IV. THE HUMAN RACE IS CONDEMNED The scene before us in these twelve verses is still that of a courtroom drama. The trial has been in progress where, step by step, God completed His case against the Heathen (1: 18- 32), the Hypocrite (2:1-16) and the Hebrew (2:17-3:8). All three classes have been tried and proved guilty. The trial was one of justice and fairness throughout for all. The Di vine Prosecutor will now wrap up the case against the entire Human Race. The last vestige of self-righteousness must be destroy~d so that man will see himself as he actually is in God's eyes, morally and spiritually bankrupt. The entire human race is now summoned before the judgment bar to hear God's final and authoritative verdict. A. The Charge is Pronounced (3:9) "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for wehave before proved both fews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin" (3:9). Here Paul changes from the use of the third person in chapter three, verse one to the first person, thereby including himself. "Are we Jews better than the Gentiles? Do our national and religious privileges give us an advantage over them?" The evidence of the Jews' guilt in 2: 17-29 stands, hence the swift and decisive answer, "No, in no wise." He is making it plain that no man, Jew or Gentile, can shelter himself behind special privileges and expect to escape the judgment of God. The Jews were no better than the Gentiles; neither have the Gentiles surpassed the Jews. The one is neither better nor worse than the other. It might prove helpful to remind ourselves here of God's three-fold ethnic division of the human race, namely, "the Jews ... the Gentiles ... the Church" (1 Corinthians 10:32). God sees the entire human race divided in these three clas ses. Every person is either an unsaved Jew, an unsaved Gentile, or a member of the Body of Christ which is His true Church. All who are not in God's Church are under the sentence of condemnation and death. Paul continues, "For we have before proved both fews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin" (3:9). The word 82
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