Notes on Romans 3:
Verse 1: What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?
If circumcision can’t get me into heaven what advantage then do I have being a Jew?
Verse 2: Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.
God committed His Word to the Jews in their native language. Those who read Hebrew could read God's Word. I am very thankful to the Jews for preserving the Word of God with such diligence and accuracy. According to Chuck Smith, prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, the oldest complete Hebrew manuscript of the Old Testament was dated about 900 A.D. The Dead Sea Isaiah Scroll is dated about 200 B.C. When the Isaiah Scroll was translated, it was found to have no major changes from the text we already possessed. The Jewish scribes had faithfully and accurately copied the Word of God throughout the Old Testament period.
And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:8, ESV)
19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD! (Psalms 147:19-20, ESV)
Verse 3: For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
This is basically saying that it is really of no account what we believe about the truth of God and His word. Our opinion about it doesn’t change anything. The truth will stand, and it isn't without effect because a person doesn't believe it. God’s work is never futile and always has an effect. Similarly, a man cannot add to God by accepting the truth. God loves us, and because He loves us He draws us unto Himself. We're the ones who gain and are blessed when we believe. He does not need us. This fact, in my mind makes His grace toward us even more astounding. He pursues us and reaches out to us in in love even when He has nothing to gain by it.
“I have to say, with Paul, ‘What if some did not believe?’ It is no new thing; for there have always been some who have rejected the revelation of God. What then? You and I had better go on believing, and testing for ourselves, and proving the faithfulness of God, and living upon Christ our Lord, even though we see another set of doubters, and another, and yet another ad infinitum. The gospel is no failure, as many of us know.” (Spurgeon)
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" (Romans 10:16, ESV)
For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (Hebrews 4:2, ESV)
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, (Romans 9:6, ESV)
if we are faithless, he remains faithful- for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13, ESV)
Verse 4: Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written:
“That You may be justified in Your words,
And may overcome when You are judged.”
If all mankind were to agree that God had been unfaithful to his promises, it would only prove that all are liars and God is true.—MacArthur
“It is a strange, strong expression; but it is none too strong. If God says one thing, and every man in the world says another, God is true, and all men are false. God speaks the truth, and cannot lie. God cannot change; his word, like himself, is immutable. We are to believe God’s truth if nobody else believes it. The general consensus of opinion is nothing to a Christian. He believes God’s word, and he thinks more of that than of the universal opinion of men.”—Spurgeon
I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him." (John 8:26, ESV)
Verse 5: But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)
If my sin highlights God’s goodness and righteousness then why does He judge me...I am only confirming His truth and bringing Him glory.
Verse 6: Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
God is just...in Him there is no darkness at all. He is holy and desires that we be holy. How can God judge the world if He is in control of what I do? If I cannot NOT sin, how can He be justified in inflicting wrath upon me? I am only His puppet. When Paul says that he speaks as a man because only fallen man would dare to question God this way. (End of verse 5)
Verse 7: For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
Again, my lies only serve to highlight the goodness and holiness of God. He uses even my sin for my good and His glory. Why then, am I judged a sinner if I am a puppet or a pawn in His hands?
Verse 8: And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?--as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.
Apparently some people slanderously accused Christians of using this argument, "Let us do evil, that good may come"? Paul’s reply to that argument is that their condemnation is just or well deserved.
Verse 9: What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
The “we” here is referring to the Jews. "Are we Jews worse than the Gentiles?" The answer in either case is that the Jews are no better and no worse. All are sinners. Paul concludes Jew and Gentile alike stand guilty before God.
Verse 10-12 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
Paul begins verse 10 with an “as it is written,” which usually means an OT quotation is coming. Here (in the next 8 or so verses) he quotes various OT Scriptures to show that sin has affected everyone in the human race from the youngest to the oldest. No one is righteous. Verses 10-12 are quoted from Ps 14:1-3 and Ps 53:1-3.
Verses 13-18: “Their throat is an open tomb; (Ps 5:9)
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; (Ps 140:3)
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” (Ps 10:7)
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; (Isa 59:7)
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; (Isa 59:7)
17 And the way of peace they have not known.” (Isa 59:8)
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Verses 13-18 shows that sin has affected every part of a man. Man’s character (10-12), man’s conversation (vs 13-14) and man’s ways (vs 15-17) are ALL corrupted by sins of every kind. Vs 18 is the bottom line...he has no fear of God...sinful, unsaved man has no regard for God.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7, ESV)
Verse 19: Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God pronounced guilty before God.
Every human being, both Jew and Gentile are accountable to God. The Jew through the written law of Moses and the Gentiles who have the law written on their hearts. Every mouth will be stopped...they have no defense against God’s verdict of guilty.
Verse 20: Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
None of us can fulfill the law perfectly. It is impossible. Through the law no flesh will be declared righteous before God.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),—Galatians 3:10-13
The law was not given to justify people but to produce the knowledge of sin—not the knowledge of salvation, but the knowledge of sin. The BBC uses this example:
We could never know what a crooked line is unless we also knew a straight line. The law is like a straight line. When men test themselves by it, they see how crooked they are.
The law shows us our sin but has no power to save.
Verse 21: But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
Paul continues now (after proving the universal sinfulness of man and his need for salvation) in the topic he introduced in Chapter 1...the righteousness that God has provided apart from the works of the law.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”—Romans 1:17;
The plan reveals how God can save sinners without compromising His righteousness and is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. It satisfies God’s justice for sin, while simultaneously highlighting his mercy toward sinners. It was foretold both by direct prophecy and by foreshadowing in the OT sacrificial system that required the shedding of blood for atonement.
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.—Amos 3:7
Verse 22: even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
This righteousness spoken of is obtained through faith in Jesus Christ...utter reliance on Him as our Savior from sin and our only hope for heaven. This hope we have is based on the work of Jesus as revealed to us in His word. Salvation is offered to all, (Jew and Greek) but is only effective for those who accept His free gift and believe. God is not a respected of persons and His work is sufficient once for all and on all who believe.
Verse 23: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
“The availability of the gospel is as universal as the need.” When Adam sinned, he acted as the representative for all his descendants. Men, however, are not only sinners by nature; they are also sinners by practice. They fall short, in themselves, of the glory of God.
Verse 24: being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
God declares us free of the guilt of sin, made acceptable to Him in His Son and granted eternal life as a gift of His unmerited favor through the redemption (payment for our sin) which is provided in Christ Jesus. We, as believers, are declared righteous solely on the basis of the merits of Christ’s righteousness. God imputes our sin to Christ’s account in His sacrificial death and He imputes Christ’s perfect obedience to us when we believe.
Verse 25: whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
God displayed His precious Son publicly as a life giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation by His blood to be received through faith. This demonstrated God’s righteousness which demands punishment for sin because in His deliberate restraint He passed over the sins committed before Jesus was crucified. John MacArthur comments that God’s justice demands that every sin and sinner be punished. God would have been just, when Adam and Eve sinned, to destroy them, and with them, the entire human race. But in His goodness and forbearance, He withheld His judgment for a certain period of time
Verse 26: to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
This was to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time so that He would be just (by punishing sin) and also the One who justifies or declares the one who has faith in Jesus, free from the guilt of sin..who rely on Him as their Savior.
Now the death of Christ declares God's righteousness. God is just because He has required the full payment of the penalty of sin. And He can justify the ungodly without condoning their sin or compromising His own righteousness because a perfect Substitute has died and risen again.
Albert Midlane has stated the truth in poetry: The perfect righteousness of God Is witnessed in the Savior's blood; 'Tis in the cross of Christ we trace His righteousness, yet wondrous grace. God could not pass the sinner by, His sin demands that he must die; But in the cross of Christ we see How God can save, yet righteous be. The sin is on the Savior laid, 'Tis in His blood sin's debt is paid; Stern justice can demand no more, And mercy can dispense her store. The sinner who believes is free, Can say, "The Savior died for me"; Can point to the atoning blood, And say, "That made my peace with God."
Verse 27: Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
When salvation is on the principle of faith, there is no room for boasting. I liked this from the BLB:
“The justified person says, "I did all the sinning; Jesus did all the saving." True faith disavows any possibility of self-help, self-improvement, or self-salvation, looking only to Christ as Savior.”
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. (Romans 4:1-2, ESV)
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, rso that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:26-31, ESV)
Verse 28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Paul reiterates that an individual is justified by faith distinctly apart from works of the Law.
3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."
4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, (Romans 4:3, ESV)
But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18, ESV)
Verse 29: Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
There is one true God...He is the God of both the Jew and the Gentile. Jesus died for the whole world of sinners. The offer of salvation goes out to whosoever will, Jew or Gentile.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:12-13, ESV)
For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:5-6, ESV)
Verse 30: since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
I have never understood why two different prepositions are used here...by and through...but whatever the reason the cause of justification is still faith in both cases.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. (Romans 10:12, ESV)
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." (Galatians 3:8, ESV)
So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 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 2:26-29, ESV)
Verse 31: Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
The question here is if salvation is by faith and not by keeping the law does that make the law worthless and something to be disregarded? On the contrary, Paul says...the gospel establishes the law. Breaking the law (which demands our perfect obedience) at any point requires that a penalty be paid. That penalty is death. If u or I had to pay the penalty, we would spend eternity in hell separated from God. The gospel tells how Christ died to pay the penalty of the broken law. (Our sin debt) Christ did not ignore the law, He fulfilled it and paid our debt for breaking it, in full. (John 3:16) Anyone who has broken the law can avail himself of the fact that Christ paid the penalty on his behalf. The gospel of salvation by faith upholds the law by insisting that its demands have been met.
Salvation through faith also fulfills the purpose of the law by showing us our inability to keep it and thus, our need for the salvation that Christ provides.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:23-24, ESV)
Salvation by grace through faith also upholds the law by giving believers the ability to obey it.
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4, ESV)
Sources BibleRef site, John MacArthur, Guzik, Spurgeon
