1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
After showing that Jews are not privileged automatically by blood and that circumcision profits nothing if one does not keep the Law (Rom 2:25), the Apostle sets out to show the advantages that Jews do enjoy. First, the divine Word of God was communicated to their race and nation; through the centuries of time the Holy Spirit moved righteous prophets and leaders to record God’s words unto Mankind (2Pet 1:21). Second, God specially blessed the Israelites with the promises, the covenants, the Law and the adoption (Rom 9:4). The Jews had a Godly heritage filled with mighty heroes of faith and power, and they had a marvelous history of experiencing God’s mercies and deliverances – these were facts to admire, to convince the mind of God’s power and to encourage the soul to seek Him. Unfortunately, they became points of pride and false confidence among the Jews of Paul’s day.
Present-day Anabaptists would be wise to learn from the example of the Jews! We too have a goodly heritage filled with examples of unshakeable faith; men and women of God who loved not their lives unto death, but went to the stake, to the torture chamber and to the river. Today’s Anabaptists, however, are too often found willing to compromise with the world and the same false churches that once killed their forefathers.
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Many Israelites proved to be faithless, even after God had miraculously provided for them and worked wonders of deliverance. They murmured against God, disobeyed and tempted Him. For their faithlessness (or unbelief), God swore that they would not enter into His rest. An extended passage in Hebrews 3:12-4:11 describes this sad example. Did God withdraw His faithfulness from all Israel because of the unfaithfulness of some? No! He remains faithful to those who follow His Covenant, and these will receive the promises.
The faith of God. God is the object of faith and does not possess faith in the human sense. However, He is faithful, reliable and true (Rev 19:11), which is the apparent intention of this phrase. He is the faithful God (Deut 7:9). In the Greek, the root word for faith and unbelief is the same (pistis, apistia) and that is true throughout the Scriptures. However, “unfaith” is not a word, so the Greek antonyms are not seen in the English translation.
Did not believe (apisteo) is the verb form of the same Greek root word that is usually translated faith, and its antonym is pisteuo. For that reason some versions (NIV) translate this phrase, did not have faith. The Biblical terms faith and believe have the same Greek words, but one is a noun and the other a verb. That doesn’t mean that having faith and believing are equivalent terms, but without doubt they are related. Faith has a not by sight component (2Cor 5:7; Heb 11:1). To believe, on the other hand, usually results from seeing with the eyes (John 2:23; 4:48; 20:29). Additionally, faith must be corroborated by actions that demonstrate one’s stated belief, and it also must be maintained unto term. The Israelites in the wilderness failed at this point.
Some theologians and scholars claim that God puts faith into the individual and then he can be saved. By this they attempt to make sure that no work can be attributed to man which might mean salvation was earned instead of gifted by grace. Their idea cannot stand before the character of God, who would have all men to be saved (2Pet 3:9), yet many will not. If salvation were entirely a matter of God putting faith in a man, why does He not put faith in all men? The fact is, God does not put saving faith in certain men, but has put the necessary components of Faith in all men. It is up to every man to choose faith in Christ or reject Him.It is up to every man to choose to have faith in Christ or to reject Him. The Faith that saves comes by hearing the Gospel (Gal 3:2; Rom 10:17). Certainly God is the source and origin of all Faith (Gal 5:22), but make no mistake, saving Faith must be developed voluntarily in the human mind and heart. Believe and be saved (Luke 8:12) is man’s part. I say that the faith these theologians propose is a fake of deceit; fake because God secretly did it Himself, and deceit because it really isn’t faith at all.
The quote is from David’s prayer of repentance as recorded in the Septuagint, Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil before thee: that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged (Ps 51:4, LXX). David recognized that his actions had transgressed the sayings of God given to Moses in the Law. His confession showed that God was just and righteous, yea, that God would always prevail over all foes in matters of truth and righteousness. “Your sayings show You to be holy and righteous, therefore You will prevail over every accusation.”
5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) 6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. 9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
The main thrust of this chapter is to show that every man (except for Christ) has fallen into sin and failed to seek God. Instead, all have followed their own way in the world. All are guilty of sin. A facetious person however, might attempt to say God is unjust for judging Man, seeing that everyone is simply acting as all men have always acted. The present verses address that false charge. My paraphrase of verses 3-10:
What about those Jews in the wilderness who proved to be faithless? Does their unfaithfulness indicate that God’s faithful guidance was in vain? Absolutely not! God is always right and true, independent of Man’s faith. For it is written: “Your Word shows You to be righteous and just, so that when You are accused You always come forth victorious.”
What shall we conclude upon seeing God’s righteousness in the face of Man’s constant unrighteousness – is God unjust for punishing Mankind? That cannot be, for “God will judge the world in perfect righteousness.”
Some even say (it is slanderously claimed that I teach this), “Since God is shown to be so perfectly righteous by my unrighteousness, then surely He will not judge me for being a sinner! So why not do evil, seeing that the goodness of God is made more evident by my wicked acts?” The condemnation of these teachers is coming, and it will be deservedly just.
Should we then conclude that Gentiles are better advantaged than Jews? No, for we have proven both to be equally guilty of sin. As it is written, “There is none that is righteous, no, not even one.”
The Apostle here frustrates the theology of many Protestants by verbalizing their faulty argument: “A man is unrighteous because he is Man; he is totally depraved and has no choice but to sin. How then can God judge him for sinning? He cannot! Besides, God’s glory is enhanced by man’s wickedness, for it shows Him to be so much better than they. Man’s works are filthy rags and have nothing to do with salvation, so let us do evil, that good may come.” The gravity of this false teaching cannot be over-emphasized. Paul says their damnation is just. Any theology which concludes that God does not look with favor upon man’s good works is not rightly dividing the Word of Truth. The Apostle speaks more about this error in Romans 9:18-21.
God does not make men sinners, nor does He call them righteous when they are not. He has carefully explained how He judges the righteous and the wicked (see especially the detailed account in Ezekiel 33:11-20). The righteous man will die if he begins to forsake his righteous ways and commit iniquity, and the wicked man will live if he forsakes his wicked ways and lives righteously. That is the way of Faith! Hearing, believing, accepting, doing, persevering. Obviously, no man can live a sinless life, and that is why he must humbly request the services of the Advocate, whose forgiveness is equally effective for the wicked who decides to turn from his evil ways as for the righteous man who returns after falling (1John 2:1). Here is the great power and advantage of the New Covenant, for under the Old there was not sufficient basis for God to forgive man’s sins. The sacrifices served as an interim measure which looked forward to the moment that the sufficient Sacrifice was made.
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
This is a recitation of the Septuagint version of Psalms 14:1-3, “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted themselves, and become abominable in their devices; there is none that does goodness, there is not even so much as one. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that understood, or sought after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become good for nothing, there is none that does good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The Masoretic text does not contain the last sentence, but it is found elsewhere in virtually verbatim form (see Ps 53:1-3; 5:9; 140:3; 10:7; 36:1 and Is 59:7-8). All of these passages show the universality of sin and wickedness in Mankind, and especially condemn the Jews (to whom they were written). They bolster Paul’s next point, that man cannot be saved by following the Mosaic Law. If even the prophets and upright under the Law admit that none are righteous and that all have left the right path to follow wickedness, what can we conclude but that the Law could not save them?
On the other hand, God said Noah was righteous before Me (Gen 7:1), and counted Abraham to be righteousness (Gen 15:6). Furthermore, he indicated that Noah, Daniel and Job were capable of delivering their souls by their righteousness (Eze 14:14). The Psalms are filled with references to “the righteous man” (ie Ps 1:6; 14:5; 68:3; 94:21, etc). These men were true seekers of God without a doubt. So we must be careful to read these verses in their present context and not erroneously extrapolate them to unintended meanings. Nevertheless, it stands unequivocally evident that all men have corrupted their way upon the earth (Gen 6:12), and that there is none that are perfectly righteous, no not one. All have sinned, even Noah, Daniel and Job. For there is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not (Ec 7:20). That is the crucial point, for God cannot abide in the presence of sin. He is perfectly holy, righteous and just. For God and mankind to be reconciled in full fellowship, this discrepancy must be rectified.
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
The Law of Moses was the framework for God’s Covenant with man under the Old Testament and its significance in that era cannot be over-stated. The people were required to keep not just the moral rules of the Ten Commandments but also the multitudinous details contained in many rites, assemblies and feasts. The Law ruled, and by it all the world (became) guilty before God. This apparently means “all the Jewish world,” for “the Law speaks to them who are under the Law.” The nations of the world are excluded. And that is consistent with the Apostle’s conclusion earlier in this epistle, where he finds all the world guilty before God under two frames: the Jew for not keeping the Law and the Gentiles for not keeping the law of their conscience (Rom 2:12).
During the times of this ignorance, God did not require of other nations the same level of righteousness, but now that true knowledge has been communicated and committed to all, He requires all men every where to repent (Acts 17:30). The next chapters will compare the two Covenants (the Law of Moses and the Law of Faith) to show that in reality, even the Old Covenant law was, at its core, a law of faith. It will also become evident that the Law of Faith supersedes and fulfills the Old Law.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The Law did not provide a practical remedy for Sin (Rom 8:3-4), although it did propose one. If a man were to keep every detail of the Law, he would be shown to be righteous and just. That has been shown to be impossible, for no man can keep the law. Even if he were to keep the whole law but offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10). So, truly the Apostle says of the Law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God (v19). The Law showed what is sin, and by the Law is the knowledge of sin spread through the whole world.
The Old Covenant did provide an interim solution to the sin problem in the form of cleansing rituals and sacrifices. Those acts of penitence provided a covering for those sins, but it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin (Heb 10:4). The souls of the OT saints would have to wait until the right blood was shed and then their sins could be truly taken away (Heb 11:40). Appropriately, the Hebrew word kaphar means “to atone, to cover.” The ark of Noah was covered (kaphar) with pitch so that it would not sink on its watery journey to the new world.
It is evident then, that by the deeds of the Law no man can be justified, for doing good deeds will never undo bad deeds already committed. And every man is guilty of bad deeds, especially the Jews (see v10-18). Paul said to the Antiochian Jews, Ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses…but by (Christ) all that believe are justified from all things (Acts 13:39). To be justified and to be saved are essentially synonymous actions of God. Justification seems to emphasize the very act of cleansing a man’s soul of sinfulness, for the word really means “to be made holy” (see Rom 2:13). Salvation emphasizes the condition of being accepted in the beloved, grafted into the vine of Christ. The word really means “to be healed, preserved, made whole.”
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
The core concept of these verses is: “The righteousness of God coupled with the Law could not cleanse (justify) any man of his sins, but now the righteousness of God without the Law has come; namely, Jesus Christ who the Law and prophets foretold. And by faith in Him any man can be cleansed completely (justified freely) by His grace on account of the ransom Christ has paid.”
Two key aspects of the Atonement are here portrayed: The taking away of sin from a man’s soul, and the deliverance of a man’s soul from the power of Satan. These dual concepts correspond to two actions Christ performed at His death and resurrection (see Rom 4:25). They are essential for Man to be reconciled to God. See my treatise on the Atonement for this subject.
The New Covenant righteousness, which came without the Law, was nevertheless witnessed by the Law and the prophets (v21). These types, shadows and prophecies were hidden from Jewish understanding until after Christ’s resurrection. But with the transforming of their minds came the knowledge of new truths, and their hearts burned within them as the Scriptures were opened unto spectacular confirmation (Luke 24:27, 32). The New Testament is filled with analogies, symbols and spiritual language from the Law and the prophets. However, our modern, western minds often miss their beauty and meaning. Careful, deep study will find beautiful treasures in the Word (Mat 13:52).
For there is no difference. Jew or Gentile, all have sinned and fallen short. The Scripture hath concluded all under sin (Gal 3:22). Thus, no man can save himself. His sins have disqualified him. He can do nothing to re-instate himself into righteousness. From his perspective, his condition is hopeless.
Justified freely by His grace. These are wonderful words to the ears of every man. Man is not required to earn his cleansing from sin. Praise God, for no man would then be saved (see previous verses). Only by ignoring the rest of Scripture might a person infer from this verse that man does nothing at all, and that God arbitrarily decides to make one man holy (justify him) but chooses to leave another man unholy. Through faith in His blood a man is chosen for salvation (v25). Faith is a work that man must accomplish or he will not receive God’s grace, he will not be made holy, he will not be redeemed (1Thes 1:3; John 6:29; Mat 14:31). This is the law of Faith (v27) that the Apostle Paul holds forth to his readers in this chapter. A law requires acts of obedience, a faith requires acts of evidence. A covenant is an two-party agreement. Both sides agree to its terms and both sides must work to keep the terms. God is always faithful and will always keep His side.
Grace is often falsely construed to be a quality in God that allows Him to disregard a man’s sinfulness. “Saved by grace.” Actually, grace is God’s power in the life of a person who has shown himself to be worthy. Not that he has earned God’s grace, but that he has shown his heart to be after God (2Chr 16:9). It is absurdity to think that God would create a World in which Man can act as he wishes and “be saved by grace.” That is essentially the theology of many Protestants. The Scriptures show that God chose to save Noah because he deserved it (Gen 6:8) and that is true for every person in any age. See Rom 11:6.
Some commentators have thought Paul and James disagreed on whether it is faith that justifies a man, or works. That is not true. The works that Paul say cannot justify man are the works of the Law (Rom 3:28; 9:32), while the works James says do justify a man are the good works that evidence his confession of belief on Christ (James 2:24). See my note for Romans 4:3.
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
The wide variation of Bible versions demonstrates the difficulty of translating these two verses from the original language. The largest point of discrepancy is the meaning of the Greek word hilasterion, which the KJV translates “propitiation,” and the NIV “sacrifice of atonement.” Those translations stray far from the actual usage of that word elsewhere in the Greek Scriptures. In Hebrews 9:5 it is translated mercy seat in reference to the lid upon the Ark of the Covenant and that is its common meaning in the Septuagint (see Ex 25:17-22).
According to Webster’s old English dictionary, a propitiation is “the act of appeasing wrath…atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage His wrath and render Him propitious to sinners.” While that idea was undoubtedly part of the Judaic sacrificial offerings (see note on Rom 5:11), the fact is that nowhere in the Greek Bible, Old or New Testament, does hilasterion even approximate that usage or definition. According to Strong’s, the word is formed from hilaskomai and thusiasterion. The first word means “to be favorably disposed or merciful,” and the second word signifies an “altar.” The Septuagint translators consistently used hilasterion for the Hebrew word for mercy seat (kapporeth), which is related to kaphar (to atone or cover), so Paul’s Jewish audience would certainly have heard, “mercy seat,” and not, “propitiation.”
Obviously, Jesus is not the literal mercy seat in the Jewish temple, so the translators sought to give the spiritual meaning of the term. While that technique is common in the other Bible translations, it is very out of character for the KJV, which follows a word-for-word rendering that requires the reader to study out deeper meanings. For that reason alone the KJV will always hold the top position in Bible translations. Consider for example, the words of Psalm 18:2, “God is the horn of my salvation.” What does it mean? Fortunately for us, the KJV consistently translates that word throughout the Old Testament so by comparative reading we quickly understand that the Psalmist means, “power” (see Ps 148:14; Jer 48:25). In fact, I would guess that any English speaking person familiar with the Bible knew immediately the figurative meaning of “horn.” Yet, when I learned Spanish, I was shocked and disappointed that Spanish Bibles do not read “horn” in those passages, but “power.” Without going to the original Hebrew, a Spanish person will never know of this symbolism. It was a calculated action by later updaters, for the original Casiodoro Bible does read “horn.” The KJV is a beautiful, largely literal translation of the original Scriptures. Our appreciation for it is deepened by minor anomalies such as this one in Rom 3:25.
In the original languages, the term mercy seat is related to mercy, forgiveness and grace. Jesus Christ is a hilasterion in that He is the means whereby we might obtain mercy. Some scholars stress the point that Jesus’ death averted the wrath of God upon sinners and in that sense the Atonement appeased God. I don’t disagree. Yes, God’s wrath will fall upon all those wicked men who are not saved by the blood of His Son (Rev 6:17; Rom 5:9; 1Thes 1:10), but that is not the central truth or meaning of hilasterion.
The Ark of the Covenant was made of three parts, the Ark (or chest), the Mercy Seat (lid) and the Cherubim (statue of angels) above. The final two articles, the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim, were made of one beaten piece of gold. Only the High Priest was allowed to view the Ark of the Covenant, and just once every year, upon the observance of the most sacred, solemn rite of Judaic worship system known as the Day of Atonement. The ceremony required the High Priest to take the blood of a bullock and a goat behind the vail into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it seven times upon the mercy seat. I remember my Grandpa teaching on this beautiful Old Testament shadow of the cross, “The Passover typifies the blood of Christ shed, but the Atonement typifies the blood of Christ accepted at the heavenly throne of God.” The death of Christ opened the heavenly doors of mercy and grace unto Mankind.
My thought translation of these verses:
“Whom God has set forth to be a Mercyseat (means of obtaining mercy) by faith in His blood, and thereby show His righteousness by the forgiveness of sins previously committed, through the longsuffering of God. This action declares even now His righteousness in that He is just and the Justifier of the one that has faith in Jesus.”
God, not acting in accordance to the just merits of man’s deeds but according to His longsuffering and mercy, has ordained a Mercyseat whereby a man can be forgiven of the sins he has committed. That is the meaning of this verse, in my view, for it conforms perfectly with the context of this passage and especially the next verse.
The remission of sins that are past. Not the sins of the present and future as the Calvinists teach, but past sins – sins that are past. It is utterly anti-Biblical to think that upon a person’s initial salvation, God would sign a waiver affirming that this man has already achieved eternal life and that no sinful act will ever separate Him from God. Again, the structural basis of a Covenant is a pact between two parties (a man and God) agreeing to certain terms that both will respect and keep. See Mat 21:43.
Which believeth in Jesus. The Greek is in noun form and so would probably be better translated, “which has faith in Jesus.”
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
We showed in the note on the previous verse that God, acting in longsuffering and mercy, has provided a Mercyseat whereby man can be forgiven of his sins. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. Why? Because justification has been shown to be an act of God’s mercy entirely apart from doing the deeds of the Law. No man can boast that he has earned his salvation or has saved himself (Eph 2:9). Some of Paul’s audience were nevertheless trying to gain salvation by following the Old Covenant (Rom 2:17; 3:19-20; 9:31-32). Therefore, his next case will be to show that even under the OC a man was not justified by his works alone, but that faith was also required. The life of Abraham is a prime example.
Justification is simply the full forgiveness of a man’s sins such that he can enter again into right communion with his Maker. It means that a man has been cleansed, purified and made holy before God. Justification is entirely God’s work and he has fore-ordained and communicated to us the criteria for choosing who will be justified – him which believeth in Jesus (v26). Or in the words of the present verse, those who follow the Law of Faith, which is a completely new Way, entirely separate from following the deeds of the Law. This is the fully-mature Faith that saves, and not just a general profession of belief in Christ. It is a law of faith, the New Covenant, a code of principles and stipulations, the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3; Rom 1:5). See my notes for Mat 14:31.
In his German translation of the Bible, the heretic Martin Luther famously added a word to this verse that is not found in the Greek: A man is justified by faith alone without the deeds of the Law. When confronted by his Catholic enemies of this interpolation his argument included the following:
“If your papists wish to make a great fuss about the word “alone”, say this to him: ‘Dr. Martin Luther will have it so and he says that a papist and an ass are the same thing.’ I will it, I command it; my will is reason enough. I can exegete the psalms and prophets, and they cannot. I can translate, and they cannot. I can read Holy Scriptures, and they cannot. I can pray, they cannot…Please do not give these asses any other answer to their useless braying about that word “sola” than simply, ‘Luther will have it so, and he says that he is a doctor above all the papal doctors.’ I will, from now on, hold them in contempt, and have already held them in contempt, as long as they are the kind of people that they are – asses, I should say. And there are brazen idiots among them who have never learned their own art of sophistry – like Dr. Schmidt and Snot-Nose, and such like them” (Martin Luther, “Open letter on Translating”).
Luther rejected all good works on the part of a Christian. He wrote, “There is no scandal greater, more dangerous, more venomous, than a good outward life, manifested by good works and a pious mode of life. That is the grand portal, the highway, that leads to damnation.” Dig into Luther’s writings (which are not readily available in English) and you will be shocked and disgusted at his arrogant attitude, filthy mouth, blasphemous statements, heretical teaching and wicked lifestyle. He is a disgrace to Christianity.
29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
There is one God who justifies all, Jew and Gentile, by this same law of faith. Paul then asks, “Has the Old Testament Law been shown to be of no good use?” Not at all. The Law was good and right for its time, and even now continues to be highly useful in pointing both Jew and Gentile to the one and only God of creation. But now, Christ’s law of faith has replaced the law of Moses (Heb 8:13). Christ fulfilled the requirements of the Law and also the types and shadows of His new work, thereby establishing the Law.