The Ruin of Sin

Christ Reformed Baptist Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:15

Well, last week, as we announced this morning, we will take a, or starting this morning, we will be taking a short break away from our work in the book of Exodus as we prepare for our celebration of Resurrection Sunday, which if you have not been looking at your calendar is exactly five weeks from today.

00:39

It seems like New Year's Day was yesterday, and here we are at Easter, a third of the way through the year, so that gives you a heads up on how fast

00:50

Christmas is coming. Hopefully, in your personal study time, you have been able to read through and work through the

01:00

Spurgeon devotional that we have been able to get out to most everyone, and the whole intent behind that and behind this message and this series of messages is simply to prepare our hearts as we prepare to celebrate this resurrection.

01:22

As we do this over the next five weeks, we will be studying from select passages of Scripture out of Paul's letter to the church at Rome.

01:37

Now the title of this series is Risen to Reign, and it speaks obviously to the work of Christ both on the cross, in the grave, his resurrection, and then his ascension as he stands at the right hand of the

01:59

Father. My prayer is that as we move through this particular series over the next few weeks, we will be challenged to evaluate our own lives in light of the finished work of Christ, but that even as we are evaluating our lives, even as we are talking about and observing ourselves, we would also be evaluating and thinking and praying about who

02:29

God is working at or working in at the moment, who is being the soil that is properly being prepared for the seed of the gospel so that as we share it, it will take root and flourish.

02:50

Now, statistically speaking, Christmas and Easter or Resurrection Sunday, whichever be your preference, are the times of year when church attendance is at its peak, and while it is certainly great that we have more people in attendance, what truly matters is the true proclamation of God's word.

03:09

It is absolutely amazing to me to see how God continues to work in the life of this church.

03:15

We come off of a week of celebrating the baptism of three of our people being reminded that through this symbol, we are buried in the likeness of his death and raised in the likeness of his resurrection to the newness of life.

03:30

Even the psalm that we read this morning, coming from 119, as you'll see as we begin to work through our text for this morning, plays into the message that Christ has for us, that God has for his people.

03:50

Over this series again, like I said, we will work and move from the depth of depravity of man to the triumph of grace.

04:00

Our journey this morning will begin in Romans chapter 3. We will read from verses 1 through 20, however, we will narrow our focus of text this morning to verses 9 through 20.

04:12

But as we prepare to step into the book of Romans, without going through chapter 1 and chapter 2 to get to chapter 3, we do need to take a few moments and do some preparation work so that we develop the context for the verses that we are looking at.

04:33

Now Paul's letter to the church at Rome is considered by many to be the absolute greatest work given to Paul by the

04:42

Holy Spirit, that it is the ultimate message to the people of God that deals with the realities of who we are.

04:57

This letter is broken into two sections predominantly. The first section is a doctrinal or theological section where Paul goes through and develops a rich doctrine, a rich theology, a rich teaching regarding not only our stance but also the work of Christ.

05:20

Then the second section is an applicatory section where this gospel, this doctrine that we have been taught is then lived out and is shown to us and help us understand how we are to live in light of what he teaches in this section.

05:39

For us though, this morning and in this series, we will actually be staying predominantly in the doctrinal section.

05:48

It is here that we find the truth regarding our human condition, the righteousness of God, the power of the resurrection, the assurance of adoption, and the ultimate triumph of grace.

06:01

It is in this place where Paul writes this letter, a letter written to a church like many of the churches that Paul was dealing with in his time that was comprised of both

06:14

Jews and Greeks or Gentiles. In other words, it was a representative church of the entire world.

06:24

The first two chapters of the book of Romans, Paul begins to paint a picture for us of the problem that we face as humanity.

06:33

He begins or he really begins to elaborate this in verses 18 through 32 of chapter 1 where he demonstrates for us that the unbelievers, specifically speaking here the

06:45

Gentiles, the rest of the world, have rejected the revelation of God in nature and then pursued a lifestyle that was both idolatrous and degrading.

06:55

We read in verses 21 through 24 of Romans 1, for even though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their foolish heart was darkened.

07:08

Professing to be wise, they became fools and they changed the glory of the incorruptible

07:13

God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four -footed animals and crawling creatures.

07:19

Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

07:27

Then down in 20, he says, and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind to do those things which are not proper.

07:43

That term unfit mind should ring some bells for you, very similar to the term that we just used in Psalm 119.

07:54

This way of life, though, is deserving of the wrath of God.

08:02

However, Paul being Paul and the Holy Spirit not wanting anyone to go lacking and least any of the

08:10

Jewish section of the congregation begin to get a big head thinking that, well, the Gentiles are in trouble, but us

08:16

Jews are in good shape. Paul then turns towards the Jews in chapter 2 and in Romans 2 verse 3 gives this scathing declaration, but do you presume this, old man, and he's speaking directly to the

08:32

Jews at this point, who passes judgment on those who practice such things and does the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

08:41

In other words, you look at the Gentiles, Jews, and you pass judgment on them, yet you turn around and do the same thing.

08:47

Do you think that you can now escape the judgment of God? And after this,

08:54

Paul begins to unpack in the remainder of chapter 2 and the beginning part of chapter 3 just the issues that the

09:03

Jewish members and how works of the law by which they seek righteousness will only lead them to unrighteousness.

09:14

And this brings us to our text for today. So if you will, turn in your copy of God's words to Romans chapter 3.

09:24

We will begin reading in verse 1, and I would ask that, as usual, you stand for the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible, complete, authoritative, and sufficient word.

09:42

Beginning in Romans chapter 3, verse 1, we read the following.

09:49

Then what advantage has the Jew or what is the value of circumcision? Great in every respect.

09:56

First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. What then?

10:02

If some did not believe, does their unbelief abolish the faithfulness of God? May it never be.

10:09

Rather, let God be true and every man a liar, as it is written, that you may be justified in your words and overcome when you are judged.

10:24

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say?

10:33

Is the God who inflicts wrath unrighteous? And he notes,

10:39

I am speaking in human terms. May it never be, for otherwise, how will

10:46

God judge the world? But if through my lie, the truth of God abounded to his glory, why am

10:56

I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say, as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say, let us do evil that good may come?

11:09

Their condemnation is just. And here's our text. What then?

11:17

Are we better? Not at all, for we have already charged that both

11:24

Jews and Greeks are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one.

11:36

There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God.

11:43

All have turned aside. Together, they have become worthless. There is none who does good.

11:52

There is not even one. Their throat is an open tomb.

11:59

With their tongues, they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

12:12

Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths.

12:19

In the path of peace, they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

12:32

Now, we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are in the law, so that every mouth may be shut and all the world may become accountable to God.

12:48

Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight.

12:55

For through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

13:01

Father, we thank you from the depths of our beings for your wondrous grace and love.

13:13

Grace and love through which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary bore your holy and righteous wrath for our sins, paying the debt that we could never pay.

13:28

As a result, may that cross be to us as the tree that sweetened the waters at Marah by sweetening our bitter sorrows.

13:38

May it be as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty, and as the brazen serpent in the wilderness that calls forth the look of faith.

13:49

By the cross of Christ, may we be reminded that our every sin was crucified in him.

13:56

And by this reminder, may we ever draw nearer to your side. May that cross be the ground of all our comfort, the liveliness of all our duties, the sum of all your gospel promises, the comfort of all our afflictions, the vigor of our love, our thankfulness, our graces.

14:21

That by the truth of the cross, may we find rest in you, the rest of ceaseless praise.

14:31

Father, you have also appointed to us a cross to take up and carry, a cross, our cross, before we receive a crown.

14:41

You have appointed that cross to be our portion, but our love of self hates that cross.

14:53

The sinful flesh within us bears and is unreconciled to it, and without your grace, we cannot bear it, we cannot walk in it, we cannot gain from it.

15:15

O blessed Redeemer, what mercies that you give through this daily cross that we have been given to bear.

15:24

Our rebellious will deems this cross hateful and heavy because we shirk your load.

15:31

Teach us, precious Lord, that with this cross you send promised grace so that we may bear it patiently, that our cross is the yoke of Christ, which is easy, and his burden, which is light.

15:49

Father, we thank you for your tender mercies, and we pray all of these things in the name of your blessed

15:54

Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. As you may have gleaned from the reading of the text this morning, today's message is quite a weighty one.

16:16

Verse 9 serves as somewhat of a transition that summarizes both the things that immediately preceded and reaches all the way back into chapter 1 and brings forward what

16:32

Paul has already proclaimed to us regarding the Greeks or the

16:38

Gentiles. He does this by opening with two questions that move us from specific statements regarding Jews and Gentiles to a broader, all -encompassing statement, reiterating this truth that has already been laid before us.

16:59

The final clause in verse 9 is an accusatory statement, a statement that ensures the reader, whether Jew or Greek or Gentile, indeed the entire world, sees exactly where they stand.

17:24

The first question he asks, what then? What then is a question summarizing the things that you have just read and says, okay, as a result of the things that you've read, then what's the answer?

17:42

What's the situation? The second question he asks is a question that theologians have struggled with to some extent because of the way that the language itself is written.

17:57

It could be asking, okay, are we Jews in better position than the Greeks, to which the answer would be only by the fact that they had been given the law prior, or it could be translated, are we in worse position than the

18:15

Greeks, to which the answer would be not at all. But as we enter this last clause, the reality of this first question should make us pause, because here's how we would translate this question in today's language.

18:36

So what? That's the question Paul's asking. So what?

18:42

I read all of these things. I see what you're saying. I hear what you mean.

18:48

So the church today, the world today, suffers from two great fundamental realities.

19:04

The first of those realities is a right understanding of who

19:10

God is, the fact that he is a holy and righteous

19:17

God. The second of those realities that both the church and the world struggle to deal with is exactly who we are.

19:31

In a study done in 2010, it was determined that just over, just a little more than eight out of ten people worldwide proclaim to believe in some type of liturgy

19:50

God. This is an all -inclusive statement that includes all religions. So almost nine out of ten people profess and proclaim to believe in some type of God.

20:06

Out of that, roughly 31 .5 % of people worldwide profess to be

20:15

Christians. That's roughly 2 .2 billion people.

20:24

I wonder if we were to poll those 2 .2

20:31

billion people regarding these two questions, who God is and how they stand before him, what would our results look like?

20:44

Well, obviously, we're not going to get on the phone and make 2 .2 billion phone calls.

20:51

But we do have the privilege of Ligonier's study regarding the state of theology.

21:00

And if we use that study, we can then begin to extrapolate data and see kind of a picture forming of what the world would say.

21:11

So in 2022, Ligonier's survey determined that 66 % of those individuals who proclaim to be

21:22

Christian, so if we extrapolated that to the world, we would be talking about 1 .5 billion, say that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.

21:39

Now, I want you to understand the ramifications of that statement. Because what they're saying is that, oh, yeah, we mess up a little bit, but by and large, we're good, we're okay.

21:52

When we have that impression of ourselves, quite honestly, we have no need for a savior.

22:02

But if we press into this even a little bit more, we will see that 69 % of those individuals, so our percentage has gone up a little bit higher, disagree with the statement that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.

22:20

In other words, it's okay if you sin a little. Now, the problem is this doesn't square with the

22:35

Word of God. But I want to continue this picture for just a moment so that we really begin to understand maybe a little bit better the problem.

22:47

So if we take those people, that's 69 % of the whole, which is approaching the 1 .8,

23:00

1 .9 billion people. Of those, 32 % said they did not know.

23:11

They know the answer to the question. 14 % somewhat disagreed with the first statement.

23:22

In other words, they weren't 100 % convinced that the statement, everyone sins a little, but we are basically good, was right.

23:31

But they also weren't 100 % convinced that it was wrong either. They were in this area of flux.

23:43

Beyond this, 14 % somewhat disagreed with the first one.

23:51

10 % somewhat agreed with the second one. The second statement, again, being that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.

23:59

Now, if you begin to pull all of these numbers together, it gives us a picture.

24:06

And this is the picture. Only 14 % of believers strongly disagreed with the first statement and 15 % strongly agreed with the second.

24:25

Which means that out of 2 .2 billion, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 310 million

24:33

Christians worldwide that have an understanding of the position of humanity in the eyes of God that is in agreement with his word.

24:46

Now, I understand 310 million sounds like a lot of people. But the reality is when you compare it to the 8 .8

24:57

billion total population, it's very easy to see how the word of God could say that many are called, but few are chosen.

25:12

So as we approach this season of celebrating the resurrection of our Savior, we do so with approximately 96 % of the global population believing that they are okay.

25:26

And because they believe that they are okay, they don't see the resurrection of Christ as something that is necessary.

25:38

In fact, what they will see by many is that it is downright detestable. But for the most people, it is not a big deal.

25:47

It is certainly not a life -altering event and has very little to do with their life today.

25:56

All because they have a poor understanding of who God is and a poor understanding of our sinful nature.

26:10

You know, there's the old adage in churches that the gospel is only...

26:17

There's two actually. One says the gospel is only good news when it gets there in time. That one should be pretty obvious.

26:23

The second one is that the gospel is only good news when we understand the bad.

26:32

This one helps to solidify the problem that we see before us, because what we see is that the gospel is not good news to most people because they don't understand the bad.

26:42

They don't understand where they stand, which is what brings us to Paul's accusatory statement.

26:49

At the bottom of verse 9, where he says, We have already charged that both

26:55

Jews and Greeks, or Gentiles if you prefer the word Gentiles, are all under sin.

27:04

Now there are those who would point to this statement very quickly and go, Oh, well, Paul's only talking to Jews and he's only talking to Greeks.

27:10

That means the rest of the world is okay. No, it's not. This is not a statement of ethnicity. This defines the church.

27:17

Paul is writing to a church that is made up of everybody he knew in the world at that time, the

27:22

Jews and the Greeks or everyone else, the Gentiles. And so just as he is writing to the world in that day, it also defines for us now that this is all of humanity.

27:37

All of humanity is under sin. Not just some, not just part, not just partial, but it is everyone.

27:49

It's fascinating to me that even today as we quote these words, there are those who quickly want to point out when we quote from the writings of Paul that we are saying in essence

28:00

Paul said. And when we say this, what we are not saying is that God said.

28:09

Which is funny because this was obviously also an issue at the time of Paul.

28:17

As you may have noticed in reading some of Paul's letters, he time and again clearly lays out for us his authority as an apostle.

28:28

He clearly lays out for us that this is the word of God, not the word of Paul.

28:34

He is very faithful to the Old Testament. And at the end of all of these things, ask yourself what person would ever come up with some of the stuff

28:45

Paul wrote. What person would ever make the statement that we are all under sin?

28:54

What person would ever make the statement, what a wretched man am I? You just heard the numbers.

29:11

The reality is that in a blind survey, people still were unwilling or unable to recognize the sinful nature of humanity.

29:26

Which brings us to verse 10. Paul opens verse 10 in this statement as it is written.

29:35

Now for us, today, this statement just kind of clues us in that, oh,

29:40

Paul is getting ready to quote from something that was written. But you need to understand in the original language, this word, this statement is in the perfect tense.

30:02

Now we would like today, we live in a world today, where truth is continually challenged, where it is reinterpreted, where it is reimagined to suit whatever need that person or individual or group of people have.

30:23

But the certainty with which this language is written, says that even in Paul's day, that this was one of those problems.

30:31

First, that his authority was continually questioned, but secondly, there were people already who were reinterpreting what had been said and written.

30:40

And so the use of the perfect tense here sets a statement to the authority of this what follows, and the permanency of what follows.

30:56

In other words, it is fully authoritative and it is forever.

31:03

This is not something for a moment in time or a specific people. Paul begins to quote these things that is grounding his argument.

31:17

And it is being grounded, not in the person of Paul, but it is being grounded in the eternal, authoritative, sufficient word of the living

31:30

God. The remaining statement in verse 10 is one of those that many are familiar with, but many are challenged by.

31:49

And quite honestly, if you were an individual who decided that you wanted to remove things from the word of God that made you uncomfortable, you would probably cut this entire passage out.

32:00

Because Paul begins or moves into this second part of verse 10 as somewhat of a header.

32:08

The statement, there is none righteous, not even one. The verses that follow, verses 11 down through 18, are supportive verses, supportive quotes from the

32:20

Old Testament that support this theme. Douglas Moo, theologian, is hopeful as he breaks this passage down for us in this way.

32:29

He says that verse 10 is a heading. Verses 11 and 12 are five statements on the theme that none is righteous.

32:38

Verses 13 and 14 describe sin as words. Verses 15 through 17 focus on sins of violence against others.

32:47

And verse 18, verse 18 exposes the root.

32:57

It exposes the root of the sins of humanity.

33:05

In this passage, Paul employs what is a widely used or was a widely used rabbinic tool, which is called pearl stringing.

33:15

And pearl stringing was the stringing together of a selection of quotes from the

33:22

Old Testament to support a statement. And so again, verse 10, the statement is all or none are righteous, not even one.

33:36

And so this string actually brings together quotes from Psalms, from Isaiah, and even allures over to Ecclesiastes.

33:47

He opens it up by quoting directly from Psalms 14, 1 through 3, and then

33:53

Psalm 53, 1 through 3. So Psalm 14, 1 through 3 says the wicked fool says in his heart there is no

34:00

God. They act corruptly. They commit abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.

34:07

Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there is anyone who has insight, who understands, anyone who seeks after God.

34:15

They have all turned aside. Altogether, they have become worthless. There is none who does good, not even one.

34:25

It amazes me. It never ceases to amaze me, the brothers or people who profess to be brothers in Christ who would absolutely deny this teaching of Paul.

34:32

And they do so on the basis that, well, Paul taught this, not Jesus. Yet here we have, from the words of the

34:39

Old Testament, the very words Paul echoes in the New Testament. He continues

34:46

Psalms 53, 1 through 3. The wicked fool says in his heart there is no God. They act corruptly and commit abominable injustice.

34:53

There is none who does good. God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there is anyone who has insight, anyone who seeks after God.

35:02

Every one of them, every one of them has turned back. Together, they have become worthless.

35:08

There is none who does good, not even one. From these verses,

35:16

Paul puts together these five statements that we have in verses 11 and 12. They initially undergird the truth of the initial statement.

35:27

In other words, what Paul is doing is he is saying, here's the theme. Now here are five statements from God's Word, from what is written that supports this statement.

35:38

The first of those, verse 11. There is none who understands. This is not just a basic knowledge when we say understanding.

35:47

This is that depth that we see. The word that is used in the Psalms, translated in the

35:53

Psalms is insight. Right? More than just a basic knowledge of something that goes beyond, that goes deeper, that has a fuller understanding.

36:05

There are none who fully understand the reality either of the holiness of God or the consequences of sin.

36:13

Listen, if the average person on the street really and truly at least understood the consequences of sin, what do you think the effect would be?

36:25

If they really understood it. If they really believed that they were going to spend eternity in hell, under the wrath of God.

36:40

There is none, second clause in verse 11. There is none who seeks

36:45

God. Our very nature described in scripture as always being at enmity with God.

36:55

We will not pursue Him. As an individual who has not been regenerated by the

37:04

Holy Spirit, we will not go after God. It won't happen. The Spirit must work in the individual before they ever desire to seek

37:19

God. Then we move into verse 12. All have turned aside together.

37:25

They have become worthless. It's funny. Not haha funny.

37:34

It is sad funny. But the world spends so much effort trying to make us feel worthy.

37:48

They make statements like you are enough. Brothers and sisters,

37:55

I'm just going to tell you and this may break your heart today and I'm sorry if it does. You are not enough.

38:03

If you were enough, we might as well pack it up and go home. There's no reason to be here. John MacArthur, as he talks about this passage in the book of Romans, talks about the depth of the guilt that the people in the world feel.

38:20

And we feel guilty because we are guilty. That's exactly what Romans 1 through 3 teaches us.

38:27

We are guilty. All have sinned. We'll get down to that next week.

38:39

And he says, there is none who does good.

38:44

Of all of the statements that we discussed this morning, this is the one that the world will buck against the most.

38:56

They'll buck the other ones, but this is the one that they will try to live and die on. And they do so because people do do things that are right.

39:09

There are good things. The problem is that we do good things from an improper place of motivation.

39:17

And it doesn't matter how good the thing is, if you aren't right with God, if you aren't doing it for the right reason, if you aren't doing it to glorify

39:24

God through your life, it is not good. And if it is not good, it is sinful.

39:36

So when the psalmist says there are none who do good, and when Paul quotes the psalmist saying that there are none who do good, the reality is there are none, guess what, who do good.

39:49

And that word none there, by the way, just in case there's anybody maybe misinterpreting that, it really literally means none.

40:04

And if saying none who does good is not enough,

40:10

Paul underscores it with this last quote. Now this last quote to me is the one that really pierces my heart.

40:23

Because most of us as individuals think that we are good.

40:30

Even if everyone else is bad, we are good. Even if we accept that the rest of the world is bad, we still have the opinion that we are good.

40:44

Brothers and sisters, if you don't believe me, go ask somebody. Most people are quick to tell you, oh yeah,

40:50

I'm a good fella, I'm a good person. What does this say?

40:59

There is not even one, lest there be a singular person that believes that they have accomplished the unaccomplishable.

41:15

Paul strikes at the heart and reminds us of what the psalmist says in both passages, there are not even one.

41:31

As we have previously demonstrated, there are plenty of people, both unbelievers and those who profess to be believers, who would argue against each one of these statements.

41:45

They would cite their good works, their desire to seek God, their spiritual journey to peace or enlightenment, or a search for a higher power as evidence that they are seeking after God.

41:57

However, Robert Mounts nicely sums it up for us when he writes these words. It is true that they may be seeking some sort of religious experience, but that is not the same as seeking

42:11

God. Scripture teaches that it is God who takes the initiative.

42:17

He is the one who seeks us, not the other way around. All have, quote -unquote, swerved from the right path.

42:28

That their failure to seek God is more than an accidental omission is seen in the fact that they have deliberately turned away from God.

42:38

In the end, their lives turn out to be useless and unprofitable. Not one of them acts honorably, no, not one.

42:51

That last quote from Mounts is a quote from Knox's translation of verse 12.

42:59

William Barclay concluded it this way, Human nature without Christ is a soured and useless thing.

43:17

So Paul hits us with these first five initial statements to make sure that we are nice and cozy and comfortable, right?

43:24

To make us feel good about nothing, to help us see the depths.

43:30

But then he continues, he says, okay, so these are five statements that undergird the original statement.

43:35

Now let's move into actions and see how this is played out in reality.

43:40

And so he moves into the next set of verses. His second evidentiary point, which is somewhat of an echo of the words of Christ in Matthew 12, verse 34, when he says,

43:50

You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

43:59

Paul uses Psalm 5, verse 9, where it says, There is nothing reliable in their mouth.

44:05

Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue.

44:12

Psalm 140, verse 3, they sharpen their tongues as a serpent. The poison of asp is under their lips.

44:19

Psalm 10, verse 7, his mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and weakness.

44:28

All of these things point to the reality that our true nature is proven by our speech. Theologian John Murray wrote,

44:35

The concentration upon organs of speech in verse 13 and 14 shows how in the apostles' esteem, that the depravity of man is exemplified in his words and how diverse are the ways in which his speech betrays the wickedness of the heart.

44:54

By the very speech of our mouths, we prove

45:00

Paul's point. We prove God's statement. That there are none who are good.

45:07

That there are none who seek God. That there are none who are righteous. That there is not even one.

45:15

Unfortunately, in America, we oftentimes confuse this passage here with what we would call cuss or curse words, right?

45:23

That that's all this is about. But to limit this to that really cuts the teeth of these verses.

45:33

Because Paul here is not talking about this curse or cuss word type thing.

45:40

What he is talking about is any type of ungodly speech, any type of derogatory speech, degrading remarks towards another, lies, gossip, slander, road rage,

45:50

Walmart rage, etc. These are the things which are the very speech that betrays the depths of our depravity.

45:59

Even believers, faithfully viewing this verse in reality, see it as a problem in ourselves.

46:06

And if it is a problem in ourselves, those who have been redeemed, those who have been brought near, and we still struggle with this, how much more so for those who do not have the indwelling of the

46:16

Spirit to hold back their tongue at all. And then we move into the final three verses of this body of evidence.

46:33

Verses 15 through 18 point to our propensity towards violence.

46:41

It points towards our lack of right understanding of God. Paul opens the verse by quoting from the prophet

46:50

Isaiah 59, 7 through 8, their feet run to evil and they are quick to shed innocent blood.

46:56

Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness, devastation and destruction are in their highways. They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their tracks.

47:06

They have made their paths crooked. Whoever treads on them does not know peace.

47:14

Our very nature drives us to succeed. Survival of the fittest. Looking out for number one.

47:21

That's what we've been taught. That's what we've been raised. We have been shown through culture and taught through culture from an early stage.

47:28

It is eat or get eaten. Our very nature seeks this.

47:38

William Golding, who you may or may not be familiar with, wrote a famous novel that you may or may not be familiar with because it's kind of one of those things that has passed out of contemporary reading and eyesight.

47:52

It's called The Lord of the Flies. The story of The Lord of the Flies is a story telling of a group of boys whose plane crashes on a deserted island and what happens out of this.

48:09

Now, only the children survive. In this situation,

48:15

Golding demonstrates and upholds the very nature of humanity that ultimately we desire to win at all costs.

48:24

And then in verse 18,

48:31

Paul turns back to the book of Psalms and gives us the true root of the problem.

48:41

He quotes from Psalm 36, verse 1. Transgression declares to the ungodly within his heart.

48:53

There is no dread of God before his eyes.

49:00

I want to take you back for just a minute. Perhaps you caught this. To Psalm 119, our reading for this morning.

49:17

The very last verse, verse 120 in Psalm 119.

49:24

The psalmist writing, the psalmist who has been continually talking about his love for the word of God, the psalmist who demonstrates for us over and over and over and over what it means to love the word of God and let it live in our hearts and let it guide us and direct us.

49:43

Listen to what he says. This is the man who loves to spend time. He even talks about it in the

49:48

Psalms, how he reads it in his bed. This is an activity that he thoroughly enjoys.

49:55

Listen to what he says. He says, my flesh quakes for dread of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.

50:10

Paul, pointing back to another Psalm, shows us the root of the human condition.

50:19

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

50:25

Now this word fear can mean a couple of different things.

50:32

First of all, it can mean reverence or awe. It can also mean just flat out terror.

50:39

Typically, different theologians prefer different interpretations on this particular passage, but I am left with the question of why not both?

50:52

Certainly in our world today, both have merit. We, in a general statement of humanity, do not honor or treat

51:00

God with any sort of reference. We do not hold him in any amount of esteem.

51:08

And quite honestly, it should only take one look at the world around us and its vile happenings to know that we are certainly not terrified of God.

51:18

The reality is a good, healthy dose of verse 120 from 119 would help us to truly be terrified, to truly dread the judgments of God.

51:32

There is a fundamental lack of understanding that I mentioned earlier in regards to exactly who

51:44

God is. The absolute reality that most believers and all unbelievers don't have a right understanding of the holiness of God.

51:52

And so they don't have a right understanding of who they are in his presence. And so they don't fear him. They don't dread him.

51:57

They aren't terrified. They have no reverence. They have no awe. They are not like Isaiah.

52:05

They do not respond, Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips and a people of unclean lips.

52:14

They would be the ones that says, Ha, look at me, I'm Superman. I'm awesome. I'm great.

52:20

If you don't believe me, just ask me, I'll tell you. Which brings us to verses 19 and 20.

52:35

Verses 19 and 20 say, Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are in the law, so that every mouth may be silent or shut, 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.

53:04

Now the first point in this verse is actually a point to the Jews themselves. The Jews would have understood that the law was only applicable to those under the law.

53:15

In other words, those under its jurisdiction. We're sitting right now in the town of Lamar.

53:23

We are under the jurisdiction of the town of Lamar. However, when we pass the town limits, we are no longer under its jurisdiction.

53:30

Now we are under the jurisdiction of the county of Darlington. If you commit a crime and you cross state lines, then you become under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

53:41

The Jews would have understood that the law is only applicable to those who are under its jurisdiction, but what they misunderstood, what they completely missed, was that the law actually places them in a position that is absolutely indefensible.

54:05

The argument that a Jewish person would make is that they are being obedient to the law, and by obeying the letter of the law, the word of the law, they obtain righteousness.

54:14

Paul refers to this in Philippians 3, 4, and 6, 4 through 6, where he says regarding himself, although I myself have confidence even in the flesh, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh,

54:25

I far more circumcise the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, the

54:31

Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.

54:44

The Jewish people saw themselves in this way, blameless, because they had been diligently seeking the righteousness or right standing before God that the law provided.

54:57

But in verse 20, Paul demonstrates, as he refers back to Psalm 143, 2, for no one living is righteous in your sight, and pointing to the fact that perfect obedience to the law is simply not possible, mounts again as helpful as he writes, no human being can be brought into a right standing with God on the basis of doing what the law requires.

55:23

Why? Because the law makes a person conscious of sin.

55:30

Listen to that for a minute. Because the law makes a person conscious of sin. It reveals that we are unable to live up to the righteous requirements of a holy

55:41

God. Law encourages effort or works.

55:47

But human effort inevitably falls short of the divine standard.

55:56

In verse 20, he says that no one is, by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified.

56:04

This works of the law are the commands of the basic moral laws of God. The Ten Commandments.

56:13

As we've discussed in here before, even us sitting here today, all these years later removed, cannot, cannot stand in this righteousness because we will fail at some point of the law.

56:30

So the Jews, just as the Gentiles or the Greeks, are held accountable.

56:37

The Word is proclaimed. Paul has made his case that people have turned from the knowledge of God and creation, that they have degraded themselves, that the

56:46

Jew seeking the perfection of the law has failed to uphold that very law and is no better off than the rest of the world after all, as we will see next week.

56:54

For all have sinned and fall short. This morning we have walked through some of the most sobering words that have ever been penned under the inspiration of the

57:13

Holy Spirit. Romans chapter 3 verses 1 through 20 leaves absolutely zero room for human boasting.

57:23

It leaves no shadow of moral neutrality, that ability to decide right or wrong.

57:30

It leaves no corner of creation where sin has not left its stain. The curse is found far and wide.

57:43

Paul has drawn back the curtain, but he did not draw the curtain back at this point to reveal hope.

57:51

He drew the curtain back at this point to reveal truth. And truth, when rightly grasped, humbles.

58:05

It brings us in a right understanding. It levels us. It strips away illusions.

58:12

It lays bare before the all -seeing eyes of God all that we truly are.

58:21

There is no more damning verdict than the one that we have heard.

58:26

There is none righteous. No, not one.

58:35

The repetition we see here is not poetic fluff. It is divine finality. Not one.

58:41

Not even the most devout. Not the Jew with the law. Not the Gentile with conscience.

58:46

Not the outwardly moral. Not the theologically articulate. Not the emotionally sincere. Every mouth is stopped.

58:54

Every defense disarmed. Every self -justifying thought laid low.

58:59

Notice verse 19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are in the law so that every mouth may be shut.

59:13

We are silenced. This is not the silence of peace, but it is the silence of guilt.

59:26

It is the silence that is heard in a courtroom when the gavel strikes and the verdict is rendered. It is the silence of Adam in the garden when

59:37

God says, Where are you? It is the silence of the

59:43

Pharisee when confronted by the mirror of the law realizing his outward obedience masked inward corruption.

59:53

This is the silence of every man, woman, and child who have ever lived save one.

59:59

And that is where the glory of this series begins to rise like the first rays of the sun on the morning of Christ's resurrection.

01:00:14

The point of this passage is not despair. The point of this message is not despair, but it is one of preparation.

01:00:27

It is not to crush you without purpose, but to till the soil so that we are fully prepared as we enter.

01:00:38

Each Old Testament citation Paul gives is precise, it is purposeful, and it is perfectly placed.

01:00:47

In all of these, they are woven together into a singular tapestry, the total moral collapse of humanity.

01:00:59

But why? Why do this? Why hammer down on this depravity, verse 19, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God?

01:01:15

Verse 19 is not a theological argument. It is a divine summons.

01:01:24

As we watch this unfold, we are not spectators. If this were a courtroom, we would not be the gallery.

01:01:34

We would be the defendants. This is the spirit's x -ray of our souls.

01:01:45

And yet, even in this thunderous judgment, we see a gracious purpose to expose sin in order to lead us to salvation.

01:01:54

The law speaks to those under it, not to justify them, but to silence them. It shuts the mouth.

01:01:59

It cancels the self -defense. It does not counsel us to try harder. It convicts us that we cannot.

01:02:08

The law does not tell you how to be saved. It only tells you why you need to be saved.

01:02:15

In this doorway, or this framework, is the framework that is necessary through which the gospel should be heard.

01:02:26

You cannot ascend to grace without first descending into truth. And the truth is this.

01:02:31

By the works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

01:02:39

Knowledge of sin, not forgiveness of sin, not life, not righteousness. Sin. So why do we open this particular series?

01:02:50

Shouldn't we start a series regarding the resurrection of Christ, that he is risen to reign?

01:02:56

Shouldn't we start with hope? Shouldn't we begin with the resurrection? Why didn't we start with glory? This is beginning with glory.

01:03:10

Because the glory of the gospel is only as bright as the darkness that it overcomes. And if we do not understand our current condition, how can we ever expect to understand

01:03:24

God lifting us up? Jesus declared in Luke 5 .32,

01:03:33

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. The gospel is not for those people who think they're good.

01:03:42

It is not for respectable people. It is not for the culturally upright. It is not for the religious who perform well and compare themselves favorably to other people.

01:03:50

The gospel is for people who understand and know that they are sinners.

01:04:01

The passage confronts us with the terrifying reality that we are all sinners.

01:04:10

We have been talking about the doctrines of grace and one of those being the doctrine of total depravity.

01:04:17

It is not a theological, logical abstraction. It's not something that's just this thing that's out there that a bunch of smart people sat around in a room and thought up.

01:04:26

This is the reality. It is the diagnosis of who we are as people. And until we accept the diagnosis, until Christ through the

01:04:42

Holy Spirit moves in our lives and we understand that we are sinners in desperate need of a

01:04:48

Savior, we will never cry out. Listen to me.

01:04:58

If you're still making excuses for your sin, if you're still pointing to your intentions, to your background, to your circumstances, to your ignorance, you have not yet been silenced by the law.

01:05:19

You have not had your mouth shut. If you're trying to justify yourself before God, relying on church attendance, relying on good missions activity, relying on feeding the multitudes, relying on taking water to the poor, purchasing a goat for someone in need in a foreign country, if these are the things that you are relying on, then you have not yet understood.

01:06:07

If you have not seen in yourself these verses, not just your past, your present, your nature, your inclinations, you're not ready for the resurrection of Christ.

01:06:17

Listen. Resurrection is for the dead. It ain't for the sick.

01:06:27

It is imperative that we as individuals understand what Paul is writing here, that we as individuals understand what

01:06:34

Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians. This is not about some illness. This is about death.

01:06:43

We are dead. So here's the question.

01:06:53

Has your heart stopped offering rebuttals? Has your mouth ceased its boasting?

01:06:59

Has your conscience finally come to rest under the full weight of the law? Until you are silenced, you will not hear the voice of grace.

01:07:10

Until you are silenced, Christ's righteousness will not be sweet to you. Until you are silenced, his resurrection will not be your victory.

01:07:18

Silence is not the end. It is the beginning. It is what Romans 3 is doing. It is preparing us, silencing us before singing.

01:07:28

In our verses next week, Paul will turn a glorious corner. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, but not yet.

01:07:39

Not today. Today we sit in the ashes. Today we feel the dust on our head.

01:07:48

We weep at the brokenness. We confess the ruin. We admit the rebellion. We let the law do its work.

01:07:55

Because only then can we marvel when grace steps in. In all our time in the book of Exodus, maybe this illustration helps.

01:08:09

We are at the base of the mountain. From here we will ascend. We will follow the risen

01:08:15

Christ who did what we could not. Who was what we were not. Who bore what we deserved.

01:08:21

Who conquered what we feared. Who reigns where we once rebelled.

01:08:31

But you understand, to get to Romans 21 -26, you got to go through verses 1 -20.

01:08:42

To understand that we are all sin and fall short.

01:08:48

And the promise that sits on the other side of that, you have to go through the first. The word should cut you so that Christ may bind you.

01:08:56

It should crush our pride so that Christ may crown our soul. It should silence our mouth so that Christ can give us a new song.

01:09:05

Have you been silenced before God? It's not a question to evade.

01:09:15

It's not a question to pass off. It's not a question for you to say, well, let me think of so and so.

01:09:21

It needs to pierce you as an individual. It needs to pierce me as an individual. And if you have been pierced, if you have been silenced, then rejoice.

01:09:40

For this silencing is the work of grace. This crushing is not the end. It is the prelude to the resurrection.

01:09:46

You are being made ready to rise, to reign, to live, to sing. Let the cry of the tax collector become your own

01:09:52

God. Be merciful to me, a sinner. And from that place we will walk together in the weeks ahead.

01:10:02

From death to life, from law to love, from wrath to righteousness, from silence to song.

01:10:14

In Romans chapter 3, the tomb is still sealed, but the resurrection is coming.

01:10:22

And when the stone is rolled away, it will not be rolled away by the hands of man, but by the power of God, for the people of God, through the risen

01:10:29

Son of God. But first, let every mouth be stopped.

01:10:34

Let us pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, Holy Father, we bow before you in silence, not from apathy, but from awe.

01:10:51

Your word clearly speaks, and we, like Isaiah, are undone. Your word exposes our sin, and it strips us of our every defense.

01:11:04

Father, there is none that are righteous, not even one. We have not sought you. We have turned aside.

01:11:10

We have become worthless. Our mouths have spoken deception. Our paths have not known peace. And we do not have fear of you in our eyes as we should,

01:11:19

Lord. Father, your mouth, your law has stopped our mouths.

01:11:30

Lord, we confess that we are not basically good people who occasionally do wrong. We are sinners to the core.

01:11:36

And apart from your mercy, we stand condemned. We do not seek the lesson, the weight of your truth.

01:11:43

We submit to it. We do not seek to justify ourselves to overthrow. We throw ourselves on your mercy.

01:11:50

Yet even in this courtroom of condemnation, we thank you for grace. Father, we thank you that this silence is not the end but the beginning, that this conviction is not hopelessness but preparation, that you silence us by the law so you may speak to us by the gospel.

01:12:13

Most holy

01:12:19

Father, we ask that you soften our hard hearts, that you soften the hard hearts surrounding us, that those still justifying themselves are brought low, and for those already humbled by their sin, they are comforted.

01:12:38

Let them see that this silence is the soil in which the grace will grow. Father, let us be a church that lives in gospel humility where mouths are stopped before, but you open before the world to proclaim not our righteousness but Christ's.

01:12:56

Let our worship be fueled not by pride but by gratitude, by your word. Let our unity be formed not by superiority but by shared grace.

01:13:09

As we continue over this next few weeks, fix our eyes on Christ, the one who was silent before his accusers so that we might be forgiven, the one who bore our guilt and gave us his righteousness, the one who was condemned in our place, crucified for our sin, raised for our justification.

01:13:33

Oh, Father, we thank you that the tomb is empty. We thank you that grace abounds where sin abounded.

01:13:38

We thank you that though we were silenced by our guilt, we now have a song of praise, and we pray this in the name of Christ Jesus, our righteousness, our redeemer, our risen and reigning king.