Romans 3:23-25: A Converation About Our Greatest Problem

Walmart in China - Pets in the food section? A problem… Traveled the world - We are all different - different languages, skin color, customs, preferences, values, etc.

We focus on differences - BUT we tend to forget that we all have one thing in common - apart from the grace of God, we are all objects of God’s wrath - separated from God from birth. That’s a problem! Apart from God’s grace, every person’s destiny is hell.

Are we convinced that’s humanity’s biggest problem? Humanity’s biggest problem is not the threat of nuclear war, global recession, world hunger, a deadlier variant of COVID, etc. It’s separation from God.

You point the finger out and say, “That’s my problem… If I could get that problem to go away, life would be better.” However, your greatest problems are not the problems around you, it’s the problem inside of you: sin.

Sin is the problem that is behind every other problem. Sin is what has broken this world. If you do not deal with your sin own problem, you will stand before a perfect, sinless God, the judge of the universe, condemned to eternal punishment.

If we are going to have effective Gospel conversations we must talk with people about their sin. A tough conversation – Because if we’re going to tell people the good news – it starts with very bad news. I want to share bad news with you – three truths about our sin – but I’ll also share with you good news and some ways we can talk about our biggest problem with people far from God.

We have all rebelled against God.

Romans 1-3 depressing – shows us the depth of our problem. Ch. 1 – Jewish believers would have said, “Preach it Paul.” They knew that pagan Gentiles were wicked because of their rejection of God. Romans 1 – A good, holy, and just God created us in His image to worship Him. We were created to bring honor and glory to God. But, we did not honor God. (Rom. 1:21) Instead of worshipping God, we rebelled. We refused to honor Him. Now, every person is under the wrath of God. (Rom 1:18)

If you were a Jew, the truth of the sinfulness of humanity resonated with you. Jewish saw that paganism all around them. They saw how evil gentiles were. Thankfully, the Jews were far better off than the Gentiles, or were they?

Chap. 2- 3 – Paul addresses the Jews. The Jews thought they were spiritually superior to the Gentiles. Paul to the Jews: “You have no spiritual advantage because of your ethnicity. You are just as guilty before God as pagan Gentiles.”

Romans 3:10-18 – Paul takes the Jews back to their OT to prove to them their sinfulness – it’s masterful. “Your own Bible speaks against you…”

What is sin? Sin is rebellion against God. It’s to miss the mark. It is continual rebellion against God’s standard. It’s to repeatedly miss the mark. (Romans 3:23 - to “fall short of the glory of God.” - Sin is to INTENTIONALLY miss the mark. Romans 1). (Ill. Target or bullseye)

Why would all of humanity rebel against a good and loving God? Why would we choose to intentionally miss the mark? Because we’re aiming for another mark - We’re aiming for the bullseye we’ve created - What makes me happy?

Obsession with self. (The sin in the garden – I don’t want to worship God, I want to be God.) Truth: You think about you and what you want more than you think about God and His will. We are far more obsessed with self than we are with God. The essence of sin is an obsession with self:

We are self-centered. I’ll live for what I want instead of what God wants.

We are self-indulgent. Give me the desires of my heart instead of the desires of God’s heart.

We are self-confident. I can do all things in my own strength and will-power instead of confident in Christ.

We are constantly trying to build self-esteem. Trying to create self-importance. “I’m important because…” instead of, “I find my worth in Christ. He builds me up.”

In our obsession with self, we turn to self-righteousness. “I can make myself right with God.” But no person can make himself right with God. In fact, the law of God – which shows us God’s standard ultimately shows us how we do not measure up to His standard (3:20). No hope in self-righteousness.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-landscapers-make-bizarre-discovery-under-lawn-homeowner-had-no-idea (In our obsession with self we attempt to bury our sin problem.)

We are all separated from God.

Romans 3:23 – all have sinned. Sin has tainted every part of our lives. Nothing we can do can put us in a right relationship with God because we have made ourselves enemies of God. (Romans 5:10) If you are not living for God, you are living in opposition to God. We are separated from God. (Sin is more than an oops… Outright defiance… Ill. – Getting into the wrong Tribute)

Enemy of God? But I’m not that bad! But the reality is, one sin, no matter how small we might classify it, against an infinitely holy God is infinitely serious before God, causing infinite separation from God. One sin – any sin – involves looking in the face of God and saying, “Your law is not good, my judgment is better, your authority does not apply in my life, I am above your jurisdiction, and I defy you; I insult your holiness.” This is what’s involved in one sin, and we have committed millions of sins. What we think is a relatively minor issue is actually an infinitely major problem.

Sin separates us from God – and the truth is – that’s what we want! Because of our sin, our natural instinct is to be as far away from God as possible. We want to be away from His holiness because His holiness reveals how sinful we are – this was the response of Adam and Eve – when they sin they experienced (Fruit of sin…):

Guilt – God has given us a conscience, a sense of right and wrong. When you sin, you feel the guilt. “I shouldn’t have.” “I shouldn’t have lied. I shouldn’t have gossiped. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. I shouldn’t have…” (Think Adam and Eve in the garden. When they rebelled against God their immediate response was, “I shouldn’t have.”)

Shame –to be humiliated or embarrassed. You’ve been embarrassed by your sin. Shame is, “I don’t like what you think of me because of my sin.” Shame before God and shame before other people. Adam and Eve shamed – nakedness.

Fear –I fear what my sin will do to me – I fear the consequences. I fear God. I fear what others think of me.

Do you see the irony? Sin is the very thing that we pursue to give us joy, satisfaction, and a sense of purpose. BUT that’s not the FRUIT of sin. Sin paralyzes us with guilt, shame, and fear. A life of rebellion is a life of separation and a life of no peace.

We are all dead without God.

Apart from Christ we are helpless - Romans 6:23 – The wages of sin is death. We get what we deserve – spiritual death. If God is just, He must punish sin. (Ephesians 2:1 – We were dead in our trespasses and sins.)

We are completely unable to bring ourselves out of our spiritual death. Getting religious won’t do it. (Romans 3:20) IT TAKES A MIRACLE TO ESCAPE SPIRITUAL DEATH – Righteousness manifested apart from the law. (Rom. 3:21) ROMANS 3:24 IS THE MIRACLE.

All are justified (made right - a legal declaration) by grace as a gift. God put forward His Son as propitiation (atoning sacrifice). God’s wrath directed at us, but at the cross, Jesus willingly took the wrath of God for us. He suffered. He died, then He rose so we could be redeemed – forgiven – and given life. This is the Gospel – have you believed? Have you turned from your self-obsession and turned to the One who can give you peace? The One who removes your guilt, shame, and fear?

How do we talk about sin with those who are far from God?

Walk through first two circles of 3 circles explaining how to present the Gospel using the first two circles.

Look for open doors into the conversation - any time you see someone suffering, it’s an open door for a Gospel conversation. In someone’s suffering you can always say, “I’ve been there too...”

1. Speak with love knowing that all are sinners but all are made in the image of God. The person I don’t want to share the Gospel with is the person I need to share the Gospel with. Some people we give up on or would not dare to reach out to… Every person has worth in the eyes of God. God has uniquely created every person on the face of the planet, so every person deserves respect and kindness and every person needs an opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus. Even that person who you think is the most hardened sinner is made in the image of God. Speak with love even to those people who are hard to love.

2. Speak of brokenness. I like to talk about the effects of sin not only on the lives of individuals but on the world as a whole. Most people will agree with you that this world is not right, and that gives you an opportunity to explain why this world isn’t right.

3. Speak humbly but not lightly. Turn or burn might not be the most effective way to speak about sin, but we can’t gloss over sin or pretend like it’s not an issue. When speaking with people about sin, speak about your own sin. Talk about how you have seen the effects of sin in your own life. We’ve all struggled with the fruit of sin: guilt, shame, and fear. Let’s not reduce the Gospel to simply asking Jesus into your heart or going to heaven. The only proper response to the Gospel is to turn from sin. People need to know that their biggest problem in life is a sin problem. Speaking with your children: help them to understand their sin and look for conviction in their lives.

4. Speak of desperation. Self-help books will not alleviate guilt and shame. Going to church will not alleviate guilt and shame. Turning to drugs and alcohol will not take away the pain caused by sin. Trying to run from the problems caused by your sinful choices will not alleviate guilt and shame. The only One who alleviates all of the pain associated with sin is Jesus. He really does heal sinful hearts. Help people to understand their desperate need for a Savior. Help people understand that He really is the only hope.

Gospel for you: Some in this room needs to believe the Gospel today. That your sin has separated you from God, but He has given you a gift in the death and resurrection of Jesus.