An Evaluation of Romans Chapter 3 NASB.

This is a draft from the research of the book of Romans. PART 3.

Jul 17, 2025

₁ Then what [fn]advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?

₂ Great in every respect. First, that they were entrusted with the actual words of God. ₃ What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ₄ Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found a liar, as it is written:

“SO THAT YOU ARE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS,

AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED.”

₅ But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking from a human viewpoint.) ₆ Far from it! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? ₇ But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ₈ And why not say (just as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let’s do evil that good may come of it”? Their condemnation is deserved.

₉ What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; ₁₀ as it is written:

“THERE IS NO RIGHTEOUS PERSON, NOT EVEN ONE;

₁₁ THERE IS NO ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NO ONE WHO SEEKS OUT GOD;

₁₂ THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME CORRUPT;

THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

₁₃ “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,

WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,”

“THE VENOM OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;

₁₄ “THEIR MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;

₁₅ “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,

₁₆ DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,

₁₇ AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THE WAY OF PEACE.”

₁₈ “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

₁₉ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; ₂₀ because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.

₂₁ But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

₂₂ but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, ₂₃ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ₂₄ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, ₂₅ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; ₂₆ for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

₂₇ Where then is boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ₂₈ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. ₂₉ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ₃₀ since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

₃₁ Do we then nullify the Law through faith? Far from it! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

Analysis

Essential Highlights

Universal Sinfulness (3:9-18): Both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, as proven by a string of Tanakh citations.
No Righteousness by Law (3:20): The Law cannot justify; its role is to reveal sin.
Righteousness by Faith (3:21-22): God’s righteousness is now openly revealed apart from the Law, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ’s Atoning Work (3:24-25): Jesus is the propitiation—the sacrificial means by which God maintains both His justice and His mercy.

Who Is the Chapter Written To?

Primary audience: Jewish believers (and legal experts) in Rome who prized the Law and their heritage.
Secondary audience: Gentile Christians, to show that Jewish privilege does not exempt Israel from the need for faith.

Why Was It Written?

To demolish any confidence in ethnicity, ritual, or Law‑keeping as a means of righteousness (3:1-8).
To establish that both Jew and Greek require the same remedy—justification by faith in Christ (3:9-22).

Highlights & Warnings

Warning against misusing God’s faithfulness to excuse sin (3:3-8).
Warning that the Law cannot deliver—no one is righteous by works (3:10-20).

Good‑News Items

God’s faithfulness remains intact despite human unfaithfulness (3:3-4).
Justification now comes without works of the Law, but through faith in Jesus (3:21-22).
God is both perfectly righteous and the justifier of believers (3:26).

Relevant Tanakh References in Romans 3

Psalm 51:4 (“God must be true, though every man a liar” NASB) – proof of God’s unwavering faithfulness (3:4).
Psalm 14:1-3 (“There is none who does good…” NASB) – all under sin (3:10-12).
Psalm 5:9 (“Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they keep deceiving” NASB) – human deceitfulness (3:13).
Psalm 140:3 (“The poison of asps is under their lips” NASB) – corrupt speech (3:13).
Psalm 10:7 (“Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” NASB) – hateful words (3:14).
Isaiah 59:7-8 (“Their feet are swift to shed blood… the way of peace they have not known” NASB) – violent dispositions (3:15-17).
Psalm 36:1 (“There is no fear of God before their eyes” NASB) – total moral collapse (3:18).

Supporting Scripture Beyond Romans

Galatians 2:16 – “A person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” NASB
Habakkuk 2:4 – “The righteous shall live by his faith” NASB (echoed in Romans 1:17, foundational to Paul’s argument).
Ephesians 2:8-9 – Salvation by grace through faith, not by works.
Hebrews 10:14-18 – Christ’s single sacrifice cleanses sin permanently, fulfilling God’s promise.

Summary:

Romans 3 dismantles any hope of righteousness through human effort—Jew or Gentile—and proclaims the good news that God’s own righteousness is available to all who believe in Christ’s atoning work.

Brian By Experience

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