Romans 3:1-8

So Romans chapter 3 verses 1 through 8 will be our text today.

Romans 3:1–8

! My hope for this morning is to keep my comments brief, as I know many of us have good post-church plans,

and so we're going to get right into it. But I do want to say, as I was joking about rebuking fathers,

that I am generally and largely encouraged by the fathers of our church.

It doesn't go unnoticed that you men are working hard to lead your families well.

We always have improving to do, certainly things that could be addressed, but broadly I just want to say,

keep it up. Keep pressing. Rely on the grace of God to parent well in your homes.

So we're going to continue in Romans chapter 3. I have a sabbatical plan for July, and Lord willing,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

we will finish Romans chapter 3 before I leave for that. And so today we're going to look at the first eight verses.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

Before I read them, let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us, that it was written for his glory and for our good.

And so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

And Paul writes,

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 everyone were a liar, as it is written, that you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged.

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.

In today's text, Paul anticipates and responds to three potential objections to the doctrine he has taught in chapters 1 and 2 of his letter to the Romans.

Paul has a wonderful way of doing this all throughout this letter, as we'll see again and again.

And just coming to the first occasion of it, right, his anticipation of objections to what he's saying,

it just causes me to pause and consider the grace given to such a man as Paul.

His unique ethnic background, his training in the scriptures, and his intellect and ability to write.

I just hope for a moment you can appreciate, too, Paul himself and the way that God used him as he's laying out this treatise on the Christian faith.

He's in his own mind going, oh, people aren't going to like this, and I know exactly what they're going to say,

and more than likely had experienced these objections.

And so he's answering them right here in the text for his original readers and for us.

Moreover, his anticipation of objections causes me to pause at the grace given to us,

as we have the opportunity to study this letter together.

God is just truly gracious to his people.

I'm thankful for the clarity of the Bible and the labors of its writers moved by the Spirit

to help us to rightly understand all that's necessary for life and godliness.

So, in a sweeping summary fashion, there's a bit of me that wants to totally go through chapter 1 and 2 again

to help you understand why Paul will bring up these matters, but we can't do it with great length.

So, in a sweeping way, let's think together what Paul has taught so far that might elicit some objections.

Let's do so by reading a selection of verses from chapter 1 and 2,

and you may want to flip back pages and follow along with me.

We do well to begin with Romans chapter 1, verse 16 and 17.

Romans 1:16

I have said this is the thesis statement for the entirety of the letter.

There Paul says,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,

to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written,

the righteous shall live by faith.

Paul is proud of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation.

Not the law, but this good news of Jesus Christ.

This power is not limited to Jewish people only, those of Jewish descent,

but it is also efficacious for other ethnic groups as well.

The Jew first and also to the Greek would have been a broad extension of the gospel to all peoples.

And we see in just these two verses that we are saved by grace alone,

through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

This is the total theme of the book of Romans.

So he lays it out quick.

He's really unpacking the argument found in these two verses

all throughout the rest of the letter with their implications.

So he goes on, Romans chapter 2, verse 12 and 13.

Romans 2:12

Here he says,

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law.

He's there talking about those who are non-Jewish people,

who weren't aware, didn't have the Torah.

And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Verse 13, chapter 2,

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God,

but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Declared righteous before God.

Those who perfectly keep the law.

And he's established at great length through the last half of chapter 1

and into the beginning of chapter 2 and on to its end

that no one has kept the law perfectly.

Next week's text, he's going to continue to drive that very point.

You must keep the law with perfection in order to be justified.

We have justified before God and we can't.

And it leaves us in a great problem.

Romans chapter 2, verse 25.

Romans 2:25

There he says,

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law.

But if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

So if you have Jewish ethnicity, if you've been circumcised,

it's of value to you if you have perfectly kept the rest of the law.

But if you have not, then it becomes uncircumcision,

as if you're not God's people.

Skip down to verse 28.

There he says,

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.

However, his praise is not from man, but from God.

And this is what leads him here to the beginning of chapter 3.

To begin with the question then,

what advantage has the Jew?

Is there any advantage of all?

If circumcision is a matter of the heart,

then is there any advantage?

And Paul here, as the great apostle to the Gentiles,

will take up this defense of the Jewish nation

quite regularly throughout this letter,

as he's arguing that the gospel goes beyond just ethnic Israel.

He'll also say,

but let's not forget about the Jews.

So the three potential objections that Paul anticipates

and responds to are as follows.

Has Paul offended God's people?

That's number one.

Has Paul offended God's people?

And I mean that broadly.

Certainly individuals were offended,

but I mean broadly.

Is he speaking antagonistically against the Jewish people?

Secondly, has Paul offended God's promises?

And thirdly, has Paul offended God's holiness?

He knows his readers, at least his initial ones,

well enough to think these are the kinds of questions

that are going to come to their mind.

Let me just go ahead and address them.

So firstly, has Paul offended God's people?

He says, then what advantage has the Jew?

Or what is the value of circumcision?

It's as if he is saying,

you will say to me then,

which he actually says later on in the letter.

But Paul, people might say,

the Jewish people are God's people.

What do you mean a Jew is one inwardly

and circumcision is a matter of the heart?

Jews, after all, are an ethnic group.

They're descendants of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

The ones to whom the promise came.

Abraham, the recipient of the grand promise of God

to make a mighty nation of his descendants,

is their forefather, right?

They saw themselves as those descendants.

That promise of God.

Their mind may have gone,

as Jewish readers,

to all sorts of texts.

Let me just give you two.

Deuteronomy 10, verse 14 and 15.

Deuteronomy 10:14

Behold, to the Lord your God

belong heaven and the heaven of heavens,

the earth with all that is in it.

Yet the Lord set his heart in love

on your fathers

and chose their offspring after them.

You above all peoples,

as you are this day.

But wait, Paul.

Well, isn't our ethnicity significant

in God's plan for his people?

Elsewhere, Psalm 78, verse 5 and following.

Psalms 78:5

There it says,

God established a testimony in Jacob

and appointed a law in Israel,

which he commanded our fathers

to teach their children,

that the next generation might know them,

the children yet unborn,

and arise and tell them to their children,

so that they should set their hope in God

and not forget the works of God,

but keep his commandments.

A thing that has been established

to be passed on from generation

to generation to generation.

Are you saying now

that's of no value at all?

And of course, Paul says,

no.

Does the Jew have an advantage?

Yes, he says in the beginning of verse 2.

Much in every way.

And then he gives us one

and the most significant advantage.

To begin with,

the Jews were entrusted

with the oracles of God.

This is an advantage

to ethnic Israel.

Paul will develop this case

further throughout his letter,

but he begins significantly

with this,

entrusting with the oracles of God.

An incredibly significant thing.

The word here translated oracles

is a diminutive of the word logos,

which is often translated word.

This diminutive form

emphasizes the supernatural nature

of what they have been entrusted with.

So the point he's saying

is that it is an inspired word.

It's a miraculous thing

that they have this word of God.

Oracles makes it feel rather mystic.

Greek.

I'm not sure it's the word

I would have chosen,

but I'm also not a Greek scholar.

But it has that sense to it,

this form of that word,

that it's a miracle.

It's an incredible thing

that men were carried along

by the Spirit

to give to them

the Old Testament scriptures.

They had the Old Testament,

all of which designed

to point them to this coming Messiah,

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

They had the very utterance of God

for their benefit.

They were taught it.

From babies,

they were told,

like,

look for this Messiah,

for this Christ.

They were told to put their faith

in the future hope

that Christ would bring.

Now,

how can I know

that Paul is referring

to what we call

the Old Testament,

which is not what it had been called

in his day?

Bear with me for just a moment

and I'll show you.

I want you to have a confidence

in the canonicity

of the Old Testament.

This is what Jewish people

held as their scripture.

So,

Jesus validated

the Old Testament's inspiration

by quoting from

all three sections,

the Law,

the Prophets,

and the Writings.

You can see this in Luke 24,

Luke 24:44

verse 44.

He endorsed the inspiration

and authority

of the Old Testament

in detail.

Matthew 5,

Matthew 5:17

verse 17 and 18.

What is he specifically talking about?

Well,

we have a significant clue

that the Bible of Jesus' day

was our Old Testament.

And we find it in Luke 11,

and verse 49.

I invite you to join me there

if you would like to.

Certainly don't have to.

Well, I drink water.

Luke 11,

Luke 11:49

verse 49.

There Jesus says,

Therefore,

also the wisdom of God said,

I will send them prophets

and apostles,

some of whom they will kill

and persecute,

so that the blood

of all the prophets

shed from the foundation

of the world

may be charged

against this generation.

So,

pause for a second.

This is the point

of what he's doing here

in this text,

is he's placing

the guilt

of the persecution

of the apostles

on the generation

that he's speaking to.

So,

the primary thing

he's doing is that.

But then he says something

very interesting

in verse 51.

So,

it's the blood

of all the prophets

from the foundation

of the world

charged against this generation

from,

verse 51,

the blood of Abel,

the blood of Zechariah,

who,

a specific Zechariah,

who perished

between the altar

and the sanctuary.

He's giving us a clue there

from Abel

to this specific Zechariah

who perished

between the altar

and the sanctuary.

He says,

yes,

I tell you,

it will be required

of this generation.

So,

he calls Abel

the first prophet.

This is the Abel

of Genesis chapter 4.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

There in verse 10

we can see,

and the Lord said,

what have you done?

The voice

of your brother's blood,

the blood of Abel,

is crying to me

from the ground.

Here,

Jesus is saying

that that was

a prophetic work

of Abel,

his blood crying out

guilt against

his brother Cain.

Okay,

so there's Abel

the prophet

early,

early in the history

of the world.

But then we have

this Zechariah,

and he's the bookend

of Jesus' speech

in verse 51

of Luke 11.

He says,

from Abel

to the blood

of Zechariah.

But why?

Why is he the bookend?

We can read of him

in 2 Chronicles chapter 24,

2 Chronicles 24:20–21

verse 20 through 21,

where it says,

the Spirit of God

clothed Zechariah,

the son of Jehoiada,

the priest,

and he stood above

the people

and said to them,

thus says God,

why do you break

the commandments

of the Lord

so that you cannot prosper?

Because you have

forsaken the Lord,

he has forsaken you.

But they conspired

against him,

and by command

of the king

they stoned him

with stones

in the court

of the house

of the Lord.

This is where he dies

there between the altar

and the sanctuary.

Now,

chronologically,

the last martyr

of the Old Testament

was Uriah,

whose death

is described

in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26.

So,

why does Jesus

not say

from Abel

to Uriah,

but from Abel

to Zechariah?

I hope you already know.

I hope you're going,

oh,

I know the answer to this.

It's very cool

if you don't.

So,

you're going to know it

at the end of today.

The Jewish Bible

of Jesus' day

was ordered

differently

than ours.

Historical fact.

Our Old Testament

is grouped

by literary type.

Jesus' Bible

was ordered

differently.

1 and 2 Chronicles

were one book

just called

Chronicles

and was written

as an overview

of Israel's history

with a particular

emphasis on David

and the temple.

It was placed

at the end

of Jesus' canon

to help God's people

look forward

to a better David

and a better worship.

They read it

from Genesis

through the book

of Chronicles.

It was setting them up

to expect

this coming

Messiah.

So,

in Luke 11,

when Jesus says,

from the blood of Abel

to the blood of Zechariah,

he's indicating

the generation

that he is in

for the death

of the prophets

of his Bible.

They knew exactly

what he was talking about

because they had read

that canon,

right?

They knew

who these prophets

were.

Abel

all the way

to this specific

Zechariah

who died

in this particular

way,

right?

He was indicting them

for all of those.

This was the Bible

of Jesus' day,

right?

So,

if you believe

Jesus at all,

you have to believe

in the Bible

of Jesus,

which is our

Old Testament,

right?

This is what

the Jews

had.

These oracles

of God,

they were entrusted

with this very

particular

special word

for them.

But just because

they had God's word

did not mean

they listened

to or

obeyed

God's word.

There's

much evidence

of this,

tragically.

A couple of

evidences

of Jesus' day.

In Mark 12

and verse 24,

Jesus says

to the scribes

and the Pharisees,

is this not the reason

you are wrong?

Because you know

neither the scriptures

nor the power

of God?

You have them,

but you do not

know them?

Or in John 5,

John 5:39

verse 39 and 40,

there he says,

you search the

scriptures because

you think that

in them you have

eternal life.

And it is they

that bear witness

about me,

yet you refuse

to come to me

that you may

have life.

Beloved,

it is altogether

possible to have

a Bible,

to read that

Bible,

to attend church

and listen to

the Bible taught,

to listen to

sermons from

the Bible

throughout the week,

to read articles

and listen to

podcasts that

discuss the

Bible,

and to not

heed its warnings,

believe its promises,

or obey its commands.

The Bible itself

will not save you.

It's telling us

a story

and a message

that we must

place our faith in

and ultimately

in a person

that we must

place our faith in.

So,

Paul offended

God's people.

Is he saying

that God's people

don't have a

special place

in God's

redemptive history?

No,

absolutely not.

And we'll get to

see more of this,

particularly into

chapter 11.

So,

a year from now,

I'm going to

guess.

He'll continue to

work this truth

out for us.

But I appreciate

Paul is going to

get it in there,

right?

He's not going to

let somebody linger

until chapter 11.

He wants to be sure.

No,

no,

God's people.

God's people,

much in every way,

they were entrusted

with God's word.

Secondly,

though,

has Paul offended

God's promises?

Beginning in verse 3,

what if some

were unfaithful?

He's talking here

about the Jewish people.

Does their faithlessness

nullify the faithfulness

of God?

If some of those

declared God's people

showed themselves

not to be God's people,

does that make God

unfaithful?

And he says,

by no means,

and he's going to

say this phrase

over and over again

throughout the letter,

me denoito,

is the strongest

of negative Greek

expressions.

He's saying,

rather emphatically,

impossible.

Absolutely not.

Just because

those people

of ethnic

Jewish descent

were unfaithful

to God,

he remains

faithful.

It's not possible

that God

would cease

to be faithful

to his promises.

He goes on to say,

let God be true

though everyone

were a liar.

That is to say,

if God were accused

as faithless

by every human

who ever lived,

God would be found

true and everyone

else would be found

to be a liar.

As it is written,

this is from Psalm 51

and verse 4,

that you may be

justified in your words

and prevail

when you

are judged.

God is true

to his word

all the time

because he is

God

and he cannot lie.

We have to be

so very careful

that we don't

personify God

and think that

it's even possible

for him to not

be true

to his word.

So how do we think

then of these

Jewish people

that were unfaithful

and how that relates

to God's promises?

Now,

God's promise

to Abraham

was an

unconditional

promise.

If you will,

please join me

in Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

I'm going to read

the entirety

of the chapter

so you may

appreciate being

there with me.

I'll begin in verse 1.

You'll be able

to catch up to me.

After these things,

the word of the Lord

came to Abram

in a vision.

Fear not, Abram.

I am your shield.

Your reward

shall be very great.

But Abram said,

O Lord God,

what will you give me?

For I continue childless

and the heir of my house

is Eleazar of Damascus.

He's already

gotten this promise

that God's going to

make a great nation

of him,

but he has yet

to have any offspring.

And Abram said,

Behold,

you have given me

no offspring

and a member

of my household

be my heir.

And behold,

the word of the Lord

came to him.

This man shall not

be your heir,

your very own

son shall be your heir.

And he brought him

outside and said,

Look toward heaven

and number the stars

if you are able

to number them.

Then he said to him,

So shall your offspring

be.

And he believed the Lord

and he counted it to him

as righteousness,

his faith.

And he said to him,

verse 7,

I am the Lord

who brought you out

from Ur of the Chaldeans

to give you this land

to possess.

But he said,

O Lord God,

how am I to know

that I shall possess it?

He said to him,

Bring me a heifer

three years old,

a female goat

three years old,

a ram three years old,

a turtle dove,

and a young pigeon.

And he brought him

all these,

cut them in half

and laid each half

over against the other.

But he did not

cut the birds in half.

And when birds of prey

came down on the carcasses,

Abram drove them away.

And we won't get into the details

of all those animals

and what they mean.

But this was a common practice

in the day

of making a promise

with somebody.

You would cut an animal

in half

and you would walk together

between those animals.

And it was saying,

if I don't keep my end

of this bargain,

let me become

as these animals

have become.

So this is the significance

of this affirming

of the covenant

that God has made.

There's something

very particular

that happens

that's unique

in this case.

Verse 12,

As the sun was going down,

a deep sleep fell

on Abram.

So he's having now a dream.

And behold,

dreadful and great darkness

fell upon him.

Then the Lord said to Abraham,

Know for certain

that your offspring

will be sojourners

in a land that is not theirs.

There will be servants there

and that they will be afflicted

for four hundred years.

But I will bring judgment

on the nation

that they serve

and afterward

they shall come out

with great possessions.

He's talking about

their slavery in Egypt.

Know for certain

this will come to pass.

Verse 15,

As for you,

you shall go to your fathers

in peace.

You shall be buried

in a good old age.

And they shall come back here

in the fourth generation

for the iniquity

of the Amorites

is not yet complete.

When the sun had gone down

and it was dark,

behold,

a smoking fire pot

and a flaming torch

passed between

these pieces.

These things signified

God himself.

On that day,

the Lord made a covenant

with Abram saying,

To your offspring

I give this land

from the river of Egypt

to the great river

to the river Euphrates,

the land of the Kenites,

the Kenizzites,

the Kadmonites,

the Hittites,

the Pesaites,

the Raphaim,

the Amorites,

the Canaanites,

the Girgashites,

and the Jebusites.

This particular land,

he's marking it off for him.

And what God is doing here

is he's saying

that I will make of you

a great nation

and you will dwell

in this land

and I am going to accomplish it.

Notice that the fulfillment

of the promise

is out beyond Abram,

even his life.

God is going to do this thing.

It is not conditional.

For the nation,

it's going to happen.

This in totality

is going to come to pass.

And praise be to God

that it also comes to pass

in the inclusion

of the nations

amongst those peoples,

those stars,

too many to number.

That's part of the fulfillment

of this unconditional promise.

But, individually,

there is a conditionality

to God's promises.

Let me give you one example.

Isaiah 55, verse 6 and 7.

Isaiah 55:6

Verse 7,

Seek the Lord

while he may be found.

Call upon him

while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

and the unrighteous man

his thoughts.

Let him return to the Lord

that he may have compassion on him

and to our God

for he will abundantly pardon.

We must believe

that God will deliver us

from our sin.

And we now,

standing in the position

we are today,

know that it's by believing

in the completed work

and the person

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So,

there's an individual conditionality

to this.

Is every Israelite

ever born

justified before God?

No.

They are not.

Right?

So,

to his very question

at the beginning,

if some were unfaithful,

does their faithlessness

nullify the faithfulness

of God?

Absolutely not.

God always keeps

his promises.

God's promise

to Israel as a nation

will be fulfilled.

Again,

chapter 11.

We'll pick up that more.

But that promise

never extended

to specific

individual Jews.

Jews.

So,

has Paul offended

God's promises?

No.

No,

he has not.

Lastly,

has Paul offended

God's holiness?

Verse 5,

he says,

but if our unrighteousness

serves to show

the righteousness of God,

what shall we say?

That God is unrighteous

to inflict wrath on us?

And Paul inserts this,

I speak in a human way.

It's as if he's saying,

I know this sounds dumb.

If our disobedience

displays God's

perfect nature,

if when we don't hold up

our end of the bargain,

God's hold up his,

then is God unjust?

If our unfaithfulness

puts on display

his faithfulness,

isn't that a good?

Isn't that honoring God?

Doesn't that make him

look great?

Well,

it does.

And then the question

follows,

then why would God

punish us

for such a thing?

If his glory

is achieved,

then why are we

held accountable

for that action?

And once again,

we see this

strong phrase,

may genoito,

by no means

at the beginning

of verse 6,

for then how could

God judge

the world?

If God is unrighteous

in his judgment,

then he is not

a fit judge.

He is God,

therefore he must be

a perfect,

righteous judge.

Now,

the Jews understood

God as judge.

In Genesis 18

and verse 25,

he is called

the judge

of all the earth.

The psalmist

repeatedly referred to him

as judge.

Examples like

Psalm 50,

Psalm 58,

and Psalm 94.

The major theme

of nearly all the prophets

is that of God's

judgment.

Judgment past,

judgment present,

judgment imminent,

and judgment

in the distant future.

So all Paul is saying

is it's not possible

that God would be

unrighteous

in his judgment

of our unrighteousness,

even if it serves

to show

the righteousness

of God.

Because then God

would be disqualified

from being a judge.

And the reasoning

goes on,

verse 7,

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.

So the reason

goes,

if my sin

ends up bringing

God glory,

then why is my sin

considered sin?

this presents to us

one of the apparent

paradoxes of the Bible.

And I say apparent

because it seems so

at first consideration.

But we will see

in future study

that this isn't

a paradox

at all.

Paul will address

this potential objection

again in this letter.

And let me just give you

two examples

of where he does so.

1st Romans chapter 5

Romans 5 · chapter mention

and verse 20,

he says,

Now the law came in

to increase the trespass,

but where sin increased,

grace abounded

all the more.

So here we see this.

The law comes

so that the trespass

increases,

and when the trespass

increases,

grace abounds.

And this seems like

a good result, right?

This is good in the end.

And then just a few

verses later

at the beginning

of chapter 6,

he says,

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue

in sin

that grace

may abound?

Should we go on sinning

so that God can show

himself to be gracious?

And then again,

chapter 6 and verse 2,

May genoito,

by no means.

How can we who died

to sin

still live in it?

Understanding that

we justly deserve

God's wrath

for our sin,

and having been

delivered from it,

why would we want

to go on living

in it?

And he'll make the case

that God continues

to show his graciousness

towards us

in that he helps us

not to sin.

We'll get all into that

at the end of chapter 7

and into chapter 8.

Another place,

Romans chapter 9,

Romans 9:18–20

verse 18 through 20.

In this chapter,

Paul has previously

cited the Old Testament

seven times.

Direct citations.

Seven times

up to this point.

And then in verse 18,

he says,

So then,

he has mercy

on whomever he wills,

and he hardens

whomever he wills.

And here,

Paul anticipates

the objection.

You will say to me then,

why does he still

find fault?

For who can resist

his will?

And this is my favorite

of all of Paul's responses

to these potential objections.

He says,

But who are you,

O man,

to answer back

to God?

Who do you think

you are?

Is what he says.

To even ask

these kinds of questions.

I have just told you

from the Old Testament

seven different times.

And I say to you,

he who has mercy

on whom he wills,

he hardens

who he wills,

and then at the end

of verse 20,

he says,

Well, what does molded

say to its molder?

Why have you made me

like this?

You are clay.

You have no right

to ask of the potter.

Why did you make me

in this way?

In Jude,

verse 4,

here Jude is writing,

speaking of the church

at Corinth.

He says,

For certain people

have crept in unnoticed,

who long ago

were designated

for this condemnation,

ungodly people,

who pervert the grace

of our God

into sensuality

or licentiousness,

and deny our only

Master and Lord,

Jesus Christ.

Christ.

So,

whose condemnation

is just?

That's the question

that we might ask,

right?

There at the very end

of verse 8

of Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

these people

slanderously charge them

with saying,

Why not do evil

that good may come?

Here,

Jude finds himself

having to address

some people

who had come in

at the church of Corinth,

making that very case.

Ungodly people

who pervert

the grace of God

into sensuality.

This is what they're doing.

They're asking

and answering

that question

in the affirmative,

right?

We should live

however we want to live

because then God's grace

would abound.

So,

whose condemnation

is just?

Those who play

with the words

of God.

So,

Paul,

in just such

a great labor,

an inspired labor

to be sure,

but I imagine

his pin hand

growing tired

to be careful

to be sure

that we have

a good and right,

clear understanding

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

It's a gospel

that goes to

all peoples

but has not

forgotten

the ethnic Jew.

So,

has Paul offended

God's people?

Has Paul offended

God's promises?

Has Paul offended

God's holiness?

And the answer

is an affirmative

no.

Let's pray together.

Let's pray together.