Romans 2:1-11

Good morning and welcome to Freedom Chapel. If this is your first time joining us I want to say thank you for checking us out and I want to encourage you to fill out the connect card on the bulletin. If you will fill that out and drop it in the black box as you are leaving the sanctuary, we will do two things. The first thing we’ll do is make a donation in your honor to a local charity and the second thing we will do is bring you cookies to the address listed, just as a thank you for coming and checking us out.

We at Freedom Chapel, exist to bring hope to our community by being a place to belong, a church for the whole family. And we do that by having an incredible kids ministry. They truly work so hard to bring a high quality service to your kids each Sunday. So if you haven’t taken advantage of our kids services, I highly encourage you to. We have a nursery for babies, then they graduate to the tots room once they are potty trained, and finally we have a kids church for first grade through 5th.

I am Jackie Case, I am the Youth Pastor here at Freedom Chapel. And our lead pastor Terry and his wife Michelle are currently in Peru. They have gone there to encourage pastors who are working in the jungles of Peru, and to minister to them. They will be back this week. But continue to pray for them while they are away. That they would be safe, and that their ministry there would be fruitful.

We are in the beginnings of a study in the book of Romans. So each week we have taken a chunk of scripture straight from Romans and are looking at it a little closer. The big fancy name for it is Expository preaching. Really what that means is we are looking at this book with more of a magnifying glass and really concentrating on each piece. This is good for a couple of reasons, we are taking our time as we go throughout this, we are not rushing through it. But it also is great because we are being forced to preach on things that if it were totally up to us, we’d skip. I’m just being honest. So by studying scripture and preaching it this way, we are held accountable to the text. We are forced to wrestle with it, even when we don’t like what it says.

I would encourage you to go back if you missed a message and re-watch it. They are all on our Facebook page and also on YouTube. So go check those out! Now we are going to dive right in this week. I have one promise to you. My promise is this, I will not preach as long as Rustan did last week. But in all seriousness, he did an incredible job of working through a difficult portion of scripture, and if you missed it you will want to go back and at least watch last week’s message.

So we are going to dive right in this morning.

Now to set the scene, Paul just went through how humanity has rejected the truth about God and because of that God has given them over to their evil desires, given them over to their shameful lust and has given them over to a depraved mind. And he goes through this whole list of sins, and is just kind of dropping the hammer a little bit. He’s calling people out for their sinfulness. And I want to remind you, Paul is doing this because he loves these people. If you don’t care about someone then you just let them live their life. The only reason you call people out on their stuff and encourage them to get better is because you love that person and want them to be healthy and whole. So this wasn’t like an Oprah show where Paul’s just like, and you go to hell and you go to hell and you go to hell. He’s calling it out in hopes that it leads to revelation and eventually repentance.

Then in chapter 2 there is a shift. Paul says this,

Romans 2:1–6 NIV

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”

So Paul shifts his focus here. He quits calling out sinfulness, and even though this is a letter and Paul isn’t physically here speaking to them. In my head I picture like a teacher who just kind of got after a couple of students in the front, and then she shifts her focus to the back of the room to the group of kids who have been snickering while she roasts the students up front. That’s what I picture when Paul shifts gears. Because he calls out all this sin, and then he switches his focus to what I’m calling the “holier than thou group”

And it’s here where we pick up and Paul tells them straight up, “Hey, you. Yeah you who are being judgy from the back row, laughing at the sinners, whatever judgment you place on them will be placed on you. So watch it.” Paul’s calling them out in their hypocrisy. He’s like “You’re doing the same dang things. So you better be careful. You will not escape God’s judgement. So watch it.”

Now, here at Freedom Chapel, we don’t have anyone who behaves like this do we? We don’t have anyone here who looks down their nose at the people around them with judgment, tearing down those around them and elevating themselves. We don’t struggle with this at all! Never. We don’t know anyone who acts like this. We’re never guilty of this. Right?

Wrong. We are all guilty of this at some point in our lives. And it’s easy to point a finger or laugh to the person sitting next to you because we all know someone who acts like this, who acts like they have it all together and looks down on others. But even as we do that, even as we laugh about it, we are doing the very thing we are pretending to hate. We’re passing judgment.

So let’s read this with the understanding that we’re all guilty of this. Maybe you don’t struggle with murdering people, okay. But we all struggle with this. So instead of thinking about who the “holier than thou” person is at our church that needs to hear this message, listen to this as if Paul is speaking directly to you. Let it soak in.

Romans 2:1–3 NIV

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

The topic of judgment is hard.

Because we all believe it’s important. We do. We all believe that when someone does something wrong, truly wrong, that they should face judgment, they should be punished for it.

We celebrate when people face judgment and receive their due consequences. And at the same time we grieve when people who are guilty walk away free. It burns within us, this desire for the wrong to be righted. For the guilty to receive judgment and consequences for their actions.

But what we need to recognize, and what Paul points out in this passage, the only perfect judge is God. We aren’t it.

This isn’t a role we are supposed to step into. AT least not lightly, because whatever degree we judge, we will be judged. And a big part of that, is because we aren’t perfect. Our judgment is coming from a place of hypocrisy. We are guilty of the same things.

Romans 2:3 NIV

So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

Now the next thing Paul tackles is the attitude that God’s grace and kindness will cover all our sins, so we don’t need to worry about judgment.

Romans 2:4 NIV

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

See this was prevalent in this time, obviously, because Paul addresses it here. But this is still true today. We have an attitude in the church, that God is kind and patient and because of that we can sin without consequences.

Romans 2:5–6 NIV

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”

Sin has consequences. Period. It has consequences.

Rustan hit on this last week I believe, we don’t talk about sin anymore. It’s not something we preach about anymore, not like we used to. Now I think that for a while in church there was an unhealthy obsession with sin and judgment and hell. But we have swung so far back in the other direction that now we’re not teaching about it at all.

I’m going to make this insanely simple. Sin, if you take it back to the original language, the meaning of sin is missing the mark. It kind of paints a picture of an archer pulling back their arrow and releasing it, but not hitting the bullseye. Missing the mark. Or going off track.

Paul, later in Romans, says

Romans 6:23 NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The wages of sin is death. When we sin, when we miss the mark, we deserve death. We deserve to die. That’s the truth about sin. We should pay for it with our life. And yet, we act so cavalier about it.

God’s desires for us to have the best. We talk about this in youth group. He desires for us to have the best. And I’m not talking about ferraris and beach houses. He desires for us to have the best. Which is why he has given us direction all throughout scripture. Even if you look at the 10 commandments, while it looks like a list of rules, it’s really guidance on how to have good relationships. The first 3 talk about our relationship with God, the next one, our relationship with our parents and our children, then he addresses the relationship with our spouse, and finally how we interact with others. See if we were to follow the 10 commandments, then we would have a good relationship with God, with our parents, with our spouse, and finally with our friends and those around us. We would have good, fulfilling relationships. I believe that’s what God desires for us, that’s what is best, so he offers us this instruction.

It’s not a list of rules, it’s guidance so we can have a fulfilling life.

Scripture is clear about another thing.

And God hates sin. He hates it. You know why?

Because it isn’t what’s best for you. He knows, he KNOWS more than anyone else, that sin leads to death and destruction. And that is NOT what he wants for you. That is not his desire for you.

Do you get it?

Sin tears you away from God it tears you away from your family, from your friends, from meaningful relationships, from a healthy life. It leads to death and destruction, and as a loving creator who took time to design and make you, who loves you and adores you, who desires the best for you, he simply cannot stand for it.

He can’t stand for sin.

This is not a you do you sort of thing.

He has offered us instruction, he offers correction when we are off the path, he is loving and kind and patient, yes, but he is also just. And there are consequences for sinning. There are consequences for living a part from God. And he is not going to just glaze over it and act like it’s no big deal, because it IS A BIG DEAL!

This leads to death and destruction.

It’s a HUGE DEAL.

Let us not leave this morning with the same opinion of sin and our God. Sin leads to death. God desires for you to have life. Those two things can’t co-exist. You don’t get both. You don’t get your sin and living life to it’s fullest the way God intended.

We want to do what we want to do, and we don’t like it when other people tell us we’re wrong. Heck we don’t even like it when God says we’re wrong.

But there’s something we’ve forgotten. When we chose to make him LORD of our lives, that was the day we quit making our own decisions. When someone is your LORD they make your decisions. Your life is no longer yours. You live under the authority and command of someone else.

And thankfully for us, that Lord has our best in mind. He wants us to life a fulfilling life, that doesn’t mean easy, but fulfilling. Don’t confuse the two. So we can trust that he has our best in mind. Which means when we disagree with God, when we have an opposite opinion. We have to make a declaration that we BELIEVE that the God who created us, has our best in mind, and that he knows more than we do. We have to DECIDE to follow him even when we don’t want to, even when we don’t like it, because ultimately His way is better than our way.

That is what it means to follow God, to receive salvation, to make Jesus Lord of your life. It means it is his way. Not yours.

To reject Him and what he has for you, is to miss the mark, it’s to go off path, it’s to sin. And sin will lead to death and destruction. It is that easy you guys.

The truth is, we all deserve judgment. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all missed the mark. We’ve all rejected God and gone our own way. Every single one of us.

Romans 2:6–8 NIV

God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Sin has consequences. We cannot forget that.

Romans 2:9–11 NIV

There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

Paul’s reminding the Jews in this group that they are not exempt. They don’t get a “get out of hell free” card because they are apart of the Israelite family. They don’t have a free pass because they are God’s people.

This is one more reminder to the “holier than thou” group in the back. Hey, you aren’t exempt from this. This applies to you too.

Now here at the end, Paul explains that there is also a reward for those who do right. Now I don’t believe that a single person in here is free from sin and will never sin again. But I do believe that we have to make it our goal to move in the direction of righteousness - right living. Holiness. Just because it seems impossible doesn’t mean we should give up before we even start.

Living according to what God says is a declaration that we believe he has our best in mind and if we live according to him it will lead to fulfillment.

And here Paul is very clear that this message includes everyone. This isn’t just for one group of people, it’s not just the sinners, it’s not just the gentiles. This message of hypocritical judgment, of ranking your sin as somehow not as bad as someone else’s; this is something we all struggle with.

You guys I want us to leave here this morning with something to chew on. I want this to sit with us all week. You are not exempt from this. I am not exempt from this. Paul has called out a sin area in our lives and our next step should be repentance. Asking God to forgive us, to help us to walk away from this. This sermon doesn’t end with you leaving going, cool message, I like that girl she’s super cool. This sermon should drag us to our knees as we realize that we are guilty of sin and deserve death. We should be paying for this with our life.

And yet God has created another path. One where we can receive forgiveness. But it can’t stop there. We have to then make an effort to right living. To hitting the mark not missing it. We can’t be so cavalier about something that Jesus died to save us from. He died to save us from it, not so that we could continue in it.

So let us throw off the sin that has held us down, including the judgment of others, and truly focus our efforts on hitting the mark rather than missing it.