Rom 3:9-20 | TNotes | STEP | 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.

3:9 ^a No, not at all: Paul’s emphatic answer does not contradict his claim in 3:1-2 ^b 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.
Summary for Rom 3:10-18: 3:10-18 ^c 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.
Summary for Rom 3:10-12: 3:10-12 ^d This quotation from Pss 14:1-3 ^e; 53:1-3 ^f directly supports the argument that all people are under the power of sin.
Summary for Rom 3:13-14: 3:13-14 ^g Paul here refers to sins of speech, mentioning a different organ of speech in each of the four lines (talk in 3:13 ^h is literally throat).
Summary for Rom 3:15-17: 3:15-17 ⁱ In this quotation from Isa 59:7-8 ^j, Paul addresses sins against others.
3:18 ^k They have no ... : This concluding quotation from Ps 36:1 ^l neatly ties up the whole series (Rom 3:10-18 ^m) by referring to the same Greek words that introduced the first quotation (ouk estin, translated in 3:10 ⁿ, “No one is”).
3:19 ^o Paul speaks of the entire Old Testament as the law (see also 1 Cor 9:8 ^p, 9 ^q; 14:21 ^r, 34 ^s; Gal 4:21 ^t).

• 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.
3:20 ^u 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.