The Fatal Despising of God’s Patience, and the False Assumption of God’s Partiality

Introduction

Greg’s Application

The last time we were in Romans, Pastor Greg did a wonderful job expositing Romans 1:21-29. And it was in that sermon that he made a poignant application for us as Christians. That when we witness the culture’s downward spiral into greater and more perverse depravity, Pastor Greg called us to not be fearful or discouraged but instead we should be filled with love and compassion and grace and kindness. We should be driven to judgementalism but instead to evangelism, to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who, like us, need saving from their sin.

And yet, sadly, this was not the response of the target audience of the second chapter in Romans. In our passage for the next few weeks, Paul is addressing the unbelieving Judaizers around the church in Rome. What Paul is doing in this section is playing the role of the prophet Nathan to their role of hypocritical David.

You are the Man

If you remember, after King David commited adultery with Bathsheba and then schemed the death of her husband Uriah, God sent the prophet Nathan to convict David of his sin. Nathan came to David with a story of a rich man and a poor man. And in this story the rich man stole the only precious little lamb of the poor man to feed one of his friends instead of killing one of his massive flock. And David famously responded with righteous indignation against the sin of the rich man saying, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,” And what did Nathan say back to the King, “you are the man!”

This is exactly the point that Paul is making in these Romans 2:1-11, he is saying to the unrepentant Jew, “you are the man! You are just as guilty as the dirty gentile whom you judge and just as deserving of God’s wrath.”

Context

Now it’s important to remember that in Rome at that time there was a massive tension between the Jews and the gentile believers. Just a few years prior to receiving this letter from Paul, all the Jews were banished from Rome by the emperor Claudius. But with the ascension of Nero to the throne, the Jews were allowed to return into the city. With this reversal in policy, Jewish Christians and unbelieving Jews alike re-entered the church and the synagogue into a church which for over 5 years had been exclusively gentile. Likely, during this time most of the Jewish customs would have not been prevalent in the church until the Jews returned. This tension and even divisiveness in that church is important to keep in mind throughout the book, but especially in this chapter, because there are all of these Jews around the church wondering how can these gentiles claim to be God’s people? There are these Jews in the church wondering, how can these gentiles claim the name of Christ and not adhere to our religious customs like circumcision and the Sabbath?

And so from chapter 2:1 through chapter 3:9, Paul is taking time to address these Jews who are in and around the church of Rome and his objective is to remove any room for boasting and tear down all of the reasons the Jews sought to justify themselves apart from Christ.

Main Point and Structure

So today we will be looking at the first part of Paul’s argument. And his aim was to force the Judaizer to realize the futility in relying on his ethnic heritage to save him from God’s judgement.

Which flows right into our main point today, which is this, God is patient and He is not partial, therefore repent and trust in Christ, and persevere in doing the good He has called you to. (Repeat)

Paul’s argument in these first 11 verses is split into two sections. In verses 1-5, Paul points out the Fatal Despising of God’s Patience. And in verses 6-11 Paul identifies the The False Assumption of God’s Partiality

2:1-5 - The Fatal Despising of God’s Patience

2:6-11 - The False Assumption of God’s Partiality

With that, let’s begin by looking to verse 1

The Fatal Despising of God’s Patience

Exposition

No Excuse - Romans 2:1-2

Romans 2:1–2 NASB95

1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.

In the previous section of Romans, in 1:18-32 Paul indicts the gentile world fro their rejection of God’s glory and their depraved rebellion against Him with their sin. In judgement, God removed His restraint on sin and gave the Roman world over to greater levels of depraved sexual immorality, malice, murder, strife, gossip, boasting, foolishness and so much more.

You can almost imagine the Jews coming back into Rome at that time and seeing all the depravity around them and being filled with disgust and righteous indignation. Shaking their heads, turning up their noses, avoiding eye contact, crossing to the other side of the street because they had no desire to be near that filth. When Paul said in 1:20 that the gentiles have no excuse to present in the face of God’s judgment, you can see the Jew nod his head and say that’s right Paul, they don’t have an excuse! They’re guilty.

Which is why this first verse of chapter 2 packs such a punch. Paul looks to the judgmental jews and says, you think they don’t have an excuse, listen up! Verse 1, “1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” You who shake your heads at the gentiles, who click your tongues at them as you walk by, you also have no excuse because you are practicing the same sins you are judging the, for. And as Paul points out in verse 2, “2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.” The hypocrite is just as condemned as the sinner he judges. It’s like that parable of Jesus with the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the temple to pray and tax collector says to God, “‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” This was exactly there attitude. And Paul is saying whoa there, “you are just as guilty”

Application: Be Careful

And even though Paul primarily has the Jew in mind as the audience for this rebuke, we should not shrink back and not think that this applies to our context today. It is so easy for us who claim the name of Christ and for those of you who are Christian-adjacent, to look at the riots of last summer, to look at the transgender bathroom debate of a few years ago, to just turn on our TVs and see shameless expression of hetero and homosexual immorality, to look at the murders and the shootings that have happened in this city for the past few months, it’s so easy to look at all of that sin and then shake our heads in judgement. How often do we find ourselves saying, “I wish things would go back to the good old days”, or “I can’t believe how dark the world is getting.” Be careful, when we judge like this, we put ourselves in danger of the vile sin of hypocrisy when we fail to remove the logs of secret or “minor” sin in our own eyes.

Your sins may not be as evident as the godless world around you, but ask yourself this, examine yourself, am I secretly harboring sins that are just as prevalent in my own heart? Commentator Leon Morris says something so good here, “There is a natural tendency to justify ourselves for the wrong we do by condemning people who do other evils that we think are worse. ‘The Pharisee is always present in each one of us”’ As one of my favorite master’s university chapel speakers would say, if you can’t say amen to that you gotta say ouch. Christian, there is no wrong in diagnosing the brokenness of the world around us. Paul is not condemning the act of judgement itself. It would be foolish and ignorant to say that there’s nothing happening in this world worthy of judgement. But God help us to have the heart of Paul so that when we look at the world around us we respond with a heart that says I am under obligation to the greeks and the barbarians, to the wise and the foolish, to preach to them the same gospel that saved me from my sin!

Self-Deception - Romans 2:3

Romans 2:3 NASB95

3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?

Paul reiterates his point in verse 3, saying, “3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?” As Paul said in verse 2, God rightly judges, or another way to put it, God judges according to truth - His judgement is just, it’s based in His righteousness and His goodness. As God He establishes good and evil and so it is outlandish for the hypocritical Jew to suppose that God would judge those sinners over there but he won’t judge my hypocritical sin. Paul’s point is that not only are they hypocrites, but they are self-deceived hypocrites.

Despisement - Romans 2:4

Romans 2:4 NASB95

4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

In verse 4, Paul cranks up his argument one more notch by establishing that the unbelieving Jew was not only hypocritical in their judgement, they were not only self-deceived regarding their condemnation, they were openly scorning the kindness and patience of God, look at the verse with me, “4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

Their thought that they would escape God’s judgement is an attitude that despises of the kindness and patience of God. This is the heart that Paul is describing: I don’t need God’s kindness because I don’t deserve God’s judgement like those gentiles over there do - now they need God’s kindness, let me tell ya.

Don’t miss what Paul is saying here about God. God is rich in kindness, He has a wealth of it, an unending credit of kindness. God is filled with goodness and benevolence even to the sinner who despises Him.

He is a tolerant God. This term, tolerance, in greek caries the idea of stopping hostility because of a truce - God does not act with hostility toward the sinner immediately after he sins. We see this all throughout scripture. We witness the tolerance of God immediately after the first sin ever commited. Adam ate the fruit bearing the punishment of surely dying. And yet, Adam did not fall to the ground dead the minute he took a bite. Instead God was tolerant and did not visit the punishment of death on Adam for, listen to this, 800 years. Adam lived 800 years on the earth before the punishment for his sin was executed. As Jeff pointed out a few weeks ago with the example of the flood. God sent a warning to the world that after this guy, Methuselah dies, judgement will come. How many years did Methuselah live? 969 years. How tolerant is God? That tolerant.

Similar in thought is God’s patience. The idea of this word is that God is long-of nose. You think of a bull, long nose or short nose? Short nose and bulls get mad quick. Imagine a bull pawing the ground, flaring his nostrils, huffing and puffing in anger. Contrary to common opinion, this is not what God is like. He is long of nose, He is long tempered. He is patient with people, enduring failure upon failure, sin upon sin.

And why is God this kind, this patient this tolerant towards sinners: “the kindness of God is meant to lead you to repentance” Listen to God’s very words to a hypocritical Israel of old, Ezekiel 33:11, “11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’” As we just saw in Ezekiel word repentance refers to a change in the heart of the sinner who sees his wrongdoing as no longer desirable, but instead as damnable. This vision of his own sin leads him to turn away from it. That’s the literal rendering of the Hebrew word for repentance - to turn around. This looks like abandoning the old pursuit of sin and rebellion against God and leaving the false sense of self-justification. And then trusting in God to save you and following after Him as Lord. And don’t get this confused with feeling bad about sin. Repentance is not the same thing as regret. Anyone can feel regret. Repentance involves turning from sin to God. Again Leon Morris comments this, “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”

Application: Come Ye Sinners

Oh dear friend if you are here and you do not know this merciful God, please do not be ignorant like the Jews Paul is arguing with here. Look up at me and let’s just think through today. Did you wake up? Yes, ok? When your eyes opened did you see the beauty of the morning sun? Yes, Ok? If you ate breakfast, which you should have, it’s the most important meal of your day, did your taste buds work? Yes, ok? When you drove here to church, you clearly got here safely in one peace as you traveled in that 2 ton hunk of metal with hundreds of other people driving their 2 ton hunks of metal. Right? Yes ok? Are your ears working to hear me preach this good news about God? Yes, ok? You did not deserve any of that. Everything I just described, and every other moment you had this morning was given to you by the kindness of God. He was tolerant of the sins you commited yesterday and all the sins you committed this morning. He was patient with you, allowing you another Sunday to be here to hear His gospel so that you would repent and be saved.

As we just sang, come ye sinner! Are you poor? Are you needy? Are you week and wounded? Are you sick and sore? Jesus is here calling you to repent. He is not filled with disgust at your sin or ready to judge you for all that you have done against Him but instead He is full of pity and love and power to save you. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why wait to come? Why die, when you can have life today? Today is the day of salvation, believe in Jesus that He can save you from your sins and give you life. Repent and come.

....Ins’t God’s love and His kindness is amazing? Can you believe that the Holy and Righteous God is so patient and so kind and so loving to sinners? It’s amazing. And this is Paul’s point to the unrepentant Jew, you despise this reality about God. You literally cast this treasure aside as if it were a piece of trash.

Stubborn and Unrepentant Heart - Romans 2:5

Romans 2:5 NASB95

5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

So in verse 5 Paul concludes his first point in this argument by revealing the root problem for the unbelieving Jew, “5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,” God’s kindness and patience and tolerance were intended to lead them to repent. And yet they failed because they had a stubborn and unrepentant heart.

And this is language that should be familiar for the Jews for they have been identified as a stubborn people since the Exodus. It’s in Deuteronomy 9 that God accuses his people of being stubborn and then points to the sin of the golden calf as the prime example that they are stubbornly set against him. This was their nature, to be stubborn people, they were stiff-necked which is the literal rendering of that word. Commentating on Deuteronomy, Abner Chou writes that this phrase in Hebrew carries the “picture that the neck has been hardened so that it cannot move. An animal with such a neck could not turn.”

Notice that Paul points out that they are stubborn and repentant in their hearts. The ultimate problem and the root cause for their hypocrisy, for their self-deception, for the despising of God’s patience is that they have a stubborn, stiffnecked, unrepentant, hardened heart. And what Paul is ultimately trying to do here is the same thing that Jesus was doing with Nicodemus in John 3, to point out to these self-righteous, self-relent people that they have no ability to save themselves from the wrath of God. That they need to entrust themselves by faith on the God who can change their hearts, the God who, and this is Paul’s destination at the end of this chapter, the God who can circumcise their stubborn hearts, who can cause them to as Jesus said to Nicodemus, to be born gain.

Transition

On the other hand, if they continue to reject this gospel of Jesus they will only continue to store up wrath for themselves on the final judgement day of God. This is where Paul takes his argument, to the very end, to the final judgement day of the righteous judge. When all is said and done, these Jews, if they continue to reject Christ and rely on their Jewishness, they will experience wrath. Which brings us to our next section, the False Assumption of God’s Partiality. Look with me back down at verse 5 as it logically flows into verse 6.

The False Assumption of God’s Partiality

Exposition

Overview and Chiasm

“5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each one according to his works:” So in this section Paul is zooming in on Judgement Day, zooming in on the end, to show the self-righteous Jew that God will not render to each according to their ethnicity or religious heritage, but according to his or her deeds. This point is made even clearer in the parallel verse in this passage, verse 11, which states, “11 there is no partiality with God.”

In fact this whole section is one large chiasm. Remember that a chiasm is a literary device where the first point and the last point mirror each other and the next point and the second to last point mirror each other so that the emphasis is on the very middle. It’s like a logical funnel or sandwich. If you look at the screen you can see this structure.

The stubborn and unrepentant Jews are storing up wrath for themselves because…

God will repay according to works (vs 6)

Eternal life to those who persevere in doing good (vs 7)

Wrath for those who persist in obeying unrighteousness (vs 8)

Eternal tribulation and distress for doers of evil, Jew or Greek (vs 9)

Glory, honor, peace for those who do good, Jew or Greek (vs 10)

Because there is no Partiality with God (vs 11)

Judgement According to Deeds - Romans 2:6

Romans 2:6 NASB95

6 who will render to each person according to his deeds:

Let’s look back at verse 6, God will render or repay or recompense to each person according to their deeds. This is a common teaching throughout the Old Testament. We see it explicitly in Job 34:11, Psalm 62:12, Proverbs 24:12 and Jeremiah 17:10. That last example in Jeremiah is really clarifying. In Jeremiah 17 the prophet compares the man who trusts in the strength of man and the one who trusts in God. The one who trusts in man is cursed and is compared to a desert shrub, bearing thorns and thistles. The one who trusts in God is blessed and is compared to a tree planted by the streams of water, his leaves are always green and he never ceases to bear fruit. At the end of that section, Jeremiah shares a word from the Lord, Jeremiahs 17:10, “10 I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

We see similar promises of a final judgement according to one’s deeds in the New Testament. In Matthew 16:27 Jesus teaches of this day of judgement, “27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” And it’s in Revelation we see this moment described in detail, Revelation 20:11-15, “11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” In the end, on the judgement day of the righteous Judge there will be the books that contain all of one’s thoughts and deeds and then the book of life. And each person will be judged according to these books.

Eternal Life - Romans 2:7

Romans 2:7 NASB95

7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

Romans 2:10 ESV

10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

And on that day there will be two judgements that the impartial God will give, eternal life or wrath and indignation. Those who’s name is not written in the book of life will be condemned and punished according to the books containing their deeds. Those who’s names are written in the book of life will be saved to eternal life and will be rewarded by Christ according to the fruitfulness of his or her deeds recorded in the books. And this is what we see in the verses before us.

Look down at verse 7, “7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;” Those who receive eternal life are those who’s lives on earth were characterized by perseverance in doing good, by seeking for glory and honor and immortality. We see these similar traits in the parallel verse, verse 10, “10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Notice that eternal life and the glory and honor and peace that characterizes it are given to the Jew first and also to the Greek. This is the same phrase Paul used in Romans 1:16, “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The parallel is intentional - Romans 1: The gospel saves those who believe, regardless of ethnic heritage. Romans 2: Eternal salvation is given to those who persevere in doing good, regardless of ethnic heritage. Those who believe will live lives characterized by perseverance in doing good and they will be saved to eternal life.

Let’s press into those phrases in this passage for a minute. Eternal life is granted to those who persevere in doing good - this word denotes persistence and fortitude. It is often used to describe a soldier, who in the thick of battle, doesn’t run and hide, doesn’t fall on his own sword, but fights to the end. Paul is describing someone who fights to do good, even when it’s incredibly hard. This person seeks for glory and honor and immortality. This is an attitude of serious and driven searching. The word for seek here is the same word used by Jesus in Luke 15 to describe the widow who searches throughout her entire house for her lost coin. It’s the same seeking that shepherd does when he looks for the lost sheep. These parables describe the heart of God who seeks to save His elect. Paul is saying that the life of the one who has been found by God should be filled with an at all cost searching for glory and honor and immortality. This also reminds us of what Jesus called his disciples to do in Matthew 6:33, “33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” This is Paul’s point, the one who receives entrance into the kingdom is the one who seeks first the kingdom. The one who beholds the glory of God for all eternity is the one who’s life on earth is characterized by seeking to see and savor the glory of God.

Not Hypothetical, Not Works Righteousness

And this is why I do not believe that Paul is describing some hypothetical perfectly holy person. Moreover, Paul is most certainly not teaching that our works, our perseverance in doing good, our seeking for glory is what justifies us before God. I wrote to you in last weeks newsletter describing this argument in more detail and we reprinted that argument on your handout. But what Paul is describing here is the heart and life of a born again believer. If you remember back in Romans 1:23, the unbelieving heart naturally beholds God’s glory in Creation and then exchanges that glory for lesser pleasures, for idols. The natural man does the exact opposite of seeking glory. The natural man disregards God’s glory. To paraphrase a famous C.S. Lewis metaphor, the natural man casts aside a trip to the beach to make sandcastles so that he can continue to make mud-pies in the slum. But we who have been born again, we who have tasted and seen the goodness of God, we are those who are characterized by Paul as glory seekers, as those who seek and savor the glory of God, seek His honor, seek His immortal kingdom.

Again, I want to be crystal clear here. These verses do not teach that you are justified by doing good deeds. Verse 7 and verse 10 describe the life of a justified person. Those verses describe the life filled with the fruit of that justification so that when we are judged in the end, that fruit will accord to the reality that our names are written in the book of life.

So then, before we move on, and ask yourself this, is this me? Am I persevering in doing good? Do I seek to see and savor the glory of Christ? Do I seek first His kingdom? Examine yourselves dear friends with fear and trembling. And if the answer is yes, don’t let yourself boast. These attitudes are not the root and reason for your justification. No, instead they are the fruit of your salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.

Wrath and Indignation - Romans 2:8-9

Romans 2:8–9 NASB95

8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,

Alright, look back at verses 8 and 9, “but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,” Look at these descriptions. Those who are selfishly ambitious - those who are so prideful that instead of seeking to see and savor God’s glory, they want to steel it for themselves. Instead of loving the truth of God, they disobey the truth but obey unrighteousness. This is an intentional call back to Paul’s condemnation of the gentiles in Romans 1:18, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. They do not persist in doing good but instead they do evil. This is what they sow, and what they will reap is wrath and indignation and tribulation and distress.

Remember that this is the center of the chiasm, this is the emphasis of Paul’s argument, this is the wrath that the unbelieving Jew is storing up for themselves. God doesn’t judge them based on their religious heritage, or their ethnicity but according to their deeds. And if they do not repent and trust in Christ alone, they will receive wrath for the hypocritical evil that they indulge in.

No Partiality - Romans 2:11

Romans 2:11 NASB95

11 For there is no partiality with God.

And to make this point crystal clear, Paul concludes, verse 11, “11 For there is no partiality with God.” And Praise be to God for His righteous judgement. He is not like the judges of Judah who were bought with bribes and partial to the rich. He is not like the courts of men who often exonerate the guilty on one hand and then punish the innocent to death either by mistake or even on purpose. But there is no injustice with God and there is no impartiality with God for He is the God who established good and evil and judges according to this perfect standard. He is the one who will judge in Righteousness and truth. Amen

Conclusion

Concluding argument

A pastor once said, “if there is no day of judgement to account for all the wrongs in the world that people have gotten away with). What hope is there for the world? But if there is a day of judgement, what hope is there for me? Jesus is the answer to both questions.” Oh dear friend, do not be like the stubborn and unrepentant Jew, cry out to God to save you. Stop relying on your church-going or your religious heritage. Just as the Jew could not cling to his jewishness to save him, or rely on that to cover over his sin, we must not cling to our heritage or religiosity but instead in faith we must rely on Christ to save us and persevere in doing the good that He has called us to. Realize that God is patient. Don’t waste another minute. Repent, turn from relying on yourself and trust in Christ, that He paid all of the price for your sins and your salvation. Believe in Him as Savior and follow after Him as Lord. He will justify you with His righteousness. He will send the holy spirit to give you a new heart. He will love you with a covenant love that will never fade. He will keep you until the end when you will be received into glory.

Final Applications

Persevere in Doing Good

Allow me to conclude by revisiting verse 7 for a minute. I have two final applications for the saints in this room. First, persevere in doing good. Dear saints, “10 We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” I just want to end by calling on each of you to persevere in walking in the good works that you were Created for. It is so hard, the battle for your soul is so thick. Discouragement and distraction and doubt lie around every corner. Temptation to evil is constantly pushing at us from every side. Even those things that are not necessarily evil are trying to pull us to drift away from Christ. Don’t lose heart, as Paul says in Galatians 6, in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we don’t grow weary. Be steadfast, as Paul says to the Corinthians, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, know that your toil is not in vain. Persevere in doing good.

Seek for Glory

And Second, seek for glory. Seek to to see and savor Christ in His word, beholding His glory and being transformed from one degree of glory to another. Ask God for help, pleading with God in prayer hallow your name in my heart o God. Come to church and behold His beauty and His love in His body. And don’t lose heart when you suffer, for the road to suffering ends at the gates of glory. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,”

Dear saints, Persevere in doing good. Seek for glory.

Let’s Pray

Prayer

Lord God, you are a righteous God. You are perfect and you are holy. And yet you are patient with us sinners, you are kind and tolerant with us. O God call those here who have not yet repented to follow after you. Open up the eyes of their hearts to see the detestableness of their sin and the see how desirable you are. Open up the eyes of their hearts to see the false hope of justifying themselves and instead respond with faith in Christ to justify them. And God we pray that you would keep us, your children, from hypocrisy but instead that you would help us to persevere in doing good, that you would cause us to taste and see that you are good so that we longly seek to savor and see your glory each and every day. We pray this in the power of the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Benediction

Dear brothers and sisters, know this: God is patient and He is not partial, therefore repent and trust in Christ, and persevere in doing the good He has called you to.

I will dismiss you with a reading from one of my favorite doxologies in all of scripture, Jude 24, may this verse comfort you as you go from here today and seek to apply God’s word to your lives this week, “24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,