God - My Help.

 

It Just Isn't Fair.

 It just isn't fair. We hear this all the time and guess what? A lot of times it is true. Life isn't fair by a long, long shot, yet we want it to be. Something inside of us cries out for fair dealings. We cry out for justice for all, not just a select few. We want things to be RIGHT because we know we live in a messed up, twisted world that has skewed things so completely it can never straighten them out, never.

When God destroyed all the land living things in the flood except Noah and those he saved on the ark, he did so because things had become so wicked. He wanted man to have a fresh start. Man took that fresh start and I imagine for a while they appreciated it and acted accordingly, but then the evil nature of man took over. Incentivized by Satan at every moment of every day, man once more returned to their evil ways.

Today we wait for and long for the return of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, so there will be an end to all evil. Justice will only then be fully realized for all.

We can cry out that God Himself isn't fair and cite many examples of what we claim is His unfairness, and injustice- but in the end, we will be shown beyond any doubt that all God did was fair and just.

May we stay strong in Christ, awaiting the day of redemption, clinging to Christ as our hope now and forever. May we seek forgiveness when we lack fairness and justice in our own actions, and strive to live as Christ would have us live trusting always and forever in Him, by His mercy and grace, His amazing love!

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God Will Be Justified.

4 God forbid; yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

"That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." God is now accused by Satan of injustice and indifference, and even of cruelty.

Thousands have echoed the charge.

But the judgment will declare the righteousness of God. His character, as well as that of man,  is on trial. In the judgment every act, both of God and man, that has been done since creation will be seen by all in all its bearings. And when everything is seen in that perfect light, God will be acquitted of all wrongdoing,  even by his enemies.

Entrusted.

Romans 3:1-18:

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

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

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 a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. 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.)

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?

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.

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

10 as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one;

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

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

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

14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;

15 their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 and the way of peace have they not known;

18 there is no fear of God before their eyes.

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"Committed."

The advantage of the Jew was not simply in the fact that to them were made known the oracles of God, but that "unto them were committed the oracles of God," or "they were intrusted with the oracles of God."  That is, the law was given to them to hold in trust for others, and not simply for their own benefit. They were to be the missionaries to the whole world. The advantage and the honor conferred upon the Jewish nation in intrusting them with the law of God to make it known to the world, can not be estimated.

Tell It to Others.

When Peter and John were arrested and threatened for preaching Christ (who is simply the living law in perfection), they said, "We can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Acts 4:20.  They who appreciate the gift which God commits to them must tell it to others. Some think that it is useless to carry the gospel to the heathen when they hear that God justifies the heathen who walk according to the little light that shines to them just the same as he does the person who walks according to the light that shines from the written word. They think that the wicked heathen are in no worse case than the unfaithful professed Christians. None who appreciate the blessings of the Lord could think so. Light is a blessing. The more people know of the Lord, the more they can rejoice in him, and all who truly know the Lord must be desirous of helping to spread the "good tidings of great joy" to all the people for whom it is designed.

God's Faithfulness.

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

"What if some were without faith? Shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God?" A very pertinent question. It is an appeal to the faithful of God. Will he break his promise,  because of man's unbelief? Will he be unfaithful because man is unfaithful? Will our wavering cause God to waver? "That can not possibly be;" for this is the force of the expression which is incorrectly rendered, "God forbid." God will be true even though every man be a liar.

"If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful; he can not deny himself." 2 Tim. 2:13.

"Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds." Ps. 36:5.

Power and Faithfulness.

Some one might hastily affirm that this overthrows the previous statements, that only those who have faith are heirs of the promise; for "how can it be that only the faithful are Abraham's seed, and thus heirs, if God will fulfill his promise even though every man disbelieves?" Very easily, when we consider the Scriptures and the power of God. Listen to the words of John the Baptist to the wicked Jews who could be fitly characterized only as "vipers:" "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Matt. 3:9. God will bestow the inheritance only on the faithful; but if every man should prove unfaithful, he who made man of the dust of the ground can of the stones raise other people, who will believe.'

God's Law - An Advantage

 

Oracles of God (His Spoken Word Included)

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Objections Answered. 

The first part of the third chapter of Romans consists of questions and answers. 

The thoughtful reader of the epistles of Paul must have noticed the frequent occurrence of questions in the midst of an argument. Every possible objection is anticipated. The apostle asks the question that an objector might ask,  and then answers it, making his argument more emphatic than before. So in the verses next following it is very evident that the truths set forth in the second chapter would not be very acceptable to a Pharisee, and he would combat them with all his might.

The questions raised by the apostle are not difficulties that lie in his own mind;  this is clear from the parenthetical clause in verse 5, "I speak as a man." 

With this in mind, we may read Romans 3:1-18:

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

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

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 a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. 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.)

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? 

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.

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

10 as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; 

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

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

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

14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; 

15 their feet are swift to shed blood; 

16 destruction and misery are in their ways; 

17 and the way of peace have they not known; 

18 there is no fear of God before their eyes.

"The Oracles of God." 

An oracle is something spoken. That which was emphatically spoken by the mouth of the Lord is the Ten Commandments. See Deuteronomy 5:22. 

Deu 5:22  These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. 

Stephen, speaking of Moses receiving the law, said,  "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the Mount Sina, and with our fathers; who received the lively oracles to give unto us." Acts 7:38. The Ten Commandments are primarily the oracles of God, because they were uttered by his own voice in the hearing of the people.

But the Holy Scriptures as a whole are the oracles of God, since they are the word of God, spoken "in divers manners" (Heb. 1:1), and because they are but an expansion of the Ten Commandments. Christians are to shape their lives solely by the Bible. This is seen from the words of the apostle Peter: "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God."1 Peter 4:11.

Accepted of God.

 Accepted of God- those who reverence Him in truth, and live in that truth. Not necessarily those who preach God but those whose hearts belong to God. 

Peter said- OF TRUTH- He perceived that GOD IS NO RESPECTOR OF PERSONS.   OF TRUTH - in every nation he that FEARETH GOD and WORKS RIGHTEOUSNESS- IS ACCEPTED WITH HIM.

God knows the hearts of all, and some are HIS who know HIM in their HEARTS deeply- this is TRUTH! They live lives that are HIS without the name of being His outwardly.

How wondrous is this? To be God's wholly God's with a heart filled with His ways always.  

Oh, Lord, we would be Yours wholly Yours. Let all pretense, all falsehood, all guile that fills us in any way be done away with so we may serve you from a heart made new by You! Don't let us rest on our laurels of proclamation of being Yours. Let us be Your in TRUTH, all truth! Let our LIVES be witnesses of YOURS beyond our voice. May our mouths be silent if they would betray You in any way whatsoever so that we are separated from You! 

(Excerpt EJ Waggoner)

In the house of Cornelius the apostle Peter made a statement: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." Acts 10:34, 35. 

There are men in heathen lands who may never have heard the name of God, or seen a line of his written word, who will be saved. God is revealed in the works of creation, and they who accept what they see of him there are accepted with him as surely as they who have learned much more of him.

Isa 56:3  Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 

Isa 56:4  For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; 

Isa 56:5  Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. 

Isa 56:6  Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 

Isa 56:7  Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. 

Isa 56:8  The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. 

Rom 2:13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 

Rom 2:25  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. 

Rom 2:26  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 

Rom 2:27  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? 

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 

Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. 

Rom 3:22  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

Rom 3:29  Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 

Rom 3:30  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 

Rom 10:12  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 

Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 

Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 

Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 

Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 

Eph 3:6  That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 

Eph 3:7  Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 

Eph 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ

Col 3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. 

Denying self for the Treasure.

 Be honest, seriously, be completely honest right now- is the kingdom of heaven a treasure to you? 

Have you ever been on a treasure hunt of any kind? Have you witnessed treasure hunts on television, in movies, or read about them in books?

The bigger the treasure that has been hidden the more intense the treasure hunt, right?

The more that is at stake the more desperate people can be to get that stake. In a lot of treasure hunts more than one person is vying to find the treasure with the knowledge only one can win the prize and obtain the treasure.  Other treasure hunts involve people searching for many years to find a treasure, a lot of people throughout the years for the some lost treasure. Some have even made it their life's work to find various treasures, never succeeding. 

To what importance do we truly hold the kingdom of heaven? Do we TREASURE Heaven?

Are we willing to sell ALL- all of our self, to obtain the treasure that is heaven? Willing to deny self entirely and take up the cross, because denying self is cross bearing.

Mat_13:44  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

More than any price is the Kingdom of Heaven, is salvation! The priceless gift is a treasure. The word of God is a treasure, our Savior is a treasure and we need to seek the treasure endlessly. God help us!

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Articles on Romans

by E. J. Waggoner

Chapter 3

Introduction

It is not really correct to say that we have finished the study of these two chapters, because we can never finish the study of any portion of the Bible. After we have put the most profound study upon any portion of the Scripture, the most that we have done is only a beginning. If Newton, after a long life of study of natural science,  could say that he seemed to be as a child playing on the seashore with the vast ocean before him unexplored,  with much more aptness can the same be said by the greatest student of the Bible.

Let no one therefore think that we have by any means exhausted this portion of the book. When the reader has the text well in mind, so that he can quite distinctly recall any passage at will, and can locate it with reference to the connection, he has just got where he can begin to study with real profit. Therefore let the reader who is anxious to acquire an understanding of the Scriptures for himself, dwell upon the words as though he were digging in a sure place for treasure. An inexhaustible one awaits his search.

The second chapter is really summed up in the first verse, "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." 

The remaining verses are but an amplification of this statement. Thus, we find that there is no exception to the fact that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Hearing and knowing the truth is not a substitute for practicing it. God is no respecter of persons, but will punish sin wherever it is found.