Romans 3:5a

Romans 3:5a December 20, 2003

Most commentators accept that Romans 3:5a offers a legitimate conclusion, but one whose implications must be carefully qualified. From the quotation of Psalm 51, it is argued, Paul draws the inference that the unrighteousness of Israel commends or establishes or somehow contributes to the righteousness of God. BUT, so the argument goes, this does not mean that God is unjust to exert wrath, for then He could not be judge of the world (and every Jew knows He is). Nor does it mean that I escape being condemned as a sinner. Nor does it mean that we can do evil that good may come. Thus, 3:5a-8 is seen as Paul’s rebuttal to several INVALID inferences from the TRUE premise in v 5a.

Problem is, Paul doesn’t here show at that these are invalid inferences. Or, rather, the only one that is shown to be an invalid inference is the first, in vv 5b-6. The others are simply raised as questions, and, while the answers may be obvious, this seems a pretty weak way to head off heretical inferences. Further, reading the passage this way seems oddly acontextual; it removes these objections and questions from the context of Paul’s discussion of Israel’s advantage and Israel’s unfaithfulness, and turns it into a question of God’s generic “fairness.” But is that what Paul is up to in Romans?

Here’s a hypothesis, and I emphasize that it is an hypothesis: Paul DENIES the protasis in verse 5. He does NOT believe that the unrighteousness of Israel commends or demonstrates the righteousness of God. On the contrary, the unrighteousness of Israel is a great CHALLENGE to the claim that God is righteous. To be sure, he raises this question as a possible inference from the Psalm 51 passage, but he does not raise it as a VALID inference. THe statement of v 5a is the invalid inference, and the remainder of vv 5b-8 consists of ARGUMENTS against the validity of this inference. To wit:

1) If God’s righteousness were commended by the unrighteousness of Israel, then God would be unjust to inflict wrath. But we (Jews) know that God is not unjust to inflict wrath, since He is the judge of the world. Thus, it cannot be the case that our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God.

2) If my lie cause the truth of God to abound to His glory, then I could not properly be judged a sinner. But I am judged a sinner. Therefore, my lie cannot cause the truth of God to abound to His glory.

3) If our unrighteousness commended the righteousness of God, then it would follow that we should do evil that good might come. Doing evil to bring glory to God would be one example of a larger principle, that ends justify means. Some claim that we teach this, but this is a slander, and those who slander us this way stand condemned. In fact, we cannot justify evil by saying it produces good, and therefore it is not the case that Israel’s unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God.

(Now, theologically, I affirm that the whole world is a manifestation of God’s glory, and that even the wicked finally brings glory to God, and the wicked was made by God for that purpose. I wonder, though, if that is Paul’s point here.)

This line of argument is perfectly fitting for this stage of Romans. Paul has charged Jews and Gentiles with being under sin. He has said that the name of God is blasphemed because of Israel’s sins. Yet, Israel was the agent for bringing light to the Gentiles. How can God be righteous so long as Isarel continues in her sins? How can God be KNOWN to be righteous so long as Israel remains in her sins? First off, the answer is that God’s faithfulness cannot be thwarted by the unfaithfulness of Israel. Rather, God is the Victor in the courtroom, and proved to be in the right. But this DOES NOT mean that Israel’s unfaithfulness is the means for God’s faithfulness to be displayed. Rather, God’s faithfulness will be vindicated IN SPITE OF ISRAEL, APART FROM LAW, through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.


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