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In chapter three Paul wants us to see ourselves in our full sinfulness. Before we can begin to cry out for a Savior, we must clearly see our need for one. As we begin to see how detestable sin is to our holy God, we will understand that Jesus' death shows the extent of God's hatred toward sin. Christianity is not just a better way to get more out of life. It is the only way to eternal life. Only when we accept the full nature of our sin can we live for Christ and His glory. Paul answers several questions in chapter three which prove we are not sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners. The Jewish people knew they possessed great religious advantages over the Gentiles, who had none. Yet, as we learned in chapter two, God treats Jews and Gentiles alike, not showing favoritism. We also learned the only thing that makes one truly Jewish is an inner transformation by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 2:29) Then what advantage is there in being a Jew? Paul answers, "Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God." (Romans 3:1-2) The fact that Paul says "first" leads us to look for what is also second and third. We find the longer list of advantages in chapter 9 where Paul adds: the adoption as sons, the divine glory, the covenants, the law, the temple worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and the human ancestry of Jesus Christ. (Romans 9:4-5) These advantages were intended to lead the Jewish people to faith in Jesus when He came. The tragedy is they did not do this. Instead they led to Jewish self-righteousness. (Romans 10:3) In verse two Paul addresses the most important of these advantages, the Jews possessed the very 'word of God'. The word Paul uses here is 'logia'. It is a very strong, nearly technical term that identifies the Old Testament Scriptures as God's own words. In the King James translation, the word is rendered 'oracles'. 'Logia' occurs in three other passages. (Acts 7:37; Hebrews 5:12; and 1 Peter 4:11) In each case it indicates that the Old Testament Scriptures, to which these New Testament verses refer, were regarded by the New Testament authors as 'oracular utterances'. In this term we have convincing evidence that the Old Testament Scriptures were esteemed as nothing other than the crystallized speech of God. Paul's focus on Scripture as the chief advantage of the Jewish people is of immense importance to us, since it is the only blessing in the long list of advantages in which Gentiles share. Christians cannot claim any of the other advantages, but we can say ours are the Scriptures, the very words of God. Can any of us experience anything in life of greater personal advantage to our souls than reading the Holy Scriptures? No. It is only from the revelation of God in the Bible that we have sure answers to our life and death questions. In verse 3 Paul asks about the Jews who did not have faith. Is their lack of faith and resulting condemnation God's fault? This is an important question. Paul's answer is abrupt. "Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar." What this means is that God is faithful and that unbelief is never God's fault; it is ours. Because we are sinners, we try to manipulate God to save us regardless of what we either believe or do. The Jewish people did it by claiming that God must save them because of God's promises to the nation. We do it by believing that God will save us because we are not as bad as our neighbor, or because of baptism, or we go to church. God is faithful. He will save those He has promised to save, -but not apart from true, personal faith! If you are to be saved, it must be by faith in Jesus Christ, God's son, whom God has appointed as the only Savior. This alone is the basis of true Christianity. The third question in this chapter, found in verse 5, is neither reasonable nor weighty. It is just a cheap debating trick, toying with theological matters and deserves the scorn Paul gives it. Jesus Christ came to save us from our sin, not in it, even less to encourage it. Jesus said, " If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) All who are saved are joined to Christ. Christ lives in them, so what Christ wants they must increasingly want. If we find that we are not coming to hate sin and love righteousness, we are not really Christ's. If we are Christians, we will hate sin, repudiate it, fight against it, and strive for righteousness. In verses 10-12, the apostle summarizes the condition of every human being apart from the grace of God in Christ. According to Paul all, Jews and Gentiles, are under sin and all are thus subject to the wrath and final judgment of Almighty God. Quoting from Psalm 14:1-3; and Psalm 53:1-3, Paul declares, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God." This doctrine, which some call "total depravity", is hard for many people to accept, for one of the results of being sinful is that we tend to treat sin lightly. Most people today erroneously hold the view that, spiritually speaking, people are basically good and are even getting better. The problem with this thinking is that without an accurate knowledge of our sin, we will never come to know the meaning of God's grace nor will we come to God for the salvation we so desperately need. As long as we suppose we are doing all right, we will never commit ourselves to Christ. Paul is saying that there is something fundamentally wrong with human beings who, if left unaided by a supernatural work of God, cannot seek Him. It is a statement of what has come to be known in theology as "the bondage of will." Augustine had a phrase for this inherent human inability, non posse no peccare. It means not able not to sin; that is, unaided by God, a person is not able to stop sinning and choose God. Augustine said that man, having used his free will badly in the fall, lost both himself and his will. He said that the will is free of righteousness, but it is enslaved to sin. It is free to turn from God, but not to come to Him. Augustine saw that apart from grace no one can be saved. Moreover, it is a matter of grace from beginning to end, not grace to which the sinner adds his or her efforts. Otherwise, salvation would not be entirely of God, God's honor would be diminished, and human beings would be able to boast in heaven. Therefore our only proper role is humbly to acknowledge our sin, confess our helplessness, and admit that we can no more choose God by our enslaved wills than we can please Him by our sullied moral acts. All we can do is call upon God for mercy knowing that even as we seek His mercy it is because God has graciously convicted us of our need and is leading us to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. God's gospel is a gospel of
grace from first to last. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the
Father who sent me draws him," (John 6:44) and "Whoever comes to me I
will never drive away." (John 6:37) What is our view of God? Does He
desire that anyone who wants to come to Christ may come? Yes! "He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) God is calling us into a relationship with
Him through His creation, His Son, His Spirit and His Word!
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