Some Jews (Romans 3:3) are (or have become) unfaithful. Paul is not now referring to their moral inconsistency (unfaithfulness) within the community of faithful Jews (see Romans 2:21–24), but to the unbelief (apistia
) of the Jews. This unbelief was apparent more than once during Israel’s time in the wilderness and later also, in particular in their worship of Baal. The unbelief in God’s words and deeds became especially evident when the Jewish leaders refused to listen to John the Baptist and when they rejected Jesus, God’s Son, the Word. The Christians in Rome were confronted with the reality that some Jews preached Christ to them, but that the synagogue as a whole rejected Jesus and did not believe the gospel of God. This must have been a difficult reality for newly converted Gentile Christians to come to terms with. Does this unbelief now nullify all of God’s faithfulness throughout their history?
That is certainly not the case (Romans 3:4). God is always trustworthy and human unfaithfulness in no way puts an end to it. Every human being may be untrustworthy, but God is still trustworthy. Children may disappoint, but the Father always remains true. In the Greek the sentence here is expressed as a wish: Let God be true though everyone were a liar.
The world needs to know that, when it comes to fidelity and truth, God is the only One who is always trustworthy. Paul also bases this wish on a passage from Scripture, namely, a penitential psalm of David (Psalm 51:4). There David confesses that he (even as the king of Israel) is a sinner and guilty of evil before God. And then he immediately follows this up with the words, That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged
(keep in mind that Paul is quoting from the Greek translation of the Psalm here). In the land of Israel, King David was the highest judge, and yet even he acknowledges that God as Judge is his superior. This much is apparent in his penance.
God was not naive when he laid down his law, as if the Lord did not know that every human being is slow in showing faithfulness and quick to commit sin. In Deuteronomy, we read detailed accounts of apostasy from God in Israel and later we read about Joshua’s warnings to the people that they will not persevere in the service of the Lord. When God speaks, he is always fully aware that he is addressing to sinners. History confirms this reality, as the sin of even the righteous judge
David vindicates God in every respect.1
3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?