Dr. Bradford Reaves
CrossWay Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
We are continuing in our study of the Epistle to the Romans. If you remember, last week, we concluded Chapter 2 with the understanding that the Jew is no better off than the Gentile if their hearts are not circumcised for God in the same way that a Jewish man is circumcised as an outward sign of his Judaism. The point that Paul is making, and we'll continue to make, is that Judaism, in the temporal sense, means nothing without a brokenness and dedication to God. However, the same is true for the gentile. So the question being asked and underscored tonight is, 'What is the advantage of being a Jew'?
Now, before we get into the passage, there’s a Greek phrase you need to know: me genoito. It is the most decisive negative in the Greek language. Some translations record it as ‘may it never be so’ or ‘certainly not!’ But I have a better translation: ‘No way, Jose’ or ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no!’ So with that, let's first read Romans 3:1-20:
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. 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:1–20)
If you look at the story of the Jews and trace their history all the way back to when God called Abraham out of Ur to begin a chosen nation, you will only find a small, insignificant nation riddled with difficulty, war, persecution, hatred, and pain. From the very outlook, there is no reason any Jew is alive in the world today, and yet they are there having returned and reestablished their nations in 1948 to a small part of the land God gave them. John MacArthur does a marvelous job summarizing their heritage, and I’m going to paraphrase what he wrote:
If you look at the story of the Jew historically, it would seem that there is virtually no advantage to being Jewish. After Joseph helped the Egyptians overcome 7 years of famine, the Jews became slaves in Egypt for over 400 years under the bondage of Pharaoh. We read how they were given menial tasks with little resources and treated brutally. They aimlessly wandered in the desert for 40 years when they were finally set free from Egypt. When they finally entered Canaan, they had to save themselves from the destruction of people who constantly attacked them both religiously and morally. They were slaughtered and taken captive finally by the Assyrians and then by the Babylonians.
After returning from captivity in Babylon, they set out to rebuild their land from the rubble and were mocked and harassed hindered, and unaided in their efforts. They were dominated by the Greek Antiochus Epiphanes under Greek rule, and he took liberties to desecrate their faith and the temple.
Roman legions oppressed their land. Herod slaughtered their babies. They were utterly devastated by the power of Rome. In 70 A.D., the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus. According to Josephus, over 1 million Jews were murdered, and over 100 thousand bodies of the Jews were thrown over the wall. Two years before that, the Gentiles of Caesarea slew twenty thousand Jews and sold thousands more of them into slavery. In a single day, the inhabitants of Damascus cut the throats of ten thousand Jews. In the actual siege itself, there was devastation beyond description in the city of Jerusalem. One hundred thousand remaining fugitives from that sacking of the city were sold into slavery. Many more died in the gladiator games sponsored by Rome.
In 115 A.D., Hadrian, the emperor, destroyed 985 towns in Israel and renamed the land Palestina to slander the Jews by naming the land after the Philistines. Hadrian killed at least 600 thousand men. More perished through starvation, disease, and fire. So many Jews were sold as slaves that their price dropped to that of a horse.
For two centuries, the Jews were oppressed under the Byzantines. Heraclitus banished them from Jerusalem in 628. Leo the Assyrian in 723 A.D. gave them the choice between Christianity and banishment. By then, even Christians were merciless persecutors of the Jews. When the first crusade was launched in 1096 to recapture the holy places, the Crusaders trampled three thousand Jews with their horses. They did it in the name of Christianity.
In 1254, Louis IX banished them from France, and in 1306, Philip the Fair expelled 100 thousand of them. During the Black Death, it was declared that the Plague was caused by the Jews who had poisoned the wells, and they endeavored to slaughter the Jews, and many of them fled to Poland and Russia.
In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain as Columbus was heading to discover America. In 1496, they were expelled from Portugal. Soon after, Western Europe was closed to them except for a few spots in northern Italy and Germany. More persecution broke out toward the middle of the seventeenth century in Poland. And though the French Revolution tended to emancipate some of the European Jews around 1789 or so, anti-Semitism continued in the Ukraine.
Nothing changed in the 1800s. In the Dreyfus affair, Dreyfus, a Jewish officer, was accused of treason, and so there was an attempt to oust the Jews from the higher ranks of the French army. But suddenly, the rebirth of Zionism came out of nowhere, and in 1897, they held their first Zionist congress in Basel. They returned to about 1873, and by 1914, there were 90 thousand Jews in Palestine, a place nearly barren and uninhabitable. Yet their identity had been miraculously preserved. (Pastor John MacArthur largely contributed to this)
However, their return to their land did not alleviate their suffering. Under Hitler in WWII, 6 million Jews were systematically exterminated. Israel became a nation again by nothing short of a miracle from God. It established their government, officially speaking their own language of Hebrew and using their own currency, the Shekel.
However, the nation of Israel being recognized by the UN has not brought security but even more persecution. Since their inception, they have continued to face war, persecution, and attacks. This tiny nation, not much larger than the State of Vermont, is surrounded by nations who desire to finish the extermination of the Jews. Iran has made that its mission. It is written in the charter of Hamas. Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, and Qatar, to name a few, have made that clear as well. In modern history, Israel faced daily barrages of rockets from the City of Gaza, a settlement given to Arabs that share the land. The Temple Mount, the most holy of sites, remains occupied by a Muslim mosque. In recent history, Hamas, the terrorist organization that governs Gaza, committed unthinkable atrocities; beheading infants and putting infants in hot ovens, killing entire families, publicly raping hostages in the streets, and killing over 1,200 Jews in one of the worst attacks on Jews since the Holocaust.
Despite this, Jews have contributed some of the most remarkable contributions to the modern world. At least 214 Jews have been awarded the Nobel Prize, accounting for 22% of all individual recipients worldwide between 1901 and 2023, yet Jews only comprise 0.2% of the world's population. Despite these things, the ADL reported in 2022 that Antisemitism, be it racial or religious, is up over 300% in 2022. In some parts of Europe today, the number is now estimated to be over 1300%.
And so Paul makes a stunning question that perhaps you are now asking yourself after he levels the playing field between the Jew and the Gentile spiritually: to what advantage has the Jew? Spiritually, the Jew is just as condemned as any other person. There is no spiritual benefit to being circumcised. Morally, they are just as condemned, and in society, they are persecuted more than any other ethnic group ever in the world. And Paul will answer this question as he has been asked many times because we see that wherever Paul went and preached to the Jews, he stirred up a small riot. Mainly, it was the religious Jews who opposed Paul because they thought he's blaspheming God when he told them their Judaism would not save them.
Crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (Acts 21:28)
Even as Paul is leading the Church and bringing a gift to the Jewish people in Jerusalem, Paul’s people begin to accuse him of betraying them. He is accused of blasphemy. Paul is an ardent Jew. He is highly educated and was elevated in the Jewish hierarchy of the Sanhedrin, and he is writing the Roman church to tell them that there is a great advantage of being a Jew, but it will not save you from the condemnation of sin; it does not guarantee salvation, but God has an extraordinary love for His people.
Behold, to the Lord your God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. (Deuteronomy 10:14–15)
The people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise. (Isaiah 43:21)
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. (Psalm 135:4)
For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: (Zechariah 2:8)
However, every time Paul goes and preaches the gospel to the Jews, he’s met with vitriol. Why? Because the promises of God and the Gospel stand in opposition to religion and morality. Being Jewish has many blessings, just like going to church, but being Jewish will not save you; it will only lead you to salvation. So that still begs the question tonight: "What, then, is the benefit of being considered God’s chosen nation?"
Well, first, Paul says in verse 2 that the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Now, the KJV and ESV and others use the word ‘oracle’, which, in my opinion, is a terrible translation. When I think of Oracle, I think of something associated with sorcery or witchcraft. I think of pagan practices like horoscopes or getting answers from the stars. The witch doctors in Guinea-Bissau will look at tree roots or fire or potions. That’s not what Paul is referring to here.
The word translating oracle is the same word John uses to describe Jesus in Chapter 1 of his gospel: Logos or Scripture. This is critical. Here, we find the very heart of the inspiration and authority because it says the Scriptures given to Israel were the very words of God. In fact, 3,808 times, Old Testament writers refer to their words as the very words of God. Anyone who teaches that the Church replaced Israel has never understood this. Without the fulfillment of the Old Testament, there would be no New Testament, and we still see the fullness of the Old Testament today.
So they received the Word of God that was supposed to lead them to salvation, but they never followed it to salvation. That’s why Jesus said Salvation belongs to the Jews in John 4.
Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? (Mark 12:24)
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; (Psalm 19:7)
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)
Without the Jews, there is no Old Testament, there is no New Testament, there is no Gospel. How wonderful that God entrusted the Jews to the preservation of Scripture. There was a group of Jews known as the Scribes who meticulously kept the Scriptures to preserve their accuracy. “Every column written by one of the scribes had to have a minimum of 48 lines of text. They could not write columns with 61 lines of text or more. Their work was generally reviewed within thirty days. If 3 or more pages required any corrections, the entire manuscript had to be rewritten.” (Got Questions)
Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. (Psalm 119:89)
and Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35)
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" (Matthew 4:4)
The advantage of the Jew is that every word in this book is entrusted to them. We would have no revelation of God’s Word. Secondly, we see that the advantage of the Jews is that in the Jews, we have God’s faithfulness. Look at verses 3-4
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though everyone was a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” (Romans 3:3–4)
So Paul says as a Jew, you have a significant advantage in having the Word of God, but it's no advantage at all if you don't obey it. So the response from the Jew is, “Okay, but if we don't obey the law, does that mean God forfeits all of His promises? Don’t you realize, Paul, that you've attacked God’s faithfulness in doing so? Don’t you understand, Paul, that the Jew’s faithfulness to the Law upholds God’s faithfulness, and without our adherence to the Law, God is demonstrated to be a liar?” Here Paul says me genoito “No, no, no, no, no! God forbid, let it never be, can't happen, impossible.” Even if every man in the world spoke against God, God’s Word would still be true and every man a liar.
Here is a great paradox in the Law and the Jew. No matter how unfaithful Israel was in her keeping of the Covenant, God was always faithful in keeping His part of the covenant. The failure of Israel doesn’t impugn God as unrighteous or tolerant of evil but instead underscores his love, even in His judgment. God is always exalted, always just, always honored, and always perfect in his love.
Now, some would say, wait a minute, didn’t God turn His back on Israel when they rejected His messiah and gave over His promises to the Church? Did not God break His covenant with Israel? No. He just postponed it. That will be made clear to us in Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11. There is a day coming when God will fully restore the nation of Israel to redemption.
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” (Romans 11:1–4)
He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:12)
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. (Hosea 3:5)
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. (Acts 3:20–21)
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)
Though we are unfaithful, God is always faithful. He cannot break His promises. Paul says, Me Genoito! So the advantage of being a Jew is that they are entrusted to the Word of God and the promises of God, and the advantage of being a Jew is they are a picture of God’s faithfulness in our unfaithfulness.
That brings us to a third objection that Paul answers: if our unrighteousness underscores the righteousness of God, doesn’t that make God unjust in his judgments? If God is glorified in sin, then wouldn’t that make Him unjust to also judge sin?
Me Genoito!
Amidst men's unfaithfulness, God’s faith will stand out by contrast. Men are unfaithful, but God is not. So, against the backdrop of our unfaithfulness, God’s faithfulness is magnified. This is supposed to be Israel's message to the world.
When you go into a jewelry store to buy a ring, they put it on a piece of black velvet. Why? Because it makes the gold look so much more beautiful. This is at the heart of the message of grace. That is our sin. God forgives us and gains glory because of His forgiveness. So, they would say, “Well, if sin gives God glory, then you are violating God’s holiness.”
Me Genoito!
So then, is it better to just be sinful so that God may be glorified?
Me Genoito!
This is the heart of what Paul is correcting the believers in Rome. He poses the question in Romans 3:8, and he will ultimately answer the question in Romans 6:20-23
And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. (Romans 3:8)
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:5)
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1)
Me Genoito!
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:20–23)
Paul argues here that if all sin glorified God, then God would be an unrighteous judge in punishing sin. That’s not the case. All men are rendered guilty - Jew or Gentile. In Chapter 1, Paul tells us that the Pagan is guilty. In Chapter 2, Paul shows us that the moral and religious man is guilty, and the Jew is also guilty. In Chapter 3, he shows the advantages of being a Jew. It is not a bypass of judgment or membership for salvation; it is the high honor of keeping the Word of God, the prophecies, and the Law. It demonstrates God’s faithfulness to his covenants, even against the contrast of Israel’s unfaithfulness. It is supposed to demonstrate God’s blessings of a pure nation.
Incidentally, this is precisely why it is impossible to argue that Israel was replaced by the Church scripturally. It is impossible. God can't break His word. The unbelief of Israel will not negate the faithfulness of God. Me Genoito! Someday, God is going to keep His covenants with Israel. Replacement theology does not see any place for Israel. This argument is correct: if there's no place for Israel, God can break His Word and promises.
So now we have to ask the question, what does that mean to us? First, we should have a little better understanding of the role and importance of Israel. Second, we should have a better understanding of the relationship between God’s faithfulness and God’s justice. There’s a third reason, and let me go back to Romans 2:29:
But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. (Romans 2:29)
Christian, it's got to be in your heart. This is probably one of the most paramount issues the Church must grasp and hold onto today. You must know God personally, which can only happen through His promised son to Israel, Jesus Christ. But instead, we are selling Christianity as a system of salvation.
So that begs the same question for us: what is the advantage of attending church? Many! and probably the most important one is the teaching of Scripture. Unfortunately, there are too many churches that do not do that. Instead, they entertain, roll around on the floor, look like rock concerts, and do anything but teach the full counsel of Scripture. The parallel is that some people sit in the church lost because they think being in church is their salvation when it should be their map for salvation.
Last, becoming a Christian isn't a license to sin because you will be forgiven. When you become a Christian, you come under the lordship of Christ, and you desire to please him alone. Grace is not a license for licentiousness. But listen, if you do falter, God is faithful and his goodness will not be forsaken.
