Phil really didn't know what he needed. He knew that he had a spiritual problem, but he didn't know what to do about it. And he didn't know who to talk to about it, either. His wife, Kim, had the same spiritual problem, but she found what she needed when she responded to the good news of Christ. The gospel pointed her to her greatest need and to Jesus, who alone could meet it. She received Christ, and He saved her.

When Kim shared the gospel with Phil, however, he didn't think the good news of Christ would do him any good. Rejecting the gospel, he kept on looking in other directions in search of the spiritual help he needed.

Like Phil, many people reject the gospel, and for a variety of reasons. But like Kim, many others have heard the gospel and embraced it. We became Christians by giving our lives to Christ. As believers, we continue to respond in gratitude to God for the good news of Christ that changed our lives. We devote ourselves to living out our faith in Christ daily.

Paul had something to say about the gospel in his letter to the Romans. He asserted that everyone needed to respond to it and give themselves to Jesus Christ. In Romans 3, he answered some important questions about his assertion.

BACKGROUND PASSAGE OVERVIEW

Paul continued to make his point from the previous chapter that Jewish people needed to receive Christ. He anticipated an important question about the advantage of being Jewish, and he answered it by affirming one unique privilege. God had entrusted the people of Israel with His spoken words. Of course, some of them didn't believe God's words, but their rejection didn't have a negative effect on His faithfulness. Paul asserted that God would always be truthful and His words would always justify Him.

Then Paul anticipated other questions. One had to do with God's judgment. Is God wrong for judging people whose sinfulness puts His righteousness in such a positive light? Paul answered with a resolute No! Another question involved God's judgment of the people whose sins seemed to promote His glory. If the lies they tell highlight the truth of God in a way that brings glory to Him, why does God still judge them as sinners? The question nurtures the idea that our evil gives God a chance to display His goodness. Paul answered with a stern warning. People who accepted such a slanderous idea deserved the condemnation they would receive.

Next, Paul provided the only possible conclusion to the debate over the advantage of being Jewish. Like Gentiles, Jewish people would b e judged for their sins. He supported his conclusion with several Old Testament references. They affirmed that no one is righteous and that everyone has turned away from God. The references to “our mouths” demonstrate that we show our unrighteousness by what we say, “our feet” that we show disobedience by what we do. “Our eyes” show that we do not fear God at all. Moreover, Paul pointed out that Jewish people were accountable for the law God had given them. The law continued to show them that they could not live according to God's standard. Consequently, the law led them to the certain conclusion that they were sinners.

Paul continued to introduce his mission to the Roman Christians by writing about the gospel. He insisted that Jewish and Gentile people alike needed to be given an opportunity to hear it. His insistence raised some questions about being Jewish. One of them had to do with God's faithfulness.

STUDY QUESTIONS 1.Which Old Testament passage did Paul use to support his explanation of God's faithfulness?(Romans 3:4)
2.What claim had people been making about he fairness of God's judgment?(3:8)
3.What was Paul's final answer to the question about the advantage of being Jewish?(3:9)
4. To whom does the law speak in what it says? (3:19)

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLES AND READ ROMANS 3:1-4

Romans 3 1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

VERSES 1 ~ In the previous chapter of his letter, Paul had stated that being associated with Old Testament Israel or being circumcised could not make a person right with God. He anticipated that someone would reply to him with a question about the advantage of being Jewish. After all, the people in Paul's day had been led to believer that being Jewish meant having a privileged relationship with God.

VERSE 2 Paul identified one unique privilege that Jewish people enjoyed. God had entrusted His spoken words to them. While everyone else could only hear about God from a distance, the people of Israel could listen to Him personally. His words lived among them and resonated in their culture. Such a rare privilege set them apart from everyone else.

VERSE 3 ~ Of course, some people in Israel refused to believe God's words. Did their rejection suggest that God's words were not trustworthy? Paul anticipated that someone would say that a person's lack of faith in God's word would shed a negative light on God's faithfulness.

VERSE 4 ~ Paul's assertion about God's faithfulness is still a bedrock conviction for Christians today. God will remain true even if every person in the world turns out to be a liar. Paul also cited Psalm 51:4, in which David confessed that God would have the last word and that He would be right about anything He said. (See study question 1).

As people hear the gospel, some of them give themselves to Jesus. But others reject the gospel. Their rejection does not cast doubt on God's faithfulness to save anyone who responds to the gospel by receiving Christ.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLES AND READ (ROMANS 3:5-8)

5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

VERSE 5 ~ Paul anticipated another set of questions about the advantage of being Jewish. These questions would come from people who argued that their unrighteousness did God a favor. It served as an ugly backdrop against which people could see the beauty of God's righteousness. The darkness of their sinful behavior made the grace and goodness of God shine that much brighter before the world. They reasoned that they were doing God a favor by continuing to sin. That's why they thought He was unfair to inflict wrath on them.

VERSE 6 ~ Paul didn't mince words in responding to their line of reasoning. We can almost see him pound his fist on a table in an outrage as he exclaimed, “Absolutely not!” He followed his resolute answer with a logical question about God's judgment. How, then, could god be honorable and truthful in His judgment of the world? Their line of reasoning went against God's clear teaching about how He deals with sin in judgment.

VERSES 7-8 ~ Paul continued to answer the question that he anticipated about God's judgment of sin. Is god being fair with us when He judges our sin? After all, our sin makes God look that much better. They argued that it shed a most positive light on His grace and goodness.

Paul referred to the argument he knew that would present. If god is glorified through our sin, then we should do more evil things so more of God's goodness can come our way. Apparently some people had already reached that conclusion. And other people were using it to make slanderous claims about god's relationship with His people. (See study question 2). Paul judged that they deserved the condemnation they would receive for what they said.

With the answer Paul gave, he showed that god is fair in His judgment. His answer also implied that the gospel of Christ offers the only way for us to get ready for it.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLES AND READ ROMANS 3:9-12,18

9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
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18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

VERSE 9 ~ Having answered the anticipated questions about the advantage of being Jewish, Paul moved on to the central question. Where Jewish people any better than Gentiles? Of course, his answer was the same as before (2:6-11). Everyone lives under sin. (See study question 3). God holds both Jews and Gentiles accountable for their sins in the same way. As Paul had written earlier, god does not show favoritism..

VERSE 10 ~ In order to place his answer to the question on sound footing, Paul consulted the Scriptures. He underscored a series of Old Testament passages that supported the truth that all people everywhere are sinners. The first passage Paul referred to is Psalm 14:1-3. The same quotation is also found in Psalm 53:1-3. The point of both quotations is crystal clear. Not one righteous person can be found in all the world.

VERSE 11 ~ The description of people offered in the series of quotations does not appear to be complimentary at all. But the description is correct. For instance, if people actually understand that god holds them accountable for their sin, they would not be so eager to cultivate sinful lifestyles. But how can they understand such a spiritual reality? They can only understand it when they see themselves in the presence of God. The sad fact, however, is that they do not seek Him or try to live in His presence.

VERSE 12 ~ People look elsewhere in search of what a relationship with God alone can give them. In turning away from Him, they pay an awful price. They never become the people god intends them to be. Instead of being productive and full filing, their lives can only be described as useless. Nothing good could come from them.

VERSE 18 ~ Their sinfulness also affects their attitude toward God. They simply have no respect for Him and no interest in knowing Him personally.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLES AND READ ROMANS 3:19-20

19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them 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 there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

VERSE 19 ~ These Old Testament passages give us a sobering portrayal of the wreckage that sin causes in a person's life. For that reason, they also remind us that everyone needs to hear the good news of Christ. The gospel is the only answer for the question of sin in anyone's life. Likewise, the gospel gives us the only appropriate response we can make when we consider god's Judgment.

Paul made that point clear as he continued to chip away at the Jewish notion of partiality. He had Jewish people in mind when he referred to individuals who were subject to the law. Such people cannot assume that god considers them to be righteous simply because they are associated with Old Testament Israel. They are subject to God's judgment like everyone else and are judged by the same standards. If their assumption prompts them to proclaim their righteousness, their mouths will be shut when they stand before god's judgment throne. There all of their talk of self-righteousness will be hushed. (See study question 4).

VERE 20 ~ In their spiritual blindness, they thought the law would show god that they were righteous people. They considered themselves righteous because they worked so hard to live out the law they had been given by God. They convinced themselves that when God judged them, He would be pleased with the work they had done to live according to the law.

The law is important, but not because of what it shows God about us. It's important because of what it shows us about ourselves. The law of god shows us our sin. It's like a mirror. When we look into it, we see ourselves as we really are, not as we would like to be seen. We see ourselves as sinners who could never do enough to make ourselves right with God. Accordingly, we also see the need to respond to the gospel by giving our lives to Christ.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Phil didn't see the need to give his life to Christ. But Kim embraced the gospel when she heard it. People like Phil and Kim are all around us. All people everywhere need to give themselves to Christ when they hear the gospel. Some of them respond to it positively, and you may be one of them. However, others reject it.

As Paul answered the people's questions about sin and the gospel, he also gave us some helpful ways to affirm the gospel in our lives once we have responded to it and given our lives to Christ.

* We can trust the good news of Christ to reach people even when many of them reject it.
* We can rest in the certainty that God is fair when He judges sinful behavior.
* We can ask God to open the eyes of the people around us to the reality of their sin.
* We can share with people that all of us are accountable to God for our lives.