which is on page 1129, I think, page 1129, Romans chapter 2, verses 1 to 16.
Page 1129, if you're using a red-covered Bible, Romans chapter 2, verses 1 to 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.
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
chapter 14.
As we
close, I
just want to
read these
few verses.
Romans
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
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.