Romans Explained Part 1 | Heathens, Hypocrites & JesusSýnishorn

| Romans 2:1-6 | The Jury Stands Trial

Romans chapter 2, and today the judgmental, self-righteous, religious folks stand trial. Welcome back to court everyone. We left off on the edge of our seats, so let’s rewind the tape just a bit.

When we first walked in, three groups of people took their places: the wicked, who sat at the defendant’s table; the godless, who crowded in at the back; and the religious, who proudly stepped up into the jury box.

Paul the apostle is filling in as prosecution, and in chapter 1, he nailed the wicked and godless. All the excuses of the godless - torn to shreds; all the evil deeds of the wicked - exposed for all to see.

Now for those of you who are still stuck back in chapter 1 - I get that. “Is it really a sin? Who are you to say? That’s not fair.” I understand, and honestly I go through the same thoughts. But focus on the main point here. The point of this whole passage is to get people right with God. To do that, Paul first proves that we are all wrong with God. All of us. Every last sinner. Everyone.

Now up until now, the religious crew has set contentedly in the jury box, happily agreeing with every accusation. Heads are nodding, eyes condemning, they are ready to pass judgment. And then, Paul turns to the jury box, and in chapter 2, verse 1:

“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” (Romans 2:1).

Religious people, he set you up. All through chapter one, Paul called the wicked people “they,” making it so easy to point the finger. Now he squares up directly and says “you.” And this you goes to anyone who ever passed judgment, anyone who ever used their religious rules to condemn their fellow man. Paul is calling you out! Every point that you judge them, you condemn yourself. Why? Because you do the same things. We’re all sinners.

When we stop to argue Romans 1, we’re like a bunch of cancer patients in a hot argument over whether or not that one spot on some patients is cancerous or not, when all of us are riddled with it. But argue all you want, the cancer will still kill us all. All sin is deadly, including self-righteous condemning of other sinners. So please, let’s move forward, or we’ll never get to the cure. Verse 2:

“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?” (2:2-4).

I love verse four. Judgmental religious people show contempt for God’s kindness. That means they despise it, treat it as worthless. But you don’t realize that God is kind to sinners - God is kind to you - to lead you to repent, to change your mind about sin. Repentance is the first step to salvation.

They call this verse God’s 2 by 4. God hits you over the head with kindness, and his people ought to do the same. But some of the religious crowd refuse to get it. Verse 5:

“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” (2:5).

And right there, Paul opens up a thorough argument on the righteousness of God’s judgment, the fairness of God. He makes allusion to Ezekiel 18, one of my favorite Bible chapters. In verse 6:

“God will repay each person according to what they have done” (2:6).

That’s it. Absolute fairness. Now remember, this is leading up to salvation, but we’re not there yet. Apart from the cross, God gives each of us precisely what we deserve.

But is that fair - if we didn’t know God’s law - or what if all we ever saw was hypocrites?

Paul answers the challenges next time.

Host: Thanks for joining us for today’s quick audio guide. You can find the full audio guide for this chapter and hundreds more on the Through the Word app and website. And remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing Through the Word (Romans 10:17).