Have you ever had an experience where you’ve thought to yourself, "There’s no way!"

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he is going to answer the no way question by showing us just how bad the bad news is… and when we understand just how bad the bad news is, our only response to the really good news is No way!

In 500 BC, Socrates said

"It may be that Deity can forgive sins, but I do not see how."

How is it possible for a holy God to forgive sin? Anyone who doesn’t think that’s a problem hasn’t thought it through very much

Yet Socrates, to his credit, 500 years before Christ recognized the paradox that represents. The more righteous God is the more difficult that problem becomes.

500 years later Paul, the author of Romans, is recognized as one of the most profound thinkers on the planet

Saul now Paul was trained in the best schools of the Greek and Hebrew culture AND he was a Roman citizen, which was important toward the end of his life.

The first eight chapters of Romans we see a comprehensive look at doctrine.

And in particular, these first 3 chapters deal with the hardest part…. Sin.

So Paul begins laying down this foundation in chapter 1

And in chapter 1 he describes the great leveling of humanity

The idea of Divine Impartiality & Human Accountability – the Great Leveling of Humanity (Romans 1:18-3:20)

Paul’s point which he is driving toward in Romans 3 is that all have sinned

Paul has masterfully outlined the human predicament in chapter 1, but we have to keep the context in mind… this is part of a bigger section

So let’s pick up where we left off … Romans 2