Romans 3:8

And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

Romans 3:8 (KJV)

Context

Paul is answering objections to his teaching that justification comes through faith, not by works of the law. In Romans 3:1-8 he faces a series of challenges, and this verse concludes that exchange. The accusation against him was that his gospel of grace encouraged people to sin so that God’s goodness would be displayed more fully. Paul calls this a slanderous report, using a Greek word that can mean blasphemy, because the charge misrepresented the gospel itself.

Meaning

The verse has two parts. First, Paul rejects the twisted conclusion that believers should do evil so that good may come. He had argued that human unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, and some listeners twisted that into a license for sin. Paul refuses the logic entirely. Second, he declares that those who actually promote such reasoning face just condemnation. The judgment belongs not to the slanderers alone but to anyone who teaches that grace permits evil.

Paul’s emphatic rejection in the previous verse, “God forbid,” carries into this one. The gospel of free grace never makes moral conduct irrelevant. Instead, it establishes the law as holy and just while removing any ground for boasting. Grace saves, but it does not excuse sin.

Biblical connections

Paul returns to this same danger in Romans 6:1-2, where he asks whether believers should continue in sin so that grace may abound, and answers with the same forceful denial. The principle that God can bring good out of evil appears in Scripture, as in Joseph’s words in Genesis 50:20, but that truth never justifies committing evil. God’s sovereignty over evil does not make evil permissible.

Application

This verse warns against antinomianism, the idea that salvation by grace removes the need for holy living. Believers should present the gospel carefully so that grace is never twisted into an excuse for sin. It also calls Christians to guard their own hearts, refusing any reasoning that treats wrongdoing as acceptable because God can bring good from it. The just condemnation pronounced here reminds readers that God is holy and will judge all unrighteousness, including the distortion of His truth.

Reflection

Paul’s strong response shows how seriously God regards the misrepresentation of His grace. The gospel that saves sinners is not a permission to sin. It is the power of God that leads believers into righteousness, and those who teach otherwise stand under just judgment.