God’s judgment

[Romans 2:1-16]

We have already meditated on “The wrath of God” centered on Romans 1:18-32.  In other words, we learned that God's wrath is revealed to those who suppress the truth with unrighteousness (v. 18), to those who exchange the truth of God for a lie (v. 25), and who don’t think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God (v. 28).  The sins these people commit are not glorifying God (v. 21), refusing to give thanks to God (v. 21), claiming that they are wise (v. 22), worshiping idols (v. 23), and disgracing the body (v. 24), namely the sin of homosexuality (vv. 26-27) and all unrighteousness (v. 29).  Here, all unrighteousness is full of every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips (v. 29), slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents (v. 30), senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless (v. 31), while doing these things, approving those who practice such things (v. 32).

In today's text, Romans 2:2, apostle Paul said, God's judgment against those who do such things that are listed in Romans 1:18-32 is “based on truth.”  Why did he write to the saints in Rome, 'I long to see you (1:11), and one of the reasons is to preach the gospel to them (v. 15), and talk about “the wrath of God” in Romans 1:18-32, and then speak of God’s judgement in Romans 2:1-16?  What was the reason?  I looked for the reason in Romans 2:16 – “This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.”  In other words, the reason why Paul is talking about God's judgment in writing to the saints in Rome is because the gospel is talking about God's judgment. We might be a bit puzzled: ‘How can the gospel, the good news speak about God’s judgment?’  However, we must keep in mind that even though the power of God for salvation appears to those who hear the gospel and believe in Jesus (1:16), they will be the wrath of God (1:18ff) and God’s judgement in the end (vv. 5, 16) to those who know God but suppress the truth in unrighteousness (v. 18), who exchange the truth for a lie (v. 25) and  who do not see fit to acknowledge God any longer (v. 28).  In other words, 'God's salvation' comes to you and me who hear the gospel and believe in Jesus (1:16), but 'God's wrath' and 'God's judgment' will come upon unbelievers who hear the gospel but do not believe in Jesus.

Therefore, as apostle Paul, writing a letter to the saints in Rome, admonished, 'If you have heard the gospel and believed in Jesus Christ and been saved, you must live by faith alone as justified ones' (1:16-17), he also exhorted them not to imitate the sinful lives of those unbelievers who are in the midst of God's wrath and who will be judged by God in the future.  The sinful life of unbelievers mentioned here refers to all the sins listed in Romans 1:18-32 that we have already meditated on, but especially in Romans 2:1-11, Paul said 'the sin of passing judgment’.  Here, “judgment” does not refer to a simple discernment of good and evil, but ‘to condemn without forgiveness’ (Park).  And our people's 'judgment' is different from God's 'judgment'.  In other words, God's judgment is an impartial judgment based on the truth, whereas the judgment of people (sinners) is a partial judgment.  In other words, even though God does not judge people by their appearance, we are guilty of judging people by their appearance (v. 11).  We people treat people unfairly by relying on prejudice due to external forms, such as rich and poor (Park).  Referring to these people, the apostle Paul said, “everyone of you who passes judgement” (v. 1).

Why does Paul exhort the saints in Rome to not to pass judgement?  Why does Paul exhort them not to commit the sin of condemnation without forgiveness?  The reason was that the saints in Rome were a mixture of both Jews and Gentiles, and especially the Jews condemned the Gentile brothers out of a sense of spiritual superiority.  We can know this by looking at what Paul said: “you who judge practice the same things” (v. 1), “you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself” (v. 3).  At that time, the Jewish believers in the Roman church not only passed judgement (condemning, not forgiving) on the Gentiles who, though they had knowledge of God, suppressed the truth with unrighteousness, exchanged the truth of God for a lie, didn’t think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God and committed all sorts of sins (1:18-32), but also approved those who practiced them while they continued to do the same things (1:32; 2:1, 3).  The question is, what will happen to the relationship between Jewish believers and Gentile believers when this judgment is made within the church community?  Rather than maintaining the unity of the Holy Spirit, that relationship inevitably leads to disputes and divisions that destroy the unity of the church.  Why?  The reason is because these Jewish believers, as Jesus said, look at the speck in their brother's eye but do not notice the log that is in their own eye (Mt. 7:3).  Due to the hypocritical behavior of these Jewish believers, the Roman church would have been divided in contention.

            I think these disputes and divisions can exist in any church.  Including our church, of course. One of the causes is judging others.  In other words, if we see only the speck in our brother's eye and judge (condemn), like the Jews, not realizing the log in our own eye, eventually, because of our hypocritical actions, there can be strife and fight in the church, hence there can be division.  I often regret saying things to my brothers and sisters in Christ.  The reason is that after speaking, when I think about what I said to them, I realize that I myself am not properly following the teaching while I am trying to teach others.  So Jesus says in Matthew 7:5 – “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”

As apostle Paul said in Romans 2:1, we have no excuses.  In other words, since we are judging others and doing the same thing ourselves, we have no excuse before God for doing the same thing.  Also, we should not think that we will escape the judgment of God (v. 3).  The reason is because God will render to each person according to his deeds (v. 6).  To those who “by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life” (v. 7) and “glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good” (v. 10).  However, there will be wrath and indignation on those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness (v. 8).  “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil (v. 9).  And we must not think lightly of the riches of God's kindness, tolerance, and patience (v. 4).  In other words, when we are committing sins by condemning our brothers and sisters in Christ without looking back at ourselves, we should not take lightly that God is patient with us with His abundant love.  The reason is that God is patient with us because He wants us to repent and return to the Lord.  He is waiting for us.  Therefore, we should not act like the Jewish believers according to their stubbornness and unrepentant heart (v. 5).  d Rather, when the Holy Spirit rebukes our sins through our conscience with a heart of fear of God's judgment, we should repent and turn around and obey God's Word.  We should not be just hearers of God's Word.  Rather, we must become hearers and doers of God's Word (v. 13).  The word of God given to us in today's text is ‘Persevere in doing good’ (v. 7).  In other words, all of us should not commit the sin of judging and condemning others by their appearance (vv. 1, 3, 11).  Rather, we should judge them rightly according to the truth like God (v. 2).  And we must treat each other with patience, showing God’s kindness, tolerance and kindness (v. 4).  In the midst of this, we must do our best to keep the unity of the church, which is the body of the Lord.