Romans 2 Part 1
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1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.
3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
11 For God shows no partiality.
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
We have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we should; we think we are generally good people. When Paul presents a list like this, our first inclination is to think of other people who fit the descriptions. But rarely do we place ourselves at the top of the list. There is always someone more evil, more vile, right?
Paul speaks now to the Moralists. He covers many subjects such as judging, criticizing others, the judgment of God, self-righteousness, the moralist, and the legalist. These verses point out the universality of sin, and deals with judgment of heathen, and answers the question what happens to the person who has never heard about Jesus Christ.
1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
For someone who thinks they are “moral”, living a morally acceptable life, but judges others because they don’t live like “they think” they should. It describes someone who is upright, just, good, decent, and honorable, living with strong values, standards, and principles, well disciplined and able to control their life. They do just like someone else would expect they should live, knowing right from wrong and living the lifestyle that shows it. They may even be good neighbors, excellent workers and providers, and what we could call an “ideal citizen”. But there are three things Paul points out:
They judge others - in other people they find fault, condemn them, and criticize. This can be a terrible shortcoming of the moralist. When we judge someone else, we declare that we are more moral than someone else, we are better than they are, we are superior to them, we live a more righteous life, and we are more acceptable to God than other people.
Judging others is when we basically say “we are right, you are wrong”. We place the emphasis on everyone else’s shortcomings and draw attention to our morality. Simply put, we raise ourselves up and put others below us. In the eyes of God, this is wrong - it is a sin. It is being self-righteous, prideful, and arrogant.
Being a moralist is inexcusable, and we condemn ourselves because we do the same as everyone else. We sin. We fail just as the one we judge fails. In God’s eyes, sin is a matter of the heart and mind as much as it is an act of disobedience. God knows our hearts, our minds, and our thoughts, and whether the sin is by act, by omission, or by judgment, it puts us in the same category of the one we judge - guilty of sin. We are not to judge, criticize, and find faults with others.
3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
This does NOT mean that judicial systems or discipline is wrong. It should be exercised within families, our community, and our churches. Scripture teaches that both justice and discipline SHOULD be carried out, but we are not go around criticizing and finding fault in someone when they fail just because they fall. Instead, we are to reach out, lift up, and restore each other as much as possible. Could you imagine how much different life would be if all the gossiping and criticizing were stopped???
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.
3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
What is the difference between human judgment and God’s judgment? Judgment from God is according to truth, and it leads to perfect justice. It is based off what it actually is, what actually takes place, not what WE “think” happened. Too often, we only see something, hear something, or only get one side of the story before we pass judgment on someone or a situation. God bases off fact, and what is in the persons heart and thoughts.
If anyone has ever had to give testimony in court before, there is an oath we are asked to swear (affirm) To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As fallen mankind, that is hard, however God knows the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. There are four things we find in these verses:
The moralist thinks he will escape. His offense is much greater, for he is like all other men: sinful and short of God’s glory. Yet he criticizes and judges those whose failures are discovered and exposed, and he thinks he will escape. He forgets that God sees the inner recesses of the human heart, and that God will judge men not only for their deeds but for their thoughts.
The moralist thinks God is too good to punish. When they think of God, they focus on His riches - goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, however they overlook the fact that God’s goodness is not a blank check for sin, doesn’t condone sin, doesn’t indulge in sin, and doesn’t overlook sin. God’s goodness is to lead men to repentance, not to sin. The fact that God will forgive sin should stir men to seek forgiveness and to please God. If a man goes out and sins, thinking that God will just overlook and forgive his sin, he is despising God’s goodness. The person who despises God’s goodness—who sins thinking God will just overlook and forgive their sin—is wrong. They are mistaken. God does not just overlook and forgive their sin; He does not condone, indulge, nor give license to their sin. God will judge them and the judgment will be according to truth.
The moralist thinks they are basically good, that they can live a life good enough for God to accept. They focus on good works, thoughts, behavior, feelings, and fail to see God cannot accept imperfect works, impure thoughts, evil behavior, nasty behavior, corruptible nature, and our sinful nature. God can only accept perfection, and no human is perfect, therefore all of us are unacceptable to God regardless of how good we are. Fully understanding God’s goodness leads us to repentance - turning to God for our righteousness by confessing our imperfections and seeking righteousness through Jesus Christ. We are NEVER good enough that God will accept us, we are only accepted when we ADMIT we are never good enough, and fully rely on His Son.
The moralist turns away from the judgment of God, and refuses to repent. They cannot accept the fact they are not good enough for God to accept them, and that God’s goodness and love would never condemn them. But notice the words Paul uses “righteous judgment”. While we may be morally good enough for mankind, God’s righteous judgment is fair, just, impartial, and correct. God’s judgment will take place on His basis of righteousness and goodness, not on ours. To deny this brings a “storing up of God’s wrath” for us. If we refuse to repent of our sin, we bring more wrath against us on the day of judgment.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
God’s judgment is according to deeds, and will be universal. There is only two verdicts that can be reached: eternal reward or eternal punishment. No one is exempt, no one will escape. Judgment will be given based on our “deeds/works” THROUGH and BY faith. Remember, James tells us faith without works is dead - they go hand in hand. What works will we be judged by? God’s works - that comes as a result of faith. God first demands the work of acceptance - believe in Him and work for Him. It is outlined in the Great Commission, we are to reach out to a lost and dying world. You see, when we BELIEVE in God, we will want to WORK for God. The reward for a life of works for God is eternal life. It is our inheritance, which can only come by being adopted into the family of God.
5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
By adoption, we inherit (receive) glory, honor, immortality, eternal life, and eternal peace.
In contrast, the one who rejects God will face severe judgment. They are judged based on their conflict against God. Since they do not like or do what God commands, they fight against God, refuse to surrender to God’s will, refuses to accept or do God’s truth even when they hear it (rejecting Christ), and continues to live in sin. No one who rejects God will escape wrathful judgment which results in the anguish of eternal punishment and torture in Hell.
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
11 For God shows no partiality.
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
God’s judgment is without respect of person. It comes with impartiality, and no favoritism. All people stand on equal footing before God’s judgment. All will be judged by the same rule and principle. The man who sins “with or without the law” will be judged. Sin is the basis of judgment, period. There will be no argument “I didn’t know”, as we discussed last week that nature itself shows the nature of God. If we sin “in the law”, (Jews) we will be judged by the law - and judgment will be greater because KNEW and still rejected God. It’s not good enough to just “know” the law, but we must obey and live the law. What are we talking about when we speak of “law”, wasn’t that fulfilled in Christ? The law is the moral set of guidelines given to us by God in which we are to live by - notice scripture says the OT law was fulfilled, not abolished. Regardless of Jew or Gentile, God will judge according to their acceptance or rejection of Christ. Jews receive no favorites for being “chosen” by God, Gentiles still must do what the law demands.
So, does a person have to know the exact name of Jesus Christ to follow him? Within our nature (since we were created in the image and likeness of God), we have a instinctive knowledge of right and wrong, and there is the opportunity to do what is right. We can even look out on God’s nature and see the power and deity of God, which can guide us to a higher power. We have a conscience that bears witness to what is right and wrong and it gives us the opportunity to live righteously and do good. We have critical thinking and reasoning ability which allows us to approve or disapprove of something, and excuse or accuse themselves or others. We can learn a lot about God through our nature, conscience, and thoughts. We can look at creation and learn to live by law and rules, obedience, respect, and peace, pure and morally, showing concern, care, and love for others.
HOWEVER, it does not matter how morally we may life, whether by law or by nature, they do not live a sinless and perfect life and CANNOT be saved apart from Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter how “good”, “moral”, “upstanding” a person is, we all sin and come short of God’s glory and MUST be perfected in the “righteousness of God” through Jesus Chris Himself.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Judgment will be executed by Christ. There is a specific day of judgment appointed, known only by God.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
On that day, all the things we kept “secret” will be judged.
2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Christ will do the judging because he has earned that right by obeying God perfectly, living a sinless life and dying for us. He has also done this while experiencing life on earth in the flesh and understands us and our afflictions. He is the only one capable of righteous judgment for mankind.