Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

Romans 3

Romans 3:10–11

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COMMENT and CONTEXT

Do you remember yesterday’s devotional when we unpacked Hosea 10:12? We focused on the last two phrases: it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and rains righteousness on you. Looking at today’s text, we should easily see the contradiction in the Bible. Hosea calls people to seek God, and Romans says no one seeks God, so obviously the Bible has errors, it can’t be trusted, and Christianity is just another false religion.

Okay, now that I have spewed that junk the naysayers love to use, let us return to reality and CONTEXT. The simplest way to explain the differences is that in Hosea, God is speaking to His Chosen People, the nation of Israel, calling them to repent of their sins and return to him. In Romans, Paul points out that apart from being called by the Father, nudged by the Holy Spirit, NO ONE ever seeks God (Christ) on their own. This one verse destroys the seeker-friendly notion of churches today, but of course, do a little research; the Bible has many more.

For a fuller understanding of these two verses, I recommend reviewing yesterday’s study portion of the post and today’s, which is found below.

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STUDY

What does it mean that no one seeks God?

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OVERVIEW Chap 3: Paul asks whether there are advantages to being a Jew or to circumcision. Yes, he says, for the revelation of God was given to the Jews, as well as circumcision, which confirmed their covenant with him. The reformers argue that both circumcision and baptism have value, even though salvation does not come through them but through Christ. In the medieval sacramental system, baptism, as one of seven sacraments, had been seen as essential to salvation. In shifting to faith in Christ, rather than the sacraments, as the instrumental cause of justification, the reformers do not intend to negate the importance of baptism to the Christian life. Although they agree with each other on its value, as they discuss baptism, the differences between the magisterial and Radical reformers are displayed. The former argue for infant baptism. The latter allude to the persecution they have endured for their views against it.

In keeping with their emphasis on God’s righteousness (iustitia Dei), the interpreters state that God is faithful and true even when we are faithless liars; therefore we should trust in God’s righteousness rather than our own. His promises stand on his character, not our own worthiness.

The commentators explain that Paul is responding to accusations from others who claim that he is saying that God does not have a right to punish sinners, since their lying makes his truthfulness shine more brightly and their faithlessness casts his faithfulness into flattering relief, and all of it gives him the opportunity to display his great mercy. These accusations are absurd; the ends do not justify the means.

The commentators accuse some of their Catholic contemporaries of defending evils under the pretext of doing good. They point out three such examples from medieval church life. First, in many places, the priests allowed the laity to receive Communion only in one kind (the host rather than the chalice) in order to prevent them spilling the wine—given the medieval Catholic belief in transubstantiation and the real presence, the possibility of Christ’s blood being spilled on the floor, without hope of being reclaimed, brought fears of sacrilege. The reformers, not believing in transubstantiation, advocated that the laity should receive both the bread and the wine. Second, medieval confessors required the people to pray in Latin since they had forbidden the Scriptures to them, saying all that was needed was a praiseworthy intention on the part of the laity. With rare exceptions, the medieval Scriptures were in Latin (the Latin Vulgate, in particular), and most laity could not read them. The reformers, on the other hand, believed that the Scriptures and worship practices should be made accessible to the laity in their own language. Third, the Catholic authorities accused the reformers of encouraging lax lives by preaching justification by faith alone. The reformers were concerned that the medieval church’s emphasis on purgatory, the seven deadly sins, the seven works of mercy, the sacrament of penance, and annual confession were what were driving people to change their behavior. In response, the reformers argue that sola fide should not lead to loose living. They preach that justification is possible only when faith is accompanied by continual good works. They exhort believers not only not to do evil in order to display God’s mercy and forgiveness, but to do good, since God has prescribed obedience to him as a way that we can glorify him.

Gwenfair Walters Adams, Timothy George, and Scott M. Manetsch, eds., Romans 1–8: New Testament, vol. VII, Reformation Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2019), 129–130.

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I have included verses 10-12 as they are essential (in my opinion) in understanding our main text; v.11

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DEVOTION

The Apostolic Indictment of Humanity

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. [Rom. 3:10–11]

Romans 3:10–18 is one of the most radical and extensive indictments of human corruption ever to appear in print. Here Paul begins with a universal negative: None are righteous, not even one. Not a single person, being judged by the standard of the law of God, can be called righteous.

We may compare people and say that some are relatively righteous, but compared with the law of God, no one (except Jesus Christ) has ever been truly righteous.

He goes on to say that no one completely understands what righteousness involves or the full extent of God’s righteousness. Sin distorts our minds. Even if we could totally comprehend the righteousness of God, no human being has the ability to live up to that standard.

Paul moves on to say that no one seeks God. We often hear it said, “Well, that person is not a Christian, but he is seeking” or “She is searching for God.” If a statement like this is ever correct, Paul is wrong, for he writes that no one in his natural condition ever searches for God.

Sometimes it seems as if the unbeliever is searching for God. The medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas explains this. When we see people search for such things as truth, peace of mind, eternal life, or happiness, they really are searching for relief from guilt. We know that only God can give these things, and so we leap to the conclusion that they are searching for God. But it is precisely in this that sinfulness consists: People seek the benefits of God while fleeing the Person of God. God does not hide, making himself secure within the universe. Rather, men and women hide from God (Gen. 3:10).

Coram Deo

If the unbeliever does not really search for God but merely for his benefits, what does this say about your work of evangelism? How does God use even the unbelievers’ flight from him to bring them to the saving knowledge of Christ? Recall how God drew you to faith while you fled from him, thanking him for being the “Hound of Heaven.”

For further study: Jeremiah 17:5–11; James 1:13–27; 1 John 1:5–10

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).