God’s Courtroom Scene
Romans 3:9-20
Romans 3:9-20
God’s Courtroom. Romans 3:9-20 gives us the conclusion to the opening section of Romans. These verses read very much like a courtroom scene. We have heard all the evidence in Rom. 1:19 – 3:8. The charge is given in v.9; “all under sin”. The indictment is read in vv.10-18 (fourteen counts, “it is written”). The opportunity for defense, and the “guilty” verdict in v.19. We find that there is no possibility of appeal in v.20. The great point is this: no matter what segment of humanity a person belongs to, all are guilty before God. There is no possibility of his being declared righteous on the basis of his own works.
The Charge: All Are Under Sin (3:9)
¶ 9 What then? are we [Jews] better [than the Gentiles]? No, in no wise: for we have before charged both Jews and Greeks with being all under sin:
v.9 The Charge. Paul begins with “what then?” or, “as a result of all this”, referring to Rom. 1:19 – 3:8; he is poised to summarize. Can the Jew lift his head above the Gentile? No… not in any aspect. All men have one thing in common; they are all under sin. From this point forward Paul no longer views the race in three parts, but the race as a whole, and addresses them as such in vv.9-20.
The Indictment: Fourteen Counts (3:10-18)
The Indictment. How is an indictment different from a charge? The charge is that “all are under sin”… that man is a sinner and he can’t stop sinning. An indictment is a formal, detailed description of the crime the defendant is accused of committing. An indictment is always written down and then read aloud in a courtroom. Hence the expression “it is written” (v.10). In vv.10-18 we have a graphic description of man’s lost condition; fourteen counts of man’s sin that prove his condition in God’s sight. It gives us God’s view of man, except where He has intervened grace.
10 according as it is written, (1) “There is not a righteous man, not even one; 11 (2) there is not the man that understands, (3) there is not one that seeks after God. 12 (4) All have gone out of the way, (5) they have together become unprofitable; (6) there is not one that practises goodness, there is not so much as one:” 13 (7) “their throat is an open sepulchre;” (8) “with their tongues they have used deceit;” (9) “asps’ poison is under their lips:” 14 (10) “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;” 15 (11) “swift their feet to shed blood; 16 (12) ruin and misery are in their ways, 17 and (13) way of peace they have not known:” 18 (14) “there is no fear of God before their eyes.”
vv.10-18 The Indictment. This indictment is a compilation of quotations from seven Old Testament scriptures. The indictment is of the Jew, but as a representative sample of the human race; it is a description of the first man. Many of these quotations are prophetic of the reflection of the faithful remnant on the character of the unbelieving apostate Jews. Here Paul shows that these things were true of all by nature. There are statements here that some might object to. For instance, “there is not one that seeks after God”. One might ask, “aren’t the eastern religions seeking after God?” Actually, they are seeking enlightenment, not God. In some cases they believe they themselves are divine. Man doesn’t seek after the true God because he has has a nature that is opposed to God, and because of his sin, he has guilty conscience. God is near to everyone, and man ought to seek the Lord (Acts 17:25). Man by nature hates God, and shrinks away from Him (John 3:19-20). The privileged Jew rejected Jehovah come down to them in the Person of His Son! When it says “there is not one that practises goodness” it doesn’t mean that an unbeliever cannot ever do good, in the sense of benevolent actions. Sometimes a good action has a wrong motive. Yet an unbelieving mother cares for her child (Isa. 49:15), and an unbelieving soldier sacrifices his life for his comrade (Rom. 5:7). This “goodness” is man acting according to the instincts of his human nature, like a dog wagging his tail. It is called “natural affection” in Rom. 1:31. But the natural man is bereft of goodness that recognizes the claims of God, therefore he has become totally “unprofitable”. He is like Cain, bringing to God the fruits of a cursed earth. As far as true goodness goes, Paul can say, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18). “But without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). Only the works that faith does are pleasing to God. Otherwise, “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Without new birth, or quickening, it is impossible for man to practice goodness. Much is said of the speech: the throat, tongue, lips, and mouth. There is a strong connection between the heart and the mouth (Matt. 12:34). The Jew was comfortable applying this to the Gentile, but their feet were swift to shed the blood of their Messiah. While we draw back in horror from this description of what man is, of what we are by nature, it is beautiful to contrast this with the description of our Lord in the Song of Solomon (read Song. 5:10-16). Compare a “mouth full of cursing and bitterness” with a mouth that is “most sweet: Yea, he is altogether lovely.”
| # | Count | Reason | Quotation |
| —— man’s character, vv.10-12 —— | |||
| 1 | none righteous | no righteousness | Psa. 14:1-3 |
| 2 | none that understand | a twisted mind | |
| 3 | none that seek after God | at enmity with God | |
| 4 | all gone out of the way | distanced from God | |
| 5 | all become unprofitable | useless to God | |
| 6 | none that do good | generally selfish | |
| —— man’s conversation, vv.13-14 —— | |||
| 7 | throat: an open sepulcher | vulgar talk | Psa. 5:9 |
| 8 | tongues: used deceit | dishonest talk | Psa. 50:19 |
| 9 | lips: covering snake poison | vindictive talk | Psa. 140:3 |
| 10 | mouth: full of cursing, etc. | bitter, hateful talk | Psa. 10:7 |
| —— man’s conduct, vv.15-18 —— | |||
| 11 | feet: swift to shed blood | violent tendency | Isa. 59:7-8 |
| 12 | ways: destruction & misery | trouble & sorrow | |
| 13 | ways: peace never known | constant unrest | |
| 14 | eyes: no fear of God | disrespect to God | Psa. 36:1 |
Opportunity for Defense and The Verdict (3:19)
19 Now we know that whatever the things the law says, it speaks to those under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world be under judgment to God.
v.19 No Defense, the Verdict Read. The “things which the Law said” to Israel about their failure, implicated the whole world as guilty, because Israel was really just a specimen of the human race; a test-case given the optimal conditions. Any other specimen would have produced the same results! This is the point of v.19. Surely, the barbarian’s mouth was stopped in ch.1, the cultured Gentile’s mouth was stopped in ch.2, and the Jew’s mouth is stopped here. But with the authority of scripture, “every mouth” is stopped with regard to excuses and self-justification. One day, “every mouth” will be opened one day to confess Christ’s authority (Phil. 2:11). The final verdict is “guilty”, or “under judgment to God”.
No Possibility of Appeal: The Law Cannot Justify (3:20)
20 Wherefore by works of law no flesh shall be justified before him; for by law is knowledge of sin.
v.20 The Law Cannot Justify. Immediately, the Jew might attempt to mount an appeal of the verdict on the basis of the Law. Here, God says “there is no possibility of appeal”. The law will only condemn you more (see Job 9:20)! The reason for giving the law was to show man his true condition, to bring to light the knowledge that man has sinned (Rom. 5:20; 7:13). Since the law is a tool whose purpose is to expose sin (e.g. a mirror, or builder’s level), it can never be used to justify men, or spare them from the judgment of their sins! The only hope for man is grace.