Need Help? Series

Perhaps, you remember an old Lowe's Hardware commercial, which shows a do-it-yourselfer installing a new ceiling fan in his family's living room. He proudly gives the fan one last little turn, climbs off the aluminum ladder, and steps aside to turn on the switch. After he turns it on, he stands with his hands on his hips, satisfied with his brilliant, money-saving work. Within a second of the first rotation of the blades, the fan’s motor sparks and the entire fan crashes to the floor, crushing a small table on its way down.

The scene cuts away to the outside of the house, looking at the clear bay window of the room where the man stands. It's quiet and bright outside. Suddenly, the ceiling fan comes flying through the picture window and lands in the yard, disrupting the peaceful moment. Two words flash on the screen: “Need help?” Then it closes with Lowe’s logo and slogan—"Never Stop Improving” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHt675kWhzI).

There are a lot of do-it-yourselfers when it comes to making improvements in life, and they end up failing in frustration just like this man.

So, who do you turn to for help when that happens to you? You can go to Lowe’s for home renovation projects, but to whom do you go to renovate your life? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Romans 3, Romans 3, where the Bible gives us some options, only one of which gives you any real help.

Romans 3:1-2 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God (ESV).

Like the ancient Jewish people, some turn to their religion for help with self-improvement. They have their rituals, like circumcision, and their rules, which they call “the oracles of God.” But they don’t seem to help much.

Romans 3:3-4 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged” (ESV).

Even the great King David broke the Law. This is a quote from Psalm 51 where David confesses his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. He’s telling God, “You are right to judge me for my sin, for which no one can credibly accuse You of wrongdoing.”

David’s unfaithfulness did not nullify the faithfulness of God. On the contrary, it affirmed God’s faithfulness. For when you see God’s holiness against the backdrop of sin in all of its ugliness, you can’t help but notice how good and righteous and holy God is. It’s like a diamond displayed on black velvet.

Romans 3:5-8 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just (ESV).

If my sin more clearly displays God’s righteousness, then perhaps I should keep on sinning, and God should refrain from judging me. “By no means!” the Bible says here, and people who think and live that way deserve condemnation.

So, what advantage has the Jew if their religion cannot help them live better lives? The advantage is this—God gave them His law, which tells the truth about Him. So, whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile…

LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD from the law.

Discover who God is from His oracles. Uncover the reality of God’s holy nature from His precepts.

In Isaiah 55, God tells us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

If that’s the case, then it would be impossible to know God unless He chooses to reveal His thoughts to us.

Now, to give this some perspective, consider that the distance from one side of the universe to the other is an incredible 93 billion light-years. Using this as our measure, God likens the distance between our thoughts and his thoughts to the distance from one side of the universe to the other.

To put that immense number another way, 93 billion light-years is 544 septillion miles (544 followed by 20 zeros). Even if we tried to travel from one side of the universe to the other at the speed of light (5.88 trillion miles a year), it would take an infinite amount of time. That's because the universe will continue to expand while you are travelling, even at the speed of light. So, the edge of the universe will remain forever sealed off from you.