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n our verse-by-verse study of Romans last time we completed Rom 3:17;
Expanded Translation Rom 3:17; "In fact they have not known the way of peace," (they have not known adjustment to God's justice so they have not known blessing from God's justice.)
The word "eirene" or peace also means prosperity so it refers to our relationship with God's integrity that is the predicate or sine que non of individual and national prosperity.
Rom 3:18; from Psa 36:1b; from the Hebrew: "Transgression speaks to the ungodly (maladjustment to God's justice) within his heart, there is no respect of God before his eyes."
In other words, transgression is the violation of the laws of divine establishment and the principles whereby one becomes adjusted to God's justice. Transgression normally has a very narrow sense of being used for certain types of sins, but in this case transgression has a broader sense for violation God's rules for life.
God's justice sets up the rules and the rules of life include certain very well defined principles. "No respect for God before his eyes" means there is no relationship with God's integrity.
"There is no fear of God before their eyes" from the present active indicative of "eimi "and the negative "ouk." The static present means constantly not. Then the predicate nominative singular from "phobos" that has several related meanings.
It originally meant fear, but when you had fear of authority it came to mean respect and awe. It is even a great word in the Greek for love. The strongest love found among the ancient Greeks was described as "phobos." When they had respect for someone and loved then it was a much more stable love than relative love of sentimentality.
Next is an adverb used as a preposition "apenanti" translated "before" with it "ophthalomos;" plus a possessive genitive plural of the intensive pronoun "autos " translated "their." There is no respect for God in their perception."
Expanded Translation Rom 3:18; "There is no respect for God before their eyes (no respect for God in their perception)."
This has application to the individual and to the nation. Any member of the human race, who ignores his personal sins, is indicative of the status of spiritual death.
If that person at the same time brings his own human righteousness to God for salvation, has neither respect for God nor awe for His integrity and no respect for the thinking of God.
We call this maladjustment because maladjustment to God's means no relationship with God's integrity because of salvation maladjustment. No relationship with God's integrity means lack of respect from human ignorance and arrogance that creates self-righteousness.
Continued lack of relationship with God's integrity results in compounding arrogance that builds up the case for self-righteousness that always excludes God's integrity. Excluding God's integrity results in no respect for God and no blessing from God.
On the national level, no nation can possess freedom, prosperity and blessing apart from God's integrity. Respect for God's integrity originates by adjustment to God's justice.
Only God's justice can bless mankind, and only under grace conditions. Social, economic and political reform apart from God's integrity is useless, meaningless, and they create a tyrannical government.
Social, economic and political reform apart from God's integrity causes injustice, chaos, revolution, national degeneration, and eventual destruction under the 5th cycle of discipline.
Political and theological liberalism seeks social, economic and political reform apart from God's integrity. Therefore human good, the plans and schemes of socialism, identity politics, the function of the welfare state, are doomed to disaster.
Historically no nation with a welfare state has ever survived.
Verses 19-20, address the true purpose of the Mosaic Law.
Rom 3:19; starts with the enclitic conjunctive particle "de" that is used as a transitional conjunction that is translated "now" in the English translations.
With it is the perfect active indicative of "oida" translated "know" in the present tense that means awareness, cognizance and comprehension.
This is a perfective present that denotes the continuation of existing results. The existing results come from understanding Bible doctrine. If there is only one virtue in the Christian way of life it would be knowing and understanding doctrine.
Doctrine is the only way that we can relate to God's integrity it is the only way we can orient to God's grace policy that is God's plan from eternity past.
The active voice: the first person plural suffix that is used if the assertion contains facts related to the one talking along with other believers.
Therefore Paul and other believers produce the action of the verb. It is translated correctly, "we." The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of understanding a point of doctrine.
After words of comprehension we often have a conjunction that is used to indicate the content of perception "hoti" followed by the nominative neuter plural from the correlative conjunction "hosos", used in a qualitative sense such as "whatever" as in the NASB or "how many" is a good translation.
The nominative singular subject ho nomos" refers to the Mosaic law because of the particle "ho." This is monadic construction similar to what we have seen before with "ho Logos" referring to Jesus Christ.
The Mosaic Law has been abused by the religious Jews and distorted into a system of producing self-righteousness instead of God's original purpose of condemnation.
The present active indicative of the verb "lego" means to say, to speak to communicate. The present tense is a retroactive progressive present denoting what has begun in the past and continues into the present.
The active voice: the Mosaic Law produces the action by its communication as a part of the Word of God. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality.
Since the law has been written people have studied it, people have examined it, people have heard it taught, and they have come to one of two conclusions.
They recognize that they are condemned by the law and need to turn to God's grace for help, or they try to misuse the law to develop a system of self-righteousness and try to gain God's acceptance by trying and hoping that they can be good enough by keeping the law.
This is the essential difference between religion and Christianity. So far we have: "But we understand that whatever things the law says."
Then we have another verb for communication, the present active indicative of "laleo" translated "speaks." The present tense is a historical present viewing a past event with the vividness of a present occurrence. The active voice: the Mosaic Law produces the action.
The declarative indicative is for a dogmatic and unqualified assertion of fact. The dative plural indirect object from the definite article is used as a pronoun. The dative of indirect object indicates the Jews in whose interest the law was given.
With this is a dative of advantage and a prepositional phrase, "eis" plus the locative of " ho nomos. Translation: "it speaks (communicates) to those under the jurisdiction of the law."