God’s Faithfulness
3 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”[ Psalm 51:4]
5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!
No One Is Righteous
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good,
not even one.”[Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20 ]
13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”[Psalm 5:9] “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[Psalm 140:3]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint) ]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[Isaiah 59:7,8]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[Psalm 36:1]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth maybe silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in [Or through the faithfulness of] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[The Greek for the sacrifice of atonement refers to the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant (see Lev. 16:15,16). ] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. [Since faith uphold the law, then the works of the law of those under the law (the Israelites) done in faith justifies the same]
NOTES:
3:1–4 In keeping with the popular style of diatribe, Paul
responds to the objection that his teaching on the sinfulness of all humanity
detracts from the religious prerogatives of Israel. He stresses that Jews have
remained the vehicle of God’s revelation despite their sins, though this
depends on the fidelity of God.
3:4 Though every human being is a liar: these words
reproduce the Greek text of Ps 116:11. The rest of the verse is from Ps 51:6.
3:9–20 Well, then, are we better off?: this phrase can also
be translated “Are we at a disadvantage?” but the latter version does not
substantially change the overall meaning of the passage. Having explained that
Israel’s privileged status is guaranteed by God’s fidelity, Paul now
demonstrates the infidelity of the Jews by a catena of citations from
scripture, possibly derived from an existing collection of testimonia. These
texts show that all human beings share the common burden of sin. They are
linked together by mention of organs of the body: throat, tongue, lips, mouth,
feet, eyes.
3:19 The law: Paul here uses the term in its broadest sense
to mean all of the scriptures; none of the preceding texts is from the Torah or
Pentateuch.
3:20 No human being will be justified in his sight: these
words are freely cited from Ps 143:2. In place of the psalmist’s “no living
person,” Paul substitutes “no human being” (literally “no flesh,” a Hebraism),
and he adds “by observing the law.”
3:21–31 These verses provide a clear statement of Paul’s
“gospel,” i.e., the principle of justification by faith in Christ. God has
found a means of rescuing humanity from its desperate plight: Paul’s general
term for this divine initiative is the righteousness of God (Rom 3:21). Divine
mercy declares the guilty innocent and makes them so. God does this not as a
result of the law but apart from it (Rom 3:21), and not because of any merit in
human beings but through forgiveness of their sins (Rom 3:24), in virtue of the
redemption wrought in Christ Jesus for all who believe (Rom 3:22, 24–25). God
has manifested his righteousness in the coming of Jesus Christ, whose saving
activity inaugurates a new era in human history.
3:21 But now: Paul adopts a common phrase used by Greek
authors to describe movement from disaster to prosperity. The expressions
indicate that Rom 3:21–26 are the consolatory answer to Rom 3:9–20.
3:25 Expiation: this rendering is preferable to
“propitiation,” which suggests hostility on the part of God toward sinners. As
Paul will be at pains to point out (Rom 5:8–10), it is humanity that is hostile
to God.
3:27–31 People cannot boast of their own holiness, since it
is God’s free gift (Rom 3:27), both to the Jew who practices circumcision out
of faith and to the Gentile who accepts faith without the Old Testament
religious culture symbolized by circumcision (Rom 3:29–30).
3:27 Principle of faith: literally, “law of faith.” Paul is
fond of wordplay involving the term “law”; cf. Rom 7:21, 23; 8:2. Since “law”
in Greek may also connote “custom” or “principle,” his readers and hearers
would have sensed no contradiction in the use of the term after the negative
statement concerning law in Rom 3:20.
3:31 We are supporting the law: giving priority to God’s
intentions. God is the ultimate source of law, and the essence of law is
fairness. On the basis of the Mosaic covenant, God’s justice is in question if
those who sinned against the law are permitted to go free (see Rom 3:23–26). In
order to rescue all humanity rather than condemn it, God thinks of an
alternative: the law or “principle” of faith (Rom 3:27). What can be fairer
than to admit everyone into the divine presence on the basis of forgiveness
grasped by faith? Indeed, this principle of faith antedates the Mosaic law, as
Paul will demonstrate in Rom 4, and does not, therefore, mark a change in divine
policy.
Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment