The God of Grace Who Can't Be Fooled
Notes
Transcript
The God of Grace Who Can’t Be Fooled
The God of Grace Who Can’t Be Fooled
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. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 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? 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? 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.
This morning, we are back in our journey through Paul’s letter to the Romans and we begin a brand new chapter: chapter 2. It’s our 18th message in our journey through the letter and we’re only beginning the second chapter. If you have joined us since we began the journey back at the beginning of the year, you may be wondering why we would spend so much time in the trenches in one book of the Bible - I mean, ‘There are 66 books - why get bogged down here?’
Answer: because this book has made an impact on this world unlike any book in the history of the world, outside of the Bible - and even within the Bible, it’s impact is impossible to overstate.
It was one sentence from the book of Romans - a single sentence that converted Augustine, who became the most influential teacher in the history of the Christian Church. He was a brilliant orator, teacher … a rising star in the Empire … but he knew his life wasn’t right. His mother was a Christian and was faithfully praying for him, but Augustine was anything but a Christian - he lived for pleasure. One day, in agony of soul, feeling the conviction of God about the direction, the corruption of his life. He ran out of the house he was in - ran into the garden - the friend who was with him was afraid he was going to harm himself ....
… found himself sitting in a garden, under a fig tree, trying to find peace, when he suddenly heard the voice of a child, chanting: ‘Tolle, lege, Tolle lege’ (‘Take up and read’ take up and read’), through tears, he stumbled back to his room, opened the closest book - the Bible - started reading the first section his eyes fell on … and it just happened to be the 13th chapter of Romans, “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put … on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh”
He didn’t have to read any further - “… Instantly at the end of this sentence, by a light as it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the darkness of doubt vanished away.” The light of the truth of the glory of God in Christ drove the darkness away, Augustine was saved . One sentence from Romans was what the Holy Spirit used.
Martin Luther 1516 - was a monk, desperate to find hope and salvation - he was living in a monastery, teaching the Bible at university, but he wasn’t saved. But as he was teaching through Romans and as he got to Romans 1:17, he was overwhelmed by the glory of the Good News. Suddenly he got it … and he was transformed … and the Protestant Reformation flowed out of that fountain.
Two hundred years after that - 1738, John Wesley in England, goes to Aldersgate and someone is reading the Introduction to Luther’s commentary on Romans, and he’s transformed. His brother Charles is transformed - and the salvation of those two was an instrument in God’s hands to unleash what came to be known as the Great Awakening in England in America - which not only was a time of great revival in the Church, but had such an impact on the surrounding society that some scholars point to this as the difference that kept England from going the way of France in its bloody and violent French Revolution. Oh this letter has made an impact in history
Mission Frontiers Magazine, July/ August 2008:
One well-educated Muslim woman said to me recently, “It was not until I had read Romans that I understood the significance of the Gospels.” Then there is Revelation, which is one of the most popular books, because it speaks to them like their dreams do and describes the return of Jesus and the age to come. Woodberry’s (2007: 27) observation about them is that “as they study the Bible and meet with other disciples of Jesus, these two resources become increasingly important in their spiritual growth.”
Until we understand why we need the Gospel, until we understand why we need Jesus - the Jesus who Matt., Mk., Lk, and Jn tell us about - we won’t appreciate the glory of the GOOD NEWS of His coming.
And it isn’t surprising to me that today, as more and more people INSIDE the Church in the West are drifting away from an understanding of the message of the letter to the Romans - taking a ‘New Perspective’ on Paul - that they are drifting away from an understanding of the cross as the place where Jesus made a substitutionary atonement - trading that for some vague idea of the cross being a ‘victory’ … it’s no surprise to me that there is a directly correlating loss of wonder at the glory o Christ’s saving work … and an increasing popularity of the idea that Christianity is mostly about following Jesus’ teaching or His lifestyle).
Remember, the theme of the letter is Romans 1:16-17, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the POWER of God for salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
First thing Paul needs to do is show why we NEED the Good news - why we ne need that good news to be so POWERFUL. That’s why, from 1:18-3:20, the section we are in right now - Paul is driving home the point that we need such a powerful, saving Good News - because we are all born with a sin - nature - in rebellion against God and we are living out our days, under the wrath of a holy God.
Sinclair Ferguson: “Until we plumb the depths of our own sinfulness - we may sing, ‘Amazing Grace’, but we will never feel that grace IS AMAZING.” That’s what Paul is concerned to do here in Romans 1-3, when he takes us into the depths of our sin and need.
There is nothing more important for you to know than this, friend - not elections, not viruses - you solve all of these problems exactly to your liking - and you will do not a thing to impact your eternity. And forever is a long, long time.
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JUDGMENT
In verses 18-32 - of chapter 1, Paul is making the point that the Gentiles - unbelievers, are under the wrath of God - they have rejected Him, suppressed the truth about Him, they’ve chosen to worship the creature rather than the Creator. There is no excuse - they are under God’s judgment.
Their worship is corrupt, their sex lives are corrupt … and, in verses 29-31 of chapter 1, Paul spells out a list of 21 different evils that mark a society without God: “They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, mailce. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, (30) slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, (31) foolish, faithfless, heartless, ruthless.”
Remember what we saw when we were focusing on these verses - the end of chapter 1 is emphasizing that God’s wrath is NOT just some future cataclysmic judgment ahead - it is that - Romans 2:5 makes that clear, but God is ALREADY, RIGHT NOW demonstrating his wrath against human sin ... and he does it by handing them over to the rebellion they’ve already chosen. Hear this friend ...
Juet because lightning bolts haven’t rained down from the sky and the gound hasn’t opened up and swallowed anyone lately - doesn’t mean that there isn’t judgment from God.
Reminded of the Russian cosmonaut, Juri Gagarin, who became the first human to journey into outer space, achieving a major milestone in the Space Race, when his capsule, Vostok 1, completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961. It was widely reported that, as his capsule was up in space, Gagarin made the comment, “I don’t see any God up here.” (Now to be fair - his friends later said the cosmonaut didn’t say that at all and the phrase had originated from an anti-religion speech given by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev). Isn’t that a stunning thing to say … you are face to face with the magnificence of the heavenly bodies, looking down on a perfectly climatized earth, following the path of its orbit around the sun … and you say, “I see no God?!”
But isn’t that so much like people today: “I don’t see God’s wrath.” I want to ask, “Are you even looking at the society we’re living in? People don’t trust each other … people feel divided from each other - - we are losing the ability to disagree and debate ideas. Increasing tendency to belittle or even try to cancel the voices of people who don’t agree. What is that, but God handing over our culture to the sin it has already chosen rather than delighting in Him?
Paul is explaining the need for the Gospel - the POWERFUL Gospel - the righteousness of God, as 1:17 tells us - that is a gift FROM God - a righteousness that isn’t earned .. but is by faith - from first to last.
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2 JUDGMENT IN AN UNEXPECTED PLACE
That’s where chapter 2 picks up. In chapter 2, Paul changes his focus, from the heathen Gentiles, to speak directly to Jews that are listening. You need to know that to understand what’s going on here. Not Christian Jews, but Jews who may be in the church, or ones in Rome who are outside the church, that these Christians may know and want to witness to. Now, where do I get that from? You don’t find that spelled out in v. 1, but it will become more clear as we go through this chapter. Verse 17 makes it very clear, when Paul says, “BUt if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God … etc.”. So just keep that in mind as we think about our text this morning.
Paul is preaching God’s judgment on the pagan, unbelieving world, and can read his audience. He’s not physically with the Romans when they read the letter, but he’s been teaching for over 20 years - we have some teachers here. After awhile, you know exactly how your students are going to react. As he’s pointing to sin after sin among the ‘heathens’ … he can just hear the people in the audience cheering him on. With every sin he lists, he hears AMEN! “You tell them Paul - That’s exactly what they deserve!”
They are so unlike us - they’re idol worshipers … we’re the people of God - They get into all kinds of sordid depravity … we have God’s law. You tell them, Paul!
Verse 1, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges.” Mainly pointing to the Jews. Look back at chapter 1:20: “… So they are without excuse.” “God has made the truth about Himself clear through what He’s made in this world - so the Gentiles are without excuse for not worshiping Him.
Now, here in Romans 2:1, now he points to the Jews: “Therefore YOU have no excuse ...”. I can promise you this: that the Jews hearing Paul’s words in this verse, are absolutely staggered right about now.
These are the people who are in church every single week. These are the people who tithe off of everything they earn. These are the people who wouldn’t be caught dead in a pagan temple to Jupiter or any other debauched deity of the Roman pantheon. Not at all - these are the chosen people of God - set apart from all the nations of the earth to be in special relationship with Him. The one, true God of heaven is the One they worship week after week after week.
Paul reminds me, here, of what Nathan the prophet did to David - tells the story of a poor man who has nothing. His one possession is one, solitary lamb. This isn’t any lamb - it’s a pet - it’s part of the family. But there’s a rich man who has a guest over and wants to show off by making a fancy meal. He’s got a farm with lambs all over the place - he could cook 10 of them for dinner and wouldn’t feel a pinch. But no … he’s not going to use one of his animals … he goes to the poor man’s place, rips the lamb out of his hands … and slaughters it for dinner.
And the longer the story goes, the more you can see David getting hotter and hotter under the collar, more and more worked up … he gets redder and redder of face, until he can’t keep it in anymore … “THIS MAN MUST DIE!”
And immediately, Nathan turns his gaze to the king and points his finger right in the king’s chest and fearlessly declares: “YOU ARE THE MAN.” Except David didn’t just steal an animal - he took Uriah’s wife - his brave soldier and then he arranged to have Uriah killed to cover his tracks.
One moment, David is overflowing with self-righteous indignation … the next moment he’s on the ground, overwhelmed with his own sin. That wound from Nathan’s judgment is the wake up call for David that takes him from standing in pride, to on his face in repentance.
Painful surgery. But here in Romans 2, why is surgery necessary at all? What’s the problem?
Well, there are people who read up to hear and stop: “That’s the problem Paul’s addressing, right there: It’s ‘judgmentalism’.” In other words: ‘You are under judgment for judging others.
“Only God can judge. That’s the problem with Christians these days - they are so intolerant and judgmental.” And sure, there are Christians who proclaim Jesus Christ’s saving work and it comes across as anything but loving - anything but good news. But judgment itself isn’t the problem. It can’t be.
Notice what Paul is doing right here .... he’s judging. Jesus judged. He’s the one who said, “NOt everyone who says to me (on the last day), ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom.” “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life … NO one comes to the Father, except through me”. Jesus made these crystal clear judgments - and in the pluralistic society we live in today - where, over and over we have drummed into our heads, the voice of the world telling us: “Don’t judge” “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy” - “It doesn’t matter which pathway you follow or what you do … as long as you are sincere ....”. In this world of ours, it is right to make the judgment - that if you are not trusting in Jesus Christ, you are, right now, under God’s wrath!”
In fact, not only is it not wrong to proclaim that truth - it’s the loving thing to say - No matter what others tell you! If you are a spotter on the Titanic and you see danger in the waters ahead - is it loving to say - “hope everyone’s having a great night of dancing in the lounge tonight! Party on!”? NO - the most loving thing you can do is cry out at the top of your lungs, “ICEBERG!”
No, judgment itself isn’t the problem. Keep reading the text.
Verse 1, “For, in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things ....”. Ah, see it there. The Jews Paul is going after aren’t judged for making judgments - it’s right to recognize evil. No, what Paul is condemning is hypocricy - doing the very same things they are calling out in the Gentiles. The Bible doesn’t condemn judgment … the Bible condemns judgment that is contaminated by pride. When I stand on my lofty perch of self-righteousness and point out the failures of others - when I’m guilty of the very same things … THAT’S what the Bible condemns.
Look at v. 3, “Do you suppose, O man (or woman) - you who judge those who practice succh things (… here’s the point) … AND YET DO THEM YOURSELF - that you will escape the judgment of God?” The problem isn’t judging - the problem is judging and doing the same things.
But wait - these are good religious people … look at the list in Romans 1:29-31 .... Notice the way the evils are listed - - you have merder, haters of God, malice .... ruthless. Most of the morally upstanding religious people in Paul’s audience would be able to say, “Not guilty of that one or that one or that one ....”. But notice how mixed right in with those evils are what most of us would call - the little things: “covetousness … envy … boastful … foolish .... faithless.” Nobody gets out of this list alive.
Francis Schaeffer: ‘If a device were hung around our necks and that device recorded every single judgment we uttered our whole lives … and the, on the day of Judgment, God said, ‘I’m going to play back your own moral judgments. Let’s hear all the things you said were right or wrong. Now, did you live by your OWN moral judgments?” .... and every last one of us would have to say … No. No, I didn’t.
Now he hammers home his point. Verse 2: “We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.”
Nobody in Paul’s audience would reject that statement. There were all good Bible believers. And everyone who believes the Bible believes that there is a day coming, at the end of time, when God will judge evil. And oh, how we need that truth - no matter what mocking and disgust comes from an unbelieving world ‘out there’.
No matter what some, so-called ‘Christian teachers’ say, when they write books, proclaiming ‘Love Wins’ - as if nobody will be punished for sin anymore - because Jesus took care of every wrong committed by every person.
We can’t live in a world without justice - we can’t live in a world where God sees the absolute horrors that humans do to each other, in rebellion of Him - - and then shrug His shoulders, as if - “So what …?!”
That would drive a thinking person insane .... If God didn’t judge evil … He would NOT be righteous. He would not be holy .... He would not truly care about suffering … and how could you worship and delight in that kind of God?
Paul’s readers get that. What they DON’T get is that they’re not going to escape it themselves. And how we need to hear this, because Paul’s intended
STATS: 58 percent of Americans believe in hell - a place of torment (that’s much lower percent than the 72% who believe in heaven - but it’s still more than half of the population). I’m quite sure that the vast majority of the people who DO believe in hell, also believe that they are going to escape it - it’s for someone else. AL CAPONE - Notorious gangster … Al Capone, the Chicago gangland leader who for years was the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Public Enemy Number One” and ended up in Alcatraz. Capone was as sinister as they come, a hardened killer. But he said of himself, “I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them to have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.”
That’s what the Jews Paul’s speaking to think.
“We’re okay. We don’t need to fear God’s judgment - I mean, we are God’s chosen covenant people - God rescued our ancestors from slavery .. He gave the 10 commandments to US ...”.
Verse 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?”
The problem with these Jewish readers is that they look at the kindness of God to their ancestors - to their people over the centuries and millennia … as a sign that THEY are something special - NOT that God is someone whose grace is amazing.
They are like religious people in every age - who do their religious ‘stuff’ and practice their beliefs and all the while think: “Look at me! What a good boy am I!”
Whether the people of various religions who go to the temple on the proscribed days, or give generously to charity, or who live carefully and frugally to not leave too large a carbon footprint or eat meat ...
Or, the people who have grown up inside a solid, Bible teaching church, who are content to have a head filled with Bible verses and solid theology … as if that’s enough to please God.
Do you know the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
Do you know the importance of the Council of Nicea? Can you define Pelagianism and defend against it? Can you describe the theological truth at the heart of the Reformation?
If you can do all of that - God says to you, exactly what he says through Paul to the proud Jews listening in to Romans - “That’s not what I’m looking for. I want repentance!” Verse 4 again, “… 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.”
Without repentance, all of your religiosity and priviledged position is going to be as effective as a wet paper bag to keep you out of hell.
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3 THE WAY OUT - GOOD NEWS IN THE JUDGMENT
One of the precious things about the Bible is the way that God’s written Word gives us the full-orbed, big-picture, nuanced view of the Holy God of heaven. He is LOVE, but He also has wrath. John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In other words - God is holy and we are in danger of perishing - suffering eternal death. But God is also loving - so He gave His own Son.
Have you ever noticed that whenever people start doubting the Bible, explaining away what it says and trying to make God fit whatever the society of the day dictates … have you ever noticed how God always ends up being dumbed down … people are forever making God seem 1 dimensional. God either becomes a heavenly Grandpa - who spoils you with candy and doesn’t ever discipline? Or … you have God the Divine Policeman, who’s always on patrol - just waiting for you to step on the gas a little too much, so he can pull you over and punish you.
You need to cling to God’s written word because that’s what will keep your vision of God full and clear.
Look right here in our text this morning - we get a great example of it right here: If I asked you for a word that would summarize these first 5 verses of Romans 2, what would you come up with? Judgment? That would be a good choice. But don’t skip over the crucially important picture of God displayed in v. 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?”
Let the weight of this description of God hit you full force: “God is not just a little bit kind … He is RICH - WEALTHY in kindness.”
You can always tell how generous a kid is by how they respond to you when they’re eating candy. Maybe you stare at them eating until they can’t avoid your gaze and feel like they have to do something to get peace and quiet … “would you like some?” Maybe you just come right out and ask them: “Do you want to share some of your candy?” Either way, there are some who reach into their bag of treasure, pull out one, solitary M and M and carefully place it into your wide open hand. “There you go!”
You want to say, “Well, don’t overdo it, big spender.”
Then there are others who take their own precious bag, open the top up wide … and pour it out into your cupped hands until they overflow (Some of you have both types of people represented in your own family - among your own kids).
Our text is telling us that God isn’t ‘one-candy’ kind … He is ‘RICH in kindness” … and forbearance .... and patience. He’s a God of justice and there is a day of wrath coming when His righteous judgment will be revealed, verse 5 tells us. But He’s also a gushing water-fall of Grace and Love !
Hear this Christian - the God of GLory and Holy Judge is the God overflowing and drenching you with grace. And that is the only reason I’m standing before you this morning. It’s the only reason you are here, alive … today, sinner.
And He pours out His kindness - not so you can tread your dirty feet on His grace, but, as v. 4 ends … “… to lead you to repentance.”
Religion can’t save you. No amont of rituals followed, no amount of good works achieved … none of it can save because you are not. EVER. going to be sin-free. And the longer you content yourself with trying to impress God by your goodness … the more you are demonstrating a hard and impenitent heart that says, “I don’t need Jesus … just a little more time to prove myself.”
God’s Word says, “STOP, friend.” Lay down your tools and repent - turn away from your sin and pride … and turn to Jesus.