Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Romans

Romans 3:9-20

INTRO: We are coming to the close of the greatest court case of all time. And it has remained for the most part, unknown or avoided by mankind. Paul has presented God's case against the evil Gentile as well as the Gentile who believes himself to be a moral or good  person . Paul has pleaded God's case against the Religious Jew who believes his heritage and observance of dead rituals and traditions is enough to grant him clemency. Now, Paul in Romans 3:9-20 says 'Just in case I left anyone out or there is still one among you who believes he is exempt from the wrath of God, listen up. I am speaking to EVERYONE...ALL MANKIND.'

TRANS: In the courtroom Paul, God's prosecuting attorney states the charge.

I. All mankind is guilty before God of sin. (Rom. 3:9)
    A. No one is preferred over another.

         How many times does Paul have to tell them that? Over    eight times Paul make reference to the fact that God    favors no one. Every human being is a sinner by nature and by choice.

    B. All are under sin.

         In the Greek, the language here is very strong to leave    no doubt about what is meant. All are under Sin, Paul say, Sin and not Sins. There is a difference. Paul is not saying that we all make mistakes now     and again. And that those mistakes don't amount to very much. He is declaring that we are ALL in a 'Christless  state'. We are all Under the command, under the authority, under the control of sinfulness and we are helpless to escape from it.

    APP: In a world of national boundaries, differences in gender, political governments, physical appearance, in a world where we are so different. Paul is saying that in the most important way, we are all like. There is a awful togetherness of the human race that takes precedence over every other similarity or difference. Before God we are all, everyone, exposed, naked in our sinful state. There are no exceptions whatsoever. None, nada, zip, zilch, zero, No Not One.

TRANS: Mankind now cries out 'this charge is not justified. It has no basis in truth. If this is true then  no one can escape the condemnation of a sinner?' Paul says:  'that's right ' Mankind responds:   'What evidence do you have of this  allegation?'

II. The Evidence: God's Word and Man's Works' (Rom. 3:10-18)
    A. Total Depravity of Man

         Here in Rom. 3:10-18 we find the most explicit   description of the total depravity of mankind in Scripture.  Total depravity means left in our sinful state we will never and can never become what we were created by God to be which is a holy recipient of God's richest blessings forever. Instead, we will die a sin ridden object of God's unrelenting wrath.

    B. 'Stringing Pearls' Charaz

         In verses 10-18 Paul shows the how the prophetic Word of God reveals the truth of our own sin nature. He uses a Hebrew literary device called charaz, which literally means 'stringing pearls'. Paul is stringing together a series of OT texts that focus on three areas of human life. Character, Conduct, and Cause.
            1. Character: (Rom. 3:10-12)
Read vs. 10 'as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one

              Paul states off by saying all of mankind's character, w/o exception is based on unrighteousness.  We do not live rightly before God.

Read vs. 11 'There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God'

             Understands what? The depth of who God is. Sin  keeps us from this. W/O exception, the thought processes of men and women are so affected by sin that there will always be some degree of deficiency in our ability to grasp the whole truth of God. No one seeks God? Really? You might be thinking. Paul is saying here that no one by nature or of themselves seeks after God because in all honesty they don't want to know Him.

APP: We don't want to believe this as Christian do we? Come on Pastor, I know non Christians  who are 'sensitive' who are 'seeking after God'. Really? The word 'to seek' means to make a  diligent and determined search. Remember Paul already said in Rom. 1:18 that we   willingly suppress the knowledge and truth of God in our lives. Sinful mankind does not want to know God. However, there is one exception. it's called 'Irresistible  Grace'. It is when God calls an individual to Himself and His Spirit begins to work on the life of the sinner to woo or draw him to God. Understand, this is God's Work not man's. Apart from the grace of God, man has no desire to seek after God on his own.

Read Vs.  12 'All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.'  This verse describes the logical outcome of a depraved character  as shown in vs. 10-11.

ILL: If your car is out of alignment, it will not steer true will it. It will go to the left or to the right all by itself.

               So humanity with it's sin dominated character has a natural tendency to move away from faith in God. We all have a natural bent to evil and a bias to disobedience in our character. Because of this we are as the text tells us Useless and are not capable of doing good. Doing good Biblically means conforming to the will of God and doing it from a commitment to honoring Him continually and habitually in all things.  No not one!

           2. Conduct. (Rom. 3:13-17)

Read vs. 13-14 'Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving, The poison of asps is under their lips, Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness'. Paul, now moves on to our depraved conduct. He paints a disgusting picture beginning with our throats and ending with our mouths. He says that the speech of those w/o God is like an open grave where the stench is great because everything that comes out of it is rotten and decayed. It is full of deceit and poison and deadly to those we strike out against.

              Our speech, Paul tells us, is full of cursing and bitterness. This is not only foul language but includes wishing ill on another. And we all know what bitterness can do to a relationship.Why the emphasis on our mouth? Why is our speech so important? Jesus said 'Matthew 15:11 "It is Not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." It is true that our speech, what we say reveals the true nature of our heart and effects our conduct.

Read vs. 15-17 'Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace have they not known.' Paul moves from our mouth and goes to our feet which Biblically is a metaphor for life. He is saying here that our conduct is also evidenced by our propensity for violence.

              Date rape, murder, assault, domestic violence, child abuse, spousal abuse, cruelty to animals, war, terrorist activity, retaliation. We are obsessed with violence and Paul tells us that because of that conduct, we will never know peace, the true peace of God.

    3. Cause (Rom. 3:18)

Read Rom. 3:18 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.' Paul as he so likes to do, peals away the layers of our lives to get to the bottom of the issue, the cause for our decaying character and conduct.. We are the way we are because we do not fear God. In Rom. 1:28 Paul said that we no longer acknowledge God as God. The logical consequence is that we will not fear that which we do not acknowledge. W/o fear of God we believe our  conduct is  justified.

TRANS: Paul has stated the charge and has presented his evidence. He now presents his closing statement.
 

III. The Closing Argument: All Are Accountable To God. (Rom. 3:19-20)

       In Rom. 3:19-20, Paul goes back to the Law of Moses. He repeats what he has said before. No one can become righteous by keeping the Law. Why? Because that was not it's intent. The Law was given to tell people how they were to live under a holy and just God.

      What it did was convey to all, that every human being is a sinner because they could not keep the Law. That was it's purpose. To show our sinfulness. To close our mouths, the text says, so that we would not think we could work our way to heaven. And it ultimately shows our accountability to God.

Conclusion:
 Well where do we go from here? Romans 1:18-3:20 should leave us thinking,
  -What can be done?
  -Are we doomed to an eternity in Hell?.
  -We are all sinners and God's chosen people, Israel, have failed Him.
  -How is God going to be faithful to His covenant with Abraham?
  -How is He going to make redemption possible?
  -What is God's solution to this mess?

         Paul in chapter 3:21 and following will give us the solution. He will break down what he had said in Rom. 1:16-17. The righteousness of God will be revealed in JC. The covenant faithfulness of God will be shown in the One who will do and be what Israel should have done and should have been. In Him alone, the plan, the covenant will be fulfilled. God will be faithful to His covenant with Abraham. Jesus is the One faithful Israelite, the Messiah, the One who will shine the light  of God's truth on a dark, sinful world. Paul showed us the total depravity of mankind in Rom. 1:18-3:20 so that in 3:21 and following he can show us the matchless grace and mercy displayed thru His Son, Jesus.