You may be seated.
Good morning.
My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us.
We're glad that you're here.
And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good,
they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it.
Which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.
We're continuing this morning our series in the book of Romans.
The book of Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD,
and it is called Romans for a very simple reason,
which is that it's written to the churches in the city of Rome.
This letter is about the gospel.
It's about the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.
And Paul's hope in writing it, as we saw in chapter 1,
is that these churches would be established in the gospel.
We're going to see many applications, as we already have,
but Paul is especially concerned with the mission and the unity of the church.
And while we go off on many different topics,
there will be many spokes in the book of Romans.
We are constantly coming back to the hub of the gospel.
We are approaching the end of chapter 3 of the book of Romans.
Paul is coming to the conclusion of his argument that everyone deserves God's wrath,
both the religious and the non-religious.
And so as he comes to his climax here, he presents one of his final arguments,
his final proofs of human depravity,
which are the words that come out of our mouths.
And so I invite you to turn with me now to God's word.
You can turn in your Bible.
You can turn on your phone.
You can turn in your worship guide.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.
Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5 tells us,
every word of God proves true.
He's a shield to those who take refuge in him.
And so that's why we read now Romans chapter 3, starting at verse 13.
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.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we do praise you and we thank you again as we do every Sunday.
That you have given us rich and deep, challenging and encouraging instruction in your word.
Lord, we ask that you would do that.
You do it again this morning.
That you'd pour out your Holy Spirit here now in a special way among us.
That we would be able to hear and believe and understand what you've written for us here in your word.
Most of all, we ask that you would show us Jesus with great clarity.
That we would see his beauty, his love, his mercy, and his grace.
That it would melt our hearts and we would follow after him in faith.
We ask all of these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
13 years ago, now soon to be 14 years ago, in 2011, we celebrated our great American event of Super Bowl XLV.
And as you know, for some people, the Super Bowl is about the football.
And for some of us, the Super Bowl is about the commercials.
And in 2011, Bridgestone Tire ran what became a famous commercial about how efficient and beautiful and durable their products were.
It starts out with two men who are together next to each other in a cubicle farm.
And we find out that one man, whose name is Rod, has just fired off an email to the man in the cubicle next to him.
That seems like a normal occurrence, except maybe they could talk to each other instead of emailing back and forth.
And his friend turns to him, though, and says,
Oh no, Rod, you sent this email, reply all.
You hit reply all.
And Rod looks like his life has just come to an end.
And so he runs off out of the office.
He gets into his car with his wonderful Bridgestone tires that take him quickly to a conference room
where we see him running around the ring of the conference table, slamming laptops shut
before anyone has a chance to see his email.
He then reaches into a home window where someone is working from home,
grabs their laptop, pulls it out of the window, and disappears.
He shows up in a restaurant where there's a man on a laptop,
and he interrupts the server so that she spills coffee onto his keyboard.
He slaps cell phones out of people's hands.
He even goes off-road, which I assume is to show us again how great Bridgestone is,
to hunt down a man who is backpacking in the wilderness.
So he can also intercept the email.
And at the end, we see him running into a room, perhaps full of computer servers,
and he rips the wires out of the wall.
All the while, Rod is screaming.
And why is Rod screaming?
Why is he in such a rush to intercept everyone's laptop and phone before they have a chance to see his email?
Well, we get a hint at the very beginning of the commercial because as Rod hits send,
there is a big smirk on his face.
Rod is screaming because he has just emailed out something so inappropriate.
Maybe it's scandalous.
Maybe it's hurtful.
But there's only one answer.
He needs Bridgestone tires to get him there in time.
Before they read his words and find out the truth.
Paul is making his closing argument here of chapters 1 through 3 in Romans.
I've been telling you that he sums it up in verse 23, which we'll come to soon,
when he says,
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
So I've told you over and over now, Paul's making this argument that everyone deserves God's wrath.
Chapter 1, non-religious people, the Gentiles, deserve God's wrath.
Chapter 2, religious people, the Jews, deserve God's wrath.
Chapter 3, Paul responds to objections and ties it all together.
He is answering all excuses.
He is closing all doors.
He is leaving no room for escape.
And so as he comes to the very end of this argument, the chance for him to clench it once and for all,
where does he go?
If he is going to answer every objection and close every mouth, he heads to our words.
Paul is saying this.
You think you can wiggle out of everything that I've said in these previous three chapters.
Maybe you're convinced that somehow it doesn't apply to you.
Well, as we come to the end, let's look at this.
What are the words that come out of your mouth?
That's why he tells us, verse 13,
Their throat is an open grave.
Imagine you go to the cemetery and you dig up a casket,
and it has been there for 20 years.
This happens in TV shows all too often, by the way.
And you open it up.
What will it smell like?
That's the image that Paul wants you to have.
He's saying that is what human speech is like.
The words that come out of our mouths stink like a dead corpse to high heaven.
It goes even further than that.
Verse 13, he says,
The venom of asps is under their lips.
Asps is a type of snake.
It's a category of snake.
There's snakes that are poisonous.
In other words, Paul is saying,
When you speak against someone,
Verse 14,
With curses and bitterness,
You are biting them.
But it is not the bite of a garden snake.
It is in fact the bite of a rattlesnake.
It doesn't merely hurt.
It kills.
You might say,
Sticks and stones can break my bones.
Words will never hurt me.
Paul here would seek to differ.
He's telling us the things that come out of our mouths
Have the power to kill.
The venom of asps is under their lips.
The commercial with Rod landed so well
Because we all know the truth.
There are things that you have said
And there are things that I have said
That we would like to remain hidden.
Some of you are going to the book of James
In Sunday school right now.
I don't know if you're to chapter 3 yet or not.
But James makes the same argument.
Chapter 3, verse 2, he says,
For we all stumble in many ways.
And if anybody does not stumble in what he says,
He is a perfect man.
Able also to bridle his whole body.
Now, if you lack self-awareness,
You might hear that and say,
Wow, I didn't know I was a perfect man.
But I'm perfect in the things that come out of my mouth.
Well, just in case that's your thought,
James follows up, verses 8 and 9.
But no human being can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil,
This is going to sound familiar,
Full of deadly poison.
Paul hasn't made a mistake here.
He hasn't misspoken by talking about asps.
No, James says the same thing.
It's not a garden snake.
It's a rattlesnake.
If you have made it this far
In the book of Romans,
And you think you're good.
You think you're able to get off the hook
In every angle that Paul has exposed,
The question is this.
Have you ever spoken poorly of someone else?
Have you ever said something
In order to harm someone else?
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.
Now you might say to that,
Well, you know,
Nobody's perfect.
Everyone has said things that they regret,
So it must not be a big deal.
And if you say that,
Of course you've made the great mistake.
And the great mistake is this,
To compare yourself
To the people around you.
What has Paul been telling us?
What's the standard?
The standard is the holiness of God.
The standard is not the people around us.
The standard is God himself.
And so that's why the prophet Isaiah,
In Isaiah chapter 6,
When he encounters the holiness of God,
Says this,
Woe is me, for I am lost.
I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst
Of a people of unclean lips.
For my eyes have seen the king,
The lord of hosts.
What's Isaiah saying?
He's saying my comparison to other people
Is irrelevant.
When I see the holiness and glory
And majesty of God,
I finally know how far I fall short.
Brothers and sisters,
The same is true for us.
And also, as I've been telling you,
What Paul teaches,
Jesus taught first.
These are Jesus' words from Matthew chapter 12.
Out of the abundance of the heart,
The mouth speaks.
The good person,
Out of his good treasure,
Brings forth good.
And the evil person,
Out of his evil treasure,
Brings forth evil.
But I tell you,
On the day of judgment,
People will give account
For every careless word they speak.
For by your words,
You will be justified.
And by your words,
You will be condemned.
Paul doesn't just leave us there, though.
We transition
From verses 13 and 14,
Which talk about our words,
The things that come out of our mouth.
And suddenly,
It gets worse.
Verses 15
Through 17,
Savage words
Lead to savage actions.
Verse 15,
Their feet are swift to shed blood.
Verse 16,
And their paths are ruin and misery.
And we shouldn't be surprised
That this is the progression
That happens here.
This is a truth
That world history bears out.
This is a foundational,
Fundamental principle of humanity.
And it's this.
Hateful words
Lead to violent actions.
Hateful words
Lead to violent actions.
We might even say more than that.
Dehumanizing words
Lead to violent actions.
You'll see this
On the back of your worship guide.
Dehumanization has fueled
Innumerable acts of violence.
Human rights violations.
War crimes.
And genocide.
It makes slavery, torture,
And human trafficking possible.
Dehumanizing others
Is the process
By which we become accepting
Of violations
Against human nature
The human spirit
And for many of us
Violations against
The central tenets
Of our faith.
Brene Brown is saying
In the 21st century
What Paul knew
In the first century
What history has borne out
Hateful words
Lead to violent actions.
Brene Brown then goes on
To give a list of examples
The Nazis
Called the Jews
Rats
In the Rwanda genocide
The Hutus
Called the Tutsis
Cockroaches
The Serbs
Called the Bosnians
Aliens
In fact this is
A recognized tactic
Of fascist leaders
You dehumanize
Your opponents
And then you justify
Violence
And what Paul teaches
Jesus taught first
This is from
Matthew chapter 15
Do you not see
That whatever goes
Into the mouth
Passes into the stomach
And is expelled
But what comes
Out of the mouth
Proceeds from the heart
And this defiles
A person
For out of the heart
Come evil thoughts
Murder
Adultery
Sexual immorality
Theft
False witness
And slander
These
Are what defile
A person
Hateful words
Lead
To violent
Actions
Now we could say
Many things about this
We could take it
In many directions
I'll say this
For
2024
As our society
As our culture
Becomes
Less and less
Christian
Dehumanizing
Words
Are becoming
More and more
Common
They're becoming
More and more
Common in our
Culture
In our
Politics
And so I want
To tell you
This this morning
Whatever you do
Whichever
Politician
You support
Do not
Participate
Do not
Participate
In throats
That are an
Open grave
In tongues
That deceive
In the venom
Of asps
That is under
Their lips
Don't participate
Do not celebrate
Our politicians
May refer
To people
As garbage
As deplorables
As trash
And as animals
Brothers and sisters
That is not
How Christians
Speak
Those are not
The words
That come out
Of your mouth
Don't use them
Don't celebrate
Them
Grieve
When others
Do
Do not
Participate
Paul is
Telling us
Here
It is
Evil
It is
Wicked
This is
The sign
Of God's
Judgment
On the world
This is not
The way
That Christians
Talk
It is
Language
That is
A stench
In the
Nostrils
Of the
Lord
Not only
That
Winsome
Speech
More and
More
Is part of
Our witness
In this
World
When you
Speak
In a way
That honors
Those around
You
People will
Notice
And they
Will notice
Because our
Culture is
Becoming
More and
More crass
Every year
They will
Know
That something
Is different
Remember
Sinful words
Are not a
Garden snake
They are
Paul has
Told us
This
James tells
Us this
A rattlesnake
They are
Filled
With venomous
Poison
I call
Your attention
To page
Five
Of your
Worship
Guide
Last week
I told you
I was giving
You one
Of my
Favorite
Quotes
What the
Heart
Desires
The will
Chooses
The mind
Justifies
I'm going to
Give you
Another one
Of my
Favorite
Quotes
This
Week
This
Is a
Prayer
For
Christians
About what
Comes out
Of their
Mouths
Lord
I am
Surrounded
By
Peoples
Whose
Words
Are
Either
Fawning
And
Flattering
Or
Malicious
And
Stinging
Don't
Let
Let me
Imitate
Them
Make
My
Words
Honest
And
True
Economical
And
Few
Wise
And
Well
Chosen
Calm
And
Kind
Give
Me
So
Much
Love
And
Grace
That
This
Kind
Of
Conversation
Comes
Naturally
To
Me
There
Are
Few
Quotes
That
I
Commend
To
You
As
Highly
As
This
One
There
Are
Many
Things
That
Show
Up
In
Our
Worship
Guide
In
The
Side
Bars
And
I
Have
Never
Said
This
Before
This
Is
One
To
Cut
Out
And
Keep
In
2024
Let
Us
Be
Known
By
Our
Love
Let
Us
Have
Words
That
Are
Honest
And
True
Economical
And
Few
Wise
And
Well
Chosen
Calm
And
Kind
And
How
Will
We
Have
Words
Like
That
When
And
Only
When
God
Gives
Us
So
Much
Love
And
Grace
That
It
Comes
Naturally
To
Us
What
Paul
Taught
Jesus
Taught
First
Matthew
Chapter
5
You
Have
Heard
That
It
Was
Said
To
Those
Of
Old
You
Shall
Not
Murder
And
Whoever
Murders
Will
Be
Liable
To
Judgment
But
I
Say
To
You
That
Everyone
Who
Is
Angry
With
His
Brother
Will
Be
Liable
To
Judgment
Whoever
Insults
His
Brother
Will
Be
Liable
To
The
Council
And
Whoever
Says
You
Fool
Will
Be
Liable
To
The
Fires
Of
Hell
Paul
Then
Goes
On
To
Tell
Us
Verse
17
The
Conclusion
The
Summary
Of
All
This
And
The
Way
Of
Peace
They
Have
Not
Known
Of
Course
We
Don't
Need
Paul
To
Tell
Us
That
History
Proves
That
As
Well
One
Pastor
References
The
Historian
Will
Durant
I'm
Sure
I
Mispronounced
That
Who
Says
In
Over
3500
Years
Of
Recorded
History
Only
286
Have
Seen
No
War
What
Else
Is
There
To
Say
The
Way
Of
Peace
They
Have
Not
Known
What's
The
Reason
The
Root
For
All
Of
This
Paul
Tells
Us
That
As
Well
In
Verse
18
Why
Is
It
That
We
Have
These
Poisonous
Words
And
These
Violent
Actions
It's
Because
There
Is
No
Fear
Of
God
Before
Their
Eyes
The
Problem
Is
The
Problem
Is
Not
Read
Enough
Books
About
History
And
The
Power
Of
Words
The
Problem
Is
Not
That
There
Has
Not
Been
Enough
Education
And
Teaching
The
Problem
Is
Not
That
No
One
Told
Them
No
The
Problem
Is
That
God
And
His
Glory
And
Power
And
Authority
Are
Not
At
The
Forefront
Of
Their
Vision
To
Fear
The
Lord
Means
That
We
Have
A
Right
Understanding
Of
Who
God
Is
And
His
Role
In
This
World
We
Know
That
God
Is
The
Judge
Of
All
The
Earth
And
That
All
Our
Life
Is
Lived
Before
Him
It's
To
Know
Jesus
Words
That
We've
Already
Read
From
Matthew
Chapter
12
On
The
Day
Of
Judgment
People
Will
Give
Account
For
Every
Careless
Word
They
Speak
To
Know
That
Is
To
Know
The
Fear
Of
God
To
Know
The
Fear
Of
God
Is
To
Recognize
That
We
Don't
Belong
To
Ourselves
But
We
Belong
To
Him
And
If
We
Fear
God
We
Will
Know
That
We
Must
Have
What
Paul
Talks
About
In
Romans
Chapter
One
We
Must
Have
A
Righteousness
That
Comes
From
Faith
For
Faith
Why
Why do
We need
That
Righteousness
Because
All
Have
Sinned
And
Fall
Short
Of
The
Glory
Of
God
Our
Words
Expose
It
Our
Minds
Reveal
It
Why
Are
We
Told
That
Their
Throat
Is
An
Open
Grave
That
Their
Words
Are
Death
We're
Told
That
Because
Mankind
Is
Spiritually
Dead
Paul
Tells
Us
In
The
Letter
To
The
Ephesians
Chapter
Two
That
We
Are
Dead
In
Our
Sins
And
Trespasses
And
So
We
Actually
Don't
Have
The
Power
By
Our
We
Can't
Pull
Our
So
Up
By
The
Boot
Traps
And
Suddenly
Make
Our
Words
Honest
And
True
Economical
And
Few
Wise
And
Well
Chosen
Common
Kind
You're
Not
Powerful
Enough
To
Do
That
You
Can't
Do
It
On
Your
Own
You
See
The
Problem
I've
Told
You
Before
The
Gospel
Is
This
The
Gospel
Is
The
Admission
That
We
Must
Change
And
The
Recognition
We
Cannot
Change
Ourselves
And
In
Holding
Those
Two
Things
There
Is
Great
Hope
Remember
When
We
Were
In
The
Gospel
Of
Mark
Chapter
Two
Jesus
Is
Accused
Of
Eating
With
Sinners
And
Tax
Collectors
What
Kind
Of
Words
Do
You
Think
Came
Out
Of
Sinners
And
Tax
Collectors
Mouths
Yeah
Not
Good
Ones
And
So
The
Scribes
And
The
Pharisees
Come
And
They
Say
Jesus
Why
Are
You
Doing
This
Why
Are
You
Hanging
Out
With
These
People
And
He
Says
This
Those
Who
Are
Well
Have
No
Need
Of
A
Physician
But
Those
Who
Are
Sick
I
Came
Not
To
Call
The
Righteous
But
Sinners
Do
You
That
You're
Sick
Do
You
Know
That
You're
A
Sinner
Do
You
Know
That
You
Must
Change
And
You
Cannot
Change
Yourself
Jesus
Christ
Offers
To
Heal
You
Come
To
Him
In
Faith
Let's
Pray
Our
Father
In
Heaven
We
Do
Praise
You
And
Thank
You
For
Your
Word
That
Pierces
Us
To
Our
Heart
That
Challenges
Us
That
Shows
Us
Our
Great
Need
For
You
And
Your
Grace
And
Also
Reminds
Us
That
Your
Grace
Is
Greater
Than
Our
Sin
We
Ask
That
You
Would
Move
Us
With
Great
Conviction
That
We
Would
See
Even
More
Our
Need
For
You
We
Would
Embrace
Even
More
Your
Grace
And
Your
Mercy
In
Jesus
Christ
We
Ask
These