God's judgment on self-righteous people (Romans 2:1-16)

[Stephan Choe]

October 7th, 2012

God's judgment on self-righteous people

Romans 2:1-16
Key Verses 3 +4: "Do you think this, O man, you who judge those who practice such things and do the same thing also that thou shalt escape the judgment of God. 4or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness leads you to repentance? "


Paul knows the Christians in Rome not personaly. Therefore, he writes in his letter no concrete advice for their problems. Rather, he describes the Christian faith systematically so that each leader understands the Christian faith correctly and finds a proper orientation for his faith. Through this letter we also can find a proper orientation for our life, if we understand the Romans correctly.

Paul divides all mankind into Jews and non-Jews roughly, to explain the need of the gospel. Today we can divid humans roughly into believers and non-believersso so that we canunderstand the need of the gospel to all people better.

In the second section of the first chapter (1:18-31), Paul tells us why the people who do not believe in God are sinners and need the gospel. In the second chapter he explains why the people who believe in God, also are sinners and need the gospel. To explain this, he describes the characteristic sin of believing people. What is the characteristic sin of believers?


1. The characteristic sin of believers

First, you judge others (1-3).

In verse 1 Paul says: "Therefore, O man, you can not excuse, whoever you judge others you judge also yourself. For wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you are doing exactly the same thing that you judge. "

The believers know the law through the Bible. And the core of the law is to love God and to love people and to act out of love. We should love people out of faith in God and practice our love to them. Those who love other people out of gratitude for God's love will not condemn the other legally quickly. Rather, he will love them and try to build them. A loving one is like a loving mother. A loving mother condemns his children not hasty, even though they are doing something wrong. Rather, they believe that their children are good children and encouraged their children tirelessly. This is why Paul says in 1 Cor 13,4.7: "Love is patient and kind ... It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things."

But legal people pay little attention to the patient love. Rather, they are in a hurry to judge other people and to explain them as hopeless. Even they mean to serve God through their judgement. But, has God pleasure to condemn people quickly? No.

Legal people have joy, to discover the weakness or sin others and to explain them as hopeless. They have pleasure secretly that they are spiritually and morally superior than other people.

Judging others is a disregard of God's love to people. God loves people so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to save people from hell. This reveals God's great love for us. But legal people condemn other people and condemn them to hell. This means that they judge God's love, whoie has gave His Son for us. How bad is the judging others.

Paul says in verse 3: "Do you think this, O man, you who judge those who practice such things and also doing the same thing, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? "

Who judges others, in reality damns himself to hell, because he does the same thing that he has condemned. Therefore he can not escape God's judgement. The judgment is a serious thing. Do  someone want to condemn Themselves to hell? None! Therefore we should avoid judging others and condemning them

And who judge others lose his peace, because he does the same. As a result, he will lose peace of mind, because his heart is split. In his heart a dispute happens: One accuses his double standard and another defends himself. Because of this split heart, he has no peace. He is rebellious towards others, because he has no peace. He must always listen to the voice of Satan, who accuses him for his hypocrisy.

Many people think that the judging of others would be no great sin. But the judging is a grave sin, because a man sits down on the seat of God and violates the sovereignty of the sole judge. In addition, he makes false word about God as such, who has a great pleasure in judging and condemnation of the people. But God has no pleasure in judging and condemnation of the people. Rather, God has great joy in forgiving and saving the people. The mission of his only Son to sacrifice for the sins of the people is the unmistakable proof. He gave his Son to save us from damnation and hell, as God's wor in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Praise God for His goodness! We should recognize our judging as a serious sin. We should accept  the forgiving love of God gratefully through the sacrificial death of Christ.


Second, self-righteousness (4-5)

Paul says in verse 4: "Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness leads you to repentance? "
Judging others is a grave sin before God. But the people who have criticized others, do not repent. Why they do not repent? Because they think that if they confess their sin they shoudl judge themselves as hopeles people and condemn themselves. So they do not want to repent. So they close their hearts  intentionally and make either other people or the given situation responsible for their sins. They think that they have done everything right, but others have done wrong. They are fast to find good excuses for them. In the world they can show their goodnees. And other people envy them.
But God loves all kinds of sinful men and will bring them to repentance and blessed life. Therefore God met them with kindness and patience. However, the misuse of God's kindnesse and his patience will bring them to the rightous judgement of God.

God says to sSuch unrepentant people in verse 5: "But thou with thy hardness and impenitent heart you are storing up the wrath against you for the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."
Who is self-righteous, does not take the grace of God precious and will do not repent. For him, that repentance means a doomsday. Therefore, a self-righteous man is unrepentant. But believe in God means to believe in God's love and forgiveness. The Bible teaches us a thousand times, that God is love. God's love is closely connected with his grace of forgiveness. And God forgives all those who confess their sins and believe in His goodness. In Jer. 31:34 God says, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more!"
But if you really believe in God's love, people will open their hearts to God and confess his sin and accept His forgiveness grateful.

We should decide whether we want to remain as self-righteous people or believe in the forgiving love of God and open our hearts to God. We should have the courage to open our hearts to confess our sins and believe in His forgiveness. God forgives our sins and remembers them no more. And he will bless us abundantly. Therefore, the healing of the heart is done safely and we will have full joy and peace. We will taste God's kingdom and God's bless.


2. The righteous judgment of God (6-16)

God is very merciful. If we repent and believe in Jesus Christ, God forgives all our sins and remembers no longer our sin. But for those who are unrepentant, he is the God of justice. You must appear before God and be judged fair.

Paul describes in this section, how looks God's judgment on the self-righteous people. The principle of God's judgment is "judge according to his works" (6). According to this principle, the people who have sought through patient  seeked for glory and honor and immortality life will receive eternal life (7).
But the people who are self-seeking and do not obey the divine truth but follow unrighteousness and do evil are condemned to hell, so they have to suffer and have anguish of ther soul (8-9).

In verse 11 Paul says, "God sees no respect of persons." God's judgment is absolutely impartial, and absolutely just. No respect of persons works for God. In this court there is no advantage of certain nationality or whether he is a missionary, pastor or layman.

And the principle of divine judgment is: "Those who hear or know the law are not just before God, but those who do the law properly" (13).

Maybe some people would argue that they have not even read the Bible and therefore know no law. What God judges those people?

Verses 14-15 say, "When Gentiles who have not the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are, although they have not the law, they are the law for themselves. They prove that is written in their hearts what the law demands, especially since their conscience is their witness and their thoughts, which accuse or else excusing one another. "
Such people are judged according to their conscience, for there is no man who keeps his moral laws properly.

There is no single person who can be recognized as the righteous before God  through his own works, because he can not fulfil all laws properly. That is why Paul says in 3:20
"No man can be by the works of the law justified before him (ie God)" (3:20).


God's intention

What Paul wants to finally say here? Will he  say unto us, that God will condemn us all because we are all sinners? No.
Paul wants to present the Gospel. We need to confess that we are sinners because we have sinned before God. This is serious for us. But Paul wants to announce the good new for us. Although our judging of others is a serious sin, God has prepared a way of salvation for us. For God has sacrificed Jesus for our sins. If we realize our sint and believe in Jesus' sacrifice, God forgives all our sins and remembers our sin no more. We should gratefully accept God's forgiveness and enjoy the peace. We should decide not to judge others, but to love them. God wants to fill us with peace and joy and to spread the gospel through us and reveal His glory. Amen!

* This is a automatic translation of the German sermon.