All are Guilty Before God
Romans 3:9-20
In his book, A Primer in Justification, John H. Gerstner says he was once
speaking to a group of business people on justification, and there was a
journalist in attendance representing a local newspaper. Gerstner says, "I preached justification emphatically,
clearly, earnestly, and I hoped, persuasively. It was, therefore, rather
discouraging to learn from the newspaper account that I had spoken the night
before on the theme of ‘Just a vacation by faith'!"[1]
When our understanding of justification by faith is so feeble as to render it “just a vacation by faith,” we live oblivious
to the reality that God declares us all guilty
and the charge is just. But there is hope. God imposes the charge
against us with purpose.
Points that are repeated in the
scriptures are points that we would do well to heed. Consider the charge that is
repeated in verse 9: “We have already
made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.” The Greek verb translated “charge” is a forensic term, which
demands testimonies and other proofs.
All
humans are summoned before the tribunal of God and all are included all under
the same condemnation. Some
of the Jews to whom Paul wrote believed that because had been entrusted with
the word of God, they must hold favored status in God’s eyes. But no human
holds favored status with God apart from faith in Jesus Christ.
Maybe your family tree contains
church people or maybe just good citizens going back for generations. And maybe
you have followed suit: you are a genuinely good person. That is, you are good
as measured by worldly standards. Being associated with good people or being a
good person yourself is a good thing, but, as is often true in the rest of
life, blessings can come with a double edge.
On the positive edge are the
blessings afforded by our society for good people. It is valuable to live a
life of prominence in a world where we are judged on the basis of such things
as who we are. Generally speaking, prominent people benefit in the job market
and in the market place. Along with the blessing of impressive earthly
credentials comes the danger of believing that mere goodness, whether your own
or that of others, impresses God.
Actress Reese Witherspoon describes the benefit
of attending church: She says "I was
raised going to church every Sunday, and I go to church most Sundays with my
kids. For me, where I'm at in my career, so many people want to put you in a
place that you're not real and treat you like you're not real. For me it's a
great experience of grounding, and I stand next to people who have nothing and
who have everything, and we all treat each other the same, because we all are
the same.”[2]
I really don’t know what she meant by
that, but there is a kernel of truth in it and I want to grasp it: we all are the
same.” God’s charge places all
under God’s holy scrutiny, which is God’s perception of goodness. No
matter who we are, no matter how good we might perceive ourselves to be, no
matter what our social status, whether Jew or Gentile, white or black, Iraqi or
American, we are all under the same charge and the verdict is the same: guilty
as charged.
Isaiah 28:17: God says, “I will make ... righteousness the
plumb line.”
When God examines us against the plumb line of God’s righteous character, God proves
that his charge is just that we are all under sin.
That is what Paul means when he says,
“There is no one righteous, not even one;”
There is no one who stands straight
with the plumb line of God’s righteous character. When Billy Graham
stands before the plumb line, “God will say,
“There is no one righteous…” When Biblical scholars such as John Calvin,
Martin Luther, and Karl Barth stand before the plumb line, God will say, “There is no one righteous…” It means
that when Mother Teresa with all her sacrificial living stands before the test
of God’s plumb line - “God will say,
“There is no one righteous…” When you and I stand before the plumb line of
God’s righteous character, God will say,
“There is no one righteous…”
Except for
an act of God, all would be condemned to eternal separation from God. It means that God’s charge is just because we really aren’t
holy as God is holy. And that is seen clearly in the light of God’s
righteousness.
A story is
told of 19th century preacher, Charles Spurgeon, who was once confronted
by a man who claimed to be 'without sin'. Intrigued, the preacher invited him
home to dinner. After hearing the man’s claims, he picked up his glass of water
and threw it in the man's face. Understandably, the visitor was highly
indignant and expressed himself very forcefully to the preacher about his lack
of courtesy. To which the wise preacher replied, “Ah, you see, the old man
within you is not dead. He had simply fainted and could be revived with a glass
of water!”[3]
Because we
still possess that old sin nature, none of us are ever “all good”. Therefore, Paul says that we have become
worthless. We have become worthless to God for God’s glory, worthless for
accomplishing the purpose for our having been created. Our unrighteous lives
have no potential for glorifying God.
God’s
charge is impartial in that ALL fall under the same charge. And God’s charge is
just in that all humans really do fall short of God’s glory.
Some view the law of God as a list of legalistic do’s and
don’ts which have no purpose other than to make life difficult and miserable.
But, in truth, God’s law is an
expression of God’s grace because it reveals to us God’s character; the
righteousness of God, the very plumb line by which we are measured. God calls
us through the law to give up our excuses, alibis, and defenses.
And that is
what is meant by “every mouth may be
silenced”. In this courtroom scene, you and I, the defendants, stand
guilty before God and the evidence is so great overwhelming that we are
speechless. The evidence reveals actions or attitudes
that have broken God’s law and we may not have known it or we have justified
it.
God is speaking to you who may be depending upon who you are, where you
are from, or upon your ability to perform to overcome the charge that has been
levied against you. God says, “Give it up.” “…no one will be declared righteous in [my] sight by observing the law.”
Just before
the death of actor W.C. Fields, a friend visited Fields' hospital room and was
surprised to find him thumbing through a Bible. When asked what he was doing
with a Bible, Fields replied, "I'm looking for loopholes."[4]
Some are
hoping for loopholes in God’s charge against them. God says, “There are no
loopholes in my charge. I have an air tight case against you. There are no plea
bargains, no deals to be made apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Apart from faith in Jesus Christ, God declares
us “Unrighteous” and says, “Away from me you evil doer.”
Yet, God, in
an act of grace, has intervened into our helplessness. “… through the law we become conscious of sin.”
God has given
to humanity the plumb line in advance that we might compare ourselves to it.
God’s law defines God’s character and declares all of us guilty of falling
short of the character of God. God, in his grace, has given his law to make us
conscious of the reality that we do not measure up. “Give it up. Your
efforts are helpless. You are human. God alone is God. You possess sin-tainted
human character. I alone possess the unblemished character of God, the only
character that will overcome the charge against you.” Look to my Jesus
Christ and embrace him. He is God’s righteousness. He is God’s perfect
character.”
Paul says, “no one will be declared righteous in
his sight by observing the law”. He does not say, embrace Jesus and you
will become righteous. He talks about, being “declared” righteous,
not that you are righteous, nor that you become righteous, but that Christ’s
righteousness is applied to you when, by faith, you trust in him. That is
justification by faith.
And with that,
allow me to ask, “Are you under law or are you in Christ?” There is no
other place to be: you are either in Christ or under law. If you are depending
upon who you are, where you are from or upon your performance to measure up to
the plumb line of God’s perfect character, you are under law and will retain
the verdict of guilty as charged.
However, if by
his grace God has made you conscious of your inability to overcome the charge under
law and has drawn you to himself through faith in Jesus Christ, you are not
under law, but under grace. To you, God says, “Being connected to me through
faith in my Son, I declare you righteous on the basis of his righteousness.
Come in and share my life eternally.”
God’s charge
is impartial. We are all on level ground at the foot of the cross.
God’s charge
is also just in that all humans fall short of God’s glory.
God’s charge is purposeful. Even as
we stand before God guilty as charged, by grace God gives us his law by which we
see our sin in the light of God’s perfection. The purpose is that we might
recognize our sinfulness and kneel before the cross of Christ. Are you under
law or are you in Christ under grace? Amen.
SERMON CREDITS
FEBRUARY 24, 2008
[1]. “In his
book, A Primer in Justification, John
H. Gerstner says...” – Attributed to “Illusaurus” in a sermon by Max Dunnam
titled “Justified By What?” at
eSermons.com
2. “Actress Reese Witherspoon ...” – Attributed to
“Peter T. Chattaway, ‘The Man in Black,’ Christianitytodaymovies.com
(11-15-05)” at
http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/search.html?query=favor&type=keyword&filter=&tone=
3. “Ah, you see, the old man within you is not
dead. He had simply fainted...” - Attributed to “The Message of John's Letters,
David Jackman, p. 36.” at www.fbcstilwell.org
4. “Just before the death of actor W.C. Fields...” –Attributed
to “Source Unknown” at eSermons. com
[1] “In his book, A
Primer in Justification, John H. Gerstner says...” – Attributed to “Illusaurus” in a sermon by Max Dunnam titled
“Justified By What?” at eSermons.com
[2] “Actress Reese Witherspoon
...” – Attributed to “Peter T. Chattaway, ‘The Man in Black,’
Christianitytodaymovies.com (11-15-05)” at
http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/search.html?query=favor&type=keyword&filter=&tone=
[3]“Ah, you see, the old man within you is not dead. He
had simply fainted...” - Attributed
to “The Message of John's Letters, David Jackman, p. 36.” at www.fbcstilwell.org
[4]“Just before the death of actor W.C. Fields...” –
Attributed to “Source Unknown” at
www.eSermons.com