Suppose later this week that you decided to visit a local restaurant. You are seated at a nice table and a server offers a menu. You see various entrees and side dishes that sound interesting. After mulling over the restaurant's offerings, you're a bit suspicious so you decide that you want to know more details of what they are offering.
"Waiter, please tell me about the 12 ounce steak on your menu."
"Yes, sir; that aged beef is cooked just the way you want it."
"Aged beef…how long has it been aged?"
"It's very aged, probably about 2 years in an open field; it's fully rancid and served with steaming spoiled vegetables. May I offer this to you?"
"No, no; I don't want rancid beef and a plate of spoiled vegetables! How could you offer something so old and worthless? I might get sick!"
"Well, sir, that's the best we have."
"Then tell me about your halibut."
"Yes, sir, I'll be glad to bring you our rotten halibut. The chef will serve it on a bed of weevil infested rice pilaf garnished with wilted lemon wedges and mildewed herbs."
"Rotten halibut, weeviled rice, wilted lemons, mildewed herbs…you would offer me rotten food?"
"Oh, yes; but keep in mind that it is served quite nicely. It's the best we have to offer."
"No, I certainly don't want rotten fish and ruined side items! Do you have anything else worth eating?"
"Well, sir, we have more to serve you but I'm not sure that any of it is worth eating. But I would still gladly serve you!"
How long would you wait around for that kind of food to be served? Not long at all; you would find this totally unacceptable. And for what reason would it be unacceptable? It is food. Why not eat old beef, spoiled vegetables, and rotten fish? Two reasons: your taste buds would permanently rebel against you and you would be deathly sick. Simple enough!
Think for a moment what we have to offer to God. We are human beings; we do have rational minds and articulate tongues. We have hands and feet that can move into action. We are energetic; we have financial resources. We can mouth the words of liturgy and robustly sing and pray. But does He find any of this acceptable if we're unrighteous? Does He want hands and feet and voices that are rotten and putrid at their core?
I hope that you get the picture that I'm offering. The inescapable fact of humanity is that in spite of great abilities and resources, one hundred out of one hundred are under sin, and therefore unacceptable to God. Our need for righteousness to be accepted by God cannot be veneered by abilities, heritage, and resources. Sinful people desperately need righteousness to be accepted by God. Have you realized this? That's Paul's argument in Romans 1-3 as he introduces us to the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus alone.
We possess the natural tendency to excuse our own sin. We don't mind pointing out sin in others; to do so gives us cause to puff up our egos. But to come face to face with our sin before an infinitely holy God produces discomfort.
We could talk about many things in the Bible that we might all find pleasurable: character stories, miracles, angels, etc. Yet, from man's perspective, the story of the Bible beginning in Genesis and running through every book is the record of man's fall from right relationship with God and what God has done to reconcile sinners to Himself. The continuity of the fall in sin for all of Adam's heirs lives not only throughout the Bible but in all of our history books, news magazines, movies, and blogs. Sin permeates the human race. Of course, that becomes our excuse for sin, too! How often have we heard (or even said), "Well, no one's perfect!"? Have you ever followed by asking, "Why not?" Why are we not perfect? "Well, we're just not; it's just impossible!" True, true; but why are we imperfect? Why do we sin?
Paul has traced the answer through every culture and race. Sin does permeate humanity. Though it manifests itself with differing shades and sizes in the various cultures, it's still the stark reality of cosmic rebellion, separation from God, and the lack of righteousness to stand before God in judgment. Let us consider how he brings his charge of universal sinfulness to a seemingly disparaging crescendo so that he might leave us relying on the gospel as the only hope for sinners.
We live in a dangerous world; it's dangerous because of the interruption of sin in the cosmos that affects the whole created order until the great day of culmination, when Christ restores the cosmos by the full application of His atoning work. Until that time, we face constant dangers that will grab us if we fail to pay attention. A chemist might get sloppy and create an explosion in his lab. A logger might be lulled by the hum of his chainsaw to a moment of carelessness that could cost life or limb. Just a momentary lull of attentiveness while driving could mean swerving into oncoming traffic.
Paul calls our attention to an even more subtle and graver danger. "What then?" He repeats the question that he's already asked in verse 3. After clearing the air that both Gentiles (1:18-32) and Jews (2:1-29) are sinners, he offers a rhetorical question about whether or not Jews have any advantages (3:1). Yes, Paul stated; though not an advantage in righteousness but rather one in terms of understanding. "First of all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God" (3:2). In other words, the Lord gave them His Word. What an enormous advantage of understanding and responsibility! Yet just having the Word did not equate with righteousness. Then his objector angles in with diversionary tactics to get the Apostle off of his aim to explain both the universality of sin and the need for Christ's righteousness. "What then?" (3:3) Paul faces each diversion by demonstrating that his objectors missed the point of the advantage of Judaism. Now, in our text, he returns to the same question as though answering it with greater clarity: "What then? Are we better than they?"
Scholars debate whom the "we" might be in Paul's question. Does he mean "we Christians"? Or does he mean "we Jews"? In the grand scheme, it doesn't matter because he still levels the ground for Gentiles and Jews. But it seems that he asks this question on behalf of his Jewish brethren. Were they better than the Gentiles? Did their advantage of having the oracles of God mean that they were better than those that didn't?
He actually poses a much needed personal observation by this question; the ambiguity of the subject helps with personal application. Do we think that by our piety or experience or heritage or nationality or understanding that we have a spiritual edge over others? Do we get a pass from God because our parents are Christians or because we attended a Christian school or because we were home-schooled or because we've been raised in church or because we've done nothing notorious?
Here's the danger that I believe Paul raises by the question, "What then?" We can lull ourselves into a perception of spiritual safety by checking off various advantages that we think we have over others. We can believe that we're okay with God; that He wouldn't dare condemn us because we have certain perceived advantages over others. Yet that perception of safety denies reality. None are safe before God without Christ's righteousness; none possess this righteousness without personal response to the gospel.
Paul's language is strong, coming from the legal setting. "Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin." He didn't suggest that all were under sin. He certainly didn't slander Jews and Greeks by falsely accusing them of being under sin. Instead, using language from the courtroom, he makes the incriminating accusation, "both Jews and Greeks are all under sin." It's certain; the evidence is clear; it's indefensible—all are under sin.
What does he imply by that phrase, "all under sin"? The preposition vividly places humanity beneath the oppressive weight of sin. None are exceptions. No religious pedigree or practice excludes the charge. All of us are under sin.
First, to be under sin is to be under sin's dominion or reign. Paul describes it as slavery to sin (6:12-17) in which sin is the dictator despotically commanding us. Sin reigns in us so that we might obey its desires (6:12). We are under its merciless power to command and to bend the knee in worship. Sin declares its mastery over us and we have no choice but to bow the neck of submission; as a matter of fact, we may for a time find it utterly pleasurable until God shows us His holiness.
Second, to be under sin is to be under sin's penalty. The charge against sin—its wages—is death (6:23). From the first warning in the Garden, "for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die," sin's penalty hangs as the Sword of Damocles over our heads ready to drop us into an eternity of eternal death filled with divine wrath. It's the penalty of eternal judgment separating us from God's kindness and grace, and returning to us the appropriate measure of eternal justice.
Third, to be under sin is to be under sin's guilt. That kind of guilt is both objective and subjective. It's objective in that we face the stated divine sentence that will surely come to pass for our cosmic rebellion against the Creator. "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God" (Rom. 14:10). It is a reality that is inescapable apart from the guilt being laid on Someone else who would dare to stand in our place. It's the certainty of justice taking place. But this guilt is also subjective when the Spirit of God begins to press the effects of the Law to our conscience. We hear what God has commanded—we read the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount. Our conscience twinges with guilt and then our mind whirls with excuses and explanations for why we should not feel guilty over our sin. The subjective experience of guilt evidences divine mercy; for apart from that kind of restraint through guilt nothing could stop the pressing, overpowering effects of sin.
Finally, to be under sin is to be without God and consequently, without hope, peace, and joy in this world. I talked to a man recently who described his life under sin and without Christ. He realized that life was futile and hopeless. He could see nothing beyond the misery that he felt because of his love affair with sin. The idols of sin enslaved him and offered him no satisfaction, no delight, and no hope.
The little word "all" carries an ominous charge of universal sinfulness, and thus, universal judgment and hopelessness. Unless the Righteous One stands in our place before the bar of judgment then we remain forever despairing and hopeless.
Rabbis would take a series of truths from Scripture that they strung together with one verse after another, calling it "a string of pearls" [Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, 166, following A. Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, I, 449]. Paul has taken that tactic. But I just couldn't bring myself to call these declarations about human sinfulness pearls. Death beads are more like it! Each one filled with deadly poison pricking and delivering its ruin around the necks of those under sin's dominion. What are the death beads that Paul strings together to convince us of universal human sinfulness and therefore, universal judgment? He does not philosophize concerning sin but rather pulls from Scripture verse after verse to show that "it is written," or better, expressing the perfect passive verb, "it stands forever written." Quoting from Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3; 5:9; 140:3; 10:7; Isaiah 59:7ff; and Psalm 36:1, Paul builds his case for universal sinfulness.
The opening volley, "there is none," followed by the refrain, "not even one," offers convincing proof of the human condition. Paul begins with the inward condition evident in every person.
"There is none righteous, not even one." With regard to God's Law, none are righteous. The word carries specific meaning, and especially in this context, is the opposite of sin. It's the positive action and conformity to the Law of God. It's not partial conformity but total, perfect conformity. Marty Lloyd-Jones explains, "It means living a life in perfect conformity to the law of God; it is living as God desires man to live" [Romans: the Righteous Judgment of God, 198]. It is living as God purposed man at creation—and nothing less than that. He did not put Adam in the Garden to be partially righteous any more than we would find a terrorist's partial good behavior to be acceptable after he had blown up our loved ones.
Righteousness is not viewed in degrees. One is either righteous or not righteous; there's no in-between. Here is the seriousness of our sin and the reality that our good deeds cannot provide a covering from divine wrath. For no amount of good deeds can compensate for lack of righteousness. God never told the children of Israel, 'I only expect you to partially obey My commandments. Don't worry about perfect obedience. I judge on a sliding scale.' No such folly could ever come from the mouth of our righteous God!
With regard to God's revelation, Paul writes, "there is none who understands." That doesn't mean that a person with reasonable intelligence cannot analyze Scripture and offer some sound interpretations. It's not a matter of intelligence but rather application that is at the heart of understanding. That's why a person can hear the preaching of the gospel week after week and think nothing of it, yet he might be able to answer whatever gospel questions you toss his way. He knows details, formulates concepts, but he lacks the understanding that would bring him to repentance and faith in Christ by relying only upon the righteousness of Christ.
With regard to relationship with God, Paul states, "there is none who seeks for God." The present tense of the verb offers an indication that one might have a fainting pursuit of God or some aspect of the gospel; but it doesn't last. There's nothing sustained, no true heart longing, no vigorous desire to turn from sin and rely upon Christ. Interestingly, many churches refer to non-believers as "seekers"; yet that's a misnomer. It is only when the Spirit of God goes to work in applying the Law and the gospel that one truly seeks after God. Seeking God, otherwise, is antithetical to the human disposition. We seek pleasure or religion or happiness or good times but not for God, His holiness, His pleasure, His righteousness, and His face.
The Apostle moves to outward practice where we find clear evidence of man's moral inability, as Jonathan Edwards termed it. What Paul explains, and Edwards saw so clearly, was that in spite of God-given ability and capability, man intentionally turns away from God to pursue sin. Jim Boice illustrated this in a helpful way. If you captured a carnivorous creature, such as a lion, and put him in a cage with hay and oats to eat, he wouldn't eat them. It's not that he was incapable of eating the oats. "But he does not and will not, because it is not in his nature to eat this kind of food." Boice comments, "Moreover, if we could ask why he will not eat the herbivore's meal and the lion could answer, he would say, 'I cannot eat this food, because I hate it. I will only eat meat'" [Romans: Justification by Faith, vol. 1, 302]
That's what Paul explains by the intentional rebellion against God, "All have turned aside." It's not that man has no capacity to follow God; he does but he won't. That's where so much misinformation arises regarding the so-called "free will of man." Man's inclination is rebellion. He is free to do whatever he chooses as long as it is consistent with his nature; and his nature is rebellion against God. Consequently, Paul declares, "Together they have become useless." That is, if you put together the whole of humanity—the collective rebels of creation—you will find complete uselessness.
Now, someone asserts, that's just not a fair statement. There are some good people in the world doing very wonderful things. They help with natural disasters; they feed the poor; they build homes for the homeless. All of that is commendable. But the basic reason man does even good things is for self-gratification. He's rebelled against God and therefore against God's purpose for man; so anything that he does, he does for some personal stroke, whether it is to get praise from men or to feel good about the fact that he's done a good deed or to be remembered by other people. Instead, "they have become useless," which is a term that describes something that is forever ruined and marred. It was used to describe spoiled milk. At one point, the milk was good and delicious—that's man before sin entered the world. But when sin entered, like the milk, humanity spoiled and became useless.
Paul wraps this description of moral inability with the sweeping declaration, "There is none who does good." Goodness is used in a wide sense, particularly with reference to moral goodness in relationship to God. Lloyd-Jones explains, "goodness really means to do things for the glory of God, and your naturally good man does not do things for the glory of God. He does not think of God" [209]. Ethically, man is lacking. As the expression goes, the best of men are men at best. That's why the clause tagged to the end of verse 12 rivets our thoughts to the shocking truth of human depravity: "there is not even one." Morris adds, "The barrenness of this landscape is underlined with the melancholy not even one. There is nothing to lighten the picture" [167]. No exceptions to the rule exist.
Paul moves from moral condition and concepts to the specific actions of sin. If verses 10-12 describe what man lacks for righteousness, then verses 13-17 declare how his actions ascribe unrighteousness to his account. Inward corruption is expressed by the phrase, "their throat is an open grave." Where praise should originate there is only the deadly stench of decay. "With their tongues they keep deceiving" pictures the vanity and flattery of the tongue that thinks nothing of lying and deceit. "The poison of asps is under their lips" identifies the Egyptian cobra that had pockets of poison under its lips that injected deadly venom when it struck a victim. Think of the deadly speech that tears down character, destroys homes, gossips and slanders, and divides friends. A step further, "whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness," indicates a heart seething in rebellion against God. Luther wrote that the "cursing" "is a matter of openly attacking a person with insults, denunciations, and blasphemies and of wishing him evil." He characterized "bitterness" as "the most jealous slander" [Luther's Works, vol. 25, 231]. It culminates in the actions of his feet: "their feet are swift to shed blood." Not satisfied with deception, poisonous speech, and cursing, the wretched condition of man acts on that which fills the heart. In this case, it is taking another's life just to satisfy bitterness and anger and jealousy toward that person.
I don't think Paul exaggerates in the least with this description. Can you open the newspaper any day or listen to conversations or listen to the news and not find the mean-spirited use of speech and the callous slaughtering of others? Hate speech, slander, cursing, racial slurs, and lying are so much the part of daily life that sometimes we don't even notice how deeply depraved humanity really is! Yet it is all under God's judgment. None so unrighteous will find acceptance with the infinitely holy God.
"Destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known." Rather than the positive "path of peace" which indicates well-being with God, the path of humanity spirals down, destroying relationships at every turn and leaving a toll of misery along the way.
Why does the human race persist on such a miserable track? We have more education available but that doesn't change the heart. We have self-help books but they cannot change the disposition. We have motivational seminars but they cannot transform the inward life. Here's the reason: "there is no fear of God before their eyes." Man is blind to the very one that he should reverence and fear. Depraved at every point of his being, affected by sin in every relationship and endeavor, there's no righteousness in him.
But there is hope! Not in moral reformation but in regeneration—the heart changed by the work of the Spirit so that the sinner becomes righteous in God's eyes through the righteousness that is in His Son. When that happens, though one has committed the worst offenses imaginable, that one who humbly trusts in Christ is just as welcomed in God's presence as the Son of God Himself!
You and I have nothing acceptable to offer God. We may have some good deeds and kind acts of service yet we offer it with the putrid stench of unrighteousness. Would you admit to God that you can do nothing for Him, that you can offer Him nothing but the ruined wreck of a sinful life? Would you look to His Son crucified for you as your only ground of acceptance before Him?
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