Romans 3 Explained

Romans 3 is the third chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It was composed by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD,[1] with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who added his own greeting in .[2]

In this chapter, Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions in order to develop his theological message, and quotes extensively from the Hebrew Bible. Theologian Albert Barnes suggests that "the design of the first part of this chapter is to answer some of the objections which might be offered by a Jew to the statements in the previous chapter".[3]

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 31 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Old Testament references

God's righteousness upheld (3:1–7)

In verse 2, the chief advantage, or benefit, or responsibility, or superiority[5] of the Jewish people is their possession of the Hebrew Bible (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: τα λογια του θεου|ta logia tou theou|the very words of God|label=none New International Version). Traditional translations (the Geneva Bible, King James Version, American Standard Version and Revised Standard Version) refer to the "oracles of God". The Jewish "advantage" (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: το περισσον|to perissov|label=none) is really an act of entrustment (Romans 3:2).

Verse 2

Nonconformist theologian Matthew Poole stated that "to the Jews were credited, or given in custody, the Holy Scriptures". Stephen, whose martyrdom Paul had witnessed before his conversion, called the scriptures the 'living oracles' (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: λογια ζωντα|logia zonta|label=none).[6]

Slanderous criticisms

In verse 8, Paul refers to slanderous accusations made by "some people"[7] that believers say "Let's do evil that good may result".

Bishop Charles Ellicott suggests that these accusers might have been the Jews or "the Judaizing party";[8] Barnes says it is "doubtless" that they were Jews;[9] the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges argues that they were Paul's "inveterate adversaries in the Church".[10]

No one is righteous (3:9–20)

Paul's statement that "both Jews and Greeks are under the power of sin" (verse 9) exposes the impossibility of either Gentile orJew, unaided by God, being able to become righteous (contra Romans 2:7,13, etc.; consistent with Romans 7:7–24), as supported by a compilation of citations from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament texts) in verses 10–18 describing humanity's utter depravity or incapability of not sinning (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 5:10; 10:7; 14:1—3; 53:2—4; 36:2; 140:4; Isaiah 59:7—8; Proverbs 1:16). Only Christ can break sin's power for Jews as well as for Gentiles.

The revelation of God's righteousness (3:21–26)

This section (extending to verse 31) revisits 'the grand theme', "the righteousness of God", which is introduced in the Thanksgiving part of chapter 1. Comprising one paragraph, verses 21–26 is called by Stuhlmacher as "the heart of the letter to the Romans*,[11] stating that "the divine character—faithful, gracious, forgiving, and merciful—has been revealed in Jesus Christ, specifically in his death as "a sacrifice for sin effective through faith"." With that actions, "altogether apart from human initiative", God has fulfilled "what God always intended to do" ("attested by the law and the prophets") "and so is proved righteous".

Verse 23

Verse 25

"Propitiation" (RSV, NAB: "expiation"): translated from the Greek word, which specifically means the lid of the Ark of the Covenant.[17] The only other occurrence of in the New Testament is in, where the KJV, NKJV,RSV, and NASB all translate it as 'mercy seat'.

Justification by faith – a conclusion (3:27–31)

Verse 28

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Dunn, J. D. G. (1993). "Romans, Letter to the". In Hawthorne, Gerald F. and Martin, Ralph P. (eds.) Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. InterVarsity Press. p. 838.
  2. Book: Donaldson, Terence L. . 63. Introduction to the Pauline Corpus . The Oxford Bible Commentary . John. Barton . John. Muddiman . Oxford University Press . first (paperback) . 2007 . 1077 . 978-0199277186.
  3. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/romans/3.htm Barnes' Notes
  4. Web site: Biblical concordances of Romans 4 in the 1611 King James Version.
  5. http://biblehub.com/interlinear/ Interlinear Bible
  6. 7:38 KJV
  7. 3:8 ISV
  8. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/romans/3.htm Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers
  9. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/romans/3.htm Barnes' Notes
  10. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/romans/3.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
  11. Stuhlmacher, P. (1994), Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Commentary, trans. S. J. Hafemann. Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox. p. 57; apud Hill 2007, p. 1092
  12. https://biblehub.com/text/romans/3-23.htm Greek Text Analysis: Romans 3:23
  13. 15:14 KJV
  14. 4:12 KJV
  15. 11:37 KJV
  16. Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Romans 3". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
  17. Strong's Greek Dictionary G2435
  18. http://biblehub.com/greek/logizometha_3049.htm Englishman's Concordance - λογιζόμεθα
  19. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/romans/3-28.htm Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers
  20. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/romans/3.htm Gill's Exposition