The Gospel in Romans part 6

Photo: by Maria Tomassetti

Scripture Text:
Romans 2:28-29; 3:1-20

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.

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,

"That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged." [Psalm 51:4]

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come? - as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

"None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they
have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one."


Study Notes:
Vv. 2:28-29
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. This teaches us that a true Jew is someone who has had an inward change, not just an outward one. Our problem is that we have a bad heart. What does a person who has a bad heart need? You could say they need a heart transplant (they need a new heart). This new heart comes by the work of God's Spirit. This passage is speaking directly about Jewish people, who believed they were God's people, and saved simply because they had the outward sign of religion. We saw last week that they were inwardly hypocrites and were causing God's holy name to be profaned and blasphemed because of their hypocrisy. We also saw how Jesus spoke harshly against that in Matthew 23. Now, Paul tells them that a true Jew is one inwardly, with a circumcised heart (a clean heart), by the work of God's Spirit, so that their approval comes from God and not from other people.
Read: Ezekiel 36:16-32
For who's sake did God say He would help the Jews? What were the things God said he would do for them? What do you think it means to have "a new heart"? Ezekiel 36:27 says, "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules [just decrees]." Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or born from above] he cannot see the kingdom of God." Then he spoke to Nicodemus about being born of the Spirit. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." To be born of the Spirit and to have a new heart, means to become a new creation in Christ. It is a nature issue. Our nature is so depraved, sinful and corrupt, that we need to be made completely new in order to be saved and become children of God.

Vv. 3:1-8
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,

"That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged." [Psalm 51:4]

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come? - as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
Here, Paul began using questions and answers to get us to understand the justice of God. Do you remember back when we were talking about God's righteous and just judgments on those who are unrighteous and ungodly? Then chapter two concluded that those who are Jews and know the Law, are guilty of hypocrisy and will also be judged. So now, someone might ask, "Well Paul, what good is it to be a Jew then? What good is there in circumcision and keeping the Law? What was Paul's answer? There is much good in being a Jew in every way. Especially because they are the ones who God entrusted His words to. Acts 7:38 says they were "living oracles." Hebrews 4:12 says that "the word of God is living and active." The Jews were the people God chose to give these living words to, so they were extremely blessed that way. No other nation was given that privilege Psalm 147:19-20.
What is the next question asked? Does the faithlessness of some people nullify the faithfulness of God? Paul's answer is, "No way! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written..." (Now you know where I get the title of my blog from) Now it gets interesting. V5 says that our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God. (That is the reason there is evil in the world. Evil displays God's righteousness in judging and condemning it by His power and wrath, as well as the riches of His mercy to those He redeems - Romans 9:19-24).
So Paul asks, "Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)"? What is the answer? "No way! Because how could God judge the world [in righteousness - Psalm 98:9 ] if He is unrighteous?" But there are people who might ask this question, and they speak in a human way, because they do not understand God's righteousness. The next two questions Paul said some people were slanderously charging him with saying. What are the questions about? What does Paul say about those who accuse him with saying such things, or for those who would affirm what they say?