Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sermon by Jason Hansen on Romans 2:1-11

We are all heading toward an impartial judgment. God's judgment is coming. Paul is preparing us.

1. You are not the Judge. (v1-2)
The most godly person has no excuse before God for their sin no matter how small it might seem. People who judge will be judged just the same. Like the Jews of that day, we in the church today are most apt to judge those around us. Rather than having a broken heart, we judge people. When our children are angry, we get angry at them for being angry. This is not accountability or church discipline or speaking truth about sin. This is self-righteous judgment. This is the Pharisee of Luke 18.

2. You are not special. (v3-5)
There is an arrogance of religious people who think they are higher than others. Either we think there won't really be a judgment for us, or we think we will be fine because we deserve the kindness of God, especially in comparison to others. We treat both God's judgment and His grace as too small. If we presume on His kindness, we are in serious trouble.

3. You will face Him. (v6-11)
God will judge good people as well as bad. Everyone is judged individually for his own works. No one is exempt. We are all condemned by our works. This is the bad news that precedes the Gospel.

Preview of what's next: All have sinned (3:23). But 3:24 is coming - we are justified by His grace as a gift. Ephesians 2. Any "good" works we do apart from Christ condemn us because they are dead. But if we trust in Christ we are saved by grace through faith. And then our works in Him are good because they are His.

The judgment is coming. Where is your hope?

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