None is Righteous Romans 3:9-18
Today we are beginning a series of messages from the letter to the Romans. I want you to hear the way Paul expresses his love and concern for the congregation in Rome. He begins, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. …without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers. For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” Paul expresses a loving concern for the congregation.
This week the Church Life and Growth Commission of the Northern Ohio district of the Church of the Brethren sent all the pastors the book, “They call me Pastor: How to Love the Ones You Lead.” What a wonderful way to encourage us. I can’t wait to dig into it to see what we’re doing right and what we might be doing wrong and I hope we will find practical help for being pastors of this congregation.
Paul loved the people in the church at Rome. He wrote sixteen chapters in this letter to encourage and teach them. He also took on the challenge of admonishing them about the damming effects of sin so that they would reject all that is sinful and live righteous lives. Early in his letter he states his position; it is his testimony summed up in a nutshell. I hope you can make Paul’s declaration your testimony as well. Read it with me. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (1:16)
Almost immediately Paul takes up the hard task of addressing sin. He knew he had the authority from God to rebuke what’s evil so he announced, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.” Then he named the sins that provoke God even to the point that “God gave them up” a phrase used three times in chapter 1. Paul concluded chapter 1 with “They knew God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them they even applaud others who practice them.”
That’s the mess Rome was in. And for this little flock of believers in Rome, living in Sin City, God used Pastor Paul to love them, teach them the way of salvation and warn them with all boldness so that they stay pure and be a set apart, holy community doing the will of God the best they can.
Paul’s love and concern for the congregation in ROME expresses what Wesley and I feel as pastors. We live in the midst of a drug-infested community. We live in a city that has too many bars, too many aimless roamers, and too many opportunities to live sinful, immoral, unethical lives. Wesley and I believe God wants to use us to help this small flock be faithful to Jesus Christ and he wants us together as a congregation be living examples of righteousness to the world that desperately needs godly models.
Last Wednesday evening at our Ash Wednesday service we told each other “Turn away from sin and be faithful to Jesus Christ.” That’s what the letter to the Romans emphases. Paul urged the congregation in Rome and all people everywhere to turn away from sin and be faithful to Jesus Christ. With that introduction to Romans we’re going to move to the third chapter where today’s message will come from. Our text Romans 3:9-25b makes clear that humanity’s Number One problem is that None is Righteous.
About a year ago I went to my family doctor for a yearly check-up. This time one of the tests he prescribed was a thermography exam. The test was done by heat. Then it took a trained Doctor to read the picture of the different colors to see if there were any infected tissue or any cancer cells or any pre-cancerous conditions. All I saw when I looked at the picture was a blend of meaningless colors. The specialist was able to identify trouble by the different shadings of colors the heat of the body produced.
God’s word in this short passage gives us an X-ray report of the human body and we’re told very clearly what the diagnosis is: SIN. Sin is the disease with the Big I in the middle that tries to dethrone God and sit in His place in one’s live.
The cancer of sin infects the whole body from head to toe Romans says. Sin is a highly malignant spiritual cancer that will invade the whole body. The first words in the diagnosis is that it is universally contracted. Verse 9 9 “All, are under the power of sin, both Jew and Greek.” Verse 10 “There is no one who is righteous, not even one.” Verse.12 “All have turned aside, together they have become worthless!” That sounds pretty hopeless doesn’t it? The picture of our condition is bleak and depressing and what’s more this spiritual cancer will lead to death. It is terminal, unless the miracle cure of Jesus’ salvation is applied to our lives.
In this passage we’re given the symptoms that identify this dreadful sickness. Let’s look at them.
1. The disease first attacks the HEAD—both the mind and the will go bad. (v. 11) Satan’s attack on the head began with Eve when he tricked her to believe that she was wiser than God. Satan told Eve in essence that if she would follow her own instincts and eat what looks appealing she wouldn’t die. His words were, “When you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4,5) What a mixture of truth and lies he put in her head! Eve fell for Satan’s lies, she bought the lie that she would become like God. She was ready to dethrone God from his rightful place in her life and climb up on that throne herself! That is Sin. Sin is the Big I on the throne, revolting against God and taking charge of one’s own life. There’s a little rhyme I borrowed from another preacher,
I had a little tea party this afternoon at three.
It was very small, three guests in all,
Just I, myself, and me.
Myself ate up the sandwiches,
And I drank up the tea.
It was also I who ate the pie,
And passed the cake to me.
Human beings without Christ have warped minds; they become totally centered on themselves. Here in Romans the symptoms are stated as “no one has understanding; no one seeks after God.” Today I’m asking you to be the Doctor or Diagnostician and take a critical look at your life. How about your understanding, is it darkened by Satan or is it enlightened by the Holy Spirit? And how about your will, who are you seeking or chasing after? Is it God or are you on an empty trivial pursuit that will lead you only further and further away from God?
Wesley and I recently visited a couple who once seemed to have a spark of interest in spiritual things. It looked like there might be hope that they’d bring their three sons to church. But a few weeks ago when we dropped in, it seemed that their hearts had become colder and their interest in spiritual things was gone. We grieve that those parents of three sons no longer want to seek after God nor do they seemingly have any understanding they are lost. All we can do is pray that God will rescue them Satan’s sickness before it’s too late.
2. The HANDS are referred to next. (v.12) “there is no one who shows kindness.” The natural person doesn’t care about showing Christ-like kindness, maybe for recognition, advancement or pay but not for doing self-sacrificing acts of kindness out of love for Christ.
This week a young child from the congregation came to me to ask if we knew of an elderly or home-bound person who could use some yard work done for them. He said his family wants to do a project of helping other people each week during Lent. What a wonderful hands-on ministry to get involved in. Helping others is a God-pleasing way to use one’s hands for acts of kindness.
How about your hands? Are they infected or clean? What are you hands used for? Are they used for good or for evil? You are the doctor, what is your diagnosis?
3. Next comes the MOUTH in this list. The mouth is probably the biggest indicator of health or sickness. I’m sure you’ve had the experience of a doctor making you open your mouth and stick out your tongue so that he could look for symptoms of sickness. Much can be told about the condition of the body just by looking at the tongue. Hear again the symptoms of spiritual cancer in the mouth: “Their throats are opened graves; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of vipers is under their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
I don’t know if you saw the picture in Friday’s Lima News of the three year old child holding an eight foot Python. To me it looked like a very foolish thing to do. A snake with its mouth closed may appear to be an innocent pet but with its mouth open and its fangs exposed ready to charge, a snake becomes a deadly poisonous enemy. “Every human being is born with the possibility of striking another with the venom of poisonous words that can wound if not kill the spirit or character of another.
A sick tongue will deceive, lie and gossip and sick mouths will spue forth cursings and bitterness and utter all kinds of profanity. Parents, what kind of words do you children hear come from your mouths? One grandmother told us recently that her two year old grandson spoke a stream of profanity at her house. She asked him where he heard those words. His reply was, “That’s what mommy said!” The grandmother said she washed out his mouth and told him, “We don’t talk like that, those are very bad words.” The poor two year old was only imitating his parent. How important it is for parents to guard what comes out of their mouths. Make sure parents that what you speak will be what you want your children to imitate.
So I ask you, how about this part of your body? Is it healthy or contaminated? Are you using your mouth to speak good or evil? You are the doctor, what is your diagnosis?
4. The FEET are infected too. “They are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.” (vv 15—17). Sin infected feet run to the wrong places in order to do the wrong things or be in the wrong company. Peace is also foreign idea Romans says. I think of the drug pushers who walk the streets in our city. How often do we hear of fights, shootings, and stabbings. The life of the sellers and buyers walking the streets bring only ruin and misery rather than peace to the people they interact with.
What is the diagnosis of the feet that take you places? Are they healthy or unhealthy? Do they bring peace to people’s lives or strife and unrest?
5. Finally the text reads, “There is no fear of God before their EYES.” Sin sick people don’t see God at work in the world nor do they look up to behold his majesty in worship. The picture of sin-sick eyes points us right back to the diagnosis in the beginning that “all have turned aside, together they have become worthless.” It’s a pretty sick picture. Verse 23 summarizes our sin-sick condition, “All have sinner and fall short of the glory of God.”
So we ask what is the cure? The cure stated in v. 22 is amazing; it is 100% effective. “The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” The righteousness of God is God’s healing power. He makes us whole when we believe the Jesus Christ is our cure. Verse 24 continues the thought “They are now justified by his grace as a gift through Jesus Christ.” It is too good to be true. We don’t have to be spiritually sick, unhealthy persons.
What does your self-diagnosis today say about yourself? Are you sin sick or spiritually healthy? Maybe you have areas in your life that are tainted and you want the healing touch of Christ to make you whole. I urge you to come to the altar now to ask for God’s cleansing power to wash over you and make you whole. Amen.
