Romans 2:1-6
They Couldn’t See Themselves

Introduction
1. Mankind is trying to fill a God-shaped emptiness. It is the Good News (the Gospel) that is the
power of God to set you free!
2. Note the change from they through 1:32 to you in 2:1. These were Gentiles who were moral or
Jews. They were self-righteous who could not see themselves in Paul’s list. Judgment
becomes a key word in v. 2, 3, 5.
3. Are you on your way to heaven? “I’m not so bad…I belong to Pennsville Baptist Church…I
give at the Red Cross…I don’t smoke, drink or take drugs…I’m faithful to my wife…I feel I
am good enough.”
4. This is the problem in Romans 2. There was a group (it must have been in the church) that felt
their good outweighed their bad. They could see the wrong in others. They couldn’t see
themselves in the list Paul provided. They were lost but couldn’t see it or didn’t want to
recognize it.
5. Can you see yourself as God see you?
6. Romans 2:1-6 is those who cannot see themselves.

Can you see yourself as God sees you?
I. THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE 2:1-2
Therefore ties into what precedes with those trying to fill a God-shaped emptiness. It also
looks ahead…you are without excuse. We are full of excuses:
A. What They Deem 1a
1. They had become judges of others. Every man of you passes judgment.
2. He compares himself with the homosexual, drunkard, proud, covenant breakers, etc
and is proud of just how respectable he is!
3. Every man of you There was a group of moralist, ‘Christians’, a group of ‘good
people.’
B. What They Deny 1b
1. Their own guilt…wherein you judge another you condemn yourself.
2. Because you obviously have a criterion by which to judge…you know the truth of
what if right and wrong before God.
3. The lost has a knowledge of God within (1:19) and without (1:20). The Jew or
professing Christian have the great knowledge of God’s truth and therefore are
more accountable.
4. Those who profess to be ‘Christians’ forget their sins. They love to see wrong in
others. We feel somehow God gives us a pass…He forgets.
C. What They Do 1c
1. You do the same thing. The underestimate God’s standard of righteousness. He
looks at the heart as well as the outer life.
2. The ‘professor’ sees the speck in someone else’s eye…but misses the beam in their
own. (Mt. 7:1-3)
3. They underestimate the depth of their own sinfulness. They look pretty good. God
looks on the heart. You say, “I don’t commit adultery.” But your heart is filled with
lust. You say, “I don’t murder.” But you hate, slander, put down and belittle.
D. What They Dread 2
1. God judges according to truth. (1:18, 25)
2. Someone has well observed: There is some kind of still small voice in everybody that
constantly convinces them that in the end it is going to be o.k. A good and merciful
God would never send anyone to hell!

Can you see yourself as God sees you?
II. THEY ARE WITHOUT ESCAPE 2:3-4
A. Because of What He Finds 3
Thinkest…reckon, calculate.
1. Donald Grey Barnhouse paraphrase: “You dummy. Do you figure that you have
worked out an angle that will let you go up against God and get away with it? You
don’t have a ghost of a chance! There is not escape. Do you understand? No
Escape…Ever! This means you…the respectable person sitting in judgment upon
another, and remaining unrepentant yourself.”
2. You do the same thing. Do you really think you will escape the judgment of God?
The only way any person can escape God’s judgment, no matter how moral is to
have divine life implanted by yielding to Jesus Christ and receiving by faith the
provision He made on the cross!
B. Because of What He Forgets 4
Despisest is to look down his nose, ingrateful, to underestimate its true value. 3 things:
1.God’s Goodness…Every breathe a person takes, every bite of food he eats, his
health, family, what he has …everything good and worthwhile, everything a person has is from the gracious hand of God. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father. Even the privilege and opportunity to hear the Gospel is from God.
2.God’s Forbearance A holding back… “Why does God allow the Hitler’s of the
world, rapist, child molesters?” Why does God put up with you and me? With the 1st impure word or thought he would strike me dead. With the first word of slander or gossip he would strike you dumb. What about those unchristlike responses?!
Why does He put up with me?
3.God’s Longsuffering God is so patient with us. We so often need lessons repeated.
Not knowing the goodness of God leads to repentance. Repentance: is a soldier’s command, “About face!” God is totally good. We accuse Him of being insensitive and unloving for letting certain things happen. If there was no will involved then God is totally responsible for evil.

Can you see yourself as God sees you?
III. THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCEPTION 2:5-6
“But” we do not see God’s gracious hand leading us to turn around, to exchange.
We must face God’s judgment:
A.The Reason
After thy hardness and impenitent heart
1.Hardness is stubborn, stiff, unresponsive.
2.Unrepentant…that one will not turn around. He or she is unwilling to yield!
B.The Result
You treasuresest up wrath against the day of wrath…store up like a squirrel.
1.The person who does this increases the severity of God’s wrath.
2.(Rev. 20:11-15) speaks of the Day of Wrath. There is coming a day…we either receive Jesus as our Savior or one day we will stand before Him as our Judge!
C.The Revelation
1.It Is Right Righteous Judgment flows from a Righteous Judge. This Righteous Judge knows your heart and will render every man that which is right!
2.It Is Reasonable According to our works. We are saved by grace alone, faith alone in Christ alone. Saved and lost will give and account (Bema Seat or Great White Throne).
*Our conduct is a visible expression of our character.
*We are not saved by works, but good works will follow salvation.
*If there is no repentance…there is no salvation!
*Do you know Jesus Christ? Then why don’t you act like it? If Jesus is within…
outward godly works are evidence of Life within.
*Is there enough evidence to convict you that you are saved? Paul is not talking about the basis for salvation but the basis for judgment!
*Right deeds is an evidence of divine life…the absence of righteousness also reveals the absence of salvation. If there is no desire for the Word, prayer, burden for the lost, a love for God and God’s people are you sure that you are born from above?
*This the evidence of salvation not the means or basis of obtaining it. He is saying that a person who is truly saved, there will be outward evidence of it in their life.
*Every believer at times will fall and fail in their walk with Christ. They will sometimes disobey, but they do not want to stay in that condition.

Can you see yourself?
Is there evidence that Christ lives within?