Pearl Stringing and a Self Portrait: Romans 3:9-18
The first two chapters of Romans are pretty tough on Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul blasts the Gentiles in chapter 1 concerning some pretty atrocious sins in which they were participating.Then Paul takes aim at the self righteous Jew who has been kind of smirking about what the apostle just said about the Gentiles. He asks them some very direct questions such as “If you are such a good Jew and keep the law, why are you participating in some of the very things these Gentiles are?” (paraphrasing Romans 2:17-23). Because of the hypocrisy of the Jews, God’s name was being blasphemed.
Friends, how easy it is to be all about appearances and saying the right words to make people think we are “religious”. But, does our hypocrisy show up in the work place or in our homes? Is there anything in our behavior that would give the world a reason to blaspheme our God? Are people using our hypocrisy as a reason not to become a Christian? Lord help it not be so.
Well, after Paul gives the whole lot of us a good pounding in chapters 1, 2, and part of 3, he finally starts giving his summary statement in 3:9: “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are ALL under sin…” Just like a good lawyer, Paul is sealing the deal with this summary statement. None of us can be good enough to keep the law, whether it is the written law of Moses (10 Commandments) or the law that God wrote on our hearts (moral law).
Then – whoa – all of the sudden Paul starts painting a self portrait of himself and all of humanity in 3:11-18. He knows the Old Testament scriptures so well that he starts stringing together quote after quote that unequivocally states that none of us are good enough to earn or deserve salvation. This practice of stringing scriptures together with a common theme is called pearl stringing. Let me tell you folks – we can hang ourselves with this strand that Paul strings together. I would have loved to see Tertius’ (the scribe) face as Paul rattled these verses off from memory from multiple Old Testament books.
Read this passage of strung pearls from Romans 3:
“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 USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
13 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
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.”
Paul starts with the acknowledgement that there is none righteous and then begins to paint this mortifying self portrait of humanity without Christ. Beginning with verse 13, it describes our throats as an open grave. Imagine the stench that would come from an open grave because of the rotting corpse. When we open our mouths, the whole mess comes spewing out – poison from our lips, a mouth full of cursing and bitterness. It also describes our path. This path does not sound like a pleasant stroll. There is no peace. Destruction and misery pave the path.
Why in the world is Paul doing this? Does he want us to be self-loathing and have no esteem at all? Paul knew he had to tear some things down before we could be built back up. He was a holding a mirror up to everyone so the lowly estate of humanity could be seen. The law can only show us our shortcomings. It does not offer up a solution as to what in the world can be done about it though.
I hate to leave you hanging on this strand of pearls, but I am going to do so. I want you to seriously think about the image Paul laid out for us. This is pre-Christ US! I challenge you to sketch that portrait out for yourself on paper. On the next blog update, I will share how Christ can erase that ugly picture and replace it with His glorious gift of grace! Just know that a huge phrase is coming up: BUT NOW! Hold onto your string of pearls – hope is coming!
