It appears the bell is tolling.
You ready? Thanks.
As we continue our Bible study in Romans, today we will be looking at Romans 2.
Now, because of my training with Brother Kong, I think the most important thing you can do is read the Word of God—read it over and over again. And do not be so quick to rush to commentaries. That was his second piece of advice to me.
Form your own thoughts by the Holy Spirit as you read it over and over again. It will begin to make connections and make sense. Then maybe later it is okay to read the commentaries, because they are a great help. But the first thing he told me was: “Read, read, read.”
So we will read it again, even as we begin, even if it takes our time. Beginning in Romans 1:32, we will read these strong words.
Who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them.
Now, that is a phrase I want you to capture this morning: the righteous judgment of God.
Therefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things.
And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things.
And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Who will render to every man according to his works:
To them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:
But unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation,
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;
But glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek:
For there is no respect of persons with God.
For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law;
For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified:
For when Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves;
In that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them;
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.
But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God,
And knowest His will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,
And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness,
A corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth;
Thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples?
Thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God?
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, even as it is written.
For circumcision indeed profiteth, if thou be a doer of the law: but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is become uncircumcision.
If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision?
And shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law?
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Now, Lord, we always have to confess, when we come to Your Word, that we need the Holy Spirit to interpret it to us. This is not in our purview. It is only God Who can make His Word alive.
And we tell You, Lord, what Peter said that faithful day when so many turned back and left You: “You alone have the words of eternal life. To whom shall we go?”
We do not come to anyone else this morning—not to men, not to books, not to different things and helps. We come to You and to Your Word. We ask You, Lord, by the Holy Spirit, to illumine Your Word, that we may understand these things that are upon Your heart; that they may come into us and become that inward reality; and that we may live out what is in Your Word according to Your life.
This we can only do through Jesus’ name. We ask You to speak to us. In Your precious name, amen.
Well, I think you know that we have been taking up the book of Romans together as an assembly. The brothers have asked me if I would consider sharing some of the things I have been sharing in Pakistan. Of course, with Pakistan, I have the same amount of time, and we have translation, so maybe you will get a little bit more. And I agreed to do it.
But I am equally—and more so—excited about brothers who have taken up particular points out of Romans. Several brothers have done this. I do not know if you remember: three brothers have shared on faith. Three brothers have zoned in, in a particular way, on a particular thing and brought it to us, which can expand our knowledge of the book of Romans.
I suppose in the next weeks and months you will see more of this, and we delight to be able to study His Word together.
Now, a few things as we begin the second chapter of Romans. I believe this book is absolutely important to the Christian life. You cannot live it—the Christian life, that is—without a clear understanding and a clear experience of the book of Romans.
It is God-breathed and God-inspired. I think you remember I said it is a spiritual masterpiece. Nothing goes into the condition of man as clearly in the whole Bible, and the solution of God in the whole Bible, as the book of Romans.
It is a true spiritual surgical masterpiece, where God unveils to us things He unveils through no other book in the Bible. It is a comprehensive consideration of mankind, and it is a comprehensive unveiling of God’s solution for mankind.
There was a fellow by the name—no one will remember him, except we have a Samuel among us—Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was an English divine, a poet, and a philosopher. He said of the book of Romans, “It is the most profound work in existence.”
How compelling is that statement? How full is that statement? How much we should pay attention to what the Lord has.
Now, when we began in Romans 1:18-32, we looked at the condition of man. It is a breathtaking analysis of the corrupt condition of man—how they turned their back and chose not to have God even in their memory, and those repeated phrases: “God gave them up.” How deep that thought is.
That part, Romans 1:18-32, primarily deals with the nations, the Gentiles. Primarily, Romans 2 deals with the Jews, because at the end what we must see is that man is totally corrupt.
Now, I know some of you would rather me be preaching on the love of God and the grace of God. You would feel far more encouraged, and probably not as slumped down in your chair. But what we need to see is the righteous judgment of God.
If you see, in the Lord’s light, the righteous judgment of God, you will understand the phenomenal expanse of the love of God. Not only that, you will begin to understand the fullness and the depth of the grace of God.
There is no mistake that the Apostle Paul spent so much time—almost three chapters in this great book—to deal with the condition of man. If you do not see your condition, and if I do not see my condition, we will never be able to live in the fullness that has been provided for us in Christ Jesus.
Now, is that introduction somewhat clear? Do you understand? I never know. Usually, when I get home, Linda tells me, “You were not clear.” So I hope it is.
Now, the second thing I said, and I want you to remember, is the context of the second chapter and, in fact, the book of Romans: it is the divine courtroom. This is the righteous Judge judging righteously.
This is a divine courtroom. We see what the Lord says of man, and we see what the sentence is on man. Then ultimately, by the glory of God, we see the grand solution that He alone provides for man. That is the book of Romans in a nutshell, if you think about it.
When you begin in Romans 2:1, that cry comes out again from the Holy One through the Apostle Paul:
Therefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest.
You know, that is a heart cry of God: “O man.” You remember when the Lord Jesus was coming into Jerusalem for that last week, and He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered you under My wings, as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.”
I wonder, when we hear the judgment of God, whether we say to the Lord—Who is calling us by His mercy—“I would not.”
This is a cry: “O man, hear your condition. O man, hear what you are really like, and come into My secret and discover that full provision that is made for you in Christ Jesus.” This, I believe, is the message of these early chapters of the book of Romans.
So we are dealing today with the judgment of God. You have to understand that: the judgment of God.
Now, you might say, “If you are dealing with Romans 2, why did you begin with Romans 1:32?” That is a fair question, by the way. But let me just tell you: when you study the Word, do not get so hung up on chapter divisions and verse divisions. Know that they are a wonderful help, but know they are not divine.
We should be thankful for those who went before us and did the tedious work of dividing the Bible into chapters and verses. We are the benefactors of that tedious work. But the divisions should help us; they should not govern our understanding of the flow of Scripture.
Well, in Romans 2 we want to begin by looking at the righteous judgment of God. You were given an outline. You can use it as a general outline. Do not take it as sacred any more than the divisions of chapters, but use it if it helps you.
First of all, in the first five verses, we see the righteous judgment of God. Second, in Romans 2:6-16, we see the basis of God’s judgment. What does He base His judgment on? It might be far different than what you base your judgment on.
Then, in Romans 2:17-27, we see the judgment of the Jews. Finally, in the all-important last two verses of the chapter, we discover the secret of outwardness and inwardness. So, to me, that is the way the Lord, after all these years, has led me to segment Romans 2.
The phrase in Romans 1:32 is the full version of the phrase: the righteous judgment of God. The phrase in Romans 2:2 is “the judgment of God.” The phrase in verse 3 is “the judgment of God.” The phrase in verse 5 is “the righteous judgment of God.”
Now let me ask you: do you think maybe this is the subject of this chapter?
I always tell people: notice things that repeat when you study the Word of God. Notice phrases that are repeated. Notice words that are repeated. If you meditate on those phrases and those words, you will begin to discover God’s thought in passages.
So it is clear in the first five verses, and by the inclusion of Romans 1:32, that we are dealing with the righteous judgment of God. We see man’s condition. We see the divine verdict. Without this chapter, we are unable to understand our so-great salvation in this gospel of God, as it says in Romans 1:16.
The original Greek word for “righteous” means a just sentence. When we deal with the judgment of God, we shy away. Sometimes, as a matter of fact, I will go this far: the world does not like to talk about the judgment of God, and they particularly do not want to hear us Christians talking to them about the judgment of God.
Every atheist, every agnostic, every unbeliever who does not even believe the Bible knows Matthew 7:1 by heart. As soon as you begin to talk to them about the Lord, they say, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” It is amazing to me. They do not even believe the Bible, and yet the first words out of their mouth are, “Judge not.”
Well, this is not about our judgment. This is about a far greater judgment. This is the judgment of God. And not only is it the judgment of God, but it is the righteous judgment of God.
What does that mean? It means His judgment is right. His judgment is true. His judgment is, to borrow from the British, spot on. Our judgment is often off course.
The righteous judgment of God means a just sentence. I would be the first to tell you that often, when I think about the judgment of God, I think, “It is unjust. It is unfair.”
I remember when I was in business—when I worked for a living—we had a seminar on sexual harassment. The lawyers came in and told us about all the pitfalls. At the end of it, I said to this astute lawyer, “This is unfair.”
He looked at me and said, “My grandfather told me the fair left in October.” I will never forget that.
The truth is, God’s judgment is fair. It is absolutely just. Not only is it just; it is righteous. He did the right thing. You may think, “God, You are too hard on me. Would You lighten up a little bit?” But He will not.
If He can show you your true condition, He can reveal to you the marvelous salvation that is in Christ Jesus—the unspeakable glories of His mercy that have been extended to you and to me, not only the undeserving, but the completely corrupt.
This is Romans 2. This righteous judgment of God is a decision for or against. Now, you can guess where it is going. It is a tribunal. It is a court.
If you do not understand this context, you will not understand Romans. In the divine court, the just Judge judges, and His judgment is right. That is the whole book when you look at it.
But in the end, all of His judgments are right. All of His judgments are just. All of His judgments are equitable.
Now, I want to stop for a moment with that word, equity. The world has gone crazy with this word. You hear “equity” at every turn. Forget equality—what is equitable?
Equitable simply means fair and impartial. Only God is equitable. Only God.
Man is never equitable. Those who were discriminated against in the past—and they have been terribly—when they get power, they will become the discriminators. And they will not be equitable.
Only God is fair. Only God is impartial. He judges with a righteous judgment.
There is a story in the Bible about the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8. You are probably familiar with it. It is a lesson on prayer.
The Lord said in Luke 18:6, “Hear what the unrighteous judge saith.” Remember, this is about an unjust judge. The unjust judge said of this widow who continued to come and appeal to him, “Because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming.”
This does not sound like someone I want to know very well. He gives in because she will not give up. She continues to press him. This is the unjust judge.
The lesson is not that this judge is like God. I think Christians sometimes say, “This is comparison.” This is not comparison; this is contrast.
When the Lord spoke in Luke 18:7-8, He said:
And shall not God avenge His elect, that cry to Him day and night, and yet He is longsuffering over them?
What a difference between the righteous Judge and the unjust judge. What a contrast there is.
You think of David. When he sinned by numbering the people, it was a great sin before God. Why was it a great sin? Because God never wants us to count on our own strength. He never intended us to count on our own resources.
He intended that, by coming to the living God, where all the resources are provided, we would have everything we need. But David thought it smart, and he numbered the people. That was human strength. That was human wisdom.
God judged him, and David repented. Thank God for that. He said, “Let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for His mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man” (2 Samuel 24:14).
Let me put it in my own words: “Let me be judged under the hand of the perfect and righteous Judge, and never be judged under the hand of unrighteous man.” That was his conclusion.
Brothers and sisters, be thankful when you come to this chapter that you realize you are under the judgment of the righteous Judge, not the unjust judge who just wants you to stop bothering him: “Leave me alone. Do not keep coming to Me, hassling Me day after day with your menial requests.”
Can you imagine if God were like that? That is Luke 18. Thank God that we have a Lord Who is completely just, and He does everything according to His righteousness. Everything the unjust judge does is his selfish judgment.
What is important in Romans 2 is understanding that we are not talking about man’s judgment. Man’s judgment is flawed.
Look at Romans 2:1:
Therefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things.
Now, we do not like that, do we? But this is truth. Those of us who so quickly judge our brothers and sisters and so quickly expose others are the very ones who, in fact, do the same thing. We are guilty by our own judgment. That is what the Apostle Paul wrote.
Then comes that heart cry in Romans 2:3:
And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Do you really think we can escape the judgment of God?
Now, this word practise, and the word in Romans 1:32—you practise the same things—it means completely corrupt. I have a bad habit. I would admit my sins before you. Every once in a while, I catch myself still doing it, even though I have told myself, “Stop doing it.”
I say to people I meet in the world, or neighbors, “He is a good man,” or “She is a good woman.” After I read Romans 2, I am not sure I can say that anymore.
I am sorry if that offends you to the core, but there is no such thing as a good man or good woman in this world according to God’s just viewpoint, according to His righteous viewpoint, according to His divine viewpoint. No one is good. Notice in the next chapter: “No, not one.”
That is the verdict. That is the divine verdict. The guilty cannot be the judge. We judge in our own light, which is not light. We cannot escape God’s judgment.
We discover that God’s judgment, it says in Romans 2:2, is according to truth. It is the only truth.
We also have a saying that has become pretty popular. I despise it, by the way, where we say, “This is my truth.” Now, what does that mean? Anything could be your truth, but is it God’s truth?
“My truth”—what a reckless saying. Well, it is my truth. Well, that is the problem. It says according to God’s truth. What a difference. That is righteous judgment.
His judgment is according to His truth: infallible truth, righteous truth, truth that cannot be questioned.
You remember, He told Pilate, when He stood before him and was condemned by this unjust world, “To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth” (John 18:37).
And you remember what Pilate said? He had not a clue. Pilate said, “What is truth?” The Lord so dishonored this power of the world, Rome, that He did not even answer him.
Truth comes from one place and one place alone. That is the secret of God’s judgment. May the Lord help us.
But now, I want to share with you some very good news. You probably all have half left, have they? Half at least have left. I am sorry, I am being facetious.
But understand: embedded in this discussion of the righteous judgment of God is the mercy of God. Look at Romans 2:4. What a wonderful verse it is:
Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
How wonderful. Even in the midst of such righteous judgment, even in the midst of such clear judgment based on the truth, even in the midst of what is dead right, if I can use that word, God shows mercy to those who will receive it.
He says, “Do you not know it is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance?”
Your salvation—when God opened your eyes, when you believed in the Lord Jesus—was a tremendous miracle, an unspeakable miracle. Something happened to you that does not happen to most of the world.
Your eyes were opened, and in a moment you saw the goodness of God. It led you to repentance, and you bowed the knee to the Lord of heaven and earth. You said to Him, at least in your heart, “Your judgment is right, and Your mercy is unspeakable.”
Did you know that? It is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance.
I told those dear brothers and sisters in Pakistan: they all gave Jack and me their brief testimonies the first day we shared with them, and they all said they repented. How good that is.
It registered with me. The Lord opened their eyes. The goodness of God opened their eyes, and in the midst of justice and righteous judgment, they saw something. Their eyes being opened, they repented, and they have enjoyed salvation ever since.
Do you get it? Thank God. If you look in the Bible, even in the darkest stories, there are moments of mercy that tell us what our God is like.
He has every right to judge us. We are totally corrupt. There is not a good man among us. There is not a good woman among us. Yet, in that judgment, He extends His goodness to us. We believe, we repent, and we discover the mercy of God in judgment.
That is one thing I want you to see, and wish you would see.
Now, there is another road we can take. There is another avenue we can take. I am afraid many of us take it. Look at Romans 2:5:
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
Brothers and sisters, have you experienced the goodness of God? Have you bowed the knee in repentance to the Lord Jesus? Have you taken Him as your life and the solution for everything in your life? If you have, you have experienced a great miracle.
Or are you resistant—resistant to the Lord—and treasuring up wrath for yourself? Can you imagine? Many of us treasure money. Many of us treasure homes and things we own. But the problem is, people who do not see the righteous judgment of God treasure up for themselves wrath.
So, in the day of the wrath of God, they get their inheritance. Can you imagine? I think this contrast is tremendous when we look at it. It shows us there are two roads for every human being. What road will you take?
Griffith Thomas said something I think is so clear that I will never forget it: “The blackest sin is not righteousness violated, but mercy despised.”
How many times have we treasured up wrath? How many times have we turned from the mercy of God? How many times have we said no to the hand of the goodness of God?
This is Romans 2. This is the light in the judgment. May the Lord help us.
Now, the third thing I would like us to look at is the basis of judgment. What does this righteous Judge base His judgment on? This is important, because I think when you see it, you will understand how thorough, how right, how righteous, and how just His judgment is.
Look at Romans 2:6:
Who will render to every man according to his works.
You may not have thought much of that statement, but if you think about it, that is the most fair statement you can imagine. God is not going to render to you according to what people say about you, or do not say about you. You can put it either way. God is going to render to you according to your works.
Can there be anything more fair than that? There cannot be. Remember, that is equity. That is fairness. This is our God.
You will not be judged based on somebody else’s works. I know you do not want to be judged based on my works, and I will tell you the truth: I do not want to be judged based on your works. But if I am judged based on my works, it is righteous judgment.
I think even at the end, when every knee bows and every tongue confesses, they will say, “This is right. You were just.”
We have just been reading in Luke 16. Even the fellow who finds himself on the wrong side of Hades, over that chasm, does not argue with his sentence. Did you notice that?
He appeals to Father Abraham. He says, “Just come over. Dip your finger in the water. Touch my tongue. Help me in my terror.” But Abraham could not and would not.
Then he says, “Father Abraham, send—I have five brothers. Send, please, just send one from among the dead to my brothers and warn them, so they will not come into this terror.”
The Lord said in that parable that even if one should rise from the dead, they would not believe. By the way, Lazarus was raised from the dead. The Lord was raised from the dead. Did the whole world fall at His feet believing?
No one will question, in that day, the righteous judgment of God. No one will dare question it.
So, number one: He renders to each according to his works. It is based on what you did, not what you said. It is what you did. It is your works. You can say all kinds of things, but what you do is important. What we do in this life is important.
This is abject fairness. There are two possibilities when you look at this in Romans 2. Look at Romans 2:7-8:
To them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:
But unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation,
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek.
Now, you think about this. This is the definition of fairness. God is fair. Get out of your mind what the world tries to tell us when they try to silence us as believers and say God is not fair to judge people. God is absolutely fair. There is no one more fair.
This is the standard of fairness. We look in Romans 2:10:
But glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
All you have to do—this is the secret to the judgment—all you have to do is do good. You get it?
Now here is the question: can you do good? Can you do good? That is the question.
It is impossible for us to do good. We cannot do good. It is impossible for us, in our good works, to please God.
I always think of James when he explains the terror of the Old Testament law. He said that if you keep the whole law and fail in one point, you are guilty of all. Can you imagine? Do you think you have that kind of goodness? Have you ever failed? Have you ever failed?
I would dare say you could count the times in a day, and there might be more than you expect. There is no goodness.
But His counsel—what Paul reveals—is absolutely right. Those who do good: eternal life. That is not a contradiction. The secret is they cannot do it in themselves. Those who do evil will be judged. Can there be a more fair standard? Do you understand that?
I think that is absolutely true. Not only is God fair; God is impartial.
Now, I do not want to offend anybody, so maybe I will just mention myself. I am not impartial. You know that. I have favorites. I have favorites.
I think it was G. Campbell Morgan who said, “God has no favorites.” But we are partial. Sometimes I see brothers and sisters in the assembly—and I will not mention any names—they have their favorites, and they are always talking to their favorites.
God is completely impartial in His judgment. Can there be anything more equitable than that?
If you read Romans 2:11, you begin to understand:
For there is no respect of persons with God.
He is completely fair. He is completely impartial. This is the basis of His judgment. That is righteous.
I wish I could be completely fair and completely impartial, but at least by this time I am beginning to come to the conclusion that it is not possible with me. But it is possible with God. Thanks for that.
He goes on to talk about this impartiality in Romans 2:12:
For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law.
That is very impartial, is it not? You do not have the law; you are not going to be judged by the law. Those Jews who have the law will be judged according to the law. Those who do not have it will not be judged by it; those who do have it will be judged by it. Complete divine impartiality. You need to see that.
That is the basis of God’s judgment.
In Romans 2:13, it says:
For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Now, I will have you know that verse 13 is a very controversial verse in Romans, because some people say it implies another way to be justified. It is not implying that. It is a statement of fact.
The hearers of the law are not just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. Understand what it says. We cannot be justified any way except through the justification of faith in the Lord Jesus. That is the only way.
The reason is because you cannot be a doer of the law, as I spoke about James. You may take a whack at it, as we like to say, but by your third or fourth whack, you might strike out.
That is the secret of Romans 2. This controversial verse is not at all implying that you can, in any way, be just before God. It is saying: if you did the whole law, if you kept the whole law, if you could keep the whole law, you might be able to be justified before God. That is all it is saying.
The basis is completely impartial—completely impartial. Romans is absolutely clear on this: there is no other way but through Christ. There is no other way. There is no other way to go through the righteous judgment of God except in Christ. There is no other way to live for the Lord but through Christ.
That is the whole letter of the book of Romans. So, when you look at this, you begin to understand God’s basis is completely fair and completely impartial.
There is one standard for judgment. In Romans 2:16, it says:
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.
Now, I do not know if you notice what Paul inserted. He said, “According to my gospel.” When he wrote about it in Romans 1:16, he said, “God’s gospel.” But now he says something of spectacular importance: “my gospel.”
There comes a day, brothers and sisters, when the glad tidings of the gospel of God, which is the power of God unto salvation, become your glad tidings. If it does not become your glad tidings, you will never enter into the reality of the Christian life.
Can you say, like the Apostle Paul said, in all confidence, that the standard of fairness and the standard of impartiality is this: “You shall be judged according to my glad tidings”? That is the secret in this.
There are phrases I want you to notice. There are four of them. Remember, I told you the importance of noticing repeated words.
This is the secret of Romans 2. This is the basis of His judgment.
Now, the last part of Romans 2 has to do with the judgment of the Jews. I want to tell you, that is particularly brutal. You have to read this with understanding.
There are three lists of five, and I want you to try to discover those yourself. There are three lists of five because the Jews, at least it seems, have an advantage. The Jews seem to be special.
Now, I know they are the Jews. The Jews are special. They had the law. But the problem was not that they had the law; it was what they did with the law when you think of the righteous judgment of God.
So, the last part specifically deals with the judgment of the Jews. In Romans 1, we are specifically dealing with the judgment of the Gentiles. But just because the Jews had the law, the tabernacle, the temple, and the holy God appearing to them through Moses, they do not have an advantage.
We would think, “It is unfair. Look what they had, and look what we did not have.” As a matter of fact, unbelievers say it is unfair that anyone who did not hear the gospel can somehow be judged. “How can God do that and You call Him fair and impartial?”
It is because, if you look at the previous part, it talks about a law of the conscience. It talks about a natural law. That law is in every man’s heart and every woman’s heart. They know what is right according to what is written in their heart.
I cannot tell you how many people have said to me, “What about that lost tribe in the rainforest of Brazil? How can You hold them to the same judgment?”
It is simple. Paul is very, very clear. It is the law of conscience. Every man and woman has within them the law of conscience.
You do not have to think the Jews are special because they have the law. “I did not have any law, so how can God judge me?” Does that not sound logical? Maybe for an engineer it sounds logical.
How can God judge me? Because you had in you the law of conscience. Every Jew has in them the law of conscience, and in addition every Jew has the law of God and all that God revealed to them.
When you read this ending part, you see what he says of the Jews. He speaks of the privileges:
What privilege. People talk about certain ones of us having privilege today. They had privilege, it appears, right? More than the Gentiles. But no, they did not, because of the law of conscience.
Then it says they even boasted in their privilege. He goes on to say in those five statements:
What privilege they had. But then God questions them. I want you to read that last part when you go home. There are five questions by God. They are searing cross-examination.
This is the divine court. In the divine court, the searing cross-examination says, “Is this true? Is this true of you?”
All prosecuting lawyers often use questions in their cross-examinations. They say, “Mr. Jones, where were you on the night of May 14?” “Mr. Jones, expressly, where were you from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. that evening?” Your answer may seal your fate.
Five questions. Five direct questions:
Thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?
Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?
Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples?
Thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God?
Do you remember what it says in Malachi 3:1-8? “Will a man rob God?” They robbed God in tithes and offerings.
You remember what it says: “Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?” They were a nation of adulterers.
Now, if you think that is too hard on the Jews, I will not apologize, because that is what God found in the Jews. Even though they had all these privileges and all these advantages, they ended up being a nation of adulterers.
He went on to say, “Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples?” The reason the Jews were sent into captivity was because they became idol worshippers like the nations.
Now, do you think their judgment is just?
Thou who boastest in the law, dost thou by thy transgression become a lawbreaker? Do you understand this? This is searing and searching cross-examination, and the end of it is: they were wholly guilty before God.
Then again, we come to the mercy of God. In the last two verses, we come to the mercy of God. Read Romans 2:28-29:
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Now, do you know what this is saying? In the end, God is looking for inward reality.
I will never forget what Brother Kong used to say to us. He said, “Do we have the inward reality?”
The difference between Christianity, the New Testament, and the Old Testament is inwardness and not outwardness. It said in these verses I read: “You have the form of the law. You have the outward form.” Your problem is outwardness.
Now, brothers and sisters, when I think of believers, is not many of our problems the same? Is it not outwardness?
The concluding salvo of Romans 2 is this: do you have outwardness, or do you have inwardness?
You remember what it says in Jeremiah 31:33:
I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
They shall know God. No one will have to teach them. This is the secret at the end of Romans 2.
Brothers and sisters, what we need to appeal to the Lord for is this: do we have the inward reality? If we do not, we will miss the mark.
Now, what is the inward reality? It is Christ. Christ in us, the hope of glory. God put you in Christ. We live because His life is in us.
The whole understanding of the Christian life is inwardness, not outwardness. If we live according to form and religion, we will be guilty under the righteous judgment of God.
But in the mercy of God, He has made another way. If we allow Him, in His goodness, to reveal Himself and work into us that inward life and that inward character, we will escape the judgment of God.
That is the message of Romans.
Father, we thank You for how complete Your Word is, even when we cannot explain it. We bow to it. We say, “This is truth. This is right. This is righteous.”
We ask You, Lord, to be merciful to us. We pray for everyone who has not come to know You, that the goodness of God will come to them and lead them to repentance.
We ask that every one of us who are Yours would not be living an outward life according to rules and doctrine and outward things, but that we would allow the Holy Spirit to do within us that inward work.
May we experience Christ in all of His fullness living in us. That is the secret. How we ask You to do that, in Your precious name. Amen.
Wait a second. Just wait a minute.