Lesson 6 – Romans Chapter 2:1-7
Rom. 2:1
“Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”
“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.” (NLT)
We just finished chapter 1, where we got a very good picture of people that were in total rebellion against God. Their sins were on display for all to see, and with that, we might find ourselves saying, “what those people did was disgusting.”
It’s in our nature to sit back and point fingers at others saying, “I would never do those things.”
Paul comes out in chapter 2 telling us that there might be one finger pointed at these unrighteous folks, but there’s three fingers pointed right back at us, the self-righteous.
There is some debate among Bible teachers as to who Paul is speaking to here, as to whether it is to the Gentiles or to the Jews. Verse seventeen seems to make it clear for us where it says, “Indeed you are called a Jew,.”
It really doesn’t matter as far as God is concerned on this, sin is sin, and it is sin that separates us from God, whether Jew or Gentile. Which brings us to…
Rom. 3:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
The problem Paul had with the Jews was that they have always seen themselves as above the Gentiles, that the Gentiles were spiritually inferior, and that God could care less about them.
Vs.1 ”For you who judge practice the same things”
It’s funny how sin always looks worse on other people than it does on ourselves.
Judge: (kree’-no) it means to determine or condemn.
This speaks of judging others with a sneer on one’s face and like I said before, having a finger indignantly pointed at him or her.
The Jews thought they were free from God’s judgment because they were God’s “chosen people.”
While we are not to make judgments of others in condemnation, we should judge for identification, such as knowing right from wrong.
Although there’s a fine line between condemnation and identification (knowing right from wrong), we inherently know the difference between identifying something that is wrong and then self-righteously condemning someone else with anger. Jesus said…
Matt. 7:3
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?”
Jesus is saying in effect;
“When you get the 2×4 out of your own eye, then you might be able to see clearly enough the help your brother or sister.” Where would any of us be without God’s grace?
Once we take care of the plank in our eye, we might be able to help others.
Gal. 6:1
“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” (NLT)
Rom. 2:2
“But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.”
The job of judging belongs to God and not to us, this takes a big load of responsibilities off of our shoulders, and places it with God, where it belongs.
Heb. 4:13
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
God sees all and knows all. Only the wicked fool themselves into thinking that God does not take any notice of their sin. People think that God doesn’t see and know all about their secret sins.
Psalm 44:21
“God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.” (NLT)
• What makes God’s judgments righteous?
Deut. 32:4
“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.”
God is our judge, and we can trust everything that God does… He is holy, righteous and true.
Psalm 9:7-8
“But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.”
We can rest in the fact that a righteous judgment is coming. We see evil and total corruption prospering and growing. This can make us feel that life just isn’t fair. But, evil will not escape God’s judgment.
Rom. 2:3
“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?”
“Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?” (NLT)
The danger lies in our thinking, that God is somehow unattached or uncaring as to what we are doing, when just the opposite is true… in fact, nothing gets past God.
A.W. Pink wrote in his book Gleanings in the Godhead, “God knows everything; everything possible, everything actual; all events, all creatures, of the past, the present, and the future. He is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in earth, and in hell. … Nothing escapes his notice, nothing can be hidden from him, nothing is forgotten by him. … He never errs, never changes, never overlooks anything.”
Our sin is never hidden from God, and at the same time, He knows every detail of our lives… meaning, He knows our every need as well.
Too many people think that God is watching over us from heaven, just waiting for us to mess up, and then He will crush us the moment we doing something wrong.
Remember God loves us and wants the best for us.
Jer. 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
In accordance with God’s character, God cannot tolerate sin, no matter how we try to disguise it or deny it.
God will not look the other way when it comes to our sin, and when we do disobey Him, we will find that God does discipline His children.
Heb. 12:6
“For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” (NLT)
Rom. 2:4
“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (NLT)
The (NASB); “do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness”
“Do you think lightly”: Greek- (kat-af-ron-eh’-o) it means to: disdain, think little or nothing of.
Matthew Henry: “There is in every willful sin a contempt for the goodness of God.”
This is the same as taking advantage of God’s patience and understanding… it’s just wrong.
Paul is driving this point home to the Jews, because they considered themselves exempt because of their supposedly high moral standing.
It would be a grave mistake to interpret God’s tolerance and patience as being His permission to sin.
II Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
(Vs 4) God’s forbearance with mankind is a kind of momentary divine truce He has graciously declared.
Somewhere in the future is that one last person yet to give their heart to Jesus, and once that person does, then God’s judgment will come upon the whole world. God’s patience and longsuffering will have come to an end, and the time of “Jacob’s Trouble” or the “Great Tribulation” will begin.
Jer. 30:7
“Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.”
Rom. 2:5
“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,”
Wrath: (are-gay’) the word wrath here is used differently then what we saw in Rom. 1:18, where it was defined as God’s present anger. In this context it is used as in God’s wrath to come (it is in the future).
People who continue in their rebellion against God are storing up wrath for themselves, rather than storing up treasures in heaven.
(Vs 5) The day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God… this is speaking of the “White Throne Judgment” of God.
Rev 20:11-15
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Those who shake their fist at God, and deny His holiness and who He is… have surely rejected His gift of salvation. Therefore, their names will not be found in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Their fate is sealed and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, to join satan and his cronies.
Rom. 2:6
“Who “will render to each one according to his deeds”
Render: (a-pod-did-o-mee) means to deliver, to give away for one’s own profit what is one’s own.”
God will deliver to each person according to their account… God keeps the books… all of which hold the truth of life.
Rev. 20:12-13
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.”
The progressive liberal world view might say to everyone, “This is all there is, you live, you die… then there is nothing, there is no heaven or hell.”
Unfortunately for them there is a day of reckoning that’s coming… a rendering. Just because a denial is made, does not make it so, only God’s truth will remain in the end. A final judgment is coming, whether they want to believe it or not!
Jer. 17:10
“I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
Isa. 3:10
“Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned! But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.” (NLT)
John 5:28-29
“Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.” (NLT)
For the follower of Jesus Christ there is a day of reckoning coming as well, this is referred to as the Judgment Seat of Christ, or the Bema Seat judgment.
II Cor. 5:10
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
The judgment seat of Christ does not determine our salvation, that is settled when a person places their faith in the finished work of Jesus.
We shouldn’t look at the Bema Seat judgment as Jesus judging our sins, because our sins have been dealt with at the cross… past, present, and future… case closed.
The Bema Seat will be a time when we have our life reviewed by Jesus, and we will receive rewards for the things we did on earth for God’s Kingdom with un-selfish motives.
I Cor. 3:11-15
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”
When we see the wood, hay and straw in our life burned up, this represents the things we did for our glory, rather than for Christ’s glory. If this is all a person has done in their lifetime, no reward will be given.
This is why it is so important for us to store up treasures in heaven… these are seen as gold, silver, and jewels.
A good example of this would be; when a person sees another in need, and secretly helps that person… that action will make a deposit in their heavenly 401K.
When your review with Jesus is done, hopefully you hear from Him, “Well done good and faithful servant, now enter into My rest.”
Keep in mind, that a person can only store up treasures in heaven if they belong to Christ, these are the good works that honor God. Prior to us belonging to Christ, our good works fall into the category of “filthy rags.”
Isa. 64:6
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”
Rom. 2:7
“Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;”
“He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.” (NLT)
We have to be careful not to mis-interpret this scripture. Believers who continue in doing good works will receive a reward like we have talked about with the Bema Seat.
Whenever the New Testament speaks of eternal life as a “present possession” (something we have), it is a gift we received by faith; but whenever the scriptures refers to eternal life as something to be received in the future by those who are already believers, it refers to our eternal rewards. Such as; glory, honor, and immortality…
One example of this can be found in; Rom 8:23
“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” (NLT)
We seek these things, not in the fleshly, self-seeking way that is common to the world around us, but by us looking forward to the sharing of God’s own glory one day… we are promised glorified bodies.
The bodies we will inherit will be more like what God had originally intended, rather than what we now abide in. We will no longer have the vulnerability and weaknesses of our sinful flesh; but rather, we will be glorified with Christ, and that glory will extend to the bodies we will inhabit one day.
Phil 3:21
“He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” (NLT)
I don’t know of any believer that isn’t looking forward to that day, the day when we will be blessed with our new bodies that will be able to stand in the presence of God and will last for all eternity.