God's Judgement — Don McClure

Romans 2: Everyone Is Accountable Before God’s Judgment

Romans 2. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doeth the same things. 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 judges them that do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

But after thy hardness, an impenitent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of judgment, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render unto every man according to his deeds.

To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor in immortality, eternal life. And to them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath.

Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, to the Jew first and also of the Gentile. But glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.

For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law, and as many have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

For when the Gentiles which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness in their thoughts, the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men's hearts, pardon me, of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Father we thank you for your word and we ask tonight that as we look at this section, Lord, dealing with judgment, Lord, that we would understand it, that Lord, we would realize what judgment is all about.

And Father as we look to your word that you would, in a world that seems to believe in nothing almost, let alone the judgment of God, Lord, that we would be very aware of this great truth. We ask it in Jesus name, amen.

The Reality of Eternal Judgment

You know there are, I suppose, who knows how many opinions and varying opinions all over the world that happen to men when they die in the afterlife. Obviously there's a multitude of them. There's religious ones, they're just personal ones, there's some that think nothing of it, almost.

There's many people that actually one day they do believe they'll die and then perhaps when, of course, when they do die they'll perhaps even stand before God. But even then they have all sorts of speculation about what that'll mean.

But here there is no book that I know of in all the world and I'm convinced there is no book in all the world that so clearly lays out the reality of eternal judgment and that this will happen. For the Bible does it and it does it over and over and over again.

God tells us many, many times. He tells us where we came from, who created us, who we are answerable to, how we are to live, what went wrong with man, how it can be fixed and put right. And it tells us the eternal consequences of what we do about those things over and over and over again.

And it lays out very clearly the eternal consequences of our own personal decisions and behavior for each and every man. Now I suppose at the same time there's also a lot of people that want to ridicule judgment.

Many people actually, I'm sure we've all run into them, well one day when I run into the man upstairs and then they fill in the blank, almost just some sort of an arrogant casualness about their eternal destiny, you know, that one day well you know I'm just gonna, oh we'll explain it all, oh we'll have to sit down and have a chat, I'm sure we can work it out.

And they actually seem to think this way about their eternal destiny. Many, it seems, think that way. And I don't know how much of that is the result of a lot of the secular thinking that comes through the sociologists and the psychologists and the philosophers that just kind of tend to say, you know, eat, drink, and be married, tomorrow we'll die, there's no real issues in life.

And a lot of people somehow or another think that if there is an afterlife it'll still be okay, it'll be no big deal to work it through. And maybe I've done some things wrong, but at the same time even then I'm really not even all that responsible for my own actions anyway.

There's a whole world out there that has played roles in my behavior and why I did what I did and when I did it and all the other sorts of things, so to single me out and to want to suggest to me that I have got some eternal consequence for my behavior when I was on a planet with billions of other people, all these other conditions, and then want to hold me guilty is, I don't believe it.

That's how a lot of people seem to think. But here in these 16 verses I just read, I believe this is the greatest description in all of writing on the judgment of God. As it lays it out very, very clearly, it covers it and deals with it from many, many different angles in a sense, I think we'll hopefully we'll see as we go through it.

But as we do, perhaps you may want to take little thoughts and notes about the judgment of God, because here it is in these 16 verses. He begins there in verse 1 of chapter 2, Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man.

God’s Judgment Leaves Everyone Without Excuse

Very first point there that Paul brings out about the judgment of God, as he tells us there, the judgment of God is going to hold everybody inexcusable, absolutely without excuse. And as I said, we live in a world where there seems to be an explanation for everything.

There seems to be some excuse for virtually everything that goes on somehow or another. Whatever it is, I'm not wrong. I know it appeared like I was wrong and I know I actually did something that maybe even others and maybe in some other time I might say is wrong, but if you understood all the conditions that seem to work with it, there's a very good explanation and it offers to me an excuse.

If you'll just look at the situation a little more clearly, you'll find you would have done it too. As if the somehow or another, this provides an excuse. We live in a world today where guilt is no longer guilt.

What it is that somebody has done, it's guilt at worst with an explanation. If it is guilt, there's a logical explanation as to why it happened. There's a logical excuse for it all. You look at our court system today and if there's anything that seems to make a mockery out of judgment, it's our court system today.

It seems like virtually anybody that has got themselves a good lawyer that really understands the laws and the loopholes and how to present a case, you can set aside all the truth and all the evidence and you can go down an entirely different avenue of explanation for the behavior that apparently happened.

But it's all justifiable when you take in all of the facts as presented by attorneys so often today as it can be. And you see these cases sometimes where people just do all sorts of terrible things and yet how many, it's so disgusting to see how many court cases they get in and the next thing you know the jury starts hearing about so-and-so's life and their behavior and what happened to them and all of these other things and you realize, well I'd have probably done the same thing myself if I was in that and somehow or another we provide an excuse for people.

People that go out and kill other people in cold blood. People that did terrible heinous crimes and yet at the same time even with all of the evidence there many times there ends up to be an excuse that literally sets the person free.

And the tragic thing is is that I think that this also has a way of diluting a person there eternally. When you can work your way over you know through things over and over again there's a lot of people that actually I think eternally think you know I've been able to get my my way through all of life with an explanation and with an excuse and they think they'll stand before God and somehow or another when they get there that God's form of justice is like man's and that they will find an excuse but here Paul tells us that you thou art inexcusable oh man.

He's gonna go on and lay out why that's true but there's his first statement that he makes. Second thing essentially that he also lays out here in verse 1 as well is that the judgment of God is irrepressible and that is in the sense of what is happening here that he says whenever you judge another person don't you know you actually judge yourself.

We have this tremendous capacity Paul says that when we do something there is an explanation for it there is an excuse for it or we provide one with the behavior almost for it there's one that's so logical and and we are so capable of excusing ourselves but yet when we see another person do it when another person has done it there he says whenever you judge another wherefore thou judgest another he says thou condemnest thyself for thou the judges do the same things.

We watch somebody else do something. We watch the way that somebody else goes about something the way that they can talk to people the way they can treat their wife the way they can drive down the road and we look at that day that guy ought to be this or that person ought to look at that that is terrible human behavior.

And then when we do it well my wife needed it you know something if you knew my wife you know or something you'd you'd do that too you know or something or whatever else on how immediately we have some explanation we have some excuse but here Paul says you can try to repress it all you want in your own thinking of say you are without it but at the same time when you've got the capacity to look at another human being and you see the same behavior with them he said now as soon as you judge it you condemn yourself so you do.

Paul says there he says everybody understands judgment we do because we do judge other people. We can be very objective with other people are subjective with ourself. But objectivity is not a difficult thing of right and wrong when we see it in another person and we see it all the time and we make all sorts of judgments and there it is it's real.

God’s Judgment Is Righteous and Impartial

He also goes on and he tells us that the judgment of God is absolutely righteous. For in verse two he says. For we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them all that let them that commit such things here you know in life I think many many many things happen that are not right.

That's just one of the truths of just living on this planet of living in a world that we live in living where men try to regulate men and regulate behavior and watch behavior and try to govern it. But at the same time no matter what there's an awfully lot of things I think everybody knows that are very very unfair that happen very very unfair things can happen to people because of their race and on how a society can can deal with them or their color or their their religion or because of something about them or and their nature and how very clear injustices can can happen.

And then oftentimes a lot of things happen to people that somehow or another there is no judgment for it. It never it never seems to be taken care of. I'm told that the greater percentage of murders are never subtle.

We you know and we actually you know by the time they really do find the murder and then they it isn't all that common. There are murders that happen. People are robbed and beaten every day unjustly. Obviously terrible things happen.

Little little lady walking down the street and somebody comes grabs her purse drags her down she breaks an arm you know they steal her purse and off they go. They never catch them. And in somehow or another there's a lot of things that happen where people they can be accused falsely.

They can be hated they can be you know misunderstood. They can be victims of accidents and terrible things that happen. And there's no judgment. There's no justice. It isn't right. What happens in the list of this goes on and on and on.

You don't have to be on this planet very long to look and realize that a lot of unjust things happen in life constantly they go on. But here Paul tells us you'll never have to worry about that when you stand before God.

When a human being there stands before God it's gonna be that it'll be without excuse. It'll be irrepressible. And it'll be absolutely righteous as God deals with the thing. You won't have the wrong information passed to him.

You won't have somebody with a false character report coming along there. There won't be any inaccuracies. There won't be any false statements. There won't be anything that is brought before God that'll be allowed that is wrong.

There'll be absolutely no representation misrepresentation at all of any fact when the greatest just justice and righteousness that'll ever happen to anybody will be that which happens when a human being stands before God.

The Bible tells us the Lord knows the hearts of men. He knows every word he knows every thought he knows everything spoken and unspoken. The Bible says all things are open and naked before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

God looks and he sees everything with every human being. It's very clear to him. I love this story back in second Kings where the king of Assyria is coming along there or Syria to you know battle with the children of Israel.

And every time they go to line themselves up the children of Israel over there and they're all prepared for it. Then they change their strategy and they go around to do it another way. And then they're over here ready for this.

And and finally the king of Syria realized oh one of his generals one of his men must be letting the information out there and getting it over to Israel. And and so here he brings him in. He says all right which one do you guys.

Somebody's letting the information out here. There's leaks here in our you know our army here. And and one of them speaks up. He says no there's no leak here. He says there's a man in Israel God need tells him everything you're thinking in your own bedchamber what you're just doing and thinking all by yourself he knows it.

And so when you even sit out with a strategy it's already known over there and that in a sense there when somebody comes and they'll stand before God's God's judgment will be absolutely righteous and it's also completely inescapable in verse 3.

The Inescapability of Divine Judgment

And thinkest thou this O man that the judgment that judges them which do such things and do us the same that thou shalt escape the judgment of God here. Paul as he looks there at the you know he says it's it's in you without excuse.

It's inexcusable it's irrepressible it's it's absolutely righteous and God's judgment is completely inescapable inescapable. Harry Houdini who I'm sure most of you have heard of of course the great escape artist you know of generation or so ago but somebody there that his great claim that he really wanted to have that he left behind was is that he was not simply going to be the greatest escape artist in history.

He was going to escape death and before he died he had this huge thing and he would constantly refer to that if there was any way back and any way outside of you know death he was going to be the one to cheat it and so wait because he was coming back.

Well I'm seeing Harry myself and yet but a lot of people actually think that they are going to somehow another escape you know the the judgment of God. And to my understanding as I think about it there's about essentially four different ways that a person can escape judgment.

And one is perhaps one of the more common ones is that that the crime essentially the offense goes undetected. You did something but nobody detected it it just was not discovered. You know there that actually what you did yeah that nobody came to figure it out.

And you wonder how many things we've all done and had in our life where we did something and your mom your dad never checked their wallet you know or whatever it is. I didn't do it myself but I know other people that did stuff like that but the but it's something there on how that we you know where something can happen or we did this or we did that don't don't do this and you did it and nobody checked or found out that anything was wrong.

Secondly a person escapes the boundaries of jurisdiction right now. There's tens of thousands of people that have lived that have committed crimes. They've been judged. They've been found guilty but somehow another before they're actually incarcerated they skipped the country and went over to another country.

They're living in other countries in the world right now then countries that have no extradition treaties with other countries and so somebody can be living off in another country. They're guilty. They were caught it was proven the the judgment happened but they got away before they got incarcerated and there they live because they have escaped the bounds of jurisdiction very common.

And then there's also a sometimes a gross failure in the legal system to properly try the case and things that you know that somehow or another you know and we've seen some rather famous trials I think in the last few years to where you know information got withheld from the jury in the way it happened and even the whole country watch these some of these cases on TV and where it certainly seemed that justice was not happening and the the case was not properly tried or evidence didn't get properly you know used or something and something gets it's inadmissible or held out for one reason or another.

But there's an awful lot of people that have never been brought to justice because of the fact that the legal process got twisted around to their advantage. And then the fourth way I suppose somebody can escape judgment is that the criminal escapes from prison.

They get them they put them in prison and then somehow another he digs his way out or sneaks out and there he is he's out now that that's essentially I mean that I people I suppose are thinking that's what one of those four they're gonna do with God somehow another I think people think that they're actually gonna get their maneuver situation there where it's you're gonna get before God and he's gonna sweet-talk him God and set you away or somehow another that God isn't even going to detect what that human has done and the things that have gone on and they're gonna you know gonna get by it.

Or somehow another they think there that maybe they'll escape the bounds of jurisdiction you know I mean I'm gonna die and I'm gonna go off into somewhere out there. But before I'm called before God I'm sneaking off to another planet you know or something I'm you know I'm gonna go where God has no jurisdiction.

That's time I'm gonna outrun him. I'm gonna get away from him somehow another. But here the Bible tells us and God in these 16 verses it is so conclusive when you go from one to another God has gone to great labors here in a sense to want to lay out for us the extent in the reality of judgment.

Maybe some people think that you know that I'm gonna escape all right. I'm a sinner I'm a bad guy I deserve the bottomless pit but I think I can break out of the place you know or whatever that they actually people seem to think that they may do.

I don't know but that's what seemed some people who seem to think next thing you know Paul goes on he says the judgment of God is very patient for in verse 4 he says oh or despises how the riches of the goodness and the forbearance of long-suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance not a God.

God’s Patience Calls Sinners to Repentance

Is he here. He tells us as well he says I want you to know my judgment. It's also it's a patient justice and judgment there as he looks at it a lot of people think that because God already hasn't destroyed them because God already hasn't done some terrible things.

They then maybe they when they did their first real kind of notable sin that they knew was really wrong. And somehow nothing happened nothing seemed to be result. God didn't seem to judge. And the next thing you know or God maybe he doesn't care he isn't interested in it or he's just gonna let the thing go on.

I suppose if God was gonna do something he'd have done it by now. And so the next thing you know it's easier to do again and again. We oftentimes think that something is wrong and we wait almost for some judgment to come.

We knew what we did and we know the sky is gonna fall on us. Some terrible thing is gonna happen. And then when it doesn't all of a sudden we take God's patience his license to continue bid the behavior maybe it's okay.

Maybe he doesn't really care. After all you know it is sometimes God will let things go for many many many years maybe all the way through life. One of the things in the Old Testament that a king was instructed he was a king were never to multiply wives or wealth or horses under themselves.

And David when he came along he never multiplied horses and he didn't multiply wealth but he did wise he had a we you know there was something there as he's kind of realizing he's he's somebody. And one of the things about a lot of the Eastern Kings is one of the ways that they would almost flaunt their leadership and their power is they would take wives concubines.

Saul had done it before. And then David looked there and hey it's all did it. And so David took a couple and then the next thing you know he goes in and he has a great battle a great victory there as he takes the the city of Jerusalem the stronghold of Zion the city of David.

And then right after that a few verses later just so quietly says. And David took more wives and concubines unto himself nothing happens. And he goes on and he goes on for years just kind of adding and collecting a few here and there you know the fate must be okay even though they all know nobody else did it.

But Kings somehow or another they could live by a little different structure didn't get judged for it until one day a traveler actually comes to town. The way that name called a name and calls him traveler comes to town when David walks out on his porch one night you know the story of course and there he looks and he sees Bathsheba and there as he takes her.

But yet you look there and you you wonder well why is it wrong now. You didn't do anything here. You didn't do anything here. You didn't do anything here. And sometimes it's the it as he says here it's God's patience and his kindness that leads us to repentance.

God so often in his patience in his kindness he knows that we know that we all know it's wrong and that there is a conviction going on. But when we continuously override the conviction when we continuously go on sooner or later so often a stranger a traveler will come to town and tragedy will happen.

Peter tells us in 2nd Peter he says God is not slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness but his long-suffering towards it's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Peter actually says you know a lot of people that are going around saying where is the promise of his coming. Ever since the fathers fell asleep things remain as they were. And he says for this they're really you know they're ignorant willingly ignorant.

And because a lot of things have changed Peter goes on and he says. But just because Peter says God hasn't done anything God is not slack concerning his promises. He's just not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance.

But the judgment of God Peter says will come as a thief in the night. And you know and as Peter gets into it the judgment will come. And just because God is patient don't think that it's okay. It isn't.

It's wrong. It's wrong. Also in verse 5 another aspect of judgment but after the hardness and impenitent heart treasure is up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Sin Accumulates Toward the Day of Wrath

Now here Paul tells us the judgment of God is also cumulative. That is something there were the sins a person is treasuring up. They're adding to building you know the the list of sins against them there it's something there when you stop to think of this is the older you live the more you got you know sort of a thing.

And when you stop to think from God's righteous judgment and there that when judgment is going to be carried out God will look at an entire life and it will have cumulative accumulated and accumulated and accumulated many of the things that a person never even remembers themselves that they did.

They so hardened themselves to their thoughts and their behavior and their actions and their words and their deeds their rebellion against God their rebellion to a society their hurting and wounding of other people their attacks their divisive nature their hatred and bitterness and all these things that people just live in sin and carry it out day after day week after week month after month year after year decade after decade.

Here Paul says it adds up it is cumulative there it is something that the Lord as he brings it there the hardness and the impenitent heart you treasure up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath the judgment of God.

It's an awesome awesome thing to think about. And Revelation 20 verse 12 says. And I saw the dead small and great stand before God. And the books were open. And another book was open which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged out of those things were written in the book according to their works here one day to think there is John looks there and he says I saw here all these that were brought before God and the judgments of God is there.

They were brought here there was all of their works were now brought before them. There was a record of all of this says in the sea gave up the dead that were in it and the death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them and they were judged every man according to their works and death and hell were in the cast in the lake of fire.

And this is the second death. Here is he looks there and then but it's according to works and they accumulate when a person goes on through their life. Also notice here in verse 6 the judgment of God is individual and he says.

Individual Accountability Before God

Who will render unto every man according to his deeds. In other words nobody else's records are gonna get crossed up. You know in there you're not gonna have anybody else's file. Nobody's gonna have your file.

Sort of speak on this thing. It's going to be a perfect individual fair hearing a person there according to their deeds. Imagine this there is you know when you when John does say I saw the dead great and small all in this massive line and one by one according to their deeds are not brought before God.

The great you know there's the Attila the Huns in the Genghis Khan's. There's the great. And then there's you know Wilbur Peabody you know. And it might have been a good guy I don't remember personally.

But anyway they all the other the small people but each one just hearing an individual hearing there to come in and to stand before God for an account of their life individual. I suppose Dietrich Bonhoeffer he once said a man alone in his sin is truly alone.

And there's times in this life that we're alone and we feel alone. But I suppose the loneliest a person will ever be here's when they find themselves standing before God. And there's the individual their life cumulative behavior life attitudes all of it drawn out.

Judgment Separates the Righteous and the Wicked

It's also the judgment of God is separating separating. In verse 7 it says to them who by patient continuous and well-doing they seek for glory and honor in an immortality they'll have eternal life. But verse 10 but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good to the Jew first in the Gentile here on one hand God's judgment is actually going to separate.

This great separation essentially is going to happen there. And that is is that those that live their life there were words through their life they there was honor him way they they sought for glory and honor and immortality.

They longed for eternal life. They knew you know they the message of the gospel. We'll look at this more in a few moments. And glory and honor verse 10. And peace to every man that worketh good to a person that has found what it is that pleases God.

The person that finds what it is that God will look at somebody say that's good what you have done there when that person there's a separation under them they'll have eternal life. They will find themselves brought into it.

And you know one of the interesting things to me that I did you see all these people kind of out there that on one hand they're very angry at the thought of judgment. They're angry. They don't. But I'm never gonna stand before God.

And if I do you know I'll work it out. And there's not gonna be any real eternal judgment. There's not gonna be you know the history divided into two groups. There is gonna people shuttled off into heaven and people shuttled off into hell.

That isn't. I don't believe in that. And and and the thought of people being forced you know and I almost into one group or the other almost they're furious. You notice that you talk to people about Helen there's they're very upset about it.

I don't believe in it. And this isn't good. And but at the same time all these complainers you can look at every one of them say you know you can you get to choose right now which group you're going to be in.

It's your choice. I mean you can have heaven right now. You can have the promise of heaven immortality glory and honor and power and Dominion. You can have everything right now if you want to choose it.

Or if you choose not to you can have judgment. And God is very wonderful is to lay it all out here it is and I want God is saying I want you to know it a year. It's inescapable. It's irrepressible. It is going to happen.

It is going to be absolutely righteous. You know I will be totally thorough. I will be absolutely fair. There won't be anybody said but wait a minute you forgot something. And did actually I mean we won't want him to remember much.

You know then at all you know but the but anybody that would be at this at this judgment. But the thing is that there's a lot of people that they're very upset that eternity is has this separating to it and which only tells me that they must really love this life with all of its injustices this corruption.

You take good people and bad people. You people wanted to want to follow the Lord and serve the Lord and live before the Lord. But you mix them with people who don't. I don't believe in justice. I don't believe anything right.

I don't care how I live. I mean I'm a situational ethic person. I've got an excuse and an explanation for everything I do. I'm going to do whatever it is I want to do. And if I want to hurt somebody I'll have to hurt them.

Or I'll take this or I'm gonna get it. And what do you want to do. Spend eternity with everybody in the same situation. God says no I won't do that to you people you know that want to live. A quote-unquote.

Hell of a life. I got one for you for eternity essentially. But at any point at any point this is the amazing thing. At any point something happens when a person realizes there that that they do not want that separating.

And then the consequences of where they're going to me the one of the most glorious things you look at somebody like the thief on the cross who had spent every breathing hour of his life apparently in rebellion a man so wicked so evil so corrupt that finally the world all gathered together and said you're out of here.

We are going to give you the worst penalty we can give to anybody you can't live here any longer. We don't know where you're going. But you're going to die. And you're not going to live here anymore. And here this guy with his life completely a waste in the last flickering moments of it he looks over at Jesus said would you remember me.

And he says today you'll be with me in paradise. Think of that. I mean God's love is so great that he'll change a guy's destination right at the very fork. I mean the guys already heading down this road.

He'll grab his heel and pull him. Hey let's try this one. I was just waiting man. I didn't. I do. You're down to three breasts buddy you know or something. But did God's love God's mercy for every one of us.

An awesome thing. But yet at the same time know that it is separating. And it's also God's judgment is fierce for says in verse 8. But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness they'll have indignation and wrath tribulation anguish upon every soul of a man that doeth evil to the Jew first.

And also the Gentile that's anybody that lives no matter how much God may have chosen them and have a plan and hope for them. At the same time you live your life away and outside of me the wrath the indignation the tribulation the anguish upon every soul.

God says this is the the issue of which people are going to have to deal with. And obviously Jesus believed in hell unbelievably. So he spoke of it more than he did heaven. And he believed in hell so much that he died.

Jesus believed in hell so much that he died in the cross to save you and me from going there. No question obviously of what he thought of it in the agony that he thought of it that he decided I'll take all the agony upon me if I can save anybody else that wants to be with me.