Goal: 

This is “Let God Be True and Every Man a Liar—A Messianic Discussion of Romans 3:3-4.” It will be a resumption of our examination and discussion of Romans chapter three (3), picking up where we left off from the last installment of our overarching Paul and Hebrew Roots series. If you recall, we looked at verses one (1) and two (2) in detail, focusing on Shaul’s declaration that the Jewish advantage is founded first and foremost on the Hebrew being entrusted with the Creator’s oracles.

In our discussing and examining of this unique Jewish Advantage that the apostle wrote about to his Roman Messianic readers, we explored what exactly those oracles consisted of and what the entrusting of those oracles meant to the Jew and the rest of the world.

Attention:

What we will find as we transition over to verses three (3) and (4), which will be our focus passage for this discussion, is a critical, foundational premise of Faith that we all must securely understand and embrace if we intend to remain in covenant relationship with the Almighty. And that critical, foundation premise of Faith is firmly connected to our faith; to our belief in the faithfulness of Yehovah to keep His promises.

Need:

If should be of no surprise to any of us that our obedient faith—our belief—in Yehovah is that which justifies us before our holy and righteous Elohim. Our belief—our faith—in Yehovah and in the personal ministry of our Master Y’shua, forms the basis upon which our covenant relationship with Yehovah, King of the Universe, is built.

The writer of Hebrews said it clearly and succinctly:

“…without faith it is impossible to please Him (Him being Yehovah): for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (11:5; KJV).

That believing or faithfulness of Yehovah on our part—that which leads to Him being a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, involves consists of a few things:

• Believing that Yah exists and that He is Who He says He is.
• Belief in Yah’s Words and in His Way of life.
• Belief that leads to obediently walking in Yehovah’s Ways.
• Belief that Yah will do all that He said He will do in His Words; to us through His Spirit; to the world through the personal ministry of His Son and our Messiah.

Interestingly, Shaul anticipated that some Gentiles might question Yehovah’s faithfulness—Yah being true to His Words; His promises; His covenant and the completion of the covenant promises He established through Y’shua Messiah. Why? Simply because His chosen people, Yisra’el, refused to believe. Believe what? Well, we’ll get into the “what” in just a moment.

Which begs the question: Is Yehovah’s faithfulness to His Words-His Covenants—His promises—dependent upon the faithfulness of the Jew?

Satisfaction of the need:

Well, suffice to say, we will firmly establish in this discussion that Yehovah does not require His chosen ones—Yisra’el—to be in covenant with Him, nor to believe in Y’shua as their Mashiyach, for Him to remain true to all His promises. He will always accomplish that which He promised He would do.

So, with that, let’s get into our focus passage for today: Romans 3:3-4.

Visualization:

Our focus passage reads as follows:

(3) For if some of them have not believed, have they, by their not believing, made the faith of Elohim inefficient? (4) Far be it (that is, may it never be!; “khes,” “Elohim forbid”): For Elohim is truthful, and every man false: as it is written: “That you might be upright, in your declarations; and be found pure when they judge you.” (Rom. 3:3-4; AENT).

Let’s now break this passage down to get a better sense of what the apostle is saying here.

3. What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?

Starting off, how should we define “not believe” and “unbelief” as used here in this verse by Shaul?”

The Greek term that is used here for “not believe” is “apisteou” which, contextually, means to refuse to believe something that is conveyed to us.

The meaning and use of this term are best understood from the following passages:

• Luke 24:1-12, specifically in verse 11, We find the term “apisteou” used by Luke to describe the disciples’ refusal to believe the women’s report that the resurrected Y’shua had appeared and spoken to them.
• Acts 28:23-31, specifically in verse 24, we find the term “apisteou” used by Luke to describe those Jews who refused to believe the gospel as taught to them by Shaul from his apartment in Rome.

Who are the “some” that Shaul rhetorically describes as “apisteou?” Contextually speaking, the “some” that Shaul is alluding to here must be the Jews. This most certainly would be a continuation or carry-over of Shaul’s diatribe featuring the rhetorical Jew of chapter two (2) and verses one (1) and two (2) of chapter three (3).

And so, within the framework of his ongoing diatribe, the apostle, assuming the role of Gentile here, asks the question: So, what if some Jews “apisteou”; what if some Jews refused to believe?

Refuse to believe what?

Well, that is a very good question that I personally cannot, with any appreciable confidence, answer. And the reason I don’t have a confident answer as to what it was that some Jews would refuse to believe is because there are at least two lines of thinking one could take in answering this question. (1) Yisra’el’s general refusal to keep covenant with Yehovah throughout her history because she simply did not believe/have Faith in Yehovah, her Elohim. Or (2), from a more contextual standpoint, Yisra’el’s overall rejection of Y’shua as her Mashiyach and of His gospel message.

Now, if we want to play it safe, we could say Shaul was insinuating that Yisra’el’s refusal to believe consisted of both lines of thinking. It certainly wouldn’t be wrong. However, the second line of thinking seems to agree with the apostle’s intermittent assertion that he was an emissary of Y’shua Messiah, who was set apart to preach and teach the gospel of Yehovah (Rom. 1:1-3, 5-6, 9, 13-15; 2:16; 10:15-16; 11:28; 15:16-29; 16:25). And if this is indeed in alignment with the point the apostle is trying to make here in verse three (3), then “the what” of the apostle’s question is the “gospel.” The apostle then is rhetorically asking: So, what if some Jews refuse to believe the gospel that I’m teaching and preaching? Does the Jew’s unbelief or refusal to believe—let’s say the gospel—nullify (ESV); make of none effect (ASV); cancel (CJB); abolish (Peshitta); make useless (YLT) Yehovah’s faithfulness—in the Greek the term used is “pistis” which contextually means fidelity or simply faithfulness.

Well, this of course brings up the next question: Yehovah’s fidelity or faithfulness to what? And the answer to this critical question can only be answered by our examining the next verse of our focus passage, verse four (4):

4. May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged.’

The “May it never be!” comes in response to Shaul’s rhetorical question about Yehovah’s faithfulness despite Yisra’el’s history of unfaithfulness and unbelief.

“May it never be” turns out to be a common rabbinic expression that Shaul borrows and uses throughout the body of his writings. It is meant to convey to the reader and listener, the impossibility of whatever proposal is being put forth to them. In this case, Shaul is strongly testifying to the impossibility that Yehovah would be unfaithful to His covenant-promises as a result of Yisra’el’s disbelief in those same promises.

And so, in order to prove his point Shaul attempts to establish a basic premise with his readers, which for us today, must be a fundamental understanding of our Faith:

That Yehovah is always true, and man is always the liar (on a broader scale, man is a sinner; in this case, the religious Jew is always the sinner who is the liar). In fact, Yehovah’s faithfulness to His Word and Yisra’el’s disbelief in Yehovah’s Word are mutually exclusive one to another. Yisra’el’s disbelief is essentially illustrative of humankind’s overall fallen state. Humans will do what humans do–sin and disbelieve Yehovah–regardless of whether those humans are Jews.

Shaul uses the Greek term pseustes (psyoos-tace) to describe humankind in comparison to the faithfulness of Yehovah. The KJV translates pseustes as liar. But liar in this sense may be a tad bit much. We know that most people do not lie all the time. They do from time to time tell the truth.

Well, the root of pseustes is pseudomai. Pseudomai, can certainly mean to utter a falsehood or untruth. However, depending on how it is used, pseudomai can also mean attempt to deceive by falsehood.

Recall earlier in Shaul’s letter he writes about his gospel includes Yah ultimately judging the secrets of His human creation (2:16) and a true Jew being he/she who is one on the inside, otherwise expressed as one who is circumcised of heart (2:29).

We know from previous discussions that Yehovah judges and searches the hearts of those who would be His elect. We also know from Father’s revelations that the hearts of people are desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9).

Thus, it stands as a foundational premise of our Faith that human beings are inherently deceptive, evil, selfish, opportunistic, possess a natural hostility towards Yehovah (Rom. 8:7).  Unlike Yehovah, humans cannot be trusted. And so, it makes sense that Yah commanded His elect to trust no man (Psa. 146:3). Why? Because humans are inherently unfaithful in all their ways. And that’s why Yah commanded Avraham to walk upright before him and be perfect (Gen. 17:1). And thusly, Yah commenced to test Avraham to see just how true—how faithful- how circumcised his heart was. Later on, Yah commands His people to do likewise: Be holy as He is Holy (Exo. 19:6; Lev. 21:8). And we were encouraged by the Apostle Kefa to walk before our Heavenly Father perfectly and be holy (1 Pet. 1:16).

Conversely, one of the Creator’s intrinsic character traits is that He is uncompromisingly just and righteous in all His Ways. Thus, He will always be true to Himself by remaining steadfastly true to His promises. For Him to behave or say otherwise would run counter to His holiness, righteousness and justness. He is thus faithful. He is incapable of being unfaithful.

But as it relates to Yehovah in this covenant equation, Shaul is emphatically stating that Yehovah is true: He is unchanging. Yehovah will always remain true to His Words. For an irrevocable attribute of the Great I Am is that He is true. And this is of course in stark contrast to humankind’s attribute of being a liar-being sinful-being unfaithful and unrighteous. And thus, Shaul here in this verse combines references of Psalm 51:4 and 116:11 [LXX is 115:2] which supports this contention:

Psalm 51:4 is a portion of a Psalm of repentance that King Dawid wrote over the sin he committed with Bathsheba: “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”

Paraphrasing what Dawid (aka King David) has written:

Abba, I know I’ve done wrong and transgressed your Torah. Have mercy on me. Forgive me. Wash me from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins. For there is no doubt about it: I’ve sinned against you and done an evil thing before you. And in the end, whatever punishment is due me, you will be justified and blameless. I deserve what is coming to me.

And in Psalm 116:11, Dawid writes simply:

“I said in my alarm, ‘All mankind are liars.'”

As it relates to Yehovah’s faithfulness to His Words, Shaul argues that man is inherently sinful and prone to transgress their end of covenant bargains (3:4). But Yehovah is not like a man as stated in Numbers 23:19-20:

“Yehovah is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good” (NKJV)?

He will always remain true to His Words and will always fulfill His promises.

Yah purposes to save fallen man through Y’shua who descended through Yisra’el. And He purposed to do this despite His knowing that Yisra’el would break covenant with Him on numerous occasions.

Nevertheless, Yah is not done with Yisra’el as Shaul writes in Romans 11:25-26:

“Mystery, that blindness of heart has in some measure befallen Yisra’el until the fullness of the Gentiles will come in. And then will all Yisra’el live (referring to those who successfully “teshuvah” and receive Y’shua as their Mashiyach, as for a certainty, those who reject Yehovah’s salvation through Y’shua Messiah will not be saved). (Continuing.) As it is written: ‘A deliverer will come from Tsiyon and will turn away iniquity from Ya’akov’” (AENT).

And so Shaul here asserts that Yehovah’s promises are not abrogated because Yisra’el repeatedly broke covenant with Father or that she failed to receive Y’shua as her Mashiyach (3:4). For Yah’s faithfulness [to His promises] will always be manifested and come to full fruition as man will always be proved liars (ref. Psa. 51:4).

And so Shaul, in addition to certifying the value or advantage of the Jew and circumcision, had to address the rhetorical question of how Yehovah is justified in His lumping religious or rebellious or hypocritical Jews in with all of humanity as it relates to sin. And thus, Shaul asserts that Jewish disobedience to Torah and her unbelief/her faithlessness (to include her rejection of Y’shua as her Messiah) does not in any sense adversely affect Yehovah’s faithfulness nor His righteousness to His human creation. McKee brilliantly puts it this way: “Yet at the same time, God’s faithfulness to God’s own self, requires Him to judge sin–regardless of who commits it.”

Although Shaul references a couple Psalm passages to make his point here, there stands another excellent support passage that cannot be overlooked:

“Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and living kindness, do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You, which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria to this day. However, You are just in all that has come upon us; for You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly” (Neh. 9:32-33).

Continuing within the context of our present text, this lack of faith or belief on the part of the Jew, according to Shaul, has nothing to do with their guardianship of Yehovah’s oracles. But rather, it is their unbelief and lack of faith that is supposed to rest on what is contained in those oracles. And although not directly stated in this passage, the religious Jew’s unbelief and absence of faith is evidenced in their rejection of Y’shua as their long-prophesied Mashiyach. As Hegg writes: “He (Y’shua) is the locus of the nation’s unbelief.”

This is powerfully illustrated in Yahoshua’s prophetic epithet over Yisra’el, which He uttered during His entry into Yerushalayim, just prior to His crucifixion:

“And when He had drawn near and saw the city, He wept over her. And He said, ‘If perhaps you had known those things that were for your peace, even if in this your day now, but they are hidden from your eyes. But to you will come the days when your enemies will surround you, and will oppress you from all sides. And will overthrow you and your children with you, and they will not leave in you a stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation’” (Luk. 19:41-44).

Despite Yisra’el having been entrusted with Yehovah’s oracles, she tragically failed to recognize, receive and embrace her Messiah.

And so it was: Despite the faithfulness of Yisra’el to physically safeguard Yehovah’s oracles over the centuries, she remained steadfastly unbelieving in those very oracles and ultimately blind to the appearing of her Messiah.  In so doing, Yisra’el’s covenant relationship with Yehovah was severely damaged. Yet again, because of her unbelief/her unfaithfulness, she would be temporarily denied entry into the promised land—the Kingdom of Yehovah—brought to them by Y’shua HaMashiyach.

Nevertheless, Yehovah’s faithfulness to His covenant with Yisra’el remained intact and viable—even more powerful than the Kingdom of darkness could ever realize. Of this Shaul wrote to the Messianic Assemblies in Corinth:

“But we speak the wisdom of Elohim, in a mystery; the wisdom, which was hidden, and which Elohim predetermined before the world was, for our glory: (8) Which no one of the rulers of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have executed the Master of glory on the stake. (9) But, as it is written: ‘The eye has not seen, nor has the ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, that which Elohim has prepared for those who love Him’” (1 Cor. 2:7-9; AENT).

Thus, despite Yisra’el’s failures in terms of her belief and properly walking in Yehovah’s oracles, Abba remained true to all His promises. And of course, we see the fruit of Yah’s faithfulness to His Word evidenced in the Gentiles’ miraculous entering into covenant relationship with Him, through the power and might of our Master’s execution stake and the Creator’s precious, Ruach HaKodesh.

Call to Action and Discussion Wrap-up

This premise of Yah being always true to His Words and human beings found wanting is certainly a pertinent one today as we see in so many instances where government leaders, medical professionals, religious leaders, educators etc. are all showing themselves to be liars (pyroostace). And the apostle expounds on why humans are so unreliable and faithless in chapter 1. Sadly, faithlessness is not exclusive to the gentile. It extends on over to the Hebrew who having been entrusted with Yah’s lively oracles, for whatever reason did not come into a true obedience of Faith.

Regarding those wrath and punishment promises, let us not forget that Shaul declared that such promises were indeed part and parcel of the gospel that he preached. Most folks choose for whatever reason to ignore the fact that Yah will carry out such promises as surely as He will keep His promises of blessings. But the average soul who claims Yehovah as their Elohim for whatever reason does not believe Yah in this respect. Thus, in their non-belief, they don’t walk in obedient covenant with Yah; they walk out their Faith on their own terms, professing from their mouths Faith in the Elohim of Yisra’el, but their thoughts, behavior, words and hearts deny the power and certitude of their profession.

Conversely, Yah’s faithfulness to His promises span beyond every conceivable gambit: the covenants, the prophetic, the Messianic, salvific, and yes, those fearsome wrath and judgment promises. If Yah declared it, He will keep His Word. So let us not fall into the inevitable trap of testing or doubting Yah. And when His judgments and wrath are poured out, as hard and counterintuitive as it may seem to our 21^st century, “woke,” western sensibilities, we are compelled to honor Yah and declare to the world His righteous, just and holy ways, just as David and Job humbly did (Job 4:17; 33:12; Psa. 51).

Well, I pray you got something out of our discussion today. And with all that’s going on around us today—politically; health-wise; socially; spiritually, it becomes clear that there is only one firm foundation upon which we may find rest for our weary souls.

Master invited:

“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Mat. 11:28-29; KJV). That firm foundation is in Yehovah, the Creator of the Universe, through His Son, Y’shua HaMashiyach. His is a firm and true foundation that will never let one down. For Yehovah will never default on His Word; He will always do what He has declared He will do.

It’s time we stop believing and trusting in the human leaders of this world; it’s time we realize that the kingdom of darkness has nothing for Yah’s human creation other than death and destruction. With Yehovah, He promises life—abundant life (Joh. 10:10).

True, abundant life will never come from lying mankind. And it certainly doesn’t come from denominationalism—aka the Church. It comes only from Yehovah through Y’shua Messiah. And if you desire to know more about his abundantly life, which is part and parcel of living—of walking—in obedient covenant relationship with the Eternal, I invite you to contact me via our email address: perceptionwp@gmail.com. I’ll steer you in the right direction.

As for the rest of us who continue to walk in covenant with Yehovah, let us stay strong and faithful in the life we’ve been called to walk and operate in—with our eyes, hearts, minds and souls focused on the Kingdom and on His righteousness. This world, although we temporarily dwell here, is truly not our home (Heb. 13:13).

So, until next time beloved, may you be most blessed, fellow saints in training.

References:

A Question of One’s Jewishness:

https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/2021/04/25/you-are-called-a-jew-part-1-of-the-series-a-question-of-ones-jewishness/

Tim Hegg—Commentary on the Book of Romans—Published by Torah Resources

J.K. McKee—Commentary on the Book of Romans