Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Romans 3: 1-20 (NASB).
“Then what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2Great in every respect. First, that they were entrusted with the actual words of God. 3What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found a liar, as it is written: “SO THAT YOU ARE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED.” 5But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking from a human viewpoint.) 6Far from it! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? 7But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8And why not say (just as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let’s do evil that good may come of it”? Their condemnation is deserved. 9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10as it is written: “THERE IS NO RIGHTEOUS PERSON, NOT EVEN ONE; 11THERE IS NO ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NO ONE WHO SEEKS OUT GOD; 12THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME CORRUPT; THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” 13“ THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE VENOM OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; 14“ THEIR MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; 15“ THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 16DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, 17AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THE WAY OFPEACE.” 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 closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.”
What the Word is Saying
The Father has put Himself in this position due to His desire to have a people who would love Him out of their own free will. Therefore, He gave the law first to the Jews and then later through the Jews to the gentiles to follow. This provided a standard of right and wrong in which all now could know that they must adhere to. The paradox here is that in giving the law to humanity God has now increased His stature by showing that man is unable to meet the requirements of the Law. Be it Jew or Gentile all fall short in complete obedience to the law. This is where Paul now picks up His argument again using the fictional character of a questioning Jewish believer.
The stature of God is renowned by His holiness and our inability to meet the requirements of the Law to be in His presence. Therefore, as we fail as God’s children to live up to that standard, we increase the Lord’s renown to the world. Paul has shown this to be true and in so doing has left open the door to false interpretation. Which apparently in the time of this letter had become an issue in the body of Christ. “Let’s do evil that good may come of it (Rom. 3 :8).” This misses the point entirely. God did not create the Law to show how much more holy He is than man and gain “fame” in the eyes of men as to His greatness. This is accomplished in all of creation. The sun, moon, and stars testify to His greatness.
What then is God providing to us by giving the law to the Jews? He is providing a road map of how to get into His presence in spite of our weakness. The Law was not created to show His glory, rather it was created to allow us to be restored to Him in our fallen state. We are unable to overcome our weakness and the law shows us that. Nevertheless, if we behave as the previous scenario shows in such a way as to provide a way for good to occur in our weakness. We don’t add to God’s renown, rather it could be said we take away from it. Because now in the eyes of the ungodly we do not look any different than the ungodly. We “prove” that there is no benefit to living a righteous life, because in the end we are the same as the unrighteous. We have not changed; if anything, we have become worse because we mock God’s grace with our delight in disobeying Him.
If we live no different from the ungodly because now, we live under grace, we mock God and destroy our witness to the lost. The law was given to the Jews to show our inability to live up to it. Therefore, as Christians whether Jew or Gentile we ask Jesus to forgive us, change our hearts, and renew our minds. This is for our personal benefit and also as a testimony to the ungodly. Jesus said: “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 6: 16).” We don’t witness to the ungodly when they see us operating in our sin. Rather the witness comes from knowing that we have sinned, and they now can see how God has changed us.
Maybe you have used the actions of “Christians” to justify your decision to deny Jesus. Let me first ask you to forgive those of us who believe for not providing a good witness to you as to His glory. However, this does not absolve you of your guilt. God judges the heart of each person. His standard is the Law and try as we may we all fall short of fulfilling it. However, God has made a way for us to conquer the bondage of sin in our lives. This is through a relationship with Him through the death of Jesus, His Son. I encourage you to take that free gift right now. Pray this prayer right where you are, say the words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord, I believe that you came into the world and lived a sinless life, you were made to suffer and put to death on a cross, they buried your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the grave. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I ask you to send me your Holy Spirit to fill me with your power and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus Name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I encourage you to contact us so that we can stand beside you and hold you up as you begin your walk with Jesus. Believe me when I say it is our Joy to support you because we were all once where you stand. Fortunately for us like you there were people waiting to help guide us in our newfound faith.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.
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