No images? Click here LAWFUL WRATHRomans 2:12-16 JUNE 1, 2022 Romans 2:12-16 June 1, 2022
For those of us who were raised in the church, the idea that some people in America today have never heard of the person of Jesus Christ is almost inconceivable. While many people will have heard His name used in a profane manner, they might not even consider the person of Christ. So how do we explain who Jesus is? Do we ever wonder what will happen to such people? Do we assume that everyone who knows Jesus will be saved? Do we understand that many people who attend worship faithfully, who know the Bible well, who live by the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31) are as lost as the person who hates Jesus?
Paul recognizes three groups of persons: the heathen, the Christian in name only, and the redeemed. As Romans 2:6 explains all persons will stand before God in the judgment and verse eleven declares that God is impartial. God is perfectly just and His judgment, as verse six explains, is based on actual works, not knowledge or intentions. At first, the idea that God’s judgment is based on works might seem contradictory to what we know about salvation. However, for the first two groups mentioned above, God’s judgment is based on the works of the person and these works do not warrant salvation. For the third group, the judgment is based on the perfect, sinless work of Christ. The third stanza of the old hymn by Augustus Toplady expresses this well: “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling…” No amount of good works on our part will ever influence God to save us – only the cross of Jesus can save us.
While very subtle, even true believers might think their works influence God to be either favorably or unfavorably disposed to us. We might start our day with Bible study, prayer and meditation – all which are good. However, we are tempted to think that the circumstances we encounter throughout the day reflect the way God views us. God’s common grace is shared by all, and we need look no further than to natural disasters to see that the just and the unjust suffer alike. However, when it comes to redemption, God is favorably disposed to those in Christ, those who are God’s children by adoption. (Ex: Romans 8:15).
Paul is clear, all who are sinners without having the Law of God will perish without the law and those who are sinners with the law will be judged by the law. Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned, and Romans 3:12 condemns both Jew and Gentile, “no one does good, not even one." First Corinthians 15:22 states that “in Adam all die”. Because God has revealed Himself in nature, all who remain in Adam will receive the deserved wrath of God because of their unrighteous acts (Romans 1:18-20). Colossians 1:13-14 gives great hope to those who trust Christ: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” The judgment of God is not based on what we know; it is based on how we respond to what we know.
Paul dearly loves his fellow Jews, and he wants them to understand an amazing truth, a hidden mystery – Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body (Ephesians 3:6). Gentiles lacked the privileges the Jews enjoyed, and the Jews high privilege led them to show great disdain for Gentiles. They were God’s chosen race; they had the law and the prophets; and they were very prideful. They believed that Gentiles had no hope of salvation and were filthy dogs unless they converted to Judaism; then they were, at best, second-class citizens. According to the link below, “non-Jews who adopted Jewish customs and became Jews were despised because of the lack of esteem they had for their own people, customs, and gods” (https://oxfordre.com/classics/classics/abstract/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-8130?rskey=6CBllV&result=14)
Peter even looked down on Gentiles until he had a vision in Acts 10. Not only did Peter understand that no food created by God was no longer forbidden, but also that Gentiles could be accepted by God on the same basis as Jews. In verse 28, Peter boldly proclaimed, “God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” Unity has always been important to Jesus. As a part of His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed for unity among believers, and He stated that our unity would cause the world to believe that He was sent by God (Verse 21). The role of the church is to make Jesus known to a lost and dying world. Again, we see that with God there is no partiality. It does not matter how much or how little you know about God or morality; what matters is what you do with what you know. Actions matter.
Romans 2:13 explains that it is doers, not hearers, of the law who are justified. James 1:22 gives the same exhortation. The word that Paul and James both use for hearer is a casual hearing – going in one ear and out the other without sticking in the brain. Such people are akin to auditors of a college class; they listen to the lecture but don’t have a real interest in learning the material, for they don’t do the homework or take the tests. This describes many people who occupy church pews today; they just want to be entertained without doing the hard work of applying what they hear. James describes such people as those who look at themselves in a mirror then forget what they saw. Those who look into the law of liberty, see their sin and repent and persevere unto eternal life.
Sometimes it seems we think we become more righteous by osmosis; we think the process of hearing sermons and reading our Bible makes us holy. But true Christianity takes work - a daily picking up of our cross and following Christ. A good place to start would be to read and meditate on Matthew 24 and 25 this week. Another challenge is to study and apply Second Peter 1:5-12, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
God has written the moral or natural law on the hearts of all men. All societies inherently know that stealing, murder, adultery, abuse, etc. are wrong. Gentiles and Jews alike know that God condemns such actions and that they will be judged. Paul identified the problem in the first chapter of this epistle: men suppress the truth they know about God and His requirements. Jesus said in John 3:19 that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. All men have a conscience, and this conscience influences their behavior. Animals do not have a conscience; they act in the way that God designed them. Sometimes it may seem cruel to us, but God designed each animal to act in its own best interest for the preservation of its species. Since man was made in God’s image, we can act in ways that are not always in our own best interest. For example, police, fire fighters, doctors, nurses, EMS, military and evangelists (Jim Elliot, for example) frequently put themselves in harm's way for the benefit of others and for the glory of God.
C.S. Lewis, in his classic book Mere Christianity, reported statements made by people he observed in a park. “How would you like it if someone did that to you?” “That was my seat; I had it first.” “Leave him alone; he has not done anything to you.” These statements show that everyone has an inherent sense of right and wrong, a consequence of being made in the image of God. God put within each human a conscience that recognizes basic morality. Our conscience is a law but not the law. The law of God is a special divine revelation that tells us how to love God and others perfectly. With God’s law we can discern our thoughts and feelings, our emotions, our intentions, and our actions. We can trust the law of God, but we cannot always trust our conscience.
Our conscience can be shaped by many things: our family, our teachers, our friends, our personal experiences, etc. Our consciences can be too strict or too lenient. Some people have a very sensitive conscience such that, at the mere suggestion that something is questionable, will cause them to shy away from things not condemned by God. For example, some people will avoid all forms of dancing or all movies because they have been wrongly taught. Others will believe the mantra that says, “God helps those who help themselves” and feel guilty that they have not done enough to help themselves. On the other hand, there are those who believe that their baptism ensures their salvation, and they are free to live as they please, giving no thought to what pleases God. Or they may have lived in sin so long that their conscience has been seared. Sometimes others can see our sin that we miss, and this is one of the reasons why we need church, why we need accountability. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) Sparks fly and this can be uncomfortable, yet necessary for spiritual growth.
It is dangerous to violate our conscience, and the best way to guard against such is to be certain that our conscience is informed by Scripture. Those who are in Christ are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), and as new creations better positioned to recognize when the conscience is being violated by custom or by the Spirit of God. Second Corinthians 3:17 tells us, “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” However, when we begin to recognize our sin, that’s when the war begins. Galatians 5:17 makes us aware of the war within: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other…” We are in a spiritual war. If you are not at war with the evil one, you are already defeated!
Paul was very aware of the conscience and its influence on behavior. In Acts 24:16 he said, “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” And in Second Corinthians 1:12 he said, “For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.” How did Paul keep his conscience clear? He undoubtedly memorized and applied Psalm 119:11 which says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Paul was highly motivated to keep his actions and his conscience clean. He voiced this concern in First Corinthians 9:27 when he desired more than anything else to not do anything that would disqualify him for his ministry.
Perhaps you have heard the old adage, follow your heart. This can be very dangerous for anyone who has not received a new heart through being born again. As Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us, the heart is deceitful above all things; it is desperately sick. We are to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Paul expounds further on this idea in Galatians 5:16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Culture wants us to ignore the conscience that God has placed within us. We are constantly bombarded by voices claiming that nothing is wrong with sex outside of marriage, or homosexuality, or abortion, etc. Unless you are a forgiven child of God, He will judge such behavior without partiality.
Sometimes judgment occurs in this life. For example, Nabal was killed by God for refusing to assist David (1 Samuel 25) and King Herod was eaten by worms for accepting worship that should have gone to God (Acts 12). Proverbs 28:1 states, “The wicked flee when no one pursues…” Why? Because their conscience is violated! However, it is important to recognize that there is a big difference between God’s discipline and His judgment. God does not judge His children (Jesus took their judgment), but He does discipline them. Hebrews 12:6 declares, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." The writer goes on to say that if you are left without discipline, you are illegitimate children and not sons. God’s discipline is a sure sign of His love.
God’s common grace can be seen in the fact that all men have a conscience, an internal moral understanding of right and wrong. God also made His creation for all to enjoy. By these things He is saying, seek after Me; God is drawing humanity unto Himself. Our conscience bears witness to our life. God has put a conscience within to guide us. This conscience may either excuse us or accuse us (v. 15b). If our conscience is based on the law of God and we violate it, we will immediately know that something is wrong. This is the Holy Spirit leading us to repentance. Violation of conscience is instrumental in leading most people to Christ. We sense that something is wrong within us, we hear the gospel, we turn to Christ, and we turn away from sin. This is all by God’s grace.
Our conscience bears witness in our life and it bears witness in our death. The Great White Throne Judgment of God is not for believers; it is only for those who have rejected the truth. Creation is going to testify against them; the Word of God is going to testify against them; the apostles and prophets are going to testify against them; and their conscience is going to testify against them. They will suffer great anguish as God causes them to remember every time they violated their conscience but ignored it.
Our conscience testifies against us, but it also leads us to hope. Jeremiah 29:13-14 states, “You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” God makes Himself so obvious that we can’t miss Him, but in reality He finds us. The gospel will find everyone who diligently seeks God. Jesus will not allow the conscience of the redeemed to judge them for the times they violated their conscience or any other sin. Romans 8:1 is a great source of comfort for the believer: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Regardless of how much we know, we all need to take time to reflect on what we have done with what we know, how we are living.
Selah:
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