Castlebar Christian Fellowship

Reading: Romans 2:1-11.

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.
2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
3 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?
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God's kindness leads you towards repentance?

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.
6 God will give to each person according to what he has done.
7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life.
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;
10 but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
11 For God does not show favouritism.
Introduction:
Who is Paul addressing in the verses we've just read. (i.e. 2:1-11) I believe he's now addressing the Jews in contrast to the Gentile world described in 1:18-32. It doesn't become explicit until verse 17; however there are good reasons to believe that this part of an extended section is mainly addressed to Jews, but of course not exclusively to the Jews.
Throughout chapter two he is describing those who feel they have much higher moral standards than the extremes he's just described amongst the Gentile world. Of course there were people in the Gentile world that had very high ethical standards also! To me it looks like Paul's giving a wake up call to complacent religionists who are blind to their desperate need of salvation.
They took the high moral ground and had an 'Insider versus Outsider' mentality.
Remember the Jews in general felt superior to the Gentile world. They also carried a sense of immunity from God's judgment because they were the chosen people. They would applaud Paul's talk of judgment of the Gentiles because they felt it was appropriate to say such things about Gentiles. However it was unthinkable that Paul would say such things about them. And yet straight away he brings the focus in on them. They're on the hot spot.
V1 You, therefore, have no excuse. "The word translated have no excuse is often used in a legal sense. It means 'without reasoned defense'." (Leon Morris)
indefensible: - without excuse, inexcusable.
Paul is contrasting two groups of people who equally have 'no excuse'. The first group we are told are accountable even though they have no bible, they still instinctively 'know God's righteous decree.' Romans 1:32. (See also 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.)
The Jews in chapter two, whether believers or non-believers, have God's written revelation what we now call the Old Testament. They pride themselves on their knowledge and religious inheritance and somehow feel it gives them the right to sit in judgment on others and at the same time to be somehow personally escape God's judgment. When you judge others you get the attention off yourself. Often people try to make themselves look better than they are by undermining others. This can be expressed in a subtle way, even in the guise of being helpful or prayerful. Pride always takes a superior position. However the judgmental moralist is not walking on the high ground; he's really walking on thin ice.
Every time you point the finger there are at least three pointing back at you? The faults we criticize in others are often our own faults. As we used to say, it takes one to know one. (E.g. Irish sayings!)

Paul tells them forthrightly,
VV1&3. "You who pass judgment do the same things."
That must have come as a real shocker to the Jewish listeners. They knew of the vices of the Gentiles and they roundly condemned them and no doubt applauded Paul when he gave his message regarding them in 1:18-32. Then for Paul to say to them, "You do the same things."
They didn't necessarily all do these self same things but as Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, you can commit adultery in your heart even if you don't do it in person. Their expression of sin was probably different but it was still sin at the end of the day. As somebody put it, "The sin of the Jews was the same, but their sins were not." (Denney)

V2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. "The expression means 'in accordance with the facts of the case.'" (Murray) (We're reminded in v11 For God does not show favouritism.)
God's judgment is not based on our race or nationality, our background, education, social status, wealth or lack of wealth, our good looks or lack of the same, but his judgment is in accordance with the facts. He thoroughly knows us, inside out; our motives, our deeds, our attitudes and our actions.
This is so often in sharp contrast to human evaluations. As Paul reminded the Corinthians, When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. (2Corinthians 10:12)
As has been pointed out "Human judgments, whether about ourselves or about others, do not count. God's judgment, on the other hand, is inescapable." (William Hendriksen)
V3 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?
As we're reminded in scripture, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.2 Corinthians 5:10
Paul reminded that Gentile audience in Athens, In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:30-31

V3 do you think you will escape God's judgment? (We're told that this you is emphatic!) Many of the Jews thought they were immune from judgment by virtue of the fact that they were descended from Abraham. Remember the words of John the Baptist to the religious people of his day, Matthew 3:7-9
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
An important aspect to emphasise in this teaching is the immense background of God's mercy. God doesn't punish people for punishments sake. In the words of F.W. Faber
There's a wideness in God's mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there's a kindness in his justice,
which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
and more graces for the good;
there is mercy with the Savior;
there is healing in his blood.

Just look at V4 the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience. What an amazing description of God! There is an overflowing abundance of these qualities in God. In God's house the cupboards are not bare! Just think of,
His Kindness : We're reminded that the original word can be defined, when referring to peoples treatment of each other, as "the sympathetic kindliness or sweetness of temper which puts others at their ease, and shrinks from giving pain." It's also important to point out that this is not just describing a disposition but its God reaching out and actively doing us good.
His Tolerance: (or better forbearance) We're told that the original word here denotes, "stopping, esp. of hostilities…armistice, truce." In other words God is not condoning sin but he's giving time for people to repent. It implies a limit!
His Patience: It literally means something like "long-tempered" (as opposed to short-tempered.) "It means patience with people, the ability to bear long in the face of disappointment and opposition." God puts up with a lot! He has done so for a long time. Peter reminded his listeners that they were not to misinterpret God's slowness regarding the promise of the second coming of Jesus.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him.
2 Peter 3:9, 15.

What an amazing combination of words that give us this sketch of God's character. He is rich in kindness. He's rich in tolerance and He's rich in patience. But Paul warns us all,

Or do you show contempt ('look down on' Hendriksen) "To underestimate the significance of something, to think lightly of it and thus fail to accord to it the esteem that is due." (Murray)
To me this expresses the thought of taking something for granted and forgetting to appreciate the 'riches' that God has bestowed upon us.
Familiarity can breed contempt.
Here in this account we see that people do not have to be driven by sorrow to repentance, they can also be led by the kindness of God to this radical life changing experience. Sorrow of itself is not necessarily productive in our lives but their can be a godly sorrow (a good grief) that leads us to a place of wholeness and life.

In these verses we see that God is seeking people through the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience However people can be cocooned by their experience of God's goodness and fail to let it lead them to God. When Paul says here in v4 not realising that God's kindness leads you towards repentance? We're told that this expression not realising? (Question mark)(or not knowing) means the person deserves blame. He's responsible for his actions. This person does not want to be shaken out of his self-satisfied state.
In that case, it has given them a false sense of security and instead of it becoming a stepping stone that leads to God it becomes a stumbling block that causes a person to be detoured into a blind alley of self righteousness and self satisfied complacency.
The Jew could have reflected on the fact that he did not engage in the vices mentioned in chapter one, that the Gentiles were so commonly guilty of. However as William Hendriksen reminds us, "The absence of any number of pagan vices does not constitute even a single virtue. Not even a billion zeroes make a single plus."

v4 Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? (NLT)
As one definition puts it, "Repentance (Greek, metanoia) in the New Testament does not basically signify sorrow for sin or even remorse, but stands for the radical change in thought and will that turns a person away from himself to acknowledge God as Lord, and away from disobedience of God's will to obedience. For Paul repentance is divinely worked (2 Corinthians 7:9-11) and includes the action of faith in Jesus Christ (the latter is Paul's more common word)." (Alan F. Johnson)
It has been pointed out that this word, metanoia, can also be translated 'conversion' and it's in contrast to those described in v5 who are described as having an am-et-an-o'-ay-tos heart, i.e an unrepentant or unconverted heart.
This positive aspect of repentance i.e. conversion has been described as "reaching out to God by means of genuine trust and wholehearted surrender." (Hendriksen)
However it's been observed that,
The same sun that softens wax, hardens clay.
If people do not respond to God's kindness they will eventually have to experience his severity. (VV5-8)

V5 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.
Stubbornness: The Greek word is, skle?rote?s (sklay-rot'-ace)
callousness, that is, (figuratively) stubbornness: - hardness.
Somebody has pointed out "that 'arteriosclerosis' ('hardening of the arteries') derives from this word and reminds us of the reality of 'spiritual sclerosis', the 'hardening of the spiritual arteries'. (Ralph Earle)

We're reminded that when speaking of the wrath of God, "it signifies God's settled opposition to all that is evil, and not some irrational passion." (William Morris)

V6 God will give to each person according to what he has done.
When Paul makes this statement he is reflecting various verses in the Old Testament and the teaching of Jesus (E.g. Matthew 16:27) and applying them to everybody. This verse tells us that judgment will be on the basis of what we have done. It's important to remind ourselves at this point that when Paul emphasises divine sovereignty, in terms of our salvation, he also links it with human responsibility. Look at just some verses in the New Testament.
Philippians 2:12-13 NLT, Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no-one can boast.
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Though salvation is all of grace, judgment will be on the basis of works. I don't claim to understand all of this. I believe that the judgment for a believer's sin has all been met at Calvary. From the moment a person has saving faith in Jesus the judgment on his sins is over. John 5:24. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
On the other hand we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. That is an awesome thought. I'm still challenged by the thought that as we stand before a Holy God we can suffer loss at many different levels even if we are saved. I don't just want to be saved by the skin of my teeth! (1Corinthians 3:12-15)
Scripturally speaking, "both rewards and punishments are distributed in accordance with the degree of faithfulness or unfaithfulness shown by anyone." (Hendriksen)
In verses V 7-8 we see pictured before us two groups of people that Mankind is divided into. One group is God seeking the other group is self-seeking. Paul describes those who persevere in seeking first the kingdom of God and those who persist in the kingdom of self.
Bearing in mind the previous verses we've jus read, we see the outworking and end result of the repentant and the unrepentant person. These verses at first reading can seem a bit confusing. They could look like a teaching that advocates salvation by works. They are not describing an alternative way of getting saved. They describe the desire and aspirations that a saved man or woman, has. This is the person that walks the narrow way.
V7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life.
We're told, "The three words define aspiration in terms of the highest reaches of Christian hope." (Murray)
From what I can see these are words that can only be applied to believers. They express a reality that can only be found in a believer's heart. They describe someone who knows Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. These verses are not expressing an alternative way to be saved than that which is made explicit elsewhere. Paul is not saying some are saved by good works whilst others are saved by grace through faith. This would run contrary to all the explicit verses we read further on in this letter and elsewhere in Paul's letters. In chapter 3:20 he reminds us, For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands.
Titus 3:4-7. But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared,
5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Paul frequently reminds believers that when a person is saved it's demonstrated by an outworking of his salvation.
From what I can see all true good works in the Christian life are an out working of that which God is already working into his or her life. Whether it be prayer, obedience, asking afresh for forgiveness, Christian virtue or anything else genuinely Christian it has to be a work of the Holy Spirit.
Regarding good works, Luther reminds us, "God pays no heed to the insignificance of the work being done, but looks at the heart which is serving him in the work; and this is true of such mundane tasks as washing the dishes or milking the cows." Martin Luther.
Our good works don't earn salvation they exhibit salvation. Our deeds demonstrate that God is at work in our lives. These works don't merit Gods blessing but they mark us out as his people.
Another thing that marks a true believer is persistence . V7 The word has the meaning of: cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy: - enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting)
This word describes people who are saved. They have hope. They persist in doing good. God preserves them and they persevere to the end. They do not have as their focus their good works but they look to a greater end. They are people hungry for God. And the end they have in sight is glory, honour and immortality that are summed up in eternal life.
In sharp contrast we see the things that define an unsaved person, the person who walks the broad way, the hard unrepentant heart with 'spiritual sclerosis'.
V8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
The word translated, self-seeking, is not common in the New Testament. One student of the word concludes that, "There does seem to be an attitude of self-centredness about it, perhaps coupled with a contentious spirit." (Morris)
I cant help but being reminded between verses 7&8 we see the gift of eternal life on the one hand in v7 and in v8 we see the end result for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, (there will be) wrath and anger. The words 'there will be' are supplied by translators. (They are not in the Greek manuscript.) It reminds me again of God stepping back and letting people have their own way and the results of their own way. We can either receive God's gift or collect our deserved wages. There are two options made known to us in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The two words together, wrath and anger, are a reminder of the stark reality of God's attitude to unrepentant sinners.
People at the receiving end of this anger will experience it as V9 trouble and distress. One word expresses 'press' or 'squash' and the other word means literally 'narrowness of space.' Together they express severe trouble. Hell with no let up!
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;
This punishment will be universal in its scope. Many of the Jews at that time saw the judgment as applying to the Gentiles but not for them. Just as they have a priority in the Gospel they will have a priority in the judgment.
But for those who are right with God through faith in Christ,
V10 glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Heaven for eternity.
This combination of words describes as somebody put it, a "totality of bliss and blessing." (Morris) Again these words apply to all who repent, whether they are Jew or Gentile.
V11 For God does not show favouritism.
Remember Peter when he had to undergo a major shift in his thinking by preaching the good news to the Gentiles. He spoke these words to the Roman Centurion, Cornelius and his household. Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter began to speak: I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism
35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
God is totally fair and even-handed in his dealings with all of humanity. As Abraham said of God, Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? Genesis 18:25
Conclusion:
Do you trust Christ as your saviour? There is no condemnation for those who are in Him. Only in Him can we be saved from the wrath of God.
Have the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience led you to repentance?
Is heaven your destiny?
Today can be the turning point for you! Repentance is a simple u-turn on the road that marks a new beginning in your journey with God. God is reaching out to you today, in kindness, forbearance and patience. What will your response be?
Footnotes:
V5 (SEE also v16)
Impartiality: In Leviticus 19:15 God required his people to reflect his impartiality. He tells them,
Judging others: Matthew 7:1-5
Repentance: There's a good description of the realities of repentance in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 that on this occasion include sorrow. Paul tells them,
I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.