Monthly Archive for March, 2011

¹⁹ 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.

The quotations are finished. Paul now concludes his argument about the universal sinfulness of man by a discussion on the law. Verses 19 and 20 conclude the argument from 1:18, showing that man cannot measure up to God’s righteous standards.

Verses 19 and 20 bring us to the conclusion of the first main section of Romans (1:18-3:20).

¹⁹ Now we [no specific group] know [generally conceded as an obvious truth] that [purpose] whatever the law [all Scripture—note quotations above from other passages than the Mosaic law] says [says in substance], it says to those [everyone] who are under [within the scope of] the law,

Paul appeals to common knowledge of those who know the Bible—“we know.” The principle of the law (Scripture) is to show that everyone is under God’s standards. Man is accountable to God’s revelation. It is important that we know that keeping the law cannot save our souls. This is in the realm of the law, that is, within the jurisdiction of Scripture.

that every mouth may be stopped,

The purpose of the law was to stop every mouth’s justification for the sin issue. The stopping of mouths is a metaphor for preventing people from speaking. The authority of the Bible puts an end to rationalization. This is a purpose of the law. If Jews cannot keep the law, then certainly Gentiles cannot keep it. No one has justification for sin due to overwhelming evidence from God’s Word. People are left in silence after the revelation of God’s mind to the mind of man. This shuts our mouths and forces us to listen to God’s Word. The Word of God takes away every excuse man might offer.

and all the world [mankind] may become guilty [literally under judgment, answerable] before God [in His presence].

The word “become” means to become something it was not before. Scriptures made apparent the sin of man, which was not patent to his thinking. Sin was made to be seen for what it is. The thought that Scriptures apply only to the Jews was wrong. The jurisdiction of Scripture covers Jew and Gentile alike.

No one can claim that they are not under sin. Everyone is liable to God’s judgment. This is the only occurrence of the Greek word “guilty” in the New Testament. The word means answerable, accountable. People are under the judicial action of God. The whole world is accountable to Jewish Scripture. The Jew and the Gentile both stand under God’s judgment because of their sin.  There is no evidence left to plead the case of anyone.

God in His court declares mankind guilty on all charges. No defense attorney can argue against God’s case. There is no ground for acquittal. Everyone universally stands in need of God’s unadulterated grace.

PRINCIPLE: The law is impotent to save the soul.

APPLICATION: The purpose of the law is to make people aware of their sin, their failure to measure up to God’s righteousness. The resolve of the law is to stir the conscience about violating God’s standards, which are absolute standards. Scripture shows man’s inability to live up to the criteria that God requires. It is impossible for people to live up to God’s requirements, for He demands absolute perfection.

God’s revelation is like a mirror that reflects our true condition. If our face is dirty the mirror will show it. It will drive us to soap and water, the solution to a dirty face. We cannot use the mirror to cleanse our face but we only use it for the purpose of revealing the state of our face. The solution is soap and water, not the mirror. The purpose of knowing God’s standards is to find the solution to our sins—the death of Christ on the cross to pay for our sins.

Ga 2: ¹⁶ knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Ga 3: ¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” ¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” ¹² Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

This passage shows the absoluteness of keeping the law. This absoluteness is futile for anyone’s attempt to use the law as a way of salvation:

Ja 2: ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

In other words, if a person does not keep the law perfectly, God will not justify or vindicate him. This shows the uselessness of earning our way to heaven by works and the need of God’s saving grace in Christ. 

¹⁷ And the way of peace they have not known.”

 ¹⁷ And the way of peace they have not known.”

This is the thirteenth indictment of mankind.

Mankind knows nothing of God’s “way of peace” apart from God’s intervention. Sin separates people from God and from others. Their desire is to destroy, not to seek peace with others.

False teachers do not have personal peace, nor do their followers have this peace. They avoid the peace that God affords.

PRINCIPLE: Sinful man does not care about the principle of peace.

APPLICATION: People will never know peace in the world until they come to know the Prince of peace. But that is exactly whom they hope to avoid.

Ro 8: ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

The ultimate way of peace is the way of the Prince of peace. Jesus will ultimately bring peace on earth. Until He comes, there will be misery among men (Ro 8:22). He can right now bring peace to our hearts. By accepting His message we can have peace with God (Ro 5:1).

Is 57: ²⁰ But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ²¹ “There is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.”

Je 6: ¹⁴ They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. 

¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

Verses 15 to 17 are sins of violence.

¹⁵ “Their feet are swift [keen] to shed blood;

Romans 3:15-17 is a quotation from Psalm 59:7-8. Psalm 59 is a lament for the nation Israel’s sins and lack of righteousness. The emphasis in this section is on deeds rather than attitudes.

This is the eleventh indictment against man.

“Feet” makes man mobile. Man has felicity to put his sinful purposes into action. Sinful people are quick to do violence to others. They carry an innate desire for murder, whether they carry it out or not. Their teaching leads to spiritual death. Some have no problem with spiritual murder.

The word “swift” has the idea of quickness to carry out their sin of destroying others. These people are keen to execute destruction on others. The long history of war validates this indictment.

Most people do not commit acts of murder but, as Jesus said, if we hate others we have murder in our hearts.

PRINCIPLE: Our actions reflect what we believe.

APPLICATION: Our deeds manifest what we believe. Hatred toward others is a reflection of murderous thoughts toward others.

Is 59: ⁷ Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.

¹³ “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”;

“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

This is the ninth indictment showing the universal sinfulness of man.

This phrase continues the quote from Psalm 140:3.

The speech of mankind is poisonous. The “asp” here is the cobra. The talk of these people is as deadly a poison as a cobra snake’s venom. They tell lies about God, making their lies exceedingly dangerous. We cannot trust their talk about God. There is a destructive effect in understanding God by misuse of speech.

PRINCIPLE: Sinful man uses speech to do injury to others.

APPLICATION: Sinful man uses gossip, slander, or false accusation to hurt and mislead others in their understanding of God. This communication is just like poison from a cobra—it is deadly to the spiritual life. There is a poison in the heart of man that, for his own ends, does injury to others about God.

Ja 3: ⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

¹³ “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”;

Verses 13 to 18 describe the sinfulness of man by several parts of the human speech mechanism (throat, tongue, lips, mouths) showing that he is thoroughly depraved in what he espouses. This section moves from general description of universal sin of man to particular portraying of the sin in man. It exposes the conduct and depravity of mankind.

Non-Christians betray their status with God when they open their mouths (3:13-14). Paul takes these sins of speech and pools quotations from three passages from the Old Testament demonstrating mankind’s sins of speech.

The seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth indictments are against God’s standards in communication systems.  

¹³ “Their throat [larynx] is an open [standing open] tomb;

This phrase is a quotation from Psalm 5:9.

This is the seventh indictment against the sinfulness of mankind.

In the Old Testament Psalm 5:9 portrays flatterers who serve themselves rather than those they flatter. For their own selfish ends, they flatter in order to devour those they soft-soap.

Mankind’s speech is as corrupt as an open grave. The words “is open” mean stands open—they are graves permanently open, displaying the corruption of death. An open grave carries a horrible stench. Non-Christians are spiritually dead. The idea of the openness of this grave is that it is prepared to consume those who come to it.

PRINCIPLE: A foul heart produces profane speech.

APPLICATION: If we open a grave, it reveals the corruption of death. If we look at human speech, we see the corruption of the heart. The smell of a dead human corpse is awful, yet that is what we smell like to God. Character manifests itself in speech. Those spiritually dead to God produce spiritually dead thoughts, such as praising others to serve themselves. David said that sin can lead to self-deceit and self-flattery (Ps 36:1-3).This is an appeal to the dark side of human nature.

Pv 10: ³² The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.

 Pv 15: ² The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. ²⁸ The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

Mt 12: ³⁴ Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

 Mt 15: ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

Ja 3: ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

The state of the throat and tongue can reveal much about our physical health. The state of our speech reveals much about our spirituality.