The Debate of Sin
Notes
Transcript
Romans 3:1–8 (KJV 1900)
1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
Introduction
Introduction
Romans 3 will give you a reality check. The reality is you are not as great or as good, as you think you are.
You and I deserve nothing but judgment.
This chapter is important because if we fail to grasp what it is saying, then we tend to become unteachable, unconcerned about our need to grow spiritually, and unimpressed about our need to change and yield to the Lord.
Satan wants us to think, “I am OK. I’m not so bad. I’m pretty good. I’m not like everyone else. I don’t need God.”
When people think this way, they are very difficult to reach for Christ. God wants us to see us as He sees us.
In the final verses of chapter 2, Paul tells his Jewish readers that they, like all other men, are sinners in the sight of God.
He reminds them that what they need is not the outward expression of religion, but an inward work of grace that converts the soul and makes the sinner right with God.
These beginning verses of chapter 3 are continuation of the thoughts mentioned in chapter 2.
We must remember that Paul was a traveling evangelist-missionary. In nearly every city he visited, he went to the Jewish synagogue and shared the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
In doing so, Paul surely must have encountered many arguments to his message. It would seem that these verses which we have read today give us four of those arguments.
Paul is asking and answering questions that the Jews, themselves, were asking. They were raising objections to the message of salvation “by grace through faith”, and these objections needed to be answered.
Many people today are still asking the same questions, and we need to ponder the answer to these questions this morning as we look at the thought this morning of “The Debate of Sin”...
Objection 1
Objection 1
1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
Since being circumcised, 2:25–29; and knowing the law, 2:17–18; and teaching others about the Law, 2:19–20, (we looked at all that last Sunday…) Since none of that can save the soul, what is the point in being religious?
The Jews want to know why they have to go through all they have to go through if it does them no good.
People ask today, “Why should a person go to church, be baptized, be a member, if it does not save you?”
For the Christian, the answer is, “You tell the world who you are and where you stand concerning Jesus Christ and the areas of salvation, service, and surrender to Him.”
When you take a stand for Christ, you take the first step in beginning to reach others for Him.
Paul gives an answer to their questions in verse 2.
2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
Paul responds by reminding the Jews that they were blessed in every way, but perhaps the greatest evidence of their blessing was that they had been given the Word of God.
When God gave man His Word, He gave it through a Jewish pen. In fact, only the books of Luke and Acts were written by a non-Jew!
Yes, God had blessed them in that He had given them His Word. He had given the Jewish people the revelation of Himself and of His will for mankind. However, instead of this bringing them into a place where they walked in a special relationship with the Lord, it placed them in a position of greater responsibility!
The Jews neglected their responsibility and lost the Word of God until Hilkiah found it when the Temple was restored (2 Chronicles 34:14–33).
God gave the Jewish people His Word, and that is an indescribable gift!
Think about this...How are we using the privileges the Lord has given to us?
Are we guilty of doing the same foolish things the Jews were guilty of?
Objection 2
Objection 2
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
What if some do not believe or have faith in the Lord?
Will this make God’s faithfulness to us void?
Will He then break His promises to us?
Are all deals and promises void?
Hey! Even though the Jews failed, God did not fail. Unbelief does not hinder the fulfillment of God’s promises because His promises are not based upon us, but upon His character.
The unfaithfulness of men will not make God unfaithful.
Paul answers this objection in verse 4 by saying:
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Notice the strength of Paul’s response, “God forbid!” Literally, this phrase reads, “May it never be!”
It is a strong statement, made even stronger by the words, “let God be true and every men a liar!”
Paul meaning here is that in spite of what man does, God will honor His promise. Regardless of how wicked a man may become, the Lord will never give up on him. Even all the sins and failures of Israel could not make the Lord give up on them!
Adam Clarke wrote, “Should any man say that the promise of God had failed toward him, let him examine his heart and his ways, and he will find that he has departed out of that way in which alone God could, consistent with his holiness and truth, fulfill the promise.”
Hallelujah! You think of all the times you have sinned against God just since you’ve been saved! You think about the times you’ve confessed your sin to Him and He’s been faithful to forgive you! God is faithful in spite of our sins!
Objection 3
Objection 3
5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
This is clever…Here’s where they are coming from…This is what they were thinking…
“Since God was glorified through the sin of David, (ref. Verse 4; Psa. 51:4), in that David’s sin gave the Lord a chance to demonstrate both His justice and His grace, it stands to reason that David was helping the Lord out when he sinned. After all, God would have never gotten a change to show His justice or His grace if David hadn’t sinned. Therefore, when I sin, I am really helping God out. Then, it is unfair for the Lord to judge men when I sin, if I am giving Him a chance to prove His justice and grace.”
Their argument is that their disobedience gives God an opportunity to show his righteousness. Therefore, their sin was really a good thing. Talk about Scripture twisting! This an argument much like the idea of situation ethics which says if the end justifies the means it's OK.
This thinking accuses God of using sin for His own advantage!
What’s the answer?
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
Paul's answer is an emphatic no! God is the judge of all the world. For God to be a just God, He must punish sin. God is no respecter of persons and He will judge all the lost justly.
If God cannot judge a sinner because his sin makes the righteousness of God more visible, it would eliminate every sinner from being judged!
Nobody gets out of this thing without having his sins judged by the Lord.
There is a price for sin, and that price is death, Rom. 6:23. However, for those who have their faith in Jesus, our sins have already been judged and we are saved from the wrath of God, Rom. 5:9.
Objection 4
Objection 4
7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
Again, they try to justify their sins on the basis that God is glorified through the forgiveness of sin. The questions is, “If my sins exalt God, then why does God judge me? If forgiveness glorifies the Lord, then why not sin a bunch so that God can get a bunch of glory?”
The answer to this is “What a foolish question!” A sinner cannot be both righteous and judged at the same time.
Paul continues...
8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
This is the false doctrine that the “end justifies the means.” - This is a doctrine know as “antinomianism”.
It holds the idea that we can do as we please since we are saved by grace.
It says that morality and lifestyle doesn’t matter, since we are saved by faith. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
Bob Jones Sr. said, “It’s never right, to do wrong, in order to do right!”
J.C. Ryle wrote, “The Antinomians - They are people who boast of having a saving interest in Christ, and say they are pardoned and forgiven, while at the same time they live in willful sin and open breach of God’s commandments. I dare say that such people are miserably deceived.”
The last statement Paul makes in verse 8 is revealing! He simply says those who hold to this kind of philosophy of life will be damned and they are simply getting what they deserve!
Sin cannot glorify the Lord.
The Lord cannot condone sin.
Since He is holy, God must judge sin, and since that is true, the sinner can rest assured that if he lives his life without a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, he will die and go to Hell.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The obvious conclusion to this debate is found in verse 9…
9 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;
Are the Jews better than the Gentiles?
Nope, both are under sin! We have all sinned, there is none righteous. We all need salvation!