Includes a suggested introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations to share, group discussion questions, and spiritual life applications. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRODUCTION:

“How many of you have heard of Robinson Crusoe?” 

I imagine virtually everyone will say that they have. 

“But do you know that the original Robinson Crusoe is an explicitly Christian book?” 

Here’s a quick summary: Crusoe rebels against the advice of his parents and goes to sea, seeking riches, but he is shipwrecked and he alone survives on an uninhabited island. At one point, he gets sick and has a terrifying dream that causes him to evaluate his life and his rebellion against God and his parents. So he begins reading the New Testament, which repeatedly spoke about repentance. Crusoe realizes that his shipwreck was not a “punishment” from God; rather it was “the kindness of God that led him to repentance.” Crusoe is saved — and when he saves Friday from a group of cannibals, he leads him to the Lord! (None of this is found in the “Disney”-type modern versions!)

But this scripture, “The kindness of God leads you to repentance,” is a key verse in our passage for this week from Romans 2:1-13!

CONTEXT:

We’re in week 2 of our study of Romans this quarter. Last time we saw how Paul wrote to the Romans, although he had never been there, unlike his other letters to churches he’d planted and others he’d discipled — but he indicated he was hoping to come to them soon and preach the gospel among them, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation. He shared in Chapter 1 how all mankind is accountable to God through what they can see in His creation, though most have rejected Him regardless. The chapter ended talking about how those who exchanged God’s glory for idols and other things, were “given over” to a depraved mind, and defiled bodies. As we will see, Romans 2 begins with “Therefore,” referring back to that first chapter. 

OUTLINE:

I.   The Indefensible Violation of God’s Standard (:1-3)

II.  The Foolish Rejection of God’s Kindness (:4-5)

III. The Inevitable Wrath of God’s Judgment (:6-13)

TEXT: Romans 2:1-13

I. The Indefensible Violation of God’s Standard

:1 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?”

Chapter 2:1 opens “Therefore …”. So of course we have to refer back to what Paul just said in Chapter 1. Paul had been talking about how those who exchanged God’s glory for other things became morally depraved and practiced abominations. 

Then Paul begins what the ancients called a “diatribay” (we get our word “diatribe” from it) in which a person asks and answers questions as if he were addressing a potential audience. That’s why he says here, “Therefore YOU …” — he’s addressing people who might respond to what he’d just written in Chapter 1 about these immoral people who’d rejected God.

Not everyone in ancient times (or today) was as blatantly immoral as those Romans 1 described. Many Jews would have applauded the condemnation of those people. F.F. Bruce writes that Paul could have been addressing the Roman moralist Seneca, the tutor of Nero, who would have rejected that kinds of immorality. Seneca, other “moral” people of his day, as well as many Jews — and of course many “moral religious people” today — would “look down” on the conduct of these kinds of people, and say, “Yes, isn’t that awful how they live?” That’s who Paul is addressing in this “diatribay.” 

He says, “Therefore, inexcusable are YOU, O man, everyone judging …”. 

— the word “inexcusable” here is the same word (“an-apologetos”) that we talked about last week in Chapter 1, that everyone is “without excuse” — meaning they “have no defense” before God because of what we can see of His glory in creation. But now he turns the tables on those saying “amen” to the condemnation of the pagans.

— The word “man” here is “anthropos,” just the general Greek word for “mankind,” “people.” (“Anthropology,” the study of man, comes from this word.) So it refers to anyone, male or female, who does what?

— “everyone JUDGING.” He says, if you are judging others for their sins, then you are also condemning yourself before God!

Several scriptures address this:

— Jesus in Matthew 7:1 says “Judge not, lest YOU be judged, for in the way you judge, you will BE judged, and according to your standard of measure, it will be measured to you”!

— Jesus repeatedly taught in Matthew 5, the first chapter of that great sermon, that the commandments mean more than what the Jews and others had been “traditionally” taught by their scribes:

— the commandment not to murder also meant not to be angry

— the commandment not to commit adultery also condemns those who lust after someone in their heart

And so on. The point is, the scripture condemns ALL of us, not just those who fail more spectacularly than others!

— Paul expands on this later in Romans 2:21-24 (not in our focus passage): “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? 24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written.”

He says there, you are good at teaching others not to break God’s Law — but the truth is, you are breaking it yourself, and you too are condemned before God!

— Jesus followed up Matthew 7:1’s admonition not to judge by saying: “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” Those who condemn others are often very hypocritical; breaking many of the same commandments themselves.

ILLUSTRATION:

“On September 5 (1943), President Roosevelt invited Mrs. Ogden Reid to join himself and Churchill for lunch at the White House. She was the publisher of the New York Herald Tribune and a strong supporter of Indian independence. She was known for speaking that she would speak it to Churchill. She did, asking Churchill, “What are you going to do about those wretched Indians?” He replied, “Before we proceed further let us get one thing clear. Are we talking about the brown Indians in India, who have multiplied alarmingly under benevolent British we: Or are we talking about the Red Indians in America, who, I understand, are almost extinct?” Mrs. Reid was speechless.” (William Manchester and Paul Reid, The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm, p. 723)

That’s exactly how the hypocrite (there’s no better word for it) will be, when they stand before the Lord. They will be speechless. Like that word “an-apologetos” suggests, they will have no defense. 

When the Lord appears to Job near the end of that book, He tells him: “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” 3 Then Job answered the Lord and said, 4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.” Job just said, I don’t have anything to say before You. This is exactly how those who are so critical and judgmental towards others, will be before God when they stand before Him. They will be “an-apologetos,” they will have no defense, having failed God’s standards themselves, and they will end up being judged by Him. 

We need to apply this today. Don’t many of us today do exactly what Paul is talking about here? Doesn’t a preacher often get the loudest “amens” in the church, by preaching against those “vile sins” that “everyone out there” is committing, but not “us good religious people in here”! It’s easy to point out the sins of others; but the truth is, we have plenty of sins of our own to deal with as well!

We need to make sure that we don’t fall into the kind of judgmental spirit Paul is addressing here. Let’s not be so quick to point out sins in other people lives — though yes they truly are sins — but let’s also be fully cognizant and appropriately humbled by the fact that WE TOO are sinners, just like they are! As we will see very clearly next week in Romans 3, we’re ALL included in its condemnation that “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We all need God’s mercy, not our own self-righteousness. But sadly, he says next that most of us reject the mercy and grace that God kindly offers us:

II. The Foolish Rejection of God’s Kindnesses (:4-5)

:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself”

EXERCISE: “What qualities of GOD can you find listed here in :4-5, and what qualities of MAN do you see?”

A. Qualities God displayed here:

— “kindness” (riches of His kindness!) Chrestos Vincent = “We have no word in English that conveys this blend of being kind and good at the same time.” (Vincent’s Word Studies) +x Mt 11 “My yoke is chrestos”! 

— “tolerance” Greek “anoche,” “forbearance, tolerance, patience.” From “anechomai,” “self-restraint.” One calls it “divine forbearance” as it is used only twice in the New Testament, both of God only, here and 3:25, where it says “in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.” God patiently held back the judgment that should have come much earlier. 

— “patience” is the word familiar to many, “makro-thumia,” literally “long”-“wrath/anger/passion.” In other words, God has demonstrated “short fuse.” As Psalm 103 says, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” He’s been extremely patient!

???DISCUSSION/APPLICATION QUESTION???
“Can you think of an example where God has been very patient towards someone/some group of people?”

(— Lot in Sodom! How patient was God with him, finally just basically dragging him out of Sodom. I’d have just left him!

— Israel: when they sinned, He gave them hundreds of chances, over hundreds of years. 

— The United States: Ruth Graham famously said if God doesn’t judge America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom. That was in 1965 over 60 years ago, and America is much worse now than then! He’s been very patient!

— Many of us can share about specific individuals God has been very patient with — including OURSELVES! 

We can thank God for His patience! 

— “kindness” Chrestos again

So God is described as being, “kind, forbearing, patient, kind.” He has certainly treated us better than we deserve. In fact, the last part of :4 contains a great truth: “The kindness of God leads you to repentance.” Many of us think of repentance as some hard, undesirable thing. But scripture says here it’s God’s KINDNESS that leads us to repentance (like we see in Robinson Crusoe; if you don’t use that as an opening illustration, you might use it here). As we’ve studied before, repentance is a “U-turn” — which is a good thing when you have been going the wrong way! Our sin took us away from God, but repentance brings us back to Him. A favorite saying of our pastor here at Trinity is “Repentance is our friend,” and that is certainly so. Repentance will bring us back to God, where we can find forgiveness, peace, and joy. So we need to respond positively to God’s kind offer of mercy and repentance. 

B. QUALITIES OF MAN listed here: 

But what qualities do we see from mankind here? (It’s not good!)

— “think lightly” (kata-phroneo, “down/to think,” so to “think down on,” “not think much of.” Isn’t this so often the case with mankind? We think so little of what God has done: we think so little of the miracles of His creation; we think so little of His daily blessings; and so many think so little of the enormous sacrifice of His Son at the cross. 

— “stubbornness” literally, “hardness,” “callousness”

— “unrepentant heart” literally just “a-metanoetos”, NOT/repentant/heart.

This is how mankind has responded to God’s kindness.

Was there ever anybody you just did for, did for, did for; helped so much — but they repaid you with indifference, or worse, with ill-treatment or disloyalty? We’ve all probably experienced that.

THAT is the picture of mankind towards God. He’s done so much for us — but we respond to Him with hatred, or perhaps at best, indifference.

ILLUSTRATION
Charles Dickens, the famed English novelist, one day had 8 gold sovereigns (worth perhaps $1000 each today) stolen from his office. When the police investigated, they found the culprit: it was John Thompson, an Englishman who had served as Dickens’ valet for 24 years. Dickens had taken good care of Thompson, even personally ministering to him during a bout of severe illness that he’d had. Dickens was shaken by this betrayal by this man to whom he’d been so kind. Even when he sent him away, he did not give out a bad report, knowing if he did so the man would never get another job. Dickens wrote: “I have had to walk more than usual to walk myself into composure again.” (Peter Ackroyd, Dickens, p. 993) 

Charles Dickens was deeply hurt by this treatment from the man to whom he had shown so many kindnesses. But isn’t that just the way the vast majority of mankind has treated God? God has blessed us in so many ways, and has been immeasurably patient and undeservedly kind to us — even sacrificing His Son for us. But most of us reject the one-and-only lifeline that He’s thrown out to us. We need to make sure that we do not harden our hearts, but respond gratefully to God’s indescribably kind gift!

III. The Inevitable Wrath of God’s Judgment (:6-13)

:5b “… you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”

So having described mankind’s harsh rejection of God’s kindness in :4-5, Romans 2 now begins to describe the penalty of that rejection: the coming wrath of God! 

EXERCISE:

At this you can point out — or better, ask your group to point out all of the terms you see in this section that indicate or describe God’s punishment. 

(Answers can include:

— : 5 “wrath”

“day of wrath”

“righteous judgment of God”

— :6 “render to each person according to his deeds”

— :8b “wrath and indignation”

— :9 “tribulation and distress”

— :12 “perish”

“judged”

All of these terms taken together describe a picture of God’s punishment of mankind that no one should want a part of! NOTICE that THREE TIMES the word “wrath” is used, twice in :5, and again in :8. This is the Greek Bible word “orge” (I’m going to spell it “orgay” to help you pronounce it correctly). It comes from a verb meaning “to swell.” It’s a “swelling” of opposition to someone/something, not a “sudden outburst,” but rather a “settled indignation” against sin. 

Mounce writes: “Orgay normally refers to a deep-seated antagonism; thumos usually describes sudden anger. Thumos may be the outward expression of orgay. The NEB combines them: ‘a fury of retribution.’”

Cross reference verses that help us understand the “orgay”/wrath of God against sin include:

— Matthew 3:7, where John the Baptist warns the Pharisees and Sadducees to “flee from the wrath to come.” It’s a horrific judgment that is coming!

— Romans 2:5 here calls it “the day of wrath” — so it’s not just some punishments here and there during this lifetime, like many of us have experienced, rather it is a fixed “day” in which God will specifically pour out His anger for sin.

Revelation repeatedly refers to the wrath of God (11 times!)

— 6:16-17 says the world’s leaders will shout to the rocks and mountains: “Fall on us and hide us from the [b]presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

We can’t even imagine the kind of wrath that would cause men to cry out in such a way!

— Revelation 14:10-11 says those who worship the beast and his image “will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night.” It’s a description of the wrath of God that will be poured out upon all those who rebel against Him. 

John 3:16 uses the word “perish” to describe this end — as does :12 in this passage. It’s a destiny that no one desires: separated from the glory of God, yes, but even more than that, subject to the unfathomable, eternal wrath of God as well. Just as we can’t begin to fathom the splendor and beauty of God’s glory that Christians will enjoy forever, in the same we cannot begin to imagine the horrific nature of the wrath that will be poured out on those who reject Him. God’s wrath is something no one should want any part of!

WRATH ILLUSTRATION:

In the 1200s, Genghis Khan sent a team of ambassadors to negotiate a peaceful trade agreement with the Kwarazmian empire, which had been prospering. Many believe that they would have eventually grown to eclipsed Rome or China — but they made a fatal mistake: the sultan of Kwarizim looted Genghis Khan’s caravan, and disfigured the faces of his ambassadors, humiliating them. Genghis Khan was 60 years old, but his wrath was stirred. He gathered his entire army, marched them across a desert that was considered impassable, and attacked the sultan’s city of Bukhara by surprise. Khan gathered the elite of the city into the mosque and told them: “I am the punishment of God. He killed everyone in the citadel, and burned the city of Bukhara, which had rivaled Baghdad, to the ground. There was nothing left of Bukhara but ashes. Then Genghis Khan took every city in the empire, and the Kwarazmian empire was no more. 

Genghis Khan could be a benevolent ruler — but when provoked, his wrath was devastating. He was not a man to be offended! How much more so is the wrath of Almighty God? People lightly  joke about things like, “I’m going to hell …” and so on. If they had any idea of the wrath of God, they would never joke about such things, and neither would we. This is why it’s so important for us to pray for the lost, and witness to those who don’t know Christ, and live lives that glorify God and testify to the reality of our faith. We need to everything we can, so that people might be drawn to the truth, and miss the very real, impending wrath of God. 

There are so many other teaching points here in Romans 2 that you can touch on, or delve into more, depending on the needs of your class, including:

—Verses 7 and 10, which talk about those who by “doing good” will result in eternal life. Someone might be tempted to look at those verses and say, “Oh, we can get eternal life by doing good.” A couple of things about that:

1) The problem is, NO ONE “does good”! Jesus said “There is none good but God” (Matthew 19:17). Romans 3:12 says “There is NONE who does good; there is not even one.”  The whole point of the first part of Romans is that EVERYONE is condemned before God; and we all need the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the righteousness that only He gives. 

2) Another way to look at this, suggested by Robert Mounce in the NAC, is that these verses are describing the impact that saving faith has on the person’s life. The people in this verses who are “doing good” and “seek for glory and honor and immortality” are indeed saved by faith (we know from scripture that’s the only way we can be saved; it’s not of works) but they are also SHOWING their faith by the way they live. Their faith has impacted their life — which genuine, saving faith always does. Remember Jesus said “The one who hears these words of Mine and ACTS upon them” is the man who built his house on the rock. And in fact, that’s just what Paul says at the end of this section, isn’t it? “It is not the HEARERS of the Law who are just before GOD, but the DOERS of the Law.” 

John MacArthur says of this: “The deeds of the redeemed are not the basis of their salvation, but the EVIDENCE of it.” I think that’s a fitting statement about these verses.

People today need to hear this! SO many, especially in American “Bible belt,” think they are “ok” with God because they go to church and hear His word: “Oh yeah, I’m a good Christian; I go to church every week!” But Jesus in Matthew 7, and Paul here again in Romans 2, and James 1:22, repeatedly warn us: it’s not merely “hearers” of Jesus’ words who are saved, but those who DO it! If your life is not changed by your so-called faith, you don’t have saving faith at all!  Some of our class members, and certainly members of churches all across our country today, need to hear and somberly consider this truth! 

— Another great teaching point is found in :11, which says: “For there is no partiality with God.” Human beings show partiality to our family or friends, and they get special treatment. Not so with God. He is the Perfect Judge, and there is “no partiality” with Him! He will judge every one of us by His perfect, righteous standard — no exceptions! 

CONCLUSION

So those who reject God’s kindness, and self-righteously judge others, will all experience the just wrath of God. Who is good enough to avoid this? Of course, none of us are. Paul’s been leading up to this in Romans 1 & 2, and our next lesson from Romans 3 & 4 will make this abundantly clear:

— Gentiles, idolaters, and the immoral are all under condemnation as we saw in Chapter 1

— Jews are all under condemnation (as we see here in Chapter 2)

— We are ALL under condemnation (as we’ll see in Chapter 3)

The only hope any of us have is the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ! That will become very clear in the next couple of lessons from Romans 3-5. Thank God for the gospel, that this magnificent Book of Romans makes so clear for us!

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