No One Is Righteous Romans 3:1-20
I love being a pastor, but one of the things I dislike about being a pastor is having people feel like they should change their normal behavior around you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the middle of a conversation with a stranger – at a game, on a plane, or on a golf course – when I hear all manner of things, and have the guys turn and ask, so “What do you do?”
I don’t want to tell him because I know what the reaction will be. So I say, “I’m a teacher… I sell insurance.” … “What kind?” “Eternal insurance” I say softly.
As soon as these guys realize I’m a pastor, it’s not uncommon to hear them say, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were a pastor.” One guy at a Saints game begged me (this was by the fourth quarter and he was pretty tanked), “Don’t think too badly of me. I’m a good guy.”
Sometimes I want to say, “Do you think I’ve never heard a cuss word before!” I grew up in a bowling alley, a dugout, and a basketball court. And as if I haven’t said these words myself!
I’ve said to many of these folks (and I remember telling the guy at the Saints game): “Hey, I appreciate it, but you aren’t accountable to me; you are accountable to God.”
Romans 3 is showing us that the whole world is accountable to the God who sees all and knows all. Romans 3 is showing us what’s wrong with the human race.
Paul’s rabbinic skills are on display in verses 1-8. ● He pictures someone interrupting his teaching with objections… so he answers them.
Paul’s lawyer skills are on display in verses 9-20. ● He’s seeking to bring a verdict of guilty upon all of humanity. ● Some of you grew up with Perry Mason – who could just look at people a certain way, and get a verdict! ● Paul is a theological Perry Mason – he’s remarkably convincing. ● (Some of you grew up on Bevis and Buthhead; so you may struggle with this section!).
Paul’s not a shady lawyer. ● He’s a theologically precise lawyer with a big heart for people. ● He’s goal is for people to see their sin so that they will see their need for Christ.
John Piper: This is not a popular message. Understandably. It is no more popular than the doctor's words: “Your tumor is malignant.” But it is vastly more hopeful. “Your tumor is malignant,” may or may not be hopeful news, because the doctor may or may not have a cure for your cancer. But “you are under the power of sin and a child of wrath” always has a cure. That is what the book of Romans and what Christianity and the Bible are all about.
So let’s hear of our condition, and let’s turn to the cure…. Q/A with Paul (3:1-8) Last week I said that Paul anticipates objections and questions like a good teacher. He does that here. The questions are essentially about the character of God – his faithfulness and righteousness. Paul is defending God’s character. There are four questions, but I’ll put #3 and #4 together.
Q1: “What advantage is it to be a Jew?” (3:1–2) Short answer: Israel was entrusted with the promises of God.
● Based on what Paul said at the end of chapter 2, what’s the point in being a Jew? ● Are there any advantages? Yes and no. ● The yes comes here; and the No comes in verse 9. V 2a: Yes, much in every way… for instance, “you have been entrusted with the oracles of God!” ● What a privilege to have the Scriptures! ● The Jews were recipients of God’s specific revelation. ● This doesn’t mean that they had a bunch of bookstores!!! ● They had promises of God – promises made to the Patriarchs; promises made about the coming Messiah. ● This doesn’t mean, however, that because they possessed the Scriptures that they were actually saved on the basis of being Jews. There are some (though a small number) who actually believe this. ● Many failed to believe in the Messiah (Jn 5). ● The advantages don’t take you very far if you don’t believe in the Promised One. ● These promises came with responsibility to trust and obey; to live as a light to the nations.
Q2: “Does Jewish unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?” (3–4) Short answer: “Of course not!”
So God promised to be faithful to Abraham’s descendants, but Paul just said that the Jew is guilty. Does the Jews lack of faithfulness to God’s promises make God unfaithful?
V 4a: Paul’s outburst ● Not at all! Paul can’t imagine the idea that God is unfaithful. ● “Me Genoito” – An emphatic negative! “Heaven forbid!” “Forget about it!” ● God’s faithfulness is not contingent upon Israel’s response. ● Paul rejects the idea that for God to be faithful that He must accept Israel whether they are in the right or wrong. ● God is faithful. See this, Christian. Trust in this today.
V 4a: Proverbial statement: (NIV) ● If every human being who ever lived declared that God is faithless, God would be found true, and every man who testified against Him would be found a liar. (allusion to Psalm 116:11) ● God will win the verdict when the world goes on trial. ● He is true. He is faithful. Even though the world is full of liars; God never lies. He’s always true.
V. 4b: A citation from Psalm 51. ● Paul adds a note from their great King David, who agrees with Paul! ● Quoting Psalm 51, David (after sinning w/ Bathsheba), was willing for himself to be judged, and God proved right in judging him. (Ps. 51:4). David says God’s judgment was “blameless.” ● The fact is, God’s pronouncement of judgment, as his covenant declared he would, is actually sign of his faithfulness.
Q3-4: If sin brings God’s righteousness into focus and magnifies his glory, then how is it right for God to punish the sinner (since God’s righteousness wouldn’t shine w/out the sin)? (5-8) Short answer: We don’t do do evil that good may come of it // God is the Just Judge.
“Am I not doing God a favor by sinning, and if so, how is he just in judging?” People will go to great extremes to try to justify their behavior and get out from the judgment of God…
VV 5-6: “Is God unrighteousness for punishing us?” V. 6: The answer: Certainly not! ● The notion that unrighteous conduct could ever serve a good purpose of enhancing God’s righteous character is strictly a “human argument.” o It arises from “a debased mind,” (1:28) ● For Jews to reason in this way would have been for them to deny a basic truth that they believed, namely that God will in perfect righteousness judge the world. (cf. Gen 18:25; Ps 96:13; Isa 66:16; Joel 3:12). ● If punishment on God’s part implied injustice at all then He could not serve as the final judge of all humans.
VV 7-8: “Should we do evil that good may come?” Paul impersonates the objector using the first person here…
V 7: Along the same (illogical) lines, if people’s propensity to lie only makes God’s truthfulness shine more brightly, and magnify His glory, then why are people condemned for something that glorifies God?
Stott: “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness, just as our unrighteousness displays God’s righteousness more brightly (5), and so increases his glory, then surely God ought to be pleased, even grateful? Am I not doing him a service?” Seriously!
The objector says, “why am I still condemned as a sinner (7), if my sin magnifies God’s glory?” How can God condemn me for glorifying him?
Paul repudiates this idea at the end of verse 8… He adds…. V 8: “Why not say (as, Paul says he’s being slanderously reported as saying), ‘Let us do evil that good may result’?” ● This problem is related to antinomianism in Romans 6. ● “Let’s increase evil that God may be glorified!” ● What! This is absurd. ● To answer in modern terms, Paul would say that the end does not justify the means. ● Getting to God’s glory by sinning is outrageous, and can never be justified.
8b: In response to such philosophical stupidity, Paul concludes, “Their condemnation is deserved.” o The condemnation of those who argue in this way is justified. ● People are not only sinful in behavior, but twisted in their reasoning.
There’s really a warning here to all who want to play games with the Bible, or play word games, or come up with wild philosophical objections simply to hide from the reality of God’s holiness. Don’t do that. See the plain teaching of Scripture and respond in humble repentance and faith.
In the Courtroom with Paul (3:9-20)
#1: The Accusation (9) ● Having just answered, “yes” in 2, he now answers “no” in verse 9. ● To the question are the any better off than the Gentiles spiritually, the answer is: “Not at all!” ● Privileged? Yes. ● But without accountability before God? No. ● He says, We have already made the charge (i.e. in 1:18–2:29) that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin (9), or ‘under the power of sin’ ● Sin crushes us like a cruel slave master, and imprisons us in guilt and under judgment.
#2: The Evidence (10-18) To support this argument that all are guilty, Paul rattles off a list of verses, with a heavy emphasis on the Psalms. There’s so much gospel in the Psalms!
These illusions are taken from the Jewish Scriptures; so the Jews couldn’t refute Paul’s argument. If you wanted to tally up everything on this list, I count 14 total charges to prove that unrepentant humanity is guilty before God. I will put them in three categories.
Each highlights various aspects of human sinfulness. Sin affects every part of us – mind, emotions, conscious, behavior, speech, etc.
The big theme is on the “universality of sin.” No one is righteous/good/acceptable to God. The whole world needs the gospel!
A. The Character of the Accused (10-12) i. Unrighteousness (10b) – “None is righteous; no, not one” [Eccl 7:20?] ● “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Eccl 7:20) ● Righteousness appears in one form or another more than thirty times in Romans. ● When you add other terms from the same root (like “justified,” “justification”), it appears more than sixty times in the book of Romans. ● It is not surprising that at the top of the list is unrighteousness.
Note: It’s important to remember as we look through this list that Paul is not denying what we call “common grace.” ● Unrepentant people can do remarkable things, as image bearers of God. ● However, no one is perfectly good and never sins. ● No one is acceptable to God based on his or her works/efforts/deeds. ● Without common grace, there would be total anarchy in the world. ii. Ignorance (11a) – “No one understands” [Ps 14:2; Ps 53:2] ● Cf., 1 Cor 2:14; Eph 4:18 ● It’s God by His Spirit who graciously opens up our spiritual eyes to understand. ● Acts 16 – Lydia. “The Lord opened up her heart to understand.” ● Unrepentant people can be very intelligent; but that’s different from having the knowledge of God. iii. Godlessness (11b) “None who seek God” [Ps 14:2; Ps 53:1-3] ● That is the true God; they may seek the transcendent, or spirituality of some kind – but usually, this is a turning from the real God. ● This is re-stated in a different form in verse 18 – “there’s no fear of God.” ● 1:18 – ungodliness ● When people renounce God, they plunge into all manner of evil. ● God in his grace seeks us, when we aren’t seeking Him. ● C.S. Lewis: “Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about ‘man’s search for God.’ To me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse’s search for the cat” (Surprised by Joy). ● If you are currently seeking God, then realize it’s by His grace that you are doing so. iv. Waywardness (12a) – “Al have turned aside” [Ps 14:3; Isa 53:6; Ps 53:3] ● If a person is spiritually ignorant, and doesn’t seek God, then naturally they will go their own way. ● “I did it my way” is the song not of Sin-atra, but of all Sin-ners. ● In our own sinfulness and selfishness, we choose the “Wrong way; not Yahweh.” ● Isaiah 53:6 – like sheep – there is a trajectory of sin… ● Acts 9:2, the early church called the faith “The Way”
v. Worthless [Spiritually] (12b) – “together they have become worthless” [Ps 14:3, “corrupt”] ● Again, this is not a denial of the things humanity can do by God’s common grace. ● Spiritually, apart from Jesus, we can’t bear fruit. (Jn 15) ● At the final judgment, all that’s done apart from Jesus will be seen for what it is. ● One of the reasons we should follow Jesus is that we want to give our lives to that which truly matters.
vi. No one does good, no not one (12c) [Ps 14:1, 3; Ps 53:1,3] ● Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler this (Mark 10:18) ● Sure, in God’s common grace, unbelievers may contribute to society, and create some amazing things: (ipads, iphones, cars, planes, Yetis, weapons, etc). ● But when it comes to standing before God; no one measures up. ● No one is so good that they don’t need the saving grace of Jesus.
Look at this list, and notice the universality of sin. ● None. No, not one. No one. No one (10-11) ● All (12) ● No one. Not even one (12)
B. The Conversation of the Accused (13-14) Paul now shifts to talk about how our sin is expressed through our speech.
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt 12:34b) There are at least 90 Proverbs about the tongue. Words can bless or hurt.
Proverbs 10: 31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. 32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.
vii. their throats are open graves, full of corruption and infection (13a) [Ps 5:9] ● We cover up graves out of respect and to keep from seeing the decay and corruption ● Paul says the unregenerate opens his mouth and testifies to spiritual death.
viii.their tongues practice deceit, instead of being dedicated to the truth (13b) [Ps 5:9] ● Continuous repeated action… ● Lying and other forms of deceit are regular practices of the unrepentant. ● Jim Carey’ Liar Liar made the point in a comedic way, that our sinful hearts gravitate to lying. ● Lying and deceit has killed millions and damaged reputations for centuries. ● Jezebel’s lies had Naboth killed. ● Potiphar’s wife’s lies damaged Joseph’s reputation and brought him much suffering.
ix. their lips spread poison like snakes (13c) [Ps 140:3] ● Jesus and John the Baptist called the religious teachers “vipers.” ● JB’s honest words got him killed. x. their mouths are filled with bitter curses (14) [Ps 10:7] ● emotionally hostility expressed against an enemy… ● throughout the ages, humanity has used its mouth to spout out bitterness…
The doctrine of sin expressed through speech is one of the easier doctrines to prove! (Even though some still want to deny the doctrine of sin).
If you are a Christian, even though we have been declared righteous, and are being sanctified now, we still deal with the residue of the old self. That means not only will we sin and need to regularly repent, but we will also sin against each other. We must learn to forgive, apologize, and reconcile. Schaeffer, “If I wont’ say, ‘I’m sorry’ to another person … then the world has the right to question whether I’m a Christian.”
C. The Conduct of the Accused (15-18) xi. their feet are swift to shed blood (15) [Isa 59:7; Prov 1:16; 3:15-17] ● The violence in man’s heart expressed through violent and murderous actions… ● Millions have been murdered throughout history. ● After sin comes into the world in Genesis 3, what do we read of in Gen 4? A brother killing his brother. ● You see without restraints, there would be more murder (common grace: prisons, laws). xii. their paths are full of ruin and misery (Isa 59:7; 16) ● Sin leaves a trail of pain and despair and heartache – always ● It leaves you in ruin and misery and it causes misery for others.
It’s important to pause and reflect upon the effects of sin here. ● Our world tries to sell sin as something that’s fun. ● So adult video stores or clubs may take the name “Sinsational” as if to say sin is fun. ● Sin actually leads to misery and death. ● People don’t see the sinfulness of sin. ● Joseph and Potiphar’s wife – “How can I do this wicked thing and sin against God?” ● Today we call it – “momentary aberration,” “minor peccadillo” “momentary lapse” not “wicked thing” xiii. the way of peace they have not known. (17) [Isa 59:7; Prov 1:16] ● Sin leads to restlessness not peace. ● A life of righteousness through Christ leads to peace. xiv. there is no fear of God before their eyes (18) [Ps 36:1] ● Psalm 36: “For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.” Doug Moo points out that when you read the entire Psalm from which these verses are drawn, you find that they focus on wicked people in comparison to the writer or righteous Israelites. One might conclude then that Paul is just speaking only of unrighteous Jews. But as Moo points out, the better conclusion is that Paul is saying “in light of Christ, all Jews must now be considered in the category of wicked.” (NIVAPP, 118).
The point is you have no righteousness outside of Christ, no matter how moral/religious you may be.
What a picture of sinful humanity. I read a story of a man carrying a leather case that looked like a camera case, but he actually was carrying a Bible. Some kids came up and ask him to take a picture of them (assuming that a camera was inside). So he pulled out the Bible and read Romans 3 to them. He said this is a picture of your spiritual condition.
One may be beautiful, but on the inside this is the picture, Romans 3. The Bible tells us about our great need for Christ, but fortunately that’s not all; it tells us about our great Christ for our need. Let’s press on…
#3: The Verdict (19-20)
Paul brings his argument to a close. It’s actually the close of the whole argument from 1:18-3:20. He brings his verdict on guilty, unrepentant humanity. Every unbeliever, whether Jew or Gentile, is under God’s holy law and is and accountable to Him.
Absolute silence is the only possible response…
V 19: “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”
(1) Paul has declared that all have sinned (3:9) (2) These OT texts, esp the Psalms, have declared that all have sinned. (10-18) (3) Now, Paul says the law is saying this too. (19-20)
“those under the law” – ● Paul is speaking to the Jews saying, I’m not asking you to judge yourself based on some other religious writings. ● Your own writings say this! Own what the Law says! ● He says you must accept the verdict.
19b: Conclusion: every mouth is shut; everyone is accountable. Guilty. ● This is the point to which the apostle has been relentlessly moving. ● The idolatrous and immoral Gentiles are “without excuse” (1:20). ● All Jews, the critical moralists, and religious legalists, also have “no excuse” (2:1). ● In the presence of God, there is no defense.
V 20: Paul ends with a clarifying purpose of the law, transitioning to the next section (3:21-26).... ● He seems to anticipate an argument that some people might actually live out the law perfectly. ● But he gets his Galatians on by saying, (“like a piece of Galatians falling out of the sky”) “by works of the law no human being will be justified [declared righteous] in his sight.” ● “Works of the Law” = deeds done in obedience to the law. ● The problem is that sinful man is utterly incapable of keeping God’s law perfectly. ● No one has the ability, nor the desire within himself, to obey God perfectly.
Works based righteousness is the default mode of the heart. Earn it. Make yourself acceptable to God. It happens today in a variety of ways. (examples) People do all kinds of things to feel good about themselves; to remove guilt; to be justified by works. Paul tells us that it won’t work. And no one who is trying to keep the requirements of the law can do it.
20b: What’s the purpose of the law? through the law we become conscious of sin. The law wants you to know that you are guilty, and that your righteousness can never be earned. ● The law tells you of your unrighteousness.
Conclusion Our Question for Paul: Is there any hope for humanity? Short Answer: Yes. Read the next paragraph!
● The law tells us that no one is righteous! ● The gospel tells us of a righteousness from God that is provided for you in Christ Jesus!
The next paragraph is the “hinge of history.”
If we may peak into next week’s text, we find perhaps the sweetest words in Romans – and indeed the whole Bible. “But now.” [Read 21-26]
Bird calls this “the epicenter of Paul’s gospel.” Leon Morris, “Possibly the single most important paragraph ever written.” ● Justification, redemption, propitiation all here.
The good news for sinners: God has intervened through Jesus Christ to rescue sinful humanity!! ● In Romans 3:1-20 we are naked and bear before God with no words. ● In Romans 3:21-26 we are clothed in the perfect, spotless, righteous garments of Christ!
Romans is teaching that sin is much worse than you’ve ever imagined; and the salvation provided by Jesus is more amazing than you’ve ever dreamed.
1. Unbeliever: Turn away from self and your sin, and trust in Jesus. ● Turn to the all-sufficient Savior who will have you. ● There is one who kept the law perfectly: Jesus! ● He never turned aside; he never uttered a sinful word; his feet were not swift to shed blood, but to give his own blood that sinners like us may be saved. ● He made it possible for us to know everlasting joy and peace, not ruin and misery. ● If you come to him you are free. ● You are right. ● You don’t have to live to prove yourself to God and others. ● You live a life of obedience because you are loved and accepted; not to earn love and acceptance. ● All you need is need.
2. Christian: Be thankful for the work of Christ and tell others about it. ● “Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” ● This text should make Christ so sweet to us!” ● “Our sins they are many, His mercy is more!” ● Let’s be faithful to make the good news known to our neighbors and among the nations.