Sermon Tone Analysis

Wenstrom Bible Ministries

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Thursday November 1, 2007

www.prairieviewchristian.org

Romans: Romans 3:19-The Final Verdict-Both Jew and Gentiles are Guilty Under the Law

Lesson # 91

Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 3:9.

This evening we will continue with our study of the second major section in the book of Romans that is contained in Romans 1:18-3:20, which deals with the universal need of the righteousness of God.

This section is divided into three parts: (1) The unrighteousness of the Gentiles (1:18-32).

(2) The unrighteousness of the Jews (2:1-3:8).

(3) The universal unrighteousness of men (3:9-20).

We are currently engaged in a study of Romans 3:9-20, which can be treated like a court room trial and is divided into four parts: (1) The Arraignment: The entire human race is brought before the Supreme Court of Heaven to answer to the divine indictment (Romans 3:9).

(2) The Indictment: The entire human race faces the charges of crimes against a holy God (Romans 3:10-17).

(3) Motive: The motive for man’s crimes against God (Romans 3:18).

(4) The Verdict: The entire human race stands condemned before a holy God (Romans 3:19-20).

Thus far, we have noted the arraignment of the entire human race in the courtroom of heaven that is recorded in Romans 3:9 and the thirteen count indictment brought against the human race by God that is recorded in Romans 3:10-17.

Last evening we studied Romans 3:18, which records the motive for unregenerate humanity’s crimes against God.

This evening we will study Romans 3:19, which presents the verdict against the human race that it stands condemned guilty before a holy God.

In this passage, we will note that the entire human race is guilty before a holy God because of the evidence presented against them by the Old Testament Scriptures.

Romans 3:9-20, “What then?

Are we (Christians) better (than they: does not appear in the original Greek text)?

Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin as it is written, ‘THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE.

THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD.

ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.

THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING, THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS.

THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD.

DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.

DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.

THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.’

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Corrected translation of Romans 3:19: “Now, we know for certain that whatever the Law says, it speaks for the benefit of those under the jurisdiction of the Law in order that each and every mouth may be silenced and in addition all the unsaved inhabitants of the cosmic system may be demonstrated as guilty in the judgment of God.”

Let’s look at Romans 3:19 in detail.

“Now” is the post-positive “transitional” use of the conjunction de (deV), which transitions from Paul’s statements in Romans 3:9-18 to another set of statements in Romans 3:19-20 that present the guilty verdict of unregenerate man.

“We know” is the 1st person plural perfect active indicative form of the verb oida (oi‚da), which denotes that Paul’s readership had full possession of the facts concerning the guilty verdict of mankind since he presented evidence in Romans 1:18-3:18 that condemned both Jew and Gentile as guilty before a holy God.

This knowledge is also “intuitive” meaning that through guilt produced by the function of the conscience, both Jew and Gentile are well aware of the fact that they are guilty before a holy God.

“Whatever” is the relative pronoun hosos (o%so$), which refers to the six Psalms and Isaiah 59:7-8 that Paul quoted from in Romans 3:10-18 in order to present a thirteen count indictment against the entire human race.

In Romans 3:10-18, Paul doesn’t use the Mosaic Law, i.e. the Pentateuch but rather he quotes from “the Writings” and “the Prophets” to present evidence that mankind is guilty before a holy God.

The Jews divided the Old Testament Scriptures into three parts: (1) The Torah (2) The Prophets (Nabhiim) (3) The Writings (Kethubim).

In Romans 3:10-18 Paul employs “the Writings” when he quotes the Psalms and “the Prophets” when quoting Isaiah, which indicates that the term nomos, “Law” in Romans 3:19 is a reference to not simply the Mosaic Law but rather the entire Old Testament canon of Scripture.

Romans 3:19, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.”

“The Law” is the noun nomos (novmo$) (nom-os), which again does not refer to simply the Mosaic Law, i.e. the Pentateuch but rather the entire Old Testament Scriptures including the Pentateuch.

The fact that the articular form of nomos here refers to the entire Old Testament canon of Scripture indicates that the expression tois en to nomo, “to those under the Law” refers to the Jew’s exclusively and not both Jew and Gentile since the Jews were given the Old Testament Scriptures and not the Gentiles.

Many expositors believe this expression tois en to nomo, “to those under the Law” refers to the fact that the Jews are under the written form of the Mosaic Law and the Gentiles are under the law written on their souls by the Lord Jesus Christ, which Paul mentions in Romans 2:14-15.

However, the fact that nomos refers here to the Old Testament Scriptures rules out the possibility that the expression tois en to nomo, “to those under the Law” refers to both Jew and Gentile since only the Jew received the Old Testament.

“Says” is the verb lego (levgw), which refers to the “content” of what is communicated in writing in the Old Testament Scriptures.

“It speaks” is the verb laleo (lalevw), which refers to the “act” of God the Holy Spirit inspiring men to communicate in writing in what is known as the Old Testament Scriptures that all men are guilty before God.

“To those who” is the dative masculine plural form of the definite article ho (o(), which refers exclusively to the Jews and is a “dative of advantage” meaning that the Jews “benefited” by being under the jurisdiction of the Old Testament Scriptures.

They benefited in the sense that the Old Testament Scriptures revealed to the Jews their sinfulness and their need for a Savior (Galatians 3:24)

Romans 3:19, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.”

“Under the Law” means that the Jews were under the jurisdiction of the Old Testament Scriptures, i.e. the Scriptures governed their spiritual, personal and national life.

“So that” is the conjunction hina (i%na), which is employed with the subjunctive mood of the verb phrasso in order to form a purpose clause that expresses that one of the purposes of the Old Testament Scriptures was to reveal God who is holy and to demonstrate that sinful mankind stands as guilty before Him.

“Every” is the adjective pas (pa~$), which is used in a distributive sense referring to each and every member of the human race.

“Mouth” is the noun stoma (stovma) (stom-a), which refers to that organ of the human body that gives one the capacity for eating and speaking.

“May be closed” is the verb phrasso (fravssw) (fras-so), which means, “to cause someone not to have anything to say.”

Here in Romans 3:19, the verb phrasso indicates that the entire human race has no argument or defense before God in the courtroom of heaven.

They are rendered speechless in the courtroom of heaven because of the incontrovertible evidence that has been brought against them that was presented by Paul in Romans 1:18-3:18.

The human race is like a defendant in court who is rendered speechless by the evidence brought against them.

Job 9:2-3, “Indeed, I know that this is true.

But how can a mortal be righteous before God?

Though one wished to dispute with him, he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.”

Unsaved Gentiles will be rendered speechless at the Great White Throne Judgment of all unbelievers at the end of human history since they have failed to live up God’s perfect holy standards as demonstrated by their sinful conduct (Romans 1:24-31).

They also failed to acknowledge God by virtue of what He has created (Romans 1:18-23).

The function of their guilty conscience will also render them speechless with no defense before the Lord Jesus Christ since their guilt manifests the fact that they did not live up to the moral code inherent in them.

They will be rendered speechless and without defense at the Great White Throne Judgment since Jesus Christ suffered a substitutionary spiritual death in their place so that they would not have to suffer eternal condemnation.

Also, the fact that salvation is received as a gift through faith in Him will render them speechless and without defense.

Unsaved Jews will be rendered speechless and without defense since like the Gentiles, they too failed to live up to His perfect holy standards as demonstrated by their sinful conduct, which mirrored the Gentiles.

They also will be rendered speechless and without defense since they failed to keep the Law, which demanded perfect obedience since God is perfect.

The function of his guilty conscience will also render the Jew speechless and without defense since their guilt manifests the fact that they did not live up to the moral code inherent in them as well as the written form of the Law that was given to them through Moses.

They too will be rendered speechless and without defense before the Lord since the Lord suffered a substitutionary spiritual death in their place so that they would not have to suffer eternal condemnation.

The fact that salvation is received as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ also will render the unsaved Jew speechless, giving him no defense before a holy God.

Romans 3:19, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.”

“And” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai (kaiV), which is used to introduce a statement that presents an additional purpose of the Old Testament Scriptures.

“The world” is the noun kosmos (kovsmo$) (kos-mos), which refers to the unsaved inhabitants of the earth who are enslaved to the old Adamic sin nature and to Satan and his cosmic system.

“May become” is the verb ginomai (givnomai) (ghin-om-i), which means, “to be shown or demonstrated to possess a certain characteristic,” and which characteristic is identified by the adjective hupodikos, “guilty.”

“Accountable” is the adjective hupodikos (u(povdiko$) (hoop-o-dee-kos), which is a technical legal term used to describe a person charged with a crime or crimes that he cannot disproved, thus he is under a guilty verdict.

The adjective describes the entire human race as having no argument or defense on their behalf because of the incontrovertible evidence brought against them in the Old Testament Scriptures.

“To God” is the articular dative masculine singular form of the theos (qeov$), which refers to the Supreme Court of Heaven, i.e. the Trinity and functions as an “ethical dative” indicating that this guilty verdict is “the opinion” or “the judgment” of the Supreme Court of Heaven, i.e. the Trinity.

The question arises that if the Old Testament Scriptures were addressed specifically to the Jews and that only the Jews were under their jurisdiction, how can the entire world or in other words, the Gentiles be declared guilty as well?

The answer is that the Ten Commandments, which appear in writing in the Mosaic Law that were specifically given to the Jews, were written onto the heart of every Gentile according to Romans 2:14-15.

The fact that the Gentiles did not adhere to this inherent law is evidenced by their sinful conduct recorded by Paul in Romans 1:18-32.

Therefore, since the Gentiles did not obey perfectly the inherent law that was given to the Jews in written form in the Ten Commandments of the Mosaic Law brings them under condemnation just as the Jews.