Cutting to the Chase
When slander doesn't require an argument
[Editor’s Note: This is part of a devotional series through the book of Romans.]
Romans 3:1–8
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? [2] Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. [3] What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? [4] By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” [5] 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.) [6] By no means! For then how could God judge the world? [7] But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? [8] And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
Paul has just finished a breathtaking section of his letter to the Romans by revealing what makes one a “true Jew”—that is, how a person is considered part of God’s people. And the answer at the end of chapter two is the sovereign work of the Spirit that is done to both Jew and Gentile: “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. His praise is not from man but from God” (Romans 2:28–29). Indeed, it has always been “a matter of the heart, by the Spirit.” This is what makes one a true Jew.
This astonishing truth opens Paul to a question that he takes up at the beginning of chapter 3: “Then what advantage has the Jew?” While he will address this question more fully in chapters 9–11, he does point to the advantage of ethnic Jews being given the “oracles of God” (v. 2). In the Old Testament scriptures, Israel is given the very Word of God that reveals salvation. In addition to this great advantage, Paul reminds his readers of the faithfulness of God to his covenant promises, promises that will not be nullified by his people’s unfaithfulness: “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged” (vv. 3–4). And because God is just, he is able to judge perfectly not only Jews but the whole world. God is righteous in all his ways (vv. 5–7).
The apostle now comes to an objection to his gospel that he’ll take up more fully in chapter 6, and yet addresses in a most profound way here in verse 8: “And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.” Paul says this objection to his gospel is “slander.” That is, the objection is such a distortion of the truth, such a misrepresentation of the gospel, that it’s slanderous. What have Paul’s opponents gotten so wrong about the gospel?
In brief, the objection is a distortion of grace—a turning grace into license for sin. (What Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” in his The Cost of Discipleship.) And while there is a lot to say about this distortion—this slander—at this moment Paul is a man of few words: “Their condemnation is just.” No dissertation; no elaborate rebuttal. Just a clear and concise statement of truth: if you think this way about the grace of God, your condemnation is just. Is there more to say? Yes (see chapter 6). But at the end of all that can be said (and at times needs to be said), condemnation before the holy God is the verdict proclaimed. And sometimes a beeline to the verdict is what’s needed.
Father in heaven,
Help us to know when more elaborate biblical arguments are needed and when concise warnings are what you’re calling us to pronounce. Bring your priceless grace to bear on our conciences in this day of cheap grace. May we as pastors labor for the gospel that not only saves but sanctifies—indeed, let us “strive . . . for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
In Jesus’ name, Amen.