Romans Chapter 3:1-20/Commentary

Romans Chapter 3:1-20

Outline of chapter 3: I.

The Jewish Advantage:3:1-2

II.

The Objection against the God of Paul's gospel: 3:3-8 A. B. C.

III.

The Jew indicted as a sinner by his own Scriptures: 3:9-20 A. B. C.

IV.

Do unblessed Jews prove God faithless? 3:3 Is God right to be angry if the "sin" fulfills His will? 3:5 If sin gets God glory should not people sin more? 3:7-8

Despite advantages the Jew is under sin. 3:9 The biblical proof. 3:10-18 The application and conclusion. 3:19-20

Statement and case for righteousness by faith in Christ: 3:21-31 A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K.

It is a “manifested” righteousness: 3:21 It is an “of God” righteousness: 3:21/28 It is a “witnessed by the law and the prophets” righteousness: 3:21 It is an “apart from the law” righteousness: 3:21/28 It is a “by faith” righteousness: 3:22,25,26,28,30 It is an “unto all” righteousness: 3:22/30 It is a “free” righteousness: 3:24 It is a “purchased” righteousness: 3:24 It is a “just” righteousness: 3:24-25 It is a “boasting excluded” righteousness: 3:27 It is a “law establishing” righteousness: 3:31 i

“This paragraph answers anticipated misunderstandings and objections especially from Jewish readers, objections growing out of the things said about the Jews in chapter 2” (Cottrell p. 224).

Romans 3:1 “What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what is the profit of circumcision?”

“What advantage then hath the Jew?”: The term advantage literally means “surplus”. That is, what does the Jew have over the Gentile? “Here Paul imagines someone breaking into his argument and saying: ‘Well then, if it is being a Jew inwardly that counts, if it is the circumcision of the heart that matters, is there any advantage in belonging to the Jewish nation, or in being physically circumcised?’ We might have expected Paul to answer this supposed question quite categorically: ‘None at all!’ But, rather to our surprise, he replies: Much every way’. Of course it is an advantage to belong to the Jewish nation. Think of all the privileges granted by God to that nation--privileges in which other nations had no part” 1 In arguing that all people sin, Paul has drawn attention to the place of the Jew. He is a member of the chosen people, but this does not avail if he is disobedient. So if a member of the chosen people can be rejected, then someone might argue, “Well then, what is the advantage then of being one of the chosen people?” Morris notes that the objections in this section that Paul answers were probably the type of objections that Paul had actually faced when he was preaching in the synagogues. “The Jew’s basic problem was the assumption that their election to God’s service gave them a kind of automatic pass to heaven. Chapter 2 shows that this was false” (Cottrell p. 225).

“What is the profit of circumcision?”: The term profit means benefit or advantage.

“What value was there in circumcision'”(Knox).

Romans 3:2 “Much every way: first of all, that they were intrusted with the oracles of God” “Much every way”: “A great deal, from every point of view” (Gspd). A more detailed list of advantages is given in Romans 9:4ff. Paul here clarifies what benefit or advantage he has in view.

Sadly, many Jews thought that the “advantage” of being a Jew was exemption from judgment (even if one rebelled). “If he means privilege and responsibility, then the Jews have much because God has entrusted His revelation to them. But if he means favoritism, then the Jews have none, because God will not exempt them from judgment (3:9)” (Stott p. 99). “First of all”: “First in importance, chiefly”. Paul considers as first importance, the fact that the Jewish nation was chosen to be the custodian of the utterances of God. “To have the revelation of God's will and purpose committed to them was a high honor indeed. But if it was a high honor, it carried with it a great responsibility. If they proved unfaithful to such a trust, their case was worse than that of the Gentiles”. Acts 7:53 “you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it”. See also Hebrews 5:12 and 1 Peter 4:11.

“Oracles”: A strong case is presented for the inspiration of the Old Testament by the phrase “oracles of God”. For what advantage would the Jew have had if the Old Testament was merely a 1 The Epistle of Paul to the Romans. Tyndale N.T. Commentaries.

F.F. Bruce p. 95

collection of myths, fables and campfire stories? The Jew always wanted to talk about advantage', how God had set them apart, but he forgot that such advantages brought a great responsibility to obey God. The same is true with Christians (Hebrews 2:1-3). Every generation of Christians is entrusted with the truth (1 Timothy 1:11; 6:20 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you”). The Jews were chosen to be the guardians of the very words of God! This was the great and supreme privilege of the Jew, for Paul does not mention anything that comes “second” after this “first”. What about us, do we realize what God has given into our possession? Notice this expression “oracles” applies to what is written. “For Paul the written Word is God’s speech, and God’s speech is conceived as existing in the form of a ‘trust’ to Israel; divine oracles have fixed and abiding form; ‘above all else’ the Jew’s privilege as an abiding possession was his entrustment with the Word of God” (Murray). Thus this expression refers to the entire written Old Testament, because only in written form could it ever be said that the Word of God had been “entrusted” to them. “Of special importance is the fact that the Jews knew God’s intention to send a Messiah.

They possessed the many predictive prophecies of His coming. Who could ask for greater advantages than these?” (Cottrell pp. 226-227).

Romans 3:3 “For what if some were without faith? Shall their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of God?” “For what if some were without faith?”: That is, some of the Jewish people. The fact was that many Jews had not proved faithful, many rejected the very Messiah foretold in the utterances they possessed. Despite the fact that God had given His very words to them, “some” of them had failed to trust and obey His word. The utterances of God, which had been entrusted to the Jewish people, contained many promises to bless them. But when Paul wrote, many Jews still stood in an unblessed condition. In chapters 9-11 Paul expresses great concern over the fact that many in Israel refused to believe. “Shall their want of faith”: Lack of faith. “Make of none effect the faithfulness of God?”: “The reality of Jewish unbelief raises the question or possible objection concerning God’s faithfulness. Does unbelief of some Jews mean that God’s covenant purposes have failed?” (Cottrell p. 227). Some may have argued that since God had promised to bless His people, He must do this irrespective of what they do. Others might have claimed, “Paul, if what you are saying is true, then most Jews have rejected the Messiah, but does this not mean that God has failed?”

Romans 3:4 “God forbid: yea, let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment” “God forbid”: “Of course not!” (Phi); “O may it never be” (NASV); “away with the thought of any reflection upon Him!” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 603). This is a very strong expression, “may it not be!” The idea that God would ever be unfaithful or fail in fulfilling His promises is a horrible thought. “Let God be found true'”: “When the case is stated between God and man there can only be one conclusion: let God come out true, and every man a liar” (Gr. Ex. p. 603).

“Let implies that 'let this always be our conclusion when any difference is found between human thinking and God's view'. Let the ways of God always be seen as right and just, and let all human

critics be viewed as liars. 'Let God turn out to be or be found to be by His creatures” (Vincent p.

33). “Let it become evident or obvious that God is always true” (Lard p. 102). “God is always reliable, faithful and true to His word. He always keeps His promises, both for blessing and condemnation. Because of His very nature He cannot lie (Titus 1:2)” (Cottrell p. 228). “But”: Here we find a contrast. “The idea is that we should always acknowledge that God is true, even if every human being turns out to be a liar” (p. 229). “The faithfulness of God is basic. Without that nothing makes sense” (Morris p. 155). Remember, God’s faithfulness not only includes His faithfulness in blessing the obedient, but His faithfulness is condemning the disobedient as well (which many Jews were). “Every man”: God is right even if everyone on the planet disagrees with Him. God is still right, even if no one serves Him. “As it is written”: The following is a quotation from Psalm 51:4.

“Paul quotes Psalm 51:4. David has just confessed the terribleness of his sin. A sin that was pleasant! Sin with a beautiful woman! His attitude was, that God would deal justly with him.

Whatever decision God would make would be a righteous one . And when people examine His treatment and view of David’s actions they would all see that God had indeed been equitable with David” 2 The point is, that even David conceded that when God says you are a sinner (as God said of the disobedient Jews), then God is of course right. We must never argue with what God says about us. “Whenever God speaks, He will be proved right and His words will be found true” (Cottrell p. 229). “Prevail when Thou comest into judgment”: God always prevails and always wins His case when He enters into judgment. God will always prevail when He accuses someone, and He will always win when facing the accusations that sinners hurl at Him. The word prevail speaks of a complete triumph.

Application “Because it is the Word of God, the Bible will always prove to be true. Critics are constantly taking God to court, as it were, accusing His word of containing errors. But they will always be proved wrong” (Cottrell p. 230).

Romans 3:5 “But if our unrighteousness commendeth the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who visiteth with wrath? (I speak after the manner of men)” “But if our unrighteousness”: Paul anticipates another objection or inserts an objection that he has heard. The phrase our unrighteousness refers to Jewish unbelief (3:3). Here the Jewish objector is saying something like, “Well Paul, if we are such sinners, as you claim, then does not our supposed unfaithfulness only highlight God’s faithfulness?” “If our sin magnifies God’s righteousness, this is to His advantage and glory, and thus He is really out to reward us rather than condemn us” (Cottrell p. 231). “Commendeth”: “Demonstrates” (NASV); “serves to magnify” (Nor). “Someone may say: ‘if my faithlessness sets God's faithfulness in bolder relief...why should He find fault with me? He is really the gainer by my sin, why should He exact retribution for it?'” ii “It is fair, then, for Him to punish us when our sins are helping Him” (Tay). “I speak after the 2

McGuiggan p. 116

manner of men”: The objection seems so foolish to Paul that he apologizes for mentioning it.

"When I ask the question, 'Is God unjust who inflicteth wrath?' I am deeply conscious that I am using language which is intrinsically improper when applied to God” 3 “Paul is here making it clear that he is not speaking for himself (when he brings up this argument) or for the Holy Spirit, and that he regards the question as the product of faulty human thinking. His statement is ‘a parenthetic apology for having presented a thought which is all too human in its weakness and folly’” (Cottrell p. 231). Clearly there are objections that Christians face that simply are sad examples of very poor thinking. The fact of the matter is that God visits wrath upon the unrepentant sinner, and even sinners know that such a fact is not unjust.

Romans 3:6 “God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?”

“God forbid”: Or, “certainly not!” “How shall God judge the world?”: “The Jew has in essence just claimed that his sin became an occasion for God's praise, but Paul points out, that this is true of every man's sin. God has turned man's evil to His glory. The Jewish objector would use God's ability to turn sin to His glory as a shield from wrath. But if the Jewish objector could do it so could every other person. When judgment arrived every man in creation could approach the judgment seat claiming exemption from wrath on the grounds that ‘my sin helped God’. That kind of reasoning would do away with the judgment of the world by God!” 4 “If we grant the objection in the case of the Jews, we would have to grant it in the cause of everybody. But this is absurd, because we know there will be a judgment, and that the wicked will be condemned” (Cottrell p.

231). Such a claim is ridiculous because any claim that God is less than just undermines His competence to judge the world. “An unjust God is simply not worthy of judging the world. This is why the fact ‘that God who shall judge the world is just is a fundamental certainty of all theological thinking’” (Cottrell p. 231). Compare with Genesis 18:25. After all, if God were not just, why would He even want to judge the world?

Romans 3:7 “But if the truth of God through my lie abounded unto His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?”

“The supposed objector is persistent. 'If my falsehood makes God's truth shine more brightly by contrast (like a diamond on a background of black velvet) why then does He insist on condemning me as a sinner? The end--God's glory is good; why then is the means--my sin--counted wrong?’” 5 “We sinners display incredible ingenuity when we try to justify ourselves” (Morris p. 161).

Romans 3:8 “and why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose condemnation is just” “And why not”: Paul says, “In fact, some say the Gospel that I preach simply amounts to such, that is, the more we sin, the more God is glorified and is seen as just”. “Do evil, that good may come”: Or, “the end justifies the means”. In addition, Paul is here forcing the Jewish objector to face up to 3 4 5

Vincent p. 34 McGuiggan p. 117 F.F. Bruce p. 96

the logical end of their argument. “If, as you claim, God is helped by our sins, then why not simply go all the way and say, ‘let us do evil, that good may come?’” This is the logical yet horrible outcome of the arguments presented in verses 5 and 7. “Whose condemnation is just”: When people try to justify their disobedience and twist the Scriptures to cover themselves, such twisted thinking only proves that their condemnation is quite deserved. Every twisted argument that people make in order to get around what the Bible says---is simply proof that they deserve to be punished. “To condemn such men as these is surely no injustice” (NEB); “such arguments are rightly condemned” (Mon). Paul will more fully show in 6:1-8:17 that such is not the logical end of the gospel that he preaches.

The Jew indicted by his own Scriptures: 3:9-20 Romans 3:9 “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin” “What then”: Paul returns to the thought presented in 3:1-2. Do such advantages make us any better than the Gentiles? “Are we”: That is, are we “Jews”. “Better than they”: Better than the Gentiles who are condemned in 1:18ff. Yes, the Jew had many privileges, but at the end of the day the disobedient Jew was no “better” off than the disobedient Gentile. Both stood before God as sinners.

Romans 3:10 “as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” “As it is written”: “The Scriptures endorse this fact plainly enough” (Phi). Here Paul cites six Old Testament passages that prove his point. These were from the utterances entrusted to the Jewish nation. Someone might argue that such passages were referring to wicked Gentiles, but in verse 19 Paul will answer that argument, by pointing out that the “Law”, spoke to those under it, that is, these passages were talking about unfaithful Jews. We might call this section a “quotation-chain” of Scriptures.

“There is none righteous”: Psalm 14:1. “Not one”: But someone might say, did not the Old Testament mention righteous people, like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the prophets? I think we realize that such men were not perfect keepers of the law, that ultimately their “righteous” condition was tied to the future sacrifice of Christ (Heb. 9:15; 11:40; 12:23). Note the atheists in Psalm 14:1 are not philosophic atheists. They are pragmatic atheists (14:2). They are "acting" as if God does not exist, and hence no punishment will come upon their evil deeds. No one is righteous in the sense of having never sinned, everyone has violated the law at some point (3:23). “There is no one who understands”: Paul has already pointed out that both Jews and Gentiles often made very poor use of the information that they were given (1:20). For the most part, men reject the knowledge of God and do not receive it with a good and honest heart. “We tend to suppress the truth in favor of foolish and futile speculations (1:18,21), and exchange truth for lies (1:25)” (Cottrell p. 237). Everyone is guilty of this in some degree.

Romans 3:12 “They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none

that doeth good, no, not so much as one” “They have all turned aside”: This infers that no one was born astray or born lost. The pattern is that all men are born and then later on turn from God (Psalm 14:3; 53:3). Compare with Isaiah 53:6. “They are together become profitable”: The term unprofitable means “useless”. The Hebrew word means to go bad, become sour like milk iii ‘Likewise sinners have lost their usefulness and cannot fulfill their intended purpose of bringing glory to God” (Cottrell p. 237). “There is none that doeth good”: This does not mean that no one ever does good, rather it means that no one consistently does good. Everyone does fall short (Romans 3:23).

Romans 3:13 “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their lips” This is a quotation from Psalm 5:9 and Psalm 140:3. “After a series of statements about the general sinfulness, Paul now begins to cite Old Testament verses that refer to specific representative sins as illustrations of the general point. This follows Jesus’ specific teaching in Matthew 12:34; 15:18-20.

Nothing reveals the state of the heart more consistently than how a person talks” (Cottrell p. 238).

Romans 3:14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”: Psalm 10:7 Profanity does not just happen, rather it comes from a heart that is filled with bitterness.

Romans 3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood”: Isaiah 59:7ff “Here the focus shifts from the organs of speech to the feet, the means of mobility by which a person is able to put his purposes into action. Being ‘swift’ to shed blood suggests that such evil is carried out with eagerness and perverse delight” (Cottrell p. 239).

Romans 3:16 “Ruin and misery mark their ways”: Isaiah 59:7. Here is a description of the wreckage that every sinner leaves in their wake. When we rebel against God, we will hurt others and we will leave behind us a trail littered with broken lives, hearts and misery.

Romans 3:17 “And the way of peace they do not know”: Isaiah 59:8. Because apart from God peace with others is impossible. Immorality will never bring peace, rather the very nature of sin is discord and strife.

Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes”: Psalm 36:1. Respect and awe for God plays no role in helping to direct their choices, God is completely left out of their reckoning. Some have noted that this is basically the root error from which all the others spring. When God is not held in reverence, when His word is not respected, then we should not be surprised with the outcome. “All their functions are contaminated with sin. Their throats, tongues, eyes, feet, lips and hands are declared as the instruments of sin. The whole Jewish nation is guilty and they are thoroughly guilty!” 6

6

McGuiggan p. 120

Of course Calvinists have used the above verses to argue that man is totally depraved. The problem with such a claim is that: 1. Paul is talking about the rebellion of “elect” people, the Jews.

According to Calvinism the elect cannot end up lost. 2. Paul is calling upon these sinners to repent (2:1-5), but according to Calvinism the sinner cannot repent. 3. These people were not born this way, rather it has already been noted that they “went astray” (3:12). There is nothing in this section that even remotely suggests that even the most hardened sinner cannot be convicted by the gospel and respond to it (Romans 1:16).

Romans 3:19 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God” “We know”: Of all people, the Jews should especially know that the Old Testament was speaking especially to them! “Every mouth may be stopped”: When confronted with all this evidence, the only response that man can offer is silence. “And all the world”: In like manner, the same Old Testament equally condemned sins among the Gentiles as well. In the end, everyone, whether Jew and Gentile is not only accountable to God, but finds him or herself under condemnation.

No reasonable Jew would deny the fact that these passages speak of him. Paul wishes for the Jew to face up to the fact that in his own Bible there lies written the explicit indictment of the nation of Israel. The purpose of all these quotations was to “close the mouth” of the Jewish objectors.

Romans 3:20 “because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for through the law {cometh} the knowledge of sin” “Because”: The reason why the Jew found himself in sin. “By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight”: The only way to find favor with God (justification), on the basis of law and nothing else is flawless obedience, but no one ever kept the law all the time. “For through the law cometh the knowledge of sin”: A law given against a certain thing makes you aware that that thing is forbidden. In this respect it brings knowledge of sin or what is sinful. But the law only made sin clear, it offered no remedy—yet it did predict one (Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 53). “For it is the law that shows what sin is” (TCNT). Compare with Romans 7:7. The Law of Moses clearly revealed what was right and what was wrong, so man cannot blame his sin on a lack of clarity or information from God. The Greek word knowledge here means a clear and exact knowledge.

“Indeed it is the straight-edge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are” (Phillips). The point is that the Law of Moses was never intended to be our Messiah, rather it was intended to reveal the true nature of sin and lead us to Christ. Sadly, the Jews were insisting on holding on to it as some supposed Savior.

Application We must not conclude that Christians are not under law today, for the New Testament speaks about obedience (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15), and a law that we are under (James 1:25). Yes, Christians are under the law of Christ, the only difference is that the law of Christ also includes a

Savior, so as long as a person is repentant (John 1:8-10), there is grace a mercy built into this law.

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Outline taken and modified from 'The Book of Romans' Jim McGuiggan pp. 113/127.

F.F. Bruce p. 95 .

Robertson p. 345