“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.

              The poison of vipers is on their lips.

              Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

              Their feet are swift to shed blood;

ruin and misery mark their ways,

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 says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.“
Romans 3:13-20

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The verses from the Old Testament Paul cites here continue to lay out his case: none of us—Jew or Gentile—are righteous in God’s eyes apart from His righteousness. The final reference from Psalm 36:1b is chilling, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

In the next sentence, Paul returns to “the law” which he discussed in the previous chapter. The law is a set of standards that are binding upon all inhabitants of planet earth. The problem is that no one consistently obeys the law. Take just the Ten Commandments. Who can say truthfully that they have never put anything before God? I cannot and neither can you. The law was given as a yardstick that no mere human ever measures up to.

No person will ever be declared righteous by God despite rigorous observance of the law, because no person can do it perfectly. The retort, “Nobody’s perfect!” is exactly our problem. We can formulate arguments like, “That’s not fair!” but this is mere human defensiveness. As the prophet reminds us, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;” (Isaiah 64:6).

Paul is continuing to explore the (extraordinary) idea of Jews and Gentiles living as one in Christ. For without Christ, some of us may be more aware of our shortcomings under the law, but none of us have been made righteous under the law. All of us remain in desperate need of redemption.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Why is the admission of human helplessness necessary for the initiation of redemption?
  • What revealed to you the hopelessness of your own efforts and achievements to make things right with God?
  • Are you ready for some good news?

Church Reading Plan: Job 28; 1 Corinthians 14