WEBVTT 00:00:01.489 --> 00:00:04.969 Last week I learned that we failed to get these 00:00:04.969 --> 00:00:09.449 three by five cards to all of you. And I wanted 00:00:09.449 --> 00:00:11.490 to make sure that all of you had the opportunity 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.289 to memorize the verses before we said them together. 00:00:15.189 --> 00:00:16.989 So have you gotten them this morning coming in? 00:00:18.530 --> 00:00:20.350 Did you get them? Did you wave them at me so 00:00:20.350 --> 00:00:22.870 I could know? Oh yes, there they are. Kind of 00:00:22.870 --> 00:00:25.570 helps the air conditioning too, doesn't it? All 00:00:25.570 --> 00:00:29.649 right, thank you. Now Romans 5 verses 3 and 4 00:00:29.649 --> 00:00:32.609 will be the verses for next week. For those of 00:00:32.609 --> 00:00:34.270 you that memorize it today, you've got a whole 00:00:34.270 --> 00:00:37.929 week to review. We will sew together Romans 5 00:00:37.929 --> 00:00:40.270 verses 3 and 4 next week as part of our worship 00:00:40.270 --> 00:00:44.810 together. Now would you open the Bible please 00:00:44.810 --> 00:00:48.350 to the Book of Romans and the third chapter. 00:00:52.710 --> 00:00:58.799 We are today concluding The third, the first 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:02.960 section of the book of Romans, as we have outlined 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:07.299 it, chapters one through three, generally speaking, 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:09.840 deal with the first subject, and that is the 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:14.299 subject of sin, the righteousness which is needed 00:01:14.299 --> 00:01:19.719 by man to get to heaven. And we need that righteousness 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:24.400 because of our sin in the sight of God. This 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:28.519 section exposes the desperate condition of mankind, 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:37.760 apart from God. Whether man be a degenerate, 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:44.760 immoral pagan, idolater, or whether he be a cultured, 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:53.219 civilized, refined moralist, or if he be a sincere, 00:01:55.099 --> 00:01:59.319 Religious zealot, all men have the same need, 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:05.299 and that is the need for salvation. All men need 00:02:05.299 --> 00:02:10.520 the Savior. The Jew or Gentile, all men need 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:14.680 the Savior. For all have sinned and stand before 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:19.180 God on equal footing, having the same essential 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:23.300 need. to be forgiven of sins and to receive God's 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:26.120 righteousness, by which he may then be saved 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:31.120 and enter heaven. Each person, Jew or Gentile, 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:33.860 will be judged according to the light that he 00:02:33.860 --> 00:02:37.139 has had in this world. The Jew will be judged 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:39.719 according to the law, because he's had the law. 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:42.939 The Gentile, it says, will be judged apart from 00:02:42.939 --> 00:02:46.300 the law, but judged he will be. All men will 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:48.990 stand before God and give account for the works 00:02:48.990 --> 00:02:52.949 of their lives. We'll further learn that Jewish 00:02:52.949 --> 00:02:59.550 rituals did not give the Jews standing with God, 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:04.750 that is, the rituals in themselves. God was looking 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:07.949 for something inward. He was looking for faith 00:03:07.949 --> 00:03:12.169 to give those outward rituals and ceremonies 00:03:12.169 --> 00:03:16.090 meaning. For example, in chapter 2, verse 28, 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:20.300 He says, a man is not a Jew if he is only one 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:25.020 outwardly. Nor is circumcision merely outward 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:29.240 and physical. Nor a man is a Jew if he is one 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:33.479 inwardly. And circumcision is circumcision of 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:37.599 the heart, by the spirit, not by the written 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:41.879 code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.860 from God. Obviously, for Paul to make statements 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:49.400 like that, there were going to be questions that 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:51.460 were to be created in the minds, especially of 00:03:51.460 --> 00:03:54.300 the Jews. And that's where he picks it up in 00:03:54.300 --> 00:03:56.680 chapter 3 verse 1, and we'll read verses 1 through 00:03:56.680 --> 00:04:00.860 20. What advantage then is there in being a Jew? 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.740 For what value is there in circumcision? Much 00:04:05.740 --> 00:04:10.180 in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:14.740 with the very words of God. What if some did 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:18.480 not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:23.699 God's faithfulness? Not at all. Let God be true 00:04:23.699 --> 00:04:28.680 and every man a liar, as it is written, so that 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:31.779 you may be proved right in your words and prevail 00:04:31.779 --> 00:04:36.079 in your judging. But if our unrighteousness brings 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:38.620 out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall 00:04:38.620 --> 00:04:41.879 we say? That God is unjust and bringing his wrath 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:45.459 on us? I'm using a human argument. Certainly 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:49.339 not. If that were so, how could God judge the 00:04:49.339 --> 00:04:54.879 world? Someone might argue, if my falsehood enhances 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:58.079 God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:01.339 why am I still condemned as a sinner? Why not 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:05.259 say, as we are being slanderously reported as 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:07.939 saying, and as some claim that we say, let us 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:11.639 do evil that good may result? The third condemnation 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:15.819 is deserved. What shall we conclude then? Are 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:20.019 we any better? Not at all. We have already made 00:05:20.019 --> 00:05:24.600 the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:29.680 under sin as it is written. There is no one righteous, 00:05:29.819 --> 00:05:32.720 not even one. There is no one who understands. 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:37.439 No one who seeks God. All have turned away. They 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:40.639 have together become worthless. There is no one 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:44.060 who does good, not even one. Their throats are 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:48.740 open graves. Their tongues practice deceit. The 00:05:48.740 --> 00:05:54.160 poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:57.439 are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:02.040 are swift to shed blood. Will and misery mark 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:04.860 their ways, and the way of peace they do not 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:08.459 know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.240 Now, we know that whatever the law says, it says 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.620 to those who are under the law, so that every 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:18.939 mouth may be silenced and the whole world held 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:22.959 accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.139 declared righteous in his sight by observing 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:29.199 the law. Rather, through the law, we become conscious 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:35.300 of sin. As the writer of this epistle, Paul, 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:40.740 the apostle of God, concludes his remarks, charging 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:46.000 the guilt of all mankind before a holy God. He 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:49.579 places himself in five roles, it would seem, 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.240 and approaches this theme of man's symptoms from 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:56.740 the perspective of each of those roles. First 00:06:56.740 --> 00:06:59.519 he sees himself, it would seem, as a debater. 00:07:00.579 --> 00:07:04.569 He argues with his objectors. Those who would 00:07:04.569 --> 00:07:06.490 object with what he has been saying would be 00:07:06.490 --> 00:07:11.069 primarily the Jews. The apostle seems to visualize 00:07:11.069 --> 00:07:16.449 a Jewish opponent and enters into a debate with 00:07:16.449 --> 00:07:19.689 him regarding what he has said about Jewishness 00:07:19.689 --> 00:07:25.730 and circumcision. Perhaps he is recounting here 00:07:25.730 --> 00:07:30.189 some of his own thinking prior to his conversion. 00:07:32.170 --> 00:07:35.949 There seem to be four questions that this debate 00:07:35.949 --> 00:07:42.930 circles around. First, if physical circumcision 00:07:42.930 --> 00:07:46.990 gives no standing with God, as Paul said earlier, 00:07:48.269 --> 00:07:52.990 if Jewishness is inward and spiritual and not 00:07:52.990 --> 00:07:56.990 outward, what advantage then is there in being 00:07:56.990 --> 00:08:00.180 a descendant of Jacob? What is the advantage 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:04.720 of being a Jew? Is there any? His immediate answer 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:09.620 to that question is yes. There are many advantages 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:13.759 to being Jewish. He lists only one, however. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.920 He might have talked about the mighty deliverance 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:21.160 out of Egypt or the way that God had provided 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.600 for his people. Those were advantages which the 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:27.589 Jews had had. He might have talked about how 00:08:27.589 --> 00:08:30.910 God had appointed such a great king as David. 00:08:32.470 --> 00:08:34.590 There are many advantages he might have pointed 00:08:34.590 --> 00:08:37.990 out, but the apostle picks out the chief advantage 00:08:37.990 --> 00:08:42.529 which the Jews had, and that was they were entrusted 00:08:42.529 --> 00:08:46.370 with the very words of God. In other words, the 00:08:46.370 --> 00:08:51.029 Old Testament scriptures. You see, God revealed 00:08:51.029 --> 00:08:55.940 himself in only one book. There were many religious 00:08:55.940 --> 00:09:00.779 writings even in that day, but the true God had 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:03.740 revealed himself in none of them except one book, 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:06.960 and that was the Scripture of the Old Testament 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.419 Jew, the words of God, the Logia of God as it 00:09:10.419 --> 00:09:14.899 says here. But a privilege in the Jew had to 00:09:14.899 --> 00:09:19.779 have the revelation of God, and whenever there 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:22.860 is privilege, there is responsibility. The Jew 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:27.279 had both. He seems to include here as well the 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:31.559 idea that those Old Testament scriptures include 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:35.700 many promises for the Jewish people, promises 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:39.799 which were unfulfilled to that day and which, 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:43.299 by the way, are still unfulfilled today. There 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:45.220 are some people who have spiritualized those 00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:48.200 promises and say, oh, well, those are just now 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:50.580 spiritual truths that are applied to the Church. 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:54.990 We reject that. We believe that when God made 00:09:54.990 --> 00:09:58.289 a promise to Israel, He made it to Israel, and 00:09:58.289 --> 00:10:00.710 that He will fulfill His promise to that old 00:10:00.710 --> 00:10:06.309 covenant people. The promises given to Israel 00:10:06.309 --> 00:10:09.809 in the Old Testament, in terms of real estate, 00:10:10.289 --> 00:10:14.309 victories, etc., may have some kind of a spiritual 00:10:14.309 --> 00:10:18.669 application to the Church. That is, we may learn 00:10:18.669 --> 00:10:21.809 from them the principles given to us in the New 00:10:21.809 --> 00:10:25.769 Testament. But those promises are given to Israel 00:10:25.769 --> 00:10:29.370 and will be fulfilled to that people. So it seems 00:10:29.370 --> 00:10:32.370 that Paul is saying here, look, what advantages 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:35.230 have the Jews had? They've had the Old Testament 00:10:35.230 --> 00:10:38.350 scriptures. When no one else in the world knew 00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:41.889 who the true God was, the Jews did. God chose 00:10:41.889 --> 00:10:45.549 to reveal himself to them. Not only so, God has 00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:49.190 in that book, the Bible, given many promises. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:51.960 to the physical descendants of Jacob, which are 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:55.539 yet to be fulfilled, so there is a great advantage 00:10:55.539 --> 00:11:02.039 to being Jewish. The second question is, well 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:06.000 if some though failed to fulfill the trust that 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:08.120 was given to them, and of course that's true, 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:12.860 that great privilege which the Jews had, carried 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:15.899 with it responsibility, and the Jews failed in 00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:19.720 that responsibility. So the second question seems 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:24.620 to be, in verses 3 and 4, if some failed, then, 00:11:24.700 --> 00:11:26.820 through unbelief, to fulfill that trust given 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:30.779 to them, will that nullify God's faithfulness 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:34.519 in carrying out his word? Has God been finished 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:37.379 with Israel? But we've already suggested that's 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:41.279 not true. In fact, the apostle says not at all. 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:45.059 That could never be so. God's promises, you see, 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.799 do not rest upon men's faithfulness, but upon 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.679 God's faithfulness. I'm glad for that, aren't 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:56.019 you? The promises that God gives to us today 00:11:56.019 --> 00:12:00.639 rest upon His trustworthiness, not upon ours. 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:05.340 Likewise, even though the nation of Israel historically 00:12:05.340 --> 00:12:08.840 failed God and was judged, God is not faced with 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:12.360 that people. He will still fulfill His promises 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:17.289 to them. Their unfaithfulness has not nullified 00:12:17.289 --> 00:12:21.610 the promises of God. He goes on to suggest to 00:12:21.610 --> 00:12:25.529 you that in fact when man fails, as Israel did, 00:12:25.590 --> 00:12:30.110 all it really does is to magnify God's faithfulness. 00:12:30.629 --> 00:12:33.750 Because the contrast between man's faithlessness 00:12:33.750 --> 00:12:38.090 and God's faithfulness is only that much greater 00:12:38.090 --> 00:12:41.750 and more clear. He quotes from David in Psalm 00:12:41.750 --> 00:12:48.000 51. Though David's sin, which he confesses in 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:52.860 Psalm 51, that sin of adultery and of lying about 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:56.460 it and of murder to try to cover it up, that 00:12:56.460 --> 00:13:00.539 sin could never in itself be said to be good. 00:13:01.860 --> 00:13:06.600 Nonetheless, God used it to glorify his truth. 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:12.620 You see, as it says here, it proved God's words. 00:13:14.830 --> 00:13:19.230 So even man's faithfulness, faithlessness, and 00:13:19.230 --> 00:13:25.610 man's failure works to the glory of God. That 00:13:25.610 --> 00:13:28.009 brings up question number three in verses five 00:13:28.009 --> 00:13:34.129 and six. If man's failure, or specifically Israel's 00:13:34.129 --> 00:13:38.210 failure in the context, commends God's righteousness, 00:13:40.129 --> 00:13:45.950 then how can God righteously condemn man? Do 00:13:45.950 --> 00:13:49.730 you see his point? If man's failure only causes 00:13:49.730 --> 00:13:53.250 God to be glorified more because of his excellencies, 00:13:53.970 --> 00:13:58.909 then how can God judge man? That's unfair. The 00:13:58.909 --> 00:14:02.190 apostle answers by saying, in essence, such a 00:14:02.190 --> 00:14:06.009 thought is fallacious. If God can't judge Israel 00:14:06.009 --> 00:14:09.570 because of her failure, how can he judge the 00:14:09.570 --> 00:14:16.819 world in general? If he didn't judge, sinners 00:14:16.819 --> 00:14:20.159 and those who failed, then one would have to 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:24.320 conclude that even the most wicked has brought 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:27.340 glory to God and could never be judged. For example, 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:32.059 Hitler. By using this perverted argument that 00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:34.820 man's failure glorifies God, therefore God can't 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:38.460 judge man, one would have to say that Hitler 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:42.639 brought much glory to God and therefore could 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:46.100 not be judged because of his great sins. You 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:48.740 see how perverted that kind of an argument is? 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:53.000 And yet, in fact, God does use man's sin to prove 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:56.600 his own righteousness and his glory. God does 00:14:56.600 --> 00:15:00.019 not, however, excuse man for his sin and his 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:03.460 failure. And finally, in verses seven and eight, 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:07.600 as Paul continues his debate, he takes the argument 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:11.539 to the point of absurdity. He said, if this third 00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:14.360 question were true, that God could not judge 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:18.190 man, and that man's evil only glorified God, 00:15:18.889 --> 00:15:20.889 then why shouldn't we do what we're reported 00:15:20.889 --> 00:15:25.649 of saying and teaching? Do evil that good may 00:15:25.649 --> 00:15:29.190 result. He says those who say that kind of thing 00:15:29.190 --> 00:15:33.409 have condemnation coming and it's deserved. Basically 00:15:33.409 --> 00:15:36.049 what he's saying there, the end would justify 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:39.769 the means in that case. Do evil so that God may 00:15:39.769 --> 00:15:43.730 be glorified. The end would justify the means. 00:15:43.809 --> 00:15:47.730 That is the argument of this day, isn't it? The 00:15:47.730 --> 00:15:51.629 means don't count. The end is what counts. Well, 00:15:51.649 --> 00:15:56.789 there is falsehood in that. The apostle says 00:15:56.789 --> 00:16:01.230 those who have that kind of an idea are condemned 00:16:01.230 --> 00:16:04.730 and their condemnation is deserved. He rebuffs 00:16:04.730 --> 00:16:07.990 that idea. And so you see he enters into a debate 00:16:07.990 --> 00:16:12.519 here with an opponent that he visualizes to try 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:17.000 to answer some of the Jewish attacks upon his 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:22.039 teaching. And then in verses 9 through 12, he 00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:26.000 sees himself in the role of a judge. And as a 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.379 judge, he examines the evidence that is before 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:35.679 him. Essentially, he says, all mankind, Jews 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.220 and Gentiles alike, are under sin. That's the 00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:44.379 charge. What is the evidence to undergird that 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:46.919 charge? Well, he gives it to us in these verses. 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:49.299 And he quotes from the Old Testament. This is 00:16:49.299 --> 00:16:57.100 God's valuation of mankind. Verse 10. There is 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:04.720 no one righteous, not even one. The first piece 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.960 of evidence from God's word about man is that 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:12.000 none is righteous. That is, none has inherent 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.839 righteousness. He does not possess more virtue 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:21.240 in himself. Ah, someone says. What about Adam? 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:27.480 Adam was righteous. No. Adam was sinless and 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:31.640 innocent. But he did not have righteousness. 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:36.180 until God justified him through his faith. God 00:17:36.180 --> 00:17:38.980 saved him and gave him righteousness through 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:41.000 the shedding of the blood of that innocent animal. 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:45.140 But until he sinned, Adam was only innocent. 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:51.759 There is none righteous, no not one, except those 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:55.500 that God justifies or declares to be righteous 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:58.579 through their faith in Christ. The second piece 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.299 of evidence is verse 11. There is no one who 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:05.759 understands. In other words, among all of men, 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:11.400 there is no mind that is not darkened when it 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:16.099 comes to spiritual things. The man writes many 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:20.660 books on religion. Obviously he is a religious 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:23.599 creature and has that need of worshipping something. 00:18:24.570 --> 00:18:27.650 All of his writing, all of his philosophizing 00:18:27.650 --> 00:18:32.849 is mere speculation. It is blind groping. There's 00:18:32.849 --> 00:18:35.630 no one who understands within himself God. God 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:38.769 has to reveal himself, in other words. And then 00:18:38.769 --> 00:18:44.069 he says, no one seeks God. You say, but man is 00:18:44.069 --> 00:18:46.049 a religious creature. Doesn't that mean that 00:18:46.049 --> 00:18:50.089 he seeks God? No. It means that he has an emptiness 00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:53.250 inside. He has a religious need, but he does 00:18:53.250 --> 00:18:57.309 not seek God. He seeks to fill that need, but 00:18:57.309 --> 00:18:59.509 he does not respond to the light of God that's 00:18:59.509 --> 00:19:02.750 available to him, not even the pagan. What does 00:19:02.750 --> 00:19:08.690 the pagan do? He makes an idol. He doesn't turn 00:19:08.690 --> 00:19:12.670 to the true God. He creates an idol with his 00:19:12.670 --> 00:19:15.369 own hands and bows down and worships it. There 00:19:15.369 --> 00:19:19.230 is none that seeks God. God is not exactly concealing 00:19:19.230 --> 00:19:23.799 himself in the world either. Even Adam did not 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:25.759 seek God after he sinned. Have you ever thought 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:29.279 about that? Instead of immediately coming to 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.339 God and confessing his disobedience, what did 00:19:31.339 --> 00:19:35.680 Adam do? When he hid himself. Men have been doing 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:40.640 that ever since. None seeks God. Fourthly, he 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:44.960 says, all have turned away. The idea is here 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:50.539 that all have detoured from the right road. All 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:54.559 have gone out of the way. This is of course the 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.319 reference to Isaiah 53 where the prophet said, 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:01.720 all we like sheep have what? Gone astray. We've 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:07.299 turned everyone to his own way. And finally he 00:20:07.299 --> 00:20:12.599 says, all have become worthless. Excuse me, not 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:16.680 finally, fifthly. All have become worthless in 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:20.920 verse 12. Does that mean that man has no worth 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:23.839 in the sight of God? No, that's not the thought 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:27.720 here. Man does have great worth to God and that's 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:31.900 why he gave his son for man. But the word worthless 00:20:31.900 --> 00:20:37.279 here means rotten. All have become overripe. 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:41.400 It's the word for fruit that is spoiled. Something 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.039 that has gone bad irrevocably. Something that 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:47.180 has become useless. And that's what he says about 00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:52.200 man. And now finally, he says in verse 12, there 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:56.460 is no one who does good, not even one. He began 00:20:56.460 --> 00:21:01.000 by talking about character, inherent righteousness, 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:04.299 no one has that. He concludes this section by 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:08.039 talking about acts, the actions of the life, 00:21:08.099 --> 00:21:12.400 and he says there is no one who does good. And 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:16.039 so as a judge now, the apostle views men. He 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:18.619 examines the evidence from God's Word, and his 00:21:18.619 --> 00:21:24.160 conclusion is that the charge is correct. Jew 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:28.680 and Gentiles alike are all under sin. And folks 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:32.660 who say that we are under sin, what that means 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:38.559 is that we are indentured to sin. We are obligated 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:45.700 to sin. We are in bondage to sin. we are by our 00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:49.700 natural birth, and we prove that by the way that 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:54.079 we live. Man is a sinner, and the examination 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:56.460 of the evidence from God's Word proves that to 00:21:56.460 --> 00:22:00.980 be so. There's a third role now the apostle sees 00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:08.960 himself in, and that is as a physician. He diagnoses 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.559 his patient, and his patient is essentially the 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:17.250 human family. And he says about them, their throats 00:22:17.250 --> 00:22:20.549 are open graves. When you go to the doctor for 00:22:20.549 --> 00:22:22.289 a physical exam, what's the first thing that 00:22:22.289 --> 00:22:27.369 he checks? Normally it's your throat, isn't it? 00:22:27.650 --> 00:22:29.650 He says, open your mouth, and then he sticks 00:22:29.650 --> 00:22:32.829 that piece of lumber in there and begins to hold 00:22:32.829 --> 00:22:35.109 your tongue down, and he looks at your throat 00:22:35.109 --> 00:22:38.849 because there is so much about our health that 00:22:38.849 --> 00:22:41.789 can be revealed in the way that our throat looks. 00:22:41.890 --> 00:22:44.710 And that's where the apostle begins. He says 00:22:44.710 --> 00:22:51.710 their throats are open graves. Have you ever 00:22:51.710 --> 00:22:58.869 been around an open grave? I never have. I never 00:22:58.869 --> 00:23:03.849 want to be. I have been around bodies of animals 00:23:03.849 --> 00:23:09.410 that were in the process of decaying and have 00:23:09.410 --> 00:23:14.450 smelled that stench. But those who have smelled 00:23:14.450 --> 00:23:18.809 human flesh decaying say that there is no comparison. 00:23:22.890 --> 00:23:24.670 I remember reading about one preacher who was 00:23:24.670 --> 00:23:26.569 called in the middle of the night to accompany 00:23:26.569 --> 00:23:33.650 the police to the scene of a murder. The body 00:23:33.650 --> 00:23:36.509 of a little girl had been found. She had been 00:23:36.509 --> 00:23:40.130 murdered several days before that. He said that 00:23:40.130 --> 00:23:43.799 he never got over the smell. of that little girl's 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:48.920 body as it was decaying. On one occasion, I do 00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:50.920 recall going to a funeral home where a friend 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:54.099 of mine was working. He took me down to the crematorium. 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:58.059 That's one of the most joyous evenings. It was 00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:02.900 a great experience to tour a funeral home. They 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:08.319 took me down to the crematorium, and there was 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:11.400 a body that they were going to cremate the next 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:15.519 day. And that's the closest I've ever come to 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.180 what he's talking about here, because that body 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:23.440 had not been embalmed. It is a very putrid idea, 00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:27.039 isn't it? That's what the Apostle's trying to 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.440 communicate to us. As he, the physician, examines 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:35.900 us and looks at our throat, it reminds him of 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:44.180 death, of decay, of moral stench. of putridness 00:24:44.180 --> 00:24:49.579 in the nostrils of God. An ugly picture, but 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:54.400 that's man. Mel Trotter, who founded a great 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.339 mission in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:59.180 now with the Lord a number of years, said, if 00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:03.880 we could see ourselves as God sees us, we could 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:10.259 not even stand ourselves. He continues the physical 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:13.299 examination of the sinner here, and he goes to 00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:15.819 the tongue. The doctor tells a lot by looking 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:19.220 at the tongue too, doesn't he? The color of it, 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:22.460 and so on. And he says about the tongue of the 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:26.940 sinner that it practices deceit. The verb here 00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:30.779 indicates that it was a habit of life, lying, 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:35.180 deceiving, covering up, being less than honest. 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:42.059 As he continues in the area of the mouth, he 00:25:42.059 --> 00:25:51.079 says the poison of vipers is on their lips. Normally 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:56.200 the fangs of a snake, a poisonous snake, are 00:25:56.200 --> 00:26:00.039 folded against the upper jaw. When the mouth 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:07.339 opens, those fangs drop down. And when the snake 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:11.930 bites, Pressure is exerted so that a sack of 00:26:11.930 --> 00:26:16.109 poison at the base of the fangs releases that 00:26:16.109 --> 00:26:20.289 venom and flows through the hollow fang into 00:26:20.289 --> 00:26:25.950 the victim. What the apostle is picturing here 00:26:25.950 --> 00:26:28.769 is that human beings are like poisonous snakes. 00:26:29.970 --> 00:26:33.529 They have fangs dripping with venom. Have you 00:26:33.529 --> 00:26:40.769 ever seen a snake? milked of its venom. They 00:26:40.769 --> 00:26:44.369 do that at some zoos and they do it sometimes 00:26:44.369 --> 00:26:48.509 for medical purposes. I remember going to a zoo 00:26:48.509 --> 00:26:51.150 one time and seeing a rattlesnake behind glass. 00:26:52.470 --> 00:26:56.809 I can assure you behind glass. And the snake 00:26:56.809 --> 00:26:59.289 apparently was tired of the visitors and as I 00:26:59.289 --> 00:27:03.829 looked in, it yawned. And as it yawned, it opened 00:27:03.829 --> 00:27:07.579 its mouth and those fangs dropped down. and two 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:11.220 little drops of golden venom right there in the 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:13.880 end of its fangs. I backed away from the glass 00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:18.299 in a hurry. He says here that we are like that, 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:23.140 that the poison of vipers is in our mouths. Think 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:28.940 of the pain caused by the human mouth, the organ 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:33.680 of speech that we have. Think of the scars upon 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:40.920 lives. because of the tongue and the lips. There 00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:43.799 was a great demonstration yesterday in New York 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:49.859 regarding nuclear bombs. There have been vastly 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:54.720 more people scarred by the human tongue than 00:27:54.720 --> 00:28:01.279 by nuclear bombs. Scarred in more treacherous, 00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:06.119 life -harming ways. What we really need in this 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:12.200 country is a great march to protest the use of 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:19.140 the human tongue. He goes on to describe man 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:22.200 as having a mouth that is filled with cursing 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:26.539 and bitterness. I don't have to prove that to 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:29.420 you. All you have to do is stand down in the 00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:32.549 street corner sometime. I think it was from McGee 00:28:32.549 --> 00:28:34.029 who said there was a man who argued with him 00:28:34.029 --> 00:28:37.470 about this. So McGee said, well, let's go out 00:28:37.470 --> 00:28:39.130 on the street corner. The first guy that comes 00:28:39.130 --> 00:28:40.730 along, you hit him in the mouth and wait and 00:28:40.730 --> 00:28:43.509 see what he says. And you'll find out what his 00:28:43.509 --> 00:28:45.650 mouth is filled with. Well, I'm not sure that's 00:28:45.650 --> 00:28:48.250 the best way to find out. All you have to do 00:28:48.250 --> 00:28:51.269 is just stand there and listen. What do people 00:28:51.269 --> 00:28:55.410 talk like where you work? In the school where 00:28:55.410 --> 00:28:59.750 you go? The mouths are filled with cursing, with 00:28:59.750 --> 00:29:03.920 blasphemy. with bitterness and anger and jealousy. 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:07.180 And he concludes the physical exam by saying 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:10.359 in verse 15 here, their feet are swift to shed 00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:14.799 blood. In other words, mankind is prone to murder. 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:18.680 Murder is a crime that is increasing in this 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:27.200 country in an alarming way. Man's feet are swift 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:30.690 to shed blood. That has been true ever since 00:29:30.690 --> 00:29:37.109 the sons of Adam and Eve. If you're angry, if 00:29:37.109 --> 00:29:41.009 you want ultimate revenge, sometimes if you want 00:29:41.009 --> 00:29:44.789 15 cents in change, you murder somebody to get 00:29:44.789 --> 00:29:51.150 it. What is then the diagnosis of the physician? 00:29:52.230 --> 00:29:55.470 Well, we can say this. The disease is terminal. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:59.940 The disease that he sees here, which infects 00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:03.299 man, is the disease of sin, and it leads to eternal 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:09.700 separation from God, to spiritual death. The 00:30:09.700 --> 00:30:12.539 apostle then seems to take upon himself the role 00:30:12.539 --> 00:30:16.779 of a historian. And as a historian, he reviews 00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:21.900 the record of mankind. He says, ruin and misery 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:25.759 mark their ways. If you were to sum up human 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:29.130 history, Those two words would probably summarize 00:30:29.130 --> 00:30:36.190 it better than any others. Distress and desolation, 00:30:36.750 --> 00:30:41.690 ruin and misery. How contrasting this is to the 00:30:41.690 --> 00:30:44.009 lie of evolution which says man is getting better 00:30:44.009 --> 00:30:47.109 and better. That the record is on the upswing. 00:30:47.609 --> 00:30:50.630 In fact, the Bible says the record is progressing 00:30:50.630 --> 00:30:57.410 downhill. As he looks over the record, he further 00:30:57.410 --> 00:31:01.569 says, the way of peace they do not know. Do we 00:31:01.569 --> 00:31:05.009 need to talk about that today? As we think of 00:31:05.009 --> 00:31:09.009 the Falklands? As we think of the Middle East? 00:31:09.750 --> 00:31:14.289 As we think of Afghanistan? Do we need to think 00:31:14.289 --> 00:31:20.170 about Cambodia or Kampuchea? Do we need to think 00:31:20.170 --> 00:31:23.589 about the terrorism in the world? The way of 00:31:23.589 --> 00:31:28.119 peace They have not known. And there's a reason 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:31.279 for that. In fact, did you know that James, in 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:33.859 chapter four, verse one of his book, gives us 00:31:33.859 --> 00:31:37.400 the secret to why there's war in the world? If 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:40.039 anybody asks you, why is there so much war, turn 00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:43.319 to that passage, it'll tell you. James four, 00:31:43.339 --> 00:31:47.579 one. It's because of the lusts within the heart 00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:52.799 of man. War is not caused by poverty or economic 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:57.000 injustice. It's really not caused by political 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:01.700 differences, war is caused by selfishness. Whether 00:32:01.700 --> 00:32:04.799 war be within the home, husband and wife, or 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:07.759 parents and children, or if it be on the international 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:12.680 scale, war is here because of selfishness. And 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:15.900 he concludes as a historian by saying regarding 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:19.119 the record of mankind, there is no fear of God 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:22.779 before their eyes. This of course could be said 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:27.680 to be the root of all the former. Man lives as 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:32.759 though God did not exist. He defies God and deifies 00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:37.279 himself. There is no reverence, there is no respect 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:42.059 for God in the eyes of man. That's the conclusion 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:45.079 then of the historian. The record shows that 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:49.819 man is going downhill and away from God. that 00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:55.000 he's miserable and without peace. He has no reverence 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.920 for God. Finally, the apostle in verses 19 and 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:06.700 20 sees himself as a prosecutor. He saw himself 00:33:06.700 --> 00:33:14.000 as a debater. He saw himself as a judge. He saw 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:20.180 himself as a physician, as a historian. And now 00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:23.819 finally as a prosecutor. And as the prosecutor, 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:27.960 he concludes his case. And he seems to return 00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:31.220 here to his primary focus in this chapter, that 00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:34.079 is to the Jews. He talks to those who are under 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:38.279 the law. And yet he certainly does not leave 00:33:38.279 --> 00:33:40.519 out the Gentiles because they're in view here 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:44.700 as well. He talks about the whole world. A prosecutor 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:50.059 is interested in the law. That's his job. He 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:52.400 is the one who is supposed to see that those 00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:57.099 who disobey the law are convicted in court and 00:33:57.099 --> 00:33:59.559 punished for their crime. That's why they call 00:33:59.559 --> 00:34:02.859 him a prosecutor. And so the apostle looks at 00:34:02.859 --> 00:34:07.079 the law of God, God's moral standards, and this 00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:10.179 is what he says. Whatever the law says, it says 00:34:10.179 --> 00:34:14.099 to those who are under the law, so that every 00:34:14.099 --> 00:34:17.780 mouth may be silenced and the whole world held 00:34:17.780 --> 00:34:22.389 accountable to God. What does the law say? Well, 00:34:22.409 --> 00:34:24.809 it says, first of all, that every tongue is silenced 00:34:24.809 --> 00:34:28.190 before God. In other words, there is not one 00:34:28.190 --> 00:34:30.190 tongue of an individual who can stand before 00:34:30.190 --> 00:34:35.530 God and give some excuse for a sin. Secondly, 00:34:35.630 --> 00:34:38.530 it says that the whole world is held accountable 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:42.190 to God, not just the Jews, who are under the 00:34:42.190 --> 00:34:45.210 law in a specific sense, but the whole world, 00:34:45.650 --> 00:34:49.369 Jew and Gentile alike, held accountable to God 00:34:49.369 --> 00:34:54.130 for the light that he has known. And then what 00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:56.329 does the law do? Well, certainly it doesn't save. 00:34:58.670 --> 00:35:01.210 He says in verse 20, no one will be declared 00:35:01.210 --> 00:35:03.710 righteous in his sight by observing the law. 00:35:05.269 --> 00:35:07.510 I wish this morning that the followers of Herbert 00:35:07.510 --> 00:35:11.530 W. Armstrong would read this, or the followers 00:35:11.530 --> 00:35:16.849 of Seventh -day Adventism, or the Jehovah's Witnesses. 00:35:17.070 --> 00:35:20.210 or the various groups that in some way include 00:35:20.210 --> 00:35:24.590 the law as a part of salvation. For it says here 00:35:24.590 --> 00:35:27.449 that no one will be justified or declared righteous 00:35:27.449 --> 00:35:29.710 in the sight of God by observing the law, even 00:35:29.710 --> 00:35:34.670 if he could. No one is justified by the law. 00:35:34.769 --> 00:35:39.750 The law was not given to save man. I think it 00:35:39.750 --> 00:35:42.550 was Vern McGee again who said that trying to 00:35:42.550 --> 00:35:47.070 be saved by the works of the law and doing good 00:35:47.070 --> 00:35:50.210 is like being in an airplane that's going down 00:35:50.210 --> 00:35:52.710 and grabbing, instead of a parachute, a sack 00:35:52.710 --> 00:35:56.449 of cement. You see, the law will do nothing but 00:35:56.449 --> 00:35:59.690 take you to condemnation. That's its purpose. 00:36:00.210 --> 00:36:03.869 That's what he says. Through the law, we become 00:36:03.869 --> 00:36:09.650 conscious of sin. Whether it be in this dispensation 00:36:09.650 --> 00:36:12.409 or in some other, God has never saved anyone 00:36:12.409 --> 00:36:17.219 by the law. He saves only by grace. He has never 00:36:17.219 --> 00:36:21.099 saved anyone by works. He saves only by faith. 00:36:22.219 --> 00:36:25.920 The law was given so that in trespassing it, 00:36:26.099 --> 00:36:29.679 man would see his sinfulness and his guilt before 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:33.039 God and would cry out for mercy. And so what 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:37.000 is the conclusion of the prosecutor? Essentially 00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:42.630 it is this. The defendant, you and me, The defendant 00:36:42.630 --> 00:36:47.269 is guilty according to God's law and he's worthy 00:36:47.269 --> 00:36:56.889 of God's wrath. These are difficult verses. They 00:36:56.889 --> 00:37:02.710 fly in the face of religion in our day. They 00:37:02.710 --> 00:37:06.469 run counter to the concept that in every day 00:37:06.469 --> 00:37:08.909 and every way I'm getting better and better. 00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:12.780 which is the basic philosophy of liberal theology. 00:37:14.820 --> 00:37:18.139 It runs counter to the direction of humanism, 00:37:18.780 --> 00:37:22.920 which says that man is essentially good. God 00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:28.400 says that man is sinful, hopelessly lost, and 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:31.400 in need of a Savior. Now we who have trusted 00:37:31.400 --> 00:37:34.739 Jesus Christ and who are Christians can understand 00:37:34.739 --> 00:37:39.710 these verses. I hope that we have no sense of 00:37:39.710 --> 00:37:42.969 self -righteousness about us. For as we look 00:37:42.969 --> 00:37:46.929 at these verses, that for the grace of God we 00:37:46.929 --> 00:37:50.710 would all still be living like this. God in His 00:37:50.710 --> 00:37:56.789 grace has saved us from sin. And He is cleansing 00:37:56.789 --> 00:38:01.510 us. He is sanctifying us. Preparing us for heaven. 00:38:02.369 --> 00:38:05.650 He is making us new people so we don't live sin 00:38:05.650 --> 00:38:10.360 -centered lives. like the rest of mankind. We 00:38:10.360 --> 00:38:13.420 have no reason for self -righteousness. We may 00:38:13.420 --> 00:38:17.900 glory only in the righteousness of God and rejoice 00:38:17.900 --> 00:38:20.719 in the fact that we've been saved by God's grace. 00:38:22.039 --> 00:38:25.260 And for anyone here who is today still outside 00:38:25.260 --> 00:38:27.460 of Christ and therefore what the Bible calls 00:38:27.460 --> 00:38:33.219 a sinner, as you look at these verses, I trust 00:38:33.219 --> 00:38:37.159 that you do not read them casually. They describe 00:38:37.159 --> 00:38:41.920 every sinner to some degree, and it shows here 00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:47.039 God's just condemnation upon all sinners. What 00:38:47.039 --> 00:38:49.639 these verses do is show us how badly each of 00:38:49.639 --> 00:38:55.340 us needs the Savior. Griffith Thomas, a man who's 00:38:55.340 --> 00:38:59.420 been with God now in heaven for a number of decades, 00:39:00.679 --> 00:39:03.019 has written a very fine commentary on Romans. 00:39:03.700 --> 00:39:06.059 I'd like to conclude this message by reading 00:39:06.059 --> 00:39:10.079 a few of his sentences. Please exercise the discipline 00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:14.699 of listening as I read them. A reference to the 00:39:14.699 --> 00:39:17.460 context of these passages will show that the 00:39:17.460 --> 00:39:21.440 apostle does not mean to charge every individual 00:39:21.440 --> 00:39:23.880 Jew and Gentile with these sins any more than 00:39:23.880 --> 00:39:27.599 he does in chapter 1, verses 18 to 32, all the 00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:31.659 Gentiles, or in chapter 2, all the Jews. The 00:39:31.659 --> 00:39:35.079 reference is, of course, to classes and tendencies 00:39:35.079 --> 00:39:39.159 of sin, whether among Jews or Gentiles. The Jewish 00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:42.719 boast of superiority having been already removed, 00:39:42.980 --> 00:39:45.480 the way was made open for individuals to apply 00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:49.219 the truth to their own consciences. From time 00:39:49.219 --> 00:39:53.300 to time we meet with people full of moral excellences, 00:39:53.639 --> 00:39:56.579 like the rich young ruler, and we are tempted 00:39:56.579 --> 00:39:59.539 to think that such words as are here used by 00:39:59.539 --> 00:40:03.750 the Apostle would be utter mockery. But we must 00:40:03.750 --> 00:40:06.590 never forget that no charm of attitude towards 00:40:06.590 --> 00:40:10.230 men can ever take the place of thorough righteousness 00:40:10.230 --> 00:40:15.090 towards God. It is only too possible for a man's 00:40:15.090 --> 00:40:18.710 behavior to be admirable everywhere except at 00:40:18.710 --> 00:40:22.309 home, where his coldness and indifference are 00:40:22.309 --> 00:40:27.639 grief and shame. In the same way, Our best behavior 00:40:27.639 --> 00:40:30.179 towards man cannot set aside our attitude of 00:40:30.179 --> 00:40:32.119 self -righteousness and indifference towards 00:40:32.119 --> 00:40:35.780 God. When we look within our own hearts, we see 00:40:35.780 --> 00:40:39.119 the possibilities of evil. Just as when we read 00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:41.840 the story of the rich young ruler, we come at 00:40:41.840 --> 00:40:44.880 last to the point where that good person was 00:40:44.880 --> 00:40:49.760 not good. His unwillingness to surrender to Christ, 00:40:50.260 --> 00:40:53.039 thereby showing an unregenerated heart in spite 00:40:53.039 --> 00:40:57.159 of all of his excellences. And then Mr. Thomas, 00:40:57.219 --> 00:41:00.800 Dr. Thomas comes to the heart of his paragraph 00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:05.019 in this final sentence. We are condemned in the 00:41:05.019 --> 00:41:09.699 sight of God for what we are rather than for 00:41:09.699 --> 00:41:16.639 what we do. What are we? We are sinners. And 00:41:16.639 --> 00:41:20.699 what we do is sin. And what we need above everything 00:41:20.699 --> 00:41:25.679 else is forgiveness. and the gift of God's righteousness 00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:28.579 that will put us in a right relationship with 00:41:28.579 --> 00:41:32.880 himself. That's what Romans is all about. Having 00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:35.300 talked about sin thoroughly in these first three 00:41:35.300 --> 00:41:37.559 chapters, the apostle will now move on to talk 00:41:37.559 --> 00:41:40.900 about how God provided righteousness for us through 00:41:40.900 --> 00:41:44.559 Jesus Christ. I hope that you'll be here to study 00:41:44.559 --> 00:41:47.900 that, but you need not wait until then to receive 00:41:47.900 --> 00:41:52.360 that righteousness and to trust the Savior. If 00:41:52.360 --> 00:41:56.969 today where you sit, you feel convicted of sin, 00:41:58.170 --> 00:42:00.929 and you sense within the need for this righteousness 00:42:00.929 --> 00:42:04.949 of God that we've talked about. You can have 00:42:04.949 --> 00:42:07.289 that righteousness simply by opening your heart 00:42:07.289 --> 00:42:09.949 and trusting the Savior, by inviting Him into 00:42:09.949 --> 00:42:14.969 your life. Jesus said, I stand at the door and 00:42:14.969 --> 00:42:18.130 knock. If any man will open the door, I will 00:42:18.130 --> 00:42:21.010 come into him and will sup with him and he with 00:42:21.010 --> 00:42:26.230 me. Will you let Him into your life today? Do 00:42:26.230 --> 00:42:30.010 you hear Him knocking? Will you open the door? 00:42:31.369 --> 00:42:39.630 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we view the record 00:42:39.630 --> 00:42:46.809 of man's lost condition, the sinfulness of man 00:42:46.809 --> 00:42:52.480 in Your sight, all of us are humbled. And we 00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:55.260 confess that what you have written here is true. 00:42:56.000 --> 00:43:00.920 It is accurate. All of us fit into these verses. 00:43:03.519 --> 00:43:05.880 By your grace, however, many of us have already 00:43:05.880 --> 00:43:10.159 trusted Christ. And we've experienced your cleansing 00:43:10.159 --> 00:43:14.400 and your forgiveness. You're making us new creatures 00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:19.340 in Christ. Thank you for that. I pray for that 00:43:19.340 --> 00:43:21.639 friend who is here today outside of Christ, still 00:43:21.639 --> 00:43:26.659 in sin, still under condemnation. May there be 00:43:26.659 --> 00:43:31.679 faith today that will save that one. May he today 00:43:31.679 --> 00:43:34.380 open the door wide and receive Christ in his 00:43:34.380 --> 00:43:39.280 life. We pray it in Jesus' name and for his sake 00:43:39.280 --> 00:43:42.179 as well as for the sake of the sinner. Amen.