Righteous God | Religious Man
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Turn to Romans chapter two
Two weeks ago, we saw that God is the only perfect judge the universe will ever know.
Romans 2:6-16 showed us that…
God’s judgment will be impartial
His judgment will be equitable
God will make no mistakes as the judge of all the earth.
Introduction
Introduction
As we begin today in Romans 2:17, Paul will continue to show that God is preeminently righteous but all of humanity is hopelessly lost.
Now if you’re thinking, “Pastor Tim, Paul’s been doing that for a while now!”
Please remember that Paul is a Jewish religious lawyer, and he is simply building his case.
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Righteous God | Unrighteous Man - Romans 1:18-32
Righteous God | Moral Man - Romans 2:1-6
Righteous God | Righteous Judgment - Romans 2:6-16
Righteous God | Religious Man - Romans 2:17-29
Read Romans 2:17-20
The history of christendom is marked by many examples of religious individuals doing unusual things.
One person, named Anthony, is usually regarded as the "Father of Monasticism."
After hearing Jesus' words to the rich young ruler ("Sell what you have and give to the poor"), Anthony reportedly gave away his possessions and retreated into the Egyptian desert.
Through the course of his life, Anthony lived in increasing isolation, spending years in abandoned forts and desert caves. He practiced:
Prolonged fasting
Vigils (staying awake in prayer)
Simplicity and poverty
Solitude
Several years ago I told you about a man named Simon the Stylite. He sat on top of a pillar for more than thirty years as a form of self-denial.
Many early Christian hermits in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine adopted practices that seem extreme today. They lived in tombs. They wore chains. They remained silent for years.
Lastly, there was a group of these individuals in Syria called “grazers”. They lived outdoors like animals, grazing on vegetation, and avoiding typical human shelter or using fire for warmth or cooking.
Their lifestyle choices beg this question: “why?”
Why did they do these things?
I’m not going to take the time to speculate on their motives, but I know this: their religious fervor was equalled or excelled by the most devout Jews.
It’s one thing to sit on top of a pillar for a couple of decades; it’s quite another to try and follow the 613 commandments of the Mosaic Law!
As Paul begins analyzing devout Judaism in verses 17-20, he makes this point:
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A religious man trusts in his own righteousness - Romans 2:17-20
When Paul was alive, a devout Jewish man was the premier example of a religious person. Men like the Pharisees were viewed with a general sense of admiration for their religious fervor, and before his conversion to Christianity, Paul was counted among the best of them.
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Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
If anyone had the authority to lay an indictment against religious people, it was Paul! He was the most religious among them! I have no doubt that many of the ancient hermits of Christendom began their religious journey sometime in adulthood, but Paul began his eight days after he was born!
“Beat that!” He might say!
You could not improve on his credentials in Judaism - he had it all!
And that’s exactly Paul’s point in verses 17-20. A devout Jewish man thought that by virtue of who he was and how he lived, he had everything he needed to be righteous with God. A devout Jewish man rested in the fact that he had the truth while the rest of the world lived in pagan error. If God allowed anyone into Heaven, it would be him because he was one of God’s covenant people and he lived the law as sincerely as he could.
Application: All of the religion in the world does not impress the righteous God of Heaven.
You can dress in the finest robes like the Catholic pope.
You can cover your buildings with gold like the shrines of Buddhism.
You can have the most solemn of pomp and circumstance like the Eastern Orthodox Church.
You can offer animal sacrifices like Islam.
You can practice the most rigid interpretation of the Mosaic Law like Orthodox Judaism.
You can have the loudest band of any contemporary Christian church.
And you can preach the Bible as thunderously as an independent Baptist preacher!
But NONE OF THAT of itself impresses a thrice holy God! None of that translates into earned righteousness with God.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…
The only righteousness that gets God’s attention is the righteousness of His very own Son, Jesus Christ. His righteousness must be applied to your account with God.
What are you depending on to make you righteous with God?
I’ve heard well-meaning people say that “we are all God’s children.” That’s certainly how the devout Jewish man thought of himself and other devout Jews.
Regardless of what a person may mean by that today, it is an error because it contradicts Scripture. We are not all God’s children. We are all His creation but we are not all God’s children. Paul will tell us in Romans chapter eight who are God’s children but rest assured, it has nothing to do with being Jew or Gentile.
Application: Christian, resist cultural cliches. Always strive to think biblically.
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A religious man is not superior to the unrighteous man - Romans 2:21-24
Now I know: that statement defies how we usually think. After all, I would sooner have a catholic as my next door neighbor instead of a cannibal. Wouldn’t you?
Paul’s not disputing that comparison nor am I saying that a religious man and an unrighteous man live the same way.
Let’s see what Paul is saying in context.
Read Romans 2:21-24
The apostle asks a series of rhetorical questions kind of like he did back in verses 3-4.
It’s almost as though Paul walks up to the most devout Jewish man that he could find and starts asking if he has ever broken the Ten Commandments. That would be a modern parallel to what Paul does in verses 21-24.
“You who are preaching not to steal, are you stealing?”
“You who are saying not to commit adultery, are you committing adultery?”
The obvious point being that the Jews were actually guilty of committing many of the same sins as the Gentiles. Paul then alludes to Isaiah 52:5, which says,
Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, That my people is taken away for nought? They that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; And my name continually every day is blasphemed.
The Jews of Isaiah’s day and of Paul’s day were equally guilty of bringing shame upon God by their lives. But oh, they were convinced that God would receive them because they were devoutly religious.
Is there a difference between a religious man like a catholic and a pagan man like a cannibal? On the outside, yeah, there sometimes is. I know who I’d sooner pick for a neighbor. But God sees the heart of man. And at his core, the most religious person is no different in his heart than the most wicked sinner.
But Paul’s case is rock solid: The religious Jew of Romans chapter two has the same need as the godless pagan of Roman chapter one. They both need Jesus Christ!
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A religious man must be perfect to be a righteous man - Romans 2:25-29
So I’m told that in my college days, I had a perfectionist streak in me. Of course, I don’t know what they’re talking about.
My college papers all had to look a certain way. I wanting the formatting done just right.
Apparently I was an oddball at college because I generally refused to drive more than 5 miles an hour over the speed limit - much to the annoyance of other college students who needed to get places fast.
I’m told that I vehemently refused to bend the college rules, again, much to the annoyance of others. For example: lights out was at 11 pm. My girlfriend and I would be talking on the phone and apparently I refused to wait until the last second to hang up like most guys would do and that frustrated her to no end. I think she still holds that against me.
When you think about it, a human being striving for perfectionism is almost laughable. It’s so out of our league! We can’t do it.
In verses 25-29, Paul argues that God requires spiritual perfectionism, not more religion.
Read Romans 2:25.
Paul argues that a Jewish man’s physical circumcision was irrelevant with God unless that man kept the whole law continuously his entire life. Now you know what a Jewish man would have said to that?
“But I’m Jewish! Of course God will accept me!”
And Paul would say, “No He won’t, unless you keep the whole Law perfectly!”
You see, Paul’s logic here was mind-blowing to the devout Jew, because everyone knew that keeping the law perfectly was impossible. Wait till you hear Paul’s conclusion in verse 29.
Read Romans 2:26-29.
The devout Jew thought that he was superior to gentiles by virtue of his birth - his identity.
Paul floors them in verse 29 when he concludes that a gentile who keeps the law perfectly is better than a Jew who is circumcised.
In other words, being devoutly religious is not enough to please God!
Conclusion
Conclusion
On most construction sites in America there is clear signage posted at every entrance. These signs determine whether or not you are allowed to enter. Mandated by government regulation, the signs read,
HARD HAT REQUIRED BEYOND THIS POINT
I don’t know if there will be signage in Heaven. But if there is, I expect to see this sign posted on Heaven’s gates:
PERFECTION REQUIRED BEYOND THIS POINT
Application: When you stand before Heaven’s gates, will God let you enter?
It won’t matter if you’ve lived a religious life.
It won’t matter if you’ve lived a moral life.
The only thing that will matter in that moment is whether God sees you as perfect.
That is the impassable divide between Righteous God and Religious Man.
Invitation
Invitation
Christian: Today’s message is a vivid reminder that your Christian life is not something to be taken lightly. Now that you’re saved from your sin, you don’t get to coast into Heaven. God demands and He deserves so much more than that. The rest of your life is a race. It is a marathon. It is not a short sprint. It is a daily, yet life-long walk with God. Follow Jesus with every ounce of your being.
Pray at the altar.
Non-Christian: Today’s message was primarily for you. Your devout religious practice cannot impress a perfectly righteous God. The only thing that will satisfy God is perfect righteousness. The only human being that ever lived that way was Jesus, the Son of God.
See me during this invitation.
