It just didn’t seem right or fair. The evidence of guilt was overwhelming. The witnesses had poured in one after another recounting firsthand of destructive and damaging conversations and actions. Fingerprints were found everywhere that clearly connected the person standing before the judge to what he was being accused of. There was no denying it! The judge picked up his gavel and everyone anticipated what seemed to be sure to come, the verdict of “Guilty!” But as the gavel fell, the judge declared the accused, “Not guilty!” It seemed outrageous! How could this be? It just didn’t’ seem fair or right. Yet, that is the scene that will repeatedly take place on Judgment Day, that final day of time, when all people will appear before Jesus as their judge, and Jesus will determine whether a person spends life eternal with him or separated from him. How can Jesus declare guilty sinners not guilty? That just doesn’t seem right or fair. But it is actually because of God’s righteousness that guilty sinners are declared not guilty on Judgment Day. How can that be? The words of Romans 2 are going to help us answer that question this morning as we consider Judgement Day and what will take place for us and all others as we stand before Jesus for judgment.
There are some people that might look at Judgment Day and attempt to find confidence by looking at themselves and then looking at other people. Human nature certainly wants to think that we’re not really that bad, and certainly not bad enough to deserve to be punished by God with an eternity in hell. To convince themselves that they’re not really so bad, where do people look? People usually look to others and compare themselves. That’s actually what Paul was anticipating as he began writing Romans 2. You see in Romans chapter one he had just gotten done describing those who openly reject God and live lives that thumb nose at God. They do things that even those who are not Christians wouldn’t do, things that they know are contrary to God’s will and still do them. Now, it might be easy for people to look at such evil and wicked people and think, “Well at least I’m not like that. I try to do the right things. I try to be an honest, hardworking, helpful and nice person. I take care of my kids, love my spouse, and treat people well. That’s got to count for something in God’s sight, right?” While all of that may be good for this life, they’re using the wrong standard to determine if they’re good enough for eternal life in heaven. They’re comparing themselves to others. And let’s face it, you can always find someone that is worse than you. But that’s not the standard that God uses for heaven.
In Romans 2 Paul says, “Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth” (Romans 2:2). And a couple of verses later he will write, “For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11). And then at the end of this section he says about Judgment Day, “When God judges people’s secrets” (Romans 2:16). The standard for entrance into heaven is God’s truth, not ours. It is an unwavering truth that does not allow for partiality or favoritism. Jesus made it clear what God requires for heaven when he said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). There’s the true standard. God requires not just being better than others, or trying to do your best. No. God requires perfect obedience of his will as outlined in the Bible. Obedience not just when people are looking, but also when they’re not, when only God can see and know the motives behind what you did.
But what about the person who is unaware of that standard? What about a person who has never read the Bible? First, that does not change the standard. It’s like getting pulled over by a police officer for speeding. When I explain to him that I was not aware that the speed limit was 35 mph that is not going to stop him from giving me a ticket for having gone 55 mph. Whether or not I’m aware of the speed limit, I’m going to be held accountable for having broken the law. While people may not be fully aware of how often or how much they are sinning, that does not mean that God will not hold them accountable for their sin. Second, Paul reminds us in verses 14 and 15 that all people have a natural sense that they have done things that God does not want them to do. Whether they’ve read the Bible or not, God has put his law, a line, into every human heart that they are not to cross. Their conscience reminds them when they have crossed that line, that they will be held accountable before God for having sinned against him.
The situation looks pretty hopeless for sinners on Judgment Day. Paul asks in verse 3, “Do you think that you will escape God’s judgment?” (Romans 2:3). If we use God’s true standard of perfection, no matter who you are or how good you have been we must all answer, “No. I can’t get out of this on my own.” So what are we supposed to do? Paul tells us, “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Repent. Repentance is a turning. God calls us to turn, turn away from ourselves and turn towards Jesus. What do you see when you look at Jesus?
We find someone who was faithful to God in public and in secret. We find someone who not only did the right things, but always did them for the right reasons. We find someone who never bent under public opinion, who never wavered from doing what God asked of him even when it resulted in rejection, suffering and even death. We watch Jesus go to the cross, repeatedly declared innocent of all wrong-doing, and yet willing to suffer the punishment that our sins require. We hear Jesus cry out from hell, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus suffers the wrath of God that every single sin requires, eternal separation and abandonment from God and his blessings. Why? Jesus suffers hell so that sinners no longer need to. Jesus has met the standard for heaven for us. Through faith Jesus’ perfect faithfulness is handed to us as our very own. Through faith Jesus’ payment of sin is handed to us as our very own. Through faith in Jesus we possess everything that we need to be justified on Judgment Day, to be declared, “Not guilty!”
Sadly, there are those who refuse to see a need for what Jesus offers through faith. Paul puts it this way, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). It’s kind of an interesting picture that Paul uses here. That person who refuses to repent and rejects Christ’s perfection and payment for their sins is “storing up wrath.” You might picture it like a person who maxes out their credit card, buying all these things because they don’t have to pay for them, that is, until the next month when they get the credit card bill. Although they didn’t have to pay for their purchases when they were first made, they are not required to do so.
In this world it might appear to us that God is not very righteous. People might seem to get away with things that we know to be wrong. We might even begin to wonder, “Doesn’t God care?” On Judgment Day God’s “righteous judgment will be revealed.” God does not make hollow promises. God’s righteousness requires payment for sin. On Judgment Day the bill for sin comes due. While people may have thought that they were “getting away” with their sin, they were actually just “storing up” payment. And for those who have rejected Christ’s payment through unbelief, they must pay themselves. That’s scary because the payment for sin is an eternity of hell. That’s scary, but by God’s grace that’s not us.
For us, Judgment Day is something that we can face without fear because God is righteous. God’s righteousness requires God to do what he has promised. And remember what God has promised to you. In 1 John 1:9 we hear, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). On Judgment Day God cannot demand payment from us for our sin. Jesus has already paid for our sin. On Judgment Day God’s righteousness requires Jesus to do what he has promised to his people. He has no other choice but to declare sinners who have trusted in Christ for the payment of their sins, “Not guilty.” God’s righteousness requires him to say to us, who have received Jesus’ faithfulness, “Well done, good and faithful servant…Come, you who blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:23, 34).
There is nothing unfair or uncertain about Judgment Day. God’s righteousness will be revealed, declaring, “Guilty!” those who by their stubborn unbelief have rejected the payment Jesus made for their sin, and declaring, “Not guilty!” those who through faith have receive Christ’s payment for their sins as our very own. For us, Judgment Day will not be us hearing something new, but will simply be us hearing again, what God has repeatedly said to us through his Word and Sacraments, “Not guilty! Your sins are forgiven! You are mine!” Amen.
