 We're in chapter 2. We're going to be looking at verses 11 through 29. Let's begin reading here in Romans chapter 2 at verse 11 We'll read the verse 16 and get into our study Romans chapter 2 beginning at verse 11 reading to verse 16 Paul writes for there is no partiality with God For as many as have sinned without law We'll also perish without law and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things contained in the law These although not having the law are a law to themselves who show the work of the law written in their hearts Their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else Excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel And so as you see we've entered into a study here in the book of Romans and as I've been mentioning to you in chapter 1 Paul began to make it very clear that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and He began by first speaking concerning Gentiles and in chapter 2 He began to speak concerning the Jewish nation and as I've mentioned to you the Humanity had been divided humanity had been divided into two segments Jew and Gentile and In order for him to be able to present his case that all stand guilty before God He began by speaking first of the Gentile and in chapter 2 begins to speak concerning the Jew So mankind is guilty now if mankind is guilty before God he also points out the fact that God is judge So mankind is guilty of being imperfect as the point he's making mankind has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and God is the one who's going to bring judgment So he presents God's case for judging man in a very clear way When you look at chapter 2 verse 1 first he points out that man is inexcusable and the reason that man standing before God would be in inexcusable speaking of being without any defense is because Man is imperfect man is sinful That answers to scripture Proverbs chapter 20 verse 9 Ask the question who can say I have made my heart clean. I am pure for my sin And so one man is inexcusable and then second he says God's judgment is fair in verse 2 He said God's judgment is according to the truth and the reason it's according to truth is because God knows all things Again as it says in Hebrews 4 13 there is no creature hidden from his sight But all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account And so God is making a case Paul is writing out the case Man is inexcusable And God's judgment is according to truth And so because man is inexcusable and God's judgment is fair He's going to render to each one according to his deeds his judgment is righteous And the penalty will fit the crime Psalm 62 12 also to you. Oh lord belongs mercy for you render to each one according to his work And so he's been making a case here Man is guilty before God That makes him inexcusable God's judgment is righteous because God is righteous And God will render to each individual that exactly that they deserve And as he was doing that he began to contrast He began to contrast the life of of a genuine follower of Jesus Christ and one who rejects him We saw in verses 7 and 10 that a genuine believer's life is revealed by a patient Continuance in doing good in seeking glory honor immortality and peace But an unbeliever lives an entirely different kind of life in verse 8 He said they are known for being self seeking Their lives are are filled with self centeredness. They're very selfish is what he's saying Which which lines up with 2nd Timothy 3 12, which tells us that men are lovers of their own selves So that's true of unbelievers. They put their own interests before the interests of others The odd thing about selfishness is those who are selfish very often fail to realize that they are It's been said selfishness is the great unknown sin. No selfish person ever thinks himself to be selfish There's a writer by the name of toll story who said everybody thinks of changing humanity Nobody thinks of changing himself And so that just lines up with what paul is saying selfishness is the core of an individual who doesn't know the lord And therefore a genuine believer learns to live a life of selflessness He says that they're selfish and also they're disobedient. They don't live according to the truth The rebellious by nature they reject the truth found in scripture and they cling to their lies And so the fruit is that they obey unrighteousness and they're unwilling to follow the lord Without with that said he's making his case. He arrives at verse 11 And so in verse 11, he makes it clear. There is no partiality with god True justice is blind God judge is fairly based on the character conduct and the work of the person It says in deuteronomy 10 17 the lord your god is a god of gods and lord of lords a great god mighty and awesome Who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe? In clausians 3 25 he who does wrong will be repaid for what he's done. There is no partiality So no truly righteous person will go to hell But no unrighteous person will ever enter into heaven Because the lord is the just the judge he is a righteous judge And and he's not going to say this person tried harder than that person He's just going to judge on the basis of what they did what they did with the gospel and and how it impacted their life Whether or not they listened and whether or not they believed and and there will be fair judgment for all Now as he's laid that down as a foundation We pick up at verse 12 and we'll look at what he has to say concerning These things notice verse 12 and 13 as many as have sinned without law will be We'll also perish without law as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of god But the doers of the law will be justified What about the gentiles? What about the gentiles who have never had an opportunity to know god's law? What about them? In the past there have been people who've approached me and have said But what about those people in in certain places of of the world that haven't heard the gospel? What about the aborigine? What about the the people who live in certain areas in various continents who've never heard The gospel what about those whom you refer to as pagans and and my response and i'll give it to you out of scripture here Is generally the same your concern? Though noteworthy is not necessarily the main concern you should have rather than having a great concern about the aborigine in australia Who doesn't know or do the things of god perhaps you ought to have a greater concern for yourself You ought to be aware of where you stand before you begin to worry about where other people stand And how does it work here? What about that? When he says as many have sinned without law will also perish without law as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of god, but the doers of the law will be justified He begins to speak concerning the fact that gentiles may have never had the opportunity to know god's law Yet he's saying they're going to be judged fairly He's already made the case that gentiles have various ways to know there is a god and they are accountable For what they know They don't have the revealed law. They didn't have the law of moses, but they're going to receive fair judgment based on what they know The jews and gentiles who had knowledge of the law will receive stricter judgment Because god takes into account the amount of spiritual light people have If somebody's never heard the gospel of jesus christ, they will be judged fairly because of what they knew But if somebody's been to church all their life and rejected the word of god all their life, they have a stricter standard How do I know that? Well, jesus said in in luke chapter 12 verses 47 and 48 He said the servant who knew his master's will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will Shall be beaten with many stripes But he who did not know yet committed things deserving of stripes shall be beaten with few For everyone to whom much is given from him much will be required And to whom much has been committed of him they will ask the more So the more you know the more you owe The more you're aware the more you have to declare What happens is if you've received or been taught then you are held responsible for that which you have The jewish nation because they had the law will have a stricter accountability before god than any gentile who never heard anything about god and his law Notice how he says in verse 13 not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of god, but the doers of the law will be Those who are simply hearers of the law are not going to be saved Just because they heard the law doesn't mean that they obeyed it. It's the one who does what is commanded within the law You see in all of history there hasn't been a single person outside of jesus christ who has kept the law of moses The bible tells us in james chapter 2 verses 10 and 11 Whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point. He's guilty of all For he who said do not commit adultery also said do not murder Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder you become a transgressor of the law And so you have to keep the whole thing And there hasn't been a single human being outside of jesus christ who could ever point to themself And say who can convince me of sin who here can say that i have sin Now if i did that and stood up here in front of you there'd be a line of people saying well i can You know you've done this or you've said that and if you couldn't do that i'll bring marie out in cases closed I'm imperfect. We all know that and that's the point that's being made Who can say that i have done it all? And the answer is only jesus Only jesus could stand in front of his mother his brothers and all of his disciples as well as Just listeners and he could say who can convince me of sin Who here can walk up and say you did this you did that you did this thing wrong Only jesus christ could ever do that but all the rest of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of god And so the law was given for a variety of purposes including Awakening us who are lost conditioned because When you hear what the law has to say Then when you've heard it Then you can respond to it in one way or another and it's intended to not only awaken us to our own sinfulness But also to lead us to faith in the one who can can do that which we cannot do It revealed our sinfulness and it drives us to god in in romans chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 It says that one time i live without understanding the law But when i learned the command not to covet for instance the power of sin came to life and i died So i discovered that the law's commands which were supposed to bring life brought spiritual death instead And so the law awakened and helped me to name the things that were native within me my sinful nature In galatians 3 24 and 25 paul said the law was put in charge to lead us to christ That we might be justified by faith Now that faith has come we we are no longer under the supervision of the law And so it's like what paul will say, you know, oh sinful man. Oh wretched man that i am Who's going to save me from this body of death? Who's going to help me? Well, the answer is jesus christ And so all have sin fall short of the glory of god both jew and gentile The jew has the written law the gentile doesn't God will judge righteously on the standards that that he has established So if a gentile has not heard the law He will be judged according to what he has But he has conscience and he has creation And he has accountability notice verse 14 when gentiles who do not have the law By nature do the things contained in the law these although not having the law are a lot of themselves Who show the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing or Excusing them in the day when god will judge the secrets of men by jesus christ according to my gospel So our gentiles exempt from eternal punishment because they don't have the law of moses No, he says they have conscience they have creation and their conscience and conduct will condemn them Now it's interesting you need to see this good gentiles actually condemn themselves by doing what is good They're doing what was ethically good showed that they had god's law notice written on their hearts thus instead of saving them They actually condemn themselves When they're accused by their conscience, they need to turn to christ Not every person is as bad as they could be There are some who are very bad And when they get caught being as bad as they are they're locked up and they're kept there for a lifetime They got caught But that's not everybody. I mean we still live in great safety Great security. There is crime of course, but not everybody's as bad as they can be And there are some very very ethical people religious people nice people And these people love their families and they're charitable When a disaster occurs they give their money. They'll go and give their time and their help In a sense what they do is they actually line up with some of the commands that god gave in the book of exodus There are people who don't have a relationship with god who still respect their parents They don't have a relationship with lord, but they don't murder and they don't commit adultery and they don't steal They're not out there bearing false witness They're not coveting other people's possessions They keep much of the law in a sense because these are ethical things. They're moral things But they break the law where god says i'm the lord thy god You're to love me with everything you're not to have an idol before you they don't have a relationship with god But they do moral and ethical things and there are quite a number of people that are like that And that's why our society that we live in is by and large a very generous and and a great Great society because within the society there's something written on its on its heart and the heart Is what is has been impacted by god and and paul is simply saying they have a law written in their hearts According to verse 15 and they do those things accordingly But they still will stand before god Because their consciences still accuse them and that will help them to become aware of the fact that they need the lord And what's going to happen is god is going to bring judgment notice verse 16 in the day when god will judge the secrets of men by jesus christ According to my gospel So god is going to righteously examine all people And he's going to bring judgment and he reveals our motives by the gospel jesus being the ultimate judge In john 12 48 jesus said he who rejects me and does not receive my words As that which judges him the word that i have spoken will judge him in the last day And so how do i respond to the gospel? When i hear the message of the gospel i have received information that i give an account for when i stand before god And god will ultimately bring judgment on me If i do not receive what he has offered now as he speaks about this verse 17 Indeed you are called to jew and rest on the law and make your boast in god And know his will and approve the things that are excellent being instructed out of the law And are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind a light to those who are in darkness An instructor of the foolish a teacher of vape having the form of knowledge and truth in the law so he says You stand condemned even as Gentiles do Even though you may be outwardly moral And so what he does is he begins to enumerate their advantages Because he's now speaking obviously very clearly to jews And that's what he said in verse 17 when he says indeed you're called a jew But notice and you rest in the law and you make your boast in god So in context he's speaking to the jewish nation By application he could be speaking even today to us by application Of those who have heard and can say but i've i've received training I I know what god's word has to say and he's saying well, that's what the jews are saying They have received training the rabbis have taught them the truth But they're not obeying it from the heart Notice he says you pride yourself You are called a jew you pride yourself in the fact that you descended from abraham Many had come to believe that salvation for them was an automatic because they descended from abraham By application there are some who believe that they are Christians because their mom and dad were christians or their grandmother was christian He's saying you make your boast in being a jew because you've received your descent from abraham He says and secondly you rely on the law The entirety of god's revelation is what he's referring to the jews were blessed with the advantage of having the Word of god revealed to them So you think that you're secure in the law, but in this you're wrong Jesus said do not think that i shall accuse you to the father There's one who accuses you moses in whom you trust if you believe moses you would believe me for he wrote about me But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? He said you're resting in the law But you're rejecting what it revealed You you rest in the law thinking that by knowing certain things about god that you are in good standing with him But you're not it's like the person again who goes to church who thinks because they heard a bible study that they're doing well And in fact they're not if they're not applying it He says you make your boast in god When they boasted in god they were really boasting of themselves because they thought themselves to be special Notice verse 18 you know his will and approve the things that are excellent being instructed out of the law They may have known what god's word says, but they didn't obey him And again the knowledge would be used against them In john 5 39 and 40 Jesus said you diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life These are the scriptures that testify about me yet you refuse to come to me to have life In Easter we're going to have a great Time we always have a wonderful Easter service and a lot of people who go to church Twice a year at least will come on Easter when I was Raised I was raised as a Catholic and so we used to have a phrase perhaps some of you've heard this phrase before We used to refer to people as once a year Catholics And that's a phrase we use and what what what it meant was they show up in church once a year Or maybe twice a year Catholics which meant that we would come on Christmas or we would go on Easter and and a lot of people are that way And so we as a nation actually still haven't gotten away from celebrating certain religious holidays though. We renamed them at all But the bottom line is is they still come And what what happens is people will come to church and And because they feel it's a religious duty It's something that you do and they'll come to church and they'll listen to what's being said And they'll walk out believing that they believe those things But the real fact is is not whether or not you're able to repeat those things that you heard It's whether you live those things when you leave And the difference is that I before I came to christ was somebody who could repeat what I heard And so if somebody asked me a question about what I had heard that day in mass I could explain to him what I heard I could explain things about my church experience But if they asked me the question do you have a relationship with god through jesus christ? I wouldn't have had a proper answer. I wouldn't have been able to say yes What I would have said is I go to church. I have a relationship with the church that I attend And if they said but what is what makes you a christian? I would have began begun speaking concerning the things that I'd experienced. I've been water baptized I received my first holy communion. I received a confirmation And and I would speak concerning the sacraments that I had experienced and so I'd say this is my religious background I've heard the sermon. I've gone through the sacraments And I would have argued and I did argue that I was a christian based on those things So paul is speaking to jews and he's saying to the jews You make your boast in the law You have rabbis who teach you things and you're able to repeat them But you don't realize that the amount of information that you've received has never been put into application And because you've never acted on those things and understood that the law was intended to bring you to faith in christ Because the law reveals to you that you're a sinner in need of a savior Because you're relying in your own good works and your attempt to live those things out by your efforts Not understanding the grace of god that has been shed for us through the blood of christ given to us in order that we might have a relationship with god What you're doing is you're boasting in your ancestral Ties to abraham The fact that you receive the law and you have these benefits and and you have all of these blessings that have been poured on you But you don't realize the fact that though you may know the things that have been taught From the heart you don't live those things and as a result You're still lost He says you approve in verse 18 Approve the excellent things that have been instructed out of the law. You know the word well enough You know what's right. You know what's wrong. You even agree with it But instead of saving you it has produced Something that you're more accountable for he goes on in verse 19 and he says You're confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind a light to those that were in darkness an instructor of the foolish A teacher of babes having the form of knowledge and truth in the law So you have a false confidence You're trusting that you're able to bring people to a knowledge of god. You think yourself to be a light to the blind so The fact is is you can't be a guide to the blind because you don't see yourself You think you're a light to those who are in darkness Well, remember with me that the nation of israel was intended to be the light of the world But he says instead of being the light of the world you yourself are stumbling in the dark He says in verse 20 you're confident that you're an instructor of the foolish The foolish would speak more of the gentiles who don't know god He says you think you can instruct those who don't know god But the point he's making is you yourselves need to be instructed He said you're a teacher of babes. You like to talk to good-looking women. No, that's not what you're saying A teacher of babes Having the form of knowledge and truth in the law You think that you're a teacher who brings maturity to the immature he's saying but you're lost You have a form of knowledge and truth in the law He goes on though and he says in verse 21 You therefore who teach another Do you not teach yourself You who preach that a man should not steal Do you steal You who say do not commit adultery Do you commit adultery You who abhor idols Do you rob temples You who make your boast in the law Do you dishonor god through breaking the law For the name of god is blasphemed among the gentiles Because of you As it is written Paul's hammering he's coming down strong There's no doubt about it When I read this and I'm going to say this very quickly your first service. So I'll share it with you You know when I do my first service I actually allow the holy spirit to speak to me as I share with others and then I take that into the second In the third service I've read this and taught this passage many times many times And it always speaks freshly to me I want to keep it in context. He's speaking to the Jewish nation. I want to make sure I keep on saying it's in context the Jewish nation But by application I read it and I allow it to speak to my heart And so as I do so I'm thinking to myself Am I guilty of these things myself? The best way to know a passage is to determine to apply it Lord do I do these things Do I make my boast in knowing the scriptures? But in reality do I not live those things out? That's what he's saying He said you who teach another do you not teach yourself? Are you speaking to yourself? First because all good ministry begins with the pastor teacher teaching himself You who preach that a man should not steal Do you steal? You who say do not commit adultery Do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols do you rob temples? I was a little boy Eight years old. I was in church We were actually in catechism class and we had to go to church services one saturday for something And I was seated. No, it was a sunday was the next day I was seated next to one of the kids who Was in my catechism class with me and one of the kids was acting up in church And that's a no-no obviously and My friend turned and said something to me And the kid who was acting up right in front of us turned around and said to my friend You need to be quiet. You're in church And this kid was messing around, you know So my friend said this I'll never forget this is funny. You know, it's been that was eight years old It's been a long time since I heard this but it's the first time I ever heard this statement My friend says to him. Why don't you practice what you preach? What an interesting phrase and I'm eight years old. I'd never heard that before that's a common saying people everybody here Has heard it. I'd never heard that before. That's the first time I remember hearing that phrase Why don't you practice what you preach? Do you know that phrase has never left me? Obviously 54 years later. I still remember it Why don't you practice what you preach is a very powerful statement coming from the mouth of an eight-year-old little boy You're goofing around in church And you're telling me to be quiet because I turned to my friend when you've been goofing around all this time Hypocrisy can be seen at an early age And so paul is speaking here And he's speaking to to those who profess to know god And he's saying you think you're a light to the blind. You're a guide to those who are in darkness He said you speak because you receive all of these things you have the law You think you're descended from Abraham therefore special before god you have these advantages That you actually boast but let me share with you how important it is for you to practice what you preach He says you think that you know but in reality you don't because you don't do you say one thing But you do another which to me is a very powerful statement When he says you who teach another do you not teach yourself you who preach that a man should not steal Do you steal you who say do not commit adultery? Do you commit adultery you who abhor idols? Do you rob temple now? I understand the first two of those the third one when he says you abhor idols do you rob temples? What are you talking about? In verse 22 at its heart idolatry is giving To something else what actually first belongs to god In the bible malachi chapter three verses eight and nine the question is asked will a man rob god And then he goes on to say yet you have robbed me But you say wherein have we robbed you? And then answers in tithes and offerings you are cursed with a curse you've robbed me even this whole nation So you who say that you love god are you actually giving to something else? That first belongs to him What are you doing? You're claiming to be a teacher you're claiming to live by the the word But in reality you're not even doing the most basic things He says in verse 23 you who make your boast in the law Do you dishonor god through break in the law? For the name of god is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you as it is written god's name was Was revealed to the nation of israel But the way that the nation of israel lived caused those who didn't know god to blaspheme god Can we see that today through the church? absolutely Sad to say breaks my heart to admit, but it's true There are people who have said to me and i'm sure that if you share your faith with others you've heard this too who have said to me If god is god and he actually changes lives and how come i have relatives or the way that they are They go to church and yet the guy's still going out on his wife They go to church yet the guy's still stealing from his boss They go to church, but his language is no different than anybody else on the job site They go to church, but they're having problems in their family and they're having problems in their marriage These are people who tell me about god how i need god they say to me i shouldn't smoke pot But i've been to their house and i see the the liquor all over No, what do you this is hypocrisy and you want to know something i'll be honest with you guys The bottom line is that there are a lot of unbelievers who do not come to faith in christ simply because gods people don't live as gods people And that's what paul's talking about He's saying you make your boast in the law you think you're descended from abraham You think that you have all these advantages, but in reality you don't even do the base of things and he's he's bringing them into Judgment that's what he's doing. He's saying we're guilty before god. We need a savior We need a savior Because we fail None of us is perfect. None of us is right every one of us needs help That's the point he's making but you don't see it. He's saying because you're self righteous You don't see it because you think that you're doing the things that god requires But he says let me just speak to you about the basic things the fact of the matter is Is that you're not practicing what moses preached and because you're not you're losing out and as a result There's fruit to your life and that is people are looking at the way you live And they don't want anything to do with the god that you claim to serve god help us all God help starting here with me god help us all to live lives That line up with what we say Because the case is strong Notice what he says in verse 25 Circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law, but if you're a breaker of the law your circumcision has become uncircumcision therefore If an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law will not his uncircumcision be counted as Circumcision and will not the physically uncircumcised if he fulfills the law judge you who even with your written code In circumcision are a transgressor of the law for he's not a jew who is one outwardly nor is he that Nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh He's a jew who's went inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter Whose praise is not from men, but from god Sinfulness has passed from generation to generation Circumcision would illustrate the new nature True circumcision is not the cutting away of the flesh because it really works on the heart So he says physical circumcision isn't what saves you what saves is faith in god The jewish nation had the right of circumcision. He's saying circumcision is not what saved you The heart that's right before god does therefore a Gentile who may never have received circumcision If he lives a life right before god through jesus christ never has to receive circumcision Because god is not concerned with the outward god is concerned with the inward And so Gentile and jew can be right before god not by outward ordinances But by a condition of the heart of faith to god Therefore if a person has a relationship with god, they really will be an instructor to a baby They really will be living lives that are not noted by immorality because their faith will be worked out in action As it stands the Gentile needs god The jew needs god And the way they can have a relationship with god both jew and Gentile Is through faith in christ Who makes the two into the one new man? And so paul in chapter one and chapter two Has brought both jew and Gentile into a position of guilt before god Because not one of them whether jew or Gentile ever lives according to what god demands They both need grace and that's the point he's making and we'll get into that a little deeper when we get into chapter three We'll close here