Romans has been called the greatest theological document ever written. In this letter, the apostle Paul explains the Good News—the climactic revelation of God to the world through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul reflects on the human condition, on the meaning of our lives on earth, and on our hope for the world to come. He constantly moves us back to the fundamentals of God’s truth reveale…
1¿Qué ventaja tiene, pues, el judío? ¿o de qué aprovecha la circuncisión?
2Mucho, en todas maneras. Primero, ciertamente, que les ha sido confiada la palabra de Dios.
3¿Pues qué, si algunos de ellos han sido incrédulos? ¿Su incredulidad habrá hecho nula la fidelidad de Dios?
4De ninguna manera; antes bien sea Dios veraz, y todo hombre mentiroso; como está escrito: Para que seas justificado en tus palabras, Y venzas cuando fueres juzgado.
5Y si nuestra injusticia hace resaltar la justicia de Dios, ¿qué diremos? ¿Será injusto Dios que da castigo? (Hablo como hombre.)
6En ninguna manera; de otro modo, ¿cómo juzgaría Dios al mundo?
7Pero si por mi mentira la verdad de Dios abundó para su gloria, ¿por qué aún soy juzgado como pecador?
8¿Y por qué no decir (como se nos calumnia, y como algunos, cuya condenación es justa, afirman que nosotros decimos): Hagamos males para que vengan bienes?
9¿Qué, pues? ¿Somos nosotros mejores que ellos? En ninguna manera; pues ya hemos acusado a judíos y a gentiles, que todos están bajo pecado.
10Como está escrito: No hay justo, ni aun uno;
11No hay quien entienda, No hay quien busque a Dios.
12Todos se desviaron, a una se hicieron inútiles; No hay quien haga lo bueno, no hay ni siquiera uno.
13Sepulcro abierto es su garganta; Con su lengua engañan. Veneno de áspides hay debajo de sus labios;
14Su boca está llena de maldición y de amargura.
15Sus pies se apresuran para derramar sangre;
16Quebranto y desventura hay en sus caminos;
17Y no conocieron camino de paz.
18No hay temor de Dios delante de sus ojos.
19Pero sabemos que todo lo que la ley dice, lo dice a los que están bajo la ley, para que toda boca se cierre y todo el mundo quede bajo el juicio de Dios;
20ya que por las obras de la ley ningún ser humano será justificado delante de él; porque por medio de la ley es el conocimiento del pecado.
21Pero ahora, aparte de la ley, se ha manifestado la justicia de Dios, testificada por la ley y por los profetas;
22la justicia de Dios por medio de la fe en Jesucristo, para todos los que creen en él. Porque no hay diferencia,
23por cuanto todos pecaron, y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios,
24siendo justificados gratuitamente por su gracia, mediante la redención que es en Cristo Jesús,
25a quien Dios puso como propiciación por medio de la fe en su sangre, para manifestar su justicia, a causa de haber pasado por alto, en su paciencia, los pecados pasados,
26con la mira de manifestar en este tiempo su justicia, a fin de que él sea el justo, y el que justifica al que es de la fe de Jesús.
27¿Dónde, pues, está la jactancia? Queda excluida. ¿Por cuál ley? ¿Por la de las obras? No, sino por la ley de la fe.
28Concluimos, pues, que el hombre es justificado por fe sin las obras de la ley.
29¿Es Dios solamente Dios de los judíos? ¿No es también Dios de los gentiles? Ciertamente, también de los gentiles.
30Porque Dios es uno, y él justificará por la fe a los de la circuncisión, y por medio de la fe a los de la incircuncisión.
31¿Luego por la fe invalidamos la ley? En ninguna manera, sino que confirmamos la ley.
TYNDALE OPEN STUDY NOTES
I
Versículo 1
I. 3:1 what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Paul moves his argument along by raising questions. Afte…
3:1 what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Paul moves his argument along by raising questions. After preaching the Good News for over twenty years, he knew what questions people would ask when they heard a particular teaching. His emphasis on the equality of Jews and Gentiles before God (ch 2) inevitably led people to ask whether he was eliminating all Jewish privileges. The question-and-answer style follows the pattern of the diatribe (see study note on 2:1-5).
II
Versículo 2
II. 3:2 The advantage that Jews possessed was in having received God’s word. • First of all: Paul nev…
3:2 The advantage that Jews possessed was in having received God’s word. • First of all: Paul never adds a second or a third point to the list he begins here. He might have forgotten to continue the list, or first of all might mean “most importantly.” However, 9:4-5 provides a good indication of what a list of Jewish privileges would have included. • By using the word revelation (Greek logia, “oracles, messages”), Paul highlights God’s personal communication with his people (see Deut 33:9; Ps 105:19) through which he gives them special privileges and responsibilities.
III
Versículo 4
III. 3:4 Of course not! The Greek mē genoito is an emphatic negation, popular in the diatribe style th…
3:4 Of course not! The Greek mē genoito is an emphatic negation, popular in the diatribe style that Paul uses here and in several other passages in Romans (see 3:6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11). • As the Scriptures say: Paul quotes Ps 51:4, where David confessed his sin in having an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11:1-27). God punished David, and David admitted that God was proved right and would win his case in court—his punishment was entirely just. God is faithful to what he has said in the past—his entire revelation—and his words warn of punishment for sin even as they promise reward for obedience.
IV
Versículo 5
IV. 3:5-7 how would he be qualified to judge the world? Abraham asked a similar question: “Should not…
3:5-7 how would he be qualified to judge the world? Abraham asked a similar question: “Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” (Gen 18:25). God punishes all sin, and he retains absolute righteousness as he does so. Even when God makes use of human sin for his own ends, that sin still deserves to be, and will be, punished (see Rom 9:10-24).
V
Versículo 8
V. 3:8 some people even slander us: Paul is referring to misrepresentations about his teaching on ju…
3:8 some people even slander us: Paul is referring to misrepresentations about his teaching on justification by faith. If a person is made right with God by faith alone, through God’s grace and apart from works, it could seem as if the Good News allows believers to sin because their sin is forgiven when confessed (see 6:1). One of Paul’s purposes is to help the Roman Christians understand that such misunderstandings are without basis.
VI
Versículo 9
VI. 3:9 No, not at all: Paul’s emphatic answer does not contradict his claim in 3:1-2 that Jews have …
3:9 No, not at all: Paul’s emphatic answer does not contradict his claim in 3:1-2 that Jews have an advantage. But that advantage has not done them any good because they have disobeyed God’s word and incurred God’s punishment. Jews, like Gentiles, have sinned against the revelation of God and stand condemned. • under the power of sin (literally under sin): Being “under” something carries the sense of being under its power. The ultimate problem of human beings is not the fact of sin, but the situation of being slaves to sin. The solution to this problem requires the liberation provided in Christ Jesus, who frees us from both the penalty and the power of sin.
VII
Versículo 10
VII. 3:10-18 The six quotations in these verses, drawn from various parts of the Old Testament, all ad…
3:10-18 The six quotations in these verses, drawn from various parts of the Old Testament, all address human sinfulness. Paul follows the practice of rabbis who gathered together Old Testament texts on similar themes in a practice called pearl-stringing.
3:10-12 This quotation from Pss 14:1-3; 53:1-3 directly supports the argument that all people are under the power of sin.
VIII
Versículo 13
VIII. 3:13-14 Paul here refers to sins of speech, mentioning a different organ of speech in each of the…
3:13-14 Paul here refers to sins of speech, mentioning a different organ of speech in each of the four lines (talk in 3:13 is literally throat).
IX
Versículo 15
IX. 3:15-17 In this quotation from Isa 59:7-8, Paul addresses sins against others.
3:15-17 In this quotation from Isa 59:7-8, Paul addresses sins against others.
X
Versículo 18
X. 3:18 They have no . . . : This concluding quotation from Ps 36:1 neatly ties up the whole series …
3:18 They have no . . . : This concluding quotation from Ps 36:1 neatly ties up the whole series (Rom 3:10-18) by referring to the same Greek words that introduced the first quotation (ouk estin, translated in 3:10, “No one is”).
XI
Versículo 19
XI. 3:19 Paul speaks of the entire Old Testament as the law (see also 1 Cor 9:8, 9; 14:21, 34; Gal 4:…
3:19 Paul speaks of the entire Old Testament as the law (see also 1 Cor 9:8, 9; 14:21, 34; Gal 4:21). • Those to whom it was given (literally those in the law) were the Jews, who were given the Scriptures. • How can Paul conclude that the entire world is guilty before God on the basis of evidence from the Old Testament that Jews are sinful? He argues from the greater to the lesser, a standard Jewish rhetorical technique: If the law shows that the Jews, God’s own people, are guilty, then how much more are the Gentiles, who have not had the benefit of God’s instruction, also guilty.
XII
Versículo 20
XII. 3:20 By doing what the law commands refers to obeying the requirements of the law of Moses. While…
3:20 By doing what the law commands refers to obeying the requirements of the law of Moses. While this phrase refers to Jews, the principle extends to all people. If Jews cannot be put in right relationship with God by obeying the law God gave them, certainly other people cannot establish such a relationship through good deeds.
XIII
Versículo 21
XIII. 3:21–4:25 Paul returns to the central theme of the righteousness of God that is revealed in Chris…
3:21–4:25 Paul returns to the central theme of the righteousness of God that is revealed in Christ and is available to anyone who believes. The fundamental statement of this theology is in 3:21-26; Paul elaborates on it in 3:27-31 and illustrates it with the experience of Abraham in ch 4.
3:21-22 After a lengthy reminder of the power of sin (1:18–3:20), Paul returns to the theme presented in 1:17, the way to be made right with God (literally the righteousness of God). As in that verse, “the righteousness of God” is the way that God puts people in right relationship with himself. • without keeping the requirements of the law (literally apart from the law): The old covenant looked forward to the climactic revelation of God’s righteousness in his Son. Because of what God has accomplished for us in Christ by completely fulfilling the requirements of the law, we are now able to come to him by faith, apart from the covenant structure set up by the law of Moses (cp. Heb 8:13).
XIV
Versículo 24
XIV. 3:24 God, in his grace: God makes us right in his sight, not because he has to, but because he ha…
3:24 God, in his grace: God makes us right in his sight, not because he has to, but because he has freely chosen to give us his favor through Christ Jesus. Because we are helpless slaves of sin (3:9), our righteous status before God can never be earned (see 4:4-5). • through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins (literally through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus): In Paul’s day, redemption referred to the price paid to free a slave. God paid our redemption price with the blood of his own Son to rescue us from our slavery to sin (see 3:9). This language was used in the Old Testament to refer to the Exodus, the first redemption of God’s people from bondage (see 2 Sam 7:23). God promised that he would again redeem his people (Hos 13:14; Mic 4:10).
XV
Versículo 25
XV. 3:25 the sacrifice for sin (Greek hilastērion): This Greek word is used in the Greek Old Testamen…
3:25 the sacrifice for sin (Greek hilastērion): This Greek word is used in the Greek Old Testament to refer to the “atonement cover,” the cover that rested on the Ark of the Covenant in the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle. The atonement cover was prominent in the Day of Atonement ritual (Lev 16) and came to stand for the atonement ceremony itself. Paul characterizes Jesus Christ as God’s provision of final atonement for his people. Jesus himself satisfies, or absorbs in himself, the anger of God against all sinful people (see Rom 1:18). • those who sinned in times past: Paul refers to righteous Old Testament people who were not punished for their sins as strict justice would require. Hebrews reminds us, “it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb 10:4). How, then, could God forgive people in the Old Testament? Paul answers that Jesus’ sacrifice works backward in history as well as forward—through Christ, God provided for the full satisfaction of his righteous anger against human sin.
16
Versículo 29
16. 3:29-30 Paul uses the foundational Jewish commitment to monotheism to argue for universal access …
3:29-30 Paul uses the foundational Jewish commitment to monotheism to argue for universal access to God’s forgiveness. If there is only one God, then he is equally the God of both Jews and Gentiles. All people must be able to come to God on the same terms, through faith.
17
Versículo 31
17. 3:31 we truly fulfill the law: Paul knows that some people will object to his insistence on faith…
3:31 we truly fulfill the law: Paul knows that some people will object to his insistence on faith apart from the law because it seems to dismiss the demands of the law. However, faith actually enables people to fulfill the law. The Holy Spirit is given to those who have faith, and he makes it possible for people to do as they should.
Nuevo Testamento
Romans — Capítulo 3
Romans has been called the greatest theological document ever written. In this letter, the apostle Paul explains the Good News—the climactic revelation of God to the world through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul reflects on the human condition, on the meaning of our lives on earth, and on our hope for the world to come. He constantly moves us back to the fundamentals of God’s truth reveale…
Texto — Reina-Valera 1960
1¿Qué ventaja tiene, pues, el judío? ¿o de qué aprovecha la circuncisión?
2Mucho, en todas maneras. Primero, ciertamente, que les ha sido confiada la palabra de Dios.
3¿Pues qué, si algunos de ellos han sido incrédulos? ¿Su incredulidad habrá hecho nula la fidelidad de Dios?
4De ninguna manera; antes bien sea Dios veraz, y todo hombre mentiroso; como está escrito: Para que seas justificado en tus palabras, Y venzas cuando fueres juzgado.
5Y si nuestra injusticia hace resaltar la justicia de Dios, ¿qué diremos? ¿Será injusto Dios que da castigo? (Hablo como hombre.)
6En ninguna manera; de otro modo, ¿cómo juzgaría Dios al mundo?
7Pero si por mi mentira la verdad de Dios abundó para su gloria, ¿por qué aún soy juzgado como pecador?
8¿Y por qué no decir (como se nos calumnia, y como algunos, cuya condenación es justa, afirman que nosotros decimos): Hagamos males para que vengan bienes?
9¿Qué, pues? ¿Somos nosotros mejores que ellos? En ninguna manera; pues ya hemos acusado a judíos y a gentiles, que todos están bajo pecado.
10Como está escrito: No hay justo, ni aun uno;
11No hay quien entienda, No hay quien busque a Dios.
12Todos se desviaron, a una se hicieron inútiles; No hay quien haga lo bueno, no hay ni siquiera uno.
13Sepulcro abierto es su garganta; Con su lengua engañan. Veneno de áspides hay debajo de sus labios;
14Su boca está llena de maldición y de amargura.
15Sus pies se apresuran para derramar sangre;
16Quebranto y desventura hay en sus caminos;
17Y no conocieron camino de paz.
18No hay temor de Dios delante de sus ojos.
19Pero sabemos que todo lo que la ley dice, lo dice a los que están bajo la ley, para que toda boca se cierre y todo el mundo quede bajo el juicio de Dios;
20ya que por las obras de la ley ningún ser humano será justificado delante de él; porque por medio de la ley es el conocimiento del pecado.
21Pero ahora, aparte de la ley, se ha manifestado la justicia de Dios, testificada por la ley y por los profetas;
22la justicia de Dios por medio de la fe en Jesucristo, para todos los que creen en él. Porque no hay diferencia,
23por cuanto todos pecaron, y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios,
24siendo justificados gratuitamente por su gracia, mediante la redención que es en Cristo Jesús,
25a quien Dios puso como propiciación por medio de la fe en su sangre, para manifestar su justicia, a causa de haber pasado por alto, en su paciencia, los pecados pasados,
26con la mira de manifestar en este tiempo su justicia, a fin de que él sea el justo, y el que justifica al que es de la fe de Jesús.
27¿Dónde, pues, está la jactancia? Queda excluida. ¿Por cuál ley? ¿Por la de las obras? No, sino por la ley de la fe.
28Concluimos, pues, que el hombre es justificado por fe sin las obras de la ley.
29¿Es Dios solamente Dios de los judíos? ¿No es también Dios de los gentiles? Ciertamente, también de los gentiles.
30Porque Dios es uno, y él justificará por la fe a los de la circuncisión, y por medio de la fe a los de la incircuncisión.
31¿Luego por la fe invalidamos la ley? En ninguna manera, sino que confirmamos la ley.
TYNDALE OPEN STUDY NOTES
Versículo 1
I. 3:1 what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Paul moves his argument along by raising questions. Afte…
Versículo 2
II. 3:2 The advantage that Jews possessed was in having received God’s word. • First of all: Paul nev…
Versículo 4
III. 3:4 Of course not! The Greek mē genoito is an emphatic negation, popular in the diatribe style th…
Versículo 5
IV. 3:5-7 how would he be qualified to judge the world? Abraham asked a similar question: “Should not…
Versículo 8
V. 3:8 some people even slander us: Paul is referring to misrepresentations about his teaching on ju…
Versículo 9
VI. 3:9 No, not at all: Paul’s emphatic answer does not contradict his claim in 3:1-2 that Jews have …
Versículo 10
VII. 3:10-18 The six quotations in these verses, drawn from various parts of the Old Testament, all ad…
Versículo 13
VIII. 3:13-14 Paul here refers to sins of speech, mentioning a different organ of speech in each of the…
Versículo 15
IX. 3:15-17 In this quotation from Isa 59:7-8, Paul addresses sins against others.
Versículo 18
X. 3:18 They have no . . . : This concluding quotation from Ps 36:1 neatly ties up the whole series …
Versículo 19
XI. 3:19 Paul speaks of the entire Old Testament as the law (see also 1 Cor 9:8, 9; 14:21, 34; Gal 4:…
Versículo 20
XII. 3:20 By doing what the law commands refers to obeying the requirements of the law of Moses. While…
Versículo 21
XIII. 3:21–4:25 Paul returns to the central theme of the righteousness of God that is revealed in Chris…
Versículo 24
XIV. 3:24 God, in his grace: God makes us right in his sight, not because he has to, but because he ha…
Versículo 25
XV. 3:25 the sacrifice for sin (Greek hilastērion): This Greek word is used in the Greek Old Testamen…
Versículo 29
16. 3:29-30 Paul uses the foundational Jewish commitment to monotheism to argue for universal access …
Versículo 31
17. 3:31 we truly fulfill the law: Paul knows that some people will object to his insistence on faith…