Paul addressed the Jewish people in Romans Chapter 2, pointing out that they possessed the law but failed to observe it. Does this imply that God is finished with the Jews? Let’s examine what Paul says in Chapter 3.
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God (Romans 3:1-2).
The Jews received and preserved God’s message in what is called the Old Testament. Much of what God did through His son Jesus Christ is difficult to understand without first understanding what God did with His chosen people, the Jews.
My friend Rudy Ross frequently points out how we wouldn’t understand the need for the crucifixion without the sacrificial system. This is one of many benefits that Jews had by receiving God’s teaching in the Old Testament.
God’s Faithfulness
The Hebrew word “chesed” describes covenant-keeping ability. It is translated as loving-kindness in our Bibles because God continued to keep His covenant even though His people ignored and disobeyed it.
Paul seems to pick up this idea when he describes God’s faithfulness in the face of human unfaithfulness.
What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written, “So that you may be justified in your words, and prevail in your judging” (Romans 3:3-4).
The quote in verse 4 comes from David’s confession of sin in Psalm 51, after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the murder of her husband. David was obviously unfaithful, but it did not nullify God’s faithfulness.
God’s “chesed” (loving-kindness), His willingness to keep the covenant even when humans turned their back on Him, came to be understood as grace because of acts like this.
All Are Accountable
God is not a Father who allows His children to do anything they want. Every human being will be held accountable for their behavior. The day of wrath is a time when God settles the score with humans who have harmed others and disregarded His law.
Paul makes this point in the next two verses:
But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? (Romans 3:5-6).
Like you, I am horrified by the things that I see happening to other human beings in the world. The idea that two million people face starvation in Sudan, and that a half a million Russians have died in a senseless war against Ukraine, are just small samples of the harm being done by tyrants throughout the earth.
The good news is that one day they’ll stand before God and receive the just penalty for their sins.
However, as I look at them, I must look at myself and ask, How will I do? If it is not for the grace of God, I will suffer under God’s wrath myself.
The Paradox of Grace
Like a diamond placed on a black cloth to magnify its brilliance, my sin highlights the gracious glory of God’s love.
That being said, it is wrong to take advantage of God’s grace. His grace should lead me to a deeper life within and not serve as an excuse to drift farther away from our relationship.
In essence, this is what Paul is saying as he answers his critics in the letter to the Romans:
But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), “Let us do evil so that good may come”? Their condemnation is deserved! (Romans 3:7-8).
We are still in a section that began in Romans 1:18, highlighting both Jew and Gentile’s need for the salvation of God that came through Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Thank God that even though our sin is pervasive, God’s remedy is greater.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 