WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.679 Good morning, church. Good morning. I'm going to be reading Romans 2 verses 1 to 11. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:23.219 ! You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else. For at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:40.219 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 00:00:40.219 --> 00:00:53.780 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 00:00:53.780 --> 00:01:09.640 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. 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:15.000 God will repay each person according to what they have done. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:44.980 God will repay each other. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:55.620 But glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good. First for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favouritism. Thank you. Amen. 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:04.760 Well, do keep the passage open in front of you. Let's pray. Ask for the Lord's help as we come to his word. Let's pray together. 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:14.060 Heavenly Father, as we've listened to your word read, we realise that our territory this morning is difficult. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:23.219 Perhaps not always difficult to understand, but certainly difficult to accept. Give us tender hearts, we pray. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:38.699 Pray, please, that the words that I say, the way that we all listen, might bring glory to you, might do us good. Speak by your spirit through your word, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:02:38.699 --> 00:02:38.919 Amen. 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:13.500 And answer them before they have a chance to say, you know, I know what you're thinking. 00:03:15.119 --> 00:03:19.679 Let me deal with that before you even have a chance to express it. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:24.519 And notice with me, that's exactly how chapter 2 starts. Take a look at verse 1. 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:30.919 He says, you therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment, on someone else. 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:45.279 Now, that means that Paul thinks here that the likely reaction that's going on in our minds or the minds of his first readers is that they will listen to what he has said in chapter 1 and they will pass judgment on somebody else. 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:51.199 In other words, they'll hear what Paul has been saying and think, well, that's all very well, Paul, but I'm better than that. 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:52.179 Thank you very much. 00:03:52.699 --> 00:03:53.259 Not me. 00:03:53.259 --> 00:03:59.139 Now, I know that you might have forgotten what we looked at a couple of weeks ago in chapter 1. 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:08.039 But if you glance back there, you'll see, if you look at chapter 1, verse 18, that God's wrath, his anger at sin, says Paul, is visible in the world. 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:09.419 It has been expressed. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:10.899 It's been revealed. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:16.139 It's been shown against the wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 00:04:17.159 --> 00:04:22.279 Now, Paul says, listen, some people will hear that and go, well, that's all very well, Paul, but I'm better than that. 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:24.759 But that's not me, they say. 00:04:26.599 --> 00:04:27.459 Imagine it like this. 00:04:27.539 --> 00:04:30.199 I don't know whether you can remember being back at school. 00:04:30.299 --> 00:04:34.099 Maybe some of you are at school and this is a live issue for you. 00:04:34.159 --> 00:04:39.159 But imagine that the school teacher is holding up a piece of homework, yeah? 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:45.919 So that they hold it up in the front of class and it's not yours, it's someone else's, and it's really bad. 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.019 And so the teacher is laying into it. 00:04:49.119 --> 00:04:49.859 Look at this. 00:04:50.179 --> 00:04:51.500 It's a terrible mess. 00:04:52.279 --> 00:04:53.980 It's got coffee stains on it. 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:57.860 It looks like they've written, you know, the pen that's broken. 00:04:58.120 --> 00:04:59.420 It's terrible and messy. 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:01.500 The answers are all incorrect. 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:04.100 It was handed in late again. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:07.060 It's not even the right subject. 00:05:08.699 --> 00:05:10.620 And as you listen, you go, well, that's all very well, isn't it? 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:12.079 That's not actually my piece of homework. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:13.920 So go on, teacher. 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:15.519 Give it to them. 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:16.360 Sock it to them. 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:17.660 What a loser. 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:21.120 Now, that's the dynamic here in chapter two. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:31.420 Paul thinks that as he articulates the mess in the world, there will be, as he does that, a bunch of people who listen to what he's saying and go, well, that's not me. 00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:33.199 I'm better than that. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:34.979 You go, Paul. 00:05:34.979 --> 00:05:37.599 You tell them, rotten world. 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:38.779 You tell them. 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:45.139 Now, it's worth saying, isn't it, that Paul is absolutely right to anticipate that because that happens an awful lot. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:47.420 Maybe especially in churches. 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:54.759 Churches are brilliant at condemning the wickedness of everybody else by wrongly assuming that they're better. 00:05:56.100 --> 00:05:57.420 They look down on others. 00:05:58.100 --> 00:06:02.860 They moan about the violence of youth culture or the deterioration of society from the safety of their pew. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.900 In fact, we're all drawn, I think, to that response in one way or another. 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:13.279 And Paul, this morning, anticipates that we might have a judgmental response. 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:17.000 And he takes what essentially is a preemptive strike at it. 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.500 And he does that with three hard truths. 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:22.099 Let me show them to you this morning. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:28.139 Hard truth, number one, for people who are judgmental, which really is all of us. 00:06:28.699 --> 00:06:31.719 Hard truth, number one, you do the same things. 00:06:31.939 --> 00:06:33.279 You do the same things. 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:35.819 Notice he says that twice in the passage. 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:36.879 Look again at verse one. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:38.740 You, therefore, have no excuse. 00:06:38.899 --> 00:06:44.199 You who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:46.339 because you who pass judgment, what? 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:49.420 Do the same things. 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:51.120 Again in verse three. 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:58.540 See, when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things. 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:02.779 In other words, the basic problem, says Paul, with this judgmentalism, 00:07:02.779 --> 00:07:09.919 which we all are tempted towards and we see particularly in religious groups, it seems, is it's hypocritical. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:16.980 Because the difficult truth acknowledged only by the humble is that the problem in the world is not actually just a problem with everyone else. 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:19.020 It's also a problem with me. 00:07:21.280 --> 00:07:24.620 Envy, murderous anger, strife, deceit, malice. 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:27.280 They aren't just everyone else's problems, are they? 00:07:27.340 --> 00:07:28.920 They're our problems too. 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:35.500 Honestly, the trouble in our marriages, the trouble in my marriage is not a difficult wife. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:36.879 You knew that anyway, didn't you? 00:07:36.939 --> 00:07:37.840 It's a difficult me. 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:42.959 You know, the problem at work is not simply an unreasonable boss. 00:07:43.679 --> 00:07:45.299 It's an unreasonable me. 00:07:46.039 --> 00:07:52.279 The problem in our family is not that our parents are so strict, but that we're so unruly. 00:07:53.539 --> 00:07:55.439 But we can be really specific here, can't we? 00:07:55.459 --> 00:08:01.399 Because if you look down, it says these things, which I think is a direct reference back to chapter one, verse 29. 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:05.000 Look back at what Paul has said in chapter one, verse 29. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:13.500 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:17.319 They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:22.180 They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:24.279 They invent ways of doing evil. 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:25.660 They disobey their parents. 00:08:25.779 --> 00:08:28.920 They have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:32.679 Now, Paul, as he writes that list, thinks, well, that includes everybody. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:34.159 That's all of us. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:38.819 To one degree or another, we are all guilty in part or in full of the things that are on that list. 00:08:39.139 --> 00:08:45.339 But the religious person, the judger of others, thinks that their lives are not as bad as the people outside. 00:08:45.459 --> 00:08:46.500 That means they're okay. 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:48.600 But they're wrong. 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:51.120 You do the same things, says Paul. 00:08:52.959 --> 00:08:54.419 But there's something else here, too. 00:08:54.500 --> 00:09:00.220 You see, it's possible that in some ways we might actually be slightly better than the world around us, right? 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:05.259 It might be that you have been faithful to your marriage vows. 00:09:05.680 --> 00:09:07.920 It might be that you haven't murdered anyone. 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:10.899 It might be that you try really hard to fight envy. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:15.300 It might be that your life is not as chaotic and as messy as it might be. 00:09:15.299 --> 00:09:22.299 And Paul's point then is that even that is an experience of the kindness of God. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.439 He's not giving you fully over to your desires. 00:09:25.539 --> 00:09:26.559 He has held you back. 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:28.859 He's not let you be as bad as you might be. 00:09:29.259 --> 00:09:32.659 He's perhaps put someone in your life who gave you good advice at a crucial point. 00:09:33.339 --> 00:09:37.439 Perhaps he's given you access to a good education, a stable home, solid mental health. 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:41.240 He might have put someone in your life who gave you a strong moral framework. 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.279 But, says Paul, that doesn't make you better. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:48.139 All of that is just a sign of God's kindness to you. 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:55.100 And we are wrong to assume that our experience of God's kindness, tolerance and patience is evidence that we're better than the world. 00:09:55.960 --> 00:10:00.460 Instead, that very kindness was intended to give you room to acknowledge your sin. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:01.560 Look at verse 4. 00:10:02.259 --> 00:10:02.940 What does he say? 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:13.440 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 00:10:15.040 --> 00:10:17.820 Well, this is the dynamic that we're talking about with the kids, isn't it? 00:10:18.740 --> 00:10:21.920 You've been given time to repent. 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:24.120 You're sent to the room. 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:33.940 You know, my mum used to say to me, I don't know whether one of your parents used to say this to you, she'd say, you just wait until your dad gets home, right? 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:39.060 And her point was not, listen, I've cancelled justice. 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:41.279 You know, you just go off and do what you like. 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:42.840 Don't worry about it. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:45.899 No, she was postponing justice. 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:50.519 And her hope in postponing justice was that I might come to my senses. 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:56.679 But you knew, didn't you, at 6pm when your dad came home from work, justice would be served. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:58.379 It's the same, isn't it? 00:10:58.379 --> 00:10:59.340 You see it all around. 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:01.079 Wait until I get you home. 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:05.000 It's a suspension, postponement of justice, not a cancelling. 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:09.779 And the point of the delay is not so that you can carry on doing whatever it was you were doing in the first place. 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:11.960 The point is that you might come to your senses. 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:13.379 And that's it here. 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:15.759 Final justice delayed by God. 00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:19.459 So that we might come to our senses. 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:23.559 You know, our story might not quite be the chaos of Romans 1. 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:24.340 It might be. 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:25.879 I know it is for some. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.899 But perhaps in God's kindness you've been given many blessings in life. 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:32.120 Perhaps you were raised in a Christian home. 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.059 Perhaps you had a youth leader who kept you on the straight and narrow. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:39.939 Perhaps a sharp wit kept you from a bad crowd at school. 00:11:40.699 --> 00:11:43.100 Well, none of those things mean you're any better than anyone else. 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:44.519 But God has been kind to you. 00:11:44.580 --> 00:11:47.180 And he has been kind to you not to make you proud. 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:49.139 But to bring you to repentance. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.220 To say to the Lord, Lord, without your kindness, I would be as lost as anybody. 00:11:53.220 --> 00:11:58.660 I'm sorry that the things I see going wrong in the world are there in my heart too. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:04.920 I get angry with others when they cross me or disrespect me or rude to me. 00:12:05.680 --> 00:12:09.779 I look down on the violence of others but know that that's in my own heart too. 00:12:09.779 --> 00:12:11.299 Please forgive me, Lord. 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:14.419 Hard truth number one is we do the same things. 00:12:15.939 --> 00:12:20.000 Hard truth number two is that we have the same heart. 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:21.559 You have the same heart. 00:12:22.860 --> 00:12:28.980 You might remember from a couple of weeks ago that the sins of wickedness listed at the end of chapter one 00:12:28.980 --> 00:12:31.360 are really the symptoms of a deeper problem. 00:12:32.439 --> 00:12:35.399 They're the fruit of judgment on the state of people's hearts. 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:39.559 The heart that rejects God is the fruit of that is immorality. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:43.159 You know, in our hearts we don't want God's moral rule. 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:45.179 So God removes his moral restraint. 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:49.720 And then we see the wildness of everybody living for their desires. 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:54.879 And Paul's second truth here is that for the person who is judgmental, 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:59.620 especially in the context for the Jewish judgmental person, the religious person, 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.639 their problem is exactly the same in their heart. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:06.559 So it's not just that they do the same things, but their heart is the same. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:11.980 Verse five, because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart. 00:13:13.439 --> 00:13:14.559 Think about it like this. 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:17.580 Imagine that for dinner tonight you have some friends around 00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:21.500 and you serve for them a delightful chicken dish. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:26.299 But what you don't realize as you serve this chicken dish to your friends 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:29.159 who you've gathered for the evening is that the chicken is bad 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:31.299 and the chicken is undercooked. 00:13:31.299 --> 00:13:39.219 And so what happens a few hours later is that one of the parties starts vomiting all over the floor. 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:40.719 Sorry to be so graphic, right? 00:13:41.199 --> 00:13:43.379 Another one develops a terrible headache. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.199 Another one is in a crumpled heap on the floor making some inhuman noises. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:50.699 Another one has gone to the bathroom 00:13:50.699 --> 00:13:54.000 and you don't even want to know what's going on in the bathroom. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.059 Now imagine that someone walked into that scene. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:03.500 Well, they might assume, mightn't they, that there are four different diseases in the room, right? 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:05.340 There's one that makes you throw up. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:06.919 There's one that gives you a headache. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.360 There's one that curls you up in a ball on the floor. 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:13.960 And there's one that sends you to the bathroom to do who knows what, but it smells bad, right? 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:15.620 You might assume that. 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:22.659 The reality is, though, there is only one cause, but there are lots of different symptoms. 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:27.240 And that's the same as this experience of the wrath of God in Romans 1, 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.899 with wickedness piling up in the chaos of the broken world, right? 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:34.539 So some people, they develop certain symptoms. 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:36.500 Other people develop others. 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:39.580 You know, maybe with strong constitutions, 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:42.899 they keep their sin down with religious rules and self-discipline, 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:46.139 like the friend who's got a headache and isn't throwing up. 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:50.779 But actually, they're no better off because inside, the same trouble is there. 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:55.639 They have exactly the same issue, but different presenting symptoms. 00:14:57.179 --> 00:15:00.919 Verse 8 describes the heart disease, if you like, in more detail. 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:06.899 It says we are self-seeking and reject the truth and follow evil. 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:09.559 I wonder if we could press this home. 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:12.179 I know it's difficult, but we must examine this, right? 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:16.879 Paul is saying that the problem in the world is the same as the problem in the church. 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:21.159 That out there and in here is the same issue, 00:15:21.539 --> 00:15:27.120 which is that all of us, without exception, are self-seeking, not God-seeking. 00:15:27.579 --> 00:15:30.839 We are, if you like, turned in on ourselves. 00:15:31.319 --> 00:15:35.159 You know, we were made and created by God to be turned outwards, 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:36.839 to live for him and his glory. 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:42.059 But sin has turned us in on ourselves, so we look downwards to ourselves. 00:15:42.479 --> 00:15:45.500 We are literally obsessed with our own plans, our own projects, 00:15:45.599 --> 00:15:47.159 our own aspirations and our own desires. 00:15:47.719 --> 00:15:52.159 Now, some people display that heart in immoral ways. 00:15:52.899 --> 00:15:54.620 They reject all the rules. 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:57.620 Well, I'm turned in on myself, so God's not there. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:58.659 I'm going to live for myself. 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:00.059 I'm going to do whatever I please. 00:16:00.059 --> 00:16:03.339 And there's a trail of brokenness and heartache behind them. 00:16:03.819 --> 00:16:06.959 But others with the same self-obsession think, 00:16:07.079 --> 00:16:11.199 well, what's the best way for me to get what I want for my life? 00:16:11.939 --> 00:16:16.279 Well, I know that God's there, so the best way is for me to be good 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:18.819 so that God gives me what I want. 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:21.620 So we pray. 00:16:22.180 --> 00:16:23.460 We attend church. 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:24.780 We serve in church. 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:27.500 Not because actually we care about God. 00:16:27.660 --> 00:16:29.780 We want God to care about us. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:31.879 I don't care about God's desires. 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:35.140 I care about my desires, and I want him to care about my desires. 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:41.879 So we say things like, you know, God, you know that I've been going to church for a number of years now. 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:43.600 I've served on rotas. 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:45.899 I've prayed. 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:49.480 I even did that Bible in a year thing. 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:53.899 But you know, God, I've been looking for a job, don't you? 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.120 It's your time to deliver on that now. 00:16:57.259 --> 00:17:00.680 You know, God, I've been looking for a husband or a wife. 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:02.420 How about it, Lord? 00:17:02.420 --> 00:17:03.420 Have I done enough now? 00:17:05.420 --> 00:17:07.559 Or I said that conversion prayer. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:09.620 You know, don't you, when I was a child, 00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:12.899 I now take my own children to church. 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:15.799 It's now your turn to heal my mother. 00:17:17.199 --> 00:17:21.059 And Paul's point is that is exactly the same heart. 00:17:21.619 --> 00:17:23.839 It's a heart that's turned in on itself. 00:17:24.419 --> 00:17:25.659 It's self-seeking. 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:26.759 It's not God-seeking. 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.179 And it means we're no better than the world. 00:17:30.959 --> 00:17:34.479 You know, don't you, Jesus' illustration of this is the parable of the lost son. 00:17:34.939 --> 00:17:36.099 Perhaps you know the story, right? 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:37.779 The lost son, he runs away. 00:17:37.779 --> 00:17:39.439 He asks his father for his inheritance. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.600 He says, give it me now. 00:17:40.860 --> 00:17:43.340 It's kind of almost wishing his father dead, saying, 00:17:43.740 --> 00:17:45.799 can I have my money that I'm going to have when you die? 00:17:45.820 --> 00:17:46.460 I want it now. 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:50.360 So he takes the money and he runs off and he lives a wild life. 00:17:51.080 --> 00:17:54.059 He's partying and it's terrible and it's immoral. 00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:55.920 He comes to his senses. 00:17:56.860 --> 00:18:00.940 And he comes back to his father and he pleads for mercy from his father. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:03.000 And his father welcomes him back into the home. 00:18:03.360 --> 00:18:04.660 He kills the fattened calf. 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:05.820 They have a great party. 00:18:05.820 --> 00:18:08.279 And then you meet the older brother. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:11.279 Who's outside the party. 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:15.360 And complaining to his father. 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:17.740 You've welcomed this guy back. 00:18:18.140 --> 00:18:21.019 He took all your money and he used it on wild living. 00:18:21.320 --> 00:18:22.559 Why don't I get a party? 00:18:22.660 --> 00:18:23.660 I've obeyed you. 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:24.920 I've done what you've said. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:26.279 I've always been here. 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:28.580 And yet you've never thrown me a party like this. 00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:29.440 Why is that? 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:35.880 And you realize, don't you, that the lost son in the story is not just the younger brother. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.480 It's the older brother too. 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:41.720 The older brother isn't interested in the father either. 00:18:42.600 --> 00:18:46.240 The older brother is only interested in what he can get from the father. 00:18:46.600 --> 00:18:50.620 He just assumes that he'll get it by obedience, not disobedience. 00:18:50.619 --> 00:18:53.339 And that's it here. 00:18:55.959 --> 00:18:58.619 Let me ask you, if I can say it gently this morning. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:02.399 Might it be that we have some older brothers in the room? 00:19:04.679 --> 00:19:09.399 Maybe you look at the world of younger brothers and you say, I'm so grateful I'm not like that. 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:18.540 Maybe you assume that because you're not as bad as the younger brothers, you must be okay. 00:19:18.620 --> 00:19:20.000 God must be on my side. 00:19:22.100 --> 00:19:26.560 Let me give you some diagnostic questions to see whether you might be an older brother this morning. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:33.900 You'll know that you're like an older brother because, well, basically your fervor for the Christian life 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:37.860 will be directly related to your desire for things to go well, right? 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:42.660 So if things are good, you won't pray much. 00:19:43.060 --> 00:19:46.259 But if things are bad, you'll be praying lots. 00:19:48.360 --> 00:19:54.940 When things are really bad, you will stop praying and be angry with God for not delivering 00:19:54.940 --> 00:19:56.920 on the things that you thought he should deliver. 00:19:59.560 --> 00:20:04.040 Another, I think, diagnostic is not only that, but you'll be crushed by your mistakes 00:20:04.040 --> 00:20:07.180 or by people pointing out things that you do wrong. 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:11.100 Particularly things that you do wrong which disobey God's words. 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:13.740 You'll be utterly defeated by that. 00:20:13.820 --> 00:20:15.140 Why will you be defeated by that? 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:19.500 Well, because in doing that, you're not turning me back to Savior Jesus. 00:20:20.060 --> 00:20:23.980 You are destroying the thing I'm relying on to deliver me the life I want. 00:20:25.840 --> 00:20:29.700 Let me say, if that's you, and in a sense, we're all a bit like that, aren't we? 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:32.660 If that's you this morning, please don't stay there. 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:34.380 It's a dangerous place to be. 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:37.720 Instead, come to the Lord and say, listen, Lord, I know. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:42.420 Not only do I do the same things, but I think the same way. 00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:43.900 My heart is the same. 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:47.140 My desires have only really been for myself. 00:20:47.360 --> 00:20:49.500 Please, Lord, have mercy on me. 00:20:50.700 --> 00:20:54.400 Please liberate me from this sort of prison of my own desires. 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:56.680 Liberate me to live for you. 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:00.320 You know, hard truth number one, we do the same things. 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:02.140 Hard truth number two, we have the same heart. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:10.200 Hard truth number three, which I think is the most difficult, is you face the same judgment. 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:12.539 Verse five that we looked at with the children. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:18.600 Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself 00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:22.140 for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:26.180 God will repay each person according to what they have done. 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:34.500 I think in isolation, I think that must be just one of the most shocking and terrifying verses in the Bible, right? 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:38.320 People get really bent out of shape by some of the stuff in chapter one. 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:39.860 I think this is really difficult. 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:48.600 Paul here articulates exactly what Jesus taught to, that there is a day of judgment to come. 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:56.219 There is a day coming when everybody in this room, each of us will stand before the Lord Jesus. 00:21:57.219 --> 00:22:03.179 All of us without exception, before God the holy judge and have to give an account for our lives. 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:05.439 And justice will be done. 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:09.579 Verse 11 tells you there will be no favoritism on that day. 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:13.759 No one will be getting a free pass because they attended church or came from a good home. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:18.500 In fact, that kind of judgmental, I'm better than the rest of you, is really just making it worse. 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:21.000 We are storing up wrath, not dealing with it. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:27.160 Now, our passage here is really clear that on that day, everyone will be judged by the same criteria. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.700 Repaid according to what they have done. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:32.440 Justice proportional to wickedness. 00:22:32.539 --> 00:22:33.279 Look at verse 7. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:23:03.259 Now, I grant you these verses. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:04.059 These verses are confusing. 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:08.779 They seem maybe at first to be contradicting what he's been saying before, that we're all in the same boat. 00:23:09.579 --> 00:23:13.500 He does now seem to be introducing a group of good people who are safe in judgment. 00:23:14.379 --> 00:23:14.940 Who are there? 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:18.220 Well, just keep your eyes down on the passage and work through it with me. 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:19.420 Let me try and show this to you. 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:22.740 Notice the contrast from verse 7 and verse 8. 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:27.200 Verse 8 describes sin as self-seeking rejection of the truth. 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:31.359 The same sin as is the problem in the world that we were seeing in chapter 1. 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:37.639 And verse 7 says, safety on the day of judgment comes from the opposite of verse 8. 00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:41.339 Not self-seeking, but glory-seeking. 00:23:41.879 --> 00:23:44.299 Literally seeking after the glorious one. 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:48.679 Seeking his honor and the immortal life that comes only from him. 00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:54.240 And if you do that, says Paul, then you will, verse 7, receive eternal life. 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:58.080 And verse 10, receive glory, honor, and peace. 00:23:58.620 --> 00:24:02.000 Whether you're from a Jewish background or a Gentile background from the nations. 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:04.200 Now, let's be clear. 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:06.960 Paul is not teaching that you're saved by good works. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:12.340 You know, it's not that when we face God on judgment day, he will weigh good works against bad works. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:16.920 And if your good works win over your bad works, then, you know, you're let into glory. 00:24:17.120 --> 00:24:18.259 It's not that. 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:21.759 That would be a contradiction of everything else that Paul says in Romans. 00:24:22.100 --> 00:24:23.240 And Paul is not an idiot. 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:25.799 And he's writing under the inspiration of the Spirit. 00:24:26.100 --> 00:24:27.259 And the Spirit is not an idiot. 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:28.700 He knows what he's writing. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:29.740 He's being consistent. 00:24:30.500 --> 00:24:31.640 So it's not that. 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:34.560 And actually, we're told that we are all alike. 00:24:35.259 --> 00:24:36.420 We are all wicked. 00:24:37.340 --> 00:24:42.080 So if you look at verse 4, it's repentance that Paul says God is trying to lead people to. 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:46.440 And that repentance is literally a change of heart. 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:52.620 It is instead of being turned in on ourselves, it is a turning back from that to be turned out from ourselves. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:54.240 To be towards God. 00:24:54.320 --> 00:24:58.160 To look for his glory, his honor, and life in him. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:08.519 And if that's not there, if that desire for glory and honor and immortal life, well, if that's not there, neither is repentance. 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:14.600 Let me try and illustrate this for a moment so that you can have a few moments to think about it. 00:25:15.320 --> 00:25:16.880 Imagine that you're a PE teacher. 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:21.100 PE teaching is the easiest job in the world, right, I believe. 00:25:21.620 --> 00:25:24.560 Basically, you just get to run around and you call it work, right? 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:33.119 So you're a PE teacher and you're taking a bunch of children to Paddington Rec for a running race. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:36.480 So you get down to Paddington Rec and you say, right, listen, kids. 00:25:37.379 --> 00:25:39.519 It's a race and we're all running. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:43.240 And if you cross this line, you win the prize. 00:25:44.139 --> 00:25:51.259 So what you have to do is you have to run clockwise around the track, get back to here, cross the line, you win a prize. 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:52.039 It's really simple. 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:53.039 I'm a PE teacher. 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:55.700 I can't make it complicated even if I wanted to, right? 00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:57.200 It's dead simple. 00:25:58.079 --> 00:26:00.659 So the kids, they're all there at the line. 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:04.740 And you get on your marks, get set, go. 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:11.940 And all the children, without exception, turn around and run the opposite way around the track. 00:26:12.639 --> 00:26:12.859 Right? 00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:14.599 Some of them run in great style. 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:16.559 Yeah, you know, it's incredible. 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:19.279 Their knees are up, heads back, running. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:20.619 Others of them are vaping. 00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:21.339 They're in groups. 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:23.200 They're kind of muttering along and walking around. 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:23.460 Right? 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:29.420 But all of them are going in the wrong direction. 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.660 So none of them will receive the prize. 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:35.639 Now that's it here. 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:45.279 Without repentance, without turning back to God, it is impossible to do the glory, honor, seeking words of verse 7. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:45.359 No. 00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:48.240 Because we are running in the wrong direction. 00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:50.700 Because we are in it for ourselves. 00:26:50.879 --> 00:26:52.519 We're seeking our own glory. 00:26:52.899 --> 00:26:53.779 Our own honor. 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:56.000 Our own lives. 00:26:56.839 --> 00:26:58.180 We're only in it for ourselves. 00:26:59.139 --> 00:27:02.639 Now it might be this morning that you're running in the wrong direction in a really stylish way. 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:04.700 Well, well done you. 00:27:04.700 --> 00:27:09.180 But you're going in the wrong direction faster than anybody else is. 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:15.279 This is the shocking truth of Romans chapter 2. 00:27:15.340 --> 00:27:17.620 Let me try and summarize it as bluntly as I can. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:21.720 Hell will be full of religious people. 00:27:22.360 --> 00:27:23.380 That's what Paul is saying. 00:27:24.120 --> 00:27:25.940 Hell will be full of religious people. 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:30.180 People who thought they were safe because they weren't as bad as the world around them. 00:27:30.180 --> 00:27:37.160 People who thought they were safe, thought they were Christians because they prayed a prayer when they were a child and then just lived for themselves like everybody else did. 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:40.299 Surely God owed them salvation, but he never did. 00:27:41.580 --> 00:27:43.480 Maybe they attended church a few times. 00:27:43.560 --> 00:27:44.460 They took the Lord's Supper. 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:46.920 God will cut them a deal on judgment day, won't he? 00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:49.980 No, because they were running in the wrong direction. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:53.560 Running towards self, but with a kind of Christian style. 00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:58.519 When their lives are basically indistinguishable from everyone else around them. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:00.500 They prayed for success. 00:28:01.139 --> 00:28:03.519 They thought that if they received it, then everything was good. 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:09.059 And the shock on judgment day will be that God shows no favoritism. 00:28:10.359 --> 00:28:11.599 Judgment is the same for everyone. 00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:18.799 And self-seeking good works will be exposed as being as unworthy as self-seeking wickedness. 00:28:20.379 --> 00:28:22.440 We're going to skip over the rest of chapter 2. 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:28.299 We're trying to get our way through Romans reasonably quickly so that we aren't still in Romans in 15 years time. 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:32.259 But let me jump to the end and show you just something from the last couple of verses. 00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:38.440 Here you need to note that Paul is using the word Jew slightly differently at the end of the chapter. 00:28:38.940 --> 00:28:44.259 So his reference here is not to ethnic Jews as a nation or a group, but to mean the people of God. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:48.519 People who belong to God and who will receive eternal life from God on judgment day. 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:52.680 And his question at the end is, how can you tell who God's people are? 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:53.579 How can you know? 00:28:54.639 --> 00:28:58.940 Well, if you ask someone at the synagogue, they would tell you, oh, it's easy. 00:28:59.059 --> 00:29:02.859 You can tell who God's people are because God's people are circumcised, he says. 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:06.299 You can tell, it's obvious. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.539 But what does Paul say? 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:09.759 Verse 28. 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:18.359 A person is not a member of God's people who is one only outwardly. 00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:21.819 Nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:27.920 No, a person is a Jew, a person is a member of God's people who is one inwardly. 00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:34.359 And circumcision is circumcision of the heart by the spirit, not by the written code. 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:38.839 Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God. 00:29:39.859 --> 00:29:40.919 Here's the point. 00:29:41.159 --> 00:29:44.099 God's people are those who are changed from the inside out. 00:29:44.500 --> 00:29:46.339 It's their hearts that are changed first. 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:50.919 Now, the fact that it's our hearts that need to be changed, what does that mean? 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:54.059 It's impossible for us, yeah? 00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:58.039 Circumcision is enough to make you wince, right? 00:29:58.439 --> 00:30:00.839 Circumcision of the heart, that's impossible. 00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:02.679 We can't do that, can we? 00:30:02.680 --> 00:30:05.220 We can't remove our hearts to circumcise them. 00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:06.400 How could we do that? 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:08.440 Well, only God can change our hearts. 00:30:08.740 --> 00:30:11.400 Circumcision of the heart is done, what does he say, verse 29? 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:13.019 By the spirit. 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:14.580 That's the way it's done. 00:30:15.940 --> 00:30:17.660 Only God can change us. 00:30:18.320 --> 00:30:22.539 And if God so changes our hearts, what will pour out of us? 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:26.440 Well, we'll be liberated from having to earn salvation by our works. 00:30:26.560 --> 00:30:28.680 And our good works can be genuinely good, 00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:31.799 because we're doing them not so that we can get our own way, 00:30:32.080 --> 00:30:33.700 but so that God might be glorified. 00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:35.900 God, you've saved me. 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:37.880 You've changed my heart. 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:39.120 I love you. 00:30:39.180 --> 00:30:41.120 I want to live for your praise and glory. 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:44.360 Lord, I know I'm weak and I'm stumbling, 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:47.920 and my good works are flawed in so many ways, 00:30:48.080 --> 00:30:50.820 but I'm doing this for you and your praise and your glory. 00:30:50.819 --> 00:30:54.119 Grace-fueled obedience. 00:30:56.339 --> 00:30:58.960 I was listening to an interview this week on a podcast 00:30:58.960 --> 00:31:01.220 with a couple of guys who do prison ministry. 00:31:01.619 --> 00:31:04.359 They're in America, and they're sharing the gospel with guys 00:31:04.359 --> 00:31:06.159 who have very messy lives, 00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:08.619 and lots of them become Christians in prison. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:10.039 And then they are released, 00:31:10.139 --> 00:31:11.619 and they find their way to local churches. 00:31:11.819 --> 00:31:14.579 And the interviewer at this stage in the podcast asked them the question. 00:31:14.659 --> 00:31:16.960 He said, well, how does that go? 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:21.279 How good are churches at receiving these men? 00:31:21.360 --> 00:31:25.500 It was men in that instance who have been converted in prison 00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:26.340 and then come to church. 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:30.340 And there was pause, and the guy said, not well. 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.480 Churches find it difficult to welcome them. 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:34.299 Why? 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:36.600 Well, because Romans 2. 00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:39.000 They think they're better than them. 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:42.400 But Romans 2 actually says we're all the same. 00:31:42.860 --> 00:31:44.059 We do the same things. 00:31:44.600 --> 00:31:45.720 We have the same heart. 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:47.539 We face the same judgment. 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:50.680 And on that day, face to face with the Lord Jesus, 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:54.400 our only hope is a transformation of our lives 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:55.980 that only he is able to do. 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:59.839 So maybe this morning you've been a Christian for a long time. 00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:01.740 Let me encourage you. 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:05.400 Don't forget that God did it for you, 00:32:06.120 --> 00:32:07.460 not the other way around. 00:32:08.360 --> 00:32:11.120 Don't forget that he circumcised your heart. 00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:13.319 You could never do it for yourself. 00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:16.379 And if you're not a Christian this morning, 00:32:16.639 --> 00:32:17.960 if you know that you're a sinner, 00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:21.639 if you know that you've lived a life that's been turned in on itself, 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:24.339 that you've been living for your own desires, 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:25.220 whatever they might be, 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:28.500 as if your life was your own and independence was your dream, 00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:30.299 let me say to you this morning, 00:32:31.379 --> 00:32:31.899 welcome. 00:32:31.900 --> 00:32:35.320 We're all like that by nature. 00:32:36.320 --> 00:32:40.300 But we found that Jesus can change us. 00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:46.200 He can liberate us from the terrible prison of our own desires, 00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:48.259 to live for him and his glory, 00:32:48.380 --> 00:32:49.460 to the praise of his name, 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:52.100 that when we face him on that day, 00:32:52.580 --> 00:32:55.740 we can have hope that he will enter us into glory 00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:57.720 because of what he has done for us. 00:32:58.340 --> 00:32:59.220 Praise his name. 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:00.480 Let me pray. 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:21.559 Heavenly Father, 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:25.380 we want to confess before you 00:33:25.380 --> 00:33:29.620 that we find it very easy to pass judgment on others. 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:34.699 and very difficult to consider the state of our own hearts and our own lives. 00:33:38.139 --> 00:33:38.859 Please, we pray, 00:33:38.959 --> 00:33:41.299 forgive us that we do the same things as everybody does. 00:33:42.979 --> 00:33:44.579 We know what it is to envy, 00:33:44.899 --> 00:33:45.439 to be greedy, 00:33:46.619 --> 00:33:47.879 to deceive, 00:33:48.879 --> 00:33:50.159 to fight with others. 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:54.519 We know what it is to be arrogant and boastful. 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:59.039 And Lord, 00:33:59.039 --> 00:34:01.200 we know that those things come from the same heart, 00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:02.799 which is turned in on itself. 00:34:03.859 --> 00:34:04.700 And that for that, 00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:06.980 we face the same judgment as all the world. 00:34:08.759 --> 00:34:10.179 So please, we pray, 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:12.659 circumcise our hearts, 00:34:13.780 --> 00:34:15.539 change us from the inside out. 00:34:15.539 --> 00:34:17.559 And Lord, 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:19.440 for those of us who have experienced that, 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:20.699 we praise your name, 00:34:21.099 --> 00:34:26.860 that we see ourselves living lives that we cannot explain other than your goodness and your kindness. 00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:29.719 The fact that we love you, 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:30.980 that we want to live for you, 00:34:31.059 --> 00:34:32.420 that we want to praise your name, 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:34.139 that we desire to be with you, 00:34:34.639 --> 00:34:36.259 it's not because we're better than anyone, 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:37.639 but because in your kindness, 00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:41.279 you have turned us to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. 00:34:42.159 --> 00:34:43.359 And we praise his name. 00:34:44.219 --> 00:34:44.579 Amen.