Romans 3

Introduction

The gospel is man’s way of discovering God’s faithfulness. The past few weeks have been spent discovering the status of man, which includes both Jews and Gentiles. However, the central argument of the gospel is that man’s unfaithfulness cannot deactivate God’s faithfulness. And this is our premise:

Man’s unfaithfulness cannot deactivate God’s faithfulness.

God’s Justice and Faithfulness and Israel’s Usefulness (Romans 3:1-8)

Romans 3:1-8 is Paul’s continuation of the argument against the Jews, which began in Romans 2:1. By this point in his letter, he has demonstrated both Jews and Gentiles are under the power of sin and therefore, guilty before the holy and righteous God. He will make this point more emphatically in Romans 3:9–31.

However, there is a remaining concerning that any Jew would have after Paul’s explanation of the nation’s sin. What advantage do they have as Jews? If they are in the same category of sin as the nations and those who are born into Jewish families are not true Jews, what was the point of their election?

In Romans 3:1, Paul uses the Greek word περισσός (advantage) which means advantage or to have a superior or more favorable position. Literally, we find that there is a superior position given to the Jews, but it is not the sort of position that makes them the superior race that they assume they are.

Again, in Romans 3:1, Paul takes about ὠφέλεια (value), which means practical advantage, which is actually useful in everyday life.

So then, there are two types of practicality, which is given to the Jews: positional advantage and practical advantage, which influences the way one lives. Romans 3:2 demonstrates the Jews have an advantage in both ways. There is one thing that gives them positional and practical advantages, because they were give the “oracles of God” or revelation of God, to which they had care over. However, Paul uses the word “entrusted” επιστευθνσαν, which comes from the root word πιστευω, which means to believe in. So, Paul is arguing the Jews were given the law as God’s way of believing or trusting in Israel. When the law was given God was saying, my confidence is in Israel.

There are practical and positional advantages to being given the revelation of God. Similarly to the ones we experience in today’s world as we consider great number of people who have never heard the gospel. However, the possession of the revelation does not ignore the fact that we are all sinful individuals. Rather, it demonstrates the trust that God has given us and the grave responsibility that is appointed to us who possess the revelation of Christ. And here is the point Paul seeks to deliver concerning the Jews—because you have obtained positional and practical advantage through your possession of the revelation of God, you are guilty for your sins and lack of obedience towards it.

However, the thing that sticks out here is the idea of Israel being entrusted with the revelation of God. Was it for them or someone else? N.T. Wright points out, the purpose of entrusting Israel with the revelation of God was to give them guardianship of a thing for delivery to someone else. That is, God gave Israel the law so they may steward that which is to be given to someone else—the nations. And here is the big point—Israel’s sin was therefore, the inappropriate stewardship of the revelation of God that was meant to be delivered to the nations around them. Their failure was the intentional and blatant refusal to steward these principles of life so others may come unto them to learn the meaning of true worship.

Israel’s obedience to the law is their way of demonstrating to the nations what it means to live under the reign of God. Consequently, failure to adhere to these laws and principles demonstrate to other nations what it means to live in rebellion to God—both are a lesson and an example which the nations accept.

Deuteronomy 4:5–8 (NLT)

“Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

The greatest issue with the church today—those who hold the revelation of Jesus Christ—is that we demonstrate to others, through our actions, what it means to worship God. If we are not transformed into the righteous image of God, we cast a terrible shadow on our Savior. This shadow includes the way we live our lives in the most ordinary sense, because again, the word of God is a book of principles to guide our lives. The revelation of Jesus Christ is the unveiling of God’s mystery that is supposed to impact the very essence of our being and the practices of our lives. So then, the revelation of Jesus Christ and the belief in the resurrection must have an epistemological and practical impact—not simply an epistemological one.

Now this is on one side the sin of mishandling the law of God as to not obey it. Yet, there is another aspect of sin in this matter. That is, the failure to spread the message and therefore keep it to oneself. When a religious community fails to spread the message they hold, they are submitting to religious superiority, which does nothing more than make them feel they are privileged because of their closely kept revelation. And the world blasphemes the name of the Lord, because they are not given a complete and accurate testimony concerning God (see Romans 2:24).

Now, Romans 3:3 poses an incredible question: Does Israel’s unbelief (refusal to believe and trust) deactivate God’s faithfulness to them? This is a phenomenal question that introduces us to one of Paul’s larger ideas—the faithfulness of God. Here, Paul states Israel’s lack of faith in God does not deactivate God’s faithfulness to Israel.

What an incredible example—though we are often faithless, God remains faithful. Here’s a beautiful passage to consider just how this works. 2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.” God remains faithful to faithless individuals, because that’s who He is.

To substantiate the certainty of God’s faithfulness, Paul refers to Psalm 51:4 “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.*” Paul believes the Old Testament sets precedence for how God’s faithfulness is proven by His insistence to do what He has said. Accordingly, Paul sees God’s faithfulness to Israel as a normal reaction to man’s faithlessness. However, what does it mean for God to be faithful?

What do we have here? We have God on trial. He is in court, even. He is being evaluated for His commitment to His Word. And here we find the distinguishing characteristic that separates God from idols. Additionally, we have never, until this point, considered the justification of God. For, though man needs to be justified, so does God. When the word justification is used in reference to God, it is referring to His vindication. And His justification comes from His faithfulness to His Word and His people.

However, the outstanding question is how God’s justice [righteousness] corresponds with His faithfulness. Paul turns to the philosophical moral arguments one may have against God’s judgment against Israel. Obviously, this is a question one may find within the community of Jews, rather than among others in the broader world. The question would be inspired by Israel’s heartbreak over their imminent judgement as to accuse God of unrighteousness or unfairness. However, Paul, responds to this question with no direct explanation. Rather, he seemingly dismiss the arguments as ungodly and quite frankly, silly (Romans 3:5-8).

The fact that God could demonstrate his faithfulness through Israel’s faithlessness seems to invalidate any need for Israel’s judgment, because God’s purposes are still accomplished—He is still proven to be in the right or righteous. Paul does not deal with this here. However, he wants to denounce those who accuse him of preaching a message of grace that pollutes the gospel of Jesus and implies willful sin (Romans 3:8). However, Paul will eventually return to the larger matter of God’s faithfulness as being proven through Jesus Christ, the faithful Israelite.

All Are Sinners (Romans 3:9-20)

Paul has finally completed his dealings with both Gentiles and Jews, and his conclusion is that all are under sin (Romans 3:9). However, he returns to the immediate issue, Israel’s superiority complex. Paul adds more proof for this by quoting and alluding to a series of psalms and Old Testament passages:

Psalm 14:1–3 “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt.* No one does good, not a single one!”

Psalm 51:1–3 “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.”

1 Kings 8:46 ““If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near.”

Psalm 130:3 “Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?”

Psalm 143:2 “Don’t put your servant on trial, for no one is innocent before you.”

Proverbs 20:9 “Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”?”

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.”

Psalm 36:1 “Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.* They have no fear of God at all.”

Psalm 5:9 “My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.*”

Psalm 10:7 “Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.* Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.”

Isaiah 59:7–8 “Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.”

Psalm 36:1 “Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.* They have no fear of God at all.”

In Paul’s mind, this conclusion of all under sin is not new. It is clearly stated in Scripture. However, their religious superiority complex has blinded them to what is clearly seen in Scripture. Romans 3:9’s reference to being better has a competitive connotation. It speaks to the attempt to outdo another. Sin clearly disrupts this sort of competitiveness in the Christ community, because we swiftly see we cannot outdo anyone when sin is our master.

Paul’s continual insistence to remind the Jews that they are not better seems to be a very important theme. One cannot help but wonder the impact classism and superiority must have on the Christ community. If we as believers are not settled on the fact that we are nothing without Christ, we create unnecessary division based on religious positions, which on the onset seem very noble. However, this is very destructive and unlike any example we find in Christ.

The Defenseless World (Romans 2:19-20)

Finally, Paul reaches a bold and straightforward conclusion in Romans 3:19-20. Paul invokes a law court scene with use of the word law. He uses what was familiar to the audience as court cases were publicly held and often a vehicle of the town’s entertainment.

Paul uses this scenario to demonstrate how the world appears when standing in front of God, the Judge of creation. N.T. Wright wrote,

Paul for Everyone, Romans Part 1: Chapters 1–8 Jews as Well as Gentiles Are Guilty of Sin (Romans 3:9–20)

In Paul’s world, if you were on trial and had nothing more to say in your defence, you put a hand over your mouth as a sign. Sometimes court officials would strike the prisoner on the mouth to indicate that their mouths ‘should be stopped’, in other words, that they were obviously guilty and should not be attempting to defend themselves (this happened to Jesus in John 18:22, and to Paul in Acts 23:2). So when Paul says ‘that every mouth may be stopped’ he is imagining not only that the Jews have joined the Gentiles in the dock but that all of them together are left without any defence. The whole world is accountable to God: all people are obviously guilty, and must now face God as their judge.

Here we see Paul rounding out the argument he began in Romans 1:18. Paul concluded by saying, no one can be made right with God by committing to the duty of the law, which has more to do with one’s convictional commitment than even the deeds themselves. It speaks more to one’s obligations (see Romans 3:20- ἔργον). The commitment to duty is what drives our actions, work, and deeds. Think of a person in uniform—whether military or law enforcement. Their commitment to a particular cause drives their actions to serve.

Rather, the law does one thing—it shows us how sinful we are (Romans 3:20). This is interesting in that the knowledge of sin is actually a personal recognition of sin. Paul’s use of the word ἐπίγνωσις acknowledges that which is definitely known. Therefore, we reach a startling conclusion—the law leaves no room for ignorance of one’s total knowledge of their sinfulness.

When we become exposed to the law of God, we discover how sinful we are and how much we need a Savior. This is the point that Paul establishes to demonstrate how the law creates a need for Jesus Christ. So then, if the law leads us to commit to it, we are abusing the law. Rather, the law serves as the instrument by which we discover our need for a Messiah.

Faith in Christ (Romans 3:21-30)

One of the most difficult things for religious institutions and organizations to accept is the way God has ordained to be made right with Him. Paul suggests in Romans 3:21 that a way to being made right with God has been manifested. Meaning, there was a common understanding or way that was known to make one right with God. However, there is a new way—making the old way obsolete. This way is through faith in Jesus Christ. This way is for everyone—removing the individual and ethnic approach to being in the right with God.

Romans 3:23 shows us that we all has sinned. The Greek plainly states, everyone has sinned and fall short of God’s glory. The point is relationship with God requires us to match God’s glory or status of honor.

Now, here is a fascinating idea! Being in the right with God is about matching or meeting is splendor or status of honor. This is where simple moral behavior becomes allusive, because we assume our righteous actions must satisfy what we are perceiving of God. However, Paul concludes this is simply not the case. Rather, the grace of God is the means by which we are accepted—not our matching of God’s glorious standard.

Accordingly, grace [goodwill freely disseminated (by God); especially to the benefit of the receipient regardless of the benefit accrued to the disseminator] is God’s free [without payment] justification [to be or become judicially vindicated as having complied with the requirements of the law of God]. Now, there are a couple of theological terms I want us to know and become familiar with:

redemption (freed from penalty vs. 24, NLT)- release or deliverance; to release or set free as with a slave; liberate; the underlying connotation is to buy back, implying someone who has been sold.

This concept is common among Israelites, particularly in the context of exile. Israel had long-awaited their redemption or deliverance as in Luke 24:21 “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.”

propitiation (sacrifice for sin vs. 25, NLT)- the means of appeasing wrath and gaining the good will of an offended person; especially with respect to sacrifices for appeasing angered deities

Remember, Paul told us in Romans 1:18 “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.*” How does God appease this anger? With our good works? Not all, but with the sacrifice of his Son (Romans 3:25). Now, in Judaism alms giving, good deeds, and prayer were ways to turn away wrath and appease the anger of the gods. However, Paul’s Jesus doctrine totally opposes this view.

The use of these words demonstrate Paul has the temple and its system in mind. The manner by which justice has traditionally been rendered is being displaced. And so, Paul’s use of terms reminds the reader of the role the priest would play in offering sacrifices and preparing the temple for the presence of God—whether it was the shewbread or the offering of a sacrifice.

It is important to highlight the word presence, because it is the work of these things and in the presence of these things one gets to experience the Shekinah of God. However, the new way uses the body of Jesus as the sufficient sacrifice by which all mankind is to enter the presence of God. And here we must recognize the role of the blood.

For Paul, the cross is at the heart of all of God’s actions to place man into the right. Again, returning back to Romans 1:18, Paul sees Jesus as the one who satisfies or appeases the anger of God through the shedding of His blood. Here, Paul hints towards the dominant theme of the cross, which is discussed elsewhere (1 Corinthians 1:17-18; Galatians 6:14; Ephesians 2:16).

And Paul shares a very interesting point—God’s wrath was withheld for this very reason (Romans 3:25b-26). The cross is God’s universal solution for the sin problem. Yet, it also demonstrates the incredible urgency of those preaching this message since the destined act of God’s Son has been accomplished.

No Boasting (Romans 3:27-30)

Paul returns back to the central point of this book—the relationship of the Christian Jews and Gentiles. If we are all sinners and Christ is the universal solution for the common problem experienced by all men, then we are unable to boast in the things we may use to separate us from one another. Faith, then, unifies us when we might would find that which might divide us.

The current climate of America gives us many things to be divided over. However, for Christians, we should serve no role in this division. The current political propaganda would have us believe our political status is divined by our religious badges. Furthermore, these political statuses are also attached to gender and racial badges that create a community within the Christian community that fails to reflect one’s faith in Christ who is neither divined by gender, race, or political policy, but rather in the trust of a faithful God who has a plan to redeem mankind. The beauty of such redemption is lost in such trivial differences as race, gender, and political affiliation. It does not allow us to see the common nature of man who needs a Savior, which can never be delivered through one’s ethnicity or political position. And then, we use such distinctions to wear bigger badges. We should forsake this tendency and realign ourselves with true faith in Christ Jesus.

Jesus is the unifier of all. In Him we find reason to belong within the same community. Otherwise, our differences will drive us apart. We all have at least one thing in common—sin, and perhaps, this is the hardest thing for man to see. For some would say, because of their badges, they have not sin and therefore have no need for Christ.