 Okay, so keep your place in Romans chapter 2, so you remember we took two weeks to get through Romans chapter 1, and Romans chapter 2, we continue on here with the same line of thought, and what I want to do tonight, my goal on this sermon tonight is this is a very confusing chapter to a lot of people including myself for many years, and my goal tonight is to kind of keep the rabbit trails to a minimum during the actual scripture itself. I want to make sure that I give you a clear understanding of what the Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you in Romans chapter 2. Then we'll make some application at the end, but what I don't want to do is cut this thing up into so many pieces that you'll miss the whole picture, okay? So I want to give you an idea of what Romans chapter 2 is actually telling us here. So we talked about the Gentiles in Romans chapter 1, okay? We talked about the Gentiles and how they were without excuse, they were without excuse because they're living in the same creation that we're all living in. So the world can be, we can tell that there's a God by the created world around us, and then we see that, you know, it was a warning of the things that can happen when you reject God, okay? So the Gentiles along with the Gentiles are without excuse, even though they did not have the law like the Jews had, okay? That's the main difference the Bible tells us about the Jews and the advantage that they had. So if we just start right into Romans chapter 2, look there in verse number 2 where the Bible says, therefore thou art inexcusable, oh man, sorry, chapter verse 1, thou art inexcusable, oh man, whosoever thou art that judges, for wherein thou judgesst another, thou condemnst thyself, for thou that judgesst doeth the same thing. So he's just talking about being a hypocrite there, okay? And if we continue in verse number 2, the Bible says, but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them, against them which commit such things, and think as thou this, oh man, that judgesst them which do such things, and doest the same, hypocrisy, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God. Once again, we've talked about this in previous sermons in the last couple of weeks. If you go out and you judge people for certain things, and you have no mercy on people, then the Bible says that you are going to be judged with that same measure towards yourself. Matthew 5.7 once again says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. So we're not to be hypocrites, we're to be, to get the beam out of our eye before, you know, we help our brother with their own problems. In verse number 4, oh despise this thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. So people, this is interesting, right? So if you have mercy towards other people, the Bible says that God will have that same measure of mercy towards you. Now what we just read here is the exact inverse of that, okay? If you read it again, look at verse number 5, but after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath. So when you have a hard heart towards God and other people, and you resist God, the Bible says that you're treasuring up, you're storing up wrath against yourself. So that's important, that's the opposite of storing up mercy, right? So you can either store up mercy towards yourself, you can store up wrath towards yourself, the Bible is saying. Look folks, as we get into this, just let me, I have had a lot of false doctrine brought to me using Romans chapter 2 verses. And as we get into this, let me just say one of the reasons that I like Romans so much is because it's a very deep book. You cannot surface read this chapter, okay? So I'm going to try to explain to you the deep things that Paul is getting to in Romans chapter 2. And in verse number 6, we get to some of these verses that people use, they take the single verse and use to teach work salvation and works righteousness. And in Romans chapter 2, in verse number 6, the Bible reads, let's just, let's go from 5 to 6 where it says, but after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, God who will render to every man according to his deeds, right? That sounds a lot like work salvation, but I'm going to show you how God will actually render to every man according to his deeds, okay? To them who by patient continuance and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality eternal life, but unto them now the opposite in verse 8, but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. Now I want you to put a little bracket around verse number 9 and verse number 10 because he basically repeats the same thing he said in verses number 7 and 8 and he repeats it in verse number 9 and 10 where he says, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also the Gentile. So if a Gentile does evil or a Jew does evil, it's tribulation and anguish, but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. So it doesn't matter if you work good, if you're a Jew or a Gentile, and it doesn't matter if you work evil if you're a Jew or a Gentile because what's verse number 11 say? Verse number 11 says, for there is no respect of persons with God. So what Paul is trying to, he's trying to say two things here. First of all, if you work good, well look at who works good in a minute, but he's basically saying it doesn't matter if you work evil if you're a Jew or a Gentile so that there's no advantage of the Jew because if you work evil you're going to have wrath and if you work good you're going to have good things, the Bible says. Now it sounds like justification through works, but here's what it's not saying. Remember the tip that I told you a few weeks ago on how to read the Bible where if you come across something in the Bible that sounds like it goes against clear scripture you need to dig into it a little bit more because the Bible doesn't contradict itself. Turn to Galatians chapter 3. Turn to Galatians chapter 3. Now we could spend a very long time going into verses that prove that justification is not through works, but we'll just go to a couple. And I'll try to give you some unique ones that maybe you haven't heard before. In Galatians chapter 3 starting in verse 10 the Bible reads, for as many as are the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written cursed is everyone that continues not, now underline these three words, in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. So does that say that you have to do some of the things in the law? Does that say you have to know the law and you have to do some of the law? No, it says there it says cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God. It is evident for the law for the just shall live by what? Faith. And the law is not of faith. The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us, for it is written cursed is everyone that hangeth on the tree. So the curse of the law is this. You have to keep the whole thing. That's the curse. So it doesn't matter how good you are. If you don't keep the whole thing, you're not good enough. You're cursed, okay? Now in Romans 3, keep your place in Romans. We're obviously going to keep going back to Romans. But go to Romans 3 in verse 10. We're going to read verses 10, 11, and 12. So remember in Romans 2, Paul says this. I'm going to read Romans 2, 9, and 10 again. Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile, but glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. And then go to Romans 3 and let's see who worketh good. Let's see who's good. In Romans 3 starting in verse 10, the Bible says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They're all together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. So you see what Paul is saying here is that those that are trying, he's right. Those that are trying to live by the law will be judged by the law. Turn to Revelation 20. In verse number 6, Romans 2, verse number 6, I'm going to read that again for you while you turn to Revelation 20. And that is, who will render to every man according to his deeds. It's like works, but I'm going to show you that God will render to every man according to his deeds. In Revelation 20 in verse 11, we see the great white throne judgment. These are all the unsaved people and what they're going to be judged by after the millennial reign of Christ. And the Bible says, and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the unsaved, small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to what? According to their works. Turn to Matthew 23. So what do you mean they're judged according to their works? I mean they're going to hell. If you're unsaved and you die, you're going to hell. What do you mean you're judged by your works? Well I'm going to show you. Turn to Matthew 23. Matthew 23. And starting in verse number 13. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and he says this, he says, but woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for he shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer them that are entering to go in. So he's upset with them. He's chastising them because they're not only not going to go to heaven themselves, they're not only going to not believe on Jesus themselves but they're stopping other people from believing. Remember when we talked about the reprobates? The funny thing, I don't know if I mentioned this in that sermon but there's two sorcerers that actually get saved in the book of Acts and one sorcerer gets saved at the beginning of the book of Acts and then there's another sorcerer, he doesn't, he does get saved and then another sorcerer, at the end Paul actually calls him a reprobate basically. But you'll notice that barred Jesus in that story, he was trying to stop other people from getting saved. He was changing the word of God into a lie and he was stopping the guy that Paul was talking to. Paul was witnessing to someone and this sorcerer was trying to stop him. So that's, Jesus is saying woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you devour widow's houses and for a pretense make long prayer, therefore ye shall receive the what? The greater damnation. And I'm going to read for you John 19 just to drive this home and this is Jesus talking to Pontius Pilate right before he's about to be crucified and then Pilate said unto him speaketh thou not unto me, Jesus isn't answering his questions. Knowest thou not that I have the power to crucify thee and the power to release thee? And Jesus answered, thou couldst have no power at all against me except it were given thee above, therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. There's people that will receive greater damnation than others. That's what the Bible is teaching. So when the unsaved are at the great white throne judgment, they're being judged according to their works because some people are going to have a greater damnation than others. So look, if you're not going to get saved, you better go like full blown Joel Osteen, live your best life now. I don't even know if that's what that book means. But I mean, I'm saying you better get good. If you're not going to get saved, you better be as good as possible because you're going to be judged by those works, period. And I say that tongue in cheek obviously because people just need to get saved because nobody wants to go to hell. But that's my point. That's what Paul is saying here is that you will be judged by your works. And he's basically saying that the people that do evil, because here he's talking to a bunch of Jews that think they're good. They're in this false religion. They think they are good to go. They think they're keepers of the law, okay? Go back to Romans chapter 2 and we just read verse 11, for there is no respecter of persons with God. You know, you just keep, you'd be good to just keep that phrase in your mind as well, no matter where you go in your life, no matter how plugged in you get to church, no matter what position you get in anywhere in your life. Just remember, there's no respect of persons with God. You know, I think about that myself. There's no respecter, God's not a respecter of persons. Just because I'm preaching to you right now, that doesn't mean that I'm anything special. There's no respecter, God is not a respecter of persons. Now on the Jews, he's basically saying you keep the law, you're good. But no one keeps the law, alright? Either Jew or Gentile, it doesn't matter if you break the law, you know, you're toast. Jew or Gentile, that is the curse of the law. Now on the Jews, we should not hate the Jews. It's just another false religion. It's just another false religion, I mean pick one. You know, the one thing about Judaism today is that it just happens that it's a pretty prideful religion, which means it's hard to get them saved. They're not going to want to accept Christ. You know, unfortunately, you can kind of, that's unfortunate for them, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try if we meet someone who is Jewish, we should give them the same gospel that we give everyone else. The Word of God has power. Look, this, you know, this weird God's chosen people thing, it just spews arrogance. Right? I mean it's very, it's very arrogant from the, it's even got the arrogance of Calvinism. I think Calvinism is just rooted in arrogance too. You know, God chose me, not you, right? Why would he choose me and not you? It doesn't make any sense. You know, I asked my pastor, this isn't a sermon about, you know, Bible prophecy or anything like that, but I asked my pastor once because, you know, this is a big problem in Christianity today and Baptist churches today where there's the Jews or God's chosen people. I'm going to prove that wrong to you here in the next few verses, but it does a disservice to the Jews is what it does because they're not saved and they need to be saved. I asked my pastor of an old IFB church one time who, you know, he was a saved man, he was teaching the right gospel and I just asked him, I was like, you know, you believe that a Jew that dies today without Christ is going to hell, right? He said, well, yeah, because you just can't, you can't get away from that, right? I mean, I'm the way, the truth and the life, you know, no man come to the father but by me. I mean, you can't get away from that. So I was like, all right, so what does, what does being a Jew buy you? What does that get me in life? And you know, there's no answer to that, unfortunately. You know, unless you come up with some weird doctrine which people have that the Jews don't need to accept Christ and all this kind of stuff, which is just heresy, you know, that's the only place you can go with it. So there's no, God's not a respecter of persons, Jew or Gentile, you know, it's all the same. Let's go back to Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2, the Bible reads in verse number 12. The Bible reads in verse number 12, for as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law. That's the Gentiles. Remember chapter 1, and as many have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. That's the Jews, okay, because they had the law. And then in verse number 13, he repeats it, for not the hearers of the law are just before God, that's the Jews, they were the hearers of the law, right, because they had the law, but the doers of the law shall be justified. So he's saying to the Jews once again that you have to keep the whole law, that's what he's saying. It's not good enough to just hear the law, you have to keep it. You would have to do the law, all of it. That's what he's saying. Okay? Look, Paul is soul winning here, that's what he's doing. The difference between what Paul is doing and what we do when we go out on Saturday is we kind of just skip to chapter 3. We kind of get to chapter 3 and we say, you know, hey, you know, do you believe that you're a sinner? You know, well, yeah, because 99% of people that you run into are going to admit that they're a sinner out there. This is not a problem that we have today. It's a huge problem with what Paul was dealing with there. He had these Jews, these Pharisees, they thought they were righteous. There's none righteous, no not one. You tell any American in this city that there's none righteous, no not one, and they're like, yeah. So we don't have to go into this huge treatise on keeping the whole law. You see? That's what he's doing. He's going into this huge explanation and treatise of how you have to just, you have to not only hear the law, you have to do the whole law. And it doesn't matter if you're a Gentile because God wrote the law in your heart and they're condemned by that same law. That law becomes a law unto itself and they're condemned as well. They're condemned without the law, but you're going to be condemned you with the law, by the law. That's what he's doing. And he's doing it in a very poetic, beautiful way of writing, but you can't just pull one verse out of Romans chapter 2 and create a whole doctrine around it. It contradicts everywhere in the Bible. So Romans chapter 2 is a very, very deep chapter and I actually really enjoy the way it's written. Now that I know what it's saying. So look, he was just dealing with the problem of his day. It's kind of like when Jesus went up to the woman at the well, Jesus was Jesus so he gave her the gospel in a different way. She was starting from a different point. He was also God so he knew what she already believed and what she didn't. But Paul is dealing with a very specific issue with the Jews that he's talking to. Okay? I'm really going to get on the Jews here in the next few verses. Now let's go to the next verse. Let's go to verse 14. And the Bible says in verse 14, for when the Gentiles, and I stole this verse, if you remember, this is talking about the conscience written in your heart, for when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law or a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their heart. Their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Then he goes back to the Jews, and he just stays on the Jews for the rest of the chapter. And he says in verse 17, behold thou art called a Jew. Notice how he says, he starts into something here where he says you're called a Jew. He doesn't say thou art a Jew. He says thou art called a Jew. You could even underline that in your Bible. And resteth in the law, and makest thy boast of God. It's interesting that they're resting in what they will be judged by. That's just ironic, I find. But notice that, that they're called a Jew. And then in verse 18, the Bible says, and knowest his will, and approve us the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law, they had the law. They had the Bible. And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, and a light of them which are in darkness, and instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which has the form of knowledge and of the truth and the law. Thou, therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself, thou that preachest a man should not steal, thus thou steal. He's calling them hypocrites. Again, Jesus would have just been hypocrite. Jesus was much more direct. Paul's a little bit more poetic about it. In verse 22, thou that sayeth a man should not commit adultery, thus thou commit adultery, thou that abhorst idols, thus thou commit sacrilege, again, hypocrisy, thou that makeest boast of the law. They were proud. They were like, we know the Bible. We're the scribes and the Pharisees. They had their big robes and their garments. Thou breaking the law dishonorest, thou God. Now, this is a good one in verse number 24, for the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. So he's calling them hypocrites, hypocrites, hypocrites. And then Paul, just think of this for a second. Paul is in Rome, or he's writing to Rome, and he's writing to them on the Gospel on how to be saved. He's preaching Jesus Christ. And here are these people that are supposed to be righteous, and they're the chosen people of God. They have the Word of God. Paul used to be a Pharisee. They killed Jesus Christ. That is the ultimate hypocrisy. That is who Paul is seeing when he's preaching this. That's why he says the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you. He's like, you claim to be representatives of the one true God, and you killed him. That's what he's saying. It's the ultimate hypocrisy. That's why he starts with hypocrisy. At the end, he explains the sin and how you have to keep the whole law, whether you're a Jew or a Gentile. And then he goes right back to hypocrisy again, because they're the ultimate hypocrites, because they killed the Lord Jesus Christ. They were supposed to be the chosen people of God. And then he gets into it even more in verse number 25. And this part isn't as hard to understand. He basically starts teaching who the real Jews are. And in verse number 25, he says, for circumcision, verily, profiteth, if thou keepeth the law. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. He already proved that everyone's a breaker of the law. So circumcision is nothing. No one's a keeper of the law. Look at Romans 3, 19, and 20. In Romans 3 and verse 19, the Bible reads, Now we know that the things soever the law sayeth, it's sayeth to them who are under the law, that every mouth shall be stopped and the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law, that's works, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. So once again, there's no justification there. Of course, they're not keepers of the law, so their circumcision is made uncircumcision. It means nothing. That's what he's saying. They're physical circumcision. And then in verse number 25, or 26, I'm sorry, he says, Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision. So he's saying if the Gentiles were perfect and did the whole law, it'd be pretty much, it'd be just like circumcision. That's what he's saying. But then he gets into what he's actually meaning here. And he says, and shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfilled the law, judge thee who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law. For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly. Neither is that circumcision, that outward circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart. He just did undid physical circumcision right there. So this thing that the Jews were so proud of, that they had, and even when Peter was not wanting to go and eat with the Gentiles, it was like, should I go eat with the uncircumcised? And when they talked about the big debate in Jerusalem in Acts was about should we have the Gentiles that get saved be circumcised? This is a big deal to the Jews. He's just undoing the whole thing right here. That means nothing. Once again, verse 29, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly. Turn to Matthew 23 while I finish reading this. And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men, but of God. He just undid physical circumcision. He's talking about the inward, the inward spirit and how circumcision is an outward sign. And in Matthew 23, Jesus talks about this same theory, the same doctrine. Matthew 23, verse 23, the Bible reads, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and common, and have omitted the way to your matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. These ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, just like Paul was saying, blind teachers. Ye blind guide which strain in a net and swallow a camel. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Inside they're rotten. Thou blind Pharisee, verse 26, cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepicultures which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Just think, I mean just think what Jesus and Paul thought of the Pharisees when they saw them. They were probably some of the only people that saw this. You know, the apostles and the Lord Jesus Christ because everybody else saw just these, everyone thought they were just righteous and they were just full of dead men's bones. That's why Jesus was so angry with them because they were so proud. You know, remember in verse 17, the phrase called a Jew, circumstances of the heart, not the flesh. Paul introduces for the first time what we would call replacement theology. Look, Jew or Gentile, we are without excuse before God. That's the whole point of Romans chapter one and Romans chapter two. And we're gonna get into Romans chapter three and we're gonna see what we actually have, what he's actually culminating together that there's none righteous, no not one. Then he's gonna talk about the gospel from there. But the summary of Romans chapter two, if you have to highlight two verses in Romans chapter two, the two verses would be verses number 12 and verses number 13. If you had to just summarize the entire chapter and those verses read, for as many have sinned without the law shall perish without the law, the Gentiles. And it continues, and as many have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. For not the hears of the law, the Jews are just before God. Not the hears of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. You'd have to do the whole law. So the Jews and the Gentiles are without excuse. That is the point of Romans chapter two. Okay, now, if we're gonna take some application from this, the first lower level application is, don't be a hypocrite. I mean, we've talked about that a little bit over the last couple of weeks. The Pharisees and the Jews of this time were incredibly fake people. They were somebody on the outside that was completely different to who they really were. And that's the last thing that we wanna be. Go to Luke chapter eight. Luke chapter eight and verse 17. So if you're one of these people, or we probably all are in some way, but if you just have this outward appearance that is nothing about what's on really on the inside, the Bible says in Luke eight verse 17, for nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest, neither anything hid that shall not be known and come abroad. Look, it's gonna come out. I mean, people are gonna find out who you are is basically what the Bible is saying here. Hypocrisy is very damaging to yourself and it's also very damaging to the family unit. You know, I've been pretty hard on the men over the last couple of weeks, but I mean, if you wanna talk about the ladies, hypocrisy amongst women raising their children will be very, very damaging as well. We're gonna talk on Sunday morning about how big of an effect women and time itself has on children. No one's gonna spend more time with your children than your wife, than their mother. And look, mothers who homeschool their kids, if you wanna put off the public school system and you want to take that responsibility on yourself, that ultimate responsibility, that ultimate freedom in homeschooling carries a big responsibility to it. I mean, you have the power to raise lazy, unspiritual, uneducated children, unfortunately. The character of children is formed through their parents' actions and when they see things, when they see hypocrisy, they're gonna see who you are at church and who you are at home. So hypocrisy is a very, very damaging thing. But whenever you see, if you see a virtuous young lady, all I have to do is say, where's her mother? I'm sure you can tell where that young lady came from. And it's the same thing with hardworking kids in general. You just look to the parents and you're gonna see that that's where it came from. Now look, your religion will become a joke to your kids very quickly if you have any hypocrisy in your life. Look, when you look at Paul and you look at Jesus Jesus called the Pharisees vipers and hypocrites and they killed the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine what, that's why Paul was being so hard on them in Romans chapter two because they're walking around in their robes and all this kind of stuff and they killed the Lord Jesus Christ. So the takeaway there is just pray, get sin out of your life and be real. That's the takeaway there. The second takeaway I wanna give you tonight, which is a little bit larger takeaway is just the danger of false religion that we see in the book of Romans. You know, the Judaism was a major false religion at this time because they did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a false religion. Now, it was very difficult. They were actually the ones persecuting the church at the beginning. And you'll find this. You'll find this that it's almost, and I've heard many people say this who are experienced soul winners, that you would almost knock on the door of someone who had no religion these days. And I see a lot of heads nodding, but you would almost just start with that blank slate because once that false religion gets in, you'll find people out there. We were just talking about this out soul winning on Saturday. You will find people out there that are so twisted around the axle that it seems they'll never get saved. And it's very sad, but there's Protestantism, the Reformation, all this stuff. I do not believe that the Reformation was, there was anything good about it. Anything. I believe it was the devil's plan B. The Catholic church got way too stupid. The devil is subtle, the Bible says. And the Catholic church just, it wasn't very subtle anymore. When it's like you can buy your relatives out of hell. You know, you can buy your relatives out of purgatory, just give us more money, all this stuff. The devil's like, you know what, this isn't, oh, people are getting wise to this. So he, he designed the Reformation. And he redefined words like grace. And he redefined words like faith. You will find people out there that are like, oh yeah, grace through faith. And they believe in works from that, their whole body believes in works. And then you will preach the gospel to them and you will do the best job you possibly can. And you will say, you see how the Bible teaches something different than what you said? And they will say, oh, that's pretty much what I believed anyway. They're so wrapped up, they'll never get saved. That is the power of false religion and what the devil uses to keep people unsaved, to send people to hell, okay? Look, in conclusion tonight folks, Romans two is not teaching works salvation. It's just teaching that no one is without excuse. Everyone needs the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone needs to be saved, okay? It's by faith, it's not of works. If you're trying to get yourself to heaven by works, you're gonna be judged by those works and you're gonna come up short, okay? That is Romans chapter two. In Romans verses, chapter three, we'll bring it all together and it'll make even more sense than it does now. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Bible. We thank you for the book of Romans. We thank you for all these deep writings that you've given us and just how every doctrine is covered and everything makes perfect sense once you study it through and understand what you're trying to tell us. Lord, please bless this church. Bless soul winning this weekend and church on Sunday. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.