Untitled Sermon (2)

Application

Romans 3:1–2 (ESV)

1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

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, 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.

Last week, we looked at the temptation to looking back to our former ways of self-righteousness.

It is a temptation that will not go away until we die.

Because of sin, we look for ways to fuel & increase the perception that we have real, lasting righteousness in and of our self.

We look for ways to feel more valuable by finding our value in temporal things.

The list of things that we expect to do this for us in innumerable.

From material treasures, temporal comforts, academic honors, work ethic, peer evaluation, vocational accomplishments, financial successes, parental procedures, leisurely retirement...

All the way to religious behavior, church attendance, ascetic rituals, ministry “successes,” longevity of Christian testimony...

The list goes on.

All of these things, and more, are ways in which we are tempted to find our identity in something/someone other than Jesus.

Peter & others, even Barnabas, fell back into finding their identity & value in their ethnic/cultural heritage.

And, when we fall into this temptation and give in...

It causes us to have a skewed view of ourselves.

A false view of our self and others.