WWUTT 1191 Their Throat is an Open Grave? (Romans 3:13-14)

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Every single person is evil. Whoa, where'd you get that from? Well, from the

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Bible, where it says that the thoughts of a man are wicked from his youth. And there's more than enough evidence.

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When We Understand the Text. You're listening to When We Understand the

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Text, committed to sound teaching of the Word of God. For questions and comments, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com

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And don't forget our website, www .tt .com Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.

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Thank you, Becky. We're back in our study of the Book of Romans. Chapter 3 is where we left off last week.

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I'm going to start out today by reading verses 9 through 20. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome.

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What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all, for we have already charged that all, both

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Jews and Greeks, are under sin. As it is written, none is righteous.

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No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God.

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All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good.

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Not even one. Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive.

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The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

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Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.

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There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

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

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This is where the Apostle Paul is making his argument that the wickedness of mankind, whether they are

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Jew or Gentile, is not a new doctrine. He is not throwing out anything here that has not already been said in the

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Old Testament, which is why he goes back to the Old Testament Scriptures to establish his point.

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Now, even though he is talking about how everyone who is descended of Adam is under sin, he doesn't talk about the doctrine of original sin until we get to chapter 5.

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So I had mentioned to you earlier that there are statements or arguments that Paul will make in chapter 3 that he fleshes out later on, and this doctrine of sin is one of them.

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But in the meantime he is demonstrating that everyone has sinned. It's the argument he has been laying out since Romans 1 .18.

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Whether we're talking Jew or Gentile, everyone has sinned. Therefore, everyone needs the

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Gospel. Coming back again to the thesis statement of his letter to the Romans, Romans 1 .16.

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For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation, to the

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Jew first, and also to the Greek. So for the Gospel to be salvation to Jews and Greeks, he's been laying out this argument to help us understand why everybody needs a

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Savior. Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Jews need to repent and turn to Christ.

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Gentiles need to repent and turn to Christ. And of course that's coming up as he's going to come back to the

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Gospel again in the middle portion of Romans 3. We'll probably get to that section next week. This portion that we have right here where Paul is laying down a list of Old Testament passages to establish the point that everyone has sinned from all the nations.

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Descended from Abraham, descended from anybody else. These verses though are not in any kind of random order.

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There is a particular structure that Paul is following. It's not like he's just proof texting for the sake of proof texting.

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But there's an outline here and we looked at part 1 of 3 with verses 10 -12 last week.

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And each one of those verses is taken from either Psalm 14 or Psalm 53.

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And they reveal the sinful condition of man. We also have Ecclesiastes 7 .20

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that says, Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

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Remember that the Lord destroyed all of mankind in a flood except for eight people whom he saved aboard an ark.

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And after they ran aground and Noah offered up sacrifices unto the

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Lord. God smelled the pleasing aroma and the Lord said in his heart, this is

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Genesis 8 .21 I will never again curse the ground because of man for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth.

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This was even after God had destroyed all of mankind in a flood. But those who would come from the line of Noah would even continue in wicked sinfulness and rebellion against God.

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This is what is in the heart of man. He is wicked and evil from his youth. There is no one who does righteous, not even one.

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So that was the argument that Paul laid down in verses 10 -12. The sinful condition of man,

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Jew or Gentile. Part 2 is what we're looking at today and this is verses 13 and 14.

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So the sinful condition of man is going to bear bad fruit. Eventually it's going to be revealed the rottenness of this person's heart and that is first demonstrated in a person's speech.

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As Jesus said out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. So what kind of speech might we expect from a person whose heart is so wicked?

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Verses 13 and 14. Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive.

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The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

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And these passages are taken right from the Psalms as well. There are three Psalms being quoted in these two verses.

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So the first one is in Psalm 5. Now this is a well -known Psalm for a particular verse.

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It's Psalm 5 .5 where it says the boastful shall not stand before your eyes. You hate all evildoers.

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But it's later on in verse 9 where it says there is no truth in their mouth. Their inmost self is destruction.

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Their throat is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue. Make them bear their guilt,

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O God. Let them fall by their own counsels because of the abundance of their transgressions.

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Cast them out for they have rebelled against you. And even there in that Psalm, even there in those two verses there,

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Psalm 5 .9, there is no truth in their mouth. Their inmost self is destruction. So that's even going to the heart of the matter there.

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A person is sinful, corrupt from the heart. And so what's going to come from them is going to be truthlessness, lies, bitterness, and deceit.

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Their throat is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue. So it's just kind of like coming up from inside them.

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First it says their inmost self is destruction. Then their throat is an open grave. Goes through the throat and then they flatter with their tongue.

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Then it comes right out the tongue. Remember that the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2 .1, you were once dead in your sins and transgressions in which you once walked.

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So we were like dead men. Dead men and women walking around in our sins and transgressions before we heard the gospel which transformed us from dead men and women to alive to God in Jesus Christ.

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So when we are dead in our sins and our transgressions, our throats are like open grave.

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What pours forth from our speech is death. Now this does not mean that a person who is not a

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Christian is just always going to be this foul -mouthed individual. Their speeches always are rated.

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You can't even have your kids around them until they repent and come to faith in Jesus Christ. That's not what that means.

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I even know some Christians who still have trouble taming their tongues. I got cussed at by a

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Christian just yesterday. Sometimes that still exists even among those who are professing followers of Christ.

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I'm going to give them some grace in the sense that sanctification should eventually lead them to working that kind of language out of their vocabulary.

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Maybe they're at a certain place in their walk with Christ where they just haven't been able to overcome that kind of language yet.

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But I certainly hope they're trying. For as it says in Proverbs 8 .13, the fear of the

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Lord is the hatred of evil, pride and arrogance, and the way of evil and perverted speech

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I hate. We are told in Ephesians 4 .29, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

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I pastor a church that is close to a military base, so I get a lot of young soldiers in my church and some of those guys are new believers and they will tell me the struggle that they have in changing their language.

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They used to swear all the time, but now as a follower of Christ, they know they should not be talking like that anymore and they're struggling to try to give up that kind of language.

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It comes with a conforming the mind to Christ and that is a labor, a work of sanctification that may take a little bit of time, but no

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Christian should ever become lax in that, for we should want to honor God even with our speech.

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David asked the Lord that God would bless his tongue so that what comes from his mouth is only blessing and not cursing.

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Consider what James says in James chapter 3 verse 6. The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.

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The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell.

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For every kind of beast and bird and reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.

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It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless our

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Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

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From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

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Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree my brothers bear olives or a grapevine produce figs?

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Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. So if our heart has been transformed by Christ, then what comes out of our mouth should be speech that is honoring of Christ.

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We should be speaking language that you would expect a child of the kingdom of God to be speaking.

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So there are some Christians still struggling with that, getting their tongues under control, submitted under the power of the

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Holy Spirit that has been poured into our hearts through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Generally speaking, those who are the most foul -mouthed are going to be those who are unbelievers, most definitely.

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In fact, I have been called things before by non -Christians that are so, so bad.

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If I were to tell you what I was told, you wouldn't believe it. Like worse than what we even see in movies and in TV shows.

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These people can be this foul. And movies and TV shows are already pretty bad. But I encounter others in public and whom

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I've even known personally, who just pour forth nothing but foul language.

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And they with their mouths reveal the wickedness that is in their hearts. This is more common among those who are unbelievers, most definitely, than it is among those who are believers.

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At the same time, I know unbelievers who are really quite flattering with their speech.

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They're not R -rated in any way. It's not like you can't have your kids around them until they repent and come to Christ. Their language is totally polite, and they have a reputation for being a kind -hearted, good -natured person.

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Not just in their actions, but even with their words. So how would a passage like this apply to that kind of a person who is an unbeliever?

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Is their throat still an open grave? Yes. And in fact, what pours forth from their mouth is still deceptive, if in their heart they are not a follower of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Because even the devil can use flattering language in order to lead a person astray.

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So this can be the case with an unbeliever whose language is generally alright.

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They will not be speaking truth. You will never have life coming forth from their mouth.

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In other words, the life -saving message of the gospel of Christ. You could follow them for the rest of your life.

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You may never hear a swear word come out of their mouth, but you also will never hear the gospel which saves.

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And only the gospel saves. You could fill a grave with potpourri. If you have a grave with a dead body in it, you could fill it up with potpourri.

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Might smell real nice, but it's still a grave. It's still death. And so with the person who is not a follower of Jesus Christ, from their mouth you are never going to hear the life -saving message of the gospel.

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Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. It's not like they're actively speaking things that lead you into lies and deception.

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But you will never hear the gospel. And so therefore their speech is always deceptive. It's just leading you down this path that's never going to be to Christ.

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And so therefore it's deceptive. But of course then you also have those who are spreading lies and teaching falsely and preaching heresy and the like.

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And most definitely they're using their tongues to deceive. Those who cut others down.

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They belittle them. They gaslight. They abuse verbally with their words.

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That would be another person using their tongues to deceive. Cutting a person down and making them feel like nothing because of the words that have been spoken to them.

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The Apostle Paul instructed us in Ephesians chapter 4 that we are to encourage one another with our words, not tear each other down.

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Ephesians 4 29. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

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If our heart has been transformed in Christ, then the tongue should follow.

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And the overflow out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. So let us use our tongues to speak truth, to encourage, to build up.

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And if we have to correct someone, we do this with charity. We correct with goodwill, not making fun, belittling a person, cutting them down, calling them names, doing nothing like that.

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But using our tongues in an honor of Christ and encouraging brothers and sisters in the

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Lord. We go on to read the venom of asps is under their lips. Once again, the words that they say are so biting.

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They infect a person with poison. They lead to death. They never build up in courage or give life.

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Verse 14. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Now, I kind of dropped my

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Old Testament references here. We mentioned Psalm 510. It's in Psalm 140, verse 3 that we read.

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They make their tongues sharp as a serpent's and under their lips is the venom of asps.

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This is where David is praying, deliver me, O Lord, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.

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So, out of the devices that they are planning in their heart, it eventually comes out their mouth.

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They make their tongues sharp as a serpent's and under their lips is the venom of asps.

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David goes on in verse 4. Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from violent men who have planned to trip up my feet.

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The arrogant have hidden a trap for me and with cords they have spread a net.

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Beside the way they have set snares. I say to the Lord, You are my

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God. Give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord. O Lord, my

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God, the strength of my salvation. You have covered my head in the day of battle. Grant not,

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O Lord, the desires of the wicked. Do not further their evil plot or they will be exalted.

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So, what is it that evil man does? Well, he plots wickedness against righteous men. What is it that the righteous man does?

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He commits his words unto the Lord. David does not revile the reviler with more reviling.

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He turns his way unto God. God, you be the one to strike down the wicked and give them what it is that they deserve.

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And we are told in Romans chapter 12 that we are not supposed to take matters into our own hands.

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Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. So, if somebody is cussing you out, don't return the favor.

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Don't do the same thing, lest you become a sinner like they are. And you lose control of yourself.

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Self -control is one of the marks of the fruit of the spirit. And so, we must not give ourselves over to responding to the way that those who are worldly are going to belittle us.

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Commit your every way unto the Lord. They are going to cut you down like that? Don't respond in the same manner, in the same fashion.

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Let your mind be governed by Christ. Finally, looking at this last verse here,

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Romans 3, 14, their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. And that is a reference to Psalm 10, 7.

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We read here, his mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression. Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

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Who is this person? Well, it says back in verse 2, this is the wicked who boasts of the desires of his soul.

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And the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek

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God. All of his thoughts are, there is no God. He behaves in such a way as if God does not sit in the heavens and judges the actions and even the thoughts of man.

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The person who does not fear God, who does not think that God is governing over all of creation, even all the thoughts and intentions of man will go ahead and do whatever it is that they do, thinking that there is going to be no ramifications, no consequences for the wickedness that they pursue.

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And this is why we need to commit our every way unto the Lord and let vengeance be his, for he is going to deliver upon every person what they have wrought, even from the words they have spoken, even because of the words they speak.

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Matthew 12 36, Jesus says, I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak.

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So if you have been transformed in Christ, no longer speak in the way of the worldly, but let even your words be governed by the

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Holy Spirit of God. So this concludes part 2 of this section that we're looking at here in Romans 3.

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Part 1 revealed the sinful condition of man. That was verses 10 through 12. Part 2 is sinful speech that pours forth from that sinful condition.

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That was verses 13 and 14. Tomorrow we're going to be looking at the sinful actions of man.

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So a man is sinful from his heart. This pours forth from, this pours forth out of the speech in his mouth, and then it's going to reveal itself in the actions, the wicked actions of men as well.

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That's what we're looking at tomorrow. Let's conclude with prayer. Heavenly Father, set a guard over the door of our lips.

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Let us not speak any vain thing, but let the words that come forth from our mouth be honoring to God, whether we are in the company of others, and whether that company is believers or unbelievers.

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May we know that you hear our every word. Even when we are by ourselves, may we take no liberty there to say things that we would not otherwise say in the company of others, for we know that the

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Lord hears our every word, and even the thoughts that are in our heart. So may the Holy Spirit govern over us that we no longer speak in the way of this world, but we speak as a child of the kingdom of God.

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Forgive us our sins, and help us to be convicted and cut to heart. May the words that we speak be gracious to the hearer.

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And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand the

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Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website, www .utt

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.com, and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our