Romans: By His Grace - For His Glory
11th in the Series
Romans 2:1-16
May 5, 1996
by J. David Hoke
A number of years ago, when television evangelist Jim Bakker was front page news, I
remember watching a Nightline program where Ted Koppel was interviewing
Jimmy Swaggert. Swaggert was asked to give his opinion concerning what was happening to
Jim Bakker and his PTL Empire. Swaggert was very judgmental. In fact, he called Jim Bakker
a "cancer" in the body of Christ.
A short while later, Jimmy Swaggert himself was in the news. It came to light that he
had been visiting prostitutes. This had been going on for quite some time, even during the
time when he called Jim Bakker a "cancer."
This is somewhat amazing to me. You would think that someone who was indulging in this
kind of sin, when asked to comment on another person's sin, would be a little more
charitable. I would have thought that Swaggert would say, "Well, Jim Bakker is having
a tough time right now. And I'm praying for him. I just hope that God will help him to get
back on track." But he did not do this. And, unfortunately, neither do we.
Why is it that we can be so judgmental, when we are far from perfect ourselves? The old
saying that those who live in glass houses ought not to throw stones is hardly ever
followed. The truth is that we like to throw stones. We live in glass houses, that much is
certain. We just hope the other guy's aim is not as accurate as ours. Or we think that our
sins are safely hidden, never to be found out.
But one day everything will be revealed. Jesus said, in Luke 12:2-3: "There
is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered
in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs." The point
is, of course, that God knows everything. There is nothing that escapes His eye. So we
should be extremely careful when we judge someone else, because we may be condemning
ourselves since we are guilty of the same sins.
The truth in focus in this passage of Scripture is that none of us have any excuse. We
have no excuse because we are all sinful. Indeed, no one is without sin. And the fact that
we feel free to judge others indicates that we ourselves acknowledge that there is some
standard for morality. Listen to what Paul says in verse 2:
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
By the very act of judging someone else, we acknowledge that there is a standard not
being met. But that same standard must apply to us as well. And the truth is that we do
not live perfectly by any standard, even our own. Therefore, we are without excuse. We
will not be able to stand before God on the great and terrible day of judgment and open
our mouths to say anything in our own defense. We will stand guilty as charged. God's
judgment will be just. And our false morality will be exposed for the hypocrisy that it
is.
Do you understand the intense scrutiny and thorough intensity of God's judgment? Let's
turn our attention to that judgment to see the ways in which we will be judged.
Based on Truth
Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? (vv. 2-4)
God's judgment will be based on truth. In other words, God knows the truth about
us. He knows our hearts and minds. He knows what motivates us and how we think. And He
knows precisely the sins we have committed and the circumstances surrounding those sins.
This is good and bad. It is good that you don't have to explain everything to God, but it
is very bad that He knows everything. And because He knows everything, including the very
intentions of our hearts, He will be able to judge us based on the absolute truth about
us. We will not be misrepresented to God.
He's really challenging us to examine ourselves based on the truth about us. He is
really saying that we should look first to ourselves, because we do the same things
that we judge other people for doing. We must understand that we are mere human
beings. We are not God. No one has left us in charge of everyone else. We should first get
our own house in order.
Many people believe, because they have not yet felt the judgment of God for their sins,
that God must approve of their attitudes and behavior. But they do not realize why God is
showing them the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience. The reason why God
is showing them these qualities of grace, and not judging them immediately, is not because
He approves. It is God's desire that His kindness leads you toward repentance. To
presume upon that kindness is to show contempt for what God is trying to do. This
is the truth about us. And God's judgment will be based on truth.
According to Behavior
When God looks at us in the judgment, He will be looking at more than our attitudes. He
will be looking at our actions. It is not enough to say that we believe. We must also
behave as if we believe. It is not enough to believe in a standard. We must live by that
standard. God's judgment will be according to behavior.
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (vv. 5-8)
It is because of stubbornness and an unrepentant heart that we will be
judged. To repent means that we make an about-face. It means that we turn around. It means
that we change our behavior. And if we are too stubborn to do that then we will find
ourselves in deep trouble. Indeed we are storing up wrath against ourselves.
This is not only the situation that we find everywhere in our society, this is also a
grave concern for the church. Somehow we have broken the connection between belief and
behavior. It never ceases to amaze me how lightly people take commitments these days. Even
Christians take their commitments lightly. Why is this? It could be because we have been
deficient in our teaching concerning these things. It could be that we have raised a
generation with no role models who took their commitments seriously. The problem is that
many of us are those role models. But I was always taught that a person was only as good
as his word. I was taught that if you said you would do something, you did it, even if it
was inconvenient and even if you did not want to do it. Now people feel no hesitation
whatsoever to bale out on even easy commitments.
But there is a vital link between character and behavior. How we behave tells us what
we believe. And if what you say you believe does not impact how you behave, then you
really don't believe what you think you do. Faith without works is dead, it is not real,
it is phony faith. This is why God will give to each person according to what he has
done. This is why God can fairly judge us on the basis of our behavior.
Without Favoritism
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. (vv. 9-11)
God's judgment will also come without favoritism. It does not matter who you
are, or what is your background. It doesn't matter if you have been religious, or
irreligious. It doesn't matter if you are wealthy or poor. It doesn't matter if you're
educated or uneducated. God is not impressed by degrees or by money. Your position in
society doesn't matter to God. Everyone will be judged impartially.
Favoritism is something we show to people we deem to be more worthy than others. But in
showing favoritism, we do not treat people fairly. But God will treat no one unfairly.
There will be no opportunity to accuse God of unjust judgment. Listen to what Paul says in
the following verses:
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
These verses (12-15) tell us that everyone will be fairly judged because, even by their
own standard of right and wrong, they are guilty. Some have the standards of God written
down in the Scriptures. Others, even though ignorant of the Scriptures, have those same
standards in their consciences. There is no where you can go on planet earth where peoples
do not have some standard of morality, many amazingly like our own. In every society,
however uneducated and illiterate, people still know that it is wrong to steal, or kill,
or lie. The moral commandments of God are written on the consciences of human beings. And
even though we have perverted our own consciences by adopting a lesser standard, everyone
stands guilty by failing to live by even that lesser standard. We are all without excuse.
We can be sure that God will sort all this out. No one will be able to accuse Him of
playing favorites. He is totally impartial and His judgment will be absolutely just.
Excluding Nothing
This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. (v. 16)
When people stand before God in the judgment, there will be nothing that escapes His
notice. All secrets will be known by Him. There is nothing that will be hidden.
There is nothing that will not be revealed.
What a scary thought. Everything you have done in secret, every thought you have ever
thought, every sinful desire you have indulged, every evil word you have spoken or
thought, every sin will be revealed. What a horrible day that will be for many!
This is why we will be without excuse. This is why Paul gives us this teaching in
Romans. Even though this doctrine of God's judgment seems like bad news, it is in fact
very necessary information that we should be glad we know. You see, when the ship is
sinking you need to abandon ship. If you do not know that the ship is going down, you will
never get off. Would you rather know that things are not OK and have a chance to escape,
or would you rather console yourself with the false impression that everything is all
right and drown?
Several years ago there was a book written called I'm O.K., You're O.K., which
became very popular. What we see from our passage is the message that says: "I am not
O.K. You are not O.K. No one is O.K." To know this may sound like bad news, and it
is. But to act based on that news is to be able to counteract the bad news with the good
news that Jesus Christ can change our destiny. You see, when you come to Christ in sincere
repentance and faith, He will forgive you for all your sins, even secret sins, and will
totally blot out that sin. The Bible teaches us that He remembers it no more. It will
never be brought up against you. So if you want to deal with the bad news, trust in the
good news. I like what James Boice said about this: "The most important thing in life
is to know that Jesus is able to save you from sin. The second most important thing is to
know that you require it." We need to know this. We need to act on it. We need to
share it with others. We all are without excuse. But God has made a way to escape. Jesus
Christ is that way.
Copyright (C) 1996 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of
the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without
charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.
This data file may not be copied in part (except for small quotations
used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any
commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products
offered for sale, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and e-mailed to J. David Hoke, at David@JDavidHoke.com.