Greek Form Guide

ἁμαρτωλὸς (amartolos) in Romans 3:7: Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine

ἁμαρτωλὸς (amartolos) in Romans 3:7

Textual Witness

ἁμαρτωλὸςamartolosAdjective Nominative Singular Masculine

At Romans 3:7, the Romans 3:7 source token ἁμαρτωλὸς is G268, A-NSM. The G268 Romans 3:7 Textus Receptus row therefore anchors this guide.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The English noun phrase a sinner naturally conveys the Greek adjective used predicatively of the speaker. The objection asks why a liar remains condemned if God's truth shines more brightly through the contrast. Paul refuses the moral logic in the next verse.

How To Communicate It

Keep sinner, condemned, and the slanderous let us do evil claim together so the class learns to recognize the objection before hearing Paul's verdict.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not derive a full anthropology from adjective agreement, and do not present the objector's reasoning as Paul's explanation of grace.
  • Hōs can express manner, comparison, or capacity; here it introduces the judged classification without making it imaginary.
  • Read a sinner within Romans 3:7 as the G268 occurrence; broader theology requires the passage.

What Does The Label Mean?

Part of Speech

Adjective: ἁμαρτωλὸς supplies the quality expressed as a sinner in Romans 3:7, where it the masculine singular nominative adjective is predicative with the implied I and identifies the status under which the speaker is judged.

Tense / Aspect

Adjective ἁμαρτωλὸς carries no verbal tense or aspect in Romans 3:7; a sinner is determined by its clause relation.

Voice

For G268 at Romans 3:7, no voice category is encoded by G268. Its a sinner agreement with the singular male speaker represented by the first-person pronoun supplies the local relation.

Mood

ἁμαρτωλὸς has no mood marking. Its force belongs to the objector's question about condemnation when human falsehood increases the display of God's truth.

Person

G268 at Romans 3:7 has no person marking. Its a sinner agreement connects G268 with the singular male speaker represented by the first-person pronoun.

Case

Nominative aligns ἁμαρτωλὸς with the singular male speaker represented by the first-person pronoun; case identifies that relation without deciding the paragraph's theology.

Number

Singular matches the singular male speaker represented by the first-person pronoun. The Romans 3:7 wording, not number alone, fixes the expression's reach.

Gender

Masculine follows the singular male speaker represented by the first-person pronoun. The Romans 3:7 grammatical match adds no separate claim beyond that clause.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The first-person subject embedded in kagō and linked by hōs to the judgment verb

Governed By

The objector's question about condemnation when human falsehood increases the display of God's truth

Role In The Phrase

The masculine singular nominative adjective is predicative with the implied I and identifies the status under which the speaker is judged.

What It Is Not Doing

The form does not make sin merely a label imposed by others, nor does it teach that a sinful means becomes righteous because God receives glory.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

Moderate: The objection asks why a liar remains condemned if God's truth shines more brightly through the contrast. Paul refuses the moral logic in the next verse.

Syntax Profile

The nominative matches the clause's subject, and hōs introduces the capacity or classification in which condemnation is questioned.. The masculine singular nominative adjective is predicative with the implied I and identifies the status under which the speaker is judged.. Attached to the first-person subject embedded in kagō and linked by hōs to the judgment verb. Governed by the objector's question about condemnation when human falsehood increases the display of God's truth. The form does not make sin merely a label imposed by others, nor does it teach that a sinful means becomes righteous because God receives glory.

Reader Question

What relationship does the nominative adjective have to the speaker's question? It classifies the implied first-person subject as a sinner in the very judgment whose fairness the objection challenges.

Translation Effect

Direct: The English noun phrase a sinner naturally conveys the Greek adjective used predicatively of the speaker.

Where Caution Is Needed

Hōs can express manner, comparison, or capacity; here it introduces the judged classification without making it imaginary. The first-person wording voices an argumentative example and should not be isolated as autobiographical detail.

Fallacies To Avoid

Adjective makes sin only social labeling: The predicate classification occurs within God's judgment, not merely within human accusation. God's glory cancels condemnation: Paul explicitly rejects doing evil for a good result and calls the condemnation just. morphology replaces literary context: The G268 form clarifies the a sinner relation in Romans 3:7; the surrounding passage establishes its scope.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

At Romans 3:7, the Romans 3:7 source token ἁμαρτωλὸς is G268, A-NSM. The G268 Romans 3:7 Textus Receptus row therefore anchors this guide.

Lexical Identity

ἁμαρτωλός is the lemma behind a sinner here. Within Romans 3:7, G268 retains this exact lexical identity.

Grammar In Context

The nominative matches the clause's subject, and hōs introduces the capacity or classification in which condemnation is questioned.

Passage Meaning

The objection asks why a liar remains condemned if God's truth shines more brightly through the contrast. Paul refuses the moral logic in the next verse.

Canonical Fit

Romans rejects every attempt to turn God's sovereign glory into permission for sin; divine faithfulness establishes rather than dissolves judgment.

Communication Use

Keep sinner, condemned, and the slanderous let us do evil claim together so the class learns to recognize the objection before hearing Paul's verdict.

Do Not Derive

Do not derive a full anthropology from adjective agreement, and do not present the objector's reasoning as Paul's explanation of grace.