What advantage is there in spiritual heritage? (Romans 3:1-20)

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.

Introduction

This is one of the favorite books of my kids- The Emperor's New Clothes. It's amazing how people of all ages connect with this classic tale by Hans Christian Anderson. It makes a point that strikes home in a humorous way.

We probably are all familiar with the story. There was an emperor that was very fond of dressing in the finest clothes. He loved putting forward the best possible in appearances. When two philosophers came to town- actually con men- and offered to make him the finest of rare and costly clothes, he was very receptive to the idea. He especially liked the idea that the clothes would be invisible to all but the truly wise and pure in heart.

In short order, the con men were set up with weaving looms and all the resources they would need to complete the project of weaving the finest cloth available which would be invisible to all but the truly wise and pure in heart. Soon the emperor was curious about the progress of his clothes. He sent his first chief minister to check it out. He was surprised to see nothing on the looms but didn't want to say so because that would be admitting he wasn't wise or pure. And so he returned to the emperor with a glowing progress report and request for more money from the con men.

Soon the emperor became impatient again. And the same thing happened with his second chief minister. He also returned with a glowing report of what he had not seen, not wanting to appear unwise or impure, and with the request for even more money from the con men.

Finally came the grand event when the emperor would parade through the streets of the kingdom in his fine clothes. There he was, au naturel, with everyone praising him for his fine clothes- no one wanting to admit that they saw nothing. Finally, a child, the wisest and purest among them, cried out, "The emperor has no clothes!" And everyone knew it was true. In one moment, the truth spoken by one child stripped away the hypocrisy and pretense of a whole nation.

This is a great story because it points out a tendency we all have- we remain silent even in the face of a fallacy being promoted by all because we don't want to be singled out as fools.

Transition

As we turn to Romans 3 this morning, we can say that was very much the condition that the Jewish world had been living under. They assumed they were clothed with God's righteousness, all the while they were naked and bare in their desperate need. They had been fooled by the prevailing religious overconfidence that they were all right because of their spiritual heritage. Like the little boy, Paul speaks out the truth. Though they had presumed they were the teachers and guides because they had God's Word, their confidence was misplaced. Furthermore, Paul declares, affiliation doesn't save us. Rather, it is a matter of the heart. Faith in the good news about Jesus Christ providing righteousness for us through His death on the cross gives us God's righteousness. We are not saved by who we are or by what we have done in our own resources; we are saved by grace through faith. ²⁹No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God (Romans 2:29).

Paul undressed the Jews in their religious overconfidence. And he undresses us as well. We cannot place our confidence in our spiritual heritage, our church membership, our Bible knowledge or any other thing.

Paul anticipates the religious Jew's next question- and the question of countless sincere religious people: What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? (3:1). What advantage, then, is there in my baptism, church attendance, good family upbringing, if I'm on the same playing field as all those pagan folk? In 3:1-20, Paul tells us that there is an advantage for the Jews and the religious faithful. He shares that advantage from three perspectives.

Advantage: God's Word is ours

Romans 3:1, 2. What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ²Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

Paul begins to make a list. First of all . . . At this point, he will only begin his list with one point. He picks up the list again later in chapter 9. And what is the number one advantage? As people with a solid spiritual heritage, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. In the last chapter were using this very argument to try to validate their special standing with God. But Paul had said that possessing God's law wasn't what makes a difference. Living it does.

Now Paul goes back to the importance of God's Word. Having been entrusted with God's Word puts them in a great position. It is a great advantage.

1. With having God's revelation, the Jews- and all of us with a spiritual heritage and God's Word- had insight into the nature of the eternal God. Through God's Word, we know that God created all things, and still sustains the universe by His authority and power. We know He is perfect in holiness, righteousness, justice, and love. There is an infinite gulf between man and God. He is majestic, awesome, set-apart, above all things.

There is a huge advantage in knowing about God from His Word. The natural man without God's Word tries to close the gap between God and man by bringing God down to man's level, or by pulling man up to God's level. But God's Word tells us that God is so distinct and unattainable from our finite view of the universe, that it takes a God-sized, God-initiated action to overcome the gap.

2. God's revelation also gives us insight into the nature and purpose of man. In the presence of God's majesty, we have a clearer understanding of our own nature. Kent Hughes observes, "Human beings who respect God the Creator can begin to understand the mystery of their own being. This, coupled with the Scripture's revelation of our radical corruption, allows us to see ourselves as lost sinners, a fact which those without the oracles of God cannot fully see. Our ultimate personal advantage in having God's Word is that we have written directions as to what is required of mankind- that we are to love God with all our being (Mark 12:30, 31)."

What advantage is their for the Jew and the contemporary churchgoer? We have God's Word. Through it we know He is like, what we are like, and how our desperate need is for Him. Without Him, we have no salvation.

Advantage: God's truth and faithfulness is unchanged

Paul continues to anticipate the response of these staunch, self-righteous, religious people. In 3:3-8, he anticipates three irrational objections they will make. And he responds to the anticipated objections.

1. 3:3. ³What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness?

Paul anticipates that these religious Jews will not be able to receive the truth that not all Jews will saved. It's an illogical objection, which could be put something like this: "Paul, how can you possibly say we Jews have so completely failed in our privileged position and still insist that we are an advantaged people? If we have failed as you insist, God's Word is powerless and he is unfaithful" (Hughes).

Paul responds in 3:4, ⁴Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." He says the response of man does not effect the nature of God. God is true. Man is the liar. The impact of what he is saying is accentuated by who he quotes. David is the one who said, "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge" (Psalm 51:4). And he said it in the context of repenting for his sin with Bathsheba. Our sin doesn't change God's nature. Paul says, "No way! God is true, no matter what!"

2. The second objection is in 3:5. ⁵But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) In this objection, God is being accused of using the Jews unrighteousness to His advantage- their unrighteousness makes Him look better. And since he is doing that, He just isn't just.

Paul replies, ⁶Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Paul is saying again, "No way! You know better than that! God is just and in His justice He is qualified to judge the world. He will judge the world- including you!"

3. The third objection 3:7, 8. ⁷Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" ⁸Why not say- as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say- "Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved. In a nutshell this irrational objection goes like this: ""What you are saying, Paul, is an incentive to sin. If being bad makes God look good, we will be bad so he looks good" (Hughes). Paul doesn't even attempt to answer. Their condemnation is deserved.

Unfortunately, that's the way many people still think. "So what if I sin. Hey, God is still good. I'll just apply 1 John 1:9. He'll still forgive me. His grace is plentiful. In fact, my inconsistent lifestyle, my fleshly actions and words, kind make Him look better." The thinking is so warped Paul doesn't even say, "No way!" again. He just says, Their condemnation is deserved.

Is there an advantage to have a strong spiritual heritage? Paul says there certainly is. We have His Word. We know His character. We know our need. We know the way to have peace with God. We know that God is true. He is just. He is faithful. He does not change.

Those without this knowledge are at a tremendous disadvantage. And with the advantage, comes the responsibility to respond and live according to the advantage, by God's Word. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked (Luke 12:48).

Advantage: God holds the whole world equally accountable

3:9. 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.

What Paul says in the following verses underlines the tremendous advantage to having a solid spiritual heritage: God holds the whole world equally accountable. Paul tells us that the whole world is equally held under the bondage of sin. And, we can conclude, the whole world equally must come to Him in faith to receive His righteousness. Hughes comments on verse 9, "The force of the language here leaves no doubt about what is meant. The word is 'sin'- not 'sins'- and means 'the dynamic of sin,' and 'under' means 'under the power or dominion of.' Everyone in the world is under the power of the dynamic of sin!" (Hughes).

In the following verses we have the clearest, collective description of the depravity of man in Scripture. This isn't to say that we are as fallen as we will get. Tragically, human nature seems to demonstrate that there is always room for downward "deprovement."

It's appropriate to note, as Paul spoke to a very spiritually-minded crowd, that no matter how good people seem to be, they are still corrupt by nature and held equally accountable by God. "Turgenev, the Russian poet, caught it perfectly when he said, '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'" (Hughes).

Paul backs up his charge by using a technique of stringing a series of different passages together to give incontrovertible authority to his argument. It is a technique which literally means "stringing peals." But oh, these pearls are terrible pearls. He quotes six Old Testament passages, making fourteen convicting statements about the nature of man. He disrobes us by heralding the truth by declaring we are depraved in character, depraved in conduct, and depraved in cause.

1. Depraved in character (3:10-12).

3:10. There is no one righteous, not even one. We tend to use relative measurements for righteousness- relative to our perspective of what is right. But the measurement that God uses is His standard which has never been met save through one man- Jesus Christ. And none of us will ever meet that standard. God is very clear here- no one is righteous, not even one.

3:11. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. No one who understands what? God. His character and attributes. No matter how much insight we may gain as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of God's Word, our understanding falls short. It blinded by our sin nature. We don't have it in us to understand that which is opposite of us.

There is . . . no one who seeks God. What do you mean? "That is, no one by nature wants to know God. This is a verse which many Christians simply do not believe. Often we speak of someone we know who is 'really seeking after God.' That just is not so! The word translated 'seek' means 'to seek out,' implying a determined search.Mankind does not search for God or the truth. Rather, he suppresses it and finally turns to idolatry (1:18–23). There is one exception: if the Holy Spirit is truly working in one's heart, there is an authentic seeking" (Hughes).

2. Depraved in conduct (3:12-17).

3:12b. . . . there is no one who does good, not even one. Do you keep hearing these words? No one. Not even one. No one does good. "Obviously men do good things, but they do not do them consistently or profoundly. A good work must not only conform to the commandments of God, it must come from a heart committed to honoring him, and no one habitually does this" (Hughes).

The following verses catalog the corrupt and evil conduct of which we are all guilty. Verses 13 and 14 hit us at our most vulnerable area- our speech. All the lying, gossip, criticism, character assassination, small cuts, cursing and bitterness that comes our lips, comes from our hearts. No one does good, not even one.

Verses 15-17 catalog the corruption of our actions. It is like a condensed view of history. When Scripture talks about our feet it is often a metaphor for our approach to life. Collectively (and individually), we are swift to protect ourselves at the expense of others, even shedding innocent blood. Hughes observes, "Man's depravity is seen in his rush to violence. Will Durant wrote in his Lessons From History: '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. I wonder how much is being spent by the major nations today. Man loves violence!"

3. Depraved in cause (3:18-20). What is the cause? It is the same today as it was the day Paul penned these words. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Conclusion

As we consider these strong truths, we may ask ourselves, "What advantage is there, then, in having a strong spiritual heritage since are all equally condemned?" Let's look at the final phrase of our text: . . . through the law we become conscious of sin (3:20b). Our advantage is that we have God's Word. And through His Word, through the law, we are conscious of sin. What the word really means we have intimate knowledge of our sin (Wuest). The function of the law is to expose our sin. That is a tremendous advantage!

Those without this truth parade with the emperor in his new clothes. Look at me! Don't my clothes look great? My self-esteem is solid. My acts of charity are at least average. I'm a faithful friend and father. At least, more so than some people I know. I don't cheat on my taxes.

Hello! Is anyone willing to say it? The emperor has no clothes on!

But we who have God's Word, stand naked before God, exposed by the truth. No one is righteous, not even one. We are corrupt. Evil. Is there anyone here who can even say that they have not sinned since they got up this morning? No unkind words? No impure thoughts? No motives that came from any desire accept to bring glory to God? No unconfessed sins? No harbored grudges or unresolved relationship issues? No one is righteous, not even one.

Our advantage is in knowing the truth. And in knowing the truth we turn in faith to the only One who provides righteousness. Beginning to understand our desperate need, begins to magnify and exalt God. Like a burst of light, we clearly see that it does not depend on me- I am corrupt and evil. It can't possibly depend on me. It's all God! He is magnified! Yes, living to the praise of the glory of God makes sense!

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