9 What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. 13 Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. 14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, 17 and the path of peace they have not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment. 20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.
In good times, God is faithful. In bad times, God is faithful. God is faithful even when we are not. Faithfulness does not always mean blessings, though. Scripture reminds us that God is faithful in the blessing and the curse. Truth-telling is of paramount importance. One truth is that we, as individual congregations, as a denomination, and as a global Church, have a lot of work to do to get back on the right track. Another truth is that God is far from finished with us yet. Those familiar with my ministry know I tend to live in one of those truths. I am all about depravity and repentance. I am always eagerly seeking areas of growth. I am not just pushy with you all. I am that way with myself. My lovely wife can attest, to her great chagrin, that I am like that with my family too. Some people, though, want a pat on the back. They want their hands to be held. For many, words of affirmation are a huge deal – and tangibly so. It is not healthy to live in either of these extremes. Understandably, it is really hard to strive for growth when you constantly feel cruddy because you are told over and over again that nothing you do is ever good enough. At the same time, the Scriptures clearly teach that… Nothing we do is ever good enough!
As I ponder the future of the Church, I am reminded of the story of three young Israelites and their unfailing faith in the Book of Daniel. We are charged with the invitation to be “but even if he does not” Christians. If you were hearing this in a congregational setting, I would invite you to turn to your neighbor and say, “But even if he does not!” This is an exciting and scary possibility. Sisters and brothers, we have two choices. We can keep doing the same things knowing where that will lead. Or, we can give up everything. We can give everything we have to biblical witness. Just as with someone who has stage four cancer deciding to fight their disease, there is no guarantee that we will live. But fighting gives us a fighting chance. So, I invite you to join me in the fight. And, I will be praising God no matter what the future brings!
In today’s text, verse nine touches on sin’s universality. You may know that Paul began his letter by outlining the myriad ways the Gentiles were sinful. He, then, went on to outline in much more detail the sins of the Jews. This might seem odd given that Paul’s thesis is that everyone sins and everyone will be judged equal as a result. Why spend so much more time discussing Jewish sin? Well, for the Jews of the First Century – and for the Early Church – that the Gentiles were sinful and deserving of God’s wrath was already a given. Everybody believed that. They were in full agreement. You do not usually have to talk a lot about things that everyone is on the same page about. That the Jews lived lives that were equally condemnable, however, was a very different story. This was more controversial. This was genuinely alarming. If Jews and Gentiles are both guilty – are on the same playing field – the question persists, What good is being a Jew? We know, though, that the Jews were the receivers of the very words of God. This, certainly, makes Jewishness worthwhile, right? Sure. Paul seems to find meaning in this. In various ministry settings, I have gone to great lengths to defend Jesus’s Jewishness and the Jewishness of the Gospel. Remember, as N.T. Wright is known to correct, the Gospel is not you can be saved and here is how, but rather, Jesus is Lord! That Jesus is Lord and not Caesar, is a thoroughly Jewish proclamation.
So, what does Paul mean in verse 9 when he says, “No, not at all(!)?” There can be a benefit to Jewishness without Jewishness being inherently better than Goyishness (Goy being another term for Gentile.) One of the benefits of being Southern is that you grow up learning how to make amazing fried chicken and sweet potato pie. That does not mean, though, that you have an innate worth greater than those who grow up learning how to make green bean casserole and lemon bars. One of the benefits of contemporary Christian music, despite what many Brethren and Mennonites would have you believe, is that it is easier to sing than hymns – particularly for outsiders familiar with pop/rock arrangements but not four-part harmonies. That does not mean, though, that singing contemporary music makes the singer more worthy or righteous than someone who sings traditional music. Again, there are benefits to any number of things. But, those benefits do not signify greater worth. Sin is universal. Guilt is universal. God’s love is universal, too.
In verses 10-18, Paul writes about depravity’s extent. He does so by pulling together a variety of disparate biblical passages – almost like putting together a string of pearls. The primary point is found in 10b: “There is no one righteous. Not even one.” No. Not even one. All the other verses stem from this point and serve to bolster it. These several verses are not easy. They are not fun. Honestly, the first three chapters of Romans include a lot of sin talk. It would definitely be easier to write about Jesus feeding the multitudes or raising Lazarus from the dead. But, these words are scripture too. We must make space for them in our lives. We must take them seriously. These words challenge us, though. They challenge so much about how we tend to operate in the world. We love praise. We talked about our innate need for validation earlier in this exposition, in fact. That folk should get credit for doing good is baked into the cultural zeitgeist. We get points for good work at school. Our income is often based on our good performance. We are trained on how to see the good in our families, lovers, and friends. We are even expected to seek good in our enemies – which is not, actually, what loving your enemies means, by the way. Yet, Paul does not hold anything back. He makes no qualms about it. He states it plainly – ain’t nobody good!
When we read passages like this that make us uncomfortable and go against so much of what society teaches us, it is easy to write them off. We can push aside Paul’s words as being peculiar and maybe not even divinely inspired. There are many problems with this line of thinking. I will just mention one, though. Paul’s not the only one saying this in Scripture. Not only is Paul quoting the Psalms here, but he is echoing the very words of Jesus. When they call Jesus good in Mark 10, Jesus quickly replies that no one is good but God. When the creator of the universe is more humble than we are… We are in trouble. Do not be fooled, though. Paul’s point is not that we are all garbage and should self-hate because of our irredeemable wretchedness. Paul, and others in Scripture, including the Lord, are simply and rightly pointing out that we have to stop acting like we are the center of the universe. We are not. He is greater than i! God over everything!
Verses 19-20 give us Paul’s conclusion. Paul writes that all mouths should be shut. Wow. That is a powerful image. I think about my experiences sojourning among the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). My most formative faith years yet, my late early twenties, when I rededicated my life to Christ and began taking my call to ministry more seriously were shaped by my time with Friends. I first came to the Church of the Brethren through my Quaker connections. And, in many ways, my faith and practice remain rooted in the Friends tradition. George Fox, the first Friend, famously said that “Christ has come to teach his people himself.” Because of this, many Friends scorn the learned clergy and sit together in silence waiting on Jesus to speak in the midst of their gathered and expectant waiting. This might seem really strange for those who have not experienced it. Frankly, it is strange to me and I have done it loads of times. Sitting in a room with other people where you are all just quiet and unless there is sufficiently powerful inspiration no one might talk for the entire hour is a strange thing to do. But, God calls us to strangeness. We are, indeed, a peculiar people. Now, I am not saying we need to get rid of prepared songs and sermons in favor of a hushed gathering in a lower p pentecostal stillness – though our faith communities could all benefit by inserting some much-needed quiet and contemplation into our lives of faith. (Remember, prayer must undergird our visioning.) Still, when we read passages like this, it is hard to understate the importance of silence. Let us think of it this way. Imagine the sanctuary like a courtroom and the worship service as the drama of a trial. When the defendant is guilty – I mean truly and obviously guilty – there is not much that taking the stand is going to do at that point. There are no words of defense. There are no words. In that case, shutting one’s mouth is the best option by far. So, too, it is with us. We are all guilty. Our words cannot make us right. Our words cannot help us escape the coming Judgment.
In these closing verses, Paul, again, writes of the Law. It is important that we understand that the Law does not cause one to sin. Attempting to keep the law is not an inherent sin. Rather, the Law highlights our sinfulness. When we do not live up to the Law, our weakness is exposed. It is this very weakness – this brokenness, this sinfulness – that leaves us needing justification. So, what is justification? It is a word used in this passage and elsewhere in Paul’s writings. In many ways, it is the theme of the passage. Paul is setting up a broader theme here. Justification is a complicated concept. In the simplest of terms, justification is how ungodly, guilty sinners like you and me are made right by God and become a part of his covenantal family. We are not going in-depth here but, it is important to have a base knowledge of this and other theological jargon. So let this simple definition serve as your justification primer.
You know, as I close, I am reminded of Psalm 143 – one of the psalms of confession. The Psalmist is on the struggle bus, as they say. He knows he is weak. In fact, he knows no one is good. Still, he has faith in loyalty to and of God. Read these words from the Scriptures:
Lord, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness listen to my plea, and in Your righteousness answer me. 2 Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous in Your sight. 3 For the enemy has pursued me, crushing me to the ground, making me live in darkness like those long dead. 4 My spirit is weak within me; my heart is overcome with dismay. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all You have done; I reflect on the work of Your hands. 6 I spread out my hands to You; I am like parched land before You.Selah 7 Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those going down to the Pit. 8 Let me experience Your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in You. Reveal to me the way I should go because I long for You. 9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I come to You for protection. 10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground. 11 Because of Your name, Yahweh, let me live. In Your righteousness deliver me from trouble, 12 and in Your faithful love destroy my enemies. Wipe out all those who attack me, for I am Your servant.
May God be blessed by the reading of his Word. Let us emulate the psalmist’s humility. Let us emulate the psalmist’s unwavering faith. Let us emulate the psalmist in living out that faith – in truly being God’s servants. What might that look like? How would our homes, churches, communities, and nations be different if we were all truly serving the Lord with our everything? Like the Psalmist. Like Paul. I think you know the answer. I hope you do! He has already given us everything! How could we not reciprocate(!)? If you happen to be reading this in a room with others, give them a good laugh or scare them by turning to your neighbor and ask, “How could we not(!)?”
Here are some questions for further reflection and application:
- Paul quotes seven different psalms in today’s passage. How do you understand the important role of the Hebrew Scriptures in explaining the Gospel of Christ?
- How do you understand our seeking accolades, accomplishments, and praise in light of Paul’s (David’s) assertion that not even one is righteous?
- Your depravity is the truth. So, though, is your God-image-bearing. How do you balance these realities in order to have a healthy sense of self?
Rev. Chibuzo Nimmo Petty is a creative, organizer, and minister whose passion is the intersection of cultural competency and pastoral care living with family in Cleveland, Ohio. You can find Chibuzo’s writing and editing work in the Church of the Brethren’s bi-annual academic journal Brethren Life & Thought or more regularly on its affiliate blog DEVOTION.
What does it mean to be a gathering space for thoughtful and creative reflections on the history, theology, and modern practices of the Church of the Brethren and related movements? Brethren Life & Thought has a long history of working to be such a space. We’re excited to bring our content online through DEVOTION: A Blog by Brethren Life & Thought. Here, you’ll find sermons and other writings from Brethren, Mennonite, and Quaker writers from a variety of theological and social contexts. Some weeks, you might read a piece that resonates with you. Some weeks, you might read a piece that challenges you. Some weeks, you might read a piece you think is heretical. For good or for ill, the Anabaptist and Peace Church movements are remarkably diverse in faith and practice. This blog attempts to expose our readers to the vastness of that diversity – even when it makes us uncomfortable. As you comment, which we highly encourage you to do back on our Facebook page, please remember to do so in light of our membership in the Body of Christ. Let us be different than the world for Jesus truly does invite us to another way of living.