“What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin” (Romans 3:9).
The Apostle Paul continued to engage his audience in Romans 3:9 with a summary question: “If being a Jew has many advantages, does it mean that we Jews are better than those who are not?”
We can address that question in the following way. While the Jewish people were privileged to receive God’s Word (verse two), God would not refrain from judging them if they chose to dismiss Him like the non-Jewish populations of the world (collectively referred to as the Greeks). One source illustrates this idea with an interesting analogy…
“The Christian is no better than a non-Christian, but he is infinitely better off. It is like two men on a plane, one of whom is wearing a parachute while the other is not. Neither is better than the other, but the man with the parachute is certainly better off than the man who is not wearing a parachute. The difference will be seen when they jump from the plane at 20,000 feet.” (1)
Of course, the advantage of having a parachute assumes that one will pull the ripcord and deploy the parachute when exiting the plane at 20,000 feet. Unfortunately, the Jewish people had many God-given advantages but failed to deploy them through unbelief. Thus, they were in no better position than anyone else from that perspective.
In further stating that all people are all under sin, this passage from Romans 3:9 does not mean that human beings are totally incapable of moral good. Indeed, we applaud those among us who are selfless, virtuous, charitable, and benevolent. For instance, we rightfully commend the bravery of a firefighter who dashes into a burning building to rescue the helpless from certain death. We are thankful for many others like trustworthy neighbors, helpful bystanders, and public-spirited community members.
However, genuine goodness is measured against God’s holy character. As Jesus told the rich young ruler of Mark chapter ten, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18 CSB). When we measure our goodness against God’s perfect standard, humanity falls woefully short. Therefore, we should not assume that we, or others, are in good standing with the Almighty simply because we are nice, good people. In fact, Paul will disabuse us of that notion entirely in Romans 3:23.
While there are likely to be many who perceive themselves to be “good people” who haven’t really done anything wrong or offensive to God, this passage from Romans 3:9 reminds us that all “…are under the control of sin and subject to its power” (AMP).
(1) The Evidence Bible [note on Romans 3:9] Bridge-Logos Publishers 2011