M. Kelly
May 19, 2013
Romans 3:9-18
A general overview of where Paul has been and where he is going in this passage. This is a review with a few thoughts about this passage.
Paul has set out to close every door of possibility of being justified before God. That is without blemish of any kind and complete obedience. We need perfect absolute and through righteousness to stand before God. Paul closes every door that we can stand just before God.
Justification is not through the law but in the gospel the righteousness of God has been revealed through Christ Jesus. Jesus points people to justification through obedience to the law time and time again when he is asked in the Gospels. This is our grand problem. Justification is through the law and no one can keep it perfectly! Later Paul says no one, no not one is righteous before God.
Paul closes the door on the self-righteousness and the religionist.
In chapter 3 he deals with the objections of the people. He continues in Chapter 3 to bring his point to a head so that he can launch into the Gospel message.
Paul's whole point in Romans is righteousness.Paul's point is that we shall live by faith in the righteousness of Another's righteousness.
Paul closes every door to righteousness and shows the whole of the human race condemned before God.
Paul points to the Jews to their own Scriptures and tells them they have misunderstood their own Scriptures.
10-12 Paul points to the condition of all men
It's a willful condition. Not even one does good. Paul draws from Ps 14:1-3; Ps 53:1-3
13-17 Paul gathers these texts and deals with particular ways that the conditions of all man manifests.
Paul is repeating himself. Every one has turned aside.
Ps 10:7; Is.59:7-8; Ps 5:9;Ps140:3; Ps 10:7; Ps 36:1-4
18 He gives the reason why they act this way
Justification is by faith through Jesus Christ. Our righteousness is in Him alone.
The Jews misunderstood their own Scriptures and how often do we do the same?
Paul is building layer upon layer and closing up with brick and mortor the way of righteousness....Jesus is the only way! Man can not achieve it on his own.
Romans is about righteousness, wrath against righteousness, about the last day
We can know the verdict that will be handed down on the last day and then live in light of that verdict! Not guilty because of the work of Jesus Christ!
When we use the Bible as an answer book for questions that are not important we will dispair that it is any good for us at all.
The Gospel is about eternal salvation, righteousness, death. It is not about self help happiness!
Paul gives only one option. He closes all the other doors. It's a mercy, yet people want more options to choose from!
V9 "under sin"
We often define sin as individual acts. The real issue is the fountain from which our actions stream. What is the source of our actions? We see the symptoms in the individual acts of sin, but the real issue is what is the source of those actions?
Haughty eyes are the symptom of sin. What is the cause of the haughty eyes? We are under sin and quick to shed blood. The fountain of this source is corrupt and individual sins are but the streams that flow from the source. Individual actions of sin are actually the result of who we are. We are sinners. Sinning does not make men sinners. We sin because we are sinners. We are under sin.
It is because we are sinners and corrupt in nature is why there is none righteous not even one. There is none who seeks for God. Sins are not the problem, but our corrupt natures are the problem.
No part of human existence is without corruption in the nature. Man is incapable of performing one perfectly righteous act without spot. We see the doctrine of total depravity. It is most humbling. What is the doctrin of total depravity? What does it mean?
1. It does not mean that all men are equally bad or as bad as they could be.
2. It doesn't mean man doesn't know God's will
3. It doesn't mean they don't have a conscience
4. It doesn't mean they don't appreciate or have good qualities
5. It doesn't mean that men will engage in every sin to the greatest degree
6. It doesn't mean man can't perform civil righteousness or civil good.
(There was more but I couldn't type fast enough)
Example: One drop of poison in a glass of water corrupts the whole of the water in the glass. So with us, the whole is corrupted and tainted with sin.
Rom 2:14 There is relative/civil righteousness. Man is capable of civil righteousness. But everything that he does is tainted with sin. Nothing is thoughly pleasing to God that man does. We are not as bad as we could be!
The problem is our nature. Matt. 7:6-18
There is none righteous. We have all gone astray. We have all sinned. We are all sinners!
Rom. 8:7-8 those in the flesh can not please God!
Righteousness has to be determined vertically in term of God. It can't be determined horizontally in comparison to other people! God defines sin and righteousness, not us!
God is our righteousness and He can change us through the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation to all those who believe.
🌹🌺🌻Marsha🌻🌺🌹
He is the Α and Ω and everything in between. Îστιν ÏŒ Α Ω. (Revelation 22:13)
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