This portion wraps up the first part of Romans that establishes the guilt of the whole world. Openly rebellious, good people guided by their consciences and the religious all stand justly condemned.
This seems to be a very modern concern, "How can God be right to condemn people?" This is a central, yet man-centered question. Paul shows the purpose of God's standard is to show sin, and then, it should be obvious to all, everyone is guilty. To establish the fact, he quotes the Old Testament.
In the first nine verses he defends God twice. This requires an assumption that God permits sin and then judges it as a revelation of his holy character (Romans 3:5 & Romans 3:7). This is, I believe, why God permits/ordains sin and hell. He does it to display his justice and holiness in ways that a 'non-sinful world' would never display.
The prospect of non-guilt is at its heart, a nonsensical problem. Sin and a deceitful heart function best with nonsense. Reality bites.
No comments:
Post a Comment