Romans 3:9-20

Rachel Workman: ⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”^[b]
13 “Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”^[c]
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”^[d]
14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^[e]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶     ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”^[f]
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”^[g]

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. Wow, if this doesn't remind us of the current times we're living in I don't know what will. I like the use of the word worthless. I never want to be worthless in the eyes of the Lord. I also like how verse 17 says the way of peace they do not know. You can't know peace in sea of sin. It's impossible. Even if you've never opened the bible to know God's word you do know the law written on your heart. And if you ignore it there will be no peace inside of you.

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Allen Michaels:  ⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.” Paul is referring to Psalm 14:1-3. “There is no one righteous” means “no one is innocent.” Every person is valuable in God’s eyes because God created us in his image and he loves us. But NO ONE is righteous (that is, no one can earn right standing with God). Though valuable, we have fallen into sin. But God, through Jesus his Son, has redeemed us and offers to forgive us IF we return to him in faith.
¹³ “Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
¹⁴     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶     ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”^]
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Paul goes all “Old Testament” on them with these references to show that humanity in general, in its present sinful condition, is unacceptable before God. Have you ever thought to yourself, “Well, I’m not too bad. I’m a pretty good person. I’m at least better than those I associate with. Everyone wants to be me”? Read these verses again and see if any apply to you. I think they all apply to me. If not, they probably will. Have you ever hurt someone’s feelings by your words or tone of voice? Yes. Are you bitter toward anyone? Just one? Do you become angry with those who disagree with you? Don’t even have to disagree. In thought, word, and deed, like everyone else in the world, we all stand guilty before God. We must remember who we are in his sight—alienated sinners. We cannot deny that we are sinners. Instead, we must allow our desperate need to point us towards Christ.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Think back to the last time someone accused us of wrongdoing, what was our reaction? Denial, argument, and defensiveness? The Bible tells us the world stands silent and accountable before Almighty God. No excuses or arguments are left. So, have we reached the point with God where we are ready to hang up our defenses and await his decision? If not, we must stop now and admit our sins to him. If we have, the following verses are truly good news for us. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. This is one function of God’s law. It shows us where we go wrong. Because of the law, we know that we are helpless sinners and that we MUST come to Jesus the Christ for mercy.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Romans 3:21-31

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.