"TheyExchangedheGloryof God
for theLikenessfanImage
IdolatrousAdamandIsraelasRepresentativesnPaul'sLettertotheRomans
A.B. GanedaysProfessorfNewTestamenttudiesnd ibllcalheologyatNorthwesternollegenSaintaul,Minnesota,nadditno numerousjournalrticles,e she oauthor(withhomasSchreiner)lThe aceSetBefores;A BibllcalhealogyfPerseveranceAsslrancelnterVarsity,2001)DrCanedaysrequenton-tributoro The outhernaptistournalofThealogy.IntroductionIn Rom 3:19-20,auldeliversthe coupdegrdce fthe closingargumentofhis indict-ment of humanity.Andwe knowthatwhatevertheLaw savst savso thosen theLaw'sjurisdiction,in orderthateverymouth maybe stoppedandall theworld may beliableto God.For onthebasis of deedsequiredby thelawno flesh shallbe declaredrigh-teous,forthroughthe lawcomesknowledgeof sin.Of thevarious significantissueshatexegetesddress,n thistext, onethatreceivestoo littleattentionis theinnerlogic ofverse19.GivenPaul'sclaim-"thatwhatevertheLawsaystsayso thosenthe Law'sjurisdiction"-fis'147does theLaw's condemnationofJewsstop"everymouth" andhold"alltheworld.. .liableto God"?Expresseddifferently,how doesthe Law'sindictment of]ewsstopthemouths ofGentilesalsoandholdlewsandGentiles,ogether,iable beforeGod?There is no questionthat,in the tra-dition ofIsrael'sprophets,the apostlePaulindicts GentilesandJewsalike.He expresslysays asmuch(Rom3:9).Hisindictment of Gentiless clear.Hegroundshisindictment ofGentilesinA.B. CanedayGod'suniversalself-revelation,"eventhoughtheyknew God,they didnot glo-rify himas God or offerthanks,buttheybecameutilein their thinkingandtheirfoolishheartwas darkened"(Rom1:21).Yet, ashe closeshis universalindictmentofhumans,Paul claimsthatthe MosaicLaw hasa functionthat somehowextendsbeyondits evident,restrictedcovenantjurisdiction-/l1vsknowthatwhatevertheLaw sayst sayso thosewho are inthe Law'siurisdiction'(3:19).he Lawcondemnsews,but the sameLaw silencesthe wholeworld of Gentilesalso beforeGod'sudgmentbar.How doesPaulreach he conclusionthat theLaw'sindictment ofJewsspillsovertohold'hlltheworld . . .liable toGod"?Generally,commentatorsproposethatPaul uses anafortiori(fromthegreatero thelesser) rgument:"ifJews,God'schosenpeople,cannotbe excludedfrom the scopeof sinstyranny,then itsurelyfollowsthat Gentiles,whohave noclaimon God'savor, arealso guilty."1nPaul's prosecutionofjewsand Gentilesalike(Rom3:9),doeshis argumentdrawa tighterrelationship betweenthe twothanthe passingobservationexegetestend tomake whenthev identifvthe a
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Rodrigo Haddad de Sousaleft a comment
Ardel B. Caneday replied: