The Last Word - Romans 3:9-20

0:53And so another singer about 20 years ago, Jewel, gave this advice: Follow your heart, your intuition. It will lead you in the right direction. Let go of your mind. Your intuition is easy to find. Just follow your heart, baby. That's her advice. And of course, Disney is going to agree with that, right? And here's a line from Cinderella. It says, When you follow your heart, you'll shine as bright as the sun. You know, I'm sure we could go on forever. There's probably a million examples.

1:31That our culture seems to be operating with this underlying assumption that deep down, when we really look at our heart of hearts, we're good. We might do bad things sometimes, but really, we're good people. But I think when we slow down to truly consider this idea, we know it's wrong, right? We know it from experience. You know, we see it in our toddlers when they find impossibly creative ways to be disobedient. We see it in ourselves that in spite of our best efforts to be holy, we can't. We fail again and again.

2:12We can't go a day without sinning. So, we know this from experience, but we also know it from Scripture. Listen to what Jesus says in Mark 7:21. He says, For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. This is what is deep down. This is what's in our heart of hearts. Our hearts are bent towards sinning in all manner of ways. That's what Jesus says: all kinds of ways. We're not good people down deep that sin sometimes. Times. No, we're sinners. That's what we are. And as we consider the doctrine of sin in Scripture, we see two things that come up over and over and over: that sin is universal and sin is pervasive. Sin is universal, it's every single person. Every single person who's ever existed is a sinner, with one notable exception.

3:28But sin is also pervasive, that it covers every part of us. Our words, our thoughts, our actions. Everything is mixed with sin, and everyone is in the grip of sin. Now, that doesn't mean that everyone sinned as much as they could. In fact, I'd say no one sins as much as they could. Even the worst tyrants in history spared somebody along the way, right? There's always room to sin more and more. So we're not saying that everyone is as bad as could be.

4:06But Scripture is clear that sin is universal and pervasive. Everyone is a sinner, and sin infuses everything we do. Therefore, if we're not granted God's righteousness, if we're not given the righteousness that comes from God, we can never pursue. Please God. Romans 8:8 says, Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Hebrews 11:6 says, Without faith it is impossible to please him. Because even if we tried, it's not like our righteous deeds are something beautiful before him. Listen to Isaiah 64:6. It says, We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment, like a dirty rag.

5:03Even our good deeds that we think could earn us favor are like a dirty rag before the Lord. And universally, we're stuck in this inability to please God. We can't get out of it. Ephesians 2, verse 1 says, You are dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked. You are dead. Jesus says in John 8:34, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. So I think it's pretty clear that we're stuck in this slavery. We're stuck in this death where we cannot please God. It's impossible because we're so thoroughly sinful. It affects every part of us.

5:48John Stott writes, sin is the revolt of the self against God, the dethronement of God with a view to the enthronement. Of oneself. It's the revolt of self against God. We're not good people. We're sinners. And the only way out of this is the free forgiveness that we receive. Not that we earn by our righteous deeds, but the free forgiveness that's graciously given to us, given to those who have faith in Jesus Christ. That's what the scriptures teach about sin. And so far, in Paul's letter to the Romans, he's made the claim, he's made the accusation that every single person is under sin and that God will not be showing partiality to anybody in the whole world when it comes to the judgment, not even the Jew. And so last week we looked at the question, well then, what advantage is there? Is there any advantage to being a Jew? And Paul says, yes, much in every way, there's great advantage to being a Jew. And he lists one huge reason is that they have the word of God, right? What an amazing advantage. But privilege is not the same thing as partiality. Yes, the Jews have been privileged as God's people, but that doesn't mean that they're shown partiality and judgment. That was the point of the last text. So in our text today, we'll see that Paul asks a little bit different question. He says, so then, are the Jews any better off? And I think he's implying in the judgment. And his answer this time is, no, not at all. Look at chapter 3, verse 9. What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all.

7:45So when he asks, are the Jews advantaged? The answer is yes, in huge ways. But are they better off in the judgment because of that? Are they shown partiality? No, not at all. Why? Because all are under sin. All are under sin. And therefore, all are under judgment. As we step through our text today, we'll see that Paul is making this case, that all are under sin. And as we step through it, we'll see three elements of Paul's case.

8:22Three elements of Paul's case that all are under sin. The charge, the proof, and the verdict. The charge, the proof, and the verdict. Look at Romans 3, verse 9. What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. As it is written, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks after God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open. Open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asks is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery. In the way of peace they have not known.

9:16There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Pray with me once more as we begin. God, as we come to this text, we pray that you'd help us understand it.

9:46We pray that you would help us see what your word says about sin. See what your word says about our human nature. Help us to understand. Help us in our weakness and our tiredness and our lack of focus. Help us pay attention and learn from your word. Help us be humble and quick to confess. In Jesus' name, amen. First, we see the charge. We see the charge. Paul's charge. Charge that all are under sin. Look at verse 9. What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. So Paul starts off by bringing up this question, and he uses kind of a rare word, a comparison word, saying, well, are we better off? Or is someone else better off than us? Is there any imbalance when it comes to God's judgment?

10:59Is there any imbalance when it comes to individuals standing before a holy God? And he says, no, not at all. Why? Because all are under sin. We have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. So there's no partiality because everyone is a sinner, and so everyone will be judged. Some have the word already of the Old Testament, and some don't. But all are sinners, and so all will be judged by the Lord. He says, this is what we've already charged. And really, this is what we've together already studied in the first two chapters of Romans. So we won't spend too much time on it here. But I did want to notice a couple things in this verse. The first is that he says that we are under sin. Did you catch that? We have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. And what does that mean? Under sin. Does it mean that we are underneath the Heavy burden of sin that we're carrying? Or does it mean we are under the realm of sin as we live in this world?

12:10Does it mean that we are under the umbrella or under the category of sin as sinners? Well, I think our best option is to assume that we are under the authority of sin, under the dominion of sin as unbelievers before we come to Christ. We are under the authority of sin. And the reason why I think that is because that's what the letter of Romans is going to return to over and over. Romans 7:14 says, I am of the flesh, sold under sin, a slave to sin. In 7:25, he says, With my flesh I serve the law of sin. In chapter 6, he repeats this idea over and over and over. He says, We were slaves to sin, but now we're slaves to God and slaves to righteousness. And he says, Sin will have no dominion over you once you become a believer, since you are not under law, but under grace.

13:10So I think that's what he means when he says that we are under sin. We are under this dominion of sin. The other thing I wanted to notice in this verse is the word charge. That word is exactly what it sounds like. It's a charge. It's an accusation. And I think Paul's. Point is, I have already brought up this accusation, but I haven't proven it yet. It's just a charge. It's just an accusation that Paul is bringing against the Gentiles and the Jews.

13:42But now he's going to prove it. And that leads us to our next element in Paul's case. We've seen the charge, and now we're going to see the proof. And how does Paul prove his charge? How does Paul prove his accusation? He proves it with Scripture, right? Look at verse 10. As it is written. And then he'll go on to quote passage after passage after passage that talks about our sin. This is how he's proving his case.

14:15In these quotes, we'll see the very same truths that we looked at earlier, that sin is universal and sin is pervasive. All of us sin and every part of us sins. Look at verse 10. As it is written, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. That's pretty clear, isn't it? Sin is universal. This is everybody.

15:02Nobody other than Jesus Christ himself, nobody has sought after God. Everybody has turned aside. We won't turn to every passage that he quotes in Romans, but I do want to turn to this one, Romans 14. I mean, Psalm 14, sorry. Paul is quoting from Psalm 14. And I want you to turn there because this is the one he quotes from for the longest, and it's really the one that he sets the foundation for the other passages with. Psalm 14.

15:40A Psalm of David. Psalm 14. To the choir master of David. Verse 1. The fool says in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt. They do abominable deeds. There is none who does good. Now, if we stopped right there, I think that you might be tempted to say, well, this actually makes a case against the universal nature of sin. Because he says, the fool says in his heart, there is no God. And someone could say, yeah, the fool is foolish. I'm really glad I'm not a fool. Right? And actually, after verse 3, he's going to return to this same idea that the wicked oppress God's people, that the fool oppress poor people. In Israel. But verses 2 and 3 are different. Look at verse 2.

16:38The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside. Together they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one. So God Himself is looking down. The all-seeing God is looking down to see if He can find anybody who does well, to see if He can find anybody who understands, anybody who seeks after the Lord. And the answer is He doesn't. He doesn't find a single person. Every single person, rather than driving toward God and seeking after God, is steering clear of God, turning away from God. Together they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one. And so, in the context of this psalm, we see that this isn't just David's perspective, right? This isn't just as far as the king can see, he can't find anybody righteous. No, this is God Himself.

17:53God Himself looks down on earth and looks to find one single righteous person. And it's not to be found. God has declared it to be so, that no one is righteous. Now, turn back to Romans chapter 3, verse 10. And I'm actually going to read the Psalm one more time. So you turn back to Romans 3, verse 10, and look down at your verses while I read the Psalm one more time. The Psalm says, There is none who does good.

18:30The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside. Together they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one. Did you see a little bit of difference there? The Psalm kind of leaves us hanging for a verse, right? God is seeing if there is anyone who understands, to see if there is anyone who's seeking after God. Well, Paul just goes ahead and gives us the answer, right, in Romans. There's nobody. No one understands. No one seeks after God. Universally, all have sinned. No question. No one has done as they should. Okay?

19:15Next, Paul is going to line up several verses that show just how pervasive sin is. It covers every part of us, it permeates throughout our whole being, our sin nature. It infiltrates our speech and our thoughts and our actions. Paul's going to mention specifically, he's going to line up these verses that talk about our throat, our tongues, our lips, our mouth, our feet, our eyes, all of these different parts of us. Look at verse 13. Their throat is an open grave.

19:57They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of ass is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery. In the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. So Paul collects these psalms, mostly psalms, all about these different parts of us that are covered in sin. The first one is Psalm 5, 9. Psalm 5, 9. In this psalm, David is asking the Lord to judge his enemies, to look down on the wicked. And here's what David says about them: Their throat is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue.

20:49Their throat is an open grave, a tomb. Don't let that picture escape without thinking about it. Their throat is an open tomb. That's full of rottenness and death that shouldn't be opened, but it's open. And when they open up their throat of death, what comes off their tongue is flattery and deception. This is all of mankind. Their words are full of sin. Us too. This idea continues with the next quote: The venom of asps is under their lips.

21:36This comes from another psalm of David. If you're taking notes, you can write down Psalm 140, verse 3. And in this psalm, David is asking for protection from the Lord. He's asking for protection from his violent enemies, that God would protect him, because these enemies not only do things that could physically harm him, but they're also harming him with their lips. They're speaking curses against David in a way that causes real harm to David and the kingdom. Because hidden under their lips is the venom of a cobra or a viper.

22:19Deadly concealed sin, just waiting to come out in their speech. You know, this part of us, the lips, this is the part. That Isaiah realized when he saw the Lord. Do you remember that? It's always struck me as surprising that the first thing he thinks when he sees the Lord is, Woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. You know, that's utter horror as he stands before the living God. Utter horror because of his unclean lips.

23:05Next, we have verse 14. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. This one's from an unattributed psalm. Maybe David wrote it. Maybe it was another psalmist. But this one speaks of the kind of man who lives as if the Lord doesn't see him. He lives as if God isn't watching. This is Psalm 10. And this kind of person is the kind of person who, because of that, because he thinks God's not watching, he's going to set traps. He's going to try and catch people and deceive people. And Psalm 10, verse 7, reads, His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression. Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. And Paul summarizes that in our verse in Romans by saying, Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

23:59So. A lot of verses right in a row, all about our speech, that the speech of mankind is riddled with sin all over. The throat, the tongue, the lips, the mouth, everything. Now we see that our actions are filled with sin in the same way. Look at verse 15. Their feet are swift to shed blood, and their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. This is the other Old Testament passage I wanted us to turn to. Just two. Okay, so bear with me. Go to Isaiah 59.

24:40Isaiah 59. I know it's hard to step through all these Old Testament passages, but keep at it. Isaiah 59. I want to turn to this one because the whole context here is about sin. Isaiah 59, verse 1. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear. And so it seems like, just setting this up, it seems like Israel has been crying out to the Lord, and God's saying through his prophet, it's not as if the Lord can't save you. The Lord's powerful enough to save you. Well, then why isn't he saving them? Look at verse 2.

25:30Iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. And your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. You see that? Look down at verse 12. For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us. For our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities. So this nation has multiplied transgressions right before God's eyes. Their sins are testifying against them, separating them from God. And in this chapter, they're confessing these sins. Isaiah is confessing on behalf of the people, and the people will confess too. But look at verse 7. Some of the things that they confess. Verse 7, their feet run to evil. Do you see that picture? They see evil, they see a chance to sin, and they run to it. Rather than what we were saying earlier, that they flee from sin and run to Jesus, they flee to sin.

26:39Their feet run to evil. They are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation, and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. You can turn back to Romans 3. These verses end. Isaiah are the ones that Paul is summarizing in his quote. But make a note, if you will, to read the rest of Isaiah 59. There's a big surprise ending in Isaiah 59 that you should look up later. So Isaiah 59, if you get a chance, read it this week. But back in Romans 3, verses 15 through 17, Paul summarizes this propensity to rush headlong towards sin. He says, Their feet are swift to shed blood, they're quick to shed blood, and their paths are ruin and misery. That's what the Psalm was saying, that their highways have this destruction and desolation. Verse 17, the way of peace they have not known. These wicked people, because of their choices, and really all of us, as we've seen so far in this passage, because of our choices, the wicked don't know peace. They don't know shalom in that Isaiah passage. They don't know that completeness and soundness that's foreign to them because they've chased after wickedness.

28:04Our last one, look at verse 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Their eyes are also involved in this sin, every part of them. This quotation is from Psalm 36:1, which says, Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. Do you hear that? Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. There is no fear of God before his eyes. And so, really, this quote that Paul quotes in Romans 3 is a good summary of why all this sin is running rampant throughout all of humankind.

28:46That since we did not fear God as we should, that led us to sin in all of these ways. None of us feared God, so all of us sinned. Okay, so Paul has brought forward his charge that all are under sin, and then he has proved that charge through Scripture. We made it through all of those passages. Nobody is innocent, and no part of us is innocent. Nobody is innocent, and no part of us is innocent. Sin is universal, and sin is pervasive. Everyone's a sinner, and everyone's a sinner through and through.

29:27That's what the scriptures showed us. And so now we come to the verdict. After all of this evidence, this proof that Paul gives, now we come to the verdict. Look at verse 19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

30:00So, after all these quotes, it's like Paul first anticipates this kind of response, maybe from a self-righteous person or from a Jew or something that says, well, don't you know those quotes are for the wicked? Don't you know those are about the Gentiles? Come on, those aren't about the people of God. And so, Paul is quick to nip that in the bud. And he says, Now we know whatever the law speaks, it speaks to those who are under the law. He says, Surely you know that if it's in God's word, then if it applies to anyone, it applies to those who are followers of God's word, right?

30:48Surely. And the result is that every mouth is stopped. The whole world will be held accountable to God. There's no question. Yes, the Gentiles are under sin, but so are the Jews. And so it's every single mouth that's stopped before a holy God. The evidence from Scripture is piled so high, it's like a mountain of evidence, insurmountable. That you get this picture of a courtroom where this person being tried has heard all the evidence brought. Him, in front of a jury, in front of a judge, or something. And he realizes that the evidence is so condemning that he just can't even speak, right? He's silent. He can't even defend himself. Every mouth is stopped. There's no question.

31:48It's a guilty verdict. Well, why? Isn't there any option to justify ourselves? Isn't there any option? Well, no, look at verse 20. For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. By the works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Paul seems to sneak in one more quote from Psalm 143.

32:29In Psalm 143, verse 2, David is praying to the Lord, and listen to what he prays. He says, Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is justified before you. Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is or will be justified before you. And so Paul is repeating this idea that David had said, no one can be justified by anything before God. And so Paul says, no one will be justified even by the works of the law before God. By the works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight. No one can earn partiality.

33:14Nobody can learn the law enough to be made righteous. Why? Because all that learning the law more and more and more does, all it does is make you more aware of your sin. It doesn't get rid of your sin. It makes you more aware of the sin that permeates throughout your whole being. That's what he says at the end of verse 20. Since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Knowing what's right doesn't cure you of your sinful heart. It just shows you that you are sinful.

33:54It increases the guilt and the guilty feelings. Now, before we go any further, I just want to mention something. I want to give a little warning. And maybe you've heard of this, maybe you haven't, but there's a newer movement called the New Perspective on Paul. I don't know if you've heard that, but I think the name itself should kind of make you nervous, right? New Perspective on Paul. And one of the main authors in this camp has a book called What Paul Really Said, which should also make you a little nervous, right? But I just wanted to mention it quickly because in Romans, this will be the first place that we see the phrase. Works of the law. And that's kind of the buzzword in this movement, the works of the law. And their essential point is that Martin Luther, when he read works of the law, he kind of swung and missed.

34:47All this time, we thought that works of the law meant any work of the law to justify ourselves. But these people in the new perspective are saying that what we really read when we read works of the law are just a few of kind of the boundary markers of what makes a Jew a Jew, like circumcision or keeping the Sabbath or something like that. And so they're saying that Paul's point here, the reason why he says we can't be justified by works of the law, is he's battling against kind of an arrogance or even a racism that the Jews were proud of their Jewishness or something like that. And he's not battling against the idea that we can merit our own righteousness. I don't know if that makes sense to you. Therefore, these people in a new perspective on Paul would say that we shouldn't be so hard on people who are trying to merit their own righteousness, at least in part.

35:45They say that's not the issue. The issue is more like racism or arrogance. That's what Paul's trying to fight against. And if you run against these ideas, and maybe you never will, maybe I'm telling you this for no reason, but if you do, I just encourage you to approach it with a critical eye. I encourage you to use your discernment. I don't think Martin Luther missed it. I think that that's exactly what Paul is battling in this passage: people are thinking that they can merit some kind of partiality with God by doing works of the law. And I don't think he's limiting that to just those boundary markers, circumcision and Sabbath and things like that. I think he's saying anything. There's nothing you can do to earn yourself partiality with God. Okay? Paul condemns any attempt to justify ourselves.

36:35Back to the text. Paul has given his final verdict. He's given the final verdict that knowing the law only increases the knowledge of the sin that permeates throughout you. All your words and all your actions. Therefore, no human being will be justified before God by the works of the law. Therefore, the whole world, not just the Gentiles, but the Jews too, the whole world is accountable to God for our sins. And under the mountain of this evidence, every mouth will be stopped before a holy God.

37:21No excuse. This verdict is unarguably true because it's based on the proof of Scripture. That sin permeates through every single person who has ever lived. And this proves Paul's charge that all are under sin. There's only one exception. One glorious and perfect exception. One divine exception. The man Christ Jesus. The only one who lived a sinless life. God in human flesh. He said, I came from the Father. He said, For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.

38:31He said, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. He said, The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. And he said, For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. You are not like him. You are the sinner, every part of you, no matter who you are. You are the sinner, and he came for you, that you might be saved from the wrath that you deserve. So come to him before the judgment comes to you.

39:26And if you have, believers, how do we apply this passage? This passage that was all about sin and how it affects all of us. Well, first, remember, don't forget who you were before Christ made you a new creation. Remember what you were. Remember and be grateful that your throat was an open grave. Your feet were swift to shed blood. You had no fear of God. But God changed you. You know, you're not out of your flesh yet. You're still going to sin. But God changed you, and now you're His workmanship created for good works. So remember this gift of grace in your life that you don't deserve. Second, put on a heart of wisdom, right? Like we read about in Ecclesiastes in the scripture reading. Put on a heart of wisdom about this. Don't repeat the songs of the Lord. World, let's say we're all good deep down, baloney, right? It's not true.

40:38Listen to Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7 when he says, all are wicked, and we need to learn from that. You know, on the one hand, we need to watch out for those traps that the wicked set. We need to be prudent. We need to remember that the world is wicked. But then, on the other hand, Solomon says, we need to be people who overlook offenses. Because surely you've uttered your fair share of curses against other people. Right? So be gracious and overlook offenses. All have sinned.

41:10Third, another application. Remember how much, how important of a part of us is our speech. Remember how vile our speech can be. Remember that as sinners, our sin affects our throat and our tongue and our mouth and our lips. Remember how venomous we can be with our speech, how flattering and deceptive. That's our nature, right? That's our flesh. And so we need to remember that and seek the opposite: to be pure in speech, to be kind, to be gentle, to be excellent in speech.

41:58But back to the first application. And the most important: remember that you can't excuse yourself. Other than the God-man, no one is exempt from the universal and pervasive presence of sin in our lives. And so, you were not saved because you were less bad than somebody else. The verdict is in guilty. The only reason why you were saved is because of God's grace. And if you have not trusted in Jesus Christ, you are not exempt from this truth either. The verdict is in, and you are guilty also.

42:52Your mouth will be shut before a holy God. There will be no excuses, just a silent acceptance under the mountain of evidence that is your sin. You need the forgiveness that can only come from God. And so, I challenge you this week to learn what that means, to ask someone you know what that means. How do I find the forgiveness of God? I know. I'm a sinner. How do I find forgiveness? Pray with me. Father, this passage is so inescapably clear that all of us in our flesh, in every corner of our flesh, are filled with sin in our speech and in our actions, in our thoughts and understanding. That not a single one of us has escaped from sin.

44:12All of us have willingly participated in evil. Help us to remember that about ourselves as we give glory to you who has saved us out of that by your grace. That we who deserve your wrath because of how sinful we were, that you saved even us. And you granted us promises. You granted us eternal life. You granted us forgiveness. While we're still in these bodies, we pray that you would help. Help us to run away from sin, that you'd help us to flee sin instead of run toward it. It's the tendency of our flesh to want to fill up every part of our life with sin. And so I pray that you would help us fight that and please you while we wait for you to return.

45:18Help us be wise. Help us be like you. In Jesus' name. Amen.