Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Romans 3:9-20

What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, 10as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who has understanding, there is no one who seeks God. 12All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one.” 13“Their throats are opened graves; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of vipers is under their lips.” 14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15“Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16ruin and misery are in their paths, 17and the way of peace they have not known.” 18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

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In other words, we're all in the same boat. And trying our best to sink it!! Paul isn't trying to cheer everyone up here--he's trying to emphasize our common need. None of us is in a position to say whether or not we need to be saved; we are all, each and every one, in dire need of a Savior.
The law demands a lot of us, and we have failed the law, and in doing so we have failed God. For this reason it might have been easier for God to cast us aside out of pain and disappointment, but our sin provides the opportunity for God to show exactly how strong God's love is. Thanks be to God!


Blessings

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