{"id":124,"date":"2004-08-13T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2004-08-13T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2004-12-14T01:58:16","modified_gmt":"2004-12-14T05:58:16","slug":"the-book-of-romans-part-8-31-9-crime-and-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/the-book-of-romans-part-8-31-9-crime-and-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Book of Romans Part 8 (3:1-9) Crime and Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

This portion in Paul's argument is coming to its pinnacle. Paul has
\ndeftly drawn the reader into the court-room where God is the wronged
\nparty and His defense is being offered. Paul started the argument by
\nhighlighting the point that God is righteous in that He judges. <\/p>\n

Not missing the beat, Paul quickly illustrated <\/a>how
\nGod judges the guilty heathen?no mention of hidden counsels or any such
\nthing of the sort, but guilty men willfully against God, suppressing
\nHis words and finally embracing their sin, exhorting those who do the
\nsame. <\/p>\n

Lest the moralist listener "tut-tut's" these wicked heathens, taking a stand
\non the side of God by judging those horrid sinners, Paul makes sure to
\npoint out that they are just as guilty. That by standing on God's side
\nand judging the sin about them (and not the sin in their own hearts),
\nthey effectively store up wrath for themselves for a future day. These
\nmoralists can be found in the Jews who were given the Law but by their
\nrepeated sin, the Gentiles blaspheme the very name of God.<\/p>\n

Paul now does concede a point, as mentioned in our last
\n(and so very long ago at that) session. It's not that to be Jewish is
\nworthless, not at all. It would almost seem that Paul has proved his
\npoint too well by leaving off in the middle of this thought-flow with
\nsuch an idea that Circumcision is actually of the heart (if we read it
\nas such, although we've already discussed what Paul was referring to).<\/p>\n


The Jews have many advantages (3:1-2) and benefits in being circumcised?although Paul doesn't list what they all are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He offers a great advantage and one which he will reiterate in the
\nso controversial Chapter 9. To the Jews were entrusted the very oracles
\nof the Living God(3:2)! If you will, the very utterances of God found
\nthroughout the Old Testament. Jews had a tremendous historical role
\nwith those utterances of God and Paul makes sure that the reader does
\nnot forget it. <\/p>\n

What then if the Jews do not believe? Will God have to throw away
\nhis faithfulness because His unfaithful people refuse to believe? Will
\nGod stop being God because the people He chose to hold His divine
\nutterances severely fell? (3:3)<\/p>\n

Paul's response is emphatic (3:4). God will be found true though
\nevery man be found a liar?and not in this sense that we're all wrong
\nmerely because we're not God. No, Paul has already illustrated the
\nsinfulness of both the heathen and the moralist and he goes on to quote
\nthis poetic genre passage from Psalms 51:4 which we may go into further
\ndetail on a later date.<\/p>\n

Paul then offers a question which he offers in the regular people
\ndealings, knowing full well that it is not fit for this great
\ndiscussion on God's righteousness (3:5). Nevertheless he offers the
\nquestion which pits the darkness of man's sin as a foil to the
\nbrightness of God's righteousness. As an illustration, if our darkness
\nmakes God's judging of that darkness a bright point, does that then
\nmake God not that shining bright merely brighter than us?<\/p>\n

Paul's response is once again emphatic (3:6) saying that God can
\nonly judge the world because he is in actuality righteous, not merely
\nas a foil. Then Paul offers the next logical question that if this is
\nthe case and that He is glorified by the fact that men's sins (my sins)
\nare judged, how could it be possible that men (or I) am still judged as
\na sinner. God is being glorified by men's wickedness and perhaps why
\nnot "do evil that the good of God may come"? (3:7)<\/p>\n

Paul doesn't even bother to answer the claim with an emphatic (3:8).
\nHe almost seems to hiss out the words that the persons saying these
\nwords and ascribing them to believers are condemned and their
\ncondemnation before God is just. Instead he gets back to the point of
\nthis part of the discussion?if the Jews have an advantage are the Jews
\nthen better than they (the Gentiles)? <\/p>\n

The Jew may very well take the fact that he has an advantage to mean
\nthat he is better than the Gentile or has a higher standing, but Paul
\nsquelches that with a "not at all" and points how we've covered the
\nground that all are under sin. (3:9)<\/p>\n

Paul then puts together several quotes from the Old Testament to
\npaint a graphic picture, once again using poetic genre language. <\/p>\n

Why my constant repetition of "poetic genre" or "poetic language"?
\nWell, there are some who take poetic passages and read them as doctrine
\nor history, completely ignoring the structure of poetry. Someone may
\njump into a Psalm and take the words the psalmist writes out and apply
\nthem as promises to the self (another error completely there but that's
\nfor another time) simply because a poetic passage illustrated a point.
\nFor example:<\/p>\n

Roses are red
\n Violets are blue
\n I don't have a rhyme
\n Perhaps you do<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, if we read this with our Bible-Reading Hats on, we'll say "Yes all roses are red." <\/p>\n

Really? Are all roses red? Or are there white and pink and yellow roses as well? <\/p>\n

"Violets are all blue, then." <\/p>\n

Is that a fact? I thought they were closer to violet myself.<\/p>\n

"In the last section the writer is confessing how he doesn't have a rhyme and perhaps the reader can develop one." <\/p>\n

That's superbly interesting…for it seems to rhyme. Is the passage a
\nlie or does then the writer have a secondary point in the setting up of
\nthe poetry in such a manner?<\/p>\n

Jewish poetry may not necessarily rhyme (especially when translated
\ninto English) and that may be part of our anglicized problem with
\nreading those long poetic passages. Jewish poetry does have a structure
\nthough and it would help us to understand those passages if we saw them
\nin light of their poetic structure instead of twisting them in the same way I twisted my little rhyme.<\/p>\n

-r-<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This portion in Paul's argument is coming to its pinnacle. Paul has deftly drawn the reader into the court-room where God is the wronged party and His defense is being offered. Paul started the argument by highlighting the point that God is righteous in that He judges. Not missing the beat, Paul quickly illustrated how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[34,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-romans","category-study"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Book of Romans Part 8 (3:1-9) Crime and Poetry - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/the-book-of-romans-part-8-31-9-crime-and-poetry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Book of Romans Part 8 (3:1-9) Crime and Poetry - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This portion in Paul's argument is coming to its pinnacle. 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