What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew? (Rom. 3:1)
Expanded Passage: Romans 3:1-2
At first glance, Paul’s words to the Roman church seem a bit awkward and hard to understand. However, if you consider this passage in light of what is written at the end of Romans 2, you will see that it makes perfect sense. In order to show God’s grand plan of salvation for the whole world, Paul had to build a bridge between the children of the Jewish (circumcised) people, and everyone else (the uncircumcised). Paul did that by asking the series of questions found in Romans 3:1–8.
By asking these questions, Paul first exposed the sinful human heart for what it really is—partial to those like us. God never intended the Jewish people to be exclusive. The purpose of choosing them was to show the world that there is a God who is real and is firmly committed to all of his people.
The second thing Paul did was show that anyone can become a Jew. Or, to say it another way, anyone can become chosen simply by believing in Christ in their heart. For being a Jew is not a matter of outward signs but of inward faith lived out in the world (Rom. 2:29). God’s grand plan of salvation was never meant to be exclusive. Anyone can join if they seek God with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Look in the mirror and say, “I am chosen by God.”
Devon Smith is district superintendent of the Tri-State District of The Wesleyan Church and founder/director of the CROSS Training ordination program at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
