Romans 3.7-Paul Exposes the Contradiction in the Judaizers' Argument and Their Treatment of Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 9, 2007
Romans: Romans 3:7-Paul Exposes the Contradiction in the Judaizers’ Argument and their Rejection of Him
Lesson # 78
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 3:1.
This evening we will study Romans 3:7, in which Paul picks up the argument of his opponents, the Judaizers that appears in the protasis of Romans 3:5.
He argues that “Wouldn’t it be unrighteous to judge me as a sinner when according to your argument God would be unrighteous for exercising His righteous indignation upon Jewish unrighteousness when Jewish unrighteousness makes more conspicuous God’s righteousness?”
Romans 3:1, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?”
Romans 3:2, “Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.”
Romans 3:3, “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?”
Romans 3:4, “May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ‘THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED.’”
Romans 3:5, “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)”
Romans 3:6, “May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?”
Romans 3:7, “But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”
Corrected translation of Romans 3:7: “But, if-and let us assume for the sake of argument by means of my lie God’s truth achieved fame resulting in His glory. Why then have I in the past been singled out to be condemned as a sinner and continue to be up to the present moment?”
“If” is the conditional particle ei (ei)) (i), which introduces the protasis of a first class condition that states that Paul’s lie glorified God.
“Through my lie” refers specifically to his teaching that salvation was by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by the works of the Law!
Remember, Paul is speaking from the perspective of his opponents, the Judaizers who considered salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by keeping the works of the Law a “lie.”
Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross.
It is God treating us in a manner that we don’t deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God.
Romans 3:21-26, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Grace means that God saved us and blessed us despite ourselves and not according to anything that we do but rather saved us and blessed us because of the merits of Christ and His work on the Cross.
Grace excludes any human merit in salvation and blessing (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and gives the Creator all the credit and the creature none.
By means of faith, we accept the grace of God, which is a non-meritorious system of perception, which is in total accord with the grace of God.
Grace and faith are totally compatible with each other and inseparable (1 Tim. 1:14) and complement one another (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8).
Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The message of God's saving act in Christ is described as the “gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), and the “word of His grace” (Acts 20:32; cf. 14:3).
The Judaizers condemned Paul’s teaching of grace, twisting it so that they accused Paul of teaching that grace gives license to sin, which is called by theologians, “antinomianism.”
The term “antinomianism” comes from the Greek anti, “against” and the noun nomos, “law,” thus the expression literally means, “against the law.”
Thus, we can see that Paul was accused by the Judaizers that he was “against the Law” and that his message of grace gave one a license to sin when in reality Paul taught that grace is a license to obey and serve God (Romans 7:1-13).
Romans 7:12, “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
The Judaizers were accusing Paul of teaching that the more a person sins, the more God is glorified, the more he lies and the more he glorifies God’s truthfulness, which is outrageous.
The charge of antinomianism that was leveled against Paul was of course false since Paul taught that God’s grace is so that we might obey and serve God and was not a license to sin as the Judaizers against him of teaching.
Romans 6:15, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!”
“The truth of God” is a reference to the fact that truth is an attribute of God that expresses itself through faithfulness to His promises contained in His Word and was manifested in the Person of Jesus Christ.
“Abounded” is the verb perisseuo (perisseuvw) (per-is-syoo-o), which denotes the abundance of something.
Therefore, in Romans 3:7, the word speaks of an “abundant” manifestation of the attribute of God’s truth by means of Paul’s presentation of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The best English word to convey this idea would be “famous,” which refers today to having a wide-spread reputation, being renowned or celebrated.
Therefore, in Romans 3:7, the verb perisseuo means, “to achieve fame” in the sense of God’s attribute of truth gained renown or was celebrated by means of Paul’s message of grace, which the Judaizers called a “lie.”
“To His glory” refers to the adoring praise, recognition and worshipful thanksgiving that God received from men who were saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:7, “But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”
Remember Paul’s premise, “If through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory.”
Now, he will infer from this premise the following: “why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”
The inference is that why was he still condemned by his opponents when they argued in Romans 3:5 that God is unrighteous for exercising His righteous indignation upon Jewish unrighteousness since their unrighteousness serves to make more conspicuous God’s righteousness.
“Why” is the interrogative pronoun tis (tiv$) (tis), which asks a debater’s rhetorical question.
“I also” is the personal pronoun kago (ka)gwv) (kag-o), which particularizes and is used to emphasize the sarcasm behind Paul’s statement that God’s truth achieved fame by means of his lie and resulted in God’s glory.
“Still” is the adverb eti (e&ti) (et-ee), which denotes a logical inference and is used in this rhetorical question to demonstrate the obvious contradiction between the Judaizers’ harsh treatment of Paul and their argument that God is unrighteous for exercising His righteous indignation upon Jewish unrighteousness when their unrighteousness serves to make more conspicuous God’s righteousness.
As we noted, in Romans 3:3-4, Paul teaches that Jewish unfaithfulness does not render inoperative God’s faithfulness to Israel and that God will be vindicated when He judges unsaved mankind.
In Romans 3:5, Paul addresses another objection of the Judaizers that if Jewish unrighteousness magnifies the righteousness of God, then, God is unrighteous and not justified in exercising His righteous indignation towards them.
He addresses this objection since it could be implied from Romans 3:3-4 that the unrighteousness of unregenerate Jews serves to demonstrate the righteousness of God.
The idea that God could ever be unrighteous is strictly “human viewpoint” Paul says at the end of Romans 3:5.
Now, in Romans 3:7 Paul continues the argument raised by the Judaizers that is noted in the protasis of Romans 3:5, namely, that God is unrighteous for exercising His righteous indignation upon Jewish unrighteousness since their unrighteousness serves to make more conspicuous God’s righteousness.
Paul refuted this with the negative particle me, “No!” in Romans 3:5 and the expression me genoito, “absolutely not!” in Romans 3:6.
Paul’s rhetorical question in Romans 3:7 points out the contradiction with this argument and their treatment of him as a sinner who taught lies.
Therefore, Paul is saying, “how can you judge me as a sinner when you argue that God is unrighteous for exercising His righteous indignation upon Jewish unrighteousness since their unrighteousness serves to make more conspicuous God’s righteousness!?”
“Am being judged” is the verb krino (krivnw) (kree-no), which refers to the fact that Paul was being “condemned” by the Judaizers for presenting the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not through the works of the Law.
Romans 3:7, “But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”
“As” is the relative adverb of manner hos (w($), which functions as a comparative adverb introducing a characteristic that Paul’s opponents, the Judaizers attributed to Paul.
“A sinner” is the adjective hamartolos (a(martwlov$) (ham-ar-tol-os), which is a derogatory term used by the rabbis to describe individuals who rejected their oral traditions and sinned against the Law.
The Rabbis determined that a sinner was one who not only sinned against the Law of God but also rejected their traditions, which they put on a par with the inspired Old Testament text!
These traditions were rejected by the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in Mark 7.
These traditions became barriers resulting in entire segments of the Jewish population being isolated and shunned and deprived of rights such as the shepherds whose trade was classified by the rabbis as “unclean.”
Therefore, this term hamartolos, describes Paul as one who broke from the oral traditions of the rabbis and sinned against the Law because he proclaimed that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
So we see in Romans 3:7 Paul exposes the contradiction between the Judaizers’ argument that God is unrighteous for judging Jewish unrighteousness and their slandering him by calling him a “sinner” because he taught that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:7 reveals that Paul was persecuted because he taught salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not through the works of the Law or circumcision.
2 Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”