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Some–perhaps even many–do not believe. That is, they don’t look to God, they don’t trust Him, they do not rely on Him in any real and tangible way. Sure, they may acknowledge His existence (as do the demons!), but there is little evidence of any sincere faith.

Paul had such people in mind in writing to the Romans. (And it is an issue for some in our day as well.) God is doing something in the world. He has a plan that He is pursuing. And some–perhaps even many–neither acknowledge God’s plan nor trust Him in the carrying out of that plan.

That’s what prompts Paul’s question in 3:3: Will the unbelief of such people nullify God’s faithfulness? Will the lack of reliant trust render God’s plan unfulfilled and God’s own presence superfluous? For Paul, that answer is clear:

May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written: ‘That You may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged.’

Paul insists that any person’s (or group of people’s) response to God in unbelief does not render God “untrue.” He will still carry out His plans. He will still prove Himself faithful and dependable.Quoting Psalm 51, Paul insists that God will be “justified in [His] words, and prevail when [He] is judged.” Meaning that it will be clear that all His words were true and it will be clear, in the end, that God has and will always be in the right.

As Paul sees it, what God is doing in the world–the work of the Gospel wrought through the Son–is not something up for debate. People’s assessment of whether it is a good plan or not, whether God can or should be trusted or not, whether they think it seems reasonable to abandon themselves to God’s care through the Gospel or not, does not render God’s plan fallible, God’s faithfulness questionable, or God’s active presence meaningless.