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Rom 3:9-18 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: ?There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.? ?Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.? ?The poison of vipers is on their lips.? ?Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.? ?Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.? ?There is no fear of God before their eyes.? Paul concludes from the reasoning of the previous verses, that sin is inexcusable outside of Christ. Can anyone possibly make it to heaven based on human argument or effort? No way! All have sinned and have together become vile, defenseless people. When Paul quoted the scriptures here, it was prompted by the realization of mankind?s total inability to justify itself. People are absolutely guilty before God, and no amount of human reasoning can explain away that guilt. A person must accept this truth before salvation can happen. One of the hardest things in the world to do is to convince a person of their sinfulness. This is impossible without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit uses the law, written or unwritten, to convict the world of its sin. Only those who accept their sinfulness, and then seek God for His solution, will find forgiveness in Jesus Christ; those who do not will become hardened of heart. In verse 9 of Romans Chapter 3, Paul expresses the truth that the Jews are no better than the godless heathens they despise. Paul, as a Jew, asks, ?Are we any better?? Then he answers, ?Not at all!? To demonstrate this truth further, he goes on to say, ?Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.? The Jews cannot hold themselves before others as godly examples. Without the Justifier, Jesus Christ, all have become worthless. The Jew, the legal Christian, or any other religious person, cannot claim superiority over other people. All have sinned and are in need of the only good Person and His righteousness. We are all proved to be sinners by our lives and the bible. Confess that you are under sin so that Jesus can raise you above it by grace. Paul appealed to the Old Testament to show that the human race as a whole has fallen away from God. The Jews, who trusted in self-righteousness and the law, were included in the group called sinners. They should have known from the sacrifices that they were sinners, but they did not. So Paul quotes Psalm 14 to show the sinfulness of the Jews. No one is innocent in God?s eyes, so God became Innocence incarnate. The life of Jesus became the innocents we use to get to Heaven. No one understands God, so God, the Son, came and explained Him. Jesus puts it all together so that we can comprehend the Father. No one seeks God, so Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We did not bring Jesus down from heaven; He came from the Father to initiate salvation. We receive this great salvation when we trust in Jesus. Since the Garden of Eden, all have deviated their course away from God. The false religions of the world are vain attempts to quell the conscience. The whole world has become unprofitable at the same time. There is no goodness in man. Salvation with man is impossible. Their idea of God is an opened grave, and listening to them will only lead you to death. They use deceit and craftiness to draw you into their false religion, e.g. the Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and other cults. If you cannot instantly perceive their lies, don?t worry, the poison of snakes is under their tongues. They will spray your eyes sooner or later. Those without Jesus have mouths that curse. I do not mean foul language, but rather ill will for men. Christians have good will toward men, hoping for them to receive the blessing from God. When James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy men?s lives, Jesus sternly rebuked them. He said that He came to save lives, not destroy them. Christians want people to accept the forgiveness and grace that they received when they believed in Jesus. This is not so with other religious people, whatever faith they belong to. Since they believe in salvation by works, in their minds they have earned salvation. Those who do not earn it will get what?s coming to them, they say. Their mouths are full of imprecating prayers to heaven, against those who they consider unrighteous. Their evil thoughts of others also enter their hearts, as bitterness fills them. This is the way of ruin. Wretchedness and destruction are their evil companions on the road of their lives. They know no peace, and quietness of heart eludes them. They believe that they are right in themselves, and are even convinced that God is on their side, so they are blinded by this deception and have no fear of reprisal from God. The inner, God-given conscience has been seared as with an iron, and they have dulled their guilt away. Let us thank God for His kindness in Christ, and wish the best for those who have still not believed in Jesus for salvation. Since we have not earned salvation, we can give up our pride, and joyfully share with others the good news of Jesus Christ. Amen!