ROMANS ROAD
to RIGHTEOUSNESS |
Romans
1:18-3:20
|
Romans
3:21-5:21 |
Romans
6:1-8:39 |
Romans
9:1-11:36 |
Romans
12:1-16:27 |
|
SIN
|
SALVATION
|
SANCTIFICATION |
SOVEREIGNTY |
SERVICE |
NEED
FOR
SALVATION |
WAY
OF
SALVATION |
LIFE
OF
SALVATION |
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION |
SERVICE
OF
SALVATION |
God's Holiness
In
Condemning
Sin |
God's Grace
In
Justifying
Sinners |
God's Power
In
Sanctifying
Believers |
God's Sovereignty
In
Saving
Jew and Gentile |
Gods Glory
The
Object of
Service |
Deadliness
of Sin |
Design
of Grace |
Demonstration of
Salvation |
|
Power Given
|
Promises Fulfilled |
Paths Pursued |
Righteousness
Needed |
Righteousness
Credited |
Righteousness
Demonstrated |
Righteousness
Restored to Israel |
Righteousness
Applied |
God's Righteousness
IN LAW |
God's Righteousness
IMPUTED |
God's Righteousness
OBEYED |
God's Righteousness
IN ELECTION |
God's Righteousness
DISPLAYED |
|
Slaves to Sin |
Slaves to God |
Slaves Serving God |
|
Doctrine |
Duty |
|
Life by Faith |
Service by Faith |
|
Modified from Irving
L. Jensen's excellent work "Jensen's
Survey of the NT" |
AS IT IS WRITTEN : kathos
gegraphtai (3SRPI): (Ro
3:4; 11:8; 15:3,4; Isaiah 8:20; 1Peter 1:16)
Here is a list
of the Old Testament passages which Paul quotes from
Romans 3:10-12 from Psalm 14:1-3
and Psalm 53:1-3
Romans 3:13 from Psalm 5:9 and Psalm 140:3
Romans 3:14 from Psalm 10:7
Romans 3:15-17 from Isaiah 59:7-8 and see Isaiah 48:22
Romans 3:18 from Psalm 36:1
|
Paul is quoting from the
Septuagint (LXX)
Ps14:1-3 (see also Ps 53:1-3 below) primarily from verses 1b, 2-3.
|
Psalm 14:1 (For the
choir director. A Psalm of David.) The fool has said in his heart,
"There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed
abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
2 The LORD has
looked down from heaven upon the sons of men,
To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one. |
Psalm 53:1 (For the
choir director; according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.) The
fool has said in his heart, "There is no God," They are corrupt,
and have committed abominable injustice;
There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men,
To see if there is anyone who
understands, Who seeks after God.
3 Every one of them
has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no
one who does good, not even one. |
Paul has just said all men are "under
(the power of) sin" (See
notes). In this section it is as if he says "Are you still not
convinced? Let me show you further proof the Old Testament!" He is
bringing his arguments to a climax demonstrating that the totally sinful
state of both the Jew and the Gentile is repeatedly confirmed by the
testimony of the Scriptures. Paul begins by quoting from Psalm 14:1-3
which shows the universality ("no one...good...all turned aside")
of sin.
Middletown Bible has the
following outline of next section:
Romans 3:9 -THE CHARGE
-- All are under sin.
Romans 3:10-18 -THE INDICTMENT.
An indictment is a formal written statement framed by a prosecuting
authority (in this case, GOD HIMSELF) charging a person with an offense.
Romans 3:19 - THE VERDICT -
GUILTY!
Paul as in a judicial procedure is
bringing an indisputable, "air tight" indictment against both the Jews and the Gentiles.
The KJV Bible Commentary
explains
that...
An indictment is then a formal,
written charge and every indictment must have at least one count, one
specific charge to it. The more serious the crime, the more counts to
the indictment. Paul immediately follows this pattern by quoting from a
series of Old Testament passages which demonstrate, in no less than
fourteen counts, the perversity and depravity of the entire world. (Dobson,
E G, Charles Feinberg, E Hindson, Woodrow Kroll, H L. Wilmington: KJV
Bible Commentary: Nelson)
Newell subtitles Romans
3:10-18 as "Fourteen Horrible Things about All Men" and observes that we
find God speaking...
in these fourteen counts first,
as a Judge: Ro 3:10, 11, 12; next, as a Physician: Ro 3:13,
14, 15;
and third, as a Divine Historian: Ro 3:16, 17, 18... This awful
list of fourteen facts about the human race, quoted from the Old
Testament Scriptures, describes, of course, humanity as it is by nature.
Therefore if we have believed the Gospel, and are thus righteous before
God in Christ, we have double reason to study these truths: first, that
we may by understanding the facts, as God sees them, about ourselves,
have a correct estimate of humanity, which, of course, unenlightened men
never gain; and, second, that we may be constantly moved to give praise
to God for His measureless grace that reached even such as we were! (Romans 3: Sermons)
|
GOD'S FOURTEEN
INDICTMENT COUNTS
AGAINST ALL MANKIND
Adapted from
Robert Haldane |
|
Ro 3:10 |
General Charge: Unrighteousness |
|
Ro 3:11, 12 |
Internal: Disordered Heart |
|
Ro 3:13, 14 |
Disordered Words |
|
Ro 3:15, 16, 17 |
Disordered Actions |
|
Ro 3:18 |
The Cause of the Whole |
It is written (1125)
(grapho
from root graph- = primarily means to scratch on or engrave as on
an ornament, reports, letters, etc; English = graph, graphic,
etc) means to engrave or inscribe with a pen or stylus characters or
letters on a surface which can be wood, wax, metal, leather, stone,
parchment, dirt (John ), paper, etc. (Click
to review all 191 uses of grapho in the NAS)
It is written occurs 76
times in the OT (Click
for these uses). When we were children and our parents told us to do
something and we questioned "Why?", the answer was usually "Because I
said so!". Why are we commanded to be holy? Because God said so! A
popular saying is
God said it, I believe
it, that settles it.
It is written should put
a stop to every complaint or excuse. Paul is saying don't judge but
remember you will appear before Me to give an account (as the next verse
clarifies). This sobering thought should motivate us to obey this
injunction.
The
perfect tense
indicates that this is
a completed state and reflects the permanence of the written Word (cp Mt
24:35, Pr 30:5 Isa 40:8, 1Pe 1:23, 24, 25-notes).
The idea is that
"It has been written, with the
present result that it is on record" or "it stands written". The
perfect tense then speaks of permanence
and reflects the truth echoed by David when he wrote...
"Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled
in heaven." (Ps 119:89-Spurgeon's
Note).
The following section (Ro 3:10-20) is a
veritable scriptural resume and demonstration of the condemnation of
all men, both Jews and Gentiles.
Are there no exceptions? Paul answers
quite sharply in (Ro 3:10, 11, 12) with a barrage of negatives,
“There is none
… not even one… none … none … not even one.”
Paul now will demonstrate that by
nature all people, without exception, are under the power, mastery and
authority of
Sin. Notice
that in order to do so, he does not choose to remind his readers of the
gross immorality that marked the pagan culture. Why not? Because
doubtless many a Jew and even a few "moral" Gentiles might object saying
“I, for one, am not guilty of those
gross sins!”
Instead Paul, like Jesus in the
Sermon on the Mount, goes to the "heart" of the matter, initially selecting man's tongue,
fully aware that the tree is known by its fruit, for out of the mouth
comes that which fills the heart (cp Mt 15:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Mk 7:21,
22, 23, Ge 6:5, 8:21, Job15:16, Ps 51:5, Eccl 8:11, 9:3, Ro1:29, 30,
31,32 Titus 3:3, therefore Solomon writes Pr 4:23-note).
In this section Paul "strings together" a series of OT passage (this
technique is called a charaz,
literally “stringing pearls” - but this "necklace" is really a noose
for all men!) was common at the opening of synagogue homilies and in the
Dead Sea Scrolls. Jews and early Christians had Testimonia (quotations
from the Old Testament) strung together for certain purposes as
proof-texts. Paul may have used one of them or he may have put these
passages together himself. In either event, Paul here this catena
("like a chain" = a connected series of related things) to prove his point
"that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin" (Ro 3:9-note)
THE
TOTAL DEPRAVITY
OF MANKIND
What we have in this statement and in the following verses is
the most explicit description of the total depravity (A vitiated
[injured, perverted, spoiled, impaired] state of the heart; wickedness;
corruption of moral principles; destitution of holiness or good
principles) of mankind in all
of Scripture. This does not mean man is as depraved as he could be, but
that there is always room for “deprovement” because he is under the
power of sin.
Total depravity
is one of those "watershed" doctrines, being generally believed by the
Calvinists and rejected by the Arminians.
Dr
Charles Ryrie offers these
thoughts on total depravity...
The scriptural evidence provides the
basis for what has been commonly called total depravity.
The English word “depravity” means perverted or crooked. It is
not used in the translation of the King James Version, but some modern
translations do use it to translate
adokimos
(Ed:
word study)
in Romans 1:28 (see
note). This word (adokimos)
means “not standing the test” and gives us a clue as to how to define
the concept of depravity. Depravity means that man fails the test of
pleasing God. He denotes his unmeritoriousness in God’s sight. This
failure is total in that (a) it affects all aspects of man’s
being and (b) it affects all people.
Negatively, the concept of total
depravity does not mean (a) that every person has exhibited his
depravity as thoroughly as he or she could; (b) that sinners do not have
a conscience or a “native induction” concerning God (Ed: eg, see
Ro 2:14, 15-note);
(c) that sinners will indulge in every form of sin; or (d) that depraved
people do not perform actions that are good in the sight of others and
even in the sight of God (Ed: But see caveat in study of
Good Deeds).
Positively, total depravity means (a)
that corruption extends to every facet of man’s nature and faculties;
and (b) that there is nothing in anyone that can commend him to a
righteous God.
Total depravity must always be
measured against God’s holiness (Ed: See God's attribute-Holy).
Relative goodness exists in people. They can do good works, which are
appreciated by others. But nothing that anyone can do will gain
salvational merit or favor in the sight of a holy God. (Ryrie, C. C.
Basic Theology : A Popular Systemic Guide to Understanding Biblical
Truth. Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press)
The Pocket
Dictionary of Theological Terms defines total depravity as
follows...
Depravity refers both to the
damaged relationship between God and humans and to the corruption of
human nature such that there is within every human an ongoing tendency
toward sin. Total depravity refers to the extent and
comprehensiveness of the effects of sin on all humans such that all are
unable to do anything to obtain salvation...The term suggests as well
that the effects of the Fall extend to every dimension of human
existence, so that we dare not trust any ability (such as reason) that
we remain capable of exercising in our fallen state. (Grenz, S.,
Guretzki, D., & Nordling, C. F. Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms.
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press) (Bolding added for emphasis)
Naves has
the following entry on Scriptures that speak of the Depravity of
Mankind...
Gen. 6:5, 6, 7, 8, 11-13; Gen. 8:21;
Deut. 32:10; Job 4:17-19; Job 9:2, 3, 20, 29-31; Job 11:12; Job 14:4;
Job 15:14-16; Job 25:4-6; Psa. 5:9; Psa. 14:1, 2, 3 Psa. 53:1, 2, 3.
Psa. 51:5; Psa. 58:1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Psa. 94:11; Psa. 130:3; Psa. 143:2;
Prov. 10:20; Prov. 20:6, 9; Prov. 21:8; Eccl. 7:20, 29 2Chr. 6:36. Eccl.
8:11; Eccl. 9:3; Isa. 1:5, 6; 42:6, 7; 43:8; 48:8; 51:1; 53:6; 64:6; Je
2:22, 29; 6:7; 13:23; 16:12; 17:9; Ezek. 16:6, 37:1, 2, 3, 36:25, 26; Ho
6:7; 14:9; Mic. 7:2-3, 4; Mt. 7:17; 12:34, 35; 15:19 Mk 7:21-23. Lk
1:79; Jn 1:10, 11; 3:19; 8:23; 14:17; Acts 8:23; Ro 2:1; Ro 3:9-19, 23;
Ro 5:6, 12-14; Ro 6:6, 19, 20; Ro 7:5, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21,
23, 25; Ro 8:5, 6, 7, 8, 13; Ro 11:32; 1Co 2:14; 1Co 3:3; 1Co 5:9, 10;
2Co 3:4, 5; 2Co 5:14; Ga 3:10, 11, 22; Ga 5:17, 19, 20, 21; Eph. 2:1-2,
3, 12; Eph. 4:17-18, 19, 22; 5:8, 14; Col 1:13, 21; Col 2:13; Col 3:5,
7; 2Ti 2:26; Titus 3:3; Jas. 3:2; 4:5; 1 Pet. 1:18; 1Pe 2:9, 25; 1Jn
1:8, 10; 2:16; 3:10; 5:19; Re 3:17
As an illustration of all men's
depravity (all born with the "genetic defect" called sin) by thinking of the color of sin
as blue. If that were true, then every aspect of every one of us would be some shade of
blue! The Latin precursor of our word radical is the word
radix, which
means “root.” We are all infected with this radical corruption called
sin as Paul explains later writing...
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the
world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because
all sinned (see note
Romans 5:12).
We are
morally ruined down to our very roots. Jesus said the fruit is corrupt
because the tree is radically corrupt (cf Mt 7:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 -
see notes
7:15-16,
17-20).
><>><>><>
MAN'S TOTAL DEPRAVITY
ILLUSTRATED - In
November, 1971, in a Toronto
park a duck named "Ringo" made headlines in the local newspaper for several days.
The duck who made her home at the park lake, one day accidentally poked her bill through the ring of a pull tab from
a pop can and was not able to extricate herself. She was
unable to eat and starvation was certain. When her plight was
noticed by some park visitors, she became something of a celebrity. Park
personnel and animal experts tried numerous ways to catch Ringo so she
could be helped. They even called in a champion duck caller. People
tried luring her with food. The
frightened Ringo mistook all the efforts to help her as threats. What
happened to poor Ringo? She disappeared before anyone could
come to her rescue. Every man ever born is just like Ringo,
trapped in sin and destined to die, temporally and
eternally. And just like Ringo sinful man sees the call of
the gospel as a threat to his life-style rather than as the eternal blessing
it is. And thus they make every effort to escape the only
"news" that can ever provide rescue.
><> ><> ><>
Is man totally
depraved? Even newspaper columnists like Dear Abby recognize the the
fallen nature of man!
Dear Abby: I am 44 and would
like to meet a man my age with no bad habits.
Dear Rose: So would I.
><> ><> ><>
HOW DEPRAVED IS
MAN? ANSWER: TOTALLY! -
October 7, 1969 the Montreal, Canada police force went on strike.
Because of what resulted, the day has been called Black Tuesday. A
burglar and a policeman were slain. Forty-nine persons were wounded or
injured in rioting. Nine bank holdups were committed, almost a tenth of
the total number of holdups the previous year along with 17 robberies at
gunpoint. Usually disciplined, peaceful citizens joined the riffraff and
went wild, smashing some 1,000 plate glass windows in a stretch of 21
business blocks in the heart of the city, hauling away stereo units,
radios, TVs and wearing apparel. While looters stripped windows of
valuable merchandise, professional burglars entered stores by doors and
made off with truckloads of goods. A smartly dressed man scampered down
a street with a fur coat over each arm with no police around, anarchy
took over.
THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS : hoti ouk estin (3SPAI) dikaios:
(Ps 14:1, 2, 3; 53:1, 2, 3) (23; Job 14:4; 15:14,16; 25:4; Jer 17:9; Mt
15:19; Mk 7:21,22; Mk 10:18; 1Cor 6:9,10; Gal 5:19, 20, 21; Eph 2:1, 2,
3; 5:3-6; Col 3:5, 6, 7, 8, 9; 1Ti 1:9,10; 2Ti 3:2, 3, 4, 5; Titus 3:3;
1Jn 1:8-10; Rev 21:8; 22:15)
This sentence is like a summary for
the following discourse.
None
(3756)
(ou) which expresses direct and full
negation, independently and absolutely, and hence, objectively. It is
important to note that nine times in this section in Romans 3 Paul uses
the words such as none and all to show the
universality of human sin and rebellion.
Newell
writes that...
First, then, as a Judge God describes
man's condition: Verse 10: To begin with, There is none righteous before
God, no, not one (Ps 14:1; 53:1; Job 9:2; Ecc 7:20). No human being has
in himself ever been righteous. Even Adam was not righteous: he was
innocent-not knowing good and evil. Let us put far from our minds the
fond falsehoods of philosophy, science, and human "religions, " that
there have been men of our race who have attained to a standing before
God in righteousness. (Romans 3: Sermons)
Righteous (1342) (dikaios
from dike
= right, just) defines that which is in accordance with high standards
of rectitude (the quality of being straight).
Noah Webster
has the following definition of rectitude...
In morality, rightness of principle
or practice; uprightness of mind; exact conformity to truth, or to the
rules prescribed for moral conduct, either by divine or human laws.
Rectitude of mind is the disposition to act in conformity to any known
standard of right, truth or justice; rectitude of conduct is the actual
conformity to such standard. Perfect rectitude belongs only to the
Supreme Being. The more nearly the rectitude of men approaches to the
standard of the divine law, the more exalted arid dignified is their
character. Want of rectitude is not only sinful, but debasing. (Webster,
Noah. An American Dictionary of the English Language. 1828)
Dikaios
defines that which is in right relation to another and so in reference
to persons defines the one who is morally and ethically righteous,
upright or just. From a legal
viewpoint dikaios refers to one who is law-abiding (doing all
that law or justice requires), honest and good in behavior and from a
religious viewpoint one who is rightly related to God. In simple terms
this trait describes being in accordance with what God requires. The
righteous man does what he ought. He is the person who conforms to the
standard, will or character of God.
Dikaios is
used in its basic sense of “conforming to a norm” and that norm is the
Law of God, in whatever form it is available and relevant to man. The
Jews had the written Law. The Gentiles on the other hand
show
the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing
witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.
(see note
Ro 2:15)
This
text says that absolutely not a single individual has ever conformed to this norm,
but that instead
everyone has broken God’s Law and thus ultimately everyone has sinned
(Ro 3:23-note). There is not a single man
or woman born
who is born "right" with God. Sin has affected every aspect of every man -
intellect, emotions, volition, etc. Everything and everyone
(= total) is tainted with sin. This state as discussed
above is referred to as total depravity. Don't misunderstand. The idea is not that every person is as
bad as they could be, but that every part of their being is contaminated
with sin and consequently there is nothing anyone can do to commend
themselves to a holy God.
Solomon concurs
with Paul's indictment writing that
Indeed,
there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who
never sins. (Eccl 7:20)
No
one is righteous in an absolute sense, in the sense of sinless
perfection, which is the only way man can be accepted by God (see comment below).
Paul is painting a very clear picture that every individual ever born
has need
for the gift of God's righteousness, which is revealed and offered in the
gospel,
for in it
(the good news)
the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. (see
note
Ro 1:17).
Righteousness is a major
theme of the book of Romans, appearing in one form or another more than
thirty times. Other terms from the same Greek root are usually
translated “justified,” “justification,” or the like. Together they are
used more than 60 times in the book of Romans.
It is not surprising,
therefore, that the first charge Paul makes in the indictment is that of
mankind’s unrighteousness. Thus righteousness is not only
the key word in Romans, it is also a key criterion by which sin is judged.
As noted above, Paul is using the term righteous in its most
basic sense of being right before God, of being as God created man to
be, sinless before the "Fall" in the Garden of Eden.
You may be reasoning that sure I
do some bad things but the good things I do outweigh the bad. Paul would
doubtless agree that people can do many things that appear to be morally
right. Even the most vile person may occasionally do something
commendable. In the present indictment however,
Paul is not speaking of specific "righteous" acts or even general patterns of
behavior, but of one’s general character. Paul's point is that there is not a
single person who has ever lived, apart from the sinless God-Man , Jesus
Christ, Whose innermost being could be characterized as righteous by God’s standard, which
is perfection.
God’s standard of righteousness for men is the
righteousness that He
Himself possesses, which was manifest in Christ. This is the idea Jesus
sought to convey to His Jewish audience on the "Sermon on the Mount"
declaring that
Therefore
you are to be perfect (attained to moral maturity, reaching this
goal, the standard being our Father), as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
(see note
Matthew 5:48,
cp Mt 5:45-note)
The righteousness demanded of citizens of the kingdom of God cannot be
attained by merit, but must be given by God. In other words, a person
who is not as good as God is not acceptable to God. As Paul makes clear
later in Romans, and as the New Testament teaches throughout, men
can become perfectly righteous, when the righteousness of Christ is
imputed (to set to the account of) or accounted to them (placed on their spiritual account so to
speak).
The very truth that makes the
Gospel the good news is
that God has provided a way for men to become perfect, divinely perfect,
perfectly righteous in Christ.
This perfection is attainable only by God’s grace and a personal response
of placing one's faith
in His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul writes
But
God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved
us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together
with Christ (by grace you have been saved)...For by grace you have been
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God
not as a result of works, that no one should boast." (Eph 2:4,5-see
notes ; Eph 2:8, 9 -
note)
Spurgeon
commenting on Ps 53:1
which parallels Ps 14:1 (quoted by Paul here in Ro 3:12) adds that
Without a single exception people have forgotten the right way. This
accusation twice made in the psalm (Ps 53), and repeated by the apostle
Paul, is an indictment most solemn and sweeping, but He who makes it
knows what is in man.
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