Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

ROMANS 3

ROMANS 3:10

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COMMENT and CONTEXT

I have been working through R.C. Sproul’s Before the Face of God this year. Yesterday’s reading was the introduction to Romans 3, which I have copied below. The opening paragraph contains this statement: God, he [Apostle Paul] contends, is known by his faithfulness; a person, by contrast, is known by [their] sin.

I can just imagine the turning of stomachs in many “Christian” camps at this assertion. Do you mean to tell me mankind is not really good? Of course, every society has a few wackos, but mankind is good, right? NO! Man’s nature at birth is sinful; evil, call it what you want. It is only by God’s Grace (Provision) that all of society is not completely wacko.

In the “Christian” world, I include all who name it and claim it here. Some are satisfied with God’s provision, which meets our human needs. There are many, however, whose human desires clash with God’s provision. They want more than God provides; their will and that of God are in conflict.

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Providence. The exercise of God’s *sovereignty to preserve, support and direct his creation. It is founded on God’s general *decree and normally accomplished by means of secondary *causes. While distinct from the special decree of *predestination, God’s government of creation is inseparably oriented to his redemptive action. In addition, it is closely tied to *trinitarian theology in Reformed *orthodoxy because the *Word of God is the principle and the Holy Spirit is the power by which God maintains the created order. While some in the Reformed tradition allow for *natural theology, others, such as Karl *Barth, reject any perception of God’s constant care without the insight of God’s *special revelation.

Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 92.

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The Essential Elements of Human Nature. The usual view is that man consists of two parts, body and soul. This is in harmony with the self-consciousness of man, and is also borne out by a study of Scripture, which speaks of man as consisting of “body and soul,” Matt. 6:25; 10:28, or of “body and spirit,” Eccl. 12:7; 1 Cor. 5:3, 5. Some are of the opinion that the words ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ denote different elements, and that therefore man consists of three parts, body, soul, and spirit. Cf. 1 Thess. 5:23. It is evident, however, that the two words ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ are used interchangeably. Death is sometimes described as a giving up of the soul, Gen. 35:18; 1 Kings 17:21, and sometimes as the giving up of the spirit, Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59. The dead are in some cases named ‘souls,’ Rev. 9:6; 20:4, and in others ‘spirits,’ 1 Pet 3:19; Heb. 12:23. The two terms denote the spiritual element in man from different points of view. As spirit it is the principle of life and action, which controls the body, and as soul it is the personal subject, which thinks and feels and wills, and in some cases the seat of the affections.

Louis Berkhof, Summary of Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 67–68.

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v. 3:10–18 That no one is righteous indicates human inability to secure salvation apart from God’s provision. This does not mean that people are as bad as they can be, or that they cannot do good things from a human perspective. However, with regard to eternal salvation, their situation is hopeless so long as they are left to themselves. God’s initiating grace must come first. Righteousness must come from God (vv. 21–22).

v.3:25 In Eden God threatened death as punishment for disobedience and sin (Gn 2:17). In the fall Adam and Eve died spiritually, being separated from God and subject to sin and death even though they did not immediately die physically. Implementing his plan to redeem his lost creatures, God sought out those who obediently trusted him (e.g., Abel, Gn 4:4; Enoch, Gn 5:24; Noah, Gn 6:9; Abram, Gn 15:6; and their spiritual successors). Though they were sinners, God spared them from eternal damnation, the just punishment for their sin. Paul explained God’s justice in passing over these sins: in due time, Christ would die in their place (Rm 5:6). Christ’s death covers the sins of all believers living during, prior to, and subsequent to his atoning death.

But what kind of Father sends his Son to such a horrific death to satisfy his own sense of justice? First, Jesus voluntarily gave his life (Jn 10:14–18). So this was the eternally agreed-upon plan of Father, Son, and Spirit. Second, the triune God—not just the Son—is involved in this world’s suffering. The Father and Spirit were not detached observers but were intimately involved with the Son’s suffering on the cross. Third, consider God’s holiness and sin’s offensiveness to such a perfect, unsullied, personal Being. Sin elicits his just, wrathful response—the removal of all traces of both sin and sinner. Fourth, God has limitless love for his human creatures made in his own image. Though he could justly write humans off forever, in love God acted to save those who trust in him. So while his holiness required the just payment of death for sinners, in love he paid the penalty himself in the person of his only Son.

William W. Klein, “Romans,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1402.

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STUDY

Human Need and Divine Provision

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God’s Provision and Human Desire

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DEVOTIONAL

In the opening chapters of Romans, Paul carefully labors to instruct us, first, about who God is, and, second, about who a human being is. God, he contends, is known by his faithfulness; a person, by contrast, is known by sin. These two aspects will be highlighted during our study of Romans 3.

Our bold brother Paul doesn’t try to soothe the “itching ears” of his Roman friends. He lays it on the line in 3:10: “There is no one righteous.” Quoting David and Isaiah, two great forefathers of the faith, Paul in 3:10–18 hammers away at the deadly sin of pride so prevalent in the lives of his Jewish law-worshiping brothers. As we examine the human as a sinner we’ll also look at the human as creature, from the viewpoints of the Bible and secular culture.

A brief study of “original sin” and exactly what it means to us today will introduce our study of the doctrine of sin. If this sounds like a really depressing section of Bible study, Paul balances his bad-news message with … the good news. He begins to explore the facets of justification by faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He writes, “[God demonstrated] his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). He will continue to present volumes of evience to support his convictions and cleverly use such Jewish heros of the faith as Abraham and David to reinforce his argument in subsequent chapters of Romans.

Through this section and its deep insights into our own nature, my prayer is that you will feel great gratitude and praise for our loving Father, who through the sacrifice of his Son has provided us a means to stand in his holy presence, justified and freed from sin.

In light of this divine privilege, take time each day to carefully read and personally apply each Coram Deo. As we have already seen, this Latin phrase means “in the presence of God” or “before the face of God.” Our goal is to encourage each reader to live all of life under the authority of God, and unto the glory of God.

R.C. Sproul, Before the Face of God: Book 1: A Daily Guide for Living from the Book of Romans, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House; Ligonier Ministries, 1992).