Now there is a headline for the church news. Just remember the by-line is the Apostle Paul in Romans 3. The same apostle you don't believe.
The advantage to the Jew was that to them were committed the oracles of God. All along they had the words of the prophets! They should have foreseen the coming of Christ, disentangled themselves from the law, and embraced the new covenant. They had the word. They should have believed! Instead they remained unbelieving. Paul asks, 'does unbelief in the gift of grace; unbelief in the righteousness of God by faith; unbelief in justification by faith; make the faith of God without effect?' No. It doesn't change a thing with God.
Who among our friends believes in the free gift of grace? Who among our friends believes in the righteousness of God by which we are declared righteous not of our own works? None. Our friends will not come unto the free gift by faith alone in Jesus Christ. They do not believe. They say it's not free! They say we are not saved by grace alone! They qualify the gift. Righteousness before God requires covenants and ordinances and priesthood and after all we can do! They do not believe the scripture in vs 23-24, 'For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.'
Does their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 'For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid.'; Romans 3: 3-4
What does Paul advise? 'Let God be true and every man a liar.' Romans 3:4
'For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)' Romans 5:17
'Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.'. Romans 5:15-18
Paul takes on the arguments of those opposing grace who say, For, if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? If my unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God let us all sin! Let us do evil, that good may come. This is the same argument our friends use, but they say it differently. They say, 'That would mean I can do whatever I want. I could sin and it wouldn't matter. There would be no need to keep commandments if grace reigned.' In their minds, their own righteousness outweighs and overshadows the righteousness of God. They can't find a place for grace.
What shall we say?
1)The Jew with his priesthood and his law is condemned because they refuse to come to grace– that would also include our friends today who refuse grace for the same reason. They are too proud in the knowledge of their laws and ordinances! Their deeds and ordinances will not justify them, for no flesh is justified by the deeds of the law.
2) But also, is the Gentile condemned: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 3: 10-18
And now the humdinger:
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Romans 3:21
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: Romans 3:22
'I know all that,' our friends say, 'I already believe by faith.' I am saved by grace! Newsflash! Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: strips pretense and justification by works. Priesthood and ordinances and after all you can do is not freely by his grace. What is manifest now?
'Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.' There are no other stipulations. This is a different kind of righteousness than your own. It is a kind of righteousness that is imputed to you by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. The kind of righteousness through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.' Romans 3:25-26
If you read the 3rd chapter of Romans again, you will find I have said nothing more than what was said by Paul.