ROMANS 2:11For God does not show favoritism.12All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
I want to talk to you about a myth that some Christians have today. We think that if we attend church as we should, if we live a fairly moral life and be "religious" then we think that it will in some way that will commend us to God, and make us essentially better in God’s eyes. The text tells us that ALL sin and ALL who sin will be judged the same. None of us will get "preferential" treatment of the Day of Judgement because we "had an appearance of religion" that those in the world or other religions don’t have. So none of us have a reason to think that we’re better than another.
Look in vs 6 God "will give to each person according to what he has done." He’s telling us ’hey... you religious people sin the same sins as irreligious people’, but both you and irreligious people are going to face the same judgement’. We read in verse 11 that God is no respecter of persons, no one will get off with not being judged - religious or irreligious, good or bad, clean or dirty. Everyone will be judged, and all will face the same judgement.
We need to know and understand the basis on which God will judge all sinners, irrespective of whether or not they are religious. Just as any of the judges we have have here or anywhere in the world, judges have to judge according to the letter of the law of that land, that principality and sovereign nation, God will do exactly the same. God will judge all sinners who sin the same sins with the same law. Now I know that our judges here in America don’t always feel that they have to follow the law...but I assure you, God WILL! After all, He wrote it!
Have you ever thought about the day when you stand before God and He judges you according to His law? What a sobering question. Revelation 20 tells us of that event. John was given prophetic gift to see it, and we read his account of what it will be like. John says: ’I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire’.
Amos 4:12: ’Therefore, thus will I do unto thee: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God’. That’s why we are all here tonight....we need to prepare to meet our God....cause we ALL have that appointment. Christian or Muslim, believer or atheiest, everyone will be judged by God. We all need to have an opportunity to prepare for that day, the day when you will stand before God and be judged by His law.
What is His law? That’s a pretty important thing to know if we are to be prepared. Well, He declares clearly in His word, Exodus 20. You know it as the Ten Commandments. They are: 1) Do not have other gods before Him, (like $$$) He is the Living God, Jehovah - there is only one God and He is a jealous God 2) You are not to make any graven images, no idols, don’t worship pieces of wood or stone, don’t worship a false god, or a picture, or an icon, because God is invisible, He is spirit, and He is the only true God to be worshipped, and you can’t make an image of Him. 3) Do not take the Lord’s name in vain, that’s not just swearing, that’s pretending that you’re religious, or that you’re Christian and really deep down you’re not, and your life betrays that fact. 4) Remember the Sabbath day, there’s a rest principle in our lives, and a rest before God. 5) Honour your father and your mother, and then you’ll have a long life, the law says. 6) Don’t kill. 7) Don’t commit adultery. 8) Don’t steal. 9) Don’t lie. 10) Don’t covet, want something, lust after something that belongs to another.
Simply answered, that’s what God’s law is - that is the standard by which you will be judged. Of course we will be REWARDED by a different standard...but that’s another sermon. Now here’s another question: what will happen to those who don’t have this law? You see, there are places in our world, and they don’t have a Bible, they don’t have a preacher, they don’t have even churches, they don’t have missionaries. They have never heard the name of Christ, and they certainly do not know the Ten Commandments - what will happen to them? Then another question related to that is: what about people who do have the Ten Commandments, but don’t want them, don’t feel inclined to obey them?
What about people who may never hear the Ten Commandments or the Gospel? Well, our text says they will still be judged according to God’s law. Now right away you say: ’That’s not fair! How can God judge them with something they’ve never heard about, or don’t even know they have to live up to?’. Paul tells us in verse 14 that in doing by nature the things required by the law, in other words by not murdering because they know it’s wrong to murder, by not stealing because they know it’s wrong to steal, by not committing adultery because they know faithfulness is what should be desired, by honouring their parents they reveal that they are - verse 14 - a law for themselves.
Look at verse 15. It says the requirements of the law are written on their hearts. They may not have the Ten Commandments, but Paul says everyone everywhere has an actual instinct in their heart, which is the requirements of God’s law that He has put in our heart. Our text calls it a conscience. That’s the ability to know right from wrong that we are ALL born with. So, what about people who have never had the Bible? Here’s your answer: they will perish if they have been disobedient to this law, which we now know that they have.
So, what about people who do have the Ten Commandments, but don’t want them, don’t feel inclined to obey them?
I will refer to our text. ALL will be judged by the same standard and letter of God’s law. Just because you have been a christian for 20 yrs does not give you any special consideration in this particular judgement and just because you don’t believe in God doesn’t mean you will escape this judgement. All will be judged according to his works......and YOU have the Bible. YOU know what you should be doing, and ignorance of the law will absolutely NOT be a defense for anyone, believer or non-believer.
There’s a story about a drunk who was waddling home as he was accustomed to do every night, and as he approached his front door his little dog, his best friend, was sitting there waiting on him as usual. He came in through the door and staggered into his bed, and passed out. In the middle of the night the dog started barking. The man, not wanting to miss his night’s sleep, got up and shouted at the dog, lifted a chair and threw it at the dog, and the dog shut up. When the man woke up in the morning, half sober, he saw that his house had been burgled, everything he owned had been taken, and all that was left was a broken chair and a dead dog. His best friend was trying to warn him, but he silenced him, and the silencing of him was tragic.
Jesus is your best friend. He tries to warn you, tries to advise you. Sometimes we just have other things to do or we don’t want to be disturbed like the man in this story. Don’t silence the Holy Spirit in your life, listen to Him! Look in vs 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. James 1:22 says that if we just come to church and hear the word yet not be doers of the word, then we are just decieving ourselves!
So you can doctor the outside with religion, with rites, practices, sacraments; but Jesus has come to us and He has revealed the complete law of God - what is that? That it’s not just about killing someone and committing adultery that in God’s eyes is wrong, but Jesus says that if you have a lustful thought in your mind it’s adultery, if you have a hateful feeling in your heart it’s murder! The whole New Testament tells us that if we only break one of God’s laws, it’s like breaking the spoke of a wheel, we have broken the whole thing! We’re lawbreakers!
When God sees into your heart, what does He see? I don’t care how moral you think you are, because I know what’s in my heart. I know what’s often in my head, and God can see it, and God is going to judge it if you haven’t repented of those things which are not of God. The secrets that are hidden in men’s hearts, one day those private sins are going to become open scandals!
Sometimes when you preach like I’m preaching people say: ’Are you trying to make me feel guilty by quoting these Ten Commandments?’. Are you trying to use God’s Law against me? You see if that’s your reaction, well, I say to you: doesn’t the Bible say don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery? If you feel guilty when you hear that, why do you think you feel guilty? Only that you lie, you steal, you lust: because you’re guilty, that’s why you feel guilty!
God’s word says in the Psalms: ’If the Lord should mark iniquities’, and He does mark our iniquities, ’O Lord, who should stand in Your sight?’. I’ll tell you, there’s not one of us here, or anybody else in the world who could stand before God because they had never committed a sin. There is no difference between religious people and irreligious people, all of us are lawbreakers, all of us are going to be judged by the same standard, all of us are going to suffer the same penalty. There is great news, though. 1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: Praise God! If I ask for forgiveness, Satan may try to accuse me all he wants, but I have an advocate in Christ Jesus! Glory!
Judgement is coming. Whether you don’t know God’s law, it’s coming. Whether you don’t want to know God’s law, it’s coming. Whether you try to keep it and can’t, it’s coming. Do you know what the need is? Sinners need to settle out of court. There is an option tonight, and it’s called grace. ’On what grounds can I have forgiveness, can I have pardon?’ - it’s not on the grounds of law now, it’s not on the grounds of how good you can get, it’s not on the grounds of anything to do with you or your morality, it’s on the grounds of Calvary where Jesus came, God’s Son, the perfect Man, and died on the cross, bearing your shame. He was deemed a lawbreaker, so that lawbreakers might be pardoned! Galatians 3: ’Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:
How about you? What is your spiritual condition like? If you repent of your sin, and accept it, you will be saved. If you hold on to your sin and your self-righteousness, and reject it, you will be lost. The long arm of the law touches all of us, whoever we are - but may the grace of the God of Calvary envelop every single sinner in this place that you might be sheltered from the judgement of God
Will you embrace Christ tonight? Will you repent of your sins and be washed by the precious blood of Jesus?
