Have you ever heard someone quote Romans 3- I bet you have. It sounds blunt, even a little mean-spirited. In 2021, of course, many people think the worse sin possible is when you aren't a nice person. Paul doesn't think this. Paul might appear to be mean in Romans 3, but he's actually providing encouragement for those with ears to hear it. How so---He asks a series of questions- is there any advantage to being a Jew- Is God unfaithful if some of his people are unfaithful- Is sin actually good, since it makes God look even more gracious- Does our privilege of belonging to God's people give us special favoritism-exemption- --Let's just focus on the first of these.--Is there any advantage-any real privilege-in belonging to a church- --Or to put that question the way it should be read in light of Romans 1 and 2- -Are there any benefits to belonging to a church if all people everywhere, both those within and those without a church, are guilty----We read from Romans 3-1-8 this morning, and our Old Testament reading is Psalm 1.