notes

Main point summary

Because Christ Jesus is the sole completer the law attaining righteousness, the only option we have to attain to the righteousness of God and be saved is to renounce all attempts to do the works of the law unto salvation and instead believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord and call upon his name.

10:1-13 Arc

editing

NT

Romans 10:1-13

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mine

Ἀδελφοί, ἡ μὲν εὐδοκία τῆς ἐμῆς καρδίας καὶ ἡ δέησις πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εἰς σωτηρίαν. μαρτυρῶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὅτι ζῆλον θεοῦ ἔχουσιν ἀλλʼ οὐ κατʼ ἐπίγνωσιν• ἀγνοοῦντες γὰρ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν [δικαιοσύνην] ζητοῦντες στῆσαι, τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ὑπετάγησαν. τέλος γὰρ νόμου Χριστὸς εἰς δικαιοσύνην παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι. Μωϋσῆς γὰρ γράφει τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ [τοῦ] νόμου ὅτι ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς.

...for Moses writes concerning the righteousness which is of the law, "The one who does them shall live by them."

ἡ δὲ ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοσύνη οὕτως λέγει•

Now, the righteousness of faith [telling a cautionary tale that is like unto the situation in vv. 1-5] speaks in this way,

μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου• τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν;

"Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'"

τοῦτʼ ἔστιν Χριστὸν καταγαγεῖν•

(That is, [ascend in order] to bring down Christ)

actionpurpose

ἤ• τίς καταβήσεται εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον;

"or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?'"

τοῦτʼ ἔστιν Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναγαγεῖν.

(That is, [descend in order] to bring Christ up from the dead).

alternative

ideaexplanation

ἀλλὰ τί λέγει;

Instead [offering corrective words to these ill advised approaches], what does it say?

ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου,

"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,"

τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως ὃ κηρύσσομεν.

(That is, the word of faith which we are preaching),

questionanswer

ὅτι ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου κύριον Ἰησοῦν

that if you should confess with your mouth Jesus to be Lord

καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν,

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

bothand

σωθήσῃ•

you shall be saved,

inference

καρδίᾳ γὰρ πιστεύεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην,

[and the righteousness of faith offers this correction] because by means of the heart one believes unto righteousness,

στόματι δὲ ὁμολογεῖται εἰς σωτηρίαν.

and [by extension] by means of the mouth one confesses unto salvation,

progression

λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή• πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐπʼ αὐτῷ

for the Scripture says, "All who are believing upon him

οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται.

shall not be put to shame [because through their faith they shall be in possession of the righteousness of God],"

actionresult

οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολὴ Ἰουδαίου τε καὶ Ἕλληνος,

[and all are included] because the distinction is not of Jew and of Greek,

ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς κύριος πάντων,

for the same Lord is over all [of those who have fallen short of his glory],

πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν•

[because he is] rich unto all who call upon him,

πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὂνομα κυρίου

for all who should call upon the name of the Lord

σωθήσεται.

shall be saved [and in this manner, those who have fallen short shall enter into the riches of his glory once again].

ground

negativepositive

The riches of his glory are made known to the vessels of mercy who are us, the ones he called who are now calling upon him

The righteousness of faith, similarly to the previous situation, tells a cautionary tale against thinking that one might have obtained it via his own righteousness

This is how it offers correction. Don't seek to do because it has already been done. Believe and you will be saved.

stems from "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

The connection between righteousness and salvation is signaled by this δε. (cf. Rom. 1:16-17)

Dan Fuller's book Gospel & Law: Contrast or Continuum? does not mention the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Beware of language that suggests this or leans in this direction. Obedience of faith is a fruit of the ultimate righteousness imputed to us by Christ. Obedience of faith is not something that enables us to be righteous after Christ unlocks our ability to do obey by faith. **Think more about this**

Beginning here, think more about the influence of Prov. 30:1-33 , esp. vv. 1-4 . -Also vv. 5-6 seem to bear upon Paul's language in Rom. 3:4

na28

discourse

Diagram

scripturetext

components

Romans 10:5-13

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text

γὰρ

subjectverb

Μωϋσῆς

solid

drop

equal

revrocket

line

pred

γράφει

shelf

cword

vertical

ὁ

ἄνθρωπος

ζήσεται

participle

pstack

ποιήσας

directobject

αὐτὰ

prepphrase

ἐν

αὐτοῖς

ὅτι

τὴν

δικαιοσύνην

τὴν

ἐκ

[τοῦ]

νόμου

δὲ

ἡ

δικαιοσύνη

λέγει

οὕτως

ἐκ

πίστεως

εἴπῃς

μὴ

ἐν

τῇ

καρδίᾳ

σου

rocketship

τίς

ἀναβήσεται

εἰς

τὸν

οὐρανόν

dblaccusative

καταγαγεῖν

Χριστὸν

τοῦτʼ

ἔστιν

τίς

καταβήσεται

εἰς

τὴν

ἄβυσσον

ἀναγαγεῖν

Χριστὸν

ἐκ

νεκρῶν

τοῦτʼ

ἔστιν

ἤ

ἀλλὰ

[ἡ

δικαιοσύνη]

λέγει

τί

[ἐκ

πίστεως]

equals

τὸ

ῥῆμά

ἐστιν

ἐγγύς

σου

ἐν

τῷ

στόματί

ἐν

τῇ

καρδίᾳ

σου

σου

καὶ

ἐὰν

ὁμολογήσῃς

πιστεύσῃς

Ἰησοῦν

predicate

κύριον

ἐν

τῇ

καρδίᾳ

σου

ὁ

θεὸς

ἤγειρεν

αὐτὸν

ἐκ

νεκρῶν

ὅτι

ἐν

τῷ

στόματί

σου

καὶ

σωθήσῃ

ὅτι

table

τὸ

ῥῆμα

τῆς

πίστεως

ἔστιν

τοῦτʼ

γὰρ

πιστεύεται

εἰς

δικαιοσύνην

καρδίᾳ

ὁμολογεῖται

εἰς

σωτηρίαν

στόματι

δὲ

γὰρ

ἡ

γραφή

λέγει

ὁ

πᾶς

καταισχυνθήσεται

οὐ

πιστεύων

ἐπʼ

αὐτῷ

γάρ

διαστολὴ

ἐστιν

οὐ

Ἰουδαίου

Ἕλληνος

καὶ

τε

γὰρ

ὁ

κύριος

αὐτὸς

πάντων

πλουτῶν

εἰς

τοὺς

πάντας

ἐπικαλουμένους

αὐτόν

γὰρ

κηρύσσομεν

ὃ

smartline

dashed

free

ttext

σωθήσεται

ὃς

ἂν

πᾶς

ἐπικαλέσηται

τὸ

ὂνομα

κυρίου

OR

πᾶς

σωθήσεται

ὃς

ἐπικαλέσηται

ἂν

τὸ

ὂνομα

κυρίου

Dative of means

Dative of means

Ecbatic

Genitive of subordination

Accusative of reference

Is this object or subject?

Makes more sense to say that Jesus is Lord because of the use of κυριος as a substitute for Yahweh. Like John 1 which says that the Word was God, not God was the Word. **See Wallace p.187ff** Jesus is God, but God is not exclusively Jesus, God is Trinitarian

Is this subject or PN? Does it make a difference in the distinctions? Check Wallace on the placement of a single nominative in an εστιν construction. Seems best to make it the subject. Don't need an article to make it definite. The lack of an article could mean that he is drawing attention to or "introducing" formally the distinction he is already talking about. There is a distinction, but it is not Jew/Gentile but of the kinds of righteousness.

Periphrastic with an implied ειμι? -"The same Lord over all is being rich unto all who call upon him." Adverbial ? -"The same Lord is over all, being rich to those who call upon him." **Both of these readings seem to tie together the idea that being "over all" means "being rich to those who call upon him."** -The manner in which he is over all

The first option seems better because Indefinite relative clauses do not have an antecedent (Wallace, 660)

diagram

Grammar Notes, Questions

Parsing -καταγαγειν - aor act infin (2nd aorist of καταγω) -αναγαγειν - aor act infin (2nd aorist of αναγω) -σωθησῃ - future mid/pas indic 2 sg Translation ...for Moses writes concerning the righteousness which is of the law, "The one who does them shall live by them." Now, the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (That is, to bring down Christ) "or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead). Instead, what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart," (That is, the word of faith which we preach), because if you should confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For by means of the heart one believes unto righteousness, and by means of the mouth one confesses unto salvation, for the Scripture says, "All who are believing upon him shall not be put to shame," for there is no distinction of Jew and of Greek, for the same Lord is over all, being rich to all who call upon him, for all who should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Grammar Notes -" The subjunctive is frequently used after ὅστις ( ἄν / ἐάν ) or ὅς ( δ’ ) ἄν . The construction normally indicates a generic (or sometimes an uncertain) subject (but cf. Luke 9:4; John 1:33; Rom 9:15; 2 Cor 11:21); hence, the particle of contingency and the need for a subjunctive. The construction is roughly the equivalent of a third class or fifth class condition. (The difference is that in indefinite relative clauses the element of contingency is not that of time but of person.) Hence, the subjunctive is often translated like an indicative, since the potential element belongs to the subject rather than the verb." (Wallace, 478) -" An indefinite relative clause contains a verb in the subjunctive mood plus the particle ἄν (or ἐάν ) and refers to an unspecified individual or group, or to an event or action (e.g., ὃ ἐὰν ῂδίκαιον [whatever is right] in Matt 20:4; ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος [whoever wants to be first among you] in Matt 20:27). Indefinite relative clauses have no antecedent ." (Wallace, 660) -τε και constructions as in v. 12 are used in similar ways in Rom. 1:16, 2:9-10, 3:9. Any implications? -"The point Paul is making is not [simply] a one; rather, it is a salvation-history point...he is stressing the complete continuity between God's purpose through his covenant with Israel and the climax of that purpose in Christ...Now that God has acted in and through Christ to bring in the final stage of his purpose for all humankind, the Jew can no longer claim special rights of access to God which are unavailable to the uncircumcised Greek, but must recognize that God has so disposed himself that access is now henceforth through Christ." (Dunn, WBC, 617-18) --> relationship to Christ the completer of the law unto righteousness in v. 5? -The participial phrase πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν is interesting as a post-nuclear participial phrase. How is this functioning? Other "riches" passages in Romans include, Rom. 2:4, 9:23, 11:12, 11:33 Questions 1. I am trying to prove that vv. 1-5 describe the righteousness which is of the law as a more detailed description of the group in Rom. 9:31-33, and vv. 6-13 describe the righteousness of faith as a more detailed description of the group in Rom. 9:30. So I will seek to establish the unity of vv. 6-13, and to show how these verses relate to vv. 1-5, vv. 30-33, and to the preceding passage. -The connection between having the right righteousness in vv. 30-33 seems to be explained in vv. 1-13 by being saved and not being saved. -Context of Deut 30:12-14 citation: Israel is warned against presuming that their inheritance of the land is due to their own righteousness [Deut. 9:4-5]...the following quotations indicate that righteousness depends on God's work alone, for he is the one who sent the Messiah to earth and raised him from the dead. (Schreiner 558) 2. Is there a significant difference between believing with the heart unto righteousness and confessing with the mouth unto salvation? -"The parallelism demonstrates that drawing a distinction between righteousness and salvation would be oversubtle...the word corresponding to righteousness is salvation, which restates the assertion of v. 9. The central thesis propounded in vv. 9-10 is that the one who believes and confesses Jesus as the resurrected Lord will be saved." (Schreiner 560) -"The emphasis on belief and its expression in open confession marks out clearly the difference from a response characterized by "works." This presumably is the reason that the point is put as a conditional clause: the one essential condition of salvation is faith, the acceptance by heart and lip of what God has done in and through Christ...the generalization [in v. 10] heightens still further the contrast with righteousness from the law." He says that heart = faith and mouth = confession, combined, these words imply a confession which springs from a wholehearted inner conviction...this is what Deut 30:11-14 always looked for...To understand righteousness in terms simply of keeping the law, is to misunderstand how God's righteousness was to be received and to put your salvation in jeopardy. (Dunn, WBC 616) - Paul again writes rhetorically: the wording of the two parallel clauses follows the same order; and each clause reiterates one of the conditions of v. 9, but in reverse order (thus forming a chiasm). This evident rhetorical interest suggests [p. 659] that Paul would not want us to find any difference in the meanings of “righteousness” and “salvation” here. 63 Each expresses in a general way the new relationship with God that is the result of believing “with the heart” and confessing “with the mouth.” " (Moo 658-59) -"The point is repeated in a generalized assertion in v. 10, where the clauses are distinct only for rhetorical effect, as determined by the wording of Deut 30:14." (Dunn 616) -" This general way of stating the matter prepares the way for Paul’s universalizing application in vv. 11–13 ." (Moo, 658)

Other Notes

Exegetical Notes - Is it significant that the righteousness is speaking and not Moses in v. 6? -Concerning the Object/Complement construction in v. 9, Wallace writes " First, which is the object and which is the complement? Since the object-complement construction is an embedded subject-predicate nom. clause, the same rules apply here. Thus, since Ἰησοῦν is a proper name, it is the object (and κύριον is the complement). Second, what are the semantics of the components? That is, what does Paul mean here by “Lord”? Since the complement κύριον precedes the object, it is possible that it is definite though anarthrous. Thus, the confession would be that Jesus is the Lord, that is, Yahweh. 42 This is substantiated by the context: Since Paul is alluding to and even directly quoting the OT here, his thought is colored by it. In vv 11 and 12, Christ is still clearly in view. And in v 13 he again mentions κύριος without indicating that a different Lord is in view. Thus to confess that Jesus is the Lord is to confess that he is the Lord mentioned in v 13. This verse is a quotation of Joel 3:5 (Hebrew; 2:32 in LXX), in which “Lord” is in reference to Yahweh. Such an allusion is hardly accidental, but part of the Pauline soteriological confession. 43 For Paul, to confess that Jesus is Lord is to confess that he is Yahweh." (Wallace, 188) - Makes more sense to say that Jesus is Lord because of the use of κυριος as a substitute for Yahweh. Like John 1 which says that the Word was God, not God was the Word. **See Wallace p.187ff** Jesus is God, but God is not exclusively Jesus, God is Trinitarian - Seems best to make διαστολη the subject of v. 12a. It does not need an article to make it definite. The lack of an article could mean that he is drawing attention to or "introducing" formally the distinction he is already talking about. There is a distinction, but it is not Jew/Greek but of the kinds of righteousness. This idea of a distinction is present in Rom. 3:22, where the ideas of righteousness of the law and righteousness of faith are being talked about. -The participial phrase πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν is interesting as a post-nuclear participial phrase. How is this functioning? Other "riches" passages in Romans include, Rom. 2:4,9:23,11:12, 11:33 -->Previously, in Rom. 3:22-23 , the distinction is not, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God --> The riches of his glory are made known to the vessels of mercy who are us, the ones he called [καλεω] (Rom. 9:23), who are here the ones who call upon him [επικαλεω] (Rom. 10:12) -->Now the distinction is not of Jew and of Greek, for the same Lord is over all, being rich unto all who call upon [επικαλεω] him. -->All have sinned and their mouths are stopped, now all who believe shall be saved. -καταισχυνω appears in many psalms contrasting the wicked and the righteous, notably Ps. 31:17, and it appears in many places referring the the fate of the redeemed on the Day of Yahweh (e.g. Joel 2:26-27; Zeph. 3:11; Isa. 54:4; Jer. 17:18) -The ὁτι clause in v. 9 could be either content or causal. Questions 1. I am trying to prove that vv. 1-5 describe the righteousness which is of the law as a more detailed description of the group in Rom. 9:31-33, and vv. 6-13 describe the righteousness of faith as a more detailed description of the group in Rom. 9:30. So I will seek to establish the unity of vv. 6-13, and to show how these verses relate to vv. 1-5, vv. 30-33, and to the preceding passage. - Rom. 2:13 - the doers of the law are pronounced righteous before God. Rom. 10:4-5 - "Christ is the completion of the law obtaining righteousness for those who believe...[he obtains the righteousness of the law, which says that] the one who does them shall live by them." If every mouth is stopped and the whole world is accountable to God, then all must be under the law (Rom. 3:19-20). This is because the law was the manifestation of God's righteousness (Rom. 3:21-22). -Rom. 3:21-31 - If the law is upheld, and Paul is adamant about it, then the righteousness of God must be at stake. That is, the law must be upheld in order to uphold the righteousness of God. The law was formerly the manifestation of God's righteousness to his people. NOW, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. Now this is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all who believe. -Thus, it seems that "the righteousness that is of the law" is not an inherently negative term, but it was a true manifestation of God's righteousness (Rom. 3:21) to the point that it is still the doers of the law who are pronounced righteous before God (Rom. 2:13). This is why Christ did the law, so that when we are united to him through faith we might be seen as doers . -Context of Deut 30:12-14 citation: Israel is warned against presuming that their inheritance of the land is due to their own righteousness [ Deut. 9:4-5 ]...the following quotations indicate that righteousness depends on God's work alone, for he is the one who sent the Messiah to earth and raised him from the dead. (Schreiner 558) -The introduction of the speech of the "Righteousness of Faith" comes from Deut 9:4-5, and serves to clearly situate this part within the context of the warning passage to Israel, "Do not say in your heart...it is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me into this land...but it is because of their wickedness and that he may confirm the word he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Seifrid 656) -"A lengthy reminder of Israel's stubbornness and rebellion follows the warning, culminating in a call for Israel to fear, love, and serve the Lord. The nation must circumcise its heart [Deut 9:6-10:22]. (Seifrid 657) -In vv. 6-7 t he righteousness of faith, ουτως - similarly to the previous situation, tells a cautionary tale against thinking that one might have obtained it via his own righteousness. -In v. 8 the righteousness of faith offers a correction (αλλα) " Don't seek to do because it has already been done. Believe and you will be saved." This is the day in which the Lord has circumcised your hearts, according to Deut. 30. Formerly it was said, "This word will be near you. It will be in your mouth and in your heart," and now it is being said, "This word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart." -The connection between having the right or wrong righteousness in vv. 30-33 seems to be explained in vv. 1-13 by being saved and not being saved. This seems to explain the otherwise redundant-feeling v. 10, which says nearly the same thing as v. 9 but draws out this relationship between righteousness and salvation clearly through the use of the parallel ecbatic εις δικαιοσυνην and εις σωτηριαν prepositional phrases. -Rom. 1:16-17 - the gospel brings salvation because in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. This is the only other time in the letter that these two words are used together, so here in Rom. 10:10, Paul appears to have arrived at his intended point, which is that salvation is obtained by obtaining the righteousness of faith that does not work but believes that Jesus is Lord and calls upon his name. -->Therefore, the Nations who did not pursue righteousness attained it--now this is the righteousness that is of faith, that they believed with their heart unto righteousness and confessed with their mouth unto salvation. -->But Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, did not attain that law and thus attained neither righteousness nor salvation. 2. Is there a significant difference between believing with the heart unto righteousness and confessing with the mouth unto salvation? -"The parallelism demonstrates that drawing a distinction between righteousness and salvation would be oversubtle...the word corresponding to righteousness is salvation, which restates the assertion of v. 9. The central thesis propounded in vv. 9-10 is that the one who believes and confesses Jesus as the resurrected Lord will be saved." (Schreiner 560) - Both the presence of these two conditions and the order in which they occur are due to Paul’s desire to show how his “word of faith” precisely matches the description of the word in Deut. 30:14, as being “in your mouth” and “in your heart.” Paul’s rhetorical purpose at this point should make us cautious about finding great significance in the reference to confession here, as if Paul were making oral confession a second requirement for salvation. Belief in the heart is clearly the crucial requirement, as Paul makes clear even in this context (9:30; 10:4, 11). Confession is the outward manifestation of this critical inner response." (Moo, 657) -"The emphasis on belief and its expression in open confession marks out clearly the difference from a response characterized by "works." This presumably is the reason that the point is put as a conditional clause: the one essential condition of salvation is faith, the acceptance by heart and lip of what God has done in and through Christ...the generalization [in v. 10] heightens still further the contrast with righteousness from the law." He says that heart = faith and mouth = confession, combined, these words imply a confession which springs from a wholehearted inner conviction...this is whatDeut 30:11-14 always looked for...To understand righteousness in terms simply of keeping the law, is to misunderstand how God's righteousness was to be received and to put your salvation in jeopardy. (Dunn, WBC 616) - Paul again writes rhetorically: the wording of the two parallel clauses follows the same order; and each clause reiterates one of the conditions of v. 9, but in reverse order (thus forming a chiasm). This evident rhetorical interest suggests that Paul would not want us to find any difference in the meanings of “righteousness” and “salvation” here. 63 Each expresses in a general way the new relationship with God that is the result of believing “with the heart” and confessing “with the mouth.” " (Moo 658-59) -"The point is repeated in a generalized assertion in v. 10, where the clauses are distinct only for rhetorical effect, as determined by the wording of Deut 30:14." (Dunn 616) -" This general way of stating the matter prepares the way for Paul’s universalizing application in vv. 11–13 ." (Moo, 658) -These explanations, though very convincing, all fail to account for the δε and adequately explain what it is doing in the middle of this clause. It must signal some sort of development. What is that development? As stated above, it seems best to see that he is arriving at the explanation of the point made back in Rom. 1:16-17, the connection between righteousness and salvation, between believing and confessing. Doxological Response -What is at the heart of this message? No flesh will be justified before God according to his or her works. No human being is able to do all of the law and live. Only Christ has done this, and it is thus in him that we find our only hope. If he had not come, we would be lost. Praise God for sending us his only Son! If he had not died, we would still be in our sins. Praise God that Jesus was able to say, "Not my will, but yours be done." If he did not offer himself freely, we would never be able to pay. Praise God, that he offers the free gift of righteousness through faith in Jesus! Those who believe will attain righteousness, and those who don't believe will not attain righteousness. Those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved, and those who do not call upon the name of the Lord will not be saved. The determining factor in distinguishing the vessels of mercy from the vessels of wrath is faith. This is the distinction. It is not between Jew or Greek. It is not between those who have the law and those who do not. It is between those who seek to establish their own righteousness and those who trust in Christ for a righteousness that is not their own. It is between those of the flesh and those of the Spirit. It is between those who are still under the law and those who have died to the law through Christ. God has done what the law could not do, condemning sin in the flesh and fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law on our behalf. May we delight in his law-fulfilling life, his sin-destroying death, and death-conquering resurrection, knowing that through his victory we also will be victorious, that through his righteousness we also will be made righteous, that through his doing of the law we also will be seen as doers of the law. "I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom, but I will boast in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection. Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer, but this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom!"