Let God Be Found True

Today's passage deals with the apostle Paul pointing out the formal religion and the sin of Jewish believers, and with the truth that human unrighteousness cannot tarnish God's truthfulness. Paul criticizes the reasoning of the Jews, who had received a special covenant and the Law from God, yet sinned and then excused themselves by saying they had become a tool for revealing God's righteousness. This is like the absurd reasoning of a son who says he will sin more in order to show off his father's goodness, and it stresses that human sin cannot hide God's holiness.

The sermon firmly rejects the sophistry by which the Jews tried to escape judgment, claiming that their disobedience had become God's glory. It makes clear that God does not tolerate excuses that turn pride in being the chosen people, or the grace they have received, into arrogance, and that those who sin must rightly face judgment. It also declares that human sin does not cancel God's promises or his plan for the Messiah, and that God alone is true and faithful.

It makes us think about whether we can forget all the grace and blessings we have received, justify our sin and blame God, and about how we should believe and obey the character of God, who remains true even amid human unrighteousness.