There are moves today to legalize what God would call sin. This happens every day. Because we assume that “everyone is doing it” and “everyone is okay” with it, then shouldn’t we change the law? It’s bad law, right? Why waste time on stopping prostitution and drugs and gambling since everyone wants it, because if everyone wants it then it must be okay!

Do you remember what the previous passage says? “Let God be true and every man a liar.”

The problem with sin – and thus why we call it “Total depravity” is that it doesn’t only affect our actions; it affects our thinking.

The doctrine of total depravity is an important and serious doctrine because it goes beyond simple actions of sin. That is what the Bible calls transgressions. We could also include mistakes we make in there. We simply failed to do something right, or we did something wrong. If that’s all it were, then once we sinned in a particular way, we would be done with that sin. “Okay, did that, liked it (or didn’t like it), have the T-shirt,” and then we move on. The diabolic reality is that sin changes our thinking. The Sin-Monster mutates our souls like aliens control bodies in the movies. It comes in and inhabits us and takes over our mental, cognitive, social, and soulful faculties. It is an invader and dominator which affects our passions and heart. Sin is so incredibly powerful that our very way of thinking (and therefore our behavior) is sidetracked and derailed.

If you remember Romans 1:28, Paul termed this a “debased mind.” A debased mind is a mind which is not genuine. It is different from the standard. The root word for debased was used to describe a shield that had been tested and was ready to defend in the face of battle. It was strong, wieldy, and protective. If it were “debased” then it could not withstand the attacks of the enemy and would allow the soldier to be injured. God established us in the beginning with a mind that was true, tested, and strong. But sin has debased it and made it less than true. It is weak and allows the enemy in to attack.

The job of the Christian, my friend, is to strengthen our minds. This is done through believing and following Jesus and studying his Word.

I believe this even more since entering the ministry. After a couple of years, I have witnessed the power and majesty of this formidable enemy we know as Sin. It makes faithful men leave their wives of 30 years. It makes lovely young women desert their beautiful children. It causes otherwise logical and lucent people make really stupid decisions.

And it wants YOU next.

A few weeks ago, when I was leaving Thailand, I felt that feeling you get when your stomach is not so well. You know that feeling. It’s awful. The problem was I was about to go through customs in Bangkok and get on an airplane for several hours. Not a good way to begin a trip. Pardon my crass analogy here… I lost everything in my stomach but at least I didn’t vomit. I meandered back to the Customs line and made it through. One of the nurses had a medication which both helped my stomach and put me to sleep.

I made it home. After seeing a doc-in-the-box, I was given Doxycycline. But it didn’t help. I went another week struggling with this ailment. Finally, I was given some Flagyl. Within the day, I began to feel better. My wife – the pharmacist – said that if that worked then it mean I had a parasite. Lovely. [Please do not let this affect your future plans for visiting Thailand. God allowed this so that I could use it as an example for you. ]

You see, I needed one sort of drug to knock out the parasite. Nothing else would do.

Paul says that the works of the Law will not justify us. We cannot help ourselves anymore than I could do anything to help myself when I was sick. I was doing the work of taking the first medication and eating the way the good doctor said, but I was following the wrong advice. I was sincere, but was sincerely wrong. I was using logic, but my logic was wrong. I needed a healer.

You and I are indeed affected by sin. We follow our own logic and the wrong teachers only to our own demise. Our only “medicine” is Jesus. We must have him – and all of him. No One is without sin, and No One but Jesus can help us – and the wonderful thing is he wants to help us. That’s the point of Total Depravity. Turn to Jesus. Nothing else will do.

But this morning I had an urge to go back to Romans and we come upon Paul’s instruction regarding what Theologians commonly call “Total Depravity.”  Few like this doctrine.  Some relish it like vampires relish blood.  The rest deny it.  The fact of the matter is, Paul is quoting an Old Testament (OT) passage as he lays out his summary of the human condition.  Paul asserts the Jews were blessed to have received divine revelation through Abraham and Moses (and thus scripture) therefore anyone who denies God or his scriptural revelation (and I believe he meant the OT law) fell under condemnation.  Paul then leaves no stone unturned by pointing his finger of truth at (we) gentiles, saying we are guilty because we have denied our conscience.  

Here is where we are this morning…

Romans 3:9-20

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

¹¹ no one understands; no one seeks for God.

¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

¹³ “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”

“The venom of asps is under their lips.”

¹⁴ “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶ in their paths are ruin and misery,

¹⁷ and the way of peace they have not known.”

¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Paul begins building his case from Psalms 14 and 53.  Psalm 14 begins, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.”  Paul links to several passages in Psalms 5, 140 and Jeremiah 5:16, Isaiah 59:7,8, and Psalm 36:1.  He uses scripture that would have been familiar – or easily found – so that he could prove his point.  

In reformation circles, the doctrine which surrounds this passage is called Total Depravity.  St. Augustine and John Calvin both espoused and helped define this teaching.  

Many of my friends cringe at this doctrine.  “But isn’t there something in man that is redeemable?” They ask.  “Isn’t there something here that made God want to save us.”  Uh, “no.”  God did not have to redeem us.  In one sense there was nothing in us that required God to redeem us.  Sometimes that’s what I hear in my friends voice: “I know that God would want to save me if he really knew me.”  No, I think that’s Paul’s point – God made a way through conscience and scripture but we rejected it.  God knows us all too well!

[STOP - before you stop reading because of what I just wrote, keep reading and let me spell this out.]

God indeed LOVES YOU.  This is why you are worth redeeming.  God placed his love upon you and wanted you for his own.  So Jesus volunteered to come and die on our behalf so that we may be saved.  Scripture is clear about this.

I like what R.C. Sproul says about this passage.  Let me see if I can spell it out.  When we say “total depravity” sometimes what comes into our minds is the idea that we are all “worms” and are SOOOO sinful that there is no way that we can sin any more than we do.  In other words, we have reached the bottom.  That’s wrong.  That is a lie.  Look carefully at what Paul says: the person he is describing is constantly inventing new ways to sin.  That would mean by elimination that all sin has not yet been invented.  We’re constantly in the business of finding new ways to sin.  We are idol factories and make more every day.

What we’re talking about (thanks Dr. Sproul) is maybe better described as utter depravity, not total depravity.  I think that’s what Augustine and Calvin meant when they tried to define this doctrine for us.

Here’s how Sproul puts it, “Utter depravity would mean that every human being is as wicked as it is possible to be, and we know that this is not the case. As much as we sin, we can always contemplate sinning more often, or more grievously than we presently do.”

So what we’re saying here is that we are totally affected by sin. “Totally depraved” means that there is NOT a place in our lives where sin has not come in and touched us. Every time that a child first sees porn, or a kid gets angry with his sister, or a person tells a lie, or someone flips me off for no apparent reason – every time something happens to me or that I do something wrong – it is evidence that sin has had a sort of “dominion” over me or into my domain of existence.

And Satan is rather proud of that.  

His entire plan was to totally corrupt the creation God had made.  On the surface, he seems to be doing a pretty good job.

So how can we positive about the human being or the Christian’s walk, or life itself since sin has touched, affected, or destroyed every aspect of who we are?  Aren’t “reformed” people morbid about the situation and moaning about the loss of Paradise?  Sometimes.  But I think we need to see this more clearly.

Let’s hear again from Dr. Sproul, “The very fact that Calvinists take sin so seriously is because they take the value of human beings so seriously. It is because man was made in the image of God, called to mirror and reflect God’s holiness, that we have the distinction of being the image-bearers of God.”

That’s a marvelous distinction. God made us to be reflectors of his image and his likeness. When we sin, we distort that image. So we want to come to the point where we are ever combating the sin that affects us and our world. Justice, mercy, gratefulness, peace, and grace are all attempts to rid our world of sin and impact it for heaven.

No One lives in this world without being affected by Sin. But no One loves us more than Jesus. He died for us and wants to redeem us. That’s what gives every person worth in this world.

Tomorrow, I’ll finish this section…

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3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. ³ What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” ⁵ But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

Let me phrase Paul’s question in a 20-century sense, “What advantage then is there in being a church member? Or what is the value of baptism?” These seem like new questions to some of us but they have been around at least since Paul’s day. There are many, many in our congregation who ask the same thing. Very often we see people joining here who have been coming for years. But they fail to join the church. When we ask “why” they simply respond (most of the time) “I didn’t see any need or benefit to it.” Very sad.

There is a song called, Walking in Memphis. In one point of the song, the musician says he walks into a small church. The folks are singing and he’s enjoying himself and singing with them. One of the women singing in the choir says – “Tell me if you’re a Christian, child.” To which the musician says, “Ma’am, I am tonight.” The idea is that I can be a part or not when I want.

I read an article today that said Anne Rice “quits” Christianity. She quit? Can you really do that? I always thought that being a Christian is kind of like becoming a color like white or black. I can’t just quit being white. Even though I am sure our African-American friends would say that there would be a benefit to that. Actually, Anne didn’t quit Jesus or God. She just doesn’t like American Mainstream Christianity. I kind of see her point. I think that’s why even our own Buddy says he is a “Jesus-Follower.” Unfortunately the “Christian” label has become confused with politics, pandering, bigotry, bellowing, boycotts, and bad-hair. Yes, I see Anne’s point indeed.

There is also a move among younger evangelicals to start new churches and leave the traditional denominations alone. Again, I see their reasoning because of the problems behind our big ecclesiastical systems. They were created in the days when things were simpler and no organization existed. So a little bit of a organization made sense. Now many decades and billions of dollars later, what we have is a big green money machine spewing tradition and philosophy.

The rhetoric in the song, the frustrations of Anne Rice, and the antiestablishmentarianism (how do you like that – I have finally figured out how to use that word in a context) of the younger generation all touch a nerve with me. But… this is dangerous to be sure because when we become a Christian, we’re not becoming part of a club just because we want to be. We are wooed by the Holy Spirit of God. When we receive the Holy Spirit and Christ at Salvation it is not our own will which keeps us in the hands of God. Paul is not making a superficial point here about politics or even synagogues, church structures, or circumcision. Paul is speaking of the oracles of God – the very words and life of Christ which give us life. When we handle scripture and think on the things of God, we are speaking of spiritual things, not earthly constructs. The Church is given to bring this spiritual aspect into play on earth.

I think Paul senses that the Jewish brethren there in Rome were looking at the logic more than the life of the Jewish people. In the words of __ from Fiddler on the Roof, all they saw were tradition. At the time of the writing of Romans, the Jewish people had endured the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. This is difficult for us to fathom today. It would be paramount to suddenly an announcement being made Jesus’ body had been found and verified – that Jesus was dead. The Jewish Temple represented the power and presence of God in the lives of the Hebrew people. Without that physical reminder and place to go to the people felt empty, defeated, and hopeless. “Well what’s the use in all this Jewish tradition and stuff we do!?” They asked themselves.

Paul says that they are still given the Oracles of God. The Jews were entrusted with the Oracles of God – the prophets, priests, and the Word of God. There were also many synagogues still in operation around the world. [note:That is how Christianity was able to spread so quickly. Paul would go to these and preach the gospel and people would get saved. So Paul sees this as an important piece for the Jews to relish.] The synagogue system (and later churches) gave a place for the gospel, sacraments, preaching, and scripture reading to be conducted.

So what if people are unfaithful? God is faithful. What if churches or synagogues are unfaithful? God is faithful. God is true – man lies.

In a similar way the church today is entrusted with the same thing. But, many churches are apostate. Some of them – many of them – fail. Doesn’t that prove that I can have my own church and do my own thing? Does it make “Christianity” untrue? Does that mean I “quit” Christianity because I don’t like the people who are running the show? Nope. Paul says, By no means – this is the most stringent, forceful word in the Greek. In English, it would be HECK NO! Paul is not cussing here. He is loudly proclaiming that God needs to be true and every man a liar. Don’t forsake the assembly because the Temple in Jerusalem was ground to powder by the Romans. Don’t quit worshipping because the leaders are hypocrites (news flash you are too). God still works through the church.

The Church is given to us as a community-event where we submit ourselves to it to be held accountable, challenged for growth, and organized for action. We come to the church as a way to further the movement and progress of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sure, today we have a lot of churches with a lot of problems but those problems should not prevent us from gathering together.

What about fallacious pastors? God still gets glory. Churches do not exist for the glory or on the condition of the pastor – or they shouldn’t anyway. We are all sinners in some way. I realize some sins make us disqualified for ministry but I am amazed at how the body of Christ plods along in the midst of inadequate leadership.

So if God works through these sinners, then why do I stay clean or pure? Paul answers that question too. This is an absurd argument. God can judge us because he will judge those who misuse the scriptures, the church, or preaching for their own end. Those people will indeed face their own punishment, but it will come from the hand of God. Not you or I.

The point here is “Let God be true and every man a liar.” This is a foundational truth for your heart and head. Repeat it 10 times to yourself. Everything you see around you right now is a vapor. It’s a flimzy, hologram that in a instant will disappear when you die. At that moment what is true will be revealed.

You see I need this truth. Why? Because my “temple” always gets destroyed.

When…

• My world decays around me – Let God be true and every man a liar.
• We fight against a constant and relentless enemy – Let God be true and every man a liar.
• A spouse leaves me for someone else – Let God be true and every man a liar.
• My income becomes “outgo” – Let God be true and every man a liar.
• My children don’t behave – Let God be true and every man a liar.
• My minister fails me – Let God be true and every man a liar.
• My strength and heart fail – Let God be true and every man a liar.

This little phrase is a rock for your soul. There are those who will say to you that God is not true. Please believe me, friend, if we do not hang onto this one your mind will become raving mad.

“God be true in us today! Do not let me believe what man says but believe in your Word.”

I don’t have a word. Perhaps from this list you can help me choose one.

Gentle – the people of Thailand are by nature a gentle people.  You can see it in [most of] their expressions as you walk down the street.  The people are not pushy but kind.  Yes, there are those who make trouble and the country is not without its share of bad people.  But they are a gentle people.

Humble – from the smallest age they are taught to place the palms of their hands together in what we would call a prayer stance, place those hands beneath their chin, and then bow their head slowly and gracefully as they say “Sa wat de kaaaa” [hello, hi, goodbye] – and yes they hold it out like that.  It is both calming and humbling whenever I see it.  No matter how rushed they may be everything stops when they do this and no one fusses.

Different – It’s impossible to walk down the street and see these people who are so beautiful in their own way and not recognize how different they are from me physically.  But then when I walk by a home that has what on first glance might look like a doll house which is ornately decorated, then I know it is a different place.  These little houses are “spirit houses” which contain little “sacrifices,” I guess, that are used to drive away the evil spirits. Oh yes, these people are quite different.  But then again, maybe not.  I keep my lawn manicured to drive off the evil spirit of shame.  I don’t want to be ashamed in the face of my neighbors if the grass gets too tall, [smile].

Respectful – The people are very respectful and it brings that same spirit out in me.

Lost – I listened with wet eyes this morning to the sweet sounds of children singing a song in an unknown tongue.  It was so beautiful that I fought back tears.  As I looked around the room, I noticed a small statue of Buddha presiding over the ceremony.  A cold chill started in my spine and then made its way up my throat.  I coughed to hide my emotion.  Then I thought about how each one of these little ones will die and go to hell if I don’t do something.  Later, I ask “Oh” (the woman leading the song) about that song she sang.  She said a popular actress in Thailand became a Christian and wanted to be a witness to her faith.  That actress wrote that song as both a testimony and a witness.  Oh explained that “God” does not appear in the song because that would be offensive or scary to many.  But in the song, God is speaking.  He asks that they “come back to Him and listen because He is calling.”  Now I really was fighting back tears.  Every child knew every word to the song, but how many know  the God they sing about? [many in this school do but…]  That led me to …

Ashamed – Ashamed that I fought back tears.  I should have let the cry have its way with me.  I should have just let it out because you see I have spent years trying to improve quality, make money, get ahead, study management, apply science, and otherwise “make the world a better place.”  It’s not.  If you look at my pictures on Picasa, you’ll see beautifully manicured rice fields, beautiful children, and beautiful cities.  I love beauty.  A part of me feeds off of it.  But there is nothing beautiful about poverty and lostness.   I am ashamed that I have not done more to win one of these kids to Jesus. 

So I guess my word is unashamed.  Unashamed of Jesus.  Unashamed of the feelings I have for people who don’t know Jesus.  Unashamed of lovely children who need a hug.  Unashamed to ask you to go with me in February to minister missionaries trying to win these people to Christ.  Unashamed that I am ashamed.

Do you have a word?

²⁵ For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶ So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷ Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸ For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. (ESV)

Paul’s scathing rebuttals to his fellow Hebrews come because he sees that his Jewish brothers continue to use their Israeli heritage to look down upon and cast accusations against their pagan brothers. Paul’s point is very simple: The Law is only useful as “law” if we keep it. If we do not keep the law then it makes no sense to proclaim it. Isn’t it amazing how many times someone who grows up without Christ comes to know God? Those that come to know Christ outside of the church do so because they have become circumcised in the heart.

Then Paul gets to the point of his passage: hypocrisy and heart-conversion. How many of us know people who do not come to church any longer because they know people inside the church? Paul’s accusation in verse 24 needs to be a warning to every church member: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” That’s a terrible accusation! What Paul is saying is that it would be better for that person to grow up without the Law, without the Church, basically without any witness about God because then at least that person would have Nature and Holy Spirit as a more pure witness to the truth.

Are we witnessing about God in the right way? Have we been circumcised in the heart? Or is our religion one that is of do’s and don’ts and circumcision, worship-style, and Law? What is it?

Paul’s point here for the Church at Rome (and Trussville) is that we are to be led by the Spirit not the Law. We need to be circumcised in the heart, not the flesh. And we need to live by grace, not the letter.

Roadmap to Romans Part iii/c – Romans 2:12-16 – God’s Ruler -

¹² For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (ESV)

We kind of have this rule in our house, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” What I mean by this is that if I trust the family or friends that our kids are staying with, we tell the kids, “Do what Mr/Mrs/Papa/Nana says.” Invariably they will begin to ask questions about certain TV shows or behaviors which are “wrong” in our house. “If they watch so-and-so, can we?” Uncomfortably, we say, “Sure, but I’m going to ask them not to.” And on it goes.

If you’re a parent, you know that uncomfortable feeling that comes when you try to raise your kids a certain way and then you find out someone else does something you are not comfortable with. That’s kind of like this passage here. The Gentiles grew up without the Law to guide them and teach them. They had to rely on their consciences. The Jews had the Law to instruct their consciences. So how will God judge each group of people?

God has the perfect plan: he uses the conscience on the one-hand and the Law on the other. Read carefully as I work this out. The “Law” for someone without Scripture is his conscience and the Holy Spirit. Those of us who have scripture use scripture as our “Law.”

It is very simple really when we begin to think about it. We become concerned about the aborigine in the bush or the native in the jungle. We worry about the American Indian before missionaries came here. “How do those who do not have a Christian witness get to heaven?” The answer is simple and strangely similar to those of us who do have the Bible and/or a preacher. The person like myself who has grown up in church needs to follow the mandates of scripture. This would have been just like the one Paul was addressing as a Jew. Paul says simply that those who have the Law – or scripture – will be judged by it. How does he mean? He means that those who listen to the Law in whatever increasing amount that they understand it and do what the Holy Spirit leads them to do from it will have one of two things happen: either they will do everything in it and therefore be perfect and then go to heaven. [Right!] Or, they will recognize their sin, recognize their need for a savior, and then give themselves to Jesus.

Do you see the progression there? This previous paragraph basically outlines the first several chapters of Romans. Paul’s logic here is that God has a ruler. And to what extent those of us who follow what we have been given will be measured against God’s holy ruler as whether or not we measure up to His standard. The fact is, none of us has ever done everything we have been told to do in scripture nor have we ever exactly followed the leading of the Holy Spirit.

For the aborigine, the standard is the same: do what the Holy Spirit and your conscience has told you. If you do that, then God will reveal more of Himself to you and you will receive more insight and more instruction. Eventually, I think this will lead to one of three things: that person will be perfect because he has followed the dictates of his conscience exactly (God’s ruler would here say that he has done all that he has been instructed). Or second, he would follow enough of his conscience to realize he was a sinner, that he needed a Savior, and would keep inquiring of God until he received his answer. Remember, Paul said earlier that all a person needs to know about God is available in God’s creation. Or, third, God would bring someone to that aborigine who would tell them about Jesus and they receive it.

This section on the aborigine is basically what is happening in many parts of the world where the gospel is being received heartily (like portions of China). They have been without a gospel witness for a while and God has been preparing their heart for the gospel. As home churches and missionaries have increased the people are ready for the gospel.

In either scenario, God has a plan for how a person is to come to Jesus. We follow our consciences or follow scripture. This is why, I believe, in developed countries where we have a traditional understanding of Christianity, we see people who have a basic understanding of right and wrong but they reject Christ. They have a good conscience, it would seem, so why don’t they come to God? It’s because they have had scripture and have rejected scripture. This is why sometimes you will see the kids of a preacher reject the church or the kids of an atheist come to God. They are both reacting to their situation.

The scary thing is that we can raise morally good kids who love their wives, go about their work honestly, and give to the poor, but reject Jesus, scripture, and of course God’s will for their lives. Those of us who have scripture have a higher measuring point on God’s holy ruler.

Some will ask, “why does God allow something as evil as communism exist in a place like Russia or China for so long?” This will sound ironic, but it is God’s grace which does this. In both countries there was a witness for the gospel for a very long time, but both countries rejected it. Both countries eventually fell into a type of paganism and therefore were enslaved. Now, years later they are ready again to hear the gospel and be saved.

Before you reject the gospel today, realize something more diabolical: you are also making a decision to enslave your children. When you say, “I will allow my children to decide their own way,” realize, no you’re not. You’re actually enslaving them to sin – and their future generations. When you make the decision to NOT raise your kids in a Christian home and instruct them to obey God and follow Him, then you have made the decision for them to reject scripture, reject the deepest urge of their conscience, and reject God. Just read the OT and see how Israel did this very same thing.

I understand kids will always in a sense make their own decisions – people always do. But we can take this “kids make their own decision” thing too far. God will judge the secrets of men’s hearts Paul says. He will pull out his holy ruler and see how we measure up. The question today is two-fold for anyone who is reading this: “Are you following your conscience the best you know how?” That is the base standard. The other question is “Are you following scripture and raising your kids to do the same?”

Paul says, “No, you’re probably not.” He will eventually conclude in Romans 3:23 that everyone has violated his conscience and disobeyed the law so that no one living can justify him – or her – self. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

There is so much more to this. I simply don’t have time today to evaluate it. What is your reaction?

⁶ He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For God shows no partiality. (ESV)

There seems to be some contradictions here in this particular passage. Paul says that God will “render” (reward, award) each person according to his works. But, you say, “I thought that people are saved by grace?” Yes, exactly. But our heavenly rewards are based on works. It is like when I was taking Hebrew. I told Dr. Ross that I needed a little “grace.” “Grace is for salvation,” replied the demure prof, “Good grades are for hard work.” And so it is in heaven. We cannot work our way to heaven. Actually, on the contrary, I should say we can. If somehow we could perfectly live and keep the law in every jot and tittle and keep it with the right heart then indeed we could get to heaven. But the practical side of the matter is, we cannot.

Paul’s real point here is that God shows no favoritism. He will reward each person according to what he or she has done. There seems to be a problem with the wording in verse 7. Is Paul saying that those who are “patient in well-doing, God will give eternal life.” Yes, it seems so. But again as I stated in the comments in verses 1-5, we cannot do this on our own. That motivation and ability comes from God. So in a sense, yes, this is technically correct with the realization that we are not doing this on our own. The ability to do well comes because as Christians God has given us this ability.

But regardless of our background, God is not going to show favoritism. In the Roman church at this time, there were arguments over the best way to do church and what OT laws to keep (or not keep). The Jews had to leave town for a while because of Chrestus. He persecuted the local Jewish population and they had to get out of there. The Gentile Christians in Rome were not as familiar with Jewish protocol for doing “church.” The church practices up to this point closely resembled a synagogue ceremony. But once the Jewish Christians left, most of those practices were altered. When the Jews returned there were arguments over who should run things, how should certain things be done, etc. It is eerily similar to our worship wars, Bible-version wars, and blue-jeans-v-tie-wars today.

One group argued against the other for preeminence in running the “show” in Rome. Paul’s comments here point out that God does not play favorites. Paul does not side with either group. He takes his sharp blade of truth and slices it down the middle. They (we) will be rewarded for their (our) ability to do good works. The implied application for those at Rome (and those in Trussville) was (is): It doesn’t matter who’s running the church. Do good. You’ll be judged by your own good works (or lack thereof) later.