Paul painted a grim picture of a gentile world, of its sin and self-deception. Remember, he was speaking to the church. What was the response of those believers in Christ? Acknowledgment, agreement, knowing they once walked there and were prone to temptations of that previous life. This brought humility and awareness of the God's love and grace toward them in their wretched state.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10)
"But everybody's doing it." (School age kids attempting to justify their actions)
30 "As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, 'Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.' 31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. (Ezekiel 33:30-32)
One commentator summed up the early messages of Romans in saying, "I am not OK, you are not OK, no one is OK."
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In chapter 1 Paul spoke of two things being revealed by the gospel. God's righteousness is revealed when believers repent and trust in Christ. Their sins are forgiven and they reckoned as righteous. It's not the believer's righteousness, that was like filthy rags. Not its God's righteousness revealed the person. It is the power of God unto salvation, doing a regenerating work in their heart. If the just then are saved by faith and live by faith, then the unjust die for lack of it. They remain dead in their sins and the wrath of God is revealed in them. They have exchanged The Truth for the lie. What is the lie? At the very least, it is the idea that we are capable of ruling our life. Like Eve, so many believe they get to take advantage of all the many blessings God has given us while rebelling against Him to rule our life. However, the wrath of God is like a loving father who reluctantly brings punishment on His child. This is done to instill fear, respect and give a sense of boundary, to drive them back to right living. The wrath of God in this sense, is a passive 'giving over' of those people to the very wicked life they desired. God gave them the desire of their heart.
The unbeliever ignores what is evident and disregards what is clearly from God. God gave them over to a debased mind to do the things that were unclean and the unholy. They do these things knowing the righteous judgment of God. Then, to top it off, they not only do they do these things themselves but they approve of those who practice them.
What would the normal response to chapter 1 be? Most folks would agree they deserved God's wrath. Paul anticipated that response from the folks in Rome, probably because it was normal among all the other places he had preached. Maybe as you read and studied chapter one you had the same thought. After all, these folks are obviously guilty and deserving of the wrath of God.
We'd do well to remember; Paul isn't writing these folks to make them feel better about their lives. They were Christians, many of them slaves, most living in poor conditions, oppressed and without hope of anything different in life. Paul isn't selling them a "Best Life Now" mentality. This was a world that needed Jesus. Among Christians, there can sometimes form this arrogance that comes from our separation. Are we not drawn into some spiritual pride because we are different than those of the world? The enemy lures many into this trap; it's a trap of self-righteousness. We are susceptible of seeing our self with kinder eyes than we see others. We demand justice for others and mercy for ourselves. In our eyes, our sin is a small little moral setback; a tiny little black mark in a otherwise fine looking account. The same moral action among others brings our derision, anger and a demand that some judgment be brought down on them.
As Paul continue his letter, he is now going to address the part of the church who were nodding in agreement with the threat of God's wrath on unbelievers. He will continue to knock down all the idols and bring all of man to the same place; sinful, wretched and in need of a Savior. In the end, none is left standing but Christ alone.
Romans 2:1-11
Paul gave lengthy list of the characteristics and nature of the ungodly and rebellious. As you move through this letter to the Romans, you'll see Paul show everyone that we all were once on that list, apart from Christ, we'll would all still be among those. It is our human nature to know the righteous judgment of God and understand, deep down inside, that those who practice such things are deserving of death. This is no deterrent to them; they not only don't stop but they approve others who practice the same.
This is the idea of finding comfort on the wide road to destruction. After all, they think to themselves, God won't judge all of us. They conclude that if enough of us find our wickedness acceptable we might overrule God. Men run in the flood of dissipation to find comfort in the midst of those like them. This is Paul as he described the pagan to the Roman Christians.
You can imagine after the list of immoral practices any decent person would be feeling pretty good about themselves. As humans, we get pretty good at spotting other people's shortcomings. When we see others sin, do we then look at ourselves and feel pretty good about where we stand?
"Wow, I know I'm not a good Christian and I sin, but that guy, he's awful!!"
Quite frankly, we don't mind stinking as long as we can point to someone who is worse than us. We have a bad habit of judging others different than we judge ourselves. In this case, Paul says, they were judging others when they were doing the very same things themselves. It's as if the Jews were gathered together, whispering and agreeing with Paul's assessment of the gentile world. Then, it's like Paul turned to them as if it were their turn; as if he said to the self-righteous, "Not so fast".
Paul had anticipated a self-righteous response. He imagined they might be sitting back nodding and agreeing with all that Paul said about the pagans and their practices. For the most part, Jews felt pretty safe from judgment, from wrath. Their understanding was that believers were Jews and unbelievers were everyone else. They were God's chosen; they had the law; they had circumcision; they had the temple; they had Jerusalem; they had a false assurance. This is probably something Paul had seen before when he had previously brought the same message to the other churches. He had seen their 'Go get 'em God!' mentality toward gentiles.
The Jews of Alexandria were reported to have taken oaths to never show kindness to a Gentile. Now, as Christians, those thoughts towards gentiles did not just automatically go away. The privileges they enjoyed as Jews produced arrogant, loveless self-aggrandizers instead of saints.
These self-righteous men were guilty of the charges they brought against other men. Go back and read the list again. These men had the audacity to point their finger at the gentiles! One commentator wrote of the 'psychology of the self-righteous' to explain:
Paul said they were without excuse. That is to say, they know God, knew His ways, knew His righteous requirements. This was more than the gentiles. The unbelieving world was simply acting like unbelievers. The Jews however claimed to be God's chosen. They were simply using the law as a club to beat others with. As they did so, they acknowledge their knowledge of the law, condemning themselves. They were guilty of hypocrisy and self-deception. When the self-righteous man brings a charge and judgment against someone, it is a clear admission of understanding the law. When he is breaking that same law, he has brought that understanding down on himself. His judgment condemns him.
God judges according to truth. There is no curve, exception bias of any kind. There is just truth. If they did understand righteousness as they claimed, then they would know that they couldn't live up to that standard. They would be humbled before the law and seeking God's mercy. They would find common ground with an unbelieving world, showing them their unrighteousness and the fear of God.
Instead, it appeared as if they thought they would escape God's judgment. God would not wink at their sin or look away. The Jews don't possess some special means of forgiveness or a life of guilt free sin. The Jews might say, "We have the law!" as if that were a shield from wrath or judgment. "We have the covenant promise." The promise comes with great responsibility. Was their no right response to the covenant? Its as if it was a frivolous or flippant response to guard them from their own religion. Paul anticipated these attitudes and comments he'd heard in the synagogues across the country. So, he asked them:
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
There was only two choices Paul could see.
- Either they thought they were exempt from judgment so they kept sinning.
- Or, they despised God's goodness, forbearance and patience thinking that Judgment was coming……when, in fact, it was the goodness of God on display, leading people to repentance.
Does God's kindness at deferring judgment just lead to more sin? At times, that seems to be the case. But shouldn't God's delay lead more to repentance? He has been good to us because He has not judged us, though we deserve to be judged instantly for what we've done to God. This is the 'riches' of his goodness, not just his goodness.
- The Riches of His goodness: the overwhelming wealth of goodness God showers on His children in spite of the track record of past sin.
- Forbearance: God's kindness to us in regard to our present sin. Today we have fallen short of His glory. In the present we are sinners and yet He holds back His judgment against us.
- Longsuffering: This is God's kindness in regard to our future sin. We will sin tomorrow and the next day, God knows that. Yet, he holds back His wrath and judgment. He gives us breathe another day, even though we often use it to sin against Him.
The goodness, forbearance and longsuffering ought to lead them to repentance. Failure to repent left them exposed to the penalty of their sin. They were impenitent and hardhearted, which means God's wrath was being stored up against them for the final judgment. All sin is against God and must be paid for; when man continues to sin, wrath is heaped up against them. The goodness of God doesn't trump His just nature.
Paul is building up to the gospel. He is showing them and us the problem. If we can't see we have a problem we can't fix it. When we think we are above it or beyond sinning or God's judgment then the gospel message is useless. It's like trying to give medicine to someone who thinks they aren't sick. A man who thinks he is healthy won't take chemotherapy. Yet when that same man finds he has cancer, he welcomes it as an opportunity for life. Paul has shown them the evidence of their illness………sin!
Paul then quotes from one of two places in the Old Testament. This is the Jews reference book, words they respect. Paul uses them to make the point: God will render to each according to his deeds.
God is Just by His nature and fair in His judgments.
- Eternal life would await some. Those who patiently continue in good work seeking:
- Glory - future blessings
- Honor -approval of God
- Immortality – a future hope in the presence of our maker.
This "doing good" is the character trait of those who are saved. This is not a way to faith; it is because of faith. You don't work your way there. There is no recipe to righteousness; if I go to church so many times a year, if I give a little money to the poor, if I help little old ladies across the street and if I never say curse words, then I'll go to heaven. It's by grace you've been saved, through faith.
This 'doing good' is seeking after the things of God because we are being renewed, made new, being transformed due to regenerated heart. This happens when you are saved by grace. You desire the things of God and resist all the rest. That puts you on a path of doing good, seeking His glory and Honor. That makes you want to go to church to be around others that think like you and it makes you want to help the poor, help little old ladies across the street and even use other words when you smash your thumb.
The language used in this "seeking after glory, honor and immortality" implies looking for something you've lost that was very valuable to us. Spiritually we've lost something of great value. That loss started in the garden when Eve first sinned. Do you want it back? We lost our relationship with God by our bloodline. We inherited this loss. The loss has been passed down through all generations. Yet, we inherently know we used to have it. That relationship is written on our heart. There is deep seeded longing in each of us for eternity. Yet, we don't always recognize what that longing is. This is the life of a Christian, seeking after the lost relationship with the Living God.
The other side of God's just nature and fair judgments:
- Indignation & Wrath, Tribulation & Anguish (punishment & suffering)
- Those self-seeking
- Do not obey the truth
- Obey unrighteousness
The idea that there is a coming time when the goodness and longsuffering run out, a day when accounts would be settled. Those that waver between two positions would find that righteousness was not defined by their understanding of it. Those patiently continuing in good work express their faith and belief in God. Those seeking self with a disregard for truth and righteousness express and unbelief by their actions. They simply don't believe God will punish sin. They've placed self over God; again, like the gentiles, trading 'the lie' for the truth.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:25-26)
This self-seeking person is focused solely on their own wellbeing. Yet, in their self-seeking they are storing up wrath and indignation. The word indignation is the idea of "boiling up." It's like a passionate outburst or boiling over. Wrath comes from the idea of a swelling which eventually bursts and pours forth; like a damn holding back a deluge.
These thoughts apply to the Jew first and then the Greek. Which is to day it is the same for every man, woman and child.
- On one side there is the selfish; prideful, self-seeking who build and build and build a wealth of wrath. It grows and swells until suddenly it boils over pouring forth the punishment they deserve.
- The other side is the seeking person chasing after God. Diligently seeking to find what they've lost. They seek after that glory and honor. They patiently seek after immortality and are given eternal life.
Which side one falls is not determined by ethnicity or anything else. God doesn't show favoritism. The Jew and the gentile will be treated the same. The Jew is first because they were first in line of the gospel message; first to receive blessing, but also first to receive judgment. There is no favoritism or partiality. This means there is no consideration to status, wealth, position, popularity or appearance.
Romans 2:12-16
Paul likely made this same argument in person at many synagogues and at the school of Tyrannus in Ephesus. He probably saw the same responses over and over, so He addressed the first response. It may have sounded something like:
"Yes, but we possess the law!"
"God entrusted us with the law through Moses"
The law is the Old Testament law given to Moses. It's the Levitical law for the Priests that include animal sacrifice and the Jewish feasts and holy days. All of these things are a picture of Jesus Christ. The Jew found comfort in the law, assuming salvation by the law. It was not uncommon for them to feel that way. They felt like they had the law and the prophets on their side. But having the law doesn't save you. Keeping the law saves you, and no one can keep the law.
The Gentiles sinned without the law. They were, in theory, ignorant of the law and therefore could not be held to it. The Jews however had the law, knew the law and were therefore accountable to the law. They could not proclaim any ignorance. They would be judged by the law. The Jews found comfort in possessing the law and knowing the law. Paul called them on this, thought. It wasn't those who hear the law that are just, but those who do the law.
The gentiles did not have the law. Yet, they knew the difference between right and wrong. They had a conscience. They were a law unto themselves is to say, they held to the laws God wrote on their heart. The Gentile will be judged on whether they've kept the promptings of their conscious. God's law is written on our heart. Our conscious condemns us, just like the law.
There is no escaping it. While you can say, "It's not what you know that counts but if you obey what you know." You still aren't off the hook. Anyone who heard this and examined their life would come to the conclusion they were in trouble. Simply put, in our own strength and our own power we cannot be holy; we cannot be perfect. We can't keep the law and we can't even meet the promptings of our conscience.
Verse 16 is the completion of a sentence started in verse 12. There's a big long parenthesis in the middle of this sentence. To read the sentence with the Parenthesis removed:
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 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
The day is coming when our secrets won't be secrets anymore!! Each man will be judged by the law.
30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)
Romans 2:17-24
Paul is specifically talking to the Jews here. They were religious and thought their religiosity somehow got them closer to God. They boasted in the law. Not because they kept it or even attempted to. But because they had the law. They rested in their list of rules from the law. They were confident they were the spiritual ones guiding the blind, offering hope to those in darkness. They saw themselves as the instructors and teachers and felt they possessed the knowledge and truth in the law. Paul, maybe even mockingly, summed them up:
- You know His will
- Approve of the excellent things
- Confident you are a:
- A guide to the blind
- A light to those in darkness
- An instructor of fools
- A teacher of babes
- Have a 'form' of knowledge and truth of law.
The word 'form' is only used twice in the New Testament. The other time is 2 Timothy 3:5 at the end of a long list of the character of men in the last days – "having a form of godliness but denying its power." It seems to speak of the outward appearance that doesn't match the inward heart or attitude – and likewise doesn't match the works.
Note: Our response to the challenge of our commitment often offends us. We think much of our works. We think highly of our self. We'll always judge our works of more value than others, even when we know our list is rather small. To the self-righteous who would dismiss the challenge, this begs the question, "If everyone at church had your commitment; in prayer, study, works, giving and sacrifice, would the church be stronger or weaker before the Lord?" It's certainly something to think about.
While Paul spoke specifically to the Jews, he could have easily been talking to anyone who found righteousness in anything but Christ. Some find righteousness in a list of rules; very religious rules. They look down their nose judging those who don't keep the rules they keep. Some find superiority in education or money or their name. They deceived themselves into thinking that because of these things, they possess some truth, knowledge or status that puts them in good standing with God.
The Jews could see how others broke the law, but they couldn't see how they did. Paul suggested if they were teachers of others, they might teach themselves the same lessons.
- They taught the 8th commandment: Paul accused them of stealing when they preach that man should not do so.
- They taught the 7th commandment: They said not to commit adultery, but they were doing the same.
- Think about all the Jews looking down their nose at those practicing homosexuality. Yet, they were taking part in immoral practice that was just as sinful. Is church this way? Do we show disdain for the homosexuality while those in our congregation commit adultery?
- They taught the 1st commandment:
- They taught that they shall have no other god.
- They supposedly abhorred idols, yet, they robbed the temple.
It is thought the Jews carried on in self-righteous fashion against the idols of the gentiles' temples, then took the idols for the value of silver and gold.
They dishonored God with their disobedience and they held onto the law as if it was some great prize from God. It was a source of great pride in their culture, yet they didn't live by it. They seemed so serious about their belief when speaking about the law but then went about breaking it. And there was no acknowledgment that they were falling short.
The Jews were to be a light unto the gentiles. Instead, they became a stumbling stone, blaspheming the God they claim elected them. God's name was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the Jews. Paul said this happened just like it was written, a reference to the quoted verse Isaiah 52:5.
Romans 2:25-29
Paul knew that no good Jew would be convinced. After all, he had experienced the same. He sought out the Christians, to kill and imprison them for going against the Jewish law. He understood well the resistance any Jew would have toward this kind of talk. He had likely battled the same thing. He knew their proclivity to trust in the things of their heritage and tradition. In this, he anticipated their next response, "What about circumcision? We have the covenant sign of Abraham!" Paul answered their anticipated question.
Circumcision was the outward sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17:9-14). It was supposed to be an outward sign of the inward change. The covenant mark was at the place of procreation, the literal place where sin passed from generation to generation. The covenant promise was to pass from generation to generation also. Abraham believed God's promise and it was credited to him as righteousness long before circumcision.
The Jews relied on this physical mark of the flesh instead of the spiritual. Circumcision was spiritually meaningless if there was no inward change. For the Christian, the thought process is very similar to that of baptism. Baptism doesn't save anyone; it is an act of obedience. We do it to symbolically show what has happened on the inside.
If they trusted in the law and circumcision was that evidence, what if they broke the law? They still bore the mark of the covenant, even though they broke the law. Did their circumcision mean nothing? In a similar thought, if the gentile kept all the law, does their uncircumcision become circumcision? Would they not rise to judge those who held the law and bore the mark, yet transgressed the law?
Paul is simply telling them their circumcision was meaningless because they weren't acting in accordance with God. What if someone professed Christ and was baptized. Then, the next several weeks you see them living a life inconsistent with the life of Christ. We would conclude their baptism was meaningless because the heart had not been changed. Circumcision and baptism are like a label. If the label doesn't match what's on the inside something is wrong. Changing the label doesn't change what is on the inside. You can't change the label till the contents are changed. Being Born again changes the contents. It changes the heart. And soon the inner change works its way to the external.
Paul was saying to the Jews, 'Saying you are a Jew doesn't make you a Jew on the inside.' Being circumcised is a label that doesn't necessarily tell what is on the inside. When there is a change in the heart and in the spirit it is meaningful. It has nothing to do with keeping the letter of the law. God isn't interesting in a group of folks that can keep a list of rules. He's interested in relationship. In order for that to happen there has to be a change of heart.
***
In this chapter, Paul had pointed his finger at the moralist. Remember, Paul is speaking to the church. He had first spoke about gentiles in an unbelieving world. The Jews may have felt good about themselves and been in total agreement that judgment should come on other folks. In fact, they were proficient in pointing out those who fell short of the law. Then Paul told them they were no better. They are doing the same things the godless are doing.
Apart from Christ, the gentiles were a mess. Although claiming God, the Jews were equally a sinful mess. Who's left? Who is righteous? There is no one left. We sometimes deceive our self into thinking we are living in the vicinity of God because we deserve it. Paul reminded both Jew and gentile that they weren't in God's vicinity by their works, law, heritage, ethnicity or anything else. We are in quite a predicament!! The only people who were in God's vicinity were those saved by faith in Christ alone.
We know the wrath of God was satisfied by the shed blood of Christ. Jesus was the sinless man, the perfect sacrifice. He was the Passover lamb, without blemish; the fulfillment of the law the Jews trusted in. Jesus paid the penalty due. In the end, He declared it finished. He declared it paid in full.
24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (John 5:24)
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"It seems to me that every morning when a man wakes up still impenitent, and finds himself out of hell, the sunlight seems to say, 'I shine on thee yet another day, as that in this day thou mayest repent.' When your bed receives you at night I think it seems to say, 'I will give you another night's rest, that you may live to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus.' Every mouthful of bread that comes to the table says, 'I have to support your body that still you may have space for repentance.' Every time you open the Bible the pages say, 'We speak with you that you may repent.' Every time you hear a sermon, if it be such a sermon as God would have us preach, it pleads with you to turn unto the Lord and live." (Spurgeon)
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