Good morning everyone. We're going to be reading from Romans chapter 2 from verse 1 all the way through the end of the chapter and then we'll read Romans chapter 3 up to verse 8.
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man, you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
But because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
He will render to each one according to his works.
To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek.
But glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
For God shows no partiality.
For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law.
And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness,
and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent,
because you are instructed from the law, and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind,
a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children,
having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?
You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
You who boast in the law, dishonor God by breaking the law.
For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.
For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.
So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision, but break the law.
For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.
But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not by the letter.
His praise is not from man, but from God.
Then what advantage has the Jew?
Or what is the value of circumcision?
Much in every way.
To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
What if some were unfaithful?
Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?
By no means.
Let God be true, though everyone were a liar.
As it is written, that you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged.
But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God,
what shall we say?
That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us?
I speak in a human way.
By no means.
For then how could God judge the world?
But if through my lie, God's truth abounds to his glory,
why am I still being condemned as a sinner?
And why not do evil that good may come?
As some people slanderously charge us with saying,
their condemnation is just.
Well, my one-year-old boy, Samuel,
he was starting to say his first words,
mama, dada, blue-blue for blueberries.
I probably shouldn't have said that.
He's now going to be craving that.
Last time I said cheese in a sermon,
apparently the rest of the sermon he's just going,
cheese.
Enjoy that, Emma.
So I thought it's about time he learned some good solid doctrine.
So he's already got one or two words.
So as a bit of fun,
I asked him the first question in the New City Catechism.
So here's the first question.
I asked Samuel,
what is our only hope in life and death?
And I was shocked by the answer.
Me.
Once I got over the wave of fear
that my boy had already determined
that the rest of his life he would get rid of God,
Emma and I thought,
oh, that's kind of funny.
It's quite an ironic response.
It's rather cute for a one-year-old to answer that way
because he has no idea what I was saying.
But it's a little less cute
when a young person or adult
who knows what that question means says,
me.
It's a bit less cute, isn't it?
Considering yourself the absolute master of your life,
my own wisdom in making choices,
it's what I do, what I can achieve
that will give me the good life,
the blessed life now,
and I'll handle the crisis of death later.
Me is the hope in life and death.
That's declaring autonomy from God.
God, you're not going to be God over my life.
My hope is in me.
And we've already seen in Romans chapter 1
that such human autonomy
that looks at all that God has made,
don't you just get blown away by the stars
every time you look up.
Every person who looks at that and goes,
I'm not going to treat you as God.
I can be master of my own life.
That willful failing to thank God
and treat him as God,
God says there will be punishment for that.
He will hand that person over.
You want to rule your own life?
Okay, see how that goes for you.
At the end of the chapter,
just relationships are destroyed
when we try and rule our own life.
Look at the fruit of that.
It doesn't work.
And one day there will be a permanent cutting off
from God's blessings.
So at this point,
some of us might be cheering Paul on.
Preach it, brother.
Yeah, those immoral people, preach it.
They deserve what's coming to them.
But the question we need to be asking,
and it's the question that Paul is answering
in these chapters, one to three,
who needs the gospel to be saved?
Who's in danger of experiencing the anger of God
on that final day of judgment?
And why?
Is the gospel only for those
who are flagrantly immoral?
Just obviously everyone counts them as immoral,
even themselves.
What about the morally sensitive person?
What about the religiously privileged person?
Surely they're safe.
Surely we are safe.
Surely we deserve life now
and any afterlife to come.
How could we be in danger of the wrath of God?
And besides,
isn't holding yourself morally accountable a good thing?
I am in charge of my life and my choices.
I'm responsible.
I'm a morally responsible person.
Isn't that attitude a good thing?
Isn't that what produces a good life
and makes you a good person?
What's wrong with that sort of autonomy?
I think Paul in chapter two and three
doesn't just say,
well, that's the way it is, accept it.
I think he actually meets us in our thinking.
He comes to us,
both the morally sensitive person
and the religiously privileged person
and goes,
okay, well, let's see how you go with that.
He doesn't just say,
accept it.
He says,
okay, let's take a look at how you live.
So we're about to jump into the detail.
So I hope you got your Bibles open
to Romans two and three.
Feel free to listen and check it later.
But I just want to start,
if you hear nothing else today,
I just want to give you
the overall main point of these chapters.
Here's the main point
of what God's saying through Paul here.
Who needs the gospel to be saved?
The answer is in chapter three, verse 23.
This is where he's leading to.
All have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
Everyone needs the gospel.
Everyone is in danger
of God's righteous judgment.
But no one will be held accountable
for what they don't know.
You will only be held accountable
for what you do know.
But equally true,
whatever you know,
whatever degree of knowledge
of what is right you do know,
none of us live up to what we know.
So God's righteous judgment is just.
It's deserved.
Okay, so let's take a look at it.
Moral person.
So chapter two.
There's two views
of who Paul is talking to here.
Either he's talking
to the Jewish person,
so he's jumping straight
to the religious,
or he's talking to
the average Roman of the day
who felt morally superior
to everyone who's not a Roman.
I've got a conscience.
I'm a good person.
I don't think it really matters too much.
There's a slight nuance
in argument there.
The main point is the same.
Okay, morally sensitive person.
You who have been sitting
in the jury,
looking at immoral people,
going,
yeah, I agree, Paul.
Those people do deserve
what's coming to them.
They deserve the fruit
of their deeds.
You've been sitting in the jury.
Okay, hop up.
Come sit in the dock.
You think your internal
moral compass means
you will escape
God's righteous judgment.
That's not so,
because God is righteous
in his judgment.
Because first,
look at verses one to five,
the first paragraph there.
You do the same things
as you condemn others for.
Chapter two, verse one.
Therefore, you have no excuse,
O person.
Every one of you who judges,
for in passing judgment
on another,
you condemn yourself.
Because the judge,
you the judge,
practice the very same things.
You claim to know
what is right
and what is wrong,
but do you live
according to what
you say is right and wrong?
That's what matters.
Just think of the past week.
Have you cast someone
in a negative light
as you've spoken about them
to someone else?
If someone did that to you,
wouldn't you be outraged
by that?
Did you keep your word
and were you honest?
Or did you fail
that other person
because it was just
more convenient
to not keep your word?
Are there secrets
in your life
that you really hope
that it never come
to the light of day?
That's true for all of us,
isn't it?
Whatever you're condemning
in others,
do you do the same things?
You hear what Paul's saying?
Your own voice
is like an advanced echo
of what God's voice
will be on that final day.
Your own voice
is condemning you
as you condemn others
for doing the very same things.
It's a pre-warning
of God's judgment.
God is righteous
in his judgment.
So why do we often
not feel like a bad person
if we can't even live up
to our own standards?
I think maybe that's what
verses four and five
are about.
Verse four,
we look at the good circumstances
in our life
and we conclude
that we deserve them.
Things are going well,
reasonably,
at least some of the things.
So what do you think?
When do people say
life isn't fair?
This isn't fair.
Is it when things
are going well
or when things
are going badly?
I'm not sure
I've heard many people go,
I'm having a really good day.
I don't deserve this.
I haven't heard that
too often.
I don't think that way
too often.
Even though we condemn
others to reap
the fruit of their ways,
we fail to see
what we deserve.
Our condemnation
of others
when we do
the very same thing
tells us
we don't deserve
the blessings
we have
today or tomorrow
and yet
we take
the riches
of God's
forgiveness,
not forgiveness
but his kindness,
his patience,
his forbearance
and we confuse
that for approval.
I deserve this.
So sometimes
I'm in the park
or by the lake
at Lake Macquarie
and there's just
so much bustling life
and people enjoying life.
Sometimes I'm just
blown away.
Look how much
kindness
God gives people.
He gives me
so much
like I know
there's hard things
in our lives
but there's just
so much good
he gives people.
But that's not
evidence of his
approval.
That's evidence
of his kindness
wanting you to
turn to him.
He's giving you
time to turn.
He's righteous.
He's giving you
time.
In verse 5
we think
all this way
because we
willfully
just push
death out of
our minds
in our culture.
We try and
hide it.
We all know
one day
our bodies
will die.
We have to
face death.
Each one of us.
We know it
and yet we just
push it out of
our minds.
Death is just
this loud alarm
that
something is
not right.
that we all
must face
death and
we all must
face the
consequences
of our
wrongdoing.
We will
face God
one day.
God is so
righteous.
He is patient
and forbearing
giving us time
to turn towards
him but we
confuse that
patience with
us deserving
it and that
we must be a
good person.
We deserve
this.
The third
reason God
is righteous
in his
judgment is
because we
see in
verses 6
to 11.
He is
righteous because
he has one
standard for
all people.
All of us
there is one
standard.
What you
actually do.
It is based
on truth.
What you
do.
That is the
one standard.
I think we
can think in
terms of how
school assessments
work where
there is the
bell curve and
we think we
as long as
we are in
the majority
bit of the
bell curve.
We are not
at the
tail end.
We are
okay.
We may not
be at the
upper end.
The really
high moral
achievers.
As long as
we are in
the main
pack we are
okay.
That is
comparative
assessment.
Some medical
exams for
instance have
a percentage
cut off.
It does
really matter
how well
you do as
long as
you do
better than
others.
God won't
do that.
He is
righteous.
He will
judge you
according to
what you
do.
You alone.
He is not
like the
classroom teacher
who keeps
the whole
year in
because of
a few bad
eggs.
He is
righteous.
He looks
at your
deeds alone,
my deeds
alone.
Verse 6,
he will render
to each one
according to
his works.
So here is
the one
standard for
all people,
verses 7
to 11.
To those
who by
patience in
well-doing
seek for
glory and
honour and
immortality,
he will
give eternal
life.
But for
those who
are self-seeking
and do
not obey
the truth,
but obey
unrighteousness,
there will be
wrath and
fury.
Verse 11,
God is
righteous,
he shows
no
favouritism,
no
nepotism,
no
discrimination.
He is
so righteous,
he looks
at your
life alone.
So if
you're a
good person
who always
seeks to
do what
is right,
if you
don't settle
for short-term
gain but
you're always
seeking that
eternal glory
and reward,
if you're not
motivated by
selfishness,
God will
give you
the blessings
of eternal
life.
This begs
the question,
doesn't it?
Who's Paul
thinking of
here?
Who fits
this category?
Some
take this,
there's lots
of different
ideas but
if I just
can summarise
it quickly,
some take
this as
saying that
some people
will be
rewarded by
being Christian,
by faith in
Jesus and
then others,
if they don't
know about
Jesus,
if they're
sincere in
doing good,
then they
will live.
But it
doesn't fit
with the
flow of
Paul's
argument like
we've seen
in Romans
3.23
already.
The point
of his
argument is
that all
of us
are in
need of
the gospel.
He says
very clear
in the rest
of the
letter,
no one
is saved
by their
works.
So,
let's assume
that Paul
doesn't totally
contradict
himself here.
What's he
doing?
Who's he
thinking of?
I think
he's saying
God is
just.
He certainly
would reward
those who
are always
seeking good.
He will.
That is
true.
The question
is,
is that
you?
Is that
me?
Is that
anyone?
Like,
I'm sick
of the
phrase,
to be honest.
I'm not
perfect.
I'm sick
of it because
people use it
as an
excuse not
to own
what they've
done.
But we
all admit
no one's
perfect and
yet somehow
we think
we fit
this
category.
It is
true that
God will
reward
someone who's
totally
righteous.
The problem
is,
who is
that?
There is
one standard.
He is so
righteous.
He doesn't
show
favouritism.
God is
righteous in
his
judgment.
And the
fourth reason
God is
righteous in
his judgment,
which we
see in
12 to
16,
verses 12
to 16,
is that
he's given
you a
conscience.
You do
know what
is right
and wrong.
But if
you're a
religious person
right now,
if you know
what the
Bible says
fairly well,
don't think
that somehow
that gives
you an
advantage
because,
to some
degree,
God's law
is also
written on
every person's
heart.
We all
have a
conscience.
To some
degree,
God has
given
his idea
of what
is right
and wrong
to every
single
person.
And he
will assess
each person
according to
what they
know.
If you
just have
a moral
compass,
God will
assess you
according to
how you
live up to
that.
If you
have God's
law and
you know
it very
well,
he will
assess you
according to
how you
live up to
that.
I think
verse 15
is really
key here.
So have a
look at
verse 15
with me.
They show
that,
this is the
morally
sensitive
person,
they show
that the
work of
the law
is written
on their
hearts
while their
conscience
also bears
witness,
and their
conflicting
thoughts
accuse or
even excuse
them.
So if
you've
seen the
movie
Inside
Out,
where you
got these
emotions in
your mind,
metaphorical,
I think
picture a
courtroom in
our mind,
we each have
a conscience,
and we've
got a little
lawyer in
there trying
to get us
off the
hook all
the time.
That lawyer
is pretty
effective,
but we've
also got a
judge,
and that
judge can be
pretty harsh
sometimes,
can't it?
Even in
our society
at the
moment that
is so
adamant that
each person
can decide
what is
right and
wrong for
themselves,
we still
have this
conscience.
We can't
escape our
inner judge.
In fact,
if you want
a life of
loving
relationships,
then that
places a
moral demand
on you.
If you
want loving
relationships
in your
life,
that places
a moral
demand on
you.
I'm going
to quote
Jordan
Peterson
here,
a behavioural,
he's quite
popular,
I'm not sure
if you've
heard of him
before,
Canadian
behavioural
psychologist.
He said
this really
well,
and I'm
not sure
if I've
thought of
it this
way before,
so here's
what he
said.
If you
view someone
with love,
then it's
incumbent upon
you to
treat them
as if
they're
valuable.
And then
the more
you treat
other people
as valuable,
the better
person you
are.
That just
comes along
for the
ride.
So the
more love
you view
other people
with,
the higher
the moral
demand that's
placed on
you.
It requires
you to treat
them as
valuable.
Then I'd
say too,
well,
there's another
reason why
it's so
important to
be truthful
and in
some sense
to be good,
because it
isn't obvious
to me that
you can
withstand
that moral
load if
you're
compromised
by too
much sin.
It's just
too much.
So he's
not a
Christian.
He's
sympathetic
to
Christianity,
but he's
not a
Christian.
If I
can try
and reword
what he's
saying here,
or just
summarise,
the more
you love
someone,
you've
got to
treat them
as valuable.
And if
you treat
them as
valuable,
that places
a moral
obligation to
do that.
And the
question is,
do we
treat people
as valuable?
You can't
have love
in your
life and
no moral
accountability.
They go
hand in
hand.
So the
question is,
what does
your conscience
tell you?
When our
inner judge
approves of
what we do,
it shows
that we have
a moral
compass.
It says,
you are
right in
doing that.
But even
there,
there's a
problem.
It shows
we have
a moral
compass,
but we
don't
always do
that right
every single
time.
God is
righteous,
he gives
you his
moral compass,
and he is
aware of
your secret
thoughts.
He knows
each of our
conscience.
And again,
our conscience
is the
voice that
is an
echo of
what God
will say
on that
final day
to each
one of
us.
It's a
warning.
So after
looking at
those
paragraphs,
I wanted
to speak to
Christians for
a moment.
Do you see
the principle
Paul is
using here?
I think
we can
sometimes
condemn
unbelievers
for the
law.
It's
because they
don't live
up to what
we know
is right,
but if we
know the
Bible,
that standard
is for
us.
I don't
think it's
always appropriate
to demand
of unbelievers,
family or
friends,
what they
don't yet
know.
But they
still need
the gospel.
Just ask
them, do
they live
up to what
they do
know, their
moral compass,
what they
condemn others
for?
And if they
don't live up
to that, how
do they reconcile
that?
Okay, so
Christian,
religious person,
religiously
privileged person,
claiming you
have more
knowledge of
God, of
God's law,
God's ways,
it gives you
an advantage,
doesn't it?
Well, it
doesn't,
actually.
And Paul's
about to
explain why.
So the
Jew or the
person who
grows up in
the church,
who knows
their Bible,
they do
know more.
There are
real privileges
that come
along with
that.
But you
too, me
too, I
am in
danger of
the wrath
of God.
Pre-Jesus.
We can
often think
that the
privilege means
advantage,
like the
child of a
rich and
powerful parent
who, they're
just accepted
into university
by virtue of
who their
dad is, who
their parent
is, who
their mum
is, or
they get
the job
just because
of that
privilege.
We can
think that
privilege means
advantage, but
that's not the
case with God
because he is
righteous.
God is
righteous, he
has one
standard, what
you actually
do in light of
the knowledge
you have.
God is
a
religious
person.
If you
count yourself
as a
religious
person, hop
out of the
jury box, it's
your turn to
be in the
dock.
Let's have a
look.
Why is there
no advantage?
Why are you
in danger of
the wrath of
God?
So verse
17 and
following.
So
Paul's speaking
to the Jewish
people, but I
think there's a
lot of parallels
for Christians
today.
If you
call yourself
a Jew and
rely on the
law and
boast in God
and know his
will, that
boasting is good
by the way, and
approve what is
excellent, how
could God's
people, God's
special chosen
people experience
God's wrath?
Surely we're
safe, says the
Jew.
But God is
righteous in his
judgment because
firstly, you
don't practice
what you
preach.
I don't
think the
criticism is
in verses
19 and
20, claiming
to be a
guide to the
blind, a
light to
those who
are in
darkness.
I don't
think it's
wrong to
think of
yourself that
way, that
you have
more knowledge
of God's
ways than
others.
If that's
true, that's
okay.
I don't
think the
criticism is
there.
The
criticism comes
in verse
21.
You then who
teach others,
do not teach
yourself, while
you preach
against stealing,
do you
steal?
You who
say that one
must not
commit adultery,
do you
commit adultery?
You who
abhor idols,
do you rob
temples?
So these
three examples,
they confuse
me a bit
because it's
not clear how
every Jew would
be convicted of
this.
So either
we've got to
take these
three accusations
that you've
committed adultery,
either we've got
to take them a
bit less
literally as
lust, that
everyone's
committed lust.
So that's one
option that's
possible.
I slightly
prefer a second
option, which is
that Paul is
establishing the
point that it's
not by virtue of
being one of God's
people that
guarantees that
you're saved.
And he points
out a few
people that
that's not
true for, and
if it's not
true for a few,
then it's not
true for all.
So I think it
works like this.
In our day, if
we consider the
royal commission
into the sex
scandals and the
cover-ups, and
from leadership in
the church, no
less, hasn't that
blasphemed the
name of Jesus?
In our society.
So on the one
hand, these
leaders are
boasting in
knowing God, and
then by their
behaviour, they've
just, the
reputation of God
is in the mud
now, isn't it, in
society?
I think Paul's
point here is
that clearly for
some Jewish
people back
then, and the
principle still
applies today,
that they might
claim it all they
want, but
clearly they're
showing by their
behaviour, they
don't actually
believe it, and
they're under the
condemnation of
God, they're in
danger of the
wrath of God.
I think he's just
making the simple
point, by virtue of
being a Jew, that
doesn't mean you're
safe.
God is righteous, he
will judge you
according to what
you do.
And then in
verses 25 to 29, he
goes broader to
challenge every
Jew.
Everyone who
claims to be one
of God's people and
therefore automatically
safe from God's
wrath.
Talking about
circumcision and
having the law.
Those were the two
marks of being a
Jew.
Do you belong to
God's people?
Then you've got the
law and you're
circumcised if you're
a male.
They were the two
marks of belonging
to God's people.
But as God has
always said, even in
his law, Deuteronomy
10, says,
circumcise the
foreskin of your
heart and be no
longer stubborn.
Fear the Lord your
God, walk in all
his ways, love him
and serve the Lord
your God with all
your heart and with
all your soul and
keep the commandments.
It's what's on the
inside that matters.
The external marks
of circumcision and
the law are just
meant to be symbolic
of what's true on
the inside.
So much so that
even if you don't
have those marks,
so if you're not a
Jew but you keep
the law and you
confess your sin to
God, God will count
you as the true
Jew.
You are really part
of God's people.
It's what's on the
inside that matters
is the point.
So Christians in the
room on Zoom, what
external marks of
being a Christian, of
being one of God's
people are you relying
on to be sure that
you are saved?
It could be as
simple as owning a
Bible or the number
of Christian books in
your library.
It could be as your
general knowledge of
the Bible.
You take pride in
knowing which chapter
and verse a quote is
from.
It could be the badge
that you identify as.
I'm Catholic, I'm
Anglican, I'm
Baptist, or maybe it's
I'm not just a
Christian, I'm
Reformed.
Is it the badge that
you're relying on?
Do you put store in
your baptism?
I was baptized or I
prayed that prayer.
I must be born again
because of those
things.
Is it some spiritual
mystical encounter with
God?
I had a spiritual
experience with God
surely.
I'm one of his
people.
Is it the role or
status that you have
in this church?
I teach at Fresh.
I teach Grace Kids.
I'm a small group
leader.
I'm a preacher.
Do you think by
virtue of preaching
this sermon that
makes me acceptable to
God?
Is it the role or
status you have?
Is it the Christian
upbringing you've
had?
your parents cannot
answer for you when
you face God in
judgment?
There's probably more
marks that we can rely
on but if we rely on
any of these things to
have confidence that we
are safe from the
wrath of God, Paul's
point is it's what's on
the inside that counts.
Do you have love for
God?
God's wrath will land on
you if there's no love
on the inside.
And verse 29 gives us a
hint for what we need to
get our inside in order.
We don't need laws to
obey, we need the
spirit.
Okay, we have one more
paragraph.
Chapter 3, 1 to 8.
And I was kind of
comforted to read in a
commentary that this is
one of the most
perplexing paragraphs in
the book because...
but I can't skip it.
And I often find the
harder bits in a text
often serve to make the
point clearer if you
wrestle with it.
So let's wrestle with it.
If what I say isn't
satisfying, there's a good
chance of that, that's
probably because Romans
chapter 9 to 11 unpacks it
even more.
So feel free to go read
that later.
So, Paul anticipates the
objection from the Jew,
from the religious person.
What advantage is there
then?
There's no advantage if
you're right, Paul.
Put as simply as I can, I
think there's two final
attempts from the religious
person to claim that I'm
safe from the wrath of God.
Verses 1 to 4.
If what you're saying is
right, Paul, if we, along
with Gentile sinners, are
equally guilty before God,
then you're saying there's
no advantage to being a
Jew, which can't be right
because we are God's
special people.
To which Paul responds,
I'm not saying there's no
Jewish privileges.
You have all the
privileges.
You have the word of God
to know him and love him
and obey him.
You have all the
privileges.
But I am saying that
privilege doesn't
automatically mean you're
accepted by God.
You don't live up to what
you know is right.
The second and last
ditch effort to avoid the
wrath of God on your life
is in verses 5 to 8.
And it's last
ditch.
It is twisted
thinking.
It is distorted
thinking.
It's so foolish that
Paul, the response is
really simple.
But here's the thinking
for the Jew back then
and I think it still
exists among Christians
today.
The Jew might
understand God's word
so well, claiming the
promises of God on
themselves and therefore
thinking that their sin
even highlights the
faithfulness of God.
My wrongdoing shows how
patient God is and
forgiving and committed to
his promises God is.
my sin brings him
glory.
And here's the twisted
thinking of it.
There's some truth to it.
Here's where it goes
wrong.
The implication is
therefore my sin
doesn't matter.
I can't be judged
for it.
Because it shows how
good God is.
My sin doesn't matter.
It's just stupid
thinking.
Paul's simple
response is
where is it?
Verse 6
By no means
for then how
could God
judge the world?
If what you're
saying is right
that you are safe
because your sin
just shows how
great God is
God couldn't
judge anyone.
You're clearly
wrong in your
thinking.
because God
will judge
the world.
The presumption
fails to
appreciate the
seriousness of
sin.
It just
fails to
appreciate
that because
you're a Jew,
because you've
grown up in the
church,
that you have the
promises of
salvation.
You're claiming
that but you're
missing the fact
that God will
also keep his
word to judge
those who
don't obey
his word.
You're picking
and choosing
what God
has said.
He will be
faithful.
He'll be
faithful to
everything he
says.
Feel free to
come talk to me
later if that's
not clear.
that I've
have.
Okay.
We've come a
long way this
morning.
That's a lot to
take in.
And we've
really only
skimmed the
top of these
paragraphs.
I recognise
that.
So I just want
to step back
and let's
remember the
big picture of
what God is
saying here in
these chapters.
Who needs the
gospel of
Jesus?
Who is in
danger of the
righteous
judgement of
God?
The answer is
every single
one of us.
Whether the
flagrantly immoral
person, whether
the morally
sensitive person
or the
religiously
privileged
person, none
of us live up
to what we
know to be
right.
Right.
we don't live up to our privileges, what we know.
God shows no favouritism.
He is righteous.
These chapters strip us bare.
We have no leg to stand on.
They tell us that as the sun rises
and you enjoy blessing after blessing,
not a single one of us deserve it.
It is evidence of God's kindness and patience.
He wants you to turn to him for life.
And remember that these chapters might feel harsh,
but remember that a warning is not the same thing
as what the warning is pointing towards, the reality.
A truck hitting you head on is to be dreaded.
But if you enter the freeway on the wrong side of the road
and there's a big sign saying,
you better turn back,
that is a very loving thing.
God is not warning you today to condemn you.
He's warning you because he loves you.
None of us live up to the knowledge we have.
We have no excuse.
So what is our only hope in life and death
when God's righteousness in his judgement
just feels so scary?
Our only hope must come from outside ourselves.
It must come from outside of ourselves
if we've got no leg to stand on.
It must come from outside society
if we're all part of the problem.
Our only hope is perhaps in the last place we want to look
because God's righteousness is so terrifying.
Our only hope is that God himself
somehow clears my conscience.
My only hope is that somehow
knowing what I've done
declares me innocent
and deserving of life.
That somehow
God doesn't count my failures against me.
That somehow
he counts to my life
a righteous life
that has always sought what is good
and treated people
and treated God
with the value they have.
Our only hope is the righteousness of God
that he saves us
that he gives
righteousness
as a free gift
and that is the good news
of the gospel.
That is exactly what God has done.
It is in Jesus
that God shows
just how righteous he is.
He is righteous
almost beyond belief.
where he will count you
as innocent
and deserving of life
all because of what he has done.
Here's how the catechism puts it.
What is our only hope in life and death?
That we are not our own
but belong
body and soul
both in life and death.
to God
and to our saviour
Jesus Christ.
So what's your only hope
in life and death?
I'll leave you with that question.
the QUO
the necessity contar