Romans 3:10-12: “As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Paul quoted from the Psalms in Romans 3:10-12. Ps. 14:3: declares: “The fool hath said in his heart “There is no God.” Then again Ps. 53:1 also states: “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”. They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is no one who does good.” Ps. 53:3 also states: “They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” Paul is asserting that everyone has personal guilt. We all have sinned and deserve God’s judgment. It all started in the garden. Today’s news is filled with debauchery going on, but it was going on during Paul’s time in the New Testament, and David’s time in the Old Testament too. They both wrote about it –and they didn’t have the internet back then! People are bent to deviate or bend away from God’s way – that is not new. Romans 3:12 says “they have become worthless.” Think of a pitcher of sour milk or rotten fruit. This is quoted from Psalm 14:3 and 54:3 and the Hebrew meaning for the word “corrupt” means useless or worthless – “to go bad ” or to become like sour milk or rotten fruit – it has gone bad and is thoroughly useless in regards to works of righteousness. Warren Wiersbe calls Romans 3:13-18 “an X-ray study of the lost sinner, from head to foot.”
I was in a business meeting in my industry this past week. A particular “term” was used by the speaker at the platform. She said to the laughing audience, “If you don’t know what that means, look it up on Google after the meeting.” So I did, and I was horrified! It was immoral, and I felt disgusted and dirty. Have you had that happen to you too when you were innocently looking up information on the web, and something else pops up on the screen that is sinful?
But Paul tells all of us in the book of Romans that there is hope in the gospel. There is a solution. Paul had proved in Romans 3:1-20, that all men are sinners; next, he explained how sinners can be saved and have eternal life. Romans 3:24-25a states that we “Are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” Propitiation means the removal of God’s punishment for sin through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
“Justification is an act, not a process. There are no degrees of justification; each believer has the same right standing before God. Also, justification is something God does, not man . . . Most important, justification does not mean that God makes us righteous, but that he declares us righteous.” Warren Wiersbe.
As believers, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:
- Have you ever said a misspoken word that caused someone’s feelings to be hurt or maybe it was from your tone of voice?
- Do you have any bitterness toward anyone?
- Have you become angry when anyone strongly disagrees with you?
- Has your need for the sense of approval become your idol emotionally?
- Has the pursuit of happiness become the utmost importance in your life?
We all have sinned. We all have taken steps backward and have to ask for God’s forgiveness and move forward. Our desperate needs point us toward Christ. The following verses reflect and lead us to where our joy comes from:
- Romans 4:7: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sin is covered.”
- John 15:11: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
- Philippians 4:4-5: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness (graciousness, HCSB) be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.”
- Psalm 16:11: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Bask in the joy the Holy Spirit gives you from spending time with Jesus today. Ask God to provide you with new things to laugh about which will fill you with an abundance of joy and give you peace in His love of protection over you today. You never know how the light of the gospel within you will be a stepping stone to someone else seeing their need of salvation and realizing the foolishness and vanity of this life without God is futile – there is no meaning – just despair. It is like sour milk or rotten fruit – worthless. But through Christ’s death and resurrection, we can enjoy a relationship with God that gives fulfillment of joy and purpose to life. Let your light shine.
Listen to Jordan Feliz Changed (Lyric Video).