Romans 3:6 (DRB)

Passage

(I speak according to man.) God forbid! Otherwise how shall God judge this world?

Nearby Context

Romans 3:4 But God is true and every man a liar, as it is written: That thou mayest be justified in thy words and mayest overcome when thou art judged.

Romans 3:5 But if our injustice commend the justice of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust, who executeth wrath?

Romans 3:6 (I speak according to man.) God forbid! Otherwise how shall God judge this world?

Romans 3:7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie, unto his glory, why am I also yet judged as a sinner?

Romans 3:8 And not rather (as we are slandered and as some affirm that we say) let us do evil that there may come good? Whose damnation is just.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "speak", "forbid", "otherwise", "shall", and "judge". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "speak", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "But if our injustice commend the justice..." into verse 7's "For if the truth of God hath...", so "world" and "speak" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "speak" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.