The Bad News

I have been convicted to renew my relationship with God.

So I decided to start where Martin Luther did, the book of Romans.

I came across this passage, which is taken from various parts of Isaiah and Psalms.

Roman 3:10-18
¹⁰As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
¹²All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
¹³"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
¹⁴"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
¹⁵"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷and the way of peace they do not know."
¹⁸"There is no fear of God before their eyes."

These give the characteristics of sinful man (italics are my thoughts).
Not righteous - immoral
Does not understand - no interest in God's instruction
Worthless - does not serve God's purpose
Does not do good - does harm or complacent
Deceitful - lies
Bitter - angry with the world
Murderous - full of hatred
No peace - internal struggle
No fear of God - does not respect God

That's the bad news, the good news is that Christ's redemption has given us the opportunity to be righteous.

My two cents