Romans 2 sermon

Keeping the LawRomans 2

Presented at the Lighthouse by Garrett O’Hara on 24 January 2014. http://cadencelighthouse.org/

http://cadencelighthouse.org/

"Always preach in such a way

that if the people listening do not come to hate

their sin, they will instead hate

you." !

~ Martin Luther

This is my first “sermon” as an adult, if you will, so I hope you come away from this thinking the former.

LAWMaintains civil order / restrains sin

!Confronts sin; points us to Christ

!Teaches way of righteousness

One of the most important points I’ve learned as of late is the distinction between law and gospel. Note that this isn’t OT versus NT. It’s also not just the Pentateuch. In fact, Paul uses the term ‘law’ in various contexts here, but I want to examine what law means here. !Law does three things, and note that the Reformed and Lutheran versions of this may vary slightly. I’m really giving you the simple version here. Law [read the slide]. !When we understand #2, the confrontation of sin and being pointed to Christ, two things happen. One, our faith inevitably produces good works. “I will show you my faith BY my works!” That’s the way of righteousness part. The other thing that happens is we begin to understand more and more how much we need Christ, because the way of righteousness is pretty darn hard, and no man will be justified by the law. In this period of redemptive history, I opine that we will always be bouncing between #2 and #3. This is important because law is distinct from Gospel, and bad theology happens when we confuse the two.

Romans 1:18–20 (ESV)

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

(vv. 21-32) — the sins of Gentiles

Therefore… you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

ἀναπολόγητος without apology/defensecf. Romans 1:20

These are singular, not plural.

The list of sins in vv. 28-32.

Paul shifts subject from Pagan Gentiles to moralists / Jews.

So, let’s look at our context. Look in your bibles at Romans 1 starting in verse 16, and you’ll see that Paul mentions the gospel, the good news. The gospel comes in response to what starts in verse 18. [quote] In verses 20-32, which we won’t read in full, Paul goes on to list all kinds of the Gentiles’ sins. The height of this seems to come in verses 29 through 31. “They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.” Now this letter from Paul, written to the Romans, was intended to be read publicly. Imagine that you’re there at the first public reading of this letter to the Roman church. You hear this list of sins that “they” commit. What’s your first reaction? What’s the reaction of those around you? You could probably imagine that many people are thinking “Yeah! Those Gentiles are such bad sinners!” You might even imagine yourself being among such a crowd. But Paul has bad news for the scoffers here. [Read bottom portion] Note that Paul is speaking in a literary tone called diatribe. It doesn’t necessarily mean rant, but it does mean that Paul in a dialogue with a theoretical opponent, in other words, every individual one of the moralists who began scoffing and judging towards Gentiles as the end of chapter 1 was being read in public. You might recall that quite often in the NT when you see the English word “you,” that might actually indicate the second person plural, which in the American south is more appropriately “y’all.” Not here. Paul speaks singularly. These same things, the list at the end of chapter 1, are the things that the scoffers are doing. Recall Jesus’ standard of OT interpretation. Merely lusting at a fully-clothed woman is adultery. Hating your brother is murder. The very same things.

2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who

practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge

those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you

will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches

of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that

God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of

your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself

on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Not an opposite marker, rather exposing ridiculousness.

ἀγνοέω — same word from which we get agnostic

same roots in Greek, but opposites

Remember that stuff about judging earlier? Similar word.

[read verse 2] “Those” here is an impartial term, Jews and Gentiles. And then we see a hypothetical question arises with verse 3. [read verse 3] Then we see this word “or” here. It’s not a choice of answers that Paul is offering, but rather he’s stating the ridiculous conclusion at which one would have to arrive if this scoffer continues to hold this position. [read verse 4] Apparently God isn’t just fluffy bunny slippers in fields of bright, spring flowers. But note that it’s not just ἀγνοέω, not knowing, that’s blamed here. [read verse 5] Note the contrast here between the scoffer’s judgment and God’s judgment. God’s judgment is righteous. The judge against whom Paul gives his diatribe is not. !Take note also of who is writing this letter. We’ll keep on coming back to this, but he did write to Timothy these words: !1 Timothy 1:12–15 (NET) — 12 I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus.15 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them!

My favorite biblical literary device

!6He will render to each one according to his works:

7to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;

8but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

9There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,

10but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

11For God shows no partiality.

cf. Job 34:11; Ps 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Jer 17:10; 32:19; Mt 16:27; 1 Cor 3:8; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 2:23; 20:12; 22:12

alt. “those who act from selfish ambition”

See Romans 1:16!

What is my biblical favorite literary device? Chiasm, of course! Chi is basically the Greek letter X, so if you imagine the indentation here as the left half of the letter X, you should be able to recognize it. Lines 1 and 6 correspond, lines 2 and 5 correspond, and lines 3 and 4 correspond. !Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.” !Job 34:11 For he repays a person for his work, and according to the conduct of a person, he causes the consequences to find him. !Ps 62:12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. For you repay men for what they do. !Prov 24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,” does not the one who evaluates hearts consider? Does not the one who guards your life know? Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? !Jer 17:10 I, the LORD, probe into people’s minds. I examine people’s hearts. I deal with each person according to how he has behaved. I give them what they deserve based on what they have done. !Jer 32:19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. You see everything people do. You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do.

Hearers and doers12

For all who have sinned without the law will also

perish without the law, and all who have sinned

under the law will be judged by the law.

13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are

righteous before God, but the doers of the law who

will be justified.

14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by

nature do what the law requires, they are a law to

themselves, even though they do not have the law.

15 They show that the work of the law is written on

their hearts, while their conscience also bears

witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or

even excuse them

16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God

judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

(

)

[read verse 12] Again, no partiality here. [read verse 13] The doers of the law will be justified, but we have a problem. Look ahead in your bibles to Romans 3, verses 20 and 28. 3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 3:28 For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. !A skeptic of the bible might cite this as a contradiction in scripture, but remember what I said about the distinction between law and gospel. This is a law passage. It gives us the knowledge of sin. It’s supposed to convict us. Now someone who is hearing this letter, if his senses are really off, might be getting his ego stroked here, but it’s not going to last long. We’ll see this in a little bit. !!!Verses 14 and 15 here are a parenthetical remark, hence the cutesy pink parentheses. They expound upon the first half of verse 12. [read 12a, 14 and 15] Once again here, God shows no partiality between Jew and Gentile. It also connects towards the end of Romans 1 where Paul indicates that those who are without the law have no excuse because God has revealed himself to Gentiles as well. Go back to the end of Romans 1 and you’ll find that they are without excuse. !Since verses 14 and 15 are parenthetical, let’s connect verse 13 to verse 16. [read verses 13 and 16] !Picture on the right here is of a Samaritan priest. Anyone in Samaria in particular who went to synagogue would probably see something like this when hearing the law as the priest read it from a scroll. Again, imagine the guy who’s looking to get his ears scratched. “I give ten percent of all I make, I pray three times a day, and I don’t hang out in the Honch on Fridays!”

17 But if you…

• call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God

• 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;

!

!

19 AND if you are sure that you yourself are…

• a guide to the blind,

• a light to those who are in darkness,

• 20 an instructor of the foolish,

• a teacher of children,

• having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

Eh, yeah, I can pull this off…

Ummm, maybe not?Major textual variant: “Look, you call yourself a Jew…” vice “But if you call yourself a Jew…”

[read 17 and 18] !In verse 17 here, note that there is a major textual variant. If you have a King James or New King James in your hands, your text will read something to the effect of “Look, you call yourself a Jew…” vice “But if you call yourself a Jew,” and the difference in the Greek between these two is really just one letter. The manuscripts behind the King James and New King James don’t contain the letter Epsilon at the beginning of verse 17, whereas other manuscripts do. But the point here is the same. Paul is not affirming that his one-man audience knows God’s will, is a guide to the blind, etc. If the recipient of Paul’s diatribe here is going to rely on his Jewish heritage, these are the supposed implications thereof. If these implications turn out not to be true, then we have a real problem here. !Paul switches from Jewish moralism to Jewish heritage and the supposed implications thereof. But we’re stacking a lot of law here to follow, and he’s not done yet.

21you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

22You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

23You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

[read the verses] !Here Paul goes right back to the theme of the beginning of the chapter. “Therefore, you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” We’ve gone full circle here, and it’s clear that the recipient of Paul’s diatribe has sinned and falls short of the glory of God. More on that in Romans 3.

25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you

break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a

man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his

uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will

condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break

the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is

circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and

circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.

His praise is not from man but from God.

Verses 25 through 29 dig even deeper. There was a cultural belief going around at this point that the actual act of circumcision in and of itself was sufficient to save. Here’s yet another thing that the recipient of the diatribe can’t count on in order to be declared righteous. Take note that Paul is the Hebrew of Hebrews. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin. But in 1 Timothy, he calls himself the worst of sinners. In Philippians 3:8, he calls his own Jewish credentials σκύβαλον! Most English translations say rubbish, but that reminds me too much of British sports commentators. I like how the NET renders it: DUNG. The leading biblical Greek dictionary says “garbage/crud.”

Things you can’t count on

Descent from Abraham // Php 3:8 — σκύβαλον! Keeping the law // Nobody does! Passing judgment on Pagans // You do the same thing! Presuming on God’s kindness without repentance // Storing up God’s wrath Your works // Isa 64:6 — menstrual rags Hearing the law // Doers of the law are justified…but nobody does it! Read Romans 3. Physical circumcision // Php 3:8 — σκύβαλον! Being sure of having earned your own righteousness // O Come Let Us Adore Meeee… Outward appearances // Breaking the law makes circumcision become uncircumcision.

Things you can’t count on• Descent from Abraham

Php 3:8 — σκύβαλον!




• Keeping the lawNobody does!





• Passing judgment on PagansYou do the same thing!






• Presuming on God’s kindness without repentanceStoring up God’s wrath







• Your works Isa 64:6 — filthy (menstrual) rags








• Hearing the lawDoers of the law are justified…but nobody does it! Read Romans 3.









• Physical circumcisionPhp 3:8 — σκύβαλον!










• Being sure of having earned your own righteousnessO Come Let Us Adore Meeee…










• Being sure of having earned your own righteousnessO Come Let Us Adore Meeee…

• Outward appearancesBreaking the law makes circumcision become uncircumcision.


“Everybody’s special!”

So here’s the response of the secular world. Repentance is yucky. We don’t want to admit we’re wrong. But we all have this innate sense of being insufficient, and indeed that sense is true. We’re all broken by the fall. We’ve tried all sorts of stuff to atone for ourselves, and this list of images here is hardly comprehensive of what we see in the world when people are trying to do enough to be enough. Look back at Romans 1. Our natural response in our sinful state is to suppress the undeniable truth and try to make it on our own. We’re pathetically trying to make it like this one-legged dog. “I can make it on my own!”

Legalism

There’s this word. Legalism. Perhaps there is no more common accusation from Christians to other Christians, nonbelievers to Christians, Christians to nonbelievers. I’m not just talking about non-Christian religions the more obvious cults like Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witnesses that preach false gospels of works. But within the visible church, I’m also not just talking about what you’re normally going to think of. Sure we could talk about, say, tithing. There is no NT requirement for tithing. No dancing. No alcohol. No tobacco. No NIVs. No dating before you turn 30. And if your conscience says not to drink, not to smoke, or even not to use the NIV, that’s fine. Surely I could have posted up pictures of Fred Phelps or funny Christian fundamentalist stereotypes, but that would actually illustrate the point quite poorly.

Legalism is my effort to obey God by my resources for my glory.

- Dr. Tim Ralston

Legalism is "a fleshly attitude which conforms to a code for the purpose of exalting self.”

- Dr. Charles Ryrie

Let’s define legalism. This really opens up what you might think. [read the quotes] We’re right back to where we started, trying to earn our own righteousness; trying to keep the law for ourselves.

If this one is making you scratch your head, go to the biblical context and see how it’s cooked!

Ultimately, the fruit of legalism ends up looking something like this. We get sick of law, law, law, law, law. We get sick of hearing that we’re sinners and learning nothing of the solution. And ironically, this too is legalism. We take in only part of the Gospel, that part about his “riches of […] kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead [us] to repentance.” Instead, we just build a loving, kind, not-so-demanding-of-righteousness God and go abuse the bible for all kinds of stuff. We get narcissistic about being children of God without acknowledging the sacrifice that made that so, the cost Jesus paid for the Father to adopt us. Now we’ve made the bible about self-help, losing weight, eating healthier, and having better sex. !The whole chorus of these, both the secular and the seemingly Christian, ends up telling us that everything is merely okay, that it’s not our fault, etc. But it’s not okay.

And what about the poor? Jesus is crystal clear about the necessity of reaching the poor. Yet many hellfire preachers are overfed and overpaid, living in luxury while doing nothing for the majority of Christians who live on less than two dollars a day. Contrast that with Jesus, who in His longest sermon about judgment made helping the poor a vital criterion.

Put simply, failing to help the poor could damn you to hell. I know, I know, everyone wants to qualify this. We want to add all sorts of footnotes to fix Jesus’ shaky theology in Matthew 25—justification is by faith, not by works; you don’t really have to help literal poor people, etc.

On the flipside, some want to keep the stuff about helping the poor but take hell out of the picture. Sometimes, people even take Jesus out of the picture—fighting poverty, they believe, is an inherent virtue whether or not it’s rooted in the gospel.

Let’s keep the teeth of both truths. There’s a literal hell, and helping the poor is essential. Not only did Jesus teach both of these truths, He saw them as necessary and interrelated.

Source: bit.ly/JtF7t0 /

So suppose you’re reading this article, and I gave a large swath of text here so that you can get some context. The author here puts down “hellfire preachers,” going back to that old stereotype I mentioned, and then claims that “failing to help the poor could damn you to hell.” [reveal] Francis Chan said this. It’s really, really disturbing. Besides the fact that he’s stereotyping hellfire preachers while preaching hellfire, he fails to offer the gospel. !This is hellfire preaching and a classic example of confusing the distinction between law and gospel. No one is justified by the law. Your giving to the poor or lack thereof is not the tipping point. It will never be the tipping point. !So, I repeat, if you’re looking for examples of legalism or trying to root out legalism in your own life, don’t just start imagining some white guy in a suit with a southern accent preaching out of the King James. Legalism has all sorts of ways to dress itself up as the gospel, whether it’s a supposed NT requirement for tithing, having to confess sin through an intercessor, having to drive a hybrid, demanding you speak in tongues before you’re considered saved.

http://bit.ly/JtF7t0

If this one is making you scratch your head, go to the biblical context and see how it’s cooked!

Ultimately, the fruit of legalism ends up looking something like this. We get sick of law, law, law, law, law. We get sick of hearing that we’re sinners and learning nothing of the solution. And ironically, this too is legalism. We take in only part of the Gospel, that part about his “riches of […] kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead [us] to repentance.” Instead, we just build a loving, kind, not-so-demanding-of-righteousness God and go abuse the bible for all kinds of stuff. We get narcissistic about being children of God without acknowledging the sacrifice that made that so, the cost Jesus paid for the Father to adopt us. Now we’ve made the bible about self-help, losing weight, eating healthier, and having better sex. !The whole chorus of these, both the secular and the seemingly Christian, ends up telling us that everything is merely okay, that it’s not our fault, etc. But it’s not okay.

–Jonathan Fiskhttp://youtu.be/eXjJcOlPEO8

“But rather than tell them that this is the sinful condition in which we live, and that Jesus has died for them, all you’re doing is telling them

that it’s fine, and frankly when I feel worthless I don’t need somebody to tell me that it’s fine. I

need someone to tell me that God has an answer for it that’s gonna put an end to it once

and for all.”

The most ironic part of this self-esteem stuff is that so much of the self-esteem problem is actually a symptom or diagnosis of our sinful nature, both the sin we’ve inherited from our parents and the sin imputed upon our race from Adam. Jonathan Fisk, a video blogger, says this in the context of this “Who You Are” video on the top left here that seeks to boost women’s self-esteem, but Fisk’s assertion here applies to everything before. [quote]

http://youtu.be/eXjJcOlPEO8

By the way, do NOT try to use this passage as an excuse for anti-Semitism. There’s a fatal flaw in that. !Not the hearers of the law, but the doers of the law will be justified. You might not be circumcised by a rabbi. You might not wear a yarmulke. You might not go to synagogue on Saturdays. You’re might not be of Jewish heritage. But you are a hearer of the law. Every single one of you. And I’m not saying that the Lighthouse doesn’t preach gospel, but there’s law here too. And The Law is good. Through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But we’re also now accountable.

Romans 3:19–31 (NET)

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are

under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole

world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no one is declared

righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law

comes the knowledge of sin. 21 But now apart from the law the

righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets)

has been disclosed—22 namely, the righteousness of God through

the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no

distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24

But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that

is in Christ Jesus.

Italics in NET indicate an OT quote, not lack of Greek.

25 God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat

accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness,

because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously

committed.26 This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the

present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who

lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is

excluded! By what principle? Of works? No, but by the principle of

faith! 28 For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith

apart from the works of the law.29 Or is God the God of the Jews

only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 30 Since God is one, he will justify the circumcised by faith and the

uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then nullify the law through

faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.

This guy, Jesus Christ, kept the law perfectly on our behalf, took on our sin, and received upon himself alone the greatest injustice ever: the full punishment for OUR sins. By the way, here’s knowledge of sin and the right response. Rembrandt painted this and included himself among those raising the cross. He had the idea long before Mel Gibson. !If you haven’t trusted in Christ for your salvation, confess your sin, trust in Christ, and be forgiven. You, I, we have broken God’s law, and “we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.” If you have trusted in Christ and you have unconfessed sin, confess and receive that blessed assurance of God’s forgiveness, the freedom to put your sin behind you and serve your neighbor. And by the way, this is not a one-time thing. Don’t throw away this lesson just because you already got saved fourteen years ago or something. We need to be reminded regularly about our standing with Christ, that He really did pay for it all.

-Tullian Tchividjianhttp://bit.ly/1mnYK29

“So, I’m all for effort, fighting sin, resisting temptation, mortification, working, activity, putting off, and

putting on, as long as we understand that it is not our work

for God, but God’s work for us, that has fully and finally set things

right between God and sinners. Any talk of sanctification which gives the impression that our

efforts secure more of God’s love, itself needs to be mortified.”

Grandson of Billy Graham, folks. Stop trying keep the law on your own account. Stop trying to earn God’s love. That’s Christ’s job, and IT IS FINISHED.

http://bit.ly/1mnYK29

"God doesn’t need your good

works; your neighbors do.”

!

~ Martin Luther

But let me add some needed context to this short Luther quote.

We need CHRIST’S work.

Romans chapter 2 teaches us our helpless inability to keep God’s law. Praise the Lord for sending the Lamb who kept the law on our behalf.

We really are no longer under the yoke of keeping the law by our own efforts, the yoke of slavery to sin, or the utter, hopeless despair of our sinful state and otherwise severed kinship with God.

LAWMaintains civil order / restrains sin

!Confronts sin; points us to Christ

!Teaches way of righteousness

But don’t call me an Antinomian. The law is good. Use as directed…in Scripture. —- !If you get accused of Antinomianism: “The Gospel proclaims liberty from the ceremonial law, but binds you still faster under the moral law. To be freed from the ceremonial law is the Gospel liberty; to pretend freedom from the moral law is Antinomianism.”

Romans 2 sermon

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