We leave God out and live life as though he does not exist; we leave God out and live life based on our own moral principles; we leave God out and live life by creating our own religious systems. But at the end of the day, our selfish and sinful rebellion against God is undeniable. Today, we will look as Paul concludes this section of this letter with a fourth and final evidence of the huge problem that humanity has with God in Romans 3:19-20. Let’s look at it together:
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.Now to fully understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand some words and phrases. By using the word know here, Paul is introducing a well known and generally accepted fact that those who were reading his letter would be aware of. The well known and generally accepted fact is that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law. But what does that mean? The Law here refers to the first five books in our Bibles, which were referred to as the Law or the Torah.
Paul’s point here is that the Bible, including the Law, was God’s revelation of Himself to all of humanity. This morning the Bible is the story of God. It is the story of God’s creation of the universe and His passionate pursuit of humanity. Therefore every human being is under the Law, as the Bible was written for all of humanity in order that all humanity could know God and have a relationship with God. And this was a well known and generally accepted fact that all those at the church in Rome would agree with.
Paul then explains that whatever the Bible says, it says so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. Paul’s point here is that the message and teachings of the Bible serve to silence all of humanity when it comes to having any excuse of defense as to why they are not guilty of having a problem with God. In addition, the Bible serves to reveal that all of humanity is responsible and answerable to be under judgment and punishment that comes as a result of being judged guilty of having a problem with God.
And here we see the Apostle Paul provide a fourth piece of evidence from the Bible that proves that all humanity has a huge problem with God. And that fourth piece of evidence is that the Bible proves that the problem is insurmountable. You see, the message and teachings of the Bible removes any possible excuse or defense that any human being may have when it comes to selfish rebellion and sin. The Bible reveals that we are guilty of having a huge problem with God that is insurmountable. And the Bible also provides the evidence that proves that all humanity is responsible and answerable to God when it comes to receiving God’s right and just response to selfish rebellion and sin.
Now you might be thinking to yourself “How does the Bible prove that I have an insurmountable problem with God? How does the Bible show that there is nothing that I can do to escape from being guilty of having a problem with God?” We find the answer to these questions in verse 20: Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight. The works of the Law here refers to the deeds that the Bible commands you to do. To be justified is a legal term that means to be found or declared not guilty of something, in this case guilty of having a problem with God. Paul’s point here is that there is nothing that any human being can do that can cause us to be not guilty when it comes to having a problem with God. Notice that Paul does not say some flesh; he says no flesh; no human being is able to earn their way into Heaven by what they do for God.
Now you might be wondering “why not? Why can’t I work my way into Heaven by what I do for God?” There are two reasons why we cannot work our way into being right with God. First, as we discovered earlier in this series, our moral or religious works do not make us right with God because we do not even keep the rules that we make that we think should make us right with God either through our morality or our religion. The second reason why we cannot work our way into Heaven, especially when it comes to keeping the message and the teachings of the Bible is because that is not the point of the Bible. The Bible was not written so that we could work our way into Heaven. In verse 20, Paul reveals that the Bible was written so that through the Law comes knowledge of sin. In other words the Bible was written to reveal the reality that all of humanity is guilty of having a huge problem with God. A problem that is universal; a problem that is insurmountable.
You see, we discover our sin; we discover that we are selfish and rebellious and do things that hurt God and others by reading the Bible. The Bible exposes the harsh reality that we are selfish, self-absorbed people who are guilty. And the Bible exposes that there is nothing that we can do to resolve our guilt and be restored to the relationship with God we were created for. People who are theologians who spend their lives studying the Bible refer to this reality as total depravity. Maybe you have heard this term used before.
Now total depravity does not mean that every person is as bad as they can be. What total depravity does mean is that no person is perfect in God’s sight. And intuitively we know this to be the case; we even have a phrase for this reality, don’t we; “well nobody’s perfect”. That is 100% accurate and Biblical. Total depravity also means that not only none has the perfection that one requires, no one is able to achieve that perfection; our selfish rebellion and sin is universal and insurmountable in nature and scope. Unlike some streams of psychology and liberal streams of Christianity, the Bible does not teach that mankind is good. Unlike other streams of psychology and Catholicism, the Bible does not teach that we are kind of good and can be saved by what we do for God in terms of jumping through spiritual hoops called sacraments.
What the Bible clearly teaches is that, in the words of one famous commercial, man is fallen and cannot get up; all humanity is fallen and is completely helpless. We are absorbed in selfishness and rebellion that has no desire to follow Jesus and His teachings. The timeless reality is that the Bible was not given to provide justification; the Bible was given to reveal our condemnation. The Bible was given to prove that all humanity has a huge problem with God. A problem that is universal. A problem that is revealed by our word and by our actions. A problem that is insurmountable. And it is this reality that separates Christianity from every other religious and moral or ethical system. While other religious and moral or ethical systems provide a list of behaviors that we need to do in order to be right with God; and while other religious and moral systems all reveal that we violate those lists that causes us to have a problem, none of them provide a solution to the problem of selfishness, rebellion, and sin. For while religion is about what you do for God, Christianity is all about what God has done for us.
You see, humanities problem is not just humanities problem. Our problem is not simply our problem. Our problem is also God’s problem. Our problem is God’s problem because our problem calls into question God’s justice and love. God’s love desires that all humanity experience the relationship with Him that they were created for in Heaven. However, God cannot ignore His perfect Law and justice. God’s perfect justice demands that the selfish rebellion and sin of all humanity be punished. So our problem is God’s problem.
All humanity has a huge problem that requires rescue; a rescue that we are unable and unwilling to attempt on our own. Instead all humanity needs to be rescued. All humanity is in dire need of a rescuer. And starting next week, we will begin to look at how God responded to a universal and insurmountable problem that impacted all creation. We will discover that God is both absolutely just and unconditionally loving. God’s justice is administered in love and His love is distributed justly. We will see God’s love and justice that provides the opportunity for rescue in the cross.
In His love, God sent His Son Jesus into humanity in order to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Jesus death on the cross satisfied God’s justice, which satisfied God’s right and just response to our selfish rebellion and sin.
So do you believe that you have a huge problem with God? A problem that is universal. A problem that is revealed by our word and by our actions. A problem that is insurmountable. Because the reality is that we all have a huge problem with God that requires rescue; a rescue that we are unable and unwilling to attempt on our own. A problem that is not only our problem; a problem that is God’s problem. A problem that God deals with in a way that none of us can, through the perfect life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus.
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