Is God's Judgement Fair?
Download MP3I invite you to turn to Romans chapter 1. Happy Mother's Day. We are gonna celebrate Mother's Day by looking at the judgment of God. If you were the horrible child that I was, anything like me, then you actually associate, yes, your childhood with rightly deserving the wrath of your mom. Mom, I know that you're watching via live stream, and I do love you.
Joel Brooks:And extra jewels in heaven for you, as long as you don't hold it over me in this life. Alright? So, Romans chapter 2, as we continue our study, as we go through the book of Romans, We'll begin reading in verse 11. And we have a lot of text in front of us. I'm gonna break it up into chunks.
Joel Brooks:We're just gonna look at the first 7 verses right now. For God shows no partiality. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
Joel Brooks:For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness. And their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day, when according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. This is the word of the Lord. Pray with me.
Joel Brooks:Father, we do ask that in this moment, we would hear from you. That's why we've gathered in this place. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But Lord, may your words remain and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Amen. So when I was in college, one of my friends, he decided that he was going to ask out a girl. This was back in the day when, single men did that kind of thing. Subtle jab there. So, he was gonna go all out too.
Joel Brooks:He he he went and he picked. He went all over Athens, and he picked all of these wildflowers. And he made this beautiful bouquet of flowers, and he was just gonna go to her, give her the flowers, ask her out on a date. It was a it was a bold move. And so he went and he did that, and, she said, no.
Joel Brooks:He it was he was devastated. He goes, well, here, I'll at least give you the the the flowers. And she said, no, because I don't wanna lead you on. And so he came back to me. I mean, he's just devastated and he's just pouring out his soul to me, and I'm listening to him.
Joel Brooks:But I'm also looking at those flowers, and I'm just kinda wondering what he's gonna do with them. And, he finally he he finishes bearing his soul to me, and then he is leaving. And I said, well, what are you gonna do with those flowers? He goes, I don't know. Just throw them away.
Joel Brooks:I was like, well, I'll take care of that for you. And so he left. I got those flowers, and I gave them to Lauren. We were dating at the time. And and so Lauren's just like, oh, my gosh.
Joel Brooks:You know, flowers. So what's the occasion? And I said, I I don't need an occasion to show you how much I love you. And she goes, where did you get these? I said, well, they were picked from all over Athens.
Joel Brooks:You know, nothing is too good to show my love for you. And she was just so impressed. I won a lot of points that day, in our relationship. Let me ask you, was that morally okay, what I did? Was it was that a a good thing I did or a bad?
Joel Brooks:I've seen the guys are like, yes, absolutely. Some of the women here looking like I murdered a puppy or something. So so intent matters, doesn't it? I mean, it does. So outwardly, you can have a really good deed.
Joel Brooks:I mean, it was a good deed. It made Lauren happy when I gave her those flowers. But the intention of my heart was pretty self centered, wasn't it? It really wasn't about Lauren. It was about me all along.
Joel Brooks:That's the reason I did these things. I was I was being fueled by my own pride. Paul in these first couple of chapters of Romans is going to talk about 2 different ways we have all rebelled against God. One is by becoming really bad, and the other is by becoming really good or religious, but both are being driven by a radical self centeredness of our hearts. The self centeredness of our hearts could turn some to be a criminal and can turn others to be a priest.
Joel Brooks:You could go 1 and 2 directions there, but the self centeredness of the heart is what's fueling those decisions, fueling that direction. And Paul here is saying that really, we all need a heart change. Whether you are religious or irreligious, the intent of your heart is often on evil. And God will judge you for it. He will judge you for your actions and the intent behind those actions.
Joel Brooks:Now, Jeff introduced us last week to the idea that God will someday judge each one of us for our works. Not just us, but all of humanity. He will judge for the things that we do in this life. Now, this is not a novel concept to anybody who's grown up in church, any Christian or any Jew. But know that neither the Roman nor Greek religion or philosophies had any notion of a final judgment day.
Joel Brooks:This would have been completely foreign to the Roman, yet it's a central component to the Christian faith. And as a matter of fact, next time you you read through the gospels, I want you to just notice how many times Jesus doesn't just talk about judgment, he talks about final judgment. How He or His Father are going to judge on that final day. I actually, this past week, I went through and I just skimmed through the gospels. I went through every chapter.
Joel Brooks:There's 89 of them. And in 45 of those chapters, Jesus talks about the final judgment. So over half of the content in our gospels there, he's saying God will judge. I will hold you accountable to every word you say, everything that you do. This is something central to what we believe.
Joel Brooks:And and Paul is saying that not only is God gonna judge, He's gonna judge impart He's gonna have an impartiality to Him. He's not gonna show any favorites when it comes time for him to judge. In verse 11, we read that God shows no partiality. That word partiality or perhaps your translation might say no respecter of persons. Know that this is the first time this word appears in history.
Joel Brooks:Right here. This idea of impartial. Now this concept that we have has of course survived 2000 years, has permeated into our culture, into our justice system, all of those things. It is survived, but it is first introduced right here in what you're reading. Before the New Testament, there's absolutely no instance of this word ever occurring.
Joel Brooks:Paul's actually making up a word here. He's combining 2 words together into one word to to, to convey the sense of impartiality. And it's actually basically a word that means no face or no face before Him. Meaning, it doesn't matter if who you are, if you come to Him and you're and you're like, but but I have all this wealth. Or but I came from this family.
Joel Brooks:Or but I I it's like, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who you are. All I look at, what God says, is what you've done. And I look at your heart as to the why you've done it. He shows no impartiality.
Joel Brooks:He will not be swayed by your presence. Now, after Paul makes this point, he raises an objection that we likely all have. He does this throughout Romans. He's gonna anticipate the objections we might have. And here's the objection.
Joel Brooks:Wait a second, Paul. I mean, what about those who don't have the law? And by law, he means scriptures or he means the Bible. He's been saying, what about those who who don't have the scriptures? How is God gonna judge them?
Joel Brooks:I mean, if they've never had a Bible to know what's right or wrong, how then can he use the Bible to judge them? I mean, that doesn't sound very fair. Those who grew up in church or had access to the Bible, at least they know what they are supposed to do. So or the objection that Paul's anticipating is at the very least, it seems like the Jews got a head start on everybody else because they were given God's law and therefore they know what it means. How can the rest of the world be judged by the standard that they were denied having?
Joel Brooks:Now we might ask a question this way. What about those living in the jungles of the Congo? What about those living in Iran or Yemen who have absolutely no access to the Bible? If God judges them the same way that he judges us, well that just doesn't seem very fair. 19 years ago, I came home for lunch and I found some leftover pizza in the refrigerator that Lorna and I had from the night before.
Joel Brooks:And, so that's what I had for lunch. I ate that. Not a big deal. Right? I I really I need to hear you say that was not a big deal.
Joel Brooks:Because there's a reason I remember it was 19 years ago that this happened, because Lauren was pregnant with our first child, Caroline. And Lauren, unbeknownst to me, she had been running errands all morning and she was hungry. She's been thinking about that pizza, she has been dreaming about that leftover pizza, baby was hungry, she was hangry, and she just could not wait to get home and to get that. And I had just finished eating the pizza, and Lauren comes to in the door, she opens up the fridge and goes, where's my pizza? I was like, well, I I didn't know it was your pizza.
Joel Brooks:I I mean, I came home, and I thought you were out. You were gonna go to Chick Fil A or something. I didn't know. And she goes, I have been thinking about that pizza all day. I need the pizza.
Joel Brooks:It's like, I'm sorry if you had left a note or something. I I would've saved it for you. I'll go get you something now. She goes, no. And I could look.
Joel Brooks:I could see the look in the eyes. Thankfully, you know, this wasn't my first rodeo. I knew what to do. I said she wasn't being reasonable. And after that, I said something about her hormones at work.
Joel Brooks:I mean, I knew what to say to, you know, to really calm down the situation. And the wrath of Lauren fell. Alright? The wrath of Lauren fell on me. But I kept saying, I I didn't know.
Joel Brooks:How was I supposed to be held accountable for something I I had absolutely no idea that you were feeling this way? Now, I asked my wife if I could share this example, and she graciously she said, yes. She did say, although, for what it's worth, I think it would have fallen better with Romans 1 than with Romans 2. I said, why? And she goes, well, Joel, you are without excuse.
Joel Brooks:You should have known. She said, the natural revelation was there. You should have inferred by everything you saw there that I have a pregnant wife. She wants to come home and to have this. All the fault is in you.
Joel Brooks:But, you push that aside. The point is, how can you be judged for something so severely when you actually, you didn't have any idea? Is it fair for God to judge people when he didn't leave them a note? When he didn't give them access to his word? Is it really just for God to judge someone for His wrath to follow somebody who grew up in the jungles of the Congo, or in Iran, or in Yemen, and have absolutely no idea as to what are the rules for living that we have in this book.
Joel Brooks:Now, if you have ever had that objection that God would do that and that you would disagree with it, I want you to know that Paul agrees with you. If God did this, it would be completely unfair, but God does not do this. Look at verse 14. For when Gentiles who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.
Joel Brooks:On that day when according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by gee Christ Jesus. What Paul is saying here is God will be fair. He will judge every person by what they had available to them. If you have the law, then you're going to be judged by the law. If you don't have the law, then you're not gonna be judged by the law.
Joel Brooks:You're gonna be judged by whatever standards you believed to be right or to be wrong. So God could not be more fair in how he issues judgment out to the entire world, yet no one will stand. No one will stand. Verse 12. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law.
Joel Brooks:And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. Francis Schaeffer, he gave, in his commentary on Romans 2, he gave an illustration that has always stuck with me. And this is this isn't actually what happens. This is an illustration. But he said, you know, imagine if when you were born, God puts on you an invisible tape recorder.
Joel Brooks:It's invisible and it's weightless. And He puts it on you at birth. And this device records every time you use the word ought. Every time you make a a moral pronouncement on somebody else or say, you know what? You ought to do this or what you did was wrong or this is what you should do.
Joel Brooks:It records those things. Now imagine, so you've had your entire life. You've lived this. You die. You're standing before God.
Joel Brooks:You're in line actually and you see the person before you. God brings out the book. He brings out this book and he's like, you know, you didn't do this, this, this, this, this, this. And judges the person, condemns them, sends them away, and you're like, oh gosh. And so you get up there and you're like, God, I didn't have I didn't have your rules.
Joel Brooks:I didn't have the Bible. I didn't know those things. And God says, it's okay. Calm down. It's okay.
Joel Brooks:I'm not I'm not gonna judge you by that. I'm gonna judge you by your own standards, your own words. And then he reaches over and he takes off this tape recorder that you've had your whole life. And I'm like, what is this? I didn't know I had this.
Joel Brooks:He goes, I know. And he just puts he just hits play. And you begin to hear all of the moral judgments that you have made. All the things that you know to be right or wrong, all the times you've said like, oh, that person shouldn't have done that. Oh, they were wrong to do that.
Joel Brooks:He plays them. He says, Now I'll judge you by your own standards and no one will stand. No one will stand before such a judgment. Your own words will condemn you. What Paul is arguing here, he's saying that is in every human, deep within our conscience, there is some understanding of the moral law of God.
Joel Brooks:Now of course, every person doesn't know all of the moral law of God, but but certain things we all know to be right and to be wrong that has been stamped on every human heart. That's what it means to be human. This is what Paul means when he says that even though the Gentiles Gentiles don't know the law, by nature they do what the law requires. By nature they do this. It's in them.
Joel Brooks:It shows that the law is written on their hearts. In other words, no one is a moral relativist. Do you remember when you were back in that, you know, liberal philosophy class back in college and you had that professor spouting out moral relativism? There's no such thing as objective right or wrong. It's just a cultural construct.
Joel Brooks:Every culture believes its own right or wrongs. And your professor like he is just spouting all that nonsense off, know that no one believes that outside of that classroom. Even that professor does not believe that outside the classroom. Because the moment that professor is confronted with something truly evil, whether it's a senseless act of violence or a mass genocide, he or she is gonna say, but that's that's wrong. It's like, oh my gosh, I just made a moral judgment.
Joel Brooks:There are certain things are just right or wrong. If a husband beats his wife, I don't care in whatever culture it is, it's wrong. It's objectively wrong. Tim Keller, he uses the example of torturing for fun. He says, Torturing for fun is wrong.
Joel Brooks:Every human heart knows that this isn't a subjective thing. It is objectively wrong. It's evil. Yet if you just examine torturing through fun for fun, if you just examine that through a Darwinian lens, well, the strong eat the weak. I mean, cats play with their prey, don't they?
Joel Brooks:Through a Darwinian lens, you can explain that and say it's absolutely okay. Science doesn't tell us that's wrong. What tells us it's wrong? Our hearts. It's written on our hearts.
Joel Brooks:We know it. And because we have certain things just written on our hearts that are objectively wrong, we make these moral pronouncements, these judgments. We say you ought to do this. I ought to live this way. We've all done this.
Joel Brooks:And God says that's where you'll be judged, by your own conscience if you've never had access to the word of God. You knew what was right and you didn't do it. Now up to this point in the letter, probably many of the Jews, the Jewish Christians, they're listening to Paul and they're thinking, preach Paul. I mean preach I mean, come on, that's right. You tell those Gentiles they have no excuse.
Joel Brooks:Tell those Gentiles they are condemned. Remember last week, Jeff, he told us about the tension between the Jews, Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. And they really, they weren't getting along that well and you could just picture those Jewish Christians saying, that's right. Give it to them. We don't really, you know, the whole Jew Gentile thing doesn't resonate so much with us.
Joel Brooks:So if it's helpful, whenever you read the word Jew in here, just think of the religious person, the person who grew up in church. That's what Paul's really referring to. Whenever you hear Gentile, well, just think of, you know, the the the more pagan person, the liberal, the politician, the person living in California. Okay? You know, whatever it is, like, just just just think of that outside the Bible Belt people.
Joel Brooks:Alright? Think of those people. We all have a mind like those people. Those people. That's the Gentiles.
Joel Brooks:And so what Paul does now is he unpacks that there is no such thing as those people. There's no difference. There is no such thing as those people. Everyone stands condemned. So in verses 17 through 29, Paul warns the religious people of 2 dangers.
Joel Brooks:1st, he says, you religious people, you think you're okay because you possess the truth, but you're not. 2nd danger is this. You think you're okay because you're affiliated with God's people, but you're not. Let's read 17 through 24. But if you call yourself a Jew and you rely on the law and you boast in God and you know his will and you approve what is excellent because you are instructed from the law.
Joel Brooks:And if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth. In other words, whenever you're watching TV or reading some blog, and you're like, uh-uh, this is what's right. Uh-uh, and you're casting judgment on these people. Says this is you. You then who teach others.
Joel Brooks:Do you not teach yourselves yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, honor God by breaking the law.
Joel Brooks:For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. In other words, because you break all these things that you say you should be doing and you don't do them, your witness is destroyed. So what Paul is doing here, he's describing a very smug religious person. The one you know who's who's somewhat familiar with the bible, kinda knows a little bit of theology, you know, at least knows enough to know what the really bad sins are. And likes to point out those sins in other people.
Joel Brooks:And yet they're blind to the fact that they commit the exact same sins. And Paul, he goes through a couple of the Ten Commandments here. He goes through 2 of them, stealing and adultery, as an example. So I'm assuming everyone here knows that stealing is wrong. Is that right?
Joel Brooks:Everybody knows stealing is wrong. Any of you ever use somebody else's Netflix account? Have have their password? Anyone ever make an illegal copy of some music? Anyone ever plagiarize someone else's work?
Joel Brooks:Anyone ever go into Chick Fil A just to take their sauces and then leave? I mean, they're a Christian company. That's like double judgment on you right there. What about adultery? I mean, Jesus said, if you look at a woman with lustful intent, you committed adultery.
Joel Brooks:Have any of you ever lusted after someone not your wife? We've all fallen. In verse 22, Paul brings up another sin. This one is a little unusual, needs a little more explaining. He says, you who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Joel Brooks:Now the reason this one is a little confusing is because there is absolutely zero evidence that we have that Jews ever robbed temples. There's no record of like, you know, a Jew going into like Zeus's temple and taking away one of the idols there. You won't find any record of that. So what I think Paul is doing here is he's talking metaphorically. He's saying, you religious people, of course, you decry all idolatry is wrong.
Joel Brooks:You abhor it. But you have the exact same concepts. You also, you take from them. You borrow from them. You have the same idols.
Joel Brooks:And your idols might be wealth. It might be comfort. It might be status. But there are some things that you are trusting in and giving divine like qualities to. You're trying to find your significance in those things and not in Jesus.
Joel Brooks:We've borrowed idolatry from the world. And so Paul warns us about these things. He warns the religious people. He warns us that there's a danger. There is a danger that thinking that just because we know the Bible is true, that we're saved.
Joel Brooks:And he says, throw that out. And then he says, there's other danger is we think that just because we are affiliated with God's people, that we'll be saved. That's what he talks about in verses 25 through 29. Read these with me. For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law.
Joel Brooks:But if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outward, nor a circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is 1 inwardly and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the spirit, not the letter.
Joel Brooks:His praise is not from man, but from God. Okay. Be honest. How many of you completely zoned out during that? We we kinda zone out.
Joel Brooks:I mean, the language is a little awkward, the whole circumcision, uncircumcision thing. I mean, we are 2000 years removed from the whole circumcision, non circumcision debate. And so this paragraph to us just feels really tedious. And if if you have any questions about circumcision, just ask our youth pastor. That's what he has to deal with a lot, and so he would be more than happy to sit down with all of you and just talk to you about that.
Joel Brooks:The important thing to know is this, about circumcision. It was the sign, the sign that you belong to God's people, that you were one of God's people. But Paul says just because you have the sign doesn't mean you are actually one of God's people. What matters is are you following God? That's all that matters.
Joel Brooks:Are you following Jesus? Now for us today, we we don't treat circumcision the same way. It's not the same sign. We have different signs that show whether we are part of God's people or not. If you don't know what those signs are, I would encourage you just to go and ask somebody, are you a Christian?
Joel Brooks:Because you'll likely get an answer like this. Be like, of course, I've been a member of First Baptist whatever for the last 25 years. Or the answer could be, why yes, I was baptized as a 7 year old. Or of course, I went through confirmation class when I was a child. And so we we give a sign.
Joel Brooks:People give signs. Am I Christian? Am I a believer? Well, I'm a member of a church. I was baptized.
Joel Brooks:I went through confirmation class and point to all these signs as a way of saying, I'm good. I had this sign. And Paul says that sign will not help you on judgment day. It will not help you. Do you really think that on that day as you stand before Jesus, he's gonna ask you about your confirmation class?
Joel Brooks:Did you, you know, maybe quiz you a little bit? Do do you think that's what he's going to do? Do you think he's gonna ask you what church you were a member of? I mean, those things might be important, but they don't save you. The real question is this, have you been born again?
Joel Brooks:Has your heart been circumcised? That's the sign he looks at, your heart. There is a circumcision that will save you and this is the circumcision that the spirit performs on your heart. That's what Paul says. So if you actually if you get to the point where you can let go of trying to save yourself from having undergone some other sign and instead just hold fast to Jesus alone to save you.
Joel Brooks:If you do that while he sends his spirit to you and he circumcises your heart, That alone saves. Is this something that you have ever done? As we we all have the same dangers that Paul has laid out before us, especially those of us who've grown up in church. You know, we're we're the Jewish person. We are the the religious person here, the the one who rebels by being really good at times.
Joel Brooks:But really, it's a self centeredness that drives it. Says your two dangers are this. You think you're okay just because you know what's right and wrong. It's not whether you possess the truth. It's whether you abide in the truth.
Joel Brooks:Said, you also think you're okay just because, hey, I'm a member of this church. Hey, I was baptized. He goes, that really doesn't matter. Has your heart been circumcised? We have the same dangers.
Joel Brooks:And we need to let go of all those external signs and say, Jesus, will you save me? Will you save me? Have you done this? I've I mention this all the time, but never in the Bible will you find the phrase, tomorrow is the day for salvation. It's always today.
Joel Brooks:And I would encourage you to call out to him. Pray with me. Jesus, we pray that right now through your spirit, you begin circumcising hearts. You begin changing our hearts of stone and making them to a heart of flesh. I pray that in this moment, dead people would become alive.
Joel Brooks:So Spirit of God, come and have your way in our midst. Jesus, may people hear you calling them clearly during this time. Thank you for the hope that we have in you. And we pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.
