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One of the great complaints today is that criminals and politicians are getting away with lying, cheating, and even murder without consequences. Murderers and thugs are released without bail. Depending on which side of the aisle you’re on, there is little or no accountability. Our justice system is flawed and deeply corrupt. But of one thing we can be assured; God’s justice system is flawless and that’s what Paul is going to teach us this morning in Romans 2:5-16.
Before we plunge into this great passage, the Bible is crystal clear that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly says, “For by grace are you saved by faith, and that no of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” No good deeds, sincere efforts, or works of any kind will get you into heaven. Paul spends much of Romans 3-8 riveting into our hearts the truth that God accepts us only through Christ and not by our works. Romans 8:1 assures us, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
But when it comes to God judging human beings, it is always based on our deeds. This is constantly repeated in the Old and New Testaments. Believers and unbelievers will give account of their lives. Believers won’t be condemned, but we will still give account for how we lived our lives and will receive rewards or losses that will affect our eternity.
In Romans 2 Paul has been emphasizing man’s accountability before God. As we saw in verse 5, there is coming a day of judgment and out-pouring of God’s wrath on unbelievers. There will be no excuses, no blaming, no hiding, no escaping this coming judgment. Every man has an appointment to stand before God and give an account of his life. Let’s look at seven characteristics of God’s righteous and final judgment of all men.
GOD’S JUDGMENT IS CERTAIN
Romans 2:6, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
There’s an absoluteness here that rings throughout the Bible. Abraham asked in Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?” The Psalms are full of it – “The Lord is coming to judge the earth” (Psalm 96:13). Jesus preached future judgment – “Do no marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). The apostles preached it in Acts repeatedly – “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). And Paul declared to the sophisticated philosophers on Mars Hill that God “will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). One author wrote, “It is impossible to overestimate the power of the final judgment, as a motive, in the early church.” The most important moment in your life is not your birth or turning 16 or getting married or retiring, but when you stand before Christ in the judgment. Every thought, every word, every deed will come before God. God’s judgment is certain.
GOD’S JUDGMENT IS BASED ON DEEDS
Romans 2:6, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
Back in verse 2 we saw, “God’s judgment is according to truth” or is based on facts. There will be no coverups. I don’t know who’s lying in Washington, but God does. And He is going to judge all people for what they did – their deeds. He is omniscient and knows it all, right down to the secret motives of the heart. Psalm 90:8 says, “You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.” They are all there and there’ll be no bribing the Judge. J. I. Packer wrote in Knowing God, “God will see that each man sooner or later receives what he deserves.”
And notice, God will judge all people based on their deeds, what they did in their time on earth. This applies to both believers and unbelievers. Don’t be confused. We are saved by grace alone but judged by our works. The believer’s salvation is by grace from beginning to eternity. But our deeds done on earth will affect our eternity, just as the unbeliever’s deeds will affect his or her eternity. There are rewards and losses for believers, and for unbelievers there will be judgment which will be more or less severe depending on the light they were given and rejected. Jesus said it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for cities in His day, who were exposed to the light of Christ Himself (Matt. 11:20-24).
GOD’S JUDGMENT IS INDIVIDUAL AND UNIVERSAL
Romans 2:6, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
There are no exemptions. No human being is off the hook. God’s judgment is individual. He doesn’t judge in groups. “You were part of the oppressed group? You get a pass.” No, each and every person, no matter where you live on this planet or when you lived in history, will have a day in court with God.
- Romans 14:12, “Each one of us.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:10, “We must all…each one may receive.”
- Revelation 20:13, “They were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.”
- Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
GOD’S JUDGMENT WILL BRING BLESSING OR CURSING
Romans 2:7-10, to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Judgment isn’t based on ethnicity or social status or gender or abilities or popularity, or family connections. There are two groups here, and you are in one or the other. The first group is in verses 7 and 10. These are people who over the stretch of their lives persevered in doing good and pleasing God. They lived their lives to glorify and honor God. They haven’t earned their salvation; they proved they are saved by the direction and fruit of their lives.
These verses show that when God saves a person through Jesus Christ, that person doesn’t continue living a selfish, sinful life. We’re justified by faith alone, but never by a faith that remains alone. Sanctification always follows justification. Ephesians 2:8-10 says God saves us by grace alone to live a life of good works. Philippians 2:13 says God empowers our good deeds. This is the beauty of regeneration. God removes our stony hearts and gives us a heart of flesh and life so that by His Spirit motivating us we are daily renewed to live for His glory. When we mess up, when we stumble, and when we sin, we repent and come back to following Christ. That’s “persevering in doing good.” No one perseveres in doing good in their own flesh. Romans 3:12, “There is none who does good, no not one.”
What does he promise here? Eternal life. This isn’t just unending existence, but the quality of life with the eternal God, in His presence, where there is fullness of joy and pleasure forever. Every believer will be blessed with some degree of reward of glory, honor, and peace. That’s the judgment of believers; the judgment of blessing! Is that your judgment?
But notice the opposite in verses 8-9. Here are people who are selfishly ambitious, living for their own glory, their own honor, their own ends. They live to please themselves. They reject God’s truth for their lives and do whatever they want to do. They aren’t concerned about submitting to Christ and His Word. They may profess a faith in God, but these are the wide gate people who insist that they are just fine, they don’t need to bow their knee to Christ, all religions lead to the same god if there really is a god.
What is the result of their judgment in verse 8? Wrath and indignation and God’s fury and anger unleashed against them. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones comments, “If the Bible did not teach this, I would not dare utter it.” This is “the most solemn, the most momentous, the most tremendous thing that men and women can ever consider, but that is what we are solemnly told will be revealed on the great day of judgment.”
Paul adds in verse 9 two more descriptions of divine judgment on lost people: tribulation and distress. These are gruesome. Tribulation means squeezed, pressure, anguish. This is not minor discomfort, but acute suffering. Distress has the idea of a narrow place, cramped for lack of space. This speaks to me of eternal claustrophobia, like in solitary confinement; the awful sense of being alone forever without any mitigation and no possibility of ending. MacArthur wrote, “Part of hell’s torment will be its absolute, isolated, lonely, and eternal confinement, with no possible hope of release or escape.” If there was a pinhole of light in hell after millions of ages in the future, there would be hope in hell. But like Dante wrote in his Inferno over hell’s entrance, “Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here.”
Let’s quickly insert the gospel here. This certain and individual coming judgment should push everyone to repent and submit to Jesus Christ for salvation. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Repent of going your own way and turn to Christ for new life. Paul adds “to the Jew first and also the Greek” because he wants them to know their only hope is in Jesus Christ. Back in Romans 1:16 Paul declared the gospel is the power of God to save all who believe, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Christ came to save people of all ethnicities from their sin! Only Christ can bring you into that first group who are blessed with eternal glory, honor and peace.
GOD’S JUDGMENT WILL BE IMPARTIAL
Romans 2:11-15, For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
Verse 11 is huge – God shows absolutely no partiality in His judging human beings, regardless of your last name or your bank account. Money may speak in this life. If you can afford a good lawyer, you may be exonerated in this world. Political party or corporate position has influence in the courts. But God’s judgment is absolutely according to truth and without any personal favoritism.
In Matthew 22 Jesus told the story about that fellow who went into the wedding feast and found himself a seat. Everyone else had wedding clothes on, but for some reason he didn’t think he needed them. Maybe he was a man of influence, a wealthy man, maybe his father was a friend of the king, or maybe he felt superior to all the other fawning people who submitted to wearing wedding clothes. There he is enjoying the food and festivities with all the rest when suddenly the king enters the room to look over the guests. He spies this gentleman without the wedding garment, walks directly to him, and asks one question, “Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?” The Bible says, “And the man was speechless.” It didn’t matter who he was or his position in the community. Nothing mattered except one thing – the wedding clothes. Matthew 22:13 says, “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
Like that king, God shows no favoritism in judgment. It didn’t matter if you were a Jew and boasted that you had the law; you were guilty of not keeping the law perfectly. Or if you didn’t have the law, you were still guilty because you didn’t live up to your own standard of what you knew is right and wrong. Everyone has an inbuilt moral code, called the work or effect of God’s righteous standard in your heart (vs.15).
All people everywhere know certain things are right or wrong and they all have this inner alarm system called the conscience that goes off when they offend what they believe is wrong. We all know smash and grab is wrong. Knifing a woman to death is wrong. Even hardened criminals know abusing a child is wrong. In any culture, try to steal the other guy’s donkey and see what happens. Or steal his wife, or murder his son, or tell a lie! He may cauterize his conscience so that he doesn’t feel it as much, but he’s still guilty and will perish even without the Law.
Notice that word “perish.” It doesn’t mean annihilation – but it means ruined, destroyed, useless for its original purpose. God created man for His own glory, but when they reject Him, they are fit only for destruction. They perish. J. C. Ryle put it sharply, “The meanest insect that crawls is a nobler being than you are: it fills its place in creation, and glorifies its Maker with all its power, and you do not. You do not honor God with heart, and will, and intellect, and members, which are all His.”
Paul’s point? Jews aren’t off the hook just because they have the law. And Gentiles aren’t off the hook because they don’t have the Bible. Every human being is accountable for what they do know and will be judged accordingly. God shows no partiality and makes no mistakes. The problem is no one has ever lived up to the light he has. Everyone is guilty and needs Christ.
GOD’S JUDGMENT WILL BE THOROUGH
Romans 2:16, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
Here is Achan, hiding that silver and bar of gold and snazzy garment in his tent, stolen from Jericho. No one saw him do it. Men think if they do things in private when no one is watching and no one knows, it doesn’t matter. But God knows and judges the secrets of men. They sit at their computers late at night after everyone is in bed. Or if they just play it out in their minds, it’s okay.
But God’s judgment pierces to the secrets of men. Achan was found out and paid dearly. Nothing is hidden from God. Nothing. He knows what is going on behind closed doors and places with tightest security. He knows how to sift down to the farthest recesses of our heart. He knows how to fetch out all the Achans who think they can hide their deeds from God. Psalm 139:4, “Oh Lord, you know it all.” Nothing is hidden from God. Proverbs 5:21, “The ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord.”
Are you planning to be your own defense attorney before that final judgment? You are facing disaster. But for believers in Christ, our condemning judgment has been taken care of by Him, “In my place condemned His stood.” Only Christ can shield you from the wrath and anger and confinement of God’s strict justice against all sin.
GOD’S JUDGMENT WILL BE EXECUTED BY JESUS CHRIST – “Through Christ Jesus.” vs. 16b.
Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1). Imagine the difference between Jesus being flogged, spit at, ridiculed, mocked, slapped, punched, cursed, and finally crucified in deepest humiliation compared to the time when Jesus Christ brings all human beings before Him at the judgment seat of all humanity. We had a professor who said, “When Jesus came the first time he turned the other cheek, but when He comes again, He will come with vengeance.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 says He will come in flaming fire dealing out vengeance on those who do not know God and those who refuse to obey the gospel. What a day that will be when Christ brings all humanity in a vast sea of billions of human beings before Him, and He deals with each one individually.
J.I. Packer wrote: “God’s own appointment has made Jesus inescapable. He stands at the end of life’s road for everyone without exception.” Let that sink in. Jesus is inescapable. This is incredibly sober for those who refuse to come to Christ. Paul is building his case to convince Jews and Gentiles to believe in Christ and to know the power of God that saves.
But we as believers need to apply God’s judgment to ourselves. Christ bore the judgment of God for believers, but we will still give an account to God at the judgment seat of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Paul also talks about receiving rewards and suffering loss. 1 Corinthians 3:14-15 says “If any man’s work which he has built remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” Remember that every day in your life is important. The Psalmist prayed, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Every believer surely wants to hear from Christ, “Well done, you good and faithful servant.”
If you’ve not bowed your heart in repentance and faith to Christ, you are not prepared for that day when you stand before Him. You need a Substitute to take your punishment for you and that’s exactly why Jesus came into this world, to bear the sins of many. Believe God’s words. Repent of going your own way and turn to Christ’s way.