... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We have to read the above verse from Paul's letter to the Romans in light of these two passages, concerning God's comments or thoughts about Job and Noah:
Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
Genesis 6:8-9
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
How is it that Paul can state that "all" have sinned and come short of God's glory and we have two examples from the Old Testament writers that, at least, two men appeared to be righteous in their time? God is telling us that Noah and Job were men who were examples of righteousness and, yet, Paul tells us that no one is righteous, not one!! Even though, on first glance, this appears to be a conflict, we know that Scripture always rhymes with Scripture. When there is a conflict in our minds that is where the conflict is ... in our minds. The conflict is never with Scripture as God's Word is in perfect harmony with itself. Our interpretations of God's Word might, at times, be in conflict, but God's Word is not. Paul is making a point that NO MAN has any self-generated righteousness that can warrant God's merit; God's mercy. IF a man has any righteousness at all it is because God clothed him with it. In the case of Noah and Job we find two men who were clothed with the righteousness of God by God and for God's purpose. What Paul is teaching us in Romans is that our righteousness is NEVER based upon our own work but upon the grace and mercy of God. God gives righteousness. God makes man righteous, based solely on His mercy and grace, not on man's effort or internal ability. Paul's statement is to prove that man needs God's initiation of grace and mercy to be righteous. Paul is making a case that man is full of sin and can generate any good or produce any holiness that will merit God's good pleasure. God must first give the man righteousness for him to be righteous. Righteousness is a gift of God to man even when man is totally incapable of earning it or deserving it. That is what makes it gracious. God gives us His righteousness!! It is a gift. It has to be a gift because all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God!
2 Corthians 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
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