Romans
3:13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced
deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; 14
"Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet
are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And
the way of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God
before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to
those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh
will be justified in His sight, for by...
Romans
3:13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced
deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; 14
"Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet
are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And
the way of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God
before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to
those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh
will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
- We see the
Wickedness of the tongue of man in v 13-14
V13
This expresses the filth of human speech and the rottenness that comes from
within as a grave is sealed to keep the stench or smell in.
They
have practiced deceit: They lie and cheat and show themselves to be sons of the
devil who is the father of all lies
John 8:44 "You are of
your father the devil, and the
desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
The
poison of asps: They lie about their neighbors and ruin their good names
Asps
are small and so is the tongue, yet they cause much harm to those who feel
their bite
V14
Cursing refers to wanting the worst for someone, expressing it publicly in
nasty derogatory or cutting language
Bitterness
is the public expression of open hostility towards ones enemy
James
3:2-12 - Even the saved sometimes have problems controlling the tongue
- The
Wickedness of the Conduct of Man v15-17
V15
The words are cited from #Isa 59:7, and seem to point at the times of
Manasseh, who shed so much innocent blood, as to fill Jerusalem with it from
one end to the other. - No regard for life
V16
The word destruction means to rub together or crush and it shows that they live
only to destroy others and make them as miserable as they are
V17
the ways of peace they have not known: They are constantly fighting and in
their lives are in turmoil (the dictionary describes this as confused motion)
they don't know what they are doing.
A man
is never more miserable than when he is a slave to his sins, it is its own
punishment.
NO
God, No Peace, Know God and Know Peace
V18
No fear of God:
Proverbs
1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction
A
Man's true spiritual condition is seen very clearly by the fact that he doesn’t
have a proper submission and reverence for God. Biblical fear consists of an
awe of God’s greatness and glory and the dread of the results of the
consequences of ignoring God's Holiness.
- The
Wickedness of Man Condemned v19
V19 1st
a man is convicted by the Law. The standard is complete perfection. The
evidence against man is overwhelming. We cannot keep the Law
2nd
Man is condemned by the Law:
Romans
3:2 The Jews have the written law of God, which came by Moses
The Gentiles have the law
of God written on their Hearts
Romans 2:15 who show the work of the law
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between
themselves their thoughts accusing or
else excusing them) 16 in the day
when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
- The
Wickedness of the Works of Man
V20
The standard is complete perfection: No man can keep all the commandments
perfectly,
The
law was written to show us our need for a Savior
Galatians 3:10 For as many
as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written,
"Cursed is everyone who does not
continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do
them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall
live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does
them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
You see no one ever saw
the evil of human nature more clearly than Paul did; yet this evil was not a
call to hopelessness but a challenge to hope. Paul believed in original sin and
the depravity of human nature. But that doesn't mean he despaired of human
nature.
Once when William Jay of
Bath was an old man he said my memory is failing but there are two things I
shall never forget, that I am a great sinner and Jesus Christ is a great
Savior.
Paul never underestimated
the sin of man and he never underestimated the redeeming power of Jesus Christ
Once when William Roby was
preaching he despaired because of his lack of success and wished to quit
preaching. Mr. DL Moody reproved him when he asked him are they then too bad to
be saved. Paul believed that no man was too bad to be saved. If Christ could do
it for him he could do it for any man.
