Sunday School Notes - Romans 3:9-20

“All People Condemned By Sin”

By Pastor Rich Paradis

Romans 3:9-20

We are nearing the end of the Apostle Paul’s devastating indictment of all people before God. We have been introduced to the antidote to the problem, the gospel, and then given a courtroom case for the need for this antidote, sin. In the midst of the case, Paul gave us insight into how God judges, a helpful primer to ultimately understanding that this judgment of sin is based on truth, based on what we’ve done and based on the insight given us. Let’s wrap up this section of “Bad News” before moving to the “Good News”.

I.                   Paul says that “all are guilty before God”    Romans 3:9

a.       As we continue Paul’s argument, we see a statement that might seem to be contradictory to his statements in Vs. 1-2. In Vs. 1-2, we were given some insight into the “advantage” of being a Jew and they were real and measureable. But here, we have Paul again hearing the fictitious questioning Jew asking if the Jew is “better” than the gentile. The answer given is “not at all”. So what gives? Which is true? Both of these estimations are true. The Jew does have an advantage in that he had access to God’s special revelation and the blessing of obedient response to it. But is he “better off” when it comes to the judgment of God? No, not at all! Both the Jew and the Gentile will be judged by the same righteous standard of God.

b.      What are the ramifications of all being judged under the same set of standards? How does this truth conflict with our sense of judgment when it comes to us personally? Others?

II.                The Scripture says that “all are guilty before God”    Romans 3:10-18

a.       Paul continues his case by sharing that this “judgment” is not some personal irritation with the Jew (note the word “we” in Vs. 9). He now notes that the judgment is based on the Old Testament Scriptures. This argument will really be devastating in that 3:1-2 offered the fact that the great advantage to the Jew was the fact that they were the ones that received and were entrusted with the teachings of God in these Scriptures. These Scriptures were to be the words that the Jews were to use to bring light to the Gentiles, and now they would be used to kill them spiritually. It would be like God taking the sword out of the Jews hand and using it to kill him.

b.      Verses 10-12 are approximately quoting Psalm 14:1-3 and Psalm 53:1-3. Note the inventory of these verses. The answer is given to this fictitious questioning Jew as to who is righteous before God. The answer is “NO ONE”! There is no “3^rd category” of moralizing Jews that were onlookers to the sinning Gentile and the sinning Jew. All were caught up in the problem. Think of the devastation that this statement must have had to the proud Jew who had been taught his whole life that he was of the “chosen” people of God.  

c.       Verses 13-18 offer a continuing indictment of all people before God. Psalm 5:9, Psalm 140:3, Psalm 10:7, Isaiah 59:7 and Psalm 36:1 again offers evidence from the Old Testament in making the case for everyone’s guilt. It is noteworthy to see that many parts of our physical body are affected by sin. The throat, tongue, lips, mouth, feet and eyes are all part of this evidence to guilt and going our own way.

d.      This chain of evidence is summarized in Vs. 18 by a root cause for this problem. What is the main problem? There is no fear of God in them. This was the same observation that we unearthed in Chapter 1. Getting out of step with God is the cause of conflict and chaos for all mankind.

e.       What part does the Scripture play in demonstrating guilt before God? How do we misrepresent God when we pass judgment in our own ways and apart from the Scriptures?

III.             The Law says that “all are guilty before God”    Romans 3:19-20

a.       But just in case this fictitious questioning Jew might have any fight life in him, we move along to the last of the indictments in this passage. We have the words of Paul, the ancient Scriptures themselves, and now we have the law as the final nail in the “3^rd category” crowd’s coffin.

b.      Verse 19 is really a rough one to swallow, but it accurately summarizes the entire section that we have considered since Romans 1:18. Because the group that is being addressed most recently is the Jew, the order of the argument is now reversed. In the whole argument, the Gentile was first in the order, but now we see the Jew being addressed and the Gentile being included in the ultimate message of guilt.

c.       The Jews received the written Law through Moses, according to 3:2. The Gentiles have the works of the law written on their hearts, according to 2:15. So as the argument closes, we have both the Jew and the Gentile guilty and accountable before God. There is no “3^rd category” of people! All are guilty and need the same provision; the gospel of Jesus Christ!!

d.      The Law was never the thing that could save a man. It could only serve to condemn him. No one could keep the Law in its entirety, so it was ultimately the thing that condemned them, not save them.

e.       Verse 20 says that the purpose of the Law was to bring knowledge of the need for a Savior. It’s like going out in the yard and working up a big sweat and getting all dirty. Upon coming in the house, a mirror will tell you that you are filthy and need to clean up. While you may have thought that you were dirty, the mirror confirmed it for you. But you don’t take the mirror off the wall and wipe it all over you to clean up! The mirror brings the knowledge of filthiness, but a good bath is the answer to your dirtiness. In a similar way, the gospel is the “bath” that all need for the filthiness in our hearts.

IV.             An Application For All Of Us

a.       In a court of law, the case has been made by Paul and is devastating. Where we would like to slip away from judgment and categorize ourselves in this “3^rd category”, it is impossible due to the evidence offered.

b.      As much as we’d like to consider our heritage, church membership, or a hundred other “evidences” for our deserving preferential treatment before God, none of it will work in the end.

c.       Because of the way that God judges, we will have no defense for our sin apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ!

d.      We will be introduced to the antidote to this situation as we move forward: Justification By Faith Alone In Christ Alone! That’s the GOOD NEWS we’ve been waiting for!!