Alright, Romans 1 29 through
2 and 3. Being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy,
murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters
of God, despiteful, proud, boastful inventors of evil things, disobedient
unto parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful, you watch verse 32, who knowing
the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are
worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in
them that do them. Therefore thou art inexcusable,
O man, whosoever thou art that judgeth, for wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemneth thyself, for thou that judgeth doest the
same thing. But we are sure that the judgment
of God is according to truth against them which commit such
things And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which
do the same thing, and doest the same thing, that thou shalt
escape the judgment of God. Now back there in chapter 1 verse
32, knowing the judgment of God that they which do such things
are worthy of death. It might be safe for us to say
this evening that here in Romans chapter 1, and particularly the
last half of it, we have the clearest, most complete picture
of paganism to be found anywhere in the New Testament. Furthermore,
we have here one of the longest catalogues of sin that we find
also anywhere in the New Testament. One of the strongest statements
of human depravity that can be found anywhere is found here
in Romans 1, showing that what depraved nature is and what it
actually is capable of, showing that depraved nature has gone
away from God and commits every imaginable, grievous evil upon
the face of the earth. that when given up to inward
corruption, as we say, if the reins were laid upon the neck
of a wild mustang, then running wild and not being checked or
stopped at all. And when they to look away from
the revelation that God has made, that God has given of Himself,
when that is corrupted, when that is perverted, when that
is put away, when God gives such over to the power of their own
heart, imagination, and mind, who are judicially hardened by
the sovereignty of God. Now, here in Romans 1, Paul illustrates
by the sin of sodomy just how far human nature is capable of
degrading itself. If left to free will, if left
in sin, if left without the restraint and the guidance of God, then
the affections will fall down so low that they become actually
not only depraved, but also perverted. Now, sodomy is not the only vice
that is mentioned here, even if it might be the very bottom
of the barrel, so we say, for to do those things which are
not convenient. That is, these things are not
proper, they're not fitting, they're not neat, they're not
decent or convenient. And then he said, being filled
with all unrighteousness. In verse 28, the last part, and
in verse 29, the first part. And then let's look at verse
29 through verse 31 at some of those things that are named here. Here are, if I miscounted not,
twenty-two different vices that are mentioned by the apostles
that found flowing out of the fountain of human depravity and
fallen nature, all forms and all manner and all degree of
sin. Not that all of them are present
in any one person at any one time. Not that any commit all
of these sins during the course of their life. but that they
are all practiced in one time or one place or another by those
that lie under the power of depravity. I've invited you to look at those
words this evening, who knowing the judgment of God. That these
people who commit these sins, on the other hand, know, are
familiar, are expecting of the judgment of God. Now, the first
thing that we notice is the pronoun who there that stands at the
beginning of the verse. Who, that is, who know. The who are no doubt the they
and the them that we have met earlier in verse 19 through verse
28. Both of these are used over and
over multiple times in this discussion of the birth and the activity
of paganism. They and them are the same ones
who are set forth in verse 32, who do a certain thing. They
are guilty of another vice. They add sin to sin. They are
of such a character as to take their sin even further. And here I'd like to quote from
John Murray, who wrote this, quote, This concluding verse
may also be well regarded as the culminating indictment against
those whom the apostle has been describing, end quote. And to get the gist of the verses
and to refresh our mind, let's read the first indictment again,
if we might. who, knowing the judgment of
God, that they which do such things are worthy of death, not
only do them, but they have pleasure in others that do them as well."
The essence of this indictment is this, that they have sinned
and do sin against the light of nature. They sin against what
they know in their own consciences to be sin, that the power of
depravity is so strong in these kind of people, so as to go against
what Owens described as their own life and God's judgment,
quote, unquote. And this we see in the verse. Who? the one sinning to such
a degree, who knowing the judgment of God, sometimes you may see
this word judgment rendered as sentence or ordinance, who know
the sentence or the ordinances of God, who knowing those things,
that the one doing such things, they who commit them, they who
practice such things, are worthy of death. Even this is the admission
of men who sin so vilely, and yet such knowledge does not check
them. Such knowledge does not stop
them in their mad and wild career in sin. For their guilt then
is aggravated upon two accounts that Paul lays out here. A. They do the same. They do the same thing that they
know will fall under the judgment of God. They do those things
themselves, knowing that they are worthy of death. The same
thing that others do, they do them as well. And then, B, not
only do they practice and commit those things that are worthy
or deserving of death, but notice, they have pleasure in them that
do them. They look upon their fellow sinners. In other words, they that do
them, those practicing these extraordinary vices that we have
mentioned here, they give their consent and they give their stamp
of approval to others who sin doing these things and sinning
like themselves. And they then acquit their fellow
sinners in doing the very same thing that they are doing, knowing
them to be worthy of death, refusing to condemn their evil companion. Now, looking at this, let's more
fully consider the words. who, knowing the judgment of
God, that the ones doing such things are worthy, deserving
of death." Linsky, who is pretty good at the tenses in the Greek,
says that knowing here, as to the tense, is a concessive participle. In other words, it can be expressed
this way, although they have realized. although they have
realized, knowing, realizing, having known, holding the realization,
having come to the realization of this very thing, that they
which do such things are worthy of death. And yet they can find
no place or cause of repentance. They're not deterred by such
knowledge and by such impending judgment of God. The fact of
death waiting to swallow them up is not itself a deterrent
to them sinning in the way that is described in this play. They
keep on doing those things, and they keep on applauding those
who do the same thing. And even, as one put it, even
in the face of the realization of death, bringing character
of what they thus do, making them to be what they are in view
of the law of God. Now, where is there a greater
testimony anywhere in Scripture to the power of depravity than
those whom judgment awaits, deliberately commits sin, and encourage and
applaud others who live in the same sin. Now, here are some
examples of this sinning against awareness and the impending judgment
of Almighty God, that some who know that judgment awaits them,
though they probably are not aware of the extent of their
judgment, they end their own lives. They die deliberately
by their very own hand. It is appointed unto man who
wants to die, and after this the judgment, Hebrews 9 and verse
27. They rush away to judgment from
God as a self-murderer, their own blood, as it were, upon their
own head and hands. So strong is the power of lust. On the other hand, that many
rush into all fornication, knowing the potential consequences, knowing
what could result and what could be the awful, awful fruit of
such a way of life. A disgraced name, a broken family,
loss of children, even murder, and the guilt that comes along
with it. So prideful are some that they
do place themselves in great jeopardy because they are full
of pride. Imagine a man, if you could,
drifting on an inner tube toward Niagara Falls, knowing that if
he goes over, he will be dashed to pieces and meet certain death. But the point is, man does not
practice what is right. He does not avoid what they know
to be wrong. They know they will die, but
they cannot make the proper preparation for the world to come. That it
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10 and verse 31. They know there is coming a judgment,
and still they cannot put on the brakes of their sin. They
still cannot avoid sinning, even approving sin. that is committed
in their fellow man. Catch the words of Paul, knowing,
knowing of the judgment of God, that they which commit such things
are worthy of death, deserving of death. They merit death by
their actions and way of life. The phrase worthy of death in
Romans 1 and verse 32 is the exact same words used in the
negative. In Luke 23, verse 15, when Pilate
said that he found nothing worthy of death to have been imposed
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Worthy of death was the Lord
Jesus had done nothing worthy of death. The same with Paul
in Acts 23 and 29. By Paul in Acts 25 and 11, if
I have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die. Again by Paul in Acts 25 and
25, He had committed there nothing that would deserve them, taking
away his life. He stood just before the law. Now, we meet this phrase the
first time back in Deuteronomy chapter 17 and verse 6. of he
that is worthy of death shall be put to death." Some transgression
of the law, some great sin forbidden by the law. and tried and judged
and weighed in the light of the law, he is found to be worthy
of death, deserving of death, meriting death. It is his just
desert, and it was imposed. But the question comes to us
whether the death in Romans 1 And verse 32, whether it is literal
or whether it is figurative that Paul is discussing, is it physical
or is it spiritual? And should we view it from the
heathen perspective, or should we view it from the precepts
of the Mosaic law and those many sins and crimes that rendered
one worthy of death? It seems clear that in Romans
chapter 1, that Paul is speaking of the pagans. Then in chapter
2, he begins to address some of these same matters unto the
Jew. And the point can be made, even
the pagans imposed corporal death on some sin that Paul names,
crimes that were worthy of death. But I'm inclined to agree with
Murray here that the death referred to cannot reasonably be restricted
to temporal death, the death of the body only. Though it may
include it, it certainly may be included, yet many pagans
and philosophers believed in some future punishment after
death in this life. And among the Greeks there was
found the belief that there was a retribution after this life
and beyond death. And in the text Paul imputes
to those he describes, he imputes to them a belief in some torment
or some punishment in the afterlife, knowing the judgment of God. For in reality, the conviction
and the pains of the conscience of an individual are but the
forerunners that are yet to come." And the question whether or not
Paul refers to the knowledge they possess in their degeneracy,
he described, or which they had who once failed and had lost
because of their turning away. Was it a present knowing? Was
it a past knowing that Paul is describing in this place? Not
just having known. They yet do such things and they
approve those things as they are being done. So that as one
commentator had put it, if such knowledge is past and now lost,
then the relevance of allusion to it almost disappears." For
Paul makes their knowledge to be an aggravation of their sin. The fact that they had knowledge
or had known these things actually aggravates their sin even further. They know that judgment awaits.
Still they do those things that are worthy of death. It is the
fact that they have such knowledge that causes the apostle to put
such emphasis upon their behavior, that notwithstanding their knowing
God's judgment, they still commit things that they deserve to die
for and approve others that do the same. Now, consider the guilt
of their considering their ignorance and their many warnings, such
as the handiwork of God in creation. God has showed it unto them,
His eternal power and Godhead, or divinity, in the creation
of the world. We can add other aggravations
such as the warning of the Scripture. The Scriptures cry out and warn
sinners. the preaching of the Word of
God, the examples of God pouring out judgment upon other peoples
in other times. It is the doctrine of the Christian
church that there is a future happiness as well as a future
misery. And still there are many, knowing
the judgment of God, follow up with great secret and open sins
up until the day of their death. They delight in evil companion
and have no hope or desire for righteousness. They even proselyte
others over into their evil way. It is a testimony to their stupor
that we do those things which are worthy of death and cannot
seem to refrain. One part of the judgment of God
will be, according to the Lord, the worm that never dies. The rich man, in Luke 16, 25,
son, remember, he, you in your lifetime, son, remember. He is bidden to remember the
good things in life and the ill use that he made of them. The sins that he committed were
not obscure, now there in his torment they are like a burning
fire. The Puritan Thomas Goodwin once
wrote these words, quote, in hell, nothing will gall more
than the remembrance of old sin, which will then be a dagger in
the heart, unquote. The New Geneva Bible has the
footnote on Romans 1 and verse 32 that Paul sees the power of
the bondage of sin in the fact that the knowledge of divine
judgment, quote, no longer acts as a restraint Divine judgment
is not even a restraint unto these people, for in spite of
knowing the judgment of God is coming, many still gallop upon
the public road like a Mustang in plain view, its head thrown
back in the air, snuffing at the wind as it gallops along,
not knowing that destruction awaits. But now let us jump over
into the first few verses of the second chapter of Romans
as Paul began now his indictment directly unto the Jews. For it is evident that Paul now
addresses a different Class or a different sort of people. Note, if you would, in the condemning
conclusion of the Gentiles, the charge was in Romans 1.32, knowing
the judgment of God. They both did those things worthy
of death, delighted in others also that did them. There was
no judgment or condemnation of the sins of others. Those in
Romans 1 did not condemn the same sin in their fellow men. In fact, they rejoiced in them
and took pleasure in them that did it. But when we come into
chapter 2, he addresses those who not only knew the judgment
and the ordinances of God, but who exercised what somebody called
a condemnatory a censurous judgment against those who commit great
sin. He now addresses a class of people
who did condemn sin in others. Some say Paul speaks of the Jews,
while others see his word as framed against merely the religious
moralists. Paul mentions again the judgment
of God. 2. We are sure that the judgment
of God. 2. Thinkest thou that thou shalt
escape the judgment of God? It is clear that Paul is speaking
now such as did not consider themselves of the same class
as the earlier ones discussed in chapter 1. And from chapter
2, verse 17 through verse 20, we see that the Jew is directly
in the mind and the eye of the apostle. And this connection
is not to be missed. that in chapter 2 verses 1 through
4, chapter 2 verses 21 through verse 24, the same charge is
repeated, that they knew the judgment of God, and they condemned
the vices of men that were against the judgment of God. And this
was a strong propensity unto the Jew. They did the same thing
that they condemned in others. They condemn things in others,
but then they did the same thing themselves. Yet, Paul does not
condemn them for judging others, for certain judging is both necessary
and legal. But notice that he condemns them
for doing the same thing that they were condemning in others,
principally the Gentiles. Same thing. Chapter 2 and verse
1, you that judge, do the same thing. Chapter 2 and verse 3,
do the same. Chapter 2 and 21, ye that preach
against theft, do you steal? Chapter 2 and verse 22, you teach
against adultery and idolatry. and then commit adultery and
sacrilege. Chapter 2 and verse 23, you boast
in the law. Do you break the law? You boast
in the law and break the law that you boast in. Paul selects
sins that are particularly abhorrent unto the Jew. adultery, idolatry,
the robbing of temples, sacrilege, and such like. And notice that
he stings them in verse 21 with an introductory question. He
says, you teach others. That is, you claim to be a teacher
of the law. You instruct others. You set
forth the law of God. Do you not teach yourself what
you're teaching others? Do you not learn the lesson that
you teach others? They are They are like your own
pupils. You are as one of them. They condemned others, the Jews
did, and justified themselves. They taught the law and then
they broke it again and again. Paul lays the same charge against
the Jew and the Gentile in chapter 1 and verse 20. They are without
excuse. And in chapter 2 and verse 1,
you are inexcusable, O man, that commits such a thing. Now, the
question is this. What is the intent of Paul in
the things that he has said and brought into chapter 2? What
is his purpose? Why does he speak to the Jew
in such scathing words as we have read in this play? The people
of God, the offspring of Abraham, the chosen nation, and the covenant
people. But he now passes to the case
of the Jew and proves them to be in the same condition as the
pagan. He must prove to the Jews, to
the moralists, and to the hypocrites that personal morality, observance
of the law, descendancy from Abraham, most favored nation
status, exclusive national privileges, will not stand them righteous. in the sight of God. But in the
case of the Jew, his sin was the same as the Gentile. Here is Paul's logic. Number
one, you judge others. That is, you find things to condemn
in others, especially the Gentile. This you do based upon your perceived
knowledge of the law. Number two, you do the same thing
which you judge to be wrong in others, which you condemn in
others, and especially in the Gentile. And number three, therefore,
by condemning the same things in others that you also are doing,
you are pronouncing a condemnatory judgment upon your own head. Remember David who said, the
man who has done this shall surely die. And the prophet said, Thou
art the man passing this upon himself. But let's notice Romans
2.2. In other words, this is a general
principle. Truth, equity, righteousness
govern all of God's judgments. His judgments are all of that. And there are no special exemptions
for any, not even the Jew. God is no respecter of person. He judges according to truth,
exactly as the facts warrant so. Thus, in verse 3, the one
guilty of committing the sins that he condemns in others cannot
escape the righteous judgment of God. To repeat an axiom that
is a general truth, all people, all people in the world do things
that they know are wrong and they fail to do things that they
know are right and should be done. And for this they are condemned. What then is the answer? Well, they must be under and
in the grace of God. They must have the atonement
of Christ to cover their sin and to save them from the guilt
of their sin. They must not trust in themselves,
but they must trust in Christ. that the premise of Romans 1,
16 and 17 holds firm. The gospel is the power of God
unto salvation to them that believe, for therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. The just shall live by faith. You know, we see people get old,
old and wicked. Wicked people get old. Old people
are wicked and here they are, as it were, at the door of death
and judgment. And they cannot turn themselves
around. They cannot cease. They cannot
stop without and apart from the grace of God Almighty. It's God's grace that turns us
away from our sin. Only God's grace can do that
and bring us into a right way of worship and of fellowship
with our Lord.