Romans 3:1-31
In chapter 4 Paul begins to mention and brings Abraham into the picture
since the Jews always boasted about how they had Abraham as their father.
"Ok, allow me to talk about your father Abraham for a moment, and I want
you judging Jews to tell me what it was that Abraham gained and found
through the law?" Now, I've covered the definition of the usage
of the word "flesh" before in many of my other articles, but it is worth
repeating that the word "flesh" found here in verse one of chapter 4
has nothing to do with what Evangelical Christianity has led us to believe.
Example: "Yes brothers and Sisters in the Lord. You born again of the
Spirit believing, fearing and faithful saints of God. As pertaining
to the flesh Abraham found nothing. You see, when you are in the flesh
you can't find the things that God wants to give you. If you want to
find what God has for you then you need to stop smoking, chewing, drinking,
spitting, cursing, lying, cheating and abstaining from every sinful
desire of the flesh. Everytime Abraham got in the flesh he found nothing,
but the moment he got in the spirit, he found where God wanted him to
go, what to do, not to do and God bless Abraham for his good deeds."
Believe it or not, this is the heresy that Evangelical pulpits preach.
Some with more eloquence than others, and others with a lot of hallelujah
bake, shake and quake, get me all sensationalized with condemnation,
tears and repentance. Friends, when Paul said that Abraham had found
(gained) nothing pertaining to the flesh, he was making reference to
the law. God did not justified (as if he had never sinned) Abraham by
works according to verse 2. What were these works? They were the works
of the law. Paul is saying to the people at Rome:
"Hey look, if God would have justified Abraham because of the
works that he had done, then Abraham had something to brag about, and
if he did brag about what he had done, then he might as well party to
himself because God gave him no credit for any of his works." This
is my Puerto Rican Concordance Translation. This goes to show every
self-righteous religion, cult and occult too, that none of you gain
nothing with God through any of your religious works. I don't care if
you are a Christian, a Jew, a Satanist, a Spiritualist, New Age, Old
Age, Muslim, Hindu, or what have you.
None of you gain nothing with God through any of your performance and
not a single man or woman who has ever lived, is living or is yet to
live will ever be justified before God through any of their good deeds.
All of man's deeds are as filthy rags. God concluded the whole world
as being sinners so thatHe could justify them in Christ and through
Christ, and Christ only as all being righteous. Now, in verse 3 we come
to another religious "snag" and the word that Evangelical's focus the
most on is the word "Believed." Here's where the baby is thrown out
of the tub with the bath water.
"Ok Eddie, how are you going to get around verse 3? Doesn't it say that
Abraham believed God? Come on now, let's see how your greasy grace and
sloppy agape message of all redeemed, all forgiven, all to heaven fits
in with verse 3." Again, what was it that Abraham believed God for?
Did it say that Abraham believed "IN" God? Or does it say that Abraham
"believed God"? The moment I counter the out of context nonsense of
many of these accusing legalist, of me preaching a gospel of demons,
their own religious defensive, don't know what to say demons come out
and they blast me with all sort of "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."
Evangelical Christians can't handle the heat when they try to cook in
the kitchen. They have a difficult time answering questions when their
religious, self-righteous doctrines are put against the wall. As long
as they continue to read the bible by the numbers and mix old testament
law with grace they will never see the forest from the trees. Friends,
if God justified Abraham before the law was ever given, and without
him having done anything right, what makes us think that God would treat
the rest of the world any different? Abraham believed that God would
justify the heathen as much as He would justify the self-righteous.
That's what Abraham believed.
To be continued....
Grace N Peace
Eddie Narvaez