There Is No Plan B Series

THERE IS NO PLAN B

“Why going is urgent, not optional”

Romans 3: 10-12 (p 797) Oct. 16, 2011

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever heard the statement “Ignorance of the law is no excuse?” or “Ignorance of the law is no defense?”

The reason behind this belief is that any defendant could stand before any judge and say, “Your Honor I did not know it was against the law to bring an AK47 into the post office while purchasing stamps”

Ignorance of the law does not excuse you from guilt when you break it.

And let me tell you…there are some stupid laws on the books in Kentucky...or were on the books at one time.

“In Berea, KY horses are not allowed on the streets and highways at night unless the animal has a bright red taillight securely attached to its rump.”

“In Frankfort, KY it is against the law to shoot off a policeman’s tie.”

“In Lexington, KY it is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket”

“In Owensboro a woman may not buy a hat without her husband’s permissions.”

KRS 252.130 (passed in 1922: repealed in 1948 “All bees entering KY shall be accompanied by certificates of health…

And my favorite…. No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she is escorted by a least two officers or unless she be armed with a club.” Later, and amendment proposed” the provisions of this statute shall not apply to any female weighing less than sixty pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds; nor shall it apply to female horses.

At one time or another those were real laws on the books…I’m sure many of them were reactionary laws…”Some politician’s wife spent way too much on a derby hat!!! But they were laws none the less.

And we can laugh at how stupid they are…the consequences of breaking one of these would be a small fine…

But what if you were ignorant of a law that brought capital punishment? What if you and I …or any person was ignorant of something or someone…and the consequences were life or death?

Romans 3:22 says “this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. (No difference whether you are a few that has known the law all his life…or a gentile, ignorant of it.)

There is no difference “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Here is a Radical truth…

I EVERY PERSON REJECTS GOD

There is a creator…and God’s word clearly tells us He has revealed himself to His creation…All people.

Romans 1:19 says “What may be known about God is plain to them (people), because God has made it plain to them…”

How did he make it plain to them? “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20)

Whether we live in an African jungle, the remotest desert or the forgotten tundra…we all have acknowledge of God the creator…we worship or should…the one who created the Son…not the Son itself. God has revealed himself…

It’s the very reason creation is attacked so violently…and it’s the very reason John the beloved begins at creation in His gospel…it’s the starting place for all believers…”In the beginning god created”

But just because a creator has revealed himself doesn’t mean all people will believe it…in fact all of us reject God.

Paul says “Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him” (Romans 1:21).

The Bible teaches that all of us have foolish hearts and futile minds…that there is no difference in us “Jew or Gentile” We all have an inherently sinful nature that rebels against the knowledge and glory of God.

If I accept that there is a creator… I must eventually believe He has created me for a reason…

But if I can replace the creator with something else “Exchange the truth of God for a lie” then I won’t be accountable to Him… nor will I be responsible for my rejection.

And God’s word says that “All of us, including men and women in unreached groups around the world…reject true knowledge of God…we replace Him by “Worshipping created things rather than the Creator”

Because of this fundamental truth…

II ALL PEOPLE ARE GUILTY BEFORE GOD..

There are two things I know for sure: 1) There is a God and 2) I Ain’t Him.

So as I ‘rastle with the deep issues of eternity I come to our text….

The Apostle Paul describes the gentiles who sinned before God in Romans 1:18 through Romans 2:16…the first 3 chapters of Romans are some of the most depressing verses in the Bible….often taken out of context…but Paul uses them to describe the “depravity” of mankind our “sinfulness”.