God Is Good! Series

God Is Good!

The Book of Romans

Romans 3:1-24 (Reading vs. 1-10)

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - April 10, 2016

(Revised September 25, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Romans chapter 3. Tonight's Scripture is like the closing argument in a trial where all mankind is found guilty before God. The "trial" began in chapter 1, where Paul made his case against the ungodly Gentile people of the world.

*Paul went into great detail about the foolishness and wickedness that comes from rejecting the true God. For example, in Romans 1:21-22, Paul said:

21. because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

22. Professing to be wise, they became fools.

*In Romans 1:29-32, Paul also said those ungodly people were:

29. being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,

30. backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31. undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;

32. who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

*Next in chapter 2, Paul turned his attention from ungodly Gentiles to religious people, and he firstly addressed the Jews.

*William Barclay explained that in chapter 1, "Paul had painted a terrible, grim picture of the idol-worshiping people of the Roman Empire. Those people were under the condemnation of God, and the Jews thoroughly agreed with every word of that condemnation. But they never dreamed that they were under the same condemnation. Then Paul forcefully pointed out that Jews were just as much sinners as Gentiles, and that when the Jews condemned the Gentiles, they were was also condemning themselves. (1)

*We must realize that Paul's warning wasn't just for the Jews who were trying to keep God's law. His warning is also for anyone who tries to live a moral life. Paul wanted us to know that everyone, from the best to the worst stands guilty before God.

*We are all guilty of sin. Only God is truly good, and He wants us to know it. God wants us to see His goodness, because only there can we find the forgiveness all people desperately need.

*Keep looking for God's goodness tonight, as we start by reading Romans 3:1-10.

MESSAGE:

*God is good! It's one of the first prayers we learned as children: "God is great. God is good. . ." Psalm 34:8 urges us to "taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

*Psalm 100:4-5 says, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations."

*James 1:13 tells us that God cannot even be tempted by evil. He is perfect all the time. And since Jesus Christ is God the Son, He never sinned a single time. Imagine never ever sinning in thought or word or deed.

*What do you think it was like growing up in the same home as Jesus? Surely there were good things about it: The best spiritual atmosphere you could ever have, and the best big brother of all.

*But it also must have been tough sometimes to grow up in the shadow of the only perfect man who ever lived. I can imagine Jesus' little brothers or sisters saying, "That goody-two-shoes never does anything wrong!"

*But thank God for His goodness because it means we can always trust Him to do the right thing. This world is running over with leaders who will lie, cheat and steal at the drop of a hat, but God never will. We can always trust Him to do the right thing. God is good!

1. AND WE KNOW THIS FIRST BECAUSE HE HAS BLESSED US WITH THE BIBLE.

*In vs. 1-2 Paul tells us about the great blessing of being a Jew, and he started with a question: "What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? The original word for "advantage" there is talking about things that are superabundant. And Paul began to answer his question by saying the Jews were blessed "much in every way."

*Think of how the Lord appeared to Abraham and many more of our Old Testament heroes. Think of how He set His people free from slavery in Egypt, how He miraculously watched over them in the wilderness, how He led them into the Promised Land, and showered them with abundant blessings.

*"What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way!" Paul said. And then in vs. 2, Paul went on to say: "Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God." That word "oracles" simply means "words," and of all the things Paul could have listed, he said the number one advantage for the Jews was the Word of God.