Bible Study Romans Part 43-For We Know

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We are about to embark on a very complicated and easily misunderstood section of the New Testament.

We are in Paul's letter to the Romans.

It's going to seem like Paul in this section is talking about salvation.

It's going to seem like Paul is talking about sanctification, but he is not.

He is talking about judgment.

Now you may be tempted to think that all of those things are the same, but again, they are not.

As I said, this is complicated.

So please pay close attention.

Do not be tempted into thinking that Paul is trying to tell you about how Jesus is going to save you or about how Jesus is going to condemn those who rejected Jesus.

That is not what he is talking about in this section of the letter.

Okay?

So let's do a little bit of reading.

Yes, the following was meant for the Jews of Paul's day.

He was writing directly to the Jews, but you and I had better lend an ear.

Romans 2 1, I read out of the King James.

Please follow along in your Bible.

If you don't have a Bible, we have the notes up on the screen, the verses up on the screen.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself.

For thou that judgest doeth the same things.

Be careful, be very careful.

Verse 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

This is subtly one of the most important statements in the Bible.

I know I say that about almost every verse, but it is definitely true here.

And of course, it fits perfectly with the theme of this chapter.

But we are sure, we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

Paul is making a very important distinction between God's justice and human justice.

But we don't have to think this, by the way, as criminal justice.

This isn't protecting society against ne'er do wells.

It's much more basic than that.

In any given situation, God will see things one way, and my mankind sees them in another.

To be more specific and more relevant to the conversation, God and man see the commission of sin in entirely different ways.

Put simply, God sees things as right and wrong, and people don't.

If I could ask God directly if this or that is wrong, and he could or would answer me directly, I would get a yes or no answer.

God, is it wrong to steal an apple?

Yes.

Fellow human, is it wrong to steal an apple?

You know, well, it depends.

We have convinced ourselves that, well, it depends, is a valid answer.

To us, morality, right and wrong, is on a sliding scale.

And by definition, a sliding scale is demarked in various units of payment, which is the perfect analogy.

Humans simply assume some people should pay more for their indiscretions and then more than others, pay more for their indiscretions than others, and some not pay at all.

Just by quick example, in medieval Europe, the lord of the land was allowed by law to rape any woman, any female in his realm on her wedding night.

In case you think I'm making that up, it was called in those days just prime noctis, which translates from Latin, right of the first night.

If anyone else in the kingdom raped that woman, they would be arrested, tried, and executed.

But that judgment did not apply to the Lord, only the peasants.

No need for any more examples.

I think you get it.

Human beings don't apply judgments consistently, nor even very often fairly, but we're used to it.

We've even given it its own term, above the law.

Certain individuals in society are seen as above the law.

Some are seen that way officially, meaning they are designated by some sort of social contract to be free from being accused of certain crimes.

And then there are others who see themselves as above the law.

They judge their own level of obligation to certain rules of society as highly variable, either because of their wealth or their connections to those in authority, or simply by virtue of their lineage or place of birth.

And that was how the Jews saw things and to some extent still see things about themselves.

Paul says the judgment of God is according to truth.

If someone is judged to be a sinner by God, that judgment is correct because it is based on the truth.

All judgments of God are true.

The Jews didn't believe that.

They felt that there was truth for them and truth for everyone else.

And let me remind you, lest you call me an anti-Semite, I'm just telling you what Paul, the Jew, said about the Jews.

That's all I'm saying.

Listen with your ears, not necessarily by your sensitivities.

Truth was not absolute truth because that was because what was true for the Jews was not the same as what was true for the rest of the world.

And because that was their mindset, they felt that God's judgments were different for different types of people.

It wasn't a judgment according to truth, it was a judgment according to privilege to them.

Some people are judged like this, some people are judged like that, and some people not at all.

That was the Jewish view of God's justice, and it always favored them.

Now, here's the connection to everything else that's going on in this letter so far.

Paul is saying to those smug self-righteous Jews as this chapter opens, he's saying to those smug, self-righteous Jews, and the smug self-righteous among the rest of us, he is saying, you think that that long list of sins in that last part of the previous chapter condemns those people, but not you.

You think you're safe despite being guilty of these same things, all some or few of these same heinous sins.

You don't even consider that you're condemned for such things simply because of some special status that nullifies the applicability of those things leading to your judgment.

To God, you know, the one that matters, regardless of who is ungodly and unrighteous, his wrath, the wrath of God, is revealed against you.

Doesn't matter who you are.

Why?

Because when God judges, it's according to truth and not according to place of birth or status or wealth or any other circumstance you may think exempts you.

But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

If you did those things, and let's face it, you know you did, then you are in as much trouble as they are, whoever they may be.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same thing.

But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commits such things.

We know that the judgment of God is according to truth.

Who's we?

Everyone is we.

We know means we all know.

Whether you admit it or not, you also know that God judges according to truth.

Deep down, we all do.

For some, it's really deep down, but we all do know.

Now he'll be bringing this up later too, but it doesn't matter even how close you are to God religiously.

There is an inane sense of right and wrong in everyone.

And when we receive judgment for our behavior, we know in our hearts it is a righteous judgment.

We know we deserve God's judgment.

Paul is emphasizing this because to deny that God judges according to truth is rebellion.

If you think you're not subject to God's corrections, you're actually setting yourself up as a peer of God's.

To say it for the umpteenth time, this is Paul's challenge.

He's fighting against thousands of years of arrogance.

He's up against a mindset that says that being God governed, that's what some people say the word Israel means, God governed.

Nonetheless, just because God has chosen these people for his purposes, they think they can walk around as if they can't be judged.

But you're fooling yourself.

You're ignoring your own conscience.

For we know that God judges according to truth.

We all know that, but for some reason you're choosing to ignore it.

Paul is trying to wake these fools up.

We know, you know, we are we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against everyone which commits such things.

Search your hearts and you will discover that you're playing with fire.

Now, why is Paul going to such trouble?

Well, first of all, because he believes what he says is true.

And secondly, he is genuinely concerned that the Jews are behaving as if there will be no wrath for them, that although they're just as guilty as the heathen of those sins listed in the previous chapter, they believe their special status with God will save them.

And because of that, listen to me, this is the key.

Because of that, in their estimation, nothing they do is going to bring God's judgment on them.

Their fellow Jews and mankind in general might have something to say about their behavior, but to them, not God.

And thirdly, the reason Paul is bringing up this very sensitive topic is because if anyone thinks they're saved, just because of who they are, they'll never turn to the only path of salvation that is available.

And that, of course, is salvation by faith.

Listen to me, if you don't think you need faith to be saved, then you won't bother with it.

Paul had to drive home this point with the Jews who thought that being a Jew was their salvation.

So, what does this have to do with me?

In previous lessons, we discussed the dangerous heresy of anti-nomianism.

As you know, anti-nomianism is the belief that since we are saved by grace and not by works, then what we do, our works don't matter at all, good or bad.

The belief that saved Christians cannot affect their salvation by what they do or don't do, that the just shall live by faith, that since that is clearly the message of the New Testament, that must mean that I can do anything I want.

That God doesn't care about our actions, that there are no repercussions for anything I do, because I now live by grace.

Just exactly.

And to the same extent that the Jews were mistaken about their privileged status, so are we Christians.

Listen to me, for the one millionth time, what you do has no impact on your salvation.

You're truly not saved by works and only by faith.

But this is where the confusion comes from.

When Paul is seen insisting on living godly lives, it's a message for those who are already saved.

You got it?

Chapter two of Romans tells us, forgive me.

Chapter two of Romans tells us that God does have standards and he does see our actions and judges them.

The application of leading a life pleasing to God, a life God wants you to live, behaving as God would want you to live, only comes after you're one of his children.

This isn't a matter of salvation.

This is a matter of how you represent God in your life.

Now, let me make sure I say that what I just covered was purely and simply a side trip.

I was merely demonstrating that our actions do matter to God, that he does have standards of human behavior for very specific reasons.

But that discussion was for general knowledge's knowledge purposes only, knowledge that helps us in this chapter.

But no, this is not what Paul is speaking of.

This is not Paul's theme.

It is important that you know that I was not talking about what Paul was talking about in chapter two of this letter to the Romans.

Paul is not talking about salvation.

Paul is talking about the judgment of God.

He's discussing the fact, listen, that God judges everyone.

And this discussion is outside the context of salvation.

The life and death of Jesus aside, this is how God judges.

All things being equal, Paul is telling us how God reacts to the way human beings think and behave.

The purpose of this is to convince you that God will not change his judgment no matter who you are, so your only hope is salvation.

You have to be led to that conclusion through this discussion.

You cannot bypass salvation by faith because this is how God reacts to you without faith.

Now, I may have to come back to that a few times because it is very difficult for us to comprehend, and it is especially so for the seasoned Christian, the one who's well versed in the gospel.

Someone who knows Paul's writings will not be able to buy into the fact that sometimes Paul is not talking about salvation.

Well, if you don't grasp that, this section will confuse you mightily.

All right, let's get back to it.

Therefore, thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same things.

But we are sure that the The judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

God does not judge things the way we do.

We allow outside influences into how we see the world.

Our emotions, our prejudices, our personal understanding, all of these things come into play.

And that's why human beings don't like objectivity.

We don't like black and white.

In fact, we don't believe in it.

We prefer gray.

We say that everything is a gray area.

There's a comfort in gray, there's wiggle room in gray.

In gray, we find excuses that seem legitimate.

Humans almost never judge according to truth.

In fact, we find that cold.

We find that heartless.

But God does judge according to truth, and that is an important message here.

Paul is bringing this fact up because the Jews and the rest of us need to know that with God there is right and wrong, there is good and bad, holiness and sinfulness, and there are no exceptions.

But why?

Why must God be so rigid?

Why must he be so insistent?

The most obvious conclusion anyone who studies what God has told us in his word can come to, must come to, is that there is nothing more important to God than his justice.

Now, quickly, let me say there are two crucial subcategories, if you want to call them that, that belong under this heading of God's justice, his word and his holiness.

So when I say nothing is more important to God than his justice, that includes his word, what he says, and it includes his holiness, what he is.

All three of those are connected.

Anything that affects his word affects his justice.

Anything that affects his holiness affects his justice.

And anything that affects his justice affects both his word and his holiness.

I know you're going to disagree with me, but this makes this very simple.

That is judging according to truth.

Why?

Because God is the creator.

Everything he created was holy when he created it.

Why?

Because he created it, because he created it, and he created it for himself.

If he created it, it was holy because he's holy.

That's the natural reason.

Something holy, listen closely, something holy cannot create something unholy.

And since he created it for himself, it was holy.

That's the practical reason.

Listen, God who is holy wouldn't purposely create something that's unholy, because if it was unholy, it could not be useful to him as long as it remained holy.

Why?

Because of his own holiness.

He is holy and cannot allow unholiness in his presence because unholiness turns holiness into unholiness and not the other way around.

Listen, this is getting confusing, and I want you to listen closely.

When unholy comes into contact with holy, it makes it unholy.

And God will not risk his holiness.

You as an unholy being are not allowed in his presence because your unholiness will taint his holiness.

And this is very important to this discussion because the alternative is not possible.

Listen, holy cannot cause unholy to become holy.

It's worth repeating, holy cannot make unholy holy, because the minute unholy comes in contact with holy, unholy, unholy turns holy into holy.

If you have a clean glass of water and you pour dirt into it, it makes it dirty.

If you take a glass of dirt and you put water into it, it is dirty.

Holy and unholy cannot mix.

Dirty and clean can't mix.

Anything, anytime dirty comes in contact with clean makes it dirty.

Pure and simple, that's the same thing with God's holiness.

And that's why for sin comes death, and there can be no exception.

Sin is unholiness in action and it must be eliminated or it cannot be in God's presence.

God will not allow his holiness to be changed into unholiness.

And we don't want that either.

So when God declared in his word that sin leads to death, it became an unshakable truth.

But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

To treat sin in any other way would compromise God's truth and holiness.

Now stay with me.

For sin comes death is an uncompromising truth and always has been.

Paul is trying to send this message to the Jews who felt like that truth didn't apply to them.

It may be applying to everyone else, but because they were Jews, it didn't apply to them.

Same thing with us.

How many times do you hear somebody say, My granny died last night and she's gone straight to heaven?

That's not the way that works.

If she was saved, you're right.

But if she was not saved, you're wrong.

It isn't a given.

We seem to think in our day everyone goes to heaven.

It is not that way.

That's not the way God judges.

We may want Granny to go to heaven because she was a sweet lady, but if she did not think Jesus was her savior, she's not going to heaven.

Why?

Because that is judging according to truth.

Throughout human existence, it's been God's practice to condemn sin to death.

And if he made an exception for any reason, that would compromise his justice.

To bring this back to this chapter, if God did not condemn the same sins in all of mankind, Jew or Gentile, Christian or not, he would be acting against his word, against his holiness, and against his justice.

You may think you're special to God.

Heck, you may be special to God, and the Jews were and are special to him, but that status does not extend to his justice.

Love is not what saves you.

Justice does.

Being able, being special to God, does not and cannot negate God's justice.

Being loved by God does not negate God's justice.

Being God's chosen extends to his power and desire to bless, but it does not extend to his power and desire to forgive.

So we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

We foolish humans just seem to constantly forget the impact sin has.

We either outright ignore that we're sinners or we downplay how powerful sin is and how helpless we are against it.

Those are the two divisions in the human race.

Either we deny we're sinners or we think it's no big deal that we're sinners because we can make up for it somehow in our own strength.

We can't.

Most of those who don't consider themselves sinners feel like they, you know, I have a good heart and I'm always kind to strangers, especially that jerk at the auto mechanic shop was just too dumb to get a real job.

How dare you say I'm a sinner?

I've never stolen a thing in my life.

Well, nothing more than anyone else has, a little cheating on my taxes, maybe.

There was that time I kept the extra 20 that simple-minded clerk gave me when she was counting out my change.

That's not my fault.

Besides, it'll teach her to be more careful.

Okay, yes, I watch bootleg movies, so what?

There's no harm in that.

That's not really stealing.

What?

They charge too much at the theaters.

Do you think God sees these things the way you do?

I think we both know the answer to that.

Listen, you may walk around holding the door for little old ladies or scooch over on the bus so that pregnant lady can sit down.

I guess I could give her the whole bench, but come on, I'm uncomfortable too.

Hey, I go to church on Sundays when the game's not on.

I go around telling people God bless you when they sneeze.

I say Merry Christmas all the time, not happy holidays or anything lame like that.

Even to those nasty immigrants that keep sneaking in here.

I'm kind to everyone.

Jesus once said, Luke 16, 15, ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God.

You do not want to hear the word abomination when it's in respect to what you do.

It's not only your actions that God sees, but what's in your heart.

Those that Paul was directing his comments to, just like those that Jesus was directing his comments to, were highly religious.

They appeared to follow the law, they seemed to do what they were supposed to do for the most part, and they didn't do what they weren't supposed to do for the most part.

You and I would judge them as very good people, very pious would be our assessment of their character, very respectable would be our opinion of their demeanor.

And that's what Paul's point is.

When God judges, it's according to truth, and that includes what's in your heart.

We get fooled by the outward appearance, not God.

One time Jesus put it perfectly: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness.

How did Jesus know that?

Because he judges according to truth.

That is God's way.

He doesn't judge at the beautiful outward appearance, he judges what's inside.

As the writer to the Hebrews puts it, for the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Listen, none of this is here to put you down.

No one, least of all Paul, is simply being mean and insulting.

The entire background of this discussion is about the gospel.

It's about the fact that there's good news in all of this, that despite the fact that God judges in truth, and he does, there is a way out.

God is going to judge.

It's either going to come down on you or it's going to come down on his son.

Either way, there's judgment coming.

Now, you may not see it that way, but I want you to think about it.

Paul's intention is to get you to see and understand the good news.

It's good news that you're not going to receive the judgment if you opt to have the judgment fall on his son, on God's son.

He wants you to see that there is a righteousness of God available to you by faith.

Why do I need to know that?

Because along with the revelation of God's gospel, there's this revelation of God's wrath.

You need the gospel because you can't avoid God's wrath.

You can't avoid God's wrath without that good news.

The good news is that the judgment that is coming for Jew or Gentile can be avoided if you allow your judgment to fall on him.

Either way, the judgment is coming.

And there's a sizable population of people who think that God's wrath doesn't apply to them.

And as long as they think they will be, they, as long as they think that, they will completely disregard the gospel.

If you don't think the good news is for you, then you'll just think of it as news and you won't give it a second thought.

Oh, good for them.

Good for those people to have the opportunity to avoid God's justice like I do.

I mean, I have a different way to avoid it, but good news for you guys.

That was the problem with many of the Jews of Paul's day, and that's the problem with many of the Christians of our own.

Paul in this letter, and me hammering away at this, are trying to get you to see that you may judge yourself a saint.

The world may judge you as a saint, but God judges you according to the truth.

And the truth is that you're a lousy sinner.

And so am I.

And we need a rescuer.

Listen, if you don't know you're drowning, you'll never trust the lifeguard.

Okay, fine, I'm a sinner.

Can't I just say I'm sorry?

If I'm sorry, isn't God big enough to forgive me?

How can he hold my failures against me if I'm sorry?

If he really loves me, if he is really a loving father, shouldn't he accept my apology so we can all move on?

If he were to just forgive you and move on, then that would be not, that would not be according to truth.

That's judging the way we judge.

That's the human approach.

And frankly, that's why we're so crappy to each other.

We figure we can do what we want, act cold and heartless and mean, because I've got the power of that apology in my pocket.

Catherine and I worked in the criminal justice system in days gone by.

And let me tell you, many a badly battered wife dropped charges against her jerk husband because he pulled that apology card.

Oh, honey, I'm so sorry I balled up my fist and broke your nose.

Please forgive me.

I'll never do it again.

I'm sad to report, many a tragedy followed the appearance and subsequent acceptance of that apology card.

Listen, friends, don't get the wrong impression, please.

It's not that God isn't sympathetic to our plight.

The Bible tells us the exact opposite.

It's just that apologies are not enough to eliminate the stain of sin.

Blindly granting forgiveness does nothing but dent God's justice and puts his holiness in peril.

He can't just accept our promise to never do it again.

If he does, then he sends the message that his word is not very reliable, that he's nothing more than a wishy-washy bag of emotions that can be manipulated with a few crocodile tears, that he doesn't, that he doesn't judge according to truth.

And come on, be honest.

Is that really the person you want protecting you against Satan's armies?

The message of the Bible is that sin must be accounted for.

Nonetheless, let's go ahead and stop here.

We've got lots more to cover in this crucial chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans.

We'll continue with this next week.

See then.

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