The Universality of Sin

Paul isn’t just sharing his opinion. His authority is the Word of God and he lays it out for his reading audience. In this section of his letter he pulls citations from the Psalms and the prophets

Verses 10-12 (Psalm 14:1-6 , Psalm 51:5 )

Verse 13 (Psalm 5:9 and Psalm 140:3 )

verse 14 (Psalm 10:7 )

Verse 15 (Prov 1:16 )

Verses 15 - 17 (Isa 59:7-8 )

Verse 18 (Psalm 36:1 )

Modern people hear this truth and most struggle to accept it. In fact, many reject this truth and believe that man is basically good until societal factors corrupt him.

There are others who partially accept this truth, but still retain the starting point of humanity in the process of justification. They will point to those who actually are seeking God - what about these people?

one of our problems is that we don’t think biblically. Instead, we start from our own experiences and then try to impose them on the Bible. The reality is that lost people do not seek God on their own. They may be seeking benefits that are associated with God such as personal peace, freedom from guilt, and the hope of a positive experience in the after life, but they aren’t seeking God. Lost people want to be comfortable, not holy.

Illustrate: Joining the chorus just so you can go on the end-of-the-year cruise. Or like my co-worker Tim at CNSY who went to Myrtle Beach to attend a Time Share pitch to get a free TV. The interviewer soon realized that Tim had zero interest in purchasing a Time Share

Argument: Parents want their children to have positive moral values so they drop them off at church or send them to a Christian school. They don’t send their kids to the Christian school because they love Jesus; they do it so their kids won’t have to associate with those “other kids.”