God's Provision for Sin

Romans 3

¹So, do Jews have anything that other people do not have? Is there anything
special about being circumcised? ²Yes, of course, there is in every way. The most
important thing is this: God trusted the Jews with his teachings. ³If some Jews
were not faithful to him, will that stop God from doing what he promised? ⁴No!
God will continue to be true even when every person is false. As the Scriptures
say:

“So you will be shown to be right when you speak,

and you will win your case.”

Psalm 51:4

⁵When we do wrong, that shows more clearly that God is right. So can we say
that God is wrong to punish us? (I am talking as people might talk.) ⁶No! If God
could not punish us, he could not judge the world.

⁷A person might say, “When I lie, it really gives him glory, because my lie
shows God’s truth. So why am I judged a sinner?” ⁸It would be the same to say,
“We should do evil so that good will come.” Some people find fault with us and
say we teach this, but they are wrong and deserve the punishment they will
receive.

All People Are Guilty

⁹So are we Jews better than others? No! We have already said that Jews and
those who are not Jews are all guilty of sin. ¹⁰As the Scriptures say:

“There is no one who always does what is right,

not even one.

¹¹There is no one who understands.

There is no one who looks to God for help.

¹²All have turned away.

Together, everyone has become useless.

There is no one who does anything good;

there is not even one.”

Psalm 14:1-3

¹³“Their throats are like open graves;

they use their tongues for telling lies.”

Psalm 5:9

“Their words are like snake poison.”

Psalm 140:3

¹⁴“Their mouths are full of cursing and hate.”

Psalm 10:7

¹⁵“They are always ready to kill people.

¹⁶Everywhere they go they cause ruin and misery.

¹⁷They don’t know how to live in peace.”

Isaiah 59:7-8

¹⁸“They have no fear of God.”

Psalm 36:1

¹⁹We know that the law’s commands are for those who have the law. This
stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, ²⁰because no
one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our
sin.

How God Makes People Right

²¹But God has a way to make people right with him without the law, and he
has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. ²²God
makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true
for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: ²³All have sinned
and are not good enough for God’s glory, ²⁴and all need to be made right with
God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin
through Jesus Christ. ²⁵God gave him as a way to forgive sin through faith in the
blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair,
as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. ²⁶And
God gave Jesus to show today that he does what is right. God did this so he could
judge rightly and so he could make right any person who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the
way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of trying to obey the law. ²⁸A
person is made right with God through faith, not through obeying the law. ²⁹Is
God only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of those who are not Jews?
³⁰Of course he is, because there is only one God. He will make Jews right with
him by their faith, and he will also make those who are not Jews right with him
through their faith. ³¹So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No!
Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants.

The Holy Bible, New Century Version

SITUATION

Paul showed that no one can claim innocence. Everyone has sinned. But through Christ's death on the cross God has redeemed us.

OBSERVATION

Willing and ready, God will forgive us if we come to him in faith.

INSPIRATION

Salvation is free! God puts no price tag on the Gift of gifts - it's free! Preachers are not salesmen for they have nothing to sell. They are bearers of Good News, the good tidings that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." Money can't buy it. Man's righteousness can't earn it. Social prestige can't help you acquire it. Morality can't purchase it. It is, as Isaiah said, "without money and without price:' God is not a bargaining God. You cannot barter with Him. You must do business with Him on His own terms. He holds in His omnipotent hand the priceless, precious, eternal gift of salvation, and He bids you to take it without money and without price. The best things in life are free, are they not? The air we breathe is not sold by the cubic foot. The water which flows crystal clear from the mountain stream is free for the taking. Love is free, faith is free, hope is free. (From Day by Day with Billy Graham by Joan W. Brown)

APPLICATION

Have you accepted the free gift of God, forgiveness and eternal life, won for you by Christ? Submit to Christ's rule in your life and kneel to his lordship. Don't wait.

EXPLORATION

Faith - Acts 13:38- 39; Romans 4:25; 5:16,18; 10:10; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:7.