Happy Sabbath!
Good News!!! It's Sabbath!!!!
Question of the Day: What do you need to stop complaining about?
Today we start chapter two. As I wrote in the last lesson, the break in chapters came a little early. This chapter two doesn't stand alone, actually not much of Romans does. This book needs to be studied as a whole. If you look at one section and just chew on that it can give you a skewed understanding of what Paul is talking about. Chapter 2 is a great example of that. This chapter in many ways needs chapter 1 and chapter 3 to be clear.
Having said that let's dive in...
READ: Romans 2: 1-4
God’s Righteous Judgment
2 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. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 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?4 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.
Last week we were faced with the list. Last week we saw how turning away from the list, from our list of failures and focusing on glorifying God and giving Him thanks. We saw how it is the lack of glorifying Him and giving Him thanks that leads to the list. It is a cause and effect. So then is stands to reason that if we glorify Him and give Him thanks, the list will go away! The answer is no to work on the list but to work on living of life of thankfulness and acknowledging Him as Lord and King!
Reading that list, I'm sure we thought of someone else. We maybe just thought of the world, of our country, etc. Paul, knows we can't do that...
So stop looking at lists and playing match the sin with someone you know. Stop it! If we will glorify god and acknowledge His kindness, forbearance and patience, it will lead us right where we need to be.... repentant!
In many circles, we talk about the need to point out where people are wrong, maybe what they need, what we all need is to turn our eyes toward Jesus!
Maybe what we all need is to experience his kindness etc.. We can play a part in that. How?
Reading this passage what should our role be?
How do we "show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience?"
Combining the end of chapter 1 with the beginning of chapter 2 this is what we know.
1. Failing to glorify God and failing to give him thanks, leads to a life of sin.
2. It is His kindness, forbearance and patience that leads us to repentance.
How many times have these passages led to judgement?
How many times have we used these passages to justify our "righteousness?" Hmmmm.
Let's continue.
Read: Romans 2:5-16
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. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”[a] 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ,as my gospel declares.
Before we dive into this passage I would like for us to read it in the message.
5-8 You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
9-11 If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew (Seventh-day Adventist) won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.
12-13 If you sin without knowing what you’re doing, God takes that into account. But if you sin knowing full well what you’re doing, that’s a different story entirely. Merely hearing God’s law is a waste of your time if you don’t do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.
14-16 When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.
Wow, what a loaded passage.
So last chapter, last week we talked about that list and how we didn't need to focus on the list but remember to glorify God and give him Thanks... now this?
Do these go together?
Of course.
Chapter one we saw how we got where we are. And here Paul is letting us know to sit in the sin, to just stay there will bring destruction.
Verse 8 is extremely important!
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
How does verse 8 connect and reflect chapter 1? So let's break this down.
1. Self-seeking: Can we glorify Him as God and be self-seeking at the same time?
2. Reject truth: What is to reject truth? What is truth?
3. Follow evil: What is evil?
Verse 9: If we obey the law, if we do what he asks, then what?
It doesn't matter if we are Adventist, or an Atheist, doing God's will or not has consequences.
Let's re read verses 14-16:
I find this passage so beautiful. For those who don't believe but do what God asks, without even realizing speak to the fact that these laws built into creation. This is not about our God trying to be a crazy difficult being, but He knows what is best for us! He knows how we will best function.
It is like a car that requires high octane fuel. You can put regular fuel in it but if you do... it won't run right! It was made to run on the rich stuff! We are created the same, we were made and designed to love our Lord, and the laws that he has given us is simply the manual for how we are at our best. If we don't abide by it, if we don't put in the rich stuff then we won't run right.
I will add more to this after class...
There is so much here.
Bottom line... We must remember to glorify God, give Him thanks, let his kindness etc. lead us to repentance and know that no matter who you are, you were created to run on the good stuff.
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