Diagnosis and Cure

Romans 3:9-20

None is righteous…

1. Have no other gods before God. We break this one every time we find something or someone more worthy of our trust, time, energy, money, talent. etc. than God. Looks like we’re all idolaters.
2. Don’t make things that you bow down and serve. We might be okay with this one, unless you consider our technology something we’ve made and bow to/serve, such as responding to the demands of our iPhone when it rings or looking to Facebook for comfort when we’re stressed…
3. Don’t speak God’s name as though it’s empty and meaningless. If you’ve ever done that, you’re a blasphemer like me.
4. Remember to keep a Sabbath day for resting from work. Ever ignore this one? Disobedience.
5. Honor your father and mother. Ever ignore this one? Rebelliousness.
6. Don’t murder people. Most haven’t murdered anyone. But remember, Jesus said that hating someone is equally sinful. (Matthew 6:21-26)
7. Don’t commit adultery. Some of you have done this and for those who haven’t, remember Jesus said that looking lustfully is equally sinful. (Matthew 6:27-30)
8. Don’t steal. You know you’ve stolen something in your life, thief.
9. Don’t say false stuff about people. Yup, you’re a slanderer too. Just like me.
10. Don’t covet people’s stuff. Enough said.

Maybe you think this list of rules is outdated. Well, Jesus gave an updated summary of God’s law and boiled it down to the top two. (Matthew 22:37-40)

1. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Ouch. People don’t love God. Even those who love what they get from him could usually do without him if they could still get their blessings.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself. Ouch again. Most of what passes for love is really selfishness. If someone stops meeting our needs (desires) we drop ’em like a hot potato.

But maybe you don’t buy into any of this law talk and you feel like you’re a pretty dog-gone good person. Try this test I’m stealing from Tim Keller. Pretend it’s judgment day and God says that he’s going to give you the fairest judgment you can imagine. He’s not going to bring his law into it at all. Instead, he’s only going to judge you on the standards of behavior you’ve expected from other people… How would you do?

Words
Paul goes on to say a lot of other stuff to prove our sin problem, but the most interesting to me is found in verses 13-14. Why does he transition from these big, bold statements about our general sinfulness to something so mundane and specific as our speech?

Jesus said that what comes out of our mouths is the overflow of what’s in our hearts. So our words are a good indicator of our true selves. So what does Paul have to say about it:

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.

Take the deception part. Deception is shaping a person’s perception of reality to something untrue. This can be as simple as speaking sweetly to someone, causing them to perceive that you really like them, when in reality they annoy you. Ever done this? It’s deception.

But, you say, would it be better for me to openly curse them or treat them badly? No. But we have to realize that the deception is no better than the cursing. It’s all sin and it all hurts people. So what we really need is to change so that we both speak truthfully about our feelings and our feelings are good.

And you can’t accomplish that, can you? Neither can I. Because knowing what we should do doesn’t solve our problem. Like a man with broken legs trying to run, we’re incapable of righteousness. We need Help.

Discussion Starters

1. What is sin? How do non-Christians view sin? How does it compare to what the Bible teaches about it?
2. What is the difference between sinning and being under sin? (See Romans 6:16-23)
3. How should the fact that no one seeks for God influence the way we minister to people?
4. Why does Paul emphasize speech so much in verses 13-14? (See Matthew 12:33-37)
5. How have you typically viewed the law? It is surprising that one of it’s primary functions is to reveal sin, not cure it? How will this distinction affect your efforts to evangelize and grow in holiness?