Romans 3:9-18 - The Sins of the Jews

Romans 3:9-18

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.
Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,
The poison of asps is under their lips;
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;
Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Message: The Sins of the Jews

Time: This book was probably written between 56 and 57 B.C. Paul was in Greece, probably Corinth when he wrote. It was sent to Gentile believers, but also believers with a strong Jewish element. The Gentile believers were experiencing peace, but Paul felt like they needed a strong dose of basic Bible doctrine. 

What the Lord is Saying: 

In the previous lesson, the sins of the Gentiles were examined as recorded in Chapter 1, verse 18-32. Now, here in Romans 3:9-18, the charge is that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. 

Many 1st-century Jews acknowledged their sin, but because of their status as descendants of Abraham, they felt their special status excused somewhat their sin and their status in God's kingdom was still intact. Paul was a Jew. He states in Galatians 2:15, We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from among the Gentiles so even Paul saw a difference between the Jew and the Gentile. This was common knowledge among the Jews and so Paul is addressing it. 

His explanation of the sins of Gentiles is fairly short and to the point, but as he turns to Jews, the proclamation is long as he spends all of Chapter 2 explaining it further, culminating in the conclusion in Chapter 3:9-18. In chapter 2, he mentions

• The Jew cannot judge others and then not also be condemned. God's judgment falls on all (v.2:1-5). 
• Even the Jew's actions or works of evil will find tribulation and distress (v. 6-10)
• Yes, the Jew is unique but God does not judge with partiality, as only doers of the law will be justified (v. 11-16)
• In teaching the Law, the Jew must be obedient to the Law and outward signs like circumcision do not result the same as Law adherence but rather to be righteous the law must be kept (v. 17-29)  
• They were entrusted with the oracles of God, but are they adhering to all of its words or simply some of them; Only God is found to be true; every man is a liar (v.3:1-8)             

Again, the reason for Paul's writing here is to confront the Jew who thought by being a Jew that right off the top, the Jew then had a special advantage over the Gentile and so the Jew should be looked at differently. Paul is clear the Jew has advantages like having the responsibility for passing on the words of the Bible, but Paul still wants to assert that all people are sinners. And their actions, their uniqueness, the fact they are teachers and carriers of the Law and Word - these things do not excuse their sin. Sin is a universal condition. Yes, the Jew has special privileges but this does not mean the Jew is more righteous. 

Thus, Paul now with the Jews will use direct quotations from Scripture to support His argument. I studied this passage previously and here list the references for these verses. 

• 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

I think what is especially interesting about these verses are the words - it is not simply that people are not righteous, but rather "no one is righteous". 'None' is repeated 4x and then also 'not even one' and 'no.' Again, the Jew was looking for some sort of exception clause, but Paul is wanting to be clear -- 'None' and 'Not even one.' What a sobering thought this must be for the Jew, for all of us. None of us are free from sin and so all of us need a redeemer, a Savior. All of us are guilty. None of us are perfect. 

Promise: There are good people in life and good citizens among all of us. People are nice and people have good virtues. But, all people are still under sin and no one is righteous. Everyone has sinned, so we all need Christ in order to be reconciled to God. 

Prayer: O Lord, I am a sinner. I know this. You show me my sin often and each day I see it. I am embarrassed by that sin. I hate to repeat my sin and yet I so often do that. So each day I see the same need that I have for you God, to be My Savior. I need thee every hour because I am a sinner every hour. Yes, I try hard to not make mistakes, but they still happen and even in my job, as I try to not make adding errors or poor decisions, in my life, I am still selfish, greedy, an adulterer at heart, a murderer at heart, disobedient to parents, not observant of the Sabbath, an idolater, and selfish. I am so selfish God. Thank you for showing me clearly my sin and my need of you. Keep showing me. Never let that be dull and keep revealing that to people. We need to all keep seeing it. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of June is about justification; May was about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.

 - The Sins of the Gentiles - Though born with God being evident, Gentiles do not honor God or give thanks, look to their selves for truth, and God gives them over to their sin, and in the process God's wrath is sin which will culminate on the Day of the Lord.