1 ^aWHAT advantage then hath the Jew? [ The saint, the member. ] or what profit is there of circumcision? [ The ordinance. The ordinances mean nothing without the change of character, its the choice to change character. ]

2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them [ The Jewish people, or we might say the members. ] were committed the oracles of God. [ The prophets and apostles of God. ]

3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

4 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.

5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)

6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?

8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

9 What then? are we [ The Jews. ] better than they? [ The Gentiles. ] No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; [ Everyone, both the Jew and the Gentile are guilty of sin. And to take it further those with the law are under greater sin because those who are without the law receive no punishment. ]

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, [ No matter what you think of yourself there is not one who is really righteous. ] no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. [ There is none good but God, and it is a sin to think that you are good. ]

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: [ If you have the law or have been taught the law then you are under the law - it applies to you. ] that every mouth may be stopped, [ Or with the law you can argue all that you want but they will not be considered by God of any validity. ] and all the world may become guilty [ As we come to the law, to understand it we come to realize that we cannot keep it all, so we become guilty. It is not being perfect that is important but it is the change of character that we are making that is important. The atonement is there to cover what character flaws we have. You cannot take the atonement seriously until you understand that no matter how hard you try you will not be perfect. HEnce the need for the atonement. ] before God.

20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: [ If you have the law there is really no way that you can keep it in its entirety. ] for by the law is the knowledge of sin. [ Or if you did not have the law you would not even know that you were missing the mark, heck you would not even know what the marks that we should be aiming for, without the law. You recognize this when you fully understand the law, that there is no way that you can be completely perfect in following it. ]

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [ Or like King Benjamin said we have come to the knowledge of our own nothingness. ]

24 Being justified [ That is, to justify means to ratify, approve, confirm, or give authorized sanction of an action. All actions relative to the gospel, such as repentance, baptism, temple marriage, etc., must be justified through the Holy Ghost or they are not enforce after this life is over. The Lord has stated: "All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power . . . are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead" (D & C 132:7). Therefore when an action is "sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise" it is approved or ratified by the Holy Ghost as being legitimate. In General Conference, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, gave the following instruction regarding justification: "Now, to justify is to seal, or to ratify, or to approve; and it is very evident from these revelations that every act that we do, if it is to have binding and sealing virtue in eternity, must be justified by the Spirit. In other words, it must be ratified by the Holy Ghost; or in other words, it must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. "All of us know that we can deceive men. We can deceive our bishops or the other Church agents, unless at the moment their minds are lighted by the spirit of revelation; but we cannot deceive the Lord. We cannot get from him an unearned blessing. There will be an eventual day when all men will get exactly and precisely what they have merited and earned, neither adding to nor subtracting from. You cannot with success lie to the Holy Ghost. "Now let us take a simple illustration. If an individual is to gain an inheritance in the celestial world, he has to enter in at the gate of baptism, that ordinance being performed under the hands of a legal administrator. If he comes forward prepared by worthiness, that is, if he is just and true, and gains baptism under the hands of a legal administrator, he is justified by the Spirit in the act which has been performed; that is, it is ratified by the Holy Ghost, or it is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. As a result it is of full force and validity in this life and in the life to come. "If an individual thereafter turns from righteousness and goes off and wallows in the mire of iniquity, then the seal is removed, and so we have this principle which keeps the unworthy from gaining unearned blessings. The Lord has placed a bar which stops the progress of the unrighteous; he has placed a requirement which we must meet. We must gain the approval and receive the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost if eventually and in eternity we are to reap the blessings that we hope to reap. "The same thing that is true of baptism is true of marriage. If a couple comes forward worthily, a couple who is just and true, and they enter into that ordinance under the hands of a legal administrator, a seal of approval is recorded in heaven. Then assuming they do not thereafter break that seal, assuming they keep the covenant and press forward in steadfastness and in righteousness, they go on in the next world as husband and wife; and in and after the resurrection, that ordinance performed in such a binding manner here has full force, efficacy, and validity." (Conference Report, April 1956, p.65) ] freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, [ Why past sins? Because we cannot change the past, you missed the mark, you just missed it there is no redo, you missed it. What has been done has been done. You can change the future though. ] through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. [ See 2 Ne 2:7. Faith imply's that there has to be action involved. Faith(the actions that we exercise) unto repentance(unto the change of character) as Amulek says. ]

29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: [ Or well duh; he is the God of everyone. ]

30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision [ Membership. ] by faith, [ Their actions. ] , and uncircumcision [ The non members. ] through faith. [ By their actions, their character. ]

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.