Romans 3:1–31: The Verdict on All and the Righteousness of God Revealed (two sessions)

Says The advantage of the Jew is “Much in every way” (3:2). First, “they have been entrusted with the very words of God” (3:2): τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ (ta logia tou theou). Paul asks, “Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?” (3:3), and answers, “Let God be true and every man a liar” (3:4). ἡ πίστις τοῦ θεοῦ (hē pistis tou theou) is God's faithfulness, and καταργέω (katargeō) means to make ineffective.

Says The words “every man a liar” are the Greek of Ps 116:11 (LXX 115:2) with “and” (δέ, de) added. The next words, “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge” (3:4), are Ps 51:4 (MT 51:6; LXX 50:6), and Paul follows the Greek. Swete's LXX, the Byzantine text, and the TR have the subjunctive νικήσῃς (nikēsēs); SBLGNT prints the future νικήσεις (nikēseis). Implies Paul takes over the words of Ps 116:11 without a citation formula; with Ps 51:4 they set God's truthfulness against human falsehood.

Says “But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us?” (3:5). “Certainly not! In that case, how could God judge the world?” (3:6). “However, if my falsehood accentuates God’s truthfulness, to the increase of His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” (3:7). “Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”?” (3:8). Paul rejects false inferences with μὴ γένοιτο (mē genoito, “Certainly not!”; 3:4, 6, 31). The sentence of 3:8 is not completed grammatically, and ὅτι (hoti) introduces direct speech.

Implies The answer of 3:6 rests on common ground: God will judge the world, so he cannot be unjust when he inflicts wrath. Paul's gospel of grace was slandered as a license to sin; he answers the same charge in 6:1 and 6:15 and rejects the inference without softening the message. The Byzantine text and the TR read γάρ (gar) for δέ (de) in 3:7, which changes only the connection.

Says “What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin” (3:9). προῃτιασάμεθα (proētiasametha, “we have already made the charge”) points back to 1:18–2:29. The chain opens, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (3:10), and closes, “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (3:18). Its sources: - 3:10–12: Ps 14:1–3 (= Ps 53:1–3). ποιῶν χρηστότητα (poiōn chrēstotēta, “does good”) agrees with LXX Ps 13:3. δίκαιος (dikaios, “righteous,” 3:10) is not in the psalm; compare Eccl 7:20. - 3:13: LXX Ps 5:10 (ENG 5:9) and Ps 139:4 (ENG 140:3), word for word. - 3:14: a shortened form of LXX Ps 9:28 (ENG 10:7). - 3:15–17: a shortened form of Isa 59:7–8; Prov 1:16 has almost the same Hebrew as Isa 59:7. - 3:18: LXX Ps 35:2 (ENG 36:1), with “their” for “his.”

Says Swete's Ps 13:3, which follows Codex B, carries all of Rom 3:13–18 after the psalm's own words; Codex A omits the addition. Implies The chain moves from character (3:10–12) to speech (3:13–14), to deeds (3:15–17), and to the root, the absence of the fear of God (3:18). οὐκ ἔστιν (ouk estin, “there is no”) frames it at both ends.

Says “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God” (3:19). ὑπόδικος (hypodikos) means answerable to a judge. “Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin” (3:20); the noun is ἐπίγνωσις (epignōsis, “knowledge, recognition”).

Says 3:20 follows Ps 143:2: כִּי לֹא־יִצְדַּק לְפָנֶיךָ כָל־חָי (ki lo'-yitsdaq lefaneykha khol-khay, “for no one living is righteous before you,” literal). Paul writes πᾶσα σάρξ (pasa sarx, “all flesh,” literal) for the Greek πᾶς ζῶν (pas zōn, “everyone living”), and he adds ἐξ ἔργων νόμου (ex ergōn nomou, “by works of the law”), as in Gal 2:16. The psalmist appeals to God's faithfulness and righteousness, not his own (Ps 143:1).

Implies If no one living is righteous before God's judgment, works of the law cannot gain that verdict, and righteousness must come from God (3:21–22).

Uncertain What τὰ λόγια (ta logia) are. The commentary leans to God's words to Israel as a whole, the Scriptures, because 3:4 and 3:10–19 go on to cite them as one body, and Acts 7:38 uses λόγια of what Moses received. The main alternative is the promises in particular.

Uncertain Whether ἠπίστησαν (ēpistēsan) and ἀπιστία (apistia) mean “were unfaithful” or “did not believe.” The commentary leans to unfaithfulness, because the words are set against God's faithfulness and follow the trust of 3:2. The main alternative is unbelief, which the BSB follows (“lack of faith”). On either reading, human failure does not cancel God's faithfulness.

Implies Either way, the trust carries accountability: the same Scriptures stop every mouth in 3:19. The Jew's advantage is a trust of God's word, not an exemption from judgment, since Jews and Greeks alike are under sin (3:9). The advantages are real (9:4–5); Paul does not withdraw them.

Implies In 3:3–7 God's faithfulness (3:3), truth (3:4, 7), and righteousness (3:5) are near-synonyms. θεοῦ δικαιοσύνη (theou dikaiosynē) in 3:5 is God's own justice and covenant faithfulness. It is presented alongside the gift sense of 3:21–22, not set against it. Implies In Ps 51 David confesses his sin so that God is shown to be in the right when he judges; Paul applies this to Israel.

Uncertain Whether κρίνεσθαί σε (krinesthai se, 3:4) is passive, “when you are judged” (literal), or middle, “when you go to law” (literal). The commentary leans to the passive: Abbott-Smith lists Rom 3:4 under the passive, νικάω (nikaō, “prevail”) fits a law court, and in 3:5–7 people put God on trial. The main alternative is the middle (compare BSB “when You judge”).

Uncertain Who the “I” of 3:7 is. The commentary leans to a rhetorical first person that voices the objector as any sinner. The main alternative is Paul himself, since 3:8 turns to “we.”

Implies Sin pervades the whole person: the understanding and the seeking of God (3:11), speech (3:13–14), conduct toward others (3:15–17), and the fear of God (3:18). The point is not that every person commits every sin, but that no part of human life is untouched. The team's position agrees with the Westminster Confession 6.2–4. Human inability is not argued here; it is treated at 8:7–8, and original sin at 5:12–21.

Implies Paul applies these portraits to Jews and Greeks alike (3:9, 19). Some were first spoken of Israel itself: Isa 59 is a charge against God's own people. Paul uses the chain as Scripture's own verdict on all people, Jews included.

Uncertain Whether Paul compiled the chain himself or took over an existing collection of texts (testimonia); it cannot be shown. Such collections are attested at Qumran (4Q174; 4Q175). The lines of 3:13–18 found in some manuscripts of Ps 13:3 match Romans word for word; they may have been copied from Romans or from such a collection, so they do not settle the question.

Uncertain What προεχόμεθα (proechometha) means. The commentary leans to a middle with active sense, “Are we any better?” (BSB). The main alternative is the passive, “are we surpassed?” (literal); a true middle, “do we make excuses?” (literal), is also proposed. Whether “we” are the Jews with Paul (lean) or Paul and his fellow believers (main alternative) is also open. A few witnesses read differently, but the printed text is secure.

Implies The phrase “under sin” means under sin's power (6:14; 7:14), not only guilty of particular sins.

Uncertain What ὁ νόμος (ho nomos, “the law”) means in 3:19. The commentary leans to the Scriptures as a whole, because the texts just quoted come from the Psalms and Isaiah. The main alternative is the Mosaic law in the narrow sense. Implies If Israel's own Scriptures condemn those who have them, no one can claim exemption; every mouth is stopped.

Uncertain What “works of the law” (ἔργα νόμου, erga nomou) are. The commentary leans to all that the law requires, boundary markers included: 3:20b ties them to the knowledge of sin, 2:21–23 names moral commandments, and 3:27–4:5 speaks of works in general. The narrower reading takes the practices that marked Israel off, such as circumcision, food laws, and the Sabbath, as chiefly in view.

Reported views (by reference, not the team's): E. P. Sanders described the Judaism of the period as “covenantal nomism,” entry into the covenant by grace and staying in it by obedience. Building on this, Dunn reads “works of the law” chiefly as Israel's distinguishing practices, and Wright reads them similarly as badges of covenant membership. Westerholm defends the older reading that they are the deeds the law requires, and Gathercole argues that the boasting excluded in 3:27 includes confidence in obedience to the law.

Uncertain Whether the 4QMMT parallel at Qumran points chiefly to the law's distinctive marks or to all that the law requires.

Implies On either reading, works of the law are excluded as the ground of justification; faith is the way a person is justified, and the ground is the redemption in Christ Jesus (3:24–25, 28). Through the law comes knowledge of sin, not righteousness.

Grounding: Says Their lack of faith does not nullify God's faithfulness; “Let God be true and every man a liar” (3:3–4). Implies On either reading of ἀπιστία (apistia), human failure does not cancel God's faithfulness. Keep the discussion on this, not on the open question of whether 3:3 means unbelief or unfaithfulness.

Grounding: Says Some slanderously claimed that Paul said, “Let us do evil that good may result,” and he calls their condemnation deserved (3:8). Implies The gospel of grace drew the charge of encouraging sin, and Paul rejects the inference without softening the message (6:1, 15). Point the group to both halves: grace is not softened, and sin is not excused. Do not build on the open question of who the slanderers were.

Grounding: Says Whatever the law says, it says so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God; no one will be justified in his sight by works of the law (3:19–20). Implies All people, Jew and Greek, are guilty before God (3:9, 19–20, 23), and righteousness must come from God (3:21–22). Let the session end on that need; session 2 opens with God's answer.