Romans 3.31 and Establishing the Torah
Romans 3:31: “Do we nullify the Torah by faith? Not at all! We establish it.”
What leads him to ask and answer the question?
Paul will say that possessing the Torah is a two-edged sword that could cut Israel.
He will say God’s faithfulness in the Messiah is for all nations and not just Jews.
He will say God’s righteousness in the Messiah is independent of the Torah. He will say
The Torah itself had all along been saying that.
He will say that to view the Torah as exclusivist and not to view it through Jesus generated
unhealthy boasting and nationalism.
He will say the right way to view the Torah is from the perspective of faith in Jesus and that
would make it a “Torah of faith”—a Jesus-interpreted Torah.
would make it a “Torah of faith”—a Jesus-interpreted Torah.
He will say that viewing it in the way he offers it is to give it its true place
in the unfolding of God’s purpose.
in the unfolding of God’s purpose.
Paul
has told “the people of the Torah” (Israel) that having the Torah (and
all that that entails) doesn’t matter if the Torah isn’t faithfully
observed. It means nothing and guarantees nothing and in fact it is the
Torah that the people of the Torah needed to fear in light of their
unfaithfulness as a nation (2:8-9 with 3:9-19 as his development). By
the time Paul is done in chapter 2 a Jew would want to know, “Where’s
the advantage in being a Jew and having the oracles of God?”
Then
in 3:21-26 he proclaims that God’s hoped-for faithfulness is revealed
“now” and culminates in Jesus, independent of the Torah (3:21) and for
the blessing of believing non-Jews as well as Jews. What’s more, he
claims the Torah had all along borne witness to this development (3:21).
Then
he claims that viewing the Torah in an exclusivist way (and not as part
of God’s larger purpose that includes the entire human family)
generates unhealthy boasting and undermines the truth of the Shema
(3:27-30). He insists that the Torah must be viewed from the perspective
of Jesus and if it is viewed that way it makes unhealthy boasting
impossible. If the Torah is looked at as a Torah that finds its end in
Jesus to bless the entire human family it is “a Torah of faith”
(3:27—ignore the NIV, and note Romans 10:4).
A Jew might be
forgiven if he thought, “He has undermined the Torah. I no longer
recognize it as the Torah given to Israel by God through Moses.” Israel
knew that God had elected them and no other nation and that one of the
markers was his gift of the Torah (Nehemiah 9:5-14 and Romans 9:4
illustrate) It was by its very nature exclusivist. Now they’ve been told
that the Torah was meant to benefit non-Jewish believers in Jesus
completely independent of the Torah. Paul’s entire treatment of the
Torah up to this point triggers the question and answer of 3:31.
James
Dunn wryly noted that C.H. Dodd “again” thought he understood Paul’s
logic better than Paul. Dodd said Paul should have had the courage to
answer “yes” to his own question, “Do we nullify the Torah by faith?”
But to an Israel always keen to establish its own righteousness (see
Romans 9:30—10:3; again, ignore the NIV in 10:3 which speaks of a
righteousness “that comes from” God when “that comes from” is nowhere in
the Greek text)—to a nation always keen to establish its own
righteousness (right relationship with God) Paul says the Torah was to
find its termination in Jesus by finding its goal in Jesus (“telos” as
both termination and goal—10:4).
Paul claims that his
understanding of the Torah is the right way to see the Torah and give it
its rightful place in God’s unfolding drama. The NJB on 3:31 offers,
“Are we saying that the Law has been made pointless by faith? Out of the
question; we are placing the Law on its true footing.”
So Paul has “explained” the Torah in such a way that it looks like the nation God gave it to might as well not have gotten it. So, what’s next? Abraham? Did having Abraham as their father mean nothing as well?