#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