Jehovah's Witnesses Straight Talk - Forum/Blog

Not One Righteous

Romans 3:10 As it is written, "There is no one righteous; no, not one.

Why did the apostle Paul under Holy Spirit say that no one is righteous, not one? Was Paul just having a bad day? Did Paul have a low opinion of God's love towards mankind? Were God's people not righteous like the prophets, Abraham, or even Christ, for that matter weren't these all declared righteous by God/YHWH?

This is a very troubling thought for many Jew's and Christian's alike that can't imagine why Paul stated such shocking things about the human condition. In fact, many Christian's reject Paul's teachings, some going so far as hating anything Paul wrote not even considering him as God's messenger.

Whom was Paul speaking too here, and what was the circumstance Paul was dealing with, perhaps, this will give us some clued as to Paul controversial words? He was speaking to the birth of a new spiritual nation, which had been born by the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit after Christ Resurrection. God's favor over the physical temple of YHWH upon earth was removed in favor of Christ precious life which opened a new covenant, with a new nation, of spiritual Israelites.

Romans 10:19 But I ask, didn't Israel know? First Moses says, "I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation, with a nation void of understanding I will make you angry."{Deuteronomy 32:31}
Galatians 6:16 As many as walk by this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on God's Israel.

Ephesians 2:12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

This great physical nation of Israel had been under law for thousand's of years, they were the son's of the prophets - Abraham's seed, they loved God, and God's law, and His prophets, they boast in them. They were faced with something all of us are faced with, is our good feelings and love for God enough to make us righteous? Pointedly, the apostle Paul's says no under the power of Holy Spirit this statement and many others like it would incite great anger is some whom trusted in their own goodness, they simply could not imagine their feelings, and desires were not enough to be declared righteous before God in Christ.

Romans 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, "There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

1 Corinthians 10:18 Consider Israel according to the flesh. Don't those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?

How could a prophet not be declared righteous by all his good works? How could they not be declared righteous by keeping God's law, wasn't God pleased in their personal efforts to serve him? Moreover, would the Jew's feel condemned, if their best was good enough? Was God not love, if they could not show God how much they loved him than what was the point of God helping man in the first place? Their love of God quickly changed to hate for the apostle Paul, they honestly believed he was teaching against God as an apostate!

Romans 9:31 but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn't arrive at the law of righteousness.

Impartiality of the Law

Either Paul was lying, or he was telling the truth in Christ in saying that not one person was righteous before God, which was it? Here we must separate truth from our personal emotions, or we will end up on a road that will lead us into destruction. The law of God, or man are devoid of emotion, if they are not, and are practice from emotions they are not impartial if each person imputes their own standards based upon their feelings, there is no law or justice for everyone whom Christian's are to love. Do you understand this? God's law defines an actions in humans that must be judged righteous or unrighteous by his law not personal worth. Man's law define actions considered illegal by society, such as running a stop sign. When a person is caught running a stop sign they are fined the same as anyone else running the stop sign, the law also defines the penalty for the violation, and the courts rely upon the same law to enforce both the violation, and the cost of being convicted of the crime.

Levitius 19:15 "'You shall do no injustice in judgment: you shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

Proverbs 18:5 To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good, nor to deprive the innocent of justice.

We may will not like the penalty, but the law must apply no matter the excuse we have for running the stop sign. Some people hate the law for punishing them they hate the police, and the courts system. and so on, but their negative feelings will not change the material fact of law no matter what emotions they have towards its authority.

Can A Sinner be Righteous?

This is a fair question in light of Paul's statement. Moreover, was Paul's statement a blanket statement, or a fact of law, or could a person ever be declared righteous as a sinner? Yes, a person could be declared righteous as a sinner, but such declaring of one righteous by God had to be done by God's authority,and his justice, not their own judgment of their personal righteousness based upon feelings or worthiness or unworthiness. Here than Paul separates the two; he states the law declared all of us sinners and unrighteous, all human rather Jew or Greek, not one person could keep God's law as a sinner, not one. In other words, there was no performance a man could do as a sinner that would make them righteous by God's law being born into sin, We are not talking about sin as a condition under the law, in a limited way, in having those sins atone for under the law. In other words, the blood on the altar did not remove Adam's sin from them, it did not prefect them as sinless from Adam's sin. It did remove sins of their flesh as sinner living in their flesh upon earth under God's law, but still all human have Adam's sin. A person reading Roman's must understand there is a difference or they will draw the wrong inference.

1 John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.

Sadly, most of the Jews missed this point for self-merit, self-worthiness. However, some got it, but how? It was by the blood, yes, the blood, and not human goodness. In other words, a person is or is not a sinner according to the law? Either God be found true, or man whom says their personal worth exempts them from the laws judgment is this true? Than why the blood? Why would a human have to have an innocent animal died for them to be righteous before God, if our personal worth could exempt us by faith alone?

Hebrews 11:28 By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.

Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.

In other words, are we mocking God, do we think millions of animals slaughter over thousand's of years is a mere nothing for our good motives, what fine does the law fine us for in a violation of it laws? What must we pay for a simple mistakes of running a stop sign? Do we feel dejected and personally offend, put down as it were for having to paid the fine? Or rather to we own up, saying: “hey, you do the crime you pay the fine”!

Hebrews 9:22 According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.

The Fine Under the Law?

Are we talking law, or love, if we are talking law than one must put on their legal hat, and remove their emotions, or they will pervert justice of God for all mankind. The law demanded Israel to pay for their crimes against His law, those that were innocently done from human error, and some that were deliberately done from evil hearts. Emotion did not matter the laws must be kept or pay the fine required within it.

Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh:

The payment, innocent animal blood that was the penalty for sinning against God righteous law. Sorry, without paying the fine, one could not be right with the State, just like the lesser laws of man, until the violation is paid off, one is outlawed from the State, and its benefit and/or blessing, the person cannot be made right until the violation is satisfied by the laws own standards of that land.

Hebrews 9:7 but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself, and for the errors of the people.

Now separating personal goodness from this discussion about an unemotional subject the law, no human could pay the price completely under the law for their sins. Now stop here take a breathe, yes, a person could pay the price within the condition outline by the law which was limited to certain sins while living in Adam's sin, but not all sin, what does that mean?

Psalms 49:7 none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.

Human under the sin of Adam, is a condition of death, a condition of all humans living on earth, or in Israel that will die because of Adam sin no matter how much animal blood is offered upon altar, this is what Paul speak too here. In other words, not one person under Adam's sin could redeem themselves into eternal life by animal blood, the blood on the altar of God was limited to sins of our flesh which are not sin causing us death past on too by us for being Adam's children.

No man on earth or woman stood in enough righteousness to redeem themselves from the sins of Adam. They were all unrighteous in this manner; even men and woman not under law, there was a limited declaring righteous of one by God under the laws demands, but not from Adam's sin, righteousness was in a limited way, sins animal blood would cover, the sins of their flesh upon earth under God's law, but none were declared righteous for eternal life from Adams sin. That could only happen if they were a perfect man without sin!

Offending the Flesh

Paul set out to offend the flesh of the Jews, to incite them to jealousy that some might be saved. Of the Jews there were only a remnant, or a few whom actually separated their personal efforts in serving God by works of law, this was because their works towards the law was their love towards God, and under the law they could be declared righteous in this by animal blood. So when Paul went further in saying not one person is righteous applying the full scope of God righteousness required for everlasting, and than he outlined the real condition of the human heart of Jews and Gentiles alike under Adam sin, wow! How could someone impune their good motives towards God? They flew into a fit of rage, who was this man telling them all men are liars and hater, and their mouths were full of evil words, and cursing of other human?

Rom.3:11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. 3:12 They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not, so much as one."{Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20}
3:13 "Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit."{Psalm 5:9} "The poison of vipers is under their lips;"{Psalm 140:3} 3:14 "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."{Psalm 10:7}

That rage proved one-thing, God was right about our limited righteousness under his law, it did not address the greater problem of unrighteousness from Adam's sin being completed removed from Adam and the hateful condemnation of their brothers they had in their hearts.

This same rage killed Christ; when one teaches against the law they are deserving of death. Yes, they were willing to kill another mans flesh, but not so much their own cherish and loved flesh despite its constant need of atonement by innocent blood. Their feeling, and emotions were righteous and pure, only an evil person could suggest otherwise!

James 1:16 Don't be deceived, my beloved brothers.
1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 1:19 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; 1:20 for the anger of man doesn't produce the righteousness of God.

They hated Paul, with a righteous hatred, but was their righteous hate limited righteousness that was purchase by the animal blood upon the altar, yes, it was! They had missed the whole purpose of the law, the very witness laid upon the altar proving they had no self-rightness before God the witnesses of righteous blood. The State of Israel i.e., its laws had convicted them of sin, sin that was a violation of the very covenant of God. How must they pay the fine, by more good works, by more emotions, more love towards the law, or by unemotional offering the law prescribe payment for their violation, blood atonement? A gift from God upon the altar. Yes, a gift of life, not their own life, they may have owned the animal raised for their offering of sin, but they did not own the gift of life in it. How foolish some were, perhaps, thinking their hard work in growing and taking care of the animal was enough, God would see their faith and pass-over their sin, but was that enough good or merit to atone for their sins against the requirement of the law, or was their good motive, even if their offering was of the best was it enough, without shedding blood, did their effort outweigh the power of the blood, was their good motives good enough to atone for their sins without killing there animal completely?

No, certainly God appreciate their deepest desire to love him by bring a special animal to the altar, but until the blood was shed their sins stood. In other words, they had no merit in themselves to atone for their sins, the life of the animal had the merit, not them. They could put faith in killing completely the animal to gain a righteous standing before God. But nothing less or else would pay the fine!

Merit In The Blood of Christ

Where does our merit come from? Is it our good and loving motives to served God? Well, God does love us for serving him and wanting to please him, but should we nullify the blood of Christ for our personal goodness, or should we teach Christ merit over are own good motives? Well, you have no personal merit that will deliver you into eternal life from sin without the blood of Christ, don't forget your cleansing, don't boast in your efforts since accepting Christ righteousness. This is Paul's message, you can feel condemned by it, or relieved in not having to be perfect in feelings and actions to be saved and loved by God. If Paul hadn't completed his minister how many things we would be lacking in understanding why Christ spoke the many things he did? How many Jews and Gentles alike would have never came to Christ fully appreciative of unmerited love God gives us freely?

Romans 3:24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

Isn't is wonderful to know you can be a wretch person having no merit before God, and God so loves you He supplies us the merit of Christ freely, how can a person go beyond that message and remain faithful to the message of Christ?

Hebrews 9:15 For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Completed on: December 30, 2013

by: Daniel a Slave of Christ Jesus