 Let's begin reading here in Romans 3 at verse 1. I'll read verses 1 through 8 and we'll get into our study Romans chapter 3 beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 8 the Apostle Paul writes What advantage then has the Jew or what is the prophet of circumcision? much in every way chiefly Because to them were committed the oracles of God For what if some did not believe will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect Certainly not Indeed let God be true But every man a liar as it is written that you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you are judged But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say is? God unjust who inflicts wrath I speak as a man certainly not for then how will God? Judge the world for if the truth of God is increased through my lie to his glory Why am I also still judged as a sinner and why not say let us do evil that good may come as we have as We are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say Their condemnation is just as I've been mentioning to you in our introductions The book of Romans is what has been referred to as a systematic theology. It actually gives to us Information related to God and God's works on planet Earth and Paul has been writing concerning these things. These are fundamentals in order that the church of Rome May have an established faith something that is founded on Factual information something that is founded on the things of Scripture as God has been revealed through the word of God and as We've been looking at Romans. We saw in chapter 1 how he had begun his argument that all mankind is under sin He began with the Gentiles and he pointed out that the Gentiles are sinners by nature They don't know God and as a result of they're not knowing God because they have Rejected him in the way of thinking they have turned to idolatry Then he moved into chapter 2 and began to speak concerning the Jewish nation and began to speak concerning the things Related to them and as he'd been writing concerning the Jews He was speaking of those things that that the Jews themselves would consider to be spiritual advantages They had things that that they could point to they were Abraham's descendants They were people who had received the law of God and Even as he just a moment ago mentioned they had received the right of circumcision all of these They would consider to be advantages and in a way they are in another way They could be a disadvantage because the more that they have the more accountable they are great advantage always results in greater Responsibility and so the more that you have and the more that you know the more you're going to be held accountable for And in the case of the Jews they had something called the oracles of God Notice how he had stated that in verse 2 when you said What advantage do they have well much in every way chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God So he says they have the word of God and the word of God that they've received was Something that was specifically specifically given to them to be an advantage to them in that God gave them their laws When you look in the Jewish laws the law of Moses a lot of times we speak concerning the law And we think in terms of the 10 commandments and I'll look at that in just a moment, but in reality Jewish law had 613 commandments that the rabbis during the time of Paul had basically extrapolated from scripture and So they had 613 specific commandments 248 of them were positive and 365 of those commandments were negative And so Paul is making it very clear that because they have these commandments. They're very accountable to God Now he never taught that the law of Moses Had no value in fact the law of Moses bestowed spiritual advantage to the Jewish nation Because in the law of Moses especially in what is called the Decalogue or the 10 laws or the 10 words the 10 commandments in those 10 words that God gave there was a great advantage to them because The advantage would be that they knew God and they knew God's desire for man When you look at the 10 commandments and we speak about them here in our society fairly often when people begin to say should the 10 Commandments be posted in courthouses or should the 10 Commandments be found in school rooms When you look at those 10 Commandments you can see the tremendous moral Foundations that you could receive you can simply believe those things and try to act on what you believe Because Exodus chapter 20 verses 2 through 17 lists what are called the 10 Commandments and and and and let me read them to you So that you can see the value of them God in Exodus chapter 20 says I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other gods before me God said you shall not make for yourself a carved image. He said you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain He said remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy Honor your father and your mother Thou shalt not murder you shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor You shall not cover at your neighbor's house or anything that he possesses these 10 basic commands were given to the nation of Israel and If they were to be following these commands, then the the nation would be blessed by God There's a great advantage to keeping these things to doing these things I Was interested in the amount of commands that we have the amount of laws that we have and I wasn't able to find anything that is up To date I I found something out of the year 2010 that I found interesting in January January 1st 2010 the United States as a whole as a nation Wrote into law another 40,627 laws Think about that. That's in one year, and that's two years ago 40,627 new laws. It's been stated that the more evil a nation is the more the laws they need and I think there's some truth to that 40,000 new laws to break Because that's what we do with laws. They bring laws and we break those laws But God was making it very simple for man. He said listen. I'm gonna. I'm gonna give to you two tablets I'm gonna give to you obligations to God and obligations to man The first four Commandments pertain to how you are to be with God the last six pertain how you're supposed to be with other human beings And and so if you follow these things these guidelines, you can have a blessed life On one occasion a lawyer had approached the Lord Jesus Christ and he asked a question What is the great command in the law? And Jesus responded by giving the most copied the most memorized the most prayed Command that you find in scripture out of Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 through 9 and it says here Oh, Israel the Lord I got the Lord is one love him with all your hearts. Oh strength mind And Jesus said this is the great commandment But then Jesus went on to say there's a second like unto the first he said thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself Now what what the Lord was doing is basically taking the 10 commandments And he was basically giving us to one love God with everything and love your neighbor as yourself on These two commandments hang all the law and the prophets If you give God what is his do then you're gonna love man because to love man is the first love God John asked him one of his epistles first John he had said how can a person say I love God when He hates his brother. How can a man love God whom he has not seen and hate his brother whom he has seen How can you love the invisible God and hate those who were created in his image is what John was saying So what are you saying? Well to love God with all of your heart is to be expressed in your love that you have for people Paul later on in the book of romans in chapter 13 verse 9 is going to say that the the law at least the laws that pertains to human Relationships is summed up in one word the love your neighbor as yourself and so The Jews had received God's law God's law declared how they are to be with him and And how they should live their lives out amongst themselves with other people and and so Paul is making reference to that here in Romans chapter 3 When he asked the question what advantage then has the Jew or what is a prophet of circumcision and then he answers it much in every way chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God Obedience to the law isn't possible the law is Something that you're commanded to perform or to do but you don't have the power to do so what the law was intended to do amongst other things was to Besides laying the moral foundations of society and developing the foundations for a relationship with God The law was also intended to awaken me to my sinfulness and to direct my footsteps to the one who could save me Seeing that I can't be a perfect human being. I need somebody who is somebody who's able To do those things that the law commanded that I'm unable to do and So the law awakened the need of a savior by revealing Sinfulness and hopelessness and then directs you to Jesus Christ because salvation is through faith in Christ by the grace of God But unfortunately, that's what the Jewish nation was rejecting and so Paul is addressing that and again He says what advantage then has the Jew or what is the prophet of circumcision and Then he supplies their answer the answer by saying a great in every respect But the greatest advantage is they've been given the oracles of God. They've been given the utterance as God They've been given God's word Now when you read your Old Testament, you'll discover that God established a beautiful relationship with the nation of Israel God chose the nation of Israel out of all the nations of the world and made them Specifically his own special people in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy chapter 10 verses 14 and 15 We read indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God Also the earth with all that is in it the Lord delighted only in your fathers to love them And he chose their descendants after them you above all peoples as it is this day So God delighted in the people of Israel. He also says to them I didn't choose you because you were the greatest, but I chose you because you're the least He also said to them. I didn't choose you because you're so good I chose you because the nation's surrounding you are so evil But God had given himself in commitment to through a covenant to the nation of Israel And so because of this they have a special advantage over all other people and in that relationship He also gave to them communication. He gave to them his word That's why in Deuteronomy again in chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 it says here now. Oh, Israel the decrees and laws I'm about to teach you follow them so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it But keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you in Verses 7 and 8 of chapter 4 of Deuteronomy He says for what great nation is there that has God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us For whatever reason we may call upon him and what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as Are in all his all this law which I set before you this day And so God said I'm giving to you a relationship with me and it's going to be based fundamentally on my word Somebody says well, you know that's the whole problem with the word of God. There's so much negative in it Well in Deuteronomy 529 God said oh that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always So that it might go out with them and their children forever if they kept my commands They'd be blessed. I've shared this with you before but it bears repetition. Some of you may not have heard me share this before When I grew up in my home my mom and dad didn't get saved until I got saved and I got saved when I was 20 years old So my mom had developed some habits that she had you know as from childhood that she carried into her marriage One of the habits my mom had was she smoked and my mama Used to put her cigarette in her mouth and she'd go to the kitchen stove and She would light her cigarette. She'd turn on the the burner and she'd been down with the cigarette in her mouth And she'd just take you know She'd light it that way and I can still remember and I was a little boy looking at my mom as She'd light up her cigarette and she'd kind of lean her head up And then the smoke would kind of waft in and it looked like oh, I've got the coolest mom in the world I mean and she just oh she's so cool with that cigarette in her mouth, and I really admired it now my mom Used to say stay away from fire Fire burns, that's a command. It's gonna bless you stay away from it so I'm 14 or 15 and I'm taking up the habit of smoking And I'm thinking my mom looks so cool when she lights that cigarette on that burner And I used to wear a pompadour. I don't even know if anybody in this room knows what that is But it was like, you know, it's one of those hairdos were kind of cool and you know, I used to spray it with Hairspray, I mean it was so hard. It was like a helmet, you know, and and I got my cigarette out I turned on the burner and I put my head next to that fire. I Had the first afro in Norwalk My hair caught on fire, man. I mean it was just smoking like Wiley Coyote, you know and My mom had said stay away from fire. Stay away. It burns. I can tell you she's right Stay away from fire burns commands that God gave to us so many times people will say all those are so negative Why is he just raining on our parade? Why doesn't he allow us to do what we want? He says I want you to keep my command so you'll be blessed Not only will you be blessed? He says but your children after you will be blessed do these things and you'll live And I want to bless your life. And so God said my commands are not grievous. They're not burdensome They're things that I'm giving to you the safeguard you and bless your life And and so that's God's heart towards us and he gave these laws to the nation of Israel And so these people have great advantage even as he says again verse 1 and 2 what advantage then has a Jew or What is a prophet of circumcision much in every way? chiefly Because to them were committed the oracles of God their greatest advantage is they have God's word Well as he continues into verse 3 He says for what if some did not believe well, they're unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect Then he answers that certainly not Indeed let God be true But every man a liar as it is written that you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you're judged and So they have great advantage in every respect, but what happens when people don't believe Is it better to have no knowledge than to have some knowledge of God's word? Well Paul's answer would be to have some knowledge of his word is good Because it lays a moral foundation and not only that it also gives great advantage to those who are presenting the gospel Because that person who has some understanding of the Bible is easier to reach than the one who has no understanding Now I began to wonder in our society at this time How many people actually still believe that the Bible is inspired by God? How many people actually believe that that we have God's word? Contained in what we call the Bible the word Bible is the word Greek word beblas it speaks a book and what we really have is we have 66 books that have been compiled into the single book that we refer to as the Bible Broken down into two sections Old Testament 39 books in New Testament 27. We have 66 inspired Books each one of them Individual books that have been compiled into the single book that we refer to as our Bible And so I was wondering how many people actually understand that this is something that has been given to us over the course of some 1500 years by over 40 writers in three different languages And yet it compiles into and has a single account of God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ that you can find from Genesis to Revelation how many people actually believe that and so I was wondering concerning that and so I looked up Gallup poll and as I looked up the Gallup poll Concerning this question. How many Americans still believe in the Bible? The response is interesting a 2011 Gallup poll reveals that three in ten say that the Bible is the literal word of God 49% say that it is the inspired word of God, but should not be taken literally but only nine only 17% believe it is only an ancient book of stories recorded by man So the fact that we have a large percentage of Americans who still believe that the Bible is God's word It's a tremendous advantage When I present the gospel I can refer to books of the Bible. I can say, you know John 3 16 Says God so loved the world I can point that out and I can point out various scriptures about what God says and The average American still to this day may may not have a Bible may not read the Bible But when it's quoted will listen they still do and So there's a great advantage in having the word of God Because you can present to them what God's word has to say But within that question is verse 3 when he says well What if some do not believe? So Paul is now answering Jewish arguments that are posed against the Christian faith and the question that he's dealing with is What what if some didn't believe? Undermining that particular question or the foundation of that is is simply the belief that it's not their fault if they don't believe Well, it's not their fault if they don't believe the Bible is what they're saying But Paul's argument would be very simple. He'd say that's that's not a good argument. Why well because The Old Testament contains enough information for them to see Messiah The scripture contains hundreds of prophecies that reveal Jesus and salvation So it's no excuse to say that I don't believe that simply because I choose not to Because my unbelief does not make God into a liar let God be true in every man a liar God's word is true, and it's my problem when I reject what God's word has to say When Jesus was speaking on one occasion. He said this it's found in John 5 39 He said you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of me He was speaking to his opponents, and he was saying you ransacked the Bible You're looking for all kinds of small things nuances and all and you're you're missing the entire picture The whole picture is that it's referring to Messiah who's to come and it's speaking Jesus was saying of himself in Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 15. He was speaking to Timothy there, and he said from infancy You've known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus Which is why it's a wise thing if we're parents to raise our children in the knowledge and nurture of God's word You're laying a foundation in their life that you can appeal to later on My children when they were growing up got devotions every day of their life My children didn't get devotions only two nights out of the week They didn't get devotions on Wednesday night. My children did not get devotions on Sunday night And the reason they didn't is because they were here in church on Wednesday night and Sunday night But Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday and Saturday I gave them devotions if I was not there my wife Marie gave them devotions We laid a foundation in our children's life because the word of God teaches us to do that Train up a child in the ways you go when he's old he will not depart from it So it's my responsibility to lay the fundamentals of foundations into their life because even if they depart for a while Even if they start going out trying to craft their own lifestyle or to reject God and all they have had something built into their life So that I can appeal to that I can I can say you were raised differently You know what God's word has to say about this subject. You are you're sinning against the light and you know that and So it's a wise thing to lay foundations in the lives of your children And that's why Paul said to Timothy who was raised by a Jewish mother with his his dad was a Greek who didn't even believe In and in God as a Jew did He said your mother and your grandmother have laid the foundation the fundamentals of faith in you and they taught you from The time you were an infant what God's word has to say is there an advantage? absolutely absolutely But what happens when they don't believe well The question isn't that they don't believe The question is why don't they believe? Hebrews chapter 4 verse 2 gives the answer We also have had the gospel preached to us just as they did But the message they heard was of no value to them because those who heard did not combine it with faith So to hear it's one thing to hear and do is another God never calls me just to hear God calls me to hear and to do and it's in the doing that I demonstrate that I am actually hearing Well does unbelief nullify God's faithfulness his answer in verse 4 certainly not that God be true in every man a liar Man's faithlessness does not annul God's faithfulness Just because somebody refuses to believe doesn't make God the liar. They're just refusing to believe I Could be holding a loaded pistol in my hand, and I could be believing that that it's really unloaded And I could pull the trigger and find out that indeed it was loaded my Rejection of the fact that it was loaded simply by saying I don't believe it's loaded Doesn't nullify the fact that it is and God's word simply because somebody says oh I just don't believe it's the word of God doesn't nullify God's faithfulness It simply reveals the man's unfaithfulness and unbelief the refusal to believe in Second Timothy 2 13 it says if we are faithless he will remain faithful for he cannot deny himself Hebrews chapter 6 verse 18 says it is impossible for God to lie Well taken in another step in verse 5, but if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God What shall we say is God unjust who inflicts wrath I speak as a man? Certainly not for then how will God judge the world? So since you begin to speak of grace and this is an argument that Jews were using against Paul Should we not continue in sin so grace abounds even more? Sin is natural for us. It's natural to sin and Because it's natural to sin it must be how we've been designed we've been designed to sin So if this is so How can we be judged for doing that which is natural for us to do so should we not continue to sin so that grace covers more sin? How can God judge us when in fact the deeper the sin the greater the glory of grace and So they're arguing from that perspective Listen the grace of God as it's presented by Paul and you find in scripture Is a word that speaks relating to the God giving to us favor that we don't deserve and So when Paul would preach no matter how deep your sin God goes deeper still Well those who are arguing against and we're saying well then that means we should continue in sin so that grace could be even more abundant Some people would say I don't believe that's a possible argument. I don't even believe that people thought that way they think that way now I Have spoken to more people than I care to to remember at the moment Who have had that lifestyle as an argument who have said listen if God's grace has been given to me Then I can continue in the life that I was living and still go to heaven because it's by grace that I'm saved through faith And I believe in God and therefore Why are you making an issue of the things that I do or the lifestyle that I live because God doesn't judge me? I mean some people even go so far as to tattoo that on their chest only God is my judge Well the bottom line is You cannot use the grace of God as an excuse you cannot use the grace of God to Continue in sin That's right. I'm glad that I'm glad that my mom's here today. She clapped That's true. You don't take the grace of God and extend it to give you permission to continue in sin on one occasion there was a Jewish man his name was Simon Simon Invited a young rabbi by the name of Jesus to come for dinner Jesus showed up it was presented to Simon's seated in the place of honor at the table and Was there with some guests? When there was a sound That drew people's attention they turned in they looked including Simon There was a woman walking into the room and as she Stood there at the door and she began to look around to try and find the place of honor that she might approach Jesus she Was noted by the people Simon noted her When her eyes finally fell on Jesus Christ she began to weep uncontrollably the tears began to run down her cheeks and Pull up on her chin As she had made her way finally to this rabbi by the name of Jesus And the tears began to drip off of her chin and began to land softly on his feet And she noticed that there was dust on his feet because the tears began to make small riblets Without thinking she knelt down and she took her hair and she undid her hair Which was a very shameful thing for a woman to do in public But she let her hair down and as she let her hair down she took Jesus by Her hands and held his feet and she began to dry his feet with her hair and As she held his feet in her hands She was overcome with gratitude And she kissed his feet Simon was there watching this he's a Pharisee the word Pharisee means separated one He's a religious individual who's known for his righteousness at least self righteousness He began to think within himself and he said If this man truly were a prophet he would know who and what manner of woman this is that is touching him for she's a sinner It was just a polite way of saying she's a prostitute And it doesn't take a prophet to know a prostitute when you see what Jesus said some and I have something to say to you Say on There's a man Who had two men who owed him money one owed a great sum of money and the others so owed him a lesser amount But the man who was owed the money Completely forgave both of those men their debts. I'm gonna ask you a question Simon. Who's gonna love them the most? Simon says well, I suppose the one who owed the most Jesus says and this you have said correctly This woman Simon do you see her? You see Simon didn't see women. He just saw test cases. He's just he didn't see people Do you see her? You see Simon when I came in you didn't afford me the three basic Criticism that are afforded to every guest in a Jewish home. You didn't Anoint my hair with oil. You didn't give me a kiss of greeting You didn't wash my dusty feet from walking the roads in the sandals. You didn't do any of those On the other hand Simon This woman hasn't ceased kissing my feet. She's anointed me With her tears This woman is a sinner indeed But he said there's a principle I want you to learn Simon the one who has been forgiven much loves much loves much listen When you come into contact with Jesus Christ and you realize what he has done in your life, how much he's forgiven you You're gonna love him much And when you love him much You're not gonna be arguing with people like me about your rights to go out and party drink and sleep around and still go to heaven Because you will real realize that those are sins That God Jesus Christ placed on a cross and when a person argues that they have the freedom to continue in sin So that grace may abound It's like kissing the tip of the spear that was plunged into the side of Jesus Christ You do not take the grace of God lightly and that's the argument that Paul is having right now Shouldn't we continue in sin? Now if it's natural for us to do that how can God judge it How can God judge us for doing that which is natural for us? And by the way seeing that God's grace is deeper than our sin Shouldn't we continue doing what is natural for us because doesn't that bring more glory to God? If we have a natural disposition to sin, how can we also be deserving of judgment? Well, though I may have a natural disposition God is a righteous judge and God will judge me for my sin Psalm 94-23 he has brought on them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness The Lord our God shall cut them off You see God's judgment is right in Naum chapter 1 verses 2 and 3 it says God is jealous and the Lord avenges the Lord Avenges and is furious the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries and he reserves wrath for his enemies The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet And so Paul's argument would be though it may be natural for you God is a righteous judge and he will deal with your sin He goes on in verses 7 and 8 and he says for if the truth of God has increased through my lie to his glory Why am I also still judged as a sinner and why not say let us do evil that good may come as we are Slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say their condemnation. He says is just You're saying that I teach that the more wicked a person is the more he glorifies God. That's not true You're misunderstanding grace grace is intended to set you free to serve God not to continue living a sinful life God gives you his grace to set you free Speak to the alcoholic when the alcoholic is sober and when the alcoholic is being honest and Ask that alcoholic whether or not their life is pleasing to them whether they enjoy it and They're more sober moments and they're more honest moments. They will say to you. I'm in bondage I'm in bondage to this habit. I can't take it anymore Speak to the drug addict or speak to the person who is in bondage to their anger and ask them Are you happy the way that you are and when they're honest they'll say no, I'm not Well, what are you? I'm in bondage. I'm a slave to this And we can say the same thing those of us who've been set free from that can say yes That's exactly what I was I was in slavery to my temper slavery to the alcohol slavery to the drugs Slavery to the immorality and all the rest of the things that I used to do. I violated God's law. Yes, indeed I did not give him the honor that was due his name nor did I care for people. I didn't love God with everything within me Nor did I love my neighbor as myself The only thing I loved was me. I was my own God. I worshiped at my own throne. I did the things that I wanted But then God broke through through the gospel of Jesus Christ and expressed to me his grace And how he can set you free and he can take you at one time We were a captive and he can put your feet on solid ground and set you free to walk with him And the Holy Spirit can empower you and transform your life and you can become Unrecognizable to those who know you best because God has done such a transforming work of grace in your life And now you're walking in the grace of God. What should we continue and so that grace may abound God forbid How can we who have been set free from sin live any longer therein Paul would say I? Have been set free by Jesus Christ and in Galatians 5 13 and 14 Paul said for you brother and have been called to Liberty Only do not use Liberty as an opportunity for the flesh But through love serve one another for all the laws fulfilled in one word even this you shall love your neighbor as yourself The body of Christ today in the 21st century in the year 2013 needs to learn this lesson again It's not about me It's not about you It's about him It's about what he has done and what he can do he sets the captive free so that we might be free indeed through Jesus Christ That's how it works, and that's what God has called us to So the argument shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound Receives a resounding no we have been set free from sin therefore with this body Let us serve the Lord who bought us with the price. Let us love Jesus with all that's within us