The Final Verdict: Guilty As Charged!

Passage: Romans 3:9-20

We have been using a legal metaphor to describe what Paul is doing in Romans 1 to 3.  As the prosecutor in this trial Paul first brought charges against the Gentiles in Chapter one.  That was easy, their sins where public sins, outward, dirty, well known to everyone.

He cataloged their sins for us, suppressing the truth, idolatry, dishonoring their bodies with dishonorable passions, and maybe worst of all not only doing all these bad things but approving of others who do them.

Then to the shock and surprise of the Jews, in Chapter two, Paul turned his prosecution against them for their private and secret sins, the sins of hypocrisy and self-righteousness.  They who disapproved of others’ bad behavior and sins were just as guilty as they were.

Paul did say the Jews had some advantages over the Gentiles.  Chief among them was God’s choosing them and entrusting them with His Word.

The bad news for the Jews was, contrary to what they thought, the covenant promises of God didn’t exempt them from their responsibility for their sin.  They sinned and lost their advantage.  Their sin made them accountable to God and under His judgment.

Now we come to the final part of Paul’s case.  In a legal trial this is called the summation, when the lawyer makes his closing arguments tying together the facts, the evidence, the merits of his case.

Paul gives the final verdict, both the Jews and the Gentiles are guilty as charged, based on irrefutable and undeniable evidence which we drives home by appealing to the highest authority of all, the Word of God.  Then he ends saying no one can argue with God because no one is justified by anything they say or do in the sight of God.