beings
      
    • the world – kosmoV
      
• v. 22 is Paul's declaration that the 'good news' of Jesus of Nazareth, Israel's Messiah, demonstrates how God has solved all these problems
  
• the faithful death of the Messiah unveils
  
  • God's faithfulness, his covenantal righteousness, his promise keeping
    
  • his way of reconciling the world gone wrong
    
  • his way of saving human beings lost in sin and guilt
    
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

...

On The Sixth Day #14

Romans 3.9 – 20 Jews As Well As Gentiles Are Guilty of Sin

So are we Jews better off? Not entirely; for I have already made the charge that all people, Jews and Gentiles alike, are controlled by sin. As the Tanakh puts it,

"There is no one righteous, not even one! No one understands, no one seeks God, all have turned away and at the same time become useless; there is no one who shows kindness, not a single one! [Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3]

"Their throats are open graves, they use their tongues to deceive. [Psalm 5:9]

Vipers' venom is under their lips. [Psalm 140:3]

Their mouths are full of curses and bitterness. [Psalm 10:7]

"Their feet rush to shed blood, in their ways are ruin and misery, and the way of shalom they do not know. [Isaiah 59:7f]

"There is no fear of God before their eyes." [Psalm 36:1]

Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those living within the framework of the Torah, in order that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be shown to deserve God's adverse judgment. For in his sight no one alive will be considered righteous on the ground of legalistic observance of Torah commands, because what Torah really does is show people how sinful they are.

• Paul's answer does not contradict his claim in 3:1-2 that Jews have an advantage.
  
  • that advantage has not done them any good
    
    • they have disobeyed God's word
      
    • and incurred God's punishment
      
• how can Paul conclude that the entire world is guilty before God on the basis of evidence from the OT that Jews are sinful?
  
  • He argues "from the greater to the lesser":
    
    • If the law shows that the Jews, God's own people, are guilty,
      
    • then how much more are the Gentiles, who have not had the benefit of God's instruction, also guilty
      
• Paul's quoting of the OT is purposeful and usually encompasses a far wider passage from which the quote is taken, he cites
  
  • psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3
    
  • psalm 5:9
    
  • psalm 140:3
    
  • psalm 10:7
    
  • isaiah 59:7f
    
  • psalm 36:1
    
• in each wider passage the charge against the wicked is framed within or followed by God's promise of
  
  • rescue [by His own action] those who are helpless before evil
    
  • and faithfulness to His covenant despite everything else
    
• this is the buildup up to 3:21 and what follows thereafter
  
• it's a hint for those who know scripture that he's getting ready to talk about the solution
  
• but he returns once more to talk about Jews and Torah
  
  • an appeal by a Jew to the covenant and Torah – Torah itself tells him "You have broken me."
    
  • Torah brings exacting knowledge of sin – not faithfulness to God's covenant
    
• V. 20 -- some recent scholars have understood the phrase 'erga nomou', ("works of the law") to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations
  
  • (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155).
    
• other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (" 'The Works of the Law' in the Epistle to the Romans," JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are:
  
  • The second half of Rom_3:20, "for through the law comes the knowledge of sin," is hard to explain if the phrase "works of the law" is understood in a restricted sense;
    
  • the plural phrase "works of the law" would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase "the work of the law" in Rom_2:15;
    
  • similar phrases involving the law in Romans (Rom_2:13; Rom_2:14; Rom_2:25; Rom_2:26; Rom_2:27; Rom_7:25; Rom_8:4, and Rom_13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase "works of the law" cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in Rom_2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law).
    
• interpreters who reject the "narrow" interpretation of "works of the law" understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general
  

• NT Wright says, "appealing to the Torah is like appealing to the policeman who caught you in the act" -- he just knows you're guilty

(Source material is from N T Wright, John Wesley, Martin Luther, ESV Study Bible, Orthodox Study Bible, NLT Study Bible, NET Bible, et. al.)

On The Sixth Day #13

Romans 3.1 – 8 God's Determined Faithfulness

Then what advantage has the Jew? What is the value of being circumcised? Much in every way! In the first place, the Jews were entrusted with the very words of God. If some of them were unfaithful, so what? Does their faithlessness cancel God's faithfulness? Heaven forbid! God would be true even if everyone were a liar! — as the Tanakh says, "so that you, God, may be proved right in your words and win the verdict when you are put on trial." Now if our unrighteousness highlights God's righteousness, what should we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict his anger on us? (I am speaking here the way people commonly do.) Heaven forbid! Else, how could God judge the world? "But," you say, "if, through my lie, God's truth is enhanced and brings him greater glory, why am I still judged merely for being a sinner?" Indeed! Why not say (as some people slander us by claiming we do say), "Let us do evil, so that good may come of it"? Against them the judgment is a just one!

• vv. 1-2
  
  • to be 'entrusted'
    
    • it's not for you
      
    • it is for someone else altogether through you
      
  • Israel was entrusted
    
    • not for itself alone
      
    • but for the nations
      
    • for all of creation
      
  • 'in the first place' - Paul never adds a second or a third point to the list he begins here; maybe 'in the
    first place' might mean "most importantly." However, 9:4-5 provides a good indication of what a list of Jewish privileges would have included.
    
  • words of God or the whole revelation of God [literally the 'oracles of God' which generally means "divine utterance" -- any divinity – any utterance]
    
    • possibly Torah
      
    • all of holy scriptures
      
    • all of the utterances of the true God
      
      • so pagans would understand what Paul was talking about
        
    • by using the word oracles (Greek logia), Paul highlights God's personal communication with his people (see Deut 33:9; Ps 105:19) through which he gives them special privileges and responsibilities
      
  • in any case it was the Jews to God entrusted His message for all of creation
    
• they failed and kept the message to themselves
  
  • [kinda reminds me of the parable of the servant who hid the talent so he wouldn't lose it]
    
• so what is God going to do about this situation
  
  • God is faithful even though Israel is not vv. 3-4
    
  • and He will continue with His original plan
    
  • He just needs a faithful Israelite
    
• vv. 4-5 seem to make it look like both God and Israel are opposing parties to a legal proceeding AND that God is also the judge – clearly not fair & just
  
• v. 6 says it's not that way at all God is simply the Judge
  
• and now we face two burning, and maybe even slanderous, questions vv. 7-8
  
  • if my evil [lie] causes God's truth to abound – why call me a sinner?
    
  • & why not do evil – all kinds of evil – so that good may come the more?
    
  • Paul is referring to misrepresentations about his teaching on justification by faith
    
    • if a person is made right with God by faith alone, through God's grace and apart from works, it could seem as if the Good News
      
      • allows believers to sin repeatedly
        
      • because their sin is forgiven when confessed – even repeatedly one might think
        
  • One of Paul's purposes is to help the Roman Christians understand that such misunderstandings are without basis
    

And Paul leaves those questions for later – Chapter 9. This passage is just a teaser to keep us interested in the whole letter and to help make sure we see it as a whole thing before we pick it apart.

(Source material is from N T Wright, John Wesley, Martin Luther, ESV Study Bible, Orthodox Study Bible, NLT Study Bible, NET Bible, et. al.)

On The Sixth Day #12

Romans 2.17 – 24 The Claim of the Jew – AND Its Problems

But if you call yourself a Jew and rest on Torah and boast about God and know his will and give your approval to what is right, because you have been instructed from the Torah; and if you have persuaded yourself that you are a guide to the blind, a light in the darkness, an instructor for the spiritually unaware and a teacher of children, since in the Torah you have the embodiment of knowledge and truth; then, you who teach others, don't you teach yourself? Preaching, "Thou shalt not steal," do you steal? Saying, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? Detesting idols, do you commit idolatrous acts? You who take such pride in Torah, do you, by disobeying the Torah, dishonor God? —as it says in the Tanakh, "For it is because of you that God's name is blasphemed by the Goyim [Gentiles/Nations]."

• Israel – the Jews"
  
  • light to the nations!!
    
  • entrusted with the Torah!!
    
  • from which would come Messiah
    
    • and the "world to come" under his Kingship
      
    • with Israel as the King's court perhaps
      
• but Israel was a complete failure even with it's advantages
  
• it's high opinion of itself has blasphemed God among the very nations to which it was supposed to shed light
  
• v. 17 - "But if you call yourself a Jew" –
  
  • highest point of Jewish glorying, after further description of it
    
    • is interposed, vv. 17-20,
      
      • in two sets of five statements
        
        • of which the first five, vv. 17-18, show what he boasts of in himself;
          
          • rest on Torah and
            
          • boast about God and
            
          • know his will and
            
          • give your approval to what is right, because you
            
          • have been instructed from the Torah
            
        • and the second five, vv. 19-20, what he glories in with respect to others.
          
          • a guide to the blind,
            
          • a light in the darkness,
            
          • an instructor for the spiritually unaware and
            
          • a teacher of children,
            
          • since in the Torah you have the embodiment of knowledge and truth;
            
    • then refuted, correspondingly, in vv.21-24,
      
  • is itself refuted in vv. 25ff,
    
• v. 24 quotes Isaiah 52:5 [LXX] and calls to mind Ezekiel 36:20-23
  

Romans 2.25 – 29 The Badge the Name and the Meaning

For circumcision is indeed of value if you do what Torah says. But if you are a transgressor of Torah, your circumcision has become un-circumcision! Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the Torah, won't his un-circumcision be counted as circumcision? Indeed, the man who is physically uncircumcised but obeys the Torah will stand as a judgment on you who have had a b'rit-milah and have Torah written out but violate it! For the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly: true circumcision is not only external and physical. On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal; so that his praise comes not from other people but from God.

• v. 25 -- the Jews were inclined to believe that they would be spared at the last judgment by virtue of their circumcision. Circumcision was required of all Jewish males for entrance into the covenant (Genesis. 17:9–14; Leviticus. 12:3), and hence it was likely viewed as a form of covenant protection. Un-circumcision. Paul argues, however, that those who violate the law are counted before God as uncircumcised. In other words, they are outside the covenant and therefore destined for judgment. Circumcision would be of value (Gk. ōpheleō) for salvation if the circumcised would obey the law perfectly, but no one can do that.
  
• Paul takes up the issue of circumcision again in Romans. 4:9–16; and Galatians. 2:3–5; 5:2–12; 6:12–15.
  
• The "badge" of Jewish distinction – circumcision is only valuable if what it identifies is true – someone who is part of the true "light to the nations"
  
• but Israel has failed and not rather than mark honor and distinction, circumcision now adds to God's anger because the once "favorite son" is now just like every other stranger – un-circumcised
  
• whether physically circumcised or not – all who truly and out of faith in God keep the Torah – knowingly or unknowingly – will be a Jew inwardly –
  
  • a true chosen one of God &
    
  • truly a light to the nations
    
  • circumcised in his/her heart by the Spirit
    
    • well known in OT
      
      • Deuteronomy 10:16 & 30:6
        
      • Jeremiah 4:4
        
      • and seen as God's work in people's hearts
        
        • Jeremiah 31:33; 32:39-40;
          
        • Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26-27
          
• such a person will be honored by God's "praise"
  
  • a play on words
    
    • Judah from which the word "Jew" comes means "praise"
      
    • though it doesn't work in Greek – obviously, Paul is thinking in Hebrew
      
    • so this "praise" would make a believer part of the renewed/refreshed covenant
      

(Source material is from N T Wright, John Wesley, Martin Luther, ESV Study Bible, Orthodox Study Bible, NLT Study Bible, NET Bible, et. al.)

On The Sixth Day #11

Romans 2.12 – 16 How God's Impartial Judgment Will Work

When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God's written law. And the Jews, who do have God's law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. For merely listening to the law doesn't make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. Even Gentiles, who do not have God's written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God's law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone's secret life.

• all will be judged according to the standard they had.
  
• the nations [Gentiles] were not given the Law [Torah]
  
• the Jews were given the Law –
  
  • that's not fair, they have a clear understanding of God's expectations, so to say [ this questions recurs in the letter many times]
    
  • but remember vv 6-11: the doers of the law are the ones who are righteous before God, and that their justification will be pronounced on the last day
    
• Justification by Faith --
  
  • a present reality
    
  • how you can tell here and now who is truly part of God's people
    
  • and how you can tell if you truly are saved
    
  • James 2:14 – 26
    
  • before the final judgment
    
  • these are the believers who are in God's new and true covenant community
    
  • but final judgment – the rendering of the just and true outcome – is based on a whole life of faith lived out loud so to speak – vv. 7-10 [as well as 14:10]
    
• vv. 14-15 - Gentiles who know his law when they instinctively obey it may be Gentile Christians, especially since written in their hearts (2:15) alludes to the prophecy of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Or they could be non-Christian Gentiles who know God's general moral law through their consciences. In this case, Paul could/would be using the notion of natural law to show how all people could be held accountable for certain basic moral requirements.
  
• Go back to 1:19 – 20 – those who do not have the Law [always the Mosaic/Jewish law] will be judged apart from the Law
  
  • according to what was known from the beginning from creation itself
    
  • and according to whether they obeyed or not – lived it or not --
    
  • work of the law is written in their hearts,
    
  • their conscience bears witness
    
  • their conflicting thoughts
    
    • accuse or else
      
    • defend them
      
• v. 16 - secret life (literally the hidden things): Scripture frequently stresses that God will judge people according to their thoughts and intentions (see 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalms 139:1-2; Jeremiah 17:10)
  

Ultimately, the world is not in the hands of an insensitive or capricious God who will play favorites on judgment day. On that day there will be true, fair and equal justice for each and every person.

And, after living in an unfair, violent world, that is refreshing good news.

(Source material from N T Wright, John Wesley, Martin Luther, ESV Study Bible, Orthodox Study Bible, NLT Study Bible, et. al.)

On The Sixth Day #10

Romans 2.1 – 11 God's Coming Judgment Will Be Completely Impartial

So you have no excuse, anyone, whoever you are, who sits in judgment! When you judge someone else, you condemn yourself on whatever grounds you judge another, because you who judge practice the same things. We know that God's judgment truly falls on those who do such things. And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those others who do such things and still do them yourself, that you will escape God's judgment?

Or do you despise the riches of God's kindness, forbearance, and patience? Don't you know that God's kindness is meant to bring you to repentance? But because of your hard-heartedness and your refusal to repent from your heart, you are storing up anger for yourselves on the day of anger, when God's just judgment is revealed! God will repay
everyone according to their works.

He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. ⁸But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

• vv. 1-5: 'You' is singular in the Greek. Here, the 'you' is a hypothetical complacent Jew, who feels superior to Gentiles and in no danger of judgment. Paul adopts a popular Hellenistic style called a diatribe, in which a writer tries to win over an audience to his views by portraying a debate between himself and a hypothetical opponent.
  
• vv. 6-11 Paul uses a chiasm (the left half of an "X" arrangement) to make his point:
  
  • A God judges everyone the same (2:6)
    
  • B Life is the reward for doing good (2:7)
    
  • C Wrath is the penalty for evil (2:8)
    
  • C' Wrath for doing evil (2:9)
    
  • B' Life for doing good (2:10)
    
  • A' God shows no favoritism (2:11)
    
• 'live for themselves' translates a rare Greek word (eritheia) that seems to convey the idea of selfish ambition or strife. Using this word, Aristotle scolded the politicians of his day for seeking public office for selfish gain rather than from a desire to serve the people (Aristotle, Politics 5.3; see also 2 Cor 12:20; Gal 5:20; Phil 1:17; 2:3; Jas 3:14, 16).
  
  • is this a warning not to seek salvation for one's self and to ignore God's purpose of renewing/refreshing [saving] all creation?
    
    • my personal salvation has a larger purpose
      
    • and it somehow depends on my serving that purpose
      
• Matthew 7:1 – 2 ... "judge not ... you will be judged by the standard you use"
  
• everyone – without exception – has done these things
  
• and if judge others and actually do the same things you condemn -- you will not escape God's impartial judgment
  
• but "I'm saved" -- kinda forgiven in advance, you think – so I'm okay
  
  • your unrepentant heart,
    
  • you are storing up wrath
    
  • God's righteous judgment will be revealed
    
• will reward
  each one according to his works
  
  • is that really what it says? WORKS???????
    
  • eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality
    
  • wrath and anger to those who
    
    • live in selfish ambition
      
    • do not obey the truth
      
    • follow unrighteousness
      
• judgment WILL come – no more second chances
  
• all evil doers will be afflicted and distressed
  
• glory and honor for those who DO good
  
• in both cases: to the Jew first, then the Greek [non-Jew]
  
• NO Partiality with God
  
  • He loves and will save any and all who do as He says
    
  • He will let anger and wrath and judgment be for those who do evil
    

This is Paul's clearest outline of final judgment:

• if human beings insist on being not human – God has no choice
  
• His commitment is to putting things to rights through His love [agape]
  
  • those who are part of it are also part of the new creation
    
  • those who insist on evil CANNOT be part of what is set right
    

(Source material from N T Wright, John Wesley, Martin Luther, ESV Study Bible, Orthodox Study Bible, NLT Study Bible, et. al.)