I would draw you back this morning to Romans 3 again. We will once again read Romans 3, 9 through 20. What then, are the Jews any better off? No, not at all, for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. As it is written, none is righteous, no, not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, and together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. 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. Their feet are swift to shed blood and their paths are run in misery and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Let's pray. Gracious Lord and Heavenly Father, Lord, it is a pleasure to once again come before you as a body of believers to sing songs of praises to you, to look to your word, and to worship, Lord. We thank you that we have this opportunity. We thank you for the freedom that we have to come together like this. Lord, it is truly an honor and a privilege to do such, Lord, and we thank you for it. Lord, we ask this morning that we might see you, that we might behold your glory, behold the splendor of your majesty, and that we might fear you here this morning. Lord, we ask that you would give us grace as we worship to worship you in spirit and truth. Lord, that you might give us discernment and wisdom, Lord, and that we might see wonderful things, amazing things out of your word. Lord, guide us as we worship, strengthen us in your word, feed us from your word, Lord, here this morning. And it's in the name of our savior we pray, amen. Well, have you ever observed in life how one thing inevitably leads to another? How once something has begun, it's often a difficult thing for that to stop. picks up momentum, force is multiplied as an object gains speed and momentum from that and it's the same thing for the sinfulness of man. If it's not acted upon by some outside greater force, it will gain momentum and ultimately it will absolutely and utterly destroy the sinner. In fact, at the moment of conception, even, if we take David's words to heart, as we should, because it's scripture that has been preserved for us, but at the moment that life is given to the sinner, there is a start of a downhill slide, wherein the momentum of the sinner has begun. And I will tell you now that no human force, no will, no human will, no human exertion of Any kind will put a stop to that momentum. Paul will later say in this epistle of Romans, in Romans 9 16, so then it is, it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. The force that is required to do something about this momentum of sin in the heart and in the life of the sinner is outside the scope of human ability. Just is. These are the facts of the case. It takes divine power. It takes divine will. It takes divine exertion of that infinite power that only resides in the almighty. to put an end to this, to change the momentum of the sinner from his headlong tailspin into absolute and utter destruction, which is eternal damnation or hell, and to take that one and place him into the way of life. Take the lesson that we have in Psalm 1. to harden this. Psalm 1-1 where it says, blessed is the man who first of all walks not in the counsel of the wicked, second of all nor stands in the way of sinners, nor third sits in the seat of scoffers. Do you see the progression, this downhill, this momentum I'm speaking of here of this sinner that is described in Psalm 1? He starts with walking in the council of the wicked. He seeks the guidance of the wicked. He then stands in the way of sinners. He idly spends time with them. He enjoys their company, you see. And then lastly, he sits down with them in the seat of the scoffers. He is one with them. He is united with them. We won't go into this in detail because this is not our text, but there is a connection here that I want you to see from our text. And that is the progression that takes place in the center. But I don't want to pass by that without marking out or making clear how in Psalm 1, there is a force here that has made the blessed one something other than that center that is described here. Blessed or happy is the man who does not do these things that are altogether natural to sinful man. Something has occurred to make that one different. He delights in different things. He meditates upon different things. If you recall that psalm, he is in fact the subject of the scorn of those who sit in the seat of the scoffers. He prospers while the wicked is like the chaff that's driven away, driven away by the wind. He lives and the wicked dies. He shares in the blessednesses of his Savior, Jesus Christ, and the wicked shares in the wrath of the Lamb. Something has made him to differ in this. It's not inherent in him. He is blessed because he has been brought into union with the one who perfectly, absolutely does those things which are described in Psalm 1 of the blessed man. Well, before I get too off topic on this, let me return to this idea of progression. We see this, I believe, in our text here this morning from Romans 3, and we will return back to that text, of course, this morning. But we began in verse 9, and if you recall when we came to verse 10 last time, we stated that Paul, as he is making this closing argument regarding the condemnation of all mankind before a just and holy God, he rests his case on the authority of Scripture. and points back to the Old Testament as the final argument in his closing. We stated that he addressed three concepts here. After quoting scripture in a general way regarding man by saying, none is righteous, no, not one, he then proceeds to those three concepts, the first of which we dealt with last week. The first was the character of man in verses 11 and 12. The second will be the communication of man that we find in verse 13 and 14. And then we will look at the conduct of man in verses 15 and 17. And then Lord willing, we'll get beyond that here this morning down through verse 20. I just want to point out here at the outset that there is a progression of sorts that we see even here in Romans with what Paul addresses. And even within each one of these sections, these three sections, the character, the communication, and the conduct of man, I think even within those, if we look really closely, we will see a progression even within those three sections. The character of man is sinful. And his heart is enslaved and bound in that sin. And out of that sinful heart of a man comes sinful speech. And out of that then flows sinful deeds. Now, once again, reminds you of a quote that we've quoted a few times, but if you remember back to our study in Genesis, we quoted Matthew Henry. There in Genesis 3, verses six through eight, when we were going through that, Matthew Henry in his commentary on that section of scripture says, note, the way of sin is downhill. A man cannot stop himself when he will. The beginning of it is as the breaking forth of water. to which it is hard to say, hitherto thou shalt come and no further." So think of this and think of this often, the effect that sin has upon the heart of man, upon the tongue. and upon the actions of those who are yet under sin as Paul describes man to be there in the 9th verse of chapter 3 here in Romans. Well, we've taken enough time with the introduction. Let's continue to pick back up from where we left off last week, and we'll begin in verse 13 and 14. I will take these in sections here, 13 and 14, where Paul says, 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. Here we see Paul, once again, quoting from the Old Testament regarding the communication of man. In verse 13, he is quoting from Psalm 5, verse 9, where the psalmist says, Their inmost self is destruction. Their throat is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue. You will notice that the Old Testament rendering of that last part of this is they flatter with their tongue. And here in the New Testament, as Paul is making reference to this, he says that they use their tongues to deceive. They use their tongues to deceive. How often are these two things connected? Using flattery or false words to deceive others. And also he's making a reference to Psalm 140 verse 3 where the psalmist says, Also a reference taken from Psalm 10, 7, where the psalmist says, his mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression. Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. Once again, now Paul is directing his argument to the truth of scripture to show how this is not just what Paul has to say about this, but this is what God's revealed word to man has to say about the character of man under sin, about the communication of man under sin, and about the conduct of man under sin. Let me ask you, here where Paul is dealing with this communication in verses 13 and 14, is this not a most accurate portrait that Paul is painting for us here? These are very graphic terms that Paul is referencing from the Old Scripture and using here. The way he is describing this, though, is very purposeful and detailed. Paul is not one to beat around the bush, is he? He gets right to the point. And is this not what you see of fallen man looking around you today? Is this not what you see? Take a walk down a city street. What do you hear? Stand in line somewhere for any length of time. And what do you hear in their communication? Think over your own history with other people and see if this is not a most accurate portrayal of sin and man under sin. And before we go get too high on our own horse, let me ask you here and now, am I or are you not guilty of these things? Have we tamed the tongue? Think about what James, our Lord's brother, tells us. in James 3, verses 4 through 6. He says, look at the ships also, though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also, James says, the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, listen to what he says here, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." He doesn't end there. He goes on in verse 7 and 8, for every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. See what a thing our speech is in our lives? Who of us has yet to bridle our tongue? Who can control it? What does James say? And where does this speech come from? Where does our tongue find its reason for speaking? Well, our Lord tells us in Luke, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Do you see what Paul is getting at here regarding the communication of those who are under sin? Their throat, he says, Paul says, is an open grave. It spews out words that have the stench of death and decay. It's a cesspool of putrid thought coming out as words. Fallen mankind cannot hide what is in the heart for the mouth spews out the death and decay that resides in his dead and sinful heart. There's a stench of death and decay. I have smelled it way too often. Brad, I'm sure from his past occupation can say the same thing. It's the aroma of the grave and it is not a pleasing aroma. It's meant to be sealed up so that odors are kept from escaping and Paul says the throat of those under the power of sin are like an open grave. You don't have to peek inside to understand what's going on in the grave. It's open. You can smell it. It reeks of death and sin. Are you catching this? You don't have to see into man's heart to know whether it is ruled by grace or ruled and under the power of sin. His speech tells you what's in his heart. Will you not know them, as scripture says, by their fruit? Well, they use their tongues to deceive. They'd rather lie than tell the truth. Let me ask you, do you have to teach someone to lie to get what they want? Is this something that must be taught? Must you teach your children to lie? Does it not come natural to the fallen race of mankind to lie? And if not an outright lie, does it not come naturally to man to use his tongue in an effort to deceive, to flatter to get what they want? To place blame even on someone or something else? Do we not see this in Adam and Eve immediately after the fall, using their tongue in an effort to deceive God himself? Throwing the blame, Adam upon Eve and Eve upon the serpent. Well, what of Cain? When God came to Cain after Cain slew his brother Abel, God comes to Cain and he says, Cain, where's your brother? What comes out of Cain's mouth? Is it truth? I don't know where my brother is. The words may be even flattering to others at times, as if it's meant for their good. But does scripture, does history, and even our own experience not tell us that man may not be trusted as he is under the power and the dominion of sin? And he does the work of his master, right? Isn't that what Christ himself said? Does the work of his master, who is the father of lies, and who was a liar from the beginning, as he utters his words of deceit to Eve, well, just go ahead and eat the fruit. Go ahead and eat it. You will not surely die. In fact, you're not only not going to die, you're gonna be like God. Oh, do you see? What is your experience in this? Do we, even though we have been saved, do the remainders of indwelling sin, even in you, not prove to yourself that this is true, what Paul is saying here? The venom of asps is under their lips. Are not the words of sinners always ready to strike out with speech like venom, like poison, to sow discord, to ruin relationships, to foster animosity between others, even friends and family, to speak ill of others, to gossip, to belittle others? It comes so naturally to us, doesn't it? Listen to Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9, 3-5 says, they bend their tongues like a bow. Falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land, for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord. Let everyone beware of his neighbor and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies. They weary themselves committing iniquity. That's a powerful statement that the prophet Jeremiah is recording there for us. And what about the psalmist in Psalm 52 verses 2 through 4? Your tongue plots destruction like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking what is right. And then he wants us to pause and consider what has just been said. And then he follows it up with, you love all words that devour. Oh, deceitful tongue. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Can anyone here deny this to be the truth? that natural man under sin would rather curse than bless. The only times his word are sweet is when he has something to gain from flattery. All else comes forth as bitter words and cursing. Listen again to James. We just quoted from him a moment earlier. We'll now go a little bit further in what he said. We'll pick up in verse 8 of chapter 3 of James, where he says, Then he goes on and he says, with it we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brother, James says, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." Now, what is James saying here? What is he saying? He is saying the same thing that Paul is saying. He is saying the same thing that Christ is saying when Christ says in Matthew 7, 17 through 18, so every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Out of a bitter dead heart come words to curse. Out of it flows words of bitterness. We don't have time, I wish we did, to look at all that scripture says about the communication of mankind under sin. Yet I am certain here, and I hope you are too, that Paul has proved his point about the communication of man under sin. Let us move on then to the conduct of man under the power of sin in verses 15 through 17 where we read their feet are swift to shed blood in their paths are run in misery and the way of peace they have not known. These verses are taken from Isaiah 59, verses 7 through 8, where we read, Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation, and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. They have made their roads crooked. No one who treads on them knows peace. Once again here, Paul is quoting scripture that so powerfully portrays the radical corruption that is inherent in fallen man. This depraved nature, this total depravity or radical corruption as we would call it. And I don't want us to forget here what Paul is doing, what the grand scheme of Paul doing all of this, what is it for? He's laying out before all men the fact that they are not going to be justified by their own righteousness. They don't measure up to the standard that God requires. Thou shalt not murder. A standard, right? Thou shalt not murder. Oh, but one might say, well, I've never committed murder. I've never actually taken anyone's life. Well, what does Christ say to that? In Matthew 5, 21 through 22, we have the recorded words of Christ. And he says, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder. and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire." And then I want to ask you, how does John interpret what Christ said there in Matthew? How does John interpret that? In 1 John, we find something that John says in chapter 3, verse 15. He says, everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. In fact, is this not what we see at the very beginning of human history? The very beginning. It's not even one generation that we get through. The firstborn of Adam and Eve turns and kills his own brother. And from that time on, We see the evidence throughout history, throughout sacred scripture, that the feet of man is indeed swift to shed blood. Do you recall the sword song of Lamech in Genesis 4? You all remember that? Lamech kills a man and then he brags to his two wives about it in Genesis 4. And if we looked back at Genesis, Let me see if I can find the actual, I don't want to misquote it. I believe it's Genesis 6, 1. Excuse me, 6, 9. Nope. 6, 11. What is it that God says here? In looking down upon man and seeing their hearts and the wickedness, he says, now the earth was corrupt in God's sight. The earth was filled with violence. Their feet, you see, a fallen man is swift to shed blood. So evidently it wasn't just Lamech, but the whole earth was filled with violence. Let me point to a case, a particular case. in terms of this, and I want to show in this also the progression that takes place in this case of sinful man, the man under sin. But this is even the case of the man who was after God's own heart. Do we not see in David's great sin all these things combined that we have been looking at? David, even though he is the Lord's man, still bears in his body these remainders of indwelling sin. And from 2 Samuel 11, we see that he looks at Bathsheba, and he desires her. Sin takes hold of his heart and his mind, and he takes Bathsheba. The character of sin rears its ugly head here. Then we see communication. You see communication, see his words to Uriah, to flatter and to lead Uriah in a way that Uriah might go to his house so that something would happen to cover up David's sin with Bathsheba and the conception of their child. And when that doesn't work, because Uriah is too honorable, Too honorable when his brothers are out fighting to go home and rest in his own home with his wife. So what then takes place? We have David's character, the sinful, the indwelling sin in David's life, the communication, and then what happens? His feet are swift to shed blood. He murders Uriah. Then what follows? What comes of this sin? What comes of this murder? Run and misery follow close at hand, do they not? His son dies. Run and misery accompany David on the path of this sin. And this is the man after God's own heart. How much worse then? How much more does this ring true to the one completely under the power and the dominion of sin? Ruin and misery, you see, are like traveling companions as the sinner travels down the road of their life. Bunyan might have placed these two characters into another book if he had written of the wretched sinner's progress on his way to the infernal city, to the city of fire. Here are three companions as they walk the path to this place. Here is the sinner strutting down the path with his comrades, his truest companions, his confidants run in misery. He has no concern for his fellow man. He has forsaken them all to live in his sin and his self-desire. He has put them to death in his mind. He has forsaken them. He has no concern for the church and no concern for the book that is given to the church. He sees it all as nothing but hypocrites. and he has violently pushed aside the messengers of the church that Bunyan would call hopeful and evangelist. All he travels with are these two friends. They're locked arm in arm, they're step in step on all his journey, run in misery, accompany him in all his ways. They're inseparable companions, you see. and they strike out at everyone they meet with cursing and with bitterness, especially the Christians who would walk a different path. You see, don't you, how and why Paul would end this argument regarding the conduct of man in sin with a quotation from Isaiah 59, where the prophet declares the way of peace they do not know. Destruction and desolation are in their highways. They have no peace. Their way is attended with strife, with conflict, with animosity to all, self-indulgence at the cost of everyone else. Love of self rules the heart. Self-interest is what guides the way. All others are but tools to be used and cast aside. No peace in family, no peace in friends, no peace from hope, and no peace from God. And the way of peace they have not known, Paul quotes. Let me ask you yet again, Is this not what we know as well by our own experience? Does history not again, not yet again, prove the veracity, the truthfulness, the accuracy of sacred scripture? Listen, brothers and sisters, once again, I know many of you have heard this. And I would once again urge you to read the book that this quote comes from. In speaking of sin and how it has affected mankind and history's proof of the devastating nature of fallen man, Horatius Bonner says in his book that we now call everlasting righteousness. The previous title to this in days gone by was How shall man be just with God? But he says this, he says, the history of 6,000 years of evil has been lost on man. He refuses to read its awful lesson regarding sin and God's displeasure against the sinner, which that history records. the flood of evil that is issued forth from one single sin he has forgotten. The death, the darkness, the sorrow, the sickness, the tears, the weariness, the madness, the confusion, the bloodshed, the furious hatred between man and man, making earth a suburb of hell. And then he goes on in just a little bit more. He says, do earth's 10,000 graveyards where human love lies buried tell no darker tale? Do the millions upon millions of broken hearts and heavy eyes say that sin is but a trifle? Does the moaning of the hospital or the carnage of the battlefield, the bloodstained sword, remember their feet are swift to shed blood, the way of peace they have not known. Does the carnage of the battlefield, he says, the blood-stained sword, and the death-dealing artillery proclaim that sin is but a mere causality, and the human heart the seed of goodness after all? What is he saying? He's saying, look around you. Does life and human experience and the whole of human nature not bear out exactly what Paul is telling us here, as he's quoting from the Old Testament, making his final portion of his case? Their feet are swift to shed blood, and their paths are run in misery, and the way of peace they have not known. Listen to what Robert Haldane says regarding verse 17 here, the way of peace they have not known. Haldane says, such is a just description of man's ferocity, which fills the world with animosities, quarrels, hatred in private connections of families and neighborhoods, and with the revolution of wars and murders among the nations. The most savage animals do not destroy so many of their own species to appease their hunger as man destroys his fellows, to satiate his ambition, his revenge, or cupidity, which means his lust, his greed, his desires. There is no peace in the heart of sinful man under the dominion of sin. No peace. Well then, let's move on to verse 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes. After generally speaking in verse 10, Paul has given these specific examples by quoting scripture from the Old Testament to prove the radical corruption of man's heart in an effort to prove that all men, all men, Jew and Greeks, are under sin and condemned before God. He now returns to a more general statement here in verse 18 to summarize the whole. There is no fear of God before their eyes. This is the blinding effect you see of sin, the separating effect that sin has when it rules in the hearts and the minds of those that are radically corrupt in nature, which is according to what Paul has been showing us, is that just some men? Is that a few men or is that all men? He has no reverence. He has no awe for God, no love, no respect, no desire to draw near, no obedience. In fact, he suppresses, remember, the knowledge of God. He fears not God. What does that tell us then? Does it not tell us that he has no wisdom? What does scripture tell us? We talked about this last Sunday afternoon. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There's no way to discern if you have no fear. There's no way to understand all the world around him. How do you make sense of all the ugliness The evil, the violence of the world, if you don't understand the effects of sin. And then the wrath of God upon sin. He has no concept of the Creator. He has no regard for the revelation of that Creator. He's a man who stands in awe of no one but himself, you see. He does not fear God. The preacher in Ecclesiastes, as he wraps up Ecclesiastes in chapter 12, verse 13, says, the end of the matter, all has been heard. All the vanity of life and striving after the wind, he says. And he lists over and over and over again, lists all these things of life. They're all vanity. They're all striving after the wind. This is the end of the argument, the preacher in Ecclesiastes says. Fear God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man. This is the whole duty of man. Yet he fears not God, and he fails to keep his commandments. He is doubly condemned. He's doubly guilty. He fears not God, and he will not keep God's commands. Not only does he not fear God with the type of fear that is due to God, that fear of reverence, that fear of awe, love, adoration. He even fails to fear God as the almighty God. He does not fear even the power of God. Christ is speaking, and it's recorded for us in Matthew 10, 28. He is speaking and telling his hearers not to fear man, and he says, and do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Mixed with a reverence, with a fear of reverence for his glory and for his majesty, there should be, even in sinful man, a fear of the condemnation of God. A fear of dread and terror to stand before the almighty sovereign ruler, yet none exists. There is no fear of God before his eyes. Man is more worried, man is more restrained by the laws of men and paying a fine than he is by the laws of God, which when broken carry the penalty of death. And not just death, but eternal death. There is no fear of God before their eyes. It's like a man who cannot behold the bright sun. So he closes his eyes to it. He shields his eyes from the brightness so it isn't before his eyes. And to be more scriptural maybe with this analogy, he turns away from the light. Wherever the sun is, he goes in the opposite direction. He'll turn away. He will not look upon it. It's too bright. It affects his vision. Therefore, he turns from it and he goes away into darkness. He will not have the light. He has no fear of God before his eyes. Let's now start to draw this to a close as we look quickly at verse 19 and 20. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be accountable to God. For by the works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Well, there's much that we could say and some interesting things would appear if we were to look at the language being used here and the concepts, but we'll leave that to another time. I want to keep the main thing, the main thing here this morning. And it's here that we see Paul bring the conclusion to his closing statement regarding the guilt of all man. And truly this is regarding all men. as to their standing before a holy and righteous God as they stand according to their own works. Let us see then what inference Paul draws from his previous statement, none is righteous, no, not one. It's almost as if he is saying what Solomon said there in Ecclesiastes. Here is the end of the matter. All has been heard. This is essentially what Paul is saying here. All the arguments have been made. All the witnesses have been heard. All the questions have been answered. All the objections have been countered. His point has been proved. It's been tested. His doctrine has been defended against all forms of human logic and reason. He's defended against that. He's overcome them. This is the end of the argument. Here is the end of the matter. By the work of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin. No one, no one can be saved by the law because everyone is a transgressor of the law. They can't be saved by the law which they have offended, which they have broken, which they have trespassed. The just and righteous judge will by no means clear the guilty. Did you catch what he said there in verse 19, so that every mouth may be stopped? Every mouth may be stopped. There isn't a single mouth of all created human beings. There isn't a single mouth who will have any words to try and defend themselves. There will be no excuses. There will be no justification for their sin. Their mouths will fall silent. They will be stopped. They have no excuse. And did you see the second part? And the whole world may be accountable to God. The whole world, each and every member of the human race will be accountable to their Creator. And then what does the Creator, what does the judge have to say? by the works of the law. No man will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin. No one, not one will be justified. No man. There is no hope for mankind in mankind's ability to do that which is required. If there is hope then, it must be in something outside of man. Something totally different than fallen mankind. Well, as we conclude with that thought, that if there is hope there must be something outside of fallen man, I want us to ponder for just a moment a few things regarding the law that Paul touches on here. There's something really interesting that Paul says, and I fear too often gets missed. What is the point of the law? What is the point of the law? Now, there is a sense in which justification does come by the law, but that can only be outside of fallen man, since all of fallen mankind has sinned. There's a sense in which, not even a sense, but there is a way in which the righteousness of Christ in his person and in his obedience is the very foundation and substance of our imputed righteousness. But that's not what Paul is getting to yet. But for mankind, The law is given, not that we might earn, not that we might be righteous enough, but that we might have knowledge of sin. Knowledge of our transgression. Through the law comes knowledge of sin. It is by looking into the law that we see sin in our lives. It is by the law that sin is revealed to us, showing us that we are breakers of the law. We are breakers of that righteous, that righteousness that God says we must have. That holiness that we must have if we would stand before God. And we fall far short of that which God demands. In Leviticus, he tells us, you shall be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy. Who of us is holy? But what does the law teach us? What is the purpose of the law? To show us our unholiness. It's a mirror you see. We cannot see our own face and the filth that exists there until we have a way for it to be revealed to us. And it is by the law, it is the law which becomes to us that mirror in which we can behold our sin, our filth, our trespass, our unrighteousness. That is the purpose of the law. Paul says, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. The law was never given to you so that by keeping it, you might be justified by God because you cannot keep it. It is impossible to be perfect, to be holy as God is holy. And that's the standard. That's what the law demands. Absolute and perfect holiness. Offend in one point though, and you're guilty of it all. You're guilty of the whole thing. This has been the great tragedy of mankind after the fall, that they think that there is something good, some inherent righteousness, something honorable in them that will earn God's favor. And that by their goodness, they will stand before the holy God who demands perfection. and give an account of their righteousness in keeping that law. That's the great tragedy of mankind, that mankind thinks that he is capable of doing that. Mankind is a natural Pharisee in that respect. Paul says here, no human being will be justified in this manner. No human being, not one, He says the law's purpose is to show you your sin, to reveal to you your unrighteousness, like a mirror reflects the filth on your face. So then how does the filth get washed away? If I'm to survive, I must not come before God dirtied by the filth of my sin. If I approach him unclean, there is nothing but wrath for me. There's nothing but condemnation for me. Listen to what Spurgeon said. All the law can do is to show us our sin. The law is a mirror and looking into it, looking in it, you can see your spots, but you cannot wash in a looking glass. If you want to be cleansed from your stains, you must go somewhere else. The object of the law of God is not to cleanse us, but to show us how much cleansing we need to reveal our disease, not to find a remedy for it. This, brothers and sisters, is the purpose of the law. And then what does it do for those who have looked into the mirror of the law and seen the ugliness that exists there? It drives them to seek a cleansing, does it not? To find a source of pure water to cleanse, to find righteousness and alien righteousness. which can speak for me, a source that is outside of me to be cleansed and to stand pure and spotless, washed clean from the stains of sin, to find a way to be dressed in a righteousness that is not my own, so that I might stand before God to whom we all, according to what we've just read, must and will give an account. Well, then before we go, and I know we're out of time, but before we go, one last thing. Where might one find such a cleansing? Because once we've looked into the mirror of the law, that's what we must find. If there's any hope for us, we must find cleansing. It is and is only to be found in the blood of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins, the sin of the world. Christ himself said in Matthew 26, verse 28, there at the Last Supper, he said, for this is the blood of the covenant. This is the blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Well, the only place that there's cleansing is in the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's also close in answering the question where we may get a righteousness then in which we may be clothed. To be clean, yes, but I still must have a righteousness, right? Paul in Philippians, he states that he counted all loss, all his rubbish, for the sake of gaining Christ Jesus. And he says in Philippians 3, 9, and be found in him. And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from, what? from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Here is the righteousness that comes not by the works of the law, but by faith, and this is exactly where we're gonna be going next week as we start in verse 21 of Romans 3. Our cleansing and our garment of righteousness is from Christ. The law is given to show us our need of that, which only Christ can supply. Let's pray.