FAMILY FAITH TALK â Romans 3:9-20
1:10 JOURNEY GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
Sunday, March 8, 2015 • Summit Evangelical Free Church, Alta, IA • Pastor Doug Corlew Series: The Righteous Shall Live By Faith (Romans), Message #8
1.
Have you ever sat on a jury? What was it like? Did you enjoy the experience?
THE VERDICT IS IN
2.
Read Romans 3:9-20. What did you hear in the sermon that made an impression on you as a new, significant, or helpful insight?
3.
How do you feel about Paul’s claim in v 9 that all are “under sin”? Why?
4.
How would the modern world react to the universal indictment of v 10-12?
5.
If unbelievers are not seeking God (v 11), why does it seem like many of them are?
6.
In light of v 13-14, how do you see the effects of sin in the words you speak? Discuss the meaning of Matthew 12:34-37. How would our lives be different if we lived according to Ephesians 4:29?
7.
In light of v 15-17, how do you see the effects of sin in your relationships? What does James 4:1-3 say about the cause of broken relationships?
8.
What does it mean (or not mean) to fear God (v 18)? Read the passages from Psalms and Proverbs on Wednesday’s devotional, and talk about the implications of these verses.
9.
According to v 19-20, what is one purpose of God’s law? If “every mouth will be stopped” on the last day (v 19), how should that affect the way we view our world today?
ROMANS 3:9-20 Every human being has been arraigned for trial in God’s courtroom. How do YOU plead?
1. The Indictment: ____________________________________ (v 10-12)
2. The Evidence: _____________________________________ (v 13-18)
10. How does Romans 1:18—3:20 help to prepare you for the Gospel message?
FAMILY FAITH TALK — Romans 3:9-20 Questions progress from targeting younger children (#1-2) to teens (#5-6).
1. List all the good things God wants us to be. 2. Can we do all of these things perfectly? Why? 3. When you read the description of people in v 10-18 how would you describe them? 4. What is the answer to this problem? 5. Are people as bad as they possibly could be? Why? Why not? 6. If someone tries really hard to obey the law, why shouldn’t they be considered righteous?
3. The Verdict: _______________________________________ (v 19-20)
Monday, March 9
Read Romans 3:10-12
Thursday, March 12
Read Romans 3:19
“The apostle summarizes the condition of every human being apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is not a pretty picture. All alike are under sin, and all are thus subject to the wrath and final judgment of Almighty God. This is a serious charge, indeed a devastating picture of the race, because it portrays human beings as unable to do even a single thing either to please, understand, or seek after God... This is hard for the human race to accept, of course, for one of the results of our being sinners is that we tend to treat sin lightly. Most people are willing to admit that they are not perfect. But this is far different from admitting that we are utterly depraved so far as our having any natural ability to please God is concerned. …We are willing to admit that we wander off the true path at times, but not that we are not even on the right path. Instead of admitting that we are running away from God, we pretend that we are seeking Him. It is vitally important that we come to terms with this bad tendency to run from the truth about ourselves. Without an accurate knowledge of our sin, we will never come to know the meaning of God’s grace.”
“At God’s judgment no one will be able to offer any good works as grounds for his or her justification or proffer any valid excuses for bad conduct. All mouths will be made mute, and everyone will know he or she is guilty and deserves God’s just condemnation. The reason, of course, is that this is God’s judgment. The person we must appear before is God. We do not have the same experiences when we appear before mere men or answer before a mere earthly tribunal. Here we have trials by our peers. But our peers are like us. They are also sinful. Frequently juries excuse bad behavior. Not even judges are always entirely upright in their decisions. In some cases they can be bribed. Or they simply make mistakes. Moreover, human law is inexact and imperfect. It has loopholes. We can plead extenuating circumstances. And even if we lose our case, we can generally appeal to a higher court, and to a court beyond that… Ah, but before God every mouth will be silenced! Then we will all know that we are not righteous and that there is not a word that can be spoken in our defense.”
Romans 7:18 Psalm 14:1-3; 143:1-2
Romans 1:20; 2:1; 3:4 1 Samuel 2:9-10
Isaiah 53:6; 59:2, 7-8 Jeremiah 13:23
Tuesday, March 10
Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:18 John 6:37-40, 44, 63-65
Read Romans 3:11
“The will is free. It is always free. That is, it is free to choose (and always will choose) what the mind thinks is best. But what does the mind think is best? Here we get to the heart of the problem as it involves choosing God. When confronted with God, the mind of a sinner never thinks that the way of God is a good course. The will is free to choose God; nothing is stopping it. But the mind does not regard submission to God and serving God as being desirable. Therefore, it turns from God, even when the gospel is most winsomely presented. It turns from God because of what we saw in Romans 1. The mind does not want God to be sovereign. It does not consider the righteousness of God to be the way to personal fulfillment or happiness. It does not want its true sinful nature exposed. The mind is wrong in its judgments, of course. The way it chooses is actually the way of alienation and misery, the end of which is death. But human beings think sin to be the best way. Therefore, unless God changes the way we think—which He does in some by the miracle of the new birth—our minds always tell us to turn from God.”
Romans 8:7-9 John 1:12-13 Acts 16:14
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 2 Corinthians 4:4-6
Wednesday, March 11
2 Timothy 2:24-25 1 John 5:1
Read Romans 3:13-18
“The last phrase of this great summary of the human race is an apt conclusion. It tells why all these other violent and wicked acts have happened: ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ In the Bible the word ‘fear,’ when used of God, denotes a right and reverential frame of mind before Him. It has to do with worshiping Him, obeying Him, and departing from evil… Since eyes are organs of vision, to have the fear of God before our eyes means we have God constantly in our thoughts and in a central position in everything that concerns us. It means that we are ever looking toward Him… But if we will not come to God as He presents Himself to us in Jesus Christ (as Savior), it is not inappropriate to be actually afraid of the Almighty. God’s wrath hangs over us. His terrible judgment awaits us as the proper recompense for our unatoned sins. The irony of the state of human beings in our sin, however, is that we do not fear the one, holy, and judging God. Instead we fear lesser entities… What irony: To fear these things, all of which pass away eventually, and yet not fear God, to whom all of us must one day give an accounting.”
Psalm 36:1; 119:120; 128:1 Proverbs 8:13; 9:10; 23:17
Eccles. 8:12-13; 12:13-14 Isaiah 8:12-13; 51:12-13
Matthew 10:28 Luke 23:39-43 Revelation 19:5
Job 9:1-3; 40:4-5 Isaiah 6:1-5
Friday, March 13
Habakkuk 3:16 Revelation 1:17-18
Read Romans 3:20
“But why? Why is it that no one will be saved by good works? If not the utterly immoral person, why not at least the virtuous pagan or the religious Jew? Why not you? Why not me? Paul’s answer takes us back over the chief points of the preceding chapters. 1) Far from pursuing God and trying to please Him (which is what most of us mistakenly think we are doing), the entire race is actually trying to get away from God and is resisting Him as intensely and thoroughly as possible… 2) Although anyone who perfectly obeys the law would be declared righteous—the righteousness of God requires it—in point of fact no one actually does this; rather, all disobey God’s law… 3) Far from observing the law (or even trying to observe the law), we are all actually violating the law in every conceivable way and on every conceivable occasion and are therefore actively, consistently, thoroughly, and intentionally wicked… 4) God is concerned with true or actual observance of His law—that is, with attitudes and actions of the heart—and not with any outward acts that appear pious but actually mean nothing… Thus Paul points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone God provides salvation.”
Romans 2:13; 3:20; 4:13 Psalm 130:1-4
Saturday, March 14
John 1:16-17 Acts 13:38-39
Galatians 2:15-16; 3:10-14 Colossians 2:13-14
Read Romans 3:21-31
As you prepare for next Sunday’s message, meditate on God’s solution to the problem of our sin.
Devotional Thoughts by: James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) ROMANS, An Expositional Commentary, Vol 1: Justification by Faith (Rom 1-4); Baker 1991
Sunday, March 8, 2015 • Summit Evangelical Free Church, Alta, IA • Pastor Doug Corlew Series: The Righteous Shall Live By Faith (Romans), Message #8
1.
Have you ever sat on a jury? What was it like? Did you enjoy the experience?
THE VERDICT IS IN
2.
Read Romans 3:9-20. What did you hear in the sermon that made an impression on you as a new, significant, or helpful insight?
3.
How do you feel about Paul’s claim in v 9 that all are “under sin”? Why?
4.
How would the modern world react to the universal indictment of v 10-12?
5.
If unbelievers are not seeking God (v 11), why does it seem like many of them are?
6.
In light of v 13-14, how do you see the effects of sin in the words you speak? Discuss the meaning of Matthew 12:34-37. How would our lives be different if we lived according to Ephesians 4:29?
7.
In light of v 15-17, how do you see the effects of sin in your relationships? What does James 4:1-3 say about the cause of broken relationships?
8.
What does it mean (or not mean) to fear God (v 18)? Read the passages from Psalms and Proverbs on Wednesday’s devotional, and talk about the implications of these verses.
9.
According to v 19-20, what is one purpose of God’s law? If “every mouth will be stopped” on the last day (v 19), how should that affect the way we view our world today?
ROMANS 3:9-20 Every human being has been arraigned for trial in God’s courtroom. How do YOU plead?
1. The Indictment: ____________________________________ (v 10-12)
2. The Evidence: _____________________________________ (v 13-18)
10. How does Romans 1:18—3:20 help to prepare you for the Gospel message?
FAMILY FAITH TALK — Romans 3:9-20 Questions progress from targeting younger children (#1-2) to teens (#5-6).
1. List all the good things God wants us to be. 2. Can we do all of these things perfectly? Why? 3. When you read the description of people in v 10-18 how would you describe them? 4. What is the answer to this problem? 5. Are people as bad as they possibly could be? Why? Why not? 6. If someone tries really hard to obey the law, why shouldn’t they be considered righteous?
3. The Verdict: _______________________________________ (v 19-20)
Monday, March 9
Read Romans 3:10-12
Thursday, March 12
Read Romans 3:19
“The apostle summarizes the condition of every human being apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is not a pretty picture. All alike are under sin, and all are thus subject to the wrath and final judgment of Almighty God. This is a serious charge, indeed a devastating picture of the race, because it portrays human beings as unable to do even a single thing either to please, understand, or seek after God... This is hard for the human race to accept, of course, for one of the results of our being sinners is that we tend to treat sin lightly. Most people are willing to admit that they are not perfect. But this is far different from admitting that we are utterly depraved so far as our having any natural ability to please God is concerned. …We are willing to admit that we wander off the true path at times, but not that we are not even on the right path. Instead of admitting that we are running away from God, we pretend that we are seeking Him. It is vitally important that we come to terms with this bad tendency to run from the truth about ourselves. Without an accurate knowledge of our sin, we will never come to know the meaning of God’s grace.”
“At God’s judgment no one will be able to offer any good works as grounds for his or her justification or proffer any valid excuses for bad conduct. All mouths will be made mute, and everyone will know he or she is guilty and deserves God’s just condemnation. The reason, of course, is that this is God’s judgment. The person we must appear before is God. We do not have the same experiences when we appear before mere men or answer before a mere earthly tribunal. Here we have trials by our peers. But our peers are like us. They are also sinful. Frequently juries excuse bad behavior. Not even judges are always entirely upright in their decisions. In some cases they can be bribed. Or they simply make mistakes. Moreover, human law is inexact and imperfect. It has loopholes. We can plead extenuating circumstances. And even if we lose our case, we can generally appeal to a higher court, and to a court beyond that… Ah, but before God every mouth will be silenced! Then we will all know that we are not righteous and that there is not a word that can be spoken in our defense.”
Romans 7:18 Psalm 14:1-3; 143:1-2
Romans 1:20; 2:1; 3:4 1 Samuel 2:9-10
Isaiah 53:6; 59:2, 7-8 Jeremiah 13:23
Tuesday, March 10
Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:18 John 6:37-40, 44, 63-65
Read Romans 3:11
“The will is free. It is always free. That is, it is free to choose (and always will choose) what the mind thinks is best. But what does the mind think is best? Here we get to the heart of the problem as it involves choosing God. When confronted with God, the mind of a sinner never thinks that the way of God is a good course. The will is free to choose God; nothing is stopping it. But the mind does not regard submission to God and serving God as being desirable. Therefore, it turns from God, even when the gospel is most winsomely presented. It turns from God because of what we saw in Romans 1. The mind does not want God to be sovereign. It does not consider the righteousness of God to be the way to personal fulfillment or happiness. It does not want its true sinful nature exposed. The mind is wrong in its judgments, of course. The way it chooses is actually the way of alienation and misery, the end of which is death. But human beings think sin to be the best way. Therefore, unless God changes the way we think—which He does in some by the miracle of the new birth—our minds always tell us to turn from God.”
Romans 8:7-9 John 1:12-13 Acts 16:14
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 2 Corinthians 4:4-6
Wednesday, March 11
2 Timothy 2:24-25 1 John 5:1
Read Romans 3:13-18
“The last phrase of this great summary of the human race is an apt conclusion. It tells why all these other violent and wicked acts have happened: ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ In the Bible the word ‘fear,’ when used of God, denotes a right and reverential frame of mind before Him. It has to do with worshiping Him, obeying Him, and departing from evil… Since eyes are organs of vision, to have the fear of God before our eyes means we have God constantly in our thoughts and in a central position in everything that concerns us. It means that we are ever looking toward Him… But if we will not come to God as He presents Himself to us in Jesus Christ (as Savior), it is not inappropriate to be actually afraid of the Almighty. God’s wrath hangs over us. His terrible judgment awaits us as the proper recompense for our unatoned sins. The irony of the state of human beings in our sin, however, is that we do not fear the one, holy, and judging God. Instead we fear lesser entities… What irony: To fear these things, all of which pass away eventually, and yet not fear God, to whom all of us must one day give an accounting.”
Psalm 36:1; 119:120; 128:1 Proverbs 8:13; 9:10; 23:17
Eccles. 8:12-13; 12:13-14 Isaiah 8:12-13; 51:12-13
Matthew 10:28 Luke 23:39-43 Revelation 19:5
Job 9:1-3; 40:4-5 Isaiah 6:1-5
Friday, March 13
Habakkuk 3:16 Revelation 1:17-18
Read Romans 3:20
“But why? Why is it that no one will be saved by good works? If not the utterly immoral person, why not at least the virtuous pagan or the religious Jew? Why not you? Why not me? Paul’s answer takes us back over the chief points of the preceding chapters. 1) Far from pursuing God and trying to please Him (which is what most of us mistakenly think we are doing), the entire race is actually trying to get away from God and is resisting Him as intensely and thoroughly as possible… 2) Although anyone who perfectly obeys the law would be declared righteous—the righteousness of God requires it—in point of fact no one actually does this; rather, all disobey God’s law… 3) Far from observing the law (or even trying to observe the law), we are all actually violating the law in every conceivable way and on every conceivable occasion and are therefore actively, consistently, thoroughly, and intentionally wicked… 4) God is concerned with true or actual observance of His law—that is, with attitudes and actions of the heart—and not with any outward acts that appear pious but actually mean nothing… Thus Paul points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone God provides salvation.”
Romans 2:13; 3:20; 4:13 Psalm 130:1-4
Saturday, March 14
John 1:16-17 Acts 13:38-39
Galatians 2:15-16; 3:10-14 Colossians 2:13-14
Read Romans 3:21-31
As you prepare for next Sunday’s message, meditate on God’s solution to the problem of our sin.
Devotional Thoughts by: James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) ROMANS, An Expositional Commentary, Vol 1: Justification by Faith (Rom 1-4); Baker 1991
