REBC Adult Bible Study - Romans 2
Notes
Transcript
Background on
Background on
Good evening church
Please turn your Bibles to
As we continue our study of the Epistle to the believers in Rome
This chapter focuses on the impracticality of God...
This chapter also focuses on hypocrisy and the law of God
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we dive into the text...Please join me one more time in prayer before we start
Reading:
Reading:
Verse 1: Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
The same people who pass judgement on other...
Therefore you have no excuse, beveryone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
Condemning them on their own...
And taking the role that is only ment for God...
Are not true and genuine belivers
Why?
Because a believer is not interested in condemning...
A believer is interested in building other up or reaching the lost
When we are transformed...
We have an unquenchable desire to reach others and present the gospel message
Judgement is not the same a rebuking someone’s ungodly sinning
The only time this desire will
Judgement is not pointing out sin in someone else’s life for the sack of teaching them God’s commands
Judgment is when we condemn a person while we too are in sin and hypocrites
Judgment is done for selfish reasons and not motivated by love or concern
Verse 2: And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
God’s perfect judgment will fall on those who are hypocrites...
And those who judge others
All who practice evil habitually will fall under God’s judgement...
For they never knew him
Verse 3: But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
We are being foolish if we think we can escape God’s judgement...
Especially when we ourselves judge others yet do the same as those who we judge
Another person may sin differently than us or have a different weakness
That is not grounds to judge someone
Remember Jesus’ words in
1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
We need to first remove the log in our own eye or the sin in our life...
In order to help others with there sin...
And remembering never to condemn them...
For God is the only true and final judge
Verse 4: Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
When we act as hypocrites...
We take lightly God’s kindness...
We take lightly God’s tolerance...
We take lightly God’s patience
We also don’t truly understand...
That God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience all leads to our repentance
If God judged us right when we sinned...
None would servive
Take a look at Adam and Eve
When they sinned, they where told they would die and they did…eventually
If God had them die instantly...
None of us would exist...
But God had mercy
And now we can repent of our sins due to this mercy He shows us
Verse 5: But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Being stubborn to the truth of God leads to a building up of wrath against ourselves
On judgement day, if we have not repented and surrendered to Jesus...
We will experience this built up wrath
However, if we surrender to the King of Kings...
This built up, tower of wrath will still be released...
But instead of falling on us, it will come upon Jesus who takes on the sins of those who trust in Him
Verse 6: Who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
This is in reference to and
If our life produces rotten fruit or wicked deeds...
It is a reflection of our ungodly life
If our life produces fruits and good deeds...
It is a reflection of a righteous life
It should really be no surprise where our life is leading us
What do your deeds say about you?
Remember what James says in his letter...
18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Our works are a by product of our genuine faith
Questions or Comments?
Reading:
Reading:
Verse 7: To those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;
Those that practice righteousness...
Those who do good...
Those who live a life that produces good fruit...
They do this with great perseverance...
Guided by the Holy Spirit
This is impossible to do without God’s help
Those who appear to do good on the outside but are not believers...
Always do good for a selfish intent
But those who produce genuine good fruit...
Do so for the glory and honor of God
And by this they will receive immortality and eternal life
Verse 8: But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.
However, those who have selfish ambitions...
Those who do not obey truth...
Those who practice all manners of unrighteousness...
Those who practice all manner of indignation...
That is those who assume they are being treated unfairly, but they are not...
They will not receive eternal life...
No, they have another fate...
As we continue in verse 9...
Verse 9: There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,
Those who do evil...
They will suffer tribulation...
They will suffer distress...
They will receive eternal damnation
This applies to both Jews and gentiles
Verse 10: But glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Those who do good...
They will be rewarded with honor...
They will be rewarded with peace...
A eternal peace between them and God
Again, this applies to both Jews and gentiles
Verse 11: For there is no partiality with God.
As we saw in verses 9 and 10...
God is not partial whether one is a Jew or a gentile...
God looks at your faith...
Is your faith in worldly matters or matters of God...
Do you really believe?
What do your actions look like?
Remember they show us a person’s real alligence
Are we God’s or a part of the World
Your background does not matter
Because, there is no partiality with God
Questions or Comments?
Reading:
Reading:
Verse 12: For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;
Those “without the Law” are gentiles...
For God did not make a covenant with them or reveal His Law to them, at first
Those “under the Law” are the Jews
God choose them...
God made a covenant with them...
And God revealed His Law to them
However, whether you sin without the Law or under the Law...
You will still be judged by the Law or perish without the Law
Ignorance or knowledge of the Law does not play a factor
Breaking the Law of God must be punished...
No matter the person’s background or knowledge of His Laws and commandments
All lawbreakers will meet the same fate
Verse 13: For it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.
Knowing the Law and doing nothing with it is worthless...
This will still lead to condemnation...
It is those that both know the Law and do the Law that will be justified
And we will only be able to do the Law if we are transformed...
If we have a helper and comforter...
Only if we have the Holy Spirit...
And we will only receive the Holy Spirit...
If we place our trust in Jesus
He must be our Lord if He is to be our Savior
Verses 14-15: For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
Without knowing the written law of God…
People in pagan society generally value and attempt to practice its most basic tenets
This is normal for cultures instinctively to value justice, honesty, compassion, and goodness toward others, reflecting the divine law written in the heart
When it says “law to themselves” it means that although pagans practice some good deeds...
And their aversion to some evil ones demonstrate an innate knowledge of God’s law
This knowledge is a knowledge that will actually witness against them on the day of judgment
How do we know this?
10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Verse 16: On the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
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Verse 16: On the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
On judgement day...
According to the gospel message...
God will judge the very thoughts and secrets of all mankind...
Which as we have seen from our text in is that we are all sinners...
Whether we have the Law or if we don’t
And the Jews, who had the Law will be condemned by the Law
Questions or Comments?
Reading:
Reading:
Verse 17: But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God,
For those who identify as Jewish...
Or in our modern day...
Those who identify as Christian...
Do we rely on the Law and Commands of God?
Do we boast in our amazing God?
Paul continues in the next verse...
Verse 18: And know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,
Do we know God’s will?
Do we approve of the things that are the most essential...
The matters of God?
Do we instruct other based on what the Law says?
Or again in other words...
Do we instruct others based on what the Bible says?
Paul continues with his point...
Verse 19: And are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
Do we view ourselves as a guide to those who are lost?
Do we view ourselves as light to those who are in darkness?
Remember what Jesus said...
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Does this describe our lives?
Paul continues into the next verse...
Verse 20: A corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,
Do you consider yourself someone who corrects those who act foolish?
Do you work at teaching the immature?
Do we use the Law, or the Scriptures to lead them to true knowledge and truth?
And now Paul really turns up the heat and further challenges us as those who follow God...
Verses 21-22: You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Even if we are teaching the right things...
Are we applying those lessons to our lives?
Are we being hypocrites?
Are we essentially saying...
Do as I say not as I do?
Verse 22: You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Paul then sums up his last point in the next verse...
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Verse 23: You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?
If we boast in the Law...
If we boast in the commands of God...
If we boast in Scripture...
Yet break the Law and the commands and the Scriptures...
Then have we not realized all we really did was dishonor our Holy God
The ramifications of this dishonor is great...
Paul says in verse 24...
Verse 24: For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.
Paul, quoting ...
Says that by our false claims of being a follower of God...
We lead others to blaspheme God
This is what the gentiles did...
Because of the hypocrisy of the Jews
If we claim to follow Jesus but act as hypocrites...
Then it proves we are not truly His followers...
And in addition to this...
We will lead other to curse God for we would have misrepresented who He truly is
Remember what Jesus says in ...
16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
Questions or Comments?
Reading:
Reading:
Verse 25: For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
Circumcision represented a covenant with God
In this covenant one must follow the Laws and commands of God
If one was circumcised but lived a life in rebellion against God...
Then it is as if the circumcision never happened
Again, if we want to apply this to the new covenant...
We can look to baptism that is an outward sign to others of following God
However, if you disobey God and live a wicked life...
You so called “profession of faith” and the “baptism” that followed was worthless
You where never really born again
Verse 26: So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
So in our case, as gentiles...
If one is uncircumcised but follows God’s commands...
Then that person will be regarded as being circumscribed in God’s eyes
In other words...
Or another way of putting it...
God will regard the believing Gentile as favorably as a circumcised, believing Jew
They will be recognized
Verse 27: And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?
A Gentile’s humble obedience to the law should serve as a stern rebuke to a Jew...
Who, in spite of his great advantages, lives in disobedience
Verse 28: For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
One is not a true child of God just because they are an ancestor of Abraham
It has nothing to do with our flesh
However, it has to do with what is inward as it says in the next verse...
Verse 29: But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
The one who is a true child of God and a true spiritual descendant of Abraham...
Have a genuine circumcision of the heart
Salvation results from the work of God’s Spirit in the heart...
Not mere external efforts to conform to His law...
For by this we will receive something far greater than the praise of men...
We will receive the praise of God, meaning we will be justified and in right standing with Him
Questions or Comments?
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer