The Law Reveals Knowledge of Sin’s Power

Romans 3:9-20
August 15, 2021
Peter Yoo

Sermon Script

Review

This past summer I’ve been exhorting from the book of Romans, and we’re nearing the end of our series on the first 3 chapters of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Up until this point, in Romans 1, we’ve seen how God has revealed his righteousness in the gospel and how God has revealed his wrath on some unbelievers even now, because they have rejected him. And so, God has handed them over to unrighteousness, with both their spiritual condition and their sins getting progressively worse.

In Romans 2, Paul talks directly to two different people who both suffer from the same fatal error. The first man is an unbeliever, like those in Romans 1, but thinks he’s better than them because God has shown him kindness, not wrath. But he misinterprets God’s kindness to him now as an early sign of God’s favor later. The second man is a Jewish teacher, who thinks he’s better than those in Romans 1 because God has given him the written law, he had the outward form of knowledge and truth. But both men make the same mistake. They misinterpret outward, visible things as a sign of God’s favor. They boast in visible things, things outside of Christ, who right now to us is invisible. None of these visible things actually make any ultimate difference in their lives before God. Then in Romans 3, a couple of weeks ago, Paul described the true, hidden advantage of the Jew; an advantage which is invisible inside of the heart, namely repentance. Repentance like David’s repentance in Psalm 51.

Preview

And this morning, Paul will show us what the written law actually shows or displays for us, what kind of knowledge the law actually gives us. And in short, the knowledge that law shows us is that the human condition is far worse than you think. That the problem for mankind is not just that we sin, but that apart from Christ, we’re in bondage to the power of sin. We’re enslaved to sin’s power. And this power is something that God’s law can’t overcome. And this morning, we will see how God’s law shows that the power of sin is far greater than the power of God’s law. And because the power of sin is far greater than the power of God’s law, God’s law can’t provide a remedy or a solution to rescue you from your sin. It’s too weak.

God’s Law

First, I’ll describe a little bit about God’s law. God’s law functioned in a lot of ways for God’s people in the Old Testament. It gave God’s people a clear, written statement of God’s will. God’s law was unlike any other thing in the entire world. So they didn’t have to think or ask this question: “What does God want from me in my life?” It’s all there. God’s law also gave his people many practices, like circumcision, a strict dietary code, and many other holiness practices to distinguish them from the Gentiles. Because here would be God’s special people, distinct from all the others with a clear and detailed description of exactly what to do. And it was truly a blessing. No other nation had truly experienced anything quite like this. If there was ever going to be a utopia on earth, this would be it.

But as I’ve said earlier, even though God’s law has provided many great things to his people and to the world, God’s law still can’t do anything to overcome and reverse sin’s corruption and enslaving power. Paul describes how desperate the human condition really is underneath sin’s dominion. Our main problem is not that we just sin sometimes, that’s a serious problem in and of itself. But our problem is that apart from Christ, we’re in bondage to sin, we’re enslaved to sin. Sin corrupts us totally, inwardly and outwardly. And in a situation like that, a solution can’t come through the law. The solution must, therefore, come through something entirely different.

Translation Difficulties in Verse 9

And as we turn to today’s passage, let me just say from the outset that there are a couple of interpretive difficulties that come up. And I usually try and navigate around these difficulties without directly mentioning them in sermons. But some of these difficulties show up directly in our English translations. So I ask that you be patient with me here. I’m going off-road for a bit. But I hope that you’ll see the flow of Paul’s argument when I’m done.

But before I discuss some of the difficulties in this passage and English translations of the Bible, I want us to reflect on this for a moment. I’m sure you all know from personal experience that reading Scripture requires a lot of effort and a lot of perseverance. Just like our confession says, “Not all things in Scripture are equally plain in themselves or equally clear to all.” Sometimes, reading Scripture can be confusing. And so, reading the Bible is a spiritual discipline. For some of us, we struggle to even open the Bible. Others of us can’t seem to make heads or tails about large portions of Scripture. And throughout church history, misinterpretations of Scripture have led many people astray. But God has given us his revelation in written form, and so we must read God’s Word with care and wisdom, and we need God’s Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts and minds to understand and embrace God’s Word and what it says, not what we want it to say.

But more than this, I want to assure you that you can trust your Bible translations. You’ll see why in a moment, but what I’m about to say is with respect to the original language and every translation out there honestly admits that they are but a translation. They are not the original, they are a translation of the original. And so naturally, things may be lost in translation. But aside from how accurate and precise these translations are, which I could talk all day about, at the end of the day, I want to encourage you to keep reading your Bibles knowing that what you have is God’s Word. Yes, it may be a translation, but it’s God’s Word nonetheless. You don’t have to distrust your Bible translations because of an interpretive difficulty. If you have more questions on Bible translations or if you just want to learn the original languages, just ask Pastor Abe or myself and we might teach you guys if enough of you all were interested.

But going back to our passage this morning, verse 9 says in the ESV, What then? Are we Jews any better off? And I hate to say it, but the first set of difficulties are found right there. The first challenge has been found in the word we. Who does we refer to? Are we better off? The ESV adds the word Jews in there to clarify the we, but it doesn’t appear in the original. This interpretation is common, but it has some significant weaknesses. The most significant weakness is that if you look at the immediate context and see the other most recent occurrences of we, you’ll find that it doesn’t refer to Jews, but to Paul himself. In verse 8, Paul talks about how we are blasphemed and how some say that we say, “Let us do evil that good may come.” Verse 8 specifically refers to Paul, maybe some other Christians with him, so I interpret the word we in verse 9 to also refer to Paul, not Jews in general.

The second interpretive difficulty is also there in verse 9, which is perhaps more important to discuss. And I’m talking about where the ESV translates it as better off. But what does this word mean in the original? There are three possible options. This word could either mean better off, worse off, or protecting ourselves. And you can see that these are pretty different meanings. The first two are actually the exact opposite of each other. Most English translations take the verb to mean better off, but this is probably not correct. For one thing, this would create a tension with what Paul just said earlier in verses 1 and 2. In those verses, Paul asked, “What’s the advantage of the Jew?” and he answered, “Much in every way.” But if verse 9 says, “Are we Jews better off?” then Paul’s answer is, “Not really.” It doesn’t seem to fit very carefully. It actually creates a lot of tension and contradiction.

But there’s another and better reason why the translation better off is not actually better off. For those of you who like grammar, the difficulty is whether this verb is in the middle voice or the passive voice. And when this verb is in this form, it never has the meaning better off. So it’s not really a good argument to say that this is what it means here. And the case for the translation worse off is actually even worse than the case for better off, but that can be a talk for another time.

And so the most likely translation is to say Are we protecting ourselves? And if we take verse 9 to say Are we [Paul and others] protecting ourselves? then Paul is continuing to defend his reputation, just like he was doing in verses 7 and 8. In verses 7 and 8, Paul noted some accusations that some people made against him and how they’re clearly wrong given that his view teaches that the actual advantage of the Jew is repentance, just like David’s repentance in Psalm 51. Then, verse 9 would go like this, “Are we saying all this stuff about David just to protect ourselves?”

And Paul’s response? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. Paul didn’t actually charge all with being under sin in this letter, otherwise I would’ve mentioned it. But he’s referring to something he’s said before generally in his ministry. In other words, Paul’s claim is that whatever he’s said about David and the Jewish advantage of repentance is consistent with what he’s already said previously in his ministry. Taken altogether then, verse 9 reads something like this: “What then? Are we just protecting ourselves by saying all this about David’s sin? No, not at all. For we’ve always charged, even from before, that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.”

Under Sin

Now, the focus and theme of this whole passage, and this whole sermon is found in those last two words: under sin. That phrase is the heartbeat of what Paul is saying here. And for Paul, being under something is his way of saying being under its dominion, being under its power. And here, Paul’s introducing a very important concept. That apart from Christ, all people, both Jews and Gentiles, are under the power of sin. Apart from Christ, all people are under sin’s power. They’re not just people who sin sometimes, they’re actually captive to sin, they’re in bondage to sin, stuck in sin without remedy.

How do you know? The proof is in verses 10-18, where Paul cites a number of Old Testament passages. And in these verses, Paul tells us that God’s law testifies about the condition of those who have the law. And verse 19 spells out exactly what Paul’s doing here. God’s people had his written law, but did it actually make a difference? Does having God’s law give a noticeable, significant improvement in the human condition? Is there any ultimate and saving benefit in merely having God’s law?

No. We can see what God’s law says about those who had God’s law. First, Paul gives an extended description from Psalm 14, that not even one person in the law deserves God’s blessing. So verses 10-12 says, None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. In Romans 2:6-10, Paul describes exactly what’s necessary to receive God’s blessing and eternal life according to works. In short, perfect obedience to God’s law, seeking only the good only for God’s glory. But in verses 10-12, God’s law explicitly states that there’s not a single righteous person deserving of God’s blessing or eternal life. Not a single person has achieved such a right standing with God through their good works. Not even those who had God’s law, even for centuries.

And in verses 13-18, Paul surveys what the law does find among those who have it. In other words, verses 10-12 says, there’s not a single person who does good, or seeks the good continuously. Okay, then what’s there? Verses 13-18, Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

You may have noticed the catalog of various body parts and what people do with them. The catalog scans across the human person from top to bottom, and back again. It starts at the top with the throat, tongue, lips and mouth. Then it goes to the bottom of the feet, and it returns back up to the top with the eyes. And in Ancient Greek, this is a way of saying that they are corrupt all the way, through and through, from top to bottom and everything in between, the whole body, inward and outward. People’s hearts, mind, thoughts, actions, every single part of man is corrupt! There is evidence of sin in every single part of man. Even for God’s people who had the law, even for those who had the law for centuries.

Theologically, this is what we call the doctrine of total depravity. Every part of man has been touched and corrupted by sin. There’s no exception. Every part of who we are, inwardly and outwardly, is corrupted by sin, is influenced and effected by sin. If you could peer into the deepest and truest motives of the soul, we’re no good, are we? No, we’re not. The law says, there’s not one who seeks in the way that they ought to, there’s not one who understands in the way that they ought to. Total corruption. And this total corruption gives clear evidence that we’re stuck in sin. We’re enslaved to it. 

And so, if not even one person under the law has done all that’s necessary for blessing, if not even one person under the law is unaffected by sin through and through, then what has the law really done? God’s law isn’t the solution, God’s law only reveals and gives a clearer description of the problem. That’s what verses 19 and 20 go on to say. Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. In other words, if having God’s holy, perfect, and good law doesn’t itself produce in you the conditions necessary for blessing, the conditions necessary for eternal life, if it’s never produced it in even one person over the course of centuries, then what saving good is the law?

“Ugh, those people in Romans 1, they’re really gross people, God’s handed them over to their sin. But we’re over here with God’s law, we’re better than them, right?” But Paul cites from their own Scripture to silence them, proving that having the law doesn’t make you better. If having a clear description of the will of God, if having a clear description of exactly what you should do, doesn’t solve the problem, even after centuries, then the problem is deeper than you think. It’s not that you don’t know what to do, it’s that you can’t do it apart from Christ because you’re enslaved to sin if you’re not in Christ. It’s not a knowledge problem. Because simply knowing the problem doesn’t solve the problem. With sin affecting every part of who we are, God can tell us all day long what to do, but if we don’t have Christ and the Holy Spirit, we won’t do it. Because we can’t do it, because in Adam we’re all fallen and corrupted. So what can we really boast about anyway?

Application

And that’s what verse 19 says. Anything else that you might want to boast in apart from Christ is ultimately unworthy of boasting. Boast in your job performance? Boast in your good grades? Boast in household management? Boast in moral superiority? Boast in personal superiority? Every single boast outside of Christ is always a boast about ourselves, about who we are or what we have or what we’ve done that makes us better. And our flesh wants to say these things, doesn’t it? “God should bless me because I really am better than that person. God should bless me because I have so many good things in life. God should bless me because I’ve worked hard, and why wouldn’t he bless me?” We want to say these things.

One of the problems is that left to ourselves, we like to look at ourselves with a very generous set of eyes. We overlook everything we do wrong. We don’t overlook what other people do wrong. And we exaggerate everything that we think we do well. Left to ourselves, we create our own standards, make up our own grading process so-to-speak of how we’re doing. But of course, compared to God’s holy, righteous standard, it’s a fairly reduced standard, isn’t it? “I’m better than most people.” Is that what God said to be? “Go out and be better than most people and you’ll be fine, I’ll let you into my kingdom.”? No. “Well, I’m sure nice people will get God’s blessing, people with good intentions, people who try hard, people who can hold down a job, people who are good citizens, people who aren’t criminals.” Some of us might think this way, creating our own standard, our own substandard rather. But God’s law doesn’t let us get away with that. God’s law teaches the true standard of God’s evaluation. It’s an objective standard. And it points out if and when we don’t keep it. The law reveals the knowledge of the sin’s power, but it doesn’t save you from it.

God’s law has rightly been described as a mirror. Look closely into it. You can see all your imperfections. It’s not the law’s fault, it’s yours. Sin has corrupted every part of your being. But the very thing that revealed to you your sin and your imperfections is powerless to cleanse you from it. If I can be a little facetious, you can’t clean your pimples with the mirror. The mirror is good and only points to rightly to your imperfections.

God’s law is good. It’s his true and perfect will for mankind. But centuries of having God’s law didn’t make God’s people any better. The problem is bigger and deeper. The problem is that we’re enslaved to sin without Christ. The law won’t ever purify you so that you can have right standing with God. Verse 20 tells us that, no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law.

The law reveals knowledge of sin’s power and how impossible it is to overcome sin’s power by ourselves. It’s not just that we sin sometimes, it’s that apart from Christ we’re under sin’s power, we’re sin addicts, we sin perpetually, we sin habitually, we sin in every part of our being, we want our dopamine hit of sin. We love sin. God hates sin. And apart from Christ, we have an unsolvable sin problem. The law came in, but what help did that do for Israel? Did it produce an improvement, even after centuries? No, we’re the problem, not the law. None is righteous, no, not one.

The solution for people who are enslaved to sin is not a clearer description of what they should be doing. That’s what the law provides, and that’s not the solution. Because people under sin’s dominion are unable to do what they should be doing, even if they know exactly what that is. People enslaved to sin need to be redeemed, saved, rescued by somebody else. That’s what’s so clear here. I can’t do it by myself. You can’t do it by yourself.

The law makes it clear that there are only 2 ways to receive blessing from God. You can either get it on the basis of what you’ve done. Or you can get it in complete contrast to what you’ve done if you get it by grace, a gift, something that you not only deserve but you deserve the opposite of it. What you deserve is punishment, what we all deserve is hell.

Receive God’s blessing as a gift, something undeserved. You don’t have to clean yourself up first before going to God, you don’t have to do anything before going to God because you can’t do any good apart from God. I think about Mulan, who after the war brought her father the sword of Shan-Yu and the crest of the emperor as gifts to honor the Fa family. And her father briefly looks at these gifts, drops them haphazardly, and then clings to Mulan, telling her how much he loves her, not because she did anything to earn his love. She’s received love from her father because he loves her.

We always have to come to God, not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but despite who we are and despite what we’ve done. Come before God acknowledging that we simply don’t deserve blessing. We deserve the opposite of blessing. But also come to God knowing that our God is a God of grace, a God who loves to pardon and bless those who humbles themselves before him in faith and repentance. Why repentance? What else do we have? What else do we have to offer? We don’t have anything.

Paul says in Romans 6:14 that you are not under law, but under grace. You are not under the dominion of sin or the law, but under the overwhelming power of God’s grace. God’s law might reveal to us the knowledge of sin’s power, but the gospel reveals to us the unbearable grace of God. It’s too much. “God, I don’t deserve this. I deserve wrath and judgment, punishment and hell, but why don’t you give me what I deserve?” It’s because our Lord Jesus Christ endured that punishment for you. You might come to him empty-handed with nothing to boast before him, but Christ gives you an empty up of God’s wrath, telling you that he drank it all for you.

And by faith, we receive and rest in Christ alone for salvation, turning away from our sins to Christ, trusting in him. We come to the Lord trust in what Christ has done for us in our place, redeeming us out from under sin, by paying the actual price that our sin deserves, death, dying in our place. There’s no other way to receive it. You can’t pay it back. We haven’t done anything to deserve it. It’s a gift or it’s nothing. We’re sinful through and through, apart from Christ our Redeemer, but we look to him and we come before the Lord always only resting upon him alone for the opposite of what we deserve. In the Lord is redemption full and free. Thanks be to God and the gift of grace.

Soli Deo Gloria