Romans 2:1-16
Notes
Transcript
Hypocrites
Hypocrites
Last week we talked about the wrath of God on the ungodly. God’s Wrath is poured out on sinners that are unrighteous, evil, wicked, greedy, murderers, gossips, slanderers, and haters of God. Everyone of us can agree that God’s Wrath needs to be poured out on those who commit these right?
But what about those who are not committing these atrocities?
We are all under the condemnation of Sin. Everyone! Sin is what separates us from God.
I love how Paul writes this letter he starts calling out all the Obvious sins that we talked about last week then stabs the dagger in the hearts of all the listeners. Pointing out that YOU are also under the Wrath of God as well.
So many times “Christians” are called hypocrites. Why is that?
Because so many times we are indeed hypocrites. We are the ones who are calling out sin in other peoples lives but yet we are still doing the exact same thing. Paul calls out the people who are judging others but in their own lives they are doing the exact same thing. Hypocrisy is not some new thing that has been happening for just a little while. It has been happening forever. We even are hypocrites in someway or another, but we never want to admit it. This is key because this shows that everyone is under the wrath of God.
Rom.
1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Paul even adds us under the umbrella that are under God’s Wrath. We are all under the judgement of God. Because we are all sinners against a Holy God. Paul calls out those who are judging and condemning others to Hell but they themselves are doing the same thing.
This brings up the time when I was in college and these people would come to the Drill Field and start telling people that they were going to go to Hell. Was this person correct in saying this probably to the majority of the people around him but the reason he was calling people out was because of trivial things.
There would be girls wearing Nike shorts and he would tell them they are going to hell because their shorts are too short. One of my friends went and talked to these people and one of them said that he has never sinned. That is when I told him that he was a complete liar and what he is proclaiming is completely false. WE ARE ALL SINNERS.
We tend to look at God as a completely loving God who if we come to church on Sundays then we can live however we want in the week. We might even point out the sins in others lives. BUT that is not the kind of repentance and kindness God has gifted to us. When God gifted us salvation we in turn should love and start to become more like Him.
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
ESV
In this parable Jesus is calling out those who think that they are better than everyone else. Very similarly to what Paul is doing in Romans. The Pharisees were praying by putting down the tax collector basically saying God thank you for not letting me be like those other people over there. Where as the tax collector came in his own faults and prayed that God would be merciful to a sinner. The funny thing is that the Pharisees was praying thinking he was better than the tax collector but in God’s eye the Tax Collector was far superior because he prayed out of reliance on God.
Paul is not saying that we should not Judge others but he is condemning those who judge and are not in right standing before God.
Another story of this comes from 2 Samuel. This is after David has had his fair share of mess ups and God called Nathan to go and confront David about his sins. Listen to what Nathan tells David and how David responds.
1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
2 sam. 12
David was not wrong in accusing the rich man of doing wrong but he was completely wrong for condemning the rich man whenever he was guilty of doing the exact same thing with Uriah.
Paul is writing to both the gentiles and Jews and saying that God judges all people the same way and that He judges based on his own truth.
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
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.
The second way God evaluates people is through their works. This is not saying that we have to work for salvation but that God judges everybody based on what they are doing.
luke
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
God judges everybody equally and those who are following after God and doing what he says and being saved will have eternal life. But those who couldn’t care less about the things of God will inevitably face the wrath and fury of God.
Everybody is going to be judged by God. EVERYBODY. Depending on your choices here depend on how you are judged.
God allows does not condemn everybody to Hell because He wants to but rather He is loving enough to make away for us to have fellowship with him.
Paul finally adds that God does not show any partiality towards Jew nor Gentile. Jews are God’s chosen people but when God judges he judges equally. Which also shows that God allows anyone to be in fellowship with Him.
13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
The Jews in this time thought of themselves as being higher and mightier than the lowly gentile and that the gentiles since they do not have the mosaic law that they will automatically be condemned to a more severe punishment. Paul then explains that though they do not know the actual law. They have the law written on their own hearts. This is more of the moralistic law rather than the 10 commandments. The moralistic law is you conscience. God is saying that your conscience is what guides unbelievers.
rom. 2:
13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous. 14 For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, although they do not have the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts one after another accusing or even defending them
Paul ends his tirade about how all people will be judged by God by flowing into the Gospel. We who are saved are all going to be judged but our judgement comes through Jesus Christ.
God ultimately judges us by either being through Christ or not. We either are saved or we are not there is no middle ground. Last week we talked about God giving over those who keep on rejecting the Holy Spirit. Those who keep rejecting God are the ones who suffer the ultimate wrath of God in Hell.
There is only one way to evade the wrath of God. You can not be good enough to enter into heaven. Just like the Jews were expecting themselves to not be under the wrath of God because of their good standing, we can only be saved through Jesus.