by David Flatt
Synopsis: In this article, we consider how both Gentiles and Jews had turned to idolatry and how God was still able to be faithful to His covenant (Rom. 1:18-3:31).
In his introduction, Paul affirms that the righteousness of God has been revealed through Jesus the Messiah. Hope is the result: everyone can (potentially) be saved. Yet, as wonderful as the hope of humanity's salvation is, there was a time when salvation was unclear.
Paul will describe how both the Gentiles and Jews had become faithless idolaters. Humanity is full of decay and headed towards death. What will God do to rescue mankind from eternal destruction? Before this question can be answered, Paul must show why the human family is unfit and unable to solve the problems that they have created.
In a word, idolatry is the reason humanity is unable and unfit to solve its problems. Since God created Adam and Eve, we have been left to decide who we will worship: the Creator or ourselves. Paul argues that the Gentiles had chosen to worship themselves instead of the Creator.
Civilization could continue in its current condition; however, God has had enough. While He will offer a path to salvation, God will not allow evil to go unchecked in His creation. He has passed judgment against a world filled with idolatry. He will be impartial in dispensing justice: if they have chosen idolatry, both Gentile and Jew will be destroyed.
Paul first describes the idolatry of the Gentiles. The Gentiles possessed an awareness of their Creator. No one who passes through the natural world does so without (on some level) knowing he has a Creator. Instead of allowing knowledge of the Creator to shape their hearts and minds, the Gentiles attempted to suppress this truth and remove Him from their culture. Twisted thinking and darkened hearts produced idolatry among the Gentiles.
We would be wise to learn the lesson of how we use our minds. We live in a society that values pluralism: "Everyone is right, and no one is wrong. All beliefs are of equal value." Yet, this text proves there are right and wrong ways of thinking. How we use our mind matters. If we remove the Creator from our lives, families, and society, God will permit us to do so. Three times in this chapter, Paul writes the words, "God gave them up" (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28).
What does a society look like where the truth of the Creator is methodically suppressed? What evidence demonstrates that a populace is godless and thus deserving of death? The chief evidence Paul cites is homosexuality. Why?
In the Garden of Eden, God made man. When no suitable helper could be found, God created a woman. Adam and Eve were opposite complements for one another. Regarding their origins, Genesis reads,
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen. 1:27–28, ESV).
Adam and Eve were given two objectives in life: (1) reproduce, and (2) subdue the creation. Together, they were to assist in bringing order to the earthly realm. From the beginning of human civilization, God ordered the natural world in such a fashion that opposites can bring harmony in ways that two like things cannot. By reproducing through the bond of marriage and subduing creation, these two opposites would bring glory to the Creator.
What evidence demonstrates that the natural world is broken, out of order, and disjointed? The Creator's image-bearers, i.e., men and women, have turned to homosexuality. Homosexuality is proof of perverted minds and darkened hearts. Without dispute, such behavior reveals idolatry within the human family. Therefore, creation is desperately in need of God's righteousness.
As the Gentiles rejected the truth of God and began to live distorted lives, their society decayed morally and ethically. Evil was promoted, and good was condemned. As idolaters digressed, their minds and hearts ceased to be affected by pain and guilt. They lost all sense of shame, remorse, and regret. Knowing of God's judgment, they did not care about incurring His wrath. Paul concludes the chapter by stating, "Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them" (Rom. 1:32).
Any Jew reading Romans 1 would have said, "Amen!" Among the Hebrews, none disputed that the Gentiles were idolaters fit for destruction. The nation of Israel took great pride in the fact that God had chosen their forefather, Abraham, through whom to bring redemption. God had made His covenant with their family. So far as they were concerned, they could do no wrong. They thought they were better than the Gentiles.
Of course, this was false. In Romans 2, Paul warns the Jews about the self-righteous (and self-condemnatory) judgment that they passed against the Gentiles. Like the Gentiles, the Jews were guilty of idolatry: "Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things" (Rom. 2:1). God's righteousness/justice being revealed meant Israel would stand equally condemned with the Gentiles. God is impartial in dispensing justice.
Also, Israel thought they could do no wrong because God gave them the law. (Note that when Paul refers to "the law," he nearly always is referring to the Law of Moses.) In their twisted thinking, they thought themselves superior to the rest of the world because they possessed the law. To prove that they were equally guilty of idolatry, Paul cites the law and how Israel had broken the Mosaic code.
Israel's history was filled with repeated examples of their failure: (1) While God was giving the law to Moses, the people made an idol under the guidance of Aaron. (2) During the period of the Judges, Israel repeatedly turned to idolatry. (3) Solomon married Gentile wives and incorporated idolatrous practices in Israel. (4) Jeroboam instituted idol worship at Dan and Bethel. They worshiped idols in the groves and high places. Generation after generation, Israel failed to follow the law. When the Gentile world looked at Israel, they laughed at Israel's claims of superiority. To the Gentile nations, Israel was no different than themselves.
At the summation of this passage, Paul quotes the prophet's critique of Israel: they caused the name of God to be blasphemed among the Gentiles (Rom. 2:24). This was no small shortcoming. It was the result of prolonged idolatry and immorality, arising from twisted minds and darkened hearts.
To prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel, this meant Israel needed to be punished and reconstituted as a nation. In this section of Romans, Paul is explaining how Israel had been unfaithful to God and the covenant. He writes like one of the prophets, and like the prophets, he offers a hopeful solution (Rom. 3:21-26).
Lastly, Paul makes a point about the name "Jew." By itself, bearing the name "Jew" did not make one part of the covenant family. Even John the Baptizer affirmed this claim was invalid: "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (Luke 3:8).
The human heart is of the highest value to God. If we, by the Spirit, have God's law written on our hearts, then we will have praise of God. Here the apostle is writing in Greek but is thinking in Hebrew. The expression, "having praise of God," is a play on the word "Jew." The term "Jew" is derived from the Hebrew word "Judah," which means "celebrate" or "praise." Having God's praise or approval does not merely come by wearing a name, but by possessing a certain kind of heart.
Coming to chapter 3, Paul acknowledges the advantage of the Jews. They were God's chosen people. God gave them the law. The Law of Moses offered Israel the advantage of sharing a relationship with the Creator. However, what was God's purpose in giving Israel the law? Was it merely a point of national pride? No. God gave Israel His oracles so they might become the light of the world. Sadly, Israel failed miserably in this sacred trust. Instead of being a light to the world, they floundered in the darkness of idolatry.
Israel's guilt was undeniable, and their behavior inexcusable. Their mouths must be stopped, along with their arrogant spirit and self-righteous superiority. Despite being God's people, having the law, and being circumcised, they were no better than the pagan, godless Gentile world.
Paul rarely ever cites a passage from the Old Testament as a mere "proof text." He usually has broader contexts and themes in mind, which are summarized in a specific citation. Most of the passages Paul cites in this text come from Psalms 5, 140, 10, and 36, and also from Isaiah 59. These passages not only describe Israel's sins but conclude with God's declaration that He will rescue the world. God will keep His covenant in spite of Israel's unfaithfulness. This is the point Paul is building (Rom. 3:21). Paul's style of writing reflects that of the prophets.
Finally, no one could appeal to the law, or rely upon the works of the law, as a means for justification. For one to be justified according to the law, he would have had to keep the law perfectly. This did not happen with Israel. If an Israelite appealed to the works of the law for justification, his conduct demonstrated that he had broken the law.
Appealing to the law for justification would be like someone pleading his innocence to a police officer who caught him breaking the law. James made a similar point: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (Jas. 2:10). If someone breaks one law but keeps the others, he stands condemned as a lawbreaker. Accordingly, Israel could not claim innocence or superiority.
If the Gentiles and Jews were faithless idolaters, what could God do to keep His covenant? If the very people through whom He planned to rescue the world had rejected Him, how could He use them to save the world? It would appear that humanity is without hope.
Having described an abysmal situation, Paul changes the tone of his letter with two words: "But, now." When everything appeared hopeless, God sent the Messiah. The Messiah would be the lone, faithful Israelite through whom God would prove His faithfulness to the covenant He made with Abraham. Our heavenly Father would rescue the world through His Son. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. As the incarnate Word, He delivers the oracles of God.
More broadly, Paul begins to explain how God could justify humanity through faith in Jesus. Using language descriptive of tabernacle/temple service, he says, "God put forward as a propitiation by his blood . . ." (Rom. 3:25). Some translations render this phrase as, "God put forth Jesus as the place of mercy." In other words, Paul draws on sacrificial language to explain how God rescued humanity from slavery.
The "mercy seat" was the lid of the ark of the covenant—the space between the two seraphim situated on either end. God would meet the High Priest at the mercy seat for grace and forgiveness. Paul is describing how God used the blood of Jesus as the new seat of mercy, where believers can receive grace and forgiveness. Today, when we think of these qualities, we do not think of the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant. Instead, we associate grace and forgiveness with the cross of the Messiah.
What was the source of Israel's boasting or confidence? Was it the law? Was it works performed according to the law? No. The Law of Moses was insufficient to justify anyone. Moreover, Israel had been unfaithful to the law.
Today, how can we be confident we are part of God's covenant family? The only source of confidence, available to Israel or anyone else, is found in a new law: the law of faith. The only way we can become part of God's covenant family is through faith in what God did through Jesus, the Messiah.
Here is a critical implication of this new law of faith: both Jews and Gentiles could become part of God's covenant family. As the Jewish Shema (the primary confession of faith for Israel) clearly stated, "The Lord is one Lord" (Deut. 6:4). Although this declaration was direct and straightforward, Israel failed to realize its implication: God also created the Gentiles. Paul interjects the theme of monotheism. This declaration remains true today, along with its associated implication. Let us understand what the One Creator God did through His Son, the Messiah. "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph. 4:6). There is one God over all humanity: Jew and Gentile, alike.
Finally, Paul and Jesus were both criticized for allegedly arguing that the law was worthless. Our Lord answered this criticism in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17-19). This is how Paul often explained the law. Did faith void the law? No. The law was and is fulfilled by the act of faith in what God did through Jesus.
The law was fulfilled in a fashion no one had ever imagined. The law was fulfilled through faith. Paul frequently explained that the law was like a teacher, leading the Jews to the Messiah (Gal. 3:19-29). He will expand this theme in the next chapter by introducing Abraham the father of Israel.
Author Bio: David and his family began laboring with the Fry Road church of Christ in Houston, TX in 2019. The church website is fryroad.org. He can be reached at dflatt85@yahoo.com.
