Good afternoon, Drawing Near to God Community! We continued on our journey of Romans this week by looking at God’s Faithfulness as demonstrated by Paul in Romans 3. As followers of my blog know, I like to share some notes from my teaching here on the blog this week so both those members of our community all over the country can see what we’re studying! You can always join us via streaming even if you can’t join live.

Our meditation verse for the week is Romans 3:3:

What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! 

Chapter three of Paul’s letter to the Romans begins with the question of whether or not it is advantageous to be a Jew. He explicitly says that Jews have the advantage of being entrusted with God’s Word. He proceeds to build a case for God’s faithfulness. He writes that if Jews were unfaithful, that does not negate God’s faithfulness. Instead it points to God’s faithfulness; their unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness: “If our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say?”(Romans 3:5)

Here are some truths we learn from the Scriptures in this week’s lesson:

• We all fall under the tyranny and bondage of sin (both Jew and Gentile)
• We are in need of a Savior because neither the law or our good works will save us
• The law (The Torah, Pentateuch, the 10 commandments) makes us aware of our sin
• Our unfaithfulness has no bearing on God’s faithfulness

A little bit more about how Paul builds the case for God’s Faithfulness:

• God’s faithfulness is not dependent on whether man is faithful or not.
• Faulty Jewish thinking why not sin in order for God’s mercy and His righteousness to be seen.
• No one is righteous… NO ONE. We are all sinners and under sin’s influence.

But God…

As we continue through this chapter of Romans, now begins the section with grace offered as the solution. Grace that:

• Goes beyond the law
• Comes through faith
• Is open to all
• Offers a new standing before God through Jesus Christ
• Tyranny of sin is removed

And that’s good news for us all! Are you following along this journey of Romans with us? I’d love to hear what God is revealing to you in your life in the comments below!