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Back to the Bible Let it be our plea. God's Word alone are authority Every word, every step in the name of Christ Back to the Bible for the way of life. Welcome to this period of Bible study. We are delighted to have the opportunity to spend just a little while in a consideration of God's Word and hope that the time that we spend together is profitable, is beneficial. And most of all, our hope and our prayer is that it's glorifying to God. We think that the only way that Bible teaching can really be glorifying and honoring to God is if we go back to the Bible for it all. That is, we don't want to promote our own own traditions. We don't want to produce anything from ourselves. What we want to do is we want to take God's Word and we want to read it and study it and come to the very best understanding that we can of it. As we try to understand and then apply it to our lives in every way that we seek possible. It's our prayer that God would give us greater clarity, that we would be able to study more carefully, think more deeply about His Word, and so that we can see all of the places where it has application to our life. If you have questions about our study, if you have questions about the comments that we make or the thoughts that we present, if it raises questions with you, or if you have disagreements, then please don't hesitate to reach out to us. The easiest way to do that is through our website, backtothebiblepodcast.com we would love to hear from you, love to study with you, and we would invite your questions and even your critiques because we want to be faithful in our teaching of God's Word. We want to be clear and in our teaching of God's Word, and in either one of those areas where we fall short of that. We welcome your considerations and your comments. When we come to the Book of Romans and Chapter two, I think we have some difficulty because of different interpretations of what the book is trying to accomplish, what it's teaching us. And then I think there are some difficulties from folks who have been trying to give it what we would think of as a good reading. And I want us to kind of reframe how we're thinking about the Book of Romans in some ways, because I think that we need to keep the focus of the audience that was originally receiving the book. Now, we don't know all of those people individually, we don't know any of them personally, but I think we can see as we go through the Book of Romans that Paul is specifically addressing Gentiles who are in the churches of Rome. Now. We don't know all of the things that they were going to be facing or dealing with. But I do think that as we read through the first several chapters, I think we see that there is certainly a question of. About the role of the law of Moses, sometimes called the Torah, or the instruction, the Law of Moses. I think there are questions about circumcision and about whether or not these Gentiles needed to have become Jews before they could become followers of Jesus. Paul is going to address that, especially through the first four chapters, and then talk about the life that that brings from chapters five through eight. I think that there's potentially challenges regarding persecution that may be arising. I think maybe we see hints of that in chapter five. We see hints of it in chapter eight. I think that there may be divisions within the group. I think we have the Gentiles particularly being referenced in chapters nine through 11. Even though it's about the Jews, it seems to me to be clarifying to the Gentiles and in those churches about the place that Israel had and the place that Jewish people can feel in the church in Romans 9, 11. And it looks like those divisions maybe have even resulted in difficulties within the groups. And I think a lot of what we see in chapters 12, 13, 14, the beginning of 15, I think, are dealing with those divisions within the groups and talking about how to deal with and address one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. And so when we come to chapter two, I approached this chapter with the idea in mind that Paul is writing to the Gentiles in the church at Rome. Now, that does not mean that there weren't Jews in those churches. I think that there were, based on what we can see, especially In Romans chapter 16, with the people that he is greeting. And I don't take it to be that there's nothing that Jewish people could gain from this. I think that they could. My mentor on the Book of Romans, Marshall McDaniel, points out that sometimes we preach Father's Day sermons or we talk about mothers in our lessons. And whether it's on Father's Day or on Mother's Day or not, the idea there is. We can still be talking to a particular group and say, but there's something here to learn for everyone. And that is true now, for the most part, the people that we engage with, the people that I talk to from day to day, would be people who are Gentiles. And if I'M talking to them about becoming a Christian, or if they are Christians, I think that they can see some of the applications of this in a particular way. And I think that that would be true of people who were of Jewish descendants and were wanting to become followers of Jesus. I think there's things for them to learn. But the reason that I point that out right now is because I think understanding that we're talking to Gentiles in the Book of Romans means that we have to read that in a way that makes sense with the audience that's receiving it. I think that it is a good practice when we read our Bibles to not make the first step of our Bible study to say, what does that mean for me? Now, I want to get there. I want to understand how it applies to me. But I think sometimes in our Bible studies, what we do is we say, how can I take that passage as if it was written straight to me and immediately apply it? And while I want to be looking for ways to apply the Scripture to my life, I. I want every word and every deed to be in the name of the Lord. And I think the only way I can do that is to have it being shaped by Scripture. But what happens is when we are looking for that immediate application, sometimes we don't understand what the passage meant in its original context. And when we act in that way, the application that we make to our own lives may be missing the mark, may be missing the point. And so I think it's important that we spend time considering the audience that it was written to and how they would have understood the message. And then we say, all right, now understanding that message more clearly, let's make clear and effective application in our own lives. Now we come to chapter two on the heels of Paul spending all of verses 18 through 32 talking about the decline, the fall. And maybe we wouldn't think about it as a fall, but we would think about it as a jump of the Gentile world, of the nations away from God. They don't honor him, they don't glorify him, they don't give thanks to Him. They turn and they're worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. They exchanged the glory of God for images of the things that he had made. He gives them up, he gives them over. He allows them to go their own way. And you can see the decrepit. You can see the horrific descent of the nations of the world into sins that reject the very way that humanity was designed for, rejects the natural order of things. And then he makes this list in verses 29 and following. That demonstrates that this is filling people's minds and hearts and tongues and lives with things that are deserving of judgment, are deserving of the wrath of God. As Paul would say it, they deserve death. But it's not only that there are those who are practicing these things, but there are those giving hearty approval to those who do them. It's not just done, it's done and it's celebrated. This shows the darkness and the error and the downfall and the alienation from God of the world. So we come to chapter two, and I would like to read verses one through 11 first. And then we'll come back and we'll talk about what is happening in these verses. Romans, chapter 2, beginning at verse 11, beginning at verse 1, going through verse 11. Therefore you who are without excuse, O man, everyone who passes judgment. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you presume this, O man who passes judgment on those who practice such things and does the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will repay each according to his works, to those who by perseverance in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger, there will be affliction and turmoil for every soul of man who works out of evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. But glory and honor and peace to everyone who works good to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, for there is no partiality with God. Now, if you'll notice, in verse one, first we begin with the word therefore. I think that demonstrates that there should be a close connection to what we have just seen. In chapter one, verses 18 through 32, he is drawing a conclusion and saying, in view of all of that, here's something you need to understand. And he switches to talking to a particular person. Notice the way that it said. Look at verse 32 of chapter one. Although they know the righteousness of God, that those who practice these things, they are worthy of death. Not only do they. Not only do the same, but also they give hearty approval to those who practice them. You see, he's talking about a separate group of people. They do this, they do that. Those who do this, them. And then you come to chapter two in verse one, therefore you. And it's important that in the Bible, a lot of times when that word you is used, it's meaning y', all, you guys, you. And it's talking about a plural you. But that's not the case here. When he says you here in chapter two and verse one, it's a singular you, therefore you are without excuse. O man. Now, I don't think that Paul is talking to a specific person in the Roman churches. I think he's talking to the congregations as a whole, and I think particularly he's talking to the Gentiles in those churches. But he points out a specific character, a specific person person, and has a conversation with them. Now, this person is going to become Paul's conversation partner. In the books that I read, the fancy word for this, I think, is interlocutor. This conversation partner that Paul is using in order to teach the Romans these lessons. Now, this conversation is called a diatribe. Now, generally, if you ever use the word diatribe, you're talking about somebody who goes on a rant. If they start yelling about this or that and they're going on this long tirade, we would call that a diatribe. But this was in the first century in the Roman world, a way of teaching where you create a conversation partner and you allow him to raise objections, raise concerns, as you have this conversation with him. And the point of that conversation is for the people who are listening to be able to understand what you're saying and for you to anticipate arguments and clarify those and sharpen that so that everyone understands what's happening. So there doesn't actually have to be somebody raising these questions at that exact moment in order for Paul to address them. What he's doing is he's raising these questions and addressing them either to fight off or to inoculate, to protect against the false teaching that might come to Rome. Now, this is the way in which Paul is going to teach that the Gentiles and can stand before God, justified and righteous, not by works of the law of Moses, but by faithfulness to and in Christ. Now, let me say that I believe that this conversation partner, in my view, it makes the most sense to see him as a Gentile who is being convinced or has been convinced that that Judaism and conversion to Judaism is necessary or pressing in order for someone to be a follower of Jesus. Now remember, there doesn't necessarily have to be someone at the Roman congregations, as a member of the Roman congregations who has actually gone through this, though it's possible that there were. But rather Paul is using this conversation partner, knowing that this is a dangerous doctrine that is spreading. We see that in Galatia. We see it through the book of Acts especially. And I think what Paul is doing is he is giving an inoculation shot or he is pushing back on these ideas of the necessity of Gentiles to come under the law of Moses to be circumcised in order to what would their view be would be to become descendants of Abraham in a different sense rather than coming into Christ. Now we would say, hasn't that already been addressed in Acts 15? Hasn't that already been addressed in the book of Galatians? Sure, but they were not the first people and they were not the last people who needed reminders of the truth of God's word. And they needed this in view of the doctrines that perhaps were at or were coming to the Roman congregations. So when Paul begins this chapter with a Therefore, I think what's happening here is Paul is saying this world, the nations have descended into wickedness and unrighteousness. They have rejected God. And he says, therefore, O man, you are without excuse who passes judgment because the things that you're judging about them, you practice yourself. I take it to be that this person maybe is convinced that they have come into Judaism. Maybe they've been circumcised, maybe they've gone through this process. We will say more about that in verses 17 and following, though that may have to wait for next time. But what's happened is while this man stands in judgment of those nations, he is continuing to practice those things himself. And just because someone agrees with the condemnation of the people in chapter one, verses 18 through 32, does not put them in right standing with God. The only escape from the wrath of God is a change in the way that people live. He says. We rightly know that judgment comes on the people who practice these things. But what happens is this man, this conversation partner, has decided that because he passes judgment on them that somehow he's going to escape the righteous judgment of God. And that's not the case. Verses 4 and 5 tell us that that God's patience should have led them to repentance. God often shows patience in order to demonstrate that he is just when he brings his judgment that he does not immediately bring the judgment down as soon as someone makes a mistake, but rather shows patience. And what happens is it shows the great justice of God because these people who have had time to repent, what happens is their sin goes deeper and deeper. Now, as a result, this person also deserves the judgment of God because God judges according to our deeds. He says, you are stubborn and you're unrepentant, and it's as if you're storing up wrath for the day of judgment. It's not as if they've repented. Rather they're just accumulating sin that's going to go on their record. And it's as if God's wrath is just filling up because verse six, God is going to repay according to each one's works, according to each one's deeds. Now, even though God had called them to repent, they haven't turned to him. God's patience with them should have motivated repentance, not excused rebellion. Can you hear the echo of Acts 17:30 when Paul talks to those people on Mars Hill, where he says, at the times of this ignorance God winked at, or God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world by that man whom he has ordained and has given us assurance in that he has raised him from the dead. Just as surely as Jesus was raised from the dead. There is a judgment coming. And Paul says that God had overlooked that sin, but now demands all men everywhere to repent. Now, this is a key passage in verses 7 through 11. The very point of this passage is that on the positive and the negative side, Paul says that our works and our deeds, our obedience matter. When it comes to eternal judgment. What are we seeking? What are we doing? What are we pursuing? What we want to do is we want to work good. Can I mention to you that that idea in verse 10 of Everyone who Works Good and that God, verse 6, will repay to each one according to his works. That's the very same word that is used when Paul talks about not being justified by works, but being justified by faith. When Paul talks about the distinction between being justified by works and justified by faith, he's not talking about obedience. He's not talking about whether or not we have to respond obediently to God or he's not saying we don't have to do that and we just believe. That's not what he means. Here in verses 6 through 11, he's obviously saying that our works matter that obedience matters, that seeking righteousness matters. So there's something different that he's talking about when he's talking about pursuing a justification by works. I take it to be he's talking to Gentiles who are pursuing justification by works of the law of Moses, thinking that that will put them in. In the in group. But rather we are justified by the faith of. That is the faithfulness of Jesus and faithfulness to him. Now we come down to verse 11, and I think this is the key part. There is no partiality with God. Jews and Gentiles are going to stand before God in judgment. God is not partial regarding what he expects. He wants repentance and he wants good works. Now look at verse 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. For it is not the hearers of the law who are just before God, but doers of the law will be justified. For when the Gentiles who do not have the law naturally do the things of the law, these not having the law are a law to themselves in that they demonstrate the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them on the day when, according to my Gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. Now I think Paul is chiding this conversation, partner. Whether somebody claims to follow the Torah, the law or not, their sin is still going to be held to their account. Just hearing it doesn't do anyone any good. Now when he talks about those who are sinning under the law, I think probably he's talking about those who are Jewish who were born under the law. Now what he's saying is, is that just hearing the law doesn't do anybody any good. Just hearing God's word in any way doesn't do somebody any good. I think this is Paul's focus here. I don't know. I think sometimes the difficulty of this passage is we say, okay, who are these Gentiles who just naturally do what's in the law? I don't think he's talking about people who have never heard God's instruction. I think in verses 14 and 15, when he talks about the Gentiles who do not have the law, I think he's talking about those who who were not born under the law. But there's some way in which they are still doing the law. But notice how he describes it as being written on their hearts. How is the law written on our hearts. You know the prophecy of Jeremiah 31, that God would make a new covenant, and God's law would not just be written on stone, but it would be written on their hearts. The book of Hebrews takes that and says, we have the new, we have the better covenant. That's not just written on stone, but it's written on our hearts. How does that happen? It happens by the Gospel. That is, the Gentiles who have responded to the gospel, they were not born under the law, but they carry out what the law was always pointing to because they have it written on their hearts. Let me show you. Romans, chapter 13 and verse 8. I think this is where we're headed. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does not work evil against a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. What is Paul saying here then in Romans, chapter two? I think he's saying it's not the hearers who are justified, it's the doers. And somebody says, well, how do you become a doer of the law? Well, the Gentiles, who were not even born under the law, become the ultimate doers of the law because they have it written on their heart. And they have it written on their heart because of the Gospel, because they have come to love one another. See, the gentile from verses 2 all the way through verse 11 is a person who is judging those who are of the Gentile nations who have devolved in this wickedness. And I think he thinks that he's justified, perhaps, because, as we're going to see in verses 17 and following, maybe he's bearing the name Jew, maybe he's circumcised, maybe he's keeping the Sabbath, maybe he's keeping those food laws. But in so many ways, he's just like those people in chapter one, verses 18 through 32. But what would make him different, what would make him different is if the Gospel had written the law on his heart so that he loved God and he loved his neighbor as himself, Then all of the issues in chapter one, verses 18 through 32, they go away, don't they? The adultery, the murder, the coveting. Not perfection, but that kind of person who is devoted to what he's hearing and not just hearing it, and not just claiming it. But being shaped by it. And I think what we see is that in the rest of the letter it is the doers of the law, the doers of the Torah, the faithful, are those who are in Christ. For Gentiles, it's those who are in Christ because the call for them has always been to give their faithfulness to Christ. It has always been that that's what the law was pointing Israel to. And the Gentiles were not obligated to be under the law. And for Israel, for them to actually follow the law like they think that they are, they have to come to Christ. Let me say this about Romans, chapter 10 and verse 3 he says they have tried to establish their own righteousness. And then verse 4 he says, but the end of the law, the goal of the law is Christ. So rebellious Gentiles are going to stand condemned. 118 through 32. Next time we're going to look at and say that Judaizing Gentiles are going to stand condemned. Verses 17 and following. But here what we see is that Gentiles and Jews who are going to stand before God justified are going to be those who have the law written on their hearts and so fulfill the law in Christ. Until next time we bid you a pleasant good day. Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea. God's word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ Back to the Bible for the way of life.