All Are Guilty - Part 2 (Romans 3:9-20)
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we had the joy of celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The week before that we were all in the courtroom in Romans 3. Romans 3:9-20 is Paul’s final section on the sinfulness of man that started back in chapter 1, verse 18.
Romans 3:9-20 is Paul’s summary statement of his whole discourse of the bad news of the Gospel. In this passage Paul delivers the ultimate and undeniable testimony, the testimony of Scripture. This summary statement by Paul is as if we are standing in a courtroom. In verse 9 two weeks ago, Paul delivered the charge against us that we are all under sin, no one has escaped, all of us are deserving of God’s wrath and judgment from the most vile, immoral pagan to the most moral of the Jews. We are all under sin. Then in verses 10-18 Paul delivers the indictment, which is a legal document presented to the court which give the details of the specific charges against the accused. This indictment is drawn completely from quotes and paraphrases from the Old Testament, God’s testimony against mankind, which shows His perfect view of man. This indictment 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. Verse 18 summarizes the indictment with one last Old Testament quote and then the final verses give the ruling of the court, the verdict. We have already looked at the formal charge and the first part of the indictment that deals with man’s character. Let’s try and finish this up this morning. Let’s pray and then read our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Romans 3:9-20, we will read the whole passage again. 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)[1]
THE INDICTMENT – PART 2 – MAN’S SPEECH (Romans 3:13-14)
This morning we will begin in verse 13, this is the second part of the indictment which deals with sinful man’s speech or conversation. Jesus during His lifetime on earth spoke quite harshly to the religious leaders of His day, in Matthew 12:34-37 Jesus spoke concerning their speech, listen to His words, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34–37, NASB95)[2] James 3 also speaks of our speech comparing the tongue to a fire, spreading destruction and evil everywhere, like a spark setting off a forest fire. Both Jesus and James are teaching that a person’s speech reveals his or her true character. James writes in James 3:8, “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8, NASB95)[3]
Paul in this indictment makes the same point that Jesus and James were making again with a series of quotes from the Psalms. These two verses are quotes from Psalm 5:9; 140:3; and 10:7. Paul writes, “’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’ ” (Romans 3:13–14, NASB95)[4] The wickedness of sinful man is evident the moment he opens his mouth. Paul includes all that goes into speech progressing from the throat to the tongue to the lips combining all to make a mouth that is full of cursing and bitterness. We will see that the next verse goes to the feet. First, mans character spews forth speech like vomit from his mouth and then his conduct displays the wickedness of his heart.
Paul, like the Psalmist he is quoting, describes for us an intentionally repulsive thought, “their throat is an open tomb.” (Romans 3:13a, NASB95)[5] This is not the open tomb that we saw last week that was empty, this is an open tomb with a rotting corpse pouring forth its overwhelming and horrendous odor. This is not about bad breath, this is far worse then halitosis, this speaks of a totally corrupt soul with a decomposed and still decaying heart. There could be nothing more detestable to a Jewish person than what Paul describes here. Because this is an open grave, the wickedness is apparent, the rancid vileness of it inescapable.
It starts in the throat and pours out onto the tongue and “with their tongues they keep deceiving.” (Romans 3:13b, NASB95)[6] As my version points out this practice of deceit is not something that was in the past, but this same trickery and untruthfulness continues, they keep deceiving. This deceit includes everything from flattery, which is what Psalm 5:9 states where this is quoted from, to every kind of fraud, scheming and treachery.
This evil that is pouring out of the throat, producing a tongue that keeps deceiving is not merely wicked, but Paul says that it is deadly. Quoting directly from Psalm 140:3 Paul says, “The poison of asps is under their lips” (Romans 3:13c, NASB95)[7] Words can be destructive, deadly, the imagery is fitting, words that are vile, dishonest, unwholesome can be deadly, like poison, and often unexpected. A snake’s fangs lay in the roof of their mouth unnoticed until they are ready to strike, and once bitten the results are destructive beyond measure. We can cover the deadliness of our words with flattery and deceit, but the dishonesty of our words only makes the destructive power of our words that much more wicked. What have words done in our world and in our families. Destructive words have started deadly wars, destructive words have torn families apart. How many times have words come out of my mouth that I wish I could take them back? The poison of asps is under our lips.
Listen to the words spoken in our world today, words of cursing and bitterness. Paul’s words from Psalm 10:7 were true in the psalmist’s day, were true in Paul’s day and are true in our day, speaking of sinful mankind, Paul writes, “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” (Romans 3:14, NASB95)[8] Listen if you can to the words that come out of people’s mouths today. I remember when I was a young kid you never heard a swear word in a TV show, rarely in a movie that I would watch. But that is not the case today, the language of our day is angry, filthy, blasphemous, prideful, violent, lying, deceptive and the list could go on. John MacArthur writes, “In a way that is perhaps more conspicuous on the surface than any other aspect of human behavior, the topics and the tenor of human conversation provide irrefutable proof that the human heart is fallen and full of evil—thoroughly defiled by sin.”[9] There are sins and behaviors that most people would never do because the consequences are too great. But people freely speak with unrestrained cursing and bitterness.
THE INDICTMENT – PART 3 – MAN’S CONDUCT (Romans 3:15-17)
Paul now introduces the third part of the indictment which deals with sinful man’s action or conduct. Our sinful character not only corrupts our speech, but it also corrupts our behavior. Paul writes, “Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace they have not known.” (Romans 3:15–17, NASB95)[10] Again Paul uses an Old Testament passage as the basis for this part of the indictment. These three verses come from Isaiah 59:7-8. Paul in showing us the corruption of our conduct begins with murder and charges all of humanity guilty of this crime.
Now there is no doubt that the sin of murder is seen throughout all of human history. Cain, the first-born son of Adam and Eve murdered his own brother. This ability to murder, our bloodthirstiness, has infected the whole human race, look at the games people play, many of them are about killing everyone else. The last person alive is the winner. Now maybe you are asking how this charge of murder can apply to everyone without exception? Throughout history is there no one who escapes this charge? Remember what Jesus said about murder in the sermon on the mount. Listen to His words from Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Matthew 5:21–22, NASB95)[11] The apostle John made it even clearer for us in 1 John 3:15, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15, NASB95)[12] Do you hate someone? Have you ever hated someone or said that you hated someone? God’s Word says that if you hate someone you are condemned as a murderer.
Human history has shown that we are prone to hatred and violence and as Paul writes again from Isaiah 59, “Destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known.” (Romans 3:16-17, NASB95)[13] The words destruction and misery in these verses in the Greek literally mean “shattering calamity and hardship or misery.” These words speak of the wearing away effects of cruelty. Not only is it speaking of the wretchedness of sin, but also refers to actual, painful, physical suffering. We see the effects of this in our world today all around us, sinful man has caused calamity and misery through his conduct. Robert Haldane, an early nineteenth-century biblical scholar said in his commentary on Romans 3:15-17, “The most savage animals do not destroy so many of their own species to appease their hunger, as man destroys of his fellows, to satiate (to satisfy or fill) his ambition, his revenge, or cupidity (greed).”[14]
Because of the destruction and misery that fill the paths of sinful man, he does not know the way of peace. Does the average person today have peace? What our world calls peace is not true peace and we are seeing less and less of what even the world calls peace and more and more of destruction and misery. The school shootings and bombings, the bombing of business, churches, and mosques, the hatred spoken and posted against certain people of people groups, the threats made just add to the destruction and misery and peace, the way of peace is unknown. The wickedness and sinfulness of our heart is seen in our conduct.
Those are the thirteen charges that all of mankind is charged with. Paul then concludes the indictment against sinful humanity with one last quote from the Old Testament, a quote that summarizes the entire indictment. This quote is taken from Psalm 36:1, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:18, NASB95)[15] In this verse we have why man is guilty, it is his lack of fear, but we also have the absolute statement of human depravity. The failure to fear God is where foolishness begins. Proverbs 9:10 say, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10, NASB95)[16] Proverbs 8:13 says, ““The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;” (Proverbs 8:13a, NASB95)[17] and Proverbs 16:6 says, “And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil.” (Proverbs 16:6b, NASB95)[18] John MacArthur writes, “Of all the evils this string of Old Testament references attributes to fallen humanity, none is more despicable than the shameless, fearless, apathetic contempt people display toward their Creator and Judge. Of all the defects that mar fallen humanity, this is the most damnable of all.”[19]
With this final Old Testament quote, the indictment is complete.
Paul in the final two verses of our passage brings us to the conclusion, the verdict in this case against sinful humanity is clear and inescapable. Paul writes, “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;” (Romans 3:19, NASB95)[20] The guilty verdict is irrefutable, it can never be overturned, all humanity is guilty before God.
Did you notice anything missing from this courtroom scene? The accused have offered no defense. How come? Because there is no defense to offer. Paul goes on to say, “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 3:20, NASB95)[21] We are guilty, we have no defense to offer, as we learned from Isaiah even our “righteous acts” done in the flesh are like a filthy garment. Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin, as we are compared to the righteous standard of the Law, we are clearly seen to be sinful and guilty before God.
What does this mean? It means that the ruling of the court is that we are guilty under the Law of God. For a righteous judge what does this mean? He must fulfill his one responsibility: he must uphold the Law. The Law declares that we each deserve God’s wrath and judgment, that we should die in our sins and be eternally separated from God suffering His wrath and judgment day and night in the lake of fire.
CONCLUSION:
The verdict of guilty brings us back to that seemingly unsolvable dilemma. Because God is holy, because He is the Lawgiver and the Judge, He cannot simply overlook our sin, overlook all of humanity’s sin. Proverbs 17:15 tells how the Lord looks at an earthly judge who judges in unrighteousness, it says, “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” (Proverbs 17:15, NASB95)[22] If unjust earthly judges are an abomination to the Lord, He will not and cannot lower the high standard of His own perfect righteousness just so humanity’s sin does not seem so terrible. Sin must be punished, and the wages of sin is death, physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death. Sinners have a debt that we can never hope to pay. If we stopped right here, no one would have a single reason to think that the Gospel is good news. But praise God that it does not stop here, next week beginning in verse 21 the true glory of the Gospel will explode on the scene, it will be like a bright firework in the darkest night.
[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]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]MacArthur, John, The Gospel according to Paul: embracing the good news at the heart of Paul’s teachings. Nashville, TN : Nelson Books, 2017
[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]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[14]MacArthur, John, The Gospel according to Paul: embracing the good news at the heart of Paul’s teachings. Nashville, TN : Nelson Books, 2017
[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]MacArthur, John, The Gospel according to Paul: embracing the good news at the heart of Paul’s teachings. Nashville, TN : Nelson Books, 2017
[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