Romans chapter 3, Romans Road, Only One Mediator, Mariolatry, How Can God Justify Sinners?, Sin hamartia hamartano, Sinless perfectionism, sin nature, justify, Jewish advantage?, “If” clauses are a first class condition, God Wants Everyone Saved, Sinners From Birth; Walk His Path; OT Righteousness/Our righteousness; Faith In Jesus Christ; Believers still sin!; A Propitiation ἱλασμός hilasmos; God Passed Over Sins?

1. Romans 3
Romans Road, Only One Mediator, Mariolatry, How Can
God Justify Sinners?, Sin hamartia hamartano, Sinless
perfectionism, sin nature, justify, Jewish advantage?, “If”
clauses are a first class condition, God Wants Everyone
Saved, Sinners From Birth; Walk His Path; OT
Righteousness/Our righteousness; Faith In Jesus Christ;
Believers still sin!; A Propitiation ἱλασμός hilasmos; God
Passed Over Sins?;
Autumn splendor along the Glenn Highway! AK, (Tom Ganner photography)

2. BIBLE IN FIVE
Pastor Dave Kooyers
Valley Bible Fellowship
Box 433
Boonville CA 95415
http://www.slideshare.net/dkooyers
www.ValleyBibleFellowship.org
(707) 895-2325
God bless you as you examine His Word,
Your servant in Christ, 2Cor. 4:5
These Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are provided "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ"
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Matthew 10:8 …Freely you received, freely give.

3. Let’s read Romans 3

4. Romans 3:1
What Advantage Has The Jew?
• NAU Romans 3:1 Then what advantage has
the Jew? Or what is the benefit of
circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of
all, that they were entrusted with the oracles
of God.
• Having the Scriptures is an extreme
advantage!
• And what a privilege!
• Verses 3-8 explain the responsibility, and
problems. 4

5. Romans 3:2, Entrusted With God’s
Word To The Gentiles
• NAU Romans 3:2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were
entrusted with the oracles of God.
• NAU Deuteronomy 4:6 "So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom
and your understanding in the sight of the peoples [LXX, the nations, gentiles, ethnos]
who will hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a
wise and understanding people.' 7 "For what great nation is there that
has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on
Him? 8 "Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments
as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today? [
Psalm 147:19-20]
• NAU Isaiah 49:6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My
Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved
ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My
salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
5

6. Romans 3:2, Entrusted With God’s
Word To The Gentiles
• NAU Isaiah 45:20 "Gather yourselves and come; Draw near
together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge,
Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot
save. 21 "Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them
consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has
long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other
God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none
except Me. 22 "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the
earth; For I am God, and there is no other. 23 "I have sworn by
Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every
tongue will swear allegiance. 24 "They will say of Me, 'Only in the
LORD are righteousness and strength.' Men will come to Him, And
all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. 6

7. Romans 3:2, Entrusted With God’s
Word To The Gentiles
• NAU Isaiah 45:23 …to Me every knee will bow,
every tongue will swear allegiance…
• NAU Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of those who are in
heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11
and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
7

8. Romans 3:3, 5, 8, “If” clauses
• NAU Romans 3:3 What then? If some did not believe,
their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will
it?
• NAU Romans 3:5 But if our unrighteousness
demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we
say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is
He? (I am speaking in human terms.)
• NAU Romans 3:7 But if through my lie the truth of God
abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as
a sinner?
• In the Greek this is called a first class condition (“if”
meaning and “it is so”, or “since”). 8

9. Romans 3:4,
How Can God Justifies Sinners?
• NAU Romans 3:4 May it never be! Rather, let God
be found true, though every man be found a liar,
as it is written, "THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN
YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE
JUDGED.”
• Romans uses the word “justified” more than any
other NAU book.
• This is a huge problem, God is infinitely just, yet in
His love He desires to save sinners.

10. Romans 3:4,
How Can God Justify The Wicked?
• Charles H. Spurgeon said, “The greatest wonder that I ever heard of
is that God should ever justify me. I feel myself to be a lumpy of
unworthiness, a mass of corruption, and a heap of sin apart from His
almighty love. I know and am fully assured that I am justified by
faith which is in Christ Jesus, and I am treated as if I had been
perfectly just and made an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ.
And yet, by nature I must take my place among the most sinful. I,
who am altogether undeserving, am treated as if I had been
deserving. I am loved with as much love as if I had always been
Godly, whereas before I was ungodly. Who can help being
astonished at this? Gratitude for such favor stands dressed in robes
of wonder.”
• Janell Adams tells when, “Our son Jonathan asked Jesus to come
into his heart when he was four. A few months later as I was getting
him ready for bed, he asked in all seriousness, "Mom, what did I
used to do when I was wicked?”

11. Romans 3:9, hamartano
• NAU Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all;
for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all
under sin [<266> ἁμαρτία hamartia];
• Root is; <264> ἁμαρτάνω hamartano
• Meaning: to miss the mark, do wrong, sin
• Chuck Smith on Ephesians part one describes harmatia “to miss
the mark.” It was used in an Old English archery game where the
Englishman would try to shoot their arrows through a steel ring
and whoever lost had to buy the beer and was known as “the
sinner”.
• It didn't matter how sincere they were, how hard they tried, well-
intentioned or well-meaning, they still missed the mark.
• James 2:10 , Romans 10:2 For I testify about them that they have a
zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
• Romans has the most NT NAU uses “sin” and “sinning”

12. Transgression vs. hamartia
• Transgression speaks of being a rebel and
willingly crossing the line.
• Where as hamartia has to do with trying hard
but falling short of the glory of God.

13. Sin Nature
• Charles Spurgeon said, “As the salt flavors
every drop in the Atlantic, so does sin affect
every atom of our nature.”
• Be yourself is about the worst advice you could
give some people. Author Unknown

14. Romans 3:10+23, Mariolatry
• NAU Romans 3:10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN
ONE;
• Mariolatry is a sin and, most apparitions of Mary are by an angel of light...
• 2 Corinthians 11:14... Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
• Mary spoke of Jesus as her Savior in Luke 1:46-47 “...God my Savior…” yet
the RCC has elevated her to the position of sinlessness.
• CCC 494 …Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a
single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the
work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with
him and dependent on him, by God’s grace:140 (2617,148, 968, 726) [see also
the CCC 494, 411, 966, 969, 2677]
• As St. Irenaeus says, “Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for
herself and for the whole human race.”141 Hence not a few of the early
Fathers gladly assert... : “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by
Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary
loosened by her faith.”142 Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary “the
Mother of the living” and frequently claim: “Death through Eve, life through
Mary.”143

15. Romans 3:10+23, Only One Mediator
• 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus..., 1 John 2:1 ...an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous;
• Only 1 NT verse about Mary (post gospels), Acts 1:14, Heb 9:10-15 …He is
the mediator…
• CCC 966 “Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of
original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up
body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all
things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of
lords and conqueror of sin and death.”508 The Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation
of the resurrection of other Christians: (491)
• In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave
the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You
conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from
death.509
• ...she is our Mother in the order of grace”

16. Romans 3:11
God Wants Everyone Saved
• Romans 3:11…THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
• NAU 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord … is patient toward you, not wishing for any to
perish but for all to come to repentance.
• John 3:16 "For God so loved the world…
• 1 Timothy 2:3-4 …God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth.
• Matthew 23:37…you were unwilling.
• Acts 17:26-27 …every nation of mankind …that they would seek God
• DLK, There is none who seek Him on there own initiative, but (Good
News)….
• John 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to
Myself.“
• John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens
every man.
• Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to
his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

17. Romans 3:13, Sinners From Birth
• Romans 3:13 "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN
GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP
DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER
THEIR LIPS";
• Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in
iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
• Job 5:7 For man is born for trouble, As sparks
fly upward.

18. Born In Sin
• NAU Psalm 51:5 …brought forth in iniquity, And in
sin…
• Peggy Jones says, “My husband and I teach
children's church. I was telling the boys and girls,
ranging in age from four to eleven, that we all are
born in sin, but by grace are saved through faith.
One of the younger girls first looked puzzled, then
said quite seriously,
• "I wasn't born in sin. I was born in November."

19. Romans 3:13
God's Word Concerning Lying
• Psalm 31:18 Let the lying lips be mute, Which speak
arrogantly against the righteous With pride and
contempt.
• Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the
LORD, But those who deal faithfully are His delight.
• NAU Exodus 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor.
• Be careful of half truths, you might have the wrong half.
Author unknown

20. Romans 3:13, Do Not Speak Evil,
Speak Good Instead
• NAU Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed
from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for
edification according to the need of the moment, so that it
will give grace to those who hear.
• NAU 1 Samuel 24:13 "As the proverb of the ancients says,
'Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness‘…
• NAU James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of
iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that
which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of
our life, and is set on fire by hell.
• Bret Nicholaus challenges us to, “Go an entire day without
saying one negative comment about anything or
anyone! To really test your resolve, pick a day when you’re
going to be talking to a lot of people- at a party, for
example.”

21. Romans
3:17,
Walk His
Path
Romans 3:17
AND THE PATH
OF PEACE THEY
HAVE NOT
KNOWN."

22. Romans 3:17, Walk His Path
• NAU Job 23:11 "My foot has held fast to His path; I
have kept His way and not turned aside.
• NAU Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads
to destruction, and there are many who enter
through it.
• NAU Luke 13:24 "Strive to enter through the narrow
door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will
not be able.
• NAU John 10:9 "I am the door; if anyone enters
through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out
and find pasture.

23. Romans 3:20, OT Righteousness
Was By Obedience To God's Law
• NAU Romans 3:20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will
be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the
knowledge of sin.
• Yet, Deuteronomy makes it clear that Jews in the OT gained
righteousness by obedience to God's Law;
• NAU Deuteronomy 6:25 "It will be righteousness for us if we
are careful to observe all this commandment before the LORD
our God, just as He commanded us.
• So what's this seeming contradiction about?
• Our righteousness is by Christ’s perfect fulfillment, and
obedience to God's Law, ultimately, so is theirs. When OT
Saints trusted God’s Commandments they were justified by
His grace, through faith, just like we are. Jeremiah 23:3-8,
2
3

24. Romans 3:20, OT Righteousness
Was By Obedience To God's Law
• NAU Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible for the
blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
• NAU Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture
say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
• We will examine this next time because
Romans 4 is the only place where the word
“credited” is used in the NAU
2
4

25. • NAU Romans 3:20
because by the works of
the Law no flesh will be
justified in His sight; for
through the Law comes
the knowledge of sin.
25

26. Romans 3:22, Faith In Jesus Christ
• NAU Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who
believe; for there is no distinction;
• Romans uses the word “faith” more than any
other book of the Bible. Hebrews chapter 11 is
called “ the faith chapter” because faith is used 25
times in Hebrews 11. however we could call
Romans the “faith book”.

27. Romans 3:22, Faith In Jesus Christ
NAU Romans 3:28
For we maintain
that a man is
justified by faith
apart from works
of the Law.

28. Romans 3:23, All Have Sinned
• NAU Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
• NAU Ecclesiastes 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous
man on earth who continually does good and who
never sins.
• NAU 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are
deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
• NAU Psalm 130:3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
• NAU Job 4:17 'Can mankind be just before God? Can a
man be pure before his Maker? 28

29. Romans 3:23, All Have Sinned, hamartano
• Romans 3:23 for all have sinned [hamartano] and
fall short of the glory of God,
• 264 ἁμαρτάνω hamartano {ham-ar-tan'-o}
• Meaning: 1) to be without a share in 2) to miss
the mark 3) to err, be mistaken 4) to miss or
wander from the path of uprightness and
honour, to do or go wrong 5) to wander from
the law of God, violate God's law, sin

30. Romans 3:23, All Have Sinned, hamartano
• Romans 3:23 for all have sinned [hamartano] and fall short of
the glory of God,
• NAU 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are
deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

31. Romans 3:23, All Have Sinned And Continue
On In Sin
• Romans 3:23 for all have sinned [aorist active] and fall
short [indicative present passive] of the glory of God,
• In Adam we all fall short of perfection, and we
continue to fail to meet the standard of Christ’s
perfection, the glory of God. Sinless perfectionism is a
lie.
• NAU 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of
God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.
We know that when He appears, we will be like Him,
because we will see Him just as He is.

32. Romans 3:23, Believers still sin!
• NAU 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have [verb indicative present
active] no sin [does not say “sinned”], we are deceiving ourselves
and the truth is not in us.
• Even though Christians are no longer slaves to sin as
before, as humans we still have a sin nature, prohibiting
us from being sinless until we are glorified.
• NAU Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will
set me free from the body of this death?
• NAU Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all
else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
• NAU 1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned[verb
indicative perfect active] , we make Him a liar and His word is not
in us.

33. 1 John 3:4, Sin
• NAU 1 John 3:4 Everyone who practices sin also practices
lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
• KHouse wrote, “…Many Greek and Hebrew words are
used in the Bible to describe sin, but the one that best
summarizes the essence of all sin is anomia,
“lawlessness”. As 1 John 3:4 says, “Everyone who practices
sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”
(ESV) Jesus uses this term when he pronounces eternal
condemnation upon the “workers of lawlessness” (Matt
7:23 ESV).
• This concept not only applies to Man’s relationship to
God, but also his relationship to each other through a
system of laws…”
33

34. Romans 3:25, A Propitiation
• NAU Romans 3:25 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;
• “propitiate” = verb (used with object),
propitiated, propitiating.
• 1. to make favorably inclined; appease;
conciliate. dictionary.reference.com 34

35. Romans 3:25, A Propitiation
ἱλασμός, expiation, sin offering
• NAU Romans 3:25 whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood…
• NAU Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His
brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful
and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
propitiation for the sins of the people.
• NAU 1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our
sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole
world.
• NAU 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for
our sins.
35

36. Romans 3:25, A Propitiation
ἱλασμός, expiation, sin offering
• NAU Romans 3:25 … a propitiation in His
blood…
• Strong’s 2434 ἱλασμός hilasmos {hil-as-mos'}
• Meaning: 1) an appeasing, propitiating 2) the
means of appeasing, a propitiation
36

37. Romans 3:25
God Passed Over Their Sins?
• NAU Romans 3:25 …This was to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in the forbearance of God
He passed over the sins previously committed;
• How can God do that and still be just?
• God says in Malachi 2:17 You have wearied the
LORD with your words. Yet you say, "How have we
wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone who does
evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delights
in them," or, "Where is the God of justice?”
37

38. Romans 3:25
God Passed Over Their Sins
• NAU Romans 3:25 …God He passed over the
sins previously committed;
• NAU Psalm 78:37 For their heart was not
steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in
His covenant. 38 But He, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often He restrained His anger And did not
arouse all His wrath. 39 Thus He remembered
that they were but flesh, A wind that passes
and does not return. 38

39. 39

40. So, in
conclusion;
40

41. THE END
41

42. Proverbs 28:13 1John 1:9 Rom 3 Rev 21:8 Luke 15:21, “Everyone
does it" ”I Was Wrong”, Keep Believing
Ministries <ray@keepbelieving.com>
• Saturday, February 9, 2013
I am writing these words from Dallas at the end of a week that included a joyful surprise.
Last Saturday I flew from Tupelo to Tampa, Florida for a week of ministry at Word of Life Florida. Marlene planned to go with me but couldn’t because she was a bit under the weather last weekend. But that worked out fine because late Sunday night our daughter-in-law Vanessa went into labor. She and Mark were expecting their second son based on the ultrasound test the doctor performed. They had everything prepared for a boy.
Then a girl showed up!
I think of it this way. My father andmother had four boys. Marlene and I have three sons. Until last Monday we hadonly grandsons. So we have a long tradition of boys in our family.
Then Penelope Mary arrived early Monday morning. Already she has all of us wrapped around her tiny fingers. Marlene drove to Dallas on Wednesday, and we changed my flight plans so I could fly here yesterday after my final messagein Florida.
Vanessa and Penelope are doing fine. We are all delighted by this surprise gift of a beautiful little girl.
This week we released a free ebook called Who Is That Man? (And Other Important Questions). We designed it as a Lenten devotional book, with readings and prayers for each day of Lent starting on February 13 and ending on Easter Sunday, March 31.
We have made the ebook available in Kindle, Nook and PDF formats. You can find the links to the different formats at Who Is That Man?.
Each day during Lent, we’ll post additional material (questions, application ideas, other Scriptures) on the KBM weblog to help you go deeper. You can help us by spreading the word about this free ebook to your friends.
Note: To load the ebook on a mobile device (Kindle or Nook ereader, iPad, iPhone, Android, etc), we recommend that you view the blog post from within your device and then click the download option.
We are providing this ebook free of charge as our gift to you. We depend on friends like you to help us financially so that we can continue to offer free biblical resources through our website. If you would like to help out, you can mail your donation to Keep Believing Ministries,P. O. Box 257, Elmhurst, IL 60126 or you can use our online donation page.
This week’s special podcast is called What is a Real Christan?
You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter. We would love for you to be part of our Keep Believing Prayer Team.
That’s the news from our corner of the world. We’re grateful to God for the “surprise” blessing of our first granddaughter.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
Ray Pritchard
Keep Believing Ministries
Tupelo, Mississippi
• Three Hard Words That Could Change Your Life
Luke 15:21
• “You can’t help a liar.”
That was the man’s conclusionbased on years of experience with college students. Occasionally he is faced with difficult disciplinary decisions when the young people break the rules of the group. “I’ve dealt with everything you can imagine,”he said. “Every sort of sexual sin. Cheating. Breaking the law. You name it, I’ve seen it.” There is an established set of procedures in place to deal with those who get in trouble. Very often they are able to help the young people make amends
and set their lives on a new path.
During our discussion the manmade two comments that stayed with me. First, he has learned that lying has almost become a non-issuetoday. Everyone lies, and they lie all the time. It’s almost as if it’s not a sin to lie anymore. Perhaps it is a sign of postmodern relativism that we have come to accept that lying isn’t wrong. Or perhaps it is just a fulfillment of Romans 3:13, “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” After discussing how people routinely lie
to cover up their sin, he offered this conclusion:
You can’t help a liar. You can help anyone struggling with any sort of sin as long as they tell the truth. But you can’t help a liar because you can’t trust anything he says.
The situation is compounded by the fact that when most of us get caught, we confess as little as possible. That’s not a student problem; that’s a humanproblem. And that leads to the second key point. One sign of true repentanceis when “they tell you something you didn’talready know.” If you knew A + B + C, but the person then adds D + E + F, you know their repentance is deeper than just, “I’m sorry I got caught.” True repentance always involves coming clean, and coming clean
means owning up to the whole pattern of wrongdoing, not just to the thing you happenedto get caught doing. God desires “truth in the inward parts” (Psalm 51:6) or as Eugene Peterson puts it, “truth from the inside out." It is very hard for us to come to this place of total honestywith God and with others. For most of us, it is a continual battle to be transparent in all our dealings, especially when we have sinned because it’s so easy to cover up.
I can’t get one statement out of my mindbecause it contains so much truth: “You can’t help a liar." As long as a liar is telling lies, you cannot trust anything he says. It’s like the old riddle, “If a liar says he’s telling the truth, can you believe him?" It’s tremendouslydifficult for anyof us to take personalresponsibility. We live a culture of victimization, a culture that rewards us for blaming others. You may remember the shooting that took place at Virginia Tech a few years ago. The
gunman left a note behind that said, “You made me do this.” That’s an easy way out, isn’t it?
It’s easy when we’ve done wrong to say, “Everyone does it."
Everyone cheats on their spouse.
Everyone yells at their children.
Everyone breaks a promise now and then.
Everyone lies a little bit.
Everyone uses badlanguage.
Everyone covers up their sin.
Although we live in a society that encourages us to make excuses, most of us don’t need any encouragement. We are born knowing how to pass the buck.
Back to Eden
• It all goes back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. The serpent came to Eve and tricked her into eating the fruit. She offered some to Adam and he ate, knowing full well the consequences of his action. Suddenlythe world became a very unfriendly place. Fear entered the humanheart for the very first time. When Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hid.Sin had changed everything. Where once they talked with God freely, now they hid in the
forest lest their sin be discovered.
At length God called out to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam answered and said, “I hid because I was naked.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked?” Then the dreaded question: “Have you eaten from the tree that I commandedyou not to eat from?”
Adam is cornered, caught red-handed, stripped of all his excuses. God knows! Adam does what men usually do. He passes the buck. His answer is a classic form of evasion: “The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit fromthe true, and I ate it” (Genesis 3:12).
Did you get that? “The woman you put here with me." Adam passes the buck twice. First it was the woman. Then it was the woman you put here. “Lord, it was her fault. She gave me the fruit and so I ate it. What was I supposedto do? Say no and watch her pout all night? And anyway, who put her in the garden? You did! She wasn’tmy idea. I’m not complaining, Lord, because she’s beautiful andcute andall that, but I didn’t have this problem when it was just me and the animals.”
And so it goes. The first man, the father of the humanrace, is also the first one to pass the buck. Make no mistake. The Bible is telling us something significant. It is in our nature to denyour own guilt and to try to shift the blame to others. That’s what Genesis 3:7-12 is all about. It’s no coincidence that the first sin led to the first cover-up. The first disobedience led to the first denial. The first trespassing led to the first buck-passing.
In the thousands of years since then, nothing has really changed. Humannature is the same. Passing the buck is in our spiritual bloodstream. We do it now because Adam did it back then. He established the pattern:
Disobedience which leads to
Guilt which leads to
Shame which leads to
Fear which leads to
Hiding which leads to
Blaming others.
SolomonSays
• Let me come to my thesis: It is a fundamentalmark of spiritual health to be able to say, I was wrong." Blessed is the manwho can say those words because that manis on his way to spiritual health. If you want a verse to go with my thesis, jot down Proverbs 28:13, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
When we sin, we have two options. Option 1 is to conceal it. That means to cover it up, to make excuses, to rationalize, to pass the buck. When that happens, wedo not prosper. We go through the internal hell of living with a guilty conscience. In the words of Psalm 32:3, our bones waste away and our strength is sapped. We suffer physically and mentally because we conceal our sins. Nothing works right.
Or we can confess our sins and renouncethem. Both those words are important. To confess means to own up to what you did. When you confess your sins, you are saying, “Yes, I did it and I know it was wrong.” To renounce your sin means taking steps to break the destructive patterns in your own life. When you renounce your sins, you are saying, “I’ve been walking in the wrong path and now, with God’s help, I’m not going to walk in that path anymore. I’m going to change the
direction of my life."
“I Was Wr-r-r-r-r-r-”
• Not long ago I spoke for a week of Bible conference at Word of Life Florida. On Wednesday morning I gave this message. Before the service I told the young manoverseeing that sound system that I would be speaking on three words: “I was wrong.” He wrote it down and then said, “Those are hard words.”
He’s right.
It is not easy to say “I was wrong.” Most of us would rather do anything than to admit we were wrong. Do you remember how much trouble Fonzie had with this issue on the TV series HappyDays? Fonzie was too cool to ever admit he was wrong. Richie Cunninghamwould say to him, “Go ahead, admit it, you were wrong.” So Fonzie would go, “I was wr-r-r-r-r-r-r-.” He couldn’t get the word out. So he would end up saying, “I was wr-r-r-r-r-Not right!”
But “not right” is not the same thing as “wrong.” If you’re wrong, you’re wrong. But if you are “not right,” nobody really knows what you are.
Sometimes we make our excuses so subtly that we don’t realize what we’re doing. In one of his books, Bruce Larson uses the following example. Let’s say that you are describing an argumentyou had with your wife. You say, “All I said was, ‘Is your mother coming again?’”Now you don’t have to be an Einstein to figure out that you’re in trouble the moment those words come out of your mouth.
Whenever we preface something with the four words, “All I said was,” we’ve madea big mistake. Thoseare four of the most destructive words in the English language. Theyimply that you are sane, logical and loving and the other person is a nut. When you use those four words, you’re really saying, “It’s not my fault. I don’t have a problem. Somebody else has a problem.”
As long as you continue to say that, you cannot be forgiven.
As long as you say that, your relationships will remain broken.
As long as you say that, you will struggle with bitterness andresentment.
As long as you say that, you will remain locked out of the abundantlife Jesus came to provide.
As long as you blame others, your life will remain broken and fragmented. You’ll never know holiness or wholeness or mental and spiritual health.
“I Have Sinned”
• In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus told a story about a young manwho felt an urge to leave his father’s house. It’s a familiar story, one that has happened in almost every family. This young manasked for his portion of the family estate and left for a distant land. Therehe squandered his moneyon wild living. Days passed, then weeks, then months. At last the day came when the young manhad spent all his money. Now broke and destitute, he found himself in a desperate place, far from family
and friends. Although he was ashamed,he hired on with a farmer who put him to work slopping the hogs. He was so hungry that he found himself ready to eat with the pigs.
At that precise moment the light turned on in his brain. In a blinding flash, he saw himself and he saw what he had become. Most of all, he saw that it was his own stupidity that hadgotten him in such a mess. No longer would he blame his father or criticize his older brother. No longer would he pretend to be something he wasn’t. In that moment of self-revelation, he saw what he hadbecome. He knew that there was only one way back.
The strangeirony of his situation hit him like a ton of bricks. His father’s servants were eating their fill back at home, while he, the master’s son, was living with the pigs. Then he thought to himself, “I’m going to get up and go back home. When I get there, I’m going to say, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and againstyou. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired hands.’”
With that, the young mangot up, brushedhimself off, gathered his things and began making the long journey back home. He was still a long way off when his father spotted him trudging up the dustyroad. Before the young manknew what was happening, his father ran to him, threw his arms around him, kissed him and said, “Welcome home, son.”

44. Romans 3:28-29, Hebrews 11:1-2, OT Saints,
Saved By Grace
• QUESTION FOR THE DAY
• Dear Compass,
• I would like to know what happened to the faithful in the OT. Were any of them saved? I have heard that they were held in the bosom of Abraham
but cannot find that info in the Bible.
• Another wrote:
• Prior to Jesus, who was saved and what scriptural passages support the position?
•
ANSWER:
• Everyone who goes to heaven, those living prior to the cross and those living after the cross, will have been saved the same way—by faith.
• Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. —Hebrews 11:1-2
• For by grace you have been saved through faith . . . —Ephesians 2:8 (See also Hebrews 11:1-39, Romans 3:28, Romans 5:1-2)
• Those who lived prior to the cross could be saved, by faith, by trusting that God would send a future Messiah to pay for their sin. Those saved after
the cross look back to the cross, by faith, that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God.
• Today, when a believer (saved by faith) dies, he/she goes directly into the presence of the Lord.
• we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. —2 Corinthians 5:8But those saved
prior to Jesus' death on the cross could not yet go into the presence of the Lord when they died. They had to wait until the Messiah came and paid
for their sin.Since those who were saved and died prior to the cross could not yet go to heaven, God provided a place for them to wait for the
Messiah to come. This waiting place was called "Abraham's bosom" and was located next to Hades in the center of the earth. In fact, those who were
in Hades, conscious and in an agonizing flame, could look across the divider and see those in Paradise. This is all found in Luke 16:19-31, the account
(not a parable) of the rich man and Lazarus.
• When Jesus came and died on the cross, the first thing He did was to "descend" (Ephesians 4:9-10) to Abraham's bosom to bring up the saints of old
and take them to Paradise/heaven (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7). Some scholars even speculate that the strange verses in Matthew
about the dead saints appearing after Jesus' death (Matthew 27:51-53) are referring to redeemed saints from Abraham's bosom passing through the
surface of earth on the way to heaven.

45. sin nature, 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are
deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
• Q. Please help me explain something to my son. He says God is partly to blame for our sin because He created us. I told him that God didn’t create
people to sin but that Adam chose to sin. I know that God was not surprised and had a plan already in place. What can I tell him so that he does not
blame God for his sin. He says he does not feel guilty because it is not his fault that he sins, he was born that way.
• A. Your son is partially correct. Being born with a sin nature makes it impossible for us not to sin (Romans 7:14-20). But that doesn’t mean we can
blame God, because God did not create man that way. He created man in His own image, perfect. The first man and woman disobeyed God and let
Satan persuade them to sin. As a result all of their descendants have been cursed with an inability to avoid sinning. The only way we can reverse the
effects of that is to believe that Jesus died for our sins so we don’t have to (1 Peter 3:18).
• If your son is old enough to understand this, you can also tell him that no one after Adam and Eve was a direct creation of God. We are all the result of
the procreation process, wherein God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and increase in number (Genesis 1:28). From that point on, it has been
up to parents to decide when to bring a child into the world. Otherwise God could have isolated Adam and Eve and created all the rest of us to be
perfect. In that case He would have been responsible for making us sinners like your son claims.
• If your son is a believer, he’s also correct in saying he shouldn’t feel guilty, because from God’s perspective it’s not his fault. Paul explained this
in Romans 7:14-20 saying that God doesn’t count a believer’s sins against him and doesn’t condemn us when we do sin (Romans 8:1). He sees us as if
we’re perfect (Hebrews 10:12-14), a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), not because of our behavior, but because of our belief (Romans 3:21-24) .
• However, believers do try to avoid sinning as much as we can. We do this out of the gratitude we feel for the fact that the Lord has saved us and we
want to please Him. And we do feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit when we sin, because we know it’s not what God wants us to do. It makes us want
to ask Him to forgive us.
• When we do, God will always agree (1 John 1:9), because Jesus died for all the sins of our life, not just some of them.
• In summary, mature believers know they can’t entirely avoid sinning, and they know when they do God will forgive them every time they ask. Out of
gratitude for the free gift of salvation, we strive to live in a manner pleasing to Him, because we know that had it not been for His love for us, we would
all be lost forever.
• I realize I’ve given you a whole course on theology in a few sentences, and some of this may differ from what you’ve been taught. Study the references
I’ve included here and they will help you make more sense of it.
• http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/help-convince-son-gods-
fault/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gracethrufaith+%28GraceThruFaith%29

46. "What is the definition of sin?“
GotQuestions.org
• Question: "What is the definition of sin?"
Answer: Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua1:18). Sin had its beginning with Lucifer, probably
the most beautiful and powerful of the angels. Not content with his position, he desired to be higher than God, and that was his downfall, the beginning of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15). Renamed
Satan, he brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, “you shall be like God.” Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve’s
rebellion against God and against His command. Since that time, sin has been passed down through all the generations of mankind and we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited sin from
him. Romans 5:12 tells us that through Adam sin entered the world, and so death was passed on to all men because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Through Adam, the inherent inclination to sin entered the human race, and human beings became sinners by nature. When Adam sinned, his inner nature was transformed by his sin of
rebellion, bringing to him spiritual death and depravity which would be passed on to all who came after him. We are sinners not because we sin; rather, we sin because we are sinners. This
passed-on depravity is known as inherited sin. Just as we inherit physical characteristics from our parents, we inherit our sinful natures from Adam. King David lamented this condition of
fallen human nature in Psalm 51:5: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
Another type of sin is known as imputed sin. Used in both financial and legal settings, the Greek word translated “imputed” means “to take something that belongs to someone and credit it
to another’s account.” Before the Law of Moses was given, sin was not imputed to man, although men were still sinners because of inherited sin. After the Law was given, sins committed in
violation of the Law were imputed (accounted) to them (Romans 5:13). Even before transgressions of the law were imputed to men, the ultimate penalty for sin (death) continued to reign
(Romans5:14). All humans, from Adam to Moses, were subject to death, not because of their sinful acts against the Mosaic Law (which they did not have), but because of their own
inherited sinful nature. After Moses, humans were subject to death both because of inherited sin from Adam and imputed sin from violating the laws of God.
God used the principle of imputation to benefit mankind when He imputed the sin of believers to the account of Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for that sin—death—on the cross.
Imputing our sin to Jesus, God treated Him as if He were a sinner, though He was not, and had Him die for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2). It is important to understand that sin was
imputed to Him, but He did not inherit it from Adam. He bore the penalty for sin, but He never became a sinner. His pure and perfect nature was untouched by sin. He was treated as
though He were guilty of all the sins ever committed by the human race, even though He committed none. In exchange, God imputed the righteousness of Christ to believers and credited
our accounts with His righteousness, just as He had credited our sins to Christ’s account (2 Corinthians 5:21).
A third type of sin is personal sin, that which is committed every day by every human being. Because we have inherited a sin nature from Adam, we commit individual, personal sins,
everything from seemingly innocent untruths to murder. Those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ must pay the penalty for these personal sins, as well as inherited and imputed
sin. However, believers have been freed from the eternal penalty of sin—hell and spiritual death—but now we also have the power to resist sinning. Now we can choose whether or not to
commit personal sins because we have the power to resist sin through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, sanctifying and convicting us of our sins when we do commit them (Romans 8:9-
11). Once we confess our personal sins to God and ask forgiveness for them, we are restored to perfect fellowship and communion with Him. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
We are all three times condemned due to inherited sin, imputed sin, and personal sin. The only just penalty for this sin is death (Romans6:23), not just physical death but eternal death
(Revelation 20:11-15). Thankfully, inherited sin, imputed sin, and personal sin have all been crucified on the cross of Jesus, and now by faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior “we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Recommended Resources: Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie and Logos Bible Software.
GotQuestions.org

47. Transgression vs. hamartia
• Transgression speaks of being a rebel and
willingly crossing the line.
• Where as hamartia has to do with trying hard
but falling short of the glory of God.

48. John 1:14, Rom 3:23
• Karl Poppelreiter, July 5, 2015 at 8:04pm
•
• Once the glory of God resided over the Ark of the Covenant before
Israel, then in the Holy of Holies. John noted the glory of God is now
made visible in the Son (John 1:14) So by falling short of the glory of
God, we fall short of,the glory, who is Christ. Another very cool study is
the Greek verb tenses of "have sinned" & "fall short". "Have sinned" is
aorist, pointing back to Adam's sin as the federal representative of all
mankind. "Fall short" is present tense, indicating our present condition
of failing to meet the standard of perfection of the Glory of God ... that
is, Christ Jesus. I'm excited for you to be teaching Romans. I absolutely
love Paul's logic & explanation of our identification in fallen Adam,
transferred for the believer to identification in the died-risen-ascended
Last Adam. Exciting stuff!
48

49. Deuteronomy 9:4, Our Righteousness Was
By Christ’s Obedience To God's Law
• NAU Jeremiah 23:3 "Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock
out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back
to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 "I shall also raise up
shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid
any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD. 5
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I shall raise up for
David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do
justice and righteousness in the land. 6 "In His days Judah will be saved, And
Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called,
'The LORD our righteousness.' 7 "Therefore behold, the days are coming,"
declares the LORD, "when they will no longer say, 'As the LORD lives, who
brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,' 8 but, 'As the LORD
lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of
Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven
them.' Then they will live on their own soil."
49

50. Deuteronomy 9:4, OT Righteousness
Was By Obedience To God's Law
• NAU Deuteronomy 9:4 "Do not say in your heart when the
LORD your God has driven them out before you, 'Because of
my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this
land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that
the LORD is dispossessing them before you. 5 "It is not for
your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that
you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the
wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving
them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the
LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6
"Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the
LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you
are a stubborn people.
50

51. 2 Samuel 22:21, OT Righteousness
Was By Obedience To God's Law
• NAU 2 Samuel 22:21 "The LORD has rewarded me according
to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me. 22 "For I have kept the ways of the
LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God. 23 "For
all His ordinances were before me; And as for His statutes, I
did not depart from them. 24 "I was also blameless toward
Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 25 "Therefore the
LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness before His eyes. 26 "With the kind
Thou dost show Thyself kind, With the blameless Thou dost
show Thyself blameless; 27 With the pure Thou dost show
Thyself pure, And with the perverted Thou dost show Thyself
astute. 51

52. Romans 3:10, Sin Recall Notice
• RECALL NOTICE: The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the
heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units’ code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.This defect has been
identified as "Sub sequential Internal Non-morality," more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.
Some of the symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion
• The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect. The Repair Technician, JESUS, has
most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required. The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once
connected, please upload your burden of SIN through theREPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.
No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control
Please see the operating manual, theB.I.B.L.E.(BEST Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes. WARNING:Continuing to operate the human being unit
without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For
free emergency service, call on Jesus.
DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent
contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!
- GOD
P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee mail'!
Because HE Lives!
• Genesis 4:7 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door

53. Romans 3:23, Believers still sin!
• Today is March 7, 2014
•
Verse of the Day -- 1 John 1:8
•
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
•
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
• Believers still sin!
•
MINI BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DAY
• Our ever-present pride and ego work hard trying to make maturing Christians think they're doing
pretty well, getting a handle on life, and keeping the Lord first in most things. But the Bible says no,
we'll never "arrive" at our ultimate destination until we eventually shed these skins of sin and go to
heaven.
• The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; —Jeremiah 17:9for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God. —Romans 3:23
• The Greek word "sinned" used above in Romans 3:23 is in the present-active tense and means that
we continue sinning and continue to fall short of God's perfection. That's why God also tells us:
• If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. —1 John1:10

54. 54