Just because a person was raised in a Christian home does not make that person a Christian. Just because someone attends church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night does not make them a Christian. Our identity in Christ is not who we are or what we do. Our identity is in Him!
Paul is still addressing the Jews in Romans 3:3-8. Some where along the way some of the Jews had believed that just because he was a “Jew” and God had entrusted them with His word, made Covenant promises with their people through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, that was enough. The Jew as well as the Gentile are in need of Christ and no amount of works or identity with a certain group of people will accomplish this.
We must remember who the “True Jew” is before we tackle these 5 verses. Let’s look back at Romans 2:28-29 and recall what it teaches:
” For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
Who is the True Jew?
According to these verses the “True Jew” is one who has been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. He has had his heart changed to see his need of a Savior, he has believed that Jesus is the Son of God, repented of his sins, and trusted in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross to save him from his sins. There is an inward change!
The opposite of this would be a Jew in name only. The Jew in name only relies on his national heritage, his circumcision, his works of self-righteousness, and God’s covenant promises to His chosen Nation.
Then What Advantage has the Jew?
In this verse the “Jew” mentioned would be referring to the Jewish nation, the chosen nation of God. There is no argument that there is advantage in being the chosen nation of God. The “Jewish Nation” had received the very word of God. The Jews were given the privilege and advantage of KNOWING God, some of them neglected that advantage and chose rather to glory in their name only.
A Question Arises!
“What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God will it?” Romans 3:3
The question is “If some of the Jews did not believe would their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? Paul answers that by saying, “May it never be!”
My faithfulness does not have anything to do with the faithfulness of God. Look at what Paul teaches in 2 Timothy 2:13:
” If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
If a promise failed to be fulfilled it was in the disobedience of the person not in God. God made many promises to the “nation Israel” but they did not apply to the individual person. The Jewish individual (and the Gentile) must trust in and rely on God, (Not the externals that had been given to them) and be obedient to Him to have a relationship with Him.
Some did not believe but that will never affect the faithfulness of God. He will punish our sin. Sometimes I think we fail to remember that He is faithful to all His word. He did say in the Old Testament that if you do not keep my statutes and ordinances you would be punished. He is faithful to His word!
David Testifies to the Faithfulness of God!
In Romans 3:4 Paul quotes a verse from palm 51:4:
“Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when you speak and blameless when you judge.”
This verse was written by David in response to the sin he had committed with Bathsheba. He had seen Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop and instead of fleeing temptation he gave into the temptation and lay with her. She became pregnant. He attempted to cover his sin by having her husband brought in from battle, have him be with his wife so that it appeared that the child was his. The attempt failed, Uriah would not lay with his wife while his men were in battle. So David had him killed in battle. He would then take Bathsheba as his wife and no one would know about the adultery. The prophet Nathan confronted David concerning his sin and this Psalm is in response to Nathan.
David recognized that he had sinned against God. He had done what was evil in the sight of God. Instead of standing on who he was or the promises made to Israel David stood on the faithfulness of God. David knew and understood that God was blameless in all He did. David admitted that he, and he alone was responsible for his sin! He deserved God’s righteous judgment. God did punish David in many ways, one of which was the death of his son.
The heart of David is the heart of a true believer in God. He did not try to cover his sin by shaking his fist at God and saying, “but You promised.” He accepted responsibility for his sin. He gave glory to God by testifying to His faithfulness!
This is a very pensive and beneficial post! Thanks a lot!
Your welcome Nance! All for the glory of God and the good of His people! Thank you for sharing your kinds words today:)
It brings me to my knees thinking about how faithful God is and how undeserving we are- yet his promises are true and he loves us no matter what. Even as a parent, when you really start to understand love more deeply, I still cannot fathom the depth of God’s love. Incredible.
His love is incredible!! I cannot comprehend it either! Thanks of sharing your thoughts:) God Bless!
if we would only understand the extent of His faithfulness….
Amen!!! We need to pray for understanding!
God’s love and faithfulness for us never cease to amaze me.
Me too Brandi!! He is utterly amazing!
Great insights. I like the way you clarified the difference between the nation of Israel and the individuals.
Thank you Tara! I hope the clarification helped! Thanks for stopping by and sharing today:) God Bless!
Despite my unfaithfulness, God is definitely faithful to his promises.
He sure is!!! He is always faithful no matter what I do!
It can be hard for our human brains to fully understand what it means when God promises something. We are used to flaws and disappointments… God is not a flawed human.
Marissa
You are exactly right Marissa, God is not flawed!! He is perfect. Yes, it can be hard for us to understand, I thank Him that He proves Himself over and over!
He is so faithful. Even when we are faithless. Great post today lady!
Praise Him that He is faithful when we are not!!!!! Were would we be without Him! Thank you Brianna:)
There is such comfort in trusting in God’s faithfulness.
There is so much comfort in trusting in His faithfulness! Praising Him that He is truly faithful! Thanks Melanie for sharing. have a blessed day:)
Isn’t it amazing that we, as Gentiles, are grafted into the Chosen People of the Lord???? His faithfulness to us is amazing! <3
Yes, Susannah His faithfulness is amazing!!It is amazing that we are grafted in!All because of His amazing Grace!
Did not realize how many times I used amazing! But when it comes to God you cannot use it too many times:)
Love this. He is definitely more faithful than I could ever be. It is so good to be reminded that God is blameless and we are responsible for all of our own sins. Thank goodness for His Grace and Mercies!
Yes, Anna! Thank goodness for His grace and mercy!!! His faithfulness is what we rest in! Thank you for sharing today!
I’m so glad God’s faithfulness is independent of my efforts or attitude. It’s humbling and wonderful to be reminded of how we serve a good and faithful God!
It is very humbling Jonathan, to serve such a great and awesome God! I am grateful as well that His faithfulness does not depend on me!! Thanks for stopping by today:)
Love this and learning life lessons from the life of David!
Cathy
Thank you, Cathy! I love that God has given us examples in His word of people just like us to teach us! There is much to be learned from the life of David. Thanks for sharing your thoughts today:)
I love 2 Timothy 2:13 …it makes me smile just thinking about that verse.
Thank you Lisa for the reminder that our God is a faithful God. I enjoyed reading your post. May you have a lovely day 🙂
Me too Crystal, I love this verse and the truths it holds! What a Mighty God we serve! I am so grateful you enjoyed the post!Thanks for stopping by with your sweet words today! I hope you have a Blessed day:)
I love 2 Timothy 2:13 🙂 …it makes me smile just thinking about that verse.
Thank you Lisa for the reminder that our God is a faithful God. I enjoyed reading your post. May you have a lovely day.
Such wise words of encouragement – God promised to never leave me or forsake me and I’ve held on to that promise. Even when I am not faithful He remains true !!!
Thank you for your kind words Rebecca! I hold on tight to that promise as well. There are days I am so unfaithful but He is always faithful and keeps those who are His! God Bless You!
Thanks for sharing the word of God. So many people still need to hear to this.
Thank you for your encouragement Latoya! Yes, and yes again so many people need to hear the truth!!! Until I breath my last I hope to keep speaking truth! Glad you stopped by today! God Bless You:)
It’s so important to rightly divide the Word and see exactly who the Lord was speaking to! I’m glad I stopped by!
I am glad you stopped by too, Lil! Yes, it is important to understand who the Lord is speaking to. And soooooo important to rightly divide it! A faithful walk depends on it! God Bless You:)
He is faithful even when we are not – that is just such amazing grace isn’t it? I’m enjoying your posts through Romans! 🙂
Such amazing Grace!!!!! Hanging on to that truth with all I have:) I am so grateful you are enjoying walking through Romans! Thank you for your encouragement today Helen! Have a Blessed Day:)
Hey there, thank you for this post but… (yes there is a but lol) I am pulled in 2 ways because of it. One part of me understands where you are coming from and the core of your message but one part of me feels offended by the wording real or true Jew. Whilst Jew has become a label that anybody can don whether secular Jew or orthodox, to be a Jew means the same thing as being an African or Asian. I think it’s important to clarify that Christians are not trying to replace Jews they are an ethnic group in reality and not a religious one as Judah was the Southern Kingdom of Israel nothing to do with their faith – and just like I think a black person would be more accepting of someone from their own race speaking about cultural or racial matters I think so would a Jew. I hope this makes sense. Thanks again.
http://www.faithhealthpotential.com
Hi Achama!! Thanks for your comment! I did not in any way mean to offend! I am only trying to stay in the context of Romans 2:28-29! Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote, ” He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart by the Spirit, not by the letter, and his praise is from God.” In this post I was trying to emphasize the contrast of a true believer and a false believer. I believe Paul is using this same contrast when he uses the word “Jew”. I understand the importance of the nation of Israel being God’s chosen people but I also understand the Scriptures to say that not all Israel is Israel!Romans9:6. I believe true Jew emphasizes the fact that anyone of Jewish descent that has accepted Christ as their Savior is the true Jew, and anyone from any other ethnic group:Gentiles are the true Jew!!I have emphasized the importance of the Jewish nation in other post in this series! i am not offended by your comment, I pray it does not come across that way! Iron sharping Iron! Again thanks for your comment! God bless:)
God is always faithful to us – He don’t walk away from us – sadly, sometimes, we walk away from Him
Yes, sadly, to often I walk away! But praise Him He is faithful to not let go!!
He is faithful Praise God
Amen, Mikki Jo! He is always faithful!
Thanks for a great post, Lisa. It can be a complex area to understand.
You are welcome Catrine! You are so right many passages in Romans can be so complex! Praise God for the teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit! Thanks for stopping by today!
My pleasure. Have an awesome week.
Thank you! You too:)
I had missed this lesson in the series! Thanks for sharing it today! Romans is such a gold mine!
Romans is a gold mine Michele!! I love this book! You are welcome I am glad you got it!
But finished studying in Romans and I love this beautiful post! God’s Word is so rich!
Thank you for your sweet words Beth! God’s word is so amazing!
Lisa,
I am so humbled and thankful for His promises and His faithfulness! Thank you for this study!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
I am so thankful as well Lori! He has shown such amazing grace to us! You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by and sharing:) God Bless You!