“For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?”
The full verse · Romans 3:3 · KJV
did not ? the of without ?
Asked by
Paul: "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13), raising the question a Jewish reader might ask about Israel's unbelief (Romans 1:1; 3:1-3)
Asked to
Romans: the believers in Rome, called to be saints (Romans 1:7), here following Paul's argument about the Jew's advantage (Romans 3:1-2)
The Scene
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul has just said that the Jews' chief advantage was that "unto them were committed the oracles of God" (Romans 3:2).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul knew what a Jewish reader would ask next. If God gave Israel His word, and many in Israel did not believe it, had God's promise failed? Barnes reads the question as an objection a Jew might raise, and he explains that "the faith of God" here means God's faithfulness, His fidelity to His promises. The first question admits a sad fact: some did not believe. The second presses the real worry: does their unbelief cancel God's faithfulness? Gill answers that their unbelief "could not, and did not make void the veracity and faithfulness of God in his promises concerning the Messiah."
The Response
What Scripture recordsPaul answers at once: "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). Matthew Henry says, "The apostle startles at such a thought." Paul then quotes David's prayer of repentance, "That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged" (Romans 3:4; Psalm 51:4). Even when people prove false, God stays true.
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe oracles of God were the Scriptures, which God entrusted to Israel (Romans 3:2). In the Greek of Romans 3:3, two related words stand side by side: apistia, unbelief, and pistis, faith. Barnes explains that "faith" here means God's faithfulness to His promises, which is why the ESV says "the faithfulness of God." The phrase "make ... without effect" translates katargeo, to nullify or make void.
The verse Paul quotes in Romans 3:4 comes from Psalm 51:4, David's confession after his sin. Barnes notes that David there owned that God was righteous in condemning his sin.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question is about God, not just about Israel. People can be unfaithful, but God's faithfulness does not rise and fall with theirs. Barnes calls God's truthfulness "a great first principle, which was to be held, whatever might be the consequence." Gill says God remains "faithful to his word, constant in his promises."
Paul is not finished with the question. Barnes points ahead to Romans 10:16-21 and Romans 11, where Paul shows that Israel's unbelief was foretold and that God has not cast away His people (Romans 11:1-2). Later Paul says plainly, "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect" (Romans 9:6).
Look Closer
In Romans 3:3, what does "the faith of God" mean?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, when I see people, even myself, prove unfaithful, what do You want me to remember about Your faithfulness?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- When someone who represents God lets you down, how does that affect the way you see God Himself?
- Share a time when God kept His word even though you or others did not keep yours.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Your hope does not rest on how faithful people are. It rests on God, who stays true even when people prove false: "let God be true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). When believers fail, when leaders fall, or when your own faith runs thin, God's promises are not cancelled.
This does not make unbelief harmless. Paul grieves over Israel's unbelief in the chapters that follow (Romans 9:2-3; 10:1). God's faithfulness is a reason to trust Him, not a reason to stop caring whether you do.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision?”
“But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance?”
“For then how shall God judge the world?”
“Hath God cast away his people?”