Romans Chapter 3
Now I know that you're tempted to think: "If what he's saying is true, then there has been no meaning to all it has cost the Jews for being God's 'chosen people'. What's the advantage of being a Jew in the first place?" Actually, there are many privileges- especially that God gave them the stewardship over his message to humanity through the prophetic scriptures. So if some Jews have been unfaithful to their divine calling, does this negate the faithfulness of God himself? No way! God is, and will always be, true even if all people were to contradict him. The scripture says of him, "You are always right in all that you say and you always prove your critics wrong."
Comments:
At this point in his letter, Paul has just written many paragraphs graphically detailing the very real and deadly trouble that the souls of people, both Jews and gentiles, are in. The beginning of chapter 3 opens with a literary tool that he will use throughout the rest of the letter. He pens a contrary question that he knows that his previous statements will evoke in the hearts and minds of his readers and then goes on to give a reasonable answer to the argument of the "ghost" doubter.
In my view, this first question is the most profound and fundamental one of them all. Yet, it is one whose profundity can easily escape us. Let me put it in other words...If a law-keeping and God-honoring Jewish person is not right with God and...in the larger context...if the Jewish people are not "saved" or "safe" by being associated with their historic/national/ethnic faith community and its beliefs, rituals and customs...then God has lied because he has broken his part of the ancient bargain he made with Abraham, Moses, David and the like...since he absolutely promised that he would "save" their children/followers throughout the generations to come. So...God is not "righteous" if what Paul says is true. I believe how Paul addresses this question is the main theme of the book of Romans as it posits a new and different paradigm of how to understand and interpret the metanarrative...the overarching story...of the Bible from Genesis forward. This new and authoritative framework for understanding the "kingdom of God" and the OT prophecies was initiated by Jesus in the Gospels. And...it was the primary reason, humanly speaking, why Jesus and Paul both were executed.
As followers of Jesus in our day, we need to let this sobering philosophical/doctrinal foundation of the first part of Romans sink in to our hearts and minds. It's truly radical and upsets the status quo of our spiritually complacent cultures--religious and otherwise.
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