Romans 3:9-20
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being[c] will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Paul has just refuted the objection that a gospel of grace negates the point of religious affiliation by showing the profit in knowing the bible and living accordingly. To avoid going astray on the other side with thinking that somehow there is an inherent excellence coming from religious affiliation Paul demonstrates that even the most religious are still in need of salvation. Showing us our need for a savior is the function of the Scriptures.
There is a great advantage in having the Scriptures and being part of a believing community. Does this mean that we are less in need of or more deserving of God’s grace? Paul poses this as a rhetorical question as an opportunity to summarize what he has said so far. Everyone is subject to the law of sin and death, and lost in sin, in need of salvation.
Paul is now balancing his argument that being Jewish has great advantages with a demonstration from the Scriptures that the Jews are as lost in sin as the Gentiles. Paul uses his knowledge of Scripture to demonstrate that the very book the Jews used as evidence of God’s favor towards them also spelled out clearly their culpability as lawbreakers. Whatever arguments may be made, the Scriptures are always the basis which we build from and return to. Paul demonstrates this even as he is writing Scripture he is basing his writing on the previously established Scriptures.
What Paul writes is a compilation pulled from several books of the Old Testament. This could be using a fallacy called prooftexting, where a verse or line of Scripture is pulled out of context and used to make a point that could not be made by that verse or line if it was read in context. However, the verses Paul uses can all be referenced and checked against their context to verify their proper usage. Paul is encouraging his reader to be like the Bereans and double check his assertions by searching out the scriptures to see if what he says is true.
So what are the verses Paul is referencing here?
Psalm 51:1-3
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
There is no one who does good.
God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there is anyone who understands,
Who seeks after God.
Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
Psalm 14:1-3
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;
There is no one who does good.
The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek God.
They have all turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
Indeed, there is not a righteous person on earth who always does good and does not ever sin.
Psalm 5:9
For there is nothing trustworthy in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They flatter with their tongue.
Psalm 140:3
They sharpen their tongues like a snake;
The venom of a viper is under their lips.
Proverbs 1:16
For their feet run to evil,
And they are quick to shed blood.
Isaiah 59:7-8
Their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing,
Psalm 36:1
Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
Every single one of these is worth looking up and reading the whole chapter. Doing so will help flesh out what was in Paul’s mind when he wrote Romans. And there are many similar passages that could have also informed Paul’s description here.
What Paul is getting at is that these scriptures were written by Jews to Jews for their education and not for their salvation, which is found in Christ alone. Everyone who affirms the authority of Scripture is still accountable to God for their own sin. The rule following of religious practice, no matter how ardently adhered to, has no power to justify our sin before God. What the Law is designed to do is to point out our need for a savior.
In this section what Paul has taught us is that upstanding religious folk have no advantage over anyone else when it comes to needing salvation. Christians, cultural, traditional, conservative, reformed, Pentecostal or what have you, are all sinners in need of a savior. The Bible makes this point clearly in every book in every story in every way it can. Following all the rules or “being good” does not and cannot save us. What the rules do is make us aware of our need for Jesus.
brotherpayne 