Do you ever come to any conclusions about any matters? Do you ever come to any conclusion about things that matter? I mean, do you ever come to any meaningful conclusions about anything that really matters? When I look out at you from my perspective this morning, I honestly have to ask you this series of questions because I know some of you sitting here have never come to an appropriate conclusion about the matters to which Paul is speaking here in the Book of Romans.
Paul wanted to bring to a logical conclusion his accusation concerning the sinfulness of Gentiles and Jews alike. That’s why he asked in verse 9a, “What shall we conclude then?” His argument is that all men alike are under sin, equally meriting God’s wrath and that neither has an out of any kind – not even ignorance in the case of Gentiles or supposed obedience to the law in the case of the Jews. So, Paul purposes here to drive his point home powerfully and energetically.
Likewise, this morning I want to bring this matter of the sinfulness, guiltiness and condemnation of every person before God to a conclusion. In doing so, I want to ask a couple of questions that arise out of the text as I’ve read and studied it. My point and purpose in asking these two questions is to see if you can come to any meaningful conclusions to these spiritual and eternal matters as well as temporal and lifestyle matters. So I ask as Paul asked in verse 9b, “Are we any better? My point is:
I. Are You Any Better Than Anyone Else? verse 9
This verse asks whether, in view of the dismal picture just painted, the Jew was in any way better off than the Gentile. The Jews of course would want to say, as many of them believed in their mind, – “Yes, by all means!” However, Paul’s answer was, emphatically, “Not at all!”
My question to you this morning is: Are you any better than anyone else? Are you so much better than someone else that you don’t have to admit that you’re guilty before God? Are you any better than someone else that you don’t have to admit that something is wrong with you, that you’re not right with God? You see, the only way to believe is to admit that you haven’t truly believed, you haven’t truly trusted Jesus to save you, to change you, to regenerate you and to convert you from unbelief to belief, from apistia to pistis – non acknowledgement to faith.
The truth is you can’t believe that just because your mom and dad went to church, took you to church or just because your papa got saved or you’re mama got saved and you went to church with them until you were grown, that you somehow inherited their belief, their faith, their salvation. No! You’re not any better than anyone else, as it’s written in this collection of quotations that Paul borrows from the OT in verses 10-18. These selected verses underscore the charge and conclusion that Jews and Gentiles are all under the power of sin.
10 “There is none righteous, no not one;” there is no one in and of themselves right and guiltless before God. 11 “There is none that understandeth;” God is a god of self-revelation, you don’t discover God – He reveals Himself to you. “There is none that seeketh after God;” God initially initiates a relationship with you, He puts the desire in you to seek Him. 12 “All have gone out of the way,” turned away, turned to their own way; you turn to you own way to make life work, to get your needs met your way. “And altogether become unprofitable,” worthless – your birth “in Adam” renders you worthless, but your being born again “in Christ” give you worth. “There is none that doeth good.” No one! No sinner, no one born “in Adam,” apart from God, spiritually dead can do good. A sinner can only sin, can only do good and evil acts of sin.
Are you any better off than anyone else? Absolutely not! So change your mind about that – your sinfulness and need for God. Change your emotions - cry out to God for forgiveness and life. Change your will, repent - turn back to God now! Then you can come to a conclusion about the matter of a second question:
II. What Does The Law Say To You? verses 19-20
Well, whatever it says it says to those who are under the law. So who are those that are under the law? Sinners first and Jews second. Now when we think of the law we first think of the foundation of the law which is the 10 Commandments. The codified law was given to Moses at Mt. Sinai, but the system of law itself began when man ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Man became a law unto himself. So we could define law as the system of performance or behavior which God set up to bless those who fulfill its requirements and to curse those who do not live up to its requirements (Deuteronomy 28:1ff.). Of course, there were other statutes and ordinances which followed the 10 Commandments.
So the law system is also the system every person operates from based on his or her own set of standards, principles and expectations and not necessarily the law of God. So the law is any principle or standard that you set for yourself to live up to in order to achieve a sense of esteem and worth or to feel a sense love and acceptance, to make you believe that you’re okay. So again, who is under the law? Every person born into this world, all non-Christians, all who are still “in Adam,” all who are still Sinners are under the law system.
Now, what is the purpose of the law? First of all, it speaks to those who are under it, verse 19a. It makes sense to them. It communicates on their level. It lets them know what they need to do to feel okay. The law gets their attention. It shows the non-Christian that their identity is that of Sinner. Secondly, it makes everyone accountable to God, verse 19b. Folk, you’re not on your own. You may think that you are. And you may draw a circle around yourself and say that you’re in charge of your life and play “Lord of the Ring,” but there’s a higher being – there’s One before you, “the latchet of whose shoe you are not worthy to untie.” You’re accountable to God for the life you live and the law lets you know that.
Thirdly, the law lets you know that no one will be made righteous by obeying it. Verse 20a says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight,” that is God’s sight. Oh, but sometimes you think you’re justified in everybody else’s eyes, in their sight. Sometimes you’re keeping the law for the Joneses and Smiths and all these other people. You even think it looks good in God’s sight, but it doesn’t! No one will be declared or made righteous in God’s sight by observing the law. The fourth purpose of the law is to make you aware of sin. Verse 20b says, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” If there’s no law then there’s no sin. The purpose of the law is to give you the knowledge of what sin is. It shows the non-Christian that they need something greater than a law system to have a relationship with God; that is they need Christ.
The law system can’t give you life and it can’t change your identity and it can’t make you righteous. Galatians 3:21b-25 says, “For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”
What does the law say to you? It says, “you need Christ if you want to be made righteous – right with God; if you want to be justified – that is, declared not guilty and made just as if you have never sinned or ever will again. That will bring you to the conclusion of the most important matter in life! What is your conclusion today? Will you come to Christ by faith? Will you live by faith from first to last?
