Works of the Ungodly
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we looked at the works that are seen in the righteous. Paul has stated that God will repay each person according to their works. There are two possibilities, two paths, that are available to all people. As each person is born a sinner, separated from the presence of the Holy God, on the path of destruction. Heaping up loads and loads of sin, where each one earns the debt of sin, and transgression in life.
If no one intercedes or steps into the life of a person, the inevitable result is to stand before God in judgement and receive his just wrath. But there are those who’s lives have been changed. There are those that are saved from this path. They are the saved ones, the saints, the children of God, the joint heirs in the inheritance and when they stand before God they will receive eternal life.
The righteous will persist and remain in doing good, seeking God’s glory, honoring him before the nations and seeking what is incorruptible the immortal life. They will receive much blessing, eternal life.
Today we are going to look at the works of the disobedient, the unregenerate and the lost, the ungodly. Turn with me to Romans Chapter 2 verse 6.
6 He will repay each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness. 9 There will be affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
The Works of the Ungodly
The Works of the Ungodly
Unlike the righteous who receive eternal life the ungodly receive wrath and anger.
8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness.
There are only two payments rendered to each person, the payment of eternal life or the payment of God’s wrath and anger. This is still an eternal reality for the ungodly. Those that earn this reward, will not be resurrected into life but into condemnation.
28 Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Which the scriptures describe as the second death.
8 But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Wrath and anger, both of these words are used to attempt to encompass the reward given to those that live a life of evil, rebellion, and rejection of God.
Many live their life as if they are born neither good or bad. They make decisions on a daily basis. They will do some good or bad and they hope that when they die there will be this evaluation of the good and the bad and then they hope that they will make it to heaven or any other after life they want.
In the watered down version of the Gospel that is presented today, it speaks of how hard life is and that God can remove you from your brokenness. Mend your marriage, fix your spouse, get you a better job, grant you access to eternal life. These are all things that God may do in the life of believers but that is not why people need the gospel of Jesus. Every person who is ever born, each and every child in this room, each one of us, and every other person was born into this decaying body with a nature of flesh. A nature of rebellion against all that is good. A nature of godlessness and unrighteousness.
If we remember back to chapter 1 wrath was revealed against these things.
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.
Without some thing outside of man to intervene on their behalf, the trajectory of every person is one of condemnation, destruction, and wrath and anger. This isn’t a road that we put ourselves on, it is a road that Adam put us on. When we look out into the world around us, the perishing world is destined for God’s wrath.
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
Condemnation is only removed by the belief in the Son whom, God gave. Jesus did not come into it to condemn it because it was already condemned. The second person of the trinity did not have to descend from heaven to bring condemnation. This was already accomplished through Adam.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned. 13 In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. 16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. 17 If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus came to save those that believe in him. Jesus is the one who must be believed in to not receive God’s righteous wrath. The condemnation that started at the fall of Adam.
36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
Wrath is first and it will remain on all who reject the son. Because it is the son who rescues from from wrath.
8 For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Those that continue to do what they have always done, with receive what they have always deserved. They have a status that has not changed on Facebook from condemned to God’s anger and wrath to one who has eternal life. In contrast to those that persist in doing good seeking glory, honor, and immortality, the unsaved person continues to live an evil life.
Self-Seeking
Self-Seeking
First it says they are self seeking. They are driven by selfish ambition. They are the most important person in their world. Selfishness is a characteristic and attribute of the sinner. Selfishness does not have to be taught, it is about the most natural thing there is for us. I have never heard a parent complain that their child is struggling with compulsive sharing. I go into little Maddie’s room and she has given all of her toys away, again.
I haven’t talked to a husband or wife who is upset that their spouse is too selfless. They care too much for me. I just wish I could find a man that was more selfish. Paul puts this as one of three works that are seen in the unsaved. In the lost and condemned world. They do not live with others in mind, unless it is a way for them to get what they want.
The live to fill their selfish desires.
16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Everything in the world is what they focus on. Greed, pride, desire all wrapped up into the work of self-seeking and selfish ambition. They want what they want, and they want it now. Living for self-promotion, self-absorbed, self-appointed, self-assurance, self-esteemed, self-conceited, self-discovery, self-help, self-identity, self-image, self-love, self-made, self-obsessed along with the other hundreds of ways that we put self into the actions we do.
Selfish ambition is a characteristic of a fallen society.
1 But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.
When you look at each sin listed in this passage they all are girded in selfishness. They all put the sinner’s wants before the commands of God and the needs of others. This is the opposite of how the believer is to live.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
Pride, arrogance, thinking yourself better than others. This is the life of selfish ambition. The world revolves around me. My company should pay me more because I bless them with my presence. My spouse is to serve and cater to my wants and desires, to conform to my will for their lives. My children are to help me be successful. They are to not get in the way of my goals or hobbies. My church is here to cater to my needs and my wants. To serve me because it is all about me. There is only one set of opinions that matter and those are the ones that I tell you.
Over and over when we see sin in the word of God detailed out, we see selfish ambition at work. When I see marriages struggling there is much selfishness. When parents and children are struggling in their relationships there is selfishness. When the church is in disorder and conflict there is much selfishness.
On the other hand, marriages that are growing and strengthening are aware of their tendency to be selfish and they fight against it together. The same with parents and the church. When we see righteousness in action we see selflessness.
There will always be conflict in any relationship that does not have Christ in the center of it. Why? Because it is impossible to be selfless without Christ. Selfish ambition is a mark of a lost person not the mark of a believer.
15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.
The Christian lives for another, lives to exult another, lives to bring glory to another, lives to advance another’s will and objectives. A Christian lives to build up the lives of others around them and lives to do the things that Christ desires.
Self-seeking, selfish ambition is the first trait of those that are still condemned. The second is they disobey the truth.
Disobedience to the Truth
Disobedience to the Truth
8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness.
What is the truth? It is what is real. God has revealed truth to mankind, through creation, the prophets, apostles teachings, and in Jesus himself.
Creation is the first revelation of the the truth and this is rejected by the fallen man.
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.
God then revealed himself in many ways and at many times through the prophets and with the patriarchs. We read those interactions and we receive the ten commandments and the law. This is also rejected.
So Jesus reveals the truth of who God is, what his redemptive plan is, and they inaugurates that plan with his death burial and resurrection.
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
During that ministry Jesus would train and raise up men that would teach the early church what he had revealed in himself. This truth was to be a foundation of the church and the church is to lift it up and to keep it in it’s rightful place of honor.
15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
But this truth cannot be received by the world. Only those that have been saved and are regenerated will have this truth and will live it out in their lives.
17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
Those that are not saved are still condemned as they did not believe in the truth.
12 so that all will be condemned—those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.
Disobedience to God’s revealed truth is a very telling characteristic of one who will not receive eternal life. This isn’t the one who has accepted the truth but struggles in following it. All of us have to work out our salvation. But those who willingly dismiss parts of the revealed truth and choose to disobey what God has said is showing that they are not saved or living as if they are not saved.
Jesus said,
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commands.
When Jesus gave them the commission to go he said,
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
All those who are saved by the gospel, the good news of Jesus, and who are baptized into the name of the triune God are to be taught the commands. Why? So that they may obey them.
They may live in a way that does good, seeking the things of God. To live differently. To no longer living in obedience to unrighteous.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Obeying Unrighteousness
Obeying Unrighteousness
The lost person is dead in their trespasses. This is their walk in life. They follow the ways of this world. They follow the lies of the great deceiver the power of the air the devil. Because it is he who is at work in the lost.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.
For it is he who has sinned from the beginning.
8 The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.
The devil fills the earth with empty arguments and empty promises that have the goal of leading people to continue to disobey the truth and to obey his lies. He is the great deceiver and unfortunately for many they cannot shake the promises that bring destruction.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things.
The one who will be paid with affliction and distress, are those that do not put to death their earthly nature but live fully in it.
5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.
The Reward of the Unrighteous
The Reward of the Unrighteous
9 There will be affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek;
Affliction and Distress
Affliction and Distress
These two words paint a picture of high pressure and narrow confinement. I remember as a kid the idea of being claustrophobic. I would completely freak out if someone threw a blanket over me and held me down. Even if it was playing. What will the eternal death of hell be like? There are lots of speculations but here Paul is bring forth this idea of constant tribulation and confinement. This is something to be feared.
Those that are thrown into the lake of fire.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
The only other possibility before the judge will be eternal punishment as their payment. Selfish ambition and disobedience are called evil by Paul. Anything that is against God is called evil. The affliction and distress that will come on those that do evil will be equally given to both the Jew and the Greek.
Conclusion
Conclusion
When we read that God will repay each person according to their works we should really want to evaluate our lives. The two payments are eternal life or eternal wrath, anger, affliction and distress. And the works that each person does reveals what they are due.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
There is the wide path that everyone starts on that leads to destruction. It is the easy path, the one that comes naturally. It is a path of self-glorification, self-honor, worldly-temporal living. It is a life of self-ambition and obedience to the lies of the enemy. It is a life that has one master, one lord, and that is myself. Everything is motivated for my wants, my desires. All who enter the gate of this path will find they are not alone as they walk through what looks to be right but on the other side they will find destruction.
There is another path. The path less traveled. This is the narrow and difficult road. It is filled with persecution and trials. With many set backs. It will be wary path. Will be one of ridicule and chastisement. It is the path of self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-control, and selflessness. It is a life that lives for others. First to the one and only Lord of all creation. It is the path that glorifies, God, honors God, seeks the rewards of heaven. It is a life of caring for others, putting others before yourself. It is a path of obedience to the one that is called Lord. This is the path that leads to life and few will find it. The path to salvation is only found in Jesus.
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
God has revealed himself in creation, in the prophets and apostles, and in Jesus himself. We have been given everything we need to live out the life of godliness. Only God knows the true condition of a person’s heart as he is the one who changes it. But as a community, God’s word reveals that there are works and actions that are a light to the state of the heart.
The question for each person here today is what path are you on? Are you on the wide path to destruction or on the narrow path to life. Have you came to the place of seeing what is waiting for you if you continue in your sin and rebellion against God. Have you come to see that the only way to the narrow gate of life is through Jesus Christ. He who descended from heaven and took on humanity, who lived a perfect life and who died as the perfect sacrifice to save those that would call on his name to be saved. To believe that he has been raised from the dead conquering death. Have you put your trust in him as Lord and savior. If not I ask that you do that today. Fill out a card, stick around after church and we can talk.
The second question today is, if you do profess Jesus as savior, do your works show that God is working in you through your obedience, and seeking good or do you show that you are following the lies of Satan.
There are too many Christians today that are not grieved by their sin. They are not burdened when they disobey. They are comfortable in disobedience to God and and obedience to unrighteousness. Too many Christians are either ignorant of God’s word or have become numb to the word.
7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
What are you sowing in your personal life? What are you sowing in your marriage? In your family? In the church? You must do what is right before God today to hope you will have what he promises tomorrow. Why do so many Christians find themselves in marital and family conflict? It is because they live on the wide path. They are selfish and self centered. They have not done the work that leads to life and blessing.
What do your works say about who you serve? Almighty God or yourself?
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Blessing/Benediction
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one—that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
