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I'm Not Okay, You're Not Okay Romans 3:9-20 The title of this message is "I'm Not Okay, You're Not Okay." We're going to be looking at what the Bible teaches us about sin. We're going to be getting God's diagnosis of our spiritual condition apart from His salvation. Now I at this point I have to ask you to join me in asking the Lord to give us ears to hear this message. No other doctrine goes against the thinking of the world and human nature more than the doctrine of the sinfulness of man. Along with asking the Lord to give us ears to hear this message, let me remind you that we are also asking the Lord to help us to obey Him. The Greek words for obey and hear come from the same root. So we want to hear the message with a view to obeying the Lord. Romans 3:9-20, NIV 9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written:
What do you think? Not a very pretty picture of mankind, is it? Incredibly ugly, as a matter of fact! Why did the Apostle Paul write such negative things about people? Did he just have a bad hair day when he wrote this? Was Paul just upset because someone mistreated him? Or could it be possible that Paul is simply giving us the truth here, that this really is an accurate description of the human condition? Consider with me the three major propositions in the 12 verses before us: Man is universally sinful. Man is totally depraved. Man is helplessly lost. Before we move further into this message, let me just say a word about why I'm giving this message. If I could, I would rather give attention to something more positive than man's sinfulness. This is not a pleasant subject to talk about. It's sort of like talking about a bad infection when you really just want to think about something else. Nobody wants to do that, unless of course you have an infection. In that case you want to talk about it and get the anti-biotic so you won't die. So, while I don't like talking about sin, I do it because it is a real problem that must be dealt with. We cannot escape its ramifications by ignoring it. We must come to grips with this issue. And by honestly dealing with the problem of sin, we reap positive benefits. One of which is that we come to know the truth of reality. Bernard Ramm has said,
So as we learn about the doctrine of sin, we can come to understand our experience better and be in a position to understand and apply the solution to the sin problem. So, back in our text in Romans 3, we find these three truths: Man is universally sinful. Man is totally depraved. Man is helplessly lost. I. Man Is Universally Sinful. (9) The universality of the sinful human condition is seen in the statement in verse 9, "We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin." Everyone is either a Jew or a Gentile. There are no other possibilities. The condition is universal. But what is sin? The word used here means literally, "missing the mark." As when an archer shoots an arrow at a target and misses it completely. Sin is any deviation from what God commands us in His Word. This means we cannot limit our definition of sin to the specific commands listed in the Ten Commandments; it includes the violation of every commandment of God, Old Testament or New Testament. Nor is sin limited to actions; it also includes thoughts and attitudes. Nor is sin confined to what we do; it includes what we don't do; not just when we do wrong, but also when we don't do what is right. Okay, someone argues, I agree, we all have our imperfections, our moral flaws, our weaknesses, and our deficiencies. If you want to call those things "sin", then everyone is a sinner. But is the situation really that serious? Doesn't everyone has some spark of goodness within them? God's response is, "Man is not only universally sinful; he is totally depraved." II. Man Is Totally Depraved. (9-18) Look again at verse 9: "Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin." The preposition "under" is significant here, for it says more than just "all men have sinned" or that "all have a tendency to sin." It says that man is dominated by sin, under its power and under its control, and, consequently, under its condemnation. The theological term used for this description is the doctrine of Total Depravity. It is not a real popular view today. However, Total Depravity is a thoroughly biblical concept, if it is properly understood. The problem is that it is often misunderstood. Total Depravity does not imply that man has no knowledge of God or of His will. As we can see in the first two chapters of Romans, he has both. It does not imply that every man is as thoroughly wicked as he can possibly be. Only a few ever reach that depth. It does not imply that sinners can't act in positive ways toward their fellow man or admire virtuous character in others. We know they can. What Total Depravity does mean is that there is no spiritual good in man--absolutely nothing to commend him to God. And it implies that any good act has the fatal defect of not being prompted by pure and sincere love to God. Such righteousness is called "filthy rags" by God's prophet Isaiah. Now in order to prove that man is totally depraved, the Apostle Paul strings together a whole series of quotations from the Old Testament. And in the course of this appeal he describes the character of the sinner, the conduct of the sinner, and the cause of the sin. A. The character of the Sinner Sin affects everything about a person's character--his morality, his intellect, his will, his rebellious spirit, even his value--and all of these are addressed in verses 10-12. First, sin affects man: 1. In regard to his morality. "There is no one righteous." That is, there is no one who consistently does the right things for the right reasons. Not a single one of us deserves the title God gave to His Son, "Jesus Christ, the Righteous." Obviously, God is here using a standard of righteousness which is clearly above the standard we normally employ. He's employing a perfect standard. "But," you say, "some people are certainly more righteous than others--they don't all deserve to be lumped together, do they?" Think of it this way, let's say there was a contest to see who can jump across the Grand Canyon. Sure, some will go farther than others, but they will all plunge to their deaths. Second, sin affects man: 2. In regard to his intellect Man's intellect is also affected by sin, for "there is no one who understands." No one understands God's truth, not without God's help. I Cor. 2:14 says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." Thirdly, sin affects man: 3. In regard to his will. "No one seeks God." Now this seems like a strange assertion indeed. Think of the millions and millions of people who regularly go to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and shrines all over the world. Yet "no one seeks God?" Religion is man's attempt to fill the God-shaped vacuum that is in every human heart. In other words, he is looking for a god, not necessarily the God. The God of Truth and Righteousness tells man the truth about himself and demands total surrender to His will. But man resists this with every fibre of his being. Fourthly, the sinner's character is described: 4. In regard to his rebellious spirit. Not only do men not seek after the true God; they specifically "have turned away from Him." The term "turned away" is one that is used in Greek of a group of soldiers who have turned and fled before the enemy. In John 1:11 it says, "He came to His own but His own did not receive Him." Man has a rebellious spirit. Fifthly, sin affects man: 5. In regard to his value Verse 12: "They have together become worthless." That's very strong language, and it seems to fly in the face of other biblical statements, like, for example, the assertion that man was created in the image and likeness of God. How can he be in the image of God and worthless at the same time? Man has lost his reason-for-being, which is to glorify Almighty God. Just as salt that has lost its savor is worthless, so is man who has lost his direction. And finally, to sort of wrap up man's character and make sure there is no misunderstanding, the Apostle flatly states, "There is no one who does good, not even one." Undoubtedly there are some here this morning who do not like to hear this negative view of the human race. Perhaps you are saying, "I just don't accept the fact that man is so hopeless and helpless. I accept instead the view of modern sociology, psychology, and philosophy that man is essentially good, and that it is his environment that is the problem." If you think man is essentially good, then tell me, where do children learn to lie and steal? No one has to teach them to do this. Now, imagine that in this advanced scientific age of ours someone has invented a camera that can read thoughts and feelings. Further imagine that this hidden camera has been recording all your thoughts from this last week. Now suppose one thing further. Suppose it was announced that a screening of the film from that camera would be shown next Sunday. Talk about a dilemma! Though we might enjoy watching what others were thinking, I suspect we would experience considerable embarrassment and shame that all of our own thoughts would be viewed. And even if you had nothing but good thoughts all week, would you want us to see the film from last month, or last year? The stark reality, friends, is that God sees it all, and when He looks at the entire human race His evaluation is that without a single exception there is not a human being of any shape, size, or form from any culture, environment, or age who has habitually produced a life characterized by unwavering commitment to righteousness. Not even one. So much for the character of the sinner. Beginning in verse 13 the Apostle turns his attention to: B. The conduct of the sinner (13-17), beginning with: 1. His speech It's as though the sinner is here being given his annual physical exam. As you well know when you go to the doctor for any illness he generally wants to look in your mouth. He puts one of those overgrown wooden sticks on your tongue and says, "Say ahhh!" Well, God here looks into the mouth of the sinner and when man says, "ahhh," God says "Yuk! Their throats are open graves." In a day when embalming wasn't practiced, an open grave was a sure source of disgusting smells. Jesus talked about the fact that we give far more attention to what goes into our mouths than what comes out of them. The Jews, for example, had the practice of eating kosher food (food that is considered acceptable by the OT Law), which, they thought, would prevent them from becoming unclean. But listen to what Jesus said really makes a person unclean, according to Mark 7:18-23:
Is it any wonder that Paul speaks of our throats as open graves in verse 13? After examining the throat the physician often looks at the tongue. There are many things a doctor can tell about a person's health just by looking at his tongue. Well, God's examination in verse 13 shows that human tongues practice deceit. Sometimes the instrument of deception is a blatant lie. More often it is a subtle half-truth, a so-called white lie, an impression we try to leave without really saying something we know is untrue. Those who take these words at face value are mislead and mistreated. Not only do people use words in deceit to gain their own ends; they also use words to injure others. In verse 13 we read, "the poison of vipers is on their lips." Every person is born with a poison sac and he is able to use his deadly arsenal of words to strike at his fellow man. James agrees: "No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." Furthermore in verse 14, "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." One no longer needs to listen to sailors or visit a high school locker-room to get a quick education in the latest profanity. Today the average fourth-grade class will do, or the typical family-hour television program. Some people rarely ever speak a sentence without profanity. And others, who would never speak this way, nevertheless have bitterness oozing out of their pores, as well as written all over their faces. So much for the sinner's speech. What about his actions? 2. His actions (15-17) First, in verse 15 it says, "Their feet are swift to shed blood." Life is so cheap in our country today, particularly in the major cities. People kill one another over a pair of basketball shoes or a verbal insult or even a dirty look. Think of the million babies murdered every year under "freedom of choice" laws relative to abortion. And if you're innocent so far, do you still claim innocence when confronted with Jesus' claim that murder is committed when one hates another person? Secondly, "ruin and misery mark their ways." Everywhere man goes, ruin follows. Why do cities always develop ghettos and slums? Why does our environment become polluted? Why is crime always a problem in every society? And finally, "the way of peace they do not know." People have tried for centuries to live in peace. And yet we have had more wars in the last 100 years than in any other. John Stott gives this very insightful description of man's sinful actions toward one another:
The way of peace is by surrender to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you've been following me so far, you are probably wondering to yourself, how did man ever get into such a terrible condition? Well, the cause is clearly stated in verse 18. So far we've seen the character of the sinner, the conduct of the sinner, and now the cause of the sin. C. The cause of the sin (18) "There is no fear of God before their eyes." The atheist seeks to argue God out of existence. Most people seek to ignore Him out of existence. To fear God means to do what He tells us out of respect for Him because He is God. Even under threat of eternal punishment in Hell there is no fear of God in most people. How about you? Do you fear God? Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28). In Scripture, the fear of God is the essence of godliness and virtue, while its absence is the epitome of godlessness and vice. "Before their eyes" - The eyes are the organs of vision. The fear of God is to be constantly in the center of our thought and outlook on life. We are to be ever conscious of our dependence upon God and our responsibility to Him. However, sinners don't see the world this way. Psalm 10:4 says, "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts" (NKJV). Or, as the NIV translates it, "in all his thoughts there is no room for God." Paul, in Romans 1:28, put it this way, "they refused to have God in their knowledge" (World English Bible). If man refuses to have God in his knowledge, should we be surprised that man is totally depraved? We have seen that, I. Man is universally sinful. II. Man is totally depraved. Thirdly, III. Man Is Helplessly Lost (19,20) Look at verse 19: "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." In chapter 2 we learn that every person, Jew, Gentile, moral or immoral, lives under the law. If one doesn't have the haw written on scrolls, one has the law written on the heart. This moral law which God makes known to every person does two things: First, it silences our excuses. It's time to listen. There must be silence because God has some wonderful news, but He cannot tell us about it if we keep on insisting that we are good in and of ourselves. Secondly, the law clearly reveals our sin. The law has been likened to a mirror. The purpose of a mirror is to reveal to you that your face is dirty. But a mirror makes a very poor wash cloth. It's only good to drive you to the washcloth, water, and soap. Likewise, the law cannot cleanse us. It simply drives us to seek cleansing by God's grace through faith. Reiteration: So we have seen now that man is universally sinful. That is every single person who has ever lived is guilty of sin, including you and me. Man is totally depraved. That is, unable to do any spiritual good. And man is helplessly lost. That is, we are unable to fix our situation. Application: Okay, let's make this a little more personal now. Let's talk about how all of this relates to us. Have you ever heard the saying, "To err is human." What does that imply? On the surface, it means that humans are imperfect and make mistakes. But I think it implies something more. It implies that people cannot really be expected to be responsible for their actions because, after all, we are all finite or limited. We can't really blame each other for our weaknesses. We're only human! And so if I don't expect much of you, maybe you won't expect much of me. It's really a vain attempt at excusing our moral guilt. I recently heard about a man who purchased a collection of 20 rare and very expensive cigars. He purchased an insurance policy to cover the cigars for $15,000 in case of fire. Before he even had made his first premium payment, he smoked all the cigars and filed a claim that the cigars were destroyed in a series of small fires. How dishonest! How deceptive! How evil is the human heart to so blatantly lie and take advantage of others for selfish and greedy gain! The rest of the story? Well, the insurance company fought the matter in court, but was forced to pay the man because technically the cigars were insured against fire. However, the insurance company brought charges of arson against the man (define: crime of maliciously burning property) and since the company had to pay for damage that resulted from 20 separate fires, the man was convicted of 20 counts of arson and was sent to prison. Have you ever done anything like that? Maybe, you say, "I would never purposely commit fraud like that." Okay, maybe. But have you ever lied on your income tax returns? Have you ever been undercharged for something or given too much change back and didn't say anything about it? That's just as much fraud as what the man with the cigars did. Let's think about the definition of sin for a moment. The Westminster Catechism defines sin as, "any want [or lack] of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.. The Apostle John gives us a good definition in 1 John 3:4: "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness" (NIV). Do you know what you are doing when you disobey God even for what you consider a "small sin." You are committing treason against the throne of God! You are rebelling against His law, against His rule in your life. In the moment you sin, "you are saying I don't want God to rule over me. I don't want Theonomy, or the rule of God. I want autonomy, self-rule." You might be thinking I'm overstating my case. Well, listen to what James says in James 2:8:11,
What is James saying about being a lawbreaker? He's saying that by committing only one sin, you are a sinner. You have violated the sovereign rule of God in your life. You have said in effect, "I don't want God's will to be done, I want MY WILL to be done!" You have chosen autonomy over theonomy. Is one sin that big of a deal? Well, what about Adam and Eve in Genesis 3? It took only one sin to plunge the human race into a sin-cursed world. You and I continue to live in a world affected by the one sin of our first parents. What we need this morning is to have a more honest view of ourselves. We need to admit to ourselves that when we sin, even just one so-called "small sin," we are seeking the overthrow of God in our lives. We are seeking to be a law to ourselves. We need to understand the seriousness of sin. Our sin is so serious that only the cross of Christ could remove it. The only solution to our sin problem is for Jesus, God in the flesh who alone lived a sinless life, to take our place on the cross and bear the penalty for sin that we deserve. God satisfied His justice against our sin when He poured His wrath upon Jesus. Look to Jesus this morning as your substitute. He fully bore the punishment for your sin. He drank every last drop of the cup of wrath--for you. He did it for you. The only relief from the dark picture we find in Romans 3:9-20 that we have looked at comes to us in verse 21. Fortunately for us there is relief in the simple little phrase But now. See it at the beginning of verse 21? "But now." Immediately the tension that has been building up for three chapters begins to ease. "But now, a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." If you will place your faith in Christ this morning, God will credit your sin to Christ and Christ's righteousness to you. This is the Gospel. This is the only thing that can allow us to say, "I'm Okay. You're Okay." |
