All the World is Guilty

Have you ever watched a courtroom scene where the defense attorney is trying desperately to salvage the case, but the evidence just keeps stacking up?

Witness after witness, photograph after photograph, document after document — until it reaches a point where everyone in the room knows exactly what the verdict is going to be. There’s no way around it. No loophole. No explanation that could possibly make the evidence go away.

That’s exactly what Paul has been doing for two and a half chapters in Romans. He’s been building a case, not against one group or one culture or one category of people, but against every single human being.

He started with the Gentiles. Then he turned to the Jews. Then he turned to the morally upright. And by the time we reach Romans 3:9, Paul has everyone in the courtroom… and nobody has a defense left.

This is the moment in the gospel where the verdict is read:

Guilty. Every last one of us. Jew and Gentile alike.

Now, I know sermons like this aren’t “feel-good.” They don’t make you want to jump up and do a happy dance.

But we need to know the truth about ourselves. Because unless we understand the severity of our condition, we will never be willing to accept God’s grace.

We have to realize that we’re utterly lost before we’re willing to accept God’s free gift of salvation.

Romans 3:9–20 is meant to shut our mouths so that God can open our hearts. And what Paul shows us here is this: the entire world stands guilty before God — and only what Jesus did on the cross can save us.

Let’s walk through it together.

Starting with Romans 3:9

Romans 3:9 NKJV

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

I. We Are All Under Sin’s Power

Paul starts with a question his Jewish listeners would surely be asking: “Aren’t we better than they are?” Meaning, “Don’t we get some credit? Some spiritual advantage? Aren’t we in a different category than the Gentiles?”

And without hesitation Paul says, “Not at all.”

He’s not saying their history with God wasn’t important. He’s saying their history didn’t make them innocent.

All of them — all of us — stand in the exact same place when it comes to sin. That phrase “under sin” is powerful. It means under the authority, under the domination, under the ruling power of sin.

It’s the picture of a master standing over a slave. Sin isn’t just something we occasionally do; it’s something that rules over us.

It’s not simply a bad choice; it’s a controlling force.

Both Jews and Greeks are under sin’s power and because of that, under God’s condemnation. 

In other words, it doesn’t matter if you grew up religious or irreligious, moral or immoral, faithful or faithless — you are not above sin. Sin isn’t a respecter of persons. We are all born under the same verdict.

That’s where Paul starts.

Then he moves on.

Romans 3:10–12 NKJV

10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

II. Scripture Leaves No Room for Self-Righteousness

Paul now calls his witness to the stand — the Old Testament itself. He quotes from Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah to show that this isn’t just his conclusion. This has always been God’s assessment of the human condition.

Listen to how absolute these statements are:

“None righteous.”

“None who understands.”

“None who seeks after God.”

“None who does good.”

Not some. Not most. None.

This is the part where some people push back a little inside. Because we all know people who seem good, who do kind things, who act morally.

But Paul isn’t talking about societal goodness. He’s talking about God’s standard — perfect righteousness.

And the Greek language helps us here. When Paul says “have become unprofitable,” he uses a word describing something spoiled, ruined, no longer able to function as intended. Humanity was made to reflect God’s glory. But sin has distorted the mirror.

Think of it this way: Everything about human nature — our mind, emotions, and will — are corrupted by sin.” 

It means we don’t naturally seek God. We don’t naturally understand spiritual truth. We don’t naturally choose righteousness. Apart from God’s intervention, we turn aside — every one of us.

Paul isn’t trying to insult humanity; he’s trying to diagnose humanity. Because if you don’t understand how sick you are, you’ll never seek a healer.

And then Romans 3:13-18

Romans 3:13–18 NKJV

13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

III. Sin Doesn’t Stay Hidden Inside Us — It Comes Out in Our Words and Actions

Paul now gives us a full-body X-ray of the lost sinner, from head to foot.” 

Listen to the body parts Paul mentions:

throat

tongue

lips

mouth

feet

eyes

Paul is showing that every direction you look — every part of the human life — is touched by sin.

He begins with the mouth because words reveal the heart. “Throat is an open tomb” means the stench of death comes out in our speech — deceit, poison, bitterness. We don’t have to work very hard to see that today. Just open social media. Listen to the tone of political conversations. Spend five minutes reading comments under a controversial post.

Then Paul says our feet are “swift to shed blood.” That’s not just violence — it’s the impulse toward harm, the instinct to retaliate, the willingness to destroy others and their reputations to protect ourselves.

“Destruction and misery are in their ways.” Sin doesn’t simply hurt the sinner; it hurts everyone around them.

And Paul ends with the root:

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Not terror — reverence. No Humility. No recognition of who God is.

Our culture’s primary problem isn’t political, educational, or economic. Our problem is spiritual. There is no fear of God before our eyes — and everything flows from there.

And then lastly.

Romans 3:19–20 NKJV

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

IV. The Law Doesn’t Save Us — It Silences Us

Paul ends the passage with the most sobering image of all — “that every mouth may be stopped.”

What does that mean?

It means the courtroom of heaven is silent.

Nobody is arguing anymore.

Nobody is defending themselves.

Nobody is comparing themselves to someone worse.

Nobody is trying to explain away their behavior.

When God presents the evidence, the entire world is guilty — and everyone knows it.

And Paul says the law — the commandments, the moral standards — was never meant to save you. It was meant to expose you. The phrase “knowledge of sin” is not surface knowledge, but deep, personal awareness.

The law is like an MRI or a PET scan. It doesn’t heal you; it shows you what’s wrong. It exposes the cancer of sin so you’ll seek the only cure.

“The purpose of the law is not to justify but to reveal sin.” 

So at this point, Paul has us exactly where God wants us — silent, humbled, aware, convicted.

And now we’re ready for grace. God offers us the antidote. The cure.

He provides us what we could never do for ourselves. And that’s to become right before God.

Conclusion

Romans 3:9–20 is not the uplifting part of the story. But without this truth, the gospel doesn’t make sense.

Paul silences our mouths so that God can open His.

He declares us guilty so Christ can declare us righteous.

He closes the door on self-righteousness so he can open the door to grace.

And that door opens in the very next verse:

“But now…”

We’ll look at the good news next week.

Those are two of the sweetest words in Scripture.

But now — the righteousness of God is revealed.

But now — grace has come.

But now — Jesus steps into the courtroom and says, “I’ll take it from here.”

The whole world is guilty.

And only God’s grace can save us.