Romans 3:19-20

That Every Mouth May Be Stopped

505 years tomorrow, a monk took a hammer and paper to the church door in Wittenburg Germany - and nailed his 95 theses there - the public bulletin board of the day. That seemingly insignificant act, intended to do nothing more than start an academic debate … the pounding of those nails instead was the spark that ignited the Reformation of the Church that changed the course of world history. We are the living consequences of that mighty move of God - 5 centuries later, on the other side of the world. The 5 sola’s (onlys) of the Reformation: Salvation is by Grace alone, through Faith alone, by Christ Alone, according to Scripture alone … to the glory of God alone.

If you want to understand the theology of the Reformation … if you want to understand the message of ROMANS - then Verses 19-20 are critically important. Immediately after these verses, in verse 21, of chapter 3 - Paul is going to start a new section in the letter: He’s going to unforld the central doctrine of Justification by Faith alone and the doctrine of the Atonement that makes it all possible. But if we don’t understand the section that our text today concludes - vv. 19-20 - we will never understand what’s coming … If we don’t understand Sin and Depravity and Law and Justification and if we don’t understand Universal Judgment - then we will not understand the Good News - the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The result is less than Good News - Gospel … instead, it’s ‘so-so news’ that our neighbours rightly judge to be too trivial ane irrelevant - to get excited about. Christians seem to be saying very little that’s different from anything they can find on Dr. Phil .

The American church seems to think that its marketing niche in the popular culture is to offer, ‘Good advice’ to consumers, rather than ‘Good News’ to sinners. But friends, that means that it’s still ‘bad news’. It may not be as harsh as the hell-fire and brimstone teaching of days past - but it’s a difference in degreee - not in kind, because it still gives a message of something ‘to do’ - and not a message of a work done - a gift to be received.

… let the time we have spent delving into unpleasant realities - let this time be your preparation for magnificent joy.

1 THE LAW SPEAKS TO STOP MOUTHS, v. 19

This morning, we come to the end of the section of Romans that begins in 1:18 and concludes with v. 20. From chapter 1, verse 18, to chapter 3, verse 20, Paul has been taking great pains to show how every single human being is condemned before God. And he shows that it is so much more than just a cold dispassionate verdict on our position - he makes sure we understand that this is personal - Romans 1:18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth". That's how the section begins.

This is personal - God's wrath is revealed - and then we read on and we see that the horrific spiraling of sin downward into deeper and deeper trouble - that is part of God's sentence on humans for their idolatry. Verse 21, of chapter 1, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened." God is saying to a rebellious human race: "Do you want to kick me off of My throne and be your own authority? Do you want to de-God me and make yourself your own god?! Well, go for it ..." And God gives them over to their own desires. That's what 1:24 is saying, "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves ...." and so on. Verse 26, "God gave them up to dishonorable passions ...". Verse 28, "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind ...". And through the rest of Romans chapter 1, Paul is unpacking the implications of our rebellion against God.

And then, through chapter 2 and into chapter 3, Paul makes clear that all of us are guilty. No matter how good we may look on the outside, or how many boxes we can check on our society’s checklist of what it means to be a morally upstanding citizen.

The problem is not that we never quite reach ‘100 percent’ … the problem, as he puts it in v. 9 of chapter 3, “… that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin ...”. Your great problem and mine is not that we mess up, every once in awhile. We do that, for sure - but we do that BECAUSE - ‘we are UNDER the power of sin - we are enslaved to sin from birth.”

In vv. 10-18, Paul is backing up his argument by citing Scripture - gets to the end of the list of verses and he knows the natural response of Jewish people reading those quotes: “Get it! The Gentiles - without Scripture and outside of the promises made to Abraham, Moses and David … They aren’t righteous, they don’t seek God; their throats are open graves .... their mouths are full of curses and bitterness … they run in ruin and misery … they know not peace and there is no fear of God before their eyes … They are in for a rude awakening on Judgment Day when the wrath of God falls … on those OUTSIDERS.

The Jews recognized that, “Sure, we will be there on Judgment Day … I’ll be okay - I’ll be saved.” In fact, Jews believed that at least some of their own people didn’t even sin. The apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh says that: “Thou, O Lord, God of the righteous, hast NOT appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob who did not sin against thee” (Prayer of Manasseh, 8).

That’s where v. 19 comes in. Paul says, “WHOA! Wait a minute! Which part of ‘NONE is righteous’, don’t you understand?!” Look at v. 19, “Now we KNOW that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law.” He’s talking about more than just the first 5 books of the Bible here - since the quotes are from the Psalms and Isaiah. And Paul is saying: “The very Oracles of God that you take pride in possessing - they are the very Word of God, entrusted to you, to teach YOU - which means that they apply FIRST to you.”

Think about it: If there was any people on earth who who should have been ‘good enough’, it was nation of Israel - the Jews. They had the blessing of having God’s very Words and promises .... for 2000 years they had God’s Word - more and more of it as He progressively revealed Himself. They had all the history of God’s revealing of Himself and ALL the promises and ALL the psalms and ALL the prophets with their warnings and calls to come back .... the Jews had it all! And what was the result of all that blessing?

.... judgment. Because the LAW wasn’t enough to justify them. Why? Because having God’s word isn’t enough to make you love Him with all of your heart, mind and strength - and treasure Him above everything. That’s the first and greatest of all the commandments of the whole Law.

The people who had the greatest Spiritual advantages of anyone … only, incessantly … rebelled against it and ended up disciplined and exiled. If the people who had the most advantages were brought into judgment by those very advantages … then what are the chances that any other group or people WITHOUT those advantages, would have any better result? NONE.

Back to v. 19: “… 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.”

Paul’s argument - EVERY MOUTH may be stopped.

Something you need to understand here, is that Paul is painting the picture of a courtroom - the language is legal language. The Greek words tranlated into English about ‘mouths’ being ‘stopped’ - they evoke the picture of a defendant in court, withered under the prosector’s case. Everyone has a favorite courtroom tv show or movie. In recent months, I’ve introduced Josh to the very best lawyer/ courtroom drama ever to grace the TV screen: Matlock. It’s a classic and just as good now as it was 30-plus years ago, when it first came out. Matlock is technically a defense attorney, but his method is to find out who the real guilty party is and then, prosecute the case against the person, until the evidence is absolutely overwhelming and accurate.

The prosecution has laid out its case and now the accused has the opportunity to speak in his own defense, but there’s no point … the truth is undeniable. The defendant is speechless and (as Calvin puts it): ‘Without saying a word (he) awaits his condemnation.’

At the end of v. 19 is the word translated ‘accountable’ - That the whole world may be held ‘accountable’ to God.” the Greek word is ‘upodikos’ - and this is the only place it shows up in the entire NT. But in the ancient Greek literature, outside the Bible - it’s used to describe someone who is guilty of offending against the law - he’s been caught, he’s been prosecuteed and now his guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt .... all that’s left is the sentence.

So there he stands, in front of the Judge - God Himself …

Remember Job - righteous Job. There was no one like him on all the earth.

The point of the entire section from Romans 1:18-3:20 is NOT to prove that Gentiles - that the ‘outsiders’ are guilty and headed for judgment

Romans 3:10, "As it is written, 'None is righteous, no, not one

Our society needs to hear this. We need to hear this.

2 THE LAW BRINGS KNOWLEDGE, NOT SALVATION, v. 20

Paul goes on, in VERSE 20: “By works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight.” We will dig more into the word ‘justified’ in the weeks ahead, but for now, just know that

Everyone tries to do ‘good things’ to prove that they ARE, somehow, good. Pablo Escobar - was an infamous Drug dealer from Colombia. During the 80s and early 90s, he was the undisputed leader of the Medellin drug cartel, overseeing every step of the cocaine supply chain, which fed the booming demand in America for drugs. In the mid-80s, his cartel was earning around $420 million in revenue per week and he made Forbes’ Billionaires list for seven years straight. He didn’t get that kind of power and wealth by being timid - and if you got in his way, your life was in danger - didn’t matter if you were a competitor, or a policeman, or a journalist or a politician or a judge - Escobar left a trail of blood wherever he seemed to go. So there murdered people, all over the place, that he was responsible for. There were countless lives and families destroyed in America, because of the drugs he made and sold into North America

… but back at home, many people loved him. In a country where the government allowed many people to slip through the cracks with no real social safety ned, Escobar built homes for the poor, paid school fees for children from underprivileged families, financed the building of schools, sponsored soccer teams - and even built a massive stadium . . He made sure that everyone in his community was taken care of. To this very day, he’s referred to as ‘The Godfather’ or ‘Robin Hood’ by some of his people.

Were the good things that Pablo Escobar did - really good? Or not?

Well - providing schools for kids and paying fees and buying food for needy families … of course - those are helpful things. They are good deeds. But you see the problem here: The money Escobar used, wasn’t rightfully his. It was earned on

He was terrified of death because without knowledge of Christ’s sufficient and gracious salvation, without knowledge that by faith alone he could be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, counted as righteous as Christ Himself, because of God’s declaration — without knowing that, young Martin Luther had no assurance of salvation, of what would happen to him at death.

So, when he was caught in a ferocious thunderstorm - so powerful, that it knocked the young law student to the ground - Martin Luther screamed in terror and he cried out -

Not to God for rescue - Not to Jesus for Rescue - - not even to Mary. They were all too holy and he was not. So he cries out to St. Anne (Mary's mother) - "Saint Anne, rescue me and I will become a monk".

Now, Martin’s father Hans was a miner. And just like every decent father, he wanted better things for his boy, Martin. He wanted his son to succeed and be a lawyer so he could have a better life than he did. So Hans Luther worked his way up the career ladder before that was really a thing - he became a supervisor not just of one, but of two mines. He saved up money so that Martin could go to university. So when he heard that his son was leaving law school to be a monk in a monastery - he was furious.

But Martin was a man of his word. He joined an Augustinian monastery, close to home. And he was serious about doing things right:

When you joined a monastery, you went in as a novice – you had a superior to supervise you.

As a monk Luther devoted himself to a rigorous kind of austerity. He set out to be the perfect monk. He fasted for days and indulged in severe forms of self-flagellation. He went beyond the rules of the monastery in matters of self-denial. His prayer vigils were longer than anyone else’s. Everybody got blankets given to them – Luther refused his and almost froze to death. He punished his body so severely that he later commented it was in the monk’s cell that he did permanent damage to his digestive system. He wrote about his experience:

I was a good monk, and I kept the rule of my order so strictly that I may say that if ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery it was I. All my brothers in the monastery who knew me will bear me out. If I had kept on any longer, I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, reading, and other work. [Roland Bainton, Here I Stand (NAL, 1978).]

The most bizarre of Luther’s practices involved his habit of daily confession. Confession was a requirement for the monks, but not daily. The requirement was that all one’s sins be confessed. Luther couldn’t go a day without sinning, so he felt the need to go to the confessional every day, looking for absolution.

Confession was a regular part of the monastic life. The other brothers came regularly to their confessors. They would say things like this:

“Father, I have sinned. Last night I stayed up after ‘lights out’ and read my Bible with a candle.” Or, “Yesterday at lunchtime I coveted Brother Philip’s potato salad.” (I mean, really … How much trouble can a monk get into in a monastery?) The Father Confessor would hear the confession, grant priestly absolution, and assign a small penance to be performed. ‘Go and say 5 ‘Hail Mary’s’’. And That was it. The whole transaction took a few short minutes.

Not with Brother Luther. He was driving his Father Confessor crazy. Luther was not satisfied with a brief confession of a few noticeable sins. He wanted to make sure that no sin in his life was left unconfessed. He entered the confessional and stayed for hours every day. On one occasion Luther spent six hours confessing the sins he had committed in the last day!

The superiors of the monastery began to wonder about Luther. At first they wondered if he was just trying to get out of his chores … Everybody has a brother or sister like that - - time to do the dishes everyone …. And, like clockwork – your brother has to go to the bathroom.

And in the monastery – they thought maybe brother Martin would rather spend his waking hours in the confessional to studying and performing his other tasks. They came to realize that wasn’t the case. Then they started to worry the maybe he was mentally unbalanced. Imagine being his superior and sitting in the confessional booth for Hour after hour, listening to someone confess every conceivable sin from the past day – knowing that he’s going to come back tomorrow and do the same thing.

His mentor, Staupitz, finally grew angry and scolded Luther:

“Look here,” he said, “if you expect Christ to forgive you, come in with something to forgive—go commit adultery, kill your mother, blaspheme – do SOMETHING - - but quit bringing me all these peccadilloes.… Man, God is not angry with you. You are angry with God. Don’t you know that God commands you to hope?” [Roland Bainton, Here I Stand (NAL, 1978).]

The man was radically abnormal. His guilt complex seems ridiculous to us. He was so morbid in his guilt, so disturbed in his emotions that he could no longer function as a normal human being. He could not even function as a normal monk. He was still running from the lightning bolt.

And Luther recognized that we are NOT righteous as humans.

Another episode from Luther’s life that has caused the psychiatrists’ eyebrows to be raised was the celebration of his first mass. Luther had already set himself apart as a budding theologian – there was something special about him. He was ordained as a priest.

After being ordained as a priest – then you are authorized to lead the mass. Now, the celebration of your first mass following ordination is a big deal - your public debut.

By this time, Old Hans Luther, Martin’s father - had almost made his peace with his son’s decision to give up a lucrative career in law in favor of the monastic life. He was feeling some pride—“My son, the priest.” The scheduled celebration was seen as a time for family pride and his relatives joined the public to observe Luther’s celebration.

Luther began the ceremony with great poise, exuding a priestly bearing of confidence and self-control. When he came to the Prayer of Consecration—that moment in the mass when Luther would exercise his priestly authority for the first time to evoke the power of God to bring about what Catholics still believe is the great miracle of transubstantiation (the changing of the elements of bread and wine to the real body and blood of Christ). In a very real sense – you are creating God - —when that moment came, Luther stopped.

He froze at the altar. He seemed transfixed. His eyes were glassy, and beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. A nervous hush filled the congregation as they silently urged the young priest on. Hans Luther was growing uncomfortable, feeling a wave of parental embarrassment sweep over him. His son’s lower lip began to quiver. He was trying to speak the words of the mass, but no words came forth from his mouth. He went limp and returned to the table where his father and the family guests were seated. He had failed. He ruined the mass and disgraced himself and his father. Hans was furious. He had just made a generous contribution to the monastery and now felt humiliated in the very place he came to witness his son’s honor. He lashed out at Martin and questioned whether his son was fit to be a priest.

What happened at the altar? Luther offers his own explanation at the paralysis that struck when he was to say the words, “We offer unto thee, the living, the true, the eternal God.” He says:

At these words I was utterly stupefied and terror-stricken. I thought to myself, “With what tongue shall I address such majesty, seeing that all men ought to tremble in the presence of even an earthly prince? Who am I, that I should lift up mine eyes or raise my hands to the divine Majesty? The angels surround him. At his nod the earth trembles. And shall I, a miserable little pygmy, say ‘I want this, I ask for that’? For I am dust and ashes and full of sin and I am speaking to the living, eternal and the true God. [Roland Bainton, Here I Stand (NAL, 1978).]

Sproul, R. C. (1993). The holiness of God (pp. 118–121). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

You hear about Luther – some people think – “What was the matter with him?! How could he be so terrified of God?! He was insane!” But he wasn’t insane - - - If you believe the Bible and you recognize how far you fall short of the glory – the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God – then you don’t just casually saunter into His presence. Hear this, North American Church in the 21st Century - -

We who tend to treat God as a genie in a bottle – there to grant us our wishes, as we pray … Or who like a kind but blind grandfather who has no idea what we are really like … Dr. Christian Smith, sociologist - U Notre Dame - interviewed 300 teenagers - 45 states. Even though majority are formally members of Christian churches - The lived experience basic message embraced by teens in N. America is what he calls, “Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism”: “God’s out there, but He’s not too involved in our lives. The goal of life is to be happy and God is there to make me happy. He wants us to be nice and He’s there to help me with my problems when I need His help and good people go to heaven.” The Good News is basically, “Try a little harder.” It doesn’t matter whether they are in the Catholic Church or the Methodist, Baptist.

It’s not historic Christianity. It’s not Biblical … and it’s not Good News.

God is RIGHTEOUS; He is HOLY; He is a consuming fire.

No, he sees that the problem is in our hearts – the very grain of our desires is shaped by self-love. It’s not just the worst things we do that are stained – the very BEST things we do are tainted with self-centeredness. When the priest tells me to do penance sincerely – how do I know that I am really doing it because I love God …. And not just to avoid punishment?

No - Sin is the status of death. Baptism isn't about washing - baptism is about death and resurrection. That is a radical difference - it changes everything.

Death is a status. If you are wounded - you can be made whole, if you are sick, you can be restored to health .... there's something you can do - with the help of doctors, with proper medication - you find the right therapy program ... and you can get yourself back to health and strength again.

.... If you're dead. You are dead.

You can't be healed. You need resurrection not a process. You need to be raised by someone outside of yourself.