A Study Of The Book Of Romans Lesson #8 Series

Book of Romans

Lesson #8

Romans 3:1-3:12

By Rev. James May

Since it has been a few weeks since we last taught on Romans, let us digress just a little and go to the beginning of Chapter 3. If you will recall, what we had studied was that Paul was trying to tell the Jews that they were no more qualified to lead the church, or to the teach their fellow Christians in Rome anything concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Jews had assumed that just because they had Moses and the Law that they should have a greater understanding of the gospel, but this was simply not the case. In fact, the Jews, in this instance at least, knew nothing more than their Gentile counterparts. All of them, both Jew and Gentile, were new converts to Christianity, and they all needed to grow and mature in the faith before either one could lay claim to being a teacher among his peers.

In spite of Paul’s words saying that the Jews had no advantage over the Gentiles as far as their knowledge and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ was concerned, Paul was also willing to acknowledge that there was some advantage to the Jews in Rome, simply because it was through the Jews that the gospel had come as Jesus, their Messiah had come from Israel, God’s chosen nation for most of recorded history.

Now let’s continue on with our verses.

Romans 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

Romans 3:2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

Romans 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

So, did the Jews have an advantage, or was there any spiritual profit in the obedience to their law, and did the obedience of circumcision give them any special privileges?

Paul says, Yes, in every way, the Jews were at an advantage in their relationship with God, in their knowledge that God was real, and in the fact that they, among all of the nations and people of the earth, had been chosen to receive God’s Law, and to be called the people of God.

And though many of the Jews did not believe in Jesus, and even many of them had failed to believe in God’s power and keep the faith, the failure of these Jews did not negate in any way the choices that God had made in dealing with Israel.

The disobedience of those who rejected God, of those who crucified Christ, and who had their understanding darkened by unbelief, did not nullify the Covenant that God had made with Abraham. Neither did their unbelief nullify the Covenant of the New Testament. In spite of the naysayers, God still was dealing with Israel as his chosen people, and now had added to their ranks those Gentiles who would accept Jesus by faith.

Romans 3:4 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.

The actions of men, whether in unbelief, or in obedience to the call of God in faith will never alter the plan of God. His plans are fixed and he already knows the end from the beginning. In spite of men, or with the help of obedient servants, God’s will shall be done in all things.

Let no man think that he has the power to change the prophecies of God’s Word! Let no man believe that he, as a man of faith and power with God, could ever cause even one Word of God’s Holy Bible to not be fulfilled!

God is true, and stands by his word, and though men are often rebellious and inconsistent, and sometimes even outright sinful, God’s Word will not fail, for God cannot fail. What he says he will do, he will bring it to pass in spite of what men may do.

God’s promise to Abraham to make him the father of a great nation came to pass in spite of the fact that Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands and made a mess of things. God still brought Isaac along, and birthed through Abraham and Sarah and great nation through the 12 sons of Isaac.

God made a promise to David that he would make him King of Israel and establish his throne. In spite of David’s failures as a King and as a man of God, God still fulfilled his promise to David through his son, Solomon. Even though David tried to rush God’s promise and perpetrated the terrible crimes of adultery and conspiracy to commit murder, and then tried to lie about it, God still held up his end of the promise and made David a great king in Israel in spite of himself.