First, Paul provided the evidence that we are guilty based on the evidence of our own violations. The moralist provides evidence that they are guilty because they violate the very code of conduct that they attempt to live by and use to pass unfavorable judgments upon others. At the end of the day, however, humanity will be judged by God's absolute standards, not the moralists standards. And it is God’s just and right verdict to selfishness, sin, and rebellion that Paul turns to in order to provide a second piece of evidence that proves that we are guilty when we try to live life as though we can achieve moral excellence. We see this evidence revealed for us in Romans 2:6-11. Let’s look at it together:
who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.Here we see Paul explain that at the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus returns to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death, all of humanity will be judged according to their deeds. Paul then reveals for us the standard that God will apply when it comes to judging what He sees from our lives. For those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, they will receive the reward of experiencing life in the relationship with God that we were created for in heaven for all eternity.
In other words, to experience the relationship with God that you were created for in Heaven for all eternity, a person must be devoted and driven by the desire to live a life of good that achieves a status and standard that is worthy of recognition and is not subject to corruption and decay. And not only must they achieve that status, they must persevere in maintaining that status. They must possess the capacity to hold out and bear up in the face of all the difficulties that come with trying to achieve and maintain that status and standard. For the person who achieves and maintains a status and standard of good, Paul explains that they will receive glory and honor and peace. The good person will receive the honor and a state of well being that comes from being at peace with God as a result of achieving such a high status and standard. And the honor and peace that will be experienced as a result of God’s just and right response to meeting His standard will be experienced rightly and justly by everyone who meets that standard. Regardless of social, cultural, ethnic, or economic status, all who meet God’s standards will receive God’s just and fair response to our good moral life. You see, there is no partiality with God. God does not play favorites, but judges everyone with perfect justice.
However, for those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, they will receive wrath and indignation. In other words, the person who lives a life that is driven by selfishness and that chooses to rebel and reject God and the truth about God in order to embrace a life and lifestyle that is at odds with God and opposes God will experience God’s rightful indignation and just and right response to such rebellion and sin. And the trouble and distress that will be experienced as a result of God’s just and right response to our rebellion will be experienced rightly and justly by everyone who is guilty. Regardless of social, cultural, ethnic, or economic status, all who are found guilty of failing to meet God’s standards will receive God’s just and fair response of punishment for our guilt. You see, there is no partiality with God. God does not play favorites, but judges everyone with perfect justice.
Now maybe you would describe yourself as a good moral person and you just need the goal to strive for. And you are wondering “well what is the standard that Paul is talking about here? What does good look like?” Great question and the answer is simple; perfection. In other words, from God’s perspective, a good moral person must live a perfect life. And it is here where we see Paul provide the second piece of evidence to prove that we are guilty when we live life as though we can achieve moral excellence. And that second piece is that we are guilty based on the evidence of our inferior standards.
You see, while we may consider ourselves good moral people, no one usually sets perfection as the standard to strive for when it comes to moral excellence. We do not set that standard because we intuitively recognize that it is unreachable. And whether or not you buy into the Jesus, Bible, church thing, our culture readily recognizes this reality. We even have a phrase that we use to acknowledge this reality, don’t we: “Well nobody’s perfect”. And because of this reality, we instead choose to set an inferior standard to strive for in an effort to achieve what we would consider moral excellence. However, the harsh truth is that, at the end of the day, there is only one standard that matters when it comes to good. And that standard of good is God’s standard. And God’s standard of good is perfection.
The reality is that you do not need forgiveness or rescue if you live a perfect life. So if you live a perfect life then you do not need Jesus. It is as simple as that. Now before you scream heresy, let me ask you a question: How do you think Jesus got into Heaven? You see, the reason that Jesus was able to enter into Heaven was because He lived a perfect life, isn’t it? Jesus was fully human and lived a perfect sinless life, which enabled Him to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Jesus Himself proved that you just need to be perfect to get into Heaven.
Now here is the question: Are you perfect? Or have you lowered the bar when it comes to how you measure moral excellence? Because it is our inferior standards that serve as evidence of our guilt when it comes to the problem we have with God. Paul concludes this section of his letter by proving a third piece of evidence that proves that we are guilty when we try to live life as though we can achieve moral excellence. We will look at that third piece of evidence tomorrow.
In the meantime, how strong is the standard that you set for yourself when it comes to morality? Does your standard match God's standard?
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