Romans 3:4 断乎不能！不如说，　神是真实的，人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “你责备人的时候，显为公义；被人议论的时候，可以得胜。”

3:4 MSG

逐节对照

新标点和合本 - 断乎不能！不如说，　神是真实的，人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “你责备人的时候，显为公义；被人议论的时候，可以得胜。”
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 绝对不会！不如说，上帝是真实的，而人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “以致你责备的时候显为公义；你被指控的时候一定胜诉。”
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 绝对不会！不如说，　神是真实的，而人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “以致你责备的时候显为公义；你被指控的时候一定胜诉。”
当代译本 - 当然不会！纵然人人都撒谎，上帝仍然真实可靠。正如圣经上说： “你的判语证明你是公义的；你虽被人控告，却终必得胜。”
圣经新译本 - 绝不可能！　神总是诚实的，人却是虚谎的，正如经上所记： “你在话语上，显为公义；你被论断时，必然得胜。”
中文标准译本 - 绝对不会！即使每个人都是说谎者，神还是真实的。正如经上所记： “这样，你说话的时候，显为公义；被评断的时候，必然得胜。”
现代标点和合本 - 断乎不能！不如说，神是真实的，人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “你责备人的时候显为公义，被人议论的时候可以得胜。”
和合本（拼音版） - 断乎不能！不如说，上帝是真实的，人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “你责备人的时候，显为公义；被人议论的时候，可以得胜。”
New International Version - Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
New International Reader's Version - Not at all! God is true, even if every human being is a liar. It is written, “You are right when you sentence me. You are fair when you judge me.” ( Psalm 51:4 )
English Standard Version - By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”
New Living Translation - Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”
Christian Standard Bible - Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar, as it is written: That you may be justified in your words and triumph when you judge.
New American Standard Bible - Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found a liar, as it is written: “So that You are justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.”
New King James Version - Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.”
Amplified Bible - Certainly not! Let God be found true [as He will be], though every person be found a liar, just as it is written [in Scripture], “That You may be justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].”
American Standard Version - God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment.
King James Version - God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
New English Translation - Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”
World English Bible - May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “that you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.”
新標點和合本 - 斷乎不能！不如說，神是真實的，人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：你責備人的時候，顯為公義；被人議論的時候，可以得勝。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 絕對不會！不如說，上帝是真實的，而人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：「以致你責備的時候顯為公義；你被指控的時候一定勝訴。」
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 絕對不會！不如說，　神是真實的，而人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：「以致你責備的時候顯為公義；你被指控的時候一定勝訴。」
當代譯本 - 當然不會！縱然人人都撒謊，上帝仍然真實可靠。正如聖經上說：「你的判語證明你是公義的；你雖被人控告，卻終必得勝。」
聖經新譯本 - 絕不可能！　神總是誠實的，人卻是虛謊的，正如經上所記： “你在話語上，顯為公義；你被論斷時，必然得勝。”
呂振中譯本 - 斷乎不能；上帝總是真誠的，雖則人人都撒謊；正如經上所記：『以致你在你的判語上總得證為對，你在被論斷時總必得勝。』
中文標準譯本 - 絕對不會！即使每個人都是說謊者，神還是真實的。正如經上所記：「這樣，你說話的時候，顯為公義；被評斷的時候，必然得勝。」
現代標點和合本 - 斷乎不能！不如說，神是真實的，人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：「你責備人的時候顯為公義，被人議論的時候可以得勝。」
文理和合譯本 - 曰、非也、惟上帝誠、而人皆偽、如經云、俾爾於言見義、於鞫獲勝、
文理委辦譯本 - 曰、非也、上帝真、億兆偽、如經云、主言時稱義、鞫時獲勝、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 非也、當言天主為真、世人皆偽、如經載云、在爾言時得稱義、在爾被審時獲勝、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 無是理也！即使眾人皆偽、亦不能改天主之真。經云：『主言惟正、睿斷實公、』斯之謂也。
Nueva Versión Internacional - ¡De ninguna manera! Dios es siempre veraz, aunque el hombre sea mentiroso. Así está escrito: «Por eso, eres justo en tu sentencia, y triunfarás cuando te juzguen».
현대인의 성경 - 결코 그렇지 않습니다. 세상 사람이 다 거짓되어도 하나님은 진실하십니다. 성경에도 “주의 말씀은 옳고 주의 심판은 정당합니다” 라고 쓰여 있습니다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив, но Бог верен, как об этом и написано: «Чтобы Ты был оправдан в Твоих словах и победил в суде Своем» .
Восточный перевод - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив , но Всевышний верен, как об этом и написано: «Ты справедлив в Своём приговоре и победил в суде Своём» .
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив , но Аллах верен, как об этом и написано: «Ты справедлив в Своём приговоре и победил в суде Своём» .
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив , но Всевышний верен, как об этом и написано: «Ты справедлив в Своём приговоре и победил в суде Своём» .
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Loin de là ! Que Dieu soit reconnu comme disant la vérité et tout homme qui s’oppose à lui comme menteur, car il est écrit : Tu seras toujours reconnu juste dans tes sentences ; et tu seras vainqueur lorsque tu rends ton jugement .
リビングバイブル - 絶対にそんなことはありません。たとえ世界中の人がうそつきでも、神は真実な方です。このことについて詩篇には、「神のことばに誤りはない。だれが疑いを差しはさもうと、いつも真実で正しい」と書いてあります。
Nestle Aland 28 - μὴ γένοιτο· γινέσθω δὲ ὁ θεὸς ἀληθής, πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης, καθὼς γέγραπται· ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου καὶ νικήσεις ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε.
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - μὴ γένοιτο! γινέσθω δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθής, πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης, καθὼς γέγραπται, ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου, καὶ νικήσεις ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε.
Nova Versão Internacional - De maneira nenhuma! Seja Deus verdadeiro, e todo homem mentiroso. Como está escrito: “Para que sejas justificado nas tuas palavras e prevaleças quando fores julgado” .
Hoffnung für alle - Niemals! Gott steht auf jeden Fall zu seinem Wort, auch wenn alle Menschen Lügner sind. Es heißt ja schon in der Heiligen Schrift: »Deine Worte, Gott, werden sich als wahr erweisen, und du wirst siegen, wenn man dich verurteilen will.«
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Tuyệt đối không! Vì chỉ có loài người mới lật lừa dối trá, còn Đức Chúa Trời luôn luôn chân thật, như Thánh Kinh chép về Ngài: “Lời Chúa luôn công bằng trong lời Ngài phán, và Ngài đắc thắng khi bị xét đoán.”
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - ไม่เลย! แม้ทุกคนจะเป็นคนโกหก แต่พระเจ้าทรงสัตย์จริง ตามที่มีเขียนไว้ว่า “พระองค์จะได้รับการพิสูจน์ว่าทรงเป็นฝ่ายถูกเมื่อตรัส และชนะเมื่อทรงพิพากษา”
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - ไม่มีทางจะเป็นเช่นนั้น แม้ว่าทุกคนพูดเท็จ พระเจ้าก็เป็นผู้รักษาคำพูด ตามที่มีบันทึกไว้ว่า “เพื่อพระองค์เป็นที่เห็นว่าถูกต้องเวลาพระองค์กล่าว และมีชัยชนะเมื่อพระองค์ตัดสินโทษ”

交叉引用

Romans 7:7 - But I can hear you say, “If the law code was as bad as all that, it’s no better than sin itself.” That’s certainly not true. The law code had a perfectly legitimate function. Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior would be mostly guesswork. Apart from the succinct, surgical command, “You shall not covet,” I could have dressed covetousness up to look like a virtue and ruined my life with it.
Psalms 62:9 - Man as such is smoke, woman as such, a mirage. Put them together, they’re nothing; two times nothing is nothing.
Psalms 100:5 - For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.
Job 40:8 - “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint? Do you have an arm like my arm? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff. Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do. Unleash your outrage. Target the arrogant and lay them flat. Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees. Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them! Dig a mass grave and dump them in it— faceless corpses in an unmarked grave. I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you— you can surely save yourself with no help from me!
Romans 11:1 - Does this mean, then, that God is so fed up with Israel that he’ll have nothing more to do with them? Hardly. Remember that I, the one writing these things, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham out of the tribe of Benjamin. You can’t get much more Semitic than that! So we’re not talking about repudiation. God has been too long involved with Israel, has too much invested, to simply wash his hands of them.
Romans 7:13 - I can already hear your next question: “Does that mean I can’t even trust what is good [that is, the law]? Is good just as dangerous as evil?” No again! Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God’s good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own.
Galatians 2:21 - Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
Romans 3:7 - It’s simply perverse to say, “If my lies serve to show off God’s truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I’m doing God a favor.” Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths, claiming that we go around saying, “The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let’s just do it!” That’s pure slander, as I’m sure you’ll agree.
Romans 6:15 - So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!
Revelation 3:7 - Write this to Philadelphia, to the Angel of the church. The Holy, the True—David’s key in his hand, opening doors no one can lock, locking doors no one can open—speaks:
Romans 11:11 - The next question is, “Are they down for the count? Are they out of this for good?” And the answer is a clear-cut No. Ironically when they walked out, they left the door open and the outsiders walked in. But the next thing you know, the Jews were starting to wonder if perhaps they had walked out on a good thing. Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God’s kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!
Romans 3:31 - But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don’t we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.
Romans 9:14 - Is that grounds for complaining that God is unfair? Not so fast, please. God told Moses, “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.” Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, “I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power.” All we’re saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for better or worse.
Galatians 6:14 - For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!
Hebrews 6:18 - We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.
Galatians 2:17 - Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren’t perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was “trying to be good,” I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a pretender.
Psalms 51:4 - You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I’ve been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

逐节对照

交叉引用

新标点和合本 - 断乎不能！不如说，　神是真实的，人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “你责备人的时候，显为公义；被人议论的时候，可以得胜。”
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 绝对不会！不如说，上帝是真实的，而人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “以致你责备的时候显为公义；你被指控的时候一定胜诉。”
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 绝对不会！不如说，　神是真实的，而人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “以致你责备的时候显为公义；你被指控的时候一定胜诉。”
当代译本 - 当然不会！纵然人人都撒谎，上帝仍然真实可靠。正如圣经上说： “你的判语证明你是公义的；你虽被人控告，却终必得胜。”
圣经新译本 - 绝不可能！　神总是诚实的，人却是虚谎的，正如经上所记： “你在话语上，显为公义；你被论断时，必然得胜。”
中文标准译本 - 绝对不会！即使每个人都是说谎者，神还是真实的。正如经上所记： “这样，你说话的时候，显为公义；被评断的时候，必然得胜。”
现代标点和合本 - 断乎不能！不如说，神是真实的，人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “你责备人的时候显为公义，被人议论的时候可以得胜。”
和合本（拼音版） - 断乎不能！不如说，上帝是真实的，人都是虚谎的。如经上所记： “你责备人的时候，显为公义；被人议论的时候，可以得胜。”
New International Version - Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
New International Reader's Version - Not at all! God is true, even if every human being is a liar. It is written, “You are right when you sentence me. You are fair when you judge me.” ( Psalm 51:4 )
English Standard Version - By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”
New Living Translation - Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”
Christian Standard Bible - Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar, as it is written: That you may be justified in your words and triumph when you judge.
New American Standard Bible - Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found a liar, as it is written: “So that You are justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.”
New King James Version - Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.”
Amplified Bible - Certainly not! Let God be found true [as He will be], though every person be found a liar, just as it is written [in Scripture], “That You may be justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].”
American Standard Version - God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment.
King James Version - God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
New English Translation - Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”
World English Bible - May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “that you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.”
新標點和合本 - 斷乎不能！不如說，神是真實的，人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：你責備人的時候，顯為公義；被人議論的時候，可以得勝。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 絕對不會！不如說，上帝是真實的，而人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：「以致你責備的時候顯為公義；你被指控的時候一定勝訴。」
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 絕對不會！不如說，　神是真實的，而人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：「以致你責備的時候顯為公義；你被指控的時候一定勝訴。」
當代譯本 - 當然不會！縱然人人都撒謊，上帝仍然真實可靠。正如聖經上說：「你的判語證明你是公義的；你雖被人控告，卻終必得勝。」
聖經新譯本 - 絕不可能！　神總是誠實的，人卻是虛謊的，正如經上所記： “你在話語上，顯為公義；你被論斷時，必然得勝。”
呂振中譯本 - 斷乎不能；上帝總是真誠的，雖則人人都撒謊；正如經上所記：『以致你在你的判語上總得證為對，你在被論斷時總必得勝。』
中文標準譯本 - 絕對不會！即使每個人都是說謊者，神還是真實的。正如經上所記：「這樣，你說話的時候，顯為公義；被評斷的時候，必然得勝。」
現代標點和合本 - 斷乎不能！不如說，神是真實的，人都是虛謊的。如經上所記：「你責備人的時候顯為公義，被人議論的時候可以得勝。」
文理和合譯本 - 曰、非也、惟上帝誠、而人皆偽、如經云、俾爾於言見義、於鞫獲勝、
文理委辦譯本 - 曰、非也、上帝真、億兆偽、如經云、主言時稱義、鞫時獲勝、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 非也、當言天主為真、世人皆偽、如經載云、在爾言時得稱義、在爾被審時獲勝、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 無是理也！即使眾人皆偽、亦不能改天主之真。經云：『主言惟正、睿斷實公、』斯之謂也。
Nueva Versión Internacional - ¡De ninguna manera! Dios es siempre veraz, aunque el hombre sea mentiroso. Así está escrito: «Por eso, eres justo en tu sentencia, y triunfarás cuando te juzguen».
현대인의 성경 - 결코 그렇지 않습니다. 세상 사람이 다 거짓되어도 하나님은 진실하십니다. 성경에도 “주의 말씀은 옳고 주의 심판은 정당합니다” 라고 쓰여 있습니다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив, но Бог верен, как об этом и написано: «Чтобы Ты был оправдан в Твоих словах и победил в суде Своем» .
Восточный перевод - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив , но Всевышний верен, как об этом и написано: «Ты справедлив в Своём приговоре и победил в суде Своём» .
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив , но Аллах верен, как об этом и написано: «Ты справедлив в Своём приговоре и победил в суде Своём» .
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Конечно же нет! Хотя каждый человек лжив , но Всевышний верен, как об этом и написано: «Ты справедлив в Своём приговоре и победил в суде Своём» .
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Loin de là ! Que Dieu soit reconnu comme disant la vérité et tout homme qui s’oppose à lui comme menteur, car il est écrit : Tu seras toujours reconnu juste dans tes sentences ; et tu seras vainqueur lorsque tu rends ton jugement .
リビングバイブル - 絶対にそんなことはありません。たとえ世界中の人がうそつきでも、神は真実な方です。このことについて詩篇には、「神のことばに誤りはない。だれが疑いを差しはさもうと、いつも真実で正しい」と書いてあります。
Nestle Aland 28 - μὴ γένοιτο· γινέσθω δὲ ὁ θεὸς ἀληθής, πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης, καθὼς γέγραπται· ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου καὶ νικήσεις ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε.
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - μὴ γένοιτο! γινέσθω δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀληθής, πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης, καθὼς γέγραπται, ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου, καὶ νικήσεις ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε.
Nova Versão Internacional - De maneira nenhuma! Seja Deus verdadeiro, e todo homem mentiroso. Como está escrito: “Para que sejas justificado nas tuas palavras e prevaleças quando fores julgado” .
Hoffnung für alle - Niemals! Gott steht auf jeden Fall zu seinem Wort, auch wenn alle Menschen Lügner sind. Es heißt ja schon in der Heiligen Schrift: »Deine Worte, Gott, werden sich als wahr erweisen, und du wirst siegen, wenn man dich verurteilen will.«
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Tuyệt đối không! Vì chỉ có loài người mới lật lừa dối trá, còn Đức Chúa Trời luôn luôn chân thật, như Thánh Kinh chép về Ngài: “Lời Chúa luôn công bằng trong lời Ngài phán, và Ngài đắc thắng khi bị xét đoán.”
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - ไม่เลย! แม้ทุกคนจะเป็นคนโกหก แต่พระเจ้าทรงสัตย์จริง ตามที่มีเขียนไว้ว่า “พระองค์จะได้รับการพิสูจน์ว่าทรงเป็นฝ่ายถูกเมื่อตรัส และชนะเมื่อทรงพิพากษา”
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - ไม่มีทางจะเป็นเช่นนั้น แม้ว่าทุกคนพูดเท็จ พระเจ้าก็เป็นผู้รักษาคำพูด ตามที่มีบันทึกไว้ว่า “เพื่อพระองค์เป็นที่เห็นว่าถูกต้องเวลาพระองค์กล่าว และมีชัยชนะเมื่อพระองค์ตัดสินโทษ”

Romans 7:7 - But I can hear you say, “If the law code was as bad as all that, it’s no better than sin itself.” That’s certainly not true. The law code had a perfectly legitimate function. Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior would be mostly guesswork. Apart from the succinct, surgical command, “You shall not covet,” I could have dressed covetousness up to look like a virtue and ruined my life with it.
Psalms 62:9 - Man as such is smoke, woman as such, a mirage. Put them together, they’re nothing; two times nothing is nothing.
Psalms 100:5 - For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.
Job 40:8 - “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint? Do you have an arm like my arm? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff. Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do. Unleash your outrage. Target the arrogant and lay them flat. Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees. Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them! Dig a mass grave and dump them in it— faceless corpses in an unmarked grave. I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you— you can surely save yourself with no help from me!
Romans 11:1 - Does this mean, then, that God is so fed up with Israel that he’ll have nothing more to do with them? Hardly. Remember that I, the one writing these things, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham out of the tribe of Benjamin. You can’t get much more Semitic than that! So we’re not talking about repudiation. God has been too long involved with Israel, has too much invested, to simply wash his hands of them.
Romans 7:13 - I can already hear your next question: “Does that mean I can’t even trust what is good [that is, the law]? Is good just as dangerous as evil?” No again! Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God’s good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own.
Galatians 2:21 - Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
Romans 3:7 - It’s simply perverse to say, “If my lies serve to show off God’s truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I’m doing God a favor.” Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths, claiming that we go around saying, “The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let’s just do it!” That’s pure slander, as I’m sure you’ll agree.
Romans 6:15 - So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!
Revelation 3:7 - Write this to Philadelphia, to the Angel of the church. The Holy, the True—David’s key in his hand, opening doors no one can lock, locking doors no one can open—speaks:
Romans 11:11 - The next question is, “Are they down for the count? Are they out of this for good?” And the answer is a clear-cut No. Ironically when they walked out, they left the door open and the outsiders walked in. But the next thing you know, the Jews were starting to wonder if perhaps they had walked out on a good thing. Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God’s kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!
Romans 3:31 - But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don’t we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.
Romans 9:14 - Is that grounds for complaining that God is unfair? Not so fast, please. God told Moses, “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.” Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, “I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power.” All we’re saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for better or worse.
Galatians 6:14 - For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!
Hebrews 6:18 - We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.
Galatians 2:17 - Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren’t perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was “trying to be good,” I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a pretender.
Psalms 51:4 - You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I’ve been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.