14) God Does Not Play Favorites
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The people of God are called to be messengers of the Gospel of God. The honor to be used by God himself to take the promises and words of God to people who need to hear. To people that are in need of hope. Who are living what seems to be a life of reoccurring futility. We are sent to appeal to those that are far away that there is good news. There is light in the darkness. We have been chosen by God to be used as his instruments of proclamation and reconciliation.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
To go out into the world and to tell people that today is the day, now is the day of salvation.
We hear people today proclaiming all sorts of promises and ideas. But many do not even know the fundamentals about that which they stand up and defend.
The bible tells us that Christians are to be heralds of the message of God. So is it important that we know the complete message that God has given us to share with the world. This is the focus of what Paul is teaching in the beginning of his letter to the Romans. As he is compelled to share the message of God he is very careful to share the entire message.
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
If today is the day of salvation, then what do people need to be saved from. This is the theme of what he is speaking of here in the beginning chapters of the letter to the church in Rome. He has given evidence that the wrath and anger of God has come to all who have sinned, which is all mankind, of those that are condemned in Adam.
Paul delivered the evidence of why all men are deserving of God’s wrath and anger. Reasons such as, God has revealed himself through creation. Rom 1:19-20.
That man has rejected God. Rom 1:21.
Man relies on their own understanding and wisdom Rom 1:22.
Men worshiped that which is created instead of the creator that is worthy of all praise, God himself. Rom 1:23.
So God delivered them over to their desires, passions, minds, which show no concern for the things of God but shows that men are without excuse before God’s judgement. Rom 1:24-32.
What do men need to be saved from, the wrath of God and his anger. Because there is a day when men will be judged before God. In Chapter 2 he gave many reasons that judgement will come to all.
They practice what they condemn in others. They know what is wrong but continue to practice it themselves.
1 Therefore, every one of you who judges is without excuse. For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.
They know the truth.
2 Now we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth. 3 Do you think—anyone of you who judges those who do such things yet do the same—that you will escape God’s judgment?
Guilty of heard and unrepentant hearts
4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.
After the Judgment is the reward
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.
Paul now expands on this idea by speaking of God’s impartiality and that men are accountable before God.
11 For there is no favoritism with God. 12 For all who sin without the law will also perish without the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. 14 So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, 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. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them 16 on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.
There Are No Favorites
There Are No Favorites
11 For there is no favoritism with God.
When God looks to the sins of man and his judgment, there are no favorites. He is impartial and has no favoritism. There are no favors, bribes, loop holes or any other way to manipulate God or to get by the judgement of God.
This verse follows the section on God paying each person according to their deeds, whether they are godly or ungodly. The deeds reveal the two paths that people can be on. They are still on the path to the wide gate of destruction. Turned over to their evil hearts, disgraceful passions and corrupt minds. Or they are on the narrow path that leads to salvation. The path that few will follow. The path of those who have been saved by faith. Who have heard the gospel and believed.
The impartiality of God is that only those that go through the gate that leads to salvation are those that have been converted, restored, regenerated, lived seeking to do good deeds. No one on the narrow path will find themselves at the gate of destruction. In the opposite, here will be no one who lives an unrepentant, rebellious, sin filled life that will enter the narrow gate.
Each person will get what they are due.
9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
The word used for partiality is a compound word. One part of the word means to receive and the other means face. Literally to receive a face. It is the idea of passing judgement or providing favor by how a person or thing looks.
It is superficial and is one level off from prejudice. To look at the outside of a person and make your determination from your own perceived biases and assumptions.
When we say things like, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” or “to take something at face value”, we are starting to get an idea of what is being described here.
There are two sides of this: there is the person who is presenting an outward facade that doesn’t actually reflect what is on the inside. We do this in our appearance. We do all sorts of things to present an image to the world that is not representative of who or what we really are. We dress up in expensive clothes that is purchase with money that we don’t have, put on a happy face when we are falling apart inside. We alter our appearance temporarily or permanently. We may wear our only suit to an interview and never where it again. We speak differently in different situations. We are like chameleons that constantly change the outside to blend in or to stand out.
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.
Never wanting anyone to know who we really are on the inside, we can easily fall into the trap of putting on a show for the world to see. The Pharisees were examples of this. They gave the appearance of righteousness by conforming their behavior to align with the law, but on the inside they were empty.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.
This type of hypocrisy is an attempt to manipulate how people treated by others.
The other side of this is the one who uses their own biases, prejudices, wants, desires, or any other reason to treat people, not based on who they really are but on subjective and inconsistent motives.
One definition of favoritism or partiality is
partiality n. — an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives; especially considered as an injustice.
We understand this in our culture because we are a culture of favoritism. We see it, experience it, and live it out in our own lives. Even though God commands that we are to be impartial.
1 My brothers and sisters, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
God defines it as as sin to treat people in this way.
9 If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
But God is not a God of favoritism. Jesus was recognized as being impartial.
21 They questioned him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and you don’t show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God.
Peter said that he has come to understand that God does not play favorites.
34 Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism,
How is it that God shows no favoritism. It is because nothing is hidden from him. No matter what a person does on the outside, no matter what good works they do, no matter how much money they give, how far away they go to serve. No matter how cleaned up on the outside. No matter what cover is put on the book.
God see through it all. Because he sees to the deepest part of our person. He knows all of the story of our life and nothing is hidden or missed.
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”
God cannot be conned. He cannot be persuaded. Each person’s life is an open book to God. He sees the heart. The motive behind the action. The Jews believed that they has a special blessing because they had been given the Law. and that they were descendants of Abraham. But everyone stands before God with the same evaluation.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.
A question that arises when we look at the old testament is “how are Gentiles judged and condemned if they did not have the Law”. Didn’t God show favoritism when he selected a specific people to reveal his law. Is it fair that they are punished when they never knew the rules. Paul addresses this next.
Accountable For What They Hear
Accountable For What They Hear
12 For all who sin without the law will also perish without the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
Every person has been given a different level of the revelation of God. On one end of the spectrum to have those mentioned in Chapter 1. Where God has revealed himself to all mankind through creation.
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.
Everyone is without excuse because without Jesus and God calling people to himself, all of mankind would prove to be rebellious and sinful as they reject the God who has revealed himself through creation. Paul says these people have not heard the Law of God and will perish without it. Even though they did not have the law before them they still perish because they are without excuse.
But there are those who have had the law of God revealed to them. Paul says that those that know the law will be judged by it. We see in scripture that God does distribute his judgement differently in regards to what a person knows and understands.
Just like a child who grows in their understanding of the rules of the home, the more they know and understand the harsher the judgment because they know better. On one end you have those that have only seen God’s creation. On the other, we see harsher language for those that know the truth, those who have heard the law, those that have heard the teaching of the apostles and disregard them.
26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who has said, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people. 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The more that a person knows of what God commands, the more terrifying should be the expectation of God’s judgement and fury. To read the bible to agree that it is the breathed out words of God.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
To know this verse to be true and then to continue to live in sin is to trample on the Son of God, is to regard as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and to insult the Spirit of grace. These are serious charges and ones that should not be taken lightly. Terrifying expectation since God does not show partiality that, those that hear and disobey will receive what they deserve.
And the strictest warning is for the teachers of the of the commands of God.
1 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.
Teachers are standing in as spokesmen for the will of God. They are held to a stricter judgement because they can so easily lead people down the wrong path and they is an accountability for that.
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them. 7 “ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. 8 As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—because my flock, lacking a shepherd, has become prey and food for every wild animal, and because my shepherds do not search for my flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! 10 “ ‘This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.
Each person will be perish or be judged according to what they have heard. They will be accountable for what they have heard, but they will also be accountable for what they do.
Accountable For They Do
Accountable For They Do
13 For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.
This reiterates what has been taught earlier in Romans, that each will be paid accordingly to his or her work. Each person will be judged based on what they do with what they have heard, whether it is much or little.
22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For those that have heard the words of God, it is a foolish person who does not build with them.
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
Just hearing the Law did not mean a person would not perish. But one, who by faith follows them, will be saved. The Jews are judged to a higher standard because they have the law. But what about the Gentiles.
Accountable For Their Motives
Accountable For Their Motives
14 So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, 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. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them 16 on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.
There are many people in the world that do good things that are not Christians. They care for the poor, do not murder or steal. They are kind and considerate. They live in a way that naturally aligns with the commands of the bible, even though they may have never heard them. The basic principles of all societies have things in them that are good before God’s eyes even though they have never had the Law.
Paul is stating that by these actions they are demonstrating that know in their heart what is good and are a law unto themselves. People do not need God’s word to know right from wrong. So they know what the law demands. They show it written on their hearts.
Their conscience confirms this. As people who do not know God are filled with guilt and shame for doing what the bible calls evil. They show that inside they know the law. Why does someone care if they have been lied against if they have not heard the commandment though shall not lie. Why does the conscience confirm or bear witness when people behave in ways that mirror God’s word.
Why do most unbelievers have common definitions of right and wrong? Why do secular businesses have ethics if there is no standard. The thoughts of people also confirm they at a fundamental level people know the Law.
When the final day of judgement comes the motive behind each person’s actions will be judged. For God sees the heart.
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”
God Searches the Heart
9 “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.
The true believer lives in this reality.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways.
On the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to the Gospel Paul preached. The good news that Paul preached is the hope for all people. Jew and Gentile alike. Without favoritism, but with faithful justice. The Gospel must be preached from wrath to redemption or people do not know what they are being saved from.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This section from verse 6 to this point shows that there is no excuse for anyone before the Lord on judgement day. No one can say I didn’t know. God will say why did you do this and why did you do that if you didn’t know. Why did you feel guilt when you did this or that. You are condemning yourself before the court. There will be no longer any time to repent before God.
But those that will be given eternal live will be people who live out these truths in their lives first the Jew and the Greek or Gentile.
Those that receive eternal life will be people who evaluate with the word and hear it. Seeking to understand and to know what God’s will is for their life.
12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
They are those that know that what they do matters. They are sowing the seeds of eternal rewards in the Spirit, in contrast to the worldly ones in the flesh that will be burnt in the fire.
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.
They know that God is just and impartial and they live differently because of it.
17 If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers.
We live in a time where the words of God are accessible in so many ways. In unprecedented ways, and yet we are in a time where at least in the Unites States, biblical literacy is at a low. Many people who claim to be followers of Jesus have very little understanding of God’s word. The teachers are not teaching it. And those that do know the bible are not obeying it. There is a terrifying judgement that is to come for the one who stands before the fire and all will be burned away but their salvation.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.
Live a life filled with the works of righteousness. Acts that will last through time.
The message that Paul proclaimed and the that has been passed on to the church is a message of salvation. A message that begins with a person recognizing there is a God and that they have rejected him and his ways. All of the thing they have know to be wrong are now clear that they see Jesus. They admit they are guilt before God and believe in his redemptive plan of salvation. That Jesus came to save sinners by living a perfect life under the law and to stand in for you as your substitute and to pay the penalty, receive the wrath, owed to you. To believe Christ rose from the grave and lives as our mediator today. This is the message of reconciliation.
Is this the message you are sharing with you children and family members, with your co-workers and neighbors.
Is this the place where you are at? You have heard the message and want to be saved. Then today is the day of salvation. Confess that he is lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. Call on his name and you will be saved. If this is you today. Find me or someone after church and we will rejoice with you and help you with what is next.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Blessing/Benediction
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.
