Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans 2:

INTRO:

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To the honest person.

To the person who’s life is ruled with humility and understanding.

To the person who is able to look at themselves, and see where they fall short.

To the person who has become so acquainted with their own inner struggles that they have no option, but to lean on Jesus every single day…

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To this honest, humble, struggling person… Chapter one said it all.

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God’s wrath is revealed in the consequences of humanity being given the reins to live as they wish.

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Humanity rejected the plan of their creator… humanity rejected the design of their designer… Humanity rejected the purpose which was wired into them…

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So… as verse 24 of chapter 1 told us… God gave them up.

God handed over the reigns and let humans do what they desired to do..

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And then, in so many words… God told them… - “There will be consequences.”

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We have all lived the consequences.

WE continue to struggle with the consequences.

We see the consequences being played out in our world every day…

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We learned two weeks ago… that it is the Gospel that reveals righteousness to the faithful.

Believer… you are righteous in the eyes of God… and by faith, you are called to walk in that righteousness..

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But last week, we learned about the other thing that the Gospel revealed…

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It reveals the wrath of God… more specifically… it reveals the anger and the displeasure of God…

-God’s wrath led Him to give humans up to their rebellion.

-When humans began to live according to their own design, something broke in them.

-As a result, many of us have grown hopeless and weary of our struggles..

-And as a result, we have turned to Jesus.

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You see… the Gospel doesn’t reveal anything in vain.

There is a purpose.

It reveals righteousness to the believer, as and encouragement and a challenge to live lives that glorify God..

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It reveals wrath to the unbeliever… So that they would see their desperate need for a Savior… and turn to Him to find forgiveness… and righteousness.

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FOR MANY PEOPLE… CHAPTER ONE WAS SUFFICIENT… We get the point.

There is none righteous, no not one… and we are amongst those who desperately need Jesus.

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But… many will read chapter one, and they won’t see any personal application.

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Many will read chapter one and only see the wickedness of the unbelieving world - They will stand back from a disposition of self righteousness and make judgement.

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They will say… “We are good.

We are obedient.

We are right… but those people out there, they are wicked and deserving of condemnation, death, and hell-fire.”

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To this crowd… to the religious person whose identity is defined in their adherence to rules, laws, rituals, and attendance…

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To those who think they are good and right…

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PAUL WROTE, CHAPTER TWO.

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This entire letter to the believers in Rome is about the Gospel… what it means, how it applies, it’s significance, how it transforms… and so on..

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But the Gospel… the good news… will not find a home in the life of any person, who thinks that they are already good.

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It is not “A Good News”… it is “THE GOOD NEWS”… And if you already think that you are a good person and that God is happy with you and all your goodness… then - you won’t realize how truly, and desperately, you NEED THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS IN YOUR LIFE.

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So that’s why Paul begins this letter with a few chapters which clearly, and unequivocally declare every person’s need for Jesus..

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-This is why the life insurance salesman gives you the worst case scenario which might play out for your family when you die.

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-This is why the vacuum salesman dumps a sloppy mess on your carpet before he demonstrates the amazing power of his device.

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You won’t think you need anything, until you truly understand… that you have a NEED.

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maybe.. JUST MAYBE… there are high minded religious people in Rome who won’t think that chapter one applies to them.

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So Paul wrote:

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Romans 2:1-

There is a transition happening here… As people read about those who are broken sexually, or violet, or evil, or full of murder, or slanderers, or inventors of evil…

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…they might think… I’M NOT LIKE THAT.

I DON’T DO THAT STUFF.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME.

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But Paul, in a very subtle way, has a way of implicating the pious priest along side of the violent prisoner.

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Walk into any church… into any religious setting… you will find those who have a way of stirring up strife… you will find deceit… YOU WILL FIND GOSSIPS.

There will be foolishness.. some will disobey parents.

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And, certainly, you will find some who give approval to others who do these things.

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that’s why chapter 2 begins with:

THEREFORE...

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As the gossip looks on with judgement towards the homosexual… or as the haughty person looks on with judgement towards the haters of God… Paul tells them… YOU WHO JUDGE… YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE....

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Sure, you are a good religious person… YOU ARE IN CHURCH EVERY WEEK..

You dress up nice, you are clean cut.

You know all the words to your favorite hymns.

You say all the right stuff.

You’ve memorized Philippians… -

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But, you also think that God is so pleased with your performance… that He overlooks their sin.

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This was the kind of issue that Jesus was repeatedly addressing to the Pharisees....

In it says:

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...

you know the story...

Two men went to the temple to pray.. one a pharisee, and the other a tax collector.

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The tax collector hung his head low, beat his breast and cried out for mercy, declaring that he was a sinner..

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Luke 18:

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The tax collector, no doubt, was not as religiously devout as the Pharisee..

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But here’s what Jesus said of him:

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Luke 18:

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Why did the religious man fall short of the awful horrible tax collector?

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..Look back at today’s passage… chapter 2 verse 3… - Paul is talking to people who think, because of their good deeds… that God will overlook their bad deeds..

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In verse 4 he talks about the kindness of God, and how these readers have been misinterpreting it.

They thought, because they paid their religious dues… that they could get away with their sins… because God was kind… because God was patient.

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So far, so good… -In church on Sunday, singing the songs, saying the right things, doing all that they could do to look like a good, pious, spiritual person…

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But on Monday… treating their employees unfairly, being mean their spouse, provoking their children, cheating the customers, lying their way into a better profit, being rude to waitress, cussing people out in traffic, watching porn on the computer, and kicking the dog....

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God is kind… God is patient… I’m doing the Sunday stuff really good.

I have the bumper sticker.

There’s a fish on the business card that I’m giving to the clients that I’m lying to.

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So many “church people”… -presuming on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience…

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BUT THEY HAVE IT WRONG… God’s kindness is not something that gives you permission to live in hypocrisy…

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Look at vs. 4 again… what is the purpose of God’s kindness?

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God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.

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This is what God wants for these hypocritical religiously arrogant people… But instead… they are banking on just the opposite.

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Vs. 5 says they are storing up wrath… -Normally, this verb “storing” refers to “good works” being safeguarded in heavenly storehouses… - treasures in heaven… things like that..

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But in it says:

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this term “set an ambush”… can also be translated: “those who deal in murder, store up evils for themselves”.