Alba 7-11-2021
JUDGMENT ACCORDING TO TRUTH
Romans 2:1-11
Someone once quipped that the definition of a jury is: “Twelve people chosen to decide who has the best lawyer.” With the current state of litigation in America, it’s no wonder that people are openly skeptical about truth and justice in our courts of law.
Indeed, the problem with justice is that it no longer appears to be fairly applied. Some, depending on their background, affluence or even their political party, seem to receive better or worse treatment.
There is coming a day, however, when things will be different—radically different. It is a day Paul refers to in Romans chapter two when God will judge mankind.
There will be no need for lawyers; God does not need to listen to crooked defense strategies. There will be no need for remembering what actually happened; God is omniscient and omnipresent.
He knows what happened better than we do. Indeed He was there when the deeds were done. In fact, He knows what lies in the heart of every person. He knows the thoughts and intents of us all.
That's why the Lord uses the apostle Paul to tell us in Romans 2:1-11
the following:
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. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.
3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;
8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
God’s judgment will take place. It will include the hidden places of our lives. You know how you act when have unexpected company? When you see the car pull up in the driveway, its “Quick, pick up the…
There's a flurry of activity as papers are shuffled, shoes stuffed away, items picked up. “Just a minute!” Someone is yelling and waving to kids to pick up dog bones, socks, etc.
“Hello!” Big smile. House looks great…just don't open closet or it will be Fibber McGee all over again.
You know, when God judges us it won’t be like the friend coming for a visit. God will inspect all the recesses of our heart. No hidden compartments. All will be exposed. Even the hypocrisy we have tried to hide.
Of course, we can look at that list of sins in chapter one and, for the most part, feel that it surely doesn't describe us! It is all those other people, those sinners, those reprobates. As the Pharisee prayed, we also say, “I'm glad I'm not like those people!”
But wait. Here in chapter two we are reminded that we also are sinners. We also need Jesus. He went to that cross to pay for our sins, not just those other “terrible” people.
The scripture here is saying, “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things."
The truth is we often judge others unfairly. We don’t know all their circumstances, nor their motives. Only God, who is aware of all the facts, is able to judge people righteously.
John Wesley told of a man he had little respect for because he considered him to be miserly and covetous. One day when this person contributed only a small gift to a worthy charity, Wesley openly criticized him.
After the incident, the man went to Wesley privately and told him he had been living on parsnips and water for several weeks. He explained that before his conversion, he had run up many bills.
Now, by skimping on everything and buying nothing for himself he was paying off his creditors one by one. “Christ has made me an honest man,” he said, “and so with all these debts to pay, I can give only a few offerings above my tithe.
“I must settle up with my worldly neighbors and show them what the grace of God can do in the heart of a man who was once dishonest.” A contrite Wesley then apologized to the man and asked his forgiveness.
When we judge the sins of other people, we can be deluded into thinking that we are good, good enough to earn our way into heaven.
We might think, "Well, I try to keep the Ten Commandments, and I've never murdered anybody. I know that I'm better than those hypocrites over there! And I'm a whole lot better than most people.”
The problem is, we rationalize our sins. One of the most common ways we do that is to rename our sins. For example, one might say, “Other people lie – I just stretch the truth.
“Other people steal – I just borrow something that doesn’t belong to me – without asking. Other people have an anger problem – I’m just letting off a little steam. Other people have prejudices – I have convictions.”
We see other people and make judgments about them. But judging other people by outward appearance is very foolish.
Harry Ironside told a story that reminds us of this truth. It happened when a Bishop named Potter was sailing for Europe on one of the great ocean liners.
When he got on board, Potter found out that another passenger was supposed to share the cabin with him. After going to see his room, Potter went upstairs and asked if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe.
He said he didn't ordinarily do that, but he had been to his cabin and didn't like the looks of the man who was staying with him. "He doesn't look trustworthy," the Bishop said.
The crewman replied, "That's all right, Bishop. The other man has already left his valuables up here for the same reason."
As the old saying goes: “When you point your finger at somebody else, the other three are pointing back at you.” We are often too quick to condemn in others what we excuse in ourselves.
We see the specks in others and overlook the planks in ourselves. But in contrast to the way we judge, God’s judgment is truthful and righteous and right.
God’s judgment is according to the truth and in accordance with the facts. God’s judgment is not based on incomplete, inaccurate, or circumstantial evidence, like our judgment often is.
His judgment shows no bias or favoritism. The consequences of this judgment are eternal, whether it be either eternal reward or punishment.
Paul asks a rhetorical question: “Do you think you will escape God’s judgment?” The answer is obviously “No.” And yet how often do people think they will escape God’s judgment?
Many have the “It won’t happen to me,” mindset. Or they think “Others will get caught, but I won’t”.
These verses tell us that our tendency to judge others doesn’t insulate us from being judged. In fact it actually increases our own condemnation.
When I judge others, I am admitting that I understand that God is holy and that He has established certain standards for the way we are to live as His people.
By judging others I am acknowledging that there is such a thing as sin, and that those who sin are deserving of God’s wrath.
And with that acknowledgment I am also admitting that I am without excuse for my own sin because I can’t somehow claim ignorance of God and His ways. So there is certainly a sense that when I condemn others I am actually condemning myself.
We have a tendency to want God to be hard on others, especially those outside the body of Christ, solely on the basis of His justice.
At the same time, we want God to treat us based on His kindness and not on His justice. But this scripture makes it clear God doesn’t work like that. God will treat us all the same.
Although there will come a day when those who have not responded to the gospel by obedient faith in Jesus will face God’s justice that is no longer tempered by His kindness. But that is not true right now.
God is currently extending His kindness to all people, because it is His desire that His kindness will lead to repentance.
Paul points out that judgmental attitudes stand in stark contrast to the goodness of God. God had shown abundant kindness and patience to all people. God’s judgment is only postponed, not overlooked.
God’s patience with us doesn’t mean He is pleased with us, or doesn't care what we do. God’s patience with us means He is willing to give us more time to come to our senses.
God waits because He wants us to repent and turn to Him. In the end, it is not God’s judgment that leads people to repentance, rather it is the goodness and kindness of God that leads to repentance.
God is tolerant and patient. Otherwise, we couldn’t be saved. And otherwise, we’d be in trouble most of the time. If God was like us He wouldn’t put up with our stupidity and stupid mistakes, but He is patient and tolerant.
What we learn here is that it is not the badness of man, but rather the goodness of God, that leads to repentance. Merely recognizing my own sin and feeling guilty about it won’t bring repentance by itself.
It is only when I recognize the kindness and forbearance and patience of God that I am brought to a place of repentance.
God has a right to judge us, and we will appear before His judgment seat. Thankfully, God has provided a way of salvation through Jesus. And those of us who believe in Him, and have devoted ourselves to Him, eagerly await His return.
But if we allow ourselves to have self-righteous attitudes, we become blind to our own sin and need to repent. So Paul is very direct with his message to us here. Not one of us is really pure.
Someone gave this illustration: If a fairly good person has followed most of the 10 Commandments, they might only be found 20% guilty. That means they are 80% innocent. That is a passing grade, and this person would expect to be rewarded.
But remember, in God's court anything short of 100% innocent is a fail. The good news is that with Jesus as Savior and advocate, His grace covers all transgressions.
It is not that Jesus fills up the other 20%. He takes care of 100% of our need to be fit for God's kingdom. It is only by His grace that any person can be 100% pure.
We need God's approval and it doesn't matter if people around us approve of us or not. What is more important than what others think is making sure we truly belong to Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to earth to live as a perfect human being among us, to die for our sins, and to rise from death so that we can have eternal life. His shed blood purifies us from our sin. Evil doesn't win. Jesus does.
There is only one way we can become righteous before God – and it is not making someone else look less righteous in comparison.
It is absolutely clear that all people, you and I included, have fallen short of God’s glory and sinned. All of us who are in that boat can only become righteous before God by what He has done for us in Jesus.
When we really begin to understand the limitless riches of God’s kindness, forbearance and patience, then repentance is always the natural response to knowing God like that.
Because His kindness is so overwhelming and so undeserved, repentance is the only response that makes any sense at all.
What we need to do is take an honest look at our life and see whether it is characterized by repentance. If it is, then we can be confident that our relationship with God is a healthy one.
If we are keeping our focus on our own sin rather than the sin of others and confessing that sin to God and repenting of that sin by seeing it from God’s perspective, then we can be assured that we have a healthy understanding of who God is.
God paid the highest price to set us free from sin and death. The Heavenly Father sent His precious Son to die on the cross to ransom us.
Jesus made Himself a sacrificial offering for our sins! It is because of the cross that all people who turn to Jesus can be saved from the wrath and judgment of God that we all deserve. That is good news.
CONCLUSION:
One day a company inspection was taking place at the Redstone Arsenal, the U.S. Army’s guided missile school in Huntsville, Alabama.
The inspection was being conducted by a full colonel. The inspection was going smoothly until the colonel came to a certain soldier.
The colonel stopped, looked the soldier up and down, and snapped: “Button that pocket, trooper.” The rattled soldier stammered, “Right now, sir?”
“Of course, right now,” barked the colonel. The soldier slowly and carefully reached out and buttoned the flap on the colonel’s shirt pocket.
Isn’t it amazing, how for some reason that is peculiar to our human nature, it is always easier to see the unbuttoned pockets of others than it is to see our own?
Splinters in other people’s eyes seem to be more obvious than planks in our own eyes.
That is why God is the only one who is worthy and able to be the righteous judge. Thank God for His love and mercy to us in Jesus.
