Chapter 3

Romans 3:1-20

In the first four verses Apostle Paul uses the question-and-answer technique to help us understand the power struggle from men against God and why God judges the entire world and everything in it. He also shows the reader how the law works by bringing up a Psalm or two, like an attorney bringing up a certain clause. The power struggle of men against God is that some believe that God will not act unless it is through men only. The Pharisees in the Gospels who kept condemning Jesus and bringing ridicule to everything he did and said was because they thought that they were the only access to the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why Jesus put his foot down and told them ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can get to The Father except through me’. The explanation of verse three is that our unbelief in God does not make him move. Our lack of faith is not what moves the hand of God, because God chooses to give grace and glory to whatever He chooses for His purposes only. If it was men who moved God, then all will be corrupted and destroyed utterly, which is why Apostle Paul reminds us of what the Psalmist says through verse four. Verses five through seven shows us why God judges righteously. Paul asks the reader, if our wrong doings is an approval of God’s righteousness’, then how is it not possible that God is not within his own right to take vengeance for the wrong we have done to Him according to His laws? If you tell a person to stop punching you in the face and you warn them twice, isn’t the accuser within their full right to knock you clean out for you to keep punching them in the face? How can God judge the world if our wrongs seem right to only us and not another? You cannot justify evil for good because they are opposite of each other. Verses nine through eighteen shows how court works. Paul acts as a litigator bringing up a Psalm to further prove God’s righteousness and law altogether. The defendant is the sinner, which is all of us, including Paul himself. Even though the Psalm is already recorded in the Bible, it is also in the Book of Romans for the reason of showing how it will work in the courts of Heaven. In verse nineteen and twenty, Paul concludes the reason for the law and why we will all be judged. And the primary reason is because the purpose of the law is the knowledge of sin. Since every single one of us know that sin is wrong, because the law is written on our hearts (embedded within our spirits), then the whole world is guilty before God, because there is no excuse for our behaviors, ungodliness, and unrighteousness.

Romans 3:21-26

Now that we have gone through a rigorous teaching on why God judges the whole earth, the purpose and reason of the wrath of God, and what the law represents and how it works, Apostle Paul begins to explain the answer to the law and how to avert the judgment of God on your life, no matter who you are. The righteousness of God is in effect by the faith of Jesus Christ to all of those who believe in the Godhead. Verse twenty-three encapsulates what he taught in the previous verses of this chapter. To be clear, the glory of God is the essence of His Holy Spirit embedded in everything that He has created. And we all have come short in the glory of God because of our ungodliness and unrighteousness. But along comes Jesus Christ, our Messiah, to redeem us from a terrible fate of perishing for all the wrong we’ve done towards the Heavenly Father. We all are only justified by believing in Jesus Christ resurrection and teachings. Back in the Old Testament, a sacrifice was made to appease and make atonement with God for the wrong that we did. There are a lot of reasons why Jesus was born a man and was made a sacrifice for all men, but if we are honest with ourselves, we would have never stopped sin. And the reason why I say this is because if all we had to do to be forgiven is to sacrifice an animal, then as men we could just do whatever we want and make a burnt offering and everything will be all good. So, in a way, that is like taking advantage of God. Jesus’ blood is pure because He was able to not sin and uphold the law in full. Apostle Paul was methodical in his reasoning of why circumcision doesn’t work anymore now that we are in the New Testament, because first we have no excuse for not knowing what sin is and what is not sin because of the law. Secondly, we all have a sinful nature because of Adam and Eve, so the law was set in place for us to still be accepted by God. Thirdly, we have Jesus who was made an atonement for all of men’s sins in one swoop, if we stay on the path of righteousness, because Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets.

Romans 3:27-31

In verse twenty-seven, Apostle Paul shares that this law we are under in the New Testament is the law of faith. And should we boast of it by our own works and by the law that was given to Moses? Paul says ‘no, but by the law of faith’. The next verse he brings to our attention that a man justified by his faith without having to follow the law. Once again, the law was given to first the Israelites to have knowledge of sin and the punishment if we crossed those lines plus the atonement we could make with God because his mercies are great. In the following verses, it is shown that God is not just the God of the Jews but also the Gentiles and everyone else in between. In verse thirty, it says that ‘the circumcision is justified by faith’, the main reason that Abraham was told to make circumcision to himself, his sons, and his staff members was because of his faith which is also counted for as righteousness. The circumcision was so that when God judged others, he would see or know that those who are circumcised are pardoned and are saved from his wrath on account of righteousness by faith. This is like having a green card, and the police officer pulls you over and ask you to see license and registration. You take out your license and registration, but you also include the green card, and the green card is a pass. The police office averts his condemnation and lets you off with a warning or just tells you to have a nice day. Just as Noah was a righteous man and believed God when it was said that there would be a great flood coming over the earth, it is the same for Abraham and everyone else who believes in God’s every word. Noah single-handedly saved himself, his family, and animals of every kind because of his righteousness. So, Paul asks in the last verse, is the law to no effect because of faith? And he answers and says, ‘God forbid, through faith we establish the law’. What he means by this is that when we believe in God’s word wholeheartedly, we will follow the law automatically, and the many sacrifices of animals and offerings won’t be needed because we depend on the Word of God to carry us throughout our lives.