Romans

Gods judgment against sin

1 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.

-You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! In Romans 1, Paul pointed out the sin of the most notoriously guilty. Now he speaks to those who are generally moral in their conduct. Paul assumes they/we are congratulating ourselves that we are not like the people described in Romans 1.

We like to cast judgement on others

It makes us feel better about ourselves

Some peoples sin is easier to see

Some peoples sin is easier to smell

- When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself: After gaining the agreement of the moralist in condemning the obvious sinner, now Paul turns the same argument upon the moralist himself. This is because at the end of it all, you who judge others do these very same things.

- As we judge another person, we point to a standard outside of our self – and that standard condemns everyone, not only the obvious sinner. “Since we know the justice of God, as evidenced by the fact that we are judging others, we are without an excuse, because in the very act of judging we have condemned ourselves.”

-do these very same things: Notice that the moral person is not condemned for judging others but for being guilty of the same things that he judges others for. This is something the moral man would object to (“I’m not like them at all!”), but Paul will demonstrate this is true.

-for you who judge others do these very same things: “Not, you do the identical actions, but your conduct is the same, i.e., you sin against light. The sin of the Jews was the same, but their sins were not.”

2 And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things.

-Gods justice reveals an aspect of his character

-This is why Jesus went to the cross

-He had to go to satisfy the requirement of justice

-So God is just and He is the justifier

3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?

-Paul bears down here why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment: He robs us of our moralism

- when you do the same things: “Not, you do the identical actions, but your conduct is the same, i.e., you sin against light. The sin of the Jews was the same, but their sins were not.”

-He spends these three verses making sure we know that in God’s eyes we are no better than the ones he just described in Ch 1: 16-32

 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

- Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you?: Paul points out that it’s the kindness, tolerances, and patience of God, which all should bring us into humble repentance instead of an attitude of superiority.

-  kindness, to us in regard to our past sin. He has been good to us because He has not judged us yet though we deserve it.

- tolerance may be considered God’s kindness to us in regard to our present sin. This very day – indeed, this very hour – we have fallen short of His glory, yet He holds back His judgment against us.

-patience may be considered God’s kindness to us in regard to our future sin. He knows that we will sin tomorrow and the next day, yet He holds back His judgment against us.

-Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?: Many people misunderstand the kindness of God towards the wicked. They don’t understand the entire reason for it is to lead them to repentance.

-Men should see the goodness of God and understand:

· God has been better to them than they deserve.

· God has shown them kindness when they have ignored Him.

· God has shown them kindness when they have mocked Him.

· God is not a cruel master and they may safely surrender to Him.

· God is perfectly willing to forgive them.

· God should be served out of simple gratitude.

- “In the New Testament, repentance is not simply negative. It means turning to a new life in Christ, a life of active service to God. It should not be confused with remorse, which is a deep sorrow for sin but lacks the positive note in repentance.”

5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 

-you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed: “I’m a good person”, only stores up terrible punishment for ourselves

-People don’t realize that in there stubbornness that there is a terrible punishment coming

-That it is actually being stored up

 6 He will judge everyone according to what they have done.

-He will judge everyone according to what they have done: This is an awesome and fearful thought, and it condemns the ‘Good Person” as well as the obvious sinner.

-We should not take this verse out of context. those who are in Christ will give an account of what they have done unto salvation

-Those who do not belong to Christ will give an account what they have done unto damnation

Our only hope for salvation—for rescue from the penalty of our sin—is grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.

-My commentary completely ignores this scripture.

-Many are afraid of seeming as if they are talking about works based faith.

-But lets take into consideration what the Bible says about such things.

 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

James 2:17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Matthew 25: 34-36

-Lets be clear i am not saying we are saved by works because we are not. But we also should not ignore something that the bible has an awful lot to say about

 8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.

-who refuse to obey the truth: is the key phrase here

-All the good works in the world can not save you if you first do not obey the truth of Christ.

-Matthew 25: 41-43 shows the end result of refusing the truth

-Notice the blessing and the curse before any works were considered.

 9 There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.

10 But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.

 11 For God does not show favoritism.

-This verse on its own i believe is the pivotal verse of chapter 2. God doesn’t play favorites.

-This would have been a theological shift in the Jewish thinking of the day. It certainly would have made Paul an unpopular guy.

-He’s saying here that God doesn’t distinguish between Jew and Gentile

-God judges everyone by the same righteous standard, and we all fall short on our own merit.

12 When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.

 13 For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. 

- Those who sin outside the law’s reach will face consequences without the legal standard applied, while those who sin under the law will be evaluated by it. This creates a balance—each group encounters judgment calibrated to their moral knowledge.

-But in these verses lies a tension, we are not under God’s law we are under grace which we receive through faith

-But God’s law is the standard by which all humanity will be judged. Those who know it are held to the letter of it. And those who do not have God’s law are still judged by it.

 14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.

15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.

-Paul argues that Gentiles who don’t have the written law still fulfill its requirements through their natural inclinations, this is to highlight a crucial principle about moral accountability across all humanity. This fulfillment demonstrates that the law’s essential work is inscribed within human hearts, with conscience serving as an internal witness that evaluates conduct through accusation or vindication.

-This is the internal war that happens inside of us.

-Even though Gentiles were not given God’s written law, This passage indicates that God’s law is written on our hearts.

-We call this our conscience.

-The moral compass God gave every person.

-1 Timothy 4 talks about the seared conscience.

 16 And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

-What a way for Paul to end it

-After all this he says, oh yeah by the way all those secrets you thought you were keeping

-The judgment will be searching and comprehensive, uncovering what has been hidden from others, laying bare everything including private thoughts and internal motives.

-While God the Father will judge, he will do so through Jesus Christ—the very one who died to save his followers—so we need not fear the outcome.

-Paul will later affirm, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, meaning all who believe in and follow him as Lord and Savior will be delivered from condemnation at the final judgment.

-This proclamation should not strike fear in the heart of the believer, but should motivate us that Jesus saving death provided deliverance from the wrath to come.

-This verse anchors Paul’s argument: Universal accountability before God finds its solution not in human effort but in Christs mediation of divine judgment.