to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3. Back in Romans this evening. And tonight we're going to begin reading in verse 9 and we're going to read down through verse 18. So Romans chapter 3, verses 9 through 18. What then? Are we better than they? No, and no wise, for we have proved, both the Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher, With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." So if you were with us on Sunday, we looked at the beginning portion of Romans 3 here. And we made a comment about how it's a courtroom setting. So Paul is the attorney for God against the human race and bringing a case against them. So in the first portion of Romans 3, we have the Jewish objections to this gospel that Paul is bringing to them. And now Paul is going to really go for the throat, as it were, And that's gonna be the title of our messages, not Paul Goes for the Throat, but God's Case Against Mankind, Paul's Case Against Mankind. So. His case is, and he begins it in verse nine, where he says, what then are we better than they? No one know wise, for we have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin. And that is all men, no matter what creed, no matter what nationality, no matter what race, are all under sin. And I thought it was interesting, I had this thought today, that the word under, You know, if you're looking for a kid or a sibling and someone says, you know, you ask them, where are they? And they say, well, they're in the water. In the water could mean you're dipping your toe in it. It could mean you're up to your waist. It could mean you're up to your neck. But if you say they're underwater, it provides a completely different connotation. If someone said your kid is underwater, you know that that's a scary place to be because they can't live underwater. Death is coming to them. So all men are under sin. And we get this idea that it's not just that all have dabbled in sin, that all have messed up once or twice here and there, that they've stuck their pinky toe into the waters of sin, as it were, but that all are under, completely enveloped in sin. And to get a better idea of this, turn with me to Psalms 38. And we're going to begin reading here in verse 3. Psalm 38 verse 3. And it says, There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger, neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head. as an heavy burden. They are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled. I am bowed down greatly. I go mourning all the day long, for my loins are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken. I have roared by reason of disquietness of my heart." And that pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? The condition, and all of us that are believers, we've experienced this when we came to see our sinfulness and how we are positioned before God, it's all-encompassing. It's down to the very inward parts that it's encompassing everything. All mankind is infected. They're under the bondage of sin. They're completely immersed. It's not just a dabbling in it, but they're at the bottom of the ocean of sin. And here Paul is laying out just his case against mankind, God's case against mankind. So he begins with in verses... And we're going to look at three points. I'll go ahead and give them to you in case I forget to mention them. The first section is going to be they're guilty in character. They're guilty in character. The second is they're guilty in their conversation. And thirdly, they're guilty in their conduct. And that's going to be our sections. So guilty in character. And we see that beginning in verse 10, where Paul says, as it is written, there are none righteous, no, not one. So there's none that have a right standing before God in and of themselves. There's none that's going to be able to stand before God and say, I wasn't that bad of a person. And we get the idea that, you know, friends, we get so used to here on earth where we can fool people into thinking we're something that we're not. God is not fooled by our lies and deceit, as we'll get to later. He's not fooled by this facade that we put on toward everybody else. We may have our church fooled, our family fooled. We may have everybody fooled. But God is looking directly into the heart and knows exactly who we are at our core. And He says, you're not righteous. You don't measure up. To dwell with God, you have to be as holy as God, which means you cannot offend in a single point of the law or any of His commandments. And we fail to do that. We fail to do that by the second. So by our own merit, we fail to measure up to the righteousness of God. And He says, no, not one. So there's not a single person on this whole entire earth that has been, is, or will be, that can measure up to the righteousness of God, that can even come close on the measuring stick of what God requires of mankind. So there are none righteous. He goes on to say that there are none that understand. So not only is man not righteous, but we cannot even understand or grasp the things of God. It's like screaming at a blind or a deaf person. How much are you really going to get through to them? You're not going to get anything because they can't hear or see. They can't read your lips. They can't hear the words that you're saying. Just like a blind or deaf person, you don't understand. You can't comprehend. And that is man's position. They can have the things of God right in front of their face, the creation of God screaming His glory. They can have God's Word in abundance here in America, and they don't understand. They're blind and they're deaf. And even though it screams at them at the top of its lungs, they don't understand. They don't comprehend. They can't comprehend. So, there are none that understands. then we also see that there are none that seek after God. So not only do they not understand and that they don't measure up, but they don't even attempt to seek Him. They don't attempt to know truth. They have no desire whatsoever to acknowledge the existence of God, to seek the person of God, or to learn anything of God. They have no desire. so they don't seek Him. And rather, every man does what is right in his own eyes. And that is what the world and what mankind is in and of itself, is every man is doing what is right in his own eyes. And so when we see some that put on a good show and they seem to be good people outwardly, well, it's because they care about what they look like. It's not about caring about God or about pleasing Him. It's just, I look better if I do this. Things will work out better for me if I do this. And then you have those that just are far wayward, and we say, well, they're way out there. Well, they just don't care what anybody thinks, but they're doing all of the other stuff. And Proverbs 21.2, gives us an example of this. So turn with me to Proverbs 21.2. It says, every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts. Again, it's the same remark that we made earlier, but friends, it's just reiterating the point of you can be striving to whatever end here on earth, whether it be open rebellion or whether it be the closeted sin where you're projecting something else and inwardly you're doing all of the other things, you're just hiding it better. God says that doesn't make it any better. It doesn't make any better that other people don't know who you really are. I know who you really are. And I'm not going to be fooled by the show that you're putting on, because I'm pondering the heart. It's a horrifying reality, but it's true that the shows that we put on here on earth to appease other people, to seem to fit in with our friends, to impress our boss, to fill in the blank, None of that is fooling God for even a second, that He truly knows what is in the heart. Another passage that kind of backs this up or expounds on it a little bit further is Romans 8. Turn with me to Romans 8. We're going to begin reading in verse 7. Romans 8 verse 7. And it says, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. So it's not only that they're not seeking after God, but they're so far the other way that they are actually in enmity against God. It is a hatred of God, a complete and polar opposite of seeking Him. So we have none that seek God. Then back in Romans chapter three, we see that Paul then says that they are all gone. They are all gone out of the way. They are unprofitable. So they're all gone out of the way, meaning they've all strayed from the path of God, that they're all in the broad way that leads to death. That they're astray in the wilderness, wandering about aimlessly, seeking their own desires and pleasures that don't satisfy. You get the idea of setting a blind man loose in the desert. That'd be a cruel, wicked trick, but that's mankind in and of itself. It's just as a blind man wandering through a desert thinking, I'm going to find something that satisfies me here. He's never going to do it. And God says, in this state, or Paul says, in this state, they are altogether unprofitable. That is, they are useless, good for nothing, not worth having around a burden upon the earth, a burden to their families, a burden to their neighborhoods, a burden to their to their nations, they're just burdensome. So they are all unprofitable and gone out of the way. And then he also says, as a fifth point, that there is none that doeth good. So not only all of these things, but they don't even do And it's not that Paul is saying they don't do seemingly good actions, but that their good actions are so tainted with secret motives of sin that I'm going to do this to better position myself. Again, God is looking upon the heart. So even the good things that they're doing, no one is going to be able to stand before God and say, I helped that old lady mow her grass. You did that for the $100. You had no concern for her whatsoever. So everything that they're doing is just stained with ulterior motives to prop up reputation, to status, to gain more wealth. It's all tainted with sin. that even the good works that we do in and of ourselves here on earth, God's looking at it and saying, those are useless. They're good for nothing. I think back to an old illustration of, you know, it's like going to a pawn shop with a Super Bowl ring you made out of bubblegum wrapper and trying to sell it for a million dollars. He's going to laugh at you. He's going to say, this is useless. Get this out of here. That's what we're doing when we come to God with our works, is we're bringing Him a bubblegum Super Bowl ring and saying, yeah, this is the real deal. He says, it's garbage. I have no use of it. So there are none that doeth good. So our second point is they're guilty in their conversation. Guilty in their conversation. So if it wasn't bad enough, Paul just bringing up how man is guilty just in and of their own being. He's now going to go to specifics. Guilty in their conversation. And the first point he goes to is their throat is an open sepulcher or an open grave. And just as a grave, their throats are The meaning of that is they're constantly seeking to devour, to kill with their mouths. Turn with me to Psalms chapter five. We get where Paul is quoting this from here. Psalms chapter five. We're going to begin reading in verse 9. Psalms chapter 5 verse 9. So again, it's this idea of they're seeking to devour with their mouth. All that comes out is death. They're constantly seeing who they can take and who they can consume with their mouth. Another example of this in scripture is going to be Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30. And we're gonna begin reading in verse 15. The horse leech hath two daughters, crying, give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things that say not it is enough. The grave, the barren womb, the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that saith not it is enough. So we get the idea of Not only are they seeking to devour, but they're never satisfied with what they attain, that they're constantly going after more. And we see that in the world today of people tearing down others with their mouth and just moving on to the next person or to the next target, as it is. And it's also a patiently waiting for the moment to strike and swallow up. So they're cunning about their, you know, it's a strategic strike that they're waiting for the opportune moment to swallow someone up with their throat. So their throat is an open sepulcher. And they have used deceit. They have used deceit. And this is a powerful passage because you realize that You know, it's every little white lie, every little, you know, tell your parents you're going to bed and you stay up and play video games, or worse, you sneak out and go see someone that you know you shouldn't be going to hang out with. Every little smudging of the truth that we would think, well, no one will ever find out. Paul says that That is a personal offense to God. That deceit is, as he says, we'll get to it here in a second, but Satan is the father of lies. He is the inventor of lies. So when we lie, we're using the invention of Satan. And this is not, you know, you get in this passage as well, that it's not only talking about white lies, but it's a habitual continuation. Habitual. They can't help themselves. And we've all talked to somebody like that, haven't we? Where you can't trust a word that comes out of their mouth because they're so prone to lying that you never know what is true and what's false. They've polluted their whole entire mouth with lies. And you have no idea, you can't sort it out. Because it's a lie stacked on top of a lie, stacked on top of a lie with a lie over here to cover up this lie. And by the end, it's a Jenga house of lies. One little pull of a log and the whole thing comes tumbling down. So they keep on stacking on top of it, desperately trying to shore it up. And again, this leaves no question on God's viewpoint on lies. And to get a, again, as I said, turn with me to John, the Gospel of John, chapter eight, John chapter eight. And we'll read in verse 44. John 8.44. And it says, You are of your father the devil, and lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. Again, that's just re-illustrating the point that I made earlier that Satan is the father of lies. He is the inventor of it. When he speaks a lie, it's of his own. It's his own invention. Therefore, when the world lies, just as Christ says here, they're doing the things of their father, the devil. that lies and deceit are not of God, because God is a God of truth. He is the standard of truth. And so a lie is directly of Satan. And it's directly sinful because why are we lying? Well, it's to cover up what I've done, what I'm trying to hide, what I'm trying to deceive other people to save my reputation, to save my money, to fill in the blank. You know, there's no good lie. So lies are, they have used deceit. Next we have, the poison of asps is under their lips. The poison of asps is under their lips. And I think this is pretty, stunning language in it, especially here with us in the South where water moccasins, copperheads, and all that stuff run around. I remember growing up, if we'd go walking in the woods, you were horrified of a snake. Y'all don't tell Josh I told you this, but if Josh sees a snake, he jumps in my arms. It looks like a dadgum cartoon. We're not scared of a snake bite in and of itself. It leaves two little holes. It doesn't really do much. It's the venom. that really sinks in and does the damage. That the bite of the world, it's poisonous. It's deadly. That they have it all over. It's coursing through their mouth. And with every bite, they're spewing venom on whoever they can. James gives a pretty powerful illustration on the tongue here. In James chapter 3, It's a pretty well-known passage, but I thought it was extremely insightful on the matter of the tongue. James 3. And we'll begin reading in verse 5. The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. for every kind of beast, of birds, of serpents, and of things of the sea are tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind, but the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil and full of deadly poison." So the tongue is a destructive tool in that there It is so full of poison, as James says, that the world not controlling it, they cannot control it. They're spewing poison, flattery, deceit, lies, all to destroy and kill and to promote themselves to a greater standing, to a greater position. Christ also has a little bit to say on the subject in the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Matthew. chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12, and in verse 34, Matthew 12, 34, Christ says, O generation of vipers, how can ye being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. So again, Christ is calling them similar to this passage here in Romans chapter three, that they are serpents, they're snakes, that they're their heart is so full of evil that they cannot help themselves but spew venomous lies and deceit." And in the context of that passage, they were accusing Christ of being of Satan, casting out Satan. Now, what a blatant lie is that? That doesn't even make any sense. Christ even refutes it that way of, why would Satan cast out Satan? It makes no sense, but those are the lies and deceit of the world. It doesn't have to make sense, but if I can get one or two people to doubt it, I will have succeeded. It's casting them out as fast as they can think of them, just spewing venom upon all that will hear it. And again, even if it's a blatant lie or a little lie, and in thinking about this, I don't know how many of y'all have seen Lord of the Rings, but I couldn't help but think of the character Grima Wormtongue from that movie. If y'all are familiar with Grima Wormtongue, he's a character that is characterized by he's slimy looking, filthy, but he's constantly telling people lies, whispering in their ear to move them in one direction or another. And that's what the world looks like. They think that they're smooth, but really they look filthy and disgusting, and they're hovering over people's shoulder, whispering poisonous words into their mouth to try to move them in one direction or another. And just like Grima Wormtongue, they have no true loyalty to anyone other than themselves. They'll turn on this person, turn on this person, and all the while whispering. little whispers, little lies in their ear. An unbridled tongue is covered in poison. So the poison of asps is under their lips. And then the next point under their conversation is their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. And that simply means that there's scarcely does anything else come out They're so full of cursing and bitterness that it's all that they ever talk about has to do with cursing and bitterness. Cursing, that could be vile language, oaths, and profanity, but it can also be cursing those that are in position over you, or cursing those that are in position equal to you, or cursing God himself. So you don't have to look very far to see that. A good combo is what people say about Joe Biden right now. I know he's not our favorite, but it's cursing of the man that God has put in charge. And it's vile cursing is what people are using toward him. Same as Trump or any political candidate, you can find vile cursing of the world against that man. And it's extremely common. Bitterness is just resentment. They curse their lot in life, both wealthy and poor alike. I remember a quote I heard one time of, you know, bitterness is so prevalent that all complain, whether you're princes or whether you're a pauper in the ghetto, all complain. All are full of cursing and bitterness. They hate their lot in life. They wish things would be different. But the truth is, even if they had it different, it wouldn't change a thing, would it? Because they would still find something else to curse and be bitter about. And that is, again, the case of the world here is that it's overflowing They're constantly spewing, my life is not fair. This man is in charge. I wish I had this one. Well, now he's in charge and I don't like him either. You know, my life is not fair. They're overflowing with cursing and bitterness. And thirdly, they are guilty in conduct. Guilty in conduct. So this is our third point. And we're going to see this in verses 15 to 18. Verses 15 to 18. And Paul starts off in verse 15 by saying, their feet are swift to shed blood, meaning their feet are quick to violence. If anything ever arises in front of them, their first response is violence. And we see that in the world today. Turn on any news station, you're going to see someone beating someone, fighting someone else. It's prevalent. Again, you don't have to look very far to see it. That they're ready for any and all opportunities to do so. That they're sitting, you know, they call it an itchy trigger finger. They're just sitting there waiting for someone to say something. to set them off and go forward and choose violence. And they have no prejudice to whether the person is guilty or innocent. There's a passage Paul is quoting here that says, they're quick to shed innocent blood. They don't care if he's innocent, if he's guilty. It's violence now, trial later. They're just looking for any and all opportunities. Their feet are quick to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And we see that in verse 16. Destruction and misery are in their ways. Destruction or utter ruin and misery, affliction and distress go with them everywhere they go. And it's not just for them. Their destruction and misery may not come in this life until death. but it's for those all around them that they're bringing destruction and misery, that they're awful to be around. They're just constantly in trouble. They're their travel companions. It goes with them everywhere that they go. And all those that come in close contact with them have to endure that same destruction and misery So there are destruction and misery to their families, to their neighbors, to their state, to their nation, and to the world itself. Again, this idea that our sins do not only affect us, they affect all of those around us. You know, a kid saying, well, if I get on drugs, it's not affecting anyone but me. Their whole family is affected. Their whole state is affected. Everything, anyone who is ever in contact with them is affected by that decision. And so that is what this is talking about is that these sins are ripples. You know how a ripple works. It doesn't just stop at where the stone landed. It's going further and further and further out. You throw a big enough stone, the whole lake is going to ripple. So it's touching every point. It's rippling out and affecting all those around them. and that's destruction and misery are their ways, and it's rippling out and touching everybody in contact with them. That it's affecting everyone. And that they themselves will at some point come face to face with destruction and misery as well. So it's not just they're causing it to other people, but that If they continue on that path long enough, they're going to experience it themselves. Back to the illustration of a kid that chooses to get on drugs. Eventually, you read of the ODs in this country, the jail time, getting in with the wrong... Eventually, they will run into the destruction and misery themselves, and then they'll be afflicted by it. So it's all-encompassing. It's swallowing them up. They can't get away from it. It's everywhere. So destruction and misery are in their ways. And that's a polar opposite of what Brother Lewis talks about in the Psalms, where he says, goodness and mercy is violently hunting down the children of God all the days of their life, isn't it? This is the polar opposite of that. It's that destruction and misery is violently hunting down the children, you know, men of the world all the days of their life. So it's the polar opposite. Thirdly, in their guilty of conduct, Paul says that the way of peace they have not known, meaning they are complete strangers to peace. They have no idea what it means to have a peaceful relationship. a peaceful relationship with all of those around them, or even within themselves. They have no peace. They're unsettled. They're just antsy, and they don't know why. And so they're trying everything, trying to find some sort of peace, and they look up and wonder why they're their relationships have all disintegrated, why they can't hold a stable job, why all of these things. It's because the way of peace is a mystery to them. They have no clue how to accomplish it. They have no peace in themselves, and so they're striving constantly to try to find that, and they can't have peace with anyone else. So the only peace that they can achieve among other people, they'll never achieve the peace in their own heart. But the peace that they have with other people is simply because it benefits them, and they're trying to uphold that. It's like putting a Band-Aid on when your arm's been cut off. It's not going to do very much good. It just hides the problem a little bit. But that's what they're doing, is they're putting a Band-Aid on a flesh wound. It's just for right now, until it gets bad enough, but because it benefits me right now, because I don't want anybody to see it right now. That's the only kind of peace that they achieve, is temporary peace because it benefits them in the moment. So the way of peace they have not known. And lastly, There is no fear of God before their eyes. So that is, there is no reverence or fear of God in their thoughts. They don't care to think about God. They don't care to acknowledge God. I truly believe this is why you see so many people that are agnostic and atheist in the world that we live in today. They don't even want to think about the possibility of God's existence. So it's easier if I just say, there's nothing, then I can fool myself, because that's really what they're doing, is they've fooled themselves into this false sense of security so that they can ignore everything else around them that screams to the contrary. They have no fear or respect of God. And they do what is right in their own eyes. So that's Paul's case against humanity. So for our application, what do we do with this? What do we do with a passage like this? So friends, this is our baseline. We have to remember where we came from to appreciate where we are now. I think of the verse, and such were some of you. We're not this anymore. God no longer looks at us and checks His tally list of every way that we've gone wrong, every white lie that we've told, every vain flattery that we've used to manipulate somebody to do our way. Every time we've been quick to violence, every time we've caused destruction and misery, He no longer sees that. He sees Christ. He doesn't see our laundry list of sins. We are washed completely clean. Turn with me to Luke 7. Luke 7. And we'll read in verse 47. Luke 7.47. And it says, "'Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." So, you get this idea of, if our sins were little, we'd be forgiven little. We'd have little reason to rejoice. But friends, thank God that His grace is not limited to a small list of sins. He took them all. They're all gone. They're cast as far from the east as from the west. Christ is all God sees when He looks upon us. He looks upon us and sees His faultless Son. And that is it. So, we have been forgiven much. And what this passage should not do, what this passage should not do, As Brother Lewis says, this passage should not make us spiritual Eeyores. So, the only passage that we have memorized should not be, O wretched man that I am. That should not be the only passage, as you know by heart. You were a wretch, but now in Christ you are free. And whom Christ has made free, you are free indeed. Definitely. End of discussion. To illustrate this, I had this thought today as well. Turn with me to John 9. John 9. And this ought to be pretty fresh on y'all's minds. I know Brother Lewis preached through this not too long ago. John 9. We're going to begin reading in verse 25. Or we're going to read verse 25. And this is the, to give you some context, this is the blind man that Christ healed, and he's before the Sanhedrin on trial, and they're asking him about Christ's healing of him. And in verse 25 he says, he answered and said, whether he be a sinner or no, I know not. But one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. Friends, how foolish would it be for that blind man to walk around saying, I once was blind. I'm such a blind man. If someone was doing that in here, we'd slap him and say, man, pick yourself up. You can see. What are you doing? Friends, that's us when we focus too much on what we are, what we were. That's who we were. And it's a good, we need to think on that. But if that's all you think about, friends, there's so much more. There is so much more to think about than I was a blind man. I can see. You can see. So, we're not spiritual eeyores. And as I quoted earlier, the passage in 1 Corinthians 6.11, where it says, and such were some of you, but you have been washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of our God. You are completely sanctified and justified, that you are just before God. We are washed and cleaned completely to the uttermost in the eyes of God. and that when we meet Him one day, He'll say, well done, my good and faithful servant, because He sees Christ. Not of anything that we've done, not because of our laundry list here. He sees Christ and Him only. And that is the only way into heaven is to have the blood of Christ. So, and to those outside of Christ, this is a less hopeful message. but you've heard the case against you, and that there's no performance that you can muster before God that is going to fool Him into accepting you into heaven whatsoever. The facade that you have here on earth, you can have everyone else fooled, but it will do you no good one day. The luck will run out. Turn with me to Matthew 9. This is going to say it better than I could. Matthew 9. Begin reading in Matthew 9, verse 12. And when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick. but go ye and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." So I would encourage you, if you've felt the weight of your sin, run to Christ. Christ is the answer. He did not come to call squeaky clean people. There's not a cleaning up process before coming to Him. You don't have to hide your spots. Run to Him. Come up out of the water of being under sin. You'll find that His way is the way of peace rather than the way of destruction and misery. And it's a much easier road. It's a peaceful road. So, let's pray in closing. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we just thank You for Jesus tonight. Thank You for sending Him to die on the cross for our sins, that these things that we read about this evening, these no longer apply to us, Father, that we are blood-bought children of You. that when you look at us, you don't see our laundry list of mistakes or sins or things that we didn't even know we committed before you, Father, but that you only see Jesus. And Father, I pray that if there's one here tonight that has not come to you, I pray that you would prick their heart, Father. Cause them to see what their position is before you and cause them to seek the answer. I pray these things in Christ our Savior's name. Amen.