Romans 3:1-4

In Romans 2, Paul turns toward those who were judges over other men.

He makes arguments based on the conscience and how that even our conscience proves that we’re without excuse.

Romans 2 finishes by addressing Israel.

Paul speaks directly to Jews, describing who a Jew is under the Law.

Even though they had the Law, and they boasted in it and rested in it, they didn’t keep the Law.

Romans 3 continues that topic, but then, it’ll transition into discussing salvation.

If you recall, in Romans 1:16 Paul discusses four reasons why he’s not ashamed of, and ready to preach, the Gospel.

He says, “For the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.”  That’s the first reason for Paul preaching the Gospel of Christ and he explains that he’s an apostle of Jesus Christ separated to this gospel of God.

Then in Romans 1:17 the next reason is that “The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith and here Paul quotes scripture from Habakkuk and speaks about the righteousness of God and justification by faith.

So, scripture is another reason that supports Paul’s teaching.

Then the third reason is in Romans 1:18-19 where Paul discusses the wrath of God being revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.

He refers to men’s conscience and how God’s wrath is poured out so man has no excuse, and their own conscience testifies to that.

Romans 1:20-21 speaks of creation itself revealing God to man as the fourth reason to preach the gospel.

In Romans 2 Paul makes conscience-based arguments such as, “Don’t you know God is long-suffering and merciful?”

“Don’t you know that, if you have the Law, but don‘t keep it, you’re a hypocrite?”

Now, in Romans 3 and eventually in chapter 4 Paul presents the case for justification by faith—based on scripture.

Romans 3 talks about, “The witness of the Law and the Prophets.”

Paul references the fathers of Israel using scripture to prove justification by faith.

Romans 4 quotes David and Abraham and then we reach Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8, where Paul presents information that was previously unknown through prophecy. It was hidden by God since before the foundation of the world.

We tried to emphasise the importance that although Paul heavily references the Law he does not place believers today under it and Romans 7 will clarify that perfectly.

Romans 5, 6, and 7 present what we might call positional truth or who we are in Christ now, today.

This is part of the mystery teaching.

So, the structure of Romans 1–8 follows this pattern:

– Sin and condemnation

– Faith and salvation

– The application of salvation—the mystery

Romans 5–8 presents the mystery truth, who believers are in Christ. This is this mystery that God did not reveal throughout history but is now revealed, or made known to us through until Paul, given to each of us by Jesus Christ, through Paul.

These first 8 chapters of Romans are very different but the teaching of each one builds on the previous one.

Romans 1–3 defines the problem.

Romans 3–5 presents the solution in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5–8 explains what this means for us today and how we apply it to our lives.

This first section, which Romans 3 is part of,  is concerned with the Old Testament, and the only conclusion we can come to, that all are under sin.

We’ll learn in Romans 3 that the law brings the knowledge of sin. In itself, it was never going to save anyone.

Romans 1–3 is basically Old Testament material, dealing with creation, conscience, and the law in Israel.

Romans 3, 4, and 5 could be described as New Testament material, and we’ll see a bit of that in this episode.

It describes Israel’s failure, but how they still have an advantage, as stated in Romans 3:1–2. These chapters speak of Jesus’s sacrifice and the remission of sins that are past, giving a sort of New Testament type description. Paul doesn’t use the phrase “New Testament”. That’s a man made division, but the progression from the Old Testament and Israel to the need for Jesus is pretty plain.

Paul explains this in Romans 3 and 4, detailing how Christ and faith can justify Abraham, David, and anyone who believes.

Romans 5, 6, and 7 specifically address the mystery truth, which applies only to believers in the body of Christ and it’s something uniquely revealed to Paul. It’s not found anywhere else in the Bible, making Romans a unique book.

The beginning of chapter 3 raises four questions or objections to what Paul wrote in Romans 1 and 2, relating to God’s righteous judgments and how they affect the Jew as well as the gentile.

Paul explores whether God is righteous to condemn the world. Do people have an excuse? Is God just saying that all are under sin? Paul’s put a lot of effort into proving this case already, yet questions and objections arise and he addresses them.

These are these questions that Paul deals with.

Romans 3:1,

What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 

If Paul’s argument is correct, then everyone is condemned, no one has an advantage, and all are under sin. But what about Israel? God made them, after all, and spent a lot of effort forming the nation. What does this mean for them?

Romans 3:3

For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?

In other words, if some reject God’s truth, does that nullify His faithfulness?

Romans 3:5

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath?

If human sinfulness demonstrates God’s righteousness, then how can He judge us?

Romans 3:9

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. 

This question explores whether Israel has an excuse, whether Gentiles are better off, and whether believers today are somehow superior to past generations.

Romans 3:1 asks,

What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 

Despite having the law, were ultimately revealed as law breakers. They boasted in the law and trusted in it, and it was given to them as a benefit and a privilege and yet they broke it. If they were lawbreakers, that meant they were subject to judgment and punishment like everybody else. They were condemned under the law and without excuse, just like the Gentiles. Their circumcision then, was meaningless.

Now we don’t know if these questions were asked by an actual Jew, or whether Pauls anticipating that these questions will be asked by those receiving this letter.

But after what he wrote in Romans 2:17 we do know that there were Jews who would be receiving this letter. He wrote,

Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, 

In Romans 2:25-29 it’s clear that circumcision is only profitable if you keep the law. If you don’t keep the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision and that’s where we left off last episode.

Here’s Paul’s answers to each of these question or objections.

Romans 3:1

What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 

If all you have said in 2:17-29 is true, then what’s the advantage of being a Jew and what profit is there from circumcision?

Are you saying all of that should be thrown away—the Old Testament, the scriptures, the time past, the things God did for His people and the privileges He gave them? Were all those things for nothing?

What, then, is the advantage? What is the profit? The law, in a sense, made things harder for Israel.

Yes, God gave them the law, and it was a privilege that God spoke to them. But now they had 613 commands, most of which were not given to the Gentiles. While this was a privilege, what if they failed to obey them?

Circumcision, as we learned in Romans 2, is of the heart.

This was stated in the Law of Moses, meaning it was not a New Testament teaching but an Old Testament one.

Circumcision was of the flesh, yes, but it was a token of circumcision of the heart. They were required to circumcise their hearts. The challenge, however, was that no one could visibly tell if someone had truly circumcised their heart, only God could see it. This is Paul’s point: God’s judgment is not based just on the outward appearance. He sees the inner condition of a person.

Paul quotes the law in Romans 2:29, stating that circumcision is of the heart and in the spirit. This reference comes from Deuteronomy 10:12-13 and Deuteronomy 30:6 .

His point is that a true Jew is one inwardly as well as outwardly. A person who is outwardly Jewish but lacks inward faith is like an empty tomb.

Even as a Jew, as Jesus said, adultery is not just the physical act but also the lust in the heart and no one can pass that test.

So what advantage is there to being a Jew?

Pau answers this objection in Romans 3:2,

Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. 

We need to keep pointing out that this’s no longer true in this current dispensation, in which being a Jew or a Gentile does not provide an advantage. Circumcision is meaningless in salvation today. It’s only faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ that saves. But Paul, speaking in Romans, is talking about Israel in time past and, interestingly, in the future after this dispensation of grace is over and God’ prophetic timeline for Israel is restated.

What are oracles? You may notice the word “oral” in “oracle.” “Oral” refers to something spoken verbally, while an “oracle” refers to the instrument or the means through which something is spoken. Oracles are the instruments of communication.

The oracles of God are the instruments through which God communicated His words.

This’s not only scripture and the prophets (which were given to Israel) but also the temple. The priests served in the temple, where God dwelt. The Ark of the Covenant contained the actual tablets of the law, God’s literal words.

God spoke to the world through Israel. He entrusted the oracles of God to the Jews, to the circumcision and that was a major advantage.

Yes, Israel was full of sinners and lawbreakers, but God still spoke to them. Hebrews 1:1-2 states,

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 

God came to Israel and no other nation, because He’d prophesied He would and that was a great advantage.

And so we have God’s eternal, inspired, and infallible word in a book that’s available to everyone today.

But they also had access to God’s words. Just because people are judged as sinners, without excuse and guilty, doesn’t mean it’s not an advantage to know that truth.

We think that something’s only an advantage if it doesn’t expose our faults or say anything bad about us. But when we read in scripture of faithful men such as Job, Moses, and David and we see that when God pointed out their faults, they praised Him anyway.

Acts 7:38 talks about Moses receiving the law, and it calls the law the Lively Oracles. God spoke to Israel through the law.

In 1 Peter 4:11, we see Peter talking about this to his audience—New Testament Remnant Israel, New Covenant Israel. “If any man speak,” Peter says, “let him speak as the Oracles of God.” How do you do that exactly? You speak as the mouthpiece of God.

New Covenant Israel, Remnant Israel, in their Kingdom, was a royal priesthood. Peter himself defined that in First Peter 2: “Because you’re a holy nation, a royal priesthood.” They were given the Holy Spirit unction to be able to say things that they hadn’t even studied. They were given the Holy Spirit unction to keep the statutes and commandments of the law according to the New Covenant. Therefore, they became the Oracles of God to the world, as a nation in that Kingdom, which of course has not yet come.

How will the world know what God’s doing at that time? Israel, the royal priesthood, would speak it.

Now, is that like us today? We speak God’s words, yes, but we can speak them wrong, in error.

We don’t have the Holy Ghost unction to speak things perfectly correctly even though we haven’t studied them. And we’re not a royal priesthood, even though many teach that we are. We don’t have a physical temple; we’re the Temple of the Holy Spirit. There’re no priests in the body of Christ. First Peter’s language doesn’t fit us today unless we twist it to make it work and that’s to our own destruction.

But Israel had an advantage. They were given the Oracles of God.

In Deuteronomy 30:14, Moses wrote,

But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. 

That’s talking about Israel. This’s not a general truth to everyone in the world, it’s about Israel. The Lively Oracle came to Moses. He came down from the mountain and put the law in the Ark, in the temple that was in the middle of Jerusalem. It was the nation of Israel that had the law. God’s words were close to them.

If you were a Gentile country, you had to do a bit of traveling to get to where God’s words were. The Oracles were in Israel.

Jesus, in John 4:22, spoke to a Samaritan woman and they’re having a conversation about which mountain they were going to worship on.

In John 4:19-20, the woman said to Jesus,

“Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, (that was mount Gerizim) and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

There was that religious and political battle between the Samaritans and the Jews.

Samaritans were the northern tribes of Israel, and were kind of corrupted by some Gentile nations. Then you had the southern tribes, the Jews from Judah, and this woman’s bringing that issue up: “You’re a prophet, and this is the issue, what do you say about it?”

In John 4:21,

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Why is that?

Because Jerusalem will be in unbelief, and so will Mount Gerizim, this Samaritan mountain here.

Neither one’ll be correct.

John 4:22,

You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 

What a strange verse that you’ll never see in Jesus movies.

It can even seem a bit racist, as if salvation was given specifically to the Jews rather than to the whole world.

Didn’t God love the world?

So, just one chapter after John 3, where God’s love for the world is emphasised, Jesus says that salvation is of the Jews.

Does He simply mean that He Himself was Jewish?

No, He’s referring to what Paul says in Romans 3:2: to Israel.

To the Jews, were committed the oracles of God.

The Samaritans didn’t have this; they abandoned it, and we can read about this in the Old Testament.

The Samaritans were originally part of Israel, but they split off and entered pagan territory. They remained in the land, but religiously speaking, they began inventing their own temples, synagogues, and priesthoods, something we see in Judges and Joshua.

They departed from what God commanded, and as a result, they became lost in their understanding.

A historical conflict arose over which group had the correct worship. The answer was clear. It was Judah, Jerusalem, Hezekiah, David, and the house of David in the city of David.

Jesus boldly states, “You worship what you do not know.” A striking rebuke. The woman had just told Him what she worshiped in John 4:20

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 

She believed she knew what she worshiped. But Jesus contradicted her, saying, “You worship what you do not know.”

Today we’d say that Jesus should’ve been more tolerant of her beliefs, but if someone’s wrong, it’s better to tell them. Isn’t that a rebuke? Yes, it is. And as Proverbs 27:5 says, Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed.

Jesus practiced this.

Jesus say, “We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”

Who’s the “we” here?

Jesus doesn’t say “I.” He says “we.” The “we” refers to the Jews.

Salvation is of the Jews, meaning that the knowledge of salvation—the oracles of God—were entrusted to them.

Even when the nation of Israel split, the truth remained in Jerusalem. Jesus affirms that the Jews know what they worship, even if they did it wrongly.

They worshiped hypocritically and sinned, as Romans 2 points out.

Jesus also pointed out their sins in His ministry.

But they knew what they worshiped—they had the knowledge of who and how, even though they corrupted it, they still had the oracles of God to refer back to.

Jesus often used scripture to correct his Jewish audience. He’d say, “Doesn’t the law say this?” and “Look at the scripture,” instructing them to search the scriptures. He could do this because they had them.

A Gentile who didn’t know scripture, couldn’t make that argument. Instead, He would appeal to creation and conscience.

Romans 3 tells us that even though the Jews failed to keep the law, they still had an advantage. Though they broke the law, Romans 3:2 says they still had the oracles of God. This points to the need for a better covenant. The Old Testament demanded perfect obedience and failure meant being cut off. What was the new covenant? It provided a way for salvation, blessing, and advantage even after failure.

Jeremiah 31 speaks of this new covenant. God revealed it to Jeremiah, who delivered it to Israel. Even in Genesis, the book of the law, we see promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, promises made specifically to the nation of Israel.

What does this mean? Even if Israel failed, God still had a promise to fulfill. That was their advantage. Paul says, “Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. ” The Jews received things no other nation had or could claim. Even in failure, they still possessed the oracles of God, including specific promises that were exclusively theirs.

Later in Romans, Paul will expand on how this connects to the broader salvation available to the world today. How can God provide salvation and grace to the Gentiles while still keeping His promises to Israel? That discussion comes in Romans 9, 10, and 11. But he raises the issue here because the question naturally arises: What happens to Israel if they failed so terribly in Romans 2?

That’s question or objection number one.

The next question’s asked in Romans 3:3

For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?

God spoke to Israel. He entrusted them with the oracles of God. But not all Jews have believed. When we look at their history, we see that unbelief was widespread.so does this mean that God will go back on His promises? After all, He did choose Israel as His people, and He made definite covenants with them. Can the unbelief of some cause God to break His word?

Israel were God’s people. They had His covenants, they had the law, and yet, prophets frequently visited them and addressed either the king himself or the nation.

Rather than boasting in their privileged relationship with God, they boasted in other things—the size of their army, their alliances with Gentile nations, their wealth, and their success. These were things that God warned them about. He knew they’d break His commandments.

There were also faithful believers, and the Bible includes many accounts and testimonies of those who remained faithful to God and because of their faithfulness, God blessed them. That is encouraging, comforting, and hopeful.

But the objection here is: Israel is under sin, and though they were entrusted with the oracles of God,  and that was their advantage, what if they didn’t believe in those oracles committed to them?

Many, in fact most of them, didn’t believe and most rejected them. For example, the Sadducees denied the resurrection. They didn’t  believe in a literal coming of the Messiah. They totally disregarded what’d been committed to them.

Wicked generations arose among them. Jesus Himself said, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.” He was the sign! He lived among them.

These wicked generations rejected John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter at Pentecost and finally Stephen.

Israel had wicked kings, false prophets, and even doubtful saints. Saints in the Old Testament—men considered faithful or godly—had their own doubts and failures.

Samson failed. Although he found some redemption at the end, he failed. David failed, yet found redemption too—but his story is filled with failure as well. Not everyone who had faith was perfect.

Gideon is another example. Didn’t he fleece God? Many Christians take that as permission to do the same. “Gideon did it, so I can do it too!”

But fleecing God was actually an expression of doubt. A strong man of faith would have simply obeyed. Instead, Gideon put God to the test—not once, but twice. It was an expression of doubt, yet God responded to him.

That doesn’t mean God’s obligated to do the same for everyone.

Someone might say, “God, I’m having trouble believing—convince me with a sign or miracle.” But God’s not obligated to do that.

It only does damage to people’s understanding of how God works when books like “The Prayer of Jabez” or teachings on Gideon’s fleecing or modern healing ministries make it seem like these practices should be performed today.

Remember that many of the people Jesus healed didn’t become believers.

These’re not models for modern believers.

The Jews had an advantage because they were entrusted with the oracles of God. Certain individuals, like Gideon, had an even greater advantage because God specifically chose them. That’s why He answered Gideon’s request. David had a covenant of mercy, so God forgave him despite his sins of murder and adultery. The nation didn’t receive that individual benefit. The nation had its advantages, but some individuals had greater blessings.

Even though Israel failed, there was still an advantage. So the question is:

What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 

How does their unbelief make God’s faith ineffective? What does this objection even mean?

The idea is this: God chose Israel to be His people. He committed His oracles to them. He promised to keep them, uphold them, and preserve them. But then they failed. Does that make it God’s fault?

This was His system—the law, the nation, everything. And it didn’t work.

So, should we blame God? Was it His fault?

Paul answers: Absolutely not. It’s their fault.

Some might argue that the system itself was flawed, and that God should be blamed for setting up a faulty system.

But Paul makes it clear: no!

In fact, later in Romans, Paul says that the law is perfect, holy, just, and good. The oracles God gave to Israel were good. The problem was not with God—it was with Israel. They didn’t believe.

This is a common and objection even today. Many people point out the corruption in the Catholic Church, the fallen preachers and the hypocrites and use them as a reason to reject God.

But the unbelief or failure of God’s ministers doesn’t mean God Himself has failed.

People tend to reject the Bible and God based on man’s unbelief.

Maybe people have simply misunderstood concepts like hell, judgment, and why God would allow such things to happen. The fault lies with people, not God.

Unbelief doesn’t make God’s word untrue.

Our belief, or lack of it, is irrelevant to truth itself.

The faithfulness of God remains intact regardless of whether people believe in Him or not.

Yet this objection is constantly raised. “If God had a system in place and it doesn’t seem to be working the way we expect, or people don’t believe in it, then isn’t that God’s fault?”

No, that’s not the case!

Israel’s unbelief,  as Paul’s discussing here, doesn’t affect God’s truthfulness, His existence, or His righteousness. He remains perfectly righteous. He’s true and He exists whether anyone believes it or not. Whether people acknowledge or receive the benefits of His truth is another matter.

We haven’t even reached the discussion of salvation yet, this’s simply the failure of people’s understanding of God’s righteous judgment and that’s why Romans 2 is so important.

Today, God has abundantly given His grace to the world, and many people refuse to receive it. Does that change His truth? No. He’s just as loving and righteous as He would be if everyone appreciated His gifts.

The objection raised here is whether God is right and true. But He’s not wrong, we are. We’re the ones without excuse.

John 1:11 says, speaking of Jesus,

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

His own was Israel.

A common thought is that Jesus came, Israel rejected Him, and, along with the Romans, killed Him. The Jews were particularly obsessed with killing Him.  Some people think that as a result, God gave them up.

But did God say that because they didn’t believe His Son, He’s done with them?

We should understand what happened when Jesus died on the cross. It’s incorrect to say that just because Israel, in their unbelief, killed the Messiah, God would no longer fulfill His promises.

Even after they rejected Jesus, they still had ample opportunity to repent, to change their mind.

They could reject Peter, James, John, and even the Holy Spirit—but God remained committed to certain promises He made to Israel. That was their advantage.

In Acts 3:15-17 Peter addresses this point.

This was not even Pentecost it was after Pentecost. The theme of Peter’s preaching in Acts 2, 3, and 4 was: “You killed your Messiah, yet He’s offering you forgiveness.”

Jesus, while on the cross in Luke 23:34 said,

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

It’s not true that Israel’s unbelief made the faith of God without effect.

Acts 3:17 Peter states,

“Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

They didn’t know what they were doing. They didn’t realise who Jesus was. This was clear even in His earthly ministry where He constantly spoke about their unbelief.

Peter continues in Acts 3:18:

But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 

Jesus died according to the scriptures.

Notice, this passage doesn’t mention dying for sins—it simply states that He died according to prophecy.

In Acts 3:19 Peter goes on:

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 

He’s appealing to the unbelieving Jews who killed the Messiah. Even though they acted in unbelief, they could still repent and change their minds. Their sins, specifically, the sin of rejecting and killing their Messiah, could be blotted out.

They still had an opportunity to be saved, to repent, and to receive refreshing.

Acts 3:20–21 says,

and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 

This was not a mystery. The prophets spoke of these things. Paul discusses the mystery that was hidden later, but in Acts 3, everything is still following prophecy.

What made Acts 2 unique was that the Holy Spirit filled all who believed, but this was still in accordance with scripture.

So, the objection that unbelief renders God’s faith ineffective is not supported by Peter’s own testimony.

Now, what does the question, “Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect” actually mean?

Does God’s judgment of Israel, their being under sin and their failure to obey the law which God committed to them, mean that His promises are nullified?

This is not the only time Paul addresses this issue. In fact, Paul is the one who exclusively deals with it. Hebrews touches on it slightly, but not to the same extent, because Paul’s gospel depends on the truth and understanding that all are under sin—meaning there’s no hope for anyone apart from God’s grace.

Galatians 3:17 explains this as well:

And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 

See, Abraham was given the promise, and then the law was given 430 years later. That later law can’t overturn or invalidate the earlier unconditional promise.

God says, “I will do this for you,” addressing the children of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Then, He institutes the law, and Paul makes it clear that the law doesn‘t annul the promise.

No one can simply disregard Israel and say they’re just like everyone else. God made promises and covenants with them that no one else can claim.

Romans 9:4–5 supports this:

Who (Paul’s countrymen) are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. 

Paul states that Christ came to them according to the flesh, fulfilling prophecy and meeting their need for sacrifice.

Psalm 147:20 affirms that God has not dealt with any other nation as He had with Israel.

This relationship didn’t cease when Jesus died, nor when Israel rejected the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, nor when Paul received the revelation of the mystery. Even though today God’s not building the nation of Israel but the body of Christ, Israel still retains its historical advantage.

What does this part of Romans 3:3, “the faith of God” mean?

It doesn’t mean that God has faith. He doesn’t “believe” in people, He knows everything. Faith is trust in things unseen, but God sees all. Therefore, He can’t have faith in the way humans do. Specifically, it refers to what God has spoken.

In the context of Romans 3, what has God spoken?

God spoke things and committed them to the Jews.

Thus, “the faith of God” refers to the things God spoke that were entrusted to Israel.

He didn’t commit the same oracles to us that He gave Israel. Instead, He’s committed the dispensation of grace to us.

We don’t have a physical temple or prophets we have scripture. Romans 3 speaks of scripture given to Israel. However, the New Testament epistles were not originally committed to Israel.

Paul stated in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all scripture is given by inspiration of God—not just the Old Testament, but also the writings given to the church.

The completed Bible was made for the church, the body of Christ, so that we can read it, know it, and believe it. It is the effectual Word of God.

“The faith of God” refers to the truth God’s put in place to be believed. It changes with dispensations. The truth given to Abraham was later expanded upon when the law was given to Moses. David received a promise of mercy that no one else had.

Jesus came revealing more truth. Then He revealed truth to the Apostle Paul. This is progressive revelation.

Paul’s point in Romans 3 is simply this: if Israel, who had an advantage because they were committed the oracles of God, what God had said and spoken to them, did not believe what God had spoken to them, does that mean the things God promised them are nullified? Does it mean the promise that He would make them a nation above all nations and bless them won’t happen because they failed and didn’t keep the law?

It can’t mean that.

Why? Because the law’s not what will get them there. The Old Covenant law could never bring them to that promise. It was always going to be about the promises God had made. As we said, the promises of a great nation that would bless the world was made 430 years before the law.

There was going to be a covenant built on better promises—a better covenant, a new covenant.

Israel should read their own scriptures.

There is a better covenant, and they’re justified by faith. The scriptures themselves say this. Habakkuk 2, which Paul quotes in Romans 1, states that “the just shall live by faith.”

As Paul answers the question, “Will their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?”

No! God keeps His promises.

This doesn’t mean Israel was righteous. It doesn’t mean they kept the law. It means that God is faithful, and we can trust Him to be faithful.

He’ll do what He said.

Romans 11:26-27 supports this:

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB; FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.

This speaks of Israel’s future salvation. God will keep His word to them.

Israel couldn’t keep the things that God told them to keep, but God must keep what He said He would keep.

Paul’s point in Romans 3 is not that God’s finished with Israel. That’s the discussion in Romans 9, 10, and 11.

Romans 3 is about God’s truth, how He’s not lying. Israel was given a special, privileged position but it doesn’t mean that privilege was taken away simply because they sinned.

They still have an advantage.

Look at Jeremiah 29—this is an example of God’s faithfulness to Israel. Jeremiah 29:10 is often quoted in discussions about God’s perfect plan for someone’s life. However, Jeremiah has nothing to do with our personal lives today.

Jeremiah 29:10-11 states:

For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

Why were the Jews in Babylon?

They broke God’s covenant. They disregarded it so much that He had to uphold His part of the covenant, punishing them by removing them from the land. Most of them were killed, while others were taken as slaves to Babylon.

This was all written in Moses’ law—the “lively oracles.”

God made a promise to Israel: they would not be removed from the earth forever. This was a promise made to the nation, not to individuals.

God had to bring them back. He said so before they were exiled. Jeremiah 29 was written before they left for Babylon, stating that after seventy years, He would bring them back.

Books in the Bible like Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah confirm that He did bring them back.

What happened to Gentile nations like the Canaanites?

They were destroyed.

But to Israel God says, “You have broken My law, and I’ll punish you. But I made a promise, and you will return.”

This is not an advantage for you and me today. It can’t be our “life verse,” it was theirs, Israel’s, in time past.

In Malachi 1:2-3 The Lord says through the prophet,

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. (that’s Jacob) “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved; 

But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.”

Malachi refers to the nations that descended from Jacob and Esau, not the individuals themselves. God says He loved Jacob’s nation, Israel, because He had made a promise to them. Esau’s descendants, Edom, were destroyed.

He destroyed Israel also, but He brought them back. Malachi understood this, as the book was written after Israel’s return from Babylon.

They asked, “How have You loved us?”

The answer: “I brought you back from political death.”

Their nation was completely gone, and yet, there they were again.

And how did they repay God?

Malachi details the corruptions taking place.

In Malachi 2:17, it says:

You have wearied the LORD with your words; “Yet you say, “In what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the LORD, And He delights in them,” Or “Where is the God of justice?”

If we are doing wrong, why does God not judge us? People still say this today.

God says, “You weary Me because you don’t know what’s right or wrong, even though I’ve told you what’s right and wrong. Then, you blame Me because you don’t think I’m judging you.

God’s faithfulness ensures He keeps His promises even after judgment. What do we learn from the Old Testament? Even after Israel’s judgment, He remains faithful to His promises.

They killed the Messiah.

Even after that, God will keep His promises. But, just as in the judgements of the past, when God took his hand off Israel and they went into exile and slavery the same thing happened when they continually rejected and murdered the Messiah when He came.

Even after the many opportunities they were given to be forgiven even for that, which they also rejected, they suffered the same setting aside as they had in the past.

But what took place after that setting aside, the great mystery that was never prophesied, was different than Israel’s past setting aside as we’ll learn through Romans.

Romans 2 states that all Israel, the circumcision, was made uncircumcision. They broke the law.

But God will bring mercy and keep His promises, even after their judgment.

So, the Romas 3:3 question is,

For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 

Romans 3:4  gives the answer,

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.

The idea that Israel’s unbelief could make God’s faithfulness ineffective is ridiculous.  That’s what Paul’s saying.

For let God be true and every man a liar.

God can’t be untrue, and scripture affirms that in multiple places.

Again, this objection is being uttered by someone who simply does not know the Bible or their own conscience. They fail to see that they, not God, are the ones at fault.

Romans 1 already declares that creation reveals God’s eternal power and glory. If there’s anything that’s true, it’s God.

That’s part of the very definition of God. He’s the source of truth, the foundation of reality. Only God can define truth. He can’t lie!

Titus 1:2

in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 

2 Timothy 2:13

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

There is nothing impossible for God—except that He cannot deny Himself.

Also we see in Romans 11:29

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 

God doesn’t change His mind when He gives a gift. When He makes a promise, He fulfills it. There are times, though, that He declares that If you do this, then I’ll do that,” and if the condition’s not met, He doesn’t act. But when He says, “I will do this,” He always does it.

When God makes a promise to Israel, committing certain things to them, He remains true to His word.

Numbers 23:19 states:

God is not a man, that He should lie,

He cannot lie.

So, to think that because people are in unbelief that God’s not been faithful is wrong thinking.

The phrase in this verse of Romans 3:4 that states,

let God be true but every man a liar.

That “every man” includes you and me and the very smartest of all mankind. We’re all sinners.

That is difficult to swallow in this postmodern world where, apparently, according to surveys, most people don’t believe they’re sinners.

Romans 3:4 makes that clear.

Romans 2 affirms this as do many other scriptures. People do things outwardly in alignment with what God commanded—things others can see—but they fail to do what God requires inwardly, what only He can see. That’s their failure. Every man’s a liar.

So, if we’re looking at the failures of humanity, the failures of ministers, or those given an advantage by God’s words, and we conclude that those men failed, so therefore God’s wrong, we’re missing the point.

Every man’s a liar.

God is the only One Who always speaks truth.

Anything truth that you and I utter is because God spoke it first.

If men have an excuse, then God’s wrong.

That is what the Bible says.  The Bible is right about everything that it says.

If we don’t come to that realisation sooner, we’ll face condemnation later. That’s the truth.

Sometimes we fail to understand how in the world God can be right if He condemns everyone.

The issue’s simple. We’re not God. He is.

God overcomes that judgment man makes against Him and clears Himself.

We see this in Revelation.

The world condemns God.

Then He shows up and sets things right, not merely by force.

It’s not just that God’s more powerful (though He is).

It is by His righteous judgment.

The atheist says they can’t imagine how they could be wrong.

And that’s exactly the problem. We can’t even imagine that we’re wrong.

It’s not just that we don’t understand, it’s that we assume that there’s no way I could be wrong.

What audacity. What pride in the face of God.

Let God be true but every man a liar.

That is one of the hardest things for people to accept. But it’s the beginning of belief.

That’s why, in the next episode of Romans 3, Paul’s about to discuss salvation.

Until then may God bless you and keep you in the knowledge of Him Who paid such an enormous price for your salvation.