Throughout Paul’s letter to the Romans, he uses rhetorical questions—questions he answers himself—to introduce his next big idea. Nevertheless, rhetorical questions still provoke us to think about potential answers, even if we never state them out loud.

What advantage (perrison, “overplus”), then, is there in being a Jew? Expressed in other words the question is, What value (ōpheleia, “advantage”) is there in circumcision? The first question pertains to Paul’s words in 2:17–24, and the second question to his words in 2:25–29.

Here Paul imagines someone breaking into his argument and saying, ‘Well then, if it is being a Jew inwardly that counts, if it is the “circumcision” of the heart that matters, is there any advantage in belonging to the Jewish nation, or in being physically circumcised?’

God’s faithfulness and the Jews. In his attack on Jewish pretension in ch. 2, Paul wrote as if there were now no more difference at all between Jew and Gentile (see e.g. vs 9–10, 26–29). But this would be to misunderstand his argument. Paul’s purpose was to show that Jews have no advantage with respect to Gentiles in the judgment of God simply because they are Jews. Paul, experienced preacher that he was, knew that his argument could be misunderstood, so he added a detailed discussion on to the end of his exposure of Jewish sin in which he both affirms Jewish privileges and delineates the nature and limitations of those privileges.

The Jewish Advantage: Are there advantages for the Jew? Paul’s answer in verse 2 makes it sound as if he is going to list off many, but his list includes only one item. It is not that there aren’t advantages (see Romans 9:4–5), but listing them here does not serve Paul’s purpose. He is using a rhetorical feint.

Paul quotes the Septuagint of Psa 51:4 to show that God’s judgment is justified and does not nullify His faithfulness. Psalm 51, which refers to David’s sin with Bathsheba in its title (see Psa 51:title and note), is a penitential psalm. In Psalm 51:4, the psalmist confesses his sin and affirms that God is righteous or blameless to judge him

In verses 5–8 Paul outlines his complex logical argument exploring some of the implications of unrighteousness. Paul does not advocate unrighteousness here; he derails the notion that our unrighteousness makes God’s righteousness stand out all the more.

This question stems from the notion that people exist to bring glory to God. If this concept is true, then perhaps sinning more might be a good way to put God in a better light. Paul answers in 3:6 with the same “No way!” line he uses throughout the book. He also makes clear at the end of 3:5 that this is purely a hypothetical notion that seems logical from a human perspective.

However, there are problems with this proposed strategy. The first concerns why God created us in the first place—to be in fellowship with Him. The choice to sin made that impossible. In Romans, Paul details God’s plan to redeem the relationship (and the world) from the destructive consequences of sin and bring everything back to its original order. A big part of that restoration involves judging sin and removing it from His creation.