Guilty: The Judgement

Intro: 1:1-17

Sin: 1:18-3:20

Salvation: 3:21-5:21

Sovereignty 9:1-11:36

Service: 12:1-15:13

Conclusion: 15:13-16:27

Tonight we look at the last twenty verses in the first major division of Romans. Paul makes his closing arguments for God's case against humanity.

1. Questions and Answers: Paul answers all objections (Romans 3:1-9)

Romans 3:1–2 NLT

1 Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? 2 Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.

Question 1: (vs. 1) Why be Religious?

Paul is saying, If working hard and going to church and being circumcised and keeping the law and serving the Jewish holidays won't get me into heaven, why should I even do it?" Is there any advantage in being a Jew over being a pagan if we're all guilty?

He is asking what difference is there between the religious and the pagans if we are all guilty in the end. Is there any advantage?

Answer: (vs 2) There is great advantage to it

One advantage is that the Jews were entrusted with the WOG. This was a big deal. We have the Bible today because oof the way the Jews handled the WOG.

Romans 9:4–5 NLT

4 They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. 5 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

They have the promises given to Abraham. But the greatest responsibility given to them was the WOG. This was more important than their rituals and all the other things.

God gave the Word to the Jews to care for it and protect it. They did this very well.

Did you ever see Raiders of the Lost Ark? The ARK was valuable because it contained the WOG. Solomon’s Temple was built to house the WOG.

God also wanted them to share it… they did not do this well.

Romans 3:3–4 NLT

3 True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? 4 Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”

Question 2: (vs 3) When people are unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful?

Paul is asking if God would be unfaithful to the Jews because they were unfaithful to Him.

It’s obvious the Jews went through times when faith was at a loss.

Answer: (vs 4) No, God is always faithful

God does not break His promises even when our performance doesn't warrant it. There are some people questioning God's faithfulness. They're saying since the Jews were unfaithful to God does that mean that God can now be unfaithful to the Jews? and He doesn't have to keep all the promises He made to them? Paul says No! Even if every person in the world is a liar, God is true.

Two kinds of promises…

Conditional - If you do this, then I will do…

Ask and it shall be given

Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved...

If my people will humble themselves and pray… I will

Unconditional Promises -

God promised the jews that they would eventually have a Messiah… they did not deserve it. Were they faithful? NO

Jesus is coming back…

Romans 3:5–6 NLT

5 “But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world?

Question 3: (vs. 5) Since God forgives me, and He is faithful even when I am unfaithful, doesn’t my sin just show how forgiving God is?

Paul is using faulty logic on purpose here. He is pointing out that it doesn’t make sense to say you can sin because it shows how forgiving God is.

Paul is saying that some people are saying, "You've just said that God is faithful to us even when we're unfaithful to Him. Therefore it seems that when I sin God forgives me and when I sin more and God forgives me more, then every time I sin it makes God look good because it shows how forgiving He is. Therefore God shouldn't be upset with me when I sin because my sin actually makes God look good."

Illustration: A guy goes out and commits adultery over and over. His wife remains faithful to him. The husband comes in to his wife and says, "My unfaithfulness just makes you look better. Because you're staying faithful to me even though I'm unfaithful to you and it shows what a great lady you are!" So one day this wife finally says, "I've had enough! I'm not going to take any more! That's all I'm going to put up with." Husband comes in: "What gives? Why are you mad at me? My unfaithfulness just shows your patience. In fact instead of being upset you ought to thank me for my adultery because it shows what a great person you are." Does that make sense? No

Answer: (vs 6) NO. If God were not fair in His standards, he could not judge the world.

Sin is never good and God is fair and just when he judges us.

Romans 3:7–8 NLT

7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.

Question 4: (vs 7) If my sin causes God to show his Grace, why does he condemn me?

This is kind of an extension of this last argument. Paul is saying "Let's take your logic a step further. If all the bad things I do make God happy because it gives Him the chance to show His grace, then why would God condemn me? And if the truth of God has increased through my sin, then why am I still judged? Can I be blamed for something that brings glory to God? How could God call me a sinner, if my sin shows what a forgiving person He is?"

He uses what philosophers call "you take it to it's logical, illogical conclusion." Push it to the extreme and show how stupid it really is.

Answer: (vs 8) God does not need our evil to contrast his goodness.

He's saying, If every time I sin it brings more glory to God because it shows what a forgiving person He is, then let's live it up! Let's gross out on evil so God can be super forgiving! Does that make sense? No! Paul is saying, God does not need our evil to contrast His goodness. That's cheap grace. That's basically saying, It doesn't matter what you do as long as you believe the right thing. There are a lot of people going to church and believing the right things . . . but their life style? They live for the Lord on Sunday and then live for the devil the rest of the week.

Paul is saying, you don't want to go out and sin more to prove what a gracious God He is.

Illustration: You get strep throat and go to the doctor. He says, "I have a wonder drug. You just have a minor case. This drug can wipe out your strep throat immediately!" What if you said, "Let's wait a few days. Let's pray that I get a super severe strep throat so that it will really demonstrate how powerful your wonder drug is!" That's the same kind of logic.

A lot of people do that with God. They think that God is some old grandfather up in the sky who's loving but absolutely harmless. People say, I know what I’m doing is wrong but Im going to do it anyway because I know God will forgive me. What kind of fool do you think God is? Don't you think He sees through that? Do you think that a God who would let you get away with that is worthy to be worshipped?" Forgiveness is not a license to sin. Never confuse forgiveness with approval. They are two totally different things. Forgiveness from God does not mean approval.

You can go out and get your life messed up in a certain kind of lifestyle and ask God to forgive you but you will still reap what you've sown. The consequences are still there. It can happen in any area of life. You can make a mistake, sin, ask God to forgive you, repent and God will forgive you. But we still hold scars.

Paul is saying, Don't presume on the grace of God. Some people were actually reporting that Paul was teaching this. He says "I've been slandered, insulted. People are saying Paul is encouraging loose living!" Anytime you get a pastor or preacher who teaches on grace that person is always going to be misrepresented by someone as believing in loose living. It always happens.

Paul's response to that attitude was the last thing he said in v. 8. "They deserve to be condemned." If you think you can go out and sin and get away with it and ask God to forgive you, you get what you deserve

Romans 3:9 NLT

9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.

Question 5: (vs 9) Aren’t we better off than those who don’t go to church?

Answer (vs 9) NO. We all Sin.

These are the five excuses: the Jews' uniqueness, God's faithfulness, God's righteousness, God's truthfulness, and everyone's sinfulness. Paul says "Are we any better?" referring to his own Jews. No. Some people think from verse 1 that the Jews have an advantage. Paul does say they have an advantage. He doesn't say they're better. There's a difference. They do have an advantage. They have the word of God.

2. Quotations: Paul’s submits support testimony (Romans 3:10-18)

Then Paul goes into section two which is 10-18 which are the quotations. Paul brings in his supporting testimony and since he's speaking to Jews he uses their own Old Testament to reinforce his case. Paul quotes five Old Testament passages. He took the five Old Testament passages, put them together and wrote a poem. v. 10-18 are a poem composed of five quotations out of the Old Testament.

Romans 3:10–12 NLT

10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

Everyone Sins

v. 10-12 actually comes from Psalm 14:1-3. Paul says "There is no one righteous not even one." Universal sin. Nobody bats 1000. All races, all religions, all nationalities. "No one who understands. No one who seeks God." Many people seek the things that God offers but they don't seek God.

You don't seek God; He seeks you. Remember the bumper stickers "I found it!" The only problem with that is that God wasn't the one who was lost. God's not lost. It should have said, "He found me!"

Jesus didn't say, I came to earth to be found. He said "I came to earth to seek and to save that which is lost." Who's doing the seeking? Not man. God is doing the seeking. What are all these religious people looking for? God says they don't know what they're looking for.

Romans 3:12 NLT

12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

Sin is a Waste

The next couple of verses he's going to talk about our speech. Our speech gives our sinfulness away. When you go to the doctor and he wants to check your health what is the first thing he says? Stick our your tongue! By looking down your throat and looking at your tongue he can diagnose your health. God says He can do it spiritually. "Stick out your tongue. Let Me see what you've been saying. Let Me see what you've been talking about and I can tell what you're like." What you say is what's inside of you.

Romans 3:13 NLT

13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.”

Just like a snakle strikes it’s victims, we strike with our tongues.

The way we talk gives our sinfulness away.

Romans 3:14 NLT

14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

He's talking about garbage mouth. Foul speech is an offense to God.Foul Speech is an offense to God.

Now he moves to our actions.

Romans 3:15–17 NLT

15 “They rush to commit murder. 16 Destruction and misery always follow them. 17 They don’t know where to find peace.”

The way we act shows our sinfulness.

Romans 3:18 NLT

18 “They have no fear of God at all.”

We sin because we live like there is no God.

3. Conclusion: Paul summarizes God’s case (Rom 3:19-20)

Romans 3:19–20 NLT

19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

Everyone is accountable to God

Everyone is without excuse.

The Verdict: Man is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The whole world is lost. The bottom line is everybody needs to be saved. Whether you're respectable, religious or rebellious. Ray Steadman titled this passage, "Total Wipe Out". It's a description of the doctrine of the total depravity of man.

That's the bad news! Next week we get into the good news. Between v. 20 and v. 21, J. Vernon McGee says it's like the Grand Canyon. Like night and day. All of a sudden Paul switches roles and becomes the attorney for the defense. All of a sudden we realize that we don't have to live under condemnation. One verse: Romans 8:1 "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." That's the good news.