Romans 3:1-8 Beyond "Live and Let Die"

Romans 3:1-8 (NRSV)

¹Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ²Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. ³What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written,
"So that you may be justified in your words,
and prevail in your judging."
⁵But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) ⁶By no means! For then how could God judge the world? ⁷But if through my falsehood God's truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), "Let us do evil so that good may come"? Their condemnation is deserved!

Observation: Paul is asking a really interesting question here. He admits that many of his fellow Jews have been unfaithful to their covenant with God. And yet, God has used human dishonesty to show God's own faithfulness. So essentially, Paul is asking, "should humankind be punished for bad actions that led to a good result?"

Application: For some strange reason, reading Romans 3 draws me back to the first time I heard the Wings song, Live and Let Die, from the 1973 James Bond film of the same name. I was a teenager in the 1990s, and I'd worked my way through the Beatles' catalog, excited to hear where Paul would go next. I was a little shocked, to be honest. Less than five years before, Paul was singing, All You Need is Love. Now, Live and Let Die. In five years we go from "Just do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may," to "Unless doing the wrong thing advances your mission, Mr. Bond." The whole point of the song was abandoned idealism. I was distraught.

The reason Romans 3 brings me to this point, I think, is because I'm wondering if our souls have a similar struggle at times. I'd venture to say in many situations, we know what the "right" thing to do is, but it isn't always easy; plus, throughout history, God has done such a great job at salvaging things even when we do the "wrong" thing. If God will just go fix it and forgive everybody later, why should I worry about the consequences of what I do? Isn't that what grace is for? 

Okay...in a word, no. That's not what grace is AT ALL. Grace is not some blanket coverage, get-out-of-hell-free card that you are issued at the moment of baptism. The truth is, grace isn't for the comfortable. Grace is for the desperate and despairing, hanging on tight to the end of their rope;  it's not for the confident and secure, who think nothing of cutting someone else's. Sometimes we need to really sit with the consequences of our actions, even the actions we thought were for the greater good. If we dare to say "live and let die," we need to be prepared to attend some wakes and sit with some families. Grace is at the end of that journey, not the beginning. Maybe All You Need Is Love would be a better starting point. 

Prayer: God, help me be uncomfortable sometimes. Help me hang on tight with those who are at the end of their ropes. Help me repent, and to value your grace as a true and blessed surprise, every time.