#1624 Romans 3 Part 4 Au Contraire

 

21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that faith, is one.

31 Do we then abolish the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. Romans 3: 21-31 LSB

Romans 3: 21-31

Now, as we approach this, a little bit of an introduction. Job, that very early book, no doubt describing a man who lived in the patriarchal period, the period of the Pentateuch. Job, that righteous man, that man who was commended by God for his faith, asked the most important question that any person can ever ask. It is posed in chapter 9 of Job and verse 2. And this is the question that Job asked, “How can a man be right with God?” That is the most compelling question. How can a man be right or be in the right before God?

And then he goes on to show why this is such a dilemma. Verse 3, “If one wished to dispute with Him, he could not answer Him once in a thousand times. Wise in heart and mighty in strength, who has defied Him without harm? It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how, when He overturns them in His anger; who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun not to shine, and sets a seal on the stars; who alone stretches out the heavens and tramples down the waves of the sea; who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; who does great things, unfathomable, and wondrous works without number.

“Where He to pass by me, I wouldn’t see Him; were He to move past me, I wouldn’t perceive Him. Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could system to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

“God will not turn back His anger; beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab. How then can I answer Him, and choose my words before Him? For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my judge. If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice. For He bruises me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause. He will not allow me to get my breath, but saturates me with bitterness. If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him? Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.”

This is like Paul saying, “Even when I know nothing against myself, herein am I not justified. I can’t bring my case before God.”

Here is a man – namely Job – with a sense of his lostness; with a sense of his smallness; with a sense of his guilt, his emptiness, his meaninglessness; fearing death, dreading punishment at the hands of a holy God who cannot successfully make his case even when he says, “I’ve searched out my life, and I can’t see anything of continuing sin. I know that I am not, by my own perception, thereby justified because my own perception is so limited.

How should a man be in the right with God? How do you become right with God? God is holy, and God is a judge, and God punishes sinners, and God punishes the guilty who are sinners. How can that change? How can a man be right with God and particularly a God like this, a God who is so vastly beyond me?

And, of course, as you heard, Job goes through the litany of all the things that are true about the massiveness of God. How can I, this frail, weak, unimportant individual, establish righteousness before such a great and glorious and holy God? How can I, therefore, escape His judgment?

That, by the way, is the basic question that every religion tries to answer. That is the basic question that every religion tries to answer. Every religion is trying to answer the question, “How do I escape the judgment of God and get into the place of favor from God” – whatever god is the god of that religion – “and end up in the right place when I die?” That is the universal question which religion universally attempts to answer.

And so many suggestions are made. But all religions, of all types and all kinds basically give the same answer. You achieve that rightness. You get it by your attention to being a good person and performing the necessary religious rituals, and rights, and practices, and ceremonies.

In every case, you get in the right with God by something you do. Now, they will all admit that God is kind, to some degree. At least he will allow you the opportunity to try to do that. And in varying religions, the kindness of God is more or less a large part of our efforts. But in the end, all human religions come up with the same thing: you work your way in.

But the Bible clearly demonstrates and confirms that nobody will ever be made right with God like that. No one. No one is going to escape judgment and enter into blessing. No one is going to go from being under the disfavor of God into the favor of God by their own efforts, by his own effort or her own effort.

So, if we are to find a way to be right with God, it isn’t going to be found in us. It isn’t going to be found in the religions that we invent. If there is a way to be right with God, then God’s going to have to determine that way, because He’s the one that’s been offended. And therein lies the dilemma which all religion attempts to answer. Paul has clearly shown, starting in chapter 1 all the way through chapter 3, verse 20, where we ended last time, that no one can be right with God on the basis of human effort. That’s how verse 20 ends that whole section, by saying, “By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” Nobody will be right with God by means of the deeds of the flesh. That is keeping of God’s moral law or any kind of ceremonies. In fact, all the human race falls short. They are all under sin. Chapter 3, verse 9, “Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” And Romans 1:18, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness.” So, all are unrighteous, all are under sin, and therefore all are under judgment, and no one has the capacity in himself to change that situation no matter how moral he may attempt to be or how religious. That’s the condemnation of the opening chapters. - J Mac

V. 21 But now apart from the law - This is a transition from where we previously left off, where Paul told us that, "by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin." The law was not given to man as a means to be justified, that is an impossibility for fallen man, remember, dead in trespasses and sins, at enmity with God, needs to be brought to life, born again. I remember cutting tile for our house a long time ago, and so I took a measurement, cut a tile, and dry tested it to make sure it fit. Not being much of a craftsmen, carpenter or handy man, but always loving efficiency (short cuts), I went ahead and cut the whole run for that wall, only to find that each tile moved further from the wall. I checked the tiles and they all measured the same, and looking at the wall it seemed straight to my eye, but there was almost two inches difference from one end of the wall to the other. My eyes weren't the best judge, and when I pulled out a straight edge and an angle, I found that there wasn't an actual 90 on any corner of the house. The law was a straight edge, it showed men that they are crooked, but it was powerless to correct this. It was the measure.

John MacArthur - Because they capitalize Law in this passage, it is evident that the translators of the New American Standard Bible understood nomos to refer to God’s divine revelation, either in the narrower sense of the Mosaic law or the wider sense of the entire Old Testament. But I believe that in this passage Paul primarily has in mind the sense of legalism, of men’s attempt to become acceptable to God by means of their own human efforts." (Ed note: Greek does not have the definite article modifying "law" and it would tend to support Dr. MacArthur's interpretation) (See Romans Commentary)

As discussed below, even apart from the law, the Pentateuch clearly taught that righteousness has always been credited, reckoned or imputed by personal faith. The prototypical example of course is Abraham's justification by faith (Ge 15:6), which was apart from the law for the Law wasn't even given until 400 years later. - PA

Vs. 22-23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - We all share the same parents and we all share the same curse, so we all need Someone to pay the debt of sin in our place, to live a life that is pleasing to God, and to sanctify us in repentance. There is no distinction here, no one who needs less because their sins weren't a big enough deal. This is a universal declaration.

…15We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile “sinners” 16 know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not!… Galatians 2: 15-17

…19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city. 20Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Ecclesiastes 7: 19-20

…8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.… 1 John 1: 8-10

V. 24 Being justified as a gift by His grace - God gifted us with Jesus in order to gift us to Jesus. It was free to us, but not free in the sense that it cost God greatly. Jesus took on human nature, was born as a man, lived a life that was pleasing to God, among a people that were abhorrent, namely us, and then died in our place so that the elect (those who would believe) could be reborn and reconciled to God. Remember, God is Holy, so He doesn't just wave off sin like it didn't happen, no, if He is going to redeem then He pays the redemption price. 

…9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.… 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

…7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast.… Ephesians 2: 7-9

Vs. 25-26 For in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed - The ability of our forefathers to continue on, to breathe in the air of this world was based upon the promise of Christ coming to pay for the sins committed. It didn't end in the garden solely because of the God's redemptive plan that He made with His Son and the Holy Spirit from eternity. 

…18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot. 20He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.… 1 Peter 1: 18-20

Vs. 27-30 Justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that faith - Abraham was called before the law, but it was his faith not circumcision that made him a friend of God. Moses gave Israel the law, but as we saw that was only the measuring stick, for no one was found righteous according to God's law. Of those who are saved, both Jews and Gentiles, it is by grace (unmerited favor) alone, through faith (a gift enabling us to believe) alone, in Christ alone, understood by the Scriptures alone. 

…7Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.… Galatians 3: 7-9

V. 31 On the contrary, we establish the law - Because the law was just it required Someone Who could keep it to pay for those who didn't. It is good so it begs for justice. It was like the tablets that Moses was carrying down from the mountain. He through them down and broke them, because the law had been broken yet again, even after the people had promised to keep it, to do what was in the law so they could live. The broken stone tablets did not remove the law, did not remove the righteous requirements of God, and so the law of the eternal God still stands. Death is proof of God's Holiness and His intentions towards sin. His punishment of those who carried His oracles, His punishment of His own servant, Moses, not letting him into the promised land, is a testimony to God's righteousness and the goodness of His law. Let those who twist Scripture, who take the literal and remove it's simple and clear meaning, leading men astray, let them be silenced and let the measuring stick be preached once again. It is the first part of the gospel, that which shows us the condemnation that we are under, let us see it and be moved by the Holy Spirit to repentance. 

15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “The sound of war is in the camp.”… Exodus 32: 15-17

…8How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception? 9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? 10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.… Jeremiah 8: 8-10

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#1623 Romans 3 Part 3 Fangs and Putrid Smells

 

1

“Their throat is an open tomb,

With their tongues they keep deceiving,”

“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,

16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,

17 And the path of peace they have not known.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are in the Law, so that every mouth may be shut and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. Romans 3: 13-20 LSB

Romans 3: 13-20

V. 13 Their throat is an open tomb - So for the Jew back then it was considered a defilement to come near the dead, and there are many sanitary reasons for this, like disease. You want to protect the body of your loved one also from wild animals, and so they sealed the tomb and applied ointments to the body to reduce the foul odors. On the outside there are flowers growing, a stone blocking the entrance, which was probably sealed with pitch or other materials to remove gaps, but inside was rot and decay. Paul is saying that their mouths are revealing the rancid nature of their hearts; it's an open door or window to who they really are inside. Remember Isaiah's epiphany when faced with a vision of the Lord, confronted with the Holiness of God? This godliest of men by our standards said, "Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.” Even he was able to come to a sense of his own depravity, to know that his past ideas of good would not hold up in the presence of the thrice Holy God. Paul is continuing to destroy the antinomian argument and show that being born again means being a new creature, desiring to do the things that please God, not just form and ritual. 

…44For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles. 45The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. 46Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say?… Luke 6: 44-46

…17“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.… Matthew 15: 17-19

…26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. 27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.… Matthew 23: 26-28

V. 13c The poison of asps is under their lips - Back then they would call it poison, but today we would say venom. So for some commentators the image they think would appear in the early reader's mind was that of the Egyptian cobra. Another really interesting snake I found was the Israeli Mole Viper, whose fangs can protrude to the side, making it very dangerous to handle even with the mouth seemingly closed. From Wikipedia, "This snake's fangs are able to be directed outside of its mouth, granting it the ability to side stab with a closed mouth. This makes capturing this snake particularly dangerous because it can unexpectedly bite sideways even when it is captured by the head to lock its mouth. This happened to the zoologist Heinrich Mendelssohn when he first discovered this species and captured a snake of this species in 1944.[13]" Asp is the Greek word for viper. Paul is comparing what's in their hearts to a venom factory which leads to fangs concealed in their mouth. When they open it, out comes slander, apostasy and every form of filth. 

From Dictionary.com

1. any of several venomous snakes, especially the Egyptian cobra or the horned viper.

2. Archaeology.,  uraeus.

V. 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness - It takes very little to get it to spill out, so much are men like this that they have to have life coaches in the corporate world, to teach them to practice saying what they would not naturally say, all the while harboring evil in their hearts and intentions. We teach our children manners, and rightfully so, but they still need to be born again, and there will come a time that your disappointment, the structure and repercussions you provide will no longer be there or enough. If you provide nothing then you hasten them towards doom, and if your child naturally knows to behave better than you for the sake of not making a bad investment, well then they will think themselves rich instead of the beggars that we all are.  

…8Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me. 9For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. 10Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.… Psalm 5: 8-10

"Out of his own mouth he will be condemned. There is not only a little evil there, but his mouth is full of it. There is cursing which he spits against both God and men, deceit with which he entraps the unwary, and fraud by which, even in his common dealings, he robs his neighbors. Beware of such a man. Under his tongue. Deep in his throat are the unborn words which shall come forth as mischief and iniquity." (Treasury of David).

The Apostle James says that “The tongue is set on fire of hell.” (James 3:6+)

Ray Stedman comments that "Cursing is blaming God; that is profanity. Bitterness is reproaching God because of the way he has run your life. This is what we hear all the time, even from Christians. We hear complaints about your circumstances, where God has placed you, and what he is doing with your life -- cursing and bitterness." (Read the full text of the sermon Total Wipeout)

V. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood - It only got so far as the first man and woman's son, Cain, till there was a murderer. Listen to what Jesus says.

21You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell. 23So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,… Matthew 5: 21-23

Vs. 16-17 And the path of peace they have not known - They don't travel in the way of reconciliation. They open their mouths to start strife and discord. Drama is always with them. How many times could we have stayed quiet and quelled a storm, or spoke softly instead of pouring on fuel. 

…7Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake. 8The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace. 9Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.… Isaiah 59: 7-9

1A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.… Proverbs 15: 1-2

V. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes - This is the root of all the worlds problems today. God does not do what they want, meaning He does not treat them like they are God and obey them, so they say there is no God. They see some evil that they don't like, while being blind to their own, and say, "if there is a God then I won't bow to Him because there is this type of evil in the world that I don't like, and I see myself as good." All the while they commit sin, the very thing that brought evil into this world and left them deserving of God's wrath, but they continue in evil thinking their is no pending judgement. Those who acknowledge that there is a God and yet do these things, they presume upon God's grace, but it is another god they have invented in their mind. So you believe there is God, but you don't believe what He says. What good is that?

…10Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?” 11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’ 12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.… Genesis 20: 10-12

…16My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD. 18For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.… Proverbs 23: 16-18

Spurgeon comments on Psalm 36:1 writing that

Men’s sins have a voice to godly ears. They are the outer index of an inner evil. It is clear that men who dare to sin constantly and presumptuously cannot respect the great Judge of all. Despite the professions of unrighteous men, when we see their unhallowed actions our heart is driven to the conclusion that they have no religion whatever. Unholiness is clear evidence of ungodliness. Wickedness is the fruit of an atheistic root. This may be made clear to the candid heart by cogent reasoning, but it is clear already and intuitively to the pious heart. If God is everywhere, and I fear Him, how can I dare to break His laws in His very presence? Those eyes which have no fear of God before them now will have terrors of hell before them forever. (Treasury of David)

Vs. 19-20 Through the law comes the knowledge of sin - The law could never make a man perfect. Men are already depraved, corrupted. The law was a guide, a mirror to help us see that we do not make the standard, the expectation. We needed Christ to come and keep the law, and then die a sinless death so that this atoning sacrifice could be applied to our account. Man can either pay for his sin eternally in hell, or repent and believe in Christ Jesus. 

…16know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18If I rebuild what I have already torn down, I prove myself to be a lawbreaker.…

…19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.… Galatians 2: 19-21

 

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#1622 Romans 3 Part 2 Antinomianism, An Old Disease

 

5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is the God who inflicts wrath unrighteous? (I am speaking in human terms.) 6 May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.

9 What then? Are we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;

11 There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;

There is none who does good,

There is not even one.”  Romans 3: 5-12 LSB

Romans 3: 5-12

V. 5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God - This is always the question, and it gets turned around on it's end. "I sinned according to God's law, or what your Bible says, but God made me that way, so how is it my fault?" And Paul will go even deeper than this, so that by the time we hit Romans 9 you will realize that John Calvin didn't invent election, and that there is also nothing new under the sun. God created our parents, Adam and Eve, parents of every human being on this planet, as moral beings. He gave them a command, just like He will later give Israel, "do this and you will live, don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or you will die." Now a command like this implies a choice, the ability to not do what God says, and to see what happens. If He is just then He is not a liar, and if He is not a liar, guess what, He keeps His word and you die. The Creator has every right over His creation, and can decree any expectation of it that He wants, and it is our duty to obey, but now that sin has entered the world we can no longer meet that standard. His is perfection, He is holy, which means otherly, different than you and I. He won't sin, and it demonstrates His righteousness, His beauty, in that He does not let it go without consequences. Even His own people, Israel, called out of Egypt, given the oracles of God, even their sin did not go unpunished. He called David a man after His own heart, but when David sinned with Bathsheba God punished him so hard that his ancestors felt it, literally. He told him, "the sword will not depart from your house", and what followed was the death of his son with Bathsheba, the rape of his daughter by one of his other sons, that son killed by yet another son, and then the same son, Absalom, trying to kill his father David, sleeping with his father's concubines on a roof top so all the city would see the disrespect. Later David would mourn the death of Absalom. God loved David, but God is just. 

…18Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor. 19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? 20I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.… Numbers 23: 18-20

…28So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 29Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.” 30“I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”… 1 Samuel 15: 28-30

…9Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.… 2 Samuel 12: 9-11

12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. 13When tempted, no one should say, “ God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.… James 1: 12-14

V. 5b Is the God Who inflicts wrath unrighteous - We love sin, but hate the consequences, so we always turn on God. Fair would be that He killed us the moment we first sinned, but then no one would be here. Our unrighteousness also affords us another view of God, that He is a Redeemer, the One Who created can also recreate, bring back to life. The One Who finds us dead in our trespasses and sin, obstinately forging forward toward our eternal demise, doing everything we can to suppress the truth and glorify a fallen creation, also has the power to bring us back to life, to call us to turn around. He can bring people who hate Him to the place that they love and honor Him. I love how Paul says here "(I am speaking in human terms)", lower terms, limited understanding, the query of fallen minds. God would be unrighteous if He didn't inflict wrath. That would make Him unjust, that would leave the creature to believe God has said things about sin that He didn't mean, that it didn't really matter. 

…9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. 10 And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.… 1 John 4: 9-11

…7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!… Romans 5: 7-9

V. 6 May it never be - He is the perfect judge because unrighteousness is opposite of His character. It doesn't have a place in His eternal being, nothing to hold on to, nothing to tempt. 

Newell comments that "Paul assumes, and so do even these cavilers (Ed note: those who might be objecting and arguing), that there will be a day of judgment: "God Who visits with wrath." What the apostle is attacking is the false hopes of men to evade that judgment. Christ has been judged and smitten in our stead. But, alas, how a man hates to come to the cross as one "to whom that stroke was due" (Isa 53:8). But if you manage to escape conviction of sin, and thus miss personal faith in the Crucified One, you will go to hell forever. (Romans 3: Devotional and Expositional)

Abraham attests to God as Judge of the world just before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah…

"Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Ge 18:25+)

David declares that…

He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. (Ps 9:8)

Spurgeon comments: Whatever earthly courts may do, heaven's throne ministers judgment in uprightness. Partiality and respect of persons are things unknown in the dealings of the Holy One of Israel. How the prospect of appearing before the impartial tribunal of the Great King should act as a check to us when tempted to sin, and as a comfort when we are slandered or oppressed. - PA

V. 7 Why am I also still being judged as a sinner - Paul is playing the devil's advocate here. If sin shows the righteousness of God then why am I, the sinner (liar), still being judged for what God has used to reveal His good. There are some who were and still do insist upon this in it's various forms. They suggest that they are still good Christians thought they openly commit and play down sin, their own and that of others. The same think they are so good that when something bad happens they ask, "why do bad things happen to good people?" 

S. Lewis Johnson - "With a different emphasis Paul, offering arguments an objector might pose to his doctrine of God’s determination to fulfill His promises even in the face of human sin and disobedience, continues the discussion. Putting words in the sinner’s mouth he asks, “If God’s truth is increased and God’s glory advanced by means of my lying, then why am I brought to judgment, Why may I not just do evil that good may come?” The apostle has inserted a parenthesis in the last question, asserting that this is the very charge brought against him and his followers, namely, that they practiced this very doctrine, “Let us do evil that good may come.” (Romans 3:5-8) - PA

Place yourself, see yourself, next to the man you regard the least

Take yourself, a step past him and one step closer to the beast

Stare back at the man, in which you see the darkest soul

Take one more step, your closer now, to the bottom of the hole

Now your past the place you thought to be the furthest from His grace

And looking round you realize, that this is your old place

That darkest soul you thought to be is now knocking at your door

So show the place, where you found grace, not so long before

For its not for you or I to say that this one has gone too far

There is this certain problem of evil, and that is, that no one thinks they are

Calvin "Cheese Grits" Yerke

V. 8 Let us do good that evil may come - Paul was being slanderously accused of teaching this because he taught that we are justified by faith and not by works. He was being listed amongst the antinomians, and unjustly. He says the people teaching such or slandering him as teaching this, that their condemnation is just. He is teaching the truth, they are twisting it, and they will have to answer to God. The reality is, if you come to Christ you come as a sinner, wanting to be saved not just from death or eternal punishment but the very root of it, your sin. When you become a child of God then you will reflect this by growing into His same aversion for sin.  

…19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.… Romans 5: 19-21

1What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? 3Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?… Romans 6: 1-3

3Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. 4For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed— ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.… Jude 1: 3-5

Vs. 9-10 There is none righteous, not even one - I met a Jehovah's Witness lady one time who told me she no longer sinned, and when she later left my house screaming at me and dusting her feet, she called that righteous anger. Everyone thinks their good and has someone else to compare themselves to that helps them maintain that in their mind. This verse lists everyone as under condemnation, everyone as guilty, even Mary, though Roman Catholics tell me that she was without sin, though she needed a Savior. 

46Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 48For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.… Luke 1: 46-48

Dr Charles Ryrie offers these thoughts on total depravity…

The scriptural evidence provides the basis for what has been commonly called total depravity. The English word “depravity” means perverted or crooked. It is not used in the translation of the King James Version, but some modern translations do use it to translate adokimos (Ed: word study) in Romans 1:28 (see note). This word (adokimos) means “not standing the test” and gives us a clue as to how to define the concept of depravity. Depravity means that man fails the test of pleasing God. He denotes his unmeritoriousness in God’s sight. This failure is total in that (a) it affects all aspects of man’s being and (b) it affects all people.

Negatively, the concept of total depravity does not mean (a) that every person has exhibited his depravity as thoroughly as he or she could; (b) that sinners do not have a conscience or a “native induction” concerning God (Ed: eg, see Ro 2:14, 15-note); (c) that sinners will indulge in every form of sin; or (d) that depraved people do not perform actions that are good in the sight of others and even in the sight of God (Ed: But see caveat in study of Good Deeds).

Positively, total depravity means (a) that corruption extends to every facet of man’s nature and faculties; and (b) that there is nothing in anyone that can commend him to a righteous God.

Total depravity must always be measured against God’s holiness (Ed: See God's attribute-Holy). Relative goodness exists in people. They can do good works, which are appreciated by others. But nothing that anyone can do will gain salvational merit or favor in the sight of a holy God. (Ryrie, C. C. Basic Theology : A Popular Systemic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press) - PA

V. 12 All have turned aside - It's not restricted to a group, not just Adam and Eve, everyone proves out their sin nature by going against God, being spiritually dead and therefore lost.

7Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’” 9The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.… Exodus 32: 7-9

…5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.… Isaiah 53: 5-7

The picture conveyed by ekklino is of one bending aside from one's course -- in this verse in Romans the idea is turning from God's way and in the other two NT uses the idea is "bending aside" at the approach of evil.

In short ekklino describes morally deviating from the right path. All (no exceptions except the God-Man Jesus) men are inclined to leave God’s way and pursue their own (cf. Isa 53:6). All have deviated, bent away from, steered clear of and swerved (so as to miss) godliness and virtue. The active voice indicates that the turning away is a deliberate choice and that they have not accidentally lost their way!

Spurgeon commenting on the OT Psalm (Ps 14:3) which Paul quotes here, writes "Without exception, all have apostatized from the Lord their Maker, from his laws, and from the eternal principles of fight. Like stubborn heifers they have sturdily refused to receive the yoke; like errant sheep they have found a gap and left the right field… The life of unregenerate humanity is in direct defiance of the law of God." (Treasury of David)

This truth is illustrated so clearly by Adam's action to disobey a direct commandment of God 

"Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life." Genesis 3:17      - PA

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