Romans 2:1-16 The Gospel - God's provision for righteous judgement

Romans 2:1-16 The Gospel - God's provision for righteous judgement

Nathan Wakefield / General

Letters to the Church / Romans 2:1-16

Theological Proposition/Focus:God's righteous judgment calls us to live authentically in faith, embracing His mercy while recognizing the seriousness of moral accountability. In Romans 2:1-16, Paul discusses God's righteous judgment, emphasizing that everyone will be held accountable for their actions, and underscores the importance of living in accordance with God's law and the universal human tendency to sin. God's judgment is fair and impartial. Everyone, regardless of their background, will face accountability. However, God's kindness should lead us to repentance. True righteousness comes from faith expressed in works.

Christ Focus:In the context of Scripture, Christ embodies the fulfillment of God's righteousness and the ultimate answer to judgment. Through His sacrifice, believers are offered grace and the opportunity to escape the impending judgment, hence bridging the gap between judgment and mercy.

Homiletical Proposition/Application:Christians must understand the seriousness of their actions and the necessity of repentance and faith. While we face judgment for our sins, there is grace available through Christ, encouraging us to live righteously and share this message of hope with others.

Introduction

Image: Failing to recognize a desperate need

I feel I need a better image but this is what I have right now.

In graduate school one of classes that many students find particularly challenging is a course called Ring Theory. In the second semester of my PhD I remember sitting in class and listening to the teacher. The teacher had identified a problem, many students were not turning in their homework. When the teacher asked why several of my classmates told him it was because they could not figure out how to solve the problems. My teacher responded, you are not necessarily supposed to know how to solve every problem. I am purposefully giving you incredibly hard problems and don't expect you to get full results, what I expect is you to have made an effort to solve the problems and I want to see your work. You need to turn in what you have.

Setting the Stage:

Paul's main argument throughout the book of Romans is that God's grace is for everyone. In order to make this argument Paul needs to first show that everyone is in need of God's grace. Specifically, this will come down to an argument that every individual is under, subject to, just condemnation for sin. In chapter 1 Paul spent a lot of time presenting the reality that gentiles are unrighteous and without excuse. In Romans 2 Paul moves from the gentiles to an argument that Jews are in no better position. In the end the statement of Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," will hold ultimate sway but here we are building to that statement.

In order to construct the argument that all are under sin Paul presents a sort of fictional debate partner and proceeds to engage in debate with this partner. Paul's in this debate forms a sort logical syllogism. First Paul argues that one who elevates his righteousness above others is in danger of judgement, because God is a impartial righteous judge and has a moral mandate that is clearly revealed.

Body

Realistic Reflection — We are often quick to judge when we should instead be grateful (1-4).

These verses reveal the human tendency to judge others while ignoring our own faults. This sets the stage for understanding God's impartial judgment. Acknowledging our own failings and repenting is crucial. Emphasize the kindness of God, as shown through Christ, which should lead us to repentance.

We must acknowledge that in addition to death and taxes, sin must be added to the list of sure things (1).

Paul's hypothetical opponent is depending on his personal heritage to save himself.

Paul's tone changes in chapter 2. In chapter 1 Paul used a lot of third person and a lot of plural. Now Paul changes and uses second person singular present tense verbs to reinforce his argument. So who is this person that Paul is addressing? Well, by looking at verses 12, 17, 23, and 25 we can assemble a puzzle to see that the you Paul is addressing is a Jew who possess the Mosaic Law but because of his heritage seems to believe that God will view him differently than others.

Most of us are not Jews but many have a Christian heritage, a generational heritage of Christian morality, and can fall into moral arrogance.

Here is where the text intersects with our lives. Few if any of us have Jewish heritage, we have the Mosaic Law but we do not keep it as the source of blessing. However, we should take this seriously. Many of us have a long Christian heritage, many of us have a generational heritage of Christian morality, and sometimes we all fall guilty of what I would call moral arrogance. We assume that because of our Christian heritage or Christian culture our views, actions, and culture are morally superior and somehow earn us extra favor with God.

Sometimes Christians even slip into the mistake of believing their family history with church is their testimony.

I remember sitting in a service at a Bible believing church and hearing one gentleman get up to give his testimony, that is, how he came to know Jesus. This man stood in front of the church and proclaimed that he had been born to parents attending the church, grew up in the church, had a dad who served in the church and now was himself serving in the church. He was a morally upright individual who lives his life in a manner that reflected the teaching of the church. Where so many others had failed he had stayed in church. He spoke for a solid 15 minutes and never once talked about Jesus dying for his own sin. This man's testimony was all about his Christian heritage and I walked out that day very bothered.

But the reality is that each and every one of us is a sinner.

You see, Paul's argument right here in verse 1 is that every one of us is a sinner. If you think God will be more lenient on you because of your heritage you are going to be sorely mistaken. If you think God will be more lenient on you because you didn't do any of the major sins, you are sorely mistaken. Paul holds no punches in round 1, all are sinners. People like to talk about death and taxes as being sure things but sin belongs on that list too for we each have sinned.

One of God's attributes is truth and that truth demands that God justly deal with sin (2-3).

You will not please God by feigning that you are on God's side in judging others.

Have you ever watched a guilty individual join together with the judge in order to avoid bearing responsibility for their own guilt? In the world this sometimes works. Politicians and fair weather sports fans are two really good examples of this. I'll admit, I am guilty.

I am a Broncos fan but I will admit to you that on occasion I cheer for the Chiefs if I feel like it will keep me out of hot water.

Cheering on God's judgement reveals a naivety that God knows better.

The picture we have in verse 2 is the picture of an individual who is cheering for God's judgement on someone other than themselves acting as if their cheering on God's judgement of others will somehow obfuscate God's judgement of themselves. This is the person driving 80 down the interstate cheering for the officer who pulled someone over going 85.

God sees the heart and judges based on the heart.

What Paul draws out here is that God knows the truth. God sees the human heart, God knows what is done in secret, and God can pierce through to see hypocrisy. God knows the truth. Moreover, God is just and so the individual who thinks they can suppress the truth and hide behind God's judgement of another will find that God is just as capable and in fact will judge them too.

Unlike the State Patrolman clocking cars, God can deal with more than one problem at a time.

To take my speeding ticket just a little further. In real life it might be the case that the officer can only deal with one speeder at a time and so you can get away with speeding as long as there is someone else speeding more but in God's justice there is no hiding, the truth will reveal all.

God's kindness should beckon us to repentance (4).

God is patient, kind, and longsuffering but there is purpose behind that.

In verse 4 Paul deals with the apparent lack of judgement we experience. Paul's fictional opponent argues, well that is all fine and good Paul but look, I have not been judged yet so I think I am all good. God is rich in kindness, forbears with us, and has an incredible level of patience but there is purpose behind God's kindness. God's kindness is intended to lead the sinner into repentance.

The grammar of verse 4 reveals God's purpose, to ἄγει (lead) to μετάνοιάν or repentance, a complete change of mind.

The grammar at the end of verse 4 is interesting. The Greek verb ἄγει (lead) is a present tense verb but in this particular usage the verb is what is called a Conative Present. That is, the verb carries the idea of attempting to do something but that something has not been completed yet <ref>Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 534-535.</ref>. God is seeking to lead the individual into μετάνοιάν or repentance, a complete change of mind.

The idea is that God is giving time for the individual to realize their error and completely turn from it.

Image: A student once tried to cheat by turning in photos of their supposed homework.

I once caught a student cheating on their homework. We were using an online system and the student asked for their grade to be changed because they had done the assignment but supposedly the computer failed to record their answers. They then even produced photographs of their supposed answers. What they didn't realize was that every students was given different problems, I had server logs of every submission, and the photographs contained meta data like where the picture was taken. So I did my homework, collected all the data, figured out which student had actually taken the photographs and then called the student into my office.

My giving the student the opportunity to confess was not because I didn't know what had happened.

We talked through the homework and I asked some specific questions like "are you sure these pictures are of your answers?" The student assured me they were. I then explained that the answers in the photographs were in fact not the right answers (afterall they were answers to different questions than this students had). The student told me they don't know how they managed to miss every question but that they were pictures of their work. Then I proceeded to show the student that I had detailed server logs and knew they were lying to me. I desperately wanted the student to take ownership for their lie earlier, it would have saved me a lot of work, angst, and frankly paperwork but they never did and so the university came crashing down on them.

The student mistook my kindness and patience for ignorance and where they could have walked away with a slap on the wrist they instead walked away from the university.

Generous Grace — Apart from the Gospel, we all face the certainty of God's judgment (5-11).

God will repay each person according to what they have done. This impartial approach is a reminder that all are equal before God. Jesus Christ exemplifies perfect righteousness and calls us to reflect His character in our deeds, pointing us to authentic faith lived out in action.

Apart from grace we go through life acquiring more sin debt (5).

As you go through life you are acquiring more and more reason for God place you under his wrath.

In order to understand verses 5 and 6 we first need to recognize that Paul is speaking to a hypothetical opponent who is arguing that their pedigree, culture, heritage is what earns them God's blessings and salvation. That is, this is written to someone who refuses to accept that all have sinned and fall short of God's standard and are in need of salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ. To this person who goes through life rejecting the free offer of Christ Paul has an important reminder. As you go through life you are acquiring more and more reason for God place you under his wrath.

It might sound like works then save you but that is the wrong direction in the logic, Salvation is by grace through faith.

I want to be completely clear, you cannot earn your salvation. Salvation is only and always by grace through faith. We are saved by accepting the free gift of Christ's righteous payment for our sins. However, there is a place for works, not in acquiring salvation but rather in acquiring wrath. There is a day coming when God will definitively judge all of creation and on that day those who have refused christ's righteousness will find themselves paying an incredible debt.

Logic really matters and it comes into play here. The logical statement is: If you break rule X then you acquire additional wrath. The logic does not say that if you do something good you are saved. That is nowhere in this text!

Paul's reminder here is that the debt of sin does warrant God's wrath.

There is a sharp contrast between those seek God and those who reject truth (6-8).

At it's simplest Paul argues that you cannot earn salvation it is rather a gift of God.

As Paul's argument continues he begins to move onto a contrast between those who are receiving God's wrath and those who receive eternal life. Paul is later going to explain the full requirements for salvation but for now he is willing to just keep it simple. You don't earn salvation, instead it is something that God gifts (gives) to an individual.

The Greek word ἀποδώσει which is translated as will repay in verse 6 does not mean that salvation is earned through human effort.

The Greek word ἀποδώσει which is translated as will repay in verse 6 and added as give in the NIV translation of verse 7 can mean to repay for something earned but there are other ways that the word can be used. For example, the word is used to describe plants yielding crops and I think that may help us understand. It is not that you can by some act bring about your own salvation rather it is that God in an act of divine generosity gives salvation to an individual.

A person's consistent behavior, whether characterized by goodness or sinfulness, reveals the true condition of their heart. Eternal life is not granted as a reward for moral living, as Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that salvation is a gift of grace, not something earned through human effort (e.g., Rom. 6:23; 10:9-10; 11:6; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Good actions are evidence of a transformed and renewed heart, signifying a life redeemed by God and assured of eternal life. Conversely, a pattern of persistent wrongdoing and rejection of the truth indicates an unregenerate heart, destined to experience God's judgment <ref>John A. Witmer, "Romans," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 445.</ref>.

The Bible time and time again describes this consistent outworking of a transformed heart as fruit. The labor of transformation yields ultimately the fruit of eternal life.

But the principle of fruit showing the heart works the other direction too! The "to be" verb in the NIV translation of verse 8 is missing from the Greek. The wrath and anger described in verse 8 are parallel to the eternal life of verse 7. God's wrath and anger are the fruit of a heart that rejects God.

God's grace, available to all, is the source of glory honor and peace (9-11).

The emphasis is that God's grace is available to all. By bringing up again the Jew and the Gentile Paul again emphasizes that God is working to bring all to Salvation. God does not show favorites. However, there is even more to pay attention to here. In verses 7 and 8 the texts emphasizes plural recipients using the word "those." now in nine the words Jew and Greek are singular nouns. Paul's emphasis is on every distinct individual. Each and every person individually needs God's grace. Why does this distinction matter so much? Because Paul is calling attention to an important fact.

No matter who you are, no matter what your pedigree, no matter your heritage, if you don't have God's grace through Jesus Christ, you will find yourself subject to God's wrath! God does not show partiality!

Image: Being a PK and having a dad who was very careful.

Not playing favorites is hard but my dad did a really good job of it. A lot of times pastor's kids have a bad reputation because their father's play favorites or refuse to discipline them. My dad knew this and wanted to make sure that we were not the proto typical pastor's kids.

I remember one time up in the mountains doing a hymn sing a friend of mine from church had a bright idea, in retrospect I probably gave him the idea but just didn't implement it.

My dad asked people to choose their favorite songs and we would sing them. We had a piano and a piano player so it was going pretty well. Well… my friend and I started thumbing through the hymnal and finding the songs with the hardest key signatures and my friend would raise his hand and ask if we could sing number 324 or something like that. Often he had no idea what the song was about or the tune but he still chose it.

Well, the next day I got quite the lecture to which I said "but I didn't do anything wrong!" My dad proceeded to tell me that he would not be raising a typical pastor's kid and so he would not be playing favorites. I was part of it and so I was in trouble.

Here is the reality. God does not play favorites it is only by the grace of God that he does not drop the hammer on us.

Moral Mandate — Each person is accountable for their actions (12-16).

These verses deal with the law and how it relates to both Jews and Gentiles. God's universal standard of righteousness was fulfilled in Christ. We must understand our role in living out God's law through love and faith in Christ, who grants mercy and grace beyond human judgment.

Rules are not the means to salvation (12-13).

Rules do matter but following the rules does not bring you eternal life.

Here is what seems to be the hardest part of faith to balance; rules do matter but following the rules does not bring you eternal life. Paul, in verses 12 and 13, constructs an incredibly important argument. Knowing or not knowing God's law is not the means to Salvation. In fact, this is just the other side of the impartiality coin. Sin is sin, if you know God's law you are responsible for obeying God's law. If you don't know God's law you don't have the same responsibility to the letter of the law but you are still responsible for righteousness. The key point here is that righteousness does not come because you know the law. Righteousness cannot be legislated.

Perfect obedience would result in God's declaration of righteousness but none of us are capable.

Now as an aside, you might be looking at verse 13 and thinking, so doesn't this say I can earn my salvation by obeying the law. I want us to be very careful here. Paul is setting up and argument and so the answer is sort of a yes. In theory if someone was completely obedient Paul says that God will declare them righteous but here is the kicker. Nobody is completely obedient! You cannot earn your salvation and this is not what the verses teach. These verses teach that God's standard is complete obedience.

Rules cannot lead to salvation because nobody can follow the rules and God is impartial in his judgement.

This is the reason rules are not the means to salvation, because nobody can follow all the rules. This is also part of the significance of Jesus. Jesus did follow the law completely. Jesus did obey completely!

But if God is impartial, you might ask, why did he give some people the law and not give it to others? Paul deals with exactly this question next in verses 14-15.

In fact, people should know better (14-15).

The reminder is important. You may not be responsible for all the details of the Mosaic Law, but you do know right from wrong! This is the idea. Someone argues with Paul stating, "well God never personally told me right from wrong." Paul responds, then why do you not do wrong all the time? "Well," they say. "I know that is a bad idea." And so the argument falls flat. The problem we have is not that we don't know how to behave, the problem we have is that no matter how little we know we still know a little and break even the little we do know.

Image: Legal Whackamole

Have you ever played Whac-A-Mole? You know the game where players use a mallet to hit moles that pop up from holes, earning points for each successful hit. Sometimes our legal codes are a lot like Whac-A-Mole. Someone does X stupid thing and so we make a law against X. One of the things that I learned in seminary was how to read a set of church bylaws. When you read the bylaws for a church you learn the church's history. No seriously, you will read bylaw 3.4.2 and think well I wonder what happened in the church in the past that resulted in them writing a bylaw that all decisions to use tie-die in carpeted areas must be run by the church council at least 30 days prior to the event… Don't worry that is not in our bylaws…yet.

Here is the thing, God's Law was not a game of Whac-A-Mole and God's Law for Israel was not the "know it or perish" law that people were making it out to be. Being a Jew and having heard the Law every Sabbath read in the Synagogue would not guarantee the salvation of an individual.

The point Paul is making is the point that each individual is responsible for their own actions and that in every case we are found lacking.

Paul is saving the good news for later, for now he wants us to know we are not ourselves righteous (16).

I'm a sinner, now what? The good news is that judgement is "κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιόν μου διὰ ⸉Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ," (according to my Gospel through Christ Jesus).

Paul ends this section with a reference to God's judgement. What Paul has argued is that no matter who you are, you are accountable for your actions and those actions have fallen short of God's righteous standard. Yet, there is hope! Paul concludes by stating that God will judge even the secret things but that this judgement will occur through Jesus Christ. In fact, in the Greek Paul writes "κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιόν μου διὰ ⸉Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ," (according to my Gospel through Christ Jesus). Paul is going to explain the Good News he is bringing later but for now he alludes to some hope.

We know that hope! What we have failed to do, live the perfect life that God declares as righteous, Jesus did. Jesus obeyed completely and so by inheriting Christ's righteousness we can be declared righteous ourselves. We are not ourselves righteous and we don't have to be because Jesus did that for us.

===MTR: Declare your dependence on the righteousness of Christ.===

Exported from Logos Bible Study, 12:51 PM January 6, 2025.