You may be seated.
Good morning.
My name's 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 are 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.
This morning, we're continuing our series in the book of Romans, and as I mentioned that, I should say,
we started Romans at the very beginning in chapter 1.
I was good about saying, hey, we're going to break at some point and take a pause,
and we're coming up to that.
So we're going to finish Romans chapter 3, which is sort of this concise argument that I've been telling you.
It goes together.
Paul's trying to say one thing in Romans chapters 1 through 3.
We're going to break, and then we probably will not come back to Romans chapter 4 until sometime in 2025.
So I don't want you to be caught off guard by that.
But we are in Romans this morning, and you'll remember that 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 is 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 people in these churches would be established in the gospel.
Paul has many applications.
We have already and we will explore many different topics.
And yet he always returns back to, he has a special focus on the mission and the unity of the church.
And so there are many spokes, many different things we're going to explore.
We're going to be constantly, even this morning, coming back to the hub of the gospel.
In these verses, verses 19 through 20, Paul is going to put the last nail in the coffin,
the summary of the argument that he's been making in these three chapters in Romans.
He's going to bring to conclusion, in a sense, preparing us for next week,
where he explains again the good news of the gospel,
the conclusion that everyone, Jews and Gentiles, deserve God's judgment.
Everyone needs God's mercy.
And so it's with that that I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 3.
You can turn in your Bible.
You can turn on your phone.
You can turn in your worship guide.
No matter where you turn, Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5 tells us,
every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
And so that's why we read now Romans chapter 3, starting at verse 19.
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.
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 thank you as we do every Sunday,
that you have given us your words, that you speak to us, that you instruct us,
that you haven't abandoned us or left us alone.
But instead, you're a good father who cares for his children,
who guides them, who comforts them, who directs them.
And so we ask that you would do that again this morning,
that you would help us to understand and believe what you've written here in Romans chapter 3.
And most of all, that you would help us to see Jesus Christ,
that we would grow in our love and our affection, our reverence and our all,
our obedience to him.
And we ask these things in his mighty name. Amen.
Amen.
In 1998 or 1999, my family decided to finally become a dog family.
And we adopted a dog from our local humane society.
We had had two guinea pigs before that who quickly became very boring
and were greatly ignored.
And we took the name that the shelter had already given to this dog, which was Tramp.
And Tramp had presumably, we think, escaped from his previous owners
because he tried many times to escape from us.
He liked trying to get out from under the fence and climb over all sorts of things,
which I think was just kind of genetic in him.
But was one great advantage that we had with Tramp adopting him when he was already a year old,
and it was this, his previous owners had already housebroken him.
And so we didn't have to worry about training Tramp to go outside to use the bathroom.
Although, as you know, if you're a pet owner, whether it's a cat or a dog,
you may have that problem.
You may have that problem if your pet is young,
and you may have that problem if your pet is old.
And this is something that carpet cleaning companies have figured out.
And so they have a technique that they use to show you your deep need for deep cleaning.
There's a pastor in Idaho named Stephen Kingsley,
who at one point ran a carpet cleaning business.
And he says this,
In our family carpet cleaning business,
we offered a special service for removing pet urine odors
to show potential customers their need for the service.
I would darken the room and then turn on a powerful black light.
The black light caused urine crystals to glow brightly.
To the horror of the homeowner,
every drop and dribble could be seen,
not only on the carpet,
but usually on the walls, drapes, furniture,
and even on lampshades.
One homeowner begged me to shut off the light.
They said,
I can't bear to see any more.
I don't care what it costs.
Please clean it up.
Another woman said,
I'll never be comfortable in my home again.
Now speaking of that,
we are picking up where we left off last week.
And remember,
Paul tells us these passages from the Old Testament,
and his point there,
which he sums up here,
the law does not save you.
It exposes you.
It reveals you.
We might say it another way.
The Ten Commandments are the black light,
which reveal the urine of your sin.
And if you think that it's inappropriate,
if it's scandalous to talk about urine in church,
I'll tell you what's more scandalous.
What's more scandalous is our sin against a holy God.
That's what's more scandalous.
That's what's more shocking.
One pastor puts it this way,
The law is not a checklist we keep.
It is a benchmark we fail.
The law is not a checklist we keep.
It's a benchmark we fail.
That raises the question, though,
what do we mean when we say the law?
Paul tells us here, verse 19,
Now we know that whatever the law says,
it speaks to those who are under the law.
Well, thankfully, this is in context.
Paul has just given us these quotations from the Old Testament,
mostly from the Psalms,
in verses 13 through 18.
That's what we saw last week.
He gave us these quotations.
That's why, by the way,
if you are using an ESV Bible,
if you look at verses 13 through 18,
you'll see a bunch of quotation marks.
The reason you see those quotation marks
is because Paul has simply been giving a list of passages
from the Old Testament.
Those words in verses 13 and 18 are not really his.
They're the words of those who came before him,
most of them from the Psalms.
And so when he says,
we know what the law says,
he's meaning by the law the entire Old Testament.
Look at these things I've just quoted
from the Psalms, from the prophets.
Those things that I reminded you of,
that is what applies to you.
We even saw this at the beginning of chapter 3.
Remember, chapter 3, verses 1 through 2,
he says,
the oracles of God are the great blessing
that the Jewish people have been given.
And yet those same oracles,
again, this is last week,
show, they reveal our sin.
They show our sin in our mouth or our words for all of us,
and they show violence for some of this.
Paul then is saying once again
and what he has said many times
in the last couple chapters,
which is this.
You think having the Old Testament gives you a pass?
You think the blessing of possessing the law is enough?
No.
It's the very opposite.
It doesn't give you a pass.
It doesn't cover your sin.
It shows your sin.
It doesn't excuse your sin.
It reveals your sin.
Reveals the sins of Jewish people
who think they're okay because they're Jews.
Reveals the sins of religious people
who think they're okay because they're religious.
Paul is saying this.
You know from the Old Testament
what God requires.
But have you done it?
We might say, Christian,
you know from the Old and New Testaments
what God requires.
But have we done it?
All of it.
Paul then goes on to say
that whatever the law speaks,
it speaks to those who are under the law.
Under the law here literally means in the law.
In other words,
those who have access to God's commands.
In other words, he's saying
whoever's been given what God says,
whether it's Jews or religious people,
those people are accountable,
as we saw in chapter two,
for what they've been given.
And what happens
when we see this clearly?
Well, he goes on to tell us
that same verse, verse 19,
so that every mouth may be stopped.
The illustration here is of someone
who's in a courtroom.
They're being accused.
All the evidence has been presented.
And the evidence is so clear,
so irrefutable,
so damning,
that when they're asked,
how do you plead,
they don't say innocent or guilty.
They can't say anything.
That's how overwhelming it is.
That's what the Christian,
what the Jew,
what the reader of this passage
is meant to feel
after verses 13 through 18.
That's what they're meant to feel
as they review everything
that God has given in his word,
that as we stand
against the standard of God's holy law,
there is no response.
Remember, Paul's been closing every door.
He's been cinching every loophole
so that there is no way to get out.
There is burning clarity
about the guilt of every human being.
He's saying when you compare yourself
to God's law,
the case is so devastating
that it's what we might call
an open and shut case.
No one should make it
through chapter one,
chapter two,
and chapter three of Romans
and get to this point
and think,
you know, actually I'm good.
None of what Paul says
applies to me.
No, he says even more than that.
It's not just that it applies to you.
Again, verse 19,
the whole world
may be held accountable
to God.
That phrase held accountable
actually means guilty here.
Remember we talked last week
about what Paul says
in verse 18.
He says there's no fear of God
before their eyes.
And I told you having the fear of God
means having a right view of God.
It means understanding
that God is in fact
the judge of all the earth.
And so Paul is saying
as all of humanity
stands before God
and he functions as judge,
our mouths are stopped.
Because the black light
of God's law
reveals our sin.
It might have looked good
before we looked at the law.
We might have thought
we were great people
before we understood
the Ten Commandments.
Now our mouths
are stopped.
What Paul teaches
Jesus taught first.
Remember Jesus'
Sermon on the Mount
Matthew chapter 5.
He takes the Ten Commandments
and says,
hey, you might think
that you're good.
You might think
you've kept all of these.
You actually haven't.
Because it's not just
about the action
but about the heart.
And so Jesus gives
some specific examples.
You think you're good?
You've never murdered anyone?
Well, guess what?
If you've ever cursed
your brother
then you're guilty of murder.
You've never committed adultery?
You think you're good?
Guess what?
If you've ever lusted
after someone
you've committed adultery.
Of course,
those are just
a couple of examples.
The law exposes us
in so many places.
We are commanded
to honor God
with our wealth
but we honor ourselves
instead.
The fourth commandment
tells us
rest is a non-negotiable.
And yet somehow
we don't trust God enough
to take a break.
The Psalms tell us
over and over again
that we run to God
first in prayer.
But instead
we run first
to addictions
and distractions.
Jesus tells us
to love our neighbors
as ourselves
but instead
we mock them
and discount them.
The black light
reveals
so
much.
For by the works
of the law
no human being
will be justified
in his sight
since through the law
comes knowledge
of sin.
I mentioned this phrase
earlier in our worship service
during our confession
of faith.
This idea
that no human being
will be justified
in God's sight.
And so you already
have a sense
of what it means
to be justified.
It means to have
this right standing
before God
that you and God
are in relationship
with one another.
Sort of what I talk about
when we take communion
that if God
has invited us
to a table
that means we're
at peace with him.
Our sins
have been forgiven.
Christ's righteousness
has been credited
to us.
And Paul tells us here
that's not going to happen
through works
of the law.
In other words
there is nothing
we can do
to earn anything
from God
or to prove
anything to God.
And the works
of the law
certainly won't help.
Our behavior
certainly won't help
and we find out
exactly why.
Verse 20 again
since through the law
comes knowledge
of sin.
And Paul's highlighting
here a critical point.
Shows up in other letters
that he's written.
The law can show sin.
It cannot heal sin.
The law can expose
the heart.
It cannot change
the heart.
The black light
shows the urine.
The black light
will never
clean
the urine.
The problem
isn't the black light
right?
The problem
is the stain.
The problem
is not the law.
There's nothing wrong
with the law.
The problem
with sin.
The law
is never intended
to heal
or restore.
The law
will show us
our need.
It will not
meet our need.
The law
will show us
the problem.
It will not
fix
the problem.
We see this phrase
too in verse 20.
It says no human
being will be
justified
in his sight.
Literally there
it says no flesh
will be justified.
And so Paul's
highlighting again
the weakness
of humanity.
We could think
of Elrond
the elf
and the lord
of the rings
when he says
that short sentence
men
are weak.
That's what
Paul's saying
here.
Men are weak.
They need
something
greater
than the law.
Now I've been
telling you
for many weeks
now that in
chapters 1
through 3
Paul is
saying one
thing.
And the one
thing he's saying
will come next
week in verse 23.
All have sinned
and fall short
of the glory
of God.
That raises
a question
though.
Why does it
take three
chapters?
Why couldn't
Paul have told
us verse 23
right up front?
Right?
Why could we
not have heard
you know the
righteousness of
God?
It's from
faith for
faith to
all who
believe.
And then we
just jump.
We could
skip basically
two chapters
and go to
verse 23.
The reason
is this.
Paul wants
us to
understand
with
burning
clarity
the bad
news of
the gospel.
And Paul
wants us
to understand
the bad
news of
the gospel
with that
sort of
clarity
so that
we can
finally
and fully
see
the good
news of
the gospel.
It makes
no sense
what verse
24 will
tell us
if we
don't
understand
and embrace
and admit
verse 23.
There is
no point
in telling
us
Jesus
offers
you his
righteousness
if we
don't
understand
our need.
And so
Paul goes
verse by
verse,
argument by
argument for
three chapters
so that we
would not
miss this.
that our
only hope
in life
and in
death
is that
we are
saved by
our Lord
Jesus
Christ.
He wants
us to
know
Jesus
is the
only
option,
he's the
only way
of escape.
That's why
he answers
every excuse
refutes
every argument.
That's why
he spends
chapter one
speaking about
the lack
of excuses
for the
non-religious.
That's why
he spends
chapter two
speaking about
the lack
of excuses
for the
religious
so that
in chapter
three he
can show
us the
great beauty
and clarity
of the
gospel
so that
we cannot
escape
our great
need.
Stephen
Kingsley,
the pastor
from Idaho
who cleaned
carpets,
goes on
to say
this,
the
offense
was there
all the
time
but it
was invisible
until the
right light
exposed it.
It would
have been
cruel to
show customers
the extent
of their
problem
and then
say too
bad for
you
and then
walk away.
I brought
the light
so they
might desperately
want my
cleaning
services.
brothers and
sisters,
Paul has
spent three
chapters
explaining
the extent
of human
sin so
that we
would want
the gospel.
Paul has
spent verse
after verse
unfolding how
bad it is
so that we
would see
our need
for Jesus
Christ.
carpets
can't
clean
themselves.
They
need the
power and
mercy
of someone
else.
Christian,
or if you're
not a
Christian,
you cannot
clean
yourself.
You need
the power
and mercy
of someone
else.
to
there is
one who
offers to
cleanse
us.
There is
one who
offers to
make us
right with
God,
and it
is our
Lord and
Savior,
Jesus
Christ.
He's the
one who
lived the
life that
we should
have lived
and credits
that to
our account.
He's the
one who
dies the
death that
we should
have died
and removes
the punishment
that we
deserve.
In his
sermon on
these verses,
Dr.
Martin Lloyd
Jones ends
by quoting
the hymn,
The Solid
Rock,
because that's
what Paul is
driving us
towards.
On Christ
the solid
rock I
stand,
all other
ground is
sinking
sand.
Let's pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do
praise you.
and thank
you that
you do
not gloss
over the
truth,
you don't
quickly pass
it by,
you don't
mutter it
under your
breath,
but instead
you make
it clear
and plain
to us.
We ask
that you
would do
that again,
that we
would see
with great
clarity
our desperate
need for
you,
and that
would move
us to
embrace you
and follow
you like
we have
never before.
and we
ask these
things in
Jesus'
name,
amen.
I invite you
to stand
for our
closing hymn.
Pete
bin mission
rise
into
prix