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Turn to Romans 2. We are in a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Romans. Chapter one has been about the wrath of God. It’s not a popular teaching, but popular or not, it’s here in the Bible and like it or not, God rules this universe and assures us His wrath is real and revealed against all mankind’s ungodliness and unrighteousness. Paul warns us that when we reject God, when a nation or culture regards God as non-existent or disapproves of God, you see God’s wrath revealed as He turns people over to all kinds of sexual perversions and depraved thinking. And today we’re in dire straits as a nation. Child abuse images have soared into the tens of millions on social media platforms. Yes, God’s wrath is on our nation.
Paul listed 21 examples of how depraved minds think and act. Man is not naturally good, but is depraved and proves it by his wickedness, sin, greed, hate envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, gossip, slander, hating God, insolent, proud, arrogant, inventing new ways of sinning, disobedient to parents, senseless, promise breakers, heartless, and merciless. Plus, depraved minds cheer on others to indulge in gross sins.
When Paul gets to the end of chapter one, it’s like he hears a chorus of approval. “Amen, Paul! You nailed it. You really let ‘em have it this morning. Great sermon, Paul. Those dirty, rotten Gentile sinners deserve it. We’re glad we’re not like them.” What does Paul say to this? He wheels around, looks them right in the eyes and says, “Wait a minute. You’re just as guilty as they are.” Let’s read Romans 2:1-5.
Romans 2:1-5, Therefore you have no excuse, every one of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Paul is probably reasoning with self-righteous Jews who felt morally and religiously superior to the dog Gentiles. But we’re going to apply the passage to us who are disgusted with all the cultural filth, perversion, abortion, corruption of the people in power, the Hollywood cesspool, the wicked Marxists and mockers of Christianity. Yes, God’s wrath is on this mess. John MacArthur sent Governor Newsom a public letter to repent of his wicked ways of inviting women to come to California to murder their babies. Hopefully he’ll read it and God will use it.
But now Paul sets out to do one of the hardest things of all, something Jesus faced frequently, like when that rich young ruler assured Christ he had kept all the commandments from his youth. Or that good Pharisee in the temple, who prayed to himself, “Thank you God, that I’m not like other men.” This is what Paul is now dealing with – convincing “good” people they too face the wrath of God. We’re going to apply it to us political conservatives, MAGA deplorables, pro-lifers, anti-same sex marriage people. These are all good things. But being a political conservative won’t get you to heaven. You’re not in jail, you don’t pass bogus checks, you didn’t look at pornography this week. But what is the condition of your heart in the mirror of God’s Word?
The key phrase in these verses is in verse four. Do you think you will escape the judgment of God? Do you think somehow God will overlook your lesser sins and be so impressed with your good deeds that you’ll get a free pass into heaven? Let’s answer from this passage, “Do you think you’ll escape the judgment of God?”
YOU WON’T ESCAPE BECAUSE YOU ARE GUILTY TOO.
Romans 2:1, Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
Paul singles each of us out individually and charges us, “You are without excuse. Each of you.” How easy it is to see the bad in others and look right past our own sins thinking, “My sins aren’t so bad.” But God says when we see others doing wicked stuff and believe they deserve justice, we are actually condemning ourselves because we also do wicked stuff, even if inwardly. Like Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, to hate is murder, to lust is adultery. Before God the thought is as bad as the act and the desire as sinful as the deed. We certainly haven’t kept the law of love, esteeming others above ourselves. How often have you men followed in Adam’s shoes, “it’s her fault. She gave me to eat.” We’re all guilty. The Duchess of Buckingham was offended by George Whitefield’s strong preaching. She declared, “It is monstrous to be told you have a heart as sinful as the common wretches that crawl the earth.” She didn’t know her own heart.
We are naturally self-righteous to the gills and quick to judge others. In Genesis 28 Judah went with his buddy to shear the sheep and visited a prostitute along the way. Three months later he got word that his daughter-in-law Tamar had played the harlot and was pregnant. Judah exploded, “Bring her out and burn her.” All the while he was the one guilty of fornication. Then there was the prophet Nathan who told David about a rich man who took the one and only little lamb from a poor man to feed a guest. “Off with his head! He deserves to die,” roared David. Nathan promptly pointed his finger at David saying, “David, you are the man.” Jesus had an effective ministry with harlots, drunkards, and tax collectors. He called them to repentance and at least they knew they were sinners. But He rips into those self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees who were all dressed up outwardly but stank of dead corpses inwardly. “Woe to you, you brood of vipers, you nest of snakes!” (Matt. 23:33). Add to this, the Jews thought they were exempt from judgment because they were God’s chosen people.
How about you? Do you somehow think you’ll escape God’s judgment because you’re not as bad as others, because you’re respectful and responsible and do good things for others? Or maybe your parents were believers, or you’ve gone to church all your life. Even being a conservative Republican won’t let you escape God’s judgment. This is one of the heartaches when you develop an appreciation for people like Tucker Carlson or Ben Shapiro or Brian Kilmeade. They’re thinking straight about many things, but may be missing the most important thing – are they saved? Many conservatives see the lunacy of our culture, but are they trusting in Christ alone for their eternal salvation? Are you?
YOU WON’T ESCAPE BECAUSE GOD’S JUDGMENT IS ABSOLUTELY JUST
Romans 2:2, And we know that the judgment of God rightly [according to truth] falls upon those who practice such things.
The phrase “judgment of God” only appears three times in the Bible, and all three are in this passage – here and verses 3 and 5. If there is one overshadowing truth throughout the Bible alongside mercy, it is that you and I and all human beings will give account to God. We have a conscience and know we are accountable. And we know God’s judgment is right or according to facts. There are special privileges for none. Psalm 9:8 says, “He will judge the world in righteousness.”
Yet we secretly think somehow we’ll escape God’s judgment or God will give us good people leniency. Like Achan, who thought he could escape God’s eye in the crowd, but God fetched him out. Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place (in every heart), watching the evil and the good.” Morally upright people tend to think God will be lenient, but God sees every detail of even the smallest sin. Hebrews 4:12-13 says he judges “the thoughts and intentions of the heart…all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” We’re all guilty and there’s no place to hide, except in Jesus Christ.
YOU WON’T ESCAPE THOUGH OTHERS MAY BE WORSE THAN YOU
Romans 2:3, But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Paul probes this man to his heart with, “Do you really think you can judge others and escape the judgment yourself?” Of course, the resounding answer is, “Absolutely not!” Just because others,
whether those dog Gentiles or those vile social justice Marxists, are worse than you, don’t think that God won’t bring you into judgment. The Bible is crystal clear.
- Psalm 75:7, “But God is the judge.”
- Hebrews 12:23, “God, the judge of all.”
- Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “It is a terrible word, this word ‘escape.’ The world is as it is tonight because men still think that they can escape the judgment of God.” Think about that. “The world is as it is tonight because men still think that they can escape the judgment of God.” Paul isn’t being harsh here in verse three, but sincere and concerned, just like any preacher or parent or friend of unsaved people. Paul said in Romans 9:2 he had “great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart” for his fellow Jews who rejected Christ.
We need a sense of accountability in our lives, that sense of restraint in view of our coming inescapable judgment. This is glaringly absent today. People think they can sin and get by. People think, “God surely won’t hold us accountable. He loves everyone. Stop worrying.” But we were created with a sense of accountability and God says we won’t escape coming judgment. One time my brother was getting the works down there at the bottom of the stairs. I stood at the top enjoying the entertainment and self-righteously announced, “Lights, camera, action!” Well, I got some of that action! When it comes to your accountability to God, you won’t get away with even one sin unless you are covered with the righteousness of Christ.
YOU WON’T ESCAPE – GOD’S KINDNESS HOLDS YOU ACCOUNTABLE
Romans 2:4, Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
You may not be a Christian in that you never acknowledged being a sinner before God, but things have been going nicely for you. You’ve got your health and wealth and family, food in the fridge and a car or two in the garage. God’s really been good to you. He’s blessed you richly, giving you more than enough to live the good life. Why? Why has He been so kind to you? Why has He put up with your sins? Why has He been so patient with you? What is keeping you out of hell right now? His kindness, tolerance, and patience. Do you take all God’s goodness for granted? Do you think lightly of them? Do you ever ask, “What is God’s purpose in being so good to me?” Paul tells you His purpose right here – to lead you to repent, to change your mind and the direction of your life from living for yourself to submitting to Jesus Christ. That is why God is so good to you!
He could have let you die in your sin years ago when you almost pulled out in front of that truck or some other close call. Why did He let you live? He is kind, forbearing, and patient with sinners. This is the meaning of Jonathan Edwards’ sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. God hates your sin and will judge it. You deserve to drop into hell right now. And the only reason God hasn’t let you drop into hell is because of His forbearance, His putting up with you for a time. But that time will end. Judgment will come.
As Spurgeon put it:
It is as though he plucked at your sleeve and said, “Come this way.” Every single minute of our life is cheered with the tender kindness of God, and every spot is gladdened with his love.
So while you enjoy God’s rich goodness and tolerance and patience, you need to realize that the reason you are still here is because God is giving you more time to repent, to stop from going your own way and turn to Jesus Christ in sincere faith. His patience will run out some day and that will be judgment day. Hopefully, you will have repented and be safe and secure in the arms of Jesus!
YOU WON’T ESCAPE AND EVERY DAY YOU’RE STORING UP WRATH FOR THAT COMING DAY
Romans 2:5, But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Paul is tenderly, lovingly urging this person to repent. He is telling him the truth. Everybody needs to hear verse five. The only thing that keeps the sinner from Christ is his stubborn or hard and unrepentant heart. Verse 4 was the melting goodness of God and here it’s the hardness of the sinner’s heart. The problem is entirely in the man’s heart. Instead of melting in humility and faith under the warmth of God’s goodness, like the sun melting butter, God’s kindness and patience has done nothing but harden his heart, like the sun hardens the clay.
And notice who is to blame here? Your speech may be sweet, your demeanor polite. You may be brilliant, moral, full of works of charity, highly educated, even religious, but if you haven’t bowed your knee to Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are storing up an ever-increasing amount of wrath for yourself. Ever see the national debt clock? It keeps ticking higher and higher. I checked on Friday. It was 30 trillion, 923 billion and climbing. One commentator compared our debt to this ever-growing treasury of wrath. “Each hour, minute, even second the sinner is increasing the pile of his debt…unless by God’s sovereign grace and power, he surrenders himself to Christ and discovers that ‘Jesus paid it all.’ What a joy unspeakable and full of glory!”
There is a coming day of wrath when God brings every knee to bow before Him at the great white throne judgment. Those in places where there is little or no gospel witness, the people will bear a lesser amount of wrath. For those blessed with lots of gospel and Bible and sermons, but whose hearts have only hardened, the treasury of their wrath will be greater.
In Acts 17:31 Paul said God has “fixed a day” when He will judge the world in righteousness. And it will be according to truth. There will be no complaints, no appeals, no excuses or plea bargaining. Let’s hear it straight from God’s Word in Revelation 20:11-15.
Revelation 20:11-15, Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
SO WHAT?
You and I are just as guilty as those other vile people and are without excuse. Unless we are in Christ Jesus, there is no escaping this coming judgment day. Let’s remember and let’s remind others that God has been so kind and good to them in order to lead them to repentance. Maybe this week you will be able to ask someone this question, “Do you know why God has been so good to you?” And here’s the good news:
Hebrews 9:27-28, And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.