[The] concept of the fullness of sin,
and not the Adamic nature, is central to the arguments and rhetoric of Rom
1:18-3:26. Insight comes by noticing that in this concept God’s patience and
his holding back of punishment are negative and have dire consequences for the
wicked. Thus, Paul warns the Gentile that his refusal to repent and accept God’s
mercy means that he is “storing up wrath for the day of wrath.” Sam Williams
has argued persuasively that 3:25b-26 contains the idea of God—through Christ—taking
care of the accumulated Gentile sins that he had overlooked. I translate it as
follows, “This was to demonstrate God’s righteousness because he passed over
over previous [Gentile] sins when he held back punishment; it was to demonstrate
his own righteousness at this time in history so as to be righteous himself and
to make righteous the person who lives on the basis of Jesus’ faithfulness.” In
my reading, Paul is specifically giving an account here of how the Gentiles are
being saved. As 3:9-20 shows, the Jews are also sinners in need of God’s mercy,
but it is the Gentiles who have had their sin passed over. The punishment by bondage
to passion does not satisfy God’s judgment that they deserve death (1:32) and
God has allowed their sins to accumulate. In a discussion with an imaginary
Jewish teacher of Gentiles (2:17-3:8), Paul forecasts chaps. 9-11 by suggesting
that Jews have failed to accept Christ and fulfill their mission of being a light
to the Gentiles (3:1-8; 2:19-24). God is therefore just in exercising his wrath
against them (3:5-7). (Stanely K. Stowers, “Paul’s Four Discourses about Sin,”
in Celebrating Paul: Festschrift in Honor of Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, O.P.
and Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J., ed. Peter Spitaler [The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Monograph Series 48; Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2012], 120-21)
