Romans 10

1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel^[a] is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

I think this may have something to say for knowing God.  If a person does not know God, then they won’t know how or what to conform their will to, or what to participate in.  Right belief is essential.

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”^[b] 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”^[c] (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’”^[d] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”^[e](that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”^[f] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”^[g]

The way of the law and the way of faith are contrasted. Whereas mere obedience to the law has always failed, faith in Christ as Lord always succeeds. For: (1) Faith does not doubt, though righteousness is beyond human possibility without Christ. (2) Faith is not a distant accomplishment but is near, having a vision of Christ as present and easily accessible. (3) Faith transforms the whole person; the soul working with the body makes it real. (4) True faith is accessible to all equally, as even the OT prophets teach.

Romans 9: part 2

14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”^[f] 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”^[g] 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hosea:

“ I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”^[h]
26 “ And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘ You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”^[i]

27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:^[j]

“ Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.
28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.”^[k]

29 And as Isaiah said before:

“ Unless the LORD of Sabaoth^[l]had left us a seed,
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”^[m]

I was reading a note on these verses, and was surprised to find something I had never thought of before.  The vessels of mercy are the believing Jews and Gentiles, and the vessels of wrath are the unbelieving Jews.  Now that I think about it, that makes a whole lot more sense than thinking that each individual person is elected to go to heaven or hell (vessels of mercy and wrath respectively).

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.^[n] 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.^[o] For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:

“ Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”^[p]

“The first answer to the paradox of Jewish unbelief is from God’s standpoint: His sovereign will. The second answer to the paradox is from humanity’s standpoint: faith. For “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith”, equally for Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles, who had been unconcerned about righteousness, now attain it by their faith in Christ. God mercifully overlooks their former unrighteousness practiced in ignorance. By contrast the Jews fail to attain even the righteousness of the law, for they do not pursue the law by faith but by works. Seeing only the letter of the law, not its spirit, they miss Christ in the law and try to keep the commandments apart from Him. They substitute what was “shadow” for substance. Jesus Christ becomes their stumbling block.”

Justification by Faith

from the Orthodox Study Bible

For most of Church history, salvation was seen as comprehending all of life.  Christians believe in Christ, were baptized, and were nurtured in their salvation in the Church. Key doctrines of the faith centered around the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of the Son of God, and the atonement.

In Western Europe during the sixteenth century, however, and even before justifiable concern arose among the Reformers over a prevailing understanding that salvation depended on human works of merit, and not upon the grace and mercy of God. Many involved with the Reformation experience a rediscovery of Romans 5. Their slogan of salvation became sola fides: justification was by faith alone.

This Reformation debate in the West was late-breaking news for the Orthodox East: why this new polarization of faith and works? It had been settled since the apostolic era that   the mercy of God to righteous men and women. Those baptized into Christ were called to believe in Him and do good works. A discussion of faith versus works was unprecedented in Orthodox thought.

The Orthodox understanding of justification differs from the Protestant in several ways.

(1) Justification and the New Covenant. When orthodox Christians approach the doctrine of salvation, the discussion centers around the New Covenant. Justification (being or becoming righteous) by faith in God is part of being brought into a covenant relationship with Him. Whereas Israel was under the Old Covenant, wherein salvation came through faith as revealed in the law, the Church is under the New Covenant. Salvation comes through faith in Christ who fulfills the la, and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, leading us to the knowledge of God the Father. Whereas some Christians focus on justification as a legal acquittal before God, Orthodox believers see justification by faith as a covenant relationship with Him, centered in union with Christ (Rom. 6:1-6).

(2) Justification and God’s mercy. Orthodoxy emphasizes it is first God’s mercy – nor our faith – which saves us. “therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hop of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:1,2). It is God who initiates or makes the New Covenant with us.

(3) Justification by faith is dynamic, not static. For Orthodox Christians, faith is living, dynamic, continuous – never static or merely point in time. Faith is not something a Christian exercises only at one critical moment, expecting it to cover all the rest of his life. True faith is not just a decision, it’s a way of life.

This is why the modern evangelical Protestant question, “Are you saved?” gives pause to an Orthodox  believer. As the subject of salvation is addressed in Scripture, the Orthodox Christian would see it in at least three aspects: (a) I have been saved, being joined to Christ in baptism; (b) I am being saved, growing in Christ through the sacramental life of the Church; and (c) I will be saved, by the mercy of God at the Last Judgment.

A final difficulty for Orthodox Christians is the word alone. Justification by faith, though not the major New Testament doctrinefor Orthodox as it is for Protestants, poses no problem.  But justification by faith alone brings up an objection.  It contradicts Scripture, which says: “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). We are "justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law”(Rom. 3:28), but nowhere does the Bible say we are justified by faith “alone.”  On the contrary, “faith, by itself, if it does nothave works, is dead” (James 2:17).

As Christians we are no longer under the demands of the Old Testament law (Rom. 3:20), for Christ has fulfilled the law (Gal. 2:21; 3:5, 24). By God’s mercy, we are brought into a New Covenant relationship with Him.  We who believe are granted entrance into His Kingdom by His grace. Through His mercy we are justified by faith and empowered by God for good works or deeds of righteousness which bring glory to Him.

Romans 3

Saint Paul

Romans 3

1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. 3 For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written:

“ That You may be justified in Your words,
And may overcome when You are judged.”^[a]

5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
7 For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

Verses 1 & 2 demonstrate the validity of the point I made in the last post about the goodness of external piety even if it doesn’t always touch a person deeply.  We can’t scrap everything in the Old Covenant just because there is a new one, after all, the Jews knew God through the Old Covenant.

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written:

“ There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”^[b]
13 “ Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;^[c]

“ The poison of asps is under their lips”;^[d]
14 “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”^[e]
15 “ Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”^[f]
18 “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.”^[g]

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those 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 no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

At one time in my life I used this passage to proclaim the bondage of the human will, that it is actively against God.  I no longer hold that position.  This passage shows that we, as humans, are not equal to God and we have not achieved Theosis.  No one can justify themselves.

21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all^[h] who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 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, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

This note says it better than I could: “The ultimate purpose of man’s existence is to attain the glory of God.  Even if we should keep the law, we would still fall short of God’s glory, for we would still die and need salvation.  The way to God is both perfect righteousness and eternal life.  But how can we attain that?  Jesus Christ alone lived in complete righteousness, He alone was resurrected to eternal life.  Therefore, He alone is our way to God; He is the glory of God.”  This is not to say that I believe in the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness or Anselm’s Theory of the Substitutionary atonement.  Another note, “Righteousness is not credited, as money to a bank account.  Why?  God’s righteousness is Christ Himself.  To have His righteousness is to have Christ living within us, to be in union with Him, a relationship that is dynamic and substantial.  It is personal: a relationship between Shepherd and sheep, Master and friend, Father and child – not judge and defendant.”

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Okay, I have to say this note is really good.  This chapter is full of theological distinctives that can and are taken in many non-traditional ways, so I’m just going to quote it.  “What, then, does the law teach us? (1) Attaining righteousness through works, human effort alone, is impossible. (2) Righteousness is attained only on the basis of faith, which is given to man [not an individual, but the whole race]* as a gift. (3) God is impartial; Jews and Gentiles are justified on the same basis, faith in Christ. By faith and through faith are synonymous.  (4) Justification by faith in Christ fulfills the law, for Christ’s faithfulness in doing His works satisfies the law. Those who have true faith in Christ are made truly righteous.”

*insertion mine

Romans 1

It has been a very long time since I have read the Holy Scriptures in a non-liturgical setting.  I first decided to stop reading the Scriptures because it was a cause of confusion for me.  I was in the process of changing my theological paradigm, but I was unable to read the Scriptures without thinking of every possible interpretation I could think of with either a Calvinistic background or a Fundamental Baptist one.  I’ve taken this sin of neglecting the reading of the Scriptures to confession, and I hope with this blog I will be motivated to read and write what I find.  Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

I’ll be posting in the New King James Version only for the reason that it is the translation used by the Orthodox Study Bible, which I’ll probably be quoting as well.

Romans 1

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I have to point out the order in which Paul recites the Holy Trinity in this passage.  God the Father is the fountainhead of the Trinity, from whom the Son is begotten, and from whom the Spirit proceeds – the same order which our Holy Fathers have set the Nicene Creed.  Secondly, obedience to the faith means that faith must have works to accompany it.  But through apostleship, the episcopacy and the Church, and grace we have the strength to be obedient and live out our calling from God to be saints.

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

13 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. 15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

Saint Paul is not setting one group of Christians above another in his encouragement to the Christians in Rome.  All have the same Lord, and all Christians can encourage one another with the amount of faith that they have.  No matter the whether a person has the rank of an apostle or priest or bishop.  (Just in case anyone was wondering, I’m saying this in the context of history of the early Church.  It gets a little sticky when heresies get involved, and such big controversies like the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation.  I am purposely not addressing it to any kind of modern church but the Orthodox Church.  Please do not try to apply it to any other situation.  Thanks.)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,^[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”^[b]

In salvation, the righteousness of God is revealed because Christian live by faith.  This means obedience, as I stated previously.  The Orthodox Study Bible has this as a note: “Christ’s righteousness is given to us, and by our own cooperation with God we continue to grow in it.  This is revealed from faith to faith: we receive the incarnate Son through faith, and then live by faith. Humanity has always, in the OT and the NT, participated in God’s righteousness on the basis of faith.”

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

The wrath of God, I think, is largely over-preached in many churches today.  The most common thing I have ever heard is that you have to convince men that they’re sinners before they can know God.  I guess that’s true, but I have a hard time believing that anyone would think that they don’t sin (even if they don’t use that terminology).  However, when a person actively rejects the love of God and participates in things contrary to nature and God’s will, that is when God will reveal His wrath.  I want to stress that God’s mercy endures forever, and to those who repent and ask for God’s mercy will be granted it, continually.

The most common argument I’ve heard during some evangelistic monologue I’ve held in the past has been the following:  How can God condemn a person (who lives in the middle of a jungle) who has never heard the gospel and believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins?  At the time when I was confronted with that question, I never had an answer.  But now, I think I might have one:  I don’t know.  I think I have finally learned to not judge someone’s salvation.  It is possible for God to have mercy on someone who has never heard about Him.

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,^[c] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,^[d] unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

God respects our freedom of will.  That is one part of us that is like God, made in His image.  It’s not in God’s nature to do away with it.  Another common concern is the existence of evil in the world, if in fact, God is a good God.  He lets people freely come to Him, by His grace – and he lets others freely stray.  The existence of evil in the world is only a reflection of God in the sense that he did not create Adam and Eve to be Gods themselves in the beginning.  He created them to freely participate in His goodness and in His Godliness.  I’m not going further into speculation about what would have been, minus the fall.  We were all created for Theosis and to become by grace what God is by nature.

Salvation

Holiness is difficult.  In the Protestant tradition, good works come automatically if you have faith. Good works are the evidence of faith in God.  But I discovered that struggling to do good works does not mean that my faith is weak.  St. Paul said to “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”  This is a call to be holy rather than a critique of intellectual assent or belief. 

The Protestant argument stems both from the belief that salvation is a legal aspect decreed by God – declaring one is saved – and from a misapplied Scriptural admonition.  

“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James 2:18

If salvation is a one time proclamation that cannot be altered, then all Christians are at exactly the same level.  A Christian does good works because Christians have faith, but without that faith a person is not a Christian.  Many quote this verse to pit faith and works against each other.  Now within the Protestant context, these two opposed views seemingly work together.  The countless urgings of Paul, presented as a dichotomy with James, saying that works are not required for salvation are directed to Judaizers.  The works that St. Paul was referring to were to those who wanted the Gentile Christians to be subject to the old covenant.  (Side note, the fact that there were rules and rituals associated with the Old Covenant – which is still something Godly, as it looked forward to Christ – should be enough to let us believe that rules and rituals aren’t bad in and of themselves.)

But salvation does take time and work.  There is no legal declaration that a person is saved, in the Protestant sense of the term.  Salvation is being saved from our wickedness and sinfulness, by being engrafted into Christ in the most literal manner.  We participate in God’s holiness – united with him by baptism/chrismation, the eucharist and prayer.

God is not going to force us, though He does help us. “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) This is the call for Christians.  This is how we are saved.

The Christian life is living – not a legal status of being.