“A Righteousness that Condemns All"
Romans 3:1-20
For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one.” [Romans 3:9-10]
One thing that becomes obvious when you read the Bible is that God says what He means and means what He says. There are no “hidden meanings” in the Word of God. There is no special revelation to the “spiritually elite.” That is why even our children in Sunday school can read the Bible and be blessed.
God makes Himself known to common ordinary people like you and I through the Person of Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ we are condemned, in Christ we are redeemed, plain and simple. It is a level playing field and clearly spelled out in Scripture. No “inner circles” before God. “All” means all. “None” means none. There are no ambiguities in Romans 3:9-10. “All are under sin…There is none righteous, no, not one.”
In Chapters 1-2, we saw Paul’s apologetic on that point: God’s Righteousness Revealed in Condemnation. The unrighteous pagan is condemned [1:18-22]; the moral religious person is condemned [2:1-16]; and the religious Jew with the Law of Moses is condemned [2:17-29].
All are condemned apart from Christ Jesus. Whether a rabbi, priest, minister, elder, model citizen, religious person, or the grimmest sinner in prison; all are in desperate need of a Savior. The Law only convicts: it cannot save. It is “our tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” [Galatians 3:24]
Our passage this morning concludes Paul’s argument on condemnation with this final verse: “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” [Romans 3:20]
This prepares us for the following verses that begin the next section in Romans: God’s Righteousness Revealed in Justification, which we will begin next Sunday.
“But now the righteousness of God apart from law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” [Romans 3:21-22]
Make sure to come back next Sunday.
