These are the original teaching notes from this passage.
- The doctrine of Grace – Chapters 1-8
- All have sinned – Chapters 1-3
- Saved by faith alone – Chapters 4-5
- Victory over sin – Chapters 6-8
- Empty Religion…
- Having established that God is NOT partial – He will judge everyone [Jew and Gentile]
- Paul asked – SINCE [εἰ] they called [ἐπονομάζω] themselves [middle] RELIGIOUS [a Jew]
- And KNEW [γινώσκω] the will of God – having been taught in the Word…
- CONFIDENT they were a guide to the BLIND – a light to the LOST – a teacher of the FOOLS…
- Did they forget to TEACH themselves – because they still did the SINS they told others NOT to…
- And as a RESULT they dishonored God – and gave opportunity for unbelievers to BLASPHEME God!
- Change of Heart…
- CIRCUMCISION was the proof that someone was a JEW [son of Abraham] – Genesis 17:12
- If someone was law BREAKER [no article] – it was as though they were UNCIRCUMCISED…
- Yet one who was UNCIRCUMCISED but kept the LAW – it was as though they were CIRCUMCISED…
- And the UNCIRCUMCISED would JUDGE the person who was CIRCUMCISED…
- Because it is NOT about the OUTWARD appearance – it is about the HEART…
- The CIRCUMCISION of the heart – cutting away the SINFUL nature…
- Not by the LETTER – not by RULES – but by the power of the SPIRIT of God!
- 1st – Benefits… vs. 1-2
- 1st – Question… vs. 1
- What advantage then has the Jew or what is the profit of circumcision.
- Having established God is NOT partial – He will JUDGE everyone [Jew and Gentile]
- And that it does NOT matter what LABEL we give to ourselves [what religion]
- Some people who sat in CHURCH every Sunday will NOT be in heaven…
- And others who have NEVER been in a church who will be saved…
- Because it is NOT about the outside – our CIRCUMCISION needs to be of the heart…
- Therefore the OBVIOUS question becomes – is there any BENEFIT to being RELIGIOUS [Jew]
- Is there any PROFIT in CIRCUMCISION [communion – baptism]!
- 2nd – The Word… vs. 2
- Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God!
- The answer is YES – there are a MANY [πολύς] advantages to being a JEW [religious]
- So many it can be said that in EVERY [πᾶς] way it is BETTER…
- FIRST and foremost – because they have the ORACLES of God [τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ]
- ORACLES [λόγια] – 4x in NT – the Jew were given the WORD [λόγος] of God!
- There are a LOT of benefits to going to church…
- We get to have a community of beliers who help encourage us in our walk…
- We have a place where we can bring our families to connect to like-minded people…
- But most of all – it is a place where we get to hear the WORD of God…
- While it is true that church cannot save us – we get to learn about Jesus who can!
- 1st – Question… vs. 1
- 2nd – Excuses… vs. 3-8
- 1st – No effect… vs. 3-4
- Three excuses…
- Since some questioned the BENEFIT of coming to Church…
- Paul went on to anticipate THREE excuses they might have had for NOT coming!
- The blame…
- For [since] some did not believe?
- Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
- FIRST – since [indicative] some who are in CHURCH [Jews] do NOT believe [ἀπιστέω]
- Does that not mean the FAITHFULNESS [πίστιν] of God had NO effect!
- We know that NOT every Jew is going to make it to heaven – Romans 9:6
- And there are some who go to CHURCH who will hear – I NEVER knew you – Matthew 7:23
- Does that prove God [and His church] have FAILED!
- There are a LOT of people who say they TRIED church…
- They went for months – maybe even years but then stopped – because it did NOT work!
- Liars… vs. 4
- Certainly not! Indeed let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written:
- That You may be justified in Your words and may overcome when You are judged!
- The answer is – may that NEVER be the case [optative]
- Let God be TRUE – while EVERY [πᾶς] man is a LIAR [we lie to ourselves]
- Just as it was WRITTEN by King David after he sinned – Psalm 51:4
- That God would be RIGHTEOUS when He spoke – and BLAMELESS when He judged!
- When Nathan the prophet confronted King David about his sin with Bathsheba…
- David repented and confessed to the Lord – and wrote – Psalm 51
- He did NOT blame the Lord for his FAILURE – or make excuses for his SIN!
- Psalm 51:4 – “Against You – You only have I sinned – and done this evil in Your sight. That You may be found just [צָדַק] when You speak – and blameless [זָכָה] when You judge.”
- People do NOT leave the church because God was NOT faithful…
- They leave because they do NOT want to confess and repent of their SIN…
- God sent Jesus to SAVE the whole world – yet NOT all the world will be saved – John 3:16
- Not because God failed – but because men choose to REJECT Him…
- God does NOT send anyone to hell – they choose NOT to go to heaven!
- II Timothy 2:13 – “If we are faithless He remains faithful – He cannot deny Himself.”
- 2nd – Contrast… vs. 5-6
- Unjust… vs. 5
- [Since] our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God what shall we say?
- Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? [I speak as a man].
- SECOND – since [indicative] we can see God is RIGHT because we are WRONG [ἀδικία]
- How can God judge us – it seems unfair God punishes us for making Him look good…
- Paul admits this is NOT a godly argument – he is speaking as a man [human wisdom]!
- That is like saying – I am a justified in being a criminal so that the police can have a job…
- Therefore the police should NOT arrest me – because without me they would be unemployed!
- Judgement… vs. 6
- Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?
- The answer is again – may that NEVER be the case [optative]
- Because if that were so [ἐπεί] – how could God JUDGE [future] the WORLD [κόσμος]!
- The world teaches YING and YANG – we cannot have LIGHT without DARK…
- But that is NOT the TRUTH – darkness is the absence of LIGHT [it does not need it]
- Likewise God does NOT need our SIN to make Him look GOOD…
- Make NO mistake – God is NOT mocked – SIN will be judged – Galatians 6:7
- 3rd – More Sin… vs. 7-8
- The Truth…
- [Since] the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory.
- Why am I also still judged as a sinner?
- And why not say: Let us do evil that good may come.
- As we are slanderously reported and some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just!
- THIRD – since [indicative] His TRUTH is made more obvious [amplified] through my LIE…
- My SIN [κακός] makes His GOODNESS [ἀγαθός] look better – why does God still JUDGE…
- The ultimate end to this logic being – the MORE we sin the BETTER…
- Because the DARKER I am – the BRIGHTER God shines so sin a LOT…
- There were those who said Paul preached that very message – it was NOT true [βλασφημέω]
- To which Paul replied – those who say such things deserve to be JUDGED [κρίμα]!
- There are those who treat the GRACE of God as a license to SIN…
- SINCE God will forgive me EVERY time – no matter what I do – Romans 5:20
- Then why NOT keep SINNING – so people can see His GRACE at work…
- But those who are saved CANNOT continue [present] to live in SIN – I John 3:6
- Our lives should be DIFFERENT after we come to saving FAITH in Jesus!
- Romans 6:1-2 – “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
- Excusing sin…
- All THREE of these arguments look to make EXCUSES…
- They seek to pass the BLAME onto God – as if somehow our failures are His fault!
- When God confronted ADAM in the Garden – he blamed EVE [whom God gave him]
- When God confronted EVE – she blamed SATAN [snake] – Genesis 3:12-13
- When we fail – we want to blame anyone but us [even God]
- If we take the BLAME – then it means that we have to change…
- It is far easier to just pass the BLAME onto someone else – ANYONE else…
- But until we ACCEPT responsibility – there is NOTHING God can do to HELP us!
- 1st – No effect… vs. 3-4
- 3rd – The Law… vs. 9-18
- Sinners … vs. 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!
- So go back to the question – if it is BETTER to be in CHURCH [religious]
- To be in a place where we can HEAR the WORD of God…
- Then are we BETTER [προέχω] than those who do NOT go to church…
- NOT at all – Paul sums up the first TWO chapters Romans in ONE statement…
- EVERYONE is a sinner – both the RELIGIOUS [Jews] and NON religious [gentiles]
- We ALL stand on even ground – ALL [πᾶς] of us are SINNERS [ἁμαρτία]
- To prove the point – Paul gave SIX quotes [four points] from the Old Testament!
- 1st – None Righteous… vs. 10-12
- Not one… vs. 10
- As it is written: There is none righteous – no not one!
- FIRST – there are NONE that are good – NOT even one – Psalm 14:1
- The problem with the word GOOD [טוֹב] – is that it is a comparative ADJECTIVE…
- Something can only be GOOD – when it is compared to something else…
- Therefore in order to answer the question who is GOOD – we need to DEFINE it!
- There are TWO words in the GREEK that we translate as GOOD…
- [καλός] – the visible EXTERNAL good works that can be seen…
- [ἀγαθός] – the invisible INTERNAL moral goodness [being good is not just the outside]
- In order to be RIGHTEOUS [δίκαιος] we must be PERFECT in BOTH – Matthew 5:48
- If we were to ask the average person if they thought they were GOOD or BAD…
- Almost to the last man – everyone one of them will say they were GOOD…
- The reason is because they are COMPARING themselves to other people [not to God]
- They are NOT as BAD as the person in prison – they might be BETTER than their neighbor…
- But that is THEIR definition – not the STANDARD that God gives!
- No one understands… vs. 11
- There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God!
- The SIN of men caused [hiphil] the LORD to look down on MEN [אָדָם] – Psalm 14:2
- Was there ANYONE left who UNDERSTOOD – ANYONE who thought about the LORD…
- ANYONE who still SEEKS God [אֱלֹהִֽים] – how far gone were the SONS of ADAM!
- This takes us back to the state of the world in the days before the FLOOD…
- When EVERY [כָּל] desire in the hearts of men – even before it was a conscious thought…
- Were ALWAYS [הַיּֽוֹם] evil – the sad state of men who have completely walked away from God!
- Genesis 6:5 – “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
- We might think – well we are better than that today…
- But people do NOT change – if we made a list of our priorities in life [food – money]
- For most God would be towards the bottom of the list [if He made it at all]
- The reason we do not UNDERSTAND life is about knowing the LORD…
- Is because we focus on things that are TEMPORARY – miss the one thing that is ETERNAL!
- All are useless… vs. 12
- They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable.
- There is none who does good – no not one!
- As a RESULT [hiphil] of men NOT wanting to SEEK God – Psalm 14:1
- They have ALL [כֹּל] turned away from God together [Jew and Gentile]
- They are CORRUPT [שָׁחַת] – to be spiritually rotten…
- None are GOOD – they NEVER [אֵין] do anything that God considers GOOD [טֽוֹב]!
- If you have ever seen a piece of rotting fruit – covered in filth – smelling terrible…
- The instant reaction is to avoid it – there is NOTHING good there!
- Because men are no longer CONNECTED to God – John 15:4
- The result of REJECTING Him – they become ROTTEN…
- What God created to be GOOD – has decayed spiritually apart from Him…
- Note – they do not do BAD because they are SINNERS…
- They CANNOT do GOOD things – because of they are not CONNECTED to the LORD!
- John 15:5 – “For without Me you can do nothing.”
- 2nd – Corrupt words… vs. 13-14
- Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have practiced deceit.
- The poison of asps is under their lips.
- Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness!
- SECOND – the throat of ALL men are like an open TOMB – Psalm 5:9
- What comes out STINKS – reflecting their ROTTEN hearts…
- They are LIARS [Imperfect] – the poison of asps is on their lips – Psalm 140:3
- Their tongue is a dangerous weapon – one they use to do a lot of damage…
- And their mouths are filled with CURSES [אָלָה] and BITTERNESS – Psalm 10:7
- If we want to know who someone is – all we need to do is listen to their words…
- Because what is in the heart – will inevitably come out of the mouth…
- And apart from Jesus what is in our heart is CORRUPT [tomb] – SELFISH [lies] – and BITTER!
- Luke 6:45 – “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
- 3rd – No Peace… vs. 15-17
- Selfish… vs. 15
- Their feet are swift to shed blood!
- THIRD – because men do NOT seek God – they are SELFISH…
- They RUN to do EVIL [רַע] – and kill [shed blood] the innocent [נָקִי] – Isaiah 59:7
- They want to follow their EVIL heart – and do NOT care who gets HURT!
- People will say they follow their heart – but that is NOT a good idea…
- Because apart from Jesus in our lives our heart is desperately WICKED…
- And what we end up doing is running to EVIL – as we hurt others along the way!
- Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked!”
- Broken… vs. 16-17
- Destruction and misery are in their ways.
- And the way of peace they have not known!
- Why do they RUN to EVIL – because their THOUGHTS are EVIL [מַחְשְׁבוֹת אָוֶן]
- As a result their life is BROKEN [שֶׁבַר] and RUINED [שֹׁד]
- And they CANNOT [לֹא] know [יָדַע] peace [שָׁלוֹם] – Isaiah 59:7-8
- We were created to know God – to worship God – to obey God…
- Therefore – the result of a life that is absent of God – it is BROKEN and RUINED…
- And we have NO peace – both here and now – and with God eternally!
- 4th – No Fear… vs. 18
- There is no fear of God before their eyes!
- FOURTH – they have NO fear of God – for they flatters themselves – Psalm 36:1
- They NEVER [אֵֽין] fear the LORD – because they do NOT see a NEED to…
- They are so caught up complimenting themselves – they CANNOT see their sin!
- Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom!”
- WISDOM begins with the FEAR of the LORD – Psalm 111:10
- Because when we KNOW we are SINNERS – KNOW we will be JUDGED – Hebrews 10:31
- We are going to come to the LORD to find His GRACE…
- But the reason people do NOT fear the LORD – is because they do not think they NEED Him…
- They are too busy patting themselves on the back – marveling at how good they are…
- Right up to the day when they will be JUDGED by God…
- Then they will be AFRAID – but it will be too LATE for them to be SAVED – Hebrews 9:27
- 3rd – The Purpose… vs. 19-20
- 1st – Guilty… vs. 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!
- We KNOW [εἴδω] that what the LAW [ὁ νόμος] says [present]
- Pointing back to the SIX quotes [four points] from the Old Testament – Romans 3:10-18
- Was written to those who are IN the LAW [τῷ νόμῳ]
- To the JEWS [religious] who were given the WORD of God – Romans 3:2
- So that every mouth would be SHUT – and the whole world would be GUILTY before God!
- If even those who are in CHURCH are NOT good – do NOT seek God…
- If those who are RELIGIOUS are CORRUPT – and have no PEACE…
- If even they do NOT fear the Lord – and cannot see their SIN…
- How much more the rest of the world that does NOT come to church!
- 2nd – Knowing sin… vs. 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!
- Therefore – by the WORKS of the LAW [no article]
- NO flesh [Jew or Gentile] can be JUSTIFIED in the eyes of God [just as if we never sinned]
- Go back to the central theme of the whole book – Romans 1:17
- We are JUSTIFIED by faith to faith – the JUST must live by FAITH…
- Since that is the case – then what is the BENEFIT of the LAW [no article]
- What is the purpose of RELIGION [Jew] – coming to CHURCH…
- It is through the LAW we really KNOW [ἐπίγνωσις] we are SINNERS!
- The more we KNOW the Bible– the more we realize how much of a SINNER we are…
- Like looking into a mirror – the more light in the room the better we see our image!
- The LAW is like a mirror – and the more of Jesus [light] we have the better we see…
- We are the problem – we are SINNERS – every one of us…
- Realizing that is the key to being JUSTIFIED – because now we KNOW we need help…
- Now we are ready to hear about Jesus!
- Galatians 3:24 – “The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ!”
- 1st – Guilty… vs. 19