https://youtu.be/AsCCCfcl_jc
In our verse-by-verse study of Romans we are in Rom 3:8; were the Judaizers are accusing Paul of promoting evil to advance good.
This phrase, "let us do evil things that good things may come," is slander. Paul does not contend that the means justifies the end, nor that the end justifies the means. If the means is evil then the end always evil.
The means determines the quality of the result aka the end. Good never comes from evil.
The end can never be any better than the means by which the end was achieved. Consequently, God never uses evil to accomplish good. That is incompatible with God's perfect integrity or holiness.
Under God's integrity grace is the means and grace is the result. God's integrity is the means and God's glory is the result. Only God's integrity can glorify God.
Under God's grace policy there is no place for the intrusion of man's self-righteousness or satan's evil policy. The only reason evil or self-righteousness ever intrudes at all is because people are ignorant of the protocol of God's grace policy and doctrine.
Paul's ministry and communication of doctrine was totally compatible the principle of grace that is compatible with God's integrity. Those who slander grace also slander God's integrity.
Those who malign the communicator of doctrine malign God's Word because God's Word comes from God's integrity. God's Word is the disclosure, verbalization and explanation of God's integrity.
This means that those who are slandering and maligning Paul's ministry are guilty and subject to judgment from God's justice. Since they are maladjusted to God's justice His justice can only condemn them. The slanderers are culpable to punitive action from God's integrity.
To show that their rebuke is going to come directly from God's integrity as it always does. Paul says; " Their condemnation is just." He just steps out of the way and lets the lightning bolt from God go right to its target.
The possessive genitive plural from the relative pronoun "hos" "is translated "their." The word translated "condemnation" is the nominative singular subject "krima," referring to a judicial verdict, a sentence of condemnation and punishment; "is" is translated from the present active indicative of "eimi."
The present tense is static present for punishment taken for granted as a fact. Whenever doctrinal teaching is maligned it is taken for granted as a fact by the static present that God's integrity will deal with the perpetrator.
The active voice: condemnation and punishment from God's integrity produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of such condemnation or punishment. The predicate nominative neuter singular is from the adjective "endikon," that means "deserved" so we have "their condemnation and punishment is deserved."
Expanded Translation Rom 3:8: "In fact, not true (as we have been slandered, and certain arrogant ones keep alleging that we say,) Let us do evil things that good things may come. Their condemnation and punishment is deserved."
Rom 3:9; Verse 9 brings us to the first postulate. A postulate is defined as a proposition, that is taken for, granted as an essential prerequisite or predicate.
The axiom that is taken for granted at this point is the universality of man's sin and total depravity. Total depravity demands condemnation and spiritual death for the entire human race.
Later on in this chapter we will see that the same justice of God that condemns sinful mankind also provides blessing for mankind, starting with salvation for spiritually dead mankind. This is the principle of Gen 50:20;
Rom 3:9; "What then?" translated from "ti oun." "Ti" is the nominative neuter singular of the interrogative pronoun "tis"; "oun" is a postpositive inferential particle used as a conjunction to refer to what is being introduced at this point as the result of inference from the previous paragraph.
It literally means, "What then?" or " therefore what?" But it is a Greek idiom so it can be better translated, as "Therefore how are we to understand the situation
Remember, idioms are not translated literally. In the English the translation is either expanded or it is approximated in the best way possible.
The phrase translated "Are we better than they?" in the NASB comes from one Greek word: the first person plural (we) present middle indicative of the verb "proecho" that means to jut out, to excel, or to be first.
It is in the middle voice so it means to hold something before one's eyes for protection. The word "we" in "proecho" refers to the entire human race that included both the Jews, to and to Paul so it is an editorial "we" where he is going to identify himself with his audience to make a point.
Since 'proecho" in the middle voice means to hold something before your eyes for protection we will translate it as: "Do we possess anything that might shield us from God's justice?"
The retroactive progressive present refers to what has begun in the past and continues into the present time. The indirect middle: Paul is the agent, who is using debater's technique so in this case he identifies himself with self-righteous Jews.
He is not identifying himself with people who are sinners and are aware of the fact. He is identifying himself with self-righteous people who think they are right so they are the hardest to reach.
When a person becomes self-righteous they become tough, stupid, indifferent, and implacable; and when they are crossed in their status of self-righteousness they develop all of the nasty little mental attitude and verbal sins that are not really little sins but are actually the worst of all sins. (Prov 6:16;) The indicative mood is the interrogative indicative for the debater's question.
Rom 3:9; "Not at all;" translated from " ou pantos". The particle of summary negation, "ou," from "ouk" the clear-cut point blank negative objective and final shut the door "not". The adverb "pantos" that means "by all means," but with the negative it means "not at all," "by no means," or" "no way."
We see from this that anyone who thinks that there is any system of human righteousness, talent, ability, planning or works that can satisfy God's justice who clings to their system of self-righteousness, whatever it is has no chance of ever having a relationship with God because God's justice rejects it all and our point of reference is God's justice.
No human factor, including Jewish self-righteousness, can provide or add anything to salvation adjustment to God's justice. The first issue we face in the human race is salvation and there is nothing that we can add to what God's justice provides.
No Jewish rationalization that thinks they are better than the Gentiles will provide salvation, spirituality, or spiritual maturity. All the way through this chapter the Jews are in view; because they are used as the example of self-righteousness.
"for we have already charged" "for" the postpositive conjunctive particle "gar" that used as an explanatory conjunction to summarize the claims made to this point.
Then the aorist middle indicative from the compound verb "proaitiaomai" "aitiaomai = to blame or to charge; pro = before), so it means to accuse beforehand or to have already charged or indicted.
We will translate it "for we have already indicted." This is a dramatic aorist tense that states a present reality with the certainty of a past event. The idiom is a device for emphasis that is used to state something that is has been already done, or a result that has been accomplished.
It is a deponent verb in the middle voice that is active in meaning. Paul produces the action, and he has already produced the action in chapters one and two. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of fact.
"that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin" an accusative plural from the adjective "pas,"" translated, "all," is used as the predicate nominative of the infinitive. Then the present active infinitive of "eimi" the verb "to be" that is translated "are."
It is a durative present tense that describes a reality in the present but it denotes what started in the past and continues into the present.
Paul is writing this to the people of his time as well as to us. All are indicted; all are under sin, every one both "Jew " from Ioudaios" and Greek aka Gentile from "Hellen" is under sin.
The active voice: Jews and Gentiles produce the action of the verb. This is the infinitive of actual result. Plus a prepositional phrase, "hupo" translated "under" with the accusative of "hamartia," "sin," in the singular, that is a reference to the old sin nature.
People are born with an old sin nature so the old sin nature comes first and it causes us to sin. We acquire the old sin nature at birth. Sin in the singular refers to the old sin nature.
Every naturally born person, both Jew and Gentile, is born with an old sin nature, therefore both Jews and Gentiles are born spiritually dead.
Expanded Translation Rom 3:9; "Therefore how are we to understand the situation? Do we possess anything that might shield us from God's justice? No, not at all: for we have already indicted both Jews and Gentiles, they are all under sin."
This brings us to the doctrine of the old sin nature.
Biblical documentation of the sin nature is found in Rom 5:12; "Therefore, just as through one man (Adam), sin (the sin nature) entered into the world, and (spiritual) death through (the) sin (nature), so (spiritual) death spread to the entire human race because all sinned (when Adam sinned)."
The characteristics of spiritual death include the human race being in the status of dichotomy having a body and soul at birth, but no human spirit.
Without a human spirit it is impossible to have a relationship with God, 1Cor 2:13-14;
Total depravity can function in moral or immoral degeneracy, depending upon the trend of one's sin nature. If a believer's fragmentation (that is becoming arrogant and staying that way) is perpetuated, the believer becomes morally or immorally degenerate.
Spiritual death results in total separation from God and total helplessness to perform any work, sacrifice, or any change of life whereby we can enter into a relationship with God because God's justice rejects everything we do.
The only way we can enter into a relationship with God is to accept God's work on our behalf by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The essence of the old sin nature includes an area of weakness that produces personal sins that takes the form of immoral degeneration, Eph 2:3;
And an area of strength that produces human good, that results in moral degeneracy, Isa 64:6; Rom 8:8 and a lust pattern that motivates sin and evil, lasciviousness and asceticism, and moral and immoral degeneration, Rom 7:7; Gal 5:19-21;