You have heard me say before
that if I were asked by someone where or what to read in God's
Word in order to have a clear understanding of the truth, I
would without hesitation tell them to read the book of Romans
and a King James translation of Romans. Now, though Paul,
the Apostle Paul, is the writer, yet it is truly the inspired
Word of God Almighty, inerrant, infallible, and without argument.
And the book of Romans is very forthright, very clear, very
plain. And this passage in chapter 3,
which we will be looking at, Romans chapter 3, this portion
of God's Word, as with all of God's Word, very clearly sets
forth the truth, the truth of salvation, the truth of who God
is, what man is, and how man is accepted or able to live with
God. Now, it's impossible not to see
the truth here in this passage, but it is only to be rejected
by those who hear it. It's impossible not to see it
clearly. In Romans chapter 3, verse 28,
the Apostle Paul concludes what he has just said in three chapters
by saying, verse 28, we conclude, therefore we conclude that a
man, and any time it says a man, it means a man, woman, young
person, every son of Adam, therefore we conclude that a man is justified
that is, declared innocent by God, holy, righteous, approved
by God, justified by faith, that is, believing Christ alone, by
faith, without the deeds of the law. He says, We conclude that
any person is justified, or that he is declared holy and righteous
and approved by God by faith, completely by trusting Christ
alone, without the deeds of the law, without that person keeping
the law. Did you hear that? Completely
justified by another. And Paul said in another place,
It's impossible. It is impossible. All right,
that's the conclusion of the truth. But let's go back now
here in chapter 3 and see what this clearly says. And as I said,
this is impossible not to see this. The problem is not with
God's Word. The problem is in the will and
the heart of unbelievers, that they will not believe the truth. They will not have it. Chapter
3 establishes universal guilt. Romans chapter 3 establishes
the absolute guilt of every human being born upon this earth. Universal guilt. Verse 19, Romans
3, verse 19, and I read, Now we know that what things soever the law
saith, the law being God's Word, what things soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law, and that's every human
being born on this earth, born under the law. Alright, I continue
to read, verse 19. 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
or subject to the judgment of God. Every mouth, he says, must
be stopped or shut. No argument, no self-justification. And we're good at that, justifying
ourselves. But it's not those who justify
themselves or commend themselves, but only those who God justifies. All right, he says we're guilty,
guilty as charged as in a court of law. We stand before the law
of God as in a court of law. This does not ask our opinion
or so-and-so's interpretation. We are either it asks us either
a yes or no answer. Are you guilty or not? Now, I
remind you what the Apostle John said in his epistle in 1 John. Chapter 1, verse 8. 1 John 1,
verse 8. He says, If we say we have no
sin, that is, that there's no sin in us. 1 John 1, verse 8. If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We don't know the truth. Now
Romans chapter 1, if you want, as I said, read the book of Romans.
Romans chapter 1 addresses the irreligious. Romans chapter 1
addresses all those who are, you might call them irreligious,
unchurched or whatever, that they're guilty before God. Romans
chapter 2 addresses all those religious people. You might call
them the churchgoers, whoever it may be. In Paul's day, he
was addressing the scribes, the Pharisees. In chapter 2, the
religious, he said they're guilty too. Before a holy God. Now, here's the key. Before a
holy God, an all-seeing God. This book, you see, the book
of Romans, yea, the whole Bible, lays every son of Adam, religious
or irreligious, lays them in the dust, guilty as charged,
at the feet of a just and holy, all-seeing, all-knowing God. Dare anyone plead their works
or their goodness before this all-seeing, all-knowing God?
Dare anyone say they are without sin? And 1 John 1 verse 10 says
that if you say you have not sinned, you make God a liar. That's before you're saved or
after you're saved, people. If we say we have no sin and
it's not in us, that we have not sinned, we're calling God
a liar. Now, we're either guilty or we're
not. All right? Romans chapter 3 absolutely,
beyond the shadow of a doubt, establishes the universal guilt
of every human being. All right, chapter 3 establishes
also the universal inability of man to make himself holy or
to save himself or make himself righteous or acceptable to an
all-seeing, all-knowing God. Verse 20, read with me. Romans
chapter 3, verse 20, is irrefutable, without argument, without debate.
Verse 20 says, Therefore, Seeing that we are guilty, every mouth
must be stopped. All the world is guilty, subject
to the judgment of God. Therefore, verse 20, by the deeds
of the law, by the keeping of the law, there shall no flesh
be justified in God's sight. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. The purpose of the law is for
the knowledge of sin. Did you hear that? By the deeds
of the law, no flesh shall be justified in God's sight. Now Paul said in Galatians chapter
4, the whole book of Galatians is addressed to those who go
back to the law or think that they are keeping the law, any
law. He says in Galatians 4 verse
21, those who desire to be under the law. Tell me, you that desire
to be under the law. Don't you hear it? Do you not
hear the absolute, holy, strict standard of God's law? Christ
said in His Sermon on the Mount, to even be angry is to be guilty. To think evil is to be guilty. To even think evil, covetousness
is idolatry. What human being has not and
is not at times covetous. Tell me, would you tell me? Be
honest with yourself. Now the law requires, God's law
requires perfection in thought and motive as well as outward
deeds. And God looks on the heart And
James, listen to James in James chapter 2 verse 10, he said to
offend in one point is to be guilty of breaking the whole
law because sin is against God. All sin, every sin is a transgression
of the law. God wrote the law and transgress
any point of it is to be guilty of sinning against God. Now,
listen to me, listen very carefully. All of man's concepts of holiness
are all wrong. All of what most think as holiness
is all wrong. Paul addressed this many times.
Touch not, taste not, handle not. You've heard them. I've
never done this. I've never done that. I don't
smoke. I don't drink. The kingdom of
God is not in meat and drink. And you don't get there by not
doing this and not doing that. Well, I dress this way. I dress
that way. I've never worn this. I've always
worn that. I look this way. I look that
way. And that is highly esteemed among
men. That is esteemed as holiness
by most men. But Scripture says it's an abomination
to God. That which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination to God Almighty. Why? Because it's
self-righteousness. It is the leaven of the Pharisees,
which our Lord said, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.
One little bit of self-righteousness will damn you. The self-righteous Pharisees
prided themselves in the way they looked, their appearance,
prided themselves in what they abstained from, prided themselves
in what they did, their deeds, their doings of the law, their
keeping of the law, how they were separate from sinners. And you know, many even make
faith a work. Many make faith a work. They
call faith a choice of their own will, a decision which they
made, that they one day allowed God to be to save them. They let God save them. They let Jesus into their heart. He couldn't get in unless they
opened the door for Him. So therefore, they get a little
credit, don't they? No, they don't. That's not faith,
and what that is is self-righteousness. Faith is not even a work. No,
no. Now look at verse 21. I continue
to read in Romans 3, verse 21. But now, He established the universal
guilt in verse 19. Our universal guilt, religious
or irreligious. Verse 20, our universal inability
by the deeds of the law, no flesh be justified. Verse 21, but now
the righteousness of God, that is the holiness of God, the acceptance
of God, salvation with God. Eternal life with God, the righteousness
of God without the law, without us keeping the law, is manifested,
made clear, being witnessed, even the law witnesses it, he
said, and the prophet. It's the righteousness, verse
22, the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ
unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no different.
Jew, Gentile, religious or irreligious. It is by the faith of Jesus Christ
unto all. That is not a misprint. It says
the faith of. Christ's perfect righteousness
which he established as a man, Christ's perfect life which he
lived upon this earth, imputed to. Read Romans 4, the next chapter,
it's all about imputed righteousness. That is a righteousness which
Jesus Christ worked out and charged to or put upon his people, upon
all who believe. And why do they believe? Why,
it's the gift of God. It's not of works. It's the gift
of God. It's not of choice. It's the
gift of God. It's the operation of God the
Holy Spirit upon all the elect, upon all those given to Christ.
This salvation, verse 24, says, we are justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. This salvation. is all of God. And verse 27, that excludes all
boasting, he said. All boasting is excluded. This
salvation gives all the glory. And that's what salvation is
all about. The glory of God. He won't share
it with another. Well, until next Sunday, good
day. So I'm going to show you how to do this. I'm going to show you how to
do this. I'm going to show you how to
do this. I'm going to show you how to
do this. I'm going to show you how to
do this. I'm going to go ahead and show
you some of the other tools that we have in the office.