Have You Been Rescued From The Wrath Of God? Series

Have You Been Rescued from the Wrath of God?

The Book of Romans

Romans 2:1-11

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - March 20, 2016

(Revised September 4, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Tonight, in Romans 2 we will explore how to be rescued from the wrath of God. But in order to do that, we need to go back to the launching point of Paul's great letter to the Romans.

*Some of us here are old enough to remember the big-news excitement of our space program from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s: John Glenn orbiting the earth, Neil Armstrong walking on the moon for the first time. All of those great space missions were launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

*That kind of excitement was rekindled last May 30th when the Crew Dragon Endeavour was launched into orbit. It was the first manned spaceflight from the United States since July 2011, and it was wonderful to watch. (1)

*Launches can be very important. And the launching point for Paul's letter to the Romans has to be Romans 1:15-18. There the Apostle declared:

15. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

17. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith.''

18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

*Then Paul went into great detail about the foolishness and wickedness that come from rejecting God. For example, in Romans 1:21-22, Paul said:

21. because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

22. Professing to be wise, they became fools.

*And in Romans 1:29-32, Paul said those ungodly people were:

29. being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,

30. backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31. undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;

32. who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

*There Paul focused mainly on the godless people of the Roman Empire. Now here in chapter 2, Paul turned his attention to religious people, and he was firstly addressing the Jews.

*William Barclay explained that in chapter 1, "Paul had painted a terrible, grim picture of the idol-worshiping people of the Roman Empire. Those people were under the condemnation of God, and the Jews thoroughly agreed with every word of that condemnation. But they never dreamed that they were under the same condemnation.

*God might be the judge of the pagans, but He was the special protector of the Jews. But here, Paul forcefully pointed out that Jews were just as much sinners as Gentiles, and that when the Jews condemned the Gentiles, they were was also condemning themselves. (2)

*Now, we must realize that Paul's warning was not just for the Jews who were trying to keep God's law. His warning is also for anyone who tries to live a moral life. I say that because the list of serious sins in Romans 1 can tempt people to have spiritual pride and self-righteousness.

*Paul wants us to know that everyone, from the best to the worst is in danger of the wrath of God. But thank the Lord, the Bible shows us how to be rescued from God's wrath! Please think about this as we read Romans 2:1-11.

MESSAGE:

*Hebrews 2:3 gives us the most important question in life: "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him."

*This verse is referring to the great salvation we can have through the cross of Jesus Christ. And if you have received the risen Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have been rescued from the wrath of God. Praise the Lord!

*Tonight's Scripture helps us understand what this means, because it highlights four spiritual changes people go through when they are rescued from the wrath of God.

1. THE FIRST IS WE RECOGNIZE OUR SINFULNESS.

*This is Paul's hard lesson for us in vs. 1-3:

1. Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.