Bible Study Romans Part 59-Under Sin

Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel.

God's Word is supreme at Chapel Ministries.

We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God.

We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day.

The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold, and we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture.

Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible.

It will be a challenging journey, but one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision.

Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us.

It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word.

We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death.

In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death.

Never treat what God has said lightly.

There is truly nothing more important to you.

Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word.

Most people that pick up a study of Paul's letter churches and sermons and lessons, it takes them years to do it.

It's already taken us more than a year, and we're only into the third chapter.

So we expect this is going to take us several years, and that's fine.

This is education.

This is Christianity University, as I said sometime before.

We are learning so much about what it is like to be a Christian and why we have to be a Christian.

As I said, we are in the middle of the third chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans.

Let's pick it up where we left off last time.

We're up to verse 9.

I'm going to read verse 9 real quick, just as a reminder, whenever you hear me reading a verse, it's out of the King James Version.

Why do you tell us that all the time?

Because the King James Version is not very common.

So if you're listening to me and you're following along in your own Bible and it seems quite a bit different, now you know why.

I use a very old version of the English language Bible.

I seem to enjoy it.

I think it's closer to the original than most of the other translations, but that doesn't mean anything.

The Bible in front of you is probably a good rendition of the original as well.

Verse 9 of Romans 3.

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.

The Bible is telling you that we are all by birth members of the kingdom of sin.

Sin has authority over us.

We are born into the realm of sin.

All of us, not some Jews, not some Gentiles.

Paul says, all Jews and all Gentiles.

He says they are all under sin.

Everyone is under sin, under its authority, subject to its whims and liable for those things it is liable for.

We are all born citizens of the kingdom of the world, the kingdom of sin.

Look, this isn't all that difficult to understand.

We're used to it.

I was born in Garden City, Michigan, which immediately tells you that I am a U.S.

citizen by birth and subject to all the rights and responsibilities afforded to all Americans.

If Russia declared war on the United States, then I, as someone under the authority of the U.S., would immediately be considered an enemy to Russia.

I have nothing against the Russians.

They shouldn't have anything against me personally, but I am a member of the United States by birth.

Listen, it doesn't matter if I feel Russian.

It doesn't matter if I want to be under someone else's authority.

Doesn't matter if I like to act as if I was under Spanish authority.

I was born in America, and that makes me an American.

Therefore, as an American, whatever happens to America, happens to me.

When the kingdom of the world, the kingdom of sin, the realm of sin, is exiled in the end, everyone who is under it, everyone who is still a citizen of the kingdom of sin, under its authority, subject to it, is going with it.

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, 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.

You know, I can't help but to think that this passage is a crossroad.

If you're not sure yet whether or not you can trust the Bible, this is where you're going to have to make a decision.

Listen, there are few statements in Scripture with this much clarity.

This is one of the most direct, most unmistakable declarations in the entire Bible.

They are all gone out of the way.

They are together become unprofitable.

There is none that doeth good.

No, not one.

This is a statement that can be interpreted in no other way than the way it sounds.

They are all gone out of the way.

They are together become unprofitable.

There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Plain, simple, inflexible.

Now I would concede that one might be able to present the fairly cogent argument that in places what's presented to us in this book takes some effort to understand.

I admit there are some passages in the Bible that can be difficult to unravel.

The language is sometimes complicated, the context is often murky, the subject matter occasionally elusive.

In our journeys through Scripture, we've together come across some sections that are challenging.

Sometimes we have to decide between two or more possible interpretations.

This is not one of those.

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, 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.

Listen, there's no fence sitting here.

There is absolutely no way to look at this section of scripture and say you're still not sure about it.

To accept the Bible as the right and true word of God means you have to accept the claims of this section.

And if you don't accept the claims of this section, you have no business calling yourself a Christian.

Wait a second, John.

I consider myself a Christian, but it's just that I don't base my beliefs on the Bible.

Then what do you base your beliefs on beliefs on?

Your own opinion, the opinion of the church?

Those things are human in nature, but God's word is divine.

To choose any opinion over God's word invalidates your claim to be a Christian.

A true Christian stands on the statement forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Psalm one nineteen eighty-nine.

Heaven is a permanent place, and anything that's settled there is settled permanently.

Meaning everything that is said in this book, no matter how far back it was written, is valid right now.

All that God's word contains is as eternal and unchanging as heaven.

The word of God is everlastingly established.

The opinions of God are fixed.

When you choose the opinions of men, you are doing nothing more than being a philosopher, and there are less fewer, less permanent and inexact malleable sciences than philosophy.

What humans think today is not what they think tomorrow.

Human viewpoints change as often as the wind.

And trying to stand on human reasoning is as foolish as standing up in a canoe on the ocean.

I've come across plenty of people who reject the idea that the Bible is the Word of God.

Some of those will try and tell me that it's nothing more than a collection of superstitions cobbled together over many centuries.

Now, I don't have much to say to that crowd.

They probably wouldn't listen to what I have to say, anyways.

And then there are those who will give, you know, some of the Bible their respect.

They've, in essence, decided, or perhaps they agree with someone they think is smart who has decided that there are parts of the Bible that are okay, parts of the Bible that's, you know, good enough to be counted on.

Some of it contains truth.

But then there are other parts which they have deemed unacceptable.

You've heard all the reasons they use, haven't you?

It's not scientific enough, it's unsophisticated, it's outdated, it's primitive.

The new one is the Bible is bigoted.

Everything is bigoted now for some reason.

But to reject this section of scripture for any reason completely nullifies your claim to a Christian identity.

In fact, if you don't accept what this says, you're not a worshiper of the God of the Bible.

And whoever you worship is a false God.

That has been, this has been God's message since the garden.

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.

This is the foundation statement of the Bible.

This is the why of the Bible.

It is because these verses are true that we need a savior.

That's why they're here.

Paul is trying to convince us that we're in trouble, that we're in need of a rescue.

The entire Bible, listen to me, is the story of Jesus coming to change the fact that there is none righteous, no, not one.

The Old Testament prepared us for it, and the New Testament, and the New Testament gave witness to it.

To not believe what Romans 3, 10 through 12 says leaves the whole rest of Scripture in a chaotic state.

If you set out to read the book, Gone with the Wind, but decide to skip the part about the Civil War because you find it unpleasant or difficult to accept, then none of the rest of the story will make any sense.

The American Civil War is the background of Ms.

Mitchell's masterpiece.

The universality of sin, as the theologians call it, forms the basis for all of what we read in the Bible.

It's the reason for all of God's interactions with mankind going all the way back to the expulsion from the garden.

Why did God set aside the people of Israel for Himself?

Because there is none righteous, know not one.

There's none that understandeth, there's none that seeketh after God, they are all gone out of the way, they have become together become unprofitable.

There is none that doeth good, no not one.

Why did Moses go up on Mount Sinai?

Because 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.

Why was the Son of God born in the manger in Bethlehem?

Because 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.

This is getting kind of tedious.

How do you think God feels?

And why was Jesus crucified, died, was buried, and rose on the third day?

You guessed it.

Because 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.

This is why Paul is telling us this.

He isn't just scolding us, he's telling us this is our condition.

This is what's happened to us since the expulsion from the garden.

These three verses and the several following them right up until verse 18 are actually quotations from God's word.

These are things God has said.

Now, in some cases, Paul's rendition renditions are a little less than verbatim references to these Old Testament passages.

Now, quickly, let me say there are more than a few scholars who have difficulty with Paul's scriptural allusions.

They much prefer he use direct quotes, but he doesn't always.

You are going to find that there are a lot of Bible snobs in the world.

They insist that everyone should be able to directly quote scripture from memory.

In fact, they'll consider you less than adequate if you can't do that.

Now, I'm not saying Paul can't quote scripture word for word off the top of his head, but he doesn't always do so.

Of course he can, but he doesn't.

And as I said, that bothersome people.

They think that if you're going to say as it is written, you should deliver a direct quote.

When Paul said, as it is written in verse 10, and then commenced to quote the Old Testament through verse 18.

Some critics insist that he should have done so word for word.

Well, there are two things to say about that.

First of all, the reason these don't all look like direct quotes is that he isn't quoting the King James.

He is, for the most part, citing the Septuagint, the Greek language version of the Old Testament.

There are differences between the good old King James and the much older Septuagint.

In Paul's letter to the Romans, he was rendering the scriptural references in a way that would have been familiar to his audience.

The most widely used version of the Word of God in Paul's day wasn't the Hebrew language one, it was the Greek language one.

But those that know the Septuagint well will argue that that actually doesn't explain all of Paul's references in these nine verses.

There are actually some quotes that don't even precisely match the Septuagint.

And by the way, this is not an unusual critique of Paul's letters.

He doesn't always grab the quotes word for word from any translation.

So that's one reason I forgive Paul and is less than exact as it is written, quotes.

He's referencing versions of scripture that we aren't all that familiar with, the Septuagint and the original Hebrew.

Listen, our ignorance of those texts makes us suspicious of these ones, and it shouldn't.

Several experts say that given the language and the context, a better translation of verse 10 goes something like this: as it is written that there is none righteous, no, not one, etc.

He never intended to give a direct quote under this theory.

He was simply offering a summary or a conclusion of these relevant passages.

Some of his summaries were verbatim and some were just really good approximations.

Now, one final comment along these lines before we go back to our analysis.

When I go off script while teaching the Bible, you should be wary and cautious of what I'm saying.

If your beloved pastor at your church is using the word of God in a slightly askew way, listen circumspectly.

Same thing goes for anything Franklin Graham or the Pope or the Archbishop of Canterbury says.

If they decide to veer off, thus saith the Lord, be careful.

But when an inspired, chosen author decides to expand and enhance what's been written, I suggest you don't complain nor criticize.

You see, the entire time Paul was writing his scriptural documents, the Holy Spirit was in charge, leading the way.

Any criticism of Paul, therefore, is a criticism of the Spirit of God, and that's probably not a good idea.

Okay, back to Romans for sure this time.

What then?

Are we better than they?

Paul is speaking as a Jew to the Jews, and that's why he uses the word we, or rather, the Greek equivalent.

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.

Truly one of the clearest statements of the human condition in any piece of literature.

All are under sin.

There's no way to work your way around this statement.

The original Greek is ironclad and not subject to interpretation.

And yet, there are still some who preach and teach philosophies that are in direct opposition.

To what this says.

No doubt you've heard humanists say that, well, only some people become sinners, though they don't like to use that ugly word.

They believe and advocate for a position that states that we're all born innocent, while admitting that some do go bad, but only because of a variety of factors outside their control, you know, poverty, oppression, abuse.

Modern-day sociologists espouse the view that at its core, the race of human, the race of mankind is a noble one, that deep down we're all good and kind and pure, and that we just need the right combination of environmental factors to bring our higher natures to the surface.

And let me tell you, some of the most enthusiastic champions of this viewpoint work from behind the walls of the church.

In fact, they'll try and convince you that this is God's view of mankind.

They push the idea that God wants to, you know, release the saintly inner man in all of us, that he's doing all he can to lift up the true virtuous spirit of the sons of Adam.

And the only way they can push that agenda, the only way they can push that theory is to sway you away from reading your Bible.

Of course, that's not easy to do.

Even in our day, it still wouldn't be a very good look for them if they came right out and criticized Scripture too harshly.

Certainly, they can't tell you to outright disregard it.

I mean, after all, they have to at least hold up the guise that they're Christian.

And at the moment, that means at least feigning a little reverence for the Bible.

But the problem they face is that the Bible is at odds with their stance.

They want you to believe that mankind is good at heart and not born sinners, not born under sin.

So they're sort of forced to spoon feed you out of context passages that seem to support their position, which again isn't easy because there aren't a whole lot of those in this book.

But I guess isolating a few passages, putting a slight twist on them might help them push their agenda, but very few.

And that's why you'll probably hear the same ones over and over again.

But let me tell you, my answer to every one of those folks, my question to every one of those folks is what do you make of Romans 3:9?

Romans 3:9

Tell me how you can reconcile your worldview with what Paul says in this verse.

We have before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.

Oh, well, you know, Paul wasn't really serious.

I mean, besides, this is a translation.

When those Puritans in charge of the King James Version got a hold of this part of the original Greek manuscripts, they decided to darken it.

They wanted to scare everyone into moral obedience, so they distorted Paul's words and made it sound so ominous.

All right, let's see.

Paul says that he and his fellow apostles have before proven.

When he said we have before proven, he meant he and his fellow apostles.

The original is probably better translated previously or accused, per previously accused or charged.

In other words, in answer to the question as to whether Paul thinks Jews are superior to Gentiles, he says, go back and check my record.

In the past, I've already said that both Jew and Greek.

And then he throws in a word intended to clarify.

I've already said, Paul speaking, that both Jew and Greek indeed all are under sin.

He used the word all to make sure no one gets the impression that someone's going to slip through, that somehow this doesn't apply to everyone.

He wants everyone to know that's reading this letter, he's leaving no one out of this accusation.

All are under sin.

One of the things I love most about the Bible is that there are no gray areas, no room for interpretation, no cliffhangers, no beating around the bush.

The English word all comes up all the time because the Greek equivalent comes up all the time.

And it's one of the most precise words in the Bible.

It's only three letters.

It's pronounced poorly by me.

Pas.

I love to cover this word with you because it is so important in the Bible.

I said it only has three letters.

You can't even make a compound word out of it.

Greeks love the compound words.

You can't do that here.

There are three letters.

It's impossible to cross-interpret this.

According to the Complete Word Study Dictionary, PAS means, quote, a totality or a whole includes the idea of oneness.

Strong's dictionary, in its definition of this word, uses terms like all, every any.

Thayer's dictionary says each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything.

It looks like when Paul said all, he left no one out.

Not your dear sweet granny, not Mother Teresa, not the Pope, not Billy Graham.

All are under sin.

So what does under sin mean?

Now we've covered some of this already, but there's always something else popping out at us.

This is one of the most amazing statements of the Bible because it's so complete.

The way this phrase under sin is structured in Greek grammar, it actually tells the story of Adam and Eve and all of us who are descendants of them.

Of course, that's why the word pos all in the English is there.

The phrase applies to everyone.

And then when a native Greek speaker reads these words under sin, as originally written, they get the impression of, you ready?

Motion.

The sense that's conveyed in this statement is that the subject, all, goes from one place to under sin.

There's a sense of motion, there's a sense of movement.

The impression that's given is that there was once a condition outside of being under sin, but that all changed as the subject all moved, had motion toward being under sin.

That's exactly what the Bible tells us everywhere.

In the very beginning, mankind was placed outside of sin.

But because of the fall, we were then shifted or moved toward under sin.

And there's nothing you can do to change that.

You yourself cannot change that.

This is the point of the Bible is to tell you that you are under a condition, not something that's temporary.

Your originally born nature is under sin.

You human beings have were originally designed to be outside sin and you moved under it.

Adam and Eve were created perfect.

All of their offspring were supposed to be perfect, but sin entered in and we all moved under it.

Now we're gonna stay with this topic until I think we've fully got it.

You will not be able to properly understand Scripture without getting this firmly entrenched in your mind.

We're gonna get back at it next time, so please join us.

See you then.

God's word is a great treasure, and it's our belief that a thorough, purposeful study of it will bring all of God's children to an understanding of his eternal plan of redemption.

It is our prayer that this will be so for all of our listeners.

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