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A judge who leaves wickedness go unpunished is an unjust judge. A corrupt judge is not good at all, but God's goodness. The one who judges all the earth, who does what is right, is a God who promises judgment against evil.
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Before we know Christ, we deceive ourselves into thinking that somehow we'll escape that judgment. We rationalize that our good outweighs our bad. But God doesn't grade on a curve, and there's no way to escape his righteous judgment. Well, there is one way, but only one way. Hello and welcome. Thanks for joining us for this Sunday edition of Renewing youg Mind with another sermon from his brief series Ron Romans, chapters one and two, here's Dr. Sproul.
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Romans 2:1 16. Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, wherein whatever you judge another you condemn yourself for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance, but in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds, eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good, seek for glory, honor, and immortality. But to those who are self seeking, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. But glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God for as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law by nature, do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing, or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. I had a professor once who spoke of a brilliant Christian apologist who, my professor said when he engaged in debate with his opponents, that his arguments were so compelling that he reduced his adversary to ashes. And when he was finished with the argument, he dusted off the spot where his adversary had stood. I couldn't help but think of that description. In preparing this evening's sermon on the second chapter of Romans, we remember that the letter in its original form did not have chapter divisions or verse divisions. And so there is no actual break between chapter one and chapter two. But at the end of chapter one last week, if you were tracking with the text, you had to sense that you were hoping that Paul would get over this indictment that he gives of all people under the revealed law of God and get on with the good news. How long can he torment us with the oppressive character of the law and of our sin before he gives us some relief? And I was thinking that by the end of chapter one, as ghastly as it was, that you might think that tonight you would get that break that you were wishing for. Your hopes were in vain, because the apostle is not finished with us yet by any means, before we get to the Gospel, the good news of justification by faith alone, we have to be brought, kicking and screaming if necessary, before the holy standard of God's law, so that we might be duly persuaded of our need for the gospel. And so Paul continues his somewhat relentless indictment of our sinfulness here in chapter two, where he now directs his comments specifically to the Jewish community of his day, when he says, therefore you're without excuse, O man. Now we might, when we read this, think that the O man is a generic address to any human being, when in reality that descriptive term O man was a common form of address that was used in antiquity between Jews. And so when Paul addresses these comments to the one he describes as O man, he is clearly speaking to Jewish people. And he says, you are inexcusable. He could say, o Jew, whoever you are, who judge, for whenever you judge another, you condemn yourself for you who judge practice the same things. Here the sin of hypocrisy is in view. In the words of the apostle, he's now chastising his kinsmen according to the flesh Israel for their judgmental attitude toward the Gentiles. And he's pulling them up short and says, who do you think you are, you who condemn these Gentiles who practice the behavior of forms that they do when you are doing the very same thing. This is the essence of hypocrisy. And it's the particular threat of doom to anyone who dares to stand in a pulpit and correct sinners in the congregation, when every preacher is himself a sinner and runs that very liability of condemning others for doing the very things that he does. And so, even though these words are addressed specifically to Jews, there is that more universal application of the text. And what was true for Israel is true for us, that if we condemn other people for doing the very things that we do, then by our condemning them, we are showing our awareness of the wrongness of these activities and we are in effect condemning ourselves. Because if others are exposed to condemnation for the sins that they practice, that we practice as well, then obviously we are announcing our own condemnation. He says. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. Let me say it again. We know that God's judgment is according to truth. We see judgments made, verdicts rendered, courtrooms often in our lifetime where we wonder. We scratch our head and say, was justice really done here? Or was this simply a show of the titanic struggle between able attorneys? And to the victor belongs the spoils. Somehow in the midst of this combat between the two sides, prosecution and defense, somewhere along the line the pursuit of justice itself perhaps was lost. People are persuaded by clever arguments. And so, as a result, justice is not always served in the courtroom or in the decisions that we make within our community, in the church, and even in the family. But the one thing we can be confident of is that the judgment of God is always according to the truth. Nobody can stand before the judgment seat of God. And when God declares his verdict, complain by saying that's not fair. The the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Dear friends, this is the deepest hope of every unrepentant person in the world. The deepest hope that is harbored in the heart of corrupt humanity is that somehow we'll escape. Oh, it gets worse. Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance and long suffering? What does he mean here when he asks the question, do you despise the goodness of God? What he's getting at is this. Do you take the the goodness of God lightly? Do you take it for granted? Do you assume that because God is good there is no room for Judgment in him. He's so good that he would never punish anybody. Isn't that the myth? If you thought about that for five minutes, you see through it. I mean, seriously, if you elected a judge to the Supreme Court, you would want him to be a good judge, wouldn't you? But a judge who refuses to punish evil is not a good judge. A judge who leaves wickedness go unpunished is an unjust judge. A corrupt judge is not good at all. But God's goodness, the one who judges all the earth, who does what is right, is a God who promises judgment against evil. And do we so despise his goodness that we assume there's no room in his goodness for justice? That's insanity, people. If God is good, then he will judge and he will judge according to truth. And we ought not to despise the riches of his goodness, his forbearance, his long suffering. Don't we understand why God hasn't lowered the boom yet? Don't you realize why God is forbearing? That Paul is saying is that the whole point of God's patience is and forbearing is to lead you to repentance. But in reality, where does it lead us? Not to repentance, but to recalcitrance to the hardened heart, to the stiff neck. Oh, he hasn't punished us so far. Must mean I'm okay and he's not going to visit his judgment upon us. No, I keep telling you, it gets worse. And here it gets worse and worser. So you may want to cover your ears with what's coming next. Don't you know that the goodness of God is supposed to lead you to repentance, but in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart? And what we have next is one of the scariest verses in all the Bible. In accordance with your hard and your penitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself. Wrath in the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds. We have a tendency to think that at the judgment day you're either in or you're out, guilty or innocent. But even in our earthly courts, if somebody commits nine murders, they are on trial for nine counts of murder. And God considers every single sin we ever commit in thought, word and deed. Each one is exposed to his perfect judgment according to the truth. And the metaphor that Paul is uses here is the metaphor of banking, where you begin to save your money and maybe with each paycheck you take a small Portion of it and you put it in the bank, you deposit it. You are building up slowly but surely over a long period of time, a treasure saving up for the rainy day. And it's that metaphor that Paul is using here, is that every time we sin, we are adding an indictment against ourselves, treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. Do you really believe that? I don't think the world believes that. That every single day we continue without repenting, we are depositing into the account of God's judgment future wrath. People think that if you go to hell, you go to hell. What's the difference? The sinner in hell would give everything that he owned and do anything that he could to make the number of his sins during his lifetime one life less because he will be judged according to his deeds. And there are various degrees of punishment in hell. We just add to the indictment moment by moment. That's a scary, scary idea. You're treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. First of all, the judgment of God is called according to truth. Now it's called according to righteousness, who will render to each according to his deeds. Now wait a minute. Isn't the apostle getting us ready for the grand doctrine of justification by faith alone? And now he's talking about our being judged according to our works. Let me put it this way. Our justification is by faith alone, but our rewards in heaven will be distributed according to our works. That's why our Lord told his followers, those who are justified by faith and faith alone, to treasure up things in heaven. And he told us that on the day of judgment, even though our works carry no merit, they earn nothing. Nevertheless, as Augustine said, in distributing rewards according to our levels of obedience, God is crowning his own works in us. We too on the day of judgment will be judged according to our works. God will subject our lives to the closest scrutiny. And listen to the distinction that Paul makes here. God will give eternal life to those who by patient continuance, in doing good, seek for glory, honor and immortality. Now be careful. Paul is not saying here that the way to heaven is through good works. He's going to spend half the Epistle denying that. But those who are the redeemed are those who now set their hearts on heaven and will gain eternal life. And they will be the people who will be seeking the glory of God, the honor of God and immortality. But to those who are self seeking, who do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil of the Jew first and also of the Greek. But glory, honor and peace to everyone who works what is good to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Don't come before God and say, I was a member of Saints Andrews. Don't come before God and say, I'm a descendant of Abraham. That counts for nothing. He will render to every person according to their deeds, no partiality with God. Quickly. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law. And as many have sinned in the law will be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law, these, although they don't have the law, are a law to themselves who show the work of law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. This is a vastly misunderstood text. Most people who read this text think that what Paul is saying is this. And he's rebuking the Jews. And he said, you Jewish people, you have the law, you have the Ten Commandments, you have the Old Testament. And in spite of the fact that you have the law, you don't do the law. Just knowing the law isn't going to give you a way of escape. You have to obey the law. You have the law, but you don't do the law. Where the pagans out there, the Gentiles out there, they don't know anything about the Decalogue. They never heard of Moses, they don't know the Old Testament, but they're doing the things of the law. Now, the suggestion is here that the Jews who have the law are sinning against God, while the Gentile pagans who don't have the law are obeying the law. No, no, no, no. That's not what Paul is saying. He's saying those who have the law perish with the law. Those who don't have the law perish without the law. Why? Because they demonstrate by their actions that even if they've never seen the Ten Commandments, God has written his law on their hearts. And their behavior reveals that they know in their hearts the difference between right and wrong. So those who have the law perish with the law. Those who don't have it perish without it. Because both of them, Jew and Greek together, have consistently defied God. And they will be judged according to the light that they have been given. The Jews will have a greater judgment because they have greater light. But the Gentiles are not without light. So now Paul talks about the nature of the human heart, that in that human heart God has revealed Himself. So that everybody knows. People know what's right and what isn't. When did an adulterer not know that he was violating his wife or she, her husband in that act? When did a murderer not realize that the wanton destruction of another human being was a sin against humanity and a sin against God? We know that. We know that it's evil to cheat, to lie, to slander, to covet. Because God has given us a conscience. And even though the conscience can be seared and we can become so hardened in our heart that Jeremiah said that Israel had gained the forehead of a harlot, the people had lost their ability to blush. Even that can happen to us as we are delivered over to our sins. But even in that terrible, corrupt state, we do not vanquish totally the light of God's revelation. In our conscience. We show the work of the law written in our hearts because our consciences bear witness. They bear witness against us. And between themselves, their thoughts accuse or excuse us in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel. Because essential to the gospel is the announcement that Christ has been appointed the perfect judge of all of the earth. We will be judged by Christ on the day of judgment. The Father has delegated that role to His Son, and he will reveal the secrets of our hearts. Jesus himself warned his own generation that what you do in secret, he said, will be made manifest. Be open, be public. All the skeletons in all the closets will be open. That's why Paul is telling us it is absolutely essential for us that we gain the cloak of the righteousness of Christ. So when every secret is made manifest in that judgment will be covered by the perfection of Christ's righteousness. Mine won't do it. That's why again, I want to cry when I hear people say to me, I don't need Christ. My life's going along fine. I'm happy, I'm successful. My conscience isn't bothering me. What do I need? With Jesus, there's nothing you need more desperately and someone to cover you. When every secret is made manifest.
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Sobering, isn't it? Each one of us is without excuse before this holy God again. Welcome to Renewing youg Mind. On this Sunday, we are in a brief sermon series in the early chapters of Romans, and I hope you'll join us each week. R.C. sproul referred to Romans as Paul's magnum opus. It is rich with theology, so I encourage you to request his entire commentary on Romans when you give a donation in support of Renewing your mind@renewingyourmind.org there's also a link for you in the podcast Show Notes. You can use this for your daily devotional reading or as a Bible study resource. So respond now before this offer ends at midnight. Well, next Sunday we'll continue this series with a bombshell of a revelation. In chapter two of Romans, Paul explains that his fellow Jews, God's chosen people, were also subject to his righteous judgment. So I hope you'll join us next Sunday here on Renewing youg Mind.