3. The Whole World Is Guilty! (3:9-20)

The third declaration was obvious, for Paul had already proved (charged) both Jews and Gentiles to be guilty before God. Next he declared that all people were sinners, and proved it with several quotations from the Old Testament. Note the repetition of the words none and all, which in themselves assert the universality of human guilt.

His first quotation was from Psalm 14:1-3. This psalm begins with “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” The words “there is” are in italics, meaning they were added by the translators; so you can read the sentence, “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘No, God!’” This parallels the description of man’s devolution given in Romans 1:18-32, for it all started with man saying no to God.

These verses indicate that the whole of man’s inner being is controlled by sin: his mind (“none that understandeth”), his heart (“none that seeketh after God”), and his will (“none that doeth good”). Measured by God’s perfect righteousness, no human being is sinless. No sinner seeks after God. Therefore, God must seek the sinner (Gen. 3:8-10; Luke 19:10). Man has gone astray and has become unprofitable both to himself and to God. Our Lord’s parables in Luke 15 illustrate this perfectly.

In Romans 3:13-18, Paul gave us an X-ray study of the lost sinner, from head to foot. His quotations are as follows: verse 13a–Psalm 5:9; verse 13b–Psalm 140:3; verse 14–Psalm 10:7; verses 15-17–Isaiah 59:7-8; verse 18–Psalm 36:1. These verses need to be read in their contexts for the full impact.

Romans 3:13-14 emphasize human speech–the throat, tongue, lips, and mouth. The connection between words and character is seen in Matthew 12:34: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The sinner is spiritually dead by nature (Eph. 2:1-3), therefore only death can come out of his mouth. The condemned mouth can become a converted mouth and acknowledge that “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9-10 niv). “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matt. 12:37).

In Romans 3:15-16, Paul pictured the sinner’s feet. Just as his words are deceitful, so his ways are destructive. The Christians’ feet are shod with the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15), but the lost sinner brings death, destruction, and misery wherever he goes. These tragedies may not occur immediately, but they will come inevitably. The lost sinner is on the broad road that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14); he needs to repent, trust Jesus Christ, and get on the narrow road that leads to life.

Romans 3:17 deals with the sinner’s mind: He does not know the way of God’s peace. This is what caused Jesus to weep over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). The sinner does not want to know God’s truth (Rom. 1:21, 25, 28); he prefers to believe Satan’s lie. God’s way of peace is through Jesus Christ: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

In Romans 3:18, which cites Psalm 36:1, the sinner’s arrogant pride is prescribed: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” The entire psalm should be read to get the full picture. The ignorance mentioned in Romans 3:17 is caused by the pride of verse 18, for it is “the fear of the Lord” that is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7).

These quotations from God’s law, the Old Testament Scriptures, lead to one conclusion: The whole world is guilty before God. There may be those who want to argue, but every mouth is stopped. There is no debate or defense. The whole world is guilty, Jews and Gentiles. The Jews stand condemned by the law of which they boast, and the Gentiles stand condemned on the basis of creation and conscience.

The word therefore in Romans 3:20 carries the meaning of “because,” and gives the reason why the whole world is guilty. No flesh can obey God’s law and be justified (declared righteous) in His sight. It is true that “the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom. 2:13), but nobody can do what the law demands. This inability is one way that people know they are sinners. When they try to obey the law, they fail miserably and need to cry out for God’s mercy. Neither Jew nor Gentile can obey God’s law; therefore God must save sinners by some other means. The explanation of that means by which people can be saved occupied Paul for the rest of his letter.

The best way to close this section would be to ask a simple question: Has your mouth ever been stopped? Are you boasting of your own self-righteousness and defending yourself before God? If so, then perhaps you have never been saved by God’s grace. It is only when we stand silent before Him as sinners that He can save us. As long as we defend ourselves and commend ourselves, we cannot be saved by God’s grace. The whole world is guilty before God–and that includes you and me.

Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion

1. How do you feel when you see or hear the words “you are guilty”? Why?
2. Why do people not want to admit their guilt? How have you experienced this in your own life?
3. What four stages of “devolution” are described? What was the cause?
4. Why do people suppress the truth about God? When have you struggled with this?
5. Why is this just one short step from idolatry to immorality?
6. What does it mean that, because of people’s sin, God “gave them up” or God “gave them over” (1:24, 28)?
7. Who or what are the witnesses that prove the guilt of the Jewish nation?
8. At the time of the writing of Romans, what displeased God the most about the Jews?
9. Instead of special treatment, what did God’s blessings actually give the Jews? How might this be true for God’s blessings to you?
10. What does Romans 3:10 (“There is none who does good,” nasb) mean to you when you see people who seem to be good people doing good deeds? Why would Paul say something like this?