Romans 3:9-20

Let me invite you to take your copy of God's Word and join me in Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

Our text for today as we continue to make our journey through the book of Romans.

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We find in this morning's text the doctrine of total depravity.

Put simply, this is the teaching that mankind lacks any spiritual good

and lacks the ability to do good before God.

I haven't stated this doctrine by its name,

but in our study of Romans, this has been the driving point that Paul has been making

from chapter 1 and verse 18 where he states,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

And it concludes at verse 20 of today's text.

He wants to be so clear that anyone, whether of Jewish descent or otherwise,

lives under the curse of sin.

He wants us to be clear that this is true of us.

Romans chapter 2 and verse 12.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

There he writes,

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law.

And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

And he's doing all of this because this is the reasonable starting point

from which to prove his thesis for the entirety of this book,

which we will do throughout the rest of the letter.

And he states that thesis in chapter 1, verse 16 and 17,

where there he says,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,

to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,

as it is written,

the righteous shall live by faith.

Why might we care to pay attention to Paul's writing?

He tells us in verse 18 of chapter 1,

because of wrath.

He's saying, listen to what I have to say.

He's setting up the problem for us,

the due penalty for our sin.

All of mankind has a huge problem

that only finds its remedy in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Now, I have a note hanging taped to the wall in my study above my desk that reads,

and I picked this up somewhere.

I can't tell you where,

but I'm not going to take credit for it.

But it says this,

When preparing to preach,

remember the weary,

the wayward,

the proud,

the lazy,

and the lost.

Admittedly, I don't always remember,

and when I do remember,

I don't always do a good job

of applying a text to each of these categories of individuals.

So this morning,

I want to tackle the task up front,

and be sure.

To address each of these categories of people

in the hopes of preparing you for today's study.

So first, this morning,

you might find yourself weary.

Do not allow a text like this to beat you down.

If you are weary because you have been laboring to be accepted by our God,

be reminded today that you cannot be accepted by God by your works.

You are right to be worn out,

if that is what you have been up to this past week.

But you can be accepted by God through the works of another.

Rest today in the truth of the gospel,

even as we consider how wicked you once were.

Maybe this morning you are fit in the category of the wayward.

Perhaps God is already drawing you back to himself

as you find yourself here in my listening.

Maybe you have drifted in your faith.

This text should remind you of the folly of sin.

It can be so enticing on the front end,

but it leads nowhere but to destruction.

Return to your God.

He knows how feeble and easily tempted you are,

and stands ready to grant you grace in your repentance.

Maybe this morning you are proud.

Perhaps you have forgotten who you once were.

Be humbled that God saved one such as you.

Every one of us identifies with this text,

either as who we once were or who we now are.

Perhaps you think a text like this has nothing to teach you,

that you are so familiar with the doctrine of total depravity

that you need not hear it.

Be grateful that God has led you into this truth,

and rejoice in its declaration,

because other people may need to hear it.

Perhaps you find yourself lazy this morning.

Ty articulated well for us last week

that we are not saved by our works,

rather that we are saved by our faith,

but that faith is a faith that works.

Do not use God's grace towards you

as an excuse for licentious living.

If you are in Christ,

you should not presently identify

with the people described in our text.

They should feel like an other to you

if you are in Christ.

Labor by grace to live a life

that is honorable to our God.

And this morning,

if you are lost,

you have no hope apart

from the saving work of Christ.

Your soul is in a desperate state,

and you know that eternity

somewhere awaits you.

You know this because God has put

eternity into man's heart.

We learn this from Ecclesiastes chapter 3

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention

and verse 11.

You know there is a something beyond.

You can spend eternity

in the loving presence of God

because he has made a way for you

to be declared innocent

and to be declared righteous.

Repent and believe in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

So our text for today is Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

and I'll begin reading in verse 9.

Before I read,

let me remind you, beloved,

this is God's word to us,

written for his glory and our good.

And so we would all do well

to listen to it in order to believe

its promises and to obey its commands.

Paul writes,

Their throat is an open grave.

They use their tongues to deceive.

The venom of asps is under their lips.

Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood.

In their paths are ruin and misery,

and the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Now we know that whatever the law says,

it speaks to those who are under the law

so that every mouth may be stopped,

and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

For by works of the law,

no human being will be justified in his sight,

since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Now at the end of chapter 2,

Paul has stated,

verse 28 and 29,

For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly,

nor is circumcision outward and physical,

but a Jew is one inwardly,

and circumcision is a matter of the heart,

by the spirit,

not by the letter.

His praise is not for man,

but from God.

So he's saying that belonging to God's people

is a matter of the inner life,

not the outer.

It's not about being circumcised.

It's not about being of Jewish descent.

And he's going to continue to work this argument out

throughout the letter.

But then he asks a question.

He's meeting objections all the time.

He's anticipating them,

and meeting them in chapter 3 and verse 1,

where he says,

Then, what advantage has the Jew?

Or, what is the value of circumcision?

And the answer is that it is of great value

because Israel was the nation

to whom came God's word.

That the law itself was of benefit to them.

Which leads him to ask the question

at the beginning of today's text.

What then, he says?

Beginning of verse 9,

Are we Jews any better off?

And he means any better off

in the sense of standing before God.

And we can see that by his answer.

He's saying,

Yes, yes to the Jews came the oracles of God.

You see this at the beginning of chapter 3.

However, in our standing before God,

does that change anything?

And in verse 9, he says,

No, not at all.

Why?

Because we have already charged

all throughout the past half of chapter 1

and through chapter 2,

that all, both Jews and Greeks,

are under sin.

And this is the point of today's text.

Right?

All, Jews and Greeks,

under sin.

This is the doctrine of total depravity.

In fact,

if you've been here with us,

you know that I've used this text

to proof and speak to

all that Paul has been trying to say

in the last of chapter 1

and into chapter 2.

So for today,

as we look at this text,

just a brief outline for us.

we're going to see first Paul make an accusation

and second Paul deliver a verdict.

Paul makes an accusation

and Paul delivers a verdict.

So we said in the last half of verse 9

in this accusation,

we have already charged all.

Jews and Greeks are under sin.

And at the beginning of verse 10,

we see,

As it is written.

Paul launches into his accusation of mankind

by citing 9 times

from the Old Testament.

It's a good, proper Bible preacher.

So I'm going to tell them to you.

You can probably see these in your footnotes.

But Psalm 14, verses 1-3.

Psalms 14:1–3

Psalm 53, verses 1-3.

Psalms 53:1–3

Psalm 5, 9.

Jeremiah 5, 16.

Psalm 140, verse 3.

Psalms 140:3

Psalm 10, verse 7.

Psalms 10:7

Proverbs 1, verse 16.

Proverbs 1:16

Isaiah 59, verses 7 and 8.

Isaiah 59:7

And Psalm 36, and verse 1.

He's bringing the Bible to bear.

Paul understood

that the Scripture of his day

was inspired by God.

And he's bringing it to bear

in the lives of his hearers.

And Paul makes 13 charges

in the following verses.

And he divides these charges

into three categories.

So the first charges

have to do with

the character

of fallen mankind.

And this is verses 10-12.

This is the classic

we're all familiar with.

None is righteous.

No, not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks for God.

All have turned aside.

Together they have become worthless.

No one does good.

Not even one.

Because of their fallen state,

mankind is universally evil,

spiritually ignorant,

misguided,

wandering,

spiritually useless.

This is where we derive

the term totally depraved.

And morally corrupt.

Altogether in character

set against God.

Biblical Christians

believe in the doctrine

of total depravity.

That we have

nothing good

of ourselves

to offer

to the equation

of our salvation.

But biblical Christians

also believe

in the doctrine

of common grace.

This means that

people aren't always

as bad as they could be

because God grants

mankind

some measure of grace

to be loving,

gentle,

kind,

just,

honest,

and so on.

We're not

all together

in the expression

of our sinful nature

as terrible

as we might

be

because God

is kind

even to those

who aren't His.

However,

no matter how good

someone might be,

no matter how

altruistic

one might show themselves,

they will never

be perfect.

and this

is righteousness.

We've already proven

that we're not

perfect.

Likely this morning,

you and I,

whether known

or unknown,

have proven

that we are not

perfect.

You and I,

by our strongest

of labors,

cannot even measure

up to the standard

of perfect law-keeping

because,

apart from Christ,

our very character,

our very nature

was corrupted.

Jesus says

in Matthew 5

and verse 48,

you,

therefore,

must be perfect

as your heavenly

Father

is

perfect.

If you do not

measure up

to the perfection

of God,

then you

cannot be

accepted

by

God.

This

is bad

news.

but it's

bad news

meant to

press us

to the

good news

that the

Lord Jesus

Christ

is the

perfect

law-keeper.

We need an

alien righteousness.

Chapter 1

and verse 17,

the righteousness

of God

to be granted

to us.

A second

category of

charges

have to do

with

mankind's

words.

And we see

these in

verses 13

and 14.

There Paul

says,

their throat

is an

open grave.

They use

their tongues

to deceive.

The venom

of asps

is under

their lips.

Their mouth

is full

of curses

and bitterness.

Jesus

says in

Matthew 12

that out of

the abundance

of the heart,

the mouth

speaks.

And we

are so

very

expressively

wicked

in the way

that we

speak.

Paul is

presenting

that same

principle here

that out of

the abundance

of the heart,

the mouth

speaks.

Because of

your character,

your words

are evil

and your

evil words

give evidence

of your

evil

character.

It's the

fruit that

comes out

of a

corrupted

nature.

Fallen

man is

deceptive.

They use

their tongues

to deceive.

Seats

the destruction

of,

is publicly

critical of,

and expresses

hostility

towards

others.

The venom

of asps,

destructive,

mouthful

of curses

and bitterness,

critical

and hostile

towards others.

take a

ride with

somebody

who claims

to be a

Christian

in the

car

and you'll

see some

of this

come out

of them.

Ought

not be

so.

He states

at the

beginning

of verse

13 that

their throat

is an

open

grave,

which is

to say

you can

look into

their mouths

and see

the dead

man

inside.

Third

category.

we see

in verses

15-17

which is

that their

actions,

their feet

are swift

to shed

blood,

in their

paths

are ruin

and misery,

and the

way of

peace

they have

not known.

In the

same manner

that Paul

makes charges

concerning

mankind's

words,

he also

does so

with their

actions.

The

things they

do,

the fruit

you can't

observe,

speaks to

who they

are.

Once again,

Jesus says,

Matthew chapter

Matthew 7:17

7,

verse 17

and following,

so every

healthy tree

bears good

fruit,

but the

diseased

tree bears

bad

fruit.

A healthy

tree cannot

bear bad

fruit,

nor can a

diseased

tree bear

good

fruit.

Every

tree that

does not

bear good

fruit is

cut down

and is

thrown

into the

fire.

Now,

these actions

are fairly

self-explanatory,

swift to

shed blood,

murderous,

and their

paths are

ruin and

misery,

injustice,

and the

way of

peace.

Here,

I don't

think Paul

is referring

to the

sense of

peace,

or a

peace with

God,

but rather

a peace

amongst

mankind.

It

categorically

fits

together.

Mankind

is inherently

violent,

destructive,

and unjust.

Christ.

We can

access

examples

from history

and from

the local

news of

yesterday.

There's

just

evidence

of this

everywhere.

A quick

glimpse at

what's going

on in

France right

now,

and you

could say,

oh,

look at

how swift

to shed

blood.

Look at

the path

of ruin

and misery,

literal

paths

of ruin

and misery

and the

lack

of peace.

But let

us not

allow

ourselves

off the

hook

from

these

charges.

It's

very easy

to say,

well,

but not

like

them.

And

perhaps,

in

Jesus

in

Matthew

Matthew 5:21

chapter

5,

verse

21,

there

says,

you have

heard that

it was

said to

those of

old,

you shall

not

murder,

and whoever

murders will

be liable

to judgment.

If you

murder,

you will

be judged.

And

Jesus

raises the

bar and

says,

but I

say to

you that

everyone who

is angry

with his

brother will

be liable

to judgment.

Whoever

insults his

brother will

be liable

to the

council,

and whoever

says,

you fool,

will be

liable to

the hell

of fire.

You could

sum that

up to say,

if you do

these things,

you also

are guilty

of murder.

Quick

to shed

blood

in the

way

that we

act.

After

lobbing all

these charges

and making

his accusation,

Paul tells

us the

motive of

it all.

Verse

18,

there is

no fear

of God

before their

eyes.

They do

not fear

God.

Robert

Haldane,

a Scottish

theologian,

wrote a

really wonderful

commentary on

the book of

Romans called

Exposition of

Romans.

He wrote

this,

it is

astonishing

that men,

while they

acknowledge that

there is a

God,

should act

without any

fear of

his

displeasure.

Yet this

is their

character.

They fear

a worm of

the dust

like themselves,

but disregard

the most

high.

They are

more afraid

of man

than of

God,

of his

anger,

his contempt,

or ridicule.

The fear

of man

prevents them

from doing

many things

from which

they are

not restrained

by the

fear of

God.

They love

not his

character,

not rendering

to it

veneration,

which is

due.

They respect

not his

authority.

Such is

the state

of human

nature

while the

heart

is

unchanged.

There is

the bad

news,

right?

By very

nature

turned away

from a

fear

of God.

And this

is a

puzzling

thing.

Beloved,

we have

been

created.

Chapter

1,

Paul says

that it's

evidenced

that this

is the

case.

There is

a God

who has

created,

and yet

the

unrighteousness

of man

suppresses

that truth,

and God

gives

mankind

over

to that

foolishness.

What a

tragic thing.

And if

you're in

Christ this

morning,

it's who

you once

were.

And so

we have

such reason

to praise

God for

the gospel

of Jesus.

If you

are not

now in

Christ,

it's who

you are.

I pray

that you

would listen

to the

words of

Paul.

So Paul

brings this

accusation,

and then he

delivers

a verdict.

Second

point.

First he

says,

now we

know that

whatever the

law says,

it speaks

to those

who are

under

the

law,

so that

every

mouth

may be

stopped.

So he's

talking again

to Jewish

people

specifically,

and I'm

always

tempted,

it's probably

proper to

draw it to

our context,

for people

who mostly

grew up

in church,

mostly grew

up being

taught

God's

word.

Not every

one of us

I know,

but for the

most part

we have.

So what

purpose does

it serve

us?

We would

know that

we're sinful,

right?

Every mouth

would be

stopped,

and the

whole world,

last part

of verse

19,

may be

held

accountable

to

God.

For by

works of

the law

no human

being will

be justified

in his

sight,

since through

the law

comes

knowledge

of sin.

To be

justified

before God

is to be

declared

righteous.

To be

declared

righteous.

And there

are two

parts to

the equation

of our

justification.

Firstly,

our sin

must be

forgiven.

If you

were to

stand before

a judge

and he

would declare

you justified,

he would

have to

first

forgive

your sin,

your sin

expunged

from

the record.

But for

God to

maintain

his justice

as a

judge,

he can't

simply dismiss

it altogether.

He must

punish it.

If he's

going to

be a

perfect

judge,

it must

be

punished.

And this

is why

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

came

and died

to bear

our

punishment

on our

behalf.

But if

we stop

there,

we are

only brought

up to

neutral.

The record

has been

canceled,

but now

we stand

with nothing.

We need

something

credited

to our

account

in order

to be

declared

righteous,

to be

justified.

What do

we need?

We need

perfect

law keeping.

We need

righteousness.

A thing

that's clearly

being established

that we

cannot do.

If you have

any doubt

of that,

go back

to the

beginning

of chapter

1 and

read through

the end

of verse

20 of

chapter 3.

Paul is

being so

very clear.

You

cannot

do it.

You

have

failed

and you

will

always

fail

under

your

own

power

to

live

up

to

the

demands

of

the

law.

And so,

by faith,

not only does

Christ take

our punishment

from us,

but he

also gives

to us

his

righteousness.

The doctrine

is called

double

imputation.

He takes

away,

it's given

to him

our sin,

he gives

to us

his

righteousness.

this

will

not

happen

by

the

works

of

the

law.

And

the

whole

world

will

stand

before

God

in

judgment.

There he

says,

the whole

world

will be

held

accountable

to

God.

Remember

back in

chapter 1

in verse

18,

Paul says,

the wrath

of God

is revealed

from heaven

against

all

ungodliness

and

unrighteousness

of men.

On

that great

day of

judgment,

you will

not be

able to

stand

before

God

and

make

an

appeal

to

your

attempt

to

keep

his

law.

It

would

be

a

waste

of

breath.

I

believe

that

when

you

stand

before

him

on

that

day,

you

won't

try

to

make

an

appeal

to

your

attempt

to

keep

his

law.

For

by

works

of

the

law,

no

human

being

will

be

justified

in

his

sight.

The

law

makes

us

aware

of

our

failure,

of

our

sinfulness.

That's

the

bad

news.

On

that

great

day

of

judgment,

the

law

will

only

serve

to

show

you

guilty

for

your

failure

to

keep

it

perfectly.

So

we

must

make

our

appeal

elsewhere.

And

this

is

the

good

news

of

the

gospel.

And

we

will

be

unpacking

this

at

length

in

the

coming

months,

beginning

next

week.

But

we

can't

just

in

there.

Can

we?

What

is

the

appeal

I've

mentioned

already?

It's

the

person

and

the

work

of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

We

will

say,

look,

I

am

forgiven

and

clothed

in

the

righteousness

of

Christ.

Jesus

will

stand

there

in

approval

of

such

a

claim

if

we

are

in

fact

found

in

him.

And

so

let's

look

just

briefly

at

the

next

two

verses

beyond

today's

text.

Paul

has

completed

this

stage

in his

argument

and he's

moving on.

Remember,

still unpacking

this idea

of the

gospel

being the

righteousness

of God

for us.

A thing

that we

should be

proud of,

right?

That the

righteous

might live

by faith.

A faith

that's given

to us

as a

gift

in

Christ.

So he

says

in verse

21,

but now

the

righteousness

of

God,

it's

God's

righteousness,

has been

manifested

apart

from the

law.

The

righteousness

of God

has been

manifested

apart

from the

law.

He is

referring

to

Jesus

Christ's

perfect

law

keeping.

It has

been

made

manifested.

It has

been shown

in

Christ.

Although

the

law

and

the

prophets

bear

witness

to

it.

The

law

and

the

prophets,

the whole

New Testament,

point us

to

Christ

and His

righteousness,

the righteousness

of

God.

The

righteousness

of God

through

faith

in Jesus

Christ

for all

who

believe.

And this

is the

cost

of

justification

that we

would merely

turn from

our sin

and place

our faith

in the

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

That we

would

understand

that yes,

apart from

Him,

I am

altogether

unworthy.

I am

totally

depraved

apart

from

Christ.

I do

not

seek

good.

I am

part of

the no

one

that Paul

here

is talking

about.

But yet,

through

faith

in

Christ,

I can

be

declared

righteous

before

God,

accepted

into

His

loving

arms

forever.

Let's

pray

together.