If you’ve been reading this blog for
a while, you might have noticed that we’ve already discussed the
above passage in a study of soteriology, the theological study of our salvation in Christ. As I mention in that
post, ten times he uses a universal term to describe how widespread the problem
of sin really is, terms like “all” or “no one” or “not even one.”
But there are couple of points I’d
like to make concerning this which I didn’t before. First and foremost, this is
Paul’s grand climax of the “bad news” portion of the book of Romans. Gentiles,
having only General Revelation to go on, had a very skewed vision of right and
wrong, and their societies reflected that. The Jewish world knew something
about God’s standards and sin, but most people in that world assumed that most
Jews were considered righteous in God’s eyes due to 1) Their possession of the
Law, 2) Their physical ancestry from Abraham, and 3) The fact that they were
circumcised. Paul completely repudiates and refutes his Jewish brothers who carried this
illusion in chapter two.
Now we come to the climax, the main
point that he’s trying to make before he gets to the Good News: We’re all in
the same boat, and the boat is sinking. All of us have sinned before him: “Jews
and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.” None of us are righteous
before him, none of us have a real understanding of God, none of us
(on our own) seek him out.
I think one phrase here might need a
little explanation: “No one who does good, not even one.” Is this literally
true? Is Paul claiming that no nonbeliever ever does any good? Really?
I think what Paul’s talking about is our standing before God. Isaiah said
that all our righteous acts before God are like “filthy rags” (literally a
menstrual cloth). That’s our righteous acts, not our sins. Even
the so-called “good deeds” that you do: helping little old ladies across the street,
giving to charity, etc. are still infected by sin at some level. Now, this
doesn’t mean that he makes no distinction at all between helping a lady across
the street and pushing her in front of a bus, but it does mean that our so-called
“righteous acts” aren’t good enough to make up for the bad we do. Also in this
context, remember that Paul is talking about our standing before God, as far as our eternal destiny is
concerned, not necessarily a bad deed vs. a good deed before men.
I’d like to make another point off
his poetic description of our sinfulness before him. The root problem to all of
this is actually mentioned in vs. 18: “There is no fear of God before their
eyes.” This is the root of every sin, everything from a prideful attitude to
mass murder: not having a healthy respect for the Almighty's authority. This might shed
light on our question in the last paragraph. A person might be doing “good
deeds,” but if he’s not doing it out of a God-centered attitude, then that’s a
problem in itself.
What’s the end result of the Law?
What’s its real purpose? Well, it has one that’s immediate, and that short-term
result leads to much more serious one in the future. Verse 20 says that through
the Law we become conscious of sin. God tells us not to steal, we know it, and
we do it anyway.
But
at the end of human history, when we’re all standing before his Throne of
Judgment, his word will stand to condemn us if we’re not covered by the blood
of Christ. In the end, whether we’ve had Special Revelation (the Bible) or just
General Revelation, “every mouth [will] be silenced and the whole world held
accountable to God.” Atheists love to
mouth off about how they’ll argue with God and won’t accept his judgment over
them. Joss Whedon (whose artistic work I love) calls him the “Sky Bully.” Christopher
Hitchens claimed to find intolerable the notion that the Lord would hold him
accountable for his behavior. But in the end, his word and authority will shut
every mouth. All of us will be stripped naked before his eyes. None of us will have any valid excuses, no rationalizations,
nothing to justify us. No reason in the world for him to deliver any verdict
but “GUILTY.”
Now that we understand our need for
it, we can get to the Good News.
Lord Jesus, you are my Righteousness
before the Father, and I claim no other. I’d be a fool to claim any goodness of
my own, anything other than your righteousness, and that my sin was laid upon
you. The words “thank you” seem so inadequate.
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