The Character of Lost Humanity

About this sermon

Introduction: The Jew has no advantage over the Gentile when it comes to the matter of sin. God gave Israel real advantages, but those advantages were misunderstood and misused. The Jew is just as much in need of salvation as the Gentile and must come to God the same way. All, both Jews and Gentiles, are UNDER SIN. And, last time, we explained what “under sin” means. Now we find that Paul offers biblical proof. He takes them to the Word of God, and that’s what we must do to be good evangelists. And, as we begin looking at his proofs, there are two main points I want to make this morning. We look at Paul’s selection of material, and how he organized it. And then, we will begin considering the substance of his material. And the material that we look at today emphasizes man’s character, since the fall, according to nature. We see the CHARACTER OF LOST HUMANITY. I. THE SELECTION OF HIS MATERIAL It is a well-organized, logical and progressive case that he makes. He has not selected verses that have general reference to his concern and then thrown them together. He has selected Old Testament passages carefully. They build upon one another. *Verses 10-12 – Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 *Verse 13 – Psalm 5:9 *Verse 14 – Psalm 10:7 *Verses 15-17 – Isaiah 59:7-8 1 *Verse 18 – Psalm 36:1 These verses are then given in a particular order. 1. The Character of man (vs.10-12) 2. The Conversation of man (vs.13-14) 3. The Conduct of man (vs.15-17) 4. The Concern of man (vs.18) Question: Are we learning to think like this? Do we see the need to be prepared to make a defense of the hope that we have? Could we make a logical case from God’s word that would demonstrate the sinfulness of mankind? II. THE SUBSTANCE OF HIS CASE But having noted his selection of material, and his organization of it. We consider what it demonstrates. We talked about this last week. One of the fruits of salvation is that our perspective of mankind has changed. Our perspective of our own lives has changed. What view of humanity does the Bible present? And do we believe it? And do we think in those terms? What is man according to nature? Why does he need the gospel? How does the gospel address his problem? Is the problem of sin an isolated one, or is it a universal one? What is man capable of, apart from the grace of God? The Scriptures gives us the truthful answers. So, when Paul charges that all are “under sin” he now goes to the Word of God to demonstrate that. And he begins with the character of fallen mankind. 2 A. THE CHARACTER OF THE NATURAL MAN (vs.10-12) Paul begins with man’s nature since the fall. He begins with what mankind is in his heart. How man stands before the holiness of God. 1. HE IS NOT RIGHTEOUS Paul uses the word righteous in its most fundamental sense. He means to be right in the sight of God. To be acceptable to God. To be in God’s sight what man was created to be. Man is not that, anymore, by nature. Martin Lloyd-Jones – “To be righteous means to be upright in thought and in life… To be righteous means that you are blameless with respect to God and with respect to your fellow men. To be righteous does not just mean being good, or moral, or respectable. ‘Righteous,’ as the term is used in the Scriptures, means that you are blameless as regards God and as regards your fellow men.” 1 Well, that isn’t man. Man is not blameless with respect to God. Man is not blameless with respect to his fellow man. MAN HAS FAILED THE TEST UNIVERSALLY. What Paul is emphasizing here is not that man is incapable of ever doing good things by a human standard. He’s not describing man from a behavioral point of view as measured by human societies. Even the vilest person has occasionally done something commendable. His point is that not a single person, apart from our sinless Lord, has ever been acceptable; by God’s perfect standards. And that is especially recognizable when you take man’s HEART into the equation. And in case anyone is tempted to think that they are the exception, Paul adds, not even ONE.

Topics

• Suffering & Trials
• Christian Living