(A) Introduction. Read Rom3v9to20.

Paul shares the conviction of the writer of Ecclesiastes: There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.

Paul could have illustrated this truth by:

(1) Pointing out the sins of the best Old Testament heroes: Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David and Elijah.

For example, Moses was the meekest man on earth. In the desert of Zin the children of Israel grumbled because they were without water. God told Moses to speak to the rock. But Moses lost his temper and said, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Moses dishonoured God by his conduct and had to pay a heavy price for his sin.

The rich young ruler who came to Jesus inquiring what he must do for eternal life kept the commandments from his youth up. His was an admirable young man. But Jesus highlighted his weakness. He was too attached to his wealth. If he had loved his neighbours as himself the ruler would not have been so rich!

(2) Referring to himself. Paul said of himself writing to the Philippians: As for legalistic righteousness, faultless. Ph3v6. But we know that Paul the Pharisee was by no means perfect. He persecuted the church without mercy - not the ideal way to love your neighbour!

Paul could have confessed to sins committed after becoming a Christian. He calls himself the chief of sinners but he is reticent about specific sins and he never admits to making a mistake. This in itself is a weakness because Paul did make mistakes. He was probably wrong, for example, not to accept hospitality from the churches he visited with the exception of the Philippians. This led to bad feeling among some at Corinth.

(3) Referring to the sacrificial system. This existed for men and women who broke the moral and ceremonial law. The guilt offering was available for those who deliberately wronged their neighbour. Anyone doing so could bring before the LORD his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty. See Lev6v1to7.

The sacrificial system allowed God to show grace. A man could make a token payment for sins committed and God's grace ensured it was accepted and it atoned.

What Paul does not acknowledge here but does accept in chapter 4 is that God was pleased with many Old Testament characters and also some of those introduced at the beginning of the New Testament. Paul claims that Abraham was justified by faith. His faith, exhibited in his actions, was credited to him for righteousness. What was true for Abraham must surely have been true of other heroes of faith.

In this passage Paul quotes Scripture to demonstrate that no one is perfect. He knew from his own experience that even if the Law was kept meticulously sin still crept in. The Pharisees were proud of their achievement in keeping the Law and intolerant of any who could not aspire to their standards. I believe that Paul's experience as a Pharisee coloured his subsequent Theology.

It will help when considering our relationship to Law to remember what Jesus said: "'Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

We need to consistently keep these two great commandments to be perfectly righteous before God.

Well it is time to examine what Paul wrote. I am indebted to Freddy Fritz and Brian Bill for help with the rest of this exposition. I could not see how to tackle the passage until I accessed their sermons on SermonCentral.

(B) The charge.

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all. We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.

Paul says it doesn't matter who we are, we are all under sin, we are all cursed with a fallen nature. This even applies to Christians. We are not without sin either.

It might seem strange to write about being under the control of sin but we only have to substitute the names of actual sins to see what Paul meant. Men and women can fall under the control, indeed domination, of envy, greed, lust, pride, covetousness, jealousy ... and so on.

In Genesis4v7 God warns Cain, "Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." But Cain did not master his jealousy; it mastered him and he murdered his brother Abel.

On the morning of June 6th 2012 I read the obituary of Lyn Lusi in the Daily Telegraph. She was a British, Christian, aid worker in the Congo and co-founder with her husband of, 'Heal Africa,' a charity that aims to provide medical and social care in the eastern Congo. Lyn provided help for rape victims and helped train doctors and nurses. She said on one occasion: Human beings are basically very, very, selfish creatures and if it (selfishness) goes unchecked it turns into evil.

The chief symptom of my fallen nature is that I come first - before God and before my neighbour. That is why I break the two commandments upon which hang all the Law.

(C) The evidence.

Paul's method was to provide evidence from Scripture. This is an effective strategy. It had been a long day for the assistant at the cosmetic counter. Having been on her feet all day, she was looking forward to going home. Just before the doors closed, a man came running up to her frantically and said, “Tomorrow’s my wife’s birthday and I don’t have anything for her. What do you recommend?” The shop assistant brought out a nice bottle of perfume worth about £100. He gasped and said, “That’s way too expensive!” So she held up a bottle that cost £50. He said, “That’s still too expensive. What do you have that’s less expensive?” She searched some more and found something for £25. The husband replied, “That’s still too expensive! What else do you have?” She then brought out the cheapest thing she had at the counter, a tiny £10 bottle of perfume. He was now exasperated and said, “You don’t understand. I want you to show me something really, really, cheap!” She quickly reached under the counter, pulled out a mirror, told him to look into it and said, “Try this!”

The Word of God is like a mirror - we can see ourselves in it. James wrote: Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James1v23to24.

When it comes to paying attention to the Bible we can be like the man who took his portrait photos back to the photographer and said, "I want my money back, these pictures don't do me justice." The photographer looked at the pictures and said, "You don't need justice, you need mercy."

The Scriptures paint a bleak picture of humanity. Insofar that this includes us - we need mercy.

I cannot say that I approve of how Paul uses Scripture. He takes several verses out of context and strings them together like beads on a string. Paul begins by quoting Ps14v1to3 but omits v5: For God is present in the company of the righteous. The succeeding Psalm, Psalm15, paints a very different picture to the first three verses of Psalm14. I am reminded of preachers who love quoting Is64v6: All our righteous acts are like filthy rags, to prove how bad we are. Yet they conveniently ignore verses 4 and 5: No eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.

However there is no doubt that Paul's method effectively illustrates some of the symptoms of our fallen nature. These are:

(1) An imperfect relationship with God.

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away and they have become worthless; there is no one who does good, no even one. vs10to12.

These verses collectively assert that no one understands God, no one really wants to know him and we pay him little attention. As a result we do not comprehend God's will and cannot please him.

This sounds extreme. Moses was concerned for God's honour. See Numb14v13to19. David, the shepherd lad, knew God well enough to compose the 23rd Psalm.

Paul's use of the psalmist's words seem extreme until I examine my own heart notwithstanding the fact I am a member of God's redeemed family. What am I like?

• There are times I don't understand God's plan and purpose. I question his inaction. The Spirit seems to have departed from our Grace Baptist churches. Conversions have dried up. Why has God allowed the demoralising, dispiriting decline in Christianity in Britain? Why is my own small church destined to close in the next 10 years?

• I have difficulties with prayer. I can pray eloquently in public but my private prayers are a different matter. I do not look forward to my time of private prayer. It too often resembles a penance. The prayers I offer are poor affairs.

• On occasions I turn away from God. I shut God out of parts of my life. When I played cricket I did as I wanted - not always what God expected. When David sat on the roof of his palace watching Bathsheba washing herself God was dismissed to the servant's quarters.

The conclusion is obvious. I am not consistently righteous. I do far less good than I might. In spite of being a Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, I frequently put myself first. I am reminded of Samuel, God's loyal servant. When the Israelites asked for a king his immediate reaction was to feel sorry for himself. God had to tell Samuel: It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 1Sam8v7. See exposition on Samuel.

(2) Unwholesome Conversation.

Their throats are open graves; their tongues practise deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. v13 and 14.

Jesus said that what we say reflects the state of our hearts. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean', but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean'. Mt15v11.

Paul paints a grim picture of how we speak, and thus how we are, by selectively quoting Scripture.

• We can say foul and filthy things just as an open grave emits a horrible and repulsive stench.

• We can try to mislead people when our tongues practise deceit. These are days when public figures promote themselves, spin, put a gloss on their faults, make excuses and misrepresent opponents. Few people are prepared to face up to what they are and what they do. I hate the weasely expression used in the insincerest of apologies: "I'm sorry for any offence caused." There is always a suggestion that the offence caused is as much the fault of the person offended as the one causing the offence. It is not often you hear a politician saying, "I want to apologise for being an absolute rotter."

• We can poison minds by the information we impart. Vipers are relatively inactive compared to some malicious gossips who spread lies, start rumours, exaggerate and damn with faint praise.

• We can be full of resentment and anger. As a consequence our conversation will be sour, cynical, bitter, ungracious and joyless. I had lunch with a young man not long ago and such was his seething anger with politicians and bankers that he spoke with a terrible violence, peppering his imprecations with swear words. It made us all feel very uncomfortable.

  God save us from being like the children of Israel who throughout their wilderness wanderings murmured, grumbled and complained.

Once again my initial reaction to Paul's policy of quoting such negative Scriptures is one of protest. Surely most people are not that bad. But then I examined myself!

• There have been times my language has been vulgar and coarse. I can remember sitting in the staff room on one occasion make some risqué comments about a girl's cleavage. I shall never forget the look one of my male colleagues gave me. The day before he had attended the funeral of a mutual acquaintance I conducted. I am sure the contrast between my pious performance at the funeral and my suggestive remarks in the staffroom were a surprise and disappointment to my Christian colleague who was a very decent man.

• I am inclined to mislead the visiting preachers who conduct the services in my small church. I nearly always praise them regardless of the quality of their sermon. I wan't them to feel good about themselves - and me! So I offer no constructive criticism!

• Recently I recounted an incident that occurred in another church in a way that reflected badly on the pastor. I did so with a certain smug satisfaction because I do not entirely approve of the man. It was a poisonous bit of work!

• Occasionally I am bitter about my fellow Grace Baptists because I do not think they give me the recognition I deserve.

We should be careful what we say. I should be more careful too! Our speech can reveal lack of interest in doing God's will and a disregard for the well being of our neighbour.

(3) Ruinous conduct.

Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. vs15to17.

There are numerous ways man's selfish conduct can cause misery and disharmony. Many years ago G.K.Chesterton sent a letter to the editor of a newspaper in response to the question, "What is wrong with the world today?" Here was his answer: "Dear Sir, I am."

So, once again, I need to look at myself before dismissing as unrealistic the picture Paul is painting. How have I caused unnecessary unhappiness and dishonesty?

• By over reacting to small injustices, slights and thoughtfulness. I have often lost my temper and weighed in.

• By being a bad loser - at cricket, hockey and squash. I too often gave in to the temptation to retaliate. I can recall being given out LBW by my father many years ago in a prestigious fixture against a good cricket side. My father did not want to be seen to favour his son! I shouted at him all the way back to the pavilion - AND HE NEVER UMPIRED AGAIN.

• By giving in to my mood. During my long career as a teacher I was inclined to take it out on my pupils whenever I felt low and morose.

• By presenting a point of view in an intense, aggressive, ungracious manner thereby putting people's backs up unnecessarily.

The reader might be thinking by now that I am, indeed, a bad man! But what about you? Can you honestly say that you are a great deal better?

(4) Lack of respect.

There is no fear of God before their eyes. v18.

It is crucial for pupils to respect their teacher and accept his authority if the classroom is to be a place conducive to learning. Respect is more important than affection or even admiration.

If children fear other pupils in the class more than their teacher there will inevitably be trouble. We can be more afraid of men than of God. We can fear their anger, contempt and ridicule. The root of all men's problems and all the trouble in the world is men's disrespect for God.

Jesus commences his famous prayer: "Our Father, hallowed be thy name ... ." Here is where we all go wrong. We do not hallow God's name. We lack respect for him. Our lack of respect is evident in our conversation, conduct and character.

(D) The verdict.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing that law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin. v19and20.

Paul concludes by saying:

(1) The law finds us out.

If we just take the two great commandments of Jesus to love God with all our hearts and our neighbours as ourselves, we are found wanting. We do not consistently love God or our neighbour. We reserve our greatest love for ourselves. Even the great apostle Paul did not love John Mark as himself when he refused to take him on his second missionary journey. So to quote the N.E.B.: No one may have anything to say in self-defence.

(2) The law makes us aware of our sin.

This is because we cannot consistently live up to its requirements. J.B. Philips puts it like this: it is the straight edge of the Law that show us how crooked we are.

Jesus actually said that our righteousness should exceed that of the Pharisees. Mt5v20. The great teacher then went on to give some examples. If we our angry with our brother we commit murder in our hearts. If we lust after a woman we commit adultery with her in our hearts. We should not take revenge but love our enemies.

If we seek justification by this route we shall fail. Leon Tolstoy strove might and main to implement the teaching of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. He did not succeed and his life became joyless.

Fortunately there is another way. There is the way of GRACE. We need to admit and accept our condition. We need to believe that Jesus offered the ultimate sacrifice for sin on the cross. His suffering and death atones for our sin because in grace God accepted it on our behalf. If we submit to Jesus our sins are forgiven, we are reconciled to God and adopted into his family. Finally, we must commit ourselves to Jesus and live to please him. There we have the ABC of salvation: Admit, Believe and Commit.

However bad we are God loves us. R.C. Buckner, a big, bold and brash man, lived about 100 years ago in Texas. This imposing figure had a very tender heart for children, starting Buckner’s Children’s Homes all across the state. The children affectionately called him “Papa Buckner” and would run up to him every time he visited. He would always take the time to pick up each and every child and give them a hug.

One day he was visiting one of the homes and was hugging all the children gathered around him when he noticed a little girl who was standing with her face against the wall. He discovered that she had been seriously burned in an accident, and had a terrible scar on her face. He went over to her and asked, “Sweetheart, don’t you want Papa Buckner to hug you?” Without turning around she snarled, “No, I’m too ugly.” Papa Buckner knelt down, picked her up in his burly arms, turned her face gently toward his, looked right into her eyes and then planted a tender kiss right on the burned portion of her face. After he kissed her, he said, “Sweetheart, you are beautiful to me, and you are beautiful to God.”

We are beautiful to God but not quite like that little girl was to Papa Buckner. If we believe in Jesus God does not see our ghastly imperfections but sees instead the sublime beauty of his own dear Son who loved us and gave himself for us.