https://youtu.be/QnbW4xXnGs0
In our verse by verse study of Romans last time we finished verse 9 of Romans 3 with the Expanded Translation Rom 3:9; "Therefore how are we to understand the situation? Do we possess anything that might shield us from God's justice? No, not at all: for we have already indicted both Jews and Gentiles, they are all under sin."
Rom 3:10; "As it is written." From the adverb "kathos" describes a comparison of the principle that Paul has made with the principles revealed in Old Testament scripture. The perfect passive indicative of the verb "grapho" is used to reference the writing of the Old Testament scriptures.
The perfect tense is a dramatic rhetorical use of the intensive perfect that refers to something that is finished as an object or a function but has results that continue. The Scriptures that the Old Testament canon contains were finished before Paul writes but according to the perfect tense the writing has been completed but it's results go on forever and they do because it is God's Word.
The Old Testament canon lives and abides forever and therefore documentation from the Old Testament is absolute, eternal, and immutable because it is with us at the present time of human history and will be with us in eternity forever.
The passive voice indicates that the Old Testament scriptures receive the action of the verb of being written. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of a completed canon of the Old Testament scripture.
Next, the conjunction "hoti" that is in the original but not translated into the English that introduces a indirect discourse. It is represented by quotation marks in the phrase "As it stands written."
The quotation is from Psa 14:1b; "There is none righteous, no, not one." First is the strong negative "ouk", that denies the reality of an alleged fact. Plus the present active indicative of "eimi," the verb to be translated "there is."
This is a static present representing a condition that always exists. This has always been true and always will be true. The active voice: the entire human race produces the action of the verb, whether Jew or Gentile "none are righteous."
All racial issues are destroyed by God's perfect integrity. When it says "there is none righteous, no, not one," it means that in Paul's day, Jew and Gentile. It means in our day whatever races exist because at this point in human history there is no longer any purity of race.
Then the predicate nominative of the adjective "dikaios" that means righteousness, justice, and sometimes integrity. "Tsadiq" has the same connotation in the Hebrew. Both of these words can refer to part or all of God's integrity.
When used in connection with man moral integrity is generally in view. But we use it here first in the sense of relating it to God, and then we can understand why God's integrity is not used here because it is addressing mankind.
With man it still has a connotation of moral integrity because it means to fulfill one's duty to God but here it is used for the integrity of God's perfect righteousness. "There is not a righteous one," in other words there is no naturally born member of the human race who is born with God's righteousness or its equivalent therefore the entire human race is born without righteousness.
We have to be reminded of this because we are stimulated by people who praise us so we live our lives in relation to the opinion of other people but that is a product of spiritual death because after we are born we actually become worse not better, and apart from God's integrity it is impossible to change it.
We see from this that no one has God's integrity at birth, and no one acquires God's integrity by any system of human good works, self-righteousness, or any system of emotional activity, asceticism or system of cultural taboos. No righteousness in man is comparable to God's perfect righteousness.
In spiritual death man not only lacks God's righteousness but he also lacks a sense of justice. No justice in man can compare with God's justice. We start out with no justice and we develop systems of self-justice.
Human justice is relative; human righteousness is relative It is ultimately never for the better, no matter how it appears to others, unless it is related to God's integrity in some way. We are referencing spiritually dead mankind. Therefore man cannot approach God in any way on the basis of his own merits or his own integrity.
Consequently, adjusting to God's justice is exclusively a matter of God's grace. God provides the entire means for this adjustment by the imputation of His righteousness at the point of salvation. 2Cor 5:21;
From then on, if you stay with doctrinal truth you are moving toward the objective of advancing toward the capacity of spiritual maturity but that is only possible if you stay with doctrinal truth.
At salvation you receive God's righteousness, at maturity you also receive escrow blessings from God's justice because of capacity from doctrine. God's righteousness and justice are totally involved in your life during the advance to spiritual maturity.
Rom 3:10; "no, not one" - the negative conjunction "oude" is used to connect negative sentences and is translated "not even"; the numeral "eis" is used here like an indefinite article or pronoun, meaning anyone, someone, or a certain one.
This refers to self-righteous people who try to be saved by keeping the law, but it also refers to anyone who tries to be saved by their schemes, experiences, righteousness, or personality. So "oude eis" makes no exceptions for anyone in the human race. The only exception was the one who is the God-Man, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 3:10; Expanded Translation: "As it stands written, there is not a righteous one, not even one."
We see from this that no member of the human race possesses God's integrity or any equivalent. God's justice has correctly placed the entire human race under the indictment and condemnation of spiritual death.
Spiritual death means total inability to have a relationship with God. Human essence is therefore classified as being totally depraved on the basis of failure to meet the standards of God's integrity.
Spiritual death not only describes the spiritual status of man but it also describes the inability of man to do anything about it. This means that man must rely entirely upon God's integrity to resolve the problem.
God's integrity has provided the means of adjusting to His justice. God judged Jesus Christ as our substitute while He was bearing our sins in His body on the cross as our substitute. When a person believes in Jesus Christ they are relying exclusively on God's integrity for spiritual life. God's remedy is referred to as being "born again."