themselves. I don't like to hear a man talk like that. When the sinner stands before God, there will be no defense. This same word is used in Hebrews 11 :33 where we read of the mouths of lions being physically stopped. A Gentile king had Daniel cast into a den of lions fully expecting those beasts would destroy Daniel. However, a bad case of lockjaw fastened itself upon every lion in that den. Then Daniel testified to the king, "My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me . . ." (Daniel 6:22). God who shut the lion's mouth will shut the sinner's mouth in the day of judgment. Every excuse will be destroyed because of the overwhelming evidence. That will be the day of no defense, the day the human race stands mute before God. "Guilty before God," will be the final and irrevocable verdict. It is God's pronouncement, not man's. This is really the best thing God could do for the sinner, prove his guilt and shut his mouth. You see, until the sinner is fully aware of his guilt and deserved judgment, he will never realize his need of God's saving grace. William Barclay tells about William Jay, of Bath who, when an old man, said, "My memory is failing, but there are two things that I never forget - that I am a great sinner, and that Jesus Christ is a great Saviour." The Holy Spirit's goal in this first section of the Book of Romans is to bring us all to see that we are great sinners. My dear friends, if you wait until you die to find out if you are a condemned sinner, that will be too late. Are you a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? The Bible says, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3: 18). "Condemned already! 11 Humanity in general, apart from Jesus Christ, is brought under Divine judgment, "Guilty before God. 11 "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the lawis the knowledge ofsin" (3:20). This verse must be examined both contextually and exegetically in order to understand its meaning. In the first place, the word "therefore" does not convey what Paul is actually saying. I prefer the use of because o-yer therefore. Barclay, Coltman, McClain, Vine, Williams, along with
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