God Has No Favourites

which is on page 1129, I think, page 1129, Romans chapter 2, verses 1 to 16.

Romans 2:1–16

Page 1129, if you're using a red-covered Bible, Romans chapter 2, verses 1 to 16,

Romans 2:1–16

and Joe is going to read that for us now.

God's righteous judgment.

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 thing.

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 thing, do you think you will escape God's judgment?

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 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.

God will give each person according to what he has done.

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.

But glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

For God does not show favoritism.

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.

This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets

through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Thanks very much, Joe.

Well, please keep your Bibles open on that section there.

There are some sheets going around.

If you haven't got one, I think there's some at the front there.

You can take notes.

And there's a pen as well.

If you'd like one of them, you can stick your hand up and we'll get it to you.

We are going through the Book of Romans.

We're starting into Chapter 2.

Yesterday evening, I was at a school reunion,

a 20-year school reunion,

and I was chatting to my friends, a lot of them discovering for the first time

that I was a pastor.

Some of them were quite shocked for the fact that I was doing that.

And I said, well, if you want to know what it's like,

you can always go online and listen to the sermons and have a listen,

and I'd welcome your feedback.

You can get back to me.

And then I remembered what I was actually going to be talking about this morning,

God's judgment.

That's a scary one, isn't it?

I thought, oh dear.

Maybe if they don't listen to that and they listen to something a little bit more lighter,

it might be better.

But nevertheless, it's God's Word,

and we deal with it as these difficult subjects come up.

And, well, we need God's help for this.

So let's pray and ask for God to help us

to get an understanding of these big things.

Let's pray together.

Our Father, we thank you for having your Word in our language,

having it written down that we can read,

having people who can help us to understand it.

But most of all, we need the help of your Holy Spirit.

Because without your Spirit, it's as if we are deaf,

or we are blind to it.

We cannot understand or comprehend it.

So we pray that by your Spirit, you will speak to us,

helping us to grasp these big subjects,

how it applies to our life and the world in which we live.

And we pray that we would take it seriously

and understand its impact.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So tell me, are you looking forward to the big day?

We've already had some big days this week.

Last Sunday, Cork won the All-Ireland.

After 20 years, they brought back Sam, the great big cup, back to Cork.

That was a big day, wasn't it?

On Thursday, we celebrated Arthur's Day.

Maybe some of you did anyway.

250 years of Guinness in Ireland.

That was a big day.

But what's the big day that we're all looking forward to?

For some here, it might be, well, you're starting back to college tomorrow.

It could be a new job.

For some people, it could be their wedding day that they're looking forward to.

What's the big day?

Well, in the Bible, the big day always refers to the day of God's judgment.

Look at verse 6.

It says there, God will give to each person according to what they have done.

Verse 16.

This will take place on the day when God will judge people's secrets through Jesus Christ,

as my gospel declares.

Do you have any secrets?

Something that you did that no one else knows about.

Not even your wife or your husband or your closest friend.

A deeply held secret.

Well, on the day of judgment, nothing will be hidden.

It's like our whole life has been recorded from beginning to end,

and it will be played back before us.

Every action, every thought, every single word,

nothing will be off limits.

And if we could imagine ourselves sitting there,

watching this recording of our whole life,

there will be moments where we will be very proud.

The way we helped that friend who was very sick.

The money that you gave to support that child in compassion.

The way you raised and cared for your children over so many years.

And those countless acts of kindness towards a stranger.

There will be so much that you will be proud of.

And then as the video goes on,

there will be moments you will be very ashamed of.

You'll be sitting squirming in your seat.

That broken friendship that is never the same again

because of what we said.

The extra money that we kept because we fiddled our accounts.

The times that we lost our temper with our kids

or spoke an unkind word to our spouse.

The lie that we told to our boss

just so they didn't find out.

This is the big day when each one of us

will have to stand before God,

the creator and the ruler of our lives,

and we're going to have to give an account

for how we have lived.

Now before we look at this in more detail

and get into the text,

I want to address what I think is a very common question.

And it goes something like this.

People ask it.

They'll say,

how can a loving God be a judging God?

There's a bit of a contradiction there.

Loving and judging don't go together.

We all like the idea of a loving God.

Somebody who cares for us,

who provides for us,

who wants us to be happy in life.

But when we talk of a God who judges,

well, we react against it.

Some time ago,

I attended the funeral of somebody

who had lived the life full of crime

and full of violence.

In fact, they died a very violent death.

And no doubt,

they had lots of acts of love and kindness,

but much of their life left people broken,

hurt,

and in fear.

And at the funeral,

they spoke of the person in glowing terms.

And they celebrated the fact

that he was now in heaven with the angels.

You see,

the assumption was

that God is so loving

that he lets people off the hook.

He's kind of portrayed

as some kind of sympathetic grandfather

sitting in his rocking chair

who pretends not to see

what is really going on.

But that's a contradiction to love, isn't it?

If God is a God of love,

he can't ignore evil.

He doesn't turn a blind eye

to the hurt and the damage that is caused.

He demands justice.

He demands fairness.

What kind of loving God

would sit back and ignore sin

and pretend that,

well, it doesn't really matter what people do?

You see,

not to judge

would be very unloving.

Not to impose

justice

would be very unkind.

And in the Bible,

God's judgment

is always an expression

of his love

and his delight

in his created world.

He judges

because

evil

destroys

the harmony

and the beauty

of God's good world.

He judges

because

injustice

breaks the peace

and the happiness

that God intends

for his people.

So the God of love

is a God of judgment

because he's determined

and he's committed

to put all the wrongs to right,

to undo the brokenness

that we see and experience

in this world

and to put it all together again.

So we must never see

a contradiction

between the God of love

and the God

who judges.

Well, that's just a bit

of an aside.

We need to get back

into the text

of chapter 2

and see what it is saying

to us

today.

So,

God's judgment

is inescapable.

God's judgment

might be a good thing,

but as we're sitting

here listening,

we think,

surely God

isn't going to judge me.

After all,

I'm not really

a bad person.

Alright,

I'm not perfect,

but I'm not as bad

as him

and I am certainly

not as bad

as her.

Well,

look at verse 1

of chapter 2.

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.

Our Taoiseach

Brian Cowan

has had a rough

couple of weeks,

hasn't he?

And according

to public opinion,

he should go.

The last recent poll

said there was only

11% of the population

who wants him

as leader.

His session

at the Galway

Think-In

or what's been

nicknamed

the Drink-In

and the way

he conducted

himself afterwards

was dismissing

the nation

as if to say,

I don't care

about your problems.

In the public's

judgment,

he should resign

as leader.

But the question

that I would like

to ask is this.

how many people

in this country,

how many people

in this room

have had a bad

day at work

who haven't been

able to function

properly

because of too much

Arthur Guinness

the night before?

We really shouldn't

throw stones

in glass houses.

You see,

what Paul is doing

here is tackling

the good-living

moralistic person.

The person

who thinks,

I'm alright,

Jack.

You see,

back in chapter 1

verses 18 to 32,

Paul had been

listing the various

kinds of people

that God is going

to judge.

So I want us

to imagine

the church scene.

We have a family

who arrive into

the church

and they take

their seat

in the pew.

Mr. and Mrs. Good

will call them

and their son

Pius

and their daughter

Superior.

And there they are

sitting,

nicely dressed

with their Bibles

listening to the

letter of Romans

being read out.

And it gets to

verse 24 of

chapter 1.

Therefore God

gave them over

in the sinful

desires of their

hearts to sexual

impurity for the

degrading of their

bodies with one

another.

Sexual impurity.

They deserve to be

judged.

Dreadful people,

you know.

I wouldn't do

that sort of thing.

The sermon goes on.

They get to verse 26,

chapter 1.

Because of this,

God gave them over

to the shameful

lust.

Those people,

they ought to be

damned as well.

Go on, Paul.

Preach it, Paul.

That's right, Paul.

Destroy those

terrible people

and may God

deal with their

gross behaviour.

But what Paul

is doing is

building them up

with a false

sense of security

and superiority.

Because as the

sermon moves on,

he gets very,

very personal.

He begins to

list others who

are going to be

judged.

Look at the end

of verse 29.

The very last one,

he talks about

people who gossip.

And Mr.

and Mrs.

Good look at

each other in the

pew and go,

oh, that's me.

I gossip.

The sermon goes on

to the end of

verse 30 and he

talks about people

who disobey their

parents.

And pious and

superior look at

each other and go,

oh, that's us too.

And in a

devastating blow,

they find

themselves

entrapped.

Chapter 2,

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.

Now, he's not

saying that we all

behave in exactly

the same way and

we all get up to

the same kinds of

things.

Rather, he's saying

at one point or

another, every

single one of us

fail and fall.

God doesn't

grade sin.

it will all be

treated in the

same way,

whether you have

had an affair

or whether you

have gossiped.

His judgment

is so pointed

that it is

inescapable for

everyone.

Verse 2.

Now we know

that God's

judgment against

those who do

such things is

based on truth.

There's been

lots of rumors,

hasn't there,

depending on the

paper you read,

about Brian Cowan.

I haven't a clue

how many pints

he had.

I don't know

what time he

went to bed at

and I don't even

know what time

he got up at.

And I don't think

you know either.

None of us know.

The same as I

don't know what

you were doing

this weekend

and you don't

know what I

was doing at

my 20-year

reunion.

But God does

because God

sees and as it

says here in

verse 2,

God is a

God of

truth.

Verse 3.

So when you,

a mere man,

just an

ordinary

Joe

blog,

pass

judgment on

them and

yet you do

the same

things,

do you really

think that you're

going to escape

God's

judgment?

You see,

on the big

day there's

going to be

no cover-ups,

there's going

to be no

spin,

no excuses,

nowhere to

hide,

everything will

be uncovered,

everything will

be laid bare

and our

superior

judgmental

attitudes of

others are

only going to

condemn us.

His judgment

is inescapable,

especially,

especially for

those who think

themselves better

or superior

to other

people.

But thankfully,

God's

judgment is

also delayed.

Look at

verse 4.

Do you

show contempt

for the riches

of his

kindness,

his tolerance

and his

patience,

not realising

that God's

kindness

leads you

towards

repentance?

Jesus.

The other

Friday evening

in the back

room there

at our

Crusader youth

group,

I sat

round a

table with

some of the

lads.

We have a

Bible discussion

and they're

always wanting

to try and

catch you out

with difficult

questions.

So one of

them said to

me,

Johnny,

God doesn't

like people

doing bad

things,

does he?

No,

I said he

doesn't.

Well then,

if he's

God,

why doesn't

he stop

all the

evil in

the world?

And with

that he

turned round

and he

slapped his

friend on

the back

of the

head.

And then

he continued,

if God

is true,

he'd stop

me,

wouldn't

he?

And then

he slapped

his friend

again.

As if to

say,

you see,

if God

is there,

if God

took sin

seriously,

he'd do

something about

it.

Because he

isn't,

he's not

there.

Well,

I wasn't

quick enough

in my

answer.

This is

the verse

I should

have said

or pointed

to,

verse 4

of chapter

2.

You see,

God will

one day

judge,

but he's

holding back

on his

judgment

because of

his kindness

and patience.

We all

deserve to

be judged

right now

and removed

from God's

good world

because we've

all messed

it up,

we've all

played our

part in it.

But God

is long

suffering,

and he's

withholding

his judgment

for a reason.

Look at the

end of

verse 4.

Do you

not realise

that God's

kindness,

that's his

tolerance and

his patience,

is to lead

you towards

repentance?

Tolerance

means time.

Time to

repent.

Time to

do business

with God.

Time to

sort our

lives out

before it's

too late.

Of course,

if we go

around slapping

people across

the head

and ignore

God's

kindness,

then we're

going to

have to

face the

consequences,

verse 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.

They're

tough words,

aren't

they?

Picture in

your minds

for a

minute a

great big

dam at

the top

of a

valley.

Year

after year

as the

rains fall

and the

waters flow

down into

it, the

water builds

up and it

builds up and

the pressure

continually

increases behind

the dam.

And while

the dam is

managing to

hold the

waters back,

sooner or

later the

dam is going

to crack,

the dam is

going to

burst and

the water

is going

to come

flooding down

the valley,

destroying

everything in

its path.

Well, it's

like God

is holding

back the

water of

his wrath

and

judgments.

You see,

every time we

ignore his

kindness,

every time we

turn our back

on his

patience and

go on living

as we

please,

the pressure

is increasing.

It's building

up, it's

building up.

As it says

in verse 5,

we are storing

up wrath.

And eventually

the pressure

will be so

great that

it's going

to burst

and God's

judgment

will be

revealed.

God's

kindness.

Now,

there's only

two possible

responses to

God's

kindness.

I haven't

had it on

the screen

here, but

the first

response is

this, to

be repentant

believers.

Look at

verse 7.

It says

there, to

those who

by persistence

in doing

good, seek

glory, honour

and immortality,

he will give

eternal life.

Now, we

mustn't get

confused here.

This is not

rewards for

our performance,

but the

results of

our repentance.

It's not

because we've

done good

things that

God gives

us eternal

life, but

because of

our repentance

and repentance

always leads

to, or it

is always

demonstrated by

our good

works.

God gives

us.

And the

person who

does that,

it says

there in

verse 7,

he will

give eternal

life.

They will

be part of

his new

kingdom.

The other

response is

to be those

who reject

the truth,

verse 8.

But for

those who

are self-seeking

and who

reject the

truth and

follow evil,

in other

words, for

the person

who is

unrepentant,

there will

be wrath

and anger.

His

judgment is

coming.

What's it

going to

be?

Repentance

or rejection?

What is

your destiny

going to

be?

Okay,

you say,

so God

is going

to judge.

I've got

that worked

out.

He's also

very patient.

He's giving

us time.

I've got

that figured

out.

But I've

got a clever

question for

you now,

Johnny.

What if I

know nothing

about God?

Then what?

Well, look

at verse 11.

It tells us

that God

does not

show

favouritism.

In other

words, that

he's very

fair.

But how

can God

be fair,

Johnny?

What about

all those

people that

never heard

of Jesus?

Or what

about all

those people

who've

never been

to church?

And you

know what?

I've never

read my

Bible.

You can't

be judged

on what

you don't

know,

can you?

Well, that

question is

answered for

us in

verse 12.

It says

there,

all who

sin,

apart from

the law,

apart from

God's

word,

will also

perish,

apart from

God's word.

verse 14.

Indeed, when

Gentiles,

that's the

kind of

summary word

for anybody

who isn't

a Jew,

indeed, when

Gentiles who

do not

have the

law, do

not have

God's

word,

do by

nature

things

required by

the law,

they are

a law for

themselves,

even though

they do

not have

the law.

Now, that's

kind of quite

difficult.

We'd have to

read that a

few times,

and still

we're kind

of struggling

to understand

it.

I listened

to a very

good illustration

on this.

Tim Keller

quoted

Francis Schaeffer.

Francis Schaeffer

was one of the

great Christian

thinkers and

writers,

and he

describes this

section here

in Romans

as what he

calls the

invisible tape

recorder.

He says

every single

person,

imagine he

says that

every single

person in

the world

has an

invisible tape

recorder

strapped

around their

necks.

So right

now, all

of us have

this invisible

tape recorder.

You might

look, but it's

not there because

it's invisible.

It is there, but

it's invisible.

You can't see

it.

And on

judgment day,

everybody will

be brought

before God.

And of course,

there'll be people

there who will

say,

okay God, I'm

here, but I

didn't know you

were going to be

here.

Nobody ever

told me that

there was a

God.

I never

had a Bible.

Nobody took

me to Sunday

school.

I never went

to church.

You can't

judge me.

I didn't

know.

And then

God reaches

forward and

he takes

off the

invisible tape

recorder.

So I didn't

know it was

there.

Well, no, of

course you

didn't because

it was

invisible.

But he

makes it

visible and

you see this

tape recorder.

And God

says to you,

I want you

to know that

I am very,

very fair.

I'm a just

God.

So I'm

not going

to judge

you by

what you

don't

know,

but what

you do

know.

I'm not

going to

judge you

by the

Bible because

you never

read it.

I'm not

going to

judge you

by Jesus

Christ because

you never

heard about

him.

I'm going

to judge

you by

your own

standards or

by your

own conscience.

Look at

verse 15.

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.

You see,

we've all got a

conscience and

our conscience,

no matter who

we are,

tells us that's

right or

that's wrong.

God says,

so when we

take off this

recorder,

God says,

it's recorded

every single

time you

have said to

somebody else,

you should

have done

that.

You shouldn't

have done

that.

You ought

to have said

that.

God says,

I'm going

to judge

you by

the standard

that you

judge others.

Now that's

completely fair.

Now that's

a big problem,

isn't it?

Because I

can't even

live up to

my own

standards,

let alone

God's

standards.

How many

times have I

told my

kids,

stop being

grumpy and

don't be

rude?

I'll not

tell you how

many times

I'm grumpy

and rude.

You see,

it's back to

verse 1

again,

isn't it?

You,

therefore,

have no

excuse.

You who

pass judgment

on someone

else,

every time

you start

pointing fingers

at other

people,

you're

judging

yourself.

You're

condemning

yourself because

you who

pass judgment,

you do

exactly the

same things.

You see,

no matter

who we are,

whether we're

judged by

God's law or

by our own

heart law,

whether we're

irreligious

people or

religious people,

whether we've

read our

Bibles or

haven't read

our Bibles,

we will all

discover that

we're all

guilty and

that we

deserve to

be judged.

You see,

God's

fairness is

not a

problem.

The problem

is with our

own stubborn

and rebellious

hearts.

So if

God's

judgment is

completely

fair,

what hope

is there

going to

be for

any of

us,

because we're

all going

to be

found

wanting.

Well, the

Bible does

talk about a

day of

judgment to

come,

but it also

talks about a

day of

judgment that

has passed.

This day

is the day

when Jesus

died on the

cross.

On the

cross,

Jesus takes

the judgment

that you

and I

deserve.

Remember that

imagery of the

dam and the

river?

Well, it's

like Jesus

is standing

in front of

that dam,

and the

wrath of God

that is

stored up

for us

has been

poured out

on Jesus.

Instead of

crashing and

flowing over

us, it

falls onto

Christ, and

it is

absorbed

completely

onto Christ,

and all

those who

stand behind

him, all

those who

put their

faith and

have repented

and stand

in the

security of

the cross,

the judgment

flows past.

We are

protected and

kept safe,

so we no

longer need to

fear God's

judgment, now

or in the

future.

Instead, we

live with the

freedom that

all our sin

has been dealt

with.

Now, if we

begin to apply

this to our

lives, it's

not just going

to be a

wonderful idea,

but it's

going to change

us on the

inside out.

In two ways,

and we see

this on the

screen here.

The first

way is that

I will no

longer judge

myself.

Because Jesus

is judged

instead of

me, I

no longer

look down

at myself

and beat

myself up

when I

fail and

fall.

Do you do

that?

When you

fail and

fall, do

you look at

yourself and

go, you're

so bad,

Johnny, you're

so awful, you

might as well

give up the

Christian life

because you're

just a waste

of space and

you keep

getting it

wrong all

the time.

Give up.

Satan comes

alongside and

he reminds me

of what I've

said and

what I've

done.

And being

at a 20

year reunion,

there were

lots of

stories to

remind me of

what I've

done.

What do I

do?

I look to

the cross and

I see Christ

and I see

that the

judgment has

fallen on

him.

I'm no

longer condemned.

I've been

set free.

I'm a child

of God,

treasured and

loved by

him.

So I no

longer have

to judge

myself because

Christ has

been judged

instead of

me.

And the

second thing

is I no

longer need

to judge

others.

Because Jesus

is judged

instead of

me, I no

longer look

down on

others because

now I see

that I'm

actually no

different to

anybody else.

when I see

people sin,

when I see

people fail

and fall,

I'm no

longer pointing

the finger

at them

saying,

they're so

bad, they

deserve God's

judgment.

I'm no

longer pointing

the finger,

instead I'm

pointing them

to the cross.

I'm pointing

them towards

Jesus and I'm

saying, Jesus

can take your

judgment too.

truth.

So it

changes how

I look at

myself and

it changes

how I look

at other

people as

well.

When we

look at

Christ, it

transforms

our outlook

in every

way.

Turn with

me please

to Romans

Romans 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14.

As we

close, I

just want to

read these

few verses.

Romans

Romans 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14,

just a couple

of pages on

and verse 9.

And as we

read this, I

just want us

to reflect

and personally

respond to

what we

hear.

We'll just

take a minute

silence, having

read it, for

us to reflect

upon what we

see here.

Romans

Romans 14:9

chapter 14,

verse 9.

It says

this, for

this very

reason, Christ

died and

returned to

life, so

that he

might be

Lord of

both the

dead and

the living.

You

then, why

do you

judge your

brother?

Why do you

look down

on your

sister?

For we

will all

stand before

God's

judgment

seat.

God's

heart.

It is

written, as

surely as

I live,

says the

Lord, every

knee will

bow before

me and

every tongue

will confess

to God.

So then

each of

us will

give an

account of

himself to

God.

Therefore,

let us

stop passing

judgment on

one another.

God's

heart.

Let's just

take a

minute to

reflect and

to respond in

our own

hearts to

God.

God's

heart.

Let's

God's

heart.

God's

Our Father God, we thank you so much for Jesus.

We have that picture in our minds of that dam, that river,

it bursting forth.

We picture Christ who has absorbed the judgment for us,

so that we can be set free, so that we can be your children.

We thank you that because of Jesus that we can truly look forward to the day of judgment,

because it is a day when you will welcome us into your eternal kingdom.

We will live with you forever.

We will stand there not on the basis of our performance or our goodness,

but we will point to Christ,

and we will say Christ has done it for me.

We thank you, Jesus, so much.

Please, Father, we ask that you would work this truth into our lives as we go about this week,

and when we fail, because we're all going to slip and fall up this week,

we would not start judging ourselves, but we would look straight to Christ

and remember that he has been judged.

We're no longer condemned.

And when we're with our friends and with family and they say or do something that's wrong,

help us not to be judgmental,

but instead gently and graciously help us to point them to the cross

and show them that Jesus has taken their judgment too.

We ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.