The Blind Blaming The Blind

ROMANS 2

1Therefore you have no excuse, O man , every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things . 2  We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3  Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you wil l escape the judgment of God? 4  Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5  But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment wil l be revealed. 6  He will render to each one according to his works : 7  to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he wil l give eternal l ife; 8  but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there wil l be wrath and fury. 9  There wil l be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew fi rst and also the Greek, 1 0  but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew fi rst and also the Greek. 1 1  For God shows no partiality.

ROMANS 2

1 2  For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 1 3  For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justifi ed . 1 4  For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves , even though they do not have the law. 1 5  They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts , while their conscience also bears witness, and their confl icting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 1 6  on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus . 1 7  But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 1 8  and know his wil l and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 1 9  and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind , a l ight to those who are in darkness, 2 0  an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 2 1  you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 2 2  You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 2 3  You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 2 4  For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

ROMANS 2

25  For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26  So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27  Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28  For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly , nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29  But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God .

ROMANS 2

Has to do with the direction of the Kingdom of God

God’s purposes flowing toward restoration and wholeness

Sin as the thing staking humanity and reality away from its intended purpose and design

WRATH OF GOD

What does Jesus mean when he says, “The Kingdom of God has come near”?

The Kingdom of God is pressing into the world

Pressing Sin and Death back

Making the way for God to go forward with His plan for history

WRATH OF GOD

THE BIG PICTURE

Wrath

The purposes of GOD

Those things opposed

Hell Shalom

RepentanceMetanoia and Shuv“Thinking on your

thinking” and “Turn”Self-seeking

LordshipJustification by

comparisonThe further you get

from God the less human you cease to be and more like your idols

YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!

And the more you press against His purposes the more WRATH there will be

Storing it up like water behind a dam

Wrath is a servant to grace

Even when God lets people move past Him, His power sustains them (2 Peter 3:9)

THE KINDNESS OF WRATH

Paul turns now to the Jews

Don’t you realize your own duplicity?

“Render according to works” (V.6)

We all will give an account of our life

A test of faith not the basis of

The apples on a tree PROVE life but they don’t PROVIDE life

WHAT WORKS?

Low self awareness, high self esteem

LostnessDoesn’t necessarily

mean you don’t know where you are going

But it ALWAYS means you don’t know where you are

The Jews don’t realize their own lostness and idolatry

LOST

Deconstructs the idol of choice: the LAW

Hearing and DoingIdentity is not

defined NEGATIVELY The way he drives

this home is to talk about how the Gentiles actually DO the law

He argues for a universal moral law

All people can do good!

SMASHING IDOLS

WRITTEN ON HEARTS

It seems to be a truth of human nature that we compare ourselves to each other

Paul argues that no one has moral superiority

Liberals, conservatives, Christians, atheists, and more ALL claim this

Law of non-contradiction

BLINDNESS

Accusatory, shaming, blaming language usually at the forefront

Speaks in absolutes and generalizations

But with the purpose of distancing and comparing for the sake of superiority

Everyone does thisWho’s killed more?Intolerant of

intoleranceSelf-righteous about

self-righteousness

A THIRD WAY

The Jews were given the LAW as a grace

They became like the LAW Rigid, cold, speaking to

life but not having any life in them

They took pride in their religious identity and practices

Paul tells them they are lost

Baptism, church attendance, speaking in tongues, even the Bible

You blaspheme God and rob temples!!

(Isa 42)

YOU BECOME WHAT YOU WORSHIP

Secrets are revealed in the presence of God (Psalm 139)

Paul says our own heart convicts

No one lives up to their own standards or the ones we judge others by

Tape recorder passage

What if this was the standard?

GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART

Paul takes away the Jews last religious idol here in circumcision

Realize the DESPERATENESS of this state!

You cannot ignore God or put Him in your debt!

That neither ignorance or knowledge can save you!

GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART

The Power of the Gospel is that it destroys the illusion of our self-suffi ciency

Verse 13 A declaration of

righteousness This is the mention of an

important word: Justifi ed! Judgment is universal, but

so is salvation!! Turn from the lies that

people tell you about how you can save yourself and turn into the goodness of God

Changes the way you see things when ETERNITY comes into play

THE GOSPEL

We are apt to crucify each other

To scapegoat and blame

That’s the point of all the finger pointing

Someone should be held accountable for this mess!

We have an innate sense of JUSTICE

Look at all the LAW based shows on TV!

THE CROSS

What we needed was a God big enough to be crucified by us for us

The cross helps us trust God even when we choose Sin

And reveals something about reality

The WAY God does things is different than the way we do things

THE CROSS

THE BIG PICTURE

Wrath

The purposes of GOD

Those things opposed

Hell Shalom

PRAYER