Romans 2

Romans 2:1

In chapter 1, Paul carefully and concisely made it clear that all men are without excuse in their failure to glorify God. The self-righteous Jews would have been quick to agree, indicting the pagan for the very sin of which they themselves were guilty. That is why, after dealing with the unrighteousness of the heathen in chapter 1, Paul deals with the self-righteousness of the hypocrite in chapter 2. “You who judge the pagan nature and homosexual culture,” said Paul, “you who are bitter and angry about someone else’s sin are also guilty.” Does this mean my condemnation of another is an indication that I am guilty? Yes. The Greek word krino, translated “judge,” means to judge to condemnation. In other words, it speaks of judging with a sneer on one’s face and a finger angrily pointed at him, or her, or them. That kind of judgment is wrong because, although it might appear in a different form, the same sort of sin is going on within us whenever we judge condemningly. Now, while we are not to make judgments in condemnation, we are to judge for identification. Jesus said, “By their fruits you’ll know them” (see Mat_7:16), and “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing” (see Mat_7:15). For example, if a guy came to take my daughter out and he arrived in a pickup truck with beer cans rolling around in the back, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and a Playboy magazine rolled up in his back pocket, I would be justified to judge for identification and to keep her home. Although there’s a fine line between condemnation and identification, we inherently know the difference between identifying something that is wrong and self-righteously condemning someone with hostility.

Romans 2:2

“God will judge,” said Paul. “And His judgment is according to truth.” Folks, we can’t know where a man’s heart is. Therefore, because all things are naked and open before the Lord (Heb_4:13), our job is to love people and to leave the judging to God, who will judge perfectly, according to truth.

Romans 2:3

The patience of our Father is incredible, but people mistake His patience for impotence, ignorance, or apathy. “He’s unable to do anything,” they say. Or, “He’s too busy to do anything.” Or, “He just doesn’t have time.”

Romans 2:4

“Because you’ve mistaken His goodness and patience for apathy and impotence,” writes Paul, “you’ve failed to see your need for repentance.” The Route to Repentance A Topical Study of Rom_2:4 They caught her in the very act of adultery and brought her still naked before the Rabbi of Galilee. “Master,” they said, “Moses said she should be stoned. What sayest thou?” What would the Rabbi say? If He said, “Let her go,” they would accuse Him of violating the Law of Moses. But if He said, “Stone her,” He would no longer be known as the Friend of Sinners. Surely they had Him cornered. Jesus stooped down as though He heard them not, and with His finger began to write in the dust something that must have hit them like a bolt of lightning. “Let he who is without sinliterally in Greek, the same sincast the first stone,” He said. What a scene it must have been as, one by one, each man dropped his stone and went his way (Joh_8:3-9). What did Jesus write in the dust that day? The Greek word translated “wrote” in Joh_8:6 is a word that means “to write against.” Therefore, I suggest Jesus wrote the names of the woman’s accusers, and beside each one, the name of a woman, a place, or a time that would remind them of something they had done or some fantasy they had entertained. In so doing, Jesus showed us very pointedly that we had better not be too quick to throw a rock at someone, for we are guilty of the same sin. Oh, our sin might not manifest itself in the flesh, but Jesus said, “If you’ve even looked at a woman with lust in your heart you are guilty of adultery. If you’re even angry with your brother, you’re guilty of murder” (see Mat_5:22, Mat_5:28). In other words, we’re all guilty. The self-righteous man is just as guilty, if not more so, than the unrighteous individual. In the story of the prodigal son, who was guiltier? Was it the prodigal who spent time in the pigpen and came back repenting, or the elder son who complained and murmured because his father never killed a fatted calf for him? The heathen and the Hebrew alike are without excuse. One might sin in the flesh, the other in the spiritbut both sin. Because only God sees what’s going on internally, only He can judge righteously. A woman ran through the airport. On her way to the gate, she grabbed a magazine and a little package of cookies. Boarding the plane, she sat in an aisle seat, one seat away from a man in the window seat. A few minutes later, hungry from her race to catch her flight, she opened her bag of cookies and took one. To her astonishment, the man in the window seat also reached into the bag, which was setting in the middle seat, and grabbed a cookie. Utterly amazed at his audacity, she stared at him, reached for a second cookie, and ate it.

He looked at her and took another cookie as well. That left only one cookie, which the man took and broke in half, before giving half to her. The lady was dumbfounded. The behavior of her seatmate left her puzzled, angry, and hungry throughout the entire flight. But her greatest surprise came when she opened her purse upon landingand found her bag of cookies inside. That’s the way it always is! We’re so sure we’re rightwhen in reality we don’t have all of the facts. In the Day of Judgment, we will be shocked at how wrong we were and how little we knew when the handbags are opened and all things will be judged truthfully. Watch out, self-righteous person. You are he who perhaps is most vulnerable to despising the goodness of God. How? I suggest three ways… We Can Despise the Goodness of God When It Is Extolled by Others As David brought the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem, he danced before the Lord. Watching him from her window, his wife despised him. “Didn’t the king behave himself seemly?” she said mockingly. “ve done, I have done as unto the Lord,” David replied. “And I will become even more base in thy sight, for I’ll continue to extol Him with all of my might. As for you,” he continued, “you will be barren all the days of your life” (see 2Sa_6:20-23). Want to be barren? Want to be spiritually unproductive and impotent? Here’s how: Despise the goodness of God when it is extolled by others. Mock it. Make fun of it. Don’t participate in it. And I guarantee there will be a barrenness in your soul and a fruitlessness in your life just as there was in Michal’s. We Can Despise the Goodness of God When It Is Extended to Others This is tricky. This happens very frequently in my own heart. “How can they go on in that sin, Lord?” I ask. “They’re not walking with You. They don’t even have time for You. They’re living contrary to Your plan. Sic ’em, Lord.” David voiced this same sentiment in Psalms 73 when he wrote, “Truly God is good. But as for me, my feet had well nigh slipped when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Their eyes stand out in fatness. They’re not in trouble like other men. They have more than they could wish for. Their mouths are filled to the brim. When I thought upon this it was too painful for me.” It’s crazy how indignant I am with the sins of others and how indulgent I am with the sin in my own life. The result? I begin to despise the goodness of God when He shows the same goodness and mercy to others that He shows to me. We Despise the Goodness of God When It Is Exploited Within Ourselves God’s goodness can be exploited. He’s forbearing. He’s patient. He’s incredibly goodso much so that the Anglo-Saxon word for God is literally “the Good One.” In the days of Genesis, people sinned exceedingly. So God sent Noah to preach to a world that was carnal, sinful, and rebellious. As Noah hammered away on the ark for one hundred twenty years, God waited forbearingly, patiently, all the while providing graciously. While His people were in Egypt, God gave the Canaanites four hundred years to turn from their sin. Israel was carried into captivity because of iniquity. But eight hundred years later, God was still working with her, dwelling in her midst in the Person of Jesus Christ. God is so patient. Yet I despise His goodness whenever I think, Well, I’m getting away with my sin. Nothing negative is happening to me. So I’ll just keep sinning because either God doesn’t care about it, or maybe He even approves of it. Maybe I’m an exception. Not so. His goodness should lead you not to excuses of rationalization, but to the about-face of repentance. In Luke 13, Jesus told a parable so important for us to understand and remember. “Master,” the servant said, “the fig tree has not borne fruit for three years. Let’s cut it down.” “Don’t cut it down,” said the master. “Expose the roots, fertilize it, and give it one more year. Yes, it’s been absorbing nutrients from the soil and taking space in the garden without producing anythingbut I still desire fruit from this tree. Give it one more year.” Some of us are in that place right now. The Lord has been so good to us. He’s dug around us. He’s fertilized us through His Word. He’s tended us in His love. He’s provided for us in so many waysand yet we think, Sure, I’m out of fellowship, but I’m not getting cut down, so I must not be doing that bad. Rather than exploit God’s mercy and goodness, we should be amazed by it, for in our text, Paul said that in hardening our hearts, we store up wrath for ourselves. The story is told that in the late 1880s, a bank teller stole a silver dollar every day and hid it in his attic. Knowing how to juggle the books and cover his tracks, this went on for days, weeks, months, yearsuntil one day, after eighteen years, he was lying in his bed and judgment came. The rotting attic finally gave way, causing the coins to fall through the ceiling, crush the embezzler in his own bed, and bury him in his iniquity. The same thing is happening right now with some of us. We think we’re cleverly hiding our little secret. Nobody sees it. Nobody knows about it because we have figured out a way to juggle the books. But at a certain point, we’ll place our last silver dollar in the atticand everything will come down on our heads. The goodness of God makes possible indulgence in the hearts of foolish men, but brings about repentance in the hearts of wise men. If you have been despising the riches of His goodness, be wise and repent. Change direction and, by His grace, walk with God today.

Romans 2:5

If you put a water balloon on a kitchen faucet and turned on the water, the balloon would get bigger and biggereven though initially it might look like very little was happening. Some people do the same thing with life. They say, “I know I’m pouring sin into my life, but everything’s getting bigger and brighter.” Then there’s a big Boom! And everything explodes. “Be not deceived,” Paul would later write. “God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap” (see Gal_6:7). “Watch out,” he says. “You’re in for problems presently and damnation eternally unless you acknowledge your need for a Savior and give your heart and life to Jesus Christ.”

Romans 2:6

Is Paul saying here that salvation comes by works? Of course not. But he is saying that judgment will be according to works. That is, all unbelievers will one day stand before God at the Great White Throne, where what they have done will be judged. If they have done total good, giving God all glory in everything they’ve said, done, or thought, they’ll make it to heaven. In other words, to the moralist, to the person who is super pious, Paul is saying, “If you are really good, you’ll make it in. If all of your days you’ve glorified God with all of your heart, and have lived honorably in everything you do, say, and think, you’ll inherit eternal life.” But guess what. Only one Man has ever lived like thatand it was His blood that was shed for the rest of us. “This picture doesn’t do me justice,” said the politician to the photographer. And the photographer replied, “With a face like yours, you shouldn’t be asking for justice, but for mercy!” So, too, we don’t need justice. We need mercy. You see, God made our minds in such a manner that we don’t remember the sins we committed even an hour ago. If we remembered all of the wrong thoughts, lousy attitudes, critical spirits, lust, and everything else that goes on in our mindsmuch less the things we say and do outwardlywe would lose our sanity. So to the self-righteous moralist who says, “I’m a good person,” what a shock it will be when the books are opened and the depth of his sin is brought to light. Presently, we sing in this big choir of humanity. There are almost five billion of us on this planet, so if we’re a little out of tune, nobody knows. But there’s coming a time when man will sing solo. Then we’ll find out how off-key we really were.

Romans 2:12

Not having the law, by what standard will the pagan be judged? Paul will go on to say that his conscience within him and creation around him will indict every manleaving all men without a case in the courtroom of God’s judgment.

Romans 2:13

I believe one of the great hazards for those who love to study the Scriptures, and who take seriously the privilege of plowing through God’s Word, is that we can begin to think that hearing the Word automatically implies doing the Word. It’s a very subtle, but a very real danger. How do you know if you’re obeying the Word? If you’re grumpy, you’re not obeying the Word because Jesus said, “Happy are you if you do these things” (see Joh_13:17). The word “happy” in Greek means “happy.” It means “elated.” It speaks of emotion. You will be happy if you’re obeying the Word. But if you’re just hearing about it, or being analytical of it, you will not be happy. So Paul would say to the self-righteous, to the Hebrew, to the biblical scholar, “It’s not what you hear or know, it’s what you do that will affect you.” In your morning devotions, during Wednesday night study, in a Sunday morning service, or whenever you’re in the Word, ask the Lord to give you one thing to donot just to journal, or to ponder, but one thing through His Word to do by His Spirit. And happy will you be if you do it.

Romans 2:14

“The Gentiles don’t have the Scripture, but they understand right and wrong intuitively,” said Paul. Men know right from wrong intuitively. In no culture is murder ever allowed. In no culture is adultery ever accepted. “Wait a minute,” you protest. “That doesn’t square with Anthropology 101. We studied Polynesian cultures where, before the influence of white society, husbands and wives were traded freely, and everyone was happy continually.” Not true. A couple of years ago, the interpreter for Margaret Mead revealed that the famed anthropologist was sold a huge bill of goodsthat the Pago Pago people about whom she wrote would tell jokes about her at night, laughing at all the false information they were feeding her. Men innately know right from wrong and will be judged according to whether or not they live up to that knowledge.

Romans 2:16

In the Day of Judgment, the heathen will be judged by the conscience he has honored or violated, and the Hebrew will be judged by the Scriptures with which he has been entrusted.

Romans 2:17

“We have the law,” boasted the Hebrews, “and we know the things that are excellent.”

Romans 2:19

“Just because you have information,” Paul is saying, “you can’t assume you have justification or are qualified to be a guide for others.”

Romans 2:21

“When did we steal?” the Jews asked God in Malachi. “In not giving the tithe you’ve robbed Me,” He answered (see Mal_3:8).

Romans 2:22

The Book of Hosea declares that the adultery of the Jews was demonstrated in the way they had distanced themselves from God by following after other lovers, other priorities, and other affections.

Romans 2:23

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees gave the Gentiles cause to blaspheme God. That’s always the problem with sin: It gives the skeptic, the cynic, the unbeliever a reason not to become a Christian. You and I are to proclaim not our greatness but God’s grace. We set ourselves and others up for a huge fall if we start pointing to anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Romans 2:25

Circumcision was (1) an identification of God’s covenant people, an outward sign of what was to be an inward reality; and (2) an illustration of God’s dealing with the flesh. In the Old Testament, God defined how the illustration of circumcision was intended to work. Exo_6:12 speaks of the circumcision of the lips. Jer_6:10 speaks of the circumcision of the ears. Ezekiel 44 speaks of the circumcision of the heart. God’s people were to speak with tenderness, hear with sensitivity, feel with compassion. Circumcision was meant to be a picture externally of the transformation that takes place internally. Yet although the Jews were outwardly circumcised, they were far from where they should have been internally. As the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, the Lord said, “Before you can take on Jericho in victory, before you can enter the Promised Land and enjoy the milk and honey, you must circumcise all those who came out of Egypt” (see Joshua 5). They needed to do away with the flesh before they could have victory in the Spirit. But this principle became lost in the community of the super-religious, for although they boasted of their circumcision physically, their hearts, lips, and ears were hardened to the Lord in reality. I point this out to you because Paul is making a very important point concerning outward signs and religion. “I’ve been baptized,” people say. “I’ve gone through Confirmation. I’ve had Communion.” And many people think that, because they’ve gone through a baptismal ceremony, been christened as an infant, or come to the Lord’s table, they will be especially blessed. Not so. Outward expression means nothing if not accompanied by inward experience.

Romans 2:28

A derivative of the word “Judah,” the word “Jew” means “Praise.” Who is the true circumcision, the true Jew, the one worthy of praise in the sight of God? Not those who legalistically and self-righteously try to deal with the fleshbut rather those who, in joy and amazement, worship God in the Spirit. The true Jew rejoices in Christ Jesus, has no confidence in his own flesh, and simply says, “Lord, I know that apart from You I can do nothing.”