All Have Sinned…

This blog will take a quick look at Romans chapter 3. I was taught in Bible college that the Apostle Paul wrote Romans as a treatise on LAW vs. GRACE. In retrospect, I have now found they couldn’t have been more wrong! Instead, Romans 3 is about JESUS, THE CENTER OF HUMANITY’S UNIVERSE. Let’s see how the Apostle Paul communicates that in Romans chapter 3. My previous blog on chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the Galatians holds the key to understanding the truth in this chapter. If you haven’t read that, make sure you read it either first or for sure after this blog.

Let’s take a look at the important verses in Romans chapter 3:

21 But now apart from the Law righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God of Jews only? Is He not of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is One.

31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

You really should read Romans 1-2 before reading this, so you can get the overall context of this chapter. You will see that Paul sets the foundation of God’s requirements for surviving on Judgment Day. Now let me summarize the context of Romans 3:

GOD’S REDEMPTION THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS
AS OPPOSED TO ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP (OR ANYTHING ELSE).

This is basically the same as Galatians chapter 3. Romans chapters 1-2 constitute Paul’s argument about the effect of God’s Law on mankind, operating as a funnel through which all humans eventually get processed. By God’s Law, we mean God’s standard by which He determines who can have a relationship with Him. No matter what happens to anyone in this life, eventually everyone gets forced through that funnel (God’s Law) at the end, which happens on Judgment Day. In the meantime, God won’t have a relationship with anyone unless they rise up to the level of the righteousness that He requires. Those who rely on Jesus Christ’s work have an ‘in’. Those who do not, don’t. I’m not going to get into all the Redemption stuff in this blog. Instead, I want to briefly make the point that JESUS IS THE CAUSE AND EFFECT OF HUMANITY’S REDEMPTION.

Let’s start by working this argument backwards. Let me start with legal arguments. If you want to win in a legal battle in the courts, you absolutely must plan for appeal to the highest court. That means you have to work your case backwards. This is not for the faint of heart! Unless you are very well versed in litigation, you don’t stand a chance against someone who is, especially if they come against you with a team of maggots (lawyers). So that’s what we’re going to do with this text in Romans 3. First let’s take a look at v 31, because this is the nexus to Paul’s argument in Galatians 3:

31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Romans 3)

Compare that with what Paul says in Galatians 3 on the same exact subject:

21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be!
(Galatians 3)

In Galatians 3 we saw the reason that LAW does not nullify FAITH. Here Paul is asking the reverse, essentially stating that FAITH does not nullify LAW. By ‘law’ we mean the Law COVENANT that Moses mediated for the nation Israel. By FAITH we mean the Promise COVENANT that God gave to Abraham which resulted in Jesus coming into existence. Note that FAITH in Romans 3:31 is equated with the PROMISE covenant, as we saw in our Galatians 3 blog. So don’t get confused by the flip-flopping of words here (FAITH=PROMISE).

Remember that the whole point of Galatians 3 is

THESE ARE TWO ENTIRELY SEPARATE COVENANT AGREEMENTS
THEY DO NOT OVERLAP IN ANY WAY
THEY DO NOT AFFECT EACH OTHER IN ANY WAY

That is why “we establish the Law” (above). It’s because the Faith (Promise) Covenant has no effect on the Law Covenant, and vice versa. In other words, instead of the Faith Covenant having the power to cancel the Law Covenant, instead the Faith Covenant leaves the Law covenant alone to ‘stand in law’ as it always did. Therefore, “faith establishes the law” by not interfering with it. Now we should be able to see why and how Faith can never nullify the Law. In other words, God’s COVENANT with Israel can never affect God’s COVENANT that brought Jesus into the world, and vice versa. That’s what Paul is saying.

Now let’s move on to v 28:

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (Romans 3)

We can take that same Galatians 3 principle and apply it to this verse. Thus we now know why and how faith rather than law justifies a man. Remember from Galatians 3 that faith is the means by which people enter God’s Kingdom under Jesus, whereas citizenship in Israel was the means by which people entered God’s Kingdom under Moses. Also recall from Galatians 3 that God no longer needed Israel once Jesus showed up (tutor = national Israel):

25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galatians 3)

Combine those two principles and you get the meaning of v 28. In other words,

SINCE GOD NO LONGER NEEDED ISRAEL AFTER JESUS SHOWED UP,
AND SINCE YOU GET INTO GOD’S KINGDOM THROUGH FAITH,
YOU NO LONGER NEED TO BE A CITIZEN OF ISRAEL TO GET INTO GOD’S KINGDOM.

That’s ALL Paul is saying here.

Now let’s take one more step backwards and look at v 27:

Where then is boasting? It is excluded.
By what kind of law?
Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
(Romans 3)

WHO is Paul talking about is doing the boasting? ISRAEL, of course! Let me show you want I mean right from the NT:

21 And He [God] said to me [the Apostle Paul], “Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” 22 They [Israeli public officials] listened to him up to this statement, and they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air… (Acts 22)

Note: “throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air” is a legal act signifying that they witnessed blasphemy. Take a look at the Gentile military officer’s response to this:

…the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. (Acts 22:24)

The Roman officer had no idea why they were carrying on like that! Eventually he figured it out. And what was it all about?

28 “And wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their Council; 29 and I found him to be accused over questions about their Law, but under no accusation deserving death or imprisonment. (Acts 23)

So there you have it. Paul did nothing worthy of death (or imprisonment), yet the arrogant Israeli public officials (Jews) wanted to execute him. According to 2nd Temple law, blasphemers got the death penalty.

So now you can see what I mean when I say Paul, himself a ‘Jew’, talks about arrogant 2nd Temple political leaders. The context of that historical account shows you that the initial issue was Paul bringing a Gentile into the Temple, not to mention the other issue about them putting a ‘hit’ on Paul for ‘defecting’ and working against their political agendas. I talked a bit about Israel’s mentality of superiority over all nations of the world in previous blogs. But since it’s a huge legal subject, I won’t get into it here. Suffice to say, when Paul told the public officials that God told him to go to the Gentiles, that caught them completely by surprise and was in fact, so repulsive to them, that they ‘lost it’!

Another example of this arrogance is seen in Romans 2. There Paul explains at length what that arrogance consists of. You can see it if you think in terms of real life. It’s a political thing, so you have to put on your bureaucrat glasses and think like a bureaucrat. Here is one example of what he says:

But if you bear the name “Jew,” and rely upon the Law, and boast in God
(Romans 2:17)

In light of this context, Paul is telling us that Israel has absolutely no basis for boasting. Boasting about what? About being a theocracy, with all their laws and legal processes that are supposed to be based on the Mosaic Law. Let’s face it, 1st Temple Israel was the only Theocracy that ever existed in all human history! When you consider what made Israel a Theocracy, you realize that 2nd Temple Israel was not actually a Theocracy (YHWH’s Presence was not in the Temple!). In any case, the tradition of being that Theocracy meant that Israel was the only pathway to a relationship with God in the entire world and span of human history.

Creating that kind of nation is quite a feat! Today I would rather live in a Theocracy under YHWH than in any man-made government! But as we’ve seen, a good Theocracy is dependent on the integrity of the people in power. So, whether with non-Jews or Jews, where does that leave us? In pretty much the same place… Outta luck! Why? Because of the inexplicable direction all men in power inevitably take: godhood! LOL…they think they are better than everybody else, right? Now think about it: If you were in power, and you got corrupted, and if your power had God’s authority backing it, then how much more arrogant would you be? See what I mean? Well, Paul has something to say about that, and it isn’t what power-brokers want to hear, esp. Theocratic power-brokers like ancient Israel! What does he say to them?

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. (Romans 3:27)

On what basis might I ask? On the basis that it isn’t about WORKS (works of the law, v 20), meaning, it isn’t your NATIONAL LAW and DIVINE AUTHORIZATION that makes you superior. Instead, it’s all about FAITH. You can’t promote yourself when you have to get on your knees and beg for something. And people who must rely on FAITH in God must first set aside their ego and get on their knees and beg God for forgiveness while promising to quit violating His Law. It’s called REPENTANCE.

So there you have it. God’s Promise-Covenant to Abraham, made 3,500 years ago, cancels human ego…even the most polished human ego, that of the Jew. Gentile ruler ego doesn’t hold a candle to the Jew’s! How does Paul say it?

By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
(Romans 3:27)

In other words, if you choose to go the Faith route (essentially begging), then you can’t claim it’s your own system that gets you where your begging got you. That’s what Paul means by Faith. In Galatians 3 we explained it in detail because that’s his NT letter that defines that term. Keep in mind that Faith has to do with the works that Jesus did when he showed up on the scene. It has nothing to do with the nation Israel. Is it any wonder the 2nd Temple political agents hunted Paul down around the world to put him to death? Again, we looked at this in my previous blog.

Let me make one more point about this:

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. (Romans 3:27)

Note Paul’s contrast between WORKS and FAITH. Remember, he’s talking about two different Covenants. The Covenant of WORKS vs. the Covenant of FAITH. Or as he says in Galatians, the MOSAIC Covenant vs. the ABRAHAMIC Covenant. MOSES=LAW=WORKS=CONDITIONAL vs. ABRAHAM=PROMISE=FAITH=GIFT. In other words, WORKS arises out of a Conditional Agreement based on an obligation to obey, whereas FAITH arises out of a Free Gift that consists of Promises with no conditions and no obligations attached to it. So…

– Since each Covenant stands on its own merits in the legal realm; and
– Since there are 2 different Covenants which do not affect each other; and
– Since God established entry into his Kingdom through FAITH (beginning with Jesus post-Israel);
– Therefore, the legal theory (“kind of law”) that establishes Faith also excludes boasting due to the nature of its process (begging without ego or duplicity for those wanting to enter the free gift promise covenant after the time of its inception).

The end result, which is the goal of all this, is:

29 Or is God of Jews only? Is He not of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. (Romans 3)

First let me say that Paul, having said ‘God…is one’, may have been looking forward to the Messianic future Kingdom of God that Zechariah 14:9 talks about:

And the Lord (YHWH) will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord (YHWH) will be one, and His name one.

It’s also possible that Paul is merely affirming something every 2^nd Temple citizen already knew ‘by heart’ about YHWH: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4), and then applied that well-known fact to this discussion.

Either way, the point is that all humanity will be under God’s rule, just as He intended from the days of Adam and Eve before they sinned. So, God is everyone’s God. That is, all humanity’s God. Why? Because God is the God of creation, the One [true/only] God of all things created. There is no exclusive club here that only Jews belong to. That’s not what God had in mind from the beginning at creation, or at the beginning of the nation Israel, as you can see from the OT Prophets and the NT literature (e.g., Daniel 7:13-14, Revelation 19:15-16). So, whether you are an Israeli citizen (“circumcised”) or a Gentile (“uncircumcised”), God can be your God, because of Jesus. No more exclusivity!

Along these lines, when you read the book of Acts you find two main themes in it. First, you find that the Jews absolutely refused to acknowledge Jesus as God’s Christ (Israel’s Messiah). They fought the Apostles everywhere they went, even in the Gentile nations. Talk about troublemakers! Second, you find the Jews refusing to accept the fact that non-Jews had a right to be part of God’s Kingdom on their own without becoming Jews (2nd Temple citizens).

So, just like Paul says in Galatians, he repeats here in Romans without contradicting himself:

29 Or is God of Jews only? Is He not of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is One. (Romans 3)

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3)

What does Paul identify as the cause of this blessing? As stated above, all who believe in Jesus are Abraham’s descendants (they are under the Abrahamic Covenant, NOT the Mosaic Covenant).

Now let’s back up a bit more to finish the Romans 3 text:

21 But now apart from the Law righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction…
(Romans 3)

WHY?

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

That verse is one of the most used and abused verses in the entire Evangelical Christian world! They use it to sell their religious fire insurance policies. You know… to sell seats in their churches, so they can collect more money in their baskets on SUNdays, so they can build their ‘mighty’ earthly commerce fiefdoms and harems. They are no better than your typical lazy, greedy lawyers (maggots)! Anyway…

In the above verses, let’s note the contrast between both Covenants. Paul essentially skips past the Mosaic Covenant and focuses on the Abrahamic Covenant. Notice how he says it. APART FROM THE LAW. He is telling us to forget about the Mosaic Covenant because it’s irrelevant, and instead, focus on the Abrahamic Covenant. And let’s look at it in terms of the RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENT that God has for mankind. He tells us we can find that Righteousness in the OT Law and Prophets. He identifies the basis of that Righteousness to be “through faith in Christ Jesus”. So now we know it comes to us ‘through faith’. But what exactly is this Righteousness?

First let’s go back to Galatians 3 to see Paul’s explanation of why Romans 3:23 is true. We’ll summarize here. It’s because NO ONE CAN RISE TO THE LEVEL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT GOD REQUIRES IN ORDER TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. And you can’t get it by being an obedient 2nd Temple citizen, ‘religious Jew’ (Hassid), or anything else. You can only get it in the manner God requires. And as we saw in Galatians 3, it comes through faith in Jesus based on the promise God made to Abraham (to bless all the nations of the world through his ‘seed’, Jesus). So here it is again… Same theory. Same basic language. It never did and never will come through BECOMING A CITIZEN OF ISRAEL (and thereby being required to obey God’s Law as a Jew (= citizen of Israel). Never, ever!

Note however, I’m NOT saying that we DON’T have to obey God’s Law! I’m merely saying that you can never satisfy God’s requirement for being RIGHTEOUS through CITIZENSHIP IN ISRAEL (and all it entails).

And the reason?

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed… (Romans 3)

Firstly, note that it’s all about God’s righteousness (per above). Moreover, long before Jesus showed up on the scene, the OT prophets ‘witnessed’ this righteousness, which was a whole different kind of righteousness than 1st Temple government righteousness. That’s what seeing Jesus in the OT Prophets is all about. It’s about them ‘seeing Jesus’ before he was born, and not knowing exactly who they were looking at, so to speak. Notice Paul calls this righteousness … through faith (v 22), just like he did in Galatians 3 based on the Abrahamic Covenant of Promise. And that faith is in Jesus Christ, not Israeli citizenship. It applies solely to all who believe, not all who get circumcised. This condition restricts membership into God’s Kingdom, albeit by one’s own choice.

Then Paul calls this a gift, just like he did Galatians 3. This gift is God’s redemption, which He provides to us because He’s a nice Guy. That’s basically what grace is. Talk about another used and abused Bible term?! Just think of it in terms of what we’ve been discussing, and you’ll get the meaning loud and clear.

GRACE IS GOD’S FULFILLED PROMISE TO ABRAHAM:
THE WORLD’S REDEEMER, JESUS.

Try as they might, humans can’t make this happen, so God did it for us. That’s pretty much it. If it was the devil, you can bet he would let us hang out to dry! So what is God’s righteousness? It is God’s redemptive punishment of Jesus, instead of us. That is how God showed His righteousness to humanity and His love for us.

The rest of that verse is a detailed synopsis of what that grace entailed in terms of Jesus’ life. It is God’s works for us through him. Note the term God’s forbearance. That means God never actually forgave any of the people under the Mosaic system of government (Israel). He merely overlooked their sins. How? I think it was by His requirement of trading innocent animal lives for sinful human lives, in order to keep the people alive as his ‘chosen people’. Just like the Hebrews writer says:

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9)

Basically, God gave Israel a gigantic long-term ‘soul-loan’, knowing that one day He would pay off that loan for them by Jesus dying on the cross. You can see it right there in that Hebrews text in black and white: Cleansing of the FLESH vs. cleansing of the CONSCIENCE = the difference between FORBEARANCE and REDEMPTION.

26 for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3)

It’s all about demonstration. God had to show it to us, not just talk about it! God markets His goods by providing us the evidence, not merely by yapping about it like salesmen and public officials do. How many professional foolish talkers do we see in the world today? It’s so bad here in America that you can’t escape it anywhere! You get inundated with this garbage everywhere you go, day-in and day-out, false promises and lies upon lies. It’s out of control. Enough already! And for what? Profits? Mind Control? Ego? Nothing good can come from it!

Anyway, instead of frivolous yapping and empty promises, God demonstrated (“displayed publically,” v25) His ‘legal theory’ by providing all humanity with access to the level of righteousness that He requires for people, in order for them to enjoy a relationship with Him. And He did it through Jesus, not Israel. And you get it by faith in Jesus. That is, if you understand what Jesus was all about, and what God had him do for us. Otherwise, it’s a commercial con job, a cheap fire insurance policy, that won’t pay off in the next life. It’s just empty talk! God is consistently just, so He invented a way to justify anybody who chooses to take Him up on His offer. That’s what God demonstrated to us… His justice. Or else we’d all be outta luck!

So there you have Paul’s legal theory found in Romans chapter 3. It’s based on the LEGAL FORM AND PROCESS of the ancient COVENANTS God made with ABRAHAM and ISRAEL (through Moses). The Abrahamic Covenant applies to us even today. But the Israeli Covenant is irrelevant in terms of God’s Kingdom today, now that Jesus gives us access to God. It’s all by God’s gracious kindness that we can come under His blessings, thanks to Jesus, God’s beloved Son!

Oh, and in case you think that means you don’t have to obey God’s law, that’s another topic entirely. But just in case you want something to think about, let’s focus on what Paul says about Jesus in that regard. He says we need to make it our goal to be like Jesus:

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4)

That’s talking about the goals for individuals of the covenant communities (churches). In other words, Paul worked with the churches so they would help every individual to ‘become like Jesus’. That means, regardless of whether or not you’re in a church, if you consider yourself a Christian, then your lifestyle and mindset is supposed to be the same as Jesus’. But just in case you need more specificity, check out this statement:

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5)

So there you have it. Since Jesus kept God’s law perfectly (the way God wants humans to obey Him), and since Christians are required to be like Jesus, then it’s logical to conclude that Christians are supposed to obey God’s law like Jesus did. And when you read what Paul says in Romans 2 about God’s law…

having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth (Romans 2:20)

…then you’d be a fool to think about it any other way. So don’t think that you’re off the hook in obeying God’s law just because God doesn’t administrate His Kingdom through Israel any longer. Not true. The law of God has not changed because it is the law of His Kingdom. I discuss this in other blogs, and will do so again more specifically in some future blogs.

OK, that was a bit longer than I expected so thanks for hanging in there!

We look forward to seeing you in the next blog.

(A big thanks goes out to my good friend Jim for editing this blog for grammar and content!)