Hi there! I hope you’re well!<\/p>\n
Romans 2:24, “Because of you, the Gentiles blaspheme My name.” Does this contradict Genesis 12:3? How could the blasphemers be not cursed if they are excused by Romans 2:24?<\/p>\n
Thank you so much.<\/p>\n\t
“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed<\/em>” (Genesis 12:3).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
God promises Abram (later Abraham) that everyone in the world will be blessed through him. By this, God is hinting that the Savior of the world will be a descendant of Abram. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ<\/em>” (Ephesians 1:3). Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, God’s blessings are available to anyone who believes in Jesus. “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer<\/em>” (Galatians 3:8-9).<\/p>\n
“You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ just as it is written<\/em>” (Romans 2:23-24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Paul argued that the Jews had broken God’s Law, just as the Gentiles had done. While the Jews thought they were superior to the Gentiles because they had God’s Law, that law did them no good because they didn’t keep it. Worse, many Gentiles saw the Jews’ hypocrisy and assumed that the Jews’ behavior was what God commanded. Therefore, God’s reputation was being slandered.<\/p>\n
These two passages do not contradict each other.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
Thank you for this! That helps.<\/p>\n
Let me give an example of what I mean. Imagine that in the Old Testament, a pagan was treated very unjustly and harshly by believers. This pagan, not knowing the true God, blasphemes Him or curses them. Is he still cursed because of the verse “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you”?<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
The “you” in Genesis 12:3 is Abram, not God. God told Abram that He would watch over Abram and bring justice. Those who treated Abram well would be blessed, and those who treated Abram badly would suffer. Nothing in this verse indicates the treatment is permanent.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hi there! I hope you’re well! Romans 2:24, “Because of you, the Gentiles blaspheme My name.” Does this contradict Genesis 12:3? How could the blasphemers be not cursed if they are excused by Romans 2:24? Thank you so much. Answer: “And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[793],"class_list":["post-74252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-apparent-contradictions"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":719,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-is-abraham-famous-what-did-abraham-care-about-most\/","url_meta":{"origin":74252,"position":0},"title":"How is Abraham famous? What did Abraham care about most?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How is Abraham, or Abram, famous? What did Abraham care about most? Answer: Many, many years ago God promised a man named Abram, \"I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing\" (Genesis 12:2). The blessing was conditional on Abram's willingness to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55721,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-courage-to-start\/","url_meta":{"origin":74252,"position":1},"title":"The Courage to Start","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Nothing will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must first be overcome.\" Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield \"Now the LORD had said to Abram: \"Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":410,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/410-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":74252,"position":2},"title":"How were Isaac and Jacob blessed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 19, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How were Isaac and Jacob blessed? Answer: In the times of the Old Testament children could inherit two things from their parents: property and a blessing. If your parents had three children, then on their death their property was divided four ways (one more than the number of living\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63299,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-promises-to-abraham\/","url_meta":{"origin":74252,"position":3},"title":"The Promises to Abraham","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Genesis 12:1-3 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Once in while I run across people who ask when God is going to fulfill the promises he made to Abraham. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Here is a typical quote, \u201cSo if we are to believe God and his word, then all his promises, and all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-comparison-of-romans-4-and-james-214-26\/","url_meta":{"origin":74252,"position":4},"title":"A Comparison of Romans 4 and James 2:14-26","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Sasser Recently, we have been listening to a speaker on this radio station discussing the 4th chapter of Romans as compared to the 2nd chapter of James. It was obvious, from some of his statements, that he was trying to make Paul teach salvation by faith only and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20009,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-work-to-become-more-righteous-is-it-true-you-are-not-accepting-gods-righteousness\/","url_meta":{"origin":74252,"position":5},"title":"If you work to become more righteous, is it true you are not accepting God’s righteousness?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Mr. Jeff, A friend posted this on Facebook. I've read it over and over, and I just can't grasp what is being said. I'm always skeptical when a writer only quotes one Bible verse when he has so much to say. 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