We ended our time together by recognizing that some would respond to Paul’s charge by thinking “Well Dave I am not like those people. I don’t ignore God, I just believe that I am a good moral person and because I am a good moral person I don’t have a problem with God. So, am I guilty?” So this week, as we continue in this series, let’s enter back into this section of this letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Romans, where we see Paul address and answer this question, beginning in Romans 2:1. Let’s look at it together:
Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of the church at Rome by addressing what we would call in our culture today a moralist. A moralist is a person that believes that they do not have a problem when it comes to having a relationship with God because they are good, moral people who live according to specific code of conduct or standards. And it is this code of conduct and standards that a moralist lives by that they use to judge others. When Paul uses the phrase passes judgment, this phrase literally means to pass an unfavorable judgment upon the lives and actions of other people. In other words, a person who views themselves as a good moral person will base their opinion on the fact that they have a code of conduct and standards that they follow and use to justify why they are a better person than others. The moral person’s life is often marked by comparison. “I am a better and more moral person than other people, because I have a code of conduct that I believe in that other people do not follow”.
However, notice Paul’s response to the moralist: you have no excuse. In other words, the person who is a moralist, the person who believes that they are a good moral person, has no excuse that they can use to avoid being found guilty of having a problem when it comes to having a relationship with God. And here we see the Apostle Paul provide for us a timeless and true charge as to whether or not we are guilty of having a problem when it comes to our relationship with God. And that timeless and true charge is that we are guilty when we live life as though we can achieve moral excellence. We are guilty of having a problem when it comes to our relationship with God when we believe that our lives achieve a moral excellence that God will approve of. And in Romans 2:1-16, like any good prosecuting attorney, Paul provides three pieces of evidence to prove that we are guilty when we live life as though we can achieve moral excellence.
First, Paul charges that we are guilty based on the evidence of our own violations. Paul explains that we have no excuse that we can use to deny that we are guilty because in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things. If Paul was writing this letter in the language that we use in our culture today, this phrase would sound something like this: “You have no defense when it comes to your behavior. As a matter a fact, your own code of conduct that you use to unfavorably judge other people’s behavior is the very evidence that proves your guilt. You are guilty because you do not even live according to the code of conduct that you use to judge others. You do not even practice what you preach”.
In verse 2, Paul then contrasts the hypocritical and judgmental attitude of the moralist with the judgment of God. When Paul uses the phrase the judgment of God rightly falls, this phrase literally means truthfully of rightly. In other words, unlike the subjective and debatable standards of the moralist, God’s standard of truth does not waver. All of humanity will be judged by God’s absolute truth. And because of this reality, Paul exposes the moralist to two timeless implications that flow from their attempt to achieve moral excellence through a code of conduct.
First, Paul exposes the moralist to the timeless implications of their failure to live according to their own code of conduct. Because, if you believe that you are a good moral person based on the code of conduct that you use to pass unfavorable judgment upon the lives and actions of others, then where does that leave you when you violate your code of conduct? Do you view yourself as a good moral person who strives to live life by a code of conduct? Do you violate that code of conduct yourself? Because if you sit in judgment and pronounce guilt upon those who fail to live according to your list of what makes a good moral person, then what happens to you when you fail to live up to your own list?
Second, in verse 4, Paul exposes the moralist to the timeless implications of misunderstanding God’s gracious kindness. When Paul uses the phrase “think lightly”, this phrase literally means to look down on someone or something with contempt as being of little value. What the moralist has a tendency to look at with contempt is God’s gracious and beneficial act of bearing up and putting up with humanity as we continually selfishly rebel against and reject God. The moralist does not deal well with immoral behavior; they are provoked to pass negative judgment swiftly on those who do not follow their code of conduct. And in their mind, it is contemptible and of little benefit to extend grace to anyone who fails to meet their standards.
Paul then exposes the moralist to the reality that they are ignorant and uniformed as to why God extends such gracious tolerance. The reason that God so graciously bears up and puts up with selfish rebellion and sin is because is so that people would respond with repentance. Paul’s point here is that while the moralist views God’s gracious patience with contempt, God’s gracious patience is divinely designed to provide the opportunity for people to recognize their selfishness and sin and respond by turning a life that was running away from God back toward God.
In verse 5, Paul explains that the very fact that the moralist views God’s gracious patience and tolerance with contempt reveals the reality of their own hard and rebellious heart that refuses to turn away from their code of conduct and turn towards God. And it is this hard heart and rebellious attitude of the moralist that results in the moralist experiencing God’s just and right response to selfish rebellion and sin. The day of wrath refers to the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus will return to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death and will judge all of humanity based on His absolute standards, not the moralist 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 will look at that piece of evidence tomorrow.
In the meantime, are you trying to live as though you can achieve moral excellence? Do you find yourself violating a code of conduct that you attempt to live by and use to pass unfavorable judgments upon others?
No comments:
Post a Comment