I am saying that for one to be saved all he or she has to do is repent and believe (to trust God). I understand why you believe this is nonsense.
Utterly amazing? Can hardly believe my eyes but there it is in black and white before my eyes in clear and explicit language! You are now charging me with believing that it is foolishness to think that all that is necessary for a lost person to be saved is but to repent and believe the gospel as though I don't believe that BECAUSE I believe the law is sufficient to reveal to lost men the elementary truths of good and evil, and the basic truth about the righteousness of God, and the difference between righteousness and unrighteousness which they can not only understand those basic things but will be held accountable on judgement day because they did understand and rejected what the law reveals and defines and what the gospel reveals???
But you don't stop there! You completely dismiss any previous "understanding" provided by inspired divine written revelation whether taught or preached that is necessary to understand sin or righteousness. Paul does not support your view as he says:
Rom. 7:7 ¶
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
But you are claiming Paul is delusional and deceived as he said "I HAD NOT KNOWN SIN BUT BY THE LAW" and so should you not also charge Paul for not believing all that is necessary to be saved is to repent and believe the gospel without any previous exposure to the Law or teaching and preaching of the word because he is saying precisely what I said???
Paul says he would not have known sin "but by the law" but you say sin and righteousness does not need any "understanding" obtained by or through exposure to the law but the knowledge of sin and righteousness that comes by direct divine revelatory knowledge in new birth! However, I say, if a person has not been trained in scripture and they are born again, they are "babies" and I never have known any baby that had a full understanding of sin, righteousness or anything else revealed in the word. Who should I believe? You or Paul? I think I will go with Paul.
But, look at your charge! Does not your very change contradict the very premise of your argument? How so? If no "understanding" prior to direct revelatory knowledge in new birth can convey understanding of sin and righteousness then why tell them to repent and believe and why preach the gospel as these are all precursors to new birth??? According to your logic are you not telling them to do what your view demands they have no "understanding" of and therefore such words "repent" and "believe" are meaningless and "gospel" is non-understandable?
So, should I assume and charge you with denying the preaching of the gospel is necessary in the redemptive plan of God to save his elect as your view claims they cannot "understand" its true message or intent anyway???? I think you are either forced to embrace that conclusion (heresy) or admit the law does reveal the true nature of sin and righteousness as God could not communicate anything less than its true nature and that it is communicated to be understood at least in sufficient measure to condemn them for rejecting it? Moreover, God does not define and reveal his righteousness in the law/scripture but then possess some other kind never revealed in scripture!!! Of course, righteousnes in his living being is superior to any written description of it but it is the SAME righteousness with regard to principle character as found in His very Person.
I once believed that a person had to come to an understanding (at least a basic understanding) of God's justice and the law in order to comprehend sin. But I've come to believe that God has revealed Himself to all in such a way that they are aware of their sinfulness. These moral issue (that moral standard expressed in God's law) is evident through creation and manifested in the consciences of man.
Well, should I congratulate you because you are superior to Paul as he never believed what you believe as he said "I had not known sin but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Even in people never exposed to the Mosaic law, Paul argued they had been exposed to another law, the law of conscience (Rom. 2:14-15) that provided the very same role in defining and giving understanding of right and wrong.
I am saying that those who understand God's righteousness manifested through the law only know in part.
No, the only difference is that one provides a correct
mental understanding of God's righteousness (law) versus
experiential knowledge of THE VERY SAME RIGHTEOUSNESS revealed in the Law(conversion). No difference, except the latter is in the form of a Person - Jesus Christ but the very same righteousness defined and described in His Word. God does not define and describe one kind of righteousness in His word and then appear in human form manifesting some other kind of righteousness but that is precisely what your view demands.
What they know is their standing in regard to God's moral righteousness.
So, you admit they can "know" their standing before God with regard to sin and righteousness. You just don't believe the "righteousness" revealed in the law for their understanding is God's righteousness but some kind of foreign righteousness to that which characterizes His own Person. You believe the Biblical definition and description of God's righteousness is not a true revelation of God's righteousness but a false revelation as they are two different kinds of righteousness according to your view? The only difference is one is a WRITTEN desciption and definition of a LIVING righteousness - that is the only difference as both are the same.
Again, "moral" is inclusive of right and wrong as principles and as applications. The "moral" law does not define right and wrong any differently than God's own Person defines right and wrong and he describes based upon his own righteous nature. The latter is superior only because it is LIVING while the latter is written or non-living - DEAD, but the law
What they do not know (just based on God's law) is the righteousness of God manifested apart from the law.
Half truth! They know both but they don't know each in the same sense. What is revealed in the law is knowledge by understanding while what is revealed in the heart is experiential knowledge BUT THE VERY SAME RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!
The truth is that the Law does reveal and define the true righteousness of God and does reveal and define the true nature of sin and need of repentance. The levitical law reveals the true nature of salvation and the truth of the gospel in symbols.
What the WRITTEN word does not do is provide EXPERIENTIAL knowledge of God's righteousness and salvation as that can only be imparted through new birth. However, what is WRITTEN is a TRUE account, a TRUE definition and a TRUE description of sin, God's righteousness, right, wrong and repentance.