4/21/24 “Me? Guilty? Inconceivable!”

“Me? Guilty? Inconceivable!”

Romans 2:1-16

One of the best books I’ve ever read is one titled: “The Unsaved Christian” by Dean Inserra.

It was written back in 2019 and, in it, the author describes his experience as a small-town pastor down in the Bible Belt where the culture is still somewhat saturated in Christian morality and tradition.

He describes recalling a conversation with a seminary classmate who had just graduated and accepted a call to pastor a congregation in northern California.

Dean (The Author of the book) was telling his classmate how impressed he was to see him take on the challenge of pastoring a church in an area of the country where Christianity was relatively rare – and where the culture was growing ever-more antagonistic toward Biblical values.

His friend, however, had a different take on the situation.

He told Dean (Who had also just graduated and was heading to Georgia to pastor a local church) that he was the one who actually had the greater challenge in front of him.

He said (Quoting from page 12 of the book) “The Bible belt is the most difficult place in America to pastor a local church….In California, there is rarely confusion. Either you’re a Christian or you’re not. In the Bible belt, many people think they’re Christians but have no concept of the severity of sin, necessity of repentance, message of grace, or the overall message of the gospel. They think they’re just fine with God and God is fine with them because they aren’t atheists and have been to church before as a kid. It’s almost like you have to help them get lost, so they can actually be saved. They believe in God, but do not believe their sin has done anything to separate them from Him or caused them to need the Jesus they claim to believe in.”

Then, on the following page of the book, Dean provides his perspective on what his seminary friend warned him about years earlier:

 “Since that conversation in our seminary parking lot, I have also come to realize that the spiritual landscape Matt (The name of his friend) was describing is not unique to the South. What he was describing was Cultural Christianity: a religion that, I believe, is practiced by more Americans than any other faith or religion. Its participants can be found in Catholic or Protestant churches… on high school football fields, at patriotic celebrations, and around family dinner tables. It looks and sounds very Christian on the surface, but is merely Christian by culture, rather than conviction. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not part of the equation…..(Cultural Christians) believe in God. They take seriously their ‘Christian’ traditions, prayer in schools, nativity scenes, and Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ during ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas.’ Cultural Christianity admires Jesus, but doesn’t really think he is needed, except to ‘Take the Wheel’ in a moment of crisis. The Jesus of Cultural Christianity is a type of historical imaginary friend with some magic powers for good luck and sentimentality. ‘Amazing Grace’ is a song known from memory, but why that grace is amazing cannot be explained. The God of Cultural Christianity is the “Big Man Upstairs”, and whether or not He is holy, and people have sinned against Him, is irrelevant. There is familiarity with church and Christian lingo, but familiarity with the gospel is hard to find.”

Folks, does this sound familiar in some ways to this area?

We live in a similar culture where Christian morality is still an expected behavior of those around us to some degree – and when others don’t live up to those lofty standards – don’t people just love to tear’em down….don’t folks get a certain amount of satisfaction talking about the failures and shortcomings of others….all the while ignoring their own failures and shortcomings?

I’m willing to bet that when our extended families get together and the chatting sessions begin, there are probably numerous conversations in which everyone nods their head in agreement over some immoral or grievous act committed by someone outside of the family – but why is it we never go around the table and everyone in attendance confesses a sin that they’ve recently committed – or an area in their life where they are currently struggling with disobedience to God’s moral standard?

We humans are really, really, good at pointing out faults in others – while at the same time – we are really, really good at completely ignoring our own faults.

…Faults that are often very similar to the kinds of things we find ourselves condemning in others.

This kind of hypocritical, moralistic superiority that often rears its ugly head in areas where Cultural Christianity flourishes is exactly the kind of situation – and people - who the apostle Paul is speaking to in our passage for today.

Last week in the back half of Romans chapter 1 we looked at a group of people who we’ll simply call ‘The Unrighteous.’….those who don’t know Jesus as Lord & Savior, nor do they claim to know Him.

Today, we look at another group of lost individuals who we’ll refer to as ‘The self-righteous.’…those who do claim to know God, but don’t actually have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Rather than truly trusting in Christ, these people trust in their baptism, their church membership, their being born into a Christian family, their high ethical standards, even perhaps their orthodox doctrine and regular church involvement…but none of these actions or situations will save a soul – only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will accomplish that.

…they talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk.

In verse 1 (Romans 2:1) Paul reminds us that it is sinful to un-justly judge others in a way that leaves us looking righteous and spiritually spotless.

Remember – in the Sermon on the Mount - the warnings from our savior concerning judging others in a hypocritical way…

In Matthew 7:1-3 Jesus says: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

The self-righteous individual is a professional at judging others from a vantage point of superiority and condescension.

In verse 3, Paul reminds these hypocritical moralists that because they unjustly condemn others, that God’s condemnation – His judgement – is upon them!...unless they repent and turn to Christ.

The self-righteous moralist is blind to their own sin – unless they are forced to come face to face with it.

Remember the story of King David and Bathsheba?

Many of you are familiar with it…David commits adultery with a young woman by the name of Bathsheba, He tries to cover up a resulting pregnancy…when that plan doesn’t work he has Bathsheba’s husband killed in war…

Well, David never truly understands the gravity of his sinful behavior until the day he meets up with the prophet Nathan.

Nathan tells David the story of a very rich man who steals a beloved lamb from a very poor man…a lamb that was a family pet.

The poor man and his family absolutely adore this little ewe.

The rich man then has the family pet slaughtered and prepared for a meal.

David listens to this story and becomes outraged at the actions of the rich man…He must Die!...David says.

Then – in verse 7 of 2 Samuel chapter 12 – Nathan says to David: “You are the man.” (2 Samuel 12:7)

It is then that David recognizes and understands the weight of his sinful disobedience.

In verse 13 of 2 Samuel 12 David proclaims, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Samuel 12:13)

David actually wrote Psalm 51 as a full confession to God for the sin that he had committed with Bathsheba and against her husband, Uriah….I recommend reading through it later today.

We see a humbled King with a broken heart – David’s spiritual eyes were finally opened to the destructiveness of his disobedience.

The self-righteous moralists in our passage for today have yet to be humbled in this way – they have yet to understand the weight and gravity of the deep-seated sin in their own lives.

Have you watched any college or professional basketball games lately?

It seems almost every time a player is called for a foul, they raise their palms to the air in disbelief at the called infraction.

You would think that every athlete on the court is under the assumption that they never violate the rules of the game…and they definitely don’t appreciate being called out for a foul when they commit one (No wonder there’s a severe shortage of referees these days!)

In everyday life, the self-righteous moralist has a very similar mindset.

To them, they don’t see their own behavior as a violation of God’s rules, but the behavior of others most definitely constitutes a violation…and quite often!

In Matthew 23:27, Jesus calls these people “Whitewashed Tombs” that look beautiful on the outside but are full of “Dead Men’s Bones” on the inside.

He continues in verse 28 (Matthew 23:28) “In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

This is the natural state of the self-righteous moralist, the culturally carnal Christian.

In verse 5 (Romans 2:5) of our passage for today, Paul tells the self-righteous moralist that they are storing up wrath against themselves – that God will eventually judge them for their wickedness…unless they repent of their sins and turn to Christ.

In the next few verses, Paul compares the deeds of those who are in Christ with the self-righteous moralists who want to appear as thought they are genuine believers…but have never repented of their sins.

In verse 6 (Romans 2:6) Paul makes the statement that “God will give to each person according to what he has done.”

Jesus says something very similar in Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”

In the Old Testament, the Prophet Jeremiah conveys these words about deeds “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10)

Finally, John says in Revelation 20:12 that “…The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”

So, what are we to make of all of these passages that seem to emphasize God’s judgement as being based upon our works…aren’t we saved by faith alone?...Isn’t that what the Protestant Revolution was primarily about?

After all, Paul makes that point in Ephesians 2:8-9 when he says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

So…what is it?…does God judge people by their faith or by their works?

Let’s see if we can answer this question by way of an illustration.

As many of you know, I like to hike around Devil’s Lake quite often.

On the East side of the Lake is a railroad track, and occasionally, I’ll see a train roll through while I’m on a hike.

When the train locomotive becomes visible, I am seeing only seeing the outside of that specific car – as well as the outside of the other cars following the locomotive.

In order for the locomotive to propel itself – and all of the other cars behind it – there must be an engine in the locomotive.

The engine is the ‘hidden’ power that enables the train to move down the track and eventually appear at the lake for my eyes to see.

Spiritually speaking, faith is the engine that moves the train of works down the track…

When works are consistently visible in someone’s life – they are only made possible by the invisible powerplant of faith already built into one’s life.

Therefore, when God says that he will judge humanity by their works…by what they “do”….it means that He assesses our spiritual status by looking at the visual, tangible component of our spiritual lives.

…and the only way good works will be visible is if faith is already established in that person’s life.

Or in other words, Outward godly works are the evidence of inner faith.

As one commentator said: “The subjective criterion for salvation is faith alone, with nothing added. But the objective reality of that salvation is manifested in the subsequent godly works that the Holy Spirit leads and empowers believers to perform. For that reason, good deeds are a perfectly valid basis for God’s judgement.”

The final part of our passage begins with verse 11.

Here, Paul begins a discussion about how God goes about judging all mankind…whether they were Jewish or Non-Jewish (Gentiles).

…and we know that God’s judgement is perfectly fair and impartial…without favoritism.

It’s reminiscent of the modern-day statue of justice which depicts a woman who is blindfolded, providing a visualization that justice needs to be blind in order to take away any temptation to be partial in our judgements.

God’s justice works the same way…but to a much higher ethical standard of impartiality than man’s standard - His is not tainted with sin.

God’s judgements are perfectly fair and completely impartial.

The question always comes up as to those individuals who never have never heard the gospel message….How does God go about judging them?

Verses 14 & 15 help to answer that question.

In verse 14 (Romans 2:14) Paul writes that when a Gentile (Who didn’t know the Mosaic Law) acts in such a way as to be in conformity with the law of Moses..then they are judged accordingly.

The Bible tells of numerous gentiles who were people of faith - such as Ruth…and Cornelius…and Rahab – all who acted in such a way as to demonstrate their invisible faith by their visible deeds.

So, how does God judge those people today who have never heard the saving message of Jesus Christ?

Well, first of all, with modern day communication being as widespread as it is, people groups who are isolated from the rest of society are very few and far between.

But if someone reaches the end of their life and they were never presented with the gospel message – how does God deal with them?

This is a question that has been debated within Christianity for centuries, and really, only God himself knows how to administer perfect judgment to these individuals.

That being said, however, God’s Word does give us a little insight into His expectations of people who have never heard the gospel.

We covered one of these passages last week…remember Romans 1:20?

It says: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

In other words, even if someone has never heard the gospel message, they have no excuse to not believe in the creator God.

Paul adds to that in verse 15 (Romans 2:15) of today’s passage: “Since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing , now even defending them.”

There is a very important word here in verse 15…it’s the word Conscience.

Another term for the law being written on our hearts, is our conscience.

We are all born with a natural instinct to understand moral absolutes – to know right from wrong.

When you are walking down the street and the guy ahead of you unknowingly drops his wallet – you know what the right thing is to do…you pick it up and you give it back to him…some of you may think it over for a few milliseconds, but I have no doubt that you will do the right thing.

This is ingrained in each one of us.

How about when you enter a room and catch your 3-year-old grandchild writing on your wall with a big blue crayon…that 3 year old doesn’t just continue writing – they stop and expect to be scolded because they instinctively know that they were doing something wrong.

This is God’s law written on our hearts…this is our ‘inner judge.’

And, yes, there are a small minority of individuals that the Bible says have ‘Seared Consciences’ , people who have been turned over to mental depravity for the rest of their lives.

Paul instructs Timothy about these people in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”

 Today we give clinical names to people matching this description, such as psychopath….or sociopath.

Paul’s point is that every human being – regardless of when or where they were born – is born with a basic understanding of right & wrong…and it is this law placed on their hearts that also plays a role in how God will judge people who have never heard the message of the gospel.

So, the creation around us – and our God-given conscience within us – both serve to hold us accountable for understanding that there is a creator God…

AND that this creator God expects us to behave in such a way as to not violate my natural sense of right and wrong.

You’ve heard me bring up the famous exchange about God between Helen Keller (Who was both blind and deaf) and her caretaker, Anne Sullivan.

One day, Ms. Sullivan asked Helen Keller if she’d like to hear about God and His Son Jesus Christ…to which Helen replied, “Oh I know all about God because He is with me every day…I just didn’t know his name.”

I’d like all of you to ask yourself this question this morning…do you know God’s name?

Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord & Savior?

Or are you simply living a life of outward conformity to the Bible…

But you know that you haven’t ever truly come to Jesus and repented of your sins…

Maybe you’ve been a Cultural Christian all of your life – and today you want to genuinely approach God and ask for his forgiveness…and begin living a life that is truly under the Lordship of Jesus Christ…

Come to Jesus today, He’s been waiting for you!

Let’s Pray.