Welcome to the Reign of Grace
radio broadcast. My name is Bill Parker. I'm the
pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky.
This program is sponsored by the members of Eager Avenue Grace
Church in Albany, Georgia, located at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany,
Georgia. I'll be bringing you a gospel
message of the sovereign grace and glory of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ from God's Holy Word. And now, the message. Welcome to our broadcast. Now
today I'm going to be reading from the Book of Romans, Chapter
2. And the title of the message
is, No Respect of Persons. Now last week I dealt with the
last part of Romans chapter 1 concerning the wrath of God revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. And the Apostle Paul there was
showing how the Gentiles by nature and by practice, the Gentile
world, were deserving of the wrath of God. And remember the
wrath of God now. is God's judgment against sin. It's God's justice. The wrath
of God is something that everybody ought to understand. It is not,
as I said last week, it is not God throwing a temper tantrum
or just arbitrarily wanting to hurt people. And it's not just
wrapped up in natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes,
even though those things are manifestations of God's wrath
against sin. But the wrath of God abides upon
all people who are sinners who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
And remember what I said, the only way that the wrath of God
can be removed from a sinner is by God's grace through the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's why he's the only way
of salvation. To be lost is to be under the
wrath of God, justly so, deservedly so. To be saved is to have the
wrath of God removed based on law and justice satisfied. God's
law kept perfectly and the justice of God exacted out upon either
ourselves or upon a substitute, and the only substitute is the
Lord Jesus Christ. So God saves sinners, those who
are by nature under the wrath of God, but he saves them one
way, and that is by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in chapter
2 here, the Apostle turns his attention to the religious Jews. And he's going to show now that
they too are just as much deserving of the wrath of God as the immoral
Gentiles. In other words, it's kind of
like this. In chapter 1, up to the end of that chapter, the
Apostle shows man at his worst. The depths of sin and depravity
and decadence that men can go to and that man at his worst
is deserving of the wrath of God. Now in chapter two, he's
going to turn to the religious people, the Jews who had the
law of Moses, who were doing their best to keep the law. So
we could say it this way, here he's going to show man at his
best that he still is deserving of the wrath of God. In other
words, it doesn't matter how much better we are than another
person, It doesn't matter how much we try to obey the law of
God, there is no way that we can be saved from the wrath to
come based upon our best efforts to keep the law. And one of the
reasons of that is this, because God is no respecter of persons. It doesn't matter who you are
or what you do, unless you have a perfect righteousness that
equals the demands of God's law and justice, there is no way
that his wrath can be removed and his favor can be gained.
Man at his best state is altogether vanity. So let's look at this. Now the Jews were famous for
their religion and they judged the Gentiles to be lost because
the Gentiles were sinners. We'll look at Romans chapter
2 and verse 1. He says, Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man,
whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another,
thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same
things." Now, you know, this issue of judging is one of the
most confused and misunderstood issues in religion today, in
what people call Christianity. One of the most misused and misquoted
scriptures is in the book of Matthew chapter 7 and verse 1,
which says, Judge not that you be not judged. And people will
use that verse to ban all judgment. Well, they say, I'm not to judge.
But that's not what that verse is teaching. In fact, there's
another place in the Bible, John chapter 7 and verse 24, where
God's people, believers, are commanded to judge. That's where
he says, judge not according to outward appearance, but judge
righteous judgment. Well, here's the problem. What
is Matthew 7 and verse 1 talking about? when it says judge not? Well, it's talking about the
very same thing that Romans 2 and verse 1 is talking about. God
forbids self-righteous judgment because self-righteous judgment
is based on a wrong standard. He forbids one sinner looking
at another sinner and judging that sinner to be lost based
on sin. Why? Because we're all sinners.
You see, if I look at you and say, I know you're lost because
you're a sinner, then I've just condemned myself. And you know
why? Because I'm a sinner too. You
see, folks, there's only two types of people on this earth.
You're either a sinner lost in your sins, or you're a sinner
saved by the grace of God, washed in the blood of Christ. And if
you're a sinner saved by the grace of God, you're in need
of continual washing from all your sins. The Apostle Paul,
even as a saved man, said, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? So here's these self-righteous
religious Jews in all of their piety, all of their morality,
looking down upon the lost Gentiles. Now listen, we are to judge all
sin to be deserving of the wrath of God. But we're to recognize
that we're all sinners. And our only hope of salvation
is His grace. If left to myself, and based
on my best efforts to keep the law, I would still be deserving
of the wrath of God. Therefore, I have no right to
judge anybody else to be lost because they're a sinner. I'm
a sinner too." And that's what he means there. He says, "...for
wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself." We're
all sinners. Therefore, the Bible doesn't
forbid all judgment. In fact, in Matthew chapter 7,
where it begins, judge not that you be not judged, if you'll
read on to that chapter, the same Lord who preached that Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus Christ, He commands those people to beware
of false prophets. Well, how are you going to beware
of them if you don't judge them to be false? Here's the key. We're not to judge self-righteously. as if we are better than someone
else, or that if we deserve the grace of God and someone else,
that none of us deserves the grace of God. If we deserved
it, it wouldn't be grace. That's why God saves by His grace.
He's no respecter of persons. We're all sinners. And if any
of us are going to be saved, it's going to be by the free,
unmerited, undeserved grace of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're not to judge self-righteously.
If we're to judge, we're to judge by one standard and one standard
alone, and that's this Word right here. What does God's Word say
about me? What does it say about you? The
Great Commission. Go ye in all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth in his bad
pies shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
lost. I can tell you right now, if
you do not believe the Gospel, of God's free and sovereign grace
in Christ. If you're ignorant of or not
submitted to Christ and His righteousness as that which alone removes God's
wrath and gains His favor, you're lost. Now, that's a judgment
I can make, not because you're a sinner and I'm a sinner, but
because God's Word says it. But that's what he's doing here
in Romans chapter 2. He's showing these self-righteous
Jews who are looking at the Gentiles and saying, I know you're lost
because you're a sinner, Well, you've just condemned yourself
because you're a sinner too. And all sin deserves God's wrath.
Our only hope is that God will wash away our sins in the blood
of Christ. What does that hymn say? What
can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me holy again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Now look at verse 2 of chapter 2. He says, But we are sure that
the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit
such things. When I look at a person, I may
see some things, but my judgment in those areas will not be according
to truth because there's things I don't see. I don't know everything,
you see. I can't see your heart. But God's
judgment is always according to truth. When God judges a sinner
to be condemned, he's right. When God judges a sinner to be
saved, he's right. His judgment is always according
to truth. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? Now let me say this, and I brought
this out last week. The wrath of God is never upon
any sinner, but that sinner deserves it. Because the judgments of
God are always according to truth. And I'll give you a great example
of that. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross of Calvary,
He went there and suffered and bled and died under the justice
of God. And God Almighty, God the Father,
the Great Judge, was right in punishing His Son. Why? You see,
Christ didn't sin. He knew no sin. He did no sin. He was perfect. So how could
God be just to punish the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, there's only
one way. It's based on what the Bible
calls imputation, imputed sin. God the Father made him to be
sin. In other words, all of the sins
of God's people, all of the sins of Christ's sheep were legally
charged to his account, laid upon him. The book of Isaiah
chapter 53 says it plainly that He was bruised for our iniquities. He didn't go to the cross for
sins that He personally committed. He went to the cross for the
sins of His people legally imputed or charged to Him. And so when
God's wrath was poured out against Him, God was right. God's judgments
were true because Christ went there for sins, the sins of His
people. Well, by the same token, when
God saves a sinner and brings that sinner into his fellowship
and communion and brings that sinner into heaven, God's judgment
is right there also. But it's not based on our words.
We've done nothing good. It's based upon righteousness
imputed, the righteousness of Christ legally charged to our
account. So we're sure that the judgment
of God is according to truth. And here he's talking about God's
judgment of condemnation against those who commit such things.
Look at verse 3. He says, And thinkest thou this,
O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the
same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Whenever
you or anyone else looks at another person and says, Well, I know
that they're under the wrath of God, or I know they're lost,
or I know they're on their way to hell because they're sinners. What makes you think that you
will escape the wrath of God? What is your ground of salvation? You're a sinner too? I'm a sinner. So what makes any of us think
that we're going to escape the wrath of God? Now that's an important
question. That's something that you should consider. Don't take
it for granted. Don't go to the preacher. Think
about this. Go to the Word of God. When you
look at yourself and you say, well, I know I'm saved. All right? And a lot of us do that. Here's
the key. Upon what ground can you make
that claim? Because I'll tell you this. If
your ground of claiming salvation is anything but the free and
sovereign grace of God in Christ, then you're deceived yourself.
If it's anything but His blood and His righteousness alone,
A-L-O-N-E, you're deceived. There's not but one thing that
will remove God's wrath from a sinner and gain God's favor
for that sinner. And that's the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's His obedience unto death. Your faith won't do it. Your
repentance won't do it. Your perseverance won't do it.
Your works won't do it. Your promises to do better won't
do it. Your tears of remorse won't do
it. As one preacher said one time, it's hard to put away sin. Well, what does it take? It takes
the blood of the Son of God alone. So, those who judge them, which
are sinners, who are sinners, and you're a sinner yourself,
do you think you'll escape the judgment of God? And if you do,
watch your ground. Look at verse 4. Now, he's talking
to the Jews here now, and he says, or despises thou the riches
of his goodness, God's goodness and forbearance and longsuffering,
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. Now, if you read the Old Testament
from the book of Exodus on, you'll see how longsuffering, how patient,
how forbearing God was with the nation Israel. God gave them
so many privileges. He gave them the promised land.
He gave them the law of Moses. He gave them the prophets. He
gave them the tabernacle. He made them a great nation at
one time. And then he punished them for
their sins. But all that goodness that God showed towards Israel
was undeserved. They didn't deserve it. None
of us do. Any goodness that God gives us, we don't deserve it
in ourselves. But now Israel had that law.
And what Paul's saying is this, that goodness and those blessings,
those privileges that God gave that nation Israel, gave to the
Jews, it wasn't given to puff them up in pride, to look down
their noses on others and condemn others based on the things that
they do themselves. It wasn't given to make themselves
righteous. It was given for one reason.
to bring them to repentance. Now, what is repentance? It's
a change of mind that leads to a change of heart, a change of
life, a change of will. Repentance in the Old Testament
meant a turning around. It'd be like if you're walking
north, then all of a sudden you turn the exact opposite and walk
south. It wasn't just veering off this
way or this way. but it was walking and thinking
and believing the exact opposite. In the New Testament, it means
a change of mind, a change of thought, a change of will. What
he's saying is this, that all the goodness that God gave to
this nation was never meant to make themselves righteous and
legal, thinking that they could be saved based upon their efforts
to keep the law. but it was given to show them
their sinfulness and to turn their hearts and their minds
away from themselves to the exact opposite, the Lord Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. All of that goodness was given
to that nation to turn them to Christ for salvation, for eternal
life, and for righteousness. He says in verse 5, But after
thy hardness, an impenitent heart, an unrepentant heart, treasurest
up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God, verse 6, who will render
to every man according to his deeds." Now, my friend, that's
something to think about. This unrepentant people, and
this holds true of anybody who refuses to repent and turn to
Christ for salvation. God will give you what you deserve. And you can mark it down. I heard
a man say to me one time, he said, he said, I'm not worried
about judgment. He said, I'm going to get exactly
what I deserve. You want to know something? He
is exactly right. But here's the thing, and this
is what we need to consider. Oh, how sad it is. If God gives
me what I deserve, based on my works, based upon my efforts,
based upon my life, then I will receive nothing but condemnation
and wrath. I pray every day, God, don't
give me what I deserve. Give me your grace in Christ
Jesus. Give me what Christ deserves.
You see, The only thing we can earn from God is death. The wages
of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Do you ever notice the
wording of that verse there in Romans chapter 6? The wages of
sin is death. That's what I can earn from God
by my deeds. And if God renders unto me what
I deserve based on my deeds, The wages of sin is death. What I need is a free gift. What
I need is salvation by sovereign grace. What I need is a righteousness,
not that I produce, not by my deeds, because by deeds of law
shall no flesh be justified in God's eye. What I need is the
righteousness of another, the Lord Jesus Christ. So you think
about this. This people being unrepentant,
all they were doing was storing up wrath against wrath, and someday
they get what they deserve, the wrath of God. Well, look at verse
7. Now, he says, God will render
to every man according to his deeds. And look what he says
here in verse 7. He says to them who by patient continuance in
well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality eternal
life. Now, you know what he's saying
there? He's saying if you expect, now listen, if you're seeking
God to save you or bless you or reward you based upon your
efforts to keep the law, then the only way that you're going
to get honor and glory and immortality and eternal life is if you keep
it perfectly. You're a debtor to do the whole
law. If you reject Christ and his righteousness, If you reject
God's grace, if you reject the blood of His Son, then you are
a debtor to do the whole law. And the only way that you can
get eternal life and immortality and glory and honor is to keep
the law perfectly. Well, that's impossible. Verse
8, he says, But unto them that are contentious. Now, contentious
here means to be disobedient, disobedient to the law. And do
not obey the truth. but obey unrighteousness, here's
what they'll receive, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish,
upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also
of the Gentile. So if you're seeking God's favor,
if you're seeking salvation, if you're seeking eternal life
based upon your law keeping, then you've got to keep it all
and if you don't, if you miss it in one point, then all you'll
receive is tribulation, anguish, and wrath. And that means it
doesn't matter who you are. You may be a Jew. You may be
a physical son of Abraham. It doesn't matter. If you don't
keep the law perfectly, now this is written to those who are trying
to establish a righteousness of their own. If you don't keep
the law perfectly, then all you'll receive is the wrath of God.
It doesn't matter if you're a Jew or if you're a Gentile. It doesn't
matter who you are. And that's what he says here
in verse 11, for there is no respect of persons with God. When it comes to God's law, when
it comes to keeping that law, if you're seeking, now listen
to me very carefully because this is so important. Those people
who think that salvation is conditioned on themselves, who believe that
God will save them or bless them, based on any condition they meet,
keeping the law, whatever it is, God will not take into consideration
who you are or anything about you. All He'll look at is, do
you have a righteousness that answers the demands of His law
and justice? And if you're seeking that righteousness
by your deeds, if you don't have that, if you mess up in one point,
then God will have no choice but to give you nothing but wrath
and condemnation. When you look at a verse like
this, in verse 7, when he says to them, who by patient continuance
in well-doing, you know the only way that I can be said to have
been found in patient continuance in well-doing is in the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ? That's the only way I can say
I've kept the law. Based on my deeds and efforts,
I have never kept the law of God. But in Christ, by His obedience
unto death, I can honestly say I've kept the law. Not in my
own works, but in His. I have His righteousness, His
blood for my salvation. So verse 11 tells us plainly,
there is no respect of persons with God. You know, the Jews
thought that God favored them because they were physically
born into the line of Abraham. They thought God favored them
because of their circumcision and their law keeping. But Paul
writes here, none of those things count. When you stand before
God at the judgment, remember this, God always judges according
to truth and God is no respecter of persons. Look at verse 12
of Romans 2. And here's the reality of it.
He said, for as many as have sinned without law, shall also
perish without law." Now there he's talking about the Gentiles.
It's not that they were completely without any law, when he says,
for as many as have sinned without law, but he's showing that they
did not have the law of Moses from Mount Sinai as the Jews
had. The Gentiles did have the law
of nature, the law of creation. They did have the law of conscience,
the light of conscience we'll see in just a second. But they
didn't have the law of Moses. Well, he says, as many as have
sinned without that revelation of law from Sinai, they'll perish
without law. They're responsible. They are
without excuse. Again, as I said last week, there's
not one man who has walked perfectly according to the light of creation
and the light of conscience. Well, he goes on. And as many
as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. Now, that's
the Jews. They had the law of Moses. They
had the prophets. But they still sinned. And they'll
perish. They'll be judged by that law.
Verse 13. For not the hearers of the law
are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. Now you think about that statement.
Here's the law of God. What does the law of God say?
Well, the perfect summary of the law of God is this, love
God perfectly and love our neighbor as ourselves. Now that's perfect
obedience. The law requires perfect obedience
to all of its precepts and the law requires perfect satisfaction
where there's any infraction to the law. In other words, the
least disobedience to the law, the law requires justice. So
it's not enough just to hear the law. It's not enough to admire
it. It's not enough just to interpret
it. It's not enough just to talk
about it. If any sinner is seeking salvation
based on their works, you must be a doer of the law. You must
have a righteousness that answers the demands of the law of God. and no excuses will be taken.
It's not the hearers of the law that are just before God, but
the doers of the law. Now, how can any sinner be said
to be a doer of the law? One way and one way alone, and
that's by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, Romans
10 verse 4. In other words, the only way that I can be said to
be found under God's law as righteous, as justified, is in the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no other way. There's
none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must
be saved. Christ said, I am the way, I
am the truth, I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Picture it, friends. standing
before the judgment seat of Christ, standing before God's bar of
justice, God who knows all, sees all, who judges according to
truth, who is no respecter of person, and I'm a sinner. How
in the world at that time am I going to be declared justified?
There's not but one way, and that's in the person and in the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, nothing but wrath. And nothing that I am or nothing
that I say or nothing that I do will take the place of perfect
righteousness found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, if you would
like a copy of today's message on an audio cassette tape or
on a CD, write to us at the address you'll hear from the announcer
in a moment and send us two dollars to that address and specify whether
you want an audio cassette tape or a CD. On the audio cassette
you'll have this message and another on the other side and
two messages on CD. Write to us and we'll send that
to you. I hope you'll join us next week for another message
from God's Word. We're glad you could join us
for today's message. If you would like to receive
a copy of this message, or if you would like more information
about Eager Avenue Grace Church, remember we are located at 1102
Eager Drive in Albany, Georgia. You can call us at 229-432-6969. or visit our Reign of Grace website
at www.rofgrace.com. Thank you, and may the Lord be
with you.