BACKGROUND:
There can be no more argument about special privileges for the Jews, for from their own Scriptures Paul strings together a series of verses outlining universal indictment. The advantage of being a Jew does not apply to salvation. All have sinned; no one is righteous. No one can earn right standing with God.
The phrase no one is seeking God is from Psalm 14:2. Seeking is a way of expressing what is most important to us. This kind of seeking means training ourselves to turn to God first for help, to fill our thoughts with his desires, to take his character for our pattern, and to serve and obey him in everything. The phrase all have turned away from God; all have gone wrong is from Psalm 14:3. The failure to seek God does not leave a person immobilized; rather, it sets him or her on a course of destruction. Whatever does not include the seeking of God ends up leading people in the wrong direction.
From Psalm 5:9 comes the statement that their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Jesus made it clear that the indications of sinfulness come from inside of us (Matthew 15:11). Up until this verse, the evidence of rebellion has been mainly evident between a person and God. Here Paul begins to point out that sinfulness corrupts human relationships too. The gift of communication becomes twisted into a weapon to deceive others.
From Psalm 10:7 comes the picture of sinful people’s mouths full of cursing and bitterness. Eventually, rebellion against God shows itself by tainting the way a person speaks. Cursing and bitterness may strike us first as offensive expressions, but they are also clues about a person’s inward condition.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
One last question, question #5 - from verse 9. Paul is this great prosecuting attorney making his closing arguments: "What shall we conclude then? Are we [Paul's fellow Jews] any better. Not at all. We have already made the charge that all Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin." The last question is about man's sinfulness. Are we any better? Paul answers, “not at all.”
ll. Then Paul goes into section two which is 10-18 which are the quotations. Paul brings in his supporting testimony and since he's speaking to Jews he uses their own Old Testament to reinforce his case. Paul quotes five Old Testament passages. He took the five Old Testament passages, put them together and wrote a poem. v. 10-18 are a poem composed of five quotations out of the Old Testament.
We have in these verses today Paul's topical sermon on sin. And like a good Baptist he has three points. Point #1 he talks about man's character (v. 10-12); Point #2 he talks about man's conduct (v. 13-17); Point #3 he talks about the cause of sin. He does a spiritual clinic of man. He takes some X-rays of the human being and gives the diagnosis that everybody is terminally ill. This is Paul's final indictment.
Paul in these verses makes 14 statements:
1. v. 10-12 actually comes from Psalm 14:1-3. Paul says "There is no one righteous not even one." Universal sin. Nobody bats 1000. All races, all religions, all nationalities. "No one who understands. No one who seeks God." Many people seek the things that God offers but they don't seek God.
We have in these verses today Paul's topical sermon on sin. And like a good Baptist he has three points. Point #1 he talks about man's character (v. 10-12); Point #2 he talks about man's conduct (v. 13-17); Point #3 he talks about the cause of sin. He does a spiritual clinic of man. He takes some X-rays of the human being and gives the diagnosis that everybody is terminally ill. This is Paul's final indictment.
Paul in these verses makes 14 statements:
1. v. 10-12 actually comes from Psalm 14:1-3. Paul says "There is no one righteous not even one." Universal sin. Nobody bats 1000. All races, all religions, all nationalities. "No one who understands. No one who seeks God." Many people seek the things that God offers but they don't seek God.
They're seeking things about God but not God. In fact, they don't seek God. They run from God. Paul makes a case of that. You don't seek God; He seeks you. Remember the bumper stickers "I found it!" The only problem with that is that God wasn't the one who was lost. God's not lost. It should have said, "He found me!" When you look at the parable of the lost shepherd -- there isn't such a parable! There is the parable of the lost sheep.
It wasn't the shepherd who was lost it was the sheep. It wasn't the sheep trying to find the shepherd, it was the shepherd trying to find the sheep. Jesus didn't say, I came to earth to be found. He said "I came to earth to seek and to save that which is lost." Who's doing the seeking? Not man. God is doing the seeking. What are all these religious people looking for? God says they don't know what they're looking for.
v. 12 "And all have turned their own way" every body's doing their own thing. The Knox Translation says: "Everybody's taken the wrong course" they're detoured. "They have altogether become worthless." Notice the word "worthless" -- in the Greek the word was originally used for sour milk. It literally meant these have gone sour. They stink! Have you ever had a thermos of milk and leave it set for a few days? Nothing stinks worse than sour milk! It's wasteless. Useless. The point: Sin stinks. Sin wastes. Sin sours us.
v. 13 is a quote from Psalm 5:9 "Their throat are open graves, their tongue practice deceit." The next couple of verses he's going to talk about our speech. Our speech gives our sinfulness away. When you go to the doctor and he wants to check your health what is the first thing he says? Stick our your tongue! By looking down your throat and looking at your tongue he can diagnose your health.
v. 12 "And all have turned their own way" every body's doing their own thing. The Knox Translation says: "Everybody's taken the wrong course" they're detoured. "They have altogether become worthless." Notice the word "worthless" -- in the Greek the word was originally used for sour milk. It literally meant these have gone sour. They stink! Have you ever had a thermos of milk and leave it set for a few days? Nothing stinks worse than sour milk! It's wasteless. Useless. The point: Sin stinks. Sin wastes. Sin sours us.
v. 13 is a quote from Psalm 5:9 "Their throat are open graves, their tongue practice deceit." The next couple of verses he's going to talk about our speech. Our speech gives our sinfulness away. When you go to the doctor and he wants to check your health what is the first thing he says? Stick our your tongue! By looking down your throat and looking at your tongue he can diagnose your health.
God says He can do it spiritually. "Stick out your tongue. Let Me see what you've been saying. Let Me see what you've been talking about and I can tell what you're like." What you say is what's inside of you. "Out of the heart a man speaketh." The Living Bible says: "The poison of vipers is on their lips." That's a quote from Psalm 140:3.
What's the point? We are all sinners. Everyone of us. On our own, apart from God, we are corrupt, foul people. There's a crescendo building. Hang in there this week. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
The thing that boggles my mind about this is the willingness of both the Jews and the gentiles to choose this sour milk over God. Even today we as Christians choose the treasures of this world over the treasures in heaven time and time again. The phrase "Their throat is an open grave" makes me think about the imagery behind that statement. Nothing living ever comes out of a grave. Lastly the last phrase "the venom of asps is under their lips" makes me think about a book I read this year. The author compared some "Christians" to snakes covered in sheep’s clothing. Just as soon as you trust or believe the sheep it lashes out and releases its poison. By doing this, the false Christian poisons other people around him/her and possibly even the church. Instead of the quick "kill" of the wolf dressed in sheep’s clothes, the snake poisons everything and anyone around him/her. I am a pretty big fan of the show man vs. wild. Sometimes he is forced to kill snakes for defense or for food and he always tells his audience to bury the head of the snake even though its dead because their is still venom left over that might cause injury or death even after the snake is dead. Even after the Jews and gentiles that are being talked about in these passages are long gone, their poison might still be influencing their sphere of influence.
ReplyDelete