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Romans 2:5-29
Sermons from Commons Church. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre. Since 2014.
Well, welcome today. My name is Jeremy. If we haven't met before, thanks for being here on a Sunday where even though we didn't do dedications tonight, we've had the opportunity to welcome new families and kids into church, which is always a lot of fun. We're also wrapping up a six week series in the book of Romans tonight. And over these six weeks, we will have, by the end of tonight, covered the first two chapters of the book of Romans.
Speaker 1:Now, next week, we're gonna move into a new series that we're calling ritual. And we're gonna take a look at some of the traditions and patterns and rituals of the Christian church. So we're gonna talk about why we sing. We're gonna talk about prayer. We're gonna talk about confession, and then we're gonna spend a week looking at spiritual gifts and how we use that in worship together.
Speaker 1:But today, as we wrap up chapter two in Romans, we do that with the commitment that next year around this time, we are gonna come back and we will pick up where we left off, and we will continue working through the book of Romans in this way. And the hope is that whenever we finish this series, however long, however many years that takes, we will have a really great library of conversations to look back on as a reference. All of the material that we produce, whether that is sermons on Sundays or the discussion notes for home groups that are done every week to go along with that. All of that is made available online for us to use anytime through our website commons.church, and Romans will be no different than that. However, as we get to the end of this year's block in Romans, we have covered a lot of material already, but we still do have a stretch to go to finish off chapter two so that we can end at a reasonable transition point in the in the letter.
Speaker 1:And so as much as I would love to look back and do a recap, let's pray, and then we're gonna jump straight into our content for tonight. So God of grace and peace and righteousness and faithfulness, Thank you for all the ways that you continue to draw us closer to yourself. May we learn what it means to trust you, to depend on your faithfulness, and to allow you to be you so that we might come to understand ourselves as you have created us to be. May we become aware of our shadow selves. All that is in us that pulls us away from what is good away from you.
Speaker 1:And might we instead learn slowly what it means to act from the divine image that you have placed in each of us. When we want to be judgmental, help us to be graceful. When we want to be helpful, help us to be wise. When we want to trust ourselves, would you teach us also what it means to trust in you? May we embrace the righteousness that you have for us and become the people you imagine us to be.
Speaker 1:God, we thank you for your word and the way that you continue to speak through the letters of your child, Paul. In the strong name of the risen Christ, we pray. Amen. Alright. We're gonna pick up today in chapter two verse five where we read that because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath When his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Speaker 1:For God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. Now that's verses five to eight, and there are at least a couple troubling moments in here. Because first of all, I spent a lot of time two weeks ago arguing that God's wrath is not against you.
Speaker 1:That it is against the brokenness and sin that takes you away from God. In fact, that's exactly what Paul says in chapter one verse 18. And now we read that because of your stubbornness and unrepented heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself. Secondly, we just read Paul say that God will repay each person according to what they have done. And to those who do good, God will give eternal life.
Speaker 1:Now, for those of us who have our roots in a reformation protestant tradition, that sounds suspiciously like earning your way into heaven. And so we need to talk about both of those ideas today. So first, on the angry God side. Part of this is a translation problem. A part of this is an important clarification that we need to hold on to.
Speaker 1:Because we read here in the NIV a word that has been inserted into the Greek, and that word is against. You see, the problem is that in chapter one when Paul says, the wrath of God is being revealed against the sin and brokenness of the world. He uses the preposition epi in Greek, which means over, upon, or against. Here in chapter two, what he does is simply use the word yourself in the dative case. Now the dative case in Greek, This is used it's a prepositional case.
Speaker 1:It's used to indicate the noun to which something is given. So this is why if you look up the ESV, the English Standard Version, or the NASB or pretty much every other English translation, you will find either you are storing up wrath for yourself or you are storing up wrath to yourself. One of the ways that you can see this is that Paul has been focusing on the Jewish context that we talked about last week. That's who he's speaking to. Where the Jews have been very comfortable to point the finger at Gentiles and say, yeah, you guys have no excuse.
Speaker 1:We have the law. We're good with God. Well, a very common concept in Hebrew thought is the idea of following the law means storing up treasures for yourself. So the Psalms of Solomon. Don't look for it.
Speaker 1:It's not in your bible. But it was a very popular Jewish religious text around the time of Paul. It says that the one who does what is right saves up for himself life with God. Another non canonical text, fourth Ezra. For you have treasures of works laid up with the most high, and it will be shown to you on the last days.
Speaker 1:So this idea of storing something up for yourself in God was very common. Well, Paul says, not only have you got it wrong, you've got it exactly wrong. James Dunn, probably one of the most recognized Pauline scholars, says it this way, the pious interlocutor. Now, by the way, that's just Dunne's fancy way of imagining Paul in a conversation with a religious Jew. But if you're a scholar and you wanna write scholarly papers, then you say things in fancy ways, like pious interlocutor.
Speaker 1:So the pious interlocutor assumes that by his faithfulness to the covenant, he is laying up treasures in heaven. But by his failure to recognize the need for a more radical repentance, he is actually storing up not good, not life, but anger. Bottom line is, the anger of God in this passage is not anymore against a person than the blessings of God are against a person. The question here is what we gather to ourselves what we store up for ourselves. Now that might sound like I'm just playing word games here, but there's a very important distinction.
Speaker 1:When my son does something dangerous, not right now, he's all about climbing on everything. Like anything and everything, he's on it. And not only does he like to climb, his favorite thing right now is that he really likes to jump off things so that I can catch him. And the thing is sometimes he is far more confident in my catching abilities than I am. And so if Eaton is on anything, I have realized that I have to be ready to catch him at a moment's notice if I am standing even relatively nearby.
Speaker 1:He may, at any point right now, decide to jump off trusting completely that I will be there to save him. There is a lot of this that happens in our house these days. Take a look at this. So whether it is the backs of couches, whether it is fences, whether it is the counter, anything he can get himself up on, he's probably gonna jump off. And it's kind of cute, I'm glad that he trusts me to do that.
Speaker 1:But there have been a few times where either I wasn't quite ready and I grabbed him just before the splat. To be honest, there's been a few splats as well. Or where I haven't been paying attention and he has just jumped on me without any warning. Usually, when I'm taking a nap, usually lying on that couch and for some bizarre reason, it seems that he has the uncanny ability to unconsciously target the softest regions of my body with his bony little elbows and knees. Trust me, twenty five pounds of kid doesn't sound like a lot, but focused in the right area, that can do a lot of damage.
Speaker 1:Now that said, sometimes when he jumps, sometimes I get upset. And usually, although not always, sometimes it's because he just hurt me, but usually it's because I'm concerned for him. And sometimes, I have to express that concern, that frustration, perhaps even anger in ways that he understands. Now, I don't always do that well. My wife, Rachel, gets angry at me because when I discipline my child, I have a really hard time keeping a straight face.
Speaker 1:I mean, he's a very cute kid, so it's not really my fault. And, let's be honest here. But, there is a subtle and important difference between anger that is against my son. An anger that my son might draw to himself when he acts in unhealthy ways. I am not against eating.
Speaker 1:I'm never against my son. And God is not against you. God is for you. And yet, Paul is also saying very clearly with no bones about it, that sin and godlessness and wickedness and all that hurts us and pulls us away from God, this will not have the day. So the question is not whether God is against you, he's not.
Speaker 1:The question is, if all that you have cultivated is hurt and bitterness and selfishness and pain for all of your life, if that's what you have stored up inside of yourself, then what will happen? What will be left when God inevitably wipes all of that away? The anger that Paul is describing, this is not against you, but that does not mean there will never be consequences for what we draw into ourselves. That God is not in the business of vengeance. He's not gonna be paying anyone back.
Speaker 1:God is in the business of redemption. But the story of renewal and rebirth that he is longing to tell in the world, that means that the story of brokenness will one day need to come to a close. And you and I, we have to choose which story we will be a part of. But that brings us to our second problem. Because while we are busy deciding what story we want to be a part of and what we will draw to ourselves, we also read Paul say that God will repay each person according to what they have done.
Speaker 1:And that those who do good will receive eternal life. In fact, Paul goes on to say, beginning in verse 13, that it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law that will be declared righteous. Indeed, even when Gentiles who do not have the law do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have a law. Paul likes to speak in long ongoing sentences. But they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness.
Speaker 1:He then goes on to to the end of the chapter giving a bunch of examples about how the Jews often say one thing and they do another, how that dishonors God, and how that even makes God look like a laughing stock in front of the Gentiles. Now, the tricky part here is that for those of us who come from a Protestant tradition of grace alone, especially those of us like the covenant church who have our roots in Lutheranism, Paul seems to be saying that Jew or Gentile, if you do the right things, you will be rewarded by God. In fact, technically, what he says in verse 13 is that those who obey the law will be justified. That's a really important theme for Paul. And for an evangelical tradition that has always said, listen, we don't recommend it.
Speaker 1:But absolutely, you can accept Jesus into your heart as your personal savior on your deathbed and you will still get into heaven just like everyone else. What do we do with Paul when he seems to be saying, actually, it's your life that matters? For that matter, what then do we do with Jesus who on the cross says to a thief who expresses trust in him as he is about to die that he will experience paradise with God? I mean, how was his life ever going to measure up to what Paul is talking about? Has there always been a hard way?
Speaker 1:Do all the right things? And then an easy way, just ask Jesus at the last minute? And if so, then why are any of us bothering with the hard way? Well, some people have been so frustrated with this dilemma in this passage that they have proposed chapter two of Romans is just one big hypothetical argument that could never happen in real life. At most famously, John Calvin makes the argument that Paul is saying theoretically, if you lived a perfect life according to the law, you could be saved.
Speaker 1:But, it is so self evidently not possible that Paul doesn't even need to bother with the second half of the argument. Now, Calvin even goes on to say that if you disagree with him, then quote, you deserve to be laughed at most fully even by children. So keep that in mind as you're developing your thoughts around this passage. The thing is, a straw man argument, one that you set up specifically so you can pull it apart. This is a very common approach to argumentation.
Speaker 1:It's not a good one, so don't do it. But Paul never actually shows how his argument in chapter two falls apart. And so I'm not really sure that's what's going on here. But that means we are going to need to get just a little bit theologically nerdy to look at some alternatives. And thankfully, this is the last week in a series, so at least you can bank on that.
Speaker 1:Because the other two significant ways that this passage has been understood are called the eschatological justification on the basis of works and the eschatological justification on the basis of faith in accord with works. So let's take a look at each of those quickly because that sounds like fun, doesn't it? The eschatological justification on the basis of works. This is essentially the idea that in the end, you can get to God, you can get into heaven if you like by doing the right things. So in some ways, this is the same argument that Calvin makes except that you're saying it is possible to do.
Speaker 1:The important distinction would be that theologians who hold this aren't saying you can do that all on your own. They're saying that once you have faith in God, that once you understand that Paul says God's righteousness is being revealed as he searches you out and he brings you home to himself, then you are irrevocably altered in that encounter with grace. You are changed when you meet Jesus. Something in the core of who you are, it shifts. Sometimes we call this sanctification, but here it's kind of on steroids.
Speaker 1:And maybe it's slow, maybe it takes years, but if it's real, then that kernel of faith, it takes root and it grows, and it begins to bear fruit, good fruit in your life. And so you don't obey because you love the law. You don't obey because you're a good person. You come to obey because Jesus has grabbed ahold of something inside of you. And because of that, then God can judge you on the basis of your life.
Speaker 1:Now where that gets a little tricky is if you compare this passage to other writings of Paul like Ephesians where he says, for it is by grace that you have been saved, not by works so that no one can boast. Well, think proponents here would say, totally. We're on board with that. The judgment is on the basis of your works, but you can only do those works because you've encountered God's faithfulness and grace, so there's no boasting allowed. We're all good.
Speaker 1:Fair enough. But I think there is some caution here if you really want to be consistent with Paul. And so that brings us to the eschatological justification by faith in accord with works. And this is the idea that in the end, that we are made ready for God solely by our trust in him. But our trust in him, it comes alive in the way that we live.
Speaker 1:So James two fourteen. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? How can such faith really save them? Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. I will show you my faith by how I live.
Speaker 1:You see, one of the things that we sometimes have stuck in our head is this idea that believing the right things and doing the right things are two separate things. They're not. See, I could tell you that Rachel and I believe that good parents should not use television shows like Paw Patrol to babysit their kids. And probably most of the time, depending on the time of day, I could say that with a lot of conviction. But if you came over to my house and my son was going crazy and I plopped him down with an iPad and Netflix and a pair of headphones so you and I could talk, then you would know what I really believe.
Speaker 1:And that is, I believe we deserve a break once in a while. And I still believe we're pretty good parents regardless of what some uptight parenting blog told me. You see that Greek word pistis that gets translated faith or belief in our English bibles. This is not an intellect idea or word. This is a relationship word.
Speaker 1:Because it means trust. That's what faith is. And trust is not what we think. Trust is how we choose to relate to each other. Now, absolutely, intellectual assent is part of trust.
Speaker 1:But I would suggest it's not actually the defining part of trust. At my son, he's two years old. He trusts me to catch him when he jumps. Part of that is intellectual. At whatever capacity he can handle right now, I've caught him before.
Speaker 1:He trusts that I will catch him again. And sometimes, I can even see the wheels spinning in his head in the moments before he jumps into my arms. Is this a good idea? So there is very much a believing element that's going on. But the defining part, what makes it trust, is when he actually lets go.
Speaker 1:And so where the justification on the basis of work says that God can judge us on our works, justification in accord with work says no. We are only ever judged on the basis of our trust, but trust looks like the choices that we make. And so when Paul says that those who obey will be justified, he's not talking about those of us who obey perfectly. He's not talking even about those who obey well. He's talking about those who obey gladly and extravagantly, those who jump into the life of God.
Speaker 1:And ironically, that looks like letting go of everything else we have been holding onto, including the idea that we ever could have won God's approval to begin with. To trust God, this is what it means to obey him. And so the way that you live is not what saves you, but the way that you live is how you choose who you trust. And so when Paul says that God is judging our lives, this doesn't mean he weighs up all the good, and he weighs up all the bad, and he goes with whatever is heavier. It means that God is looking for see if there is some God born glimmer of good in our lives.
Speaker 1:And he judges us in line with that, in accordance with that, not because any good works save us, but because that glimmer of goodness, that is the faithfulness of God to invite and heal and fix and repair us from the inside out. This is why Paul can say that even those who don't have the law and yet they do what's required, they show that God is written on their hearts. So when you are generous, you show that you trust there is an abundance in the universe. And when you are selfless, you show that you trust there is someone, there is something that cares for you. Now, when you fall down and you get back up and you keep moving in a healthy direction over and over again, you show that you trust there is purpose, there is meaning, there is direction to life.
Speaker 1:That's what faith is. Now try to imagine for a second these Jews who for generations have thought that being God's chosen people meant being God's only people. And now, Paul says, actually, no. Actually, everyone has a sense and an opportunity to connect with the divine if they choose. God can bypass religion and write it straight on their hearts.
Speaker 1:And to paraphrase Paul, even those who don't know what we know can still know God. And maybe today, you're not exactly sure what you know. You look at all of the arguments and the theology, the different interpretations. Just like us, you look at Paul and you feel a little bit lost in all the ways that different people have interpreted his words. And yet, there is also somewhere deep in a part of your soul you can't even quite articulate this desire to jump in.
Speaker 1:Now, this sense that trusting yourself to the goodness that sits at the center of everything, somehow that comes from the innermost part of your being. The question from Paul is not whether you are good enough. The question is when you jump, who do you picture there to catch you? Is it yourself and all the good things you have done or accomplished? Is it some mentor, someone who has taught you what to believe and what to think?
Speaker 1:Is it your bank account or your reputation or your ability to always find your own way home? Or are you ready to trust, to jump into the source of all that is good in the world believing that it is bigger and more benevolent than you could possibly imagine? See, what I've learned from my son and what I think I am learning from Paul, is that diving into complete trust, this can actually be the most exhilarating, joyous, life giving thing we can do when we know whose arms we're jumping into. You see, if last week was all about the ways in which we get judgment wrong when we are judgmental with each other, And today is all about how the judgment of God, it's unique, it's different from anything else we have experienced in this world. Because even God's judgment, it starts with grace and it is for our good and it is designed to bring us home to him.
Speaker 1:And So as we conclude Romans for this year, I invite you to come to the sacred table of the Eucharist today, not because you must, but simply because you are welcome. I invite you to come to the sacred table to testify not that you are righteous, but that you desire to trust our Lord. I invite you to come to this table, not because you're strong or worthy or enough or you've earned your place at the table, but precisely because you know that you're weak. Not because you have any claim on the grace of God, but because in your frailty and brokenness, you stand in constant need of mercy and help, and you want to trust God for that. I invite you to come to this sacred table today, not to express an opinion or a perspective or a theology, but simply to seek God's presence and to pray for his spirit in your life.
Speaker 1:And as you do, may you come to see that life is not a test of your worth. It is an expression of who you are choosing to trust each day. May you trust in the one who is always on your side. Christ has died. Christ is risen.
Speaker 1:Christ will come again. I invite you as the band plays. To come up the center aisle. To take the bread and the cup. And then eat as a reminder of that God born glimmer of all that is good in the world.
Speaker 1:And as you do, may you sense even in this moment that that goodness could be present in you. As God works to heal and repair and remake you as you begin to trust in him. After you've come and you've eaten, then you can return to your seat using the outside aisles. And once everyone has eaten together, I'll come back and I'll pray it one more time. Come and eat with us.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together one more time. God, thank you for this incredible invitation to jump into the life of the divine. Not hanging on to anything, not looking back, but fully trusting ourselves to you. And God, would you help us to do that with all that is good in our lives? So the choices and the actions that we take would reveal your kingdom in time and space.
Speaker 1:But God, may we also do that with our failures. Trusting them to you, trusting ourselves to you in that. Knowing that you are always for us. And that in our trust, in our obedience to cast ourselves over to your arms. Then we fulfill everything that you have for us.
Speaker 1:God, may we be welcomed into the heart of the divine, into the grace of God. For no other reason than that is the only hope that we have. In the strong name of the risen Christ, we pray. Amen.