Somebody Else’s Mail (10)

I mentioned last week that we would take a little time out from expositing Psalm 5 in context to look at Paul’s use of verse 9 in a famous passage in Romans 3 that begins by posing this question: “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.”

The selection from Psalm 5 is part of a list of Old Testament quotes from various sources that Paul assembles to prove his point, and this is where his critics begin to object to his usage of Psalm 5:9 and other verses. So let’s take a look at their objections today and see if we can’t come to a better understanding of what Paul was trying to accomplish in Romans 3.

Paul’s Use of Psalm 5:9 in Romans 3

First, David Brainerd contends that in their original contexts, none of the verses Paul uses prove what he says they prove. Is he right? He asks, “Can anyone defend Paul’s misuse of scripture in Romans 3?”

The List

Here’s the list of verses Paul quotes from the OT:

• None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. These lines come from verses 2 and 3 of either Psalm 14 or Psalm 53, which are very nearly identical. Paul has reordered the text and interpolated his own conclusion. In their original contexts, these words appear to describe any fool, Jew or Gentile, who says in his heart that God does not exist.
• Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive comes from Psalm 5:9, where it refers to David’s enemies, probably fellow Israelites, see v10.
• The venom of asps is under their lips comes from Psalm 140:3, where it refers to “violent men” who “surround me”, which would definitely make them Israelites.
• Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness comes from Psalm 10:7, where it could refer to either Israelites or Gentiles who afflict the innocent in Israel.
• Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known comes from Isaiah 59:7, where it unquestionably has to do with the sins of Israel and Judah.
• There is no fear of God before their eyes is from Psalm 36:1, where it is a general statement about wicked people.

None Who Does Good

Brainerd especially dislikes the first quote on Paul’s list. He complains:

“The Psalm, whether 14 or 53, is NOT saying that nobody ever seeks God. He misuses it as if it’s saying that, when in reality it is saying that ATHEISTS don’t seek God.”

I don’t think Paul misuses anything, but David is indeed talking about people who hold an atheistic worldview, or at very least people who behave as if God doesn’t exist. Further, Brainerd’s quite correct in this respect: neither Psalm makes the claim that nobody ever seeks God. That’s evident when we read as far as verse 4:

“Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?”

If in the very same psalm God has a people in view that belong to him, surely the psalmist cannot be claiming nobody seeks after God. Further, when David concludes his psalm(s), he says this:

“Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.”

So then, in Psalms 14 and 53 we have both wicked people who don’t seek after God and godly Israelites who do, and who belong to him. Nevertheless, on its own the verse does not appear to prove Paul’s point in Romans, at least as Brainerd has restated Paul’s intention.

Not Alone

However, Paul’s point is not that nobody ever seeks God; his point is that all men are under sin and that Jews are no better off in that respect than Gentiles. Moreover, the verse Mr. Brainerd feels is so misused does not stand on its own. It takes the entire list to make Paul’s point. In fact, he cites most of these verses to demonstrate that Jews too are under sin. Paul has already made the case that Gentiles are under sin in Romans 1 and 2.

But Mr. Brainerd is not alone either. A reader wrote us some time later, objecting to Paul even more vociferously:

“Paul denies all righteousness in the Old Testament by misquoting the Psalms and using them to make up his new doctrines on sin.

In Romans 3:10, Paul says that Abel was not righteous as Jesus said, Samuel did not understand, Moses did not seek God’s face, that Abraham has turned away, that Elijah and Elisha were altogether worthless, that Boaz had no true kindness, that Enoch’s throat was an open grave, the venom of the asp lay behind Jeremiah’s lips, Deborah’s mouth was filled with cursing and bitterness, Esther’s feet were eager to spill blood at any time, that Solomon knew nothing of peace, that they all deserve to burn in hell forever and ever. Jesus’s instruction to keep the commandments were obsolete, that, but that it is faith alone without works that gets you into heaven, not loving attitude, not good intentions, not benevolence, but choosing the right religion. That’s Paul’s message.”

I found his objection more than a little poetic, but equally a misreading of Paul’s intentions in Romans 3.

Back to the Beginning

Paul’s use of the Psalms and Prophets here is part of a sustained argument that begins back in Romans 1, as I noted above, where it concerned men who have rejected the understanding available to them through creation and whom God has given over to their passions. His subject is not Abel, Samuel, Moses, Abraham, Elijah or any of the other Old Testament men and women of faith namechecked by our commenter. In fact, Paul has already established that godly men and women like these ancient Israelites exist in the last few verses of the previous chapter: “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” As I noted above, the very psalms Paul quotes also make this point: the godly existed.

So then, what Paul goes on to say is not about Samuel, Moses or Deborah or other faithful Israelites whose praise was from God. He is describing another kind of Jew entirely.

Another Kind of Jew

Now then, in chapter 3, Paul strings together this lengthy series of Old Testament quotations from various places in order to demonstrate that apart from this “inward circumcision”, which we will later find is really saving faith, both Jews and Greeks alike are under sin. Good works will not save either Jew or Gentile who do not believe because nobody can perform them with 100% consistency. In Romans 3 he addresses the Jewish question, having answered the Gentile question in the previous chapters. We know this is what he is trying to demonstrate because he is responding to the rhetorical question “What then? Are we [Jews] any better off?” In aggregate, his quotations from six different OT passages deal with a variety of wicked people, both Jews and Gentiles, encompassing all men who do not trust in Christ.

Paul is showing that the whole tenor of Old Testament teaching is that men from all nations are estranged from God and “under sin” whether they attempt to follow the Law (Jews) or not (Gentiles). Jews are not justified under the Law simply because they are born Jews, as these verses illustrate (some are godly, some are not); while Gentiles, who haven’t got the Law, are not excused by their ignorance because “there is none who does good” and “there is no fear of God before their eyes”. The apostle is neither misquoting nor misusing the OT texts to make his case.

Righteousness by Faith

In fact, if you keep reading past chapter 3, far from denying all righteousness in the Old Testament, Paul is actually arguing in Romans that the OT saints were declared righteous not on the basis of works, but on the basis of their faith.

I agree with Mr. Brainerd that none of these verses in their original contexts conclusively demonstrates that no men at all ever seek God. But proving the apostle misuses the Old Testament requires first understanding what he was actually trying to prove, then further understanding that Paul’s proof of his point is not contained in any individual verse quoted. Rather it is cumulative. When you add it up, there’s nobody that is not covered.

And really, doesn’t your conscience tell you that anyway?