Romans 3:15-19 - Their feet are swift to shed blood

3:15-18

But it isn’t just our mouths that are sinful, we rush into sin. We do actions which bring bloodshed, ruin and misery. People’s lives are badly affected by sin, the sin of others, and their own sin. Sin is not something to be taken lightly, for its effects are most serious. “The way of peace they have not known”. At the time of writing the war in Ukraine is still going on, no one is looking for peace. The fruit of this is the lack of the fear of God. “Fear of God” here is not speaking about a “reverential awe”, but a dread of God’s judgement. Sometimes fear means fear! Man needs to know that he will face an awesome judgement one day. This can have a very sobering effect on behaviour.

3:19

Paul’s teaching was seen by many of the Jews as going against the Law, he was seen as teaching heresy. Paul is showing that the gospel is actually entirely consistent with the Law and the Prophets, it was the fulfilment of the Law. The Jews boasted in being under the Law, in having the Law. So Paul reminds them that it is the Law that says that all, Jews and Gentiles, are sinners. So all their objections were without foundation. The whole world is held accountable to God, this includes the Jews. In our day we might say that even the atheists are held accountable to God, the fact that they deny the existence of God is neither here nor there!