Romans 3.8-Paul Addresses Judaizers' Charge That His Gospel of Grace was Antinomianism
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday October 10, 2007
Romans: Romans 3:8-Paul Addresses Judaizers’ Charge that His Gospel of Grace was Antinomianism
Lesson # 79
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 3:1.
This evening we will note Romans 3:8 in which Paul addresses the Judaizers’ charge that his gospel of grace was “antinomianism.”
The term “antinomianism” comes from the Greek anti, “against” and the noun nomos, “law,” thus the expression literally means, “against the law.”
Jude addresses the issue of antinomianism in Jude 4.
Jude 4, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Thus, we can see that Paul was accused by the Judaizers that he was “against the Law” meaning 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).
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 accused him of teaching (Romans 6:10-16).
Romans 3:1-8, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 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.’ 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.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? Their condemnation is just.”
Corrected translation of Romans 3:8: “Furthermore, what is the conclusion that we are forced to? (As we have been slanderously charged with in the past and continue to be up to the present moment and as some have in the past alleged we say and continue to do so up to the present moment), ‘Let us perpetrate evil acts in order that blessings might result.’ No! Their condemnation is, as an eternal spiritual truth, deserved.”
Romans 3:8, “And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? Their condemnation is just.”
“Why not say?” does not appear in the original text but rather only the negative particle me (mhv), “not,” which indicates that this rhetorical question demands a negative answer and should be translated at the end of the rhetorical question.
The negative particle me refutes the allegation of antinomianism that was leveled at the apostle Paul and other communicators of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the first century, which would include men with the spiritual gifts of prophet, pastor-teacher and evangelist.
By refuting this allegation, Paul also expresses his rejection of the entire concept of antinomianism.
Next, the apostle Paul employs the figure of ellipsis of repetition where the expression ti eroumen, “what shall we say” is to be supplied by repeating it from Romans 3:5.
In Romans 3:5, the question “what shall we say?” expresses Paul’s hesitation and revulsion in presenting a rhetorical question, which infers the unthinkable and the preposterous, namely, that God is unrighteous.
In Romans 3:8, Paul omits this expression due to the figure of ellipsis of repetition, and is thus is implied.
Just as this expression in Romans 3:5 expressed Paul’s revulsion and hesitation in presenting a rhetorical question, which infers the unthinkable and the preposterous, namely that God is unrighteous so in Romans 3:8, the expression does the same.
In Romans 3:8, the question “what shall we say?” expresses Paul’s revulsion and hesitation in presenting a rhetorical question, which infers the unthinkable and preposterous, namely, “Let us do evil so that good may come!”
Romans 3:8, “And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? Their condemnation is just.”
“We are slanderously reported” is the verb blasphemeo (blasfhmevw) (blas-fay-meh-o), which denotes “slandering” someone, which refers to defaming someone’s character as a result of bitterness towards them.
The verb is in the 1st person plural form and is identified by grammarians as an “exclusive we” referring to Paul, the other apostles as well as other communicators of the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ such as Titus and Timothy and also includes Christians in general.
Therefore, the Judaizers defamed the character of Paul and the apostles and other communicators of the gospel of Jesus Christ as a result of bitterness towards them.
“Some” is the indefinite pronoun tis (ti$) (tis), which refers to the Judaizers.
“Claim” is the verb phemi (fhmiv) (fay-mee), which means, “to allege.”
“We” is the personal pronoun hemeis (h(mei$), which refers to the apostle Paul and his fellow communicators of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
“Let us do” is the verb poieo (poievw), which is used with adjective kakos, “evil” and means, “to perpetrate” since this word has a negative connotation attached to it.
“Perpetrate” means, “to perform, execute or commit (a crime, wrong, etc): to perpetrate murder.
Therefore, Paul and his fellow communicators of the gospel were accused by the Judaizers of teaching others to “perpetrate” evil.
“Evil” is the adjective kakos (kakov$) (kak-os), which describes actions that are done against the laws of God that reveal His will and thus refers to various acts of sin that constitute evil.
“Good” is the adjective agathos (a)gaqov$) (ag-ath-os), which is used in direct contrast to the articular form of the adjective kakos, “evil acts.”
The adjective agathos is in the plural and refers to “blessings” that result from perpetrating evil acts since the verb erchomai emphasizes the results from performing an action.
Therefore, the Judaizers accused Paul and his fellow communicators of the Word of God of teaching others to perpetrate evil in order that “blessings” might result.
Romans 3:8, “And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? Their condemnation is just.”
“Their condemnation is just” describes the Judaizers’ condemnation for accusing Paul and his fellow communicators of the Word of God of antinomianism as “deserving” since it was an attack on the integrity of God and the Word of God expresses the integrity of God.
The Judaizers’ condemnation is deserved since the Judaizers argued in Romans 3:3 that Jewish unbelief renders inoperative God’s faithfulness.
Romans 3:3, “So then, what if-and let us assume for the sake of argument some did not believe, then will their unbelief render inoperative God’s faithfulness? No!”
Romans 3:4, “Absolutely not! God must be acknowledged as true but each and every member of the human race a liar. Just as it stands written, for all of eternity, ‘that You will be acknowledged as righteous by means of Your pronouncements so that You will be victorious while You are undoubtedly being accused of injustice.’”
The Judaizers’ condemnation is also deserved since they argued that God is unrighteous for exercising His righteous indignation upon Jewish unrighteousness since their unrighteousness serves to make more conspicuous God’s righteousness.
Romans 3:5, “But, if-and let us assume for the sake of argument our unrighteousness does cause God’s righteousness to be made conspicuous. What then is the conclusion that we are forced to? Is God unrighteous, while inevitably exercising His righteous indignation? (I am speaking according to human viewpoint.) No!”
Romans 3:6, “Absolutely not! For how will God condemn the unsaved inhabitants of the cosmic system?”
The Judaizers’ condemnation will also be deserved since they labeled Paul a sinner because he taught salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ while at the same time arguing that God is unrighteous for exercising His righteous indignation upon Jewish unrighteousness since their unrighteousness serves to make more conspicuous God’s righteousness.
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?”
The basis for the first argument in Romans 3:3 was to call into question that faithfulness of God.
The basis for the second argument in Romans 3:5 was to call into question God’s righteousness.
The basis for their allegation against Paul and the apostles and other communicators of the Word of God that they taught evil acts will result in blessing from God also called into question God’s integrity since it implied that God blesses sin.
Therefore, their condemnation was deserved since the basis for their attack on Paul was to call into question God’s character and integrity.
All of these arguments were the result of twisting the message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
They twisted and distorted the gospel message that Paul and the apostles communicated since it exposed their sin and hypocrisy and self-righteousness and thus their need for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3).
The Judaizers also rejected the grace message since it rejects human arrogance, which expresses itself by attempting to perform some sort of system of works in order to be justified before a holy God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:5-7).
They also rejected it because they were involved in evil, which is independence from God (Isaiah 14:12-14).
The Gospel message demonstrates that all of humanity is totally and completely dependent upon God and His grace for not only human existence itself but also for salvation.
They could do nothing to earn or deserve salvation and were totally and completely dependent upon God to provide salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
They also hated the gospel message because the gospel taught that all of humanity, both Jew and Gentile have absolutely no merit with God.
Only Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, has merit with God since He is the only sinless human being in history and so the gospel rejects human arrogance and pride.
So in a sense these attacks on Paul were an attack on the Lord Jesus Christ since His message came directly from the Lord Himself.
Galatians 1:11-12, “For I would have you know, brethren that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”