The Judgment of God Hidden
Romans 2:1-16
July 4, 2021
Peter Yoo
Sermon Script
Review
By way of review, we’re doing a little mini-series on the first three chapters of Paul’s letter to the Romans. And in Romans 1:1-17, we saw how Paul began his letter. We saw that the gospel is something promised beforehand in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament, the gospel is something that unites all believers to each other unto obedient lives, and the gospel is the very power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
Two weeks ago, we saw the importance of God’s attributes revealed. First, God has revealed his righteousness on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And second, God has revealed his wrath in some unbelievers even now. Not fully, but he will on that day of the Lord’s return. They knew God because God has clearly shown himself and his attributes to them, but they rejected him and they chose not to honor him as Lord. So God gave them up to their sin in his wrath, and things progressively cyclone worse and worse. Their sins become more numerous and more severe. Then Romans 1:32 talks about these unbelievers who are so fully given over to their sin, that they not only practice sin but praise those who do them. And this is how God has visibly and clearly revealed his wrath in some unbelievers even now. And so, God has clearly and visibly revealed his righteousness on the cross and God has clearly and visibly revealed his wrath in part on some unbelievers now.
Who’s Paul Talking To?
But this morning, in today’s passage, the scene changes. In Romans 1 Paul’s describing a specific kind of people, but in Romans 2 Paul’s talking directly to a specific kind of person. In Romans 1 Paul’s describing a specific kind of unbeliever, but in Romans 2 Paul’s talking directly to another kind of unbeliever. We see this in the first few verses. Paul described some unbelievers in Romans 1, but now in Romans 2 he’s talking directly to this imaginary person, who represents a category of people. And this person in Romans 2 appears to exalts himself over those in Romans 1, he considers himself superior to or better than those in Romans 1. Those in Romans 1 commit sin and praise those who do the same. But those in Romans 2 commit the very same sin, but judges those in Romans 1. Look at verse 1. Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. And Paul’s talking to this would-be judge. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. Similarly in verse 3, Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? The judging that the man in Romans 2 does is basically saying, “I’m better than you. I’m better than those in Romans 1.” Even though he does the exact same sins. Both those in Romans 1 and in Romans 2 are unbelievers, but there is a clear distinction between these two kinds of unbelievers, as Paul tells us. First, this person judges those in Romans 1, and second, he does, at least some of, the exact same sins as those in Romans 1.
The Problem
Now, obviously these two things don’t go together well, do they? Judging others and then doing the exact same things, there’s a tension there. Those two things don’t go well together. The question, then, is this: why would this person do both at the same time? Why is the hypocritical judge in Romans 2 judge those in Romans 1, thinking he’s better, but doing at least some of the exact same sins? Some have said that this person in Romans 2 doesn’t actually think he’s sinned and so Paul’s trying to prove to him otherwise. But interestingly enough, Paul doesn’t really try to prove to the person that he’s sinned, as if that’s really the point of disagreement. Paul doesn’t try and prove and give examples of his sin. Paul simply states upfront that he’s done so. And it seems to be the case that he already knows. Verse 2, We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. So it seems as if Paul and this person disagree, not whether he’s sinned, they both seem to know that. But rather the significance this man’s sin has, particularly whether this man will or will not be judged for the sin that he knows is in his life. In other words, Paul’s not proving to this man whether he’s sinned or not, but whether or not God will judge this man according to his sin; sin that he clearly knows is in his life.
That’s why verse 3 asks the question that it does. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? That’s the issue here, isn’t it? Will he escape the judgment of God? Apparently, this person believes that even though he sins in much the same way as others do, especially those in Romans 1, he thinks and believes that he will not be judged in the same way as those in Romans 1 are judged.
Why The Interlocutor Judges
So the question then becomes, why does this person think this way? Why does this person believe that he will escape the judgment of God? Why would he assume that God will treat his sin differently than others who commit the same sins? The answer is this: this man sees how God has already treated him differently now, and he assumes that this difference of treatment will continue into the future as well.
This becomes increasingly clear in verse 4. Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Paul acknowledges very clearly that yes, God has shown this man kindness, forbearance, and patience in his life. And this sounds very different than those in Romans 1, who already experience God’s wrath now. In other words, those in Romans 1 experience God’s wrath now, but those in Romans 2 experience God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience now.
And the man in Romans 2 knows it. He knows it. He sees God’s great kindness and forbearance and patience in his life thus far, and he sees his life and compares it to others. For example, this man sins, God has shown him patience. Others have sinned, God has handed them over to their sin in his wrath. And because he sees this discrepancy, he concludes presumptuously that this difference is because of God’s general favor or preference for him. And he thinks that this favor that he’s experiencing now will continue into the future as well.
Paul’s Conclusion
Paul, however, draws a completely different conclusion. God’s not simply overlooking this man’s sin, as if he will escape judgment, because verse 2 says that God’s judgment is always just, rightly [falling] on those who practice such things. So God’s not overlooking this man’s sin. Instead, God’s being patient with this man by not handing him directly and fully over to his sin. At least, not yet, in order to give him opportunity to repent. But the man knowingly and willfully misinterprets God’s patience and sees it as a double standard on God’s part, claiming that God does indeed show partiality. Claiming that God does indeed show favoritism. “God likes me more than that sinner over there. He’s overlooked my sin thus far. Maybe I’m just better.” And because of this deception, this person doesn’t repent. Verse 5 says, because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Paul’s conclusion is that he’s not storing up God’s favor, but he’s storing up God’s wrath for himself for the future. The future day when Christ will return, and then the full measure of God’s righteous judgment will be clearly and fully seen. In other words, while God’s wrath is already at times visible in this world against some people (Romans 1), that’s not the full extent of God’s wrath. The full and complete revelation of God’s wrath is still to come in the future. But because this man presumes upon God’s kindness and doesn’t repent, God’s wrath against him isn’t dealt with. God’s wrath against him still remains. It’s being stored up for him for the day of wrath. The difference, then, between the unbeliever in Romans 1 and the hypocritical unbeliever in Romans 2 is really just a difference of God’s wrath revealed now and God’s wrath soon-to-be revealed in the future against all who do not repent.
This hypocritical man rejects what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:7, for this man walks by sight and not by faith. This man looks at the present and presumptuously makes non sequitur conclusions about his final eternal destination. He sees the effects of God’s wrath already in some people’s lives, and he sees the effects of God’s patience in his own life, and he jumps to a very convenient conclusion, doesn’t he? “God just likes me more. And honestly, I can’t say that I blame him. There’s a lot to like about me. Why wouldn’t he like me?”
God, according to his kindness and mercy, has withheld this man from what his sin rightly deserves! God hasn’t handed him over to his sin in his wrath. But this man has a fatal assumption. He assumes that God’s kindness towards him will always continue, just as he experiences it today. And he will take that fatal assumption with him into the eternal destruction. The good that he receives from the Lord now does not mean that he’s right with the Lord. The good that he experiences from the Lord now does not mean that he’s right with the Lord. It simply means that God is bearing up patiently with him now, but this will not last forever.
The Day of Revelation
Paul then goes on, in verse 6-10, to describe what the day of revelation, the day of wrath will actually look like for those who do not repent. Simply put, it will be a day of strict justice. Strict justice. Verse 6, He will render to each one according to his works. God will simply give back to each person according to their works, according to what they’ve done in their life, according to God’s righteous standard. And verses 7-10 spell this out rather explicitly. Verses 7 and 10 describe the good side, those who both seek that which is good and then do that which is good. Those people will receive eternal life. If we’re dealing with strict justice, verses 8-9 then summarize the opposite side. Those who seek self, those who do evil, they will receive wrath and fury and tribulation and distress.
So here, we see the basic principle of fairness or reciprocity that will be applied to everyone outside of Christ at the last judgment. And verse 11 gives the obvious conclusion of all this, which is that God shows no partiality. There is no favoritism in God. If one person receives something better in this life than another person, it’s not because God likes them more. It’s not because they did anything to earn God’s favor. Whatever the differences are in our lives right now compared to others, remember that the full measure of God’s righteous judgment is not visible today. It’s hidden. It’s hidden today, and it will be fully revealed and seen on the last day. Put another way, all the unrepentant will reap precisely what they have sown. God has kept this person from the true consequences of his sin in this life up until now. God has shown kindness, forbearance, and patience with this person, but this is not indicative of what God actually thinks about unrepentant sin. All unrepentant sin of every kind will be judged with strict justice.
What this means, then, for the man in Romans 2 is quite clear. If these forms of favor are just temporary, then the hypocritical judge has a very clear and very serious problem. And he doesn’t even know it. He knows of his sin, but he continues to live in unrepentance assuming that God’s kindness toward him now will continue into the future. But the root of Paul’s argument is this: there are some things that are clearly visible now and there are things that are hidden now, that will only be visible later. God’s wrath against some now may be obvious as their lives spiral downward into increasing sin. But with others, God’s ultimate judgment upon them is not to be seen right now. It’s hidden. And the man in Romans 2 doesn’t understand the hiddenness of the judgment of God that waits for him.
Two Scenarios of Hidden Standing
Paul then goes on in verse 12-16 to describe 2 scenarios where people’s true standing before God is not yet visible. First, in verses 12-13, Paul describes really the majority of people besides those in Romans 1. That is, verses 12-13 describe those who sin but do not yet receive punishment for that sin, but will in the future. In other words, Paul describes most unbelievers just like this person in Romans 2. Verse 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. This is the first time that Paul directly mentions the law of God in this letter. And this law that Paul’s talking about is the Jewish law, which many Jews thought was their great privilege. And it was, but they felt that having this law made them better than others.
But Paul says here, and spells out later in the rest of Romans 2, that having the law before the Gentiles doesn’t bring any kind of immunity from judgment. If anything, having the law only makes things worse, because the law itself clearly judges and condemns sin. Hence verse 13, For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. Simply having the law and hearing it is of no ultimate benefit at all. Those who hear the law of God in the synagogue or those who hear the law of God in the church will not be justified by simply hearing it and having access to it. The only way to be justified through the law is to do what it says. The law can only pronounce blessing on those who obey it completely. Otherwise, it can only condemn and rightly judge.
The second scenario, where people’s true standing before God is not yet visible, is found in verse 14-16. Paul describes the situation of some Gentiles, who, even though they don’t have the law in its written form, they still show its work present on their hearts whenever they do what it says. It’s sometimes hard to discern right now the ultimate standing of these obedient Gentiles, at least that’s the way they often appear. Not for God, of course, but for us. On the one hand, we see see this person who’s quite obedient outside of the covenant, outside of the church we might say, and outwardly they may often be doing what’s right. Yet inwardly, their consciences and thoughts may ultimately accuse them. Verse 15, They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.
And ultimately, Paul says in verse 16 that God [will judge] the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. Of course, this means that Christ will judge also that which is within them, their very thoughts, the very place where they’re already receiving accusation. And here’s that idea again: God’s judgment itself is not visible, it’s hidden. But he will indeed judge all of it with perfect and infallible judgment. So what’s this person’s ultimate standing before God? God knows, but it’s not so easy for us to see. People in Romans 1, very clear, they don’t even hide it. This person in Romans 2, not as clear to us, but very clear to God. As Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:24, The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.
Here’s the basic distinction that Scripture puts before us this morning. There’s a distinction between what’s visible now and what’s hidden now but will be revealed and visible later. In other words, some things are visible now, but some things are hidden now. The things that are hidden now will be visible in the future. All things will be visible and clear in the future. However, for any person, any unbeliever who receives God’s kindness and forbearance and patience in this life, this passage is very clear. It’s not because they have a right standing with God. Quite the contrary, it’s a reason and opportunity to repent. It’s not because God has overlooked their sin. Quite the contrary, they’re storing up wrath for [themselves].
So by way of quick review, the unbeliever in Romans 2 is unlike the unbeliever in Romans 1. The unbeliever in Romans 1 visibly manifests the wrath of God now in his handing them over to their sin. And they are so given over to their sin, that it culminates into them not only committing more sins and worse sins, but more than that, they give praise to those who do the same. The unbeliever in Romans 2 however visibly manifests the kindness, forbearance, and patience of God now, but this isn’t a sign of God’s favor. It’s an opportunity for him to repent. But he willfully and knowingly misinterprets God’s kindness and mercy towards him as a visible sign of God’s favor, presuming that God’s kindness towards him now will continue into the future. He thinks that he’s in some way superior to those in Romans 1, not recognizing that his continued unrepentance is actually storing up for himself wrath. And this will be finally and completely revealed when Christ returns to judge all things with perfect righteousness and strict justice. He will even [judge] the secret [things] of men.
Application
Now, I would like us to reflect on the significance and implications of our passage this morning. Because even as believers, even as regenerate, born-again believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, even we, yes we, can misunderstand the patience that we experience in this life. Like the man in Romans 2, there are ways in which we can misinterpret patience as approval.
First, we can misinterpret patience as approval in our relationship with other people. Consider carefully your relationship with other people. Maybe things are going well for you here at Highland with other people. You may have a lot of friends here and I’m really thankful for the warm and inviting community that we have here at Highland. But make no mistake. Don’t be deceived. Because we’re prone to wrongly think that things are going well for us because others approve of us or because we’re so wonderful, when in actuality it’s often times because they’re just being kind.
I know of this guy and I have to be honest you all this morning, I feel really bad for him. Because this guy has an extremely overdue paper that he just can’t seem to finish. This paper was due in the beginning of May and it’s already the beginning of July. And what’s worse is that this guy turned in another extremely overdue paper last year as well to the exact same professor. This is his second extremely overdue paper with the same professor. But after he finally turned in his first overdue paper last year, the professor was actually rather impressed with his work. And despite how late the paper was turned in, he received a pretty decent grade on it. But this second time, it would be completely foolish on his part if he turned in his paper extremely late believing and misunderstanding and misinterpreting his professor’s kindness and patience with him as approval. He ought not to think that his professor is okay with or even approves of this unacceptable behavior. I hope he learns sooner than later that his professor is patiently bearing up with him. And he should definitely not presume upon his professor’s kindness, thinking that the future will be anything like how he was treated before.
But this can happen to any one of us I’m sure. For example, things may be going really well in your marriages. But it’s very easy to think that “Well, it’s because I’m really easy to get along with.” When in reality it may be the case that our spouses are just being gracious and patient and kind. This can happen between friends. Perhaps one of your friends says something inappropriate, and the response from his or her peers wasn’t too bad, so he or she interprets that instance as approval. When in reality, they were being patient and bearing up with the immaturity. And so, let us not misinterpret one’s patience as approval. Or even worse, attributing the success and good things in our lives to our own abilities, our own likability, rather than to the fact that others are maybe just being sacrificially kind towards us.
In Romans 12:3, Paul urges every Christian not to think of [themselves] more highly than [they] ought to think, but to think with sober judgment. It’s hard to think this way though, isn’t it? We like ourselves. We prefer ourselves. It’s difficult to have sober judgment when it comes to ourselves, isn’t it? So I encourage us this morning, let us not presume upon other people. Let us not reflect the hypocrisy of the judge in Romans 2. Let us not think that we are better than others for whatever reason, especially when in actuality good things have come our way because people were merely being kind towards us. I hope that we can be aware of the kindness and patience we’re being shown, and then see that we actually need much, much more patience than we thought. We need so much patience every day.
Second, and more central to our passage, we can misinterpret patience as approval in our relationship to God himself. There are at least 2 crucial problems in the way that the man in Romans 2 thinks. One, he evaluates his life in comparison to others. “Hey, at least I’m not as bad as other people. God would love me more than that person over there, right?” But our passage this morning teaches us clearly that God’s standard for righteousness is perfect, it’s absolute, it’s not a comparative standard of judgment. God doesn’t judge on a curve. His righteous and perfect judgment will be based on what they deserve in themselves according to what they’ve thought and done. And the notion that being a good bit better than others is a deceptive and faulty standard. It’s a standard that most people will take with them to hell. And let’s be honest, thinking that we’re a good bit better than others isn’t that hard of a standard anyway, is it? Most of the time, we can find someone easily worse than us. There will always be someone further down the line than us that we can compare ourselves to and then feel a little bit better about ourselves. But that’s a comparative standard of judgment. And God uses no such thing. His standard of goodness is himself. He measures all things according to his holiness. It would be unjust of God to measure all things by any other standard.
The second crucial problem in the way that the man in Romans 2 thinks is that he views any blessings in his life as confirmation that he’s okay spiritually. Let’s be clear here, this man is in fact receiving many good things from the Lord. For any of us to receive a drop of God’s mercy has already received something overwhelmingly good. And this man is receiving much more than that. But the crucial problem is that he misinterprets and misunderstands God’s general forms of kindness toward him in his life as a sign that he’s doing okay, even without repenting.
And we can easily think the same things ourselves as regenerate, born-again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of us are relatively young, healthy, pretty good jobs, very bright futures ahead of us. But I remind you this morning that God in his kindness may give any these things to unrepentant unbelievers as well. And it doesn’t earn them any favor with God. For them it’s not a sign of his favor. It’s a sign of his patience, a kindness [which] is meant to lead [them] to repentance.
Also, for some of us, let us be humble and remember that though some of us have never really experienced major failure or major bottoming out in life or real hard consequences, this doesn’t mean that good things in life will always continue. We may easily lose sight of this simple fact and misinterpret good things in this life as a proper and accurate litmus test for our relationship to God. Perhaps even thinking, “Why do I need to repent? I have a pretty good life right now. I don’t really see or feel the need to repent.” Let us not presume upon God’s kindness because his patience doesn’t last forever.
Repent. Turn to Christ. Because there’s only one way to have right standing before God. It’s not by being a better person than someone else down the line from you. You don’t have right standing before the Lord because of the many ways in which the Lord has blessed you materially or with temporal goods. You don’t even have right standing before God because you go to church or read the Bible or pray! As we’ve been talking about in Bible studies over and over again, you have right standing with God because of Jesus Christ. The perfect and righteous image of God who perfectly obeyed the Law of God. The law should have pronounced him with blessing for he obeyed it perfectly. But instead, he was crushed under the fierce wrath of God. The only Son of God was judged as if he was the worst of sinners, taking your place. But he would impute to you his perfect righteousness, so that you might be declared blameless on that day. So that there might not be wrath stored up for you. So that you would never experience what Christ experienced on the cross, the entirety of the wrath of God for all his people. But that there might be blessings upon blessings of everlasting glory stored up for you. And now we have right standing before God because he has not hidden his Son from us, but revealed him to us by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through his Word. Let us look onward and upward to the return of our King, who is kind, forbearing, and patient with his people to the end of the age.
Soli Deo Gloria