WELCOME
PRAYER
SONG
SILENCE
Romans 3.5-18
January 3rd 2021
The first eight to ten verses of Romans Chapter three can be some of the most difficult to contextually explain and comprehend.
Don’t let the way they read intimidate you – we can work them through and by the Spirit and come to some illumination.
Last week we also talked about how Paul asked two rhetorical questions as a means to perhaps anticipate what would be asked by his Jewish readers relative to the content he provides in Chapters one and two.
There we read:
3:1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? (And he answered)
2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews are entrusted with the oracles of God. (And then he asked his second question)
3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? (And he answered)
4 By no means! Let God be true though every man be a liar, as it is written, “That thou mayest be justified in thy words, and prevail when thou art judged.”
Today, in verses five through eight, he continues this practice, and addresses a crazy notion that some people were making relative to Jesus sacrifice – that people ought to sin as much as they could in order to bring God greater and greater glory. A concept we have already addressed in this book called, antinomianism.
So let’s begin at verse five and see where Paul leads us today.
5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Alright, back to verse five. Here Paul seems to present yet another, a third, response the Jews might question him about, saying:
5 If the Jews unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
In other words, what he is asking is “if a Jews unrighteousness (or sin) commends (or winds up emphasizing) the righteousness of God, what can be said? Is God then unrighteous who takes vengeance upon them?
In verse three, Paul rhetorically asked,
“What if some Jews don’t BELIEVE? Is God then going to prove unfaithful to his promises?”
The particular unrighteousness or sin which Paul is speaking of in verse three (and I suggest also in verse five) was the sin of unbelief or unfaithfulness. So, this is what he seems to be asking or saying:
“If God is glorified (as being righteous and good) because His goodness is amplified more in the face of the Jews unbelief, how can He justifiably then punish them for not believing?”
In other words, wouldn’t God therefore be found unrighteous for punishing the unbelievers if they brought him Glory (even though the glory they bring him would be through their unbelief)?
I know, it gets pretty twisty but verse three concedes that some had not believed; in other words, that some Jews had sinned through not believing. But, Paul points out last week that God was true to his promises and not-withstanding their sin, God’s character was the same.
Then here, Paul addresses the fact that in the midst of their unbelief, and even as a result of it, the character of God is proven and shown to be even more glorious. We will talk about how this is in a minute. So, the rhetorical question Paul addresses here then is,
“if God’s glory is magnified by the unbelief of some, how could God punish the sinful whose sin only serves to amplify His goodness?”
And note that Paul adds, “I speak as a man,” meaning I speak after the manner of men or what appear to be the arguments they present as human beings.
See, these were human sentiments at their best. And Paul appears to be trying to address them as an apostle of the Living God.
The biblical teaching is God is both glorified in and of Himself, He is glorified when people follow Him, and then He is even more glorified when people don’t.
How?
If men were powerful and mighty in and of themselves, to the point that they could save themselves, God would not be glorified. Man would.
This is the theological problem with justification by works or grace and works – in such, man shares in the glory of God, therefore man ought to be praised like God.
But when men are weak and failing and unable to save themselves, God is glorified more – because He is able and willing to do for us what we are not and is merciful enough to do it.
See, contrary to humanist religions, it is NOT through our strength that God is most glorified, but through our weakness.
In 2nd Corinthians 12 beginning at verse five, Paul wrote the following which wholly supports this premise:
5 In Christ . . . will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
See, Paul had a problem, and infirmity, which he could not overcome. He had gone to God three times for healing or for some relief from it, but it never came. And this is what Paul said God said in response to his request to be healed or forgiven (yet again):
9 “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
This caused Paul to go on and write:
“Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
In Romans chapter five, Paul affirms this very same thing, saying
“where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” showing that when people sin, and sin, and sin, and sin, and have done and do things which are just incomprehensible to God and His Goodness, and God forgives and forgives and forgives, thereby proving, once again, His magnificence and mercy – He is then glorified even in the face of utter human weakness.
The fact that this world continues to spin and God continues to be merciful is an attestation of His Goodness and mercy.
So back to Romans three, Paul rhetorically asks in verse five,
“If God is glorified (as being righteous and good) because His goodness is amplified in the face of the Jews unbelief, how can or would He be just in punishing them for not believing? – (or, better put)
”Is God (then) unrighteous when He takes vengeance on us for being sinful?
Once again, Paul answers the premise with (verse 6)
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
At the risk of being redundant but to firmly get a hold of this, look at verse five again.
Here, Paul first makes a supposition
5 But if (the Jews) unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say?
This line is related to the line of questioning about how the sinful nature of Man serves to glorify God’s righteousness even more. Then he asks:
“Is God (therefore) unrighteous who takes vengeance?
Verse six is an answer to the question and is really not related to the supposition mentioned in the first line. To understand verse six, ask the question of verse five: “Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)”
Then read verse six:
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
The point of all this is this: Paul brings up the fact (and it is a fact) that God is glorified by the presence of sinful man.
Since this is the case, Paul continues by asking, “Is God then unrighteous for condemning (judging, punishing) sinners?”
To the question, “Is God then unrighteous” he answers, “Never let it even be considered!” And he asks, “for then how shall God judge the world?”
See, the Jews were well aware that God would judge their world. This was an expectation. The Old Covenant is full of passages that speak to this coming judgment.
The question here is in the face of this argument about man’s sin glorifying him can God be seen as just in doing so? Paul’s answer is, “Of course He is just in judging us!”
Listen closely, the fact that Man’s sinfulness (in the end) magnifies the glory of God in no way justifies the fact that Man sins. Such thinking would be akin to the following story.
“A man goes into a bar and starts a fight where he kills somebody. This evil act brings the police. While the police officer is making an arrest, a woman chokes on some popcorn and the police officer quickly delivers the Heimlich and heroically saves her life. Standing before a judge the bar fighter says, “That cop is not a hero and I can’t be judged for this murder because if it wasn’t for me, the hero policeman wouldn’t have been there to save the woman’s life.”
Here Paul says, when it comes to God, this is not true. Our sin does not make him good. He is always good, always the hero – and sin is sin – those who commit it are judged for it whether it inadvertently glorifies God along they way or not.
These passages, once again, prove the fact that there is a two way highway in the relationship human beings have with the Living God. The manner in which we travel on ours has no bearing on him and His goodness but it does have impact on how he sees us.
Paul continues at verse 7, asking another question and saying:
7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
This is just another form of the same objection he anticipated in verse five. And Paul here references an early heresy taught among some believers – antinomianism – the belief that believers ought to sin as a means to add glory to God! Verse eight is how Paul explains it:
8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
The line, “whose damnation is just,” at the end of verse eight is Paul simply saying that those who pass such teachings along have justified condemnation on their heads.
So, what he is really saying through all of this is:
God is always good no matter what men say or do.
God is always glorified – He is glorfied when sinful men and women amidst the flesh choose to believe on Him and His promises and He is glorified when men sin because His goodness, strength, love and justice is more clearly seen in such cases then when men are righteous.
But this fact in no way infers that God is not in a perfectly justified in condemning sinners, no matter how their sin reflects upon Him.
Finally, Paul expressly disavows any such teachings or doctrines that promotes the notion of sinning to glorify God more; and that evil is never justified as a means to bring God glory,
That any imaginable good which we may think will result from such ought never to sanction or justify the deed.
Let me give you one more example of what Paul is trying to say here (and what I am attempting to articulate).
When I first started doing Heart of the Matter, I often found myself seriously contemplating how to most effectively reach the LDS with the principle of God’s grace.
The people and community as a whole are so steeped in the idea that they are saved, justified and pleasing to the Lord by their goodness that for a moment I became semi-obsessed with trying to figure out how to really get them to see that there is nothing fallen human beings can do to add or take away from the salvation He offers freely through His Son by faith – except to walk from faith.
One morning a thought came to me.
Yes, you are going to think I’m crazy even in admitting that I had this thought but in some ways the approach perfectly reflects what Paul is warning against here in our text today.
That morning I thought, “Here’s something I can do to prove my assertion that salvation is by faith and not by works righteousness! I’ll open up the show, and I will do my very best to exhaustively explain why our salvation is based on faith alone and not on any works-righteousness at all, and then I will prove my dedication to this notion by shooting myself in the head.
I know, I know, insane – and wrong. But the notion did come, and as a means to prove how seriously I believed His grace is all that is needed, I temporarily thought that maybe I could illustrate it by trusting my eternities – even in suicide – to His perfect glorious grace.
The problem with this, of course, is that while God would be glorified (because He would receive me without question, not because of the suicide but by faith) and while I would have put an extreme exclamation point on the finished work of Christ in my life, and while it would certainly be somewhat of an act of faith, it would be wrong and damaging to my family and friends and even the viewing audience.
It would have not been in accordance with him and His will but my own, missing the mark entirely.
His way is righteousness through faith is love, humility and a broken heart with a contrite spirit – that is what he seeks of us – not acts originating from our imaginations and flesh.
At verse nine, finally, after all this case building, Paul begins to lay out the point of everything he has written in chapters one, two and up to this point in chapter three.
In the first verse of this chapter Paul anticipates a response from his fellow Jews who just read that he said circumcision is not outward but inward and that it would be applied to obedient gentiles over disobedient Jews.
And remember that in the first verse of chapter three Paul then rhetorically asks,
“What advantage then is it being a Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?”
Well, here in verse nine, he poses another question they may be asking in their hearts and says:
9 What then? (he asks) are we (Jews) better than they (the gentiles)? (And he answers) No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.
In other words, Paul anticipates and addresses the Jewish question, “Well, if there are many benefits to being Jews, (as Paul said) are the Jews BETTER than the gentiles?
Or rather, “Do we have any preference, or advantage over non-Jews (LISTEN) relative to salvation?”
See, Paul admitted that in terms of advantages that the Jews had benefited in many ways, chiefly, he said, because they were the ones who received the oracles (or Word of God – which we talked about last week).
But in terms of salvation, in terms of an individual Jew standing before God verses any individual Gentiles standing before the same, there was no benefit or advantage whatsoever – or, as Paul puts it:
“No, in no wise”
Why?
And here comes the biggie, my friends – Paul adds,
“for we have before proved (amply, I might add in chapters 1 and 2 ) both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.”
In chapter one, Paul proved that the gentiles turned from the truth and law written in their hearts and turned from God, and in chapter two he proved that the Jews failed to keep the law that they had been given and were condemned.
Therefore, nobody, anywhere at any time, (Jew or not) has any preference or advantage over the other with regard to the subject of justification before God.
And here Paul throws down, saying:
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Now, most of the passages quoted here are from the Septuagint – which is the Old Testament written in Greek instead of Hebrew. Verses 10-12 here are from Psalm 14:1-3, and from Psalm 53:1-3.
Therefore, if you go back to your Old Testament (which is written in Hebrew) the quote will not be the same because Paul is quoting the passages from the Greek. But the meanings are the same.
And what point is Paul making? We are ALL – every last one of us, sinful creatures. Listen to verses 10-12
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
One of the biggest problems facing people who cannot see the “need for Jesus” or “cannot accept Him and His claims” is they fail to understand two fundamental truths the scripture plainly articulates.
The first truth is focused on the true nature of God.
Human kind – through our finite and limited minds, have come up with all sorts of ways to construct, present, and describe God errantly.
We love to paint or picture Him anthropomorphically. As a kindly old gentleman with a long white beard, or as a kindly Father with loving arms outstretched. This is LDS iconography.
Such portraits present to us some truth because scripture does indeed describe God as love, and when we picture love, we imagine a gentle being who reaches out to us relentlessly and without any conditions – like a grandpa.
In the face of these icons many people have great difficulties accepting the actions and descriptions of God in the Old Testament because these things illustrate (correctly) how straight-up Holy He is (in addition to Him being pure love).
For me, the best balance in describing God is found in the fact that God is a wholly just beaming white hot fire of light who loves the world so much He sent His only begotten Son to die for it.
But this description in no way erases the fact that God remains a beaming white hot fire of light. Hebrews correctly describes Him as “a consuming fire.”
Fire warms a home or burns it down.
It illuminates the mind and path or it blinds the eyes.
It sanitizes all in its presence or it burns it all up beyond recognition.
The moment every single person enters into His presence they will either be warmly comforted beyond anything this world could ever produce or they will be seared into oblivion or immediately pushed away.
Scripture calls Him “the invisible God,” and describes how Jesus came, took on a body of flesh, embodied all that “God is” so that fallen human beings would have a gorgeous picture of what God would be like . . . when He became “one of us.”
But scripture also tells us that no unholy thing can or will ever dwell in His presence. And as a mediation between fallen Man and our eternal, righteous, God of consuming fire, stands His Son.
Without the protection offered by His shed blood, every single – every single human being, not matter who they are, where they have been, how much good they do, or how much evil, for that matter – every single soul will utterly dissolve in the presence of His incomprehensible holiness and light or perhaps launched back from his presence until at a safe distance to thrive – in the dark.
Fortunately, God so loved the WORLD he gave us His Son, and those who believe on Him will not perish, will not suffer loss, will not be pushed back but will be drawn in and eternally warmed by His fire and love and light.
So, the first problem people have when they refuse Jesus offering is they simply do not understand the living God or His holiness.
“Oh, Shawn,” comes another natural reaction, “God isn’t angry with me – I’m a good guy. Sure, I’ve made mistakes, but overall, I’ve lived a pretty good life. If God can’t accept me as I am without Jesus, what kind of God is that in the first place?”
It is to this opinion that Paul here is addressing so none misunderstand, saying:
“There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
The message is clear here – there has not been, nor will there ever be, anyone who is justified before God due to their good lives or their obedience to the Law.
From the kindest grandpa, to Mother Teresa, to Ghandi or the Dali Lama – none.
Human corruption is universal – infecting the Jew, the Gentile, and everyone in-between (whomever they would be).
One of the reactions people often have to passages like this is to immediately begin to make comparisons – between the lives and actions they have taken and the lives and actions and attitudes of others.
I mean if John killed innocent women and children and I have only slept with a few, I’m not so bad by comparison, right?
(beat)
Too extreme?
And if Jane is the meanest teller of lies and I am only guilty of a little gossip, well God will understand . . . see, I’ve tried.
(beat)
“I’ve helped blind people across the street, I started a kennel for abandoned animal, I, I, I . . .
Listen to the point Paul makes – again:
There is none righteous, (beat) no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
Compared to the incomprehensible holiness of God who is an eternal, consuming fire of Spirit holiness, how could any human being ever be considered righteous for anything – especially when we consider the attributes and elements that hide within the human heart?
So even if a person outwardly obeys every religious rule to ever come down the pike (which is impossible) what about their heart?
The heart that is envious.
It’s a heart that rejoices at times when people suffer, fail, or lose.
The heart that makes God of money, lust and this world.
The pride of the heart.
The phoniness of the heart.
The liars and hypocrites our hearts make us, feeling one thing but we pretend another?
Of the ten commandments I tend to see the first, “Having one God only,” and the tenth, “not coveting,” as the deal breakers for all.
Perhaps there are people who never steal, murder, bear false witness, never have a graven image, never take the Lords name in vain, keep the Sabbath day holy, and never commit adultery but can any person go through life and only have one God on the throne of their heart, and then even harder, can they never covet?
These things are heart things – and under them the Jews were all found condemned. Paul continues and adds at verse 11:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Why would we? From our natural births we are born selfish – meaning we seek what the self wants. And being such, we naturally do not seek after what God wants. Not from the heart.
Yet in this state people somehow come to believe that God will welcome their arrival to His Kingdom.
Where verses 10 and 11 speak of the failure of Man to be good, at verse twelve Paul speaks of the failure of humans to do good as Paul says:
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
In the Parable of the Talents Jesus teaches a lesson that pertains to believers using their gifts well in their service of the Kingdom of God.
Those who did not use their talents well and failed to multiply them He referred to as “unprofitable servants,” and describes their treatment in that day in the following way:
“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
But here, in verse twelve, Paul, quoting the Old Testament, is speaking of the salvation of man – showing how nobody can be saved by the good they do, for . . .
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
In other words, there is NOBODY on earth who has ever lived that can go to God as “profitable subjects.” Paul says
“They are all together become unprofitable.”
Because of the phraseology, become unprofitable, this does not support original sin but speaks of all human beings having become tainted or lesser.
The word “unprofitable” in Hebrew means to be putrid and offensive, like fruit that is totally rotten. In the Arabic, it is a word that is applied to milk which has become rankly sour. There is little value in such rot.
Remember, we are talking about a holy God of consuming spirit fire meeting with corrupted creations. As a means to emphasize this picture Paul goes on and says:
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
This phrase Paul is taken from the Septuagint version of Psalms 5:9 and 140:3. Here he paints a word-picture for all to imagine. Want to see the value of corrupted Man before Holy God?
Imagine a sea of a billion people (if it would be possible) all standing out in the desert. And we swoop down over and upon them in a helicopter, and as we draw close toward their upturned faces each of them opens their mouths.
And on doing so they emit a collective stench wind, that smells like a wet cave filled with rotting flesh. And hiding down in these putrid human caves are hidden vipers – Adders – a species whose poison is so such vile that it can kill almost the instant that it bites.
These descriptions are how Holy God sees the heart and ways of every fallen man, man without Jesus, women without faith and love abiding in them.
Their works are like filthy rags, scripture says, meaning to a holy God without Jesus their efforts are degraded and soiled.
Paul isn’t holding back, and he unleashes the reality of the human condition before holy God with intense descriptors saying:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
He ends with . . .
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
(LONG LOOOONG BEAT)
Human nature, whether overt or quietly disguised in goodness, is wholly rebellious to the Holy Living Invisible God of Consuming Fire.
Here, in verses 14 – 18 Paul alludes to the whole of our construction being defiled –
Our speaks of our mouths in verse 14 . . .
Our feet in verse 15 . . .
Our actions or ways in verse 16 . . .
Our hearts in 17 . . .
Our eyes in 18 . . .
Even as believers, our flesh can and will turn on Him and from His will.
We can, at times, lose our awe, and reverence, and our healthy fear of the consuming fire – thinking we have a right to ignore Him, blame Him, refuse Him, and operate by our own will and not His, that he owes us something, that He is in our debt.
All of such things illustrate how ridiculously far afield every human being is in their natural state from Holy God and showing that there is NOTHING under the sun that we can practice, obey, or do that will save us. Nothing.
Again, this is the state of every non-Jew (you and I) who lives and dies without the Law. And this is the state of every Jew who lives and dies with the law.
We are totally and completely screwed, individually and collectively, since the beginning of time by any external approach to pleasing Him unto salvation.
(LONG BEAT)
And just four verses later Paul will describe the only solution to such a hopeless universal state, saying:
Romans 3:23-24 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (but believers have) been justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
We will go from there next week – God willing.
Question/Comments/Prayer
