What Are You Arguing?

Statue remains of Emperor Domitian

Scripture:

Rom. 3:1    Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. ³ What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written,

“So that you may be justified in your words,

and prevail in your judging.” 

⁵ But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust 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 falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), “Let us do evil so that good may come”? Their condemnation is deserved!

Observation:

The Jews always thought that they were in better condition spiritually than the pagans. The Gentiles led wild lives and engaged in sexual practices that the Jews frowned upon. Therefore, Paul entered into this hypothetical argument, sharing the, would-be, questions of the Jews. Surely there had to be some kind of advantage to being Jew, and this is found in the faithfulness of God to his people. No matter what the Jews might do — God would still love them, and this promise was now extended to all of humanity. The tenacity of God’s love is truly above human understanding. 

Then, he entered a new tack. There were those argued that the justice of God was revealed through the injustice of humanity — therefore, maybe we ought to do bad things so that the grace of God could be amplified. Origen would strike down this kind of false teaching: 

There are many kinds of religion in this world, many schools of philosophy, and many teachings which promote false assertions and are backed up with lying arguments. Those who invent them have a false reputation for wisdom—people of little or no authority. We should recognize them for what they are. Because of them many false statements are commonly accepted as true. The whole world, including religion, is now burdened with lying opinions. Even the elect are being led astray, if you can imagine that. The truth of God is now attacking and refuting every lie. Faith in God’s truth, God’s wisdom and God’s Word is undercutting all claims of false teaching. By each of these lies which had previously been asserted by men, the truth of God is abounding, by demonstrating their superficiality and by communicating the simple truth of faith in each and every case. In this way, says the apostle, the truth of God abounds through the falsehood of men (Origen, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS). 

The result was that each person, whether Jew or Gentile, was responsible before God, and need to live according to the ordinances of God. 

Application:

Origen’s words spoke to me because they could have been written today. It seems that there are always new voices trying to speak to Christianity and provide some kind of “new” direction. Surely, God has changed and adapted to the culture, and isn’t it possible that through the acts of culture the grace of God can abound? Paul didn’t want to have anything to do with that kind of thinking and was presenting the absurdity of it all, even using the language of condemnation. 

We are not supposed to continue living in sin so that God has to pour out more grace. I’m one of those who has walked with Jesus since my childhood. I don’t have a story of sinful living from which I was saved, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been walking in grace. Maybe someday the curtain will be pulled back and I will see all that was really going on around me and recognize that the hand of God was continually near, leading, guiding, and protecting. I don’t have to sin for grace to abound. 

Origen leaves us with the phrase, “the truth of God abounds through the falsehood of men.” We are surrounded by falsehood, both within and without the church. There are always those who want to share their own “truth” or perspective on things. While this is tempting, we should always be drawn back to the word, and to Christ, himself. Christ, in flesh, is the human likeness of God. He is the standard for us and our lives and when anyone tries to present to us “new truth,” we must go back to the standard. Whether we are from a Judeo-Christian background or not, we are to stop sinning, and reflect the new life we have in Christ. I think that Paul was trying to tell us that the time spent on these endless arguments is time that keeps us from participation in Christ’s life and ministry in the world. 

Prayer:

Lord, please help me to know you more in this season of Advent. Only in knowing you can I follow you, and that is the desire of my heart. Amen.