Romans 3

In this section, Paul’s hypothetical Jewish opponent raises objections to Paul’s argument in 2:17-2:29. If the Jewish people are God’s chosen people, then what benefits—if any—does this give them? Furthermore, how can God be faithful to his people, but also judge them at the same time? Moo writes, “Taken as a whole, then, the passage both affirms the continuing faithfulness of God to his covenant people and argues that this faithfulness in no way precludes God from judging the Jews.”[] Moo holds that Paul will elaborate on this subject in Romans 9-11.

Paul had likely rehearsed these questions with unbelieving Jewish people countless times in his ministry, and he had most likely raised these questions himself as a former Pharisee. In what follows, we read Paul’s responses to these important questions.

(3:1) “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?”

Paul anticipates the question that would be on his Jewish readers’ minds: If being Jewish only condemns someone more, then what is the benefit of being Jewish? Wouldn’t you be cursed to be Jewish—not blessed? No, not at all. Paul explains why…

(3:2) “Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.”

“First of all.” Paul only mentions one benefit here, but he mentions many benefits later in Romans 9:4-5. To begin, he notes that one blessing was having the Bible—namely the “oracles of God” (cf. Acts 7:38; Heb. 5:12). Peter uses this expression to refer to what our language should be when we speak and teach (1 Pet. 4:11). Note, this implies that the Jewish canon was already established in Paul’s day. Otherwise, he couldn’t have said that they were entrusted with the word of God.

God “entrusted” (episteuthesan) them with the Scriptures, which is the root word for “faith” (pistis). While we shouldn’t rely on the Bible for our salvation (Rom. 2:17), we should consider possessing God’s words as an indescribable privilege. It is God’s breathed words that are sufficient for faith and practice (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Therefore, these Jewish people had a huge advantage in being Jewish: They knew all about God’s promises, his plan, and his predictions about the Messiah.

(3:3-4) “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ⁴ May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ‘That You may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged.’”

God was faithful to the Jewish people by “entrusting” (pisteuō) them with the Scriptures and remaining true in his “faithfulness” (pistis). The problem wasn’t with God’s “faithfulness” (pistis), but with “some” (not “all”) of the Jewish people’s “unbelief” (apisteō).

Paul cites the words of David in Psalm 51:4 (“That You may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged”). If even the great King David admitted that God was right to judge him, then which Jewish reader could deny the force of Paul’s assertion that God was being unfaithful in judging his people? In other words, if David recognized that God is justified when he judges, then so should all faithful Jews. God’s word included “warnings that God will judge sin as well as promises that he will bless his people.”[] If God didn’t follow through on the warnings in his word, then he would be unfaithful.

“When You are judged.” In our estimation, this should be taken in the middle voice (“in Your judging”)—not the passive voice (“are judged”).[] See the NASB footnote.

(3:5) “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.)”

Some might argue that their sin only makes God look better by comparison. But Paul flatly denies this and concludes that God will judge sin—not become personally inflated by it (v.7). God doesn’t need us to sin in order for him to look better by comparison! This is the thinking of self-righteous people—not the self-existent God.

(3:6) “May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?”

Paul is not writing to postmodern people who question the judgment of God. Instead, Paul is appealing to “the common OT postulate that attributes absolute justice to God.”[] Paul’s Jewish readers assumed that God would judge the world (Gen. 18:25; Ps. 96:13; Isa. 66:16; Joel 3:12). Thus, if they agree with that premise (which they most certainly did), then their argument from licentiousness falls apart.

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

The Jewish listener might say that their sin only makes God’s truth more glorious. However, Paul retorts, God doesn’t get more glory from us sinning more. As a self-existent being, he doesn’t need us.

(3:8) “And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? Their condemnation is just.”

Paul was accused of teaching antinomianism (cf. Rom. 6:1-2).

Questions for Reflection

While this passage is written about unbelieving Jewish people, there are principles of application for us as Christians. The religious and self-righteous mindset is not unique to any one religion, but spreads across all religions, including Christianity. This is because self-righteousness has a stronghold in the human heart. Therefore, as Christians, we shouldn’t be surprised to see these sorts of religious sins surfacing in our hearts as well.

How do you respond to this quote from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones? He writes, “As you read your Bible day by day, do you apply the truth to yourself? What is your motive when you read the Bible? Is it just to have a knowledge of it so that you can show others how much you know, and argue with them, or are you applying the truth to yourselves? …As you read… say to yourself, ‘This is me! What is it saying about me?’ Allow the Scriptures to search you, otherwise it can be very dangerous. There is a sense in which the more you know of [the Bible], the more dangerous it is to you, if you do not apply it to yourself.”[]

Why do you read your Bible? We should never discourage knowledge of the Scriptures, because the Bible never disparages knowledge. However, Scripture does speak against education without application. What truths of the Bible do you already know that you’re stubbornly refusing to put into practice? What has God already revealed about your life and character that you haven’t had a change of heart about?

Teaching the Bible is a serious responsibility. All Bible teachers sin (Jas. 3:2). There’s no doubt about this. But are you communicating your own faults under grace—even as you teach others the truth of God?

How do you react to professor Daniel Gilbert’s research about self-righteousness? How have you seen this in your experience? Daniel Gilbert (professor psychology at Harvard University) writes, “Science has given us a lot of facts about the average person, and one of the most reliable of these facts is that the average person doesn’t see herself as average. Most students see themselves as more intelligent than the average student,[] most business managers see themselves as more competent than the average business manager,[] and most football players see themselves as having better ‘football sense’ than their teammates.[] Ninety percent of motorists consider themselves to be safer-than-average drivers,[] and 94 percent of college professors consider themselves to be better-than-average teachers.[] Ironically, the bias toward seeing ourselves as better than average causes us to see ourselves as less biased than average too.[] As one research team concluded, ‘Most of us appear to believe that we are more athletic, intelligent, organized, ethical, logical, interesting, fair-minded, and healthy—not to mention more attractive—than the average person.[]’”[]

Romans 3:9-20 (Everyone is under God’s judgment: both Jews and Gentiles)

Paul has already argued that Gentiles deserve God’s judgment (Rom. 1:18-2:16) and Jewish people deserve God’s judgment (Rom. 2:17-3:8). The logical conclusion is that all people deserve God’s judgment. This is precisely what Paul addresses next. Mounce compares this to a “courtroom scene,”[] where there is an accusation (v.9), evidence (vv.10-17), and the verdict (vv.19-20).

(3:9) “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.”

The Jewish people had an “advantage” and a “benefit” (v.1), but not with regard to the penalty of sin. Here Paul is combining his two different arguments into one: both Gentiles (1:18-2:16) and Jews (2:17-3:8) are both under God’s judgment. Paul cites various Psalms to further develop his case that all people are sinful.

(3:10-12) “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; ¹¹ There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; ¹² All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”

This is a citation of Psalm 14:1-3. The passage uses universal language (“none… not even one… all”). There are no exceptions in this passage: Every single human being is under the curse of sin.

“None who seeks for God.” People certainly seek out religion, but this isn’t the same as seeking God himself. Various religions might give a person an experience, a sense of righteousness, a sense of comfort, or perhaps a group identity. Yet, this isn’t the same as seeking out God himself.

Don’t some people do good things from time to time? Paul writes that “there is none who does good” (v.12). Does this mean that we need to affirm that every single moral action of humans is immoral? We need to understand Paul’s statement in its context: Paul is addressing good works in front of a morally flawless God. God sees our motives and intentions. Tim Keller writes, “Without faith in Christ, good deeds are not truly done for God, but for ourselves—and thus are not truly good.”[] He gives the illustration of walking an old lady across the street—only to rob her on the other side! Or giving money to an old lady in order to receive moral praise from others. In this case, the person isn’t doing the good deed for others, but really for themselves. They are acting virtuously in order to get something in return. Another way to understand this difficulty is to acknowledge that God gives all humans “common grace” (Jas. 1:17). This means that even good deeds are ultimately generated and motivated from God’s common grace for all people.

(3:13) “Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips.”

Paul cites from Psalm 5:9 and 140:3. From God’s perspective, when people open their mouths, it’s like cracking open a coffin containing a rotting corpse. It’s like a doctor telling us to say, “Ahh,” only to see a poisonous snake snap at her finger. What vivid imagery to describe the sad state of humanity.

(3:14) “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

Paul cites from Psalm 10:7.

(3:15-17) “Their feet are swift to shed blood, ¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their paths, ¹⁷ and the path of peace they have not known.”

Paul cites from Psalm 59:7. With all of our education and technology, humans still are hellbent on killing each other through war. We don’t know how to live in peace with one another—either on a macro-level in governments or on a micro-level in our households.

(3:18) “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Paul cites from Psalm 36:1. The “fear of God” is the summary problem of Paul’s indictment on lost humanity. Keller writes, “This does not mean that every person is as sinful as every other person. It means that our legal condition is the same. We are all lost, and there are no degrees of lostness.” He gives the illustration of three swimmers trying to swim from Hawaii to Japan: One sinks immediately, another makes it 60 feet, and another makes it 50 miles before drowning. Keller asks, “Is one more drowned than the others? No! It doesn’t matter at all which swam further; none were anywhere near Japan, and each ends as dead as the others.”[]

(3:19-20) “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because by the works of the Law[] no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Paul argues that all people know the law—whether the law of conscience (2:14-15) or the Law of God (2:17ff). But the law was never given to justify us, but only to show us how far we fall short. It is the X-ray of the broken bone, but not the splint to fix it. It’s the scale that shows us our obesity, but not the Weight Watchers program to help us shed the extra pounds. Keller writes, “The law is not a checklist we keep; it is a benchmark we fail.”[]

If the careful reader has been following the logic of Paul’s argument up to this point, he will quickly fall into abject despair. The Gentiles have failed to respond to God through creation and conscience, and the Jews have failed to live out their privileged status of possessing God’s word. Consequently, Paul issues a universal statement of judgment for all of humanity: “every mouth may be closed… all the world may become accountable to God… no flesh will be justified in his sight."

What should we conclude? Is there no hope? Do we exist in a living hell—knowing that each day merely brings us closer to death and a literal hell?

Thank God that the letter doesn’t end here! Instead, we read two words that can change our lives forever: “But now…” (v.21)

Questions for Reflection

Some people don’t affirm original sin or total depravity. How do you react to this quote from author G.K. Chesterton? He writes, “The ancient masters of religion… began with the fact of sin—a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or no man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders… have begun in our day not to deny the highly disputable water, but to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.”[]

Paul writes that there is “none who seek for God”? How do we harmonize this with our experience of seeing people seeking after God—or perhaps our own experience of seeking God?

Paul writes that there is “none who does good”? How do we harmonize this with our experience of seeing people do tremendous acts of self-sacrifice and heroism? (e.g. Bridger Walker saving his sister from a German Shepherd attack)

Romans 3:21-31 (Forgiveness from judgment)

The conclusion to this section (1:16-3:20) is that humans need to give up on their self-improvement project. They need to admit that they are not good enough for God. In this case, Keller writes, “What keeps people from salvation is not so much their sins, but their good works. If we come to God telling him that we are good, offering him the works of our hands as our righteousness, we cannot take the righteousness he gives by grace. We need to give up our goodness, and repent of our religiosity as well as our rebellion. We need to come with empty hands, and silent mouths, and receive.”[]

(3:21) “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.”

Originally, Paul wrote that God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel (1:16-17). Now, after two chapters of explaining God’s righteousness against sin, he finally explains how God has chosen to forgive unrighteous people like us. While this is being revealed “apart from the Law” in the sense that the moral law cannot give us God’s righteousness, Paul is quick to add that the OT predicted this all along (“witnessed by the Law and the Prophets”). Indeed, Paul demonstrated this fact by citing various OT passages to make this case clearly from the OT itself (vv.9-18).

Theologians refer to this as imputed righteousness. That is, God gives us the righteousness that we need, giving us the credit that we don’t deserve. Keller compares this imputed righteousness to a person with a spotless resume for a job they are applying for.[] If you have the credentials, the company will hire you. Here, God is willing to give this “spiritual resume” to anyone who asks—as long as we approach him “apart from Law” (i.e. self-effort, self-righteousness, etc.).

(3:22) “Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.”

(3:23-24) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

We have all fallen short. But there is good news: We can be “justified” by God. The word “justified” (dikaiomenoi) is a legal term used of a judge’s verdict in a courtroom.

Justification is a declaration of God—not a demonstration of our righteousness. We are not justified in the sense that we become righteous, but rather we are declared righteous by the Judge—by God himself. For instance, a lawyer approached Jesus, asking him how to obtain eternal life. When Jesus told him that he needed to keep the entire law, he sought to “justify” (dikaiosai) himself (Lk. 10:29). This is the natural approach of the human heart: self-justification. But God doesn’t want us justifying ourselves. He wants us to simply accept his justification for us.

Justification is immediate—not something for which we wait. Moo writes, “No ‘legal fiction,’ but a legal reality of the utmost significance, ‘to be justified’ means to be acquitted by God from all ‘charges’ that could be brought against a person because of his or her sins. This judicial verdict, for which one had to wait until the last judgment according to Jewish theology, is according to Paul rendered the moment a person believes.”[]

Justification is passive—not active. The word “justified” (dikaiomenoi) is in the passive voice. This means that God’s justification is not something we do, rather it is something done to us.

Justification is free—not something we earn. Justification is a “gift” (dorean), which means “to being freely given, as a gift, without payment, gratis” (BDAG). Elsewhere, this term is translated as a “free gift” or “without charge” (2 Cor. 11:7).

Justification is essential—not optional. Christian philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal once wrote, “Grace is indeed needed to turn a man into a saint; and he who doubts it does not know what a saint or a man is.”[]

How did God accomplish all of this? Paul just finished writing two chapters arguing for the fact that we’re legally guilty, but now, we can be declared righteous. How can this be? Our redemption is “in Christ Jesus.”

(3:25) “[Jesus is the one] whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.”

“God displayed [Jesus] publicly as a propitiation.” The concept of the “propitiation” (hilastērion) refers to the “mercy seat” where the atonement took place in Leviticus 16. Moo comments, “What in the OT was hidden from public view behind the veil has now been ‘publicly displayed’ as the OT ritual is fulfilled and brought to an end in Christ’s ‘once-for-all’ sacrifice.”[]

God chose to “pass over” the sins of OT believers until Jesus came: “God ‘postponed’ the full penalty due sins in the Old Covenant, allowing sinners to stand before him without their having provided an adequate “satisfaction” of the demands of his holy justice (cf. Heb. 10:4).”[] In other words, God waited to judge their sins, and placed their sins onto Jesus at the Cross. Now that the Cross has occurred in space-time history, all sins have been paid for: past, present, and future.

(3:26) “For the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Christ absorbed the punishment for our sin in himself. We access this atonement through faith. God fulfilled his justice by punishing Christ—not us. This is how he can be both “just” (i.e. punishing sin) and the “justifier” (i.e. granting justification to sinners).

We see the same objective versus subjective genitive here. Almost all translations render this as the objective genitive (“faith in Jesus”), while the NET renders this as the subjective genitive (“because of Jesus’ faithfulness”). We agree with most translations that this should be rendered in the objective genitive (see comments on verse 22).

(3:27) “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.”

Paul uses the term “law” in a generic sense—almost like referring to the “law of gravity.” Similarly, he refers to the “law of faith.”

(3:28) “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

Justification is antithetical to Law. Paul doesn’t end in theological abstractions. He shows that these deep theological truths about the Atonement relate deeply to our lives: specifically, boasting and pride.

(3:29-30) “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.”

Neither Jews nor Gentiles can boast about being in God’s people. This is because neither group earned it. This will come up later in Romans 9-11, where Paul attacks Jewish and Gentile self-righteousness.

Compare this passage about boasting with Paul’s statements in Philippians 3:5-8. Paul had every reason to boast in his self-effort, but considers these things “rubbish” (Phil. 3:8). Believers—even “righteous” law-livers like Paul—should only boast in Christ (Gal. 6:14).

(3:31) “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”

How is it that law-breakers can uphold the law? Paul will later explain that Christ fulfilled the Law for us (Rom. 10:4; cf. Mt. 5:17). Moreover, as believers walking by the Spirit, we can actually begin to carry out the Law in our new identity (Rom. 8:4; 13:8-10).

Questions for Reflection

What consequences might occur if we rejected either the love of God or the justice of God?

How do you react to this statement? As one person has said,[] no matter how sinful you think you are, you are far worse (Rom. 3:10-20). And no matter how much you think God loves you, he loves you far more (Rom. 3:21-31).