Romans 2 (Joel and Mike)

by Opcomm · Published September 28, 2010 · Updated March 17, 2016

Teaching 9.28.10
Romans 2
3 Responses to Guilt
Romans 2:1-3
- “Therefore you have no excuse, every one 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?”
  - Do NOT judge
    - “Do not make me feel guilty!”
  - Matthew 7:1-2
    - “’Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
#1: Reject guilt
- Post-Modern view
  - Moral truth is whatever you feel is right
  - Tolerance is letting me believe what I want to believe and you can believe whatever you want to be
  - Judging is pushing your view onto people
  - Guilt = feeling you have
- Biblical view
  - Moral truth is God’s word, absolute truth
  - Tolerance is people having different opinions that you do not have to believe
  - Judging is Jesus not coming to condemn people
  - Guilt = legalist
- John 3:16-17
  - “’For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.’”
- Excessive guilt means depression
- Not guilty at all means you are a possible psychopath
#2: “I’m fine, you suck” = religious person (I am so much better than you!)
- Romans 2:17-20
  - “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, 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, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law (AE)the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, “
    - Paul is talking to the Jews
    - Jews were considered the “super” spiritual people
      - SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS is the mindset for the religious person
- James 2:10
  - “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”
    - If you are trying to follow all the laws that God sets, it is a pretty serious thing
    - You cannot truly relate to God by being perfect, not possible to be perfect
- Romans 2:21-24
  - “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,’ just as it is written.”
    - The problem is they are HYPOCRITES
    - God’s greatest commandment is to love our neighbor
    - Self-righteous person responds to this by questioning, “Who is my neighbor?”
- Matthew 25:43
  - “’I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’”
    - The sin issue is omission
      - Things you could have done, but did not
    - “Oh I don’t want to talk to depressing people; I want to always have fun”
      - WRONG!
- 1 John 1:8
  - “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
    - We know we are guilty…
    - We have to admit there is a problem
#3: Final option = Repentance!
- Romans 2:4
  - “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?”
- 2 Corinthians 7:9-10
  - “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
    - You need to change your mind
    - God will not make you change your mind
    - It is your decision to make
- Isaiah 53:5
  - “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”
- 1 Peter 2:24
  - “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
    - We cannot heal ourselves
    - We need God