Last year on March 26^th at 8:32 a.m., Seattle’s famed Kingdome-home of the Seahawks, Mariners, and at times, the Sonics-was destroyed. Working for the Seattle office of Turner Construction Co., the Maryland based Controlled Demolition Incorporated was hired to do the job of imploding the 125,000-ton structure that had marked Seattle’s skyline for almost 25 years.

What was remarkable about the event were the extreme measures taken to ensure no one was hurt. CDI had experience with over 7,000 demolitions and knew how to protect people. Engineers checked and rechecked the structure. The authorities evacuated several blocks around the Kingdome. Safety measures were in place to allow the countdown to stop at any time if there was concern about safety. All workers were individually accounted for by radio before the explosives were detonated. A large public address system was used to announce the final countdown. In short, CDI took every reasonable measure and more to warn people of the impending danger.(1)

The Bible teaches a final judgment and destruction for this sinful world. Like the engineers who blew up the Kingdome, our heavenly Father has spared no expense to make sure everybody can “get out” safely. He warns us of judgment through our conscience, His Word, His Spirit, and His church. The Lord especially warns us of judgment through the apostle Paul in these first three chapters of Romans. In 1:18-32, Paul dealt with man’s unrighteousness; in 2:1-3:8, Paul will deal with man’s self-righteousness.(2) Paul’s point is that all men need salvation either because of blatant disobedience or counterfeit obedience. In this passage, Paul is confronting the Jew who thinks his works can justify him before God. He will make it clear that the self-righteous Jew is as guilty before God as the unrighteous Gentile. Paul’s bottom-line goal is to level all men as sinners in 1:18-3:20. This morning, we’ll follow Paul’s argument in Romans 2:1-16 and examine three certainties relating to God’s judgment.

1. God’s future judgment will be according to truth (2:1-5). “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(3) things. And we know(4) 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(5) and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

The principle in this section is: The moral and self-righteous person is also guilty before God. After hearing about the blatant idolatry, immorality and wickedness of the overt sinner, Paul’s Jewish readers must have become smug with pride. However Paul abruptly cuts these Jews off at their knees. He does this by using the word “therefore”(6) to connect the extroverted sinner of the previous chapter with the introverted sinner who judges another. The point that Paul is making is both Jew and Gentile “have no excuse” because they are both exceedingly sinful. The word “excuse”(7) that’s used here is the same word used in 1:20 where Paul writes that the wicked are “without excuse” because of God’s witness in creation. Paul states that the man who “passes judgment” condemns himself because he “practices the same things.” Although the Jew may not be indulging in gross manifestations of sin as some do, all men are guilty of doing things that are equally bad. We may do the same things secretly, mentally, or indirectly. Yet, God doesn’t grade on a 1 to 10 scale as we do. From God’s perspective, sin is sin. In light of God’s awesome holiness, it doesn’t matter whether our sin is in the form of an act, a word, or a thought; it’s still exceedingly sinful.

Whenever my wife, Lori, and I go out to dinner, after we finish eating, we have a cue to smile at one another. Lori usually goes first and then I follow. We do this to determine if we have any food in our teeth. Occasionally, Lori will have a grain of pepper in her teeth and I will point it out to her. Now, what if I broke out laughing and made an unkind remark? Well, Lori would promptly look into my teeth and probably find the remains of half of my meal stuck between my teeth. There’s an important principle here: All of us have pepper in our teeth! For every grain of pepper in someone else’s teeth, there’s a similar grain in ours. That’s why Paul comes on so strong and states that every time we judge we condemn ourselves!

Think about it. What’s the deadliest sin known to man? The answer is pride. In fact, the sin that Jesus attacked more often, more directly, and more severely than any other wrong is a fruit of pride-the sin of self-righteousness. Yet this sin is usually the most justified and widely practiced sin in the world. In fact, if we were truly honest before God, this horrendous sin would be the one that we would confess most often.

Please notice in 2:2 that Paul is saying that deep down we know within the core of our being that judging others is sinful, and God will judge us for inappropriately judging others. Can I prove this? Yes, I can. What’s the most often quoted Bible verse in the world? John 3:16? Nope. It’s Matthew 7:1a: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” The reason that this verse is so frequently quoted by believers and unbelievers alike is twofold: (1) Man doesn’t want to be reminded of his sinfulness. (2) Man is aware of God’s judgment. Yet, this verse is taken out of context. This verse doesn’t mean that we can’t judge sin. On the contrary, we’re commanded to judge sin. Jesus teaches us in this verse that we need to deal with our own sin before we point out a brother’s sin. When it comes right down to it, the only positive thing that man really accomplishes by his self-righteous judgment of others is to demonstrate his awareness of God’s holy and righteous standards. The problem for the person acting as judge is that this is a haunting knowledge.

In 2:3-4, Paul asks a rhetorical question and he expects a resounding “NO!” When Paul really wants to get down to business he brings out the phrase “O man!” Yet, here lies the irony. There’s a perverse tendency in the human heart to imagine that somehow divine punishment will pass us by. We’re so permeated with a sense of being special that we find it easy to rationalize that it can’t happen to me. It’s worth noting that Paul spills 37 verses worth of ink on the Jew who’s guilty of sin and only 15 verses on the overt sinner. Paul realizes that those who are guilty of blatant disobedience are much easier to persuade of their sin.

Chuck Colson loves doing ministry in the prisons because he never has to convince anyone that he’s a sinner-they’re definitely aware of it. The well-worn cliché, “Every prisoner thinks he’s innocent” isn’t true. Each inmate has regrets and knows he’s done wrong. Many will do anything to be right with God and man because these inmates recognize they’re sinners. Sadly, it’s typically the person in the pew that is more difficult to convince. Why? It is because of the sin of self-righteousness.

Verse 4 clearly describes the Jew’s experience with God. God has been kind, tolerant, and patient, yet by and large the Jewish people haven’t appropriately responded to His love. They “thought lightly” of God’s riches. They have not repented, rather they have procrastinated. However, God wants to bring mankind into a relationship with Him before the hammer falls. In time, God will bring man down if he does not change his mind or “repent” about the person and work of Christ. Unfortunately, it’s a sad truth that typically the forbearance of God causes men to be complacent.

In 2:5, Paul really levels us with the truth. Due to their failure to repent, Paul writes that the Jews are “storing up(8) wrath.” There’s a shift from the present wrath of God in chapter 1 to the future wrath of God in chapter 2. This verse makes it clear that Paul is discussing how God will deal with the Jew in the final judgment. In 1:18, God’s wrath was His present anger; here the word refers to God’s future wrath.

Jesus will judge the Jew with wrath due to his rejection of God’s holy standard. Like the sands of an hourglass passing steadily from one cone-shaped vessel to another, so the sands of divine patience are running out and the grains of a coming wrath are accumulating. Only a fool embraces what can only harm him.(9) This is like a man who collects cobra eggs, then goes into a warm room to hoard them. They eventually hatch to destroy him.

[Having warned the self-righteous Jew that God’s future judgment will be according to truth, in 2:6-11, Paul expresses that. . .]

2. God’s future judgment will be according to works (2:6-11). “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.”

The principle in this section is: God will judge impartially according to a perfect standard.(10) Verses 6 and 11 form bookends in this section. These two verses and the verses sandwiched between make it clear that a day of impartial reckoning is coming. Verse 6 is a quotation from Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12. But with all the emphasis in the Bible on faith, why is a man judged according to his deeds? Although a man is saved on the basis of faith, he’s condemned on the basis of his works. This is a crucial distinction. When a man rejects the righteousness, which God has provided as a free gift in Jesus Christ, he in effect, chooses to establish his own righteousness, and this can be judged only on a performance basis.

According to 2:7, it seems that eternal life can be gained by doing well. Yet, Romans clearly teaches justification by faith. But Paul doesn’t contradict himself. If you start with 2:1, Paul is here confronting the Jew who thinks his works can justify him before God. Paul’s point is that no one is a doer of the law. No one can do that; hence, no one gets eternal life on that basis. No one perfectly obeys; therefore, the only method of justification is by faith alone. In other words, no one fits 2:7. Ultimately, there are only two religions in the world-do good (400 varieties in the world) or have good done to you (Christianity). When God defines something as good He’s wearing trifocals (standard = the Word of God, motivation = the glory of God, and means = the Spirit of God).

In 2:8-10, Paul uses the term “Greek” to refer to Gentiles. He then makes it clear that the Jews (the religious) will experience “tribulation and distress” first and foremost. The reason is obvious. Jews are more accountable than Greeks because they’re more familiar with the Scriptures. Verse 11 gives the reason, “For there is no partiality with God.” This verse is the point of the whole argument: since God isn’t partial, His children should be careful not to exercise partiality.

A story is told about a traffic policeman who pulled a motorist over to the side of a road and asked to see his license. When the motorist showed his license to him, the cop said, “This license says you have to wear glasses while you’re driving. Where are your glasses?” The man said, “I have contacts.” The officer said, “I don’t care who you know, you’re going to get a ticket anyway.” There are many of us who think that if we have contacts in the right places, this will buy off the judgment we deserve, but this doesn’t work with God. There’s nobody in the right place who can influence Him so He’ll go easy on us. God is impartial. He’s not impressed by our roots, money, position, or morals. It makes no difference whether your sins are notorious sins or respectable sins-He’ll treat them alike in His sight. Make no mistake, God will judge according to truth and works, but He’ll also judge according to light.

3. God’s future judgment will be according to light (2:12-16). “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.”

The principle of this section is: More knowledge brings more responsibility and greater accountability. In 2:12-13, we learn that Jews will be judged according to the Mosaic Law. In 2:14-15, we learn that Gentiles will be judged according to the moral law. Verse 12 is clear that mankind is guilty before God whether they have the Law or not. All men are judged and condemned.

Speaking to the Jew in 2:12, Paul states that if we have the Law, the Law will judge us.(11) In 2:13, he states that if one is seeking to justify himself by the Law he must be a doer of the Law. I recently purchased a Sprint phone card from Costco. I bought this card because I can make long distance calls for less than 4.2 cents a minute, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The only problem with this card is in order to make a call I have to punch in 33 numbers. Of course, amidst my number punching, if I accidentally punch a wrong number, my call won’t be connected. This is so frustrating! It happens to me all the time and then I have to start all over again. This is how God judges us under the law. If we punch one wrong number, we won’t be able to connect with Christ. Unfortunately, we can’t just start over. If we’ve sinned even one time in word, thought, or deed, we’re eternally disconnected from God.

In 2:14, Paul says that when Gentiles instinctively follow God’s Law, they’re revealing that they know that Law. This explains why, in almost every culture, it’s considered wrong to steal and murder. This also explains why a man with no knowledge of the Bible will know it’s wrong to commit adultery. Let me say something very important. Every human being lives according to a law, a standard of performance. For some, this is a vague standard. These people say, “I have lived a good life, I’ve never killed anyone!” Others will point to the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, or the Golden Rule. Each of these represents very good precepts for life. However, what most people don’t know is that God will hold them to their standard but will require 100% conformity to that law. In fact, God requires nothing short of absolute perfection. For those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior the free gift of Christ’s perfection is placed in their accounts. However, those who don’t receive Jesus as Savior face eternal condemnation for their sins.

Paul concludes our passage in 2:16 by stating that God will not only judge people’s actions, but their secret motives as well. In that day, the most excused sin will come into the light.

I grew up in Bremerton, WA. The house that my parents still live in we built almost 25 years ago when I was five years old. We’ve always had an absolutely gorgeous view. Every morning I’d look out across Puget Sound and see Mt. Rainer, the Space Needle, and the Kingdome. Although I’ve always enjoyed the view, over the years it became familiar. Well, this past November our family traveled to Bremerton for the first time in about three years. After having traveled for nearly five hours, I was anticipating the majestic view of Seattle. As we approached my parents’ home and descended down E. 30^th, I anxiously looked across the water to see Mt. Rainer, the Space Needle, and the Kingdome. Yet, as I looked, I realized that something was missing. What was missing? The Kingdome, of course! Its day of judgment had long come and leveled it!

Romans 2 teaches that God’s future judgment will be according to truth, works, and light. Are you ready to face that judgment? Are you ready to stand before a holy and righteous God? God has leveled the Gentile and Jew and condemned every person who has ever lived or will ever live under sin. He has demolished us into dust and sprinkled us at the foot of the cross. It’s there that we must acknowledge our sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone.

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Copyright © 2001 Keith R. Krell. All rights reserved. All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, C 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, and 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission.

Permissions: Feel free to reproduce and distribute any articles written by Keith Krell, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this information, not protect or restrict it.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: by Keith Krell, Timeless Word Ministries®, 2508 State Ave NE Olympia, WA 98506, 360-352-9044, www.timelessword.com

Notes

1. Joe Lucarelli, a former member of our church who also happened to be the Construction Manager for the Kingdome implosion project, further developed this illustration with me. (back)

2. Bob Deffinbaugh, an outstanding Bible teacher in Dallas TX, provides these observations: There’s a clear change evident in Paul’s teaching at Romans 2:1ff as compared with 1:18-32. First, there’s the change from commending sin to condemning it. In Romans 1:32, Paul speaks of those who “give hearty approval” to those who practice sin. Now, in Romans 2:1, Paul describes those who condemn those who practice sin. Second, there’s the shift from a general indictment of sinners in Romans 1 to the specific indictment of individuals as sinners in chapter 2. In Romans 1:18-32, we find the more indirect pronouns such as “they,” “their,” and “them.” In Romans 2:1ff, Paul becomes more specific, pointing his finger at “you.” The condemnation of all mankind in 1:18-32 seems to be of man collectively; while the condemnation of chapter 2 is much more individual, based upon the revelation each man has received. In chapter 1, Paul seems to be laying a foundation; in chapter 2, he zeroes in for the “kill.” One can almost see the heads of Paul’s readers nodding in agreement with Paul’s indictment of “them,” while their eyes begin to pop out in chapter 2 when Paul becomes personal and individual, turning to “you.”(back)

3. The word translated “same” (auta) actually means “equivalent.” (back)

4. Paul does not use the word ginosko (”know”), which often refers to an experiential knowledge. Instead he uses the word oidamen (”know”), which is capable of suggesting an almost intuitive recognition of God’s judgment. Paul is saying that we know within the core of our being that judging others is sinful and that God will judge us for inappropriately judging others. (back)

5. Lit. “hardness;” skleroteta whence the English word “sclerosis” (see Jer 4:4 and Ezek 3:7). (back)

6. Gk. Dio (cf. Rom 1:24; 4:22; 13:5; 15:7, 22).(back)

7. Gk. anapologetos (only NT usages are Rom 1:20 and 2:1). (back)

8. Gk. thesauridzeis (a form of this word is used in Matt 6:19-20; Luke 12:21; 1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 12:14; Jas 5:3; 2 Pet 3:7). We get our word thesaurus from this Greek word. (back)

9. C.S. Lewis said it best when he wrote, “If the divine call doesn’t make us better, it will make us very much worse. Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worse. Of all created beings, the wickedest is the one who originally stood in the immediate presence of God.”(back)

10. The judgment of God works this way. For the person without faith in Christ, he or she is under God’s wrath-the end of which is everlasting punishment. For the person who has trusted in Christ, yet sins, he or she comes under God’s discipline (1 Cor 11:29-32; Heb 12:5-11), the end of which is purity before the Lord (2 Pet 3:13; 1 John 3:2-3; Jude 24). What side of the ledger will you be on? I can assure you that it’ll be much better to be disciplined than punished on the day that when Christ judges us according to our works.(back)

11. This is the first occurrence of “Law” (nomos) in Romans. Although the word nomos can have several different meanings, the majority of Paul’s references to “law” in Romans are a reference to the Mosaic Law. The point of this verse is mankind is guilty before God whether they have had the Law or not.(back)

All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, and 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
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