GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR MAN FROM START TO FINISH

Part II: Man's Need For God's Righteousness, Romans 1:18-3:20

B. The Condemnation Of Moral Man

(Romans 2:1-16)

I. Introduction

A. Having clarified why man needs God's righteousness, starting with pagan man's need for it in Romans 1:18-23, Paul continued by explaining pagan man's condemnation in Romans 1:24-32.

B. However, moral man also stands fully condemned before God in the viewpoint of God, Paul's teaching in Romans 2:1-16, so we view that passage for insight and edification (as follows):

II. The Condemnation Of Moral Man, Romans 2:1-16.

A. Moral man stands condemned before God because he since like pagan man sins, but with more sophistication:

1. Paul claimed that moral man who considers himself upright in comparison to pagan man in his open debauchery is nevertheless self-condemned in judging the pagan man since he himself commits the same sins as pagan man, although generally in a more sophisticated, cultural way! (Romans 2:1)

2. For example, (a) moral man may never commit the physical act of murder, but 1 John 3:15 considers private hatred of one's brother to be murder, and (b) moral man might not commit immorality, but Matthew 5:28 claims that a man's merely looking on a woman to lust after her is the sin of adultery.

3. God judges man according to the standard of truth, so moral man cannot escape God's ruling that he has sinned like pagan man regardless how culturally sophisticated the manner in which he sins, Romans 2:2-3.

B. Moral man stands condemned before God because he like pagan man has contempt for God's goodness, forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads him to repent, Rom. 2:4; 1:21-23. That contempt for God's grace in pagan man reflects stubborn rebellion, what is also present in lost moral man by way of repudiating salvation by grace, and that rebellion only enhances God's wrath against him, Rom. 2:5.

C. Accordingly, God will judge moral man with just judgment, Romans 2:6-16:

1. First, God will evaluate the heart of moral man based upon his works that give evidence of his heart, and such works apart from Christ's salvation will cause God impartially to doom him to hell, Romans 2:6-10:

a. The judgment of people by their works in Romans 2:6-10 is NOT a judgment whereby people can be justified by their works, for no one can be justified by works according to Romans 3:19-20:

b. Rather, Paul's discussion in Romans 2:6-10 focuses on works because moral man believes his works will save him as he views they justify him in contrast to pagan man in pagan man's flagrant debauchery.

c. However, since works reveal the heart of man, no unsaved person's works will justify him, for in the Great White Throne Judgment, all are judged by their works (Revelation 20:12), but unless their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life as being justified by grace through faith in Christ, they are cast into the lake of fire, Revelation 20:15.

2. Second, God will judge moral man based upon his own violations of his own conscience, Romans 2:11-16:

a. Paul noted that God will judge Gentile and Jew alike impartially as God is no respecter of persons, v. 11.

b. To achieve this goal, God must consider that unsaved Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses where unsaved Jews have it, so moral unsaved Gentiles who do not have the Law will perish without it and unsaved Jews who have the Law will perish by being condemned by the Law, Romans 2:12.

c. God is righteous in judging unsaved moral Gentiles this way, for they have a conscience that they often violate, for they instinctively understand various dictates of righteousness found within God's law by the way their consciences direct them to function, but which directives they often violate, Romans 2:13-15.

d. This judgment will occur when God judges the secrets of men by Christ as Paul's Gospel states, v. 16.

Lesson: Moral unsaved men (1) condemn themselves before God (a) by doing what pagan man does in a culturally sophisticated way, (b) by having contempt for God's goodness that leads him to repentance, enhancing God's wrath against him and (c) by violating his own conscience. Thus, (2) God will condemn unsaved moral men (a) by their evil works that expose their lost condition and (b) by their violation of their own consciences that condemn them.

Application: (1) We must realize that moral unsaved man by way of his own works, his own conscience and his own rebelliousness against God's goodness and grace stands just as condemned before God as unsaved pagan man in his blatant debauchery, that the moral man must then believe in Christ to be saved or end up in hell. (2) If we are moral but not saved, may we believe in Christ, for we stand in jeopardy of eternal hell by our own sinfulness!