You Must Realize Your Own Sinfulness
Thinking about Romans 3:9-18.
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. (Romans 3:9-18)
In this section we are studying, Paul pulls in several Old Testament passages to make his point: the Jews are guilty of sin and “under sin” the same as the Gentiles.
In Romans 3:10-12, Paul pulls from Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3 and Ecclesiastes 7:20.
In Romans 3:13-14, Paul pulls from Psalms 5:9; 140:3 and 10:7.
In Romans 3:15-17, Paul pulls from Isaiah 59:7-8 and Proverbs 1:16.
In Romans 3:18, Paul pulls from Psalm 36:1.
Although the Jews had advantages, it did not make them superior to the Gentiles. They, too, were under the harsh taskmaster of sin.
Why this picture of the Jewish people?
Paul used the Scriptures to demonstrate their sinfulness.
All their functions are contaminated with sin. Their throats, tongues, eyes, feet, lips and hands are declared as instruments of sin. So that in this whole section we have the universality of sin stressed and the complete penetration of sin. We are being told that: “according to the Scriptures the whole Jewish nation is guilty and they are thoroughly guilty!” - McGuiggan, Romans, 115-116
Just as the Gentiles had the truth about God and chose to suppress that truth (Romans 1:18-21), so the Jews had the Scriptures and still “turned aside” from God.
Why is Paul going to such great lengths to drive this point home to the Jews?
If the Jews believed themselves to be superior to the Gentiles…
Because they had the Law and thus could sit as judges over the Gentiles, which they thought showed they were “better.”
Because God had given them circumcision, which they thought demonstrated their superiority.
…then why would they need the same “good news” as the Gentiles? Also, because they misunderstood the point of the Law of Moses, some Jews were teaching Gentile Christians, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).
To remove this thinking from the Jewish mind, Paul has to hammer home the point that they are not superior to the Gentiles at all - and the Scriptures taught that!
We must keep in mind that Paul’s design was to stress the NEED for Christ and the gospel. The NEED is seen in the inability of man, separate and apart from Christ, to meet and satisfy the demands of righteousness. - Wacaster, Studies in Romans, 112
Paul shows the truth that everyone is on the same level - all are “under sin.” Since everyone has made themselves a “slave to sin,” everyone needs the same good news.
Where would you be without Jesus Christ?
Whether we lived a relatively moral life or not, we would all be hopelessly lost without Jesus Christ. Because we have sinned, we could not stand before God in judgment and receive any other verdict than “Guilty" without Christ.
If you think, “Well, I’m a pretty good person, and God knows that,” that doesn’t matter. You have sinned - which means you are guilty, and the penalty is death (Romans 6:23).
So - you and I need the gospel of Christ, which is God’s power to save or deliver us (Romans 1:16-17).
Without Christ, you and I would be lost in our sins.