God’s Righteous Judgment
March 2nd, 2008 • Posted in Messages/Sermons • 494 viewsGOD’S RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT
Romans 2:1-16
Key Verse: 2:5
“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.”
In the preceding passage, 1:18-32, Paul showed how God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all humankind who suppressed the truth by not acknowledging God as God or giving thanks to Him. He was saying that all of us are in big trouble because of our willful rebellion against God. This doesn’t sound like good news. Why does Paul raise such uncomfortable issues in his gospel letter, such as God’s wrath against humankind, sexual impurity, perversion, depravity and God’s punishment? It’s because without confronting our spiritual reality, we cannot truly experience the joy of salvation and transformation in our lives. In today’s passage, Paul again challenges us with the subject of God’s righteous judgment upon humankind. According to 2:1-16, there are three aspects of God’s judgment.
FIRST, GOD’S JUDGMENT IS INESCAPABLE (1-4)
Look at verse 1. “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.” One of the chronic problems of religious and moralistic people is that they are very critical and judgmental of others. D.L. Moody and Spurgeon were both great preachers of the nineteenth century. D.L. Moody admired Spurgeon from a distance and looked forward to meeting him in London. On that historic day, Spurgeon answered the door with a cigar in his mouth, because he was a heavy smoker. Moody was disgusted and said, “How could you, a man of God, smoke that?” Spurgeon took the cigar from his mouth, smiled, put his finger on Moody’s inflated stomach, and said, “The same way you, a man of God, could be that fat.” We like to make comments about others. Sometimes we tend to be sarcastic and critical. It’s not that we shouldn’t have any moral, ethical and spiritual discernment. However, some people seem to actually take pleasure in finding faults. Perhaps they feel superior by pointing out weaknesses in others. However, we should be extremely careful.
Why shouldn’t we be judgmental? We shouldn’t be judgmental because we are hardly qualified to judge others. First of all, we are biased and blind to our own terrible weaknesses. Look at verse 2 and 3. “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?” In 1:18-32, Paul described the degradation of fallen humankind. Their sinful behaviors are indeed despicable. However, according to Paul, we, as mere men and women, shouldn’t be judgmental of them. Why not? It’s because nobody is perfect. For example, when people kept on questioning Jesus whether or not they should stone the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, he said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (Jn 8:7) At this, people began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left. No one is qualified to pass judgment on others.
We shouldn’t be judgmental of others also because God is the only qualified Judge. James 4:12 reads, “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbor?” Romans 14:4 also reads, “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let Him judge whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord’s help, they will do what is right and will receive his approval.“(NLT) Judgment belongs to God.
What should we do when we find something wrong in our brothers and sisters? We should first examine ourselves before God and repent of our own sins. We should guide them to the truth in love, humility and sensitivity. Jesus said in Matthew 7:3-5, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” The word “Hypocrite” derived from Greek word “hupokrites” which means an actor under an assumed character. We don’t say that someone is hypocritical when they make a mistake or fail to be perfect. We are hypocritical when we judge others, pretending that we are perfect even though we are not. A judgmental attitude is malignant to our spirit and soul because it darkens our spiritual discernment and builds a mental and spiritual block in us.
Behind people’s judgmental attitude lies a more serious problem, that is that they don’t think that they will be judged by God. Look at verses 4 and 5. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubborn-ness 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 does not punish us whenever we sin or make a mistake. For example, when someone steals something from others, God does not strike him down right away. Why not? It’s because God is patient. Some people, however, may assume that since God does not punish them right away, they may never be punished for their sins. They assume that God is too kind and much too loving to punish anybody. Some people even make use of the Scripture to their advantage by quoting a statement like, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” (Psalm 103:8) “God is good all the time.” That’s misquoting the Bible. According to Paul, that’s one way of showing contempt for God. God is kind and patient with us because He wants to give us more space in which we can repent and be saved, not to give us an excuse for more sinning. No one can escape from God’s judgment. Instead, we must all stand before Christ to be judged. In fact, God’s wrath is increasing against sinners who refuse to repent.
SECOND, GOD’S JUDGMENT IS RIGHTEOUS (6-11)
In verses 6-16, Paul describes several principles of God’s judgment. What are they? First of all, God will deal with what every person really did. (6; Mt 16:27) Look at verse 6. “God will give to each person according to what he has done.” This is a standard way of judgment. God will not deal with what we intended or hoped or wanted to do. Many people make excuses for their wrong doings by saying “I didn’t mean to do it.” But God’s does not buy that kind of excuse. God’s judgment is based on what we really did in our lives. Each of us will receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. (2 Corinthians 5:10) Actually, we experience this kind of judgment in our lives. For example, those who study and work hard in school are rewarded and those who don’t are punished. We cannot expect to get ‘A’s when we only goof off.
Verses 7-10 elaborate on God’s standard of judgment described in verse 6. Read verses 7-10. “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. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Based on these verses, we see that there are two destinations for human kind: one is eternal life with glory, honor and peace and the other is God’s awful judgment with God’s wrath and anger.
With what basis will our destination be determined? It’s the combination of what we seek and what we do in life. God does not see what school we attended or what degree we received or what country we came from or what skin color we have. God sees what we sought after and what we did in service either of ourselves or of others. Many people today think that it’s okay to live for themselves as long as they don’t harm others. But that’s not good enough before God. In fact, many people are infatuated with themselves and engrossed in self-centered goals. But by doing so, they are rejecting the truth of God and following evil. Living a self-centered life seems harmless but it’s a serious rebellion against God’s truth because it’s suppressing the truth that we are to live for the glory of our Creator God.
We must realize that what is important to men is not necessarily important to God. The true basis of judgment is not whether we are a Jew, a Greek, Russian or American, or whether we look good and are successful or not. The true basis of God’s judgment is what we really do in our lives. What do you do with your life? Do you live for yourselves or for others? Do you seek your own selfish ambition or struggle to obey God’s will? Fundamentally speaking, God does not see whether we are a Jew, a Catholic, a Protestant, a Muslim, a Liberal or a Conservative. God sees and judges according to what we have done in life. This is equal justice for all humankind before God’s judgment.
THIRD, GOD’S JUDGMENT IS IMPARTIAL (12-16)
The question Paul might have faced at this point is; since the Jews were more privileged than the Gentiles because they heard the law of Moses while the Gentiles had never heard of it, some might have argued, “If God judges the Gentiles and the Jews alike, isn’t God’s judgement unfair?” Paul’s answer to this question is “No. God’s judgment is fair.”
Let’s read verses 12-15. “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.)” According to Paul’s argument, there is no fundamental distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles in the moral knowledge they have.
Even though the Gentiles did not have the Mosaic Law, they still have a law that instructed them about what is right and what is wrong. For example, murdering, stealing and lying are considered to be wrong everywhere in the world, regardless of geographical location, culture and religion. In addition to this, Gentiles also have consciences, which is installed in their minds. Although conscience has no preprogrammed data in it, whatever a person experiences programs his or her conscience. If he or she learns that lying is wrong, his or her conscience will bring that information to his mind. Although this conscience may not be perfect, it’s still a great help as we seek to live life morally. It’s a part of God’s natural revelation in all humankind. In every human community, there is a basic recognition of the difference between right and wrong, and an accepted set of values. Conscience is not infallible, and standards are influenced by cultures. But what Paul was saying in verses 12-15 is that the Gentiles and the Jews are alike under God’s condemnation because of their failure to live up to their moral standards. No one can say before God, “I am not guilty.” Because of our sins, we are under God’s wrath and anger.
God will give to each person according to what he or she has done. At the end of each semester, we get our report card. Likewise, in the last day, each of us will be evaluated based on our motives and deeds. Are we good enough? Are we confident about yourselves before God?” Are you heading to receive eternal life or condemnation? These are very uncomfortable and intimidating questions to ask. We don’t want to ask these kinds of questions. But isn’t it better to confront the reality now and be prepared for eternity?
Verse 16 is the conclusion of the section, which is even more challenging. Look at verse 16. “This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.” When Paul preached the gospel, he didn’t just say good-sounding words, trying to satisfy the itching ears of his audience. He didn’t just preach a health and wealth gospel. Instead, he declared that God will judge the secrets of men and women through Jesus Christ. Secrets! Who doesn’t have secrets? God’s judgment will not be superficial and incomplete. He will definitely include the hidden areas of our lives, which only God and I know about. God knows everything about us. Recently, one of the hall of fame baseball players denied the allegation that he had used steroids and the Human Growth Hormone. Who wants to expose his or her deep secrets? But whether we want it or not, we will have to give an account before God for everything we did and every careless word we spoke. We will be judged based on what we have done.
We must know that the world is already under God’s condemnation, and those who sinned against God are already under God’s wrath and anger. And the worst thing is that God’s final judgment is coming. We don’t know when it will occur to us. But God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this world not to condemn it again but to save it from condemnation. God is patient with us because he wants all men to repent and receive the gift of salvation. All of us are in desperate need of God’s mercy and the grace of forgiveness of sins. Therefore, we should not be judgmental of others. We are not in the position to judge anybody. We should examine ourselves before God and repent of our sins, embrace others and support them in prayer. The Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. What can wash away all our sins? Money? Fame? Human success? Good work? Strong will-power? No. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away all our sins. May the Lord help us to build a healthy and supportive community of love among us and reach out to every soul in New York, especially teenagers and college students.
