despite any arguments – you are a sinner (romans 3:1-20 june 12, 2011) · 2018. 3. 12. · 1...

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Despite Any Arguments – You Are A Sinner (Romans 3:1-20 June 12, 2011)

I am sure you have been there before. You are sharing the gospel – and all is going well until you tell them that they are a sinner. That little nugget doesn’t sit too well. Then they begin to understand more fully exactly what you mean. That they – the one who helps on the P & C, only two speeding tickets in six years, pays their taxes, works hard for their family – that in God’s eyes – they are just as despicable as a paedophile. That really does not sit well. Some just walk away. Some will argue the point. It seems that our fallen hearts have become so hardened that it refuses to allow us to see the truth of how lost we are. I well remember going on a mission trip to Mexico – and there I met a US citizen. He had committed a crime in the US and fled to Mexico. He lived in a cardboard box on a rubbish dump. He had been there for fifteen years. He had lost a leg to infection – he looked horrible. I shared the gospel with him until I got to the part about sin. He became indignant. This refugee from the Law – literally living in a garbage dump – could not ever imagine that he was a sinner before God. He refused to even consider this possibility. He might be on the run from the law – but he was not Hitler – he had not molested children – and that was his standard for sin – so he was no sinner.

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The tragedy is that ultimately – if someone is to come to Christ – they have to come to the point of understanding the depth of their sin. The Law helps us see our sin. And thus it becomes a point of fierce debate. But it is not just non-Christians who struggle with the Law. The Christian church is filled with debates on sin and Law. One of the five points of Calvinism is total depravity – but there are fierce arguments about how total our depravity is. One of the hottest, most debated – and without doubt – most difficult areas of disagreement among Christians has to do with the Old Testament Law – why it was given – how much applies today – how Christians relate to it. Seventeen years ago I read a book entitled The Law, the Gospel and the Modern Christian: Five Views. This book examines five views on the relationship between Christians and the Mosaic Law. Even when it was first written in 1993 – you could have entitled it – The Law, the Gospel and the Modern Christian: Fifty-Five Views – and this would only be scratching the surface of this subject. And to complicate matters – in the last decade a new movements in Christianity – generally titled – the new perspectives on Paul – have arisen – adding multiple views on the Law and righteousness that were not even discussed twenty years ago. This week I experienced some of the confusion on this topic first hand. I had multiple emails and discussions on this subject after last week’s sermon. I understand a number of the homegroups had very interesting discussions. Depending on the type of church you were raised in – how deeply you have studied this subject – many here would have quite different understandings of how relevant the Law is to us today. All this to say that this is not the easiest subject to tackle. However – let me make things a little easier. As we will see this morning – after answering some objections the Jews had to his teaching – Paul just drops the hammer – despite any arguments – you are a sinner. When you tear away the layers of debate – that is the one inescapable point. For some weeks now we have been looking at Romans 1:18-3:20.

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Sin: Law Condemns Every Man (1:18–3:20) Paul sums this thought up in the last verse of this section – Romans 3:20:

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

The result is this:

Not one person in hell will accuse God of unfairness – because they deserve hell – and they will know it.

The Law shows every person what the standard of God is. No one keeps the Law – everyone fails the standard. The result is that every man and woman is lost – and on the final day, they will know that they fully deserve the wrath of God. We also looked at the fact that Gentiles and Jews are without excuse.

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We began by looking at 1:18–32 – the law of creation and conscience renders Gentiles without excuse. A Gentile here refers to anyone who is not raised with the Law of Moses. But, what Paul shows is that on the final day – they cannot say – but I did not know my behaviour was wrong. Paul says that in the creation – God revealed that there is a Creator and that all men owe allegiance to this Creator. They know enough to honour Him and give thanks to Him. There is abundant evidence of God in creation. The heavens declare His glory. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Every flower and star and animal screams – Creator. But every single man and woman has chosen to turn from honouring the Creator God to serving idols. And as we saw two weeks ago – God also gave every one of us a conscience – a knowledge of certain rights and wrongs. An understanding that the Creator called us to behave according to His moral standards. But Paul notes that everyone chose not to live according to that knowledge. We suppress this revelation of right and wrong because of the sin and wickedness of our hearts. Part of the fall is that we fail to realise how lost, how corrupt, how sinful we actually are. But, because we have a conscience – on the final day – the Law of creation and conscience will render every Gentile without excuse. They knew enough of the law of God – they simply chose not to obey it. But before any Jew can judge them – Paul turns to them in Chapter 2:1-3:20 and says – the Law of Moses renders you without excuse. This would not have gone down at all well. Suffice it to say – that when Jesus and Paul began to teach on the Law – their view of the Law was something absolutely radical to the Jewish mind. I told you last week that when we read through Scripture – with the greater light of the New Testament – it becomes clear that The Lord gave the Law to Israel for three main reasons:

1. To display the utter holiness of God.

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Leviticus 19:2:

You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. You have entire books of the Law – such as Leviticus – designed to show the absolute holiness of God. He is untouched by any taint of sin.

2. To display the utter sinfulness of man.

The Law was designed to show man that by his own righteousness – he could never achieve the holiness of God. The holiness of God is the standard – the Law shows how far short of that we fall. Romans 3:20:

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3. To display the utter grace of God.

The Law showed the holiness of God and man’s sin. Man could not keep the Law. There is no way for man to become holy through the Law. But the Law pointed to a way of salvation apart from the Law. Matthew 11:13:

For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. Every part of the Law – the sacrifices, the Temple, the Feasts, the furniture of the Tabernacle – in prophetic and typological ways they – pointed to the coming of Christ. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:17:

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfil.

How? Romans 3:21–22:

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

The Law showed no man can live in the presence of a holy God – but it also pointed to the utter grace of God in providing a way of salvation apart from the Law. If a typical first century Jew were asked to respond to this argument – he might say:

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1. I can accept your first point – the Law does display the utter holiness of God.

Leviticus makes that clear. As for your second point – I would change one word. Instead of displaying the utter sinfulness of man – I would say:

2. The Law displays the relative sinfulness of man.

Surely you must agree that there are degrees of sinfulness which makes sin relative. Some men are evil – paedophiles, rapists, murderers. Surely they are relatively more sinful than men and women who strive to keep the Law – the Pharisees for example? It makes no sense to say Charles Manson is as evil as Mother Theresa.

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Here is the point – no Jew would deny that compared to the perfect holiness of God they were sinful. It is simply that in their mind – the Law was given as a guide to holiness – so those who keep more of it are holier. It is like putting all humanity on a bell curve. Those who strive for holiness are in – the rest fail to make it. For all their self-righteousness – the Pharisees did strive to keep the Law. That is why the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus set the standard as perfect holiness – as perfect as God the Father – met with such resistance. They understood that Jesus was lumping them as no better than prostitutes and tax gatherers and Gentiles – before a perfectly holy God. This idea of relative sinfulness leads to the third point. Instead of the Law displaying the utter grace of God – they would argue that the Law displays the path to God.

If you keep enough of the Law – become righteous enough – are far enough along the bell curve – that is the way to God. In a sense the Law is a roadmap. They knew no one was perfect – but keep enough and you make it to heaven. It is precisely on these second and third points that Jesus and Paul were so emphatic in their teaching. Man is utterly sinful and something other than the Law is needed for man to get to heaven. But this teaching was unacceptable to Jewish ears for many reasons. And these ears included some Jews who had come to Christ. They still felt that it was crucial for Gentiles to enter Israel to receive the promise.

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There were probably twenty or thirty main arguments as to why Paul’s unfolding of the Law was unacceptable to Jews or to these misguided Jewish Christians – but in Romans 3:1-8 Paul answers three of these objections. He puts forward three objections to his teaching that a Jew might pose to Him and then he answers them. The questions a Jew might pose to Paul are that his teaching seems to indicate that:

1. Jewish sin negates the call of Israel.

2. Jewish sin negates the covenant with Israel.

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•  Jewish'sin'negates'the'covenant'with'Israel

•  Jewish'sin'negates'the'judgment'of'Israel




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3. Jewish sin negates the judgment of Israel.

To see how this fleshes out – turn with me to Romans 3:1:

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Paul has just been arguing the Law condemns all men – both Jews and Gentiles. Romans 2:9:

There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek.

Romans 2:11–12:

For God shows no partiality. 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.

The question a Jew would raise is this. This seems to teach that:

1. Jewish sin negates the call of Israel.




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If we are no different to the Gentiles – then what advantage is there in being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Why did God go to all the trouble of choosing Israel – making them His special people – giving them the covenant, circumcision, the Law? If we are condemned just like all the Gentiles – then in what way are we the chosen people? Do we occupy no special place in the plan of God? If all men are lost – if giving us the Law did not change that – then why go to that trouble? We had creation and conscience to condemn us – why add the Law? This idea of there being no distinction between Jew and Gentile cannot be right. Paul counters this in verse 2:

[What advantage is there in being a Jew] Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

Being a Jew was a great privilege. In Romans 9:4–5 Paul lists some of the privileges:

They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Here he focuses just on one of the great privileges – the Law. The Jews were right that the giving of the Law made them special. Deuteronomy 4:8:




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And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

Psalm 147:19–20:

He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD!

They have the Law. The Law told them about the utter holiness of God, their sinfulness and if they had ears to see it would point to the utter grace of God in Christ. This made them special. The problem is not with the Law but with what Israel did with it. They failed to understand that it pointed to Messiah. They tried to earn their way to heaven through it. It is not that the Law failed – it is what they did with the Law. It is a bit like you winning a free trip to England. A letter in the mail arrives saying – go to Harvey World Travel and collect your ticket. But you turn up at the airport with your letter – not the tickets. The Law does not save – it points to Christ who does save. That is a great advantage. So Paul moves to the next question. They say that Paul seems to teach that:

2. Jewish sin negates the covenant with Israel.




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Romans 3:3:

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

Paul, we agree that some Jews were unfaithful – but does this negate the covenant God made with Israel and therefore make Him unfaithful? Here is the argument – God made promises to Abraham and to Moses and to David. Each of them were unfaithful – yet the covenant remained in place. Psalm 89 is an entire Psalm that speaks of the faithfulness of God even though Israel was unfaithful. Listen to Psalm 89:29–37:

I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens. If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules, if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.

But here is the problem with this argument. Paul never argues that the covenant has failed – far from it. He argues that the Jews misunderstood the covenant. The Jews assumed that the covenant with God was one whereby the Law could save them. If this were the case – then unfaithfulness would negate the covenant. In reality – the covenant was one that pointed to the coming Messiah who would do what the Law could not. And this covenant did not rely in any way on the faithfulness of Israel. God would send Jesus despite the sin of Israel. Chapters 9-11 of Romans expands on this theme later. But there is one other point that the Jews forget. God’s word does not just speak of covenantal blessings – it speaks of judgment. And the same God whose yes is yes and no is no – will keep His word in judgment. Verse 4:

By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”

Even if every man were a liar – which we are – it does not change the fact that God’s word never changes – and while we don’t like to hear it – this includes judgment.

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Paul quotes from Psalm 51. This is the Psalm of confession and repentance David wrote after his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah – and then the unveiling of his sin by Nathan the prophet. Listen to verses 1-4:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

David knew that his sin would result in judgment – and God was entirely blameless to judge and punish him. Here is Paul’s point – we are quick to call on the faithfulness of God to overlook our sin – but we are not so quick to call on God to send judgment for our sin. The covenant that points to Christ is not invalidated by sin. But that same covenant also speaks of temporal blessings for faithfulness and curses for unfaithfulness and it speaks of judgment on sin eternally. That is what has to be dealt with. Men like to hear about a forgiving God – one who understands we are sinners and forgives us anyway. Men don’t like to hear about their sin – and they really don’t like to hear about judgment. I find it incredible how many Christians take a scissors and glue approach to the Bible. Grace – yes like that. God is my shepherd – good. Heaven – tick. Sin – don’t like that. Hell – definitely don’t like that – it is out. Judgment seat of God – out. Men find ways to explain away those parts of the Bible they don’t like or just ignore them. Paul says – you can’t pick and choose – the God who is faithful to Israel despite her sin – is the same God who says He will judge sin – and God is justified in judging our sin. That is why the Law cannot save and a salvation apart from the Law is needed. This brings us to the third and final question. They say that Paul seems to teach that:

3. Jewish sin negates the judgment of Israel.

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This whole argument is trying to say that if Paul is right – then logically God should not judge. Verse 5:

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)

Here is the argument. Paul you have argued that the Law shows the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. When we sin – it only serves to highlight the holiness of God – how utterly without sin He is. Abraham received the covenant – but he failed many times. He lied about Sarah – twice and failed at other critical times. Moses – took the glory from God and for that he did not enter the promised land. David was Israel’s greatest King – but he was an adulterer, a murderer and failed at other times. These men – great as they are deeply flawed – but their failures show the glory and perfection of God who never fails. By the time of the exile to Babylon – Israel had corrupt idol worshipping Kings with foreign harems – priests who worshipped the sun and committed lewd acts with temple prostitutes – and prophets who sought the gold, the glory and the girls. Their sin shows just how perfect God is.




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The argument is this. Paul if we are as deeply sinful and such failures as you suggest – then we are merely highlighting the perfection and holiness of God. Surely this is a good thing and we should be rewarded not punished. That would make God unrighteous to inflict wrath on us. But this is of course a merely human argument because we all know God is not unrighteous. But if He were He could not judge sin. Paul responds. Verse 6:

By no means! For then how could God judge the world? If God were unrighteous to punish sin – then there would be no judgment – and this could never be. Sin does highlight God’s grace in salvation – but this does lead to merit for us – but to glory for Him. But this whole argument is foolish – as Paul established in verse 4 – God said He would judge and He is righteous to judge. Holiness demands judgment. Verses 7-8:

But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

Paul then uses their own logic against them. Some were saying Paul’s gospel was a lie. But if this lie shows more clearly the holiness of God – if it abounds to His glory – then why are some calling Paul a sinner? And why not just teach – sin and do evil that good may come – as some slanderously charged Paul? Here is the logic. If we are all as depraved and lost as Paul says – and yet through Christ some are saved – why not sin in terrible ways to make our salvation all the more incredible so God gets even more glory. Won’t God get more glory from saving a drug using, murderous, paedophile – than a upstanding family man? Paul says – if you twist the gospel to make sin good – then your condemnation is just. God is holy – He hates sin – no twisted logic can undo that.

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Let me sum all of this up. You read through these verses – and they are not easy to follow. But the point is that some were wanting to undermine the gospel. They didn’t like being called sinners who are totally depraved. They didn’t like being told that Jews were as sinful as Gentiles. They didn’t like being told that their works cannot earn them a place in heaven. Do you know what all these arguments are? Attempts to escape the clear teaching of God that all men are sinners whose only hope is grace. We love to think our works contribute to our salvation. We love to think that on some level we are better than someone else. We find ways to argue that we are not as sinful as the Bible teaches. And these arguments all fail because – Scripture clearly teaches that all men – including Jews – are absolutely sinful and depraved. Paul does not want to argue every point – so he drops the hammer. He quotes the Old Testament – Psalms, 5, 10 14, 36 and 140 as well as Isaiah 59 – texts proving that all men are completely sinful – no exceptions. Romans 3:9–18: What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

“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.” “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.”

Read over these quotations from the Scriptures – they end any idea of relative sin – of human merit – of Jews being morally superior. “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.” There is not one Jew who is righteous – not one. He ends with: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” If you believe the Scriptures – these texts end the controversy – all men are condemned.

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These are quotations from the Law – the Old Testament – so Paul says – verse 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.

If you want to quote the Law – start here. Not one is righteous. No one does good – not one. Your mouth should be stopped from boasting and you should know that you will be held accountable before God. You have nothing to boast of – no righteousness of your own – nothing to present to God which would show that you are holy and worthy of heaven. Verse 20:


The Law is not a path to God – the Law condemns you and leaves you guilty before a holy God. Romans is not the easiest book of the Bible to read. Romans 3 is not the easiest chapter in Romans. The commentator – Frederick Godet said that Romans 3:1-8 is “one of the most difficult, perhaps, in the epistle.” You have to read these verses prayerfully and carefully – and even then they are difficult. So let me simplify them. There are many arguments to be had over the Law. The Jews had them – Christians have them. You can argue the nuances – but if you are honest – you have to conclude that the Bible teaches the utter holiness of God and the utter sinfulness of man. Paul has quoted a few Old Testament passages. He could have chosen another hundred or so. The point is this – through the Law – either the Law of Creation and conscience or the Law of Moses – not one will be justified. If anyone is going to get to heaven – it has to be through a righteousness apart from the Law. And that good news is where Paul heads next. But what can we draw from this week’s message. First, there are so many arguments about the Law – some helpful – some totally fruitless. Wherever you come to – the main point Paul wants to hammer home is that the Law shows us who we are – sinners condemned before a holy God.

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Argue all you want – the Bible is clear – the Law condemns every man. We might not want to hear that – but that is our condition. And this is a good thing. Because it is only when we know how sick we are that we will accept the cure. There were great advantages to the Jews having the Law – but the Law could not save. They had to realise that before they would turn to Christ. In the West – we have to be careful. Our Laws are based on the Ten Commandments. And this is a source of great advantage. But if we fail to grasp that the result is that it shows that we are all condemned sinners – men and women who need Christ – then our advantage becomes the very thing that will condemn us most loudly on the final day. Second, in evangelism – men and women hate to hear they are sinners. They want to grade on the curve – and put themselves in the category of relatively good. We can learn from Paul – answer some of their objections – but finally we have to drop the hammer – 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. This is a truth from which we cannot retreat. Third, there are lessons here for raising our children. Children raised in a church setting tend to default to a Jewish view of Law – they think – I am relatively sinful. They compare themselves to others at school or in the world and without even realizing it – come to the conclusion that morally they are not too bad.

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So when they hear the gospel – it doesn’t resonate. They don’t feel sinful. They don’t feel in need of a Saviour. I well remember one young lady raised in a church who told me – I know the Bible tells me I am a sinner – I just don’t think I am a sinner. That is why we have follow the lead of Jesus on the Sermon on the mount. Tell them – the standard is perfect holiness – as perfect as God. One sin – one lustful thought, one angry flash – and you are lost forever. We have to show them, teach them, tell them – they are sinners in need of salvation. Here ends the bad new. When you come to this point – you know you are condemned. The Law cannot save you – you cannot earn salvation – and then in verse 21 onwards – the good news comes. We can receive the righteousness from God apart from the Law. And after three chapters of being hammered about our sin – this grace comes as the most wonderful news any man or woman could ever hear.

despite any arguments – you are a sinner (romans 3:1-20 june 12, 2011) · 2018. 3. 12. · 1...

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