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  WHO IS A TRUE JEW? (ROMANS 2:28-29)

INTRODUCTION

What if I told you that only Jews will be saved and that salvation is for those who belong for the people of Israel and only for those who belong to the people of Israel — that only the children of Abraham will enter the kingdom of heaven to enjoy the promised land — the land that was promised to Abraham and his offspring?

How would you respond? (Some of you might immediately get up and leave. That’s one response. But before you go there, let me offer a couple better responses.)
The first response might be asking what do I mean by Jew, Israel, and the children of Abraham.
The second, if I’m right, would be to ask, how might I become one — how might I become a Jew, a member of the Israel of God, a child of Abraham? Because the last time I checked, I’m pretty sure that I’m a Gentile, descended from — well, I don’t know who, but certainly not from Abraham.

READ (Romans 2:25-29)

We’re going to take a slight detour this morning into the Old Testament on our way into our text, but I believe it’s important. (And if you recall, from Paul’s opening line in Romans 1, this gospel was promised beforehand. So, we need the context of the Old Testament, if we are to rightly divide the Word of truth.)

ATTACHING ONESELF

Last week, we focused on circumcision — how anyone could attach themselves to the people of God and enjoy all the blessings of being the people of God — including one of the biggest highlights — that of celebrating Passover — the redemption of God’s people from bondage in order to serve Him. 

But to enjoy that — to become or be included in the people of God — all the males were required to be circumcised. 

BEFORE GENESIS 17

But what expressly did circumcision point to? We began addressing that last week — backing all the way up to Genesis 17. But Genesis 17 doesn’t go back quite far enough for our understanding of circumcision. Genesis 17 is the giving of the sign. But Genesis 17 comes with the context of Genesis 15 and 16. 

Why does the context in which circumcision was given matter to us? Because without it we don’t really understand the circumcision we must undergo if we are to be grafted into the True People of God.

GENESIS 15

In Genesis 15, the Lord cuts a covenant with Abram. (First use of cutting a covenant. In Genesis 9, the Lord establishes His covenant with Noah, to never again cut off all flesh by a flood. The Lord gives the sign of the covenant — the bow in the cloud. But in Genesis 15, the Lord cuts a covenant.) Hopefully you’re familiar with the event. There are few chapters as foundational as Genesis 15. The Lord takes Abram out to see the stars. Count them, the Lord says. For if you can number the stars, you’ll be able to number your offspring. And Abram believes. And that belief was counted to Abram as righteousness. Abram had done nothing. He simply trusted the Lord. (Hold on to that.)

HOW SHALL I KNOW

Then the Lord reiterates the land promise to Abram. And Abram asks, how shall I know that I shall possess it?Not quite the same trust and belief as a verse earlier. 

CUTTING A COVENANT

So, the Lord cuts a covenant with Abram — with a three-year-old heifer, female goat, and ram, and also a turtledove and a young pigeon. And Abram cuts them in half. (Cf. Jeremiah 34:18.) Now, the consensus regarding this passage is that the two parties would walk between the halves of the slaughtered beasts — which were like walls of death on either side — in which the parties signified that if I don’t uphold my side of the covenant, may I be like these slaughtered beasts — cut off from the land of the living.

TWO PARTIES — ONE PASSING

But before both parties walk through and ratify the covenant, a deep sleep comes upon Abram, and the Lord Himself passes through these walls of death in form of a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch — representing both parties Himself. Stating as clearly as possible to Abram and his descendants — that if I don’t uphold my side of the covenant, may I the Lord be like these slaughtered beasts … And, Abram, if you and your offspring don’t uphold your side of this covenant, may I the Lord be like these slaughtered beasts.

ECHOES — RED SEA CROSSING

Now, throughout Scripture we find echoes of this pattern over and over with the most significant Old Testament counter part being the Passover — and the crossing of the Red Sea — where Israel passes through the walls of death on both their left and on their right. But who was there with them? The Lord God — in the form of a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch — a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. That’s the reminder that the Lord Himself is uphold the covenant.

BREAKING THE COVENANT

But there’s another aspect of this that is important that we don’t miss. Because Abram’s descendants are going to break the covenant again and again. 

Which means, when the Lord ratified the covenant Himself — he signed his own death warrant. 

If there’s one thing Israel is known for, it’s breaking the covenant of the Lord. Just as Adam and Eve are known for eating the fruit. We all — you and me included — have sinned and fall short of the glory of God — including Abraham.

GENESIS 16

Which takes us to Genesis 16. What happens in Genesis 16? Well, Abram and his wife Sarai remain childless. Where are the promises of God? Sarai has a plan. Go into my Egyptian maid servant, and maybe I’ll obtain children by her. And Abram listens to the voice of his wife. (We’ve seen this before.) And Ishmael is born to Abram through Hagar, Sarai’s servant.

BY THE FLESH?

Well, what happens when Abram who believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness — what happens when Abram seeks to bring about God’s promises by his own efforts? Or to put it another way — what happens when man seeks to bring about God’s promises through the flesh?

If we were to bring about the promises of God by our flesh — guess who gets a share of the glory? Yeah — we do. Guess who God shares His glory with? No one. God will not share His glory with another.

REJECTING THE EFFORTS OF THE FLESH

So, when we come to Genesis 17 and the giving of circumcision, what’s happening is that the Lord is rejecting the efforts of the flesh. In rejecting Ishmael and again promising another seed — Isaac — the Lord rejects the efforts of the flesh in fulfilling the promises of the covenant. In giving the sign of circumcision — the cutting off of the flesh — God states very clearly that He alone will fulfill the promise. 

PHYSICAL REMINDER

And that mark in the flesh was to serve as a regular reminder that the flesh is no help at all. Remember, the promise of an offspring — literally a seed — the Lord was promising Abram life — continued life. It’s no wonder that in John 6:63 that Jesus reminded the people who found his words hard — that it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. 

Today, circumcision points to this same truth. The flesh is unable to bring about the promises of God. 

VERSE 28

Which brings us back to our text in Romans 2.
Verse 28-29.
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.

NO USE

So, the flesh is no use. Hence a true Jew is not one in the flesh — but in the heart. Because only in the heart, can one believe, trust, and rest in the promise.

LEANING INTO THE GOSPEL

Paul is still in the process of building his case against all of humanity. But sprinkled within this case is subtle hints of who the gospel recipients are — what those who believe the gospel look like. (We saw that in verses 7 and 10 — those who, rather than being self-seeking, sought for glory, honor, and peace. Verse 13. It’s not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.)

Once more, Paul is utilizing the portrait of the gospel recipients to demonstrate the guilt of those who bank on externals such as one’s lineage, having the law, and the physical sign of circumcision as a means of being right with God. 

So, it’s best to understand the contrast in verses 25-29 to be that of Jews who are Jews outwardly by means of physical circumcision and that of believers who are Jews inwardly regardless of whether or not they bear the physical sign of circumcision, but who have been circumcised in the heart by the Spirit.

ESV — TRANSLATION

Which means, we have to deal with the ESV translation of these verses. (I love the ESV! And every faithful translation is a good translation. So I don’t want to raise doubts regarding your English Bibles. But every translation has its limits — because any time you translate from one language to another, often, you are forced to make some interpretive decisions. In other words, every translation is also — to some degree — an interpretation.)

MERELY?

First, let’s deal with verse 28. Because the ESV adds a word to the text that isn’t in the Greek, and that’s the word merely. There’s nothing in the Greek that makes any allowance for this addition. 

WHAT MERELY SUGGESTS

Merely seems to suggest, and perhaps this was what the translators were aiming for, that one is not a Jew who is merely or only circumcised in the flesh but one who is both circumcised in the flesh and also circumcised of heart. In other words, taking the ESV as is, Paul is suggesting that to be a Jew one must be both a physical descendant and a spiritual descendant. But that’s not at all what the text says. 

WHY THE ADDED QUALIFIERS

Now, the ESV isn’t the only translation that does this. Other translations also add similar qualifiers to the text that aren’t in the Greek.

I don’t know the reason for the additions except to perhaps to soften the seeming conflict between what Paul is saying here as to who is and isn’t a Jew and the reality that there are physical descendants of Abraham who are called Jews. 

NO CONFLICT

But Paul sees no such conflict. What Paul is concerned with is who are the spiritual descendants of Abraham — who are the promised offspring, and as such, who it is who are Jews — true Jews — as opposed to those who call themselves Jews. Paul will hit this hard in chapter 9. But for now, let’s read this without the added word merely.

NASB

The NASB, KJV, and NET get it right. Here’s the NASB.
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.

And verse 29.
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God.

NOTHING PHYSICAL

Paul’s point is that there is nothing physical that makes one a Jew. Nor is circumcision in the outer flesh what matters. In other words, Paul is redefining what being a Jew and being circumcised mean — and this is a radical redefinition. 

MOUNCE

New Testament Greek Scholar, Bill Mounce:
Paul knows there are physical descendants of Abraham, and he knows there is a physical act called circumcision, but he is not concerned with that. [Paul] wants to make the point as clearly as possible that being a Jew and being circumcised are issues of faith.

GENTILE — A JEW

In other words, a Gentile, who has not been physically circumcised in the flesh can be every bit as much an inheritor of the promises of God as a true child of Abraham as any native-born Jew can be.

A JEW — NOT A JEW

And Paul is stating very plainly that being and ethnic Jew who has been circumcised in the flesh — if that is the extent of one’s so-called Jewishness — they aren’t true Jews — they aren’t the inheritors of God’s promises, because the true children of Abraham are those of faith — not those who simply wear an external badge. 

NOTHING NOVEL

And this isn’t novel to Romans or to chapter 2. Paul will revisit this issue in chapters 4, 9, 10, 11, 15. Paul will also address this in his other letters. Perhaps the clearest is Galatians 3
Galatians 3:7. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Or Galatians 3:29. It is those who are in Christ who are Abraham’s offsprings and heirs according to promise.

GUTTED PROMISES

Loved ones, we best not get this wrong. There are aspects of the dispensational movement that have gutted the promises of the people of God and divided them up between two separate parties — some belonging explicitly to natural born Jews — or the physical nation of Israel — and others belonging to that of the church. But the people of God are not divided but one. There is but one people of God made up of both Jews and Gentiles — who are circumcised not in the flesh but in the heart. 

Again, Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ.
(And we could look at so many other passages…)

IN WHOSE EYES?

In our text — Romans 2:28-29, Paul defines what we might refer to as a True Jew — those who are Jews in God’s eyes, not the world’s eyes or their own eyes. This is so important for us to understand, because we have a tendency ourselves to look at things through the world’s eyes and our own without attempting to see things rightly through God’s eyes — which we can only do through the lens of His Word. People all the time see themselves in a light that may or may not be all that accurate.

OLD TESTAMENT PEOPLE OF GOD

What about those who attached themselves to the covenant people of God? Do the promises apply to them? 

MIXED MULTITUDE

The mixed multitude who came up out of Egypt with the children of Israel are never again referred to as non-Israelites — although in their genealogical lists, they would be traced by their lineage. But they were fully incorporated into the people of God. 

FAITH OF SELECT GENTILES

In fact, often times, it would be these incorporated Gentiles who expressed more faith than that of the physical descendants themselves.

Think about Gentiles such as Rahab and Ruth, neither were ethnic Jews or Israelites. But they were fully integrated or incorporated into the people of God by their faith. (We could also look at the Gibeonites…)

CALEB’S FAITH

When Israel went to spy out the land, 12 were sent into the land of Canaan and brought back their report. 10 gave a bad report that discouraged the rest of the nation. But 2, Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report. In fact, of the two, Caleb is somewhat singled out. Have you ever wondered about that?

Numbers 14:24. After the Lord gives His judgment that none of those who despised me shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers — then the Lord says, but my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.(Even the wording raises a question. The Lord doesn’t say that he will give Caleb the land the Lord promised to his fathers, but simply that Caleb and his descendants shall possess it.)

CALEB ADOPTED INTO

Genealogies are not in the Bible for us to pass over them…

It’s not until the end of the Book of Numbers that we’re let in on the fact that Caleb is a Kenizzite. 

Caleb is listed in Judah’s family line, and you can find it in 1 Chronicles 4, but he’s listed not as a direct offspring but as an adopted offspring whose family line is traced, not through Jacob and then Judah but through Esau’s grandson Kenaz. 

(Also, the Kenizzites are listed in Genesis 15:19 along with the Amorites and other nations that Israel was to drive out of the promised land.)

A DIFFERENT SPIRIT

But reading through the narrative, you’d never guess that Caleb wasn’t an ethnic Jew. But get this. If anyone was a Jew, it was Caleb the Kenizzite — because he had a different spirit — a spirit that praised the Lord with his life. That’s what the name Judah means. I will praise the Lord. 

Caleb was fully integrated into the people of God, and particularly the tribe of Judah. That’s what adoption grants. It grants full sonship.

And that’s what our adoption in Christ grants us — full sonship with all the blessings and privileges of sonship.

NAME OF A DOG

But there’s something else that is unique about Caleb besides his faith and his being an outsider adopted into the people of God — and that’s Caleb’s name. Caleb means dog. A dog would have been an unclean animal…

MATTHEW 15: THE CANAANITE WOMAN

Which takes us to an encounter Jesus had with an outsider that many would have saw as nothing more than a dog. (And that’s the passage Josiah read for us from Matthew 15.)

A Canaanite woman — recall Caleb is called a Kenizzite, which was one of the groups listed among the Canaanites in Genesis 15. 

DRIVE HER OUT

This Canaanite woman — recorded in Mark’s account as a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth — but Matthew has his theological reasons for referring to her as a Canaanite. They were supposed to be driven out of the land. Hold on to that.

This woman comes up to Jesus begging him to heal her daughter who is severely oppressed by a demon. But Jesus doesn’t answer her. So, the disciples beg Jesus to send her away. (Send her away. She doesn’t have a share in the promises. Drive her out. See the Canaanite reference?)

ONLY THE LOST SHEEP

So, Jesus answers the woman, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Only the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Only the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (I repeat that deliberately.)

So, the woman comes and kneels before Jesus saying, “Lord, help me.”

THE CHILDREN’S BREAD

Jesus’ next response is shocking — which many of his responses are. Why? To get us to think seriously about what he says and how our vision is often distorted. Jesus replies: It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. It is not right to take the children’s bread … the children’s bread. Who are the children? He’s speaking of the children of Israel.

EVEN THE DOGS

But this woman is persistent and shameless. She’s not to proud to beg — and particularly to plead with the only One who can help her situation and heal her daughter. She says, Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table. 

MOST REJECT

Most of the Jews have refused to recognize Jesus’ authority — the one who was born King of the Jews. That’s how Matthew’s gospel starts off. The King of the Jews is born in Bethlehem, just 5 miles from Jerusalem. Wise men come from the east seeking to worship him, but those in Jerusalem, they’re more concerned with what King Herod thinks.

And even when Jesus begins his ministry… 

GREAT IS YOUR FAITH

But this Gentile dog calls him master and Lord.

O woman, Jesus replies, great is your faith. Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed in that instant.

WHO ARE THE SHEEP?

This narrative asks a very important question. Because Jesus doesn’t lie. He never speaks falsely. When he tells her that he was sent only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he meant it. The test wasn’t whether or not what he said was true. The test is just who are the lost sheep? 

WHO ARE THE CHILDREN?

Also, Jesus always does and only does that which is right and good. When he says it’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs, he means it. The test isn’t whether or not it’s right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. The test is just who are the children.

BELONGING TO THE SHEPHERD

This woman, though a Gentile from birth, demonstrates herself to be a sheep of the house of Israel — because what makes one a sheep is not one’s ethnicity but whether or not one belongs to the Shepherd. 

SHE TOO IS A JEW

This Canaanite woman, who was thought of as a dog, like Caleb proved she had a different spirit. She too is a child of Abraham. She is a true Jew. Because, verse 29 —
A Jew is one inwardly.

NOTHING TO DO WITH EXTERNALS

Paul’s argument in these verses is that what makes a Jew has nothing to do with externals. And specifically, not in one’s being circumcised in the flesh. 

Rather, here Paul defines a Jew expressly by something inside a person — and particularly — something done to a person — not something someone does to themselves. 

A Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.

OUR NEED

Our need, everyone’s need is for a changed heart. That’s Paul’s emphasis. But the origin of that changed heart is from God Himself — by the Spirit. 

SALVATION COMPLETELY OF GOD

Salvation is totally from God. We can contribute nothing at all. Contrary to some, we can’t help or assist in the least. O we might be able to reject — and indeed, apart from the work of the Spirit, all have done just that — all have rejected God. That’s the problem. That’s everyone’s problem — traced all the way back to the Garden (and to Romans 1.)

REMOVING HOSTILITY

But the Spirit softens hard calloused hearts removing our hostility toward God — how? By showing us the great love of God displayed on the cross where Jesus paid the penalty for our hostility towards God. 

But far more than simply removing the hostility — this circumcision of the heart makes us sons — children of God.
John 1:12 — But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

MARKED AS HIS

The circumcision of the heart by the Spirit marks us as His — not by outward marks such as circumcision in the flesh – or water baptism — or showing up on Sunday mornings — or knowing your Bibles — but marked by our obedience from the heart by the Spirit — which demonstrates our love for Christ. If you love me, Jesus says, you will keep my commandments.

And that love will in turn show itself in many outward expressions. But get this. It’s possible to bear the outward expressions and not be His. It’s possible to bear the outward expressions and not be marked within. Because many bear many outward signs — but they do so seeking the praise of man rather than the praise of God.

LIVING UP TO THE NAME

Who is this person Paul is describing in verse 29? One who has received the Spirit — whether physically circumcised or not — whether physically born in the lineage of Abraham, Jacob, Israel — or not.
Because at the heart of it — a Jew — which comes from the Hebrew word for Judah — a Jew lives up to the name — “I will praise the Lord.”
His praise is not from man but from God.

IN OR OUT — WHERE’S THE LAW

REMAINING OUTSIDE

For the unbeliever — the Law of God remains outside as a mere dead letter. Now, that doesn’t call into question the goodness of the Law — but one’s reception — or rather — lack of receiving the law as it is intended. Why? Because the law hasn’t penetrated the heart! It’s nothing more than a written code — line upon line — precept upon precept — here a little there a little.

INSCRIBED WITHIN

But for the believer — the Law is within — inscribed on one’s new heart of flesh. One’s approach to the law is no longer to impress fellow men with his or her law keeping — but to honor and glorify God — because God’s very heart and character are displayed within the law.

It’s not whether the law is good or bad. (Paul will go on to say in chapter 7 that the Law is holy and righteous and good.) It’s whether the law is upon your heart — or if it’s a dead letter found outside your heart. 

ARE YOU A TRUE JEW?

So, we pick up where we began. Are you a true Jew? Meaning, are you a Jew inwardly? Has the Spirit circumcised your heart to where you seek your approval, your commendation, your praise, not from other people but from God. That’s the test of a true Jew. Or as the name Judah means: now I will praise the Lord.

What holds you back from being a recipient of the promises — a genuine member of the people of God? 

What needs to happen? (A work of the Spirit to be sure. But don’t think that means there is no call for you. The Spirit calls through the Word. And that call is for you to trust — rest — believe on the promises by believing on the One who purchased those promises — Jesus Christ.)

GUARANTEED NOT TO BRING ABOUT

The one way guaranteed not to bring about the promises of God is one’s own flesh. Because if we could bring about God’s promises through our own efforts:
1) the promises wouldn’t be a gift but something earned
2) if you bring it about by your efforts, who gets credit? Who gets the glory?
3) our flesh is corrupt — we can but defile the promises
(Think Hagar and Ishmael — all that brought about was brokenness.)

ALL ONE CAN DO IS TRUST

All Abraham could do is trust and rest in the promise. How hard that must have been. Consider how long Abraham waited. We read it in just a few pages — but for Abraham it was 25 years. (We’ll return in Romans 4.)

THE IMPACT OF FAITH

Now, to avoid an over correction. Circumcision was a reminder — a physical reminder to Abraham and his descendants that their own efforts couldn’t bring about the promises of God. But that did not mean that the promises and the fact that Abraham could do nothing to bring them about was to have no impact on his and his descendants’ lives. 

And that’s true for us too. Faith — and our resting on the promises — should have a tremendous impact on our lives. Because now, we no longer work to earn — but instead we work out of the promises — living as heirs of the promises — living as if the promises are already ours — for they are. 

FORETASTE NOW IN AGE OF AFFLICTION

We don’t enjoy the fullness of those promises just yet — but we do begin to enjoy the foretaste of those promises now. And as we look forward to the fullness — we are better equipped to endure whatever struggles, whatever hardships, whatever tribulations and afflictions await us on this side of glory — because we have confidence and assurance for the age to come.

We put off our flesh now — the efforts of the flesh with all of its sinful desires — and live by the Spirit.

RED SEA — WALLS OF DEATH

When Israel reached the Red Sea — hemmed in by the sea on one side — the Egyptian army on the other — all looked hopeless. Their hopes of redemption in making it to the promised land seemed out of reach. But God.

God alone must save. And He does so, only when all possibilities of saving ourselves or contributing to our salvation is cut off. It’s then when He parts the sea — and His people pass through the walls of death on their left and on their right. 

God alone upholds His covenants. God alone brings about His promises. Our flesh cannot contribute.

JESUS’ CIRCUMCISION — WALLS OF DEATH

Our salvation is only by means of Jesus’ circumcision. That’s why the eternal Son had to take on flesh. Because God cut a covenant and promised that He alone would bear both sides of that covenant.

Our salvation is through walls of death. 

Jesus took on the likeness of our sinful flesh — and going to the cross — he put off that same flesh — having his flesh torn open like a curtain — that we might pass through to the promised land one way and one way only — through the divided walls of death of Jesus’ flesh.

ONLY WAY TO ENTER THE PROMISES

Your flesh is no help at all. Only through the cut off flesh of Jesus do we enter into the promises.

O to see the cost of redemption — that He put off that flesh — his very life for you. 

Having your eyes open to see that — and truly believe it — that alone will circumcise our once hardened hearts.

SENSITIVE

It’s not incidental that circumcision takes place in the most sensitive external location — with that location directly connected to man’s fruitfulness — his seed — his reproductive member — to which God’s promise was tied to — a promised offspring.

But now that the promised offspring has come in Jesus Christ — that mark that was once made in the flesh — is now made in the most spiritually sensitive location — the heart. (Of course, apart from the Spirit’s work — our hearts are anything but sensitive. They are like tablets of stone. But the promise of God is a heart of flesh — a heart that is tender and sensitive.)

You and I can’t circumcise our own hearts — but we can give ourselves over to the open-heart surgery… laying ourselves down on the operating table — entrusting ourselves to the Great Physician — to finish this great work He began in us.

Loved ones, that’s not contributing a thing! That’s faith. That's faith that lives up to the name: Now I will praise the Lord.

  INSPECTION TIME

We’re going to begin this morning with something a little different than usual — an inspection.
We’ll put Jeremy in charge because he’s not bashful.
What’s the inspection?
To se who is circumcised and who is not.

Now, as soon as we begin calling people to the front, how long do you think it would take to empty this room? [Perhaps one proud bold soul would remain.]
At ease. No inspection today. At least not physical.

But let me ask. Does circumcision still matter today? You better believe it does. It matters every bit as much as baptism. The question is what sort of circumcision are we talking about.

If we’re referring merely to the outward sign, we better be quick to affirm with Paul that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything.
But there is a circumcision that counts. And Paul addresses that in these verses.

Today, in part, sets the ground work for next week.
Who is a true Jew?
Today, we’ll begin making the case that believers, whether circumcised in the flesh or not, are the true circumcision.

Before we get to that, Paul’s main purpose in Romans 2 is to show that Jews are in need of repentance every bit as much as the Gentiles who did not know God.

They can’t simply look at their circumcision and claim they are God’s people. 

READ: (Romans 2:25-29)

BENEFIT IF

Paul will begin chapter 3 with — what the value of circumcision is — and what the advantage of being a Jew is. Foremost is that the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 

There are other advantages as well. But what we need to recognize on the front end of our discussion here is what Paul addresses in verse 25 of chapter 2 —that all of those advantages of being a Jew and any value that circumcision might hold — they only benefit (that’s Paul’s word) — if one actually obeys the law. 

MANNER OF LIFE

The word obey entails that of habitual practice as a manner of life. In other words, if one’s life is marked by living out the expectations of the law, then the physical sign of circumcision that marks the flesh is also marked out by one’s obedience — proving he is indeed a Jew — a member of the covenant community.

A REMINDER

The physical mark was to be a reminder of God’s covenant and calling in their lives — redeeming them from slavery in Egypt and a tyrant king to serve Him, the Living God.

[So too our signs of the covenant!]

Of course, the sign of circumcision goes back further than the Exodus to the time of Abraham (which we’ll get to.) 

PASSOVER

But the Exodus is important to the covenant and particularly in regards to the eve of the Exodus, namely Passover — where God spared the firstborns of Israel but did not spare the firstborns of Egypt. 

WHO COULD PARTICIPATE?

Who could participate in and celebrate the Lord’s Passover? Well, it was obviously given to the children of Israel to celebrate as a reminder of the Lord’s deliverance from slavery. In that sense, Exodus 12 plainly states that no foreigner (or stranger)shall eat of it. Any slave that is bought by the people of Israel may eat of it so long as he is circumcised. But no foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 

CASE CLOSED?

Case closed. The Passover is for native Israelites only. Or is it?

The Lord’s instructions on the Passover continue: (Exodus 12:48). If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it. Now listen. He shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.

So, who may partake of the Passover — the celebration of the Lord’s deliverance of His people? Anyone who has joined himself to the people of God and has been circumcised.

ONE LAW

One more verse — verse 49. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.

One law. No distinction based on ethnicity or physical genealogy. All are instructed by, judged by, and called to live according to the same law of God.

OUTWARD SIGN OF THE COMMUNITY

Circumcision was an outward sign that one belonged to this community of the people of God regardless of their ethnicity. And that has always been the case. 

GENESIS 17

All we need to do is go back to Genesis 17 when the sign of circumcision was first given to Abraham.

(Damian read the first part of Genesis 17 where the Lord once again appears to and establishes His covenant with Abram — this time giving Abram a new name and the sign of the covenant, circumcision.)

Genesis 17:9. And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 

EIGHT DAYS

Verse 12. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. 

Why eight days? It’s the day of New Creation. It represents the cutting off of the old self.

WHO?

Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. (So, important that the Lord stated it twice. Circumcision is not just for the natural offspring.)

HOW MANY CHILDREN?

Now, I have a question for all of us. How many children did Abraham have at the time when the Lord gave him the covenant sign of circumcision?

It was just him and Ishmael. But it wasn’t just Abraham and Ishmael who were circumcised on that day. End of chapter 17, verses 26 and 27. That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

NOT PHYSICAL DESCENDANTS ONLY

Circumcision was not for the physical descendants of Abraham only but the entire community of those who dwelt with him — those born in his house — and the foreigner he purchased.

You may recall back in Genesis 14, when Abram rescued Lot, he led an army of 318 trained men who were born in his house. Not one of them were his offspring. That’s a fairly large community that belonged to Abram.

Then at the beginning of Genesis 15, Abram reminds the Lord that he remains childless — that his heir would be would be Eliezer of Damascus — a foreigner — yet nevertheless — Abram refers to him as a member of his house. A mere member of my household will be my heir!

FATHER OF NONE — FATHER OF ONE…

Abram — exalted father — but to be an exalted father, you must be a father of at least one — but Abram was the father of none. 

In Genesis 17, the Lord renames Abram to Abraham — father of a multitude — when at that time Abraham was but the father of one — Ishmael.

Notice something about the progression. The promises of the Lord keep expanding beyond belief. Yet, Abraham believed. Abraham believed God, and that belief was counted to him as righteousness. 

I share that, so that when we see how the Lord Jesus fulfills — or rather — fills up all the promises of God — we should not be surprised to see the expectations of the promises expanded beyond what anyone would have ever thought possible. 

But that’s the God we serve. He calls into existence things that do not exist. (But we’re getting ahead of ourselves because that’s dipping into Romans 4.)

COVENANT CONSEQUENCES

Back to the covenant of circumcision:

What was the consequence of not being circumcised? Verse 14. Any uncircumcised male … shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

Note, the covenant promises were not automatic. One had to keep the covenant. The consequence of not having one’s flesh cut off was to be cut off from the people of God. 

CUT OFF FROM THE COMMUNITY

This consequence of being cut off from God’s people, however, will carry through to the giving of the law. Indeed, the most severe consequence for breaking the law was just that — being cut off from God’s people. 

Sometimes that cutting off meant sending one into exile away from the people of God. For more high-handed sins, that cutting off was found in a permanent cutting off from God’s people through death. 

REGARDED AS CUT OFF

In other words, to fail to bear the covenant sign meant one was to be regarded as cut off from the people of God. 

But to bear the covenant sign alone — was not the extent of keeping the covenant. To bear only the covenant sign but fail to actually keep the covenant to which the sign pointed also meant that one was to be cut off from the people of God.

AS IF DIDN’T BEAR THE SIGN

And to be cut off from the people of God was to be as if one didn’t truly bear the covenant sign — or at best, they wore it falsely. 

And that’s exactly where Paul goes. 

Romans 2:25. For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 

It’s not that the flesh of one’s foreskin grew back. But to bear the marks of the covenant sign without bearing the marks of the covenant in one’s life was to not actually bear the covenant sign. 

DISCONNECTED

If you recall from last week, there’s a disconnect in one calling himself a Jew and relying on the law and boasting in God — and then breaking the law.

Well, here Paul continues addressing the disconnect — that one can merely wear the external sign of the covenant and yet claim to belong to the covenant community — the people of God.

APPLIED TO US - BAPTISM

To apply this to ourselves (while baptism is not a one for one replacement of circumcision) Paul could just as well write to us in the church today:
For baptism indeed is of value if you obey Jesus’ commands, but if you break Jesus’ commands, your baptism becomes un-baptism. 

JUST WET

In other words, there are a lot of people who believe they were baptized and thus belong to the people of God, but their lives testify otherwise. Such people, we might say, got wet, but they weren’t baptized. 

Being baptized concerns much more than water. The water is merely a medium in which to convey what actually takes place in baptism. But true baptism, to borrow from The Great Commission in Matthew 28 is to be immersed or plunged into the family of the Triune God. Jesus wasn’t giving a formula for what to pronounce as you dip someone into the water. 

A MORE LITERAL COMMISSION

In fact, if we take a more literal translation of The Great Commission, and don’t merely transliterate the word baptism but actually translate it with its meaning, immerse or plunge, Matthew 28:19 would read like this:
Going, therefore, disciple all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

NOT WATER BUT A FAMILY

In other words, it’s not water that one is baptized into but a family — the family of the Godhead itself.

But notice that such takes place as people are discipled — trained — taught the commandments of the Lord Jesus. That’s verse 20 — teaching them to observe — or keep — all that I have commanded you.

ISN’T BAPTISM

Now if one got wet, going through the motions of baptism, but doesn’t keep Jesus’ commands, their supposed baptism isn’t truly baptism. Their lives testify otherwise. Their lives testify that they don’t actually belong to the family of God. 

The call for such a person is to repent. The call is to believe on the Lord Jesus with saving faith, so that they might actually become members of the family of God. 

FALSE SECURITY

In other words, to rely on one’s baptism as their security for salvation, all the while living contrary to what Jesus commands, is to fool oneself as to their status and relationship before God. They are outside the covenant community.

DRAMATIZED REMINDER

But for those who walk in Jesus’ commands, one’s baptism serves as a beautiful reminder of the work that God has done in them. Baptism dramatizes our death, burial, and resurrection with the Lord Jesus. 

Just as circumcision was meant to dramatize the cutting off of the flesh — one’s old self.

And that regular reminder is meant to spur us on to the obedience of faith until we finish our race.

LORD’S SUPPER

Likewise, we can say the same regarding the Lord’s Supper. Participating in what we celebrate as the Lord’s Supper by merely going through the outward motions is not communing with the Lord Himself. Going through the outward observances doesn’t make you a member of the people of God. The true members of the family of God are marked by the obedience of faith not by outward rituals.

OUTWARD DOESN’T EQUAL MEMBER

That’s what Paul is arguing here regarding the Jew and circumcision. The outward ritual doesn’t itself make one a member of the covenant community — but interestingly enough, verse 26, obedience does.

So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

OBEDIENCE OF FAITH

Recall, just for a moment, how Paul opened his letter to the Romans, and his call as an apostle. He received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name — whose name? Jesus’ name — among all the nations. Not just the circumcised Jew.

OBEDIENCE EXCLUDED?

I’m not sure where obedience began to be excluded from the gospel. But it’s not excluded from Paul’s. 

Here in verse 26, Paul argues that one can be physically uncircumcised — which means he’s a Gentile — a non-Jew — a man can be physically uncircumcised — yet keep the law — and be regarded as if he was actually circumcised.

A SHOCKING REPLACEMENT?

Now, for the first recipients of this letter, this must have sounded shocking. For many today, it’s still sounds shocking. If Paul’s not careful — if he keeps going down this line of argument, he’s going to be accused of what some refer to as “replacement theology”! the idea that God’s plan, purposes for, and His promises to Israel have been replaced by the church. 

First, let me say, that’s a distorted caricature of what covenant theology actually entails. And we’ll have to deal with that, likely next week. But for now, let me just say that far from replacement theology, what Paul is promoting would be better called fulfillment theology.

FOLLOW THE ARGUMENT

Let’s follow Paul’s argument in verse 25 and 26.
Verse 25. Circumcision only benefits if one fulfills the expectations of the law. Otherwise, one’s circumcision is no better than being uncircumcised because they are outside the covenant and thus the covenant community. 

Verse 26. Following the same logic, one who is uncircumcised, but yet keeps the righteous requirements of the law bears the sign of the covenant — not in his flesh — but in his obedience. Hence, although uncircumcised in the flesh, he will be regarded as belonging to the covenant community.

HYPOTHETICAL?

Now we must ask a question here, because many commentators take view that Paul is merely being hypothetical here — that the person Paul has in mind doesn’t exist and can’t exist. 

IMAGINARY GENTILE?

So, let’s ask: Is Paul here referring to some imaginary Gentile? Because, of course, who can keep the law of God perfectly? For some of our youngsters, they likely remember from their catechisms — no one can keep the law of God perfectly — except for one — Jesus, who not only could but did.

ANTICIPATED IMPERFECTION

But is Paul referring to perfection? I don’t think so. In fact, the law itself anticipated the fact that man couldn’t keep the law perfectly. Hence the entire sacrificial system of atonement. 

Why would atonement be a part of a law in which perfection could be attained or was expected? If perfection was anticipated, the sacrificial system would be superfluous. But of course, we know that’s not the case. 

WHAT KEEPING LOOKS LIKE

So what might keeping the law look like? Well, for one, it would mean aligning oneself with the character of the law — seeking to live in accordance with the very heart of the law, not merely going through the motions of certain aspects of the law.

INCLUDES REPENTANCE

Second, keeping the law anticipated regular acts of confession and repentance. You can’t read the opening chapters of Leviticus without coming to terms with the fact that fallen man sins and thus needs atonement — regular atonement for those sins.

IF ANYONE SINS…

Listen to these opening phrases in Leviticus 4-6.
If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments…
 If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done…
When a leader sins…
If anyone of the common people sins…
If anyone sins in matters of being a witness…
If anyone touches an unclean thing…
If anyone utters a rash oath…
If anyone commits a breach of faith regarding the holy things of the Lord…
If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done,
If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor, whether in a matter of deposit, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor, or has found something lost and lied about it…

NOT PERMISSIVE

It’s not that it was ever okay to break the law. But the very reality of the sin offering testified that letter perfection wasn’t at the heart of the law.

DESIRE FOR ATONEMENT

When Paul speaks of the Jew who breaks the law, the idea isn’t that of an occasional transgression of which one repents and seeks to make amends or reconcile with his neighbor. 

Paul is contrasting breaking the law with that of one who habitually lives out the righteous requirements of the law. Which means, for the latter, when he falls short, which he will, he sought the means of atonement God laid out in the law.

In other words, the ones who live according to the righteous requirements of the law do so by faith. They aren’t concerned with keeping the law for the law’s sake, but for the sake of the Law-Giver. Because sin hurts the relationship. Not primarily because sin brings judgment. 

So, whoever this sort of Gentile is, there’s a qualitative difference in his law keeping rather than a quantitative difference. And that quality is found in one’s heart — not in his outer flesh.

PHARISEES DID THE LAW?

Let’s not think for a second — to use Paul’s wording from Romans 2:14 — that the Jews for the most part didn’t do the things of the law. Look at the Pharisees — or even Paul himself before his conversion. Before encountering Christ, he saw himself as one who kept the law.

PAUL’S HISTORY OF LAW KEEPING

Philippians 3 — Paul was a Jew in the strictest sense of the term. If anyone else thinks he has confidence in the flesh, I have more. 

Tell us Paul, what was your confidence? Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

It wasn’t that Paul merely wore the covenant sign of circumcision — which no Hebrew boy could give to himself, by the way. If anyone was to compare Paul’s outward life with that of the law, he claims he would be found blameless. Which meant Paul was extremely strict in his going through the motions of the law.

DEEPER THAN THE LETTER

But is that what God had in mind as to what it means to actually fulfill the law? No. The law went much deeper than outward rituals and motions. The fulfilling of the law had to begin in the heart. The two great commands, as Jesus says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

WHERE’S THE LOVE?

Love was missing from Paul’s law. Love was missing from the Jews’ keeping of the law. As such, they didn’t actually keep the law. 

Paul will later sum up that love indeed is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13.
The one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments … are all summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

LAW STILL NEEDED?

Now if love is the fulfilling of the law, do we still need the law? Absolutely. Why? Because in our fallen state, we do a poor job of knowing what loving our neighbor looks like. The law gives us a portrait of what loving our neighbor looks like. 

But one can go through the motions of the law, even doing the things the law commands one to do for a neighbor, without actually loving your neighbor.

A BETTER CIRCUMCISION

So, something has to happen to us if we are to become this one here who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law in such a way that our uncircumcision is regarded as circumcision.

We need a new heart. Or we might say, we need a circumcised heart. We need all of that hard calloused stone-like flesh cut off from around our hearts that we might feel again — that we might be sensitive towards our fellow image bearers.

HELPLESS IN OURSELVES

And this, loved ones, is a work we are not able to do in ourselves. We can accomplish this no better than Israel was able to circumcise their own hearts. 

We need the Lord to do what He says He’ll do in Deuteronomy 30:6.
The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

CIRCUMCISION THAT MATTERS 

This is the circumcision that matters. The circumcision that counts is the circumcision of the heart — not the outward sign made merely in the flesh that was wore as a badge of one’s righteousness.

We need more than name-tag righteousness.

NAME TAG RIGHTEOUSNESS

We have two young men here this morning who work for Chick-fil-a. So, I’m going to use them as an illustration. 

CHASE

Let’s say Chase, he’s got his CFA name badge and CFA shirt. And he loves wearing them. In fact, it’s about the only thing he does wear. He wears his name tag and shirt around the house and when he goes out. He even wears it to bed. 

Now let’s say that Chase, although he wears the tag and the shirt, he never actually did what his manager assigned to him. 

Eventually, Chase wouldn’t work as a representative for CFA. He wouldn’t be acknowledged as a member of the CFA team. 

He may continue to wear the shirt and the name tag. He may even go to the store and look the part — park himself in a booth and sit there all day. 

Many would suppose he worked there. Customer smay even ask his assistance. But wearing the external attire doesn’t make him a member of the CFA team. 

Here’s the thing. Chase may even fool himself that because he shows up and wears the outfit that he still belongs. But when payday comes, when the day of rewards comes, and the owner renders to each one according to his works — guess who isn’t receiving a reward?

In fact, Chase runs a better chance of being escorted off premises than being rewarded anything at all.

At one point, he was called to work there, and he responded to that call. But today, there’s no fruit. He wears the name badge and the uniform, but he never shows up. And when he does show up, he doesn’t contribute to the work. What type of team member does that make Chase? A non-team-member. His name tag benefits him nothing at all.

ELI

Now, take Eli. It’s Eli’s day off. He and his family just so happened to stop in and grab some chicken sandwiches for lunch — because, well, Eli loves the food. He loves working there. He loves what they serve, and how they serve it. He loves the people there. And he loves working alongside them. And he has a lot of respect for the owner and the managers.

But while Eli and his family are enjoying their lunch, 3 buses pull up in addition to the already busy lunch rush. Perhaps the manager spots Eli and asks, or Eli offered, but the next thing you know, Eli is up helping bag orders. He doesn’t have on any of the proper CFA attire — no CFA shirt, no CFA name tag. 

Let me ask. How important is the name tag in that moment? Dress code is an important part of CFA’s policy. But it’s not the main thing. It’s not what CFA is in business for. We’re in business to have people dress up in uniforms and wear our name tag. 

Listen. Eli, in that very moment, might be missing the appropriate outward credentials, but there’s no doubt at all that he is a member of the CFA team. Eli wore his credentials, not on his shirt, but in his doing what his manager asked.

ON CHEST OR HEART

Loved ones, you can wear the name Christian, as if it’s some name tag to put on your chest, or as a bumper sticker for your car, or on a wall in your house. 

Or you can wear the name of Christ on your heart.
If you love me …

TRUE CIRCUMCISION

Who are the true circumcision? Writing to Gentile believers in Philippi, Paul says, We are the circumcision — those who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

Next week …

CHRIST …

EVERY FALSE CONFIDENCE

Reminder of what Paul is doing in these first three chapters — in his case against humanity:
- He’s knocking out every false hope and every false confidence we think will somehow exclude us from judgment.

And he does that — 1) in order that we might see our need for repentance — because in our sin we are all guilty before God. And 2) to prepare us for Christ — what it actually is that Jesus has accomplished — and why that matters for us — because trusting in Jesus is the only hope one has in being able to stand in the day of God’s judgment.

WHAT PAUL’S DOING

Now, there have been a couple places that we’ve already looked at in chapter 2 where it may seem that Paul is doing something other than knocking out our false hope and confidence — such as verse 6, that God judges everyone according to their works — verse 7, that those who do well will receive eternal life — verse 12, the doers of the law will be justified — verse 15, that one’s conscience will excuse them on the day of judgment. 

UPON WHICH ROCK

But Paul’s point with each of those is not to provide assurance that someone is in right standing with God due to their law-keeping — but to show that if our works are the rock on which we stand — then our confidence is wrong-headed. Because our works, far from being a rock on which to stand are more like shifting sand. Because — chapter 3 — none is righteous, no not one! 

There’s but one rock on which anyone will stand in the day of judgment — and that is the Rock — Christ Jesus.

NUANCE

I bring this up on the front end, because I recognize that if you tuned in for only parts of the messages over the past 3 weeks, you could have easily missed the nuance. 

TO THE CHURCH

Paul is setting up our utter need for Jesus.
But Paul is also writing to the church and to believers — Romans 1 — To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.
So, Paul expects those in Rome — the initial recipients of his letter — and us — all those who might read his letter afterward — to examine ourselves. Is our faith in Christ genuine? 

Today’s passage is extremely applicable for us. 

FROM GENTILE TO JEW

In verses 14 and 15, Paul turned his attention to the Gentiles — specifically, those who didn’t possess the written Law — those who didn’t possess God’s Word. In verses 17 and following, Paul turns his attention to the Jews — those who possessed the very oracles of God. 

They possessed the Word of God. But did the Word possess them?

LEAST TO MOST PRIVILEGED

In other words, Paul moves through his argument by addressing the least privileged to the most privileged — those who would be judged apart from God’s written law because they only had the work of it internally — to those who would be judged under the law because they had it in written form.

Loved ones, God’s written Word has never been so accessible as it is now. What’s more, we live on this side of the cross! We know the rest of the story. We have God’s Word in its final form — as it discloses the Incarnate Word — the eternal Son — the only Savior. Who has ever been as privileged as we are?

As such, we need to heed Paul’s warning here to the Jews.

READ: Romans 2:17-24

May the Word of God through the Spirit of God search the hearts of the people of God this morning. Amen.

MASTER IN “GOTCHA”?

The way Paul sets this up is masterful. Now, I don’t think Paul was going for a “gotcha moment” like many political activists go for — or the Pharisees who sought to trap Jesus in his words — they of course failed. 

But Paul does — very methodically lay out all the things that the Jew — the religious people of his day — boasted and relied upon — and each of these are good things.

Verses 17-18 -

PRIVILEGE

Paul moves from the Gentiles — those who weren’t privileged to have the law — to those who were entrusted with the law. And Paul lays out a list — where it immediately appears that this group — those who possess the law — compared to the Gentiles — must obviously be doing better. 

WITNESSES

Jehovah’s Witnesses rang our doorbell yesterday. We had a brief discussion on the Trinity, and why it matters. 

But, loved ones, knowing the doctrine of the Trinity doesn’t save anyone — if it is mere head knowledge and has no impact on the heart — driving one to trust in the persons of the Trinity.

SINCERITY AND HELL

Most find it difficult to believe that many who are sincerely religious will ultimately be lost. Many who are orthodox in their professions — who can recite the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostle’s Creed — won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. Even many who would affirm and even argue for the inerrancy of Scripture will find themselves in hell. 

We don’t want to believe that could possibly be the case. 

PAGANS, HERETICS, AND ORTHODOX

But judgment isn’t just for the pagans and the heretics. All will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And many will find their orthodoxy lacked the most important components: repentance and faith — repentance that turns away from sin — and faith that turns to Christ to cover the penalty.

CALL YOURSELF A CHRISTIAN

This is a warning for us. Today, Paul could just have easily written:

But if you call yourself a Christian.
and rely on the Bible,
and boast in Jesus,
and know his will,
and approve what is excellent,
because you are instructed by your New Testament.

GODLY LIST AND HYPOCRISY

Here’s the thing. Each of these in Paul’s list — be it the Jew or the Christian — this is a godly list — these are good things. Paul’s not at all arguing against any of this. What he’s pointing out is the hypocrisy that what we often claim to be is not often reality. 

CHIASTIC CENTER

In fact, the center of this paragraph is the first half of verse 21.
You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
[Each paragraph in Romans 2 forms its own chiastic structure, that helps us find the main point Paul is driving home. Here, it’s hypocrisy.]

IN NAME ONLY

It’s not enough for one to call themselves a Jew. As we’ll see next week in the following paragraph: The question is whether one is a true Jew. 

Likewise, it’s not enough to call yourself a Christian. Are you a true Christian? You ask 100 people in Middle TN if they are a Christian — and you’ll likely have over half of them say, “Yes.” 

WHAT ARE THEY BASING IT ON?

But what are they basing that one? I’m a Tennessean? My parents are Christians? I was baptized? I go to church? I read my Bible? I believe in God? Or even, I believe in Jesus?

WHERE IS YOUR CONFIDENCE?

Are you basing your confidence on anything you have done?
Or is your confidence in what Jesus has done — and what he has done in you? I trust Jesus because He is my Lord and Savior. He found me wallowing in my blood — in my death. He opened my eyes to see my dreadful state — my utter hopelessness — and drew me out of the mire. He poured out His life to pay for all my rebellion. He purchased me with His own blood. He showed me who God truly is — what He’s like — His love for me? I did nothing at all. But there’s no doubt whatsoever that He did a work in me — He changed me. 

[Testimony from Wednesday’s book study.]

RESTING UPON THE LAW

One can claim to rely on the law — the word rely here means to rest upon. The Jews rested upon their possession of the law — yet failed to keep the law. 

The idea — rely — or rest upon — comes from Micah 3:11 — referring to the false confidence of the rulers of Israel who were facing the Lord’s judgment for their wickedness.
Yet they lean on — or rest upon —the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.”

DOING THE THINGS OF THE LAW

Last week we looked at how Gentiles — at times — did the things of the law. Well, Paul is not at all suggesting that these Jews do not do the things of the law. They did many of the things of the law. But doing the things of the law isn’t keeping the law. 

As Jesus points out (Matthew 23:23): Woe to you, scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin — that’s doing some of the things of the law — but you have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others

BOAST IN GOD

And then there’s boasting in God. Again, these are all good things — if they are genuine!!! I mean, Paul himself will write to the Corinthians — quoting from Jeremiah 9 — Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

MERE FLATTERY

The problem is that, for many, this boast is nothing more than flattery. This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 

PRAISE WITH DEPTH OR JUST LIPS

Here at Grace, we sing songs with a lot of depth. We don’t sing any shallow praise songs that repeat the same meatless chorus a dozen times. But loved ones — while the lyrics might be fixed on the greatness of God — it’s possible to sing the words without our hearts being fixed on the greatness of God. 

I know there are distractions — and God knows that — I’m speaking generally. Does your heart worship God in Spirit and in truth?

NOT UNCONTROLLABLE

[Not sporadic — uncontrollable worship. But in Spirit and in truth. I saw a video — of a charismatic church — where a little girl was dancing during a worship service. The mother posted how proud she was that her daughter was worshiping in the Spirit — and let go of herself.
The fruit of the Spirit includes self-control. While there’s something good about imitating those who imitate Christ — merely going through the motions is not worship. And worship of the heart is not disconnected from the body.]

KNOW HIS WILL … APPROVE

Know his will … and approve what is excellent…
We can know God’s will in an intellectual — cognitive sense. We can read the words. We can understand what God says. 

But to know God’s will and yet not do His will … what sort of knowing God’s will is that?

APPROVE

Likewise, approve…

Approve what is excellent, pure, noble, praiseworthy — but your approval doesn’t make you righteous before God. 

You don’t have to be a liberal to go to hell. You can be a conservative and make it there just fine. You can be Pro-Life and advocate for the most vulnerable — but your approval of what is good is no pass for you to break other portions of God’s Law.

INSTRUCTED FROM THE LAW

Because you are instructed from the law.
If you recall, Paul, in his life before Christ — before his Damascus Road encounter — Paul knew the law. He had been instructed in the law from childhood. He likely had much of it memorized. And he strove to keep that law — at least externally. But his heart was detached from the Lawgiver. 

There’s no genuine keeping of the law of God if it’s not from the heart — with an intent to glorify God.

[Rich Young Ruler]

ARE YOU SURE?

Sugar — the only word in the English language where the ‘s’ makes an ‘sh’ sound like sherbert.
Are you sure?

That’s the question Paul raises in verse 19. Are you sure?

Verse 19. And if you are sure that you yourself are 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.

PARALLELS

Notice the parallels — guide and light — instructor and teacher — blind and darkness — foolish and children. 

COMPASSION OR PRIDE

Like verses 17-18 — these are good things — to guide and instruct others who — especially those who haven’t had the same privileges. 

But instead of this privilege engendering compassion and mercy for their neighbor — they became proud of their special position — their special possession. 

HYPOCRISY AND HUMILITY

And here’s where Paul drops the hammer. You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?

Humility — is an accurate view of oneself. But we — humanity — are a proud people. And I mean all of us. We all have our opinions. And there are settings in which we offer up that opinion — where humility was completely absent. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say — our humility was completely absent — and our intent was the humility of the other person — where we just wanted to show them up — even if just a little. 

WHAT’S THE HEART’S MOTIVE?

I hear it so often. And I ask myself — why did he or she say what they said, when they said it, in the way they said it.
And I have to ask the same thing regarding so many of my responses. Did I speak because I genuinely cared about the person. Or was there some other motive.

And I’m far more in tune to it because I have a few people in my life whom humility just seems to come second nature.
O I want that. I want what Matt has. 

DANGER FOR THOSE WHO TEACH

Loved ones, I’m well aware of the danger in what I do. I study a lot regarding religious things. Which means I know a lot of information about religious things — and especially about this Book — what it says and teaches. And it terrifies me that so much of this head knowledge could fail to penetrate the heart. That in teaching others, I could fail to teach myself. 

Could you pray for me that that wouldn’t ultimately be the case? O I fall short. Don’t ever think because I know this Word or teach this Word — that I have arrived. Not even close. 

I am in need of the same grace today — if not more — than when this journey first began. I need Jesus every bit as much today. I need the Spirit to fill me just as much today. I need the Father to keep me … as much today — as when He first rescued me out of the pit.

WE ALL TEACH

But here’s the thing. We all teach in some capacity.
There’s not one of us here, over the age of 5, who have not offered our advice and opinion on what one ought to do and what one ought not to have done.

POINTING OUT SIN

Paul’s point is that the Jews had no problem pointing out the sin in others — but refused to recognize their own sin. And the same can be true of us. 

NOTICING SPLINTERS

We can notice the speck in our neighbor’s eye — we can notice the splinters in the world’s eyes — I know, some of those specks are more prominent than others. And it’s never that we’re called to ignore or turn a blind eye to the injustices and sins of the world. But if we can see the sins of the world — how much more should we be able to see our own. And from that vantage point — it’s not a splinter in our eye — but a big ole beam of timber — blinding our ability to see anything unimpaired.

POINTING OUT BLINDNESS

If we teach others about their blindness — how much more should we deal with our own.

Remember Jesus speaking to the Pharisees after he had healed the man born blind? This is from John 9.
“For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees who were near Jesus heard him say these things, so they asked Jesus, “Are we also blind?” Now, listen to Jesus’ reply.
If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

MISPLACED CONFIDENCE

O in our pride we can be so sure of ourselves just like the Pharisees were. But confidence in the Lord and being sure of yourself are not the same thing. 

Rather than guiding the blind, Jesus warned that these religious leaders were blind guides. 

JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN VENEER

They had a Jewish veneer — but they weren’t a true Jew where it mattered. And in the same way — many have a Christian veneer — but they aren’t truly in Christ — because Christ hasn’t penetrated their hearts.

LET’S LOOK AT THE LAW

So, Paul goes where his Lord did when the Rich Young Ruler came and asked what must I do to inherit eternal life? He took him to the law of God. 

Each of these questions Paul asks are rhetorical — meaning the answer is implied in the question.

While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
You who say one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?
You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

And just to make sure we understand that the implied answer is yes to each of these — verse 23 — You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.

SURFACE LAWKEEPING

Now, on the surface, one might question what Paul is doing. Does Paul really believe that the average Jew is going to read this and think to himself, you know what, I do steal. I have committed adultery. I have robbed temples.

I don’t think so. 

BEYOND THE ACT

Of course, Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, demonstrated that the Law — and particularly the Ten Commandments — went beyond the physical act — but what takes place in the heart — even should one never follow through with the act.

THE HEART HAS DONE ALL IT CAN

In other words, lust is equivalent to adultery. Why? Because the heart has already done all that it can to sin. The body merely follows suit if given the right opportunity void of the right consequences.

That’s true of every sin. One doesn’t have to physically steal something. Sin takes place first in the heart. And given the right opportunity — removing certain consequences — the hand will take what doesn’t belong to it. 

MURDER

Jesus equates hatred with murder. The only thing that distinguishes our anger from that of Cain’s — who rose up and killed his own brother — is God’s gracious restraint — what restraints — well, for one, the consequences of murder — not just judicial — but loss, guilt, shame. 

Well, I could never. Really? Has there never been a time in which you wish something horrible would happen to a person — that the world would be better off if this person was no more — a politician or activists you can’t stand. 

Loved ones, we are poisoned with sin. And only by God’s grace … not because of our supposed righteousness … do our lives look better than another’s.

ROBBING TEMPLES?

What about this robbing temples? What’s that about? Well, I think the last one is the key to actually understanding what Paul ultimately intends by the first two — theft and adultery. 

PAGAN TEMPLES?

First, what many have suggested it to mean. Some have suggested Paul to mean that the Jews, while they condemn idolatry, they had robbed items from pagan temples. And even though this isn’t the norm for every Jew, the fact that some have done so, stands in place for the whole.

 

I have a difficult time with that interpretation…

COMPOUND WORD

This word — for robbing temples —  ἱεροσυλέω — is a compound word — it’s the word temple — and the world to steal. 

ACTS 19:37 — ARTEMIS

The adjectival form shows up in one other place — Acts 19:37. When Paul is in Ephesus. And a man named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis — made a disturbance. He gathered fellow businessmen together, warning that Paul had been persuading many that gods made with hands are not truly gods. And that this could not only endanger their trade / business, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis could be counted as nothing. 

And a great commotion and uproar ensued for two hours. The town clerk quiets the town — defending Artemis — that we have here rock that fell from the sky — and also defending Paul and his companions in that they are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of Artemis. 

SACRILEGE — DISHONOR THE SACRED

Sacrilegious is our word — temple robbers. Neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of Artemis. You can get the context of what this word means. 

ROBBED OF GLORY

A temple might be robbed physically of the vessels or treasures inside — or the temple might be robbed of its glory by bringing dishonor upon it — of the thing it represents. Hence, blasphemy and sacrilege go together.

So, back to what Paul means: You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? — or are you a temple robber?
Have you brought dishonor upon the temple — the house of God?

That’s exactly what the Jews have done.

DEN OF ROBBERS

When Jesus cleanses the temple, what does he accuse the religious leaders of? You have made my Father’s house a den of robbers. 

THE DECALOGUE

These three rhetorical questions each deal with the Ten Commandments — theft, adultery, and idolatry. Paul’s working in reverse. 

TWO IDENTICAL TABLETS

Often times we think of the Ten Commandments as the two tables of the law — the first being our responsibility toward God and the second our responsibility toward our neighbor. But what many miss is that the two tablets of stone were most likely identical. Why? Because they are a copy of the covenant law. When a contract is made between parties — both parties get a copy. One copy is the Lord’s. The other copy is the people’s. 

RESPONSIBILITY TO BOTH

Each of the commandments apply both to our responsibility toward God and toward our neighbor — our fellow image-bearer.

THEFT AGAINST GOD

Theft may or may not be against your neighbor. But all theft is against God. In Malachi, The Lord charges the people with robbing Him because they don’t bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. But if we look at the whole of Malachi, we see that it’s not about the tithe or the contributions, but honor. They have robbed the Lord of His honor.

Malachi 1:6. A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor. If I am a master, where is my fear.

ADULTERY AND IDOLATRY

Adultery is the most prominent way Scripture expresses Israel’s idolatry. Yahweh was a husband to Israel. But she chased after the gods of the nations. 

And we could walk through each of the commandments in the same way.

DISHONORING GOD

The point Paul is hammering home is — verse 23 — those who boast in the law, actually dishonor God by breaking the law. 

ABHOR THE IDOLATRY WITHIN

It’s not enough to hate the idolatry in others — we must abhor the idolatry in ourselves — to the point where these idol-factory hearts of ours become idol-wrecking-factories. 

BLASPHEMING GOD’S NAME

Where the Jews boasted in their piety and religiosity — what they were actually doing is blaspheming God’s name among the Gentiles. They were causing God’s name to be despised. How? Because it was an empty boast. They didn’t actually keep the law. They didn’t actually do the will of God. They failed to teach themselves — to instruct their own hearts.

THE NAME WE PROCLAIM

Each of us, by our lives will bring either honor or dishonor to the NAME we proclaim. 

THE LAW MATTERS

The law matters. What Paul is not saying — he’s not saying that the law doesn’t matter. In fact, he says the exact opposite. The law matters so much, that breaking the law dishonors God. 

BUT BREAKING THE LAW…

Breaking God’s law seeks to rob God of His glory — by snatching off His crown for ourselves. To break God’s law is to set up our own will as preferrable to His — to set ourselves up as our own sovereigns over and before Him. 

NO OTHER GODS

Isn’t that the first commandment? You shall have no other gods before me. Loved ones, Artemis, and other gods and goddesses of stone aren’t the main competition here. It’s us. 

ONE IDOL STANDS IN THE WAY

Whether we have His law — boast in His law — know His will — approve what is excellent — there’s one idol that stands in the way of your salvation — you. And Jesus calls us to die with Him, so that we might put that idol to death. 

He doesn’t leave you to do it on your own. But it must happen. 

EXALTING WHOSE NAME?

Paul began with name — you call yourself  — or literally —  you name yourself a Jew. To — you cause the name of God to be blasphemed.

Whose name our you ultimately seeking to exalt? The name you go by — the name you call yourself — or Jesus’ name? 

DEALINGS WITH JESUS

The hypocrisy of the Jews was most vivid in their dealings with Jesus. They accused and condemned Jesus by their law — all the while breaking the law. They brought false charges, even seeking false witnesses. Until they finally had Jesus put to death. 

CRUCIFIED FOR BLASPHEMY

You know what charges Jesus was put to death for? He was put to death for the charge of blasphemy. That was the charge. 

Mark 14:64. The high-priest to the council. What further witnesses do we need? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned Jesus as deserving death.

John 19:7. The Jews before Pilate. We have a law, and according to this law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.

OUR BLASPHEMY

Jesus went to the cross for blasphemy. That was the charge. But he wasn’t the one who blasphemed. It was us. Jesus went to the cross for our blasphemy — for all the ways we have dishonored God — and brought His name into disrepute. 

NO PROBLEM WITH THE LAW

There’s no problem with God’s law. As Samuel read from Psalm 19. The law of the Lord is perfect…

You’ll hear many suggest — the law doesn’t matter. What matters is a relationship. And so they’ll set aside God’s Word, and seek to have a relationship with a god they manufacture — a Jesus of their own imagination. Because the only way you will possibly know God in truth is through this Word. Because only through this Word will you come face to face with the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.

CAN’T LEGISLATE AFFECTIONS

But what the law cannot do — it can’t change the heart. You can’t legislate heart change. That doesn’t mean the law isn’t good. The law wasn’t given to change the heart — but to restrain the acts that flow from the sinful heart. 

CHANGE THE LIMIT

Speed limit change on Lebanon Road going into Nashville.
For some, the law had no impact on their behavior. Drive the same.
For most, the law changed their behavior relatively — from 55 to 45. But notice, that’s still 10mph over the limit. Why? Because the fallen heart leverages the law for its own benefit — not to reflect God — and certainly not for His glory. 

DOING GAINS NOTHING

The Law — doing it — gains you nothing before God.
Not that the law is unimportant. It’s hugely important.
But keeping the law, should be the norm. Image-bearers should reflect the moral nature of the One they are imaged after.

Doing the law gains one nothing before God. But breaking the law does make one a transgressor who dishonors God. 

FOR SELFISH ENDS

Men often seem desirous of the will of God, but is such truly the case? They desire to use the revealed will of God for their own selfish ends — not to glorify Him.

They only desire an acquaintance with the law with a design to improve some lust by it. (Moses — certificate of divorce.)

The Rich Young Ruler imagined he could purchase eternal happiness by works of the law.

Judas followed Jesus to have access to the purse.
Jews applauded Jesus with cries of “Hosanna!” one day, and voted, “Crucify him!” the next.

Only the gospel can transform — because only the gospel breaks the heart of stone… 

EMBODIMENT — FORM

In the law, Paul writes — is the embodiment — the form — of knowledge and truth. But many fail to be transformed by that law. 

(Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18)

PRETENDERS

The main issue Paul addresses in this paragraph is hypocrisy — or as Charlotte’s Bible translates it — those who pretend. A hypocrite is a pretender. The Jews addressed here pretended to be the people of God …

How often some of us pretend to be a little better off, a little further along, a little more righteous and holy than the next person.

PROVERBS 13:7

Proverbs 13:7. One person pretends to be rich, yet has noting; another pretends to be — or makes himself — poor, yet has great wealth.

FORM OF GOD

Jesus, wasn’t just the embodiment of knowledge and truth — he was the very form of God. (Philippians 2:6). But he took on the form of a servant — and made himself poor for us. 

  All Who Have Sinned with or without the Law (Romans 2:12-16)

AVOIDING ACCOUNTABILITY
A friend once shared about a time when she didn’t read and study her Bible because she did not want to be held accountable for what was in it.

Well, there is a certain responsibility that falls to those who know this book, that those who do not possess it do not have. 

But God has made it available not for you to seek to escape responsibility through neglect. Willfully neglecting the truth made readily available to you doesn’t get you off the hook. 

That’s taking one’s talent or mina and hiding it in the ground because you see the Judge of all the earth as nothing more than a severe master — rather than One who is worthy of your service.

We won’t avoid judgment by our negligence to study God’s Word.
But what God’s Word might do —
which I assure you will not take place without it —
is show us the way to LIFE!

But to know the way to life — we must first come to terms with the fact that outside of Christ awaits only judgment and death.

CONTEXT
It’s important that we recall what came before.
Verse 11. God shows no partiality.
As such, verse 6. He will judge each one according to his works — not according to what one knows, or has heard, or professes. 

But this immediately raises a question.
What about those who do not know the law of God?
How can God judge them according to their works if they didn’t know what such works should even look like? 

JUSTICE?

How is that justice?

Well, it’s no surprise that Paul anticipates the question. And that’s exactly what he addresses in verses 12-16. 

All will receive a fair judgment from God because all will be judged by a fair standard —judged based on the law they have — not the law they don’t have.

READ: Romans 2:12-16

VERSE 12A – PERISH WITHOUT THE LAW
Verse 12. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law.

That God shows no partiality, does not mean that God does not take into account the various situations people find themselves in. 

Speaking primarily of the Law of Moses — the special revelation of God’s Law — those who sinned without the law will not be judged by the Law they did not have.
They will still die for their sins. But they won’t be judged by the standard of the Mosaic Law. 

Not having the Law means they won’t be judged by the Law. But not having the Law also means they can’t be saved by the One to whom the Law bears witness. So, don’t think that Gentiles who don’t have the law are any better off. 

DISSERVICE?

If that were the case, we do a disservice to take the gospel to anyone! But we know that’s not true. 

Romans 5:12-14. Sin was indeed the world before the law was given. But sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned form Adam to Moses. Death reigned without the law. 

So, Gentiles, while they might not have the written law, they still perish. They are still far from God. They are still far from life — because they are far from the One who is life. 

But while Gentiles perish apart from the law, those who possess the law will be judged by the law. 

VERSE 12B – JUDGED BY THE LAW

Verse 12. 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.

MERE POSSESSION SAVES NOT

The mere possession of the law saves no one. Having the law does not automatically put one in favor with God. Nor does having the law necessarily lead to a more favorable judgment. 

GREATER RESPONSIBILITY

In fact, the judgment of those who have the law bear a greater responsibility and will face a stricter judgment. (Consider James 3:1.)

Luke 12:47. Jesus says of the servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

ADVANTAGE

Having the law can be a tremendous advantage — but the law itself saves no one. The advantage is that the law shows sin to be sin — and our need for a Savior. The Law also bears witness (Romans 3:21) to the gospel — and specifically to God’s gift of grace in Christ — the coming One. But the law doesn’t save anyone.

Gentiles do not need a Bible to make them guilty before God. (This is exactly what Paul argued in Romans 1.)
But for those who know and have the Law — knowing and having offers no protection — no covering.
But it does point to the covering where true protection may be found.

FOR DOING NOT MERELY HEARING

The Law is not for hearing but for doing. The purpose of hearing the law is to do it.
Verse 13. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

First: It’s not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God.

ROLLING STOP

For many of us, it’s been a while since we took the test for our driver’s license. For some of you, it’s been in the past couple years. 

We all know what we’re supposed to do when we come to a stop sign. But let’s say, for whatever reason, you roll through the stop sign. And some blue lights come on. So, you pull over. While the officer is approaching, you’re thinking of your defense. Officer, I know. I ran the stop sign.

Well, says the officer, in that case, since you know the law, don’t worry about it. Stop signs are for those who don’t know the law.
Not at all. Knowing the law makes you all the more responsible to do the law.

DOERS JUSTIFIED

It’s not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 

Justified means to be declared righteous. It’s those who actually do the law — uphold and fulfill the law — who will be justified. 

GOSPEL CONTRADICTION?

This goes back to verse 6, that God will judge each person according to his works. Which raises the question — if it is the doers of the law who will be justified, doesn’t that contradict the gospel? Doesn’t Paul go on to say in chapter 3 (3:20) that by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

TECHNICAL

Well, let’s get a bit technical with the grammar here in verse 13. What verse 13 does not say — it does not say that those who do the works of the law will be justified by their works — but that it is the doers of the law who will be justified. Justified how? 

The text doesn’t actually say in this particular verse. But it does recognize that justification will take place for those who genuinely uphold the law. Ultimately, the doers of the law will be justified by their faith, but that faith by which they are justified is never alone — it’s a faith that does.

Far from contradicting the gospel by suggesting that salvation and justification is by doing the works of the law — the doers of verse 13 fulfill the gospel. As Paul asks in Romans 3:31. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

FAITH THAT DOES JUSTIFIES

It’s the faith that produces doing that justifies the believer before God.
Faith that merely hears justifies no one. 

Information and intellectual assent makes one no better than a demon. Even the demons believe — yet they tremble. True faith, however, trusts and obeys. 

This is not gaining salvation through law keeping.
It’s law keeping that flows from salvation.

To be merely a hearer of the law — a hearer of God’s Word — and think that somehow means you are right with God is to deceive yourself. 

JAMES 1:22

Or as James 1:22 says: Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

HEARERS OR DOERS

So, we must each ask ourselves. Are we merely hearers of the law — hearers of God’s Word. We come in Sunday by Sunday — maybe even Wednesdays too. 

Hearing the Word — and failing to respond appropriately to the Word by conforming your life to it is a dangerous place to be. But if we are truly doers of the Word — not perfectly — but as we looked at last week, there’s a clear change in direction in which we are ordering our lives according to what our Lord commands — we can have confidence before the Lord that we are among those who will be justified when we stand before the throne.

Perhaps, up till now, you’ve only been a hearer. Ask yourself, “Why? Why is it that you listen to the Word, but continue not to trust the Lord so as to obey Him?”

You can put an end to that today. You can start following Jesus today. But you’ll only do that if you see His worthiness — that he is worthy to be followed. 

THOSE WITHOUT ACCESS — NOT TRULY WITHOUT

So, back to our earlier question: How can God judge those, condemn those, leave those to perish who have never heard His Word? What about those who don’t have access to the Bible? Who don’t have access to the Gospel? How can God rightly judge them and hold them accountable. 

Even though they might not have the written Word — the written law code — they are not without God’s law. And they prove such in two ways: by many of their actions and by their conflicting conscience.

VERSE 14

Verse 14. 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.

While not possessing the written Law of Moses, the Gentiles are not without the law entirely. 

We could retrace Paul’s arguments in Romans 1:18-32. Everyone knows! Why? Because God has made it plain to them. 

NOT ENTIRELY LAWLESS

Here, Paul points out that Gentiles prove they are not entirely lawless. Which raises the question: where does law even come from? Surely man would never place himself under any law that somehow stands as a barrier to many of his fleshly desires. The fact that there are any laws at all is evidence of a Law-Giver. 

THE THINGS OF THE LAW

But Paul’s argument here goes further than the mere existence of law among Gentiles. He says that there are times when Gentiles do the things of the law. 

Pause. Paul is not saying that unbelieving Gentiles uphold the Law.
What the text actually says is that Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things of the law. 

While no unbeliever truly loves the one true God, many if not most believe parents should be honored, and that it’s wrong to murder, commit adultery, steal, and bear false witness. They do aspects of the law. They promote the things of the law — not all — but some.

DOING PART VERSUS KEEPING

Let’s be clear. Doing the things of the law is far from keeping the law. 

At judgment, the Judge doesn’t charge you for the things of the law in which you did, but the aspects of the law you broke — you transgressed.

The criminal is tried for his infractions of the law — not for his observances of the law. He’s not charged for his compliance but for his infringement of the law.

ILLUSTRATION: MURDER RESTRAINED?

A murderer doesn’t come before the court and present as his defense — Your honor, if you would notice how many times I didn’t murder anyone. Look at how many people I have yet to harm. How many days I have restrained myself from harming anyone. 

That’s not how justice works.

JUST THIS ONCE

Now, I get it. Murder is a bit extreme. But it helps bring the point home. Because adultery, theft, bearing false witness — tend to be more easily passed over in our society — as “It was just this once.” — as if that makes it excusable.

And sadly, our society is beginning to treat violent crimes and murder this way. 

EVEN SEARED CONSCIENCES

But everyone knows the wrongness. How do we know that? Because even the most extreme and hardened individual — whose conscience is seared — who has been branded by the devil himself — who celebrates the murder of another — celebrating even the anniversary of another person’s death —

When the trespass is against them or their loved ones, they want justice. They recognize the wrong when it happens to them. They know! And they prove that they know! They — even they — “do the things of the law” in calling certain actions wrong — or even evil.

DOING INSUFFICIENT TO SAVE

But doing the things of the law is insufficient to save anyone.
Again, borrowing from James 2:10. Whoever keeps the whole law — yet stumbles in just one point — is liable for the whole of it.

LAW TO THEMSELVES

By doing the things of the law, Gentiles — while they do not possess the written code — they are a law to themselves.

By saying that they are a law to themselves — Paul is not saying they are their own law as in they just make up their own rules as they go. The idea here is not that of “follow your heart.” Rather, Paul is saying the exact opposite — that Gentiles are confronted with the very law of God — and that they display this in many of their judgments and actions. Paul’s saying that even though they don’t possess the written law, they still have a copy of the law in some measure.

REMNANT OF A COPY

First half of verse 15. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. A copy of God’s law — or we might say a remnant of the copy of God’s law — is found on the heart of every man and woman.

Why do I say a remnant of a copy of God’s law? Well, notice what Paul does not say. He does not say that the law is written on their hearts. But the work of the law is written is written on their hearts. 

RESERVED EXPRESSIONS

Expressions such as “fulfilling the law” and “the law written upon the heart” are reserved for a state of heart far beyond that which describes unbelieving Gentiles.

NOT A DIFFERENT LAW

This work of the law is not a different law. Both the law written on tablets of stone and the work of the law still imprinted upon the hearts of men are of the same law — the law of God. 

It’s the same law that confronts both the Jew and Gentile. The difference is the means of revelation and the degree of specificity. But the source of the law is the same. Both are from the One and Same Lawgiver.

ATTEMPTED ERASURE

That it is merely the work of the law that is written on the heart shows a willful attempt to erase this law. (Again, that’s Romans 1 — the suppression of the truth.) But try as man may, he cannot fully erase or remove the law of God from within him. 

ILLUSTRATION: Palimpsest – (scrape again)

HALEY: SLIDE

In ancient and medieval times, writing materials such as parchment were expensive and scarce. (Parchments were made from animal skins — such as sheep, goats, and calves — due to their durability. These skins were scraped and treated to produce a smooth strong medium — or sheet — for writing.)

Because of the cost and work to produce such writing mediums, it became common to reuse them. But unlike our number 2 lead pencils and erasures, they had to re-scrape the skins in order to remove the writing. These re-scraped parchments became known as palimpsest (παλίμψηστος – which means scraped again.)

But this erasing process wasn’t entirely effective. The original work — the original writing could often be distinguished under the newer writing.

(Approximately 20% of ancient New Testament manuscripts are palimpsests — where the parchment was scraped over and repurposed.)

WRITE OVER

In a similar way, fallen man has sought to erase and write over God’s law. But the work of the law remains. Try as man may, he cannot fully erase the imprint of God’s law from his heart. The law may be marred — but the work of the law remains.

CONSCIENCE

Which takes us to conscience:

Verse 15. 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.

TWO WITNESSES

One witness that the Gentiles are not entirely without law is that there are times when they do the things of the law. The other witness is their own conscience. So, there’s a public witness and a private witness. 

FORCIBLE TESTIMONY

What more forcible a testimony is there than the conscience. Calvin says that the human conscience is equal to a thousand witnesses. 

When man does good, his conscience testifies, and he is comforted. When a man does evil, his conscience testifies, and he is inwardly harassed and tormented.

FALLIBLE YET INDESTRUCTIBLE

Now, Paul is not suggesting that in anyway that the human conscience is infallible. 

Nevertheless, the human conscience is evidence of our indestructible moral nature. And that nature had to be implanted from something other than ourselves. 

There’s no way man would subject himself to such a moral witness that so often stands against his desires and his peace. 

But try as we may, we cannot free ourselves from the conscience. — And loved ones, that’s a good thing. It’s a good thing that God does not allow us to be at ease in our sin…

CONFLICTING THOUGHTS

Notice that Paul says that their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them. The thrust is that: We seek to reason for our actions, all the while our conscience stands as a witness against — or even at times — for us. In other words, the conscience at times plays the role of the prosecution, and at other times, the conscience plays the role of the defense.

ACQUITTAL BY CONSCIENCE?

Which raises a question. Is Paul saying that it’s possible for unbelieving Gentiles who do not have the law, by their conscience bearing witness for them — that is — excusing them or defending them — that they will be acquitted before God on the day of judgment based on their conscience? 

ABIMELECH

I think Abimelech, in Genesis 20, provides a helpful case study for us to answer that question. Abimelech was a pagan king who took Abraham’s wife Sarah to be his own. But he did so, believing Sarah was Abraham’s sister, not Abraham’s wife. 

And the Lord comes to Abimelech in a dream and says, Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman you have taken, for she is another man’s wife.

Now, Abimelech had not approached Sarah. And he asks the Lord, Will you kill an innocent people? Did not Abraham says to me, “She is my sister?” and she herself say, “He is my brother/” In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.

How does God respond? Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart — and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore, I did not let you touch her.

DEFENDED

Abimelech’s conscience defended his actions in taking Sarah as his wife. But get this. Now that the Lord has made known the truth as to Sarah being Abraham’s wife, if Abimelech failed to respond appropriately to this new information, he would then be guilty. 

But something more, Abimelech’s conscience defended him on this one incident. At final judgment, there will be far more incidents for which Abimelech will give an account. And it’s doubtful that his conscience will defend him for them all — or even for most.

And the same is true with all of us. How many times have we sinned against conscience? We aren’t judged for that which we are truly innocent of, but that for which we are guilty.

VERSE 16

Last verse. Verse 16.
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.

MY GOSPEL?

A couple things. First, what does Paul mean by my gospel? Is Paul suggesting, well, you know, you have your version of the gospel, and I have mine. So, whatever the gospel means to you, go with that.
Not at all. Recall that in the very first verses of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he tells his readers that God set him apart for the gospel — but not just any gospel — the gospel of God. 

Paul speaks / writes as a servant of God — proclaiming the one true gospel. This is the gospel he preaches. This is the only gospel that can save.

GOOD NEWS OF JUDGMENT

But get this. This gospel also entails judgment.
How often is that left out?
According to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men.

We tend to think mercy good, judgment bad. And we react that way, because we know we are sinners. But I assure you, God failing to judge, God failing to execute judgment is by no means good news. It is good news that God will judge the wicked. The question is: will it be good news for you?

WILL IT BE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU?

Will it be good news for you when God judges the secrets of men?
By secrets, Paul’s not merely referring to the thoughts and intentions of the heart, though they are certainly included. But secrets here refer to every deed done outside the public’s view. Those deeds may be hidden from others, but they aren’t hidden from God. He sees them all. And all will be disclosed on the day of judgment. Nothing will remain hidden.

Quote: What man is when he is alone before God, that he is and nothing more.

TERRIFY IF NOT FOR WHO THE JUDGE IS

Judging the secrets of men should terrify everyone! Except for one thing … the Judge himself — Christ Jesus — is not only Judge but also Savior. 

Now before breathing a sigh of relief —
knowing that Jesus is Judge should only comfort you if you are actually in Christ. Revelation paints a terrifying picture of this slain Lamb who sits as Judge. 

Revelation 6:16. Many will cry out to the mountains, Fall on us and hide us … from the wrath of the Lamb.

FULLY EXPOSED

Whether the written law on tablets of stone, or the work of the law imprinted on hearts of stone, the secrets of men will be judged according to the law revealed to them — the truth available to them — regardless of how much they might suppress it. All will be disclosed. Nothing will remain hidden — because God always judges according to truth. 

EVIDENCE AND ASSURANCE

What evidence is there that you are in Christ? That you have died to self, and your life is hidden in Christ? 

John offers us some assurance. 1 John 3:19-21.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him. John wants us to know whether we are of the truth that we might have assurance. Now he’s going to lay out two possibilities. 

CONDEMNING HEART

Verse 20. For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
Many have recently taken this verse to mean the exact opposite of what it means, suggesting, don’t worry about whether your conscience condemns you or not, because God is greater than whatever your heart may feel. But is that what John is expressing here? I don’t think so. I think John is perfectly in line with Romans 2. 

GOD IS GREATER

If your conscience condemns you, how much more will God, who is greater than your conscience — who sees even those secrets hidden from your conscience. 

Calvin on this verse: If our heart condemns us, it proves that we possess in vain, the name and appearance of Christians. For any condemned by his own heart, much less can he escape the judgment of God. When John says that God is greater than our hearts, he says that in reference to judgment — because God sees more keenly than we do. 

Every earlier commentary on this verse takes the same view. Which is why John doesn’t stop there. 

CONFIDENCE

Verse 21. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. 

We cannot expect to have assurance of salvation, so long as our hearts condemn us — and why would our hearts condemn us? Well, most likely because we are living against God’s law. Grace hasn’t impacted us. Grace hasn’t softened our hearts to make them malleable so that they conform to God’s standard — who is Christ.

What we need our new hearts — hearts of flesh — not with the faded work of the law upon them — but God’s very law written upon them — and His Spirit so that we delight in that law in our inner being.

With new hearts and God’s law plainly written, we will truly follow Jesus. And our hearts won’t condemn us — granting us confidence before God.

EVERY EFFORT APPROVED

So, loved ones, we must make every effort to present ourselves to God as those approved — those who aren’t mere hearers of the Word but doers. 

Or as our tenets of the Gospel — the Westminster Confession chapter 18 says: It is the duty of everyone to be very diligent in making his calling and election sure…

If your conscience is convicting you now. Praise God!
You need not remain there. 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 

REPENTANCE

You don’t need to put a certain amount of time between you and your last sin, so that your conscience can set that sin aside, and you can feel better about yourself. 

What you need is to turn to Jesus. True repentance leads to true assurance. And you can have that now.

SAMSON’S PRAYER

Last week in class, we looked at Samson. Samson cast off every grace and advantage given to him — because he didn’t want to be devoted to God as a Nazarene. He wanted to be like every other man. But do you remember how we wrapped up. 

Amid such failure and sin, Samson finds himself imprisoned in a pagan temple. And while Samson’s prayer was one of the weaker prayers found in Scripture — God heard, and He restored Samson.
The Lord hears the cry of his servants — not only in times of desperate need — but in the wake of great failure. Maybe your sin has found you imprisoned in pagan temple. Cry out.

SYMPATHETIC HIGH PRIEST AND JUDGE

The Judge — Jesus Christ — he is not unaware of the temptations. God hasn’t appointed a judge who is not intimately aware of our human experience and weakness. But one who can sympathize with our weakness — who has been tempted in every way we have — yet without sin. 

QUALIFIED TO JUDGE — AND SAVE

Because of that, Jesus is most qualified to judge everyone impartially. And he is most qualified to save.

It will be of no use to say before the Judge that I believed and professed. The only evidence that matters is a transformed life — a change in direction from a life that was once self-seeking to a life that is God-seeking. Without that evidence, we shall be condemned as frauds. So, we are saved entirely by grace — but will be judged entirely by our works.

It’s the direction, not the perfection of our lives that provide the evidence of our faith. But that direction will be most obvious.

  Romans 2:7-10

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing to look at Paul’s indictment against humanity — which isn’t merely Paul’s but God’s through the Holy Spirit. 

The point of this section — especially that of chapter 2 — is to show that all are in need of repentance without exception — regardless of lineage — whether being born in the family line of Abraham, or even Israel, or being among any religious group.

Why? Well, Paul will sum up his case with these words.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

All are therefore in need of salvation — a great salvation — and hence all are in need of a great Savior — namely Jesus Christ.

And all are in need of repentance. This great salvation is only received through faith and repentance — which as you’ve likely often heard are two sides of the same coin. True faith repents. 

So, for review — what is repentance?
We can describe it as a change in direction. And that’s tremendously helpful, so long as we understand that there are ultimately only two directions —
— a godly direction versus an ungodly direction
— a direction toward true glory versus vain glory
— lasting honor versus lasting shame
— life in its fullest sense versus that of mere existence and death
— peace versus hostility

REPENTANCE – TURN

The Hebrew word for repentance — a very simple word — שׁוּב(shuv) — means to turn — or return. 

In the Garden, mankind turned from God. The call ever since has been for mankind to returnto God. 

But how? How could we possibly return to God in the Garden? We have sinned, and our sin is great. For us to return, doesn’t that mean death?

Isn’t that why the cherubim bear a flaming sword? 

But understand this. A failure to return to God in the Garden is to continue in death. A failure to return to God in the Garden is a failure to return to Life — because the Tree of Life is only to be found with God in the Garden. 

And yes, to return to the Garden does mean death. It means death to our old selves and our waywardness. And only through such a death will any of us know the fullness of life. Sounds utterly paradoxical, I know. But the deceit of the serpent has turned our thinking upside down. God’s Word, illuminated by the Spirit, gazing upon Christ, restores clarity, so we might again find life.

[ILLUSTRATION?]

Now, if we’re called to repentance, isn’t it helpful to know what repentance looks like? 

If we’re going to be judged according to our works — as we looked at last week, wouldn’t we want to know what works will ultimately render us life — and what works ultimately end in death? 

Well, that’s exactly what Paul addresses in these verses — particularly v.7-10.

READ: Romans 2:6-11

STRUCTURE

First, let’s address the structure of this paragraph. I mentioned it in passing last week, but here’s why it’s important: it will help us better understand the two different paths people are on, and it will help us to see more clearly the contrasts between those paths.

Chiastic structure — or some refer to it as inverted parallelism:
A – B – C – C – B – A

Paul begins with God’s impartial judgment
— and then we have the two categories of people
those who do good and their reward
followed by those who do evil and their reward

Then in reverse order, Paul backtracks by restating these ideas again but filling in important details

We have again, the two categories in reverse order this time:

The reward for those who do evil — Jew first and also the Greek
The reward for those who do good — Jew first and also the Greek
Closing with God’s impartial judgment

VERSE 7

We’ll focus primarily on verse 7, and compare and contrast that with the other verses.

Verse 7. To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

The word patience carries the idea of perseverance and endurance. The phrase — patience in well-doing— then is perhaps a bit clearer translated those who by perseverance in good works. 

God is going to give to each one according to their works — so Paul begins with category 1 — the category each of us should want to find ourselves in — those who persevere in good works. Not those who have done some good works here or there and are banking on yesterday’s righteousness. (We’ll return to why that matters — but for now — the point is direction, not perfection.)

DEFINING GOOD WORKS BY PURSUIT

So, Paul, what does persevering in good works look like? Interestingly, Paul doesn’t say here: feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick, help your neighbor, be kind, speak the truth in love, or any of those more tangible ideas of what we might constitute as good works. (Not that these aren’t important; they are.)

But instead, what Paul addresses is that this group, who by perseverance in good works seek for glory and honor and immortality.

In other words, whatever these good works look like, they are a pursuit of something greater than the works themselves. They are a pursuit of glory and honor and immortality.

[Illustration: LEAP! The heart behind why we do what we do.]

BUT DOESN’T THE WORLD SEEK AFTER THESE THINGS

The most obvious question regarding verse 7 would be: Doesn’t the world seek after these things? Doesn’t the world pursue glory and honor and immortality. Isn’t that what the average person yearns for and gives themselves to in some measure?

Paul, if that’s what defines those who do good, it sounds like everyone gets an A on this one. Don’t they?

AUTHORIAL INTENT

But it might help to remind ourselves regarding authorial intent. The text doesn’t mean whatever we might be able to make it mean. The text means what the author intends. That is the number one rule of interpretation. How do we find out what the author intends? We look at the context of the words. That’s rule number 2 of interpretation. 

We don’t have to look very far for the context to correct any suggestion that the glory, honor, and immortality described here is not the glory, honor, and immortality most people seek for themselves. 

This is why we looked at the structure. 

GLORY

Let’s begin with glory.
Verse 7 — those who seek for glory — is contrasted with verse 8 — those who are self-seeking.

So, glory and honor and immortality must fit in Paul’s context and the overall biblical context as to how God would define true glory, true honor, and true immortality.

In the Garden, God bestowed man with incredible glory — the greatest glory that could be bestowed upon a creature — mankind was fashioned in God’s likeness to reflect the glorious One.

But mankind was unpleased with such a call and sought what they believed would be a greater glory. And in doing so, now mankind lacks the glory of God. Isn’t that Romans 3:23? For all have sinned and fall short — or literally — lack the glory of God. 

Why? Because instead of resting in God’s glory, man sought a separate glory of his own. In the Garden, mankind lost his original God-given glory. And has failed to seek that glory ever since. Instead, man seeks a different sort of glory — an empty glory, a vain glory, a perishing glory.

Why? John 12:43. For they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

LASTING GLORY

This is why I opened with repentance being a turning back to God in the Garden. Because the only way this glory is recovered is by putting aside our selfish pursuits and pursuing the One in whom true glory is not only found but abounds.

VAIN GLORY

While most seek for some measure of glory, the glory most pursue is a vain glory — a self-seeking glory. It will come up empty with nothing to show. All their self-seeking pursuits — will one day crumble. 

One’s best attempts to write their own name down in the history books — or set up monuments for themselves — they will be gravely disappointed. O how insignificant those monuments — even should they stand for a few thousand years — how insignificant they will look in light of eternity — and even more so, when the glorious Almighty rolls up the sky as a scroll, and His glorious presence overwhelms the whole of creation. 

How empty and pathetic those pursuits will be shown to be in God’s presence. 

CHRIS-LIKENESS

There’s only one glory that will last — the restored glory of reflecting God — the glory of pursuing Christ-likeness — who is the true radiance of the eternal God and the exact imprint of His nature.

Any good work that does not have that as its pursuit is not a good work according to God’s definition. Instead, they are vain, self-seeking, man-centered works. And will be rewarded accordingly.

HONOR

The same is true of honor. Rather than honor, when mankind determined to decide good and evil for himself, all it brought was dishonor — all it brought was shame. 

Again, seeking honor is contrasted with verse 8 — those who do not obey the truth. Literally, those who refuse to believe the truth. What honor is there in believing and holding onto a lie. 

We call such a person a fool. What sort of honor is there for a fool? 

Those who seek honor — true honor — are those who pursue truth. But o how the world loves to distort the truth in order to pursue it’s own desires and agenda.

ABORTION

Take the abortion issue — and those who are prochoice. If you listen to most who hold to this horrific position, they refuse to acknowledge that the baby in the womb being put to death is a human being. They look for other words to define the baby, but whatever they do, they refuse to come out and acknowledge the truth that what is actually going on when a woman seeks an abortion is that she’s seeking to kill her baby. We call that murder.

GENDER

Take the trans issue. This is one of the most obvious distortions of the truth in our day. Not that same-sex relations aren’t also a distortion. Supporters of both of these have to deny the obvious truth of nature itself. 

SHAME AND DISHONOR

No one actually pursues dishonor. But the honor they pursue, the honor of the public, the honor of their peers, is an honor that will perish. At judgment day, those who refuse to believe the truth will face everlasting shame.

But those who pursue the honor that comes from God alone — How? By seeking to honor Him in all they do — they will not be put to shame on the day of judgment. Instead, they will be honored by the Lord Himself before all of creation.

IMMORTALITY

Those who by perseverance in good works seek for glory and honor and immortality.

This last one, immortality, like the other two, raises the question:
Paul, what sort of sane person doesn’t seek for immortality?

Well, everyone — or at least most — seek to avoid death. Many would prefer to continue their existence rather than face the grave. But that’s not exactly what Paul is referring to here. 

INCORRUPTIBLE

This word — immortality — refers to that which is incorruptible or imperishable. It’s not that it’s mere existence continues — but that it’s purity and fullness of existence doesn’t fade in the least.
In other words, immortality and incorruptible go hand in hand. When something becomes corrupted, it fades into something less than what it was until what it was is no longer recognizable; it becomes something utterly different. Corruption and death go together.

Not only was man fashioned with glory and honor, but man was made without corruption. When God made man, He made both man and woman perfectly good. 

It’s not that God made mankind without the potential to become corrupted should man sin. But mankind was made without corruption.

ILLUSTRATION

Steel, so long as it is covered won’t rust. Timbers under the roof and within the walls of a house won’t rot. But leave either — steel or wood — out in the harsh elements of this fallen world, they will rust and rot — corrode and decay.

In the Garden, under the shade of God’s glorious presence, man would remain uncorrupted. But when sin entered the world, man lost his glorious covering and was found naked, and corruption immediately set in. 

ADAM AND EVE

Adam and Eve weren’t made corrupted — though they were given the potential to become corrupt. But get this. They never needed to become corrupt. They never needed to die. 

What brought death? Their refusal to reflect the incorruptible One — by seeking something that was not theirs for the taking. 

They bought into the lie — you won’t surely die — when eating meant exactly that — it meant death — it meant letting go of immortality — letting go of life itself.

Only God is eternal. As such, immortality is to be found only in Him — not outside Him — not seeking to have a life apart from Him. 

TABERNACLE

We’ve been walking through Exodus on Wednesday nights — and we’re currently studying the God’s instructions to Moses concerning the tabernacle. 

Something interesting about the articles used is the more precious the materials for the Holy Places versus those materials on the outside. 

Exodus 26 — just consider the coverings of the tabernacle. The inner fabric was made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns. Then over that you have curtains of goat’s hair. After that you have tanned ram skins — and last of all is a covering of goatskins. 

HOLINESS INCOMPATIBLE WITH DEATH

One thing to be gleaned from this is that holiness is incompatible with death. There’s no death involved in the fine twined linen and yarn. But then you have goats hair — which is a little closer to death — although it does not require the death of a beast to get its hair. But then you have the skins. You can’t take the hide of a beast and it still live. Death and holiness are incompatible.

The same was true of the Garden. Corruption could not remain in the Holy Place of the Garden. Corruption is incompatible — not only with holiness but with life.

IMMORTALITY VS. UNRIGHTEOUSNESS

When we recognize the connection between immortality and corruption, we see how those who seek immortality in verse 7 contrasts with those who obey unrighteousness in verse 8 — literally those who are persuaded by unrighteousness.

Unrighteousness brings corruption which brings death — not life. 

In mankind’s self-seeking bent, they refuse to believe the truth, and are instead convinced that unrighteousness will bring them the happiness, satisfaction, and life they so desire. But it won’t. Indeed, it can’t. 

Living contrary to God’s ways can never bring about life.

REWARDS

Let’s look at the rewards.
To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

What’s the reward for pursuing good? Eternal life. Eternal life as God defines it. 

Every soul will continue from conception into eternity. So, like immortality, eternal life must mean more than mere existence — because those in verse 8 who are self-seeking, for the most part, seek to live — seek to keep their current lives for as long as possible. 

But, as Jesus says, whoever will save his life will lose it.

So, what is eternal life. John 17:3 is one of my favorite places to go for understanding what eternal life is. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Knowing God — the eternal One — rightly and intimately — that is life. That is what we were created for — WHO we were created for.

Or as Samuel read for us from Deuteronomy 30. I have set before you life and death… Therefore chose life… loving the Lord you God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him. Why? For he is your life and length of days. The Lord Himself is your life. 

SAME REWARD

Understanding what this reward is — eternal life — enjoying God Himself in Christ — helps us to better understand this next important point. That God judges and repays each one according to his works does not necessarily entail that there are a variety of different rewards. 

For those in this first category — those who persist in doing good — the reward is the same — eternal life. There is one reward — summarized as ETERNAL LIFE and all that it encompasses. 

You know Jesus’ parable about the laborers in the vineyard. Some worked longer, some came in later. But all received what? All received the same wages. All received the same reward for their labors. 

(Now, we want to be careful in how we understand this. And I’ve covered it before. We also have to take into account, for example, Jesus parables on the minas, and Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 3 about building upon the foundation, and if it work does not burn up, he will receive a reward. But I believe the best way to understand those is not that there is some greater reward than what is described here by the phrase eternal life. But that the reward is made all the sweeter when we bring others along with us. 

In other words, Jesus himself is the Pearl of Great Price worth selling everything for. But Jesus’ infinite worth is sufficient to share with all. And it only serves to increase one’s joy in bringing others along to enjoy Jesus with you.

But ultimately — the reward is one — it is the same for all — eternal life.

TWO SELF-SEEKING APPLICATIONS

There are two important applications regarding this. Our self-seeking bent — and the self-seeking bent of those in verse 8 don’t like this at all. Those who are self-seeking don’t like the idea that those who seem to have worked less and came into the vineyard later would receive the same reward as us when we’ve labored longer and harder.

LEAST I CAN DO OR BELIEVE

The flip side of this — which also deals with our self-seeking tendencies — is what I’ve heard from some as the: what’s the least I can do approach. 

Or, I remember when Jenny and I first started following Christ, the church we were going to at the time — What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian? by Martin Thielen.

Listen loved ones. That’s a dangerous approach.
Those seeking what’s the least I can believe, or what’s the least I can do to get into heaven so I don’t have to go to hell, are not those who are pursuing glory and honor and immortality as Paul outlines them here in Romans 2:7. 

LEAST I CAN FOLLOW

That’s like asking Jesus: I know you said whoever seeks to save his current life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it, but just how much hyperbole are you using. I mean, how much of my life can I hold onto. How much of my own cross do I really have to take up and carry. How far do I really have to follow you?

Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy in such people. Remember the guy who said, Lord, I will follow you wherever you go? What was Jesus reply? Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. In other words, Jesus is asking, “Really? Will you really follow me wherever I go?”

The self-seeking man of verse 8 balks at both — the reward and the cost of the reward — and both of these will leave one far from God who is the joy of heaven itself. Such a person doesn’t have their hope set on Christ.

INSURANCE POLICY?

For them, Jesus is nothing more than an insurance policy. 

You know what you do with your insurance policy? I’ll tell you what I don’t do. I don’t pull out my insurance policy — pouring over it line by line — rejoicing over it — and being brought to my knees in worship over it. I have no affection for my insurance policies at all. They are kept in a file. And I hope I never need them!

How belittling it is to the eternal Son of God to treat Him like an insurance policy. But that’s what many who profess to believe do. He’s tucked away as a file in their mind, as they go about their own selfish pursuits — all the while hoping they never actually need him. 

TREASURE

But if Jesus is your treasure — your reward — that changes everything.
But we’ll only be motivated to press on in this pursuit of glory, honor, and life if we are looking forward to Him!

Do you gaze upon Him in the Word — pouring over this glorious Book God so graciously gave us that we might know Him? Is your delight found in Him. Do you seek to have your affections stirred for Him?

SELF-SEEKING

Where those who persevere in doing good can expect life, those who are self-seeking are promised wrath.

Verses 8 and 9. 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.

We’re not going to retrace the details here. 

But what I want us to see is that self-seeking heads off the list of the evil person — not the fact that they do not obey the truth but give themselves over to unrighteousness. Why does this matter? 

ESSENCE OF SIN - SELF

Because self is the essence of sin — all sin is self-seeking. The others flow from this selfish bent — this covetous bent — this worship of the self.

From that flows the refusal to believe the truth and to be persuaded that unrighteousness will somehow be more satisfying than obeying and trusting God. The evil-doer is ultimately the one who self-seeking. (See that in verse 9, the compliment of verse 8?) Self-seeking is the opposite of God-seeking. All evil flows from this disease called pride. And it is nothing to celebrate, but mourn.

ETERNAL RECOMPENSE

And then the reward for self-seeking: wrath, and fury, tribulation, and distress. 

Why these four terms, and how do they relate to one another?
John Murray is helpful.
Wrath and indignation describe the retribution of the ungodly in terms of the displeasure of God to which [the self-seeking] are subjected.
Tribulation and distress (or anguish) describe the ungodly’s punishment in terms of their experience.

PEACE

But, verse 10, there will be glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

Notice how Paul substituted peace for immortality. That’s an interesting exchange. But when we understand that peace with God is the only means to life, it makes perfect sense. If you are truly seeking immortality according to how God defines it, you will seek peace with God. And those who genuinely seek peace with the One True God will find it. 

You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

PRIORITY OF THE JEW

And finally, notice that the priority of both the punishment but also the promise is applied first to the Jew and then to the Greek or Gentile. 

JEWS AND GENTILES INCLUDED

Part of the point here is that the gospel hasn’t excluded the Jewish people. There are many who continue to suggest that God has a separate plan for Israel. But you won’t find that in Paul. Rather, Paul says just the opposite. The gospel and all it offers is the promise made to Israel — for those of Israel who receive it. But rejecting the gospel carries consequences, just as rejecting God’s other promises came with consequences. 

And this is important too. The gospel is also for the Gentiles. The promises were never for Israel alone — but were given through Israel. We’ll look at this closer in weeks to come. But for now, Romans 3:2 — 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.

TWO GROUPS

Everyone falls in one of these groups. This alone is the fundamental division of the human race.
Not Jew and Gentile.
But God seeking versus self-seekng
His glory versus your glory
Obeying the truth versus believing a lie
Seeking His righteousness versus seeking unrighteousness
Pursuing good according to God’s standard versus pursuing evil by doing what’s right in your own eyes 

NO STRADDLING

Your life will bear this out — whether you belong to Him or not. Many try to have it both ways — straddle the fence (as Matt shared last week.)

NATIONAL ICON

A national icon passed a week ago — one who received the world’s praises — an individual whom the world suggests was “good with God and ushered directly into heaven.” 

THE TRUE JUDGE

Well, I’m not the Judge. But get this. Neither is the world.

It’s not those whom the world smiles upon who enter the kingdom of heaven, but those whom God smiles upon with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Those who live contrary to God’s revealed truth, who take stances and promote worldviews contrary to God’s clear Word, show that it’s not God whom they trust — at least not the God of Scripture. 

Worldly philanthropy doesn’t make God pleased with me. God desires obedience, not sacrifice. Why? Because obedience is the fruit of faith. 

Group A isn’t hypothetical — but those who have been transformed and transferred from Group B to Group A by the Spirit.

DIRECTION NOT PERFECTION

It’s important to note that those who do good are not described as being perfected, as if there is no longer any sin in their lives. The point is direction not perfection. We see that in verse 7 — to those who persevere in good works — so there’s a perseverance — and who seek for — they are in pursuit of — they haven’t yet attained it but are pursuing. 

Rewarded according to works doesn’t suggest that us believers get what we deserve. We are saved by grace, not our works. 

So, why judgment according to works? 

At judgment, the full disclosure of our lives will accurately reflect and prove whether we are in Christ. 

We are saved by grace and grace alone. But we will be judged entirely by our works — for saving grace works in the believer to produce the fruit of good works.

CHRIST

Now, most of the time, since Jesus is the One we want to emulate and reflect,  I try to show how Jesus fulfills expectation of every passage perfectly.

But in going to the cross, it didn’t seem like Jesus was seeking immortality — but death. Jesus came to die, didn’t he?

From an outsider’s perspective — it would seem that either Jesus failed or he wasn’t pursuing the glory and honor and immortality Paul is calling us to. But is that truly the case?

Hebrews 12 describes Jesus’ pursuit like this: for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Jesus wasn’t pursuing death. Death holds no joy. He was pursuing his greatest joy — found at his Father’s side. 

He despised the shame. He despised the shame of death. He despised the shame of bearing our sin. He despised the shame of being forsaken by His Father. He despised the shame of nakedness and it seeming as if the enemy had one. 

O but bearing this shame was the road to glory and honor and life in the fullest sense. And it was the price Jesus paid to purchase life for us.

Love ones, that is the pursuit — glory and honor and life — and to be rid of this present corruption — both in the world — and all the more in ourselves. 

CONCLUSION

The promise is not for those who have achieved perfection but for those whose lives are obviously headed in that direction — those who seek for glory and honor and life. And when you seek for something, you head where? You head in the direction you believe it to be. 

Jesus has told us the direction. Follow me.

INTRODUCTION

READ: Romans 2:6-11

CHIASM / INVERSION

Obvious chiastic structure: A,B,C,C,B,A.
Today, we’ll focus on verse 6 and 11, the outer brackets, as they parallel one another. Verse 11, God shows no partiality. As such, verse 6, he will judge everyone by the same criteria — according to their works. 

CONTEXT: DAY OF WRATH FOR THE IMPENITENT

Must keep in mind where this falls in Paul’s articulation of the gospel.

Most immediately, verse 5, he warned that those who are impenitent, those who fail to see their own need for repentance, are storing up wrath for themselves on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 

But this day when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed is not merely a day of wrath. It is the day of final judgment for all — the day when all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and receive the rewards for the works done in the body.

It’s a day of wrath for many, but not wrath for all. It’s not a day of wrath for those in Christ. Nevertheless, it’s still a day of judgment in which the righteous will receive their reward.

Look down at verse 16. On that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. It’s one day — one event. (And we can see this throughout the New Testament.)

In other words, the day of wrath for the impenitent — or unrepentant — is also the day in which the hopes of the repentant will be realized — those who heeded the warnings and believed the promises.

Which takes us to verse 6.

VERSE 6

He will render to each one according to his works:

First, let’s notice 4 features of this coming day of judgment. Then will address their implications and some concerns some raise about this particular verse.

1) The Judge: God Himself will carry out this judgment. He will render to each one according to his works. God doesn’t leave the judgment up to another. The omnipotent omniscient omnipresent holy God will Himself render each person’s judgment. 

2) The Certaintyof Judgment: That each person will be judged according to his works is certain. He will render or repay. Not, he might, but he will. This isn’t a hypothetical judgment, but what God says He Himself will do.

3) The Universalityof Judgment: this judgment is universal. He will render to each one. Each person will receive his just reward / recompense. No one is excluded from judgment. It’s universal.

4) The Criteriaof Judgment: the criteria by which everyone one will be judged is their deeds / works… according to his works. God’s not going to judge some by a different standard such as their ethnicity, their sex, their status, what they identify as — even if they choose to call themselves a Christian. Each person will be rewarded or repaid based on his or her works.

GOSPEL CONTRADICTION?

Now the first question that verse 6 often raises is: doesn’t this contradict the gospel? What happened to us being saved by grace through faith alone apart from works? Some accuse Paul of contradicting himself, as if the apostle has difficulty following his own argument. As if Paul hasn’t read the rest of his own letter or referenced his other letters.

I mean, sometimes my arguments are not as cogently articulated as they are in my mind. But this is the apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So, we can be confident that there is no contradiction.

HYPOTHETICAL JUDGMENTS

So, if this isn’t a contradiction, many have suggested that Paul is speaking hypothetically. That if it were possible for one to earn salvation by works, then God would reward them accordingly. But since it is impossible, this is merely a hypothetical statement Paul is making in order to prove that all are under sin, and that no one would want to be rewarded based on his or her works. 

For if God judges any based on works, who could possibly merit life? No one. So flee to Christ.

And we can see the attractiveness with this interpretation. It eliminates any apparent contradictions. It doesn’t call into question that salvation through faith alone apart from works. And many solid theologians hold to this interpretation.

But here’s my pushback on the view that Paul is speaking hypothetically. The text does not say that this is what God would do if He were to judge people on the basis of their works — but that this is what He actually will do. He will render to each one according to his works. 

There’s not even a hint of this being hypothetical. Moreover, if we interpret this concept as hypothetical here, then we are forced to figure how to do so with the resto of the New Testament that affirms judgment according to works. 

(Perhaps verse 14 may, but we’ll address that then. Why? Because to be honest, I don’t know. But I may by the time we get to it.)

RECONCILING THE TEXT

But first, if verse 6 isn’t a contradiction with the gospel itself, and if it isn’t hypothetical, then what are we to make of it? How do we reconcile what Paul will later write in 3:20 — For by works of the Law no human being will be justified in God’s sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin. How do we reconcile that with, He will judge each one according to his works?

WORKS OF FAITH, NOT OF LAW

Well, for one, rendering judgment according to works is not necessarily judgment rendering according to works of the law. Now that might seem like splitting hairs. But that’s actually much of Paul’s argument throughout this letter. The Law is holy and righteous and good. But the Law in incapable of saving.

Works of faith and works of the law are not the same. 

Listen to this from the end of Romans 9.
What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is a righteousness that is by faith. But that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but is if it were based on works. 

What sort of works? Works of the law versus works originating from faith.

REWARDED, NOT JUSTIFIED

The second important difference is that of justification and reward. (Justification is pronouncing one: Not Guilty.)

The text doesn’t say one will be justified by his works, but that he will be rewarded according to his works. 

Again, this is a small nuance, but nuances are extremely important. The straight and narrow is meant to keep us from running off into a ditch on either side of the road. 

Receiving repayment or rewards based on one’s deeds is not at odds with one being justified by faith.

But what it does is negate the possibility of easy believism. The idea that you can say you believe but that such belief has no impact on how you live. That’s not saving faith.

SCRIPTURE AFFIRMS

Which takes us to the most important argument in reconciling this with the gospel: Judgment according to works is not uniquely Paul’s idea. This is what Scripture has always affirmed. 

The gospel doesn’t contradict any of God’s Word but is in line with the whole of it. Indeed, the Gospel — or we might say, the New Covenant — is the fulfillment of the entirety of Scripture’s witness.

It’s important that we recognize what Jesus came to do. He came to fulfill all that Scripture had long anticipated — which includes not merely saving us from our sins — but making us entirely New. 

Ephesians 2:10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

PROVERBS 24

Paul is likely quoting Proverbs 24:12.

Proverbs 24:10-12. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? (sees the heart, that is). Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it; and will he not repay man according to his work?

Wisdom recognizes that there are expectations laid on the image-bearer to reflect the One they are imaged after. Wisdom recognizes that there is a Rewarder in heaven — a judge who will hold those to account who fail to live out his calling on their lives.

REVELATION 2

At the end of the Script, judgment according to works hasn’t change.

Revelation 2:23. One of the letters to the seven churches. To the church in Thyatira. I know your works, your love, and faith, and service, and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. BUT I have this against you… that you tolerate that woman Jezebel…. And those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works…. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

You can belong, in one sense, to a church such as the one in Thyatira. But if you are in bed with the world, you will be condemned along with the world. Belonging to a church — or to make it more personal, belonging to Grace Bible Church — doesn’t make you immune from judgment. 

We — to quote another of Paul’s letters — 2 Corinthians 5:10 — we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

So, in addition to the warning, each of the seven churches are also promised rewards for their perseverance. Revelation 2:26. The one who conquers and who keeps my word until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations…

Judgment goes both ways. Rewards and recompense will be render according to one’s works.

OLD TESTAMENT

To hammer this home and see how it relates to the previous section of Romans 2 on repentance, let’s look at a couple Old Testament passages.

Jeremiah 18:7. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation… turns from evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.

Likewise — And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build up and plant it, and if that nation does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 

Why? Because God always judges men according to their works. Not according to their supposed chosen-nessas His people. To genuinely be among God’s chosen will show itself in one’s life.

Ezekiel 18:25. The people accused God of injustice saying, “The way of the Lord is not just in his judgments for exactly this reason. They presumed that because they were the chosen people of God, they were immune from His judgments regardless of how they lived their lives.

So, the Lord rebukes them: Is it not your ways that are not just? 

And the Lord goes on to describe how justice works:
When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice he has done he shall die.
That is justice! You cannot live on past righteousness!

But notice God’s mercy. And when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

MERCY DOESN’T EXCLUDE WORKS

That is mercy. But get this, God is not being unjust in granting mercy to those who repent. He’s upholding justice. And he will judge both the repentant and unrepentant according to their works.

Works aren’t excluded in the judgment of the repentant. Their lives will be marked by their repentance. And they will be rewarded with life. Why? Because repentance is trusting and obeying the Lord. 

And get this. All fall in the category of needing to repent! The question is whether repentance is evidenced in one’s life.

And yet, the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is not just.”
O house of Israel, are my ways truly not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways. 

JUST AND PATIENT

The Lord is always just. But as we looked at over the past few weeks, the Lord is also patient — granting time for repentance. 

The promises of God are not for those who abuse those promises and live contrary to the promises. The promises are for those of faith, those who trust the Lord and respond accordingly. What does that response look like? It looks like repentance — turning from any of your ways that have been contrary to God, and aligning yourself with Him. 

BELIEVING, NOT DOING

It’s absolutely true that salvation is through faith alone, not works. Salvation is through believing, not doing. 

But what you believe will be manifest in what you do — what you think, say, love, worship. 

If I truly believe a peanut will likely kill me if I eat it, I’ll be very careful not to just eat whatever. I’ll be cautious as to what goes into my system.

How much more diligent should those who have come to a knowledge of the truth — be cautious not to partake of just anything. The wages of sin is death. It will kill you. It will lead to a far worse death than a peanut.

Your actions will reveal your heart commitments. 

Again: there is no easy believism. It’s easy to say, “I believe.” But genuine belief will be followed by action. Many profess. But many will be gravely disappointed. Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord.

So, while salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the rewards that accompany salvation (and likewise, condemnation) will be rendered according to one’s deeds. 

In other words, there is no easy believism associated with the gospel. Belief is not mere lip service — but heart service, and body service, and mind service. Your whole being gets behind and involved in what you most believe to be true. 

AFFECTIONS TESTED

Suppose you tell your husband or your wife that you love them. But then you pay little attention to them. You spend little time with them. You’re always too busy with other matters. Your leisure time doesn’t involve them, because they aren’t what you truly enjoy. You’d rather look at some screen, whether 60 inches or 6 — than look at your spouse. The words, “I love you,” become quite hollow. Your actions betray your words. 

At the same time, one could never say those 3 words: “I love you” to their spouse. And you know what? I’m confident they would know. 

How? Because of their actions. And I’m not speaking, wives and husbands, of you doing something on those special holidays out of obligation (obligatory attention is the worst) — but your everyday life. 

Well, in the same way, Christ knows. God knows. You can’t fool Him with empty love, empty faith, the duties you perform on holy-days like coming to Sunday service. 

Many say they love Jesus. But guess what? Jesus has offered each of us a very simple test to see if your words are true. (This goes back to our memory verse for FDC.) John 14:15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

So, Jesus himself makes clear that your love — your faith — will be displayed in your works — in your keeping his commandments.

NEW TESTAMENT WITNESS

So, judgment according to works isn’t just an Old Testament concept; it is upheld in the New. What does faith in Jesus look like? It takes up its cross and follows him. And when Jesus returns, he will judge people according to their works. 

This judgment isn’t some hypothetical judgment that happens apart from Christ. This judgment has Christ at the helm. This is the same judgment Jesus himself promises. 

MATTHEW 16

Matthew 16:24-27. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 

Now, listen to verse 27, because it’s exactly what Paul says in verse 6.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

SAME FEATURES

Hear the same features of judgment?
The Judge: God himself — in the person of Christ.
It’s universal! He will repay each person.
This judgment is just as certain. He will repay. That’s the exact same word Paul uses that the ESV translates “render.”
The criteria is the same. He will repay each person — based on what? — according to what he has done.

Or we could look at the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. One judgment that involves rewarding the wicked according to their works, and the righteous according to their works.

There is no conflict between saved by faith and judgment according to works!

PRESSING THE POINT

I’m pressing this hard, because there are a lot of people who think they are saved — who think they are in Christ — but have no evidence of such in their lives. 

When they stand before the Judge, they will be gravely disappointed. Why? Because being a just Judge, God always judges according to truth (v. 2) and according to the same criteria — the same standard — according to what one has actually done — not according to what one might have done if they only had more faith.

Their works will prove their faith or they will prove faith’s absence in their lives.

GALATIANS

Let’s look at one last passage — there’s many — but for the sake of time, let’s go to Paul’s letter to the Galatians — the letter which has as its dominant theme that salvation is by faith apart from works of the law. 

At the end of his letter, 6:7, he warns the church:
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. — In other words, those good works must persevere to the end. (Next week, verse 7)

This is nothing less than what James stresses — faith without works is dead. Dead faith saves no one.

WHY ACCORDING TO WORKS?

This brings us to the question, why is judgment, or we might say, God’s recompense — why is it according to works? 

Because God is a just Judge. Verse 11. For God shows no partiality.

When one stands trial, the judge doesn’t try your case and pass judgment based on your heritage, what family you belong to, or even your name dropping. You will be judged based on the evidence that either stands for you or against you. He’s going to judge you based on what you did.

INTENT AND MOTIVE

Now, intent and motive do have a place in the court of law. Just as manslaughter and homicide differ based primarily on intent and motive. 

When the Judge of all the earth takes the bench, He will not judge by lesser standards. 

So, when Paul says according to works, he’s not excluding the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (That’s important to note.) He’s including all that flow from the individual — his thoughts, his words, his actions, his intentions, his affections, even his faith — the entire manifestation of the person. 

And when you think about it, these things often come out in criminal trials. Don’t think faith or belief are excluded.
Did you intend to kill Mr. So-and-so? Did you believe that when you pulled the trigger it would kill Mr. So-and-so? Did you feel Mr. So-and-so deserved to die? What were your feelings toward Mr. So-and-so?

UNSEEN EVIDENCE

Yes, the cold hard concrete evidence is front and center. Is this the weapon? But a good prosecuting attorney is going to do his best to draw out the internal evidence that is unseen before the jury. (And likewise, if it helps his case, the defense attorney will do the same.)

God isn’t just some prosecuting attorney. He’s not going to attempt to draw out the internal evidence of the heart. He will indeed draw it out. 

But listen loved ones. For those in Christ, we have the perfect defense attorney. Who will do the same regarding the evidence in our favor — the evidence that we truly have and are trusting in Christ. 

What Paul is excluding, as well as the rest of Scripture, is the idea that you can simply claim to be a Jew, and that somehow makes you innocent before God. Or to bring it home a bit, saying you’re a Christian or a member of Grace Bible Church doesn’t make you innocent before God. 

DOES NOT RECEIVE FACE

God is impartial. Which means God doesn’t judge based on appearances. Literally, the word impartial in verse 11 means, God doesn’t receive someone based on their face. God doesn’t receive face. 

LOOKS ON THE HEART

Many of us are often fooled by appearances. But God looks at the heart. And what follows the heart?

Well, Jesus tells us. Luke 6:45.
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

COMMENDED BY WORKS

So, long as our hearts are evil, so long as our hearts are hardened toward God, we will have no works at all to commend us as belonging to Him. But the gift of the Spirit is a new heart to where we delight in God and the things of God. And that delight will produce much good which will commend us as belonging to Christ.  

Or as Jesus says, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Our affections, our thoughts, our good deeds toward one another, the conversations we hold, speaking the truth in love, rescuing those who are being taken away to death, holding back those who are stumbling to the slaughter, bringing back those who wander from the truth, having mercy on those who doubt, saving other by snatching them from the fire, opening our hands to our brothers and sisters in need, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, welcoming the stranger, praying for both the church and her enemies … and so much more. 

What about guarding our eyes, our thoughts, our hearts, refraining from every form and appearance of evil, putting the deeds of the flesh to death … 

CONSPICUOUS

It will be manifest whether you are in Christ. O some may seek to fool others for a time. As Paul writes to Timothy. The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. All will come to light.

JACOB AND ESAU

God receives no one based on appearances. Isaac may have been fooled by Jacob dressing himself with his brothers clothes, covering himself with his brothers scent, carrying before his father what appeared to be his brothers accomplishment — the fresh game Esau was sent to hunt and prepare as a meal for his father. Even Jacobs hands, which are symbolic for one’s works, were clothed in a way to imitate his older brother. 

Isaac may have been deceived, but God is not. God will not be mocked with one’s pretending — one masquerading as a disciple but not actually being one. 

We need more than to pretend to be like our older brother. If we are truly clothed in Christ, we are to reflect Him — not merely by appearances but in our very works — our faith, our affections, our compassion, our endurance, our love for our neighbor, our laying down our very lives and taking up our cross to follow him. 

While works do not save, faith that truly believes the promises we have in Christ, will take His word to heart and follow Him. 

DAY IN COURT

When your court date comes, and you stand before the Judge, you won’t get off simply with the defense stating to the Judge: “Judge, he’s one of ours. He bears the name …”

The Judge will ask, The Judge will ask: Well, what has that looked like in his life? Paint me a picture.(The Judge knows, just like He did with Adam and Cain and others, questions in which He already knows the answer.)

Well, your honor, she went to church much of her life. I mean, she attended 17 Christmas Eve services and 23 Easter services, as well as an occasional Sunday here and there. She got wet, and even has a certificate to show for it.

She had a few seasons in her life where she did those online devotions. Sir, you know that YouVersion App. They have a verse from the Bible. She’d read a sentence or two of Your Word, Your Honor, and then a very nice uplifting message of someone else’s words. 

Has she read my Word? 

Well, Your Honor, you know, she’s read some of it here and there. You know, it’s kind of hard. All those genealogies and names and places. And some of those prophets of Yours, they’re a bit harsh. But those devotions, they cover those sweet little gems you hid in there. 

Hmmm.

O and one more thing, Your Honor, in her car, she has K-Love on preset. 

K-Love? 

Yeah. It’s positive and encouraging music. I know, it’s nothing deep, and hasn’t really contributed to any spiritual growth, but she likes it, and it makes her feel good about herself.

Has it led to any repentance in her life? Well, Your Honor, it’s hard to say. 

NO PARTIALITY

Listen loved ones. I don’t know what each of your testimonies are. But when Scripture says God shows no partiality, it means it. 

Name dropping won’t do you any good. Name dropping won’t do your loved ones or your neighbors any good. Many will come to the day of judgment and name drop Jesus’ name, and he will say, “I never knew you.” 

Is there evidence in your life? 

Next week, we’ll look at the middle verses and what this evidence looks like, as well as its rewards.

PERFECT JUSTICE

For now: God’s perfect justice: He is perfectly impartial, not swayed in the least by appearances. 

We may imagine that there is something special about us that will persuade God to make an exception — (list). No.

The standard of judgment for you will be the same as for everyone else regardless of religious heritage, the name you identify with, how we you may have gotten and when, your upbringing (my father was a preacher, my mom sang in the choir, my uncle was a deacon) none of those count for anything. 

Unbelievers will be judged and awarded according to their works. And believers will be judged and rewarded according to their works. 

BIG DEAL

Why make such a big deal? Because Scripture does. 

We can fall into the same temptation that Israel did. “Well, I belong to the people of God, so I’m immune for judgment.”

Loved ones, that’s a dangerous way to think. The warnings and consequences Israel received have been written down for our benefit that we might not do as they did — that we might not fall into the same sin and perish.

As God’s chosen, we are called to be all the more diligent, not less.

If we have truly received the Spirit of adoption as sons, it should show itself in our lives. Sons aren’t called to lower standards but higher.

CHRIST

What about Jesus? Do you think Jesus, as the eternal Son, was judged by a lesser standard? No. He was all the more diligent to honor his Father in all things.

And get this. He was rewarded for His perfect work. 

Philippians 2:9. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knew shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue shall acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

His reward? A Bride, who is currently being made perfectly beautiful and unblemished. The Church — a multitude no one could number from every nation, tribe, people, and language.

His reward? Eternal glory at his Father’s right hand — not simply as the eternal Son, a glory he has enjoyed for all eternity, but as the God-man, the second Adam. 

Loved ones, there is a reward for your work. We’ll look at that in more detail next week. For now, take these words to heart. He will judge each one — each of us — according to our works.

Or do you presume upon the riches of God's 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. (Romans 2:4-5)

INTRODUCTION

I mentioned a few weeks ago how Scripture is primarily a defense of God’s glory. Now, the dominant way Scripture defends God’s glory is by His making Himself known — making Himself known rightly. And He does that through the display of the perfection of His attributes.

LISTING ATTRIBUTES

Now, Scripture doesn’t simply list God’s attributes. It proclaims and displays them. 

I can tell others about some of the attributes my wife has — that she’s beautiful, kind, funny, warm, gentle, discerning …

But could you possibly know her if I merely listed them? You wouldn’t know my wife at all. But if I described her beauty, and how it often arrests my attention — if I gave examples of her compassion for others — if I shared some of my biggest failures and how she patiently bore with me — you’d begin to picture this incredible woman as she truly is. 

That’s how God makes Himself known — not merely by telling you His attributes but putting them on display. 

This morning, we’re looking at the glorious attribute of God’s patience. And one of the unique aspects of God’s patience is that it makes room for Him to more fully display the rest of His attributes.

I would commend to you that there is no greater study than the study of God. People often sigh over the idea of studying theology, but that’s precisely what theology is — it’s nothing other than the study of God. 

And everyone without exception practices theology to one degree or another. More than that, everyone lives out of their theology. But more often than not, it’s a distorted theology — a skewed man-centered theology of who God is. Scripture’s design is to correct that.

No where are God’s attributes — all of them — more fully displayed than in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If you want to know God rightly, gaze upon him. 

Of course, the whole of Scripture illumines the glory of Christ. So, we set none of it aside but look at the whole. 

So with that, let’s look at the glory of God made known in His patience.

READ: ROMANS 2:1-5

LONG-SUFFERING

Last week we looked at God’s forbearance, that of God bearing with, or putting up with sin and sinners — and specifically in reference to his delaying judgment for a time. 

This week, we’re looking at this word the ESV translates “patience.”

But we need to be careful not to make too much a difference between God’s forbearance and patience. God’s forbearance is a type of patience.

But these words aren’t exactly synonyms. Rather, the word patience here has to do with God’s long-suffering. It’s the word: μακροθυμία — which comes from two Greek words: μακρός long and θυμός wrath, passion. 

You can hear the meaning in its use in Exodus 34:6. God is slow to anger.

WRATH RESTRAINED

Or we might say that God restrains His anger. 

In other words, God is not easily set off — which is quite contrary to most of us…

Which takes us to the first helpful way to view God’s patience:

POWER OVER HIMSELF

God’s patience is His control or power over Himself. 

Now, that might seem a strange lens through which to view God’s patience. But think about the times you have lost your temper. Isn’t that how we put it. Don’t make me lose my temper!

Most of the time, what took place is that you lost control of yourself. Our temper, our anger is rarely righteous, regardless of how often we like to tell ourselves otherwise. 

We’ll throw around phrases like: O she pressed my buttons! But what exactly does that mean? Are you a robot? Do you not have control over yourself? 

Well, that’s exactly it. Most of us lack an abundance of self-control. 

But isn’t that the fruit of the Spirit? Patience and self-control. 

But if we’re honest, even as believers, we have room for this fruit to develop and ripen in our lives. I know I do. Which is why we need to fix our eyes all the more on Jesus and how he exercised patience and self-control perfectly — so that we might honor him by imaging him.

UNDISCIPLINING PARENT

Many mistake God for the sort of parent who always threatens but never actually punishes a defiant child. Such a parent loses all respect of the child. And it only proves to produce spoiled brats. We’ve seen them. You know exactly what I’m talking about. 

And why does such a parent fail to discipline? Not because the parent has power over himself, but most often out of fear — fear for what others may think — fear of losing the affection of the child — fear of the cost of discipline. And how do we know that’s the case? Because these are the same parents who lose their temper and blow up in rage — and often over significantly smaller things.

That’s not power over oneself. That, loved ones, is weakness — and not a godly weakness at all. It’s weakness, not meekness. 

A STRONG LOVING FATHER

But God is not at all such a pathetic excuse for a father. Instead, God is a strong and loving Father who will not withhold discipline from those He loves. 

Even morse, we should be in awe of His great restraint and patience toward us — Who instead of carrying out our punishment on us, He carried it out on our older Brother instead — our older Brother who volunteered to receive the belt in our place — our lashes on himself. 

How can that not move you to repentance?

MORE FULLY DISPLAYS JUSTICE AND POWER

Like His forbearance, God’s patience is not opposed to His justice.
God’s patience is wrath restrained, not nullified. 

God does not, by His patience, dispense with His other attributes such as His holiness and righteousness and power.

At the same time, if God had executed the fullness of His justice immediately, think of how much of His glorious character we would be ignorant of. Without God’s patience, we couldn’t know the extent of His justice and power. 

God’s justice is made all the more illustrious by His immense patience.
His power is shown all the more glorious because of His patience. 

PHARAOH STRENGTHENED

Consider God’s patience with Pharaoh, and how that served to more fully display God’s justice and power. 

Consider Pharaoh’s refusal to let God’s people go and God’s immense patience through all ten plagues.
Romans 9:17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

So, the Lord strengthens — that’s the primary word used in the Exodus account regarding the Lord hardening Pharoah’s heart. The Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart that Pharoah might go a full ten rounds. Otherwise, God could have bat an eyelash and won by a knockout. 

God’s patience, rather than showing a lack of power to enact justice, displays a fullness of power over Himself.
For who can stay the omnipotent Almighty’s hand but the patient long-suffering Almighty Himself!

O the restraint to hold back His wrath from such vile rebellious creatures who mock and scoff and show no gratitude despite all the good God bestows upon them.  

MAKE HIMSELF KNOWN

So, one reason for God’s immense patience is to make Himself more fully known through the display of His attributes. 

If God simply listed His attributes, we’d have a shallow knowledge of God at best. But His patience makes room for Him to more fully display the perfections of all of His attributes. 

MEASURING PATIENCE

And yet, God’s patience is glorious in itself.

So, we might ask:
How does God make His patience known?
Or, we might ask, is there a way we might we measure God’s patience? 

Well, I have at least four ways we might measure the glorious patience of God.

#1 THE GREATNESS OF THE PROVOCATIONS:

First, consider the greatness of the offenses, the provocations, the testing of God’s patience.

For some of us, the smallest thing sets us off to where the rest of us scratch our heads asking, “What’s wrong with her?”

But God hasn’t endured little frustrations and inconveniences. Nor is it about God not getting His way.

God endures great acts of defiance and rebellion.

WHO IS THE LORD THAT I SHOULD OBEY

Recall Pharaoh’s response when Moses delivers the message: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Let my people go.” How does Pharaoh respond? Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice.

That, loved ones, whether spoken aloud or not — apart from the Spirit’s regenerating work — is the whole world’s disposition towards the one true God.

EASILY AGITATED

Consider those who have tested your patience — and deliberately so. We lose our cool over much smaller things. I was thinking of Balaam’s donkey. Three times he struck his donkey because he didn’t like the donkey’s walk — when the whole time the donkey was keeping Balaam from harm. 

I have a neighbor, and to hear him yell at his dog as if the dog is dumb and disobedient. The dog is just being a dog!

We get agitated over the weather, over the traffic, over our vehicles, over appliances failing, software glitching — so many things that are amoral at best — things that aren’t acting out against us. 

DELIBERATE DEFIANCE

But God is tested by those in deliberate defiance and rebellion. And we’re talking about His creatures — whom He fashioned for a specific purpose — that of displaying His glory, His goodness, His righteousness in the world. 

Well, Josh, we don’t want to be any of those things! We prefer unrighteousness and ungodliness if that’s what it takes to promote our own glory instead of God’s! And that’s precisely the issue!

How patient would you be if your own creation raised its fist against you?

We might consider some sins small — but even the smallest sin is no light thing. Rather, all sin is an attack on God’s goodness and His character. 

Sin is an assault on God’s greatness and majesty, indeed, His very perfections.

So, that’s the first measurement of God’s patience: the greatness of the provocations He endures.

#2 THE MULTITUDE OF THE PROVOCATIONS

The second measurement of God’s patience is the multitude of these provocations. 

MY SIN ALONE

My sin alone — a single day of my sin alone — should leave me in awe and amazement of His divine patience. And the fact that often times, such is not my response only leads to greater offense for my lack of worship and gratitude.

Now multiply that over the course of a week, a month, a year, a lifetime.
And I’m but one man! 

ADDING YOURS

Now add yours to the mix. Consider how few the moments of your day you spend seeking to reflect His glory, focus on His will, loving Him with your all.

And even when we do have those moments — how blemished — how distracted and divided our hearts, our attention, even our intentions are!

And so far, we’re just considering those of us in the church!

ADDING THE MULTITUDES

Now consider the multitude who shakes their fists at God each and every day in total defiance — the countless idols set up in His place — the bowing down in worship to creations infinitely inferior to the Holy One.

Consider the innumerable gifts of grace and mercy — the common grace and mercy that God in His kindness bestows on the whole of humanity — and the ingratitude shown for this breath — this beat of the heart — the energy to rise up out of bed this morning — the daily sustenance whether meager or abundant. 

What are the offenses that all the men and women of the world receive from their fellow creatures in comparison the injuries God receives from man. 

PICTURE THE CROSS

Now picture the cross. Each lash upon an innocent man — but not just any innocent man — but the One who gave those who scourged Him life and strength to swing the whip. 

Consider the mocking of the One who gave them the breath to mock — the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus’ head by creatures He gave dominion to. 

The crowds chants: Crucify Him.Being stripped naked and exposed. A bloody mess nailed to a gnarly beam of wood. 

Or what about the reviling while He hung there: He saved others, but he can’t save Himself. Let him come down from the cross, and we’ll believe in him. 

O the patience to hang there like that for hours, bearing the sins of the whole world.

NOT JUST A SINGLE WRETCH

We’re not talking about the sins of a single wretch in the span of his seventy or eighty year life. Who could possibly calculate one man’s sins — from his entrance into the world to his exit — from his first use of reason to the separation of his soul from his body. 

That’s one man. What about a village? What about Lebanon TN. Can you calculate the offenses. Or what about a great city like Nashville — or New York. What about just the sins of this young nation.

What about the world. Eight billion people now. What about every generation since time began. 

That’s the second measurement of God’s patience: the multitude of the provocations He endures.

#3 THE DURATION OF THE PROVOCATIONS

The third measurement of God’s patience deals with time: the duration of the provocations and God’s sustained patience.

Most sin isn’t a mere blink of an eye — but a settled disposition against God. Why? Because sin isn’t an accident. And rarely does one begin to sin and quickly move to repentance — and certainly not without the Spirit.

SUSTAINED PATIENCE

But more than the duration of the individual offenses, is the duration with which God has sustained His patience. 

O it’s one thing to be patient when you know you just have to bear it for a moment or two. But time quickly wears down one’s patience. 

Later on in his letter, Paul will quote Isaiah 65:2. All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and rebellious people. 

We touched on forbearance last week, so I’ll make this brief. How long has God born with the provocations of man? All of man’s day and all of God’s. Remember, with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 

From the first sin of Adam to this very day, the line of God’s patience has endured without wavering. There’s not a single one of Adam’s descendants who hasn’t enjoyed some measure of God’s patience. And still that patience continues — bearing with the gross of mankind’s offenses.

That’s the third measurement: duration. 

#4 THE FULL SENSE OF EVERY PROVOCATION

The fourth and final measurement of God’s patience: God endures the full sense of each and every provocation. 

What do I mean by this? 

Well, when someone does something against you, you only know a portion of that offense. You can’t see inside their heart. You don’t know the fullness of their intent. You don’t know if they meant more harm or less. You don’t know their agenda, or the “why” behind what they did or didn’t do. 

OMNISCIENCE

You and I are not omniscient. But God is. God has a distinct view of the entire catalog of man’s sin. He knows the depth of hostility behind every sin. Nothing escapes his purview. Nothing exists outside of God’s total awareness, and that includes the depths and details of man’s hostility towards Him — every evil notion and intention of the heart — from the vilest of thoughts — to the smallest grumblings of the heart displeased with His providence.

And yet, the earth still spins. He has yet to arrest the world. Mankind continues to cover the globe — most shaking their fists at God and at His image-bearers. 

All the while, God is solicited by His justice to call sin to account — all the while He is directed by His omniscience, perfectly knowing what ought to be done — all the while armed with His omnipotence and judgments to vindicate Himself. But His mighty arm is restrained — it is restrained by His immense patience. 

WORSHIP

Okay, Josh. So, God’s patience is great. What are we supposed to do with that bit of information.

Well, one, we should worship. We should be in awe that despite the greatness, the multitude, the duration, and the full sense of every provocation — God continues to restrain His mighty arm of judgment.

O that we’d tremble in worship!

APPEASABLE

But the second thing we should recognize is that in displaying such immense patience, God shows Himself to be appeasable — that God’s patience opens the door for reconciliation.

Ask yourself this: Why does a parent delay in carrying out punishment against a defiant child? Because their desire is not to punish. What parent doesn’t desire reconciliation with their children? How much more so does God, the perfectly loving Father desire reconciliation with His?

APPEASEMENT

But while God’s patience shows Himself to be appeasable, we must never confuse God’s patience for appeasement. God’s patience does not mean that He is or has been appeased with those in rebellion against Him.

Patience and reconciliation are not the same thing. His patience does not mean that one is in favor with God. His patience declares that He is willing to be appeased — willing to be reconciled — that it is possible that one might find favor with Him.

DO GOOD

That God did not utterly root up mankind in that initial sin — or you and I in our most recent sin — demonstrates God’s willingness to do good to us.

Though the earth has been cursed from the Fall — the pillars still stand. The heavens continue to declare God’s glory. The rain continues to fall on the just and unjust. All of this is a sign that God still delights to do good to His creatures. 

SPRINKLINGS OF WRATH

And yet, there are sprinklings of His wrath and judgments as a warning of greater wrath to come — as a reminder that He has been and still is grievously offended — and that His patience will one day — in His perfect controlled timing — give way to final judgment.

THE HEAVENS DECLARE

That the heavens continue to declare the glory of God declares not merely God’s glory but the gospel. (That’s Romans 10:18.) Have they not heard. Indeed they have. For their voice goes out to all the earth and their words to the ends of the world. 

O the heavens don’t declare the gospel in a saving sense, but in the sense that God is a long-suffering God. The voice of the heavens continue to declare that God isn’t yet finished with humanity despite all of man’s sins against Him. The heavens declare — and we saw this when we looked at the sign of the rainbow last week — that God has no desire to be at war with humanity even though all of humanity has been hostile towards Him.

LONGS TO RECONCILE

You see, God is not like us at all. There’s no bitterness in God. He doesn’t harbor enmity in His heart. 

He longs to reconcile. And He is patient not wishing any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

The riches of His kindness, and forbearance, and patience suggests that there must be available some possible means of pardon. But what is that means?

Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? 

The heart of man is so hardened toward God, that he doesn’t even look for the means of pardon and reconciliation. 

NO DESIRE TO SEEK

All the while God calls out — you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. But sinful man doesn’t want to find God — not the Living God — not the God of truth and justice — not the sovereign of the universe. 

So man fashions his own little gods and seeks to appease them according to what is right in their own eyes.

But here’s the question for us all — and for your unbelieving family members and neighbors so that you can communicate this to them.
What sort of pardon can there truly be for the unrepentant?
What sort of reconciliation can there be for one who refuses to repent?

By His patience, God shows that He is most ready to receive them into His mercy upon their return. And so, by His patience, God invites all of mankind to repentance. 

A DAY OF JUDGMENT

But like God’s forbearance, God’s patience does not entail that He is equally patient with all, nor that His patience toward each person will endure forever. 

The time of patience will end.
As verse 5 warns: But because of your hard and impenitent heart, your are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 

THE WORLD’S DAY

In other words, a day of judgment is coming. God has a calendar. And a day of judgment has been fixed on that calendar. 

The day of God’s patience will give way to the day of His judgment. The whole world has a day.

THE NATION’S DAY

But not only does the world have a day, nations have a day.
Consider Ninevah. Jonah warned: Forty days! Now, Ninevah repented … that time. And judgment was averted. But Jonah isn’t the last prophet sent to Ninevah. We also have Nahum. And the Chaldeans made quick work of rendering God’s judgment on the Ninevites. Nations have a day.

THE CITY’S DAY

Cities have a day. (Consider Jerusalem in 70 A.D.)
Even as Jesus weeps over Jerusalem: Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace. (Luke 19:42).
Cities have a day. 

Societies also have their day, as well as peoples have their day. And persons have their day. 

The day of persons is often sooner than that of nations and cities.

The first generation of Israel was given forty years max in the wilderness for their defiance and refusal to enter Canaan. But get this. Not every person saw forty more years. Many died within days of God’s forty year verdict on the nation. 

NINEVAH’S WARNING

So, what does a right response to God’s patience look like?
How about Ninevah?

Jonah delivered a very simple message. Yet forty days, and Ninevah will be overthrown.

Now, Ninevah’s response is somewhat shocking — when compared to the rest of humanity. Or perhaps, it’s the rest of humanity’s response that should seem shocking to us. 

But at the simple preaching of Jonah, the people of Ninevah repented — and their repentance was one that recognized their guilt before God — expressed their grief over their sin — turned from their evil ways — and called out to God in faith. 

NINEVAH DEDUCES

God’s patience is meant to lead you to repentance. And Ninevah seemed to recognize just that. How so? Well, they must have deduced that if there be a warning, the warning must have been given for some purpose — that the warning itself was an act of kindness and patience. 

A warning suggests that there must be some means of avoiding destruction — and that such avoidance must come from the One who sent the messenger to warn. 

If the people of Ninevah repented at the preaching of Jonah, how much more so the preaching of Christ — the final messenger — God’s own Son?

DEMANDING A SIGN

The people of Jesus’ day demanded a sign. Rather than repenting they wanted signs of his authority. 

Have you ever considered, what sign of authority did Jonah march into Ninevah with? Just a message. 

RESPONDING TO A MESSAGE

Now consider that Ninevah was given but forty days — a much shorter verdict before their judgment day, and they repented. While Israel was given forty years, and we see no sign of their repentance. 

And get this. Ninevah hadn’t witnessed any of God’s mighty works in Egypt. The most they had were the accounts. They heard the stories. Yet they repented. 

All the while, Israel had front row seats to God’s mighty works. And they refused to repent. 

AUTHORITY ISN’T THE ISSUE

You see. The problem isn’t the question of authority. Paul has already covered multiple times just in these first few verses that the whole world knows their guilt before the Holy God. 

What can be known about God is plain to them.
Although they knew God, they did not honor or give thanks.
They did not see fit to acknowledge God.
Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval.
Therefore, you have no excuse…
We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

EVERYONE KNOWS

Everyone knows! But they willingly suppress the truth that judgment is coming. 

So, when God is kind in sending a warning, the messenger doesn’t need any additional sign of authority. The whole of creation already serves as a witness — a witness to God’s kindness and patience and forbearance that is meant to lead to repentance!

You should know that! They should know that! The whole world should know that! Don’t you know this? Paul exclaims. Because you should. 

And now, something greater than Jonah is here!

The men of Ninevah will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah — the reluctant prophet! — and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

TIME OF SINNING

Though God is patient with most, He is not, in the same degree, patient with all. 

Every sinner has his time of sinning — beyond which he shall go no further. Once sin is filled up, so is the delay of God’s wrath. The plumb line is set. And sin shall not pass beyond it. 

When God puts an end to the abuse of His patience, His wrath will make quick and sure work of it. 

Though His wrath be visibly delayed, that delay may prove more dreadful than a quick punishment now. God gave them up to their sin — may only serve to store up greater wrath for oneself.

The abuse of God’s patience is a dangerous place to be. The abuse of the riches of God’s kindness, and forbearance, and patience is a dangerous place to hang out. 

And the impenitent heart who abuses such (verse 5) is treasuring up wrath for themselves. Rather than enjoying the riches of God’s kindness, they treasure up wrath. The irony shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s a sad irony. 

REPENTANCE

But here’s the thing about repentance. God’s kindness is intended to lead sinners to repentance. It doesn’t force. 

The saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. 

Where God shows grace to all — grace is efficacious only for some.
Repentance requires a new nature wrought by the Holy Spirit.

But without that new nature, you know the effect God’s goodness has on hardened hearts? It only proves to further harden them.
Just as the sun hardens clay, the brilliant sun of God’s goodness only serves to further harden clay hearts. 

COMFORT

But God’s patience is not intended to harden you. 

Rather, God’s patience should be an immense comfort for believers.
For if He has been so patient toward His enemies, surely He will be patient to those who trust and obey him.

VERSE 5

With that, it’s important to pause and jump down to the word in verse 5: impenitent. The impenitent are not those who are striving to live out their faith but fall short. 

TENDER CONSCIENCE

We need to address this because some of us have more tender consciences. This doesn’t mean that there are no expectations for us. Rather the reverse — the expectations are greater for those of us in Christ. But those expectations are not cause for despair. Christlikeness on this side of glory is a direction — not perfection. We will continue to come up short until He finishes His work in each of us, and we finally see Him as He is, and the work of sanctification is complete.

THE IMPENITENT

The impenitent refers to those who refuse Christ, refuse to repent, refuse to give heed to the Lord’s commands. 

But if you are in Christ — trusting and abiding in Christ — you can count on His patience toward you. He will never leave or forsake you. But will patiently finish this good work He began in you. 

And as He has been patient with us, so should we to others.

DEFAULT DISPOSITION

I know last week we looked at some of the more severe examples such as Uzzah, Nadab and Abihu, Ananias and Sapphira. And it’s important that we don’t overlook those. But they are far from the norm.

God’s default disposition is that of bearing with sin — that He might reconcile the sinner to Himself. 

God’s default position is long-suffering. And that has been the case since the very first sin of Adam.

RECKONING WITH ADAM

When the Lord God came to reckon with Adam for his rebellion, the Lord walked in the Garden in the cool of the day. He didn’t run with sword drawn. He walked. And He called. 

Why? Why would God walk and call out? Why would He ask a question He already knew the answer to if not for Adam to repent and be reconciled by owning his sin? But instead, Adam hid. Instead, Adam blamed. 

And when it was Eve’s turn, she did the same.
And so too with Cain. Where is your brother Abel?
But instead of confessing and repenting, Cain lies and excuses himself.

But here’s the thing. There’s no reconciliation apart from owning one’s guilt. There’s no restoration so long as there’s a denial of the truth. The wall of hostility and separation remains.

CREATION AND JERICHO

In six days the Lord created, made, built up the whole of the heavens and the earth. 

But it was a full seven days in destroying a single city — Jericho — a city God had beforehand devoted to destruction. But seven days of patience while the people marched around.

Why is God so much quicker to build up than to tear down? Because He has no delight in the death of the wicked.

Why is God so much quicker to reconcile than pour out His just wrath? Because He is not wishing that any should perish.

THE FIRST MAJOR PROPHET

Isaiah, the first major prophet proclaims these words from the Lord in the opening verses:
(1:5) Why will you be struck down?
(1:18) Come now, let us reason together.

O how the Lord pleads!
(1:19) If you are but willing and obedient.

Yet, the Lord cannot forsake justice. He can’t!

Therefore, He cannot restrain His wrath indefinitely.

THE CROSS

And what is the cross if not at least a sign of God’s immense patience and desire to reconcile.

Have you reconciled with the Lord of the universe?

And if you have, do you extend that same patience toward your fellow image-bearers that He has extended toward you?

And if you have been reconciled, now you know how to present the truth of God’s patience to others.

Someone asked about what I might say to someone on their deathbed. Well, perhaps this is a good place to begin. Tell them about God’s glorious attributes — His kindness, His forbearance, His patience. Ask: Do you know these? And point them to Jesus who is the embodiment of the fullness of these glorious attributes — and their only means of reconciliation. 

While you still have breath, the invitation is open. Be reconciled to God.

Let us pray.

Or do you presume upon the riches of God's kindness and forbearance and patience not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance (Romans 2:4)

GOSPEL

Reminder: Romans 1:16-17

Paul is presenting the gospel. For I am not ashamed of the gospel…

But to present the gospel — Paul must first show our desperate need for the gospel — he must show how all are guilty — all stand under God’s righteous judgment apart from Christ.

THREE ATTRIBUTES

In light of that — here in at the beginning of Romans 2 — Paul raises the question as to our response to God’s kindness and forbearance and patience.
Do we give these attributes of God proper consideration.

That’s Paul’s word “presume” in verse 4.
It means to think lightly upon — or even despise — by giving something less consideration than it deserves — esteeming something to have little to no value in comparison to other things. 

So, we’re taking some time to deeply contemplate and meditate on these glorious attributes — that we might know God’s character rightly. Which ought to lead us to awe and worship — and — as our text says — to repentance.

KINDNESS

Last week we looked at God’s kindness …
This week — God’s forbearance.

READ (Romans 2:1-5)

WHAT IS FORBEARANCE?

So, what is forbearance?
(ἀνοχή noun — ἀνέχω verb to bear with)

Most simply, the verb form means to bear with or tolerate or to get really basic and literal, it means to put up with. 

TOLERANCE

And we see this in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthains. 

2 Corinthians 11:4. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Which means, not every form of tolerance — or bearing with — is good or godly. Here, Paul pretty much accuses the Corinthians of the same abuse of tolerance as we see in our society. 

THE WORLD’S USE OF TOLERANCE

Today, tolerance is often used synonymously with that of acceptance, or worse celebration and participation. The problem with the world’s tolerance is that it is most often intolerant. 

The world is not tolerant of those who do not accept and celebrate its ways — most specifically, the world is not tolerant in believers not joining in its sin and debauchery. As Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:4, because of this — because you refuse to join them their reckless and wild living, they heap abuse on you. In other words, the world’s view of tolerance is one sided.

SIN EXPOSED

This is not at all to suggest that we are sinless. But we can’t celebrate sin and willingly engage in sin. For one, the Holy Spirit has opened our eyes to see sin as it truly is — as an attack on the God who has been nothing but kind and loving to us — so much so, that He gave His only Son for us. Sin has been unclothed for the ugliness that it is.

HOW LONG MUST I PUT UP WITH YOU?

So, then, what is the biblical view of tolerance and forbearance?

Well, perhaps we should look at Jesus’ use of the term. Matthew 17:7.

When he comes down from the mount of transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, a man comes up to him, pleading, Lord have mercy on my son… for he has seizures and suffers terribly. For he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.

Now, hear Jesus’ words.
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

This is not a popular verse. Can this really be Jesus speaking? The world would likely entreat Jesus to doing little reading of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. 

Is Jesus being insensitive? I don’t believe so. There are a few things going on with Jesus’ words. More than we’ll take time to address this morning. 

FROM MOUNTAIN TO VALLEY

First, let’s not miss Jesus’ mountaintop experience, where Jesus shone with glory and enjoyed the loving praise of his Father. This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.

That’s as close as Jesus, the man, will be to heaven until his ascension. And before his ascension comes the cross — the painful death he is to endure — which he foretold to his disciples on both sides of this passage in Matthew — the mountain and the call for genuine mustard size faith that can move mountains.

Coming down the mountain, Jesus was back in the valley of sin and unbelief. He’s reminded of this by the crowd.
He’s reminded of this by the suffering of this man’s son.
He’s reminded of this by the disciples lack of faith. 

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

Second, Jesus is identifying himself with YHWH of the Old Testament — the echo of How Long? as the Lord bears with Israel’s unbelief — whether that be the people’s grumbling, trusting Him for manna, refusing to enter the promised land.

They were always testing Him. And the Lord in His immense patience bore with their sin for a long time — 40 years in the wilderness.

POSTPONEMENT

God’s forbearance is never to be confused with the world’s idea of tolerance. (Which is why forbearance — or to bear with — better captures God’s disposition.)

God didn’t tolerate Israel’s sin and unbelief with any amount of approval or acceptance. God bore with their sin for a time. Just as Jesus, on the road to the cross, bore with sin for a time — until he bore it directly and in full on the cross.

Which brings us to a more precise way Paul uses this word forbearance, and that has to do with postponement. God puts up with sin for a time — often a long time — rather than executing judgment immediately.

To use a dictionary definition: Forbearance is a refraining from the enforcement of something (such as a debt, right, or obligation) that is due.

FORBEARANCE ON A LOAN

Forbearance on a loan is where the lender allows the borrower to delay making payments toward a debt without incurring additional penalties. 

Now, here’s an important clarification. Forbearance on a loan is not the same as forgiveness. And so long as the debt isn’t paid, do you know what happens to the balance? It grows. Interest continues to accrue.
GOD’S FORBEARANCE

God’s forbearance is His postponement of calling debts to account for a time. In other words, God’s forbearance is judgment postponed — but not forgotten. 

Which takes us to the Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager, which Silas read for us. 

God cannot do as the dishonest manager did and change your bill. Instead of a hundred measures of oil, make it fifty. Instead of a hundred measures of wheat, make it eighty.
God cannot simply change your bill and still be just.
The debt must be paid in full.
And who can possibly pay it? Only Jesus.

Romans 6:23. The wages of sin is death.
Psalm 49:8. Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.

The bill can’t simply be changed to a different amount. God’s justice demands it to be paid in full. 

Yet in His mercy, God postpones calling many debts to account — and instead calls everyone to repentance — that their debts might be satisfied on the cross rather than the debtor having to satisfy a debt he could never afford himself.

TOLERATES EVERYTHING?

Which brings us to some dangerous misinterpretations of God’s forbearance.

Many interpret God’s forbearance to suggest that God tolerates everything and punishes nothing.
Since He has yet to call their sin to account and execute judgment, perhaps He never will.

They treat God’s forbearance as a license to sin. 

DOES NOT EQUAL FORGIVENESS

Many interpret God’s forbearance as forgiveness. But forbearance is not forgiveness. Forbearance doesn’t cancel the debt. Rather, interest continues to accrue.

Divine forbearance grants time for repentance. But if abused, only makes eventual judgment more severe.

Think of it like this. A creditor may wait to collect on a debt. But the waiting does not cancel the debt — nor diminish the debt.

Delayed punishment, however does not pardoned.

WRONG EFFECT

When we misunderstand God’s forbearance, people tend to think their okay in their sin. Such misunderstanding has the wrong effect. 

Ecclesiastes 8:11. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.

NEVER PUNISH?

They believe that because God has not yet judged them — then perhaps He never intends to judge — or he may never punish my sin.

Or maybe the chances are that since He’s delayed judgment for this long — He’ll likely continue to delay. And if God’s going to continue to delay judgment, we can get a few more sinful pleasures in! 

But such a heart is not one that knows the grace of God. It’s a heart that misinterprets the grace of God and has no clue regarding the horrors of one’s own sin and the sacrifice Jesus made to pay for sin.

SOLOMON’S WARNING

Solomon warns against misinterpreting God’s forbearance. Ecclesiastes 8:12-13.
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life (hear the forbearance?), yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God…
But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow because he does not fear before God.

SAFE IN SIN?

Because there is no immediate recompense, many believe they are safe in their sin. Loved ones, don’t be deceived. 

I’m reminded of Mr. Beaver’s words in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when he first tells the children of Aslan.
“Who’s Aslan?” one of the girls asks.
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver. “Why don’t you know who is King of beasts? Aslan is a lion — the Lion, the great Lion?”
And the two girls ask if he’s safe.
“Safe?” Mr. Beaver says. “Who said anything about safe?” ‘Course he isn’t safe … But … he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” 

Don’t misinterpret God’s forbearance to mean He is safe. Rather, we should tremble at such mercy and forbearance — tremble in worship!

BUILDING A CASE

How many lawbreakers think that because there is no immediate recompense, that they must have gotten away with their crimes?
But how many crimes are solved — and the suspect ascertained — but not yet detained — while a greater case is made against the suspect — even allowing the suspect to continue in his misdeeds so that a greater sentence may be place on him on the day of trial.

And even if justice may seem to be avoided in this life — a day of reckoning fast approaches (verse 5).

WHY THE DELAY?

Which brings us to the question: Why the delay? Why the postponement of judgment for a time?

FORBEARANCE NOT PROMISED

Well, first, recognize that not everyone receives the same delay — the same amount of forbearance — nor does each sin receive the same amount of forbearance. In other words, forbearance isn’t guaranteed, and it is certainly not owed. It is grace dispensed in accordance with the purposes and pleasures of God.

OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES

UZZAH

Consider Uzzah. He stretched out his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant from falling to the ground — presuming his hands to be cleaner than the dirt from which he came. Ask Uzzah about God’s forbearance.

NADAB AND ABIHU

Or what about Nadab and Abihu. They entered the Most Holy Place and offered unauthorized incense — or strange fire — before the Lord. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them.

And don’t miss that what they were doing was an act of worship! But what exactly were they worshiping when they chose to worship how they wanted instead of how the Lord prescribed! 

And yet, many argue that they will worship according to what’s right in their own eyes. Listen. Such worship is not of the Holy God. It demeans God. It make light of who God is. 

When you worship how you want while disregarding what God says, you don’t make much of Him — but yourself.

NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES

Well, someone might say, that’s the Old Testament. That’s before Jesus came. God is much more patient now. 

First, God calling sin to account does not call into question His patience.
Second, let’s look at the New Testament — after Jesus’ payment for sin on the cross. 

KING HEROD

Acts 12, King Herod gave a speech, and the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not a man!”
Doesn’t seem that big of deal. Herod simply gave a speech.
Immediately, the text says, an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give God the glory.

I can imagine some scoffers’ response. Are you kidding me! Just because Herod gave a speech, and the people praised him, and Herod didn’t give the glory to God.
Absolutely! Why? Because that is the greatest of sins. Indeed, it’s what all sin has in common — the idolatry of self. 

Okay. So, worldly Herod didn’t give God the glory. But what about those within the church. 

ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA

So what about the church. How about Ananias and Sapphira? You’re familiar with them in Acts 5. People were selling property in order to supply for the physical needs of the brothers and sisters within the church. In fact, one of the brothers, a man named Joseph, received the name Barnabas — which means son of encouragement. Why? Because the name fit. One thing Barnabas did was sell a field he owned, and he brought the money to the apostles and laid it at their feet.

Well, I like to be made much of. What might I do to get recognized too? [Pride]

So, this couple, Ananias and Sapphira, they sell a piece of property too. And together they determine that they will keep a portion of the proceeds and give a portion to the apostles. Nothing wrong with that — except their intention. They intended for people to think they gave the whole of the proceeds to the apostles. They intended a bit of glory for themselves. In reality, their sin was the same as Herod’s. And this is a couple within the church. 

You know what happened to them? The same fate as that of Herod. 

Ask them about God’s forbearance. 

RIGHT EFFECT

But you know the result — the effect their immediate judgment had on the rest of the church and those who heard? Great fear! So that they might not presume upon God’s kindness and forbearance and patience.

Listen. Part of Paul’s point is don’t count on God’s forbearance. God is not obligated to bear with sin — not my sin, not your sin, not any sin.

O in His mercy He often does, but don’t take it for granted. Don’t think lightly of it. Be in awe!

Don’t deceive yourself thinking that because God often and for a long-time bears with sin that He always will. Sooner or later, all sin — all debts are called due. 

POSTPONING JUDGMENT

And yet, God has shown tremendous patience in postponing judgment. Why? Why the delay?
Why a 40 day notice for Ninevah?
Why 120 years for the people in Noah’s day?

Why did Adam and Eve walk out of the Garden on the day they were supposed to die?
I know, some will say that they did die that day. They died spiritually. And that’s true. 

But that wasn’t the fullness of judgment. Instead, another died in their place — an innocent substitute to clothe their sin and nakedness.
Indeed, an unspecified substitute. The text simply says “robe of skin.”

Why didn’t God execute the fullness of judgment that very day?
Why does God exercise His divine forbearance at all?

Well, there’s at least three reasons. 

NOT HASTILY OR IN PASSION

First, God’s forbearance shows that God does not punish hastily or in passion. God is unlike us.
He does not react in fits of passion. He makes no decision lightly.

God waits a full ten generations after Adam is exiled from the Garden before the Flood of His Judgment rains down in the days of Noah and his sons. 

Ten generations after the Flood, God reigns down His judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Abraham, the son of Terah. 

It’s another ten generations after God’s judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah before he carries out His judgment upon the Canaanites — and specifically the Amorites — whose sin is finally filled up. 

(Genesis 15. Recall God’s words to Abraham. God waited a full ten generations, allowing the Canaanites to continue in their sin.)

God doesn’t punish hastily or in passion. 

(You can count the generations in Luke 3.)

DOES NOT DELIGHT IN DEATH

Second, God’s forbearance demonstrates that He does not delight in the death of the sinner. 

God warns before striking in order that He may not strike.
And all the while He’s preparing His arrows of judgment,
he looks for an occasion to lay them aside and turn them away. 

Indeed, God publishes His wrath before it is ever executed — and a long time at that. Why? So that He might not have to carry out sentence upon the sinner.

And just consider how long He publishes His warnings.

The people in Noah’s day received a 120 year advertisement before the Flood of Judgment finally came upon them.
Everyday Noah and his sons were felling timbers.
Everyday they were cutting them to size.
Everyday … fitting the timbers in place.
Everyday hammering one board upon another —
nail upon nail driven into the wood. 

And when Noah and his sons weren’t felling, and cutting, and fitting, and hammering the timbers of wood, they were covering them with pitch (whatever pitch is) — literally, covering it with a covering. It’s where we get the word atonement — atoning for it with an atonement.

TO DISPLAY HIS GLORY IN CHRIST

Which brings us to the third reason for God’s forbearance — and that is to display His glory in Christ — the only true atonement for sin.

I know at this rate we’re a ways from the end of Romans 3, but this points to what is perhaps one of the most significant verses in all the Bible, Romans 3:25. 

God put Jesus forward as a propitiation by his blood — an atoning sacrifice — a wrath covering sacrifice — to be received by faith in order to show God’s righteousness. Why? Because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

PASSED OVER FORMER SINS

Remember, Adam and Eve walked out of the Garden. Their sin was passed over. 

Israel — when the angel of death came through and judged the Egyptians, the children of Israel were spared — not because they were sinless — but God was passing over their sin.

Throughout all of history, God’s forbearance seemed to call into account God’s justice. Of course, there is no injustice on God’s part. But the question was, how could God possibly pass over sin? How was God to offer any forbearance at all? Surely the blood of bulls and goats and Passover Lambs weren’t a sufficient substitute for sin. 

The debt of sin still had to be paid. And that debt is costly — infinitely costly. Who could possibly cover it?

Only one could — the God-man — the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world — the eternal Son of God. 

TRULY MAN — TRULY GOD

This is why Jesus had to be truly God and truly man. This is why the doctrine of the incarnation is so important. Apart from a proper Christology, there is no gospel.

Man must pay the debt because it is man’s debt to pay — hence Jesus had to be truly man.
But only God Himself has a life of infinite worth to cover such a debt — therefore Jesus had to be truly God.

When people question our doctrine — rather the Bible doctrine — regarding Jesus being both God and man — it’s important that you know why it matters. Indeed, this is one of the many proofs of the Bible’s veracity. (This is a core apologetic issue!)

BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD

God’s forbearance, rather than displaying God’s righteousness, raised a serious question concerning God’s righteousness.
O the tension. How can God be righteous and pass over any of our sins? 

There is but one answer. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:19-20.)

WRATH TURNED AWAY

You see, after the Flood, part of the message found in the Rainbow was that God doesn’t merely look for an occasion to lay His arrows of judgment aside and turn His bow away — He already had a way. 

The rainbow showed that God was willing to pay the consequence of sin in our place. His bow of judgment took aim at Himself. He would receive the piercing we deserve. He would receive the injuries for our sin upon Himself. 

He would pay the debt of sin Himself.

DISHONEST MANAGER – PART 2

Remember the dishonest manager who was fired by his master, so he called his master’s debtors and had them change and reduce their debts that they owed his master. And why did he do this? In order that people would invite him into their houses. In other words, to provide for himself dwelling places. 

God is not like the dishonest manager — who, in order to provide Himself with dwelling places, reduces or changes people’s debts. 

In justice, God cannot simply reduce or dismiss any debt. All debts must be paid in full. 

Instead, God covers the debt Himself with the blood of His own Son — who pays the debt in full — not merely reducing the debt but fully satisfying the wages for sin. 

DWELLING PLACE

And he does that — loved ones — not because He fears that He may become homeless like the dishonest manager did. No. He pays your debt fully for your benefit — that He might take up residency in you — and you with Him.

[Tabernacle]

ADVERTISEMENT OF THE CROSS

If you think God’s forbearance was great in the days of Noah, and that the advertisement of the Ark was something — the cross is a far greater advertisement.

O like the people in Noah’s day, people scoff — Where’s the promise of his coming. And they’ll continue in their sin — thinking lightly of God’s forbearance — His postponement of judgment.

But each hammer blow through Jesus’ flesh into the wood of the cross proclaims God’s loving forbearance — patiently waiting — not wishing any to perish. 

What greater advertisement of God’s mercy and love!
What greater advertisement of God’s coming judgment!
What greater proclamation of God’s forbearance!

And God is still patiently waiting.
But God’s forbearance won’t continue indefinitely. 

DEMANDS A RESPONSE

In other words, the cross demands a response.
And not just a response today — but every day.
Indeed, the cross demands that we renew that response daily.

O Lord, the psalmist says, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
That we may live in light of your great mercy — rightly interpreting your forbearance as a call to repentance —and to walk in light of the cross.

DO UNTO OTHERS

And if God has shown such forbearance toward us, how then should we bear with the sins of others.
As image bearers, shouldn’t we practice the same?

As the proverb says: It is to one’s glory to pass over an offense — glory, because it images the God who passed over yours.

[Matthew 12:11]

   THE RICHES OF GOD'S KINDNESS

READ (Romans 2:1-5)

THINK LIGHTLY

Last week we looked at one of the most used arguments against God’s judgment — His goodness.
As if God’s goodness assures us of escape from judgment regardless of our response to that goodness.

As we look at verse 4, Paul raises the question: Do you truly understand God’s goodness? Or do you think so little of His goodness that you presume upon it, neglect it, and despise that goodness.

The word the ESV renders “presume” means to think lightly about something — which of course fits perfectly with what Paul has been arguing since Romans 1:18. Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. That is, they thought little of God, if they thought of Him at all!

RICHES OF GOD’S GOODNESS

Paul uses three terms to express aspects of God’s goodness that fallen man tends to think very little of: God’s kindness, God’s forbearance, and God’s patience.

These qualities, each of them, have been manifested most supremely in Christ, and especially the cross. But we’d be remiss to think that these qualities weren’t sufficiently and abundantly displayed throughout every generation.

What’s more, Paul describes these as riches — the riches of God’s kindness and forbearance and patience. God richly pours out these graces from His own divine storehouse. And as much as He pours out this goodness — these riches are in no way diminished — for they flow from the fount of Himself — they flow from His own infinitude, so that God finds no decrease even as He pours out His goodness in greater abundance.

PRINCE OR RULER

Whereas an earthly prince or ruler may pour out some measure of his riches on his subjects —
he is always restrained by their limits —
he is always restrained by his fears —

Not the eternal God.

UMBRELLA OF GOODNESS

Lest we think lightly of the riches of God’s kindness and forbearance and patience, let’s consider a few ways in which He displays each of these.
This week: God’s kindness.

KINDNESS: ARRIVING AT A MEANING

Kindness is a bit more specific than goodness, although this word is sometimes translated goodness. 

The word, χρηστότης or χρηστός (you might hear the word Χριστός — which means anointed) — the root of this word means useful or beneficial. 

Χριστός as in Christ, means anointed one — but anointed for what? Just as the Old Testament portrayed prophets, priests, and kings as anointed for service — anointed to be useful for service — Jesus Christ is the anointed One in that He is anointed for service — or as Paul writes to Timothy — useful to the Master — anointed for useful, beneficial service.

This helps us to understand our word — kindness a little better. Kindness is not niceness — which, in our contemporary culture, means polite or agreeable. While often used as synonyms, you can be nice without being kind, and you can be kind without being, what the world would consider, nice. 

So, what does kindness mean in reference to God? Kindness is the expression of God’s goodness in meeting the needs of His creatures — in providing them some benefit. 

In other words, kindness is displayed more tangibly in that which is fit or suitable for use — that which is beneficial and good.

WHAT’S BENEFICIAL FOR HIS CREATURES

How does God express His kindness? And to whom?
Matthew 5:44. He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the just and unjust.
Or in Luke’s parallel account, Jesus says, (Luke 6:35). He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

In other words, God displays His kindness in giving those things which are beneficial to His creatures. 

Or as Paul says to those in Lystra: In past generations God allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness — how did God witness to the nations? He displayed His kindness to them — doing good to them by giving them what was beneficial, helpful, of use — giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

USEFUL FOR WHAT? OUR JOY

Now notice that when we speak of kindness as that which is useful and beneficial, we aren’t speaking pragmatically — as merely giving those things which primarily accomplish a physical end. Notice the rains and fruitful seasons were for satisfying the heart — satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. 

In other words, God doesn’t just give screw drivers and towels for Christmas. He also gives paintings, and fragrant candles, and personalized greeting cards.

1 Timothy 6:17 — In His kindness, God richly provides everything for our joy, not merely for our sustenance. 

I might pick on a prosperity church’s billboard — start enjoying life — but understand, we are not anti-joy. We are about abundant joy, indeed, the fullness of joy.
Psalm 16:11. You make known to me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

As believers, we’ve just been awakened from our once drunken stupor that sought to find our joy in the things of this world instead of the God who pours out the riches of His kindness that we might know Him.

END FOR WHICH GOD CREATED THE WORLD

Indeed, this is the end for which God created the world — to make Himself known — to display His goodness for the good of His creatures. 

God’s kindness extends and reaches to all the works of His hands.
Psalm 145:17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.
Or verse 9. The Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

CREATION

Creation proceeds from God’s goodness. And everything God created was — you know — good. 

Not one thing was created that was without some measure of God’s kindness. All things were good. All things were useful. Useful for what? Useful for displaying something of God Himself. 

It’s important we start here with God’s kindness, because to get this wrong is to get the rest of the story wrong — and particularly the end of the story wrong.

Everything God created was to display something of His goodness. 

Genesis 1:31 — And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good —
So, God rested from all His works that He had done in creation.

GOD’S GLORY MADE PUBLIC

Creation is God’s glory made public.
Psalm 19:1-4..
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.
Yet, their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In creation, no creature is silent in displaying God’s glory. 

And this glory made plain by the work of His hands is made legible to all the nations, rendering all without excuse. 

Excuse from what? They are without excuse in failing to acknowledge His glory.

WHAT IS GOD’S GLORY?

But what is God’s glory?
I find Exodus 33:18-19 helpful.
When Moses asks the Lord: Please show me your glory — how does the Lord reply?
Exodus 33:19. I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name “The Lord”. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 

Please show me your glory.
I will make all my goodness pass before you.

WHAT IS GOD’S GOODNESS?

What is this goodness? 

It’s the train of all God’s lovely perfections that spring from His goodness — the entire catalogue of His kindness, His mercy, His grace, His patience — His justice, His righteousness.

Every perfection flows from this one fount of God’s goodness.

Psalm 145.
All of God’s works, the splendor of His majesty, His awesome deeds, His greatness — they all pour forth the fame of His abundant goodness.

Quoting this section of Exodus, the Psalmist continues.
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

CREATION OF MAN

God’s kindness is displayed, not just in creation in general, but in his fashioning of mankind. 

Taking a handful of dust from the ground, God copied some of His own perfection — His goodness upon this lump of clay. 

And think for a second about the body God had formed — every part ordered for displaying God’s glory — God’s goodness — God’s kindness.

EVERY MEMBER USEFUL

Every member of the body purposeful and useful. (Recall, the church — the body of Christ. God’s creation of man translates over to the church.)

This tabernacle of clay, God fashioned with such a variety of members — each in proper place and proportion — according to His wisdom and grace — each part without confusion as to what it was useful for.
(O the distortions the Fall has brought about!)

Each member of this clay tent designed with beauty, made to fit, excellent for use. 

Out of clay, God fashioned a palace of dust in which to house the viceroy of the world!

SOUL AND IMAGE

But that’s merely the body. What is masked within this clay?
A soul endowed with reason and understanding and a will. 

Greater still, and the greatest of these kindnesses in the creation of man is that God created us in His likeness in order for us to know Him and commune with Him. 

PERSONAL KINDNESS

And we could go on about how God shows His kindness in giving us health and wholeness, preserving us in many different capacities, giving us companionship through other image-bearers, granting us meaningful occupation with which to employ ourselves with, and rest — not to mention the innumerable acts of particular kindness God bestows specifically on you.

There is nothing we enjoy that is not some measure of God’s kindness to us. There is nothing man endures or experiences — (apart from final judgment) — that does not include some measure of God’s kindness.

SOVEREIGN KINDNESS

Now, consider the same measure of detail in which God created all things — in His sovereign placement of all things. 

Part of the problem with our judgment of others — is that God has placed all things according to His wisdom — and each as a measure of His kindness.
This includes that difficult neighbor, that defiant child, that overbearing parent.
In all of these — God has poured out a measure of kindness — for your benefit.

Perhaps we’d do well to consider God’s benefit in these. Because what is God’s will for you? Your holiness — or sanctification — and for you to image Him.

How are we to image Him? Matthew 5:45 — as sons of your Father in heaven — in reflecting His kindness to both the just and unjust, the deserving and the not.

Joseph and his brothers — human element to be sure.
But never precludes or works against God’s kindness.
God is sovereign — not man. No one can thwart His kindness. They can, however, despise it.

KIND TO ALL?

But some will argue, “Is God truly kind to all?” Look at the world around us. It’s broken and full of suffering, disease, violence, hatred, harm. Is that truly kind?

First, God’s kindness is not impaired in any way in His allowing or “suffering” sin to enter the world and for man to thereby fall. 

Should God’s kindness be undervalued and despised because man made ill use of His kindness and turned it into licentiousness?

NOT EQUALLY GOOD — BUT NOT EVIL

While God may not have made all things equally good — He made nothing evil. 

He is kind to all, but not in the same degree.
Let me ask you who would judge God concerning His kindness. Do you equally distribute your kindness — your gifts — to all alike?
Or do you offer your grandkids gifts that you don’t give to the server at the restaurant? Do you give to your pets the way you give to your children? 

EQUALLY KIND: ILLUSTRATION

Of course, some would suggest they show the same measure of kindness to all. I had a person recently display their moral superiority in that they gently carry the pests out of their house — supposedly treating them with the same kindness they treat all living things with.

Perhaps that’s what Adam should have done with the serpent — simply pick him up — all nice — and gently sit him outside the Garden. Listen! Even then you aren’t showing the same kindness to the beast, because you are saying you can’t live here. This residence is reserved for others. 

MORALLY SUPERIOR?

As much as man seeks to show himself morally superior to God — which is utterly ridiculous — this façade is so easy to unmask. But only if we know God — if we know Him rightly, and stop trying to align Him to the distorted morals of a fallen society that hates Him.

How pathetic it would be if the all-wise Sovereign of the universe acted according to finite man’s fallen fancies rather than according to His own divine pleasure and wisdom?

FREELY DISTRIBUTES HIS KINDNESS

Is God not allowed to freely distribute His gifts as He pleases? The self-righteous considers him or herself good and yet distributes as he or she sees fit. (What about our government? Equal distribution will never meet the equality fallen man imagines it will bring.)

If God does not give the same measure of kindness to a creature who lacks it by its own fault or demerit, can God be said to wish evil upon it?
Is God not at liberty to deny that kindness to the creature who has forfeited? 

Will you not reckon someone as generous who distributes charity to a great company, even though he rejects some?
Is he deemed less kind because he gives not a penny to those who refuse to address him for such?

Yet, God is so good, He denies not the best good to those who genuinely seek Him — promising them life and happiness. Is He somehow less kind because He will not distribute the same measure of His kindness to those who despise Him?

And still, He sends His sun and rain on the unjust as well as the just, the evil as well as the good. And yet they still think lightly of the riches of His kindness.

ESSENTIAL TO HIS KINDNESS: JUSTICE

But what about punishment? Where’s God’s kindness in that?

God’s punishment of sin is no violation of His kindness. Psalm 119:68. Lord, you are good and do good.Whatsoever God does is good and only good. God’s judgments in the world are a part of the goodness of His nature. 

This is where the man of Romans 2 is self-deceived. Thinking that he will somehow escape the judgment of God when he practices the same things he condemns in others. 

For if you yourself recognize that it is good and right to condemn such practices, how much more should God who is perfectly good condemn you for the doing the same sort of things.

It is good and right for God to condemn and punish sin according to the measure of the crime.

KINDNESS IN THE LAW AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES

Is it not a part of God’s kindness to make laws and add consequences to the breaking of those laws? 

How are God’s laws a kindness? Remember, they are a kindness in their usefulness. What are those laws useful for? They are useful for deterring evil. 

But laws without consequence are merely advice — not law. As such, there are consequences added to the breaking of God’s laws. Like the laws themselves, these consequences — or threatenings — are designed to further discourage wickedness — just as God’s promises are designed to further encourage goodness.

To fail to punish evil would, therefore, be a lack of goodness on God’s part — which cannot be. 

NOT GOD’S PRIMARY INTENT

But understand. Punishment is never the primary intention of God. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. 

Therefore, God, in His kindness, puts up a barricade to evil by His prohibitions and severe warnings — in order that He might by such warnings prevent sin — and consequently prevent any occasion of severity against His creature.

It’s in His kindness that God sends messengers to warn and persuade men and women to turn from their waywardness and return to the good way for which they were created — to reflect Him and His goodness.

Even when God brandishes His sword of judgment, He wishes for someone to stand in the gap to placate His anger that He might not strike a fatal blow. (Ezekiel 22:30)

And even when that fatal blow is stuck, such judgments preserve God’s goodness. For it is a kindness that God gives so gracious a warning to others that they may not venture upon those same crimes.

Don’t be like Lot’s wife! (Luke 17:32-33)

God would rather have the repentance of the sinner than his punishment.

HELL?

But what about hell? Is hell inconsistent with God’s kindness? Not at all. For how could God be good without it? 

WHAT ABOUT THE TREE?

Okay, Josh. But what about the tree. You know, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that if you eat of it, you shall surely die. What was God’s kindness in putting the tree there? What’s our benefit in the tree?

Well, what of the tree? Was that to be the tiniest of blemishes on God’s kindness? Considering He had given mankind everything else — everything for their possession, everything for their pleasure, everything for their purposes, everything for their dominion — EVERYTHING BUT THE HIGHEST THRONE — the throne of God Himself.

WAS THE TREE GOOD?

But perhaps we should ask: Was the tree a kindness? Was the tree good? Yes.
But what was the tree good for?
(Remember our definition of kindness?) What was the tree useful or beneficial for? 

GOOD FOR FOOD

It was good for food. Eve herself recognized that. But it was not good for her or Adam to physically eat from the tree themselves. The beast could eat from it. But not them.

Moreover, the tree, while not given for them to eat from, it was certainly given for their sustenance.
So long as they refrained from eating of the tree themselves, they’d be sustained in life!

DELIGHT TO THE EYES

The tree was a delight to the eyes. God made the tree beautiful, just as He had made the rest of the trees in the Garden beautiful. 

The tree was also a delight to the eyes in that it was a reminder of the riches of God’s kindness who has so richly lavished us with so much!

The tree was also a beautiful display of God’s sovereignty, God’s authority. 

Mankind was given dominion over all the earth — but how comforting and kind it was knowing that God had not abandoned His throne. He hadn’t left them alone to figure it all out on their own. He was still God and would always be so.

DESIREABLE TO MAKE ONE WISE

And the tree was to desireable to make one wise.
Is that true? 

First, it’s helpful to see that the word desire is also used in Genesis 2:9, in which the Lord God made every tree desirable or a delight to take pleasure in. 

This tree was desirable to make one wise. But how? By refraining from eating from it. This tree served as a beautiful display of what wisdom is.

This tree truly represented the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve would demonstrate such knowledge by delighting in what the tree represented. It was good not to eat and evil for them to eat. 

What a delightful ornament that served to display one’s wisdom — or the lack thereof.

CAN BE LIKE GOD?

Where Eve went wrong was not in recognizing the tree was good for food, or a delight to the eyes, or desirable to make one wise — but in buying into the serpent’s lie that she could be more like God than she already was, when eating would only serve to make her less like God.

But to suggest that the tree was in anyway unkind, would be a distortion of not only God’s character but His purposes for the tree. 

What is sin? Sin is the abuse of God’s kindness. 

DO YOU NOT KNOW?

Which brings us back to our passage in Romans 2:4.

In verse 4, Paul is saying, not only have you missed the point that in your judging of others you condemn yourself, but you also miss the point of God’s kindness toward you. 

God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance — not to the judgment of others.

So, let me ask. Have you actually understood God’s kindness? Have you studied it? Have you thought deeply about it? Or do you simply presume upon it by thinking lightly of it?

Because when you rush into sin, it is evidence that you don’t truly know God’s kindness. O you’ve been the recipient of so much of it. But you don’t know it. 

That’s what Paul hits this man with. Do you not know? You think lightly of God’s kindness, and therefore, you don’t understand it.
Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance, not to indulge more and more in sin. 

GIFT EASILY SET ASIDE

God’s kindness to them is like a gift they easily set aside.
They open the gift. Perhaps they offer a few niceties. But their attention is already on to the next gift, hoping for something better. And if nothing comes along from the gift giver, they’ll simply determine their own gift and seek to get themselves or from some other source.  

Now, I understand that some gifts are given that never receive much thought at all from the giver. They simply give a gift as if it’s a duty, rather than a delight. But that’s not at all how God gives.

God knows exactly what is most useful, most beneficial, for the recipient. And He only gives good gifts.

And yet, how many benefactors despise His generosity by setting aside any meaningful response to His kindness because they have already moved on to something else.

KINDNESS IN REDEMPTION

Which brings us to the greatest act of God’s kindness: the Gospel.
God’s greatest act of kindness is seen in redemption. 

This is a far greater act of kindness than that of creation as beautiful as that act of kindness is. But it’s one thing for God to display His kindness in creating that which is useful out of nothing. It’s an entirely different level of kindness that converts enemies — entirely of grace — turning men and women who were pleased in their own misery — those who would prefer hell before God Himself. 

So much greater is God’s kindness in redemption than in creation — because in creation there was nothing to oppose Him, but in redemption, God offers up the greatest of gifts to those set in rebellion against Him.

And yet, fallen man continues to despise even this greatest act of kindness.

KINDNESS IN AFFLICTIONS

Perhaps you look at your life and see it full only of afflictions and hardships. And you wonder how God could possibly be kind in allowing — or better — purposing such afflictions and trials. 

Well, we can’t draw out the fullness of God’s purposes here. But what I can assure you of is this. Every affliction and suffering is no less a part of God’s kindness toward you. Every one of them is intended to point you to a far greater need — and to His greatest kindness of all — the offer of His Son for your sin.

But get this. Because there’s both a promise and a warning here. Everyone who trusts in God’s Son to cover the penalty for their sin (which we’ll look at more closely next week) is promised life — which is a way of describing the restoration of our communion with God Himself. 

THE PROMISE OF THE GOSPEL: GOD HIMSELF

You see. God is the promise of the gospel. Jesus died on the cross in order to give you God — to restore you to God.
1 Peter 3:18. For Christ, also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…

The gift of salvation is God Himself. That is the greatest kindness anyone could possibly receive — because God is the greatest good — the greatest benefit. For there is nothing good in itself but God alone. 

THE WARNING

But the flipside of this is the severest of warnings. Since sending His only Son is the greatest act of kindness expressible, the rejection of His Son is the highest reproach — the greatest despising of God’s kindness.
O to think lightly of the offer and the cost of salvation held out to you.
O how heavy will the Lord’s vindication be. 

MEANT TO LEAD YOU TO REPENTANCE

God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance — not to a confession of faith — not to religious activity — not to a new standard of outward morality — but to repentance. 

Is your life marked by repentance — by a constant turning toward God. Why constant? Because in this fallen world, in this fallen flesh, our walk is far from perfect. 

So, rather than thinking lightly of these things, we meditate and contemplate, and keep adjusting the course of our hearts ever more toward Christ — until we reach that blessed shoreline on the other side of glory.

Our journey will be marked — the whole of it — by God’s kindness toward us. But what might that kindness look like? Well, different for each of us. 

But to jump ahead to Romans 8:32

He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, with him, graciously give us all things? What are all things? Well, they are all things which Jesus himself partakes of, which in this age, on this side of glory, includes suffering with him.

As children of God, we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Loved ones — that is God’s kindness toward us — granting us to know Christ in his sufferings — that we might rejoice all the more in his glory. 

Don’t despise this great kindness. Lean into it, as you lean in to Christ.

But God shows His love — or we might say — His kindness to us — in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Pray.