Foundations of Truth

Guest (Male): Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshaken foundation of God's Word, rooted in scripture, anchored in the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each week, Dr. Mann opens the Bible to bring clarity, conviction, and encouragement for everyday life.

Today we continue the message "The Privileges and the Perils of Religion." This is part two. Today's scripture is Romans chapter 3 verses 1 through 20, as we continue our series from "Guilty to Glory: A Journey Through the Book of Romans." And here now is Dr. Timothy Mann.

Dr. Timothy Mann: God remains faithful no matter how individuals may sin. No matter how you sin, no matter how much you blow it, that doesn't change anything about God. He is faithful.

It really bothers me sometimes when—now granted, we need to live a life that is honoring and glorifying to God, we need to be a good representative and a good witness and live our Christian life as we should—but somehow it amazes me how other people look at the shortcomings of Christians or professing Christians and somehow say, "Aha! That means there is something wrong with God." No, not at all.

I saw a sign this past week as I was thinking about—somebody shared it with me, I think—about this passage. The complaint sometimes goes, "Well, the church is full of hypocrites." No, it is not. The church is not full of hypocrites. There is always room for one more. Come on! Join up!

I do not say that frivolously. I mean, the fact of the matter is, it does not matter how an individual sins, God remains faithful. That is wonderful.

Well, the second objection is in verse 5. Verse 5 says, "But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath?" I speak as a man. He said, "I am using a human argument here." In other words, here God is accused basically of using the Jews to His advantage, showing His righteousness by their failure, and therefore He is unrighteous and cannot rightly judge those whom He has so used. That is the argument.

Verse 6 is Paul's answer. What does he say again? "Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world?" That is to say, you know better than that. God will judge the world, including you.

The third objection is similar. Someone might argue, verses 7 and 8, "For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? Why not say, let us do evil that good may come?"

Here is the base argument here: Paul, what you are saying is an incentive to sin. It really is. It is an incentive to sin. As a matter of fact, if being bad makes God look good, we will be bad so He will look good. That is what this is, right? It is a ridiculous argument, of course, and this ridiculous argument disregarded the difference between good and evil. It is interesting here, the Apostle Paul does not even answer it. He simply says in the second half of verse 8, "Their condemnation is deserved."

The people who say this, their condemnation is just. These were irrational arguments; they were foolish arguments. Even so, I would say to you though, at least based on my experience, I think it represents the thinking of those who have had the privilege of having the written word of God but rejected it.

Over the years, I have heard unbelievers who were raised under the word say things just as crass, just as foolish, just as irrational, just because they want to resist and strive against the word of God.

But the truth is, our advantage, my advantage, your advantage, is great in every way. Let us not forget that. I mean, first and foremost, we have the written self-revelation of God. We know what God is like. The rest of the world does not that does not have His word. We know what God is like. We know what we are like as well, but others without God's word lack that kind of knowledge. We know what God's standards are.

It is hard for me to imagine what it is like to be without this book. I grew up with it. How about you? It is hard, I think for some of us, it is hard for us to imagine what it would be like to grow up without the church.

Some of us have great-grandparents and grandparents and parents and brothers and sisters and even our spouse who all know Christ. We have a massive advantage. I am just curious by show of hands if that is kind of your testimony—you have the majority of your family and people around in your life and your upbringing has been in the church and they profess to know Christ. Raise your hand. I am just curious. Look at that. See? What an advantage! It is something we should not take for granted. We should thank God every day for our vast advantage that we have.

As Paul comes to a final point, verses 9 through 20, he dramatizes the immensity of the advantage of the Jew and us because all the world is equally under sin. He is saying this religious advantage is real despite universal sin. Not only this religious advantage is real because you have the written word of God, this religious advantage is real despite these irrational objections, and this religious advantage is true and certain despite universal sin.

If this argument does not help us out some, I do not know what will, but in verse 9 what happens is the Apostle Paul indicts the entire human race. Verse 9, he says, "What then? Are we any better than they?" That is not rhetorical, y'all can talk back to me. What does he say? No, not at all! We are not any better than them, not at all.

As a matter of fact, he says, "For we have previously charged, we have already made it clear, we have made the charge that both Jews and Greeks, Jews and Gentiles—that is everybody—are all under sin." Now the force of this language here leaves no doubt about what is meant. I want you to see that. Notice first of all the word is "sin," not "sins." The word is "sin," not "sins." And that means literally the dynamic of sin. The word "under" means under the power of or under the dominion of.

He is saying everyone in the world is under the power of the dynamic of sin. And what we have here in this statement and in the following verses is the most explicit description of the radical depravity of mankind in all of scripture. It is in this passage.

Now this does not mean that man is depraved as he could be, thank God for that, but it does mean, based on the reality that we are all under the power of the dynamic of sin, there is always room for "deprovement." We can always go down because we are under. And isn't that happening, by the way, under the power of sin?

I think to help you understand it—I said this this morning in the first service and I want to say it again here—I think it is a vivid way to understand this: If the color of sin were blue, every aspect of us, everything about you, looking at you, would be a shade of blue. Some shade of blue. If the color of sin was blue. I picked blue because that is my favorite color. Could have picked anything else, but that is how pervasive it is.

The Latin precursor of our word "radical" is the word "radix," which means root. We are all infected with a radical corruption. We are morally ruined at our very roots.

The Bible says, Jesus said as a matter of fact in Matthew chapter 7 verses 15 through 20, Jesus said that the fruit is corrupt. Why? Because the tree is corrupt. That is the issue. The tree is radically corrupt. And the Apostle Paul here charges all humanity, however good some individuals may appear, with this radical corruption.

Turgenev, a Russian poet, he caught it perfectly when he said this: "I don't know what the heart of a bad man is like, but I do know what the heart of a good man is like, and it is terrible." I think that is pretty explicit, isn't it? Pretty clear.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. If this teaching is strengthening your faith and helping you view life through the lens of the Bible, would you prayerfully consider supporting Foundations of Truth? Your financial gifts help us produce and distribute these programs so that others can hear the gospel and receive faithful biblical teaching.

To learn how you can partner with us, please visit our website foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. And thank you for helping Foundations of Truth continue proclaiming God's word. Now let's return to today's message from Romans. Here's Dr. Timothy Mann.

Dr. Timothy Mann: The Apostle Paul here substantiates his charge by stringing together—visualize this in your mind—stringing together a series of Old Testament texts together. This is a charaz. This literally means "stringing pearls." Stringing pearls. And he quotes six Old Testament sources in 14 sweeping statements with devastating artistry.

First, he describes mankind's depraved character, and then he describes his depraved conduct, and then finally at the heart of it all, he shows the cause. As to our character, let me quickly walk through these with you. As to our character, the Apostle Paul says in verse 10, "There is no one righteous." Now, in case anyone was thinking, "Well, there might be an exception," he does away with that idea once and for all. What does he say? No, not even one! No exceptions, not even one.

We use these relative terms for righteousness in respect to earthly standards, but the standard used here is the righteousness of God, which is perfectly manifested in the righteousness of Christ, and none of us comes close to that. Only Jesus Christ kept the commandment to love the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his mind, and love his neighbor as himself. Only Jesus kept that commandment.

I mean, let us just be honest in here this morning: How many of us has kept this divine commandment perfectly since we got up this morning? Come on, nobody want to be a taker? No, not even one. Not even one.

He says in verse 11, "There is no one who understands." Understands what? I think the depth and the truth of the attributes of God, of who God is. See, sin makes this impossible. We cannot.

And I will tell you, there are some religious folks that need to get a hold of this. No matter what level of spiritual life you are, no matter what level of understanding we reach, there will always be a deficiency in our understanding. Always. These guys or these women that say, "Oh, I've read the Bible through I don't know how many—I know it all! You don't have anything to tell me!" Oh, come on, get off it! You are self-deceived.

Moreover, the problem that comes in is the more we sin, the less capable of understanding we become, apart from the Holy Spirit of God. He goes on to say in verse 11, "There is none who seeks after God. There is none who seeks after God." That is to say, no one by nature wants to know God.

No one by nature, by human nature, wants to know God in and of yourself. There is none who seeks after God. I believe this is one verse which many Christians simply do not believe. For example, often we speak of someone who we know is really seeking after God. They are really seeking after God. That is just not so. Not according to the Bible.

The word "seek" that is translated "seek" here means to seek out. It implies a determined search. Mankind does not search for God. Mankind does not search for truth, according to Romans 1. Rather, what man does is he suppresses it and finally turns to idolatry. That is what happens. Now there is one exception: If the Holy Spirit of God is truly working in one's heart, that is authentic seeking.

Verse 12 goes on to say, "They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable." That is not the strongest word that could be used. They have all turned away, they have together become worthless. What verse 12 describes is the logical outcome of all the preceding statements. That is the outcome. Because no one has stayed on the path to God, they have become useless, they have become worthless.

They cannot fulfill their purpose as creatures made in the image of God. We are kind of like a fish that cannot swim. We are like a bird that cannot fly. That is the problem. He says, "There is no one who does good," verse 12. The last part of verse 12, "There is no one who does good, no, not one."

Now I know obviously people do good things, but they do not do them consistently and they do not do them profoundly. What I mean to say is a good work must not only conform to the commandments of God, it must come from a heart that is committed to honoring Him, and no one habitually does that. Even Christians. No one consistently, all the time, 100 percent, does that.

So thus, Paul's string of pearls here is devastating. Man's character is formed, so a sad string of pearls indeed. And now the Apostle Paul turns to man's conduct. His emphasis is first on human speech. It is interesting. And he paints a disgusting picture, proceeding from the throat to the tongue to the lips to the mouth. Look what he says: "Their throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit, the poison of vipers are on their lips, their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."

He is saying the speech of those without God is like the odor of an open grave. Smell that right now. Imagine that in your mind. Odor of an open grave. Sometimes it is filthy, sometimes it is deceiving, sometimes it is as deadly as a cobra's bite.

And then Paul's final touch here as to conduct is actually in verses 15 through 17, and it sort of sounds like the condensed history of the world in my opinion. "Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known."

Man's depravity is seen in his rush to violence. Over and over. I mean, do not believe me? Look at all the video games that are selling. The movies. I mean, we love violence. We love it. We like watching it. If not participating in it, we like at least watching it. Will Durant wrote in his book *Lessons from History*, he said, "In the last 3,421 years of recorded history, only 268 have seen no war." During World War II, it was estimated that it took $225,000 to kill one enemy soldier. Just one. I wonder how much is being spent by the major nations today.

We love violence. And then the Apostle Paul describes one final pearl in verse 18. He finishes the necklace: "There's no fear of God before their eyes. There's no fear of God before their eyes." First the character, then the conduct, and now the cause. The fear of God is left out of their thinking.

And Paul's charge still stands today. The entire human race, Jews or Gentiles, religious or irreligious, pious or pagans, is utterly depraved. Now I want you to note the overwhelming force here of Paul's conclusion. Look at it. Verse 19 and 20: "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Some may ask, "Well, how in the world, pastor, how can we conclude that those who have the word, as we do, are advantaged since actually all are under sin? How can we conclude that?" Well, the answer is seen in the last line of our text. Chapter 3 verse 20, the last part of that: "For by the law is the knowledge of sin." Literally, the intimate knowledge of sin.

Ladies and gentlemen, please understand: the very first function of the law is to unmask us. That is the purpose of it. And to show us that we are sinners. And I want to submit to you that is our supreme advantage. It really is. That is our advantage. We actually understand, at least to some extent, our radical corruption. And that is a good thing.

And so what happens is this: God's word strips away our Emperor's clothing of self-deceit and reveals our soul's nakedness. The world system out there, the world system proclaims that we are robed and we are well when we are not. That is what the world system does. But God's word cries out above the self-deceived crowd that we are not okay.

And that is a good thing. That is a real good thing. Oftentimes, we are like the church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3 verse 17. We say, "I am rich, I have acquired wealth, I do not need a thing," but God says, "You're wretched, pitiful, and poor and blind and naked."

So what advantage does that bring to us? Much in every way! I echo the Apostle Paul. Much in every way. We must each see our own nakedness. We must. And we must make use of our great advantage of truly knowing who we are, of truly knowing who God is, and what He wants of us as described in His word. We must make use of our great advantage.

Revelation 3:18, the Lord Jesus through the Apostle John writes and says, "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich, and white clothes to wear so that you may cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes so you can see." Spiritually, all of that is a reality through faith in Jesus Christ.

Maybe the best way to close this section would be to ask a simple question or two. One is this: Has your mouth ever been stopped, like the Bible says? Are you boasting of your own self-righteousness and defending yourself before God?

If so, perhaps you have never been saved by God's grace. Because it is only as we stand silent before Him as sinners can He save us. It is only then. As long as we defend ourselves and as long as we commend ourselves, we cannot be saved by God's grace.

Do you understand your great advantage today? Do not be like the people of Israel and harden your heart as they did in the day that God was provoking them and attempting to awaken them. Do not harden your heart to your great advantage. See yourself as God sees you.

You know what Christians need? Christians need the gospel preached to them over and over and over and over. You need the gospel every day of your life. The gospel that in my helpless estate, Christ stepped in and saved me. I have nothing to bring in and of myself.

And yes, God sees you as a saint, God sees you as a holy one, God sees you as His child, all of that once you are saved. But we still need to get a handle on the reality that is not because of anything I have done. That is not because of who I am. That is because of who Jesus is and I am in Christ. Preach the gospel to yourself and make use of the great religious advantage that God has given you.

Guest (Male): Thanks for spending part of your day with us on Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. If you'd like to hear this message again or give a financial gift or get more biblical resources, you can do so online: foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net.

And thank you so much. Join us again tomorrow for another opportunity to study the scriptures and discover the unchanging truth of God's word. Join Dr. Mann Saturday, September 19th, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at From My Library to Yours Christian bookstore in Port Orange for a special author event featuring his book, *Saved: Understanding God's Work in Us*. There'll be book signing, conversation, and brief talks with a Q&A at 10:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. That's Saturday, September 19th at the Pavilion next to Massage Envy in Port Orange, Florida.

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