Let God Be True Romans 3:3-4
“For what if some did not believe? Will there unbelief make the faithfulness of
God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar”
(Rom 3:3-4)
We enjoy safety in numbers. We laugh at TV shows because we hear a recording of
other people laughing. We attempt to justify breaking the speed limit by arguing
that everyone else is doing it too. Many a college student has been comforted by
the thought that “The professor can’t fail all of us!” Because of this tendency,
we need to remember that numbers don’t impress God. With God, there is no
“safety in numbers”. “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar”(Rom 3:4).
How do we respond to the fact that God’s law condemns all of us? That it does is
clear: “There is none righteous, no not one”(Rom 3:10). “For there is no
difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”(Rom
3:22-23). Do we follow majority rule—like the naïve college student, thinking
“God won’t condemn all these people!”? Do we question God’s faithfulness and
justice—as if somehow it’s unfair for Him to condemn us when we are the ones who
sinned? Do we reason from results—some good comes of it, so it must be alright
with God? We must recognize that all these responses are simply glorified forms
of denial. Paul’s answer to the problem is that God must be true, even if that
makes every man a liar.
Anticipating objections to the fact that we have all sinned, Paul asks, “For
what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God
without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As
it is written: ‘That you may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when
You are judged”(Rom 3:3-4). Some or all people being unfaithful does not indict
God. They chose such a fate, and He dispenses punishment, or mercy, according to
His good pleasure. Like the landowner paying wages, He may say, “Is it not
lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because
I am good?”(Matt 20:15). What gives us the right to question God’s justice when
we well know we are guilty and deserve punishment?
Reasoning from results doesn’t work either, since God will always be glorified
and proved right regardless of what we do. “But if our unrighteousness
demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who
inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge
the world? For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory,
why am I still judged as a sinner?”(Rom 3:5-7) Is it wrong for God to punish
since He is shown righteous by our sin? Is it unfair that He is shown to be
right, and on top of that punishes us? No! God will always be righteous, but
that doesn’t excuse us or reflect on us! To think that we are OK because some
good things have come out of our lives is to delude ourselves and deny God.
We desperately need a proper view of the incorruptibility of God’s justice. It
is not affected by the number of people who deserve punishment. It is true even
if it makes everyone else a liar. Not only that, it is so perfect that it would
not be satisfied by God simply pardoning our sins with a wave of His hand. His
justice had to be satisfied by Jesus’ sinless suffering for our sin. Justice
demanded punishment for sin (“a propitiation”, Rom 3:25), and so now God sits as
“just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus”(Rom 3:26). Remaining
eternally just, He is now eternally gracious to those who believe and obey His
Son.
The good news is that if we stop living in denial and place our faith in Jesus
for our salvation rather than our empty righteousness, God has provided a way
for us. Give up the “safety of numbers” and trust and obey Jesus—regardless of
its implications for everyone else. “Indeed, let God be true but every man a
liar”!
By Jacob Hudgins
From Expository Files 16.10; October 2009
