Alba 8-1-2021
THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD
Romans 3:1-8
Doesn't it seem that there are people who are born with special advantages over others? Some seem to be born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth.
Somehow, that sounds uncomfortable. But I think it would be better than having one's foot in ones mouth. That seems to be the situation that many of us have to deal with all too often.
Still, we who have been born in the United States of America have many advantages that most people in the world do not have. But, also there are many in this country today who don't seem to recognize the blessings of those advantages, even among some of our olympic athletes.
Such is the case of those God chose to bless with the covenant established with Abraham and his descendants. They were given the advantage of a relationship with the creator God in a special way.
In fact that is what the apostle Paul says in Romans chapter three. Still, all too many of those people did not act in a way that would demonstrate faith in what was revealed to them.
After he has made it clear the special place that God had given to the Jewish nation, and the things they believed gave them bragging rights over other people, Paul says that is not enough.
Yes, they had the advantage of receiving the law and the sign of circumcision, but if they did not believe what God said, or live up to what was required, they would not have any advantage over the Gentiles in the eyes of God.
That had to be a shocking message to those who trusted in those outward expressions of a relationship with God without the actual relationship of love and obedience to God.
So Paul writes the following in Romans 3:1-8 explaining this situation further. Turn with me to these verses.
1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. 3 For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written:
“That You may be justified in Your words,
And may overcome when You are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
7 For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.
There could be some who would question that since God chose the Hebrew people as His own and established His covenant with them, how could He turn His back on these people?
Would God have done all the things He did for the people He called His own simply to say that none of that means anything now?
Paul wants his readers, and us, to know that God does not act in that way toward anyone. No, the Jewish nation did have advantages that others did not have.
Among those advantages is the fact that it was to these people that God revealed His Words and His Law.
The sacred writing of God with its teachings, commandments, predictions and promises had been entrusted to the Jewish nation. It was given to them that they might accept it by faith, obey it, hold it in high honor, and transmit it to others.
What greater advantage in life could one ask for than to possess the writings of God and possess the prophets, priests and scribes whose duty it was to explain, proclaim, and transmit them to the people?
Our text calls these things the “oracles of God.” The New International Version translates this “the very words of God”. In other words, the revelation of God to man.
It refers to the message of salvation that was made known to them through the Law and the prophets in the Old Testament Scriptures.
God had spoken, and the record of what He said was entrusted to Israel, and Israel only. That’s the awesome privilege they have.
They were given a great advantage because the truth was made known to them. But Paul says this alone did not assure them a place in heaven.
A modern-day version of this would be like those who are born into a Christian family, or those who have grown up in a church.
If growing up in a Christian family does not guarantee our salvation, then what good is that? If attending church from childhood does not mean we are saved, then what’s the use?
The answer is, “Much in every way!” We have the privilege of hearing the Gospel right from the start. We attend Sunday School, hear the Bible stories, learn about Jesus; we have access to the Word of God.
We are not saved by all those things, but they prepare us for an obedient faith response to Jesus Christ. This is an advantage given to us that many do not have.
Many of us are blessed with such a privilege, being second or third-generation Christians. We have to treasure it, and not take the grace of God for granted.
And we are blessed to be in a country where the Gospel has been preached, the Word of God taught and the Bible is freely available. We can read and study it anytime, and we can gather for worship and fellowship (as long as there isn't a covid shut down).
In spite of that, there are people today like those referred to in Romans 1:28 who “did not like to retain God in their knowledge.” So, “God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”
Look at our world today. Many people in many countries are struggling to survive, spiritually impoverished and without the oracles of God. Yet we have the advantage of God's revealed Word and Will.
Paul asks a question in verse three, “What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? In verse four he answers, “Certainly not!”
Sadly, God's people are not always faithful. So does that mean that God’s faithfulness towards them has been in vain? That His work among them has been futile and wasted? Has everything gone down the drain because of their unfaithfulness?
“By no means!” Paul said emphatically. It is the strongest NO in the Greek language. “No way! Never! Not at all! Certainly not!”
The thought that God might be unfaithful is inconceivable to Paul. His reply to the expressed doubt is vehement. Such a thing could not possibly be true.
God’s faithfulness is not being held hostage by the people’s response. Even with their unfaithfulness, God will still remain faithful to His covenant.
The assurance of God’s faithfulness was demonstrated in those very oracles which the Jews prided themselves on having received. Indeed, if every person turns out to be a liar, God will stay true to His promises.
The good news is that God is true, and everything He said in His Word is true. But the bad news is that every man is a liar (see verse four). We’ve all lied about something, and this makes us all sinners.
Of course we excuse ourselves and think we are better than we are.
It’s like one lady who wasn’t willing to confess her faith in Christ, and confess that she was a sinner before she was baptized.
Her preacher asked her to repeat a prayer, “Lord, I confess that I’m a no good sinner and I need to be forgiven...” She was silent. Finally, her preacher asked her, “Don’t you want to be forgiven by God?”
She said, “Yes, but I’m not bad sinner. I’m a good sinner...” He said, “Lady, there is no such thing as a good sinner!” And it’s true. No matter how good a person thinks he or she is, we’re really not good down deep in our heart of hearts.
Yet no matter how bad we are, it does not set aside God's righteousness. God is true, pure, right and holy. But if we can't help but be sinners, how can God judge us?
If there could be any possibility of God being unfair, then how would He be fit to judge the world? But scripture assures us that God will be the final and fair judge in Genesis 18:25, “…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
And Paul has this to say in Acts 17:31. “Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Jesus is the one who went to the cross and took the penalty for our sins. He is the one who rose from the dead. He is the one who makes it possible for us to come into the presence of a holy God.
Paul writes in these verses that there are even those who think that their sin is a good thing because it shows how truly righteous God is.
Verse seven suggests that someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?"
In other words, if I’m doing what I was designed by God to do, that is lie, kill, rape, or injure, why am I still condemned? Well... Because, you are responsible for your actions!
But it works like this: An employee is fired by the owner of the company for stealing some of its funds. In anger, the employee burns down the plant. He is arrested and about to stand trial for his crime.
The employee then hears that the owner had insured his business for one million dollars more than it was worth. The employer actually gains from the employee’s crime.
And so the employee contacts the employer, expecting all charges to be dropped, and asks for a share of the “profits”!
So too the sinner who thinks he has done God a favor, expects God to drop all charges against him. For God to do otherwise, he proposes, would be unjust.
This line of thinking leads to an absurd conclusion such as: “If our sin gives God a chance to demonstrate His faithfulness in judgment and His grace in forgiveness, then why not sin more.
This kind of thinking believes that somehow sin is good in the end. Because it gives God an opportunity to show how righteous He is. And therefore it reveals the righteousness of God in a way that we would not have known, had it not been for sin. But this is foolishness.
We must keep in mind that sin is always sinful. There is no such thing as a good sin. Sin is the reason that Jesus had to come to earth and suffer on the cross of Calvary.
There’s nothing good about sin, it is evil through and through. The fact that God is able at times to bring something good out of someone’s sin doesn’t make sin good.
God will be faithful to His Word. But faithfulness to the promises is never separated from belief. When people are unfaithful to the promises of God, the promises become inoperative.
Unbelief may make the oracles of God appear untrue, but they simply become inoperative. That does not make God unfaithful to His promise. Its just that the people do not fulfill the preconditions.
Like that woman who would not confess to being a sinner, we are all no good sinners whether we want to admit it or not. But we must admit it if we want to be forgiven and go to heaven.
God has provided a perfect revelation of His character and of His will in His Holy Word. What matters is the truth. What God has written in His Word is truth.
You most likely have heard the saying, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it for me.” It might be more correct to say, “God said it. THAT SETTLES IT!”
What matters is what God has said. Because we can be sure that God will be faithful to His Word. He will be faithful in judgment. He will be faithful in mercy. God will be, and is, faithful!
CONCLUSION:
I'm sure you have noticed there is a tendency with people to try to excuse their sins. God is blamed for the way they are. “Its just the way God made me,” some say.
Look at James 1:13. “When tempted no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is dragged away and enticed.”
All that means is when you sin and I sin, we cannot blame God. We can’t say, “God, you made me that way so it’s your fault, God.”
It is human nature to try to justify our behavior, to try to excuse our sinfulness. An excuse is the skin of the truth stuffed with a lie. We always try to make excuses.
There was a state trooper who would tell about all the different excuses people gave him when he stopped them for speeding. “My cruise control was set.” or “My speedometer was broken.” or “I was just driving the same speed as everybody else around me. Why are you picking on me?”
But, there was one excuse he said that he had never heard before, and has never heard since, and it he considered it absolutely the best one. He stopped someone, a sweet-looking, little old lady and said, “Ma’am, did you know you were driving 60 miles an hour?”
She looked at him and smiled, and said, “That’s impossible, sonny. I haven’t even been gone an hour.” He said he thought about that for a moment, and said, “Bless your heart, slow down and keep going.” He didn’t even give her a ticket. You might try that some time. It is human nature to try to excuse our behavior. “It’s not my fault.”
But what will God say if we have all the advantages of having His Word and know His will, if we do not demonstrate an obedient faith?
One thing we know. He will be faithful to carry out justice and mercy perfectly.
