Sermon Notes - Romans 3:9-20 - Littleby Baptist Church - September 8, 2024

1.        Last week we saw Paul asking questions to make some points.

a.        Read verse 3.

b.       God’s character is absolute.

c.        He is going to be faithful to who He is no matter what we do.

d.       It is part of His nature.

e.        His character.

f.          He will not change.

g.        He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow.

h.        We see it in His promises.

i.          In His prophesies, and in His Word.

j.          We looked at another question about if God unrighteous if He inflicts wrath?

k.        Can a loving God judge people?

l.          The answer is yes, because when we sin, we are suppressing His truth.

2.        Thankfully this same God has provided a path to Salvation.

a.        He sent His one and only Son to die on a cross for us.

b.       A gift we do not deserve.

c.        Something so precious we could never afford.

d.       Yet, when we repent and turn to Jesus our sins are forgiven.

e.        That wrath is replaced with Hope and Joy.

f.          Things that we are given through our faith in Jesus.

3.        As we start this morning, Paul hits with a few more quick questions.

4.        Romans 3:9a

a.        What Then… is pointing to something earlier that Paul has been writing about.

b.       Because of something he has been talking about… are we any better off?

c.        Are the Jews any better off?

d.       Are the Gentiles any better off?

e.        Are Christ followers?

f.          Is Paul himself?

5.        We could connect several different dots here.

a.        Paul has been talking directly to the Jews, so are they better off because of the OT teaching they had… Paul tells us Not at all.

b.       We have seen that the letter is written to the Roman church which is predominately Greek or gentile Christians.

c.        Are they better off? Not according to Paul.

d.       A couple of weeks ago we talked about how the Jews were to the be light to the world.

e.        Are Christ followers better off because the Jews were the light… in Paul’s day the answer was no.

f.          Is Paul better off as he serves the churches?

g.        With all that he has gone through and is about to, unlikely.

h.        With the verses last week are Christians better off doing what is evil for the better good?

i.          We got that answer last week, no.

6.        Paul answers his own question.

a.        Romans 3:9b.

b.       The knowledge of the OT did not help anyone live a sinless life.

c.        Experiencing God through creation did not help us avoid sin.

d.       We all are sinful beings.

7.        Romans 3:10a

a.        “As it is written.”

b.       The following verses are not a quote from a single bit of Old Testament Scripture.

c.        Paul is pulling verses together from different places.

d.       Several Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah.

e.        Paul is piecing it together to make his point.

8.        Romans 3:10b-12

a.        These verses support that we are all under sin.

b.       Look at what these first couple of verses have to say about people.

c.        We would like to say that we are better than this, but without the work of the Holy Spirit in us… these are true.

d.       We are not righteous.

e.        As hard as we try, we cannot live a righteous and moral life.  

f.          We do not understand God, it simply is not possible.

g.        We do not fully seek God… even with the Holy Spirit in us we tend to not seek God fully.

h.        We tend to get wrapped up in other things.

i.          We turn away from our God, we wish we could hide things from Him.

j.          Our sins have made us worthless, meaning we cannot be in His presence.

k.        We cannot do good on our own.

l.          Even when we do ‘good’ it is just a deed that ultimately falls short of who our God created us to be.  

9.        Without the work of God in us… all of this is true.

10.   Without the Holy Spirit in us through our faith in Christ… we are completely lost.

a.        Not one single human, save for Christ Himself, is righteous, can understand God, seek Him, has not turned away, is worthy, or does good.

b.       We are lost without the work of Jesus.

11.   Romans 3:13-14

a.        James 3:3-10

b.       Words can easily lead us astray.

c.        Our tongues will easily impact our lives.

d.       If left to run amuck it becomes a poison that destroys.

e.        If we think about how it progresses.

f.          It starts with a simple lie to ourselves.

g.        I won’t do that again; it is just a one-time thing.

h.        I can quit any time I want.

i.          Then we end up hiding it from others and lying to them in the process.

j.          Denying that we did something or placing blame on others.

k.        That dishonesty eventually turns into taking action to cover up the lies.

12.   It truly is a slippery slope.

a.        We need to make sure we are honest with ourselves.

b.       Being truthful with ourselves can keep us from feeling guilty and likely prevent us from lying to others.

c.        Which would help prevent us from taking it to the next step.

13.   You might be wonder why I have not commented about lying to God.

a.        We cannot lie to God.

b.       He knows all.

c.        He knows our thoughts.

d.       He knows our motives.

e.        We might think we can try to pull one over on Him, but we cannot.

f.          At best we can try lying to ourselves, but Not to God.

14.   Those lies… they are not just words.

15.   They really do hurt others… they have real consequences.

16.   Romans 3:15-17

a.        Lying to ourselves.

b.       Lying to others.

c.        Lying to cover up sin.

d.       Then finding ways to cover up that sin.

e.        Acting against others to hide our sin.

f.          To prevent people from finding out what we have done.

g.        Words do lead to actions.

h.        In most of our lives we may look at this and say it is a stretch for words to lead to the shedding of blood, but it does happen.

i.          We see it on the news all the time.

j.          Someone does not like something that is said, and it turns ugly.

k.        Words that lead to blood being shed.

l.          Lives are ruined.

m.     Whether it leads to blood shed or not, the results are the same.

n.        People are broken hearted, miserable, grieving… some because of the actions that have been taken…

o.        Some hopefully wake up and realize that life does not need to be that way.

p.       That the sin in their life is crippling them.

q.       That there is something missing.

r.          That there is hope.

s.        That they can have Peace.

t.          That they need a Savior.

17.   Romans 3:18

a.        Fearing God… not as in shaking in your boots, but in realizing who He is.

b.       Revering God as the Creator of all things, as the One who sustains our breath.

c.        Recognizing that the Father is the One who sent His Son to die for us.

d.       Proverbs 9:10

e.        Fearing God helps us to see who we are in comparison to our God… something that cannot be done if the Holy Spirit is not in us.

f.          Paul is saying those that live an unrighteous life do not fear God.

g.        They do not revere God.

h.        They do not understand.

i.          These are people who need to hear about Jesus.

j.          They need to hear the Gospel.

k.        They need us to be witnesses.

18.   Romans 3:19

a.        Law speaks to those subject to the law.

b.       By default, we think that the Jewish people are subject to the law.

c.        Which is true.

d.       But when we read the whole verse here, we see that it paints a different picture.

e.        The ‘whole world’ will be subject to God’s judgement.

f.          Every mouth will be shut.

g.        All will be condemned because of the Law.

19.   Romans 3:20

a.        No one.

b.       Jew or Gentile.

c.        Alive when Paul wrote this letter or alive today.

d.       No one can be justified by fulfilling the law.

e.        We will all fall short.

f.          The whole intent of the Law was to help us realize that we are imperfect.

g.        To help us realize we are sinners.

h.        That we need a Savior.

20.   Galatians 2:16-20

a.        Christ died because we would be lost without Him.

b.       We may know we are sinners because of the Law.

c.        But we are saved by our faith in Jesus.

d.       The One who died on the cross to pay for our sins.

e.        If you have something to repent of, do it this morning.

f.          Don’t wait.

g.        If you don’t know Him, don’t delay.

h.        We don’t know how much time we have.

i.          Jesus is offering you an amazing gift.

j.          A gift that wipes away your sin and sets you free.

k.        If you would like to know more about Jesus, I would love to talk with you.