Romans Chapter 2– John Karmelich

 

 

1.                  Most Christians are familiar with the line, “What are you, some holier-than-thou person?”

a)                  It is the line we get when we tell someone what is wrong with their behavior.

b)                  In a sense, that is the key line of Romans Chapter 2.

c)                  While Chapter 1 primarily deals with immoral people, Chapter 2 deals with moral people.

d)                 Chapter 2 deals with the danger of our ego’s thinking that we are “better people” because for example, we go to church regularly or we don’t commit some of the bad practices listed in Chapter 1.  In a sense, Chapter 2 is about the religious person thinking they are superior to the nonreligious from God’s perspective.

e)                  With that in mind, we’ll come back to the idea of the “holier-than-thou” cliché.

2.                  It might help to understand that the first few chapters of Romans are like an army “boot camp”.

a)                  When one first joins, the military, one usually, spends a good period of time in hard, physical training.  A purpose of training is to get a solider in good physical condition.

b)                  Another purpose of boot camp is to teach soldiers how to take orders.  The way that is done is often to “break them”.  Soldiers must be taught to be teachable and how to be a follower.  That usually means breaking one’s egos.  Soldiers must be broken of their old way of thinking before they can be good followers and not question orders.

c)                  I state all of that as the early chapters of Romans fits the boot camp model.  It is important for all Christians to learn just how much we need God in all aspects of our lives.

i)                    For example, Chapter 2 deals with the issue of thinking that the religious person is morally superior to the nonreligious.  It is generally true that the religious person tends to live a mentally-healthier and more productive life.  On the other hand it is not true that somehow, God looks upon the religious person as being a superior person to the nonreligious in terms of salvation.

ii)                  Chapter 2 is about “breaking the will” of the religious person.  It is about teaching the moral depravity of the religious person as opposed to the nonreligious.

iii)                For the religious person, Chapter 2 is our “army boot camp”.

d)                 I’ll explain this idea further in the next point.

3.                  One of the classic questions a Christian is asked is “What about the good guy or gal who doesn’t believe in Jesus?  I know this really sweet person that never goes to church.  What about them?”

a)                  The best response I heard is “Sure, all good people get to go to heaven.  All they have to do is never sin even once in their life and they can get into heaven.”  (Greg Koukl)

b)                  In other words, “All they have to do is go their whole lives and never break one of the 10 Commandments, and they can get into heaven”.  That response usually stops the argument.  Everyone understands that no one is perfect.  Remember, if we desire to spend eternity with God, He gets to “make the rules” as to who gets to heaven, not us.

c)                  God, by definition is perfect.  A perfect God needs to judge perfectly.  A perfect God cannot tolerate any sin whatsoever.  The Greek philosopher Aristotle once asked the question, “I believe God can resurrect man, but I don’t see how”.  Aristotle understood the concept of God being perfect, but he also understood mankind’s imperfection.  He couldn’t reconcile how a perfect God could want to spend eternity with people who are imperfect.  That is, Aristotle never figured out the “cross solution”.

d)                 This leads us back to Romans Chapter 2.  To paraphrase the main thought of this chapter:  “You who are religious may be three-steps better than the immoral person, but you are still not perfect and God’ requires perfection as an entrance requirement into heaven.”

e)                  Trying to please God by our goodness is like trying to take a running leap across the ocean.  Someone in good physical shape may be able to jump a few feet further, but they still come a long way short of trying to reach the goal of jumping across an entire ocean.

4.                  Let’s say we as Christians know all of this.  We know we are imperfect and we need God.  If not, we wouldn’t be Christians in the first place.  Why should I study chapter 2?  Glad you asked! ☺

a)                  In context, Chapter 2 is given to show the religious person is not “guaranteed” salvation just because they are religious.  The chapter is full of examples of ways people think they are morally superior to others.

b)                  The application for you and I is to remind ourselves just how much we need God in every aspect of our lives.

c)                  The danger for any Christian is that our ego wants to constantly get back on the throne of our life.  Our life pattern is constantly, “We mess up.  We ask God to forgive us and take over our lives.  God does.  God then “steps back” and tests us.  Our ego’s think we’re ok again, in some aspect of our lives without God.  Then we mess up again.  Then we ask God for forgiveness.  That pattern continues throughout our lives.

i)                    Why?  Because God is constantly showing us just how much we need Him!  It is almost as if God is constantly telling us, “Oh, you think you can handle that aspect of your life all by yourself now huh?  Great, go give it a shot.” ☺ After we come crawling back to God, we learn our lesson.  That pattern continues all through our lives as we have to learn the hard way just how dependant upon God we are.

d)                 What the veteran-Christian needs to reflect upon when they read Chapter 2 is, “What area of my life do I still think of myself as morally superior to others?  Being a follower of Christ requires humility in all aspects of our lives.  That includes realizing that from God’s perspective, we are all sinners.  It’s hard to tell someone else how much they need Jesus if they think of us as a “holier than thou person”.  We have to show that we are all morally depraved and all need forgiveness.

e)                  Does that mean that all sins have equal weight in God’s eyes?  No.

i)                    Jesus said to Pontius Pilate “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”  (John 19:11).

ii)                  My point here is that Jesus is saying one type of sin is a greater sin than another.

iii)                Therefore, somehow, not all sins are equal in God’s eyes.

iv)                The point of Chapter 2 is not about which sins are greater than others.  The point of Chapter 2 is to show how we are all imperfect beings and all need God’s forgiveness.  It is about understanding how depraved and sinful man is despite whatever good deeds we do.

v)                  The benefit of good deeds is discussed in Chapter 3.  That’s the next lesson.

f)                   With all of that in mind, let’s start studying about our depravity. ☺

5.                  Chapter 2, Verse 1:  You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

a)                  Remember that the last couple of verses of Chapter 1 listed all sorts of depraved sinful acts that are committed by those who turn away from God.  In context, this verse is now talking about “morale” people who are making judgments on that behavior.

b)                  The key phrase of this sentence is “no excuse”.  That means the moral person is no better than the immoral in the sense in that God is perfect and we are imperfect.

c)                  Let me paraphrase Paul’s thoughts here in Verse 1:  “Attention, you religious moral-types who think you are better people than those disgusting people in Chapter 1:  Think again.  You are no better.  Just because you moral-types can successfully suppress those urges, doesn’t mean you don’t think about doing those things.  Get off your high horse and realize that you are saved by the grace of God, and not based on any personal attribute.”

d)                 God demands perfection in action and thought to spend eternity with Him.  If you find that impossible, that is why the “cross” is the solution.  Paul is building his case why the cross is the only solution through the early chapters of Romans.

e)                  It’s time to discuss the topic of “judging others”.  Paul is saying in this verse that when we judge others, we are also condemning ourselves because we are no better.  So, can we as Christians judge others?

i)                    Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  (Matthew 7:1-2, NIV)

a)                  The problem with that verse in Matthew is that people fail to read it in context of the next verse, which is the illustration of “picking a speck of dust out of someone else’s eye when you have a beam of wood sticking out your eye”.  (A paraphrase of Matthew 7:3-5.)

b)                  Jesus point here is that “moral people” are no better in God’s eye than immoral people because we are all imperfect beings.

c)                  Another point Jesus is making is that people treat us based on how we treat them.  If we go around condemning other’s sins, we’ll get the “What are you, some holier-than-thou person?” response.  We need to approach people with the humble understanding that we are all imperfect people in need of God’s forgiveness.

ii)                  So, does that mean we are never to judge people?  No!

a)                  We are to judge behavior.  We are not to judge salvation.  Only God knows who is “in” and “out”.  All we can do is judge behavior.

b)                  For example, Chapter 1 of Romans taught us the behavior traits of those who willfully turn from God.  That implies we should judge their behavior.

c)                  In the last few chapters of Romans, we’ll get into God’s expectations of us as believers.  It requires change in behavior.

d)                 In conclusion, we are to judge behavior.  The key is to combine “judging” with the humble attitude of realizing we are no better than others.

iii)                When someone tells you, “You shouldn’t judge people”, a good response should be, “What’s wrong with judging people?  In fact, you’re judging my behavior when you tell me I shouldn’t judge others!”

a)                  The point is judging behavior is a necessary part of life.  God is teaching us to balance that behavior with the realization we are no better.  Judging ourselves and judging others is necessary.  The key to judging others is to have a humble attitude and realize that deep down, we are all imperfect people.  We would criticize much less if we focus on our faults as well.

f)                   Meanwhile, Verse 2.  ☺

6.                  Verse 2:  Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

a)                  This verse continues to condemn those who think they are morally superior. 

b)                  The key is the last phrase of Verse 2:  “based on truth”.  “Truth” is God’s standard of right and wrong.  Paul is stating that religious people will be judged as much as the “heathen of Chapter 1” because we are all imperfect beings.  In other words, we can’t escape God’s judgment just because we act morally superior.

c)                  This verse hints act the issue of “relativism”.  Relativism is the idea of “there is no absolute right and wrongs.  What is right for you is not right for me and we each live by our own set of right and wrongs”.  There is no absolute truth in relativism.

i)                    The problem with everybody living by their own standard of right and wrong is that nobody knows who is right and who is wrong.

ii)                  You can respond to that argument by making up some ridiculous comment like, “Well, I believe stealing from others is acceptable.  It is my idea of right and wrong and who are you to say what I do is wrong?”  The point is if everyone had their own standards of right and wrong, we have no idea as to “truth”.  This is why a higher standard of right and wrong is necessary, i.e., “God’s laws”.

7.                  Verse 3: So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

a)                  Notice in Verse 3 the phrase, “Yet do the same things”.  That is the key here.

i)                    Verse 3 is about passing judgment on others, “Yet (we) do the same things”.

b)                  These verses are best explained with an illustration of right and wrong behavior:

i)                    “Wrong”:  What you are doing is a sin!  You should stop that!  I go to church every Sunday and I would never act that way!

ii)                  “Right”:  I know that I’m no better a person than you.  Still, we both need to live by a standard of right and wrong.  God’s standards say that behavior is wrong.  What you’re doing is wrong.  When I’m doing it, please tell me as well.

c)                  We’re getting back to the danger of “holier-than-thou”.  It is about thinking that somehow, we are superior people because we live a more moral life.  Again, there are benefits to living a moral life.  That is the topic of Chapter 3.  We are focusing here on the issue of salvation.  Salvation requires perfection.

d)                 This verse is about the danger of being a hypocrite.  That is to pass judgment on others while being guilty of the same thing.  It is about condemning others as sinners when we are no better.

8.                  Verse 4:  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

a)                  If you recall a few pages back, I talked about the pattern of 1) “Confessing our sins to God;  2) We then ask God to help us in some aspect of our lives;  3) We then go awhile without committing a specific sin.  Our ego’s think, “OK, I can now handle this on my own”; 4) God then backs off and says in effect, “OK, let’s see if you can handle this on your own”; 5) We eventually mess up again and have to confess our sins.

i)                    The point is God’s patience with us shows just how much we need him.

b)                  Which leads us back to Verse 4:  “God’s kindness, tolerance and patience” is the fact that God doesn’t zap us with a lightening bolt every time we mess up.  God let’s us wallow in our sin long enough to realize it is wrong and we need His help in order for us to change.

c)                  We tend to make the mistake of asking mercy for our sins and justice for other’s sins!  Paul is saying in effect, “Don’t worry about that person.  God is dealing with them.  It’s not your job to fix them.  You have your own faults to deal with.  Focus on your behavior and let God worry about the person next to you.”

i)                    In marriage, the best example of this is to help your spouse by praying for them and treating them how you want to be treated.  I heard one bible teacher say, “God and my wife ganged up on me.  I never stood a chance!”  (Chuck Missler)

ii)                  What about dealing with the obnoxious person or the bully?  I’m not against putting up boundaries.  The bible deals with that in other places.  Seek God and good godly counsel in such situations.  The context here in Romans is to condemn others by thinking we are somehow morally superior.

9.                  Verse 5:  But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

a)                  We’re back to the “holier-than-thou” issue.  If a person spends their whole life being judgmental of others and never looking at themselves, they are in for a big surprise on Judgment Day!  (I’ll talk a little more about “Judgment Day” later in this lesson.)

b)                  What if someone is a devout Christian, but at the same time has a “stuck-up, holier-than-thou” attitude and never looks at their behavior?

i)                    First of all, such a person doesn’t understand Christianity.  It starts with the humility of realizing we are all imperfect beings.  Such a person should realize they are no better than others once they accept Jesus.

ii)                  That person may or may not be saved. That is not the issue.  The issue here is about a person who “thinks” they are going to heaven based on their deeds.

c)                  Here is a question.  Does this verse argue for the existence of “purgatory”?

i)                    Let’s define that word first.  The word purgatory refers to a place that is neither heaven nor hell.  It is a “third location” where people have to suffer for their sins, but not for eternity.  It is a place of torment, but it is not permanent.

ii)                  The word purgatory is not in the bible.  There is no reference to it whatsoever.

iii)                I bring it up here as Verse 5 says, “You are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath”.  One can read this verse out of context and think, “This verse is saying that a Christian, who is judgmental, is going to receive some sort of punishment (i.e., wrath) for their sins.  Therefore, there must be some sort of purgatory location for God to dish out this punishment.”

iv)                The problem is this verse is not talking about someone who has sought Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.  Paul is talking about the “moral nonbeliever” in God who thinks they are superior people to the “heathen” who commits the sins listed near the end of Chapter 1.

v)                  If one truly is trusting God for their salvation, humility “comes with the territory”.

a)                  If one is seeking God on a regular basis, and say, reading God’s standards for right and wrong.  We should understand how sinful we are.  W can’t help but develop a humble attitude and realize our dependency upon God.

b)                  The danger is to think that we either 1) got baptized or some other ritual and “that’s that”.  We can now live how we want and we are free to judge others.  That is the issue Paul is warning against.

vi)                Now let’s get back to the issue of purgatory.  The problem with purgatory is that it is contradictory to the Gospel message.  To put it another way, if Jesus died for your sins, and if we still we have to go to purgatory, does that mean Jesus payment for our sins was insufficient?  Does that mean Jesus only died for some of our sins, and the rest is our problem?  Jesus died for all of our sins, past, present and future.  His payment on the cross is fully sufficient for all our sins, period.  The bible speaks only of is only heaven and hell.  There is no purgatory.

10.              Verse 6:  God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”

a)                  This is a quote of Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12.

b)                  Paul will spend the next few verses expanding upon this principal.

c)                  This verse is about judgment.  God will judge people based on how they act.

i)                    That means the one who never heard of God will be fairly judged based on what information he did know about God and how he or she acted on that knowledge.

ii)                  This means the one who has more knowledge also has more accountability.

d)                 This gets back to the idea that God is perfect.  If God is perfect, then He judges people perfectly.  I am convinced that every person sent to heaven or hell will realize that the judgment was “fair”.  They will look back at their lives, realize what they did and understand that however God judged them, it will be a fair judgment.

e)                  What about those who die at a young age?  We’ll actually get to that in Romans 7.  In summary, they get a “free pass” since they were not old enough to know better.

i)                    Personally, I sleep better knowing that children who die at a young age get to go to heaven.  It is the only way to accept such a horror.  It makes me wonder what an atheist would say to a young child who is dying of cancer.  How can they comfort such a person without giving them a hope for something better?

11.              Verse 7:  To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

a)                  Remember that this verse is a commentary on Verse 6.  Verse 6 says in effect that God judges people based on their deeds.

b)                  One would naturally argue here, “But aren’t we are saved by faith?”  Yes indeed. But if we have true faith, our actions will naturally follow.

c)                  With that in mind, notice the word “persistence” in Verse 7.  God will save those who are persistence in changing their lifestyle so to live their life pleasing to God.

i)                    What does that mean?  Think about the person who says, “I was baptized once” and then never thinks about God for the rest of their life in terms of accountability.

a)                  I am convinced the greatest lie Satan ever came up with is, “I’m going to heaven because I’m a good person, or my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds”.  The majority of people who go through some sort of Christian ritual at some point in their life think they are saved because of that ritual.

ii)                  Think of a baptism or altar-call ritual in context of the word “persistence”.

iii)                The evidence of the “saved” person is they are persistent in seeking God.

a)                  Does that mean the laundry never gets done because we are too busy seeking God? ☺ Of course not.  It means Christianity is about regularly and consistently seeking God for guidance in our life.

b)                  I once heard Christianity described as “putting your money where your mouth is”.  That cliché means if we are trusting in God, our actions follow.

d)                 Now let’s get back to the “good traits” of this verse:  seek glory, honor and immortality

i)                    A Christian is one who lives for God’s glory, not our own.

ii)                  “Honor” refers to seeking to honor God in our lives, not ourselves. It is to know that we are “God’s representatives” to the world, and should live accordingly.

iii)                “Immortality” is to realize our true home is in heaven.  We are on earth only for a relatively short time.  In that time, we are to live for God in our lives.

12.              Verse 8:  But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

a)                  Think of Verses 7-8 as the “carrot and the stick” approach:  Verse 7 lists the benefits of following God.  Verse 8 is the eternal condemnation of those who turn from God.

b)                  Let’s talk about the phrase “self-seeking”.  In a sense, Christians are self-seeking since we want to be with God forever, we seek to live our lives accordingly.

i)                    Verse 8 is about those who desire to live for anything but God.  In that sense, they are self-seeking as they desire to live for their own pleasure.

ii)                  One must understand that even the “moral atheist” can be self-seeking.  There is a pleasure for one’s ego in thinking they are superior beings due to self-discipline.

c)                  The main point of this verse is that to reject God leads to eternal hell no matter how one lives their lifestyle.  One can live with a “holier-than-thou” attitude and be in big trouble.  It still brings God’s wrath upon someone because he or she is trusting in their own self-discipline and not Jesus’ payment on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

13.              Verses 9-11:  There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism.

a)                  Paul is essentially saying that all people who spend their lives turning from God will go to hell and all people who spend their lives turning to God go to heaven.

b)                  These three verses then go on to say both:

i)                    1) There is a distinction between Jew and Gentile (i.e., a non-Jew);

ii)                  2) There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile (i.e., a non-Jew).

iii)                On one hand, Verse 9 and 10 both state that the order of judgment is that God will judge people of Jewish decent first and then non-Jewish people.  In that sense, there is a distinction between Jew and Gentile.

iv)                On the other hand, Verse 11 is emphasizing the fact that God does not show any favorites, and in that context, there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile.

c)                  Next, let’s discuss Paul’s use of the word “Jew”. 

i)                    The word “Jew” is a shorted word from “Ju-dah”.  At the time of Paul’s writing, the word “Jew” was a generic word that refers to anyone of Jewish decent. 

ii)                  The term “The Jews” was also used to describe the Jewish religious leadership by the Gospel writers.

iii)                It is not a racist slur.  Paul himself was Jewish and proud of it. (See: 2nd Cor. 11:22).

iv)                The word Jew (again, short for “Ju-dah”) means “praise”.  A “Jew” is one who praises God with their lives.  It doesn’t mean a Jew is someone going around singing Gospel hymns all day. ☺ It means that every aspect of their life should be pleasing to God.  It is “praise” in their lifestyle.

d)                 One more translation note:  Some translations use the word “Greek” instead of “Gentile”.  The translations say something like, “There is no difference between Jew and Greek”.

i)                    Remember the Greeks conquered the known world prior to the Romans.  The Greeks were known for culture.  The Romans were known for justice, superior technology, and other things, but not “culture”.  Since the known world was under the Greek influence for centuries, that region was known as “Greek (influenced) people”.  Therefore, Paul’s first century audience understood the word “Greek” as a synonym for Gentile.

e)                  OK, why did Paul bring up this point in the first place?  Why go to the trouble of stating that the order of judgment is Jewish people first, then Gentile?

i)                    Part of it comes back to the “Holier-than-thou” issue.  People of Jewish decent thought they were automatically saved because they were Jewish.  They are God’s “chosen people”, and they thought they were automatically exempt from hell.

ii)                  The same way some people think baptism or walking up to the stage at an altar call is an automatic ticket to heaven, Jewish people of that day thought that behavior after-the-fact does not affect their salvation.

iii)                Paul is using the “I’m Jewish-therefore I’m superior” as an example of someone who is not saved just based on that singular event.

f)                   Now, let’s discuss the “batting order” for judgment. ☺ Paul clearly states that Jewish people get judged first.  Why is that?

i)                    The answer has to do with accountability.  Since the Jewish people were given God’s laws, they are more accountable to God because they should know better.

a)                  Therefore, God will judge the Israelites first since they are his “Chosen People”.  We’ll get into this topic more in Chapters 3 and 9.

b)                  It is similar to Jesus’ statement of “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required”.  (Part of Luke 12:48, NKJV).

ii)                  In a few pages I’ll discuss the “double judgment” of God.  Revelation 20 teaches of two separate judgments, one for believers and one for nonbelievers.  Paul here is focusing on the judgment for nonbelievers.  During that judgment, those who had greater knowledge and therefore greater accountability will be judged first.

14.              Verse 12:  All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

a)                  This verse is saying that the Jewish person who tries his or her best to live under God’s laws will be judged on those standards and those who don’t know the law will be judged based on what they do know God.

b)                  In other words, God judges people fairly on what information they do know about Him.

c)                  For example, we instinctively know that stealing and murder is wrong.  Even if one never has heard of God, He will judge the very naïve based on their instinctive knowledge.

d)                 So, is it better to be knowledgeable about God and be more accountable or better to be naïve?  I’ll argue knowledgeable, as it draws us closer to God and gives us a happier life.

e)                  Understand there is a price for reading these lessons. ☺ We are now more accountable.

i)                    To paraphrase one of my favorite bible teachers, “There is a final exam after this bible study, but I’m not the one giving it.”  (Chuck Missler).

15.              Verse 13:  For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

a)                  Paul is still hammering on the point of “knowledge and accountability”.

b)                  Now, he takes it one point further by saying in effect, “It is not about knowing right from wrong, it is acting upon that knowledge.”  In other words, it’s about behavior.

c)                  Christians can fall into this trap as well.  We can know our bibles backwards and forwards.  We will not be judged on our bible memorization skills.  We will be judged on our behavior based on that knowledge.

d)                 One cannot talk enough about the “double-sided coin” of faith and behavior.  We are saved by faith.  If we have faith in God, we should act on that faith.  That faith should affect our behavior.  We are then judged by our behavior.

i)