Romans 3:1–8. Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” 5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. (ESV)
Hans Christian Andersen’s story of The Emperor’s New Clothes is timeless because of its humor and because of the point it so aptly makes. In the story a certain emperor was very fond of appearances and clothing (Sounds like a certain Prime Minister I know). So, when certain clever philosophers (actually they were con men) offered to weave him a rare and costly garment, he was quite receptive. He especially liked their promise that the garment would be invisible to all but the wise and pure in heart. The delighted emperor commissioned his new clothing at great cost, and the con men sat before the empty looms and pretended to be weaving. Soon the emperor’s curiosity became such that he sent his chief minister to see how things were going. Seeing no cloth on the busy looms, and not wanting to be thought unwise and impure in heart, the official returned with a report about the fabulous beauty of the cloth. After a time the weavers asked for more money. Again, the emperor became impatient, sending his second chief minister, who returned with an even more enthusiastic report. Next the emperor went himself. Though he too saw nothing, he did not want to appear stupid, so he proclaimed the clothing excellent and beautiful. He even gave the weavers medals. Finally, on the day set for the grand parade, the con men dressed the emperor in his nakedness and then skipped town. As the emperor paraded before his people au naturel, the whole populace joined in praising his beautiful new clothing, lest they be thought of as fools and knaves. Thus, the absurd parade continued—until in a moment of quietness a child was heard to say, “The emperor has no clothes!” At once everyone knew the truth, including the emperor. One innocent but honest remark by a small child who did not know enough to keep his mouth shut stripped away the hypocritical pretense of the entire nation.
The Emperor’s New Clothes is such a great story that we use the term proverbially to describe a common tendency: We remain quiet while a fallacy is being promoted to which everyone is subscribing, because we do not want to be thought of as fools. As we approach the third chapter of Romans, we must keep in mind that it well describes the condition of the Jews whom Paul has just been addressing. The Jews imagined themselves to be clothed with a righteousness that was actually nonexistent. They were duped by a misleading religious confidence. So, Paul, like the little boy, stripped away their layers of delusion. They believed that because they possessed the Word of God they were safe. They saw themselves as guides to the blind, correctors of the foolish, teachers of the immature. But Paul undressed them, proving that having God’s Word is no guarantee of life. Paul also stripped away their errant confidence in circumcision, showing that religious affiliation does not save one from God’s judgement (Hughes, R. K. (1991). Romans: righteousness from heaven (pp. 70–72). Crossway Books.).
As he undressed his fellow Jews, he also undresses us, stripping away our misleading confidence in having God’s Word and our “right” affiliations. For all humanity, Jew and Gentile alike, true righteousness is a matter of the heart! “… a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code” (Rom. 2:29). That is why in Romans 3:1-8, the Apostle Paul counters false belief to show how someone is Called into Righteousness. This call changes three things that we can see here It changes one’s understanding of their 1) Relationships (Romans 3:1-2), 2) Responsibility (Romans 3:3-4) and their 3) Righteousness (Romans 3:5-8)
When someone is Called into Righteousness it changes their:
1) Relationships (Romans 3:1-2)
Romans 3:1–2. Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. (ESV)
Paul’s accusers continually charged him with teaching that the Lord’s calling of Israel to be His special people was meaningless. If that were so, the apostle blasphemed the very character and integrity of God. Paul knew the questions that some Jews in Rome would ask after they read or hear about the first part of his letter. “If our Jewish heritage, our knowing and teaching the Mosaic law, and our following Jewish rituals such as circumcision do not make a Jew righteous before God,” they would wonder, “then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value/benefit of circumcision?” Paul has pointed out, being physical descendants of Abraham did not qualify them as his spiritual descendants. If they did not have the mark of God’s Spirit within their hearts, the outward mark of circumcision in their flesh was worthless (Rom. 2:17–29). Paul’s intention here is not to deny that the Jews have privileges that the Gentiles do not have, but to contest the notion that these privileges give to the Jew an advantage in the judgment (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 181). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Please turn to Matthew 22
Nevertheless, Paul continues in verse 2, the advantage of being Jewish was “much in every way/great in every respect”. Although it did not bring salvation, it bestowed many privileges that Gentiles did not have. In Matthew 22, in the parable of the wedding feast, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a feast given by a king to celebrate his son’s marriage. In verse 1 we read:
Matthew 22:1-10. And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. (ESV)
• This parable pictures Israel as the first and most privileged guests who were invited to celebrate the coming of God’s Son to redeem His people. But when the majority of Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, God opened the door to Gentiles, those whom the king’s messengers found along the highways and in the streets. We can see the guests who attended the feast represent the church, people in general who acknowledge Christ as God’s Son and received Him as Lord and Savior.
Back in Romans 3:2, becoming more specific regarding their benefits, Paul said to his hypothetical religious objectors, “You were entrusted with the oracles of God.” Logion (oracles) is a diminutive of logos, which is most commonly translated word. Logion generally referred to important sayings or messages, especially supernatural utterances. Paul’s point was that the Jews were entrusted with the very words of the one and only true God, referring to the entire Old Testament (cf. Deut. 4:1–2; 6:1–2). God’s revelation of Himself and of His will had been entrusted to the Jews, and that gave them unimaginably great privilege as well as equally immense responsibility. To be “entrusted” with the divine oracles obviously means more than to be the recipient of them. Actually, it means more even than to be the custodian and transmitter of them. What is called for, in the light of the meaning of logia, is faith and obedience (Harrison, E. F. (1976). Romans. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, p. 35). Zondervan Publishing House.).
• As believers in Christ, we are responsible for everything He has revealed to us. Amassing knowledge or experience is not enough. Everything He gives to us is equipment for everything He has assigned to us.
Poem: Reflecting on what God gave to His people, the poet William Cowper wrote:” They, and they only, amongst all mankind, Received the transcript of the Eternal Mind; Were trusted with His own engraven laws, And constituted guardians of His cause; Theirs were the prophets, theirs the priestly call, And theirs, by birth, the Savior of us all”.
Belonging to a Christian church is much like it was to be a Jew under the Old Covenant. Outward identity with those who claim to be God’s people, even when they are genuine believers, is in itself of no benefit to an unbeliever. But such a person does have a great advantage above other unbelievers if in a church they are exposed to the sound teaching of God’s Word. If one does not take advantage of that privilege, however, they make their guilt and condemnation worse than if they had never heard the gospel. “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment” (Heb. 10:26–27; cf. 4:2–3).
When someone is Called into Righteousness it changes their:
2) Responsibility (Romans 3:3–4)
Romans 3:3–4. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” (ESV)
The next objection Paul anticipated and confronted was that his teaching abrogated God’s promises to Israel. As any student of the Old Testament knows, God’s promises to His chosen people are numerous. How, then, could Paul maintain that it was possible for a Jew not to be secure in those promises? Paul’s answer reflected both the explicit and implicit teaching of the Jewish Scriptures themselves. God had never promised that any individual Jew, no matter how pure his physical lineage from Abraham, or from any of the other great saints of the Old Testament, could claim security in God’s promises apart from repentance and personal faith in God, resulting in obedience from the heart. Isaiah 55:6–7 provides a good illustration of an invitation to such obedient faith: “6 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. .” (ESV) As in the passage from Amos 3:2, many of God’s greatest promises were accompanied by the severest warnings. And most of the promises were conditional, based on His people’s faith and obedience. The few unconditional promises He made were to the nation of Israel as a whole, not to individual Jews (see, e.g., Gen. 12:3; Isa. 44:1–5; Zech. 12:10). The apostle therefore agreed in part with his accusers, in Romans 3:3 saying, What if some were unfaithful/did not believe? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? His opponents were perfectly right in defending the Lord’s integrity. No matter how people respond to God’s promises, He is absolutely faithful to keep His word. It is unthinkable that God’s faithfulness to His covenant with Israel should be rendered ineffective even by the Jews’ unbelief (Cranfield, C. E. B. (2004). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (p. 181). T&T Clark International.)
Please turn to Romans 11
Because of Israel’s rejection of Jesus Christ as her Messiah, God has postponed the fulfillment of His promise to redeem and restore Israel as a nation. But He has not (and because of His holy nature He could not) reneged on that promise. In Romans 11, Paul begins the chapter strongly affirming that God has not rejected His people Israel (Rom. 11:1).
In verse 25 he further explains:
Romans 11:25-29. 25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (ESV)
• The national salvation of Israel is as inevitable as God’s promises are irrevocable. But that future certainty gives individual Jews no more present guarantee of being saved than the most pagan Gentile. The mistake of Paul’s accusers was in believing that God’s unconditional promises to Israel applied to all individual Jews at all times. But as Paul shows earlier in Rom. 9:6–7, when he writes: “ 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” (ESV).
Back in Romans 3:3, we can see that the accusers were right in contending that God cannot break His word. If the blessings of a promise failed to materialize it was because His people some were unfaithful/did not believe and did not obey the conditions of the promise. That they were unfaithful/did not believe could not prevent the salvation which God would ultimately bring to the promised nation. But an even deeper truth was that, contrary to the thinking of many religious people, salvation is never offered by God on the basis of the heritage, ceremony, good works, or any basis other than that of faith. Paul therefore asks rhetorically, “The fact that Jews who are unfaithful/did not believe forfeited their personal right to God’s promised blessings and barred themselves from the inheritance of God’s kingdom does not nullify the faithfulness of God?” God’s salvation will come to the elect of Israel some day, when all Israel that God intends to redeem, will be saved. God’s “faithfulness” is shown both through faithfulness in keeping his promises to judge the wicked, as well as those to bless those who love him (Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 155). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
Answering his own question in verse 4, he exclaims, By no means/May it never be! The phrase (me genoito) was the strongest negative Greek expression and usually carried the connotation of impossibility, “Of course God cannot be unfaithful in His promises or in any other way,” Paul was saying. Rather, let God be true, though every one were/be found a liar. If every human being who ever lived declared that God is faithless, God would be found true and every one who testified against Him were/be found a liar. God is always true, no matter how far people fall short of His glorious standard (Hughes, R. K. (1991). Romans: righteousness from heaven (p. 74). Crossway Books.).
Summoning Scripture as he regularly did, Paul now quotes from the great penitential psalm, of David, Israel’s most illustrious and beloved king, from whose throne the Messiah Himself would some day reign. As it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when are judged” (cf. Ps. 51:4). Because God is perfect and is Himself the measure of goodness and truth, His Word is its own verification and His judgment its own justification. It is utter folly to suppose that the Lord of heaven and earth might not prevail against the sinful, perverted judgment that either people or Satan could make against Him. King David openly admitted his sin and God’s righteousness in judging him. Even in admitting his sins, David declared the righteousness of God and the truth of His Word (Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (p. 369). Victor Books.)
• Can we do the same? When we sin and face the consequences of our actions, do we resent the correction, or do we learn from it? Is there a change in our attitude, words and actions or deep down do we think we deserve a pass? The sooner we learn that God is holy, and He corrects those He loves, the sooner we can enjoy both Him and what He has called us to do.
Illustration: “Guidance”
A pilot made an interesting observation on guidance. He noted that when flying to Florida, it seemed to like a pretty straight shot from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale. But in the cockpit of the airplane is a fine-tuned radar mechanism. All during the trip, the plane is flown on automatic pilot, which continually yet imperceptibly corrects the course of the plane to keep it on track. That’s what the Holy Spirit does through God’s Word for us. It nudges us to keep us on course. It keeps affecting the way we think, the way we draw conclusions, and the way we make our daily life decisions (AMG Bible Illustrations. (2000). AMG Publishers.).
Finally, when someone is Called into Righteousness it changes their:
3) Righteousness (Romans 3:5–8)
Romans 3:5–8. 5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. (ESV)
The third objection Paul anticipated was that his teaching attacked the very purity and holiness of God. The argument of his accusers would have been something like this: If God is glorified by the sins of Israel, being shown faithful Himself despite the unfaithfulness of His chosen people, then sin glorifies God. In other words, Paul, you are saying that what God strictly forbids actually brings Him glory. You are saying that God is like a merchant who displays a piece of expensive gold jewelry on a piece of black velvet so the contrast makes the gold appear even more elegant and beautiful. You are charging God with using human sin to bring glory to Himself, and that is blasphemy. You are assailing the righteous purity of God. As Paul now presents the argument in verse 5: But if our unrighteousness serves to show/demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say about God’s judgment? If what you say is true, why does God punish sin? In essence you are saying: That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? Again lest his readers conclude that he was expressing his own thinking, Paul immediately adds the parenthetical explanation that he was speaking in a human way/human terms, that is, according to the human logic of the natural mind. He was saying, in effect, “Don’t think for a minute that I believe such perverted nonsense. I am only paraphrasing the charges that are often made against me.” Paul understands that people are usually more willing to rationalize than repent, and that their minds will be pondering ways to elude God’s righteous judgment… Is God unjust to punish the unrighteous? Many believe that God’s wrath contradicts his loving nature. But God judges based on his own character, not on society’s norm for fairness. God is not accountable to some external, vague notion of fair play. His personal moral uprightness is the standard by which he judges (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (p. 64). Tyndale House Publishers.).
To intensify the disclaimer about a statement that God would be unrighteousness to act this way, Paul says again in verse 6, “By no means/May it never be! Obviously, God does not encourage or condone sin in order to glorify Himself, for otherwise how will God judge the world?” If Jews understood anything about the nature of God it was that He is a perfect judge. From the earliest part of the Old Testament He is called “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25). The psalmists repeatedly refer to Him as a judge (cf., e.g., Pss. 50:6; 58:11; 94:2). A major theme of virtually all the prophets is that of God’s judgment—past as well as present, imminent as well as in the distant future. Paul’s very obvious point is that God would have no basis for equitable, righteous, pure judgment if He condoned sin. It is clear that God is the judge of the world and he will scrutinize it, handing down verdicts on human sin and manifesting his wrath against human unrighteousness. (cf.Isa 66:16; Joel 3:12; Pss 94:2; 96:13) (Fitzmyer, J. A., S. J. (2008). Romans: a new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 33, p. 329). Yale University Press.).
Beginning now in verse 7 the apostle reiterates the false charges against him in somewhat different terms. “You claim that I say, ‘If through my lie God’s abounds to His glory, why am I still being condemned/judged as a sinner?’ ”. That was clearly a charge of antinomianism (disregard of God’s law) of the worst sort. The critics were accusing Paul of teaching that the more wicked a person is, the more a person glorifies God; the more faithless a person is, the more faithful they make God appear; the more a person lies, the more they exalt God’s truthfulness. Without this statement in verse 7, each individual could claim exemption from the judgment of God because their sin had advanced the glory of God (McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (Romans 1-8) (electronic ed., Vol. 42, p. 58). Thomas Nelson.).
These are not hypothetical misrepresentations, as Paul finally makes clear in his next statement in verse 8: “And why not do evil that good may come?- as some people slanderously charge us/reported with saying. Paul’s enemies obviously had repeatedly charged that his gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone not only undermined God’s law but granted license to sin with impunity. In effect, they accused him of saying that, in God’s eyes, sin is as acceptable as righteousness, if not more so. Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith indeed seemed to make the law and its keeping unnecessary. But justification by faith never meant believers could blatantly disregard the precepts of the law. (Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M., eds. (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2216). Thomas Nelson.)
Please turn to Romans 5
One of the most obvious characteristics of fallen human nature is its amazing ability to rationalize sin. Even small children are clever at giving a good reason for doing a wrong thing. That, essentially, was what Paul’s opponents charged him with doing—rationalizing sin on the basis that it glorified God. Later in the epistle Paul deals in detail with this same issue. He explains in Romans 5, beginning in verse 20:
Romans 5:20-6:2. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (ESV)
• With all the forcefulness he could muster, the apostle denounced the charge that he condoned any kind of sin. Least of all would he presume to justify sin by the spurious and vile argument that it brought glory to God.
Paul’s final response to his slanderous critics concluding Romans 3:8, was short but pointed. Although he was not the least guilty of teaching antinomianism, he fully concurred that for those who do teach it, their condemnation is just. What Paul has accomplished in Romans 3:1–8 is that he has defended the thesis that Israel is still guilty for its sin, while affirming that the promises of their salvation will still be fulfilled (Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 159). Baker Books.)
The truth is, as believers in Christ, our advantage is great in every way. First and foremost, we have the written self-revelation of God. Therefore, when we look at that we know what God is like—and the rest of the world does not. We know what we are like as well, but others without God’s Word lack this knowledge. We know what God’s standards are. It is hard for us to imagine what it is like to be without his Book. We have no idea what it is like to grow up without the Church. Some of us have great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, and spouses who all know Christ. As believers in Christ, our massive advantage is not a thing to be trifled with. We should thank God every day for our incalculable advantage (Hughes, R. K. (1991). Romans: righteousness from heaven (p. 75). Crossway Books.).
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 163–175). Moody Press.)
