Thursday 6th June

Another hot and sunny day in prospect. I slept well and we looked after Matthew while Becky slept on.

We drove to Peron for the Intermarche supermarket. It is quite small with a limited selection of goods. I took a photo of the birds of prey circling overhead and posted to Facebook to see if anyone could identify them.

We went to Divonne les Bains in the afternoon to the outdoor swimming pool. It was hot and sunny and the pool was 50 metres long. Two grops of school children entered just after us but were sectioned off so we were not disturbed.

I looked on the internet when I got back to Challex and I reckon the birds are honey-buzzards.

Romans 3:9-26 : What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, just as it is written,

 “There is no one righteous, not even one; 

there is no one who understands; 

there is no one who seeks God. 

All have turned aside together; they have become worthless; 

There is no one who practices kindness; 

there is not even one.

Their throat is an opened grave; 

they deceive with their tongues; 

the venom of asps is under their lips,

whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood; 

destruction and distress are in their paths, 

and they have not known the way of peace.

The fear of God is not before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God. For by the works of the law ⌊no person will be declared righteous⌋ before him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified about by the law and the prophets—that is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christj to all who believe. 

23 For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God made publicly available as the mercy seatk through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, because of the passing over of previously committed sins, in the forbearance of God, for the demonstration of his righteousness in the present time, so that he should be just and the one who justifies the person by faithl in Jesus. 

Paul rabbits on again in his legal style, building up his case. Having previously argued that the Jews have an advantage of being the initial recipients of God's law, he now argues that they are in the same oat as the rest of us. His argument is based on various readings from the psalms. His final point is that he law has the purpose of exposing sin for what it is. What surprises me is the way Paul refers to Greeks and not Romans when addressing non-Jews.

From verse 23 onwards we get to he heart of Paul's message. He now makes it plain that all distinction between Jew and the rest of us have gone. Firstly because we all fall short of God's expectations  and se only because we are all eligible for justification through the faithful servant, Jesus Christ. Justification means being declared righteous or acquitted of the charges against us. Nothing could be more liberating than not having to justify ourselves before God, knowing that however hard we try, we will never achieve righteousness in our own strength.