God's Righteous Judgment

For Matt and I today, our coffee time together consisted of Romans 2. Wow! As he would say, it is a checkup from the neckup….or heartup! Please do not bypass this devotion today. God is speaking to us, I will type, as the Word of God lays it out…..

In this chapter, Paul points out 3 principles that tells us about God’s righteous judgment.

God judges according to: 1) Truth

2) Deeds

3) The “Light” that a person has (keep reading, HE will explain)

The Truth….

You have no excuse, when you pass judgment on someone else, you are condemning yourself, because you do the same things. God’s judgment against those who sin, is based on truth, HIS truth. So, when you, a man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Are you so complacent with His kindness, tolerance, and patience given to you, that you do not realize that God’s kindness is to lead you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart of your sin, you are storing up punishment for yourself on the day of God’s wrath (judgement at the end of time) when His righteous judgement will be revealed.

Deeds….

God will give to each person according to what he has done. He will give eternal life to you, if you patiently do the will of God, obeying His commands. (Let’s keep in mind, Paul is not saying you EARN eternal life, but only by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul’s purpose in this chapter deals with how people are judged, not how people are saved, he does that in Romans 3 &4). But, if you are self-seeking in deeds, reject the truth, and are in sin; there will be terrible punishment, and God’s anger will pour out on you. There will be sorrow and suffering if your sin continues.

The “Light” that you have in your heart….

What is the “light”? God’s Word, His commandments, that has been available to you. ALL who sin but DO NOT know God’s commandments will be judged, and ALL who sin and DO know His commandments will be judged as well. He will punish sin wherever it is found. Just because you hear the Word of God and know what to do, does not mean you are righteous, but if you obey the Word of God and do it, you will be called righteous.

The day is coming when God will command Jesus to judge the secret lives of everyone, your deepest thoughts and motives. Do not brag about your relationship to God just because you have been exposed to His Word. From your exposure, you may know what He wants, know right from wrong, and favor the right because you have been taught this from a young age. You can be so sure about it, that you can point out sin, directing who are lost in darkness, to God. You may be able to teach others; then why don’t you teach yourselves? You tell others not to steal- do you steal? You say it is wrong to lie- do you do it? You teach do not make anything an idol- then why do you make money your god? You are so proud of knowing God’s Word, but you dishonor Him when you sin. No wonder the scriptures say the world speaks evil of God because of you.

Being a Christian has value when you obey God’s commandments; but if you don’t, then you are no better off than the sinner. And if the sinner repents, then obeys God’s commandments, won’t God give them all the rights and honors He gives you, the Christian? In fact, those sinners will be much better off than you who know so much about God and have His promises, but do not obey them. You are not a Christian just because you were born of Christian parents or because you have been baptized. That is no guarantee of God’s favor. A Christian is anyone whose heart is right with God. He is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life, will get his praise from God not man.

God, forgive me of ALL of my sin. From the deepest part of my heart; sin that I have become blinded to, ignoring the conviction from the Holy Spirit. Change my heart and my mind so that I am pleasing to YOU, Father. Amen