All Are Guilty - Part 1 (Romans 3:9-20)
INTRODUCTION:
Ten weeks ago, we began looking at the bad news of the Gospel. Paul had started his discourse of the bad news with these words in Romans 1:18-19, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” (Romans 1:18–19, NASB95)[1] Then for the rest of chapter one and all of chapter two and most of chapter three Paul proves that all humanity through all of history are guilty before God because of sin, that each and every person that has lived on this earth is deserving of God’s wrath and judgment against sin. Paul understands that it is man’s nature to deny his sin and in knowing this presented powerful testimony from creation, from history, from reason, from logic, and from conscience that proved that man is a sinner and guilty before God.
This morning as we come to Paul’s final section on sinfulness of man, his summary of this whole discourse of the bad news of the Gospel, he delivers to us the ultimate testimony, the undeniable testimony, the testimony of Scripture. Beginning in verse 10 and going through verse 18 Paul as if standing in a courtroom presents to the court the testimony of God’s own Word as seen in the Old Testament. This whole section can be divided as if it is taking place in a courtroom with first the charge being read, then the indictment, which is God’s testimony, and finally the ruling of the court, the verdict. In this testimony of God’s Word, it shows His perfect view of man. Let’s pray and then read our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans 3:9-20, Paul’s summary of the bad news of the Gospel, the testimony of God’s Word. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Romans 3:9-20,
“What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, 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.’ ‘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’; ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace they have not known.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ 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.” (Romans 3:9–20, NASB95)[2]
THE CHARGE (Romans 3:9)
Paul begins this last section of the bad news, this summary section that begins with the charge against humanity, by asking two questions. First, he writes, “What then?” (Romans 3:9a, NASB95)[3] In other words, what is the point of further testimony? Paul through the preceding pages has condemned all of mankind, the most immoral pagan, the moral pagan, and as we have looked over the past couple of weeks the moral and immoral Jew. Then Paul asks the question that he knows some of his readers would ask, “Are we better than they?” (Romans 3:9b, NASB95)[4] This question is asking if we have a better basic nature then those condemned in the preceding pages.
Debate has gone on for years as to whom the “we” in this question refers. Some believe that Paul is referring to his fellow Jews. But verses 1-8 that we looked at a couple of weeks ago dealt with the questions they would have asked. Nowhere else in the book of Romans does Paul include himself with his fellow countrymen by the use of “we.” I think that it is more likely that Paul is referring to himself and his brothers and sisters in Christ in the church in Rome, which would include Jewish and Gentile Christians. If this is the case, then this question is asking if we Christians are better than those who were condemned in the preceding pages. Is there something special about us, were we saved because we are better than those condemned, are we on a higher plane than them.
Paul goes on immediately to answer his own question, he says emphatically, “Not at all” (Romans 3:9c, NASB95)[5] In other words, Paul is saying that in no way does he believe this, he believes that they too which includes himself are wretched sinners. Paul in 1 Timothy had described himself as the chief of sinners, never did he forget his own fallenness, his own sinfulness. Paul is not setting himself up as judge of the rest of humanity, he is just stating the case, giving the charge against mankind. Paul writes, “for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin” (Romans 3:9d, NASB95)[6]
This phrase “already charged” is one word in Greek and it was used as a legal term in the courts to refer to a person who had already or previously been charged with a crime or an offense. The word translated “under” is a Greek word that does not simply mean to be beneath something, but a term that often was used to describe someone who was completely under the power, authority or control of someone or something. Clearly that is how Paul is using it here, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are all under the power, they are controlled by sin. They are sinners by nature, and they are sinners by choice in bondage to sin and serving sin. Paul says they have already been charged with this in the previous pages. Again, this would have been a revolutionary idea for the Jewish readers who thought that they were righteous before God simply because they were Jewish, these same Jews would have believed that the Gentiles (Greeks) were naturally sinful simply because they were not Jewish. It is no different today among those who are very religious, they often think that they are naturally better than others and favored by God because of their own goodness. But here in this charge Paul lumps us all together and says Jew or Gentile has already been charged as being under sin, we are all condemned and awaiting the wrath and judgment of God.
THE INDICTMENT (Romans 3:10-18)
In a court of law after the charge has been made a legal document is then presented to the court which gives the details of the specific charges against the accused, this document is called an indictment. In verses 10-17 Paul gives this detailed indictment drawn entirely from the Old Testament Scriptures, an infallible and undeniable source. Paul uses a practice that was used by the rabbis of stringing together verses and phrases from different biblical sources. It even had a name for doing this in Hebrew, it is called a charaz which literally means “string of pearls.” John MacArthur says about this charaz, “Paul draws from multiple Old Testament sources several parallel phrases about the universality of sin. And he strings them together like pearls—except that the result is not pretty. The full necklace is a choking indictment against every member of the human race.”[7] In this indictment there are 13 charges each a quote from the Old Testament then in verse 18 Paul summarizes the indictment with one last Old Testament quote.
Paul begins this section with the phrase, “as it is written,” (Romans 3:10a, NASB95)[8] a phrase used often in the New Testament to highlight that which is about to be spoken has divine authority, it is the Word of God. Paul uses it here to show that this indictment against every person in the human race is divinely inspired and authoritative because it is God’s Word and not just Paul’s opinion. Paul is using the highest of all authorities, it would be clearly understood that when Scripture speaks, God has spoken. This indictment drawn from the Word of God is the authoritative, undeniable, final Word on the hopeless depravity of fallen humanity. This indictment from the Old Testament is divided into three parts, the first part deals with sinful man’s character, the second part deals with sinful man’s speech, how he talks, and the third part deals with sinful man’s conduct, how he acts.
Let’s look first at his character. In verses 10-12 Paul shows us from the Old Testament how the corruption of sin fills and spreads through every part of the inner being, the heart and soul of a sinner. Jeremiah said this of the heart of mankind, “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB95)[9] Paul begins to show us in verse 10 how deceitful and sick our heart truly is by quoting from the twin psalms, Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, Paul writes, “There is none righteous, not even one;” (Romans 3:10, NASB95)[10] Paul shortens and paraphrases the first verse of Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 and his word choice is very intentional. Righteousness is the theme of the book of Romans, this book is about how a sinner can be righteous, or right with God. But here as he has been doing since chapter one, at the very beginning of this indictment he makes it crystal clear that no one is righteous, and to make sure that we do not miss the point he takes the words from the end of Psalm 14:3 and 53:3 and uses them here, “not even one.” No one escapes, no one is righteous.
This Greek word translated “righteous” can also be translated “justified” and is in verse 20. Paul is saying and will say, that no one is righteous, and no one can become righteous through his or her own efforts. Perfect righteousness is the standard of the perfectly holy God and mortal man cannot attain the absolute righteousness that God demands.
Paul goes on in verse 11 following the thought that the psalmist did in Psalm 14:2 and 53:2. Both these psalms say in verse 2, “The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.” (Psalm 14:2, NASB95)[11] Paul takes this idea of understanding and states what these two psalms are implying, “There is none who understands,” (Romans 3:11, NASB95)[12] Sin mars our understanding, the sinner has no true understanding, we have no true understanding of God, no understanding of righteousness. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 Paul stated it this way, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, ESV)[13] These are harsh words, but they are true, we lack righteousness and we lack a proper understanding of righteousness and because we don’t understand, we hate it. Paul speaking of unsaved Gentiles in Ephesians 4:17-19 described them like this, “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.” (Ephesians 4:17–19, NASB95)[14]
How could the state of fallen man be worse than this, but Paul has only given us the first two of thirteen charges. Paul goes on in verse 11 following verse 2 of Psalm 14 and 53 to state, “There is none who seeks for God;” (Romans 3:11b, NASB95)[15] No sinner seeks for God, no sinner wants to know God, because to know God means that we are accountable to Him. Psalm10:4 states, “The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 10:4, NASB95)[16] I know that some of you are saying, “Wait a minute, what about all those verses that tell us to seek God and promise that those who seek will find?” There are more than 100 verses in Scripture that tell us to seek God and promises to find Him if you seek Him. Some churches have become “seeker-sensitive” building their whole church around the belief that people are seeking God. But Paul here says the exact opposite. Paul declared that his message of Christ crucified was a stumbling block for the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. Seeking God is what sinful man should do, and God has every right to command them, to urge them, to invite them to seek Him. But sinful man does not seek God, they disobey His commands, they ignore His urgings and invitations. Why? Because they love their sin too much. Their sin has them in bondage that is impossible for them to break on their own. Listen to what Jesus said in John 6:44, ““No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:44, NASB95)[17] Then in that same chapter in verse 65 Jesus says, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” (John 6:65, NASB95)[18] Paul had taught us in the beginning of this discourse on the bad news of the Gospel that man had sinned by suppressing the basic truth that they knew to be true about God’s existence and some of His attributes. That willful rejection of what they knew because God made it known to them brought judgment. God gave them over to their own depravity. They suppress the truth, they are willfully blind to the truth, they do not seek God, because they are enslaved to their own lusts. There is none who seeks for God. Fallen mankind is in a desperate situation, no one is righteous, no one has understanding, and no one seeks for God.
Paul goes on quoting from Psalms 14 and 53 and quotes a phrase from verse 3, “All have turned aside,” (Romans 3:12a, NASB95)[19] Paul uses an active verb here that is translated “turned aside” and it means “to deviate” or “to avoid.” This is not something that has happened to them, it is something that sinful man have done themselves. This was the expression used for a soldier who deserted, who turned and ran away in the heat of a battle. Paul is saying that the whole of mankind has departed from the path of truth, they have turned away from God. Isaiah describes it this way in Isaiah 53:6, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6a, NASB95)[20]
Paul is not finished talking about the character of sinful mankind, he adds another phrase again from Psalms 14 and 53, Paul quotes, “together they have become useless;” (Romans 3:12, NASB95)[21] Both Psalms 14 and 53 use the word corrupt for useless. It is a word in Hebrew that refers to milk going sour, referring to something that is rancid or tainted. The Psalmist was using it to point our moral corruption. Unlike the active verb “turning aside” this verb useless is passive and refers to something that has happened to mankind as a result of their sin and rebellion against God. We were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever and because of sin we are useless for that which we were created. We have become “useless” like salt that has lost its savor, like milk that has gone bad, like eggs that have turned rotten, useless, unprofitable. This is the state of the human race, this is how sin has affected our character, and if this were not bad enough, Paul has one more quote to finish off the affect that sin has on our character.
Paul goes back to his starting point in Psalms 14 and 53 and quotes again from verse one in both psalms, “There is none who does good, There is not even one.” (Romans 3:12c, NASB95)[22] The charge in verse 10 was that no one was righteous, this is a whole new charge that no one does what is moral and right. Paul is saying that fallen sinners bound by sin do not do anything that is genuinely good. Paul is speaking of what theologians call the total depravity of man. This is not saying that people are as thoroughly evil as they can be. Instead, this means that sin has infected every aspect of our human character, it has infected our mind, our will, our passions, our flesh, our feelings, and our motives. There is nothing that we can do that is not tainted by sin. This includes our very best acts of kindness and goodness. This is a doctrine that is difficult to accept in our humanness. We want to think that we are fundamentally good, upright, generous, kind, compassionate and noble. The Bible is very clear that nothing that we do in the flesh, not even the best of our good works are truly good enough to gain any favor with God. Isaiah the prophet spoke this way concerning our good works in the flesh in Isaiah 64:6, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6, NASB95)[23]
In all actuality our good deeds in the flesh only compound our guilt, because there is always an ulterior motive mixed with our “good deeds” whether it be selfishness, hypocrisy, pride, and desire for praise from others, and the list could go on with the evil intents behind our good deeds. When we come to understand that God’s own absolute perfection is the only acceptable standard of good, then we can easily understand why Paul says, “There is none who does good, There is not even one.” (Romans 3:12c, NASB95)[24]
John MacArthur writes, “This is the starting point of biblical anthropology: humanity is fallen. The human creature is totally depraved, fundamentally wicked—ignorant, rebellious, wayward, and in and of ourselves worthless. Our character is debauched and defined by our sinfulness.”[25]
CONCLUSION:
There is more, this is just the first six of the 13 charges that Paul brings against us from the Word of God. I am going to stop here this morning. I think this is a heavy enough load to lay on you this week. If Paul stopped here there would be no doubt that we are all sinners guilty and condemned to suffer God’s wrath and judgment. There is more to this history of the human race, remember as you think about our sinful state this week that God did make a way for us to be righteous before Him. Paul explained it this way in Ephesians 2:1-10, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 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. 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 (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:1–10, NASB95)[26]
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]MacArthur, John, The Gospel according to Paul: embracing the good news at the heart of Paul’s teachings. Nashville, TN : Nelson Books, 2017
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[13]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
[14]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[15]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[16]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[17]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[18]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[19]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[20]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[21]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[22]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[23]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[24]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[25]MacArthur, John, The Gospel according to Paul: embracing the good news at the heart of Paul’s teachings. Nashville, TN : Nelson Books, 2017
[26]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995