Romans 3:9-20 (All have sinned)

Romans 3 brings Paul’s courtroom case to its closing argument. Paul has already charged the pagan, the Gentile, the Greek, the one who pushes the knowledge of God out of the mind, and Paul has also charged the religious person, especially the Jew who thinks law-keeping makes him better than the others. The text shuts down both defenses. “Are Jews any better off?” Paul answers, “Not at all,” because all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.

God’s created order showed his righteousness from the beginning. God made human beings for fellowship with him, but man chose sin. Sin is not merely a list of broken rules, even though breaking God’s commands is sin. Sin is living by one’s own impulse, the way Eve looked at the fruit and decided that God’s way was holding something back. The heart that follows impulse instead of God’s word shows the deeper problem.

Paul gathers the Old Testament like witnesses in court. Psalm 14 says, “None is righteous, no, not one,” and even the person who thinks he is seeking God must learn that God sought first. Psalm 5 exposes the mouth, where truth gets twisted, held back, colored, and used to deceive. Psalm 140 pictures the tongue as sharp as a serpent, with venom under the lips. Psalm 10 adds curses and bitterness. Isaiah 59 shows feet that run to evil and paths full of ruin and misery. Psalm 36 gives the root of it all: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

The law functions like a mirror. The law does not save, and the law cannot make a person righteous before God. The law stops every mouth and holds the whole world accountable. Giving, serving, kindness, loving neighbors, and doing good things cannot become a righteous standing before God. “By works of the law no human being will be justified in God’s sight,” because through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

The gospel has two sides like a coin. One side shows God’s righteousness available by faith through Jesus Christ. The other side shows sin and the wrath of God upon unbelief. A person must see that he is lost before he sees why he needs a Savior. Yet Romans does not end with guilt, because the turn comes with the righteousness of God received by faith.

God declares the believer righteous by justification, and God keeps working through sanctification. The righteous may fall seven times and rise again, not because sin is small, but because God does not leave his child there. The Christian is still a sinner saved by grace, still being changed, still getting back up, until glorification makes complete what God has already declared positionally.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Sin is living by impulse. [51:36] Sin reaches deeper than a list of bad behaviors. The heart of sin is the decision to trust one’s own desire, timing, and judgment over God’s word. Eve’s act shows that rebellion often begins not with hatred of God, but with the suspicion that God is withholding something good. That impulse still exposes the human heart. [51:36]
• 2. The law stops every mouth. [01:07:18] The law is not a ladder into righteousness. The law is a mirror that removes excuses and shows the truth about the person looking into it. Religious effort may impress people, but it cannot answer the charge of guilt before God. The whole world stands accountable, not just the obvious sinner “out there.” [67:18]
• 3. The gospel has two sides. [01:12:25] The gospel announces salvation by faith, but it also tells the truth about sin and wrath. A thin gospel that only offers benefit without guilt does not explain why a Savior is needed. The righteousness of God is good news precisely because human righteousness cannot stand. Grace becomes clear when sin is no longer hidden. [72:25]
• 4. God sought before anyone sought. [57:39] “No one seeks for God” humbles every spiritual story. Faith does not begin with human brilliance, sensitivity, or moral seriousness. God moves first, awakens first, draws first, and gives light where the natural heart had none. That truth removes boasting and deepens gratitude. [57:39]
• 5. The righteous get back up. [01:09:01] A believer’s fall is real, and Christian sin can be grievous. Yet God does not abandon his child in the ditch of sin. Justification declares the believer righteous, and sanctification keeps shaping the believer toward what God has already declared. The getting back up is not denial of sin, but evidence that God is still at work.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [44:13] - Romans 3 and Church Updates
• [45:07] - Society Rejects God’s Supernatural Power
• [46:35] - Pagans and Religious People Under Wrath
• [48:10] - The Gospel Begins With Sin
• [49:25] - Romans 1:16-17 Reviewed
• [50:53] - Sin as Living by Impulse
• [53:54] - Paul’s Courtroom Closing Argument
• [55:26] - Psalm 14: None Righteous
• [58:48] - The Mouth Exposes the Heart
• [62:27] - Isaiah 59: Feet Running to Evil
• [64:42] - No Fear of God
• [65:42] - The Law Stops Every Mouth
• [68:31] - Sinners Saved by Grace
• [71:43] - Two Sides of the Gospel
• [74:13] - God Is Still Working
• [76:13] - Faith, Conviction, and Commitment

Bible Reading

Romans 3:9-20
“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, as it is written: ‘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.’ ‘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.’ 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.” [44:02]

Psalm 14:1-3
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” [55:36]

Psalm 5:9
“For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.” [58:50]

Psalm 140:3
“They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps.” [01:00:26]

Isaiah 59:7-8
“Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.” [01:02:27]

Psalm 36:1
“Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.” [01:04:44]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 3:9-20, what parts of a person does Paul describe when he shows how sin works itself out—mouth, lips, feet, eyes, or something else? What picture does that create of how widespread sin is?
2. In Psalm 5:9 and Psalm 140:3, what specific images are used for sinful speech, and what do those word pictures emphasize about the tongue? [59:23]
3. According to Isaiah 59:7-8, what do sinful people run toward, and what do they fail to know? How does that connect actions with inner direction?
4. In Romans 3:19-20, what does the law do, and what does it not do? [01:05:42]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says, “Are Jews any better off? No, not at all.” Why would that have been an important correction for religious people, and what false confidence was being exposed? [54:16]
2. If “no one seeks for God,” how should a person understand the beginning of faith and repentance? What does that truth do to pride and boasting? [57:39]
3. Sin is more than breaking a list of rules; it is living by personal impulse instead of God’s word. How does that help explain why outwardly decent people still need the gospel just as much as openly rebellious people do? [51:36]
4. The law stops every mouth and gives knowledge of sin, but it cannot justify. Why is that distinction so important when a person starts to rely on giving, serving, kindness, or morality as a reason God should accept them? [01:07:29]

Application questions

1. Where is the pull of living by impulse strongest right now—words, anger, sexuality, money, comfort, schedule, or something else? What does it look like in real life to pause and submit that area to God’s word? [51:36]
2. The mouth often reveals the heart. When has speech lately sounded more like twisting, flattering, bitterness, or sharpness than truth and grace? What patterns are showing up in conversation, texting, or online responses? [59:41]
3. It is easy to compare with “worse” people and feel spiritually safer than they are. Where does that temptation show up personally—in family life, church life, politics, or moral issues? What helps bring the heart back to humility before God? [46:37]
4. The law is a mirror, not a ladder. What are the “good things” most likely to become a false source of confidence—serving, generosity, Bible knowledge, church attendance, being a decent neighbor, or something else? [01:07:44]
5. The gospel has two sides: real guilt and real grace. Which side is harder to believe personally right now—that sin is more serious than it appears, or that God’s righteousness really is given by faith in Christ? Why? [01:12:25]
6. The righteous fall seven times and rise again. In what area is there a need to get back up instead of giving in to discouragement? What would repentance and renewed obedience look like this week, in very practical terms? [01:09:01]
7. God’s righteousness is received by faith, not earned by performance. Is there a clear resting in Christ, or is there still leaning on a spiritual résumé? If assurance feels shaky, what would it look like to come again in simple faith and trust him rather than personal record? [01:13:07]