Blue Rocks Bible Study 2, Romans 3

Review

Let’s make sure we understand a couple of terms.

Jew—the chosen people of God, the citizens of Israel, descended from Abraham, followers of the Laws of Moses, a religious and national affiliation.

Gentiles—all people who are not Jews.

Righteousness—for people it’s this idea of being right with God which leads to right living by God and with others. For God it means holy and good, perfect.

For today, I’m going to use the New Living Translation, easier to understand.

So, in chapter 1, Paul points out the sinfulness of which group of people? The Gentiles, pagans

In chapter 2, who is the focus of his writing, who is also sinful? The Jews and we can sub in religious or legalistic Christians.

But for the purpose of this study, we will say that Paul was writing to the religious Jews of his day

These Jews thought they were “good” with God or righteous because of their adherence to the Law, to God’s commands.

But in reality, what was the intended purpose of Israel?

So, in chapel of Sunday, I mentioned this idea that no one is sinless because God sees and knows what? Not only our actions, but also our thoughts and motives.

Doing what we shouldn’t do and also not doing what we should do as well.

So, even they may be outwardly keeping the law, there is no way they are also perfectly keeping it inwardly.

Therefore, Paul would say the Jew is equally sinful and in need of salvation as the Gentile and has failed in their God given purpose.

Or he would say that “no one is righteous”, that’s in verse 10 of this chapter

Right standing with God is based on faith, not in the keeping of the law

Let’s read verses 1-9 of chapter 3

1 Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? 2 Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God. 3 True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? 4 Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about Him,

“You will be proved right in what you say,

and you will win your case in court.”

5”But” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for Him to punish us?” (this is merely a human point of view.” 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would He be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights His truthfulness and brings Him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned. 9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews of Gentiles, are under the power of sin.

What do you notice about this section? A lot of questions

What is Paul doing here? It’s as if he’s having a Q & A session with an invisible person. He’s anticipating the struggle some Jews would have with what he wrote in chapter 2

Jewish pride, being chosen, and Jewish law following, circumcision mean nothing if they are what is believed to make one right with God.

But there is a benefit to being a Jew, what is it? They were given the Word of God, His revelation of His character and His ways but failed to invite the world into this.

Now what happens if someone knows the laws? Say the laws of a country or the rules on a team? You are now obligated to keep them, you can no longer plead ignorance.

Is ignorance a legal defense? No, it is the individuals responsibility to know the laws of the land.

Do you have a choice to obey the laws? Of course

It’s the same with a marriage, there are “rules” or commitments spoken as part of the wedding vows, anybody know them?

"I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith [or] pledge myself to you."

These are the vows or what we pledge, now do we have a choice to keep them? Of course, and many don’t.

But if one person chooses to not be “faithful” to these vows does that mean that the other person is automatically unfaithful as well? Of course not. The other person can be completely faithful

This is what Paul is saying here, even though some Jews were unfaithful, not keeping the Laws, not fulfilling their God given role, it didn’t nullify God’s faithfulness, He will always be the God of the Jews who desires the world to know Him.

Even if He has to hold them to the standards He put forward and for their failure, for the most part, to recognize Jesus.

They should have been the first to recognize Him, why? Because they had the revelation of God, His Word.

Now why did Jesus come? To rescue us, to die for our sins, to provide salvation, to demonstrate God’s love, mercy and grace, can we agree on that?

Well then this is what’s behind the questions in verses 5-7

5“But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for Him to punish us?” 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would He be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights His truthfulness and brings Him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.

We will always be responsible and be held accountable for for our thoughts, motives, and actions.

So, verse 9, we are all under the power of sin, we are all sinners in God’s eyes.

Verses 10-18 are a bunch of O.T. verses highlighting the condition of mankind.

Let’s look at verses 19-20 for a minute. Summary verses

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

This is a profound understanding of the purpose of the “law”

yes they are good guidelines, ways to live so we do right by God and others,

But they come from God and reveal His character, His good ways for us, yes, but also his holiness.

There are 10 commandments and then another 603 other commands and regulations, laws, etc.

Again, if we truly understand the laws and then look deep in our hearts, then the commands of God reveal our sinfulness, our inability to keep these commands, to not break them.

So what is the answer? Let’s work through verses 21-31

21 But now God has sown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who you are.

What is Paul saying?

Now 23

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

What is Paul saying?

Now 24-25b

Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood.

So, what is Paul saying?

Now 25c-26

This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

So, what is Paul saying?

Now 27-28

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

So, what is Paul saying?

Now 29-30

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t He also the God of the Gentiles? Of course He is. 30 There is only one God, and He makes people right with Himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.

So, what is Paul saying?

Now verse 31

Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

This is the lead in to chapter 4, Paul will give examples of how faith led to right living, to law fulfilling.