Not Good But Loved
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
Good morning church! My name is Zach Honnen and I am the student and Young adult Director here at The River Church Grand Blanc
I am very grateful and excited to be able to be here this morning and be able to open up God’s word with you this morning…
If you have your Bibles, please go ahead turn to Romans chapter 3 Today we will be in versus 9 through 20
While you turn there, I want to ask a question:
How many of us like being told that we are wrong?
How many of us like criticism? You see, I have often struggled with criticism.
I don’t like it… oftentimes I don’t want it…
And I’m sure in this room, I can say MANY of us naturally feel the same way
So what’s our first defense against criticism?
Deflection, Denial, and Dismissal…
We come up with excuses and try to brush off the criticism
And all that does is hurt ourself
In our text, Paul is going to bring forth more than just criticism
He will bring forth life and death level truth
He is brining a diagnosis of humanity to people who want to deflect
to people who think they are healthy
Paul will say some harsh things, but his goal is to bring attention to a life-threatening reality
So today some of us may be in need of salvation and for others we need a reminder of who we once were
who we would be and who we could be apart from Jesus
And I hope and pray that today we see our need for Christ
That we don’t get dismissive or defensive But we become responsive
LETS JUMP INTO OUR TEXT:
LETS JUMP INTO OUR TEXT:
Text:
Text:
9 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,
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
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.
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Lets Pray:
Lets Pray:
Over the past few weeks we have been looking at Paul lay out this argument that all are in need of Jesus. Both the “jew” and “greek”
both the religious and the non-religious
Paul wants to lay out the universal depravity of humanity
Paul is explaining to us that we are broken, That we are sinful that we are disobedient that we are far worse than we think we are
Paul is explaining to the religious people and to the non-religious people that no matter what you have done in your life no matter how good or how bad you are under sin
Paul is explaining that if we have grown up in church that’s not enough
If we grew up outside of church and think that we do good work think that we obey God’s law that’s still not enough
Again, Paul is speaking to people who believe that if they keep the law they will be justified or if they’re born into the Jewish lineage that they are justified but yet they are not
And Paul will break down this truth of total depravity
No matter our background, no matter our upbringing no matter how good we think we are… we are all in need of Jesus
Paul is argument that it isn’t religion that saves, but it’s Jesus
And this is the argument we see continued in verse 9
And this is the argument we see continued in verse 9
Romans 3:9–20 (ESV)
9 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,
Paul wants us to see there is no Advantage to the JEW or GREEK, Church raised or the None religious when it comes to salvation when it comes to sin there is not Advantage
we are all sinners in need of a savior.
No one gets a pass because they’re raised in a Christian household
No one gets a pass because their parents are Christian
No one gets a pass because they serve every Sunday
NO ONE GETS A PASS… PAUSE
Salvation is not dependent upon our ability
Salvation is not dependent upon our lineage
All the humanity is dead in our trespasses and sins
you see Paul wants to dismantle all arguments we could make…
you see Paul wants to dismantle all arguments we could make…
But Paul “I Am Enough”
But Paul “all people are basically good”
But Paul “I am not as bad as the people around me”
“i grew up in the church i was raised the right way and I do the right things im good”
Paul intends to destroy each of these arguments:
Paul intends to destroy each of these arguments:
Paul intends to show us that Being self righteous isn’t the same as righteous
Over the next few verses we we see Paul string together many passages from the old testament
Paul is delivering the mail that was already written, Paul is basing his argument, not in his own opinion, but in the written word of God
And he is presenting this to both the Jew and the Greek, the Hebrew and the gentile
that Apart from Christ, they are both in the same boat
Apart from Jesus, they both serve the same master which is sin
Lets pick up in verse 10
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
Here we see no room for any arguments no room for “Deflection defense or Denial…
To be righteous to be morally, right. Completely defendable to be without wrong
And the standard for righteous in scripture Isn’t righteousness compared to human standards but compared to God’s standard, which is perfection
Compared to God compared to his holy standard no one is good
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
The standard is perfect.
That is what righteous is.
It’s like a glass of water or bowl of soup—just a few drops of poison ruin the whole thing.
In the same way, even a little sin renders us unrighteous before a holy God.
Any amount of sin makes a person sinner…
The law Demands Holiness and Righteousness and each and everyone of use are Nowhere near the Standard.
No matter how much we try to be a good person, no matter how much you try to live unselfishly each and everyone of us apart from Christ are not righteous
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Scribes and the Pharisees lived only to obey the law 24/7
So what is being said is that even the best of men aren’t Righteous
So no one is Righteous
Paul continues
Paul continues
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
There is no one… not one… Not you… Not me. None of us are GOOD
And if God left us to our own devices, we would never seek after him
We would never pursue him apart from the work of Jesus apart from the work of the Holy Spirit
Apart from Christ, we can’t understand
AND apart from the Holy Spirit. We can read this book all we want, and we will never come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
One commentator puts it this way
Romans—Righteousness From Heaven The Jewish Advantage: Despite Universal Sin (vv. 9-20)
“‘There is no one who understands… ’” (v. 11). Understands what? The depth of the attributes of God. Sin makes this impossible. No matter what level of spiritual life and understanding we reach, there will always be a deficiency in our understanding. Moreover, the more we sin, the less capable of understanding we become.
Another way, I’ve heard it put is sin makes US stupid
I think we can all say amen to that one
When we are in the pursuit of sin, we make decisions we never thought we would make
If any of us look back to our teenage years, sometimes we cringe or have regret
The more we sin the more we pursue this world the last we understand, and the less we are able to see the goodness of God
I’ve talked to Men… I’ve met men who could not understand scripture until one day. The Holy Spirit moved in their heart, and it clicked in that moment they could understand
and in that moment all they could do is seek God.
Apart from Christ We are not good.
Many people are self-righteous, but very few people are righteous
Because the righteousness that is required by the law can only be Acquired from Christ
The righteousness we need can only be provided by Christ
So no one understands no one seeks and no one is good But Paul continues His Indictment…
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
Paul begins to state that everything that comes from our mouth comes from our heart And our heart at its core is corrupt is evil
Jesus reflects this in Matthew 12:34
34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
A Russian poet put it this way:
A Russian poet put it this way:
Romans—Righteousness From Heaven The Jewish Advantage: Despite Universal Sin (vv. 9-20)
“I don’t know what the heart of a bad man is like, but I do know what the heart of a good man is like
Take a moment and reflect think about everything you’ve ever said your entire life PAUSE
How much of that speech was spoken to give life or to take it?
How much of our words have been used to build others up or tear them down?
Each and everyone of us have said something that we regret
Paul is saying that humanity left to its own devices will just become worse and worse and worse
We say things that are evil because we are evil apart from Christ…
And Paul doesn’t stop at our speech he moves to our actions
And Paul doesn’t stop at our speech he moves to our actions
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
These passages don’t say that every single one of us have murdered somebody, but they say that we are violent
That apart from Christ, we seek the way of violence… PAUSE… we do not seek peace, but we seek revenge
One commentator notes:
In the last 3,421 years of recorded history only 268 have seen no war.
R. Kent Hughes
Humanity is violent We are aggressive towards each other
We seek to settle the score. We are full of arrogance and pride.
If we think back to the last time, we had a fight with somebody or an argument, how much of that was based in seeking peace, and how much of that was Based in justifying our own arrogance and pride?
or Maintaining our own image
Humanity as a whole apart from the work of Jesus is self-destructive
And Paul wraps up these indictments these iniquities these charges with verse 18
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
There is no fear of God
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Apart from God, there is no fear of God
And apart from the fear of God, there is no wisdom from God
The only wisdom that is available to us when we live outside of God’s plan Or don’t have relationship with him is the wisdom of the world
Which is “Live… eat… drink… for tomorrow we die”
The wisdom of the world leads to pain, suffering, and misery
It leads to distance from God distance from his truth and a debased mind…
So at this point, we have seen Paul’s entire indictment
And I’m sure in our hearts across this room and maybe even online
We are beginning to build defenses
We are beginning to deflect
Maybe we’re beginning to deny these things that Paul says
Something I would have us consider is why is Paul saying this?
Pause
Why is Paul trying to bring this reality to our attention?
Is it because Paul is self-righteous standing up on his soapbox claiming to be better than the rest of us?
Is it because Paul just wants us to feel bad
I would say none of the above
Because I believe Paul doesn’t see this as an indictment to us, but as an indictment to himself
You see Paul grew up as a Hebrew. He grew up going to the right schools memorizing scripture. He was a Pharisees of Pharisees.
as we see In Philippians:
5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
Paul before he came to Christ knew the law love the law worship the law lived the law, followed the law
24/7 this was his calling this was his purpose was to obey the law
These passages that he has presenting to us, he would’ve memorized as a young boy
He knew scripture he knew the law
And yet he did not know God
And yet he did not have a relationship with God
It wasn’t until God blinded him on the road to Damascus that Paul saw who he really was…
Before this Paul was a murderer of Christians and he felt justified and righteous in that murder
But he was on his way to Damascus to murder more Christians he was stopped by the Lord. And Jesus met him on the road and blinded him
And after that, after that encounter with Christ, after that realization of his sin, everything became clear
Where Paul thought he was righteous. He was unrighteous.
Where Paul thought he was justified? He was unjustified.
Where Paul thought he was enough he was not enough
Paul came to a realization that he needed Christ
That he needed salvation that he needed the good news of Jesus…
Paul does not share this message this text with us from a place of self-righteousness but a place of humility
He comes from a place of understanding that he believes himself to be the chief of all sinners
Paul is saying that we are all in the same boat and it is sinking. It’s not just sinking it’s underwater. We’re next to the Titanic when it comes to sin.
So what does Paul hope to accomplish?
If Paul’s not being self-righteous, what is his purpose in saying all these things?
He answers that in verse 19 and 20
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. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Paul does not seek to make us feel bad. Paul does not seek to make us feel broken Paul seek it revealed to us that we are broken.
Paul is not preaching down to us, but he is reaching out to us
Paul was spiritually blind and he hopes to open our eyes to the reality of our need for Christ
The law is given to bring knowledge of our sin
For us to realize that we need God that we are spiritually bankrupt
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Salvation begins with a recognition of need
Paul wants to make clear to the religious and the self righteous That all all sinners
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sin has consequences whether we recognize our sin or not.
None of us deserve forgiveness. None of us can earn forgiveness. None of us can be good enough.
But the good news is that there is one who is good enough there is one who died to pay the penalty for our sins
Christ did not just die for our sins, but he lived the life that we could not live, laying down the glory of heaven’s throne for the humility of poverty
And he died the death that you and I deserve, and Rose again on the third day So that he can give us his righteousness so that he can give us eternal life having paid for our punishment
The purpose of this passage is to see that we are broken and turned to the healer
Because we are not enough—but Christ is
And maybe you’re in this room and you know for a fact, you do not have a relationship with Jesus
Maybe all your life you thought you had to be enough or thought that you were enough
But now you realize that You ARE NOT I want to encourage you to turn to Jesus
The Bible says to repent and believe
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Confession and belief is all that is needed for salvation
Repentance and belief
This is a change of mind. This is a 180. This is asking God to pull you out of the burning building.
And the beautiful thing is once you give your life to Christ, where we used to be unrighteous, we become righteous
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus didn’t just pay the penalty. He transferred his wealth to us and took on our debt.
His righteousness has been imputed to us given to us when he died and paid the penalty on the cross And Rose again three days later
So when God looks at us, though we are not enough, though we are not righteous, though we are not good he sees the righteousness of Christ
He sees the goodness of his son
And looks to us and says well done my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master
This is the joy we have in Christ and if you do not have a relationship with Christ, I urge you to turn to Him now…
Maybe you’re in this room and you know the Lord you love Jesus and you have a deep relationship with him…
I want to remind you…
We were never meant to be enough
The only one who is, is Christ
Men in this room if you feel that you are failing your family, you feel that you’re not enough for your wife for your kids for your work
Understand that you’re not meant to be
BUT You are meant to rest within the one who is enough
If your goal is to be enough, you will fail every time
but if you’re pursuing the one who is, you will see Jesus breath life into your family
Ladies, if you feel that you’re failing your children… If you feel that you’re not enough for your family for your husband for your household understand that you are not meant to be…
Because God is…
This whole passage is trying to put a mirror up to us to show us that we are not enough…
And that knowledge… that truth… should turn us to the one who is enough
the one who Loves us more than we can ever understand or imagine
When we read this passage, we should feel a deep sense of gratitude of hope, and love for Jesus
None of us are who we ought to be BUT praise the Lord none of us are who we used to be
As Christians this passage should bring us to our knees, saying Lord thank you for your sacrifice
Thank you for your mercy thank you for your love
This passage, the reality of our sin should bring us to a deep gratitude for the savior
47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
In order to appreciate good news, we must understand the bad
As Christians, we must remember who we once were so that we don’t get puffed up in pride and become that person again
One of my pet peeves As a Christian and sometimes I catch myself doing it is saying I would never…
“fill in the blank”
I would never do with that person did
I would never be as stupid as that person was
The reality is apart from Christ sin makes us stupid
The reality is apart from Christ we are these things
God resist the proud, gives grace to the humble
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Now I wanna make this clear
Paul doesn’t want us to live in our history…We aren’t supposed to constantly beat ourselves up over and over again
But we are Supposed to Recognize our history in order to appreciate Christ victory…
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it
PAUSE
There’s a reason once we come to Christ we don’t forget Every sin we ever committed
If that was to happen, it would be like when I was a kid. I touched the stove and I burned myself and then instantly I forgot.
And then I went to touch the stove again and again and again
The memory of sin, though painful and may be embarrassing, is necessary to protect us
We must be careful and pursue the Lord drawing near to him every day
In faith that he can keep us from who we once were
In faith that he made us into a new creation
This is not about US doing enough…
This is not about US earning his love; earning his respect Or earning salvation.
This is about US having a personal relationship with Christ AND recognizing that without him, WE would be lost to all the evil Paul has just described.
The trick of the devil is to convince us that we are enough on our own
The trick of the devil is for us to seek independence rather than being dependent on Christ
And when we allow pride, self-righteousness and independence to take a root sin, will flourish
And SIN will take you further than you ever thought you would go.
It will keep you longer than you ever thought you would stay
and it will cost you more than you ever thought you would pay.
The reality is sin has consequences in this life and in the next
And if you’re saved, if you have a relationship with Jesus, Don’t let your guard down.
Remind yourself of who you are apart from Christ
Don’t become complacent don’t become self reliant. Don’t trust yourself BUT trust the Lord.
The law is meant to be a mirror and that mirror should turn us away from ourselves and towards Christ
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
Let’s allow this passage to be a reminder of our brokenness And let’s allow God to turn our brokenness to joy
Because we have a gracious and forgiving God who will not leave us in our sin
And that’s something worthy of worship
Let’s let our morning turn to dancing
Because we have a God who will not lie to us and say we are enough, but a God who says I will be enough for you. Rest in me my child.
And that is a beautiful thing
I want to leave us with one final passage, one that I carry with me every day
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Even though no one in this room is good. Everyone in this room is loved.
God doesn’t love us because we are good, but he loves us despite being not good
Let’s pray :)
Let’s pray :)
