For you see not the hearers of thelaw are just before God
Here we once again see the issue between God & man.
Again, this is the issue in 10 questions in Job:
Job 4:17 'Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
25:4 "How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?
1. What this means in our context is that the S-R believer, believes that they have obeyed all the rules & regulations that God expects to be just before Him. because he has obeyed all that God expected as duty.
2. This is why so many today set up –from the Bible- all the rules & regulations required by God to be just before Him.
3. This is why so many today need to emphasize duty. & they decide what that duty is, from the Bible, a little here & a little there.
Man sets up his own rules, these rules are self imposed & who are R in their own eyes…S-R.
4. But before God there is only one way to be just before God.
& that is recorded Rom. 3:26 faith is the only duty that is recognized by God to be Juse before Him.
1. Not only would any man not be justified by keeping the law, in fact in his fallen condition, he is not able to even keep the law.
2. As he tried to be justified by Law he would realize that he is a sinner, & condemned
3. Trying to be justified by keeping the law would bring him to the truth that Justification is by faith in the one who fulfilled the law – Jesus Christ.
Lets follow this trail
But the doers of the law will be justified
1. Rom. 3:19-20;
No one who seeks to be Js by doing the Law, will be Js before God.
By works of Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.
But wait, doesn’t Paul say in 2:13: “but the doers of the law will be Js.
Gal. 3:8
& very important to this study Gal. 3:21
2. Limitations of M-L
(1) /M-L cannot Justify anyone before God.
Gal. 2:16; Rom. 3:20 & 28; Acts 13:39; Phil.3:9
(2) /M-L cannot give life Gal. 3:21
(3) /M-L cannot provide /Holy Spirit (which was promised by God) Gal. 3:2
(4) /M-L cannot solve the sin problem, of personal sins, & sin nature. Rom. 8:3
3. /Law was given to lead us to way of being Js,
thru faith in Christ Gal. 2:16 3:8; 3:21 & 24
4. Faith is /only way to be Justified by God.
Rom. 3:26-28-30; 4:5; 5:1;
5. Ok, why faith in Jesus Christ?
Why is man, Jew or Gentile saved by faith in
Jesus Christ?
Because Christ is the only one to fulfill the whole Law. Matt. 5:17
So faith in Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law & therefore Js.
4. When anyone produces a R by doing the law, he always compares his S-R deeds with the sins & failures of others & he establishes a system of comparative R. & he takes his comparative R & says he is Just before God.
This is one way you can tell when someone is living by Law, living by comparative R. he will always compare himself to others & judge & malign others. Now the problem is that God rejects every form of S-R., rel. S-R or moral S-R. or legalistic S-R, comparative S-R, whatever they may be, all are rejected by the holiness of God as means of Js.
5. In this vs, vs 13, there two basis of Self justification, or S-R.
First being a student of the law,
2enly being a doer of the Law.
Many try to be just before God by studying the Scriptures, others say, no, you have to do for God! But both are seeking the same thing – taking S-R into a system of Sal. Which will never occur, both systems are S-R which is rejected by God.
1. Apart from the Law the Gentile, without law, produce an equivalent S-R as the Jew who has the Law.
2. A number of Gentiles in each generation produces an equivalent S-R as the Jew who are guided by the Law.
3. So this refutes the claim that doing the law Justifies.
4. now lets put this in context:
The Gentiles apart from the Law attains what the Jews achieve with the law.
God is an impartial judge vs 11
So, since He is going to judge the Gentile of S-R, He is not partial, so He will judge the Jew of his S-R, even those with /law.