Paul, as a master prosecuting attorney, brings the whole world into God’s courtroom, and brings a fatal charge against them, provides evidence to convict them, exposes the motive to their crimes, and then brings the verdict of God’s Law. All men are guilty before God!
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The Whole World Guilty!
Romans 3:1-20
Paul as a master prosecuting attorney has been addressing various groups of people and showing them why they desperately need the gospel. Paul has told us in 1:16-17 that the gospel is that which provides God’s gift of righteousness through faith in Christ. That’s the cure. However, a man will not take the cure until he is convinced he has the disease. So, Paul must convince all people that they need this gospel of God’s grace. He addresses the Heathen in 1:18-32, and tells him that he is without excuse and under the wrath of God. Then in 2:1-16 he addresses the Hypocrite and shows him that he too is without excuse and under the wrath of God. Then he addresses the Hebrew in 2:17-29 and shows him that he too is without excuse and under the wrath of God, in spite of the fact that he possesses the Law and has been circumcised. Now, in 3:1-8 Paul is going to chase a few rabbits. He has debated the Jews so many times that he already knows what his objections are to his preaching of the gospel. So, before he concludes his argument in 3:9-20, he must answer a few Jewish objections. I’m going to be brief here, because I don’t want us to miss Paul’s main flow of thought. We will take a few minutes to examine 3:1-8, but we will spend the bulk of our time on 3:9-20.
In 3:1-8 Paul brings up three basic objections that Jews had to his gospel message.
- Are you saying the Jew has no advantage over the Gentiles? Now, that’s a very natural question that would arise, because in 2:25-27 Paul has placed the Jew and the Gentile on the same level. He said there that the Jew who did not keep the Law would be judged by the Gentile who did. He said that circumcision was worthless to a Jew who did not keep the Law. He said that the only circumcision that really counts is that which the Holy Spirit performs upon the heart. So, naturally, the Jews that heard Paul preach would ask “so what good is it to be a Jew?” Paul’s answer is that the main benefit is that they were entrusted with the Word of God. Only the Jews, among all the nations of the world, possessed the very written revelation of God almighty. All the other nations were plunged into spiritual darkness, but Israel had the light of truth. The Word of God alone could not save them, but it could point them to a Savior who could. The Jews, by and large, did not profit from the Word of God, because they trusted in it to save them. Jesus said to the Jews of His day in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.”
- Doesn’t what you are saying imply that God is unfaithful? After all, the Jews were God’s chosen people. God had entered into covenant with them. But most Jews rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior. So, if they are lost, that must mean that God is unfaithful to the Jews. Paul will answer this objection later in Romans 9:6 by telling them that “they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.” Just because someone can trace their genealogy back to Abraham doesn’t mean that they are a true Jew. The true Jews are the children of the promise, God’s elect. All true Israel are being saved through Jesus. God is faithfully keeping His Word.
- But wouldn’t it be wrong for God to punish us if our sin shows how right He is? Paul had just said in 3:4, “let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” In other words, if my lie demonstrates all the more God’s truthfulness by contrast, then we are actually glorifying Him when we lie. How can God judge me or inflict wrath upon me for glorifying Him? Paul’s response is that everyone knows God will judge the world, so your argument is foolish. Their condemnation is just.
Now, having stated and answered these Jewish objections, Paul can get back to his main task, which is to show all men their guilt and condemnation and need of God’s gospel. This passage is much like a court room, and all men are brought before God the judge. Paul is the prosecuting attorney. He brings a charge against all men. He provides proof for his charge. He shows the motive for their crimes. Then we find the Verdict issued by the Judge.
1. The Charge
Paul charges all men with their crime in verse 9, “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” When Paul says, “What then?” he is saying, “what is the result of all we have been saying?” What is the conclusion?
Are we (Jews) better than they (Gentiles)? No, not at all. How do we know? Because we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.
What does Paul mean by all men being under sin? Paul is talking about the fact that all men are slaves to sin. Sin is the master, and they are the slaves. Sin dominates them, rules them, and controls them. They are not free to stop sinning. Now, most people will not believe you when you tell them this, but just tell them, “OK, just stop sinning then!” If you believe you are not a slave to sin, prove it by stop doing it. Of course they can’t, because they are a sinner by nature, as are all fallen people.
The fact that people are slaves to sin is taught many times in the New Testament. In Romans 6:17-18, when Paul is writing to believers he says, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” In verse 20 he writes, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.”
In Titus 3:3 Paul writes, “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”
Ephesians 2:3 says, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Paul’s charge? All men – Jews and Greeks – are all under the dominion and power and mastery of sin. Thus, all men are guilty, and condemned and under the wrath of God. Now, that is the charge Paul is bringing against all men. Can he make it stick? Is there any evidence that will prove that is actually the case?
2. The Evidence
In any court case, the prosecuting attorney must present solid evidence in order to get a conviction. So, Paul is going to present some evidence. The strongest evidence in any case is eye-witness testimony. So, Paul is going to bring forth some eye-witness testimony. Who is the eye-witness here? God! Paul is going to show what God says about man. He will tell us what God says about man’s character, conversation, and conduct.
In order to bring forth God’s testimony, Paul is going to bring forth six quotations from the Old Testament. Five of them are from Psalms, and one is from Isaiah 59. And so, Paul is going to string these quotations together like a string of pearls to show God’s unanimous testimony that all men are under the dominion of sin. Let’s look first of all at God’s testimony about the sinner’s character in verses 10-12.
The Sinner’s Character (3:10-12)
Romans 3:10-12, “as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understand, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”
The first thing that we see right off is the universality of sin. Notice the words “none”, “not even one” and “all.” God is making a point. There are no exceptions. All men without exception are fallen and under the dominion of sin, except of course for those who have been redeemed by Christ. The Christian is no longer under the dominion of sin, but everyone else is.
“There is none righteous, not even one.” That is exactly why everyone needs the gospel for in the gospel the gift of God’s righteousness is revealed (1:17). None are righteous. Everyone needs God’s righteousness to be accepted by Him. And in the gospel, this righteousness is provided and offered freely.
“There is none who understands.” Now, Paul is talking about understanding God and the things of the Spirit. No one knows God innately. Our understanding of God is defective. Because we are fallen, our thinker is broken. If we are ever to know God, God must make Himself known to us. We will never know Him unless God reveals Himself to us. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 11:25-27, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” God hides spiritual truth from some and reveals it to others. That’s what Jesus said here.
Or Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
“There is none who seeks for God.” Now, this verse is not saying that there is no one in all the world that seeks God. No, some do seek God.
Psalms 9:10 “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
Psalms 22:26 “The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!”
Psalms 27:8 “When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”
So, if that is true, then what does it mean “there is none who seeks for God.” It means that there are none who seek for God whom God does not seek first. If a person seeks God, it is only because God had already sought Him. Those who seek God are those whom He has regenerated, and caused to be born again. Apart from God’s regenerating work, no one seeks God. They can’t! They are dead in trespasses and sins, and have no desire to seek Him. Now, they may seek some of the things that only God can give them. They may seek heaven, and forgiveness, and peace, and hope, and satisfaction. But they don’t seek God. C. S. Lewis once quipped, “Agnostics talk cheerfully of man seeking God. They might as well talk about the mouse’s search for a cat!” We hear a lot about seeker-sensitive churches, meaning we need to be really sensitive to the seekers who come to our churches. Folks, unless God has regenerated an individual he’s not a seeker of God. He may be seeking a lot of other things, but he doesn’t seek God.
“All have turned aside.” This is the universal testimony of every person. We have turned aside. We have turned out of the way. Instead of the path that follows hard after God, we have turned aside and followed our own ways. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”
“Together they have become useless.” The word for “useless” in the Greek is sometimes used for sour milk. It refers to something that has gone bad, and can’t be used any more. That’s a fitting picture of sinners. We have become useless, because we are so far gone into depravity.
“There is none who does good, there is not even one.” Verse 10 started by saying, “there is none righteous.” This verse ends by saying there is none who does good.” Now, you might argue and say that there are a lot of people who are doing a lot of good that aren’t Christians. You know some of them. They are your neighbors and workmates. They give to charity. They help others. This “good” must be understood of good as defined by God. This is something that we do out of love for God, through faith in God, for the glory of God. There is none who do that, unless they have already been born of the Spirit.
Folks, that is a description of the character of the natural man. Not righteous, not good, doesn’t understand, doesn’t seek God, has turned aside, has become useless. Not a pretty picture, is it?!
The Sinner’s Conversation (3:13-14)
Paul quotes verses that refer to the throat, tongue, lips, and mouth. What does he say about these organs of speech?
“Their throat is an open grave.” What is an open grave like? A place of putrid stench! Not only is it grotesque to look at, it is unbearable to smell. It is disgusting and repulsive. That is what comes out of the mouth of a lost man, the way God sees it. This is what the prophet Isaiah verbalized in chapter 6 when he said, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” The leper cried, “Unclean! Unclean!” And that is what all lost people should know about their speech. It is dirty, vile, and filthy in the sight of our all holy God.
“With their tongues they keep deceiving.” Men deceive with their tongues. They exaggerate, they lie, they falsify information, they keep back certain parts of the truth. People have become masters at deceiving with what they say, and what they don’t say.
“The poison of asps is under their lips.” What is an asp? It is a snake. However, this is no ordinary snake. This is a poisonous snake. They are deadly and destructive. And, that is the speech that rushes forth from those in the world. They utter blasphemies, lies, outbursts of anger, profanity, and filth. It is just part of their conversation.
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” Cursing is everywhere. And I’m shocked to hear Christians use language that I would never use, and they don’t seem to think twice about it. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
What is the conversation of a sinner like? It’s like an open grave. It’s like a poisonous deadly snake. They use their tongues to deceive, to curse, and to pour forth bitterness from their souls.
The Sinner’s Conduct (3:15-17)
“Their feet are swift to shed blood.” How true! Violence is everywhere in the world today! There is a murder committed on the average of every 30 minutes in the United States. In Genesis 6:11, when God was about to destroy the world with a flood, the Bible days, “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.” Violence was one of the primary sins that provoked God to destroy the world. You would think we would have learned our lesson! But the world is still a violent place to live today.
“Destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known.” Since those words were written, there have been 13 years of war to 1 year of peace in the world. This world will never know peace until they know the Prince of Peace.
So, what is the evidence that all men are “under sin”? Their character, conversation, and conduct. All of it is corrupt, and defiled in the sight of God!
3. The Motive
In any crime, there is a motive, a reason why the criminal carried out his wicked act. One of the jobs of the prosecuting attorney is to offer a viable motive for the crime. So, what motive does the apostle Paul give for the sinful character, conversation, and conduct of the world?
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” That is the reason for man’s depraved life. It all comes down to his relationship with God, or lack thereof. The lost man doesn’t really have a sin problem. He has a God problem. He is not rightly related to God.
Now, what does it mean to fear God? It is not talking about having a slavish fear. It is talking about possessing a deep reverential awe of God. It is talking about the person honors God, and glorifies God. Now, the Scripture tells us that there is no fear of God before the eyes of the unregenerate person. Do you know why some people fear God and others don’t? Do you know where a real fear of God comes from? Look with me at Jeremiah 32:40, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.” How is it that some people fear the Lord? He puts that fear in their hearts! If you fear God today, it is because God put that fear there. You didn’t come up with that on your own. It was the work of God. And apart from that work, there will be no fear of God before your eyes.
If men have no fear of God, it leads to a wicked character, conversation, and conduct.
4. The Verdict
So, at this point Paul has brought the charge that all men are under sin, presented the evidence for that charge in their character, conversation, and conduct, and proposed the motive that there is no fear of God before their eyes. So, what is the verdict?
3:19-20, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
In this courtroom scene, God is the judge. What is the purpose of a judge? To uphold the Law. His responsibility is to bring the full force of the law to bear upon those brought before him. In verses 19-20, the entire human race is brought before God, the Judge. When God applies His Law to us, what is the result? There are 3 things the Law does when God applies it to humanity.
- The Law closes the mouth of every man. Who are those who are “under the Law”? They are the Jews. God gave His Law to one nation, to show that all peoples are guilty before God. The Jews had the greatest advantages of any people on the earth. God gave them the Law. Yet, the Law did not justify them, but rather condemned them. The Law did not produce faith, but rather rebellion. Therefore, if the Law only revealed sin in God’s chosen, privileged people, then it will certainly have the same result in all the peoples of the world.
Now, what does it mean that the Law closes the mouth of every man? It means that when God’s Law is brought to bear upon a man, it strips him of every excuse, and every justification for his actions. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament explains the word “accountable” like this: “It describes the state of an accused person who cannot reply at the trial initiated against him because he has exhausted all possibilities of refuting the charge against him and averting the condemnation and its consequences which unavoidably follow.” Paul has said that the Gentiles are without excuse (1:20). He has said that the Jews are without excuse (2:1). Now, he says that the Law closes the mouth of every man. No one can excuse themselves before the holy tribunal of God, the Judge. The Law will show truly that every man is a sinner, and there is nothing they can say that can justify themselves.
- The Law exposes the guilt of every man. “all the world may become accountable to God.” This phrase means that all the world has become guilty before God. That’s how the KJV, and the NKJV and the NLT all translate the phrase. The reason why every mouth is closed when the Law of God is brought to bear upon them, is because it will be clearly shown that all men are guilty. They cannot justify themselves, because they are guilty.
- The Law reveals the sin of every man. Why is it that the works of the Law will not justify? It is because the Law can only reveal sin. It has no power to save. It can only condemn. It can only point out where we have broken its precepts. God’s Law is like a mirror. It can show you your dirty face, but it can’t remove the dirt. It is like a thermometer. It can reveal to you that you have a fever, but swallowing it won’t take your fever away. All it can do is reveal your sin and condemn you. It can’t forgive you or make you righteous.
So, what is God’s verdict, based on His holy Law? All the world is guilty! Every man is a sinner. No one can justify or excuse themselves. Every mouth is closed before God. Every man is condemned!
Conclusion
So, what are the implications of this passage of Scripture?
- Conversion. God’s verdict on you, is that you are guilty and exposed to wrath. As long as you fight with God and argue with Him about this, you will remain in your sins. The only way to escape condemnation, is to agree with God. As long as you make excuses and try to justify yourself, you will never be saved.
King Frederick II, an 18th century King of Prussia was visiting a prison in Berlin. While he was there, the inmates tried to prove to him how they had been unjustly imprisoned. All except one. That one sat quietly in a corner, while all the rest protested their innocence. Seeing him sitting there oblivious to the commotion, the King asked him what he was there for. “Armed robbery, Your Honor.” King: “Are you guilty?” “Yes Sir, I entirely deserve my punishment.” The King then gave an order to the guards: “release this guilty man. I don’t want him corrupting all these innocent people.” And that is the way it will be with God, our King. Until we agree with God and confess our sin and guilt, we shall forever remain enslaved to sin. The first step in being reconciled to God is owning our sin and taking responsibility for our evil actions.
- Evangelism. Paul is systematically laying out the gospel. And, how does he begin? Does he rush to the cross? Does he exalt grace? Does he speak of the love and forgiveness of God? No! He takes the bulk of three chapters to convince men of their sin, and God’s judgment, and God’s wrath. Now, this is a lesson for us. When you are witnessing to someone, you need to take the time to help them see their sin, and God’s just condemnation. Show them God’s holy Law, and how they have broken it. A man will not drink until he’s thirsty. A man will not eat unless he is hungry. A man won’t take the medicine, unless he knows he’s sick. And a man won’t come to Christ for salvation, until they know they are condemned and under God’s wrath. So, we must deliver the bad news before we deliver the good news. This means that before we tell sinners that God loves them, we must tell them that God hates their sin and is angry with them. Before we rush them to Calvary, we must take them to Sinai. They must bow before the Law, before they can be saved by the cross. I believe that failure to see this truth has caused all kinds of problems in the church today. It has produced a multitude of false converts. We rush people to the cross, and urge them to pray the “sinner’s prayer”, before they are even aware that God’s wrath is upon them, and that they are condemned by Him.
- Worship. The first three chapters bring us to the inescapable conclusion that all men are hopelessly and helplessly lost. They are the slaves of sin. They don’t understand God, and won’t seek Him. Their character, conversation, and conduct is evil. Therefore, if any person will ever be saved, God must take the initiative. And that’s exactly what the Bible says He does. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ!” My friend, if you love God, it is only because He first loved you. If you chose Christ, it is only because He first chose you. If you fear God, it is because He put the fear of Him in your heart. If you sought God, it is because He first sought you. Therefore, bless God! Worship God! Praise Him! Adore Him! Cherish Him! Honor Him! Glorify Him!
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