3.3

Read Romans 3:1-20

A few years back, there was a popular country music song called “People are Good.” It was a number one hit for Luke Bryan. I know it was a number one hit because I looked it up and also any country song that I become aware of when it was released is bound to have been in the top ten. I don’t pay much attention to country music. The chorus begins with the line “most people are good”. Overall, the song is fine.

Mr. Bryan said that what appealed to him about the song when he first heard it was that it communicated some good vibes for people rather than the humdrum of negativity that we are exposed to most of the time. The song was made for pick-up truck drivers in places like Texas, Tennessee, and Florida where complementing mothers, acknowledging high school football, and recognizing the dignity of hard-working folks will always play well. In other words, it hits all the feels. About the only thing that you can say against the song is that there is no mention of dogs. Well, that and it is crummy theology!

The Apostle Paul has a counter argument:

There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:11-18)

With this litany of scripture verses, Paul completes the indictment of all of humanity that he began at Romans 1:18. Recall “for even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Along the way he pointed out our preference for the Gods of our own making, the appeal of self-righteousness, and reminded his Jewish brethren that even though they had received the law they failed to follow it. All people are guilty before the Lord God and deserving of punishment. We are all in trouble when the wrath of God revealed (Rom 1:18) becomes the wrath unleashed at the final judgment.

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Mr Bryan’s lyric (wonderfully sung in an understated way) reflects the attitude of most people. I heard similar sentiments all the time in my days as a youth director and pastor. It is comforting to think that people are at their core are basically good but that is not what the Bible teaches, nor does it jive with reality.

Look back at the litany above and ponder the following:

How many times in the last week did you say something negative about a friend, a coworker, a family member, a celebrity, or an elected official? Did you gossip about others?

Did you lie? Even a small one. Something seemingly irrelevant like telling the officer that pulled you over for speeding that you didn’t know what the speed limit was or how fast you were going?

Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness…

Did you get angry at the people who voted differently from you in the last election? Did you watch the news and think this or that politician is “stupid” or “a threat to the country”? Did you wish someone were dead?

I know many people who wish the assassin who shot at Trump hadn’t missed. Others have applauded the death of the United Health Care CEO and lionized his murderer this year. People have set fire to Tesla dealerships because of Elon Musk’s government service. Just two weeks ago, I saw a Tesla with a bumper sticker that said the driver is anti-tariff presumably in an attempt to protect them from the vitriol and anger that is being directed their way.

… their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

I haven’t even mentioned the wars that are raging, drunk drivers, the people who are profiting from sex traffic, molesters, pedophiles, murders, abusers, drug dealers, and terrorists.

Where I live even people who “are good” fail to yield to folks entering the highway, speed through school zones, and cut in line at the Starbucks. They are some of the wealthiest people in the world in terms of money and time and give very little of it back to aid the poor and the needy. They are more likely to rescue a dog from a shelter than give a homeless person a meal.

Here is a non-hypothetical example. A few weeks ago, I swung by the local grocery store to pick up a couple of items. As I am walking up to the store, I heard a grown man screaming obscenities at someone. Come to find out he was berating a woman in a car for her driving. He was escalating to the point that several male patrons, me included, began moving closer in case there was need to intervene. Thankfully he allowed her to drive on.

People are not good. Even Jesus said so. See Mark 10:17-27.

When God made people, we read that he breathed into Adam and Adam became a living soul. At first glance you think so Adam began to breathe and live, but “living soul” comes from a Hebrew word, nefesh and it means bundle of desires. That is what we all are — a bundle of desires — our mishandling of those desires is what causes sin.

If we are honest, most of the time, we do what we want when we want. If it is something that we should not do, we justify it to ourselves and others. We have been like this from the start. Eve saw that the fruit was pleasing, looked tasty, and she wanted to be like God. She and Adam ate. When God confronts them, Adam blames God saying, “the woman you gave me gave it to me”. Eve says, “it was the serpent”. No one is taking responsibility. Eve at least points the finger at the serpent’s cunning. Adam blames God.

How is this any different today when someone is in a car wreck and looks for a way to blame the other driver? What about when a rapist blames the victim for dressing provocatively? In degree of villainy, sure, but in principle not so much. Any parent of two or more children knows how easily people take to blaming someone else or finding a way to avoid being punished. Elementary school teachers learn early on to ask, “why did you hit Johnny” rather than “did you hit Johnny?” if they want an honest response. Speaking of teachers, they also learn way too early that a disciplined child will report to their parents that they were punished because the teacher doesn’t like them rather than explain what they did wrong in the first place.

Some of you will say that all may be true, but I follow the rules most of the time and I am not guilty of any of those truly horrible things that you mentioned earlier. I would tend to agree, and neither am I, but an honest assessment of human nature would say people in general are capable of most of them. Someone is doing them. My wife loves to watch Law and Order SVU. That show only has stories to tell because there are lots of those crimes being committed every week.

Paul knew about self-justification. Several times in his writings and in the book of Acts, Paul shares that at one time he was blameless before the law. That is to say that he was blameless in the way that he interpreted the law. When we first encounter him in the Bible, he is holding the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen for the “crime” of believing Jesus was the promised messiah and doing acts of kindness to the poor in Christ’s name. As my Christian Ethics professor was fond of saying “never forget that the first great missionary of the Church was once a murderer”.

Perhaps this why the Old Testament records all these stories of broken, messed up families, and the repeated idolatry of Israel; to remind us that all of humanity is always just a breath or two away from living into their depravity. In just a few short verses from the passage above Paul will reiterate is point that we are all guilty. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

And we have.

How depressing you might say to go through life with an attitude that everyone is a slave to depravity. that would be true if that was all the truth there was to hear. Thankfully, there is more to the story. People may be depraved but people are redeemable. That is a topic for next time.