Silent Self-Righteousness
Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Romans 2:1-16
God’s Righteous Judgment
2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
God’s Judgment and the Law
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 righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
INTRODUCTION:
todays message is about self-righteousness —- and I start by saying this —- the focus of this message is to get you and I hyper-focused on the beauty of God in His majesty. in what he has done for us
SUMMARY INTRO: but one of our greatest temptations is to promote ourselves in a way that makes us the one worthy of worship and praise
i want us to be reminded of the old hymn during this entire sermon: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness,”
i want to you to write down a couple things that you love about God in your notes app or on a piece of paper
CONTEXT of 2:1-16:
lets place this passage within the context of ALL of chapter one
the pinnacle of Chpt. 1 is Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
the whole book of Romans is Paul unpacking Righteousness that comes by faith and the inner-workings of how this is TRUE in Christ & how it plays itself out in our actual lives —- the largest opponent to righteousness by faith is Self-Righteousness
if Chapter ones SUMMARY is “unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is accomplished through faith THAT is the righteousness of God on display” — than the passage we will be in today is its opponent —- and the opponent of this Gospel is humans making themselves like god in that they judge others for not being what they are based on a standard that they have created themselves.
the direct opposite of our gospel, in christ, is that we make ourselves righteous by our own doing —- resulting in judgment of others.
the irony of 2:1-16 is that it comes right after Rom. 1:1:18-32 (Gods Wrath on Unrighteousness)
Paul unpacks a list of things that people, in sin, had given themselves to — resulting in a hardened-heart toward God. — many of these things we still see in large effect today —- we would call this today “wordly things” —- and the temptation after reading Rom 1:18-32 is to say “say it louder Paul!” “let the people know!!” “we won’t stand for that!!” —- and then we get to our passage today and Paul says —- hey, not so fast…
a great temptation for those who know the truth of the gospel is to use it as a measuring stick against others to tell them how they don’t measure up —— and to slowly forget that they never measured up to the righteous requirement for salvation which can only EVER be accomplished through Jesus
+picture of an apartment in nyc that was painted over poorly
sometimes we treat our faith life this —- newly renovated faith in Jesus —- its just my old self with some new catch phrases
this passage is actually meant to remind us of the beauty of faith in jesus and remind us of who we are in christ!
Reject self-righteousness for it is not from Christ
Romans 2:1-5
2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
(Rom. 1:32 as the backdrop here)
32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
that is one way to excuse yourself from salvation from Christ alone —- to just simply disregard what the Word of God says and disregard God in all
ANOTHER WAY TO DO IT —- as Paul is now flipping the coin over —- and is speaking to those who believe they have salvation because of their resume and their law keeping that judge others who do not come from what they come and have what they have(jews specifically)
this passage is NOT saying “don’t judge others” —- Paul would have to excuse himself because of his writing in chapter 1:18-32 if it was saying that — where he explains the things that are detestable to God and that ought not be done —— instead it is speaking to those who believe they have made themselves righteous and now falsely become the judge of others when they themselves cast judgments on others about rules/regulations that God Himself did not give
1 Corinthians 5:12 (ESV) (this is NOT the backdrop)
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
this is a true statement ^^^ but that is not the context that Paul is directly speaking to here —- there is some overlap but it is not the main focus: Paul here is speaking to the Jews mainly — but also the gentiles about those who have added the gospel message to their toolbelt of self-righteousness —- but they still believe that its who they are and what they have done that saves them —- and those who aren’t what they are cannot be saved.
Here is the headline for point #1: Self-righteousness leads to self-salvation which leads to self-seperation - in sin - from God
2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
here lies the the ultimate hypocrisy —- do you, who have made yourself righteous because of things outside of Jesus’ work on the cross, judge others for doing the very same thing that you are doing and then expect to escape the wrath of God based on your own works?
or have you manipulated faith in a way that says i can do these things but don’t have to do those things because i said so —- I’m the judge
this is opposite of the Gospel —- and leads one to believe they have accomplished something that they have not.
you see self-righteousness is the most dangerous course of action for any one individual because it makes you god and others sit underneath your judgement — and i can tell you i am and you are horrendously bad gods
STORY: bobby palmranky /// me being a rule follower
DISCLAIMER: now don’t let us excuse ourselves because we don’t happen to be tempted to rely on jewish old testament connections and ancestry like these jews would have — our temptation may look different today but the danger is jus the same
- maybe we rely on man-made doctrines to receive the holy spirit (if you don’t speak in tongues you cannot have the holy spirit)
or if you do not believe in these specific niche doctrines than you cannot be saved (we love and deeply care about doctrine but only Jesus saves)
or I said a prayer one time and i’m good for the rest of time (this idea is far more new than you may think) — Romans 10:9 (confess with your mouth…you will be saved is followed up with — 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved —- this is not just spoken words its belief
or i read my bible everyday
or i would never do what they are doing so i’m good
or fill int he blank of things we think makes us righteous
it is what Jesus has done that makes us righteous and that alone —- “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness,”
this leads us to verses 4-5
ROMANS 2:4-5
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
do you assume upon Gods kindness and patience in that you know he will cover you with grace even in your self-righteousness?
missing that his kindness and patience for you is to lead to repentance?
presuming upon Gods kindness and patience and love towards us at its core is miss-understanding God Himself
his goodness leads us to repentance because we know that we fall short of His glory and his kindness ….. so we repent of our sins because sin is not of God
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
notice it says righteous Judgment —- Right Judgment — He is God — He is overall - and in His love he has judgment (more later)
when you rely on your self-righteousness …. and depend on your own actions … inheritance …. or man made idols …. you are storing up for yourself the judgment that you cast upon others in this life.. upon yourself in the next life
the irony here is that they were judging themselves by judging others by their own standard
Question: Where have you seen self-righteousness in your own life? —- look at the things you wrote about what you love about God —- now write some things down that you are tempted to rely on yourself for
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2. God is impartial in his judgement
Romans 2:6-11
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
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 righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
if God is the judge, who is impartial (not dependent upon ancestry or resume), he has an objective law that he is making his judgments upon —- and that requirement is perfection —- and their is only one who was perfect under the law and that is Christ Jesus our Lord
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
but i thought our faith was not dependent upon our works but our belief in Christ!?!?!?! —— it is, your right, but the heart that has been transformed by the justification from trusting Christ —- and it bears fruit —- it is an outflow of the transformed heart that has believed the Gospel
good news church: God gave us His son to be the rightful sacrifice for our sins if we do so believe in Him that makes us right or justified in christ —- this results in a transformed heart that bears fruit that flows from proper faith
the hypocrisy Paul is speaking against is this: they believed upon their own righteousness and the fruit of their own righteousness was judgment of others that brought judgment upon them because there trust and “salvation” was in themselves and not in Christ
Romans 2:12-16
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 righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Gods law judges, and the nature of creation judges — as it points to the reality of God himself —- Romans 1:20 — 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,7 in the things that have been made.
this is stating that ALL — under Gods law and natural law — have the awareness of Gods reality
The right question from the jewish hearer who is confronted with this passage is to ask —- then how could i possibly be saved from my sin —- and how could i possibly be perfect underneath gods law?
i must have someone who God deems righteous stand in for me because i know that I cannot do what Paul just described — and they would be right — his name is Jesus
and our rightful question — is in my sin… how could i possibly be made right with God? its through CHRIST
God is the rightful judge — and he has a righteous standard for He is Creator —- and his standard is belief in His Son — who came and lived perfectly without sin —- died to be the sacrifice for our sins —- and he rose — accomplishing death to death and life to those who believe
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church — reject self-righteousness —- know Gods righteous standards — and trust in His Son
1.Where have you seen self-righteousness play out in your life, with regard to birth, resume, or doctrine?
2.How does Christ’s righteousness set you free?
3.Has your salvation ever been a burden because of self-righteousness?