romans 2:1-16 godÕs grace for the...

Romans 2:1-16God’s Grace for the Self-Righteous

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

“Romans is really the chief part of the New Testament, and . . . truly the purest gospel.” ~Martin Luther


“Romans is really the chief part of the New Testament, and . . . truly the purest gospel.” ~Martin Luther

“If we have gained a true understanding of this Epistle, we have an open door to all the most profound treasures of the Scripture.” ~John Calvin


If you can get your arms around Romans, you will begin to grasp God; you will gain an understanding of Christianity; you will “get” the gospel—the only hope of this lost world.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ~Romans 1:16


The World’s Thorough Lost-ness

From Romans 1:18-3:20, Paul delivers a lengthy and exacting description of mankind’s profound lost-ness and desperate need for this full gospel that is only available yet freely given in Jesus Christ.

Why does Paul spend so much time on this bad news? Because this plainly evident truth gets suppressed. (Romans 1:18-19)

Someone doesn’t want us to know the truth!


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. ~Romans 2:1

• We know the difference between right and wrong; otherwise we couldn’t offer a judgment.

• That very fact pull us into the ranks of the depraved since we are guilty of the same things.


2We know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? ~Romans 2:2-4


“The Pharisees are not all dead yet, and are not all Jews.” ~John McClintock


“The Pharisees are not all dead yet, and are not all Jews.” ~John McClintock

A religious moralist is not simply one who is judgmental and wrongly assesses the moral standing of others, but one who wrongly assessing their own moral standing.


At the heart of the full gospel is the recognition that no one can appropriate salvation apart from knowing that he stands guilty and condemned before God, totally unable to bring himself up to God’s standard of righteousness.


At the heart of the full gospel is the recognition that no one can appropriate salvation apart from knowing that he stands guilty and condemned before God, totally unable to bring himself up to God’s standard of righteousness.

To miss that critical point is to become an intolerant, hypocritical, pious religious moralist—perhaps the worst of all enemies to the gospel of God in and through our life.


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. ~Romans 2:5

• Stubbornness—sklayrotace (σκληρότης) or sclerosis: e hardening of the arteries, physical or spiritual—a silent, invisible but deadly condition.


8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There 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. ~Romans 2:8-11


Present and Active Grace• Kindness—chrestotes (χρηστότης):

characteristic moral goodness and niceness

• Tolerance—anoche (ἀνοχή): a truce; the cessation of hostilities

• Patience—makrothumia (μακροθυμία): long-suffering; slowness in avenging wrongs; a long fuse

• Repentance—metanoia (μετάνοια): a change of mind that produces a change of heart and behavior


“Wherever there is a pulverized and penitent heart, there grace also is, and wherever there is a voluntary confession not gained by pressure, there love covereth a multitude of sins.” ~Menno Simons


romans 2:1-16 godÕs grace for the...

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