Romans 3:9-20

Text

Romans 3:9 b - Romans 3:20. No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; Romans 3:10 as it is written, There is hone righteous, no, not one;

Romans 3:11 There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God;

Romans 3:12 They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one:

Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips.

Romans 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;

Romans 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;

Romans 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

Romans 3:17 And the way of peace have they not known:

Romans 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God: Romans 3:20 because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin.

REALIZING ROMANS, Romans 3:9 - Romans 3:20

112.

Where in the Roman epistle had Paul proven both Jews and Greeks guilty of sin?

113.

In what sense is there none righteous?

114.

The lack of understanding as in Romans 3:11 a was limited to understanding on what subject?

115.

There have been seekers after God in all ages and places. In what sense is Romans 3:11 b true?

116.

Note the responsibility of Romans 3:12 a. What is it?

Paraphrase

Romans 3:9 b - Romans 3:20. I acknowledge no such thing; for I have formerly proved both Jews and Gentiles to be all guilty of sin.

Romans 3:10 With respect to the Jewish common people, they have been wicked in all ages; as it is written, There is not a righteous man, no, not one.

Romans 3:11 In the same psalm, Romans 3:2, it is said, There is none that understandeth his duty; there is none that worshippeth God as he ought to do.

Romans 3:12 And in Romans 3:3 it is said, They are all gone out of the way of righteousness, they are employing themselves together in works which are utterly unprofitable to themselves and to society: there is none of them who does any good action; there is not so much as one.

Romans 3:13 Also it is said, Psalms 5:9. Their throat is an open sepulchre sending forth by their rotten speech an offensive stench; with their fair speeches they deceive; their speech being deadly, the poison of asps is under their lips; Psalms 140:3.

Romans 3:14 On other occasions, giving way to their malicious dispositions, their mouth is full of cursing and bitter imprecations; Psalms 10:7.

Romans 3:15 Their works correspond to their words; for they make haste to commit murder, as Isaiah hath testified, Isaiah 59:7.

Romans 3:16 They occasion destruction and misery to all who follow them.

Romans 3:17 But such practices as lead to the happiness of mankind, they neither have known nor desired to know.

Romans 3:18 All this wickedness they commit, because, as is said Psalms 36:1. There is no fear of God before their eyes; they fear not God's displeasure.

Romans 3:19 Now these things are said, not of the heathens, but of the Jews; for we know that whatever things the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every Jew may remain silent, as condemned by the law; and that all the world, Jews as well as Gentiles, may be sensible [aware] that they are liable to punishment before God.

Romans 3:20 Wherefore, by works of law, whether natural or revealed, moral or ceremonial, there shall no man be justified meritoriously in God's sight, (Psalms 113:2.); because law makes men sensible that they are sinners, without giving them any hope of pardon; consequently, instead of entitling them to life, it subjects them to punishment.

Summary

In point of guilt, then, are the Jews any better than the Gentiles? None at all. All are alike under the dominion of sin, and therefore are alike guilty. This is proved by the very scriptures which the Jews have. The law condemns all, and justifies none. Therefore, by law, no one may expect to be acquitted in the presence of God. Instead of being justified by law, men only learn from it that they are sinners.

Comment

Continuing the thought of verse nine, the apostle explains why the Jews were as needy as the Gentiles. He says, We before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. At the time that he answers the question of the Jew, he lays down a proposition which sums up all he has previously said. The last portion of the ninth verse through the twentieth carries the conclusion of the whole matter. All that was needed in Paul's splendid argument was a substantiation from the Old Testament. This he gives, and shows in the use of the quotations from the Old Testament that they spoke not only of the sin and need of the Jew, but also spoke with equal force of the sin and need of the Gentile. Romans 3:9 b

a.

We find a description of the sinful state of both Jew and Gentile, Romans 3:10-12

b.

Then the practice of sin is noted. Romans 3:13-17

(1)

The practice of sin in their speech is pointed out. Romans 3:13-14

(2)

Then sin through overt acts is discussed. Romans 3:15-17

c.

Finally the cause of such ungodliness is found: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 3:18

In explanation of the above quotations Paul states that it is a well-known fact that whatever judgments are pronounced in a law are directed against those persons in possession of the law. In this case the Jews were such persons. When violations of the law are pointed out, and the offenders are truly guilty, there is nothing they can say to defend themselves. This was exactly the circumstance in respect to the Jew. But in addition to this effect, there was another: the whole world is brought under the judgment of God. How can this be true? How can the whole world be brought under God's wrath by pointing out violations of the law of Moses? We can understand this: first, by realizing that the sins described are counted as sin because God so designated them in His law; second, that those Gentiles who practiced the same sins would likewise be guilty because they knew or had the opportunity to know what was right (as we have already shown). The clear statement in the law brought to the surface the truth that all subconsciously felt: the whole world was under the judgment of God. Romans 3:19

Because is the first word of the twentieth verse, indicating that a reason is now to be given for what has just been said. Paul had just said that the whole world was under the judgment of God as a result of the giving of the law. He now says this is true because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight. This is the grand conclusion toward which the apostle has been leading from chapter one, verse eighteen. He stated that in the gospel was to be found a means whereby man could be declared just before God. The Jew imagined he did not need the gospel, for he felt that there could be found justification through the law. Paul pointed out that the law indeed formed a basis for judgment, but as to obtaining justification through the law, this was proven to be an impossibility. To be just through the law, absolute obedience would have been essential, and this no Jew (or Gentile) accomplished. Indeed, it has been shown that, using the law under which they lived as a basis for judgment, they could not even be constituted conscientious, much less, just. The inspired writer points out that sin is brought to light by the law; hence, (because of sin made known) no one can be justified by the law. The giving of the law made known the fact that all men had been and were transgressing God's standard of righteousness. These transgressions made justification through the law impossible. Looking into our own lives and then into the law we see that we are practicing the very sins spoken against. This being true, is it not absurd to think that we are just through the law? Romans 3:20

62.

What is the purpose of Romans 3:10-18?

63.

How do these verses apply with particular force to the Jews?

64.

How was the whole world brought under the wrath of God?

65.

What was the grand conclusion toward which Paul had been leading from Romans 1:18?

66.

How could one be just under the law?

Rethinking in Outline Form

3.

Needed by AllBoth Jews and Gentiles. Romans 3:9 b - Romans 3:20

a.

The need of both Jews and Greeks shown from the words of the Old Testament. Romans 3:9 b - Romans 3:18

(1)

Their sinful state. Romans 3:10-12

(2)

The practice of sin. Romans 3:13-17

(a)

The practice of sin through words. Romans 3:13-14

(b)

The practice of sin through actions. Romans 3:15-17

b.

All the world has sinned. Not even the Jew can claim exemption from the consequences of his sin, for when the law of Moses denounces those consequences, it speaks especially to the people to whom it was given. The law was so designed that the Jew, too, might have his mouth stopped from all excuse, and that all mankind might be held accountable to God. Romans 3:19

c.

This is the conclusion of the whole argument. By works of law (i.e., by an attempted fulfillment of law) no mortal may hope to be declared righteous in God's sight, for the only effect of law is to open men's eyes to their own sinfulness, not to enable them to do better. That method, the method of works, has failed. A new method must be found. Romans 3:20 (Sandy, p. 76)