Christianity and the Problem of Human Violence: Part 58: The Wrath . . . of God? part 2: Romans 3:1-7
from All-Creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

True Christian living requires us to live according to Kingdom standards which bring Heaven to earth.

Christianity and the Problem of Human Violence: Part 58: The Wrath . . . of God? part 2: Romans 3:1-7

By Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
http://www.christianveg.com

I will go through the first 7 verses of Romans 3 carefully, because they reveal much about Paul’s theology. Paul wrote, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews are entrusted with the oracles of God.” (Romans 3:1-2) Here, Paul reminded readers that the Law was the way God tried to exert God’s will before Christ. Jews, entrusted with the Law, had a special mission and privilege.

Paul continued (verses 3-4), “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every man be false, as it is written, ‘That thou mayest be justified in thy words, and prevail when thou art judged.’” Paul had begun his letter to the Romans discussing how everyone sins and fails to fully live according to the Law. Yet, even when Jews were unfaithful, God had remained faithful to the Jews. God has been faithful to God’s promise to the Jews even when they have been faithless.

Now we come to a key verse, Romans 3:5, which is challenging and must be read carefully. Paul wrote, “But if our wickedness serves to show the justice of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)” Paul has said that we are inevitably wicked but God’s justice prevents God from condemning us. Yet, if this is so, is God unjust to inflict wrath on us? Paul then, remarkably, notes that this is a human way of thinking! The “human way” of thinking attributes the wrath to God, which is what people have been doing this since the beginning of human civilization. Since the foundation of human culture, in fact, people have attributed their misfortunes to God or the gods, and they have offered sacrifices to “appease” the divine.

Romans 3:6-7 reads, “By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?” In other words, since we are all sinners, God can’t judge the world according to our sinfulness. Despite our sinfulness, God’s truth abounds in God’s glory. What is God’s glory, which reveals God’s truth? I think God’s glory involves God’s creative goodness, and God’s truth is that God does not want suffering or violence to harm God’s wonderful Creation. (See, for example, Romans 8:18-22.) God’s love of Paul, a sinner, exemplifies God’s love for all Creation, since only God’s loving forgiveness can justify Paul, not Paul’s actions. Why did Paul say that he was condemned as a sinner? It was because he lived among humans who were judgmental and vengeful. As we saw in last week’s essay, the wrath is related not to God’s violent hand but to God handing humans over to the consequences of their idolatries and wickedness (Romans 1:24-28). Humans, failing to reflect God’s love and forgiveness, condemn Paul. Similarly, humans, not God, are eager to punish anyone they think has sinned.

In the next essay, I will discuss why I think Romans 9:22 is another point of misunderstanding regarding the wrath. Then, I will discuss why this is such an important point for Christian theology.

Go on to: Part 59: The Wrath . . . of God? part 3: Romans 9:22
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