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THE i KING’S BUSINESS
the revelation of the will of God. He had not kept it, however. He had been un faithful to the trust. The failure lay, not with God, but with the Jew himself. There doubtless were many “advantages” which the Jew had, and there was “much every way” in which he was honored above other nations, but in this “chiefly” that he was the depository of God’s revealed truth, and for this he should never cease to be grateful. But,even though the Jew was unfaithful, God had remained faithful. He could not do or be otherwise* for God is unchange able. Even the unfaithfulness of men only brings the faithfulness of God’s character into greater prominence (3:3, 4). God will make the wrath' of men to praise Him, and so it will be seen at last that even the sin of man will work out to the glory of God. Just Jiow, we may not be able to determine or explain, but there is no unrighteousness with God because He punishes sin, even though sin itself will finally be made to -redound to His glory, The thought of un righteousness with God is abhorrent to the apostle, for how could God then judge the world ? Note the set things that belong to God in 3:1-7. “The oracles of God” (3:2) ; “The righteousness of God” (3:5) “ “The judg ment of God” (3 :6) ; “The truth of God” (3:7) ; “The glory of God” (3:7). 3 . T h e w hole w orld, Jew a n d G entile, sinners befo re G od a n d u n d e r th e divine w ra th (3 :9 -2 0 ; cf: 5 :1 2 -2 1 , w hich is really a c o n tin u a tio n from 3 :2 3 ) .
Having established the guilt-of the Jew and the Gentile independently, he now sums up these two classes as representing all mankind, and declares them all to be equally sinners before God. In these verses (3:10-18) thirteen indictments are brought against mankind. This,is not a very flattering picture of the human race. It is an untouched negative rather than a finished picture, and yet it is absolutely accurate and true to life. The experience of the race, as well as the five Old Testa ment quotations referred to, corroborate the truth of the apostle’s indictment. In the day of reckoning we shall find the charges proven (Jude 14, 15; Revelation 20:14, 15). Ho* about the so-called divinity of human nature so much spoken of today? Summing-up of the Section. The whole of this section (1:18-3:20) shows that the whole race of mankind is guilty and lost because of sin (3 :19, 20). The law, by which some try to be saved, only aggravates and emphasizes sin. Con sequently there is no salvation by law. All that the law can do is to make one feel inore deeply the consciousness of guilt and sin. Nor can any man stand before his conscience and feel guiltless: Before the judgment bar of God, the whole race stands guilty, sinful, speechless. Humanity, whether with or without law, is a total failure. The picture presented to us here is that of humanity in utter darkness, and speechless. This blackness and darkness, as we shall see in our next section, is but a background for the glorious light of re demption to stand out in bolder relief.
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