The Means of Salvation
Romans 3:22b-24
October 21, 2007

This morning we learned that there is a salvation available
Apart from being good enough to deserve it.

WHAT A GLORIOUS TRUTH!

We also learned that this salvation
Is available for those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

THAT SHOULD BE NO SURPSISE
GOD HAS ALWAYS WANTED FAITH

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

He has always wanted His people to trust Him,
As evidenced by continual obedience.

Psalms 50:12-15 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

That is why in the New Testament,
Jesus came preaching the same thing.

John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

God wants faith, and He wants faith in Jesus Christ.
And according to verse 21 and the first half of verse 22,
If you will place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
God will give you His righteousness.

Then you will be pleasing in His sight…
Then you will be acceptable to Him…
Then you will be delivered from under His wrath…

But that is hard for some to swallow.

“I can’t earn it, but God will just give it to me?”
“But you don’t know what I’ve done”
People in our world talk themselves out of salvation
Either because they believe it can’t be possible,
Or that God wouldn’t do it for them.

Tonight I want to show you how this salvation works,
And why it works,
And why it can work for you,
Or for anyone you know.

There are three things:
#1 THE RECIPIENTS
Romans 3:22b

Paul said we could get “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”

But then the pessimist in us comes out.
We still assume it is for someone else.
We still act like there is some sort of prerequisite.
“Where is the fine print?”
“Why am I really not eligible?”
“What’s the catch?”

THAT IS WHY PAUL KEEPS WRITING
“for all those who believe; for there is no distinction”

Paul just removed the fine print,
He calmed our anxious spirit,
He nullified any pre-requisites,
And said, it is for anyone who wants it.

Surely we are reading that wrong…
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

When Peter preached to Cornelius
Acts 10:34-35 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
When Paul preached at Pisidian Antioch
Acts 13:38-39 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”

And if you still have doubts that anyone can be saved,
Then listen as Paul lifts his own life as evidence that anyone can.

1 Timothy 1:12-16 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

Paul was a blasphemer of God
Paul was a persecutor of God’s people
Paul was violently aggressive against God’s people
Paul was ignorant
And not only did Jesus accept Paul, Jesus went looking for him.

DO YOU GET THE POINT?

No one is beyond the salvation of God.
God’s righteousness is for all who believe in Jesus Christ.

Murderers… Rapists…
Homosexuals… Liars…
Thieves… Drunkards…
Baptists…

God doesn’t require a pedigree of goodness…
God doesn’t require so many years of church attendance…

GOD DOESN’T REQUIRE
THAT YOU’VE EVER DONE A SINGLE THING IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT.
GOD ONLY REQUIRES THAT YOU PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS

“for there is no distinction”

Anyone who believes will be saved.
First the recipients
#2 THE REASON
Romans 3:23

Now I know, it still sounds a little too good to be true.
We in our society love to evaluate self worth.
We love to rank ourselves according to our own importance.

And despite Paul saying that faith is all that God requires, somewhere in the back of our minds,
We still can’t thinking some people deserve it more than others.

Remember the Pharisees?
Matthew 9:10-13 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
They thought some people
Were beyond the reach of God’s salvation.

If you think that is you.
If you think that you are beyond the reach of God’s salvation,
Let me give you a comforting truth.

Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.”

You are not outside the reach of God.
Because if you were outside of the reach of God,
Then everyone would be outside of the reach of God.

WHY?
“because there is no distinction”
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

AS GOD LOOKS DOWN HE DOESN’T SEE PEOPLE IN GROUPS.
Group A will be easy to save, they are close to being perfect.
Group B will take a little longer, but I can still get it done.
Group C is so far away, it may be impossible to get them saved.

WHEN GOD LOOKS DOWN WHAT DOES HE SEE?
Psalms 14:2-3 “The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Proverbs 20:9 “Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”?”
The truth is simple.
If one man is reachable, then all men are reachable.
If one man is unreachable, then all men are unreachable.
“for there is no distinction”

You cannot assume anyone is beyond the reach of God.
If God was able to save you, He is able to save anyone.

NAMELY BECAUSE GOD DOES NOT REQUIRE GOODNESS, BUT FAITH.

Faith is the only thing every believer has in common.
Matthew a tax collector
Peter a fisherman
Paul a Pharisee
The woman at the well
The Centurion with the sick slave

All they had in common was faith in Jesus.
God does not require anything else.

If you can give Him faith, you can be saved.

AND NOW LET’S SEE WHY.
Let’s look at why this salvation works.
Something like this doesn’t just automatically work.

#3 THE REQUIREMENTS
Romans 3:24

And before we dive into this text,
Let me tell you why this point is so great.

These are the requirement for salvation,
And they have nothing to do with you.

They all depend upon God.

IF THIS TYPE OF “WHOSOEVER” SALVATION
IS GOING TO WORK, IT REQUIRES TWO THINGS.

1) A REDEMPTIVE ATTITUDE
“being justified as a gift by His grace”

In other words, if this sort “whosoever” salvation is going to work,
Then it is going to require a God who is merciful and gracious.

It will require a God who is rooting for man,
And who is willing hold out hope for him.

That is exactly who God is.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

Salvation requires a God like that.
If He is quick tempered, or impatient, or selfish,
There is no way He is willing to put up with mankind.

A salvation like this requires a loving, merciful, God.
And that is who He is.
As evidenced by what Paul says here.

He said that all men are sinners and fall short of God’s glory,
But now he says that this sinful fallen man
Is “justified as a gift by His grace”

“justified” translates DIKAIOO (dik-ah-yo-o)
“to deem to be right”

And we understand that truth.
We constantly seek justification in things all the time.
But in our life, any justification we receive comes after much debate.

We argue to prove we are right.
We argue to vindicate ourselves.

And even in Scripture this word is used in that sense.
Matthew 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Jesus said, wisdom is proved right,
Or justified when the deeds she inspires are successful.

And so we understand that justification is hard work.
BUT LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS HERE.

“being justified as a gift”

God is just going to give it to us.
No debate (which wouldn’t work)
No proof (which doesn’t exist)
No nothing…

God just decided to give us a gift of eternal justification.
And also notice the text is in a Present Continuous Sense.
Carrying the idea not just of a one time justification,
But of continual justification.

This is opposite of the way Paul will use it later.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

There Paul uses the word in an Aorist Or Point Tense,
Indicating a point in time when we were justified before God.

Both are true.
But here Paul uses it in a continual sense,
Meaning that not only do we get justified,
But we are continually justified before God.

THIS IS HUGE
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

We still sin…
Satan still accuses…
But God continually justifies us.

Romans 8:33-34 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

According to Paul, this justification that is so difficult to attain,
Has just been freely given to us, and not just once,
But continually given to us.

WHY?
“being justified as a gift by His grace”

And there you have it.
GRACE
God is a gracious God.
He does it, not because we deserve it,
But because He can, and He wants to.

“gift” translates DOREAN (do-reh-an)
“freely or without a cause”

Another place it is used
Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

And maybe that is a good word to use here.
God didn’t need to justify us.
God didn’t have to justify us.
God certainly didn’t owe it to us.
He just wanted to because He is gracious.

I AGREE THAT THIS SORT OF “WHOSOEVER” SALVATION
SEEMS FAR FETCHED, AND IT WOULD BE,
IF GOD WERE NOT GRACIOUS.

It requires a redemptive attitude,
And thank God, He has a redemptive attitude.

Ephesians 2:1-9 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

That is our God to a tee.
He has a redemptive attitude.

But you and I know that is only half of what is required.
For there still remains the issue of the presence of sin.

A gracious God desires salvation, but a Holy God
(which He also is) requires payment.
So there is more required than just a redemptive attitude.

2) REDEMPTIVE ACTION
“through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

“redemption” translates APOLUTROSIS (ap-ol-oo-tro-sis)

It is a strengthened form of LUTROSIS which means
“to release upon a receipt of ransom”

LUTROSIS was the word commonly used for a person who buy a slaves freedom, or who would pay a debt that someone owed.

But we are not talking about any small debt here are we?
Psalms 49:7-8 “No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him — For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever”
In order to buy back humanity,
It was going to take something truly costly.

It is one thing to want to redeem someone.
It is another thing to pay the price.
JESUS PAID THE PRICE

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”

Colossians 1:13-14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
THE ISSUE OF DEBT IS SETTLED
THE ACCOUNT IS CLEARED
THE BILL IS PAID
CREDIT IS AVAILABLE
BECAUSE OF JESUS, ANYONE CAN COME TO GOD

John 12:32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

John 4:41-42 “Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Salvation is available because
God is gracious and because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Tonight, I want you to realize that.

If you thought there is no way you can be saved,
I have some good news.

God is gracious, and Jesus died for your sins.
Now, if you will place your faith in Jesus, you will be justified in God’s sight.

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Beyond that,
We live in a world of:
Thieves…
Adulterers…
Homosexuals…
Murderers…

But God can and will save them.
MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THAT.

Romans 10:11-13 “For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

The Manifestation of Salvation
Romans 3:21-22a
October 21, 2007

In Romans 1:16 Paul concluded his introduction to the book of Romans, And began his first real theological theme of the book.

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Of course we all love the statement that he is not ashamed of the gospel, But the real theological point there is
Why he is not ashamed of the gospel.

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;”

Paul loves the gospel because it reveals
The means of achieving the righteousness of God.

Paul could have gone deeper in explaining what he meant.
Certainly you would think he would have expounded.
But he didn’t.

Instead he immediately began to explain
Why man needs the righteousness so badly.

It does little good to explain to man how to get God’s righteousness,
If he doesn’t even know why he needs it.

So instead of elaborating on that great statement of verse 17,
Paul immediately began revealing why man needs it so much.

Romans 1:18-19 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

The first reason man needs God’s righteousness
Is because God is angry at anyone and everyone
Who does not have His righteousness.

God requires man to be perfectly righteous.
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”

But man is not, and God is angry.
And of course Paul got specific when he mentioned:
Idolatry Homosexuality Apathy

The second reason man needs God’s righteousness is because
Man’s righteousness falls well below the acceptable standard.

And of course this is what Paul spent chapter 2
And the first part of chapter 3 revealing.

It doesn’t matter if you:
Know right from wrong (2:1-7)
Have a good lineage (2:8-11)
Know the Law (2:12-16)
Participate in ministry (2:17-24)
Have religious works (2:25-29)

That righteousness falls drastically short of what God requires.

AND DESPITE THE ARGUMENTS OF MAN (3:1-8)
PAUL SUMMED UP HOW GOD SEES FALLEN MAN.

Romans 3:9-18 “What then? Are we better than they? 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.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
God requires man to be righteous,
But manmade righteousness falls drastically short.

It didn’t matter if you are Jew or Gentile…
It didn’t matter is you have knowledge or ignorance…
It didn’t matter if you have the Law or not…

No man has ever achieved the righteousness of God
And thus God’s wrath is on every man.

Romans 3:19-20 “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.”

At this point, if you know nothing else,
You should know that there is no possible way
For you to make yourself pleasing to God.

ALL MAN’S EFFORTS TO BE RIGHTEOUS HAVE BEEN FUTILE
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, MANKIND IS UNDER THE WRATH OF GOD.
AT THIS POINT WE SHOULD HAVE ALL HIT A WALL OF DESPAIR
AS WE REALIZE OUR HOPELESS SITUATION.

This reality is designed to drop man to his knees in brokenness.

This has happened to men throughout Scripture,
AND LEFT EACH ONE ASKING THE SAME QUESTION.

Job 9:2 “In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the right before God?”

Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?”

Matthew 19:16 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”

Remember when people in Jerusalem realized their spiritual bankruptcy.
Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

When Saul’s wickedness was confronted by Jesus:
Acts 22:10 “And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’”
Later the Philippian jailer:
Acts 16:30 “and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

EACH OF THESE MEN REALIZED THAT SALVATION HAD ELUDED THEM.
And now they are asking:
IS SALVATION EVEN POSSIBLE?

IN ORDER TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION
Paul returns to that glorious truth he began in Romans 1:16-17.

3 things
#1 SALVATION EXPOSED
Romans 3:21a

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,”
I hope you noticed 4 key words:
“apart from the Law”

That does not mean that God’s Law has no part in salvation.
We saw Sunday night, that the Law has a huge role.

God’s Law reveals to man that he is lost.
(20) “for through the Law comes knowledge of sin”
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

You have to get a person lost before you can get them saved.
THAT IS WHAT THE LAW DOES

Romans 7:9-11 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”

AND REALLY DEEP DOWN, MAN HAS ALWAYS KNOWN THIS
AND THE THOUGHT HAS BEEN MOST DISCOURAGING

Psalms 119:129-136 “Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul observes them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for Your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, After Your manner with those who love Your name. Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me. Redeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law.”

John MacArthur writes:
“Whether the law of God is the Mosaic Law of the Jews or the law written in the hearts and consciences of all men, including Gentiles, obedience to it can never be perfect and therefore can never save.” (MacArthur, John: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary; Romans 1-8: Moody Press, Chicago, Ill, 1991; pg. 203)

And it is this truth that ultimately leads all men to despair.
BECAUSE NO ONE CAN KEEP THE LAW

Galatians 2:16b “since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Even in the Old Testament.
Job 4:17 “Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?”

Psalms 143:2 “And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous.”

Psalms 130:1-3 “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”

Mankind has always been distraught when he got honest
About his inability to be good enough to please God.

No one ever got saved by completely adhering to the Law.
And that is what makes Paul’s statement here so wonderful.
“But now apart from the Law”

It doesn’t mean the Law has no purpose,
But that there is an available salvation apart from human merit.

There is a way for you to be saved
Without being “good enough” to be saved.

AND I THINK WHEN MAN GET’S HONEST
HE KNOWS HE NEEDS THIS.

I’ve certainly seen many people who think they are “good”.
But you would be surprised how many people will tell me
That if they died they would go to hell.

Although man continually tries to convince himself that he is good Deep down there is this nagging conviction that he is not.

Remember when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

They were waiting to see which commands didn’t count.

Remember the woman at the well?
John 4:19-26 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us. Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Obviously she was confused
“you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship”

She wanted Messiah to tell her what really mattered.
“I know that Messiah is coming…He will declare all things to us.”

Now don’t get me wrong.
Mankind likes being legalistic.
But still he has always known that in order for that to happen,
The bar can’t be very high.

What Paul says here should be very encouraging.
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested”

There is a way for you to be righteous
Apart from being perfectly obedient to every command of the Law.

That ought to cause every ear in the place to perk up.

Salvation Exposed
#2 SALVATION ENDORSED
Romans 3:21b

“being witnessed by the Law and the prophets,”

The fact that there is salvation apart from the Law should make us happy,
But Paul was smarter than that.

He knew some people are eternal skeptics
And so they were not yet ready to believe this wonderful piece of news.

I imagine he could already hear some of the Jews
“Don’t go inventing some “supposed” way of salvation apart from the Word of God. If it’s not in the Bible, we aren’t buying it.”

And indeed that is a good attitude to have.
But Paul wants them to know is that this “New” way of salvation
IS NOT NEW, IT IS IN THE BIBLE

It is “witnessed by the Law and the prophets”

“witnessed” translates MARTUREO (mar-too-reh-o)

To be a witness, to testify.

The noun form of that word is MARTUS
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

It is not just as though the Law and the prophets saw it coming (which they did).
It means that they pronounced this same truth back then.

EVEN THE LAW WAS SAYING
THAT THERE IS SALATION APART FROM THE LAW.

Of course the first.
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.”

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

The Old Testament taught over and over
That you would not be saved by keeping the Law.

THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM ITSELF
SHOULD HAVE CAUSED PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THIS.

If God was expecting man to be saved by adherence to the Law,
Why did He even institute a sacrificial system at all?

There is a salvation apart from the Law,
What Paul is doing here is giving credibility to that statement
By saying this is what the Bible has always said.

1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”

And so thus far we see that SALVATION IS EXPOSED, SALVATION IS ENDORSED
#3 SALVATION EXPLAINED
Romans 3:22a

“even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”

I know that we are leaving a lot of good stuff out (we’ll get it tonight)
BUT I DON’T WANT YOU TO MISS THIS VITAL POINT.
Paul again states “the righteousness of God”

Not some “knock off” righteousness.
Not man’s best attempt at righteousness.

The very righteousness of holy God can be yours.
The very holiness of God can be yours.
YOU CAN HAVE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!

HOW?
“through faith in Jesus Christ”

AND TWO THINGS SHOULD POP OUT AT YOU THERE
1) THE REQUIREMENT
“faith”
PISTIS (pis-tis)
It is an assurance, a conviction

And in the Bible it is always accompanied with action.
Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter,
Where each person’s faith is revealed by what they did.
“Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain”
“Noah built an ark”
“Abraham offered Isaac”

The point is that in order to achieve this salvation,
You must have a faith that is so real that it dictates your life.
If it doesn’t change your action,
Then it is well short of the faith that Bible requires.

Many think they can believe without it changing their actions.
THIS IS NOT SO.

James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

James 2:20-26 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
A.W. Tozer wrote:
“Something has happened to the doctrine of justification…The faith of Paul and Luther was a revolutionizing thing. It upset the whole life of the individual and made him into another person altogether. It laid hold on the life and brought it unto obedience to Christ. It took up its cross and followed along after Jesus with no intention of going back. It said good-bye to its old friends as certainly as Elijah when he stepped into the fiery chariot and went away in the whirlwind. It had a finality about it. It snapped shut on a man’s heart like a trap; it captured the man and made him from that moment forward a happy love-servant of his Lord.” (ibid. pg. 205)

It is a life altering, continuous, all or nothing conviction that God requires.
He wants faith.

The Requirement
2) THE RECIPIENT
“in Jesus Christ’

God is not looking for faith in your own goodness.
God is not looking for faith in what you did.
God is not looking for faith in faith.

There is a recipient of the faith that God requires and His name is Jesus.

In order to be saved,
You must place the kind of faith in Jesus that changes your life.

Joseph Alleine said: (in your bulletin)
“All of Christ is accepted by the sincere convert; he loves not only the wages but the work of Christ; not only the benefits, but the burden of Christ; he is willing not only to tread out the corn, but to draw under the yoke; he takes up the command of Christ, yea, the cross of Christ.
The unsound closeth by halves with Christ: he is all for the salvation of Christ, but he is not for sanctification; he is for the privileges, but appropriates not the person of Christ; he divides the offices and benefits of Christ. This is an error in the foundation. Whoso loveth life, let him beware here; it is an undoing mistake, of which you have been often warned, and yet none is more common.
Jesus is a sweet name, but men “love not the Lord Jesus in sincerity.” They will not have him as God offers, “to be a Prince and a Saviour.” They divide what God has joined, the king and the priest; yea, they will not accept the salvation of Christ as he intends it; they divide it here.
Every man’s vote is for salvation from suffering; but they desire not to be saved from sinning; they would have their lives saved, but withal would have their lusts. Yea, many divide here again; they would be content to have some of their sins destroyed, but they cannot leave the lap of Delilah, or divorce the beloved Herodias; they cannot be cruel to the right eye or right hand; the Lord must pardon them in this thing. O be carefully scrupulous here; your soul depends upon it.
The sound convert takes a whole Christ, and takes him for all intents and purposes, without exceptions, without limitations, without reserve. He is willing to have Christ upon any terms; he is willing to have the dominion of Christ, as well as deliverance by Christ; he said, with Paul, “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” Any thing, Lord. He sends the blank to Christ, to set down his own conditions.” (The Alarm to Unconverted Sinners [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980 reprint], pp.46-48)
There is a way to be saved apart from the Law.
It is to give your life fully to Jesus Christ.
It is to fully trust that He can save you.

Titus 3:5-6 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”

Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

YOU HAVE NOTICED BY NOW THAT THIS MORNING
WE ARE OBSERVING THE LORD’S SUPPER

And this is what the Lord’s Supper is all about.
It is a time of celebration!
We are not saved by the Law.
We are saved because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This morning we partake in rejoicing
That salvation is possible through faith in Him.

WE WILL FIRST HAVE A TIME OF PREPARATION
1 Corinthians 11:27-31 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”

Paul commanded that we first examine ourselves.
And judge ourselves rightly.

THE QUESTION IS
Have I placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Is it true faith? (as evidenced by obedience)
Is it in Jesus? (as evidenced by devotion to Him)

If not this time is for you to get that corrected.

Pray

DEACONS COME AND FOLD BLANKET

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

GIVE BREAD TO DEACONS
PRAYER
DEACONS PASS OUT BREAD

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

TAKE BREAD

Romans 3:21-24 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

GIVE JUICE TO DEACONS
PRAYER
DEACONS PASS OUT JUICE

1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

PARTING CHORUS

The Purpose of the Law
Romans 3:19-20
October 14, 2007

TONIGHT, WE COME TO THE LOWEST POINT
OF PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

We already learned that God was extremely angry.
He is filled with wrath.

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

And so the trial began.
Men immediately stood before God in order to present their case
As to why they shouldn’t be judged.

At first they pleaded ignorance.
Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Of course that didn’t work, for all men really do know.

That didn’t work, so others pleaded knowledge.
“That’s right, God they were wrong”
Romans 2:1 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

Next men tried to justify themselves by their works.

But that didn’t appease God either.
Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

At this point, man realized he was in a desperate situation.
Ignorance was no excuse…
Knowledge was no excuse…
Ministry didn’t appease Him…
Works was a false hope…

SO THEN MEN BEGAN TO ACCUSE GOD
(Instead of proving their innocence,
They did what is commonly done today,
And started seeking a MIS-TRIAL)

Maybe God didn’t read them their rights…
Maybe there was an illegal search and seizure…
They were going to get God on a technicality.

They accused God of being UNFAITHFUL.
Romans 3:3 “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?”

That didn’t work, God was acquitted of their charge.

Next they accused God of being UNRIGHTEOUS.
Romans 3:5 “But 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 in human terms.)”

That didn’t work either, God was acquitted of that charge.

Next they accused God of being UNGRATEFUL
Romans 3:7 “But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”

God wouldn’t even listen to the ignorance of this argument.

And so, after all the excuses, and after all the attempts at a mistrial,
God then spoke up to recount the guilt of man.

Romans 3:10-12 “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.”

Despite all their arguing,
Despite all their wiggling, and tactical approach,
Mankind was still as guilty before God as ever.

Their attempts had fallen short.

And in our text this evening, we now see the final point,
And that is the VERDICT.
God is going to let it be known how mankind has fared before Him.

AND THE WAY GOD DELIVERS THE VERDICT
IS BY SIMPLY REVEALING THE DECISION OF THE LAW.

When a judge presides over a case,
The only thing He is supposed to do is determine
If a person has indeed broken the Law.

If they have, then they are subject to the penalty determined by the Judge.
That is what is being done here.
God is applying the ruling to sinful man.

We will see this played out by looking at 3 things.
#1 THE PEOPLE OF THE LAW
Romans 3:19
Paul starts out by reminding,
That the Law is for the people who are under the Law.

And this makes sense to us.
The Chinese police cannot come to America and arrest me for preaching, because in America, I am not under Chinese Law.

Now, if I go to China, that is a different story.
In China, you are under Chinese Law.

“Under my roof, you’ll obey my rules.”

And so, before we condemn anyone,
We have to ask, who is under God’s Law?

Well certainly Israel is.

I mean we all remember the infamous statement.
Exodus 19:7-8 “So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.”

And we know this carried down through the generations.

Romans 2:17 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God,”

BUT IS THAT ALL?
Certainly not.

For we all live in God’s world don’t we?
We all accept His provision don’t we?

And indeed we have also learned
That even Gentiles are under the Law of God.
Romans 2:14-16 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”
Now they don’t have God’s Law written on paper,
But it is written on the conscience of their heart.

Even they are under the Law of God.

This is why in the Old Testament, God not only punished Israel,
But He also had the authority to punish other nations as well.

Deuteronomy 9:4-5 “Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. “It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Listen to what God said to Babylon
Isaiah 13:6-16 “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt. They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger. And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to his own people, And each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their little ones also will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives ravished.”

God doesn’t just have jurisdiction over Israel,
God also reigns over all who live in this world.

God was punishing the world long before He had “a people”
And long before there was ever “the Law”.
Remember the flood?
Remember the tower of Babyl
Remember Sodom and Gomorrah?

The people of the Law
Are those who live on the earth that God created,
Who received life from Him,
And who receive their provision from Him.

EVERY MAN IS UNDER THE REQUIREMENT OF GOD.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT.

In our day, people tend to want to remain neutral with God.
Or people seem to think they can worship other gods.

They act as though God doesn’t expect anything from them,
Simply because they have never promised Him anything.

THIS IS NOT TRUE

Remember when Paul went to Athens?
That city was full of idols.
They were worshiping all sorts of gods.

Now they had never made any promises to our God,
So surely, since they didn’t even know who He was,
They didn’t owe Him anything did they?

Acts 17:22-31 “So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Even Athens was headed towards judgment.

AND THIS IS THE POINT HERE.
Every man alive had better stand up and pay attention,
Because when it comes to judgment,
Every man will stand before the true God,
And every man will give an account.

Every man, whether they know it or not, is under the Law of God.
God expects something from them.

The people of the Law
#2 THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW
Romans 3:19b

Now this point should make perfect sense to us,
But for some reason, especially to the Jews, it didn’t.

They always seemed to think that having the Law
Automatically made them pleasing to God.
They seemed to think that knowing right from wrong was enough.

OF COURSE THIS IS FALSE
And Paul has already said it once.

Romans 2:13 “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”

The Law did not come to make man look good.

But “so that every mouth may be closed and all the world become accountable to God.”

The point is that the Law is to expose guilt, not innocence.
1 Timothy 1:8-11 “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

“Innocent until prove guilty”
That is because the purpose of law is not to prove innocence,
But to prove guilt.

You take a command in the law, hold it beside a person’s life,
Or beside a person’s conduct, and then you determine guilt.

THE LAW PROVES GUILT
Not only to the Judge, but also to the transgressor.

AND THAT IS WHAT PAUL SAYS HERE
“so that every mouth may be closed”

Some day God will reveal every sin,
And then He will hold that sin up beside His Law,
And at that point there will be nothing to say.

There will be no more excuses.
And at that point
“all the world may become accountable to God;”

In other words, everyone will then be at the mercy of God.
Romans 5:12-13 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

Paul didn’t mean that people didn’t sin,
But rather that they were sinning, and didn’t know it.

THIS IS THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW
God did not send it to justify men, but to prove men guilty.

WE MUST UNDERSTAND THIS.
The Law is not the aim, but the means.

Even as Evangelists
We aren’t leading men to knowledge,
We are leading men to Jesus.

Charles Spurgeon said:
“Now observe brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking, and the pit opens wider her jaws of fire and swallows up the soul unsaved? Of what avail to have moralized a man if still he on the left hand of the judge, and if still, ‘Depart, ye cursed’, shall be his portion?”

The purpose of the Law is to condemn men, not to save them.

And that goes along with the third point.
The people of the Law, the purpose of the Law
#3 THE POWER OF THE LAW
Romans 3:20

And here the verdict is delivered.
NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED

Not one single person on the earth
Was found whom God acquitted as righteous.
Jew or Gentile

Everyone deserves judgment.
EVERYONE WAS A LAWBREAKER.

James 2:10-11 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”

AND THIS SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING
OUR WORLD HAS DIFFICULTY FIGURING OUT.

Our world seems to think if you are innocent at one point,
Then you are innocent of all.
But that is not how it works.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

1) No other God’s before Me
Ever put anything before God?

2) No graven images
Ever scale God down to something less than He is?

3) Don’t take God’s name in vain
Ever not live like the follower you said you would be?

4) Remember the Sabbath
Ever push aside God for the sake of worldliness?

5) Honor your father and mother
Ever disobey your parents?

6) You shall not commit murder
Ever hate, slander, or condemn?

7) You shall not commit adultery
Ever look at woman lustfully, entice a man, marry a divorced woman?

8) You shall not steal
Every cheat on your taxes, cheat on a test, not tithe?

9) You shall not bear false witness
Every gossip, stretch the truth, exaggerate?

10) You shall not covet
Every get greedy? (Even Debt)

DO YOU GET THE POINT?
We have all broken all 10,
But even if we only broke one, we are guilty.
THE LAW HAS NO POWER TO SAVE, ONLY CONDEMN
“for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin”

Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

The Law was to weak to save, we made it too weak to save.
The Law can only condemn.

Romans 7:7-12 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

AND I HOPE FROM THAT YOU GET THE POINT.

EVERY MAN IS GUILTY
THE LAW DIDN’T SAVE ANYONE
IT CONDEMNED EVERYONE

It didn’t come to show you how good you are.
It came to show you how bad you are.

THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY YOU CAN SAVE YOURSELF.
Ignorance won’t work…
Knowledge won’t work…
Works don’t work…
Arguments don’t work…

THE ONLY HOPE WE HAVE IS THE MERCY OF GOD

Romans 11:32 “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”

James 2:13b “mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Romans 5:20-21 “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Do not deny your guilt before God.
Rather confess your guilt, and place your faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

He is the way to be saved from judgment.

Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

Not Even One
Romans 3:9-18
October 14, 2007

There is a misconception that bounds across our world today.
It is dangerous, and it leads countless thousands to destruction.

It is the misconception that man is basically “good”.
We hear it at funerals – how he was a good person
We hear it in the court room – “I’m a good person”

Another misconception is how man achieves that goodness.
Man is convinced that the reason they are good,
Is because they have done something good to achieve that status.

And quite often, it is far less than you would think.
Going to work…
Paying their taxes…
Helping their friends…

Still others do noticeable deeds like:
Give to charity…
Volunteer in the community…
Support good causes…

THE POINT IS, MAN THINKS HE IS GOOD
WHEN HE DOES GOOD THINGS

And this attitude is seen in Scripture.
Matthew 19:16 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”

And that sounds like sound logic.
If I do good things, I am a good person.

BUT WHAT IF AFTER I DO A GOOD THING, I THEN DO A BAD THING?
You would think that would negate the goodness, wouldn’t you?

We maintain our goodness
Through the masterful art of human comparison.
In short, our standard is moveable.

We convince ourselves that we are good
By finding someone who is not as good as us.

We call them bad, and that makes us good.

If you want a technical term, we call it: SELF-JUSTIFICATION
CERTAINLY THIS IS WHERE THE JEWS FOUND THEMSELVES
All of their good deeds…
All of their religion…
Compared to the goodness of the Gentiles…

Certainly the Jews had nothing to worry about.

THE BIBLE TEACHES OTHERWISE.

(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;”

• Paul has already spent all of chapter 2 revealing to the Jews That their religion or their ancestry didn’t save them.

• He then spent the first 8 verses of chapter 3 fending off their arguments.

But what Paul does here is really the lowest of the low.

BECAUSE UP UNTIL NOW, THE JEW
STILL HAD THE COMPARISON GAME GOING ON.
Maybe our religion isn’t acceptable…
Maybe being Jewish doesn’t save us…
Maybe circumcision is a false hope…
But I’m still a good person, because I’m better than…

That is exactly what Paul attacks here.
“What then? Are we any better than they?
Are Jews better than Gentiles?

“Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;”

And this is really the point Paul has been driving for.
Every man is sinful.
No man is good enough.
No man has done enough.

In chapter 1 Paul condemned the Gentile.
Romans 1:18-19 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

In chapter 2 Paul condemned the Jew
Romans 2:1 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

All are under sin,
But to make sure, none of us are still seeking to justify ourselves
Paul records this next section of Scripture.

Verses 9-20 of Romans 3 are the great leveler.
Paul throws all men together and reveals the worth of mankind.

THIS IS MAN THROUGH GOD’S EYES
When God looks at man, this is what He sees.

It doesn’t matter what you think you are,
It matters what God thinks you are, and this is it.

6 passages to reveal 6 characteristics
#1 MANKIND IS DEPRAVED
Romans 3:10-12

He is actually quoting a passage of Scripture that is found in two places.
Psalms 14, and Psalms 53

Psalms 14:1-3 “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”

No doubt Jews had read and sang that Psalm for years,
And had always applied it to the Gentile.

But God is applying it to all men, Jew and Gentile alike.
And the idea is that all of mankind is depraved.

When God created this world, He used one phrase over and over.
“God created the heavens and the earth…and it was good”
God said, “Let there be light”…and it was good”

Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

And of course that included the creation of man.
So even God was saying that man was good.

And then we hit Genesis chapter 3.
Genesis 3:6-7 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.”
Genesis 3:22-24 “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”

And from this day on man would look different to God.
Mankind was no longer “good”. Man had developed a new nature.

Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Now of course that was before the flood.

BUT EVEN AFTER THE FLOOD
Genesis 8:21 “The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.”

MANKIND HAS A DEPRAVED NATURE

It is the nature that Paul referred to in:
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

And if you want to get the picture of that depravity,
Look at what Paul says here in verses 10-12.

MAN IS WICKED
(10) “There is none righteous, not even one”

Man today argues their worth before God, but not a single man has it.

MAN IS STUPID
(11a) “There is none who understands,”

Man today thinks he understands God. That is not true.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

MAN IS SELFISH
(11b) “There is none who seeks for God”

Man doesn’t seek the will and benefit and glory of God,
Man seeks the will and benefit and glory of man.
MAN IS FUTILE
(12a) “All have turned aside, together they have become useless;”

People have this misconception that God needs them. WRONG.
We turned aside from God, and we have become useless.

MAN IS EVIL
(12b) “There is none who does good, there is not even one.”

Despite our self assurance, no one does good at all.
“not even one.”

IN OUR FALLEN WORLD, THERE IS NONE GOOD, NOT EVEN ONE
I don’t care how much money is given to charity…
I don’t care how well you take care of your family…
I don’t care if you are the greatest citizen ever…
I don’t care if you served your country…
I don’t care if you have “Yard of the Month”…

“There is none righteous, not even one.”

As God looks down, He doesn’t see a world that is basically good
He sees a world full of men who are wicked,
Who don’t seek Him, Who don’t follow Him, Who don’t fear Him, Who don’t love Him, and Who are useless to Him.

MAN IS DEPRAVED
#2 MANKIND IS DECEPTIVE
Romans 3:13a

Here Paul is quoting from
Psalms 5:9 “There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.”

All that comes out of their mouth is “death” and “uncleanness”.

“Their throat is an open grave,”
What they say does not benefit men, it swallows men,
It deceives men, it destroys men.

James 3:5-9 “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;”
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

And if you want to get specific as to what Paul meant.
“with their tongues they keep deceiving.”

They are liars.
They don’t tell the truth.

THE BOLD FACED LIE
Some people just enjoy lying to you.
THE COVER UP LIE
Many people will lie to get out of trouble.
THE WHITE LIE
Forest Gump says this doesn’t hurt anybody (EXCEPT YOU)

Because the mouth reveals the heart.

Matthew 12:34-35 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.”

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

THE USEFUL LIE
The lies used to get ahead (FLATTERY)

Flattery is when you say something to somebody’s face that you wouldn’t say behind their back.

IT’S DECEPTION.

And when God looks down from heaven this is what He sees.
A bunch of liars going at it.

Mankind is not good, we are depraved, we are deceptive.
#3 MANKIND IS DEADLY
Romans 3:13b

Psalms 140:3 “They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; Poison of a viper is under their lips. Selah.”
This is “DEADLY FORCE”

It started thousands of years ago.
Genesis 4:8 “Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
And it continues on through today.
Daily murders…
Assassinations…
School shootings…

When God looks down from heaven,
He sees men filled with deadly rage.

WE SAY, YEAH BUT NOT EVERYONE HAS KILLED SOMEONE.

We kill people with what comes out of our mouth.
“The poison of asps is under the lips”

Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”
We might not shoot someone (go to jail)
But we’ll cut them up with our tongue

We are reminded that the serpent isn’t at all
The most wicked creature of God’s creation.

Mankind is not good. We are depraved, deceptive, deadly
#4 DISGRUNTLED
Romans 3:14

Psalms 10:7 “His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.”

EVER MEET SOMEONE WHO IS DISGRUNTLED?
THAT IS MANKIND.

When is the last time you had a conversation about how good the president is?
We love to complain…
We love to gripe…

Everything is wrong, getting worse, and can’t possibly get any better.

This was Solomon.
Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 “Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 9:2-6 “It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.”

And you say, so what if a man is filled with “bitterness”.
It’s no crime to be disgruntled is it?

WHAT DOES GOD COMMAND?
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

IN SHORT, GOD SEES MEN
THAT AREN’T GRATEFUL FOR ANYTHING.
If it’s dry, when is gonna rain?
If it rains, when is gonna stop?

Man is not good we are depraved, deceptive, deadly, disgruntled
#5 MANKIND IS DEGENERATE
Romans 3:15-17

Isaiah 59:7-8 “Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways. They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace.”

The idea here is not just what they do, but where they are headed.
AND THE IDEA IS THAT WE ARE ONLY GETTING WORSE.

Mankind is not gravitating closer to God.
Every second mankind is gravitating further away from God.

That is why Paul wrote
2 Corinthians 6:2 “for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”
“POST-MILLENNIALISM”
• Jesus returns after the Millennium
• The world just keeps getting better until Jesus comes

BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT “GOOD” IS CONTAGIOUS
“Random acts of Kindness”
“Pass on a good deed”
“Chain of Love”

Sounds great, but it doesn’t work.
BECAUSE MANKIND AREN’T HEADED TOWARDS GOOD,
WE ARE HEADED TOWARDS EVIL.

Look at what God said through Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 22:23-31 “And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ “There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. “Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. “Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. “Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. “The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. “Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.”

We are depraved, deceptive, deadly, disgruntled and getting worse.
We are degenerate.
#6 MANKIND IS DARING
Romans 3:18

And this one may really drive the nail in the coffin.

Psalms 36:1 “Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.”

NOT ONLY IS MAN HEADED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION
But the fact that man doesn’t even fear God,
Means there is no turning the ship around.

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

But if man doesn’t fear God, then what can turn the ship around?

It is man’s lack of fear of God
That spins them even further away from God.
Romans 1:32 “and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

AND HOPEFULLY YOU SEE THE POINT.
MANKIND IS NOT BASICALLY GOOD
MANKIND IS TOTALLY EVIL

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

GOD DOESN’T SEE “GOOD” PEOPLE, HE SEES LOST PEOPLE

Man doesn’t love Him, Doesn’t follow Him, Doesn’t seek Him,
Doesn’t obey Him, and Doesn’t fear Him.

THERE IS NOTHING GOOD THAT ANY MAN HAS TO OFFER GOD
NOT EVEN ONE

THERE’S NO REASON WHY GOD
SHOULD LET ANY MAN INTO HEAVEN.
BUT THERE IS A WAY HE WILL.
Through Jesus Christ.

He came to this earth and lived the way man was supposed to live.
1 Peter 2:22 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH;”

Peter was quoting
Isaiah 53:9 “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”

This sinless man gave His life as a ransom for those who are sinful

Now through faith in Jesus,
You can be forgiven, and have eternal life.
Not because of anything you do, but because of what He did.

You are not good.
But Jesus is good, and you can be saved through Him.

Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

The Glory Debate
Romans 3:7-8
October 7, 2007

We come to the final leg in the series of arguments
That has been thrown at Paul in regard to the gospel he is preaching.

He told the Jews that they were not acceptable to God based upon the fact that they were Jewish or religious.

They argued, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?”

Of course the benefit is it gives you access to the word of God,
But it does not save you.

But still they tried to prove to Paul that they really were saved.
Calling to memory the promise God made to Abraham that his descendants would be blessed, they ask Paul, “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God will it?”

And Paul silenced that argument by pointing out that God is faithful,
It is Israel who has been unfaithful.

Even if they were unrighteous, they still didn’t deserve punishment. “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He?”

God is so righteous that He will judge your sin,
Because you would not deny yourself in order to follow Him.

TONIGHT WE GET TO THE FINAL ARGUMENT
And I really believe it is probably the most telling of all,
In regard to the condition of their heart.

For during this argument,
We find no allegiance to Judaism, or circumcision.
We find no appeal to being Abraham’s children.
We find no desire to find some good in their old life.

VERY SIMPLY WE FIND A PERSON
WHO JUST DOESN’T WANT TO GIVE UP SIN.

AND HONESTLY, THAT IS THE OFFENSE OF CHRISTIANITY.
You cannot love sin and love God.
You must reject one or the other.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

But that is precisely what these people wanted to do.
You can hear that in their questions.

“But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”?”

That is a person who is looking for any possible reason
To be able to continue in sin.

And as we did this morning,
Before we dive into that ludicrous statement,
Let’s point out why the desire to continue in sin
Is foreign to Christianity.

It really goes hand in hand with what we learned this morning.
This morning we were reminded that a person must “deny themselves” And included in that, is denying the will and desire to sin.

We have a fancy theological term for that.
REPENTANCE

And we have talked about it before, but let’s make sure we remember
What repentance is, and what it is not.

1) Repentance is not an emotion
2) Repentance is not temporary.

Repentance is a continual action.
It changes your life, and it changes it forever.
Otherwise, repentance has not occurred.

Remember what John the Baptist taught?
Luke 3:7-9 “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

If you kept reading, later in the passage, people would ask, “what shall we do?”

He didn’t just want an emotional display down by the water side.
He wasn’t looking for a temporary commitment.

John wanted the lives of these people to change, and to change forever.
WHEN JESUS WOULD COME ALONG AFTER JOHN.
His first sermon.

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

And then as He confronted people.
The cripple in the Bethesda pool.
John 5:14 “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”

The woman caught in adultery.
John 8:11 “She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

AND THIS REPENTANCE FROM SIN IS NECESSARY.

After Jesus ascended into heaven, and the day of Pentecost came.
Peter preached that Jesus really was Lord and Christ.

When the people wanted to know what to do.
The first statement of Peter.

Acts 2:37-38 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Later in Acts 3 when Peter healed the cripple and the crowd flocked to him. He preached and said:
Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

AND OF COURSE THIS IDEA IS NOT NEW.
Repentance is always what God has sought
In order for people to come to Him.

Isaiah 1:16-20 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. “Let Us Reason” “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Jeremiah 4:1-4 “If you will return, O Israel,” declares the LORD, “Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver, And you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory.” For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

In order for man to walk with God,
God has always required man to walk away from sin.
He has always required the permanent action of repentance.

Therefore, it also stands to reason
That a person cannot be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ
And live in sin at the same time.

1 John 1:6-7 “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

1 John 3:4-10 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

Later Paul would ask?
Romans 6:2 “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

And this is why Paul could so easily define and separate
True believers from false believers.

Galatians 5:19-24 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

It is clear isn’t it?

After all, what did Jesus come to save us from?
Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

If you are still in sin, it is sure hard to make the argument
That you have been saved from it.
God requires true and genuine repentance from sin.
And of course Paul has been making this point throughout Romans.

Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

It doesn’t matter if you are the godless pagan or the reformed Jew.
If you live in sin, God is angry, and you are under condemnation.

But despite this truth, mankind has sought not only to live in sin,
But some also seek to live in sin
While also laying claim to salvation.

You will see it again later in Romans,
When some try to fit through the grace loophole.

Romans 6:15 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!”

It is people who want any excuse at all to stay in their sin.
Yes they want to go to heaven, but they don’t want to repent to do it.

AND THE JEWS WERE NO DIFFERENT.

We always read about the Law and the requirements,
And the sacrifices, and all that stuff,

And usually it follows with a statement like,
“Could you imagine. Oh, I’m so glad we are not under the Law like that anymore.”

And we say that, like it was the ambition of every Jew
To get out from under the Law.

THAT WASN’T THE CASE AT ALL.
They loved it.

That is evidenced by their stubborn refusal to leave it.

They loved the sacrificial system

WHY?
They thought it allowed them to sin
And then not bear the penalty for sinning.

You were only one dead sheep away from forgiveness.
It was perfect.
It was a system that allowed them to continue in sin,
Yet still be forgiven, with relatively no cost to themselves.

Of course Paul has already killed that notion in Romans.
Romans 2:12-13 “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”

So now at this point, they have scrapped the Law,
And this last question Paul mentions really reveals the heart to us.

Here we see why they are so eager to justify self, and argue with Paul.
THEY LOVE SIN

And here they are doing the unthinkable.
They are trying to justify continuing in sin
By proving that their sin does have value.

Look at this.
#1 THE MISCONCEPTION
Romans 3:7-8a

“But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”

WHAT IS THEIR LIE?
It is their swearing falsely.

Remember, the Jews were taking God’s name in vain.
Romans 2:17 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God,”

They claimed to be followers of God, but their lifestyle was a lie.
And now it is obvious they know it, for they even call their life a lie.

But look at their attempt.
“if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?”

If my hypocrisy only made God look that much more truthful…
If my deception only makes God look that much more trustworthy…

Then why is God judging me like those pagan wicked sinners in the world.
(“also” being judged.)

They are claiming that they shouldn’t be judged,
Because even though they sin,
It just makes God look that much better.
“God, do you have any idea how righteous you look every time a huge crowd comes to the Day of Atonement? Why if it wasn’t for the fact that we continue to sin, then no one would know how righteous You are.”

So in fact, we are doing God a favor by sinning.
We are actually glorifying Him.

Paul picked up on this ridiculous argument.
Vs. 8, “And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”?”

Paul says, why not just say what you mean?
Why don’t you just go ahead and sin
So God could look really righteous.

This is a person who seeks to justify sin at all cost.

But that type of thinking is a major misconception, and let’s look at why.
#2 THE MESSAGE
Romans 3:8b

Now I hope you notice, Paul doesn’t even do them the honor
Of answering such a ridiculous notion.

He simply says, “their condemnation is just.”

If you really think that your sin is a good thing,
Then you deserve what you are going to get.

You get the feeling Paul reached the point that Jesus spoke of.
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

The argument and the logic is so backward it is mind boggling.

AND LET ME TELL YOU WHY
1) Sin does not glorify God, Righteousness does.

You see, anybody can sin.
Any person alive on this earth can give way to warnings,
Sear their conscience and do what feels good.

I’ve never seen a person get drunk and just be amazed
That he was able to overcome the temptation to stay sober.

“I’ve been tempted to stay sober, but glory to God, I’m overcoming that temptation. I’m getting drunk for the glory of God.”
I’ve never seen a person get hooked on pornography and just been amazed that he was able to overcome the temptation to look at fully clothed people.

“I’m tempted to only look at people with their clothes on, but glory to God, I’m overcoming it.”

THERE IS NOTHING GLORIFYING TO GOD ABOUT SIN.
ANY PERSON CAN DO IT.

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS GLORIFYING TO GOD.
WHY?

You cannot do it apart from His Spirit.
You can do good things, but not for the right motives.

So when a person walks in righteousness, that is truly glorifying to God.

John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

God is glorified when we overcome temptation,
Not when we succumb to it.

But there is another misconception these people have.
2) Sin is not beneficial for anything.

We live in the day, where surprisingly enough
People still seem to think that sin does have it’s good qualities.

Now maybe we don’t go to the depths of these people here an assume that it is beneficial to glorify God, but still we see people in the church who think it is beneficial.

PERHAPS YOU’VE HEARD OF THIS
It’s good that you sinned like that,
So now you can minister to people like you.

It’s good that you were a drunk, so now you can minister to drunks.
It’s good you were an adulterer, now you can minister to adulterers

IT DOES NOT TAKE A DRUNK TO REACH DRUNKS
IT DOES NOT REQUIRE ADULTERERS TO REACH ADULTERERS

IT TAKES THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD THROUGH THE PREACHING OF HIS GOSPEL TO REACH THOSE PEOPLE.
Sometimes we act like if people in the church are too good,
We really need to get them to sin a little,
So they will better identify with the people they are trying to reach.

THIS IS ABSURD
Are doctor’s required to have a heart attack, before they can treat one?

THERE IS NOTHING GOOD THAT COMES FROM SIN.
Now it is a credit to God that He can still glorify Himself
In spite of our sin, but there is nothing good in regard to sin.

Sin never brings a positive consequence.
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”

Romans 6:21 “Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:6 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”

Romans 8:13 “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Everybody get the point?
There is absolutely no benefit to sinning,
Least of all bringing glory to God.

And so when this person seeks to justify sin,
Paul simply says, “Their Condemnation is just”

THE POINT I WANT TO LEAVE WITH YOU TONIGHT IS THIS:

The gospel of God is simple.

• Mankind is sinful, in desperate need of salvation.
• Religion may have introduced you to the things of God,
• But it cannot save you.
• God requires you to deny yourself and to repent of your sin.

The only way to be saved is through the blood of Jesus Christ.
IT IS USELESS TO ARGUE WITH GOD
The gospel is that simple.

You cannot justify yourself
You cannot save yourself
You cannot justify your sin

The only way to be saved is to repent of your sin, deny yourself, And trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ.

I know it sounds strange to a Sunday night crowd,
But trust me,
The Jews didn’t expect to be recipients of this sermon either.

Everyone needs Jesus,
If you have not trusted Him,
Let tonight be the night.

Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”