Romans 3- Heroes of the Bible and World

Why is it that Sunday School curriculum's insist there there are heroe(s) of the Bible? Haven't they read the Scriptures? Let's take a whirlwind tour of our so called heroes. Jacob was a liar and swindler. Yet he became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses was timid and fearful. When he was finally used of God in the second half of his life, his insecurities lead him to trust in means more than he trusted in God. This kept him out of the promised land. Gideon, who had a great victory, was in fact a coward. David, the man after God's heart, leveraged his power to seduce an attractive woman. She was already married when he did this. When news came that she was pregnant with David's child, he tried to cover it up with lies. When the deception wasn't working he essentially had the husband murdered. He was an adulterer, liar, betrayer, and murderer. Yet, we call him our hero. Move to the new testament and we get the same picture. Peter was brash and illogical. He betrayed the King of Glory. Then was restored. But, even after being restored he had a sinful tendency. He played favorites with the Jews and was confronted by Paul. Paul too was less than perfect. Before his conversion he was a passionate Christian hater and murderer. Even after conversion he had character flaws like arrogance and a divisive spirit. He dealt with ongoing sin (Romans 7) and a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble, which he needed badly. The Corinthians said of him, "His letters are weighty, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing" (2 Corinthians 10:10).

Do you see yet? The Bible is full of ordinary people. There is only one hero of the Scriptures, Jesus Christ. That is what Romans 3 tells us as well.

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

Here we have a clear picture of the fallen state of humanity. Some claim that humans are inherently good and we just need to unlock their potential... The Bible actually says we are inherently bad and we need a total soul makeover. Let me be clear; humanity has phenomenal potential for good. We are created in God's own image. But that image is scarred and marred by the fall. No amount of cover-up make up and good works can repair the image of God in man. Only God himself is able to restore to fullness the image of God in man by the work of Jesus Christ. Left on our own we are incredibly unrighteous. We see this come out at night in the dark crevices of society. The tendency toward wickedness is pervasive. There is no one righteous on their own... We need the transformational righteousness of Jesus Christ. God apart from our efforts, and to His own glory by his grace, declares the wicked, "Righteous!"

Unbelievable!?! I know who the true hero is... it is Christ.