In Romans 2:1-29, Paul had indicted the Jews for their sinfulness and destroyed their unreliable indicators that gave them a false assurance of salvation. After having demolished the false assurances on which most of the Jews relied, Paul anticipated through the Holy Spirit some strong objections that some of his Jewish readers would make based on their false conclusions about the Gospel.
Paul did not teach that Jewish heritage and their possession of the Law were not important. Because these things were God-given they had significant and tremendous importance. But these things were not, never had been, nor ever would be the means of satisfying God’s divine standard of righteousness. These things offered the Jews great spiritual advantages but they did not provide any spiritual assurances.
No outward realities have any saving benefits that will cause a person to become right with God. And when these outward realities are shown to be just a form of godliness without the power of godliness as an inner reality of faith in Jesus Christ, then the people who are holding firmly to these unreliable indicators that give them a false assurance, will accuse the man who is setting them straight of preaching against God’s people and against God’s Law and against God (Acts 21:27-28).
It is these three objections that the apostle Paul refutes from his would be Jewish debaters in Romans 3:1-8. These three objections by the Jewish debaters were based on what Paul said in Romans 2:17.
First, the objection that the Gospel Paul preached was against God’s people (3:1-2).
The Jews were offended by Paul’s preaching that their heritage couldn’t save them and so they believed that he was preaching against the people. In attempting to take Paul’s message to what they believed to be its logical conclusion, the Jews wrongly concluded that if religious heritage cannot save then Paul is preaching against the people by saying that there is no advantage to being Jewish and no benefit of circumcision.
Most Jews wrongly believed and wrongly assumed that the Scriptures taught that simply because they were Jewish, physical descendants of Abraham, that they were saved. And for Paul to come along and preach that salvation is by faith in Christ alone and that heritage cannot save, they were sure that Paul was preaching against the people if he held to and continued to preach such a message contrary to what they believed.
So for the Jews, the Gospel couldn’t be from God because it was seen as message against God’s people. If the Gospel was true then being Jewish had no advantages and therefore Paul was preaching against the people. However, Paul answered and showed them that the Gospel did not remove the advantage of having God’s Word and therefore having one of the greatest advantages ever for coming to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Jews wanted all the promises and all the privileges without any of the responsibilities that come with it. For example, in Amos 3:2 the Word of God says, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth [this is the part that all Jews wanted to claim]; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities [this is the part that the Jews didn’t want to claim].” It is a very dangerous thing to only want the positive side of God’s Word and ignore the negative side of it as though it is for someone else and not oneself.
Having the Word of God was a great advantage that the Jewish people (Deuteronomy 4:8) had over the rest of the world to such an extent that the Gospel was to the Jew first and then to the Greek. Because they had God’s Word the Jews were near – not all the way there but near (Deuteronomy 4:7) – and the rest of the world was far off. It is the Word of God that is able to give the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. It is the Word of God that testifies about Jesus and therefore those who have it do indeed have an advantage – although with that advantage and privilege comes responsibility.
Second, the objection that the Gospel Paul preached was against God’s Law/promises (3:3-4).
Because the Jews believed that Paul was preaching against God’s people, they also believed that Paul was preaching against God’s promises as found in God’s Law. This however was due to the fact that the Jews were quick to claim God’s promises and quick to deny God’s punishment.
God’s promises to His chosen people are numerous and found all throughout God’s Word. How then could Paul possibly be in keeping with God’s Word when the Gospel he preached showed that it was possible for a Jew not to be secure in those promises? Will God not be true to His promises because some did not believe?
In other words, the Jews were saying that if any Jew went to hell then God was a liar and wasn’t true to His promises. However, God had never promised that any individual Jew could claim security in God’s promises just because He was a Jew. On the contrary, only those who had the faith of Abraham and therefore the works of Abraham were secure in the promises of God for Abraham and his believing descendants.
Most of Israel denied their Christ and were therefore denying God’s promise as found in both the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants as found in God’s Law. So the Jews would maintain that if the Gospel Paul was preaching was true then God’s Word had failed and was false. But the problem was not that the Gospel was false and not that it contradicted the Word of God, the problem was the Jews didn’t understand what God was saying either in His Word or in the Gospel. Paul went on in Romans 9:6-8 to further establish this truth – “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: ‘through Isaac your descendants will be named.’ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.’”
So the unfaithfulness and unbelief of some of the nation would not nullify the faithfulness of God to the faithful and believing part of the nation – which was the only part that God ever made any promises to. The Jews misinterpreted God’s promises as guaranteed salvation for every single Jew when God was only promising salvation for the believing remnant.
God will never fail to keep His promises and He will never lie. So to the accusation that the Gospel Paul preached was against God’s Law and promises and made God into a liar, Paul said, “May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged’” (Romans 3:4). Here Paul was saying that God’s Word would be found true and that when others accused Him of being unfaithful to His promises, God would prevail and would be shown to be absolutely true. Therefore the unbelieving Jew cannot stand in God’s presence and accuse Him of not fulfilling His promises when He sends him to hell but will see and know for sure that God hasn’t lied but has done only what He has always said.
Third, the objection that the Gospel Paul preached was against God/His purity (3:5-8).
Through Paul’s preaching of the Gospel the Jews interpreted him as saying that since salvation is by grace through faith and not by works of the Law then man’s unrighteousness demonstrates God’s righteousness. And so they reasoned that if it was their sin that highlighted God’s righteousness and made it dazzle as a diamond against a dark backdrop then their sin had served a good purpose and if their sin served a good purpose and brought about a good result, then how could God inflict wrath on something good (5).
This is the fallacy that the end justifies the means and that methods don’t matter. In other words, the Jews thought that since the apostle Paul was teaching that man’s sin magnified God’s grace that God couldn’t hold them accountable for their sin because it had produced something good – namely the magnifying of God’s grace. However, the end never justifies the means. This would be the same as saying that because of the crucifixion of Jesus for the salvation of sinners, those who crucified Him did a good thing because of the end result – hogwash! They did an evil thing and God is right to inflict wrath because He is a righteous judge.
Also the Jews came to the wrong conclusion about the Gospel by believing that since the end (bringing about something good) justifies the means (the bad done to bring about the good) that more bad should be done to bring about more good (7-8). This is a very severe illogical conclusion to the Gospel. The Jews were accusing Paul of licentiousness for preaching the Gospel and accusing him of preaching against God’s purity. Their condemnation is just!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Needed: A Circumcised Heart
Romans 2:25-29 is still part of the Scriptures dealing with the charge that the Jews are under sin and in need of a Savior even with all their religious rites and ceremonies. In Romans 2:1-5 we have seen that the Jews were guilty of hypocrisy with their self-righteous judgmental attitude towards the Gentiles (2:1-3), being able to see the sins of the Gentiles and able to pronounce judgment on them but being unwilling to see their own sins and pronounce judgment on themselves. We also saw that the Jews were guilty of presumption (2:4), presuming upon God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience as evidence of their supposed privileged standing with God and that He would excuse their sins because they were Jews. And we saw that the Jews were guilty of being unrepentant (2:5) and hard-hearted believing that they were pleasing to God in their flesh and were not in need of a Savior.
In Romans 2:6-10 we have seen the truth that God is going to render a righteous judgment to every man based on his or her deeds. The Jews were further indicted as sinners in this section by believing that God was going to show them partiality while overlooking their selfishly ambitious and disobedient lifestyles. What a tragedy that men can believe that they can seek for glory and honor from men for themselves and believe that God is going to show them some sort of partiality because of their supposed relationship to Him.
Then in Romans 2:11-16 we saw the truth of the impartial judgment of God for everyman – the heathen who have sinned without the law will perish without the law and the Hebrew who has sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. The Jews were hearers of the Law and not doers of the Law and this should have been enough to convict them of their sin and lead them to Christ – however they thought that because they had the Law and heard the Law that God would show them partiality. Wrong!
And finally in Romans 2:17-24 we saw that the Jews had a false assurance of salvation based on some very unreliable indicators: (1) they trusted their heritage – that they were Jews and the covenant people of God (2:17a), (2) they trusted their possession – that they had God’s Law (2:17b), (3) they trusted their profession – that they knew God and boasted in knowing God (2:17c), (4) they trusted in their ability to know the difference between right and wrong based on God’s Law (2:18), (5) they trusted that because they were teachers of right and wrong to the Gentiles that they were right with God (2:19-20), and (6) they trusted that they were exempt from the Law because they knew and taught the Law (2:21-24). The Jews equated all these things as fulfilling the Law when in reality they were law-breakers.
Now we come to Romans 2:25-29 and here we will see one more unreliable indicator that only gives a false assurance of salvation – the sign of circumcision. As we look at this section of Scripture and to guard against anyone having a false assurance of salvation, I want us to look at the heart of the problem which is the problem of the heart and see what is needed: a circumcised heart.
Before we delve into our text we need to ask and answer a couple of questions so that we can properly expose the meaning of it: (1) what is a circumcised heart, and (2) what was the purpose of physical circumcision?
One, what is a circumcised heart? Our text says, “Circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter…” (2:29). Immediately we see that circumcision of the heart is a spiritual operation performed by the Holy Spirit and cannot be accomplished by the letter of the Law. But what is this spiritual operation that is performed by the Holy Spirit?
First, a circumcised heart is a Lord loving heart because the Lord hating flesh has been removed. “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). Anyone who doesn’t have a circumcised heart and doesn’t love the Lord because of His love for him as seen in the Gospel will perish. “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed” (1 Corinthians 16:22).
Second, a circumcised heart is a Lord obeying heart because the Lord disobeying flesh has been removed. “Circumcision [physical] is nothing, and uncircumcision [physical] is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Corinthians 7:19). The flesh cannot and will not obey God – “Because the mind set on flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8).
Loving God and obeying God go hand in hand. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). And in regard to the circumcised heart we read, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). Isn’t this the same thing that the apostle Paul said was the result of the Gospel even in the Gentiles who believe – “To bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake” (Romans 1:5)? Since it is true that the flesh does not subject itself to the law of God and that it is not even able to do so, then when a person is circumcised of heart so that he will both love and obey, then he is a brand new person – a new creature. “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15).
Third, a circumcised heart is a Lord glorying heart because the self-glorying flesh has been removed. “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard to you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:1-3). Why is it that we put no confidence in the flesh? Because we have seen its sinfulness, ugliness, and ungodliness and we now know that no good thing dwells in our flesh.
People who see and understand this are more than glad to have their hearts circumcised and their flesh removed. But how is it that the Holy Spirit removes our sinful flesh and causes us to become new creations? “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:11-14).
Two, what was the purpose of physical circumcision? Physical circumcision was to repudiate the flesh by picturing its removal and not its renovation. The flesh cannot be renovated so it must be removed and God does this through putting our flesh to death in Jesus Christ. If we have responded correctly to the true Gospel then our flesh is put to death in Christ, buried with Christ, and then as brand new creatures we are raised to walk in newness of life loving and obeying the Lord (see Romans 6:1-14). So just as physical circumcision for the Jews was to picture the death of the flesh then baptism today is to picture the death and burial of the flesh and the resurrection of a brand new creature.
Now what does all this have to do with our text? Everything!
First, circumcision without obedience was useless (2:25). This amounts to ritual without reality. This is having a form of godliness but denying its power. There is grave danger in having confidence in one’s outward form of religion because confidence in form leads to confidence in the flesh.
Second, obedience without circumcision was useful (2:26). The obedient but uncircumcised Gentile proved by his deeds that he was saved by God’s grace and obeying from a heart of love which fulfills the spirit of the Law and not just the letter.
Third, those who have repented and received a circumcised heart although physically uncircumcised will stand up as witnesses at the judgment against those who were physically circumcised but uncircumcised in heart (2:27)
Fourth, it is not the ritual which counts but the reality (2:28-29).
So in making application today baptism is a repudiation of the flesh by picturing its removal by death and burial so that we can love and serve God in the Spirit rather than in the flesh by being raised to walk in newness of life with Jesus as our Lord. Many have been baptized without the knowledge of the wickedness of their flesh and are confident that they are saved even though their flesh remains uncrucified and their hearts uncircumcised.
Needed: A circumcised heart! Do you have one?
In Romans 2:6-10 we have seen the truth that God is going to render a righteous judgment to every man based on his or her deeds. The Jews were further indicted as sinners in this section by believing that God was going to show them partiality while overlooking their selfishly ambitious and disobedient lifestyles. What a tragedy that men can believe that they can seek for glory and honor from men for themselves and believe that God is going to show them some sort of partiality because of their supposed relationship to Him.
Then in Romans 2:11-16 we saw the truth of the impartial judgment of God for everyman – the heathen who have sinned without the law will perish without the law and the Hebrew who has sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. The Jews were hearers of the Law and not doers of the Law and this should have been enough to convict them of their sin and lead them to Christ – however they thought that because they had the Law and heard the Law that God would show them partiality. Wrong!
And finally in Romans 2:17-24 we saw that the Jews had a false assurance of salvation based on some very unreliable indicators: (1) they trusted their heritage – that they were Jews and the covenant people of God (2:17a), (2) they trusted their possession – that they had God’s Law (2:17b), (3) they trusted their profession – that they knew God and boasted in knowing God (2:17c), (4) they trusted in their ability to know the difference between right and wrong based on God’s Law (2:18), (5) they trusted that because they were teachers of right and wrong to the Gentiles that they were right with God (2:19-20), and (6) they trusted that they were exempt from the Law because they knew and taught the Law (2:21-24). The Jews equated all these things as fulfilling the Law when in reality they were law-breakers.
Now we come to Romans 2:25-29 and here we will see one more unreliable indicator that only gives a false assurance of salvation – the sign of circumcision. As we look at this section of Scripture and to guard against anyone having a false assurance of salvation, I want us to look at the heart of the problem which is the problem of the heart and see what is needed: a circumcised heart.
Before we delve into our text we need to ask and answer a couple of questions so that we can properly expose the meaning of it: (1) what is a circumcised heart, and (2) what was the purpose of physical circumcision?
One, what is a circumcised heart? Our text says, “Circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter…” (2:29). Immediately we see that circumcision of the heart is a spiritual operation performed by the Holy Spirit and cannot be accomplished by the letter of the Law. But what is this spiritual operation that is performed by the Holy Spirit?
First, a circumcised heart is a Lord loving heart because the Lord hating flesh has been removed. “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). Anyone who doesn’t have a circumcised heart and doesn’t love the Lord because of His love for him as seen in the Gospel will perish. “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed” (1 Corinthians 16:22).
Second, a circumcised heart is a Lord obeying heart because the Lord disobeying flesh has been removed. “Circumcision [physical] is nothing, and uncircumcision [physical] is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Corinthians 7:19). The flesh cannot and will not obey God – “Because the mind set on flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8).
Loving God and obeying God go hand in hand. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). And in regard to the circumcised heart we read, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). Isn’t this the same thing that the apostle Paul said was the result of the Gospel even in the Gentiles who believe – “To bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake” (Romans 1:5)? Since it is true that the flesh does not subject itself to the law of God and that it is not even able to do so, then when a person is circumcised of heart so that he will both love and obey, then he is a brand new person – a new creature. “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15).
Third, a circumcised heart is a Lord glorying heart because the self-glorying flesh has been removed. “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard to you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:1-3). Why is it that we put no confidence in the flesh? Because we have seen its sinfulness, ugliness, and ungodliness and we now know that no good thing dwells in our flesh.
People who see and understand this are more than glad to have their hearts circumcised and their flesh removed. But how is it that the Holy Spirit removes our sinful flesh and causes us to become new creations? “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:11-14).
Two, what was the purpose of physical circumcision? Physical circumcision was to repudiate the flesh by picturing its removal and not its renovation. The flesh cannot be renovated so it must be removed and God does this through putting our flesh to death in Jesus Christ. If we have responded correctly to the true Gospel then our flesh is put to death in Christ, buried with Christ, and then as brand new creatures we are raised to walk in newness of life loving and obeying the Lord (see Romans 6:1-14). So just as physical circumcision for the Jews was to picture the death of the flesh then baptism today is to picture the death and burial of the flesh and the resurrection of a brand new creature.
Now what does all this have to do with our text? Everything!
First, circumcision without obedience was useless (2:25). This amounts to ritual without reality. This is having a form of godliness but denying its power. There is grave danger in having confidence in one’s outward form of religion because confidence in form leads to confidence in the flesh.
Second, obedience without circumcision was useful (2:26). The obedient but uncircumcised Gentile proved by his deeds that he was saved by God’s grace and obeying from a heart of love which fulfills the spirit of the Law and not just the letter.
Third, those who have repented and received a circumcised heart although physically uncircumcised will stand up as witnesses at the judgment against those who were physically circumcised but uncircumcised in heart (2:27)
Fourth, it is not the ritual which counts but the reality (2:28-29).
So in making application today baptism is a repudiation of the flesh by picturing its removal by death and burial so that we can love and serve God in the Spirit rather than in the flesh by being raised to walk in newness of life with Jesus as our Lord. Many have been baptized without the knowledge of the wickedness of their flesh and are confident that they are saved even though their flesh remains uncrucified and their hearts uncircumcised.
Needed: A circumcised heart! Do you have one?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
False Assurance
As we read this section we may be inclined to believe that the apostle Paul was an unloving, unkind, cruel, and insensitive preacher of God’s Word by giving such a negative characterization of people who thought that they were pleasing to God. We may ponder why the apostle Paul would dare tell people who were sure that they were pleasing to God and boasting in their relationship to Him that their assurance was false and eternally destructive. So we have to ask as we look into this section of Scripture, “Was Paul unloving and robbing people of assurance or was he loving and destroying people’s false assurance?”
Many a preacher has been accused of being unloving and unkind for destroying the false assurance of men. These preachers are perceived as destroyers of men’s faith. However, if a man has a type of faith that cannot and does not save, the most loving thing that another person could do is destroy that false faith by showing the futility of it. It is actually through showing the futility of a false faith and destroying false assurance that the glory and blessed assurance of true faith is established. Convincing a man who thinks he is saved but who is actually lost that he is not saved is far more loving than to allow him to go on in his deception to eternal destruction.
As we read and study our Bibles we see that all through it warnings are given to people who think that they are saved but are actually lost. We also see that the prophets, apostles, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself all stripped men of their false assurance. To the religious leaders of his day, John the Baptist removed their false assurance (Matthew 3:7-10). The Lord Jesus Christ did the same thing to the religious leaders of His day (Matthew 23). The apostle Paul also removed the false assurance of the people of his day (Romans 2:17-29).
So let’s look at the inaccurate and unreliable indicators that give false assurance (Romans 2:17-24).
The first unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is heritage (2:17a) – “But if you bear the name Jew….”
Many of the Jews wrongly assumed that because they were Jews that they were automatically right with God. After all they were physical descendants of a man who was right with God – Abraham. What many of the Jews didn’t realize is that in order to be justified like Abraham they had to have faith like Abraham. The Lord Jesus told the Jews of His day, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father” (John 8:39-41). The Lord went on to say concerning Abraham’s faith, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).
Paul knew what it was like to have false assurance by relying upon his heritage. “Circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6). However Paul discovered that all the things he was trusting in only gave him false assurance because he was the chief of sinners headed for hell – even with his immaculate heritage.
Many today bear the name Christian and are trusting in their heritage and external religious practices but are not trusting in Christ. When confronted with the truth of their lostness they will speak of their long time participation in the church, their baptism, their knowledge of God’s Word, and so forth but they do not speak of their saving relationship with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The second unreliable indicator that give false assurance is possession of God's Word (2:17b) – “And rely upon the Law….”
The Jews were relying upon or resting in the Law. Because they had God’s Word and knew God’s Word they were falsely assured that they were right with God. God’s Law has never been given as a means of making men right with God but for showing that men are not right with God. The very thing that should have caused the Jews to be weary and heavy laden leading them to rely upon and rest in Christ was the very thing that they were relying upon and resting in. The Law was given to weary us and wear us out so that we would see our need for Christ. The Lord said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
However, many of the Jews were relying upon and resting in the Law. The Law demands perfect and continuous obedience if one is going to be right with God through the Law and any point of disobedience means death and destruction from God. The Law itself says, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law to perform them” (Deuteronomy 27:26). The Law should have led the Jews to Christ but instead they trusted in the Law. Jesus said to the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39).
Many today in the Christian church are relying upon and resting in their possession of God’s Word rather than in Christ.
The third unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is profession of a right relationship with God (2:17c) – “And boast in God.”
The Jews boasted in their supposed relationship to God. Because they had a Jewish heritage and possessed the Law of God they supposed they were rightly related to God and that everyone else wasn’t. Many of the Jews were loud in their profession of knowing God. Some of them told the Lord Jesus, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come of My own initiative, but He sent Me…. He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God’” (John 8:41-42, 47).
The same was true throughout Israel’s history – many claimed to know God and boast in God when in reality they did not. Through Hosea the prophet we read of apostate Israel’s profession and boast of knowing God, “They cry out to Me, ‘My God, we of Israel know You'” (Hosea 8:2)!
Many today boast that they know God and others don’t. However, because one boasts in knowing God doesn’t mean that he actually does. Knowing God rightly means that we know Jesus Christ rightly and therefore we know ourselves rightly – we are sinners who cannot be made right with God except through faith in Jesus Christ and His work on our behalf.
The fourth unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is knowledge of right and wrong (2:18) – “And know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law.”
Knowing the difference between right and wrong because you have been instructed out of God’s Law and approving the rightness of God’s Law doesn’t make you a doer of God’s Law. Many Jews had false assurance of acceptance with God because they knew and approved of God’s Law.
Approving God’s Law isn’t the same as applying God’s Law. Hearing God’s Law isn’t the same as heeding God’s Law. Many today have a false assurance of salvation because they “know” God’s Word. Many know the will of God but don’t live up to His will and think that just because they know it they have done it – not true!
The fifth unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is being teachers of right and wrong (2:19-20)
The Jews were confident that they could see and that others were blind and saw themselves as guides to the blind. Because they taught God’s Law to others they thought it was proof of their right relationship to God. They thought for sure that God would be proud of them for instructing and correcting others. However, teaching, instructing, and correcting without applying those very teachings, instructions, and corrections to oneself is hypocrisy and self-deception. That is why we read, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).
Many today are confident that they can see and that others can’t. Because they preach sermons, teach Sunday-School classes, or instruct others they believe that they are saved – even while they don’t practice what they preach and teach.
The sixth unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is seeing oneself as exempt from the Law (2:21-24)
Most of the Jews thought that because they knew the Law and taught the Law that they were doing the Law. However, they were not practicing what they were preaching and that should have caused them to realize that they were law-breakers and not law-keepers and therefore they needed a Savior.
The problem with knowing the Law and teaching the Law without doing the Law is that one exempts himself from the Law by applying the Law to everyone but himself. When this happens the life of the person teaching the Law is no different than the lives of the people to whom he is preaching. People see the hypocrisy of this and then the name of God is blasphemed because of those claiming to know Him and to represent Him.
When we believe that God’s Word is for those people out there and apply it to them without applying it to ourselves we are self-deluded fools. We are to practice what we preach so that we don’t deceive ourselves and so that God’s name is not blasphemed.
Many of the Gentiles who had dealings with the Jews knew that their preaching and teaching of the Law was hypocrisy. The Jews would lie, cheat, steal, rob, and commit adultery just like the Gentiles would. In their supposed keeping of the Law they would break the Law – dishonest business practices were legalized as God’s will for them to succeed; adultery was legalized by divorce; robbing temples was legalized under the pretense of abhorring idols. Isn’t it interesting that when there was a riot in Ephesus because of Paul’s preaching and people turning away from idolatry that the town clerk who quieted down the crowd said, “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess” (Acts 19:37)?
Many today who claim to be preachers and teachers of God’s Word exempt themselves from God’s Word by applying it to everyone else but themselves. The very sins they preach against they practice and God is dishonored and His name is blasphemed among unbelievers.
Naming the name Christian; possessing the Word of God; professing to know God; knowing the difference between right and wrong; preaching and teaching the difference between right and wrong; and applying the Law to everyone else while exempting oneself from the Law by legalizing disobedience only gives a false assurance of salvation.
Is there any difference between your lifestyle and that of the lost other than a hypocritical and judgmental attitude? Let’s not be fooled! “The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness’” (2 Timothy 2:19). We may fool ourselves and most everyone else – but we will not and cannot fool God!
Many a preacher has been accused of being unloving and unkind for destroying the false assurance of men. These preachers are perceived as destroyers of men’s faith. However, if a man has a type of faith that cannot and does not save, the most loving thing that another person could do is destroy that false faith by showing the futility of it. It is actually through showing the futility of a false faith and destroying false assurance that the glory and blessed assurance of true faith is established. Convincing a man who thinks he is saved but who is actually lost that he is not saved is far more loving than to allow him to go on in his deception to eternal destruction.
As we read and study our Bibles we see that all through it warnings are given to people who think that they are saved but are actually lost. We also see that the prophets, apostles, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself all stripped men of their false assurance. To the religious leaders of his day, John the Baptist removed their false assurance (Matthew 3:7-10). The Lord Jesus Christ did the same thing to the religious leaders of His day (Matthew 23). The apostle Paul also removed the false assurance of the people of his day (Romans 2:17-29).
So let’s look at the inaccurate and unreliable indicators that give false assurance (Romans 2:17-24).
The first unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is heritage (2:17a) – “But if you bear the name Jew….”
Many of the Jews wrongly assumed that because they were Jews that they were automatically right with God. After all they were physical descendants of a man who was right with God – Abraham. What many of the Jews didn’t realize is that in order to be justified like Abraham they had to have faith like Abraham. The Lord Jesus told the Jews of His day, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father” (John 8:39-41). The Lord went on to say concerning Abraham’s faith, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).
Paul knew what it was like to have false assurance by relying upon his heritage. “Circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6). However Paul discovered that all the things he was trusting in only gave him false assurance because he was the chief of sinners headed for hell – even with his immaculate heritage.
Many today bear the name Christian and are trusting in their heritage and external religious practices but are not trusting in Christ. When confronted with the truth of their lostness they will speak of their long time participation in the church, their baptism, their knowledge of God’s Word, and so forth but they do not speak of their saving relationship with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The second unreliable indicator that give false assurance is possession of God's Word (2:17b) – “And rely upon the Law….”
The Jews were relying upon or resting in the Law. Because they had God’s Word and knew God’s Word they were falsely assured that they were right with God. God’s Law has never been given as a means of making men right with God but for showing that men are not right with God. The very thing that should have caused the Jews to be weary and heavy laden leading them to rely upon and rest in Christ was the very thing that they were relying upon and resting in. The Law was given to weary us and wear us out so that we would see our need for Christ. The Lord said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
However, many of the Jews were relying upon and resting in the Law. The Law demands perfect and continuous obedience if one is going to be right with God through the Law and any point of disobedience means death and destruction from God. The Law itself says, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law to perform them” (Deuteronomy 27:26). The Law should have led the Jews to Christ but instead they trusted in the Law. Jesus said to the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39).
Many today in the Christian church are relying upon and resting in their possession of God’s Word rather than in Christ.
The third unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is profession of a right relationship with God (2:17c) – “And boast in God.”
The Jews boasted in their supposed relationship to God. Because they had a Jewish heritage and possessed the Law of God they supposed they were rightly related to God and that everyone else wasn’t. Many of the Jews were loud in their profession of knowing God. Some of them told the Lord Jesus, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come of My own initiative, but He sent Me…. He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God’” (John 8:41-42, 47).
The same was true throughout Israel’s history – many claimed to know God and boast in God when in reality they did not. Through Hosea the prophet we read of apostate Israel’s profession and boast of knowing God, “They cry out to Me, ‘My God, we of Israel know You'” (Hosea 8:2)!
Many today boast that they know God and others don’t. However, because one boasts in knowing God doesn’t mean that he actually does. Knowing God rightly means that we know Jesus Christ rightly and therefore we know ourselves rightly – we are sinners who cannot be made right with God except through faith in Jesus Christ and His work on our behalf.
The fourth unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is knowledge of right and wrong (2:18) – “And know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law.”
Knowing the difference between right and wrong because you have been instructed out of God’s Law and approving the rightness of God’s Law doesn’t make you a doer of God’s Law. Many Jews had false assurance of acceptance with God because they knew and approved of God’s Law.
Approving God’s Law isn’t the same as applying God’s Law. Hearing God’s Law isn’t the same as heeding God’s Law. Many today have a false assurance of salvation because they “know” God’s Word. Many know the will of God but don’t live up to His will and think that just because they know it they have done it – not true!
The fifth unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is being teachers of right and wrong (2:19-20)
The Jews were confident that they could see and that others were blind and saw themselves as guides to the blind. Because they taught God’s Law to others they thought it was proof of their right relationship to God. They thought for sure that God would be proud of them for instructing and correcting others. However, teaching, instructing, and correcting without applying those very teachings, instructions, and corrections to oneself is hypocrisy and self-deception. That is why we read, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).
Many today are confident that they can see and that others can’t. Because they preach sermons, teach Sunday-School classes, or instruct others they believe that they are saved – even while they don’t practice what they preach and teach.
The sixth unreliable indicator that gives false assurance is seeing oneself as exempt from the Law (2:21-24)
Most of the Jews thought that because they knew the Law and taught the Law that they were doing the Law. However, they were not practicing what they were preaching and that should have caused them to realize that they were law-breakers and not law-keepers and therefore they needed a Savior.
The problem with knowing the Law and teaching the Law without doing the Law is that one exempts himself from the Law by applying the Law to everyone but himself. When this happens the life of the person teaching the Law is no different than the lives of the people to whom he is preaching. People see the hypocrisy of this and then the name of God is blasphemed because of those claiming to know Him and to represent Him.
When we believe that God’s Word is for those people out there and apply it to them without applying it to ourselves we are self-deluded fools. We are to practice what we preach so that we don’t deceive ourselves and so that God’s name is not blasphemed.
Many of the Gentiles who had dealings with the Jews knew that their preaching and teaching of the Law was hypocrisy. The Jews would lie, cheat, steal, rob, and commit adultery just like the Gentiles would. In their supposed keeping of the Law they would break the Law – dishonest business practices were legalized as God’s will for them to succeed; adultery was legalized by divorce; robbing temples was legalized under the pretense of abhorring idols. Isn’t it interesting that when there was a riot in Ephesus because of Paul’s preaching and people turning away from idolatry that the town clerk who quieted down the crowd said, “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess” (Acts 19:37)?
Many today who claim to be preachers and teachers of God’s Word exempt themselves from God’s Word by applying it to everyone else but themselves. The very sins they preach against they practice and God is dishonored and His name is blasphemed among unbelievers.
Naming the name Christian; possessing the Word of God; professing to know God; knowing the difference between right and wrong; preaching and teaching the difference between right and wrong; and applying the Law to everyone else while exempting oneself from the Law by legalizing disobedience only gives a false assurance of salvation.
Is there any difference between your lifestyle and that of the lost other than a hypocritical and judgmental attitude? Let’s not be fooled! “The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness’” (2 Timothy 2:19). We may fool ourselves and most everyone else – but we will not and cannot fool God!
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Impartial Judgment of God
We have already been studying and learning about the righteous judgment of God based on the deeds of men. How God will render a righteous and accurate judgment based on a person’s lifestyle. We saw how this truth does not establish salvation by works but establishes the truth that those who are saved practice righteousness because of the work of the gospel in their lives. We are saved by faith alone but saving faith is not alone! If we have been saved by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ then we keep His commandments because of our love for Him as a result of His love for us. We love and obey Him because He first loved us and gave Himself up for us.
Now we come to this next portion in our studies and arrive at the truth that not only is God’s judgment righteous, it is also impartial. Now we must consider the truth that if God’s judgment is righteous that it must also be impartial. How can any judgment be righteous that shows partiality?
This is why in the book of James we read, “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:1-9).
Partiality means literally “to receive face,” that is to give consideration to a person because of who he is. So partiality is giving a favorable bias based on some prejudiced motive. God’s judgment is righteous and therefore will be impartial. God isn’t going to give anyone an advantage because of his or her intellectual insight, social standing, economic efficiency, ruling reputation, or highborn heritage. That is why we read this sobering truth – “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (Revelation 20:11-12).
Since there is no partiality with God then neither heathen nor Hebrew will be shown any favoritism in either salvation or condemnation. God isn’t going to let the heathen slide because he did not have the Law and neither is He going to let the Hebrew slide because he did have the Law. Now this would come as a shock to many of Paul’s Jewish readers because they would have considered themselves deserving of special treatment because they were God’s chosen people entrusted with special revelation of God’s holy nature as revealed in God’s holy Law given to Moses.
Also to many of Paul’s Gentile readers the news that they would still be guilty before God without having had God’s special revelation of His Law would have come as a shock. They might have wondered how God could hold them responsible and not show them special treatment because of their ignorance of God’s written Law. However, the apostle Paul has already established the truth that all men everywhere are without excuse because they have knowledge of God’s holy character through both what has been created and through the inner conscience.
So let’s take a look at the impartial judgment of God on both groups – the heathen and the Hebrew.
First of all, the heathen who have sinned without the Law will perish without the Law (2:12a).
Paul here was appealing to the truth that the heathen have enough revelation of the Holy character of God through creation as well as the witness of right and wrong in their hearts and consciences and therefore are able to sin and know that it is sin without having God’s written Law. This is the truth that Paul established in 2:14-15 – “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively/by nature 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, their consciences bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
Not being able to live up to what they know is right but instead doing that which they know to be wrong makes those without God’s written Law accountable and guilty before God. Wherever you go you find people with an inner sense of right and wrong and a sense of sin because of not always living up to that which is right. Therefore, because of the light that they do have, the heathen who have sinned without the Law will perish without the Law.
The word “perish” pertains to destruction. It is referring to that which is ruined and no longer usable for its intended purpose. Therefore there is only one place suitable for such an object – the garbage dump. This garbage dump was referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ as Hell and the term He used was Gehenna (the garbage dump of Jerusalem where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched –Mark 9:48). It is the place of everlasting ruin, eternal torment, and unending death.
All sinners, whether sinning against a little or a lot of knowledge of God, must be saved through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ or else perish in their sins. This is why we must proclaim the Gospel for it and it alone is the only remedy for sinful mankind.
Next we read, “And all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law” (2:12b).
The Hebrew who had God’s written Law and sinned knowing God’s righteous character and standards will be judged by the Law. Those who have and know God’s written Law are under greater responsibility and therefore greater condemnation for their greater knowledge. God does not show partiality and therefore those with greater privileges have greater responsibility and will incur a stricter judgment. Though all unbelieving and unrepentant sinners will be in hell, the hottest part of hell will be reserved for those who have wasted the greatest opportunity.
The Hebrews supposed that because they had God’s Law and were hearers of God’s Law listening to it proclaimed and explained that they were better off than their heathen counterparts and that God would show them special favor because of it. However, the apostle made it clear that it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified (2:13). Now don’t let this verse throw you for a loop! Paul is not saying that we are justified by works of the Law – he is establishing the truth that no one can live up to the Law and therefore those who have God’s Law and are under God’s Law will be judged by the Law. This truth should immediately bring anyone who knows God’s Law to know that he or she cannot keep God’s Law and therefore he or she needs a Savior. Therefore the doers of the Law are those who come to God in repentance and faith, realizing that His Law is impossible for them to keep but that His Son did keep it and died to pay our penalty of not keeping it so that we could be justified by faith in His blood.
This is the purpose of God’s Law - to define sin and show that we are sinners and cannot do good because we are not good. If righteousness comes through the Law then Christ died needlessly (Galatians 2:21). And if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed be based on law (Galatians 3:21). So those who have the Law and know the Law should also know beyond any shadow of doubt that they are sinners and in need of a Savior. The Law is to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).
And finally we read, “On the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (2:16).
Some men may be outwardly moral for the most part but still inwardly immoral. Many do not commit certain sins for fear of the consequences although they would have committed those sins if there had been no consequences. We are told that we are going to be judged by the law of liberty (James 2:12) – what we would have done that our hearts wanted to do if we had been at liberty to do them. God knows our secret intentions and will judge us accordingly.
Do we need a Savior who has never sinned in thought or deed to pay our debt and free us from sin’s penalty?
Now we come to this next portion in our studies and arrive at the truth that not only is God’s judgment righteous, it is also impartial. Now we must consider the truth that if God’s judgment is righteous that it must also be impartial. How can any judgment be righteous that shows partiality?
This is why in the book of James we read, “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:1-9).
Partiality means literally “to receive face,” that is to give consideration to a person because of who he is. So partiality is giving a favorable bias based on some prejudiced motive. God’s judgment is righteous and therefore will be impartial. God isn’t going to give anyone an advantage because of his or her intellectual insight, social standing, economic efficiency, ruling reputation, or highborn heritage. That is why we read this sobering truth – “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (Revelation 20:11-12).
Since there is no partiality with God then neither heathen nor Hebrew will be shown any favoritism in either salvation or condemnation. God isn’t going to let the heathen slide because he did not have the Law and neither is He going to let the Hebrew slide because he did have the Law. Now this would come as a shock to many of Paul’s Jewish readers because they would have considered themselves deserving of special treatment because they were God’s chosen people entrusted with special revelation of God’s holy nature as revealed in God’s holy Law given to Moses.
Also to many of Paul’s Gentile readers the news that they would still be guilty before God without having had God’s special revelation of His Law would have come as a shock. They might have wondered how God could hold them responsible and not show them special treatment because of their ignorance of God’s written Law. However, the apostle Paul has already established the truth that all men everywhere are without excuse because they have knowledge of God’s holy character through both what has been created and through the inner conscience.
So let’s take a look at the impartial judgment of God on both groups – the heathen and the Hebrew.
First of all, the heathen who have sinned without the Law will perish without the Law (2:12a).
Paul here was appealing to the truth that the heathen have enough revelation of the Holy character of God through creation as well as the witness of right and wrong in their hearts and consciences and therefore are able to sin and know that it is sin without having God’s written Law. This is the truth that Paul established in 2:14-15 – “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively/by nature 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, their consciences bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
Not being able to live up to what they know is right but instead doing that which they know to be wrong makes those without God’s written Law accountable and guilty before God. Wherever you go you find people with an inner sense of right and wrong and a sense of sin because of not always living up to that which is right. Therefore, because of the light that they do have, the heathen who have sinned without the Law will perish without the Law.
The word “perish” pertains to destruction. It is referring to that which is ruined and no longer usable for its intended purpose. Therefore there is only one place suitable for such an object – the garbage dump. This garbage dump was referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ as Hell and the term He used was Gehenna (the garbage dump of Jerusalem where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched –Mark 9:48). It is the place of everlasting ruin, eternal torment, and unending death.
All sinners, whether sinning against a little or a lot of knowledge of God, must be saved through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ or else perish in their sins. This is why we must proclaim the Gospel for it and it alone is the only remedy for sinful mankind.
Next we read, “And all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law” (2:12b).
The Hebrew who had God’s written Law and sinned knowing God’s righteous character and standards will be judged by the Law. Those who have and know God’s written Law are under greater responsibility and therefore greater condemnation for their greater knowledge. God does not show partiality and therefore those with greater privileges have greater responsibility and will incur a stricter judgment. Though all unbelieving and unrepentant sinners will be in hell, the hottest part of hell will be reserved for those who have wasted the greatest opportunity.
The Hebrews supposed that because they had God’s Law and were hearers of God’s Law listening to it proclaimed and explained that they were better off than their heathen counterparts and that God would show them special favor because of it. However, the apostle made it clear that it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified (2:13). Now don’t let this verse throw you for a loop! Paul is not saying that we are justified by works of the Law – he is establishing the truth that no one can live up to the Law and therefore those who have God’s Law and are under God’s Law will be judged by the Law. This truth should immediately bring anyone who knows God’s Law to know that he or she cannot keep God’s Law and therefore he or she needs a Savior. Therefore the doers of the Law are those who come to God in repentance and faith, realizing that His Law is impossible for them to keep but that His Son did keep it and died to pay our penalty of not keeping it so that we could be justified by faith in His blood.
This is the purpose of God’s Law - to define sin and show that we are sinners and cannot do good because we are not good. If righteousness comes through the Law then Christ died needlessly (Galatians 2:21). And if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed be based on law (Galatians 3:21). So those who have the Law and know the Law should also know beyond any shadow of doubt that they are sinners and in need of a Savior. The Law is to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).
And finally we read, “On the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (2:16).
Some men may be outwardly moral for the most part but still inwardly immoral. Many do not commit certain sins for fear of the consequences although they would have committed those sins if there had been no consequences. We are told that we are going to be judged by the law of liberty (James 2:12) – what we would have done that our hearts wanted to do if we had been at liberty to do them. God knows our secret intentions and will judge us accordingly.
Do we need a Savior who has never sinned in thought or deed to pay our debt and free us from sin’s penalty?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Righteous Judgment based on Deeds
The truth that God is going to righteously judge all men both believers and unbelievers according to their deeds/works comes as a shock to most professing Christians. However this truth is established over and over in the Bible and it is an absolute certainty whether we like it or not and whether we suppress it or not. We are told as Christians that our works will be tested by fire (1 Corinthians 3:13-15); and that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Romans 2:6-10 shows us the differences between the deeds of the lost and the deeds of the saved and that on the basis of a man’s deeds God is going to render a righteous and accurate verdict regarding each man’s eternal destiny. We ought to be very interested in knowing these differences to see what characterizes our lifestyles to know whether or not all is going to go well with us in the day of the righteous judgment of God. Are you interested?
Let me give you a brief list of opposite lifestyles upon which God will make His perfect evaluation of each person: obedience/disobedience; Lordship/lawlessness; Spirit or faith/flesh; eternal/temporal; faithfulness/faithlessness; good deeds/evil deeds; and works wrought of God/works wrought of self.
Now let me hurry to establish this truth before you get confused and think that I am a heretic teaching salvation by works – salvation is by faith alone but saving faith is not alone! Therefore good deeds that are a result of saving faith are a perfectly valid basis for God’s judgment as well as the absence of good deeds because of the absence of saving faith. Obedience to God is what was lost in the fall of man and obedience to God is what is restored in man’s salvation through the gospel (Romans 1:5).
The practice of a person’s lifestyle forms an accurate and reliable indicator to his or her paternity – whether or not he or she is a child of God or a child of the devil – “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot [practice] sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:7-10). This is why the Lord Jesus Christ speaking of false prophets and false Christians said, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16, 20).
This passage in no way declares that men are saved by works but only that they are judged by works! Paul will deal with this truth in greater detail in chapter 3. We do not work for salvation (that is legalism and a denial of the gospel of Penal-Substitution); we do not have no works after salvation (that is libertinism and a denial of the results of the gospel of Penal-Substitution); however, we do work from salvation (this is loyalty/lordship and a proper response as a result of the gospel of Penal-Substitution).
Belief determines behavior and therefore behavior is an accurate and reliable indicator of belief so that judgment based on behavior is totally accurate and appropriate (Romans 2:6).
So based on this truth that God is going to render to each person according to his deeds, let’s examine the deeds of the saved man and the lost man and the outcome of the judgment of each.
The deeds of the saved man (2:7) – living in light of eternity
The first deed of the saved man is that he perseveres in doing good. The saved man comes up against all sorts of obstacles to his obedience to God. He is hated for his unwavering obedience and unwillingness to compromise what his Lord has told him to do. He is persecuted for the sake of righteousness; he is insulted; and he is falsely spoken evil of all because of His love for and obedience to Jesus as Lord (Matthew 5:10-12). We are told that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12) and yet the saved man perseveres in his obedience to His Lord regardless of the consequences. God is going to look at my lifestyle and your lifestyle to see if we continued in our obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences. Are you persevering in your obedience to God because of your love and reverence for God or are you being disobedient because you are afraid of what others may think or say about you?
The second deed of the saved man is that he seeks for glory – from God not man. Jesus said to the self-righteous Jews in His day, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” (John 5:44). He also said in John 7:18, “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” So to seek glory from God we have to seek the glory of God which means that we do not seek our own glory but His. Our Lord went on to say this, “I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me” (John 8:28).
So the one who seeks the glory of God speaks the Word of God without altering its content or intent. He doesn’t walk in craftiness watering down the Word of God in order to tickle the ears of men and gain glory from men. God is going to look at each man’s lifestyle to see if he remained true to His Word and sought the glory of God or if he sought his own glory by being a man-pleaser rather than a God-pleaser. Are you seeking God’s glory and the glory which comes from God or are you seeking your own glory and that which comes from other men?
The third deed of the saved man is that he seeks for honor – honor from God not man. By doing God’s will God’s way and seeking the glory of God rather than your own glory, God will honor and say on the Day of Judgment, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” The honor which comes from God is based on honoring God. God said through the prophet Samuel, “Those who honor Me I will honor…” (1 Samuel 2:30). Just as the lost seek glory from men and not God they also seek honor from men and not God. Many falsely believe that if men glorify and honor them that God will also glorify and honor them. But they have forgotten that what men esteem is detestable in the sight of God (Luke 16:15).
God is going to judge the lifestyle of each man to see if he sought the honor which comes from God by honoring God or if he sought the honor which comes from man by honoring man. As a lifestyle are you seeking God’s honor or your own?
The fourth deed of the saved man is that he seeks for immortality – immortality that comes from God not being immortalized by man. This means that the saved man sows to the Spirit and not to the flesh. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8). So the one who lives for self will reap corruption and the one who lives for God will reap eternal life. No one can live for God in the flesh; it can only be done in faith. This is why Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). Seeking immortality means that one is living in light of eternity and living for God and not for self. God is going to judge each man’s lifestyle to see whether or not it was marked by living for God or living for self. As a lifestyle are you living for God or living for self?
For the man who the deeds of his lifestyle is persevering in doing good, seeking for glory, honor, and immortality from God, he will reap eternal life because he has believed and received Jesus as Lord through the gospel.
The deeds of the lost man (2:8) – lives for the temporal
The first deed of the lost man is that he is selfishly ambitious. This means that the lost man is self-centered and not God-centered and that he seeks to rob God of his worship – and many will do this under the pretense of worshiping God – it is called hypocrisy. The lost man does not persevere in doing good; he seeks for glory and honor from man robbing God of His glory and honor; and he sows to the flesh and not the Spirit.
The second deed of the lost man is that he does not obey the truth. The lost man cannot obey the truth because he is in the flesh (this is the purpose of the Law – to show men that they cannot obey and that they need a Savior) and the flesh does not and cannot subject itself to the law of God (Romans 8:7-8). The lost man does not obey the Lord because he does not love the Lord but loves himself instead.
The third deed of the lost man is that he obeys unrighteousness. The lost man is a slave to sin, he loves his sin, and therefore he is lawless and unrighteous. The lost man sets his mind on the things of the flesh and not the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6) and therefore he is not seeking immortality which comes from God. The lost man is living for the temporal and not the eternal.
Because of the deeds of the lost man he will reap wrath and indignation. Everything he does is for the purpose of serving and pleasing self. He has the spirit of antagonism against the Lordship of Christ. And because of this he will reap God’s wrath and indignation.
The outcome of judgment for the lost (2:9) – tribulation and distress.
Tribulation has the root meaning of exerting extreme pressure and affliction or anguish. Distress literally means a narrow place and came to refer to severe confinement or constriction. Besides capital punishment the lost will endure eternal solitary confinement. There will be no parties or fellowships in hell!
The outcome of the judgment for the saved (2:10)
The saved will receive glory from God and honor from God and peace from God!
The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming in which all who are in tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). According to the practice of your lifestyle which group will you be in?
Romans 2:6-10 shows us the differences between the deeds of the lost and the deeds of the saved and that on the basis of a man’s deeds God is going to render a righteous and accurate verdict regarding each man’s eternal destiny. We ought to be very interested in knowing these differences to see what characterizes our lifestyles to know whether or not all is going to go well with us in the day of the righteous judgment of God. Are you interested?
Let me give you a brief list of opposite lifestyles upon which God will make His perfect evaluation of each person: obedience/disobedience; Lordship/lawlessness; Spirit or faith/flesh; eternal/temporal; faithfulness/faithlessness; good deeds/evil deeds; and works wrought of God/works wrought of self.
Now let me hurry to establish this truth before you get confused and think that I am a heretic teaching salvation by works – salvation is by faith alone but saving faith is not alone! Therefore good deeds that are a result of saving faith are a perfectly valid basis for God’s judgment as well as the absence of good deeds because of the absence of saving faith. Obedience to God is what was lost in the fall of man and obedience to God is what is restored in man’s salvation through the gospel (Romans 1:5).
The practice of a person’s lifestyle forms an accurate and reliable indicator to his or her paternity – whether or not he or she is a child of God or a child of the devil – “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot [practice] sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:7-10). This is why the Lord Jesus Christ speaking of false prophets and false Christians said, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16, 20).
This passage in no way declares that men are saved by works but only that they are judged by works! Paul will deal with this truth in greater detail in chapter 3. We do not work for salvation (that is legalism and a denial of the gospel of Penal-Substitution); we do not have no works after salvation (that is libertinism and a denial of the results of the gospel of Penal-Substitution); however, we do work from salvation (this is loyalty/lordship and a proper response as a result of the gospel of Penal-Substitution).
Belief determines behavior and therefore behavior is an accurate and reliable indicator of belief so that judgment based on behavior is totally accurate and appropriate (Romans 2:6).
So based on this truth that God is going to render to each person according to his deeds, let’s examine the deeds of the saved man and the lost man and the outcome of the judgment of each.
The deeds of the saved man (2:7) – living in light of eternity
The first deed of the saved man is that he perseveres in doing good. The saved man comes up against all sorts of obstacles to his obedience to God. He is hated for his unwavering obedience and unwillingness to compromise what his Lord has told him to do. He is persecuted for the sake of righteousness; he is insulted; and he is falsely spoken evil of all because of His love for and obedience to Jesus as Lord (Matthew 5:10-12). We are told that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12) and yet the saved man perseveres in his obedience to His Lord regardless of the consequences. God is going to look at my lifestyle and your lifestyle to see if we continued in our obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences. Are you persevering in your obedience to God because of your love and reverence for God or are you being disobedient because you are afraid of what others may think or say about you?
The second deed of the saved man is that he seeks for glory – from God not man. Jesus said to the self-righteous Jews in His day, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” (John 5:44). He also said in John 7:18, “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” So to seek glory from God we have to seek the glory of God which means that we do not seek our own glory but His. Our Lord went on to say this, “I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me” (John 8:28).
So the one who seeks the glory of God speaks the Word of God without altering its content or intent. He doesn’t walk in craftiness watering down the Word of God in order to tickle the ears of men and gain glory from men. God is going to look at each man’s lifestyle to see if he remained true to His Word and sought the glory of God or if he sought his own glory by being a man-pleaser rather than a God-pleaser. Are you seeking God’s glory and the glory which comes from God or are you seeking your own glory and that which comes from other men?
The third deed of the saved man is that he seeks for honor – honor from God not man. By doing God’s will God’s way and seeking the glory of God rather than your own glory, God will honor and say on the Day of Judgment, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” The honor which comes from God is based on honoring God. God said through the prophet Samuel, “Those who honor Me I will honor…” (1 Samuel 2:30). Just as the lost seek glory from men and not God they also seek honor from men and not God. Many falsely believe that if men glorify and honor them that God will also glorify and honor them. But they have forgotten that what men esteem is detestable in the sight of God (Luke 16:15).
God is going to judge the lifestyle of each man to see if he sought the honor which comes from God by honoring God or if he sought the honor which comes from man by honoring man. As a lifestyle are you seeking God’s honor or your own?
The fourth deed of the saved man is that he seeks for immortality – immortality that comes from God not being immortalized by man. This means that the saved man sows to the Spirit and not to the flesh. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8). So the one who lives for self will reap corruption and the one who lives for God will reap eternal life. No one can live for God in the flesh; it can only be done in faith. This is why Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). Seeking immortality means that one is living in light of eternity and living for God and not for self. God is going to judge each man’s lifestyle to see whether or not it was marked by living for God or living for self. As a lifestyle are you living for God or living for self?
For the man who the deeds of his lifestyle is persevering in doing good, seeking for glory, honor, and immortality from God, he will reap eternal life because he has believed and received Jesus as Lord through the gospel.
The deeds of the lost man (2:8) – lives for the temporal
The first deed of the lost man is that he is selfishly ambitious. This means that the lost man is self-centered and not God-centered and that he seeks to rob God of his worship – and many will do this under the pretense of worshiping God – it is called hypocrisy. The lost man does not persevere in doing good; he seeks for glory and honor from man robbing God of His glory and honor; and he sows to the flesh and not the Spirit.
The second deed of the lost man is that he does not obey the truth. The lost man cannot obey the truth because he is in the flesh (this is the purpose of the Law – to show men that they cannot obey and that they need a Savior) and the flesh does not and cannot subject itself to the law of God (Romans 8:7-8). The lost man does not obey the Lord because he does not love the Lord but loves himself instead.
The third deed of the lost man is that he obeys unrighteousness. The lost man is a slave to sin, he loves his sin, and therefore he is lawless and unrighteous. The lost man sets his mind on the things of the flesh and not the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6) and therefore he is not seeking immortality which comes from God. The lost man is living for the temporal and not the eternal.
Because of the deeds of the lost man he will reap wrath and indignation. Everything he does is for the purpose of serving and pleasing self. He has the spirit of antagonism against the Lordship of Christ. And because of this he will reap God’s wrath and indignation.
The outcome of judgment for the lost (2:9) – tribulation and distress.
Tribulation has the root meaning of exerting extreme pressure and affliction or anguish. Distress literally means a narrow place and came to refer to severe confinement or constriction. Besides capital punishment the lost will endure eternal solitary confinement. There will be no parties or fellowships in hell!
The outcome of the judgment for the saved (2:10)
The saved will receive glory from God and honor from God and peace from God!
The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming in which all who are in tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). According to the practice of your lifestyle which group will you be in?
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Hebrews are without Excuse
As we move systematically through the book of Romans studying the Holy Spirit inspired explanation of the gospel, we are seeing that all men are sinners and that they are rightly under the wrath of God and that the only way that God will save anyone is through the gospel. The reason for this is because God cannot forgive sinners apart from the sinner’s penalty for violating God’s Law being paid by a willing and able substitute. This allows God to be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ.
So in explaining that the gospel and it alone is the power of God unto salvation – that it is the only way that God will save – the apostle Paul went on to show that all men everywhere are in need of the gospel because all men everywhere are sinners that are without excuse before a holy God.
So far in our studies we have seen the charge made and the evidence given that the heathen are without excuse because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them and because the creation itself clearly reveals the attributes, power, and nature of God. And yet the heathen suppresses the truth about God and instead of worshiping and serving the Creator they become idolaters which leads to defiled hearts, degraded passions, and a depraved mind.
But now in Romans 2:1-29 the apostle Paul turns his attention to the Hebrew and shows that he also is without excuse because he too is under sin. As Paul has developed the sinfulness of the heathen and established the truth that the heathen rightly deserve the wrath of God, he anticipated a loud amen from the Hebrews – from those who had God special revelation and not just His general revelation. This would be what Paul would begin with to establish the truth of the guilt of the Hebrews and that they too needed the gospel.
In Romans 2:1-5 the apostle Paul gave three evidences that established the guilt of the Hebrews before God and therefore they too are without excuse.
The first evidence of the guilt of the Hebrews was hypocrisy (2:1-3).
A judgmental attitude proves the guilt of people who judge others when they don’t even live up to the standards by which they hold others accountable – and yet the judgmental hypocritical person shows that he or she knows enough of God’s standards to have also made an accurate assessment of his or her own condition before God. If one has enough knowledge to judge others he has enough knowledge to judge himself rightly. This is exactly the warning of Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge lest you be judged.” If men would make it their business to judge themselves rightly and not others then they would see their need for forgiveness, would confess their sins, and receive God’s only remedy for their sin. That’s why the Bible says that if we would judge ourselves rightly then we would not be judged (1 Corinthians 11:31).
But the problem with religious hypocrites is that they want to hold others accountable to God’s standards while exempting themselves. The self-righteous man who knows God’s Law and God’s righteous judgment is amazingly adept at applying it to everyone but himself. The self-righteous hypocrite falsely calculates his own sinfulness and guilt. The word “suppose” means to calculate or estimate. So the apostle Paul nails the self-righteous man (in this case the Hebrew) to the wall and shows him how unreasonable his calculations really are. Here is a man who has the Word of God and can calculate that others are sinners but that he isn’t; he can calculate that God will judge others for the same sins that he commits but that God will not judge him. So we see that here is a man who thinks that God will judge him by a lower standard and show him favor because of who he is. The self-righteous man expects God to show him partiality in judgment.
So those who pass judgment on others and practice the same sins themselves are proven to be sinners because they are proven to be hypocrites. There are sins of the flesh – which were mostly catalogued in chapter one and there are sins of the spirit – hypocrisy which is catalogued here in chapter two. Sins of the spirit bring greater judgment because they are committed under greater knowledge and greater light. Sins of the spirit called down our Lord’s severest condemnations while He was on earth.
The Hebrews were condemning the Gentiles and practicing the very things they condemned in the Gentiles. They thought they were free from God’s judgment because they had God’s Word and were God’s chosen people. However, God’s judgment is righteous and according to truth. He does not have two standards of judgment – one for the Gentiles and another for the Hebrews – so in judging the Gentiles the Hebrews were guaranteeing their own judgment on the same basis.
The second evidence of the guilt of the Hebrews was presumption (2:4).
God had given the Hebrews many blessings and God had been very patient with them and this should have brought the Hebrews to repentance but instead it caused them to become presumptuous. It is not the judgment of God but the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. However men in their sinfulness take the goodness of God as a sign that they are pleasing to Him or that He owes them something.
When we know that we rightly deserve God’s wrath and that He hasn’t given that to us yet but instead has given us His kindness and tolerance and patience, we should be moved to repentance over God’s goodness in light of our badness – and that especially when we see that God in His goodness has given His only Son as an atoning sacrifice to pay our sin debt in order that He can forgive us – while we were yet sinners.
The self-righteous hypocrite thinks lightly of or thinks down on the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience. This means that because he overestimates his own righteousness, the self-righteous underestimates and presumes upon God’s goodness. The purpose of the kindness of God is not to excuse men of their sin but to convict them of it and lead them to repentance.
The third evidence of the guilt of the Hebrews was unrepentance (2:5).
The person who because of stubbornness and an unrepentant heart, judges others but not himself and presumes upon the goodness of God is storing up wrath for himself in the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Stubbornness translates “sklerotes” which literally refers to hardness and is the word from which we get the medical term, “sclerosis.” Arteriosclerosis refers to the hardening of the arteries and so here the Holy Spirit was speaking to the self-righteous, presumptuous Hebrew as a hard-hearted man who refused to repent.
Much more dangerous than clogged and hardened arteries in the physical heart is the clogged and hardened spiritual heart that has become unresponsive and insensitive to God through the hardening by the deceitfulness of sin. Men with bad, hardened, or stubborn hearts need new hearts – and spiritually speaking this is the condition of all men. This is why we must preach the gospel to all men because this is how God removes the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh in its place.
To stubbornly and unrepentantly refuse God’s gracious pardon of sin through Jesus Christ is to store up wrath for oneself in the day of wrath and righteous judgment of God. The righteous judgment of God is inescapable and men who are not forgiven through Jesus Christ as their substitute can never escape the wrath of God for their sins.
Self-righteous, presumptuous people have a stubborn and unrepentant heart and although they believe that all will be well with them on judgment day – they are wrong!
So in explaining that the gospel and it alone is the power of God unto salvation – that it is the only way that God will save – the apostle Paul went on to show that all men everywhere are in need of the gospel because all men everywhere are sinners that are without excuse before a holy God.
So far in our studies we have seen the charge made and the evidence given that the heathen are without excuse because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them and because the creation itself clearly reveals the attributes, power, and nature of God. And yet the heathen suppresses the truth about God and instead of worshiping and serving the Creator they become idolaters which leads to defiled hearts, degraded passions, and a depraved mind.
But now in Romans 2:1-29 the apostle Paul turns his attention to the Hebrew and shows that he also is without excuse because he too is under sin. As Paul has developed the sinfulness of the heathen and established the truth that the heathen rightly deserve the wrath of God, he anticipated a loud amen from the Hebrews – from those who had God special revelation and not just His general revelation. This would be what Paul would begin with to establish the truth of the guilt of the Hebrews and that they too needed the gospel.
In Romans 2:1-5 the apostle Paul gave three evidences that established the guilt of the Hebrews before God and therefore they too are without excuse.
The first evidence of the guilt of the Hebrews was hypocrisy (2:1-3).
A judgmental attitude proves the guilt of people who judge others when they don’t even live up to the standards by which they hold others accountable – and yet the judgmental hypocritical person shows that he or she knows enough of God’s standards to have also made an accurate assessment of his or her own condition before God. If one has enough knowledge to judge others he has enough knowledge to judge himself rightly. This is exactly the warning of Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge lest you be judged.” If men would make it their business to judge themselves rightly and not others then they would see their need for forgiveness, would confess their sins, and receive God’s only remedy for their sin. That’s why the Bible says that if we would judge ourselves rightly then we would not be judged (1 Corinthians 11:31).
But the problem with religious hypocrites is that they want to hold others accountable to God’s standards while exempting themselves. The self-righteous man who knows God’s Law and God’s righteous judgment is amazingly adept at applying it to everyone but himself. The self-righteous hypocrite falsely calculates his own sinfulness and guilt. The word “suppose” means to calculate or estimate. So the apostle Paul nails the self-righteous man (in this case the Hebrew) to the wall and shows him how unreasonable his calculations really are. Here is a man who has the Word of God and can calculate that others are sinners but that he isn’t; he can calculate that God will judge others for the same sins that he commits but that God will not judge him. So we see that here is a man who thinks that God will judge him by a lower standard and show him favor because of who he is. The self-righteous man expects God to show him partiality in judgment.
So those who pass judgment on others and practice the same sins themselves are proven to be sinners because they are proven to be hypocrites. There are sins of the flesh – which were mostly catalogued in chapter one and there are sins of the spirit – hypocrisy which is catalogued here in chapter two. Sins of the spirit bring greater judgment because they are committed under greater knowledge and greater light. Sins of the spirit called down our Lord’s severest condemnations while He was on earth.
The Hebrews were condemning the Gentiles and practicing the very things they condemned in the Gentiles. They thought they were free from God’s judgment because they had God’s Word and were God’s chosen people. However, God’s judgment is righteous and according to truth. He does not have two standards of judgment – one for the Gentiles and another for the Hebrews – so in judging the Gentiles the Hebrews were guaranteeing their own judgment on the same basis.
The second evidence of the guilt of the Hebrews was presumption (2:4).
God had given the Hebrews many blessings and God had been very patient with them and this should have brought the Hebrews to repentance but instead it caused them to become presumptuous. It is not the judgment of God but the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. However men in their sinfulness take the goodness of God as a sign that they are pleasing to Him or that He owes them something.
When we know that we rightly deserve God’s wrath and that He hasn’t given that to us yet but instead has given us His kindness and tolerance and patience, we should be moved to repentance over God’s goodness in light of our badness – and that especially when we see that God in His goodness has given His only Son as an atoning sacrifice to pay our sin debt in order that He can forgive us – while we were yet sinners.
The self-righteous hypocrite thinks lightly of or thinks down on the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience. This means that because he overestimates his own righteousness, the self-righteous underestimates and presumes upon God’s goodness. The purpose of the kindness of God is not to excuse men of their sin but to convict them of it and lead them to repentance.
The third evidence of the guilt of the Hebrews was unrepentance (2:5).
The person who because of stubbornness and an unrepentant heart, judges others but not himself and presumes upon the goodness of God is storing up wrath for himself in the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Stubbornness translates “sklerotes” which literally refers to hardness and is the word from which we get the medical term, “sclerosis.” Arteriosclerosis refers to the hardening of the arteries and so here the Holy Spirit was speaking to the self-righteous, presumptuous Hebrew as a hard-hearted man who refused to repent.
Much more dangerous than clogged and hardened arteries in the physical heart is the clogged and hardened spiritual heart that has become unresponsive and insensitive to God through the hardening by the deceitfulness of sin. Men with bad, hardened, or stubborn hearts need new hearts – and spiritually speaking this is the condition of all men. This is why we must preach the gospel to all men because this is how God removes the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh in its place.
To stubbornly and unrepentantly refuse God’s gracious pardon of sin through Jesus Christ is to store up wrath for oneself in the day of wrath and righteous judgment of God. The righteous judgment of God is inescapable and men who are not forgiven through Jesus Christ as their substitute can never escape the wrath of God for their sins.
Self-righteous, presumptuous people have a stubborn and unrepentant heart and although they believe that all will be well with them on judgment day – they are wrong!
Monday, May 11, 2009
A Depraved Mind: Impropriety
We have already established that idolatry is the root cause for all the rotten fruit which is revealed in humanity. Because man turned from God to idolatry he went down instead of up; he devolved instead of evolved; and he is in the state of proceeding from bad to worse (2 Timothy 3:13). In his downward spiral into sin man has arrived at a defiled heart (impurity), degraded passions (immorality/homosexuality), and a depraved mind (impropriety). So we see that man’s heart, soul, and mind have been corrupted by idolatry. The very things that men are supposed to love the Lord his God with he uses for every purpose under the sun except for loving God.
In his fallen state man is worthless and useless – he is totally depraved. This is why we read, “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:12). So you see that total depravity means that all of man, his heart, soul, and mind, is corrupted by sin and is not used properly by any man to worship God. The word depraved or reprobate is used to denote that which does not pass the test. It was used to speak of metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities. The impure metals were discarded and therefore considered useless and worthless. This is the state of all men who have not been regenerated and cleansed and purified through the gospel.
In our last study, Devolving not Evolving, we stated all three categories of rotten fruit which comes from the bad root of idolatry. However, we did not go into any detail about the third and final root of idolatry.
The third fruit of the root of idolatry is a depraved mind (1:28-32) – impropriety. Just when you thought that you might be off the hook and that God missed you in his incriminating evidence He nailed you to the wall with indisputable evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that you too are a guilty sinner in need of the gospel. These verses deal primarily with interpersonal relationships between men. We clearly see the violation of “Love your neighbor as yourself” so that we see that idolatry (breaking the first half of God’s commandments) leads inevitably to breaking the second half of God’s commandments. Idolatry is the root which causes the fruit of our disobedience to God to grow.
The depraved mind has a predetermined and inevitable disposition to do those things which are not proper – the depraved mind is bent toward impropriety. The depraved mind does not dwell on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, whatever is excellent, or whatever is worthy of praise, instead the depraved mind dwells on the exact opposites. The depraved mind fills itself with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil.
Let’s look at some of these negative and condemning improprieties that all men everywhere are guilty of in some form or fashion:
Unrighteousness – that which is not right
Wickedness – that which is ungodly, evil, or morally bad
Greed – desiring what others have, itching for more, covetous
Evil – ill will, malice, malignity, a desire to injure
Envy – to feel displeasure and ill will over another’s happiness, success, reputation, or possessions. Envy causes hatred toward another because he or she has something that you want or are something that you cannot be – it was for envy that the Jewish leaders delivered over Jesus to Pilate (Matthew 27:18).
Murder – Murder is just one step beyond envy although there are other reasons that men murder besides envy.
Strife – contention or wrangling
Deceit – this word in the Greek means “fish-bait” and came to mean to lure, to ensnare, to beguile, to deceive. When a man lies – about anything – he is deceiving. When a man holds back the truth by not speaking it when he should – he is deceiving.
Malice – a desire to inflict harm or suffering on another
Gossips – secret slanderers, whisperers, tattlers, idle talk about the private affairs of others.
Slanderers – backbiters using false and defamatory statements or reports in order to injure the character and influence of another.
Haters of God – hateful to God
Insolent – boldly rude or disrespectful; despiteful; insults others
Arrogant – proud or haughty; showing oneself above others, with overbearing air of superiority and treating others with contempt
Boastful – the one who speaks with excessive pride especially about himself concerning that which he does not really possess – one may even boast in his humility!
Inventors of evil – always looking for and finding new ways to sin
Disobedient to parents – are you surprised that this is an indication of a depraved mind?
Without understanding – without spiritual or moral understanding; spiritual stupidity
Untrustworthy – covenant breakers; without good faith; promise breakers
Unloving – without natural affection
Unmerciful – without mercy, cruel.
“And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them” (1:32).
The heathen are under sin and therefore rightly under God’s wrath and they are without excuse. There is only one remedy – the gospel! Since God has given man over to depravity and depravity is a judgment of God on sinful man then we cannot legislate or mandate morality but must go with the gospel to sinners for it and it alone is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
In his fallen state man is worthless and useless – he is totally depraved. This is why we read, “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:12). So you see that total depravity means that all of man, his heart, soul, and mind, is corrupted by sin and is not used properly by any man to worship God. The word depraved or reprobate is used to denote that which does not pass the test. It was used to speak of metals that were rejected by refiners because of impurities. The impure metals were discarded and therefore considered useless and worthless. This is the state of all men who have not been regenerated and cleansed and purified through the gospel.
In our last study, Devolving not Evolving, we stated all three categories of rotten fruit which comes from the bad root of idolatry. However, we did not go into any detail about the third and final root of idolatry.
The third fruit of the root of idolatry is a depraved mind (1:28-32) – impropriety. Just when you thought that you might be off the hook and that God missed you in his incriminating evidence He nailed you to the wall with indisputable evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that you too are a guilty sinner in need of the gospel. These verses deal primarily with interpersonal relationships between men. We clearly see the violation of “Love your neighbor as yourself” so that we see that idolatry (breaking the first half of God’s commandments) leads inevitably to breaking the second half of God’s commandments. Idolatry is the root which causes the fruit of our disobedience to God to grow.
The depraved mind has a predetermined and inevitable disposition to do those things which are not proper – the depraved mind is bent toward impropriety. The depraved mind does not dwell on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, whatever is excellent, or whatever is worthy of praise, instead the depraved mind dwells on the exact opposites. The depraved mind fills itself with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil.
Let’s look at some of these negative and condemning improprieties that all men everywhere are guilty of in some form or fashion:
Unrighteousness – that which is not right
Wickedness – that which is ungodly, evil, or morally bad
Greed – desiring what others have, itching for more, covetous
Evil – ill will, malice, malignity, a desire to injure
Envy – to feel displeasure and ill will over another’s happiness, success, reputation, or possessions. Envy causes hatred toward another because he or she has something that you want or are something that you cannot be – it was for envy that the Jewish leaders delivered over Jesus to Pilate (Matthew 27:18).
Murder – Murder is just one step beyond envy although there are other reasons that men murder besides envy.
Strife – contention or wrangling
Deceit – this word in the Greek means “fish-bait” and came to mean to lure, to ensnare, to beguile, to deceive. When a man lies – about anything – he is deceiving. When a man holds back the truth by not speaking it when he should – he is deceiving.
Malice – a desire to inflict harm or suffering on another
Gossips – secret slanderers, whisperers, tattlers, idle talk about the private affairs of others.
Slanderers – backbiters using false and defamatory statements or reports in order to injure the character and influence of another.
Haters of God – hateful to God
Insolent – boldly rude or disrespectful; despiteful; insults others
Arrogant – proud or haughty; showing oneself above others, with overbearing air of superiority and treating others with contempt
Boastful – the one who speaks with excessive pride especially about himself concerning that which he does not really possess – one may even boast in his humility!
Inventors of evil – always looking for and finding new ways to sin
Disobedient to parents – are you surprised that this is an indication of a depraved mind?
Without understanding – without spiritual or moral understanding; spiritual stupidity
Untrustworthy – covenant breakers; without good faith; promise breakers
Unloving – without natural affection
Unmerciful – without mercy, cruel.
“And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them” (1:32).
The heathen are under sin and therefore rightly under God’s wrath and they are without excuse. There is only one remedy – the gospel! Since God has given man over to depravity and depravity is a judgment of God on sinful man then we cannot legislate or mandate morality but must go with the gospel to sinners for it and it alone is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
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