Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans 2:6-10.

"The Great Divide".

Safe Haven Community Church.

Sunday July 31, 2022.

Romans 2:6-10.

6 He will render to each one according to his works 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

(ESV)

"Great Divide"

I am sure you have been in situations in which a person, perhaps yourself, has been caught doing something wrong and has immediately begun to make excuses.

"I didn't mean to do it," the accused one might say.

Or, "But so-and-so did it first."

Or, "You just don't understand my circumstances."

It may be the case in any given instance that the person involved really was "innocent," because of his or her motive or because of circumstances.

This is one reason why our judicial system takes so much trouble to determine motives and circumstances in criminal cases.

Generally, however, the excuses people make are exactly that, excuses, and they need to be seen for what they really are.

This is particularly true in our relationships to God.

God accuses us of repressing the truth about Himself and of violating His moral law even while we pass judgment on others for doing the same things, but as soon as we hear these truths we begin to make excuses.

We claim that we did not know what was required of us, that we did not do what we are accused of doing, or that our motives were actually good.

Whenever we find ourselves doing this, we need to rediscover the principles of God's just judgment, which Romans 2 explains.

Romans 2:6-10 speaks of two very different paths and The Great Divide in the consequences of the two paths.

One is the path of good deeds, the end of which is glory, honor, peace, and eternal life.

The other is the path of evil, the end of which is trouble, distress, wrath, and anger.

The verses teach that there is a Great Divide, and a person is on either one path or the other.

Up to this point, particularly as a result of our earlier study of verse 5, a person might conclude that the judgment of God will be a finely graded thing-extending all the way from perfect happiness and bliss on the one hand to utter misery and torment on the other, and that most of us will fall somewhere in between.

This is because of the principle of proportionality in judgment, which we developed from the idea of "storing up wrath" in verse 5.

As we look at people, we see that some are better than others, and some are worse.

Therefore, we reason, in the life to come some should be treated well, some should be treated badly, and the differences should be relative.

A person reasoning along these lines might conclude that our future existence in heaven or hell (or whatever) should be somewhat the same as our present existence, which means a mixture of good and bad for most people.

Romans 2:6-10 refutes this error.

There is a Great Divide, the two paths are mutually exclusive (Boice, J. M. (1991-).

Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 226).

Baker Book House.).

In Romans 2:6-10 Paul draws a clear line between two classes of people, this "Great Divide" shows the only two classes that exist: the saved and the unsaved.

He shows this in three ways.

He explains first 1) The Dividing of Deeds (Romans 2:6), then showing the differences between 2) The Deeds of the Unredeemed (Romans 2:8-9), and finally 3) The Deeds of the Redeemed (Romans 2:7, 10),

First, outlining the principle in the Great Divide we see:

1) The Dividing of Deeds (Romans 2:6).

Speaking of God's righteous judgment:

Romans 2:6 6 He will render to each one according to his works (ESV)

Paul emphasizes in Romans 2:6-10, declaring plainly that God will render to each one according to his works/deeds (cf.

Rev. 20:12-13).

This is a quote from Ps. 62:12.

It is a universal principle that humans are responsible for their actions and will give an account to God (cf.

Job 34:11; Prov.

24:12; Eccl.

12:14; Jer.

17:10; 32:19; Matt.

16:27; 25:31-46; Rom.

2:6; 14:12; 1 Cor.

3:8; Gal.

6:7-10; 2 Tim.

4:14; 1 Pet.

1:17; Rev. 2:23; 20:12; 22:12).

Even believers will give an account of their lives and service to Christ (cf. 2 Cor.

5:10).

Believers are not saved by works but are saved unto works (cf.

Eph.

2:8-10 [esp.

2:14-22]; James and I John).

(Utley, R. J. (1998).

The Gospel according to Paul: Romans (Vol.

Volume 5, Ro 2:6).

Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)

God does not judge on the basis of religious profession, religious relationships, or religious heritage.

An issue on the day of judgment will not be whether a person is a Jew or Gentile, whether he is a heathen or orthodox, whether he is religious or irreligious.

An issue will be whether or not one's life has manifested obedience to God.

On that day "each one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom.

14:12).

In his sovereign grace and love, God rewards (or condemns) people for their faithfulness in accomplishing what has been assigned to them (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001).

Exposition of Paul's Epistle to the Romans (Vol.

12-13, p. 92).

Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)

Please turn to Matthew 7

The subjective criterion for salvation is faith alone, with nothing added.

But the objective reality of that salvation is manifested in the subsequent godly works that the Holy Spirit leads and empowers believers to perform.

Although justification is indeed by faith, judgment will be according to works.

It is that the day of judgment will be a public occasion.

Its purpose will be less to determine God's judgment than to announce it and to vindicate it.

The divine judgment, which is a process of sifting and separating, is going on secretly all the time, as people range themselves for or against Christ, but on the last day its results will be made public (Stott, J. R. W. (2001).

The message of Romans: God's good news for the world (pp.

83-84).

Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)

A person's actions form an index to their character and salvation status.

Jesus explained this:

Matthew 7:15-27 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

16 You will recognize them by their fruits.

Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

(ESV)

* Starting with the example of false prophets, Jesus explains how the evidence of one's life, called "fruits", will indicate whether or not one's message is consistent with the kingdom life of righteousness.

Furthermore, a life of just an oral confession of Jesus as Lord does not always indicate a repentant heart.

But mighty works in themselves are not proof of the Father's will since they can come from sources other than God, including demons and human manipulation.

The evidence of whether one is truly a believer is in whether one does the words of Jesus (cf.