The Bad News Concerning Judgment - Part 2 (Romans 2:1-16)
INTRODUCTION:
We have been looking at the bad news of the Gospel, and when I say that I want you to understand that Paul is laying the groundwork for the good news of the Gospel, showing us in the bad news that no one is worthy of God’s favor, no one can make himself right before God, he shows us that we are all guilty and condemned and deserve God’s wrath and judgment. First, we looked at those who abandoned God, those who suppressed the truth of God, exchanging the truth of God for a lie, finally they refused to even acknowledge God at all and we saw that in these three levels of man abandoning God, then God abandoned man, first, to the lusts of their impure hearts, second, to degrading passions and third, God abandoned man to a depraved mind to do those things which are immoral.
Last Sunday we began looking at chapter two and those who are not like those described in chapter one, those who still have a moral standard and on the outside seem to live a life of virtue, they do not outwardly and openly practice the sins mentioned in chapter one. We learned that these people will also come under God’s wrath because they want to judge others, but they fail to judge themselves by the same standard they are judging others by, and though they may look pious on the outside, on the inside they are as wretched as those described in chapter one. These will also fall under God’s wrath and they will be judged, and God’s judgment is in truth. This morning I want to look at another truth concerning God’s judgment, God will judge man according to his works. Let’s pray and then get into our passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Romans 2:1-16. We looked at the first five verses of this chapter last week, we will look at the next two this week, verses 6-7, but I want to read the whole passage again, so we have the context. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of the Word of God.
Romans 2:1-16,
“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. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 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? 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? 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, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. 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; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 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, 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, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:1–16, NASB95)[1]
GOD WILL JUDGE MAN’S DEEDS (Romans 2:6-10)
As we come to verses 6-16, they are straightforward in what they say, but within these verses are some truths that can be easily misinterpreted if they are not studied with care. When we ended last week, Paul was speaking of the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, which I said was a reference to the great white throne judgment describe for us by the apostle John in Revelation 20:11-15. Paul still in that same train of thought says that God in that day of wrath will render to each person according to his deeds. This statement by Paul is not a direct quote from the Old Testament, but both Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12 speak of God rendering to each person according to his deeds or works. Other Old Testament prophets speak of this as well. Jesus taught the same during His ministry on the earth. In John 5:28-29 Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will 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, NASB95)[2] Even the apostle Paul, who as we will see in this amazing book, teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, also teaches that God’s judgment of believers and unbelievers is based on works. Listen to one example from Paul’s writing in 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.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NASB95)[3] Here Paul is talking to believers, but in other passages he refers both to believers and unbelievers.
What does this mean? Is Paul teaching works salvation? The answer to that question is an absolute no! What we need to understand as we come to this passage is that Paul is not talking about the salvation of a believer, he is talking about the life of a believer or unbeliever. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, but the result of that salvation, the outcome of that salvation is seen in the God glorifying works that the indwelling Holy Spirit leads and empowers the believer to do. Because of this, good deeds or works are a perfectly valid basis for God’s judgment. Our works show who we are, they show to whom we belong, they show that we have been transformed from what we were to what we are now.
Make no mistake and understand that even though both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that judgment is based on works, nowhere in Scripture does it teach that salvation is by works. Anything a person has or does that is good is only because of God’s gracious provision. All the credit must go to Him, all the praise for those good things must go to God. This morning when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we will speak of the new covenant in His blood, that new covenant is the offer of God’s mercy and grace to unworthy, undeserving people. Always remember the work of salvation is entirely an act of God’s sovereign will and His eternal power. But if salvation is solely by grace through faith alone, then how do works come into the picture? Remember Paul’s great statement in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NASB95)[4] But you cannot stop there you must go onto the next verse, Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB95)[5] What this means is that the life that is saved by grace alone through faith alone will give evidence of that salvation by doing God’s work. The outward good works of the believer are the evidence of the inner faith of the believer. True salvation is not by works, but it will surely produce works. Those good works when they are present in a person’s life proves that he has been truly saved. For the Judge of all the earth those good deeds are a true indicator of saving faith. By the same token, the absence of godly good deeds reveals the absence of salvation. With that being said, the deeds of a person become a trustworthy basis for God’s judgment.
As we begin to look further into this passage, we must understand that Paul is not talking about the basis of salvation, but the basis of judgment. The basis for salvation is not even brought up until chapter three. Here in chapter two Paul is discussing works or deeds as one of the factors that God uses in judgment. Instead of the basis of salvation, Paul is teaching the evidences of salvation. If a person has truly been saved by grace alone through faith alone then Paul says there will be outward evidence in their life of that salvation. If they have never been saved, there will be no evidence. I understand that every believer will succumb to temptation at times in their life and fall short of God’s righteous standard falling into sin, but Paul is teaching that the life completely devoid of righteous deeds can make no claim to be saved, no claim to being redeemed by God’s grace.
As we move forward in this passage, keep this in mind that Paul is speaking of the evidence of salvation. In verses 7-10 Paul gives us two classes of people, the only two that exist in the world: the saved and the unsaved. Paul looks first at the deeds of the saved that giveevidence of their salvation, then the deeds of the unsaved that give evidence that they are unrepentant sinners, then Paul turns again the deeds of the saved. God’s righteous judgment is based on the righteous works of a believer done by the power of God to the glory of God, and the unrighteous deeds of the unbeliever done in their own power to their own glory.
THE WORKS OF THE SAVED (Romans 2:7)
In verse seven Paul begins by looking at the righteous works of the individual who is saved by grace alone through faith alone. Paul writes, “to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;” (Romans 2:7, NASB95)[6] For the person who is truly saved he will persevere in doing good, this word “perseverance” is a word that means “to bear up under, to endure or to continue patiently” in doing good in a world around you that is full of wickedness. This perseverance in doing good can only be done by the power of God as we are guided in doing good by the indwelling Holy Spirit. If we tried to do this by our own strength and power, we would be crushed by the world around us. The greatest good that a person can do, whatever it is that is done, is seen if it is done while seeking glory, honor, and immortality. To seek these while doing good shows that our perspective, our goal in life is heavenly.
First, those who endure in doing good show the evidence of their salvation when in doing good they seek for glory, not man’s glory, but God’s glory. If God’s glory is not a person’s desire in doing good, then that person cannot be a true believer. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, NASB95)[7] When we seek to glorify God in all that we do we are used by God to reflect His glory to the wicked world around us. As believers we not only seek the glory of God, but also the glory that we will share with Christ when our salvation is perfected. Paul wrote of this glory that we will share in 2 Corinthians 4:17 when he said, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,” (2 Corinthians 4:17, NASB95)[8] When we are seeking this heavenly glory we are really seeking to be like Christ. Paul said it this way in Philippians 2:20-21, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20–21, NASB95)[9] The apostle John stated it this way in 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:2, NASB95)[10]
Second, the true believer who perseveres in doing good does so because he is seeking honor, not the recognition that comes from the world, the honor he seeks is the honor that comes from God as he honors God by being obedient to do what God has prepared for him to do. The honor that this person seeks is the honor of God saying to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21b, NASB95)[11]
Third, for the one possessing salvation persevering in doing good does so because this person is seeking immortality, seeking that day when he will shed this mortal and perishable body of flesh to put on that which is imperishable and immortal. Paul discusses this topic in that great passage on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, in verses 51-53, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–53, NASB95)[12]
In this verse we do not learn how a person comes to salvation or how Christlikeness is produced in him by God. What is given to us in this verse is what the life of a true saved person is like, it is a life that through the power of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit persists in doing good for the glory of God, to be honored by God by honoring God, and to receive immortality. When God sees this in the life of His true child then the outcome of that, what is rendered to him is eternal life. Eternal life is not simply the quantity of life, even though eternal does mean that it lasts through eternity, but, first and foremost for the true believer eternal life is the quality of life, the life of God indwelling the soul of man, this will be fully realized in the eternal state.
Paul’s point in this passage of God’s judgment is that a person who has come to faith in Christ and is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ will reflect the true character of God, and it is on the basis of that reflected godly character that is manifested in good works that the person will be judged. Are you prepared to stand before the Judge of all the earth who sees all and knows all and will judge in righteousness and truth?
CONCLUSION:
I am going to stop here this morning, I had hoped to finish through verse 11 but this is a good stopping place for this morning, we will pick up the righteous judgment of God on the unsaved next week.
For me this was a difficult message this week, it was very convicting. I really had to stop and examine my motives for the things that I do in my life. I had to ask myself if I was persevering in doing good, was I trying to do it in my own strength or was I relying on the indwelling Holy Spirit and God’s power? I had to ask myself my purpose for doing good works? Was I doing it to receive the praise of man or was I doing it because I was seeking glory, honor, and immortality? This message caused me to reassess my life and my motives and that assessment is still going on, I am not finished, and my hope and prayer is that I will become the person that reflects God’s character in everything that I do. When I stand before the Judge of all the earth, I want to hear Him say to me, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21b, NASB95)[13] I pray that the Lord would use this message in your hearts this morning as well and that your life would be changed by God’s Word and you also would receive commendation from the Lord on that day of judgment.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[13]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995