"The Kindness of God’s Judgement" Romans 2:1–16

If you want to follow along, we'll be in chapter 2 of Romans.

When we have no movie to watch or we're in between series,

! we find ourselves going back to a quick episode of Seinfeld.

And we watched one this past week where George,

if you know anything about the characters, George, he is ridiculous and neurotic.

He's my favourite character for sure.

But he is trying to get out of a charity event that is in honour of his recently deceased fiancé

by lying to her parents that he just purchased a place in the Hamptons.

And he had to go there over the time of the event and sign the papers.

And they hummed and hawed, okay, no problem, and he got out of it.

And then it turns out that his would-be in-laws see him at a hot dog stand, of all places,

and they know he was lying.

And then George finds out that they lied to him, and he's incensed that they would lie to him,

even though he lied to them.

It's ridiculous.

It's outrageous.

It's top-notch George.

But as absurd as it is, I think this is the beauty of good writing,

it illustrates how shocking hypocrisy can be.

It shows that we have this propensity to pass judgement on people,

even though we do the very same thing as them, maybe even worse things.

It's a very serious problem.

It's one that is very pervasive, and it exposes the fact that,

no matter how moralistic or upright we think we are,

we really truly have no moralistic laurels to stand upon.

So if you remember a couple weeks ago,

Romans chapter 1, the Apostle Paul makes clear that mankind is idolatrous and antagonistic against God and his just rule.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

And that God's judgment, at least in this life,

his just judgment is to hand them over to what they truly want.

And what does it result in?

A debased desires, passions, and a mind.

This is from chapter 1, 18 to the end of the chapter.

So in chapter 2, he will show us that this idolatry and rejection of God goes far deeper than just bad behaviour.

And how the moralistic and religious person does not have a leg to stand on,

for the judgment of God upon these people is alive and well.

So we're going to take some time to go through the first half of chapter 2, verses 1 to 16.

And we're going to learn some things about the justice and judgment of God.

We're going to learn first that it is inescapable.

We're going to learn also that it's impartial, and that it is incredibly just.

And I'll just say this.

Judgment is a very difficult thing.

Nobody wants to be judged.

And we look at other people as being, if they are judgy, as like a cardinal sin.

But the judgment of God that we're going to encounter in the text this morning

is an expression of his kindness.

And in fact, in many respects, we do not get salvation without God's judgment.

So it is a very good thing, and it is critical for us to understand.

So if you have a scripture journal, turn with me, verse 1 of chapter 2,

and we'll look at how the judgment of God is inescapable.

Let's read verses 1 and 2.

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.

So in light of all that Paul said in the previous chapter,

it would be easy for the moral and upright person to feel pretty good about themselves.

They have desires that are in check.

Their passions are controlled.

Their minds are sober, or so they think.

They would say, God would say to them, the Apostle Paul is saying to them,

you, every one of you, is actually a judgmental hypocrite.

For your righteousness is really a self-righteousness,

which means it is a mile wide and an inch deep,

and worst of all, it cannot save you.

Why is this self-righteousness not a fail-safe?

Why is it not a means of salvation?

Because as we are critical of others for their poor behavior,

whatever that poor behavior is,

we often give ourselves a pass.

We have double standards.

For others, those standards are impossibly high,

and for ourselves, they are comfortably low.

We have this incredible ability to rationalize our behavior as not being so bad.

In the example I gave from Seinfeld,

George is a master, first-degree liar and deceiver.

And he, it's a part of who he is.

It's no problem.

Yet his would-be in-laws,

all they do is don't let in, or let on that he's lying,

and he's incensed.

And it's funny in a situation, a sitcom like Seinfeld,

but we find ourselves, if you're honest, doing the same thing.

The standards for others are up here,

but you get a pass.

In preparation for this sermon,

I thought about a very judgmental person

who would do well to read and meditate upon this section of Scripture.

Surely, if they read it,

they would find themselves condemned,

especially reading verses 1 to 4.

In fact, this person needed this so desperately

because their judgmentalism was hurting others,

and it had to stop.

I promise you, this was my thought process going through this

on a certain day this week when I was in the text studying.

And I found that,

and maybe this is God and his kindness,

that I was being just as judgmental,

if not more,

than the person that I was having this thought experiment about.

That I was passing judgment on them

as if I were God himself.

Their judginess, bad.

Mine, totally justified.

I know what's right.

I'm a minister.

I'm reading the Bible.

They need to get in here.

This Scripture needs to be like a wake-up call,

like a bucket of cold water in their face to wake them up.

And yet, here I was condemning them

as if I were God himself.

I found, wow, this Scripture is unbelievably true.

The standards for them, way higher.

For me, way down here.

And I'll just say this.

This isn't a text that means that we can't pass a type of judgment

that seeks to call people to holiness in a humble way.

But rather, this is a pseudo-divine judgment.

A judgment that, again, says that,

you know, God might have to share his judgment seat with us

because of our incredible ability to see right from wrong.

Therefore, if people stand condemned by our standard,

God is saying in our text

that he will judge us according to our standard.

In fact, he will judge us according to his standard.

So if they stand condemned, surely we do as well.

So why do we do this?

I think the big reason why we do this

is because we have this desire

to maintain our self-righteousness

and not deal with our sin.

We like to excuse ourselves.

We don't want to deal with the difficult behavior that we have

because there's a level of indignity to it,

and embarrassment to it,

that we aren't willing to spare other people from.

We think we can have our cake and eat it too.

And can we get away with it?

It would seem so.

God is giving those shameful, sinful people over,

remember verse one,

over to their debased desires and passions

and their debased minds.

Yet here we are upright.

So surely if God isn't judging us

like those shameful people,

then maybe he's giving us a pass.

God does not judge me,

for there is nothing to judge.

But look with me at verse three and four,

for Paul completely destroys that line of thinking.

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?

It turns out that the self-righteous amongst us,

the people beside you,

maybe you yourself,

such acts are just as much a rejection of God

as the rejection of God described in chapter one.

So we stand condemned.

We think we will escape God's judgment

because we think

that not feeling the consequence

of our judgmental and self-righteous hypocrisy

is God potentially giving us license to sin.

But really, Paul says,

it's God allowing us time to repent,

to understand the errors of our ways

before his perfect judgment falls on us.

Why?

Because he is kind.

Because he is loving.

God's judgment is often delayed,

but it is never negated.

It is inescapable.

For the one who is deserving of judgment,

God will not ultimately let it pass.

As we saw a couple weeks ago in chapter one,

God's judgment actually is what makes

God's righteousness righteous.

For evil is rightly and justly dealt with

wherever it is to be found.

And yet we see the refrain throughout the Bible

that God is long-suffering.

He is patient.

And this is part of his very character

so that we would have, again,

this opportunity to turn from our self-worship

towards worship of him.

But here we are.

Some of us have been Christians

for as long as we can remember.

Some of us have become Christians

only maybe in the last, say, five years

or maybe less.

Some of us,

even though we would say we're Christians,

maybe we're outside of the Christian faith.

Wherever it may be,

where you find yourself at this morning,

what we all try to do is find refuge

in God's character,

presuming that he treats our sin

the way we treat it,

with comfortably low standards.

But again, this is taking refuge

in a false vision of who God is.

What it does is it emphasizes the mercy

at the expense of holiness.

The gospel reading that I read

from Matthew chapter 4.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

What does Satan tempt Jesus with?

With scripture,

but always elevating one scripture

at the expense or in contradiction

of the other.

So we can't talk about God's mercy,

God's mercy, God's mercy, God's mercy,

God's mercy,

and somehow forget to talk

about God's holiness.

God is not a collection of his attributes

where God is loving,

God is merciful,

God is holy,

but maybe we can emphasize one or the other.

Rather, classical theology will say

that God is his attributes.

And what does that mean?

It means that we cannot pick and choose

the attributes of God

that we're cool with

or that we're not cool with.

If we do this,

what we are doing

is entering into a form of idolatry

where we are fashioning God

into an image that we are okay with

or that we like.

We are sanding off the rough edges

of who God is

or what he is demanding of us

or the consequences of our sin.

You see, it is not just those

in chapter 1

who are the idolatrous ones,

but us as well.

The upright people,

the moralistic people.

This is not a faith issuing

from a transformed heart,

but the exchange of the truth of God

for a lie

so that our hearts

can remain hard

and cold towards him

so that we can get on

with our lives

and suppress the guilt

that we may feel

until we don't feel it.

Verse 5.

You see,

God's patience

does not mean we get off

scot-free,

scot-free.

Rather, it just means that we are

going to face an even greater judgment

when the day comes.

You see,

hard hearts that think

we are the exception

to the rule

are not hard hearts

that will endure

God's just judgment.

And unfortunately for us,

this is a perennial problem

for every woman and man.

We are fooled

if we think God

will show us partiality.

It's heavy,

but it needs to be said

that God will not show us

partiality

and that his judgment

is inescapable.

How then can we gain

a soft heart

so that we can avoid

the day of wrath?

To avoid God's

just judgment

against us.

Look with me

at verses 6 and 7.

This enters

into our second point

that God's judgment

is impartial.

Verses 6 and 7.

6, 7, and 8.

God will render

to each one

according to his works.

To those who,

by patience

in well-doing,

seek for glory

and honor

and immortality,

he will give

eternal life.

But for those

who are self-seeking

and do not obey

the truth

but obey unrighteousness,

there will be

wrath and fury.

Is this a recipe

for a soft heart?

To do good works

so that we would

be righteous

in God's sight?

I mean,

even with God's help,

is this not a kind

of righteousness

brought about

by self-improvement?

And if the entire

verses 1 to 5,

that first half,

had to do with

those that think

that they could

self-righteously

become righteous

in God's sight,

and as such,

they're described

with having a hard

heart,

then why does

the solution here

in verses 6 to 8

seem to be that

we need to work

harder to do good

so that God would

somehow give us

eternal life?

What's happening here?

Is Paul contradicting

himself?

These are important

questions to consider.

I think it's helpful

for us to understand

that Paul is a

Bible scholar.

He knows the Bible

inside and out,

and what he is doing

here is quoting

a line found

throughout Scripture

that God will

render to each

according to his

works, but

specifically, he is

looking at Psalm 62

Psalms 62:12

verse 12.

So a good question

to ask, therefore,

is what is Psalm 62

all about?

Psalm 62,

just really quickly,

verse 12 is where

we get this

quotation, and

Psalm 62 verse 12

Psalms 62:12

says this,

right at the end,

for you will render

to a man according

to his works.

You will render

to a man according

to his works.

Very similar language

as we see in verse 6.

And yet, Psalm 62,

written by King David,

opens up verses 1 and 2

with this,

for God alone

my soul waits

in silence,

from him comes

my salvation,

he alone is my rock

and my salvation,

my fortress,

I shall not be

greatly shaken.

Verses 5 and 8

of Psalm 62 says,

for God alone,

O my soul,

wait in silence,

for my hope

is from him.

He only is my rock

and my salvation,

my fortress,

I shall not be shaken.

On God rests

my salvation

and my glory,

my rock,

my refuge,

is God.

Trust in him

at all times,

O people.

Pour out your heart

before him.

God is a refuge

for us.

Therefore,

it would seem,

taken,

if we take that whole Psalm,

all 12 verses,

and we consider

what these works

are in verse 12

of Psalm 62

that Paul is quoting here

in Romans chapter 2

Romans 2:6

verse 6,

I think we can be

sure that Paul

doesn't have

in mind

a righteousness

that is brought about

by our works,

but rather

a type of works

that are in

a right response

to the salvation

of God.

That God saves us,

he is our fortress,

he is our refuge,

we find our salvation

in him

and in him alone

and what do we do

as a result?

As an expression

of that love

and thankfulness

that flows from salvation,

we do good works,

we follow him,

we obey him.

The Apostle James

says something very similar

in chapter 2,

verse 26

of his epistle,

James 2, 26,

For as the body

apart from the spirit

is dead,

so also faith

apart from works

is dead.

If you were here

on Ash Wednesday

for the exhortation

at the beginning

of the service,

there was a line

that I read,

the faith that saves

is the same faith

that seeks to obey.

So again,

going back to verses

6 and 7,

it would seem

that Paul is referring

to this very thing.

He is referring

to those

who are seeking

glory,

honor,

and immortality,

doing good works

in response

to the salvation

that God has already

given because this

is the way God

gives salvation

throughout both

Testaments.

God didn't just

flip a switch

in the New Testament

or turn off

the road

and take a different

kind of path

for us

so that we could

find salvation

through our works.

It's always been

relying on God

to do the work

that only He can do

and we embrace it

by faith

and then we respond

to Him

in good works.

So you see,

a soft heart

is one that

humbles itself,

one that seeks

the righteousness

of Christ,

recognizing that

our righteousness

is an affront

to what He is

offering us.

It can only come

through the gospel

of Christ.

A hard heart

as we have seen

in the previous section

and in chapter 1,

it cannot escape

the just wrath

of God

because it looks

to God

and says,

to hell with you,

I will be my own God.

It's a rejection

of God.

Therefore,

God does not judge

us,

our righteousness

based on anything

that we do,

nor on who we are,

which is a remarkable

thing.

I mean,

here,

since the enlightenment,

I mean,

human agency

has been elevated

as the chief aspect

of who we are,

but for the majority

of human history,

it actually mattered

what family you came from.

And I mean,

it's still that way

in many parts of the world

and even here in Canada

as well,

but imagine

this God is saying,

it actually doesn't matter

which family you come from,

what pedigree

you are from.

If you have

noble blood

coursing through your veins,

nor does it matter

the job that you have,

the ability to memorize

chapter and verse

from scripture

or whether

you attend

with perfect attendance

even on Sundays

where there's a gold medal game

on the Olympics,

kudos to you all.

God will not judge you

more righteous

than those

that may or may not

be staying home

because they have a sniffle.

No judgment.

I'm just joking around.

But you get my point

that God,

what he does

is that he judges us

instead based on

our response

to his good news.

His salvation.

You might be

nodding your head,

but just consider

how scandalous

a thing

this is.

For those that

are here

and I,

friends,

do not somehow

think that you

are exempt

from self-righteousness

because you are not.

It means that

you have no

religious or moral

leg to stand on.

It means that

if you are truly

righteous

in God's sight,

it is not

because of what

you have done,

but how you have

responded to

what God has done.

In fact,

verse 8 says

that such an attitude

that pushes back

against this

is the hallmark

of one who

obeys unrighteousness.

Verses 9 and 10

really cements

this down

that God is

one who judges

with imperfect

impartiality.

Verses 9 and 10

says this,

There will be

tribulation

and distress

for every human

being who does evil,

the Jew first

and also the Greek,

but glory and honour

and peace

for everyone

who does good,

the Jew first

and also to the Greek.

For God

shows no partiality.

This is wonderful

news for us

because we cannot

fall out of favour

with God

if we are in favour

with him,

if we respond

rightly

to his free,

wonderful,

incredible,

scandalous gift

of salvation.

But what about

those who do not

yet know Christ?

Sure,

God shows

no favouritism

judging all

based on how

they respond

to the gospel,

to his salvation.

But does that

not make God

unjust in his

judgment

because he judges

those who do not

know Christ

and yet they have

not heard him?

Now,

the next section

is going to get

into this

and what it

doesn't get into

is what do we

do or how does

God treat people

in a scenario

where there is

an unreached

people group

and how he's

going to hold

them to account

at the end

of the age.

I think that is

putting too much

weight on this

specific verse.

Nevertheless,

we're going to

see in this

next and final

section that

God's judgment,

although it is

inescapable and

impartial,

it is certainly

not unjust,

but it is just.

Read with me

verses 12 to 16.

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.

For it is not

the hearers of the

law who are

righteous before

God,

but the doers

of the law

who will be

justified.

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.

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.

On that day

when,

according to my

gospel,

God judges

the secrets

of men

by Christ Jesus.

I think a bit

more context

will help us

understand this

very briefly.

God's chosen

people,

the Jewish

nation,

receives the law

at Mount Sinai

after they are

rescued from

Egypt,

but before they

enter the

promised land.

possessing the

law,

they do not

make,

did not make

them God's

people,

but as God's

people they

were to

follow his

law to

live holy

lives that

honoured God.

Again,

we see a

response to

God's salvation

by honouring

him and

following him.

A faith

without works

is a dead

kind of faith.

So the law

or the Torah

was God's

revelation to

his people

about how

they ought

to live

and how

they must

look to

God for

salvation.

But the

history of the

Jewish people

is no

different in

many respects

from the

history of

all the

other peoples

in that

they were

idolatrous.

They

honoured

themselves

rather than

honouring

God,

but the

difference

is that

they knew

how they

should have

acted.

For God

had made

it clear

when he

gave them

the law.

It was

clear in

the law

what was

good and

evil,

and that

sin would

be justly

judged.

But again,

what about

those who

do not

have the

law,

who have

not heard

about the

God of

the Bible?

What about

those who

worshipped

Jupiter or

Hermes in

the first

century?

How about

the ancient

worshippers of

Hinduism in

the far

east of

the ancient

Near East,

or those

that subscribe

to the

faith of

Jainism?

How about

the various

peoples in

the Americas

who will

not hear

about the

God of

the Bible

for another

1500 years,

and when

they hear

about the

God of

the Bible,

it is a

distorted

kind of

God that

they're

presented?

What about

your irreligious

aunt who

has never

heard the

gospel?

Or your

Muslim

co-worker who

delights in

taking his

son to

hockey practice,

but again,

has never

heard about

Jesus?

What about

them?

How can

God justly

judge them

at the

end of

the age?

They do

not have

the law,

So

therefore,

you'd

think that

they cannot

be judged

by God

for their

actions

because they

did not

know right

from wrong.

But Paul,

he sticks

a pin in

that balloon.

He says,

no,

for all

sin,

whether under

the law

or apart

from the

law,

know it.

No one

can perfectly

keep the

law.

Remember,

we're in

section from

verses 1-18

to the end

of chapter 3

verse 20

that really

sells the

problem of

why we need

the gospel,

the gospel

being in

chapter 1

verses 16

and 17.

So we're in

an extended

section that

sells the

problem why

we need

the gospel.

And right

at the very

end,

chapter 3

verse 20,

Paul makes

this alarming

statement.

If you have

your scripture

journal,

it will be

on page 18.

And this

is what he

says,

chapter 3

verse 20.

For by

works of

the law,

no human

being will

be justified

in God's

sight,

since through

the law

comes knowledge

of sin.

And Paul

here,

he is saying

that even

if you

could keep

the law,

as people

that receive

the law,

as Jewish

people,

because you're

a lawbreaker,

you are

condemned,

but also

for those

that do not

have the

law,

God has

created all

people to be

moral creatures.

To know

that there

is an

eternity.

How they

describe it,

how they

communicate it,

that's besides

the point,

but they know

that there is

something of

a moral

universe,

and some

kind of

creator that

has created

all things.

Human beings

are both

moral and

God conscious.

Therefore,

right and wrong

are universally

known.

God

is saying

in verses

13 and

14,

hypothetically,

that even

if the

lawkeepers

could keep

the law,

okay,

even if the

people that

didn't have

the law

could somehow

keep the

requirements of

the law,

they would be

justified,

but they

can't.

All human

beings in

all places

at all

times know

that there is

right and

wrong,

they know

that there's

some kind

of eternity,

or at

least they're

longing for

an eternity,

and yet

all of them

are law

breakers.

All of

them.

Jew or

Greek,

all of them

are law

breakers,

all of them

know right

and wrong,

good from

evil,

and all

of them

have this

propensity

to look

towards evil

and not

for good.

Therefore,

when God

judges,

he will

judge all

by the

standards

that were

given,

that they

were given,

and by

the secrets

of their

hearts.

So in

short,

God's

judgment

will take

into account

all the

considerations,

even those

of the

interior life.

He knows

the hearts

and the

minds

and the

thoughts

and the

motives

of all,

which is

a very

frightening

thing,

and he

will judge

accordingly.

So how

can this

God,

who knows

even our

own thoughts,

how could

he possibly,

in his

goodness,

be unjust

in his

judgment?

This is

telling us

that there

will be no

miscarriage of

judgment at

the day of

judgment.

All facts

will be

considered,

all secrets

known.

In fact,

the call of

your purity

that we say

before every

service reminds

us of this,

that God

knows all

of our

thoughts,

all of our

motives,

and then we

ask God to

cleanse the

thoughts of

our hearts

by the

inspiration of

his Holy

Spirit.

our motives

will be

exposed and

this judgment

will come

through Christ

himself.

To have

our very

motives

displayed as

if they

would be on

a screen at

the end of

the age,

it's a

terrifying

thought.

We are

expert

hiders of

sin.

Who could

stand?

The

religious

with their

law?

The

irreligious

with their

built-in

morality?

Who

could

stand

before

this

God?

So then

ultimately,

if God

is a

God who

judges

with an

inescapable

judgment,

who is

impartial in

his judgment,

who is

just in

his judgment,

is there

hope to

escape this

judgment?

Here's the

hope.

The hope

is that

our judge

is also

our

savior.

savior.

The one

who knows

our

interior

life,

our

motives,

our

secrets,

the

things

that

you

have

thought

about,

the

things

that

maybe

that

you

have

fantasized

about,

the

things

that

you

would

be

utterly

embarrassed

if anybody

knew.

He

to take

upon

himself

all

that

would

be

judged

justly

against

you

that

was

laid

on

him

so

that

we

could

have

a

standing

before

God

himself.

So

you

see,

here's

the

thing,

like I

said at

the

beginning,

that

God's

judgment,

without

it,

salvation

would have

no meaning.

What

would we

be saved

from?

So

in the

end,

Christ,

he

takes

upon

himself

the

penalty

for

our

sins

so

that

we

are

judged

not

by

the

way

we

ought

to

be

judged

justly

by

God,

impartially

by

God,

inescapably

by

God,

but

rather

we

are

judged

to

be

clean,

to

be

innocent,

to

be

guilt

free,

for

Christ

has

stood

in

our

place.

You

see,

I

think

the

great

tragedy

of

human

life

is

that

we

do

not

want

to

admit

the

indignity

of

being

both

self-righteous

and

sinful

so we

self-justify.

We

bend the

rules

and standards

so that

we can

enjoy a

level of

self-defined

dignity,

but the

real

indignity

of it

all

is

renouncing

the

righteousness

of

God,

denying

his

good

and

just

judgment

for

something

we

call

righteousness

but

is

utter

folly.

I was

trying to

think of

an

example

of it.

Lewis

has

this

example

where he

talks

of

here

we

are

making

mud

pies

when

there

is

an

incredible

vacation

for us

at the

beach

waiting.

I mean

I look

at it

like

there's

this

incredible

table

that is

set

for us

the

choices

foods

the

best

drink

and

the

best

host

that

will

be

dining

with

us

Christ

himself

and

we

are

more

content

to

broom

up

the

crud

that

has

fallen

from

the

meal

before

and

try

to

pick

out

the

crumbs

and

somehow

claiming

that

this

would

be

a

better

meal

than

the

one

that

is

lavishly

made

in

front

of

us.

Friends

this

is

what

it

is

like

when

we

say

that

our

righteousness

our

dignity

is

greater

than

God's

that

he

offers

to

us

through

Christ

our

Lord.

Friends

the

perfectly

just

righteous

and

impartial

judge

he

is

also

your

savior

remember

this

so

let's

be

done

with

trying

to

save

ourselves

trying

to

self

justify

judging

other

people

so that

we

somehow

will

diminish

our

sin

and

stand

in

judgment

over

them

and

again

further

bolster

our

own

self

righteousness

but

rather

embrace

the

kindness

and

love

of

God

that

is

leading

us

to

repentance

friends

let us

do away

with this

false

and

fake

and

utterly

ridiculous

indignity

of self

righteousness

and let us

look to

Christ

sin

Thank you.