The title of today's show is in quotation marks because it is a quote of Romans 3:5 from the New Living Translation.
The apostle Paul presents a shocking truth in
this statement. Not only the sin of Israel in killing the Lord of Glory, but EVERY sin of humanity becomes the backdrop against which God demonstrates grace and love.
Grace cannot be seen apart from sin, and love cannot be seen apart from hate. It is not that God waits for an opportunity to counter evil with good. Rather, He PROVIDES the evil, first by
creating the very thing (Isaiah 45:7), and then by hardening certain of humanity to embody it in lawless acts.
It is not just vessels of dishonor (Romans 9) engaging in lawless acts, but we ourselves miss the mark daily, relying on the grace and goodness of God and trusting in the truth of justification.
It is in fact the truth of justification that is being referenced by the apostle in Romans 3:5. Anyone shocked by the truth embodied in this paraphrase, that our sinfulness serves a good purpose (for it helps people see how righteous God is), must also be shocked by justification itself, for this is the best definition of it I have ever seen.
It's just surprising to see it in the New Living Translation.
