9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
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;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know."
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
19Now 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. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. (NIV)
Main Points and Discussion Questions
1. All people are helpless prisoners of sin – they cannot escape the power or practice of it (3: 9-18).
cf. Gal 3:22, Ps 130:3, Ps 143:2; Ecc. 7:20
Disc. Question #1a: In light of verses 9 to 18, how would you respond when people assert the following statements to you: (note: be subtle in your response – acknowledge the concerns behind these views wherever possible.)
- “By far the biggest problem facing us today is the unequal distribution of wealth. There ought to be more government control over our economy, and that way the gap between rich and poor will be minimized.”
- “People are ignorant. If they can just get better educated, all of the world’s problems will go away.”
-“All would be well in our country if we could just “vote out” the reigning party and bring in the oppositon party.”
Discussion Question #1b: Just as Paul spoke of sin’s revealing itself in sexual rebellion back in 1:26-27, so in 3:15 he cites violence as another manifestation of sin. But look at verses 13 and 14 of Romans 3 - what particular way is sin revealed there? Why is this especially important for us to take note of?
2. No one can escape the penalty of sin either; far from delivering us from it, the Law only makes us more conscious of it. (3:19-20)
Discussion Question #2: Read the Ten Commandments in Deut. 5:6-21, and then Jesus’ commentary about the Law in Mt 5:17-25. How does Jesus “illuminate” the Ten Commandments so that they serve to convict us of sin?
Summary of Paul’s thought in Romans 2 and 3 can be found in these verses:
Romans 2:13
Romans 3:9
Romans 3:20
Next week: Romans 3:21-26
There is good news at last (as promised in 1:16, 17) – provided that we come to terms completely with what God, through Paul, has declared from Romans 1:18 to 3:20.
