Romans 3:9 - What Jews and Gentiles Share

Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

Message: No one person is better than another person.

Time: Paul probably wrote Romans between A.D. 57-58 while he was at Corinth in the home of his friend and convert Gaius. He planned to go first to Jerusalem to deliver a gift of money from the Gentile churches to the poor in Jerusalem. Then he hoped to visit Rome on his way to Spain. His hopes were later realized, but not as he had expected. When he finally arrived in Rome in early A.D. 60, he was a prisoner under house arrest (Acts 28:11-31).

What the Lord is Saying:

Background
For verses one through eight of chapter 3, Paul has defended the faith. He used questions from an imaginary objector (a diatribe) to put forth questions about what the Jew was probably feeling at the time.

1. What advantage is there in being a Jew?
2. What is the benefit of circumcision?
3. If some did not trust in God, their lack of belief will not reduce to inactivity the One in whom we place complete confidence in, will it?
4. If a person's unrighteous behavior (practicing sin) then causes God to be shown as righteous, then how can that person receive wrath?
5. If God's glory comes about through my lie, why am I being judged (as a sinner)? Why can't a person just do evil that good may come?  

In my opinion, what shines forth in Paul's responses to these questions is two things, (1) The Jew is still God's chosen people and because of that has a special responsibility to protect and carry forth the Law of God and defend the principles of God on this earth and live a life consistent with the Law throughout the day, while with God's people and when not with God's people. (2) Man's sin and God's character stand on opposite corners. God's character isn't dependent upon man's sin. Man is a sinner and God is the judge, but man's sin does not make God righteous nor does it make Him any less of our great God because of the Jew's rejection of Him.

My meaning for this verse
The focus of the first 8 verses has been squarely on the Jew as it was in chapter 2. To me, at first glance, it is unclear who the first part of chapter 9 is speaking of when it says, "Are we better than they?" It could be the Jew, though Paul has been clear over and over that the Jew is not better than the Gentile. Romans 2:11 told us that God has no partiality. And then the Jew was shown that possessing the Law was not good enough, nor circumcision, nor teaching others. And now most recently, the Jew's claim that disobedience in being a sinner does not change who God is. One could say that over and over the Jew has already be told there is no advantage given the Jew to merit salvation because of simply being Jewish. And so one could then say that this question of being better is speaking now of the Gentile with another imaginary objector question from the Jew going to Paul saying, "Okay, since the Jew is obviously not any better than the Gentile, is the Gentile any better than the Jew?"

That said, "Are we better than they?" does to me still have the idea that the Jew is still wondering if just by being called the chosen one may mean that in some way or another, the Jewish person is still better off than the non-Jew. It seems the "better" take on a more elementary definition. In the previous persons, better was expressed in circumcision or possessing the Law or confronting others from the Law of God or teaching others from the Law. But, the notion was continually because of what God has given us and commanded us we seem better where now in verse 9 is just the blank statement of maybe we are still just better off.

And once again, to me, the Gentile or even the Christian today, may still think of himself as better than others because the Christian attends church and/or is one of God's called out ones. And so, as I have stated previously, the Christian needs to clearly see that all people are under sin and so no person is better than another.

And now Paul (or really God) will go through 9 verses to clearly specifying the offense of man and how he is a sinner. Paul does now transition to speak of all men now to clearly show that all of us are sinners. The message has been clear thus far in that righteous deeds don't hold up at all before God as anything of value before God in earning salvation. 


Promise: From Tabletalk, "All have failed to meet His righteous demands no matter what their earthly parentage."