God Shows No Partiality in Judgment

Transcript

GR 1413
12/06/09
God Shows no Partiality in Judgment
Romans 2:12-16
Gil Rugh

This morning we're in Romans 2. In Romans 2 Paul turns his attention from mankind generally and the sin of mankind to focus specifically on the condition of the Jews. The Jews were in agreement, no doubt the Gentiles are sinners, condemned by God and the objects of His wrath. But they saw themselves in a different light. We are the people who are the descendants of Abraham, God established His covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Furthermore, God gave the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai and entered into further covenant relationship with us in the Mosaic covenant, a covenant which would govern the conduct of the nation Israel in the land that God had promised to them. That sense of superiority, religious superiority, moral superiority characterized the Jewish attitude. And they had come to think that because they were the ones who had the covenant relationship with God, the Mosaic Law given to them, they would be exempt from the kind of judgment that the Gentiles would be subjected to.

So Paul picks up in chapter 2 to talk about the situation that the Jews faced. Now he doesn't mention the Jews by name until you get down to verse 17 where he says, if you bear the name Jew and rely upon the law and boast in God, and so on. He really has turned his attention to the Jews beginning in verse 1 of chapter 2 and the issue of God's standard in judgment is really a pervading theme here. In verse 6 of chapter 2 he quoted from the Jewish Old Testament, Psalm 62:12 where we're told that God will render to each person according to his deeds, according to his works. God will render to each one according to his works. A reminder there that the judgment will be personal and it will be impartial. It will be according to works. Verse 11 then drew that to a point clearly stating, there is no partiality with God. Jews will not get a different kind or a different standard of judgment than the Gentiles get. That's what Paul is doing through the bulk of these first three chapters, showing that everyone, Gentile and Jew alike, is under the condemnation of their sin and without hope apart from the intervention of God's grace in providing a Savior.

This issue of partiality in judgment, the Jews should have known better. As we noted, verse 6 of chapter 2 is a quote from the book of Psalms, their own scripture. Turn back to Deuteronomy 10, part of the first five books of Moses as they are titled often. See what God says about His covenant relationship with Israel, particularly talking about the Mosaic covenant, the Mosaic Law. The Jews took pride in that law. They not only were descendants of Abraham and the Abrahamic Covenant, but God had given the Mosaic law to govern their lives in all aspects as God's people as they are living in the land that God had given to them. So in Deuteronomy 10:12, now Israel what does the Lord your God require from you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul. And to keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good. That was the Mosaic Law which Moses was passing on to Israel and reiterating to them. Behold to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heaven, the earth and all that is in it. Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection, to love them. He chose their descendants after them, even you above all the peoples as it is this day. You see Israel is a special people, God chose them out of all the people, all the nations to place His love on them, to be a special people to Him. So circumcise your hearts and stiffen your neck no longer. Now note verse 17, for the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty and the awesome God who does not show partiality or take a bribe. You are a special people, you received special blessings from Me, I have given the covenant through Moses to you to guide you and oversee your behavior in the land that I promised you. Don't forget, I judge without partiality. I don't take a bribe, you won't get a pass in judgment. You will be judged by Me the holy God, the righteous God.

So the Jews took the first part of this, they were a special people and God had given His commandments to them, as we have just read. Therefore, God won't be as strict with us in judgment, as hard on us when it comes to judgment as He will be the Gentiles.

Go to 2 Chronicles 19. Jehoshaphat is the king of Judah and he is responsible before God to appoint judges over the people in Judah. And note what he says in verse 5, he appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah city by city. He said to the judges, consider what you are doing for you do not judge for man, but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. They are acting on the Lord's behalf in rendering judgment over God's people. Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe. This constant emphasis of the taking of a bribe indicates that you would get exceptional treatment in judgment because you have bribed the judge. You represent God so there can be no partiality in judgment, nothing that would alter fairness in judgment.

So this is part and parcel of the Jews' Old Testament, but somehow they overlook it. Just like people do today, they think they are going to get a pass in judgment. I don't think God will judge me and sentence me to hell to be under condemnation. I'm a good person. I was baptized, I am a (fill in the blank of what kind of religious person), I do my best. All of that to say what? God is taking a bribe, God is showing partiality. He's not going to judge me on the same standard that He would judge a really bad sinner, as though God made that kind of distinction. Peter reminded his listeners in the New Testament in I Peter 1:17 that God judges impartially. That constant emphasis.

Now you come back to Romans 2:12, what he's going to do in verses 12-16 is show how God judges impartially both the Jews who have the Mosaic law and the Gentiles who don't have the Mosaic law. Both are going to be judged, both are condemned as God judges them for their sin impartially. But the Jews have the law, they are a special people, but God won't judge them with partiality. He'll judge them on the same basis as He does the Gentiles who do not have the law.

Look at verse 12, for all who have sinned without the law will perish without the law. All who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. The division is between those who are under the Mosaic Law, the Jews, and those who are not. Now crucial in understanding this is that we are aware, the Law of Moses, the Mosaic Law summarized in the ten words, the Ten Commandments, was given to Israel and only Israel. Gentiles were never under the Mosaic Law, the Mosaic Law was not given to them.

Come back to Exodus 19. Moses goes up on Mt. Sinai to receive the law, so we call it the Law of Moses because it was the law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The most well-known portion of the Mosaic Law for us is the Ten Commandments, that's part of it. There are 613 individual commandments in the Mosaic Law. Israel was responsible before God for obedience. Look at verse 3, Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel. You see the ones to whom this covenant is directed, it's to the house of Jacob, the sons of Israel. He reminds them of how he delivered them from Egypt in verse 4. Then he says in verse 5, now then, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenants, the covenant that He is giving through Moses, the Mosaic Law, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel. Then the people agreed to that in verse 8.

So you see the Mosaic Law is directed to the nation Israel. The Gentiles were never under the Mosaic Law, the Jews were. It was given to govern the conduct of Israel in all aspects in their life in the land that God had promised them. They were on their way to the promised land, they had come out of Egypt and they come to Mt. Sinai. Now there is going to be a delay in their arrival there because of their disobedience, but basically the Mosaic Law is given to govern their conduct when they go into the land. There are parts of the Mosaic Law that have to have Israel in the land to be fulfilled. And it will govern their conduct when they settle in the land.

So we come back to the New Testament, and there are many passages we could look at but that just will fix in your mind, don't want there to be any misunderstanding. People sometimes get confused because they don't clearly distinguish between Israel and the church so they end up thinking that everybody is under the Mosaic Law and people are under the Mosaic Law today. The Gentiles never were under the Mosaic Law, it was given to the nation Israel. Now there was provision for Gentiles in the Mosaic Law, they are called the strangers in the land among the Jews, they become converts to Judaism, basically so that they can function as part of the nation. But the law was given to the nation Israel.

So the Jews were right, that marked them out as a special people, unique. The law wasn't given to the United States of America. There are movements called reconstructionists today who think the Mosaic law ought to be imposed on our country and other countries because that is God's standard for nations. It's not, it's God's standard for the nation Israel when He gave it, and then it was only for a temporary purpose until the Messiah came.

So we come to Romans 2:12, for all who have sinned without the law, who would that be? The Gentiles. They don't have the Mosaic Law. So all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. Now important we get the first verse here of this paragraph clearly in our minds because some come to this paragraph, this section of the Word and take verse 14 to talk about when the Gentiles who do not have the law do instinctively the things of the law and imply from that that it's possible for Gentiles if they obey the law that God has written on their hearts for them to be saved. The whole argument of the first three chapter of Romans is everyone is lost.

So we pick up with verse 12, all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. He really doesn't talk about some of those who have sinned without the law will be saved without the law. The Gentiles are going to perish, that's what he established in chapter 1 verses 18-32, that all are guilty, have rejected God, suppressed the truth that He has revealed, rejected what they know to be true regarding Him. They are without excuse. So when you come to chapter 2 verse 12, all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, every Jew would say, amen because Gentiles are defiled, unclean and deserve to perish.

Jump ahead to Romans 15, we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. But Paul tells them that he wants to stop and visit them in Rome on his way to Spain. But before he does that he's going to Jerusalem because he has made a collection among Gentile churches and he is taking that money that he has collected to Jerusalem because Jerusalem is tremendously impoverished, the church there, because of persecution. And he says in verse 16, he's going to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. So I minister among the Gentiles, I preach among the Gentiles. You come down to verse 25, now I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia, Gentiles among which Paul had ministered in Greece, have been pleased to make a contribution to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. And they were pleased to do this. And you know what Paul has to say? I am concerned that they accept this offering, that it is acceptable to them. Because still there is a tension between Jews and Gentiles. Will the Jews accept an offering from the Gentiles, even Gentile believers. This tension is there.

So when you come back to Romans 2, all who have sinned without the law will perish without the law, there is no question any Gentile being saved outside the law for the Jew. You can't be saved outside the law, that's an impossibility, as the Jews looked at it. And they are right, but not for the reason they think. So they will perish without the law. We saw that in Romans 1. All who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. Oops. Not only are the Gentiles going to be judged and condemned, perish, same word in John 3:16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish. The Gentiles outside the law will perish, verse 12 says, without the law. But all who sinned under the law will be judged by the law. And that word judged there carries the same weight as the word perish. That's what he is going to be developing down through the rest of this chapter and into chapter 3. You know what? Those of you under the law are going to be judged by the law. And you know what that would point you out to be? Guilty, guilty. Chapter 3 verse 9, we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. Verse 19 of chapter 3, you know whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, referring to the Jew, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. Because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.

So we noted all the judgments of scripture are based on works, but no one will ever be saved by works. So the Gentiles will be judged on the basis of their works done, as those who don't live under the Law of Moses, and they will be condemned to perish. The Jews will be judged on the basis of the fact that they live under the law of Moses and are responsible for it, and they will be found guilty and condemned to perish. That's the point he is making through this section. There is no partiality with God and there is no distinction, whether you are talking about a Jew or a Gentile you are talking about a sinner. Those who are guilty of sin before the living God sin against the holy God and thus coming under condemnation.

Verse 13, you'll note the “fors” here. Verse 11 started with for, verse 12, verse 13, verse 14, then verse 15 starts with in, verse 16 on. These prepositions that lead from one thought to the other, tying everything together. It is not the hearers of the law who are just before God, but the doers of the law will be just. That's where the Jews made their mistake. They were privileged, they were honored, they were God's special people and He had given the law to Israel to govern their conduct in every area—morally, governmentally, civilly, ceremonially, everything in the law. Governs all aspects of their conduct, the details of what you wear, what you don't wear, how you dress, how you govern, how you worship. The Mosaic Law governed that. But you know what? Having the law and all 613 commandments of the law didn't mean you were acceptable to God, it simply meant you had the law. It's not the hearers of the law who are just, but the doers of the law will be justified, a form for that word righteousness. Key word as we've noted in the book of Romans. To be just, to be righteous, justified, to be declared righteous, to be acquitted by God of your guilt before Him.

It's not quite parallel, but how many people have a Bible. Some people get a very nice coffee table kind of Bible. They have it in their homes, many people have multiple Bibles. But you know having a Bible doesn't save you. Well the Jews thought having the law given to them and having that covenant relationship with God assured their salvation. But it's not the hearers of the law, it's the doers of the law. The hearers of the law because in those days everybody didn't carry a copy of the law around with them. They went to the synagogue and the law was read and they heard it as Jewish people who were to be subject to the law. But that meant to be obedient.

So hearing the law doesn't save, but it's the doer of the law who will be declared righteous. We say that indicates that a person can be saved by keeping the law. But then we read in chapter 3 verse 20, by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. And yet chapter 2 verse 13 says, the doers of the law will be justified. It connects here as well. No one does it, there are no doers. So he's not getting into that, he's just making clear the standard of judgment—your works and not your possession. The Jews have the law but that doesn't mean they have a different standard to be judged by, they were judged by their works. So how are the Gentiles going to be judged? By their works. But the Jews have the law. Right. But judgment will not be on the basis of having the law, judgment will be on the basis of doing the law that you have. And that will be the same basis of judgment for the Gentiles, doing the law that they have which is not the Mosaic Law, is where he is going.

So you see what he is establishing. There is no partiality with God, all are under the judgment of God and all are under the condemnation of God because they failed to do what God requires them to do. And that's for Jews as well as Gentiles. And so the Jews were just as guilty when they don't do what God tells them in their law as the Gentiles are when they don't do what God has told them to do in the law that they have, which is not the Mosaic Law.

So verse 13, it's not the hearers of the law that are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. That principle is picked up by James, the most Jewish of the New Testament writers. It's not the hearers of the law but the doers. He says don't be hearers of the law, be doers of it. The point is the same. It's not people who come and hear the word of God here. Some people think, I go to church, I hear the Bible read, I hear it taught. That's nice, but understand hearing the Bible doesn't mean you get a pass in judgment. Listening to people preach about the Bible, explain the Bible, that went on in the Jewish synagogue with the law. But people think I go to church, I hear the Bible, I may even carry my Bible; therefore when it comes to judgment God is going to look more favorably on me. Another way of saying that is He'll show partiality to me, He won't judge me as severely as that guy who is drunk someplace or being immoral or doing something, because I hear the word of God every week. Well the Jews did, too, they heard the Mosaic Law.

So you see the point, it's not the hearers of the law who are just before God, the doers of the law. This is where the Jews were stuck in their arrogance. They thought the Gentiles justly condemned, but we have the law and we listen to the law, we hear it read, we have that relationship with God that people who don't love the law don't have. There is an omen of truth in it but it doesn't mean they have a different standard of judgment.

So verse 14, for when the Gentiles who do not have the law do instinctively the things of the law, these not having the law are a law to themselves in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts. Now he pulls this out further to show how the standard of judgment for Gentiles is the same as it is for Jews. Those have law, the Jews have the Mosaic Law but the Gentiles who are without the Mosaic Law do have law. Look at verse 14, for when the Gentiles who do not the law, referring to the Mosaic Law, do instinctively. And literally that instinctively is translated by nature, do by nature the things of the law. By nature, by the very fact of what they are as human beings. We were created in the image of God and so His moral likeness is part of our very being. Now it has been corrupted by sin but it is there nonetheless. So we have a sense of right and wrong.

A well-known public sports figure who has become entangled in immorality evidently, and it's in the news. And you know it's clear, people have passed judgment. They believe the conduct was wrong, that you should not be sleeping with other women when you are married and have children and have responsibility. This is not right. His own statement was, I have not been true to my own standards and so on. There is a sense of this is wrong. How do you know it is wrong? Who said it is wrong? It's innate. Is there anyone anywhere who does not believe that sexual relationships with small children is wrong? I mean, universally everyone agrees it's wrong, it's vile. How do we know that? Well everybody knows it, we just know it. Well how do we just know it? By nature.

Back up to Romans 1:26, as a result of rejecting God and the judgment of God men and women rebelled against what they were in their very nature. So you have homosexual activity. Verse 26, their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural. That's natural, unnatural, that's our word nature. This is contrary to nature. The men did the same thing, verse 27. It says we know by nature. So we go to places in the world that we call the dark corner of the world where they haven't had a Bible or a missionary or any portion of the word of God for centuries at least. And you have a standard of right and wrong. You see they have a marriage relationship with a man and a woman. How do they know this? Why aren't they sleeping with a cow or a pig or a horse? Well we just know by nature, it's built in, there is a standard there that is there because we were created in the image of a holy God. Now sin has marred that, corrupted it, but it is there nonetheless. And all our morality and standards, we have generally approved laws. Why? Because everybody agrees it's wrong to murder someone. Why? I mean, some of us go out and have dinner and eat an animal that was killed. Some people think, that's terrible. But most sane people recognize the difference between an animal and a person. People are different. We just know that. Why? Because we were created in the image of God.

That's why back in Romans 1 you have the revelation of God in creation but you also anticipated the fact that as beings created by God we know. So down in verse 32, although they know the ordinance of God that those who practice such things, the such things of verses 29-31, they are worthy of death. Certain activities deserve the death penalty so countries and different places around the world have acknowledged that. And they know in their heart it is, even when they deny it. They know that is wrong. That person committing immorality knows it's a violation of what is right, what the God who created me would have me do. But we do it anyway, that's what Romans 1:32 says, they not only do these things even though they know it is wrong and deserve punishment, but they also encourage it in others.

So over in Romans 2:14, when the Gentiles who do not have the Mosaic Law do by nature the things of the law, these not having the law are a law to themselves. So we don't have inscribed on our hearts all 613 commandments of the Mosaic aw, but basic truths are there and you can hear it in the Mosaic Law, you could hear it before the Mosaic law, you can read it in the New Testament. I have a recognition of sin, of wrong behavior. We agree universally, no matter whether you are Jew, Gentile or whatever particular religious practice you may follow, murder is wrong. Immorality, I mean, we have homosexual relationships, but even there they believe they ought to have a commitment to one another. So even in the perversity of their rebellion against God and what He has created them to be by nature, they still recognize some kind of standard of right and wrong. It's built in. So everyone has that.

So the Gentiles don't have the Mosaic Law, are not under the Mosaic Law. But they have inscribed on their hearts an understanding of sin, of right and wrong, of that conduct like we saw in verses 29-31 of chapter 1, the sampling. These things are wrong, they shouldn't be done and thus make my guilty.

So you move on then. In that they show the work of the law written in their hearts. That doesn't mean the Mosaic Law in all its entirety. The Mosaic Law was intended for Israel but there are certain truths in the Mosaic Law that are true for all time and all places. And we know these things. People who never hear the scriptures know it. So that is a law. So the Gentiles have a law put in them by God. The Jews would have that as well but they have the Mosaic Law which gives a clarity, a specificity in that it specifies, it makes more clear what sin is and so on. So the Jews had greater light from God which brings further responsibility, but the standard of judgment will be the same. They rebel against the law, the Gentiles rebel against the law of God, that which He has placed within them by nature as human beings, made in His image. So that's a law to themselves. The Gentiles have a law, they are not without law totally, they are without the Mosaic Law, but they are not without law. So the same standard of judgment. You rebel against the law of God, whether it is the Mosaic Law for the Jews or the law built into our very nature for us Gentiles who don't have the Mosaic Law.

In that, verse 15, they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternating accusing or else defending them. So the conscience comes to bear and it bear witness, it testifies. And so their thoughts alternately accuse or defend them. We are familiar with the work of the conscience, we talk about a guilty conscience. I was watching a program where they solve a crime. So they arrested a person who had committed the crime and they were interviewing them and the person admits their guilt and the interviewing police officer says, how did you feel? I felt ashamed. Why did they feel ashamed? Because their conscience convicted them that they had done wrong.

Now the conscience is not the standard, the conscience acts on the standard it is given. So we have law. For the Jews they have the Mosaic Law, for the Gentiles we function with the law inscribed on our hearts. The conscience acts on that and convicts on that. Now be careful here. The conscience because of sin is not totally reliable, it has been corrupted.

There is a lot on the conscience but we don't have time for it, turn over to Titus 1. Sin has marred the image of God in us. We were made in the image of God but that image has been corrupted by sin. But it is still there. We are still by nature human beings made in the image of God and even though that is marred it is still there. Our conscience convicts us, either accusing or defending. We all know what a guilty conscience is, when you have violated that which you know to be right, you feel guilty. Titus 1:15, to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure. But both their mind and their conscience are defiled. The conscience can be corrupted, can be defiled, can be seared. So it's not a reliable guide totally, but it does act. Your children do something and you say, what did you do? They say, nothing. You say, don't tell me nothing. I can tell you did something. Why? They look guilty, I mean, there is something about the conscience convicting. It is unpleasant, we don't like that, we violate that standard. A man cheats on his wife or a woman cheats on her husband and they feel guilty. Someone steals from their employer and they have a sense of guilt and shame. It's the conscience acting on the law that is there. Now it is not totally reliable because our conscience becomes corrupted. The law of God inscribed on our very nature has been corrupted by sin and we learn to stifle the conscience. It becomes defiled. You know what it is like, you do something you know is wrong and the guilt is overwhelming but you do it again and again and again and the guilt is not so overwhelming anymore. And pretty soon you get to a place where you can do it and not feel guilty. We do have defiled consciences, but they are still there and we can't wipe away the law of God on our nature, even with the corruption of sin and trying to suppress the law that is in our very nature of the standard of God. As we try to put it down, explain it away, give ourselves excuses, but as Romans 1 says they are without excuse. Because we know, we are just trying to put it down, set it down, explain it away, give an excuse, make ourselves feel better because it's not pleasant to live with a guilty conscience.

Come back to Romans 2. So you see what has happened. The Jews thought that the Gentiles were guilty and condemned and would perish because of their sin. And they are right. But they need to understand that the Jews are guilty and under God's judgment and will perish because of their sin also. The law does not excuse sin, the law revealed even more clearly sin to the Jews, but if that's where its left all it does is condemn you. And that's what the end of verse 20 of chapter 3 says, for the law comes the knowledge of sin. It revealed sin more clearly and more fully, but that's all. So the Jew could understand sin more clearly and more fully than the Gentile who didn't have the Mosaic Law, but that didn't save him. That won't give him a pass in judgment, God won't be partial to the Jew and judge him on a different standard than the Gentile just because the Jew had more information. What we have is Jew and Gentile alike are shown to be guilty by violating the law of God. Sin is lawlessness, John tell us, for the Jew and for the Gentile. The Jew is breaking the Law of Moses, the Gentile is breaking the law inscribed on his heart. Both are guilty, both are condemned.

So you see the point is that all are under condemnation. So when he says, verse 13, it's not the hearers of the law who are just before God but the doers of the law will be justified, declared righteous, acquitted. But there are no doers. That's the point. We don't get it all until we get through chapter 3 verse 20, but that's what he is saying. You have to do the law but you know what? You can't. Right? That's why the law, and what does much of the Mosaic Law cover? Sacrifices. Why do you need a sacrifice? Because you broke the law. So the Mosaic Law in itself shows it's not a way of salvation because you can't keep it. And God in grace and mercy made provision through the sacrifices for the sin to be atoned, in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. Somewhere people get off track. The Jews had gotten off track and thought I'm a Jew, I have the Mosaic law; therefore I will be judged on a different standard.

Not any different than people today—I'm Roman Catholic, I'm Protestant, I'm Lutheran, whatever I am. Therefore..... What? I mean, if anybody had a claim on God and an in when it comes to judgment it would be the Jews. All the covenants are made with the Jews. I mean, they do have the Mosaic Law, God had given His standards to govern their conduct and behavior and life in the land that He had promised them. If anybody could make a claim on God to have a special in when it comes to judgment and to have some partiality, it would be the Jews. Gentiles can't even get close to what the Jews had. But you understand the Jews will be judged on the same basis as every Gentile will be, that is on the basis of their works. But no one will be saved by those works.

So when will this all take place? Verse 16, on the day, we're talking about the judgment that will occur in verse 12, being judged; verse 13, who will be justified, declared righteous, acquitted. What is the basis that will be for this? It will all be on the day when according to my gospel God will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ. Judgment, condemnation, justification, they come in the full and final sense when judgment is meted out directly by God on the day of judgment. On the day when according to my gospel God will judge. You know we talk about the gospel, its good news, but you note here Paul says my gospel includes the message of God's judgment. The gospel is a complete package, God's good news. We are under judgment, condemnation for our sins, but there is a Savior, the Son of God who died to pay the penalty for our sins so by believing in Him God can declare our penalty paid and declare us acquitted, righteous. On the day when according to my gospel God will judge. Three statements here, parts of a statement. God will judge. Jews thought they were going to bypass that. God will judge. Hebrews 9:27, it is appointed unto man once to die, after this comes the judgment. No one escapes it.

Romans 2:6, God will render to each person individual judgment according to his works. Period. Now remember He'll render to each one according to his works, but no one will be saved by their works. Judgment will be impartial and everyone will be saved by their works and shown to be justly condemned. Not possible to be saved by works. God will judge. People don't want to hear that good news. That's part of the good news. They don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear about a God who judges, I don't want to hear about a God who has wrath, I don't want to hear about a hell, I don't want to hear about perishing, I don't want to hear the good news. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life. You understand there is a coming judgment. Men and women will perish at that judgment, sentenced to an eternal unending hell. But God sent His Son so you wouldn't have to perish.

God will judge the secrets of men. There are people sitting here who are involved in secret sins. You know what it is. You get by with it, no one knows. But the only One who needs to know is the judge who will have all the information. He will judge the secrets of men, He will judge our works and our motives in our works. He will judge our works for things that no one else knew about but us and what we were doing and why we did it. We looked at Jeremiah 17:9-10 several times, the heart is deceitful and desperately sick. Who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the minds to give to each one according to his ways. His judgment will be of our works and of our motives in our works.

Turn over to 1 Corinthians 4:3, Paul says, but to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you or by any human court. In fact I do not even examine myself. I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted. But the One who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the hidden things in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts. His judgment will be thorough and complete, all of our works, everything. The things we thought were hidden in the darkness and no one ever knew and no one ever found out about. But the only One who matters knows. He's the judge. And furthermore He'll disclose the motives of men's hearts, even the things we may have looked good about but it was a lie. I did it for pride, I did it for self, I did it for whatever. He knows the motives. It will be a complete, thorough, absolutely fair judgment.

Back in Romans 2, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. John 5:22, Jesus said, the Father has committed all judgment into the hands of the Son. Acts 17:31 we're told that God commands all everywhere to repent for He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man that He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. The gospel, there is coming judgment, repent. Jesus Christ is the Savior, He will be the judge. There is no escaping the judgment of God, there is no cover up, there is no misinformation. It will be absolutely fair without partiality. It won't be, I went to Indian Hills and I got baptized there. So? Well I was Jewish, I had the Mosaic Law. So? He's judging on the basis of your works, what you did. You are shown to be condemned. Well I did my best. Yes, you should have listened to My word. All your righteous deeds are like filthy, polluted rags in My sight, God says to Isaiah. What made you think you could become righteous by what you did? I told you that you couldn't, and I told you I would judge you and condemn you to perish, but you wouldn't believe Me. You suppressed the truth, you rejected the truth, you continued to think you would be an exception. There are no exceptions.

There is salvation but it's not through works, it's through the Son of God. But first Paul wants to be clear we understand our sin. Then with chapter 3 verse 21 we get a breath of fresh air, you open the windows, you open the door. It's like the message of the righteousness of God in Christ provided for us comes through and the stench of our sin and its pollution, its corruption, is doomed. There is the answer of Calvary, the Savior that God has provided.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the awful truth of our wretched condition, the reality that sin has taken hold of each and everyone of us. We delight in it, we pursue it, we clearly and openly rebel against you, we find excuses for ourselves as though you could be fooled. The reality of it is Jew and Gentile alike have broken your law, the law of Moses, the law that is part of our very nature and being. We've rebelled against you, we are guilty. Until we acknowledge before you the reality of our guilt and the hopelessness of our situation, we cannot experience the wonder of your love and grace as provided in Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you that we know the fullness of the good news. There is condemnation, there is judgment, but there is a Savior. We cannot earn our way to righteousness, but through simple faith in what your Son has done for us we can find ourselves acquitted by the judge of all men. We give you praise for such a wonderful Savior and so great salvation. We pray in Christ's name, amen.