Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. What then? I some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ” That thou lightest be justified in thy words, and lightest prevail when thou art judge. ” Romans 3:1-4
Have you ever heard the phrase “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Are you a person who wants the bad news first or wants the good news?
Read Romans 3:9-20. Sin enter the world when Adam and Eve chose to give in to temptation and disobey God. Since then they have passed down the tendency toward sin that everyone is born knowing how to do it. We battle the flesh and sin nature. Paul used Hebrew scripture to prove his point about sin. Read Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 140:3, Psalm 10:7, and Isaiah 59:7-8. Compare these passages with Romans 3:9-20. What phrases or statements correspond?
Paul drew his illustrations right from the Hebrew Scripture of the Old Testament. Did you notice the mention of body parts and how they relate to sin? The tongue, mouth, heart, and even feet are associated with sin. I would say so far Paul is giving us the bad news of sin. Let’s recap what we know so far.
- Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve
- We are prone to sin
- Our problem is not just a knowledge issue – Jesus could have came and given that to us
- Only a savior could pay the penalty of sin and free us
The sacrificial system of the Israelites shows that only a perfect blood sacrifice could only atone their sins. Read Leviticus 17:11 and Hebrews 9:22. Jesus says he is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. If you ever wonder why God’s only option was sacrificing His son! Jesus was/is perfect in every way. We are His beloved creation and we have great value. Jesus is our Good News!!
Read Romans 3:21-31. Now think about this. We can be good people all of our lives and do what’s right and not believe in God and then a murderer, a rapist, etc. chooses to believe in Christ by faith. He would go to heaven, but the good person wouldn’t. This is a hard thing to swallow, huh!!! There are hard things to understand, however, God can handle our doubt and our hang-ups. We can go to him and seek him and ask our hard questions. Look at verse 23, it says we ALL FALL SHORT of the glory of God. None of us can meet the mark on our own, we need to have Jesus Christ. Faith is enough. This is the Good News that changes everything. Jesus’s death and resurrection bridge the gap between God and sin. Jesus impacts our every day lives.
What about the people in the past? The old testament wasn’t a mistake that God scrapped because it didn’t work. The first covenant was a foreshadow and pointed to Jesus. The men and women of the first covenant believed by faith that the coming Messiah, the Christ, was coming. Righteousness was credited to them.
Wow!! and this was the first three chapters of Romans!!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your forgiveness to all mankind. Thank you for your grace and mercy. I pray that we will choose you by faith. I pray that we will seek you and your truth. Speak to our hearts of what you want each of us to know.
In Jesus Name
Amen
