Paul forcefully shows that all people are guilty before God.
Click here for an online Bible Romans 3:9-20
Paul says that everybody is guilty before God. The Gentiles have the general revelation of God. They have a conscience. They are guilty before God. The Jews have all of the general revelation that the Gentiles do, but they also have the special revelation of God through the prophets. They have the Law of Moses. They are guilty before God.
The purpose of this revelation from God is to show our unrighteousness. Paul give a series of quotes from the Old Testament which show that he is not saying anything new.
Romans 3:9-12 Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Eccl. 7:20
Romans 3:13a Psalm 5:9
Romans 3:13b Psalm 140:3
Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7
Romans 3:15-17 Isaiah 59:7-8
Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1
Paul is laying the groundwork for the necessity of faith in Christ. There is no righteousness from doing good because everybody is a sinner. This is a foundational issue in understanding people. All people are corrupt and sinful. All people deserve condemnation. There is no one righteous, not even one.
Question: What about the good person who has not heard about Christ?
Answer: There are no good people. That is why the missionary call is so urgent.
We have to be careful not to view everyone with contempt. We have to view everyone like God does – with love. Christ loved the people of the world enough to die for them. Realizing the lostness of people should bring us to tears – and should motivate us to do something about it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
The lostness of people is every where you go. You do need to put yourself in their shoes. You need to treat them as you want to be treated. The Golden Rule!! People are lost without God. Remember this and you will be humbled. This is what I get out of this passage in the Bible....
Post a Comment