#72. Romans 3:13-18 – Irreverent Words, Unrighteous Actions

Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

“A sepulcher opened is their throat. With their tongues they defraud.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” Whose mouth with imprecation and bitterness is crammed.

What We Say

The final two stanzas of Paul’s conclusion serve two functions. Stanza three concerns the summation of all human declaration. Stanza four concerns the summation of all human action.

These six verses can hardly be misunderstood. As with Romans 1:29-31, you will find yourself somewhere within its terms. Commentary is hardly needed, here, but a moment of silence, and reflection upon our pitiable condition.

Whether we like it or not, our words have an impact. On ourselves, on others, on our mood, on our lives. The things we say convey four different kinds of information to each other: statements of fact, the appeal of what we said, the dynamic relationship with whom we are speaking, and something about ourselves. For example, I could say, “I found The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo to be quite difficult.” This is a statement of fact, concerning how I feel about the game. This fact may appeal to some (such as fans of videogames, old videogames, or The Legend of Zelda franchise) and not to others (such as good little book readers.) The statement is extremely general – I have offered a conversation with a like-minded person – but the extent of our conversation is contingent on the

person I am speaking to, and the relationship I have with them. If one I speak to does not know The Legend of Zelda that well, then our relationship on the subject will be our only immediate bond, and may be forgotten. Most of all, the statement I share reveals something about me. The style of a Zelda game includes adventure and critical reasoning – right up my alley. An old Zelda game is extremely hard (as most old video games are) – indicating that I may not be afraid to tackle a tougher challenge.

My example is basic, but when we speak of God apart from truthful facts in the Greek, the information we end up sharing can only conclude in the above statements. Let us use a more topical example. “Scripture says that everyone who does not believe will be burned alive for an eternity!” says one. Well! Let us test his claim. They reveal a fact – not concerning scripture itself, but of the belief of the one speaking. He may indeed believe that scripture says this. Such a statement appeals to a specific audience (specifically, one who has not yet researched the different Greek terms translated “hell” in the concordant text.) The lack of knowledge from said audience will lead them to identify with this message far more than others who have done their research on the matter.

One’s relationship with the speaker will affect the following discussion. If the speaker is in a debate, he will assuredly face adversarial questionings. If the speaker is at a family gathering, he may get a conversation, or be avoided, praised, or any number of responses, for whatever reasons. Yet the conversation is only as strong as the dynamic between the speaker and the recipient.

Of course, this reveals much about the speaker – where their priorities lie, how they contextualize justice, what they deem an appropriate response to human imperfections… With a few more details, we may learn of the speaker’s coping mechanisms with traumatic experiences; how their personal suffering from external benefactors has shaped their view. Depending on how they seek to “verify” their claim in the scriptures, much can be said about the quality of their logical thinking, their reading comprehension, and more.

What is the God of the universe to draw from this? Though I give two small examples, the God of the universe created all who speak. He assuredly knows, above all others, what his creatures are saying, what they mean to convey, to whom they are speaking, and how this reveals their character. God is aware of all that we do, having planned it all. For Him, our throat is like a crypt – a “sepulcher.”

Sepulcher Opened

A sepulcher is notable in that it is carefully crafted for death to dwell. What better way to describe our respiratory systems?? We inhale oxygen – yet we exhale the waste of our cells. We cannot inhale carbon dioxide, or we are poisoned. Yet we exhale it all the time. This is most easily seen when you blow out a candle. Instead of roughly blowing it out, get closer to the candle and exhale your breath slowly.

Watch the fire, which needs oxygen, swiftly wither away into smoke.

Our mouths are one of the filthiest parts of our bodies. There are over 600 types of bacteria in your mouth, even after brushing those pearly whites. Our mouth leads straight into our digestive system, where our large intestine is indeed home to the largest conglomerate of bacteria in the body. While these scientific facts do not directly “affect” our speech, it is fair, in light of God’s authority over the matter, to posit that this is no mistake. The bacteria in our digestive tract may well represent the filthy, dying source of our dead words.

In Our Sepulcher

In our mouths lie our tongue. The tongue is a muscle; it is used far more frequently than almost every other muscle. It is the muscle used to cause fraud (‘guile,’ Rom. 1:29.) We daily misrepresent God and the evangel – instantly correlating almost all of humanity with the verse. Do you have a tongue? Great! Then you defraud God, first and foremost, not to mention the various quibbles of our lives which we re-contextualize for ourselves, whether we are aware that we are doing so or not.

Yet even if you are supposing that you escape from such a charge (on account of “not having a tongue,” let’s say,) you are still found in the passage. Whether you “speak” or not, your lips are still poisonous. Like snakes, our body produces this vitriol. An easy example of this is “God helps those who help themselves.” Another may be “God loves them so I don’t have to.” These snakelike claims poison our fellow men – placing upon them great, insurmountable burdens to help themselves, the weight of our hatred upon each others’ shoulders.

It is slander, simply put. We cannot be bothered with integrity, and must slander each other. I am guilty of this, as are you. There may be comfort in numbers, here, but the charge is anything but consolatory. The Slanderer has us speak like himself – probing questions, followed by open opposition to clean and sound words, through intentional misunderstanding for personal gain.

Brevity

Yes, even here, a case is being made in favor of the evangel of God. The verb “opened” is, in Greek, “HAVING-been-UP-OPENED.” This uncommon verb is called a “participle,” functioning in the “state” form, using the “middle” voice, in the “present” tense. To briefly explain, a “participle” is a verb that describes something; a verbal adjective. A “state” form is the “complete” verb in Greek, describing the effectual state resulting from the action of the verb. And it attests to that which is true for the present.

We have only seen this special kind of verb three times in Romans. It rests in this conclusive argument, but was also found in Romans 1:29, “HAVING-been-FULFILLED,” in describing what fills our unbefitting actions. There, the fulfillment of sin in the human race has already occurred, since Adam first ate the fruit. The effectual state is that we are filled with all of the following nouns.

The only other time, before this, appears in the very first verse of Romans: “HAVING-been-SEVERED,” that is, Paul having been severed into the evangel of God! Here, Paul had already been called out on his journey, and was effectually defined in the evangel of God! The very first appearance of this verb form, then, attests to the resolution to the problems which its following two appearances have posed. Where we have been filled with all injustice, and our dead words exit these opened crypts called “mouths,” God’s solution is His well message.

Curses

Your average KJV reader may be blindsided by the word “imprecation.” The word carries the element “EXECRATE.” It is, literally, the concept of cursing.

It may be argued that Paul is condemning those who “speak swear words,” here. Such a statement is given by Christendom as an excuse to discard anything you say that does not immediately agree with their religious dogma. It is evident from the passage, however, that this is a charge toward all mankind – not a premise on which Paul ignores those who disagree with him.

Have you ever expressed a strong hatred toward something? Congratulations! Your dead mouth speaks dead words of curses and bitterness. As Paul has already pointed out, you are front and center in the argument. Our corrupt speech is found in every avenue of life. Your pastor has spoken poor and contemptible words. So has your family. So has your local church fandom. And, most especially, so have you. To claim otherwise places the burden on you, at Judgment Day, to provide evidence of your perfect candor. Good luck!

For those of us who have come to accept the reality of our poor speech, read on. Again, Paul is not going to use this conclusion as a platform to command you to believe. The condemnation of all humanity is followed by the evangel, which does not stress you, but Christ. 

What We Do

Sharp are their feet to shed blood. “Bruises and wretchedness are in their ways, And the way of peace they do not know.”

Paul progresses from deceitful to violent speech. This then progresses to violent action, to consummate the passage.

It is extraordinarily easy for the race to be filled with bloodlust. Both individually and collectively, our political and religious achievements are colored by questionable motivations and unrighteous deeds. Every major political debate in the past decade has taken political arguments well past cordial, even to see opponents noosed and gagged, or murdered in cold blood. It is so woven within our “free” society that it is included in the Declaration of Independence (“whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”) Until the last 100 years, public executions and lynchings were even a natural part of our society! In the modern age, we can become so caught up in movements of “justice” that we lose sight of the humanity of our opponents (and thus ourselves.)

Yes, this is even more accurate in the religious sphere. The religious institutions must answer to some of the biggest war crimes and manipulative tactics in history (*cough cough,* purgatory, *cough cough.*) The crusades were founded on an ill-conceived attempt to eradicate another corrupt religion. There are modern day examples which should be evident to us all in the Middle East today (2026.) In fact, most (if not all, I’m no expert) genocides are driven by religious motivations.

And Why?

There is no fear of God in front of their eyes.

We do not know “peace.” This is not our tactic. Though we may desire peace, we are motivated by rebellion. Utopia is unattainable through the flesh for this very reason. We are unable to effect righteousness. If one person says, “The sky is blue,” another will assuredly reply that the sky is anything but blue. This devolves from a debate as to who is correct, to a presentation of the strongest willed.

And why? Why are we so rebellious? Paul gives both the cause and the explanation in verse 18. We do not fear an absolute Deity. Rebellion, by nature, must extend a lack of fear toward its authority. Hence both our words and our actions are sourced in irreverence and unrighteousness.

Last year, I had the privilege of reading Dune by Frank Herbert. Frank seemed to argue through the plot that there is an underlying “free” will – that the “Bene Gesserit” of the story were responsible for the prophetic claims as opposed to some underlying plan which drives the universe. This claim, of course, was disproven by the conclusion of the novel (which I will not spoil.) One of my favorite lines of the book which contributes to the reality of “fate” was spoken by Paul Atreides: “The power to destroy a thing is the absolute control over it.”

Indeed, can this not be applied to God, most of all? God has the power, if He so willed, to crumple up the universe like a ball of paper, and toss it in His metaphysical wastebasket if He so desired. At any time, He could squash us like bugs, pelt us with meteors, cut off the air circulation – and indeed, He Himself attests that He placed us under the curse of death (Gen. 3:16-18!) He has the absolute power to stamp us out of the universe. Shoot, He could even erase everyone’s memory of you, and then annihilate you! These are all options for an omnipotent Deity!

We should, above all else, fear such power. We should have reverence and awe for the One capable of this, and set aside our pathetic grasps for political, religious, or social power. We can hardly fathom the extent of His control, yet we have the audacity to sever ourselves from it.

It has been argued, from a dear brother of ours, that God saying “Fear me!” prior to revealing His loving evangel is poor, and invokes an “or else” feeling that may drive one away from the truth. This is a fair objection, but I must add: It is probably not much better that God prefaces His evangel with His indignation, either! Does this mean that we should not acknowledge the truth of Paul’s words?

The term “fear” in Greek is phobos. It appears 48 times in scripture, 5 times in Romans. The term is defined concordantly as “an emotion excited by impending evil.” There is no use of this term in scripture in which this definition could not be applied. Its definition never changes. Yet there are uses of the term in which its application are altered. We will see this when considering such passages as 2 Cor. 5:11, or Eph. 5:33. There are times where the term is employed under a figure of metonymy – where we read “fear,” we need not apply the literal emotion of being afraid, but the compliant effect which stems from fear. One obeys on the premise of respect for the authority which they are under.

Such a concept is directly in line with Paul’s argument, rounding out the “irreverent” charge. We are indeed rebellious against an all-powerful God, like Satan, the father of the sons of stubbornness. We dare to speak of some achievement of righteousness before God – because of our “acceptance” of His Son, or because of our consistent “visits” to our local church – and in turn demonstrate that we have no fundamental understanding of Him.

- GerudoKing