Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Romans.  Tonight is study #17 in Romans 3,  and we will read Romans 3:8-12:

And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

I will stop reading there.  I just want to finish discussing the Greek word that is translated as “slanderously reported,” and it is the word “blaspheme.” In our last study, we went to 2Peter, a chapter where God really lays out the errors of false prophets in several verses.  It is a very hard-hitting chapter.  God says of false prophets in 2Peter 2:12:

But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

So “to speak evil of” is a translation of our word that is translated as “slanderously reported,” the word for “blasphemy.”  They blasphemed things they do not understand.  So, again, the biblical definition of “blasphemy” is “to speak evil of.”  It is good that a child of God does not speak evil of anyone or anything.  Remember that we read in Jude where the Lord Jesus would not even revile Satan.  In Jude, Christ is called “Michael, the archangel,” and it says in Jude 1:8:

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

This is the same thing we read in 2Peter 2:10, and it is the same word “blaspheme.”  Then it says in Jude 1:9:

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

There is no need to speak evil of those that are outside the kingdom of God and involved in the wickedness and injustices in the world.  God’s justice will remedy the situation, and we just leave it to God.  We do not have to try to destroy a person and ruin them by character assassination or in some other way.  The people of God do not get involved in these things, which is why it is stunning that there are some individuals that were long-associated with Family Radio and Mr. Camping, but they get involved in speaking evil of others, and they think they are doing God service.  They are warning people: “I need to warn people about EBible Fellowship, or that McCann.   Let me know what he is like.”  I am just using myself as an example, but these people really think they are doing a service to the ones they are telling, but their “railing” is revealing something about themselves, not about the ones they are railing on, because God would not have His people to offer slanderous reports, or to speak evil, in this way.

Again, in 2Peter 2:12, it refers to “natural brute beasts,” and this refers to natural-minded individuals that are closely associated with the Gospel, like an elder, deacon, or pastor, and so forth.  And he speaks evil of things that he understands not.

Of course this is a major problem at this time of the end.  What did God say in Daniel 12 concerning the Word that was sealed up?  It says in Daniel 12:9-10:

And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

None of the wicked understand the things that God had sealed when He unsealed them because these things must be spiritually discerned.  That is the reason, as we are told in 1Corinthians 2:13-14, that one must have the Spirit to follow the proper biblical methodology, comparing spiritual with spiritual, and the Holy Ghost teaches.  I was not going to read it, but I want to make sure I say it right.  It says in 1Corinthians 2:14:

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

He cannot know them.  And if you cannot know them, it would appear to be foolishness to you.  So, obviously, you would not understand them.  This is God speaking, and He has just laid out the proper biblical hermeneutic in the previous verse: “…but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”  That is the methodology, and that is the right and proper way to study the Bible, and to learn right doctrine.   If we go back to Isaiah 28, we have the Old Testament wording of this same principle.   It says in Isaiah 28:9-10:

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

That is the same thing.  It is the same methodology, which is spiritual with spiritual, and in order to do that, you have to go precept upon precept, and line upon line, and so forth.  And this is the way we understand doctrine.  This is the way doctrine is formed.  It comes forth from the Bible from God, and the people of God understand it because they hear Christ’s voice.  The natural-minded people that have not been born again are natural-minded because they lack life in their spirits.  They lack the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

They cannot understand, and the next step in the process is that they will speak evil of the things they understand not.  As Daniel 12 said, the words are sealed up until the time of the end, and the implication is that at the time of the end it is unsealed, and the wise will understand because we have the spirit of God.  And these things must be spiritually discerned because it is hidden information in parabolic form in the Bible, but the proper hermeneutic in the proper time and season will bring it forth, and God shows it to His people, and there is understanding in the minds of the people of God.  We will see it.  We will have faith and realize that these things are so. 

But there is no understanding for the wicked.  They cannot.  They have no ability.  They cannot grasp it, hold onto it, or truly understand it, which frustrates them and angers them.  They may have a sense that the true elect seem faithful and earnest.  At least they may acknowledge that.   And they know we are always talking about the Bible, and going to the Bible.  “I see a little bit about what they are saying, ‘Here a little, there a little,’ and it does seem to work out when I listen to their studies.”  It is just like how many people could not speak against Mr. Camping for fifty years because he was always in the Bible, and who could deny the raising up of the ministry of Family Radio, and their broadcasting free of charge?  It was only at the end that so many called him a false prophet and spoke evil of him because they felt justified in doing so (after May 21, 2011).  But many understood that was not true at all, so they get a sense that we are close to God and have identification with God, and that we are different than those in the churches and the way they go about studying the Word of God.  But it frustrates them because they cannot understand and, eventually, they will speak evil of the doctrines and, perhaps, even those that would share these doctrines.

Let us go back to Romans 3:9:

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

This is very important, and it is good to remind all of us that there is no one better than anyone else.  The Jew is not better than the Gentile.  The Gentile is not better than the Jew.  In fact they are all under sin.  And it goes on to say in Romans 3:10:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth…

None understand of themselves, and that is an important thing to bring up at this point, is it not?  We just looked at those that speak evil of things they understand not, so we should not become high-minded: “We understand! We get it.  We are the people of God, and we are not like those that fail to understand.”  But wait a minute, were it not for God, none would understand.  None are righteous.  It is only after God has bestowed His grace and mercy upon us in salvation, then we were granted the righteousness of Christ, and all our sins were washed away by the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We became clean, dressed in fine white linen, as it were.  We have that breastplate of righteousness that is the Lord Jesus.  By the righteousness of one, many are made righteous. That is where our righteousness comes from, and understanding comes afterwards.

We too have gone long periods of time (maybe even decades) lacking understanding.  I know I grew up in the world, and I did not know anything about anything that was true.  All I knew was that every Easter the “Ten Commandments” movie was on TV.  So I must remember that.  I know full  well what it is like to have “zero” understanding of the truth of God and the doctrines of God that are found in the Bible.  I had no idea.

Here, the Apostle Paul is being moved by God to interject this, and it is an excellent interjection.  No one should think they are better than any other sinner, and that is what it says.  Again, it says in Romans 3:9:

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

So it was “before proved,” and if we go back to Romans 2 we will see what is being referred to, as it says in Romans 2:6-12:

Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

So the Law has condemned all.  That is the teaching of the Bible. Back in Romans 3, it says in Romans 3:23:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Even before this, it said in Romans 3:19-20:

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

All are under the Law.  All are under sin, which is what it said in Romans 3:9.  Jew and Gentile are all under sin because we are conceived in sin and born speaking lies.  You cannot bring the clean from the unclean, and both our parents were unclean, and they cannot give birth to one that is clean.  So the idea of a child being innocent is not biblical, and it is not true.  We are conceived in sin, and born speaking lies.  It is only when God intervenes, (as He did for John the Baptist in his mother’s womb, and He changes the sinner and makes him righteous in His sight by bestowing the righteousness of Christ.  Otherwise, we would all remain in our sins.  All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

You know, the Bible is truly the “great equalizer” of men.  We hear a lot today about equality and justice, and man puts forth his ideas on these things, and they make a mess of it.  Typically, we end up with less equality and less justice when men get involved.  If only the Bible were the Law of the land and the focus of the people of the world, and if they sincerely sought after the things of God, there would not be this feeling that one race is attempting to be superior to another race, or that one sect is superior to another sect, or that one people is superior to another people.  The Bible is the “great equalizer,” and God lays all men low.  That is the first thing the Bible teaches the sinner: you are a sinner.  You have come short of the glory of God.  You have not measured up.  You have failed to attain to that holy, perfect standard of righteousness and goodness, and you have transgressed the Law.  You are, therefore, a lawbreaker and a transgressor, and the Law has pronounced the penalty of death, whether you are Jew or Gentile, male or female, young or old,  black or white, or any other color.  It does not matter.  The Bible condemns you.  God is no respecter of persons.  There is none righteous in His sight.  There is none that have done good.  All are unrighteous.  All are wicked.  All are guilty.  That is what the purpose of the Bible is, as it says in Romans 3:19:

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

No wonder people do not like the Bible!  No wonder they flee from it, and they run from the Word of God when the light of the Gospel shines.  They do not want to be found guilty.  They do not want their mouths stopped.  They do not want to hear that they do not measure up.  What terrible news!  And yet, you see, that is where God begins.  He first lays all the world low – all are unrighteous.  Christ Jesus came into the world to call the unrighteous to repentance.  He did not come to call the “righteous.”  He came to call the wicked to repentance.  The Gospel is not for “righteous men” for the simple fact that there are no righteous men. 

The Gospel of the Bible and the salvation plan of God was designed for desperately wicked men, and there is a whole world of them.  So God’s plan and design was to send forth the Bible to show man his sinfulness, and to humble him and bring him low, and to break him by showing him his desperate need of a Saviour, so that he would realize that he could not get himself saved or do work of any kind that would justify him in the sight of God.  It can only be by the faith and work of Christ performed on the elect sinner’s behalf.  That is the Gospel of the Bible, if anyone could be still long enough under the hearing of the Word to have heard these things and to have cried out to the Lord, “O, Lord, have mercy!  Have mercy, for thou art a merciful God.  I am guilty.  I am certainly dead in sin, and I will be dead for evermore unless thou wilt have mercy!”  You would have been shown your wickedness, and then God may have shown you the Saviour, and the mercy, grace, and forgiveness in the washing away of sin.   He would have shown these things on the pages of the Bible, and there would have developed the desire and longing in the sinner: “If only I could have my sins cleansed and removed from me, and gone forever!  Could it be, O, God?” 

Of course we are now living in a time when that magnificent salvation program of God has been completed.  There is still an element of “drawing” for some of those that have already become saved (prior to May 21, 2011), and they may not know that their sins have been washed away.  That great multitude that God saved out of Great Tribulation may not be aware of that, and they may feel that weight and burden of sin.  It would be sin in their flesh, and not in their soul, but they may not know that.  And it will not be until God’s Word comes to them, as God has commanded us to feed the sheep, and as we bring that information to them, they will be drawn to the Word, and hear of the mercy, grace, and love of God in His salvation and forgiveness of sins, and how there is no more condemnation for them.  And even though they have no actual burden of sin because their sins have already been paid for, there will be tremendous relief of mind and comfort to their soul.