Romans 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Shall the unbelief of some make THE faith of God without effect. Paul was asking does unbelief make the work of Christ, the faith of Christ, unprofitable. He answers God forbid it to be so. Did God make a mistake by choosing out Israel as a people just for them to reject Him? God did not make a mistake. The unbelief of Israel has no effect on the work of God. God did not come to save Jew only, but came to save the world, both Jew and Gentile alike. Is the sin of unbelief to great for God to reconcile? Paul would say may it never be. God does not purpose our endpoint with Him based upon anything that we have done. He has purposed in Himself to save and purposed the coming of Christ to accomplish that very end. What we do have to contend with is the righteous judgment of God. Could God in His judgment leave Israel in blindness and be just. Of course, He can. Can God leave any of us in our natural state of unbelief and have fault of His own? God does not owe the first sinner any mercy or grace. The unbelief we see in Israel did not mean that all God was doing up until this point was of no effect. God used Israel to bring about Jesus Christ. God used Israel so there would be a people who would hate Him enough to want Him killed. Rome would not have killed Him without the hatred of the Jews. Even in their unbelief God was using Israel to His ends. We were all unbelieving at some point so I hope that He could save those without faith. He can also use those without faith for His purposes. If the blood of Christ was not shed for the sin of unbelief then none would be saved. Does God give some over to unbelief? God in His righteous judgment does give some over to unbelief. We read toward the end of Romans 1 that God does give some over to the desires of their hearts. Unbelief is naturally in the heart of sinners. Man’s unbelief does not change who God is. His righteousness remains. God is just in His justification of sinners just as He is just in His condemnation of sinners. We must not base our thoughts on the righteousness of sinners due to their works.
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Our righteousness is not for anything in us. Righteousness is of God.
Romans 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
God has prepared some for wrath and some for glory. This is the sovereign will of God. It was not just that God chose some sinners, it is that He saved them and remained just in doing so. He could not just overlook sin. That salvation was what God was performing in the body and soul of Jesus Christ in His obedience unto death.
In truth the judgments of God are true. We cannot argue against His ways as He is righteous in all that He does. Man looks at God and sees unrighteousness in His judgments. The natural man will see his will and say God should consider what I think. Will our will overcome God’s sovereignty when we are judged? God will use the unrighteousness of man to His glory. To the glory of God He saves some and condemns others.
Romans 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
God will be justified in all His actions. In the end the condemnation of sinners will redound to His glory. If God were to say one thing and every man says another, we know that what God says is true. Those who say God is unjust in His ways speak not the truth. We believe God’s word even though others may not. The opinion of the world is that of the world. For those of us who have experienced that circumcision of the heart, we trust the word of God over the word of man.