Scripture: Romans 3:9-20
In
this, our 4th lesson from the book of Romans, we take a closer look
at the impact that sin can have on our lives.
But first, we need to consider what sin actually is! The truth is that sin doesn’t occur when we
simply do something that is wrong.
“Wrong”, from a cultural perspective, will always be totally subjective and
personally defined. One person’s Right
can easily be seen as another person’s Wrong, and is nearly all of the
time. So when scripture speaks of any
particular act as being sinful, it requires that a single standard and
definition be applied.
And
what must that standard be? From a
Christian standpoint, it must always be established in the will of God, and by
no other means. And how do we know what
divine will is? The word of God has been
given to us for that very reason, and it is available to all who pick up the
Bible and read the truths that it contains.
Care must be taken, though, that the word is not taken out of scriptural
fullness and context – that’s Satan’s trick of deception. The word of God is more than the simple idea
– it requires that we act through the example of Jesus Christ.
We
have all heard someone challenge us to “Love one another” because that is in
the word. However, when we were given
that commandment in John 13:34, Jesus told us “A new command I give
you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” First, Christian love is offered in a new
way, not as the world sees fit, but in the way that Jesus has called us to love! Second, this “new kind of love” isn’t a suggestion
– Jesus tells us “… you MUST love one another” in His way, and not in
our own.
So
in order to sort out the full and true significance of sin, we need to
determine exactly what God, in all His might and wisdom and perfection, would
want us to know about the issue.
Read
Romans 3:9-12
Paul
was writing this letter specifically to the church that existed in Rome, but in
a more general sense, it was to all of the individual churches of that day, as
well as to all which would exist throughout the world until the day that Jesus
returned. And for Paul in his day, all
who followed “The Way” of Jesus were also Jews, either by birth or by conversion. So for our purposes today, since Paul was
talking to and about the followers of Jesus, we will consider that when he speaks
about “Jews” in the context of faith, that he is referring to all who have
accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and by the word “gentile” that
he means nonbeliever.
The
root word for “sin”, in essence, means “missing the mark”, or in other words,
falling short of meeting the Lord’s desire for our lives. When the apostle writes that everyone is
under the power of sin, he is saying that whether we agree with the word of God
or not, we don’t get to define what sin is, and as we all are “under the
power of sin”, no one is exempt from its demands on our life. And by the power that it holds over us, no
one can claim to be righteous through their own understanding and works, nor
can we ever avoid being subject to the Lord’s judgment regarding our worthiness,
or lack thereof, when it comes to being invited to live as one within Him.
This
condition comes as a result of the choices that we make as to which power we
will claim and follow! Scripture tells
us that the power of God is far greater than any that Satan can ever muster
against Him (1 Corinthians 15:23-24 - Acts 26:17-18). And yet, for some strange reason, many still
adhere to the way of death instead of Christ’s way of life! They believe that the goodness they do,
through the lies of earth, will overcome the judgment that they have so richly
earned and deserved. And one day, they
will experience a very rude awakening to the truth of Christ!
Read
Romans 3:13-18
These
quotations are primarily from the Psalms (14:1-3; 5:9; 140:3; 10:7; 36:1;&), with one them coming from Isaiah (Isaiah 59:7-8). Paul apparently wants to show us that some
things never change! He says that we all
live far from a life of piety; that no one understands, or even strives to
understand God; no one fears or loves God, for we have chosen other ways that
deny the Lord; we have all gone astray by speaking and living out our evil
thoughts; and our treatment of others can only be seen as hateful and violent, and
the peace of God is nowhere to be seen within us.
Do
any of these sound like the commandments that God has placed before us? It just goes to prove that no one can claim
to offer a better way than the Lord Jesus can.
In the refrain to the gospel hymn “No
Not One”, we hear:
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No, not one! No, not one!
The
disciples of Satan claim that they have received a special knowledge that
supersedes all that we have ever learned about Jesus, and that their way is far
better than anything else could be!
Read
Romans 3:19-20
In
these two verses, Paul is reminding us that through obedience to the law, that
first, there is no salvation, and second, that the law convicts us of what sin
is really all about. Apparently, the law
takes away all of our excuses! But even
further, the law is not only for the believer, but rather for “the whole
world”. It is no longer about the
goodness that may be within us, but more importantly, for the goodness that
comes from and through our Almighty God.
But
at the same time, not only has worldly goodness lost its power, but our
unworthiness has also become impotent for all who put their trust in the
teachings of Jesus. In the final 2
verses of Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 28:19-20), we read “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age.”
When
we come to the grace and way of Jesus, and when we commit to following His holy
way, we are freed from both the power that sin holds over us, as well as the
obligation to strict and absolute adherence to the law. We are frail and sinful people, and will
never be able to keep every commandment that the Lord has handed down to us, but
neither will we ever be able to avoid all of the traps that sin has set in our
way – those obstacles that are intended to trip us up.
So
where do we stand? It seems that
the only hope that anyone who has ever lived on the face of the earth can count
on, is the love and mercy of God. We see
His love at work when it was displayed to the entire world when
Jesus, the Son of God, gave Himself up at Calvary, destroying the power that
sin holds over us. And the hope of God was proven when the death that
Christ had accepted on our behalf was denied through the resurrection that
restored the glorious life that had always been His forever and ever. So through the mercy of God, by faith
in Jesus and in all that He is and has done for us, we can live again in His
precious and eternal life.
When
our life of sinfulness is surrendered to God, we can be restored to
righteousness through His mercy and our repentance from sin . The worthless life that has always been ours
can be exchanged, by faith, for the life of eternal worth in Jesus. The life of hopelessness that comes to us by
way of the world is no longer our only option in this life, for acceptance and
faith in the way of Jesus defeats everything that Satan can ever bring
against us.
May
that level of trust and faith in Jesus fill each and every one who looks to Him,
every day, for the divine truth of God.
