Title: “4 Universal Effects of Sin” Script: Romans 3:9-18
Type: Series/Expository Where: GNBC 2-21-21
Intro: The late well-known preacher Harry Ironside once asked a man after a gospel meeting, “Are you saved, sir?” “No, I really can’t say I am, but I would like to be.” “Why would you? Do you realize you are a lost sinner?” “Oh, of course, we’re all sinners.” “Ah! But that often means little or nothing. Are you a sinner yourself?” “Well, I suppose I am, but I’m not what you could call a bad sinner. I am, I think, rather a good one. I always try to do the best I know.” Dr. Ironside told the man there was little use in showing him how he could be saved if he still thought he was a “good sinner”. Good sinners are like honest liars and upright thieves: they are far from ready to admit that they are vile, hell-deserving sinners who need God’s grace to be saved (Illustrations of Bible Truth, H. A. Ironside [Moody Press], p. 71) (Steven Cole). Friend, there aren’t “good” sinners and “bad” sinners. There are just “sinners”. It’s universal.
Prop: Rom. 3:9-18 demonstrates 4 Universal Effects of Sin.
BG: 1. Paul wrote letter to Romans from Greek city of Corinth in 57 ad.
2. Romans 1-5 could be titled: “Where is your boasting?” as Paul disassembles all boasting and bragging in personal merit before the Lord.
3. One of my favorite preachers from past, Dr. Ian Paisley, creatively titled a sermon on this passage: “4 Black Nones in Ballymena Tonight”. The word “none” used multiple times in passage. Ballymena was town preaching in. “Nones” was a play on words of the fact that he was preaching in a heavily Catholic country. Not just restricted to Ballymena but entire world.
Prop: Romans 3:9-18 will show us 4 Universal Effects of Sin.
I. All Are Unrighteous vv. 9-10
A. The Sad Universal Condition of all Mankind is Made Evident by the Apostle.
1. No one is righteous before God.
a. Paul begins this section with 2 brief questions: 1. “What then?” – What’s the case> or What’s to follow?” 2. “Are we better than they?” In other words: Does the Jew have a spiritual advantage? Does the Gentile have the advantage? No! Paul goes straight for the spiritual jugular vein: “No one is righteous!” I think that sums up the human condition.
b. Righteous – dikaiosune – What does this mean for me? The indictment from Romans 1&2 is that everyone is under the dominion of sin.
2. What is Paul quoting here?
a. Well, the quote is not exact. It is not verbatim from any OT passage. I think it may be Paul’s interpretation of Ps. 14:3.
b. The important point for us to note is that there are no loopholes allowing us to get out of the consequences. Illust: Prenuptial Agreements: Planning for divorce. Just a way to be able to get out of your commitment with your stuff still intact. Well, Paul says there are no loopholes, no fancy contracts, no pricey lawyer to get you out. “No one is righteous. No, not one!” Let that note of finality fall upon your ears and heart. Not one! Not you. Not me. Not Billy Graham. Not the Pope (Never in question this Pope is a sinner.). None.
B. Do you Recognize the Fact that this Condemnation Applies to you and me today?
1. Since sin Universally Affects Man we are Universally Guilty before God.
a. “Most people view themselves as “good” sinners. They would say, “I know I’m not perfect. I’ve got my share of faults. But I’m not a murderer or terrorist or child molester. I’m a decent person. So, yes, I’m a sinner, but I’m a good sinner.” “Good” sinners, especially religious ones, are the most difficult to reach with the gospel. They faithfully attend church. They give money to the church. (May have a stained glass window to mark their generous endowment.) They serve on the church boards. Their family has been the backbone for years. “Who do you think you are, preacher, to call me a sinner? I’ll get you fired if you keep talking like that!” (Cole – “All Under Sin”)
b. We see here in v. 9 that Paul comes right back on the attack. He states the universal effects of sin. He says that EVERYONE is under the dominion of sin. Interestingly, this is the first actual mention of the word “sin” in the book of Romans. He has talked about specific sins and the consequences of those sins, but this is the first time he uses the word for sin. It is a word that he will now use nearly 50 times from now through chapter 8! Good people and bad people. Religious people and pagans. Supposed saints and scoundrels are all under the dominion of sin. Illust: Like gravity, sin’s dominion/power is active in and on your life if you are outside of Christ.
2. On our own we can never stand blameless before the Lord.
a. To be righteous means to be blameless with regard to God and to our fellow man, to live in perfect conformity to God’s law ( Lloyd-Jones, Romans: pp. 197-198). So Paul means “that there is not a single person who, apart from God’s justifying grace, can stand as ‘right’ before God” ( Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, p. 203).
b. Illust: Martin Luther said of this verse: “Paul’s statement “all are under sin” is to be taken in a spiritual sense, not as men appear in tehri own eyes of in those of others, but as they stand before God. Those who perform outwardly good works do them from fear of punishment or love of gain and glory or from personal pleasure.” Illust: May ask, “What about the millionaire who endowed wing of the hospital or seat at the seminary or….” Would they still have given the same size gift had their name not been made known?
C. Applic: Instead of being blameless before God we must answer for our sin.
II. All Have Turned Away from God. Vv.11-12
A. No one seeks after Man. Paul lists two traits of unregenerate man.
1. No one seeks after God.
a. Illust: Back in the late 1980’s when I was in seminary, there was a huge emphasis in American Evangelicalism on “Seeker Sensitive Services” Was an attempt to “dechurchify church to make the unchurches feel comfortable with church.” All in all, it seemed to pull already committed Christians from traditional churches to “cool churches” to make everyone feel like churches were growing. Although I think the motives were good (Evangelism and Church Growth). The underlying theology was bad. What do you mean? Well, pretty clear here: “There is none who seeks for God.”
b. What does this mean? This verse means that apart from God’s drawing you or me to Christ, we would not have come to Him on our own. In fact you couldn’t have. Jesus said so in John 6:64-65. Now let me ask you, does that cause you to get just a bit testy with me? “Why Pastor, I was searching for God… and I was…” Notice the emphasis and agent of your salvation. “I”. Between the “S” and the “N” of sin you find “I”!
2. No one understands.
a. Now this verse is derived from Ps. 14:2 and 53:3. Ps. 53:3 "Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one." Verse 10 was more general. This is now more specific. The passage is relating to the intellect now. Paul is saying there is no movement towards God.
b. Illust: Years ago kids were small. Had neighbors who had similar age children. Asked if could take kids to SS or VBS. No! We want to give them all the options that are available and let them choose. Books on Buddhism, and Islam, and lesser known. Nothing on Christianity. Both had been raised in “church” but didn’t want to “prejudice” kids towards Christianity. If I want to get around in Chicago, maps of LA, NYC, and Houston are useless.
B. All of Us have Turned Aside from Christ.
1. V.12 “All have turned aside.” As Isaiah 53:6 puts it, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way….” We deliberately tossed aside God’s roadmap to heaven and took what we thought would be a shortcut. But it got us hopelessly lost. Have you turned aside from God?
2. Turn back to Jesus Christ.
a. The visual definition of repentance is walking away from God. When God illuminates our minds we turn 180’ from following our own path away from Christ and turn to Christ.
b. Illust: Victor Lupis had gone to a church youth group back in HS, but then got in with bad crowd. By mid 20’s was working with a gang stealing high end jewelry. In a notable case, posing as a wealthy executive gained the Portland, OR, salesperson’s confidence to compare two diamonds worth over $60k apiece. Bolted from the store with $127k of diamonds. Waiting van whisked him away. In time luck ran out. Month went by and Cold Case detective Eric McDaniel, a Christian, was assigned. On morning runs would pray to God for wisdom. Unexpected clue came. Able to arrest Lupis. Few years later, McDaniel got word that personal property taken at his arrest could be returned to Lupis. When the two men met, Lupis broke down and thanked him for saving his life…by arresting him! In prison, Lupis had been led to Christ by a former Mexican cartel boss, and discipled by a faithful prison chaplain. Life was changed! Moral of the story: Diamonds aren’t forever, but Jesus Christ is! (Heb. 13:8)
C. Applic: If you are outside of Christ, you are walking away from God. Turn back today.
III. All Have Sinned in their Speech. Vv. 13-14
A. Paul Continues to Drives Nails into our Coffin of Self-Righteousness.
1. “No one does good.”
a. This is a verbatim quote from LXX Ps. 14:3 & 53:4. The emphasis here is on sinning with our speech. Our body was given so we might praise and honor God. However, we use our limbs and organs to harm people and rebel against God. (READ James 3:9-12) Illust: This past political season very saddened to see how Christians verbally attacked other Christians calling them names and using derogatory speech. Need to repent.
b. Illust: Speaking of speech (Pun intended!), may I run a brief rabbit trail? Today it has become very in vogue for young women to apparently demonstrate your “empowerment” by swearing and cursing. Can I tell you there isn’t a man worth your having that is impressed by your swearing? It is disgusting. Nothing attractive. Nothing liberating. Rather, it is only further evidence of your enslavement to sin and the culture and begs your need to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Stay with me. We’ll get to than in Rom. 12!) Congratulations, you sound like a bad version of a nasty man.
2. Let’s examine the meaning of this phrase.
a. Now again, I can hear the objections in some of your minds. “Now wait a minute pastor!” “I do good things all the time! Listen to Dr. JI Packer explain the meaning of this verse: “No one is as bad as he or she might be, while no action of ours is as good as it should be.” Illust: Even Putin loves puppies.
b. What’s being spoken of here is the Biblical Doctrine: “Total Depravity” TD doesn’t mean everyone is as bad as could be. We all know that not everyone is a felon, adulterer, murderer, rapist, liar. Paul has already shown that people on some occasion actually fulfill and obey the law (Rom2:14,27). No, the “Total” means that the corruption of sin twist and taints every part of our humanity. It relates to extent and not degree.
B. Our speech belies our Spiritual Condition.
1. Paul universally condemns all mankind with spiritual apostasy in this passage.
a. In the Greek the emphasis is on the uselessness. Like salt that has lost its savor or fruit which has gone rotten, no longer serves any useful purpose. Illust: As a kid growing up I never like bananas. My mother always bought them green because my brother loved them that way. I hated green bananas. However, we he moved away and food stayed on the counter for more than a few minutes, I realized bananas tasted quite different when yellow! Like bananas. Few more days though and spotted. Yuck again! Begun to rot. So all men are viewed as having, like fruit, “gone bad.”
b. Paul (3:13a) describes the throat of sinners as an open grave. The idea is that the stench of a corpse belches out. The person who gets near such a place will be defiled. Also (3:13b), the tongues of the wicked “keep deceiving.” They use smooth speech to beguile you, but all the while they are trying to use you for their own evil advantage. “The poison of asps is under their lips” (3:13c) Asp was a poisonous Egyptian cobra, just waiting to strike and kill their victim. Their “mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” (3:14). They not only take the Lord’s name in vain, but they use curses to get power over their enemies. They are bitter, unforgiving people. They seek to destroy others, and the result is misery and no peace (3:16-17).
2. Sin prevents us from obeying the second great commandment, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
a. People who use deception and abusive speech (3:13-14) do not have harmonious relationships. People who use anger and threats of violence are on the path of destruction and misery, not on “the path of peace” (3:15-17) They destroy harmonious relationships.
b. Illust: A stock boy at a grocery store was asked by an elderly lady, “Can I buy half a head of lettuce?” He walked back to the manager’s office, not realizing that the lady followed him. He said to the manger, “You’re not going to believe this, but there’s an old bag out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce.” He turned around and saw her standing right behind him. Quickly he added, “And this fine lady would like to buy the other half.”
Someone has said, “Remember your tongue is in a wet place and can slip easily.” When you’re not feeling well, the doctor will often say, “Stick out your tongue.” Your tongue reveals what’s going on inside of you—not just physically but also spiritually.. (Jonathan McLeod, “Tame Your Tongue”)
C. Applic: Ever notice you don’t have to teach a 5 yr old to tell a lie? Our sin nature comes out through our speech, whether in cursing, swearing, bragging, boasting, or belittling. Jesus said it’s not what goes into our mouths that defile us but the words that come out of them. (Mt. 15:11)
IV. All Have Injured Their Fellow Man. Vv.15-17.
A. Sin Universally Negatively Affects our Relationships with others.
1. Verses 13-18 move from the general to the specific, describing the depravity of man as it is evidenced by the various members of his anatomy. From head to toe, from the inside out, man is characterized by sin: throat, tongue, lips, feet. Top of head to sole of foot sinful.
2. Look at the statements Paul makes about sinful man: 1. Feet are swift to shed innocent blood. Always waiting for a chance to execute their ungodly designs. 2. V.16- destruction and misery are in their ways. V.17 – way of peace is not known to them. Why? Peace is often concealed beneath trials and tribulations. “We have peace with God thru our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 Natural desire of man outside of Christ is to use and abuse others.
B. As
1. 1s Martin Luther came to understand justification only after a spiritual crisis in his life. John Calvin came to understand it after his conversion. For both of them, study of the Bible showed them the character of the work of Christ and the role of faith in receiving His mercy and peace. Calvin wrote clearly and passionately as a young man of twenty-five about this doctrine in chapt.1 of the 1536 Institutes of the Christian Religion: Christ’s righteousness, which alone can bear the sight of God because it alone is perfect, must appear in court on our behalf, and stand surety for us in judgment. Received from God, this righteousness is brought to us and imputed to us, just as if it were ours. (I.32) Only thru Christ can our nature be changed.
2. Paul gets to the root of the problem: No fear of God.
a. v.18 – Here we finally get to the root of the problem: Paul, to use the words of the new press secretary, “Circles back” to another sin issue that negatively affects our relationship with God, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” This is the root problem. Since “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10), the one who does not fear God is a fool. He hasn’t even entered the preschool of godly living. He doesn’t love, know, honor, or worship God. He doesn’t fear God’s righteous judgment. Paul says the fear of God is not “before his eyes,”. Man doesn’t give God a thought. The sinner does not live with the awareness that he is accountable to God and dependent on God for all things. He doesn’t think about the fact that God could easily say (Luke 12:20), “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” Sin negatively affects our relationship with God.
b. Illust:.William Jay, as an old man, was credited with the statement: ‘My memory is failing, but two things I will never forget: I am a great sinner, and that Jesus Christ is a great Savior.”
C. Applic: A healthy fear of God will hold us in awe and do much to deter us from sin. When we have a proper fear of the living Lord, we live a cleaner life. Any born-again person who sins willfully has momentarily blocked out any fear of God. You and I can do that. When we actively engage in sin, we consciously put aside what we know to be the truth about God.
