"Let God Be True & Every Person a Liar"

Bible Passage

Romans 3:1–8 CSB

1 So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the very words of God. 3 What then? If some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar, as it is written: That you may be justified in your words and triumph when you judge. (Psalm 51:4 “Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge.”) 5 But if our unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, what are we to say? I am using a human argument: Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath? 6 Absolutely not! Otherwise, how will God judge the world? 7 But if by my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, just as some people slanderously claim we say, “Let us do what is evil so that good may come”? Their condemnation is deserved!

Hook (Grab Attention)

Illustration

Have you ever looked into a cracked mirror?

The reflection is still there—but it’s distorted.

Your face looks fractured.

Maybe your eye is where your cheek should be, your mouth is split in two.

Now imagine someone walking away from that mirror, convinced that you are broken—not the glass.

That’s exactly what many people do with God.

They look at His reflection in His people—

people who sin, fail, fall short—and say, “If that’s what God looks like, I want nothing to do with Him.”

But here’s the problem: they’re looking at a broken mirror.

In Romans 3:1–8, Paul tackles this very issue.

What if people who carry God’s Word fail?

Does that mean God has failed?

Paul’s answer is loud and clear:

“Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar.”

Don’t judge the original by the reflection.

Don’t let human failure distort God’s faithfulness.

Book

Bible Passage

Romans 3:1–2 CSB

1 So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the very words of God.

“What advantage does the Jew have?”

The Advantage of Divine Revelation (v.1–2)

The Word of God: A Precious Stewardship

God entrusted the Jews with His very words—

They were stewards over:

His covenants, His Law, His promises, and His prophecies

God’s Covenants:

Adamic Covenant

Be fruitful and multiply

Noahic Covenant

God will never destroy the earth with water again

Abrahamic Covenant

The promise of land

Descendants as the sand of the sea

Circumcision

Mosaic Covenant

The Law was given

Davidic Covenant

Descendants will always be seated on the throne

The New Covenant

The Church

Holy Spirit filled believers

His law

Was given to the Jews to guard and uphold

His promises

Were to His people, Israel

Which NOW include us as God’s Spiritual Israel

Romans 9:6 CSB

6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

His Prophecies

The Jews had STEWARDSHIP of The Word of God...

“A man who holds the Scriptures in his hand holds heaven’s lantern.” —Henry Ward Beecher (19th century American Preacher)

The Jews were given the PRIVILEGE of holding these things, but GET THIS...

Privilege Does NOT Equal Salvation

Possession of truth does not mean transformation by truth.

The Jews had POSSESSION of the Truth, but were not TRANSFORMED by the Truth

MANY people in the Church today...especially the American South...

They HOLD THE TRUTH IN THEIR HANDS, but NOT IN THEIR HEARTS...

When the Truth of God and the Gospel is in your HEART, affectionate love and obedience to Him will flow out!

This is a warning to all who sit under the Gospel but do not obey it!

Are you sitting under the sound of the gospel on a regular basis, and yet STILL disobey the gospel?

Are you repenting and believing/trusting?

Application: Are you resting in your privileges (church attendance, Bible knowledge) instead of resting in Christ?

The Faithfulness of God Amid Human Unbelief (v.3–4)

“Let God be true, but every person a liar.”

A. Man’s Unbelief Cannot Undo God’s Truth

Just because men and women, boys and girls, do not BELIEVE, does NOT mean God’s Truth is UNDONE…

God is NOT LIKE Santa Claus

When you stop believing in Santa, he stops being real to you...

God is NOT like that at all!

No matter if the ENTIRE MULTIVERSE rebels and stops believing in YAHWEH...HE. STILL. REIGNS.

God’s promises still stand even when men fall.

Illustration: Just because you don’t believe in 18-Wheelers, doesn’t mean you won’t get hit when you walk in front of one on the highway.

There is a HUGE difference between “believing IN God” and “BELIEVING God”

No matter how hard mankind tries to UNDO what God has set in place, they will NEVER succeed...

“God writes in granite what men try to erase with dust.” —Anonymous

B. God’s Faithfulness Is Not Diminished by Human Failure

Even if the entire world totally rejects Him, God would still be Faithful and Just and True.

When we are unfaithful and unsteady, God is Faithful still and is our True and Steady Anchor...

Illustration: A lighthouse stands unmoved though every wave beats against it—so God’s truth stands amid human rebellion.

The Righteousness of God in Judgment (v.5–6)

“Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath?” —Verse 5

A. A Sinful Thought: That God Is Unjust to Judge Sin

Paul rebukes this theoretical blasphemy—even when it comes disguised as theological questioning.

I’m sure Paul had heard this mindset at some point, hence him feeling the concern enough to address it.

Paul is addressing those who would hear his words as, “if God gets glory from sinners, then why will He still judge them?”

B. God Must Judge the World

If He did not judge, He would not be God.

He would not be Just, to allow sinful rebellion to continue unaccounted for and unpunished.

He is judging them for their disobedient, sinful rebellion, not for Him getting glory.

Application:

Do not twist God's mercy into license.

His judgment is holy, righteous, and sure.

The Condemnation of Sin, Even When It Magnifies Grace (v.7–8)

“Let us do evil, that good may come?” —Verse 8

A. Twisting Grace into Wicked License

Some people want to slander Paul’s message by accusing him of promoting sin to exalt grace.

Paul’s answer: “These people’s condemnation is just and deserved”

B. The Glory of God Is Not an Excuse for Sin

Sin never glorifies God when done intentionally.

Grace teaches holiness, not license.

Warning: If your theology permits you to sin with a smile, your doctrine is from hell, not from heaven.

Conclusion: Let God Be True

All men and women and boys and girls are liars if they contradict God.

Let His Word reign over:

your feelings

your culture

your reasoning

Run to Jesus…only in Him are:

the faithfulness of God

the righteousness of God

the of Justice God

the love of God

the goodness of God displayed fully…

Final Exhortation:

God will be glorified, either in your salvation or in your condemnation.

Better to be a trophy of His mercy than a monument of His wrath.

Run to Jesus, in repenting and believing , and let God be true, and every person—yourself included—a liar, if we dare speak against the Word of YHWH, The Most High God.

PRAYER