Page 318 - Demo

2:25 Circumcision is a ritual of removing the foreskin from a boy’s penis in infancy. In Jewish tradition, it is a sign of being bound to the Mosaic Law. Paul emphasizes that it is not enough to be circumcised in the body— true circumcision is internal, in the heart and spirit.
Paul draws on a variety of Old Testament passages from the Psalms and wisdom literature
to demonstrate his main
point: all of us, Jews and Gentiles alike, are sinners. Whether we are under the Law or not, we human beings are sinners: we need a savior. We need Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER 2
l. [2:16] Acts 10:42; 17:31.
m. [2:17] Is 48:1–2; Mi 3:11; Phil 3:4–6.
n. [2:18] Phil 1:10.
o. [2:19] Mt 15:14; Lk 6:39.
p. [2:20] 2 Tm 3:15.
q. [2:21] Ps 50:16–21; Mt 23:3–4.
r. [2:24] Is 52:5; Ez 36:20; 2 Pt 2:2.
s. [2:25–29] Jer 4:4; 9:24–25.
t. [2:25] 1 Cor 7:19; Gal 5:3.
u. [2:26] Gal 5:6.
v. [2:28] Jn 7:24; 8:15, 39.
w. [2:29] Dt 30:6; Jer 4:4; 9:25;
Col 2:11 / 1 Cor 4:5; 2 Cor 10:18.
CHAPTER 3
a. [3:2] 9:4; Dt 4:7–8; Ps 103:7; 147:19–20.
b. [3:3] 9:6; 11:1, 29; Ps 89:30–37; 2 Tm 2:13.
c. [3:4] Ps 116:11 / Ps 51:6.
d. [3:5] 9:14; Jb 34:12–17.
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ROMANS -
Judgment by the Mosaic Law.* 17Now if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of Godm 18and know his will and are able to discern what is important since you are instructed from the law,n 19and if you are con dent that you are a guide for the blind and a light for those in darkness,o 20that you are a trainer of the foolish and teacher of the simple,p because in the law you have the formulation of knowledge and truth— 21then you who teach another, are you failing to teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?q 22You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? 23You who boast of the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24r For, as it is written, “Because of you the name of God is reviled among the Gentiles.”*
25s Circumcision, to be sure, has value if you observe the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.t 26Again, if an uncircumcised man keeps the precepts of the law, will he not be considered circumcised?u 27Indeed, those who are physically uncircumcised but carry out the law will pass judgment on you, with your written law and circumcision, who break the law. 28One is not a Jew outwardly. True circumcision is not outward, in the esh.v 29Rather, one is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, not the letter; his praise is not from human beings but from God.w
3Answers to Objections.
1* What advantage is there then in being a Jew? Or what is the
value of circumcision? Much, in every respect. [For] in the rst place, they were entrusted with the utterances of God.a 3What if some were unfaithful? Will their in delity nullify the delity of God?b 4Of course not! God must be true, though every human being is a liar,* as it is written:
“That you may be justi ed in your words, and conquer when you are judged.”c
5But if our wickedness provides proof of God’s righteousness, what can we say? Is God unjust, humanly speaking, to in ict his wrath?d 6Of course not! For how else is God to judge the world? 7But if God’s truth redounds to his glory through my falsehood, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8And why not say—as we are accused and as some claim we say—that we should do evil that good may come of it? Their penalty is what they deserve.e
2
* [2:17–29] Mere possession of laws is no evidence of virtue. By eliminating circumcision as an elitist moral sign, Paul clears away the last obstacle to his presentation of justi cation through faith without claims based on the receipt of circumcision and its attendant legal obligations.
* [2:24] According to Is 52:5 the su ering of Israel prompts her enemies to revile God. Paul uses the passage in support of his point that the present immorality of Israelites is the cause of such defamation.
* [3:1–4] In keeping with the popular style of diatribe, Paul responds to the objection that his teaching on the sinfulness of all humanity detracts from the religious prerogatives of Israel. He stresses that Jews have remained the vehicle of God’s revelation despite their sins, though this depends on the delity of God.
* [3:4] Though every human being is a liar: these words reproduce the Greek text of Ps 116:11. The rest of the verse is from Ps 51:6.