Book of Romans Study
Lesson #5
By Rev. James May
Romans 2:1- 2:11
Last week we studied about Paul’s explanation to the saints at Rome that mankind has fallen into sin, such terrible sin that God has to judge it eventually. He referred to the sin of sodomy and said that it was not only what caused God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but that God would have to eventually judge all men to rid the world of this terrible sin.
All of this was said in order to let the Roman saints know that Paul was intending to go to Rome and to preach the gospel at the very center of the Empire where all the idolatry was its strongest.
Man had rejected God, refused to worship God, and has even attempted to rid his consciousness of all knowledge of God, but God isn’t so easy to dismiss. God has given us every means necessary to know him and worship him for who he is. We can refuse to hear him and serve him, but in the end there will be a price to pay for our rebellion unless we repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
There will be no acceptable excuses in the Day of Judgment. Even now, evil men look upon the evil deeds of other men and pass judgment upon them. What we need to remember is that there is none good; no not even one. So when we judge another, we condemn ourselves. Why do we condemn ourselves? It’s because we judge others guilty but do the same things. Are we not then guilty as well? Because we are guilty, the judgment of God that is based upon Truth will be directed to those who won’t repent.
Romans 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
If we, being men, think that we can judge the actions of others who commit evil, then it is certain that God can judge in a far greater sense than us.
God’s judgment may begin at times while we are yet on the earth, but the Judgment Day will come only after death.
The Bible tells us that “It is appointed unto every man, once to die, and then to face the judgment”. Those things are as sure as anything can be. No man has escaped this life without dying, and none who are dead have not, and will not escape God’s judgment. This won’t be a court of man where lawyers square off against one another, lies are told to cover the truth and witnesses deceive everybody. There will be only the Judge and the Books where every deed and word of man is recorded. God is the Ultimate Authority and there will be no defense. The charge will be guilty by reason of rejection of Christ and rebellion against Almighty God and His Word.
The only hope is that the accused, which is all of us, has cast himself upon the mercy of the court as he trusts in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. The only defense we have in the court of our God is the Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ. Through Christ alone will we be counted worthy to escape the punishment of the flames of hell. By His blood alone we are set free. Thank God for that wonder-working power of the blood!
God’s Righteous judgment will fall, and it will come down hard on those who are guilty and refused the way of salvation. No sin will enter Heaven, so there is only one destination for every sinner, regardless of the evil deeds that were done. Sin is rebellion against God in even the slightest form.
If you’re guilty of stealing a penny, or envying your fellowman, you’re just as guilty and have the same sentence of death upon you as anyone who is caught in the sin of sodomy; who might be a murderer, or someone practicing abortions or genocide. Every sin means death and all it takes is one of what we might consider being a minor infraction to be counted as a criminal in the high courts of Heaven. It’s not necessarily the evil deed that condemns us, even though those deeds do carry a price.
What truly condemns a soul to eternal hell is the condition of the heart, for out of the heart proceeds every evil deed of man. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. Out of the heart, comes every evil thought. It’s all about the dark heart of every man who refuses to allow the Light of the Gospel to enter in.
God will judge the heart of every man in comparing him to the Truth. Only the Truth can make you free. That which is not of the Truth shall be judged as sin worthy of eternal punishment. End of Story!
Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Will it matter if you are Jew or Gentile, Greek or Roman, or whatever in God’s court?
In our courts there is much inequality. A rich man can keep a clean record and never have to pay for his crimes if he can afford to hire an unscrupulous or “high powered” lawyer. In the same court a poor man, at least in America, has a Public Defender, but I wouldn’t count on them to do much for you other than make sure the proceedings are legal. They don’t get paid enough to make them want to really work hard for you. The Public Defenders I have seen are mostly there as matters of procedure; not for a real chance at defense in a trial. A poor man can find himself in prison for many years over offenses that a rich man will never have to answer for. Even in the best court system in the world, money talks louder than words, and equality is only a term that counts when you can afford to pay for it.
But in God’s court, every man is the same and all will answer for their own hearts. No exceptions, ever!
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Here’s Paul’s warning to those who would say that there will be no judgment just because it doesn’t come quickly.
A lot of people believe that because they’ve gotten away with their sin for a long time that God doesn’t really care and there will never be a price to pay for what they’ve done. They look upon the riches of the goodness of God and say, “A Good God won’t punish a soul in hell forever. I won’t have to worry about the judgment.” Others say, “Well, sin has been going on for thousands of years, and I have been living my way for all my life, and God hasn’t done anything about it, so why should I worry now?”
Other people have been heard to say, “Well, if God is so Good, then why is there even sin in the earth? Why does he allow men like Hitler and Stalin to kill so many people? Why doesn’t he stop all the sadness, sickness and suffering in the earth? If God is real, why doesn’t he stop it all and make things right? If there is a God, he must be uncaring and unconcerned to just let so many tragic things happen to people. What kind of God is that?”
Because God is Good; because he is longsuffering, giving man every opportunity to go to God in repentance; because God doesn’t strike every sinner with a bolt of lightning and cast them immediately into hell, people doubt God’s reality.
What these folks fail to see is that the only reason God doesn’t smite sinners immediately, and the only reason he allows men to continue to do evil deeds, and the only reason he doesn’t bring fire down immediately on those who commit terrible crimes, is because of two things: 1) God’s Love for all men, and 2) God’s desire to see all men come to him in repentance. Since that’s God’s ultimate goal, to save every soul; he will wait, he will endure the heartache, he will endure the ridicule, he will even endure the unbelief; but there will come that point when God will say, “That’s enough! And in a moment of time His judgment will fall because the Bible says that God’s Spirit will not always strive, or work toward bringing men back to the way salvation.
Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Because men refuse to repent of sin; and they ever harden their hearts against hearing and obeying the gospel; and because they just keep compounding the sin in their lives, building a huge sin account in the bank of life, there is going to be a huge price to pay; a price that will leave them in the pits of hell forever and ever!
On that great Judgment Day, the Goodness, Mercy and Love of God will be set aside as His Holiness, Righteousness and Justice must prevail against those who spurned his goodness, mercy and love. Instead, there will only be the wrath of God poured out upon every sinner that stands before the bar and is pronounced guilty and sentenced to eternal death.
And the Righteous Judge, in his wrath, will pronounce the sentence! “Let them be cast into hell, where there will be eternal crying and gnashing of teeth in pain and agony, and there let them be forgotten forever.”
And the sentence will be immediately carried out! The picture here is that there is an entrance to the flames of hell that are right at the very throne of God in Heaven. Man will come so close, only to be cast aside forever!
Romans 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
The judgment comes according to the condition of the individual heart! One man at a time; or one woman at a time; one-by-one will hear the verdict of the King of Kings. The judgment is passed; because the sinner is a sinner, and it’s done!
Romans 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:
What are the sentences meted forth at the Judgment of God?
1) Those who have lived in faith, having patience to wait for the Promise of the Father, and have trusted in the Blood of Jesus; and have strived to live according God’s Word, to seek glory only in Jesus, and to obtain immortality through faith in the finished work of Jesus upon the Cross – THEY WILL BE GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE!
Romans 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
2) Those who have fought against God, refused to believe and obey the Truth of God’s Word, have wrestled with the idea of a Virgin-born Savior, and have never found the way of peace through Christ – THEY WILL FACE GOD’S WRATH AND INDIGNATION!
Romans 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Paul, speaking to the saints at Rome says that all of these things will happen and that all men, both Jew and Gentile will face the Judgment of God. The Jew has no preferential treatment; and the Gentile is no longer an “innocent bystander”!
Romans 2:10 But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Do we want the Righteous Judge to make us feel very special, and very loved at the Judgment? As equally as God will smite the sinner with his wrath, whether Jew or Gentile; he will also pour out his blessings of glory, honor and peace to every man that lives a life that his holy and sanctified unto the Lord’s service, no matter where they are from.
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
There is the ultimate justice of Almighty God. Whether Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, prisoner or free; if a man or woman seeks to find the way of salvation and serves the Lord, then God’s blessings await. God treats all men the same!
The phrase “respect of persons” means “partiality”, and God is not the least bit partial to anyone, neither Jew nor Gentile, saint or sinner, when it comes to pronouncing judgment.
He will judge righteous judgment; he will judge people as they ought to be judged; according to their character and what they truly deserve; and not swayed by their character, or by partiality. It is the work of His perfect love for all men.
The meaning here demands that this promise and statement should be limited solely to his dealing with people as their judge. We cannot take it out of context and apply it anywhere, and in any way we wish.
It does not mean that God is obligated by impartiality to make all his creatures equal in talent, health, wealth, or privilege.
It does not imply that, as a sovereign Creator, he may not make a difference in our endowments, such as size, intelligence, talents, good looks, natural build of our bodies, strength, or anything else he graces us with.
It does not imply that he may not bestow his favors where he pleases, even though all men are sinners, coming short of God’s glory.
It also doesn’t mean that he can’t make us different in our nature, thinking, character, calling or gifts of the Spirit.
All these are actually done, not out of any respect to their persons, to their rank, function, or wealth, but according to his own sovereign good pleasure.
We are all different in many ways, and as the French would say, “Vive la difference” – or “long live the difference”.
What a world this would be if we all were exactly alike in every way. No male or female, short or tall, thin or not so thin, blonde, brunette, red head – just 7 billion or more carbon copies of one another.
Thank God, he does do things differently for each of us sometimes. Not showing partiality, but using his best judgment to make each of us the best we can be.
Since God knows each of us better than we know ourselves, and he alone is able to make perfect choices and decisions for us, and he alone knows our hearts and minds and what drives us, motivates us and keeps us going; then it stands to reason that God alone should have the sovereign power and will to give us each what we need, even though its different from what others might need.
Nearly the entire Book of Ephesians speaks of God’s sovereign will in what he does for his people. He is God and he can do as he wills, but he will not negate his own Word that cannot fail.
This difference in what God does for each of us is not having partiality, but simply knowing what’s best for each one of us, and having the power to do what’s best.
In the end, every man should tremble at the prospect of falling into the hands of a just God, who will treat him just as he deserves. We all deserve only the eternal punishment. But thank God, through Jesus Christ and his shed blood, there is a way of escape.
Anyone who doesn’t know Jesus as Savior and Lord should be running to God and crying out for mercy! You may come to church; maybe even for a long time, but is Jesus living in you? Have you asked him to come in and repented of your sin?
Jesus is ever listening for someone to cry out in repentance. There is hope for the guilty, but it’s only found in Christ!
