Today’s passage: Romans 3:9-20
Helpful thoughts:
- Back in verse 1, the Jews were said to have an advantage as it relates to having been given the “oracles of God.” In verse 9 however, we see that there is no advantage for the Jews over the Gentiles as it relates to sinlessness. All have sinned.
- Anyone who reads verses 10-18 and says, “That was never me” is mistaken.
- Verse 20 confirms this. No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight through their own works.
- Knowing God’s Law does not make mankind become good, it informs us that we are not. We need saving and Jesus is the Savior!
Questions to consider:
- Which statements out of verses 10-18 seem the most surprising to you? Which ones might you be prone to question concerning yourself or other “good people” that you know?
- When we refer to someone as a “good person” or say that someone has a “good heart,” what does that mean? To whom are we comparing them? Is it possible to do something good in a way that is NOT seeking after God? What does God see (1 Samuel 16:7)?
- If no person even seeks after God by his own will, why/how did you become a Christian? (John 3:3-8, Ephesians 2:8-9) How do these truths help us to remember not to think more highly of ourselves than we would other people?