GOD'S GREAT NEWS for MAN'S GREAT PROBLEM - Romans 1-8

Two Faces of Perversity

After the last study on Rom. 1:21-32, and our discussion on homosexuality as a part of that study, I was speaking with a couple from our church about homosexuals. As we spoke, I told them the story of the first time I came face-to-face with a gay man whom I knew to be openly gay, with whom I was going to relate on a daily basis.

It was at my first professional job as a computer lab administrator in Silicon Valley. The business of our laboratory was to conduct performance tests on computer hardward and software products, and when I got there we were shorthanded in the software analysis area. So, one of my first tasks was to write an ad for the position and post the ad in the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News. We received about 35 resumes, and by far the best resume was from a man named Greg Harvey. Greg's resume was tailor-made for our position. I phoned him and set-up the interview. I remember when the receptionist buzzed me in the lab, telling me he had arrived. I eagerly marched up to the reception area, and through the door walked a man who was openly gay. He was wearing a gaudy earring, and both his walk and his appearance were very effeminate as he came over to shake my hand. As he walked toward me, I literally stopped short. I didn't walk toward him. There was a strained two-second pause as I looked at him and took in the fact that he was gay, and he looked at me and realized that I had stopped short because he was gay.

What happened during that two-second pause was crucial. I had grown up in a home where my family was infuriated by the first tales of open kissing and caressing by gay couples in the downtown area of Boulder, Colorado, in the early 80s. I didn't know much about gays, but we had enough pejorative terms for them to fill a mini dictionary. I knew a few openly gay men in college, but I never had to relate to them on a daily basis in a work setting. Suddenly all of my judgmental and harsh attitudes about gays were met by the face of a man with a perfect resume. I wish I could have seen both my face and his face during that two-second pause: on my face would have been a look of disgust, a look of judgment, while his face bore the subtle hardness of an immoral lifestyle. I would have seen two different faces; but both were faces of perversity.

In studying Rom. 1:21-32, it is very easy for most of us to nod and agree with all the descriptions of "them" -- those who have abandoned God, whom God has given over to their own sexual perversions. It is easy to nod in solemn disgust as we speak of how they drag others down with them, the very lowpoint of human evil. It is easy to read that passage as "them" the immoral and "us" the moral. It is this "them" and "us" mentality that Paul reveals to be just as perverse in chapter two as anything mentioned in chapter one.

Back in Court ...

Paul has ushered us into the courtroom of God, placing us before the bar of God's justice as we await prosecution in God's case against the human race. We heard the solemn charge: all mankind is suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Then Paul stated that we have ignored both the internal witness of our conscience and the external witness of God's creation, both of which call out to us in very clear terms about God, and thus we are without excuse. We are without legal recourse unless the Judge chooses to do something. Last week we saw Paul call the first of three representatives of humanity to demonstrate by them how mankind has specifically chosen to suppress the truth. Immoral Man was called as Witness A, an archetype of man who started from a place of knowing God but proceeded to exchange God as his focal point of worship for worship of the self and worship of the creation. Immoral Man suppresses the truth by exchanging the truth for the lie, specifically through idolatry of various forms. But this week, the Judgmental Man is portrayed as watching the Immoral Man and leaping to judge him. He is Witness B of man in sin. He sets himself up to be the judge, applying a classic human double-standard of judgment. Only this time, this presumptuous judge is called before the real Judge.

Judgmental Man's Unrighteous Judgment of "Them" - 2:1-3

This passage can be broken down into three parts, centering around a profound contrast Paul draws for us. In Rom. 2:1-3, Paul describes man's unrighteous judgment, revealing the moral corruption of man's false morality and self-exalting judgment. By great contrast, Paul describes God's righteous judgment in Rom. 2:4-11, demonstrating God's immutable standard of judgment from the Hebrew Scriptures and showing how that applies universally to both Jews and Gentiles. Finally, Paul describes how both Jews and Gentiles will be judged by the Law, the Jews on the basis of the external Law written on tablets of stone and scrolls, the Gentiles on the basis of the internal Law written in their hearts. Essentially, Paul sets before the court of God a mighty contrast: between humanity's double-standard and unrighteous judgment and God's single standard of judgment applied universally to all humanity without partiality.

So, let's begin by considering how Paul describes man's unrighteous judgment in Rom. 2:1-3. Paul begins by reflecting on the scenes of human depravity he has just described in graphic terms in the closing verses of chapter one: sexual perversions of both heterosexual and homosexual variety; humanity given over by God to a depraved mind, inventing evil plots, hating God, envying, murdering, involved in all sorts of calculated criminality, and loudly applauding any and all who join in with them in their race toward death and the abyss. But in this sordid scene, Paul envisions a group of men and women standing on the sidelines in clean and pressed clothing, arms folded in disgust, watching the orgy of evil before them and shaking their heads in judgment.

Paul will address this whole passage to the judgmental crowd watching in disgust. To them, he levels the same charge he lodged against all humanity back in Rom. 1:20, that they too are "without excuse." He tells them in Rom. 2:1-3, "Therefore you are without excuse, O man, everyone judging; for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?"

Thus, "everyone judging" is "without excuse" in the courtroom of God. How does Paul conclude this so quickly? Because judgment does not belong to us; it is God's province alone. When we set ourselves up to judge another, we are exalting ourselves above the other. Being equal to them because we are born in sin, we nonetheless assume our own superiority over them based on our own double-standard of morality. We have a microscopic eye in identifying their sin, and leap to condemn them. But we have a virtual blind eye to our own sin, usually obfuscating it in euphemistic terms, so we think our sin is more the "little white lie" type of sin that can be readily dismissed with a wink and a nod. The minute either you or I set ourselves up to judge another person, we have usurped God's rightful place as judge. We have made an exchange every bit as ugly as the three exchanges mentioned in Rom. 1:21-32. Whereas in that passage, man decided to remove God as the focal point of his worship, exchanging worship of God with worship of the self and the creation, in this passage man decided to remove God as the rightful judge over humanity, elevating himself to the seat of the judge. The dynamic is identical in both passages: removal of God from a position rightfully His alone, and replacing God with the self because we have an unrealistic view of the self.

Thus, when we who are born in sin judge another, we are exalting ourselves just as they exalted themselves. By this unjustifiable self-exaltation, we condemn ourselves. We who judge practice the same things: we replace God with the self, only this time it is all the more insidious because it is more subtle. The immoral man of Rom. 1:21-32 is at least honest enough to boldly admit that he wants nothing to do with God. But the judgmental man often judges others based on biblical principles handily applied to others, thus clothing his sin of judgment in biblical cloth and seeming to affix the stamp of God to his own judgment. In many ways, this sin of judgment is far worse, because it dresses itself up in the garb of false godliness. But human judgment of others is never justified. Period. Discernment is necessary since we live in a fallen and wicked world, but judgment which leaps to condemn another in his or her sin is unjustified because it exalts the self and removes God as the One and only true Judge of all things human, good or evil.

It is so easy to leap to judge others, and we Christians in America have judging others down to a science. For example, how many of us are driven crazy by the state our nation is in at this point in history? I certainly am. And how many of us judge various sectors of our society as the root of the problem? How many would point to the openly liberal media and say they are the problem? I certainly have. How many would look at the White House and wonder who really is in charge there? I certainly have. And how many of us look back to "the idiot 60s" as one essayist for TIME magazine referred to that decade, and trace our problems back to the fuzzy thinking of that rebellious time? I certainly have. But a question has been growing in my mind recently. The question is this: where was the church in all this cultural upheaval? Was the church in the 50s and 60s so mired in self-righteous judgmentalism and rigid legalism that many people rightly rebelled against it, but then carried the rebellion too far? Is the church today so shackled by fear on one foot and materialism on the other that all we do is take our cues and agenda from the world, rather than leading the world in love and justice, repentance and healing, as per our biblical calling? I wonder if in the economy of God, where judgment begins with the household of God, we the modern church might not be more a part of the problem than we think. I am always thankful God brings up the gentle but searching questions that reveal my own sin and denial, making me look at things in His sunlight rather than my penlight.

Paul then affirms what they know to be true in Rom. 2:2, because they have applied the logic to others without realizing it applies equally to them. He says, "And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things." But then Paul directly addresses the arrogance and presumption inherent in their judging in Rom. 2:3, with a piercing question: "And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?" This verse condenses the truth of this passage into one bold question: it contrasts the morally bankrupt judgment of man with the inescapable and righteous judgment of God.

Thus, judgmental man has passed judgment on the immoral man, and in the very act of judging, his own insidious immorality has been revealed. Both have arrogantly removed God from His rightful place, and by a bloated sense of self-importance, elevated the self to the position where God used to be, either as the focus of worship or as the eternal Judge. As usual, Paul's assessment of human sin in this case is lucid and insightful, revealing our sin in all its ugliness.

There is a wonderful story that points out how ridiculous our own judgment can be. Once there was a zealous young convert who had earnestly sought an audience with the local bishop. When the bishop finally saw the convert, the convert said, "I have heard of a young man who seems to have gained control over large audiences. He advocates breaking of the law in certain instances, claims to perform miracles, and even says that he speaks directly to God. Some say he has even claimed to be God himself. He also denounces the wealthy, and the clergy." All the while the bishop nodded his head knowingly, as he had done many times before. The bishop replied, "I'm glad you reported this fanatic. Unfortunately, we are having to deal with this sort of thing more and more all the time. I do not have the authority to arrest him myself, but we have valuable connections with the law. Once we arrest him, we will demand a public confession, and open repentance. But before we arrest him, I will need to know his name." The young convert then looked at the bishop and said, "He has many aliases, but most people simply call him Jesus."

What intrigues me most in considering this issue of human judgmentalism is that the only human born without sin since Adam, the only One who could have justifiably judged others, steadfastly refused to do so. Even in the face of open adultery with the adulterous woman in John 8, Jesus chose not to judge in any way, but instead turned the sin of the judges back on themselves. Likewise, in His great interview with Nicodemus, Jesus stated that judgment was not why He came. He said in John 3:17, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him." Thus, whereas arrogant man leaps to judge, that they should "get theirs," Jesus left judgment to God, looking with compassion on people that they should "get saved." May Jesus Christ live out His compassionate life through us, that we might not judge others.

So, man's judgment is unfounded; morally bankrupt. In the end it reveals the sin of the one judging more clearly than the sin of the one being unjustly condemned. Judgment belongs in the province of God alone. So, how does God judge?

God's Righteous Judgment of All - 2:4-11

In stark contrast to human judgmentalism at every point, Paul now in effect says, "So, you want to talk about judgment? Let's talk about judgment... the judgment of God!" How is God's judgment worked out? What standard is used? Both questions will be answered in vs. 4-11.

In Rom. 2:4, Paul asks another searching question: "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads to repentance?" Thus, the first thing we learn about God's judgment is that He never leaps to judge man, He pursues them wherever they are, in order to show them KINDNESS. Jesus came to save, not to judge. He consistently demonstrated compassion, not condemnation. This may be the greatest contrasting point between man's judgmentalism and God's righteous judgment. We leap to judge, God looks to pursue with kindness. Our immediate judgment is condemning, His withheld judgment is redemptive.

But what is God's kindness spoken of in Rom. 2:4? The term for "kindness" here is the most significant term in this verse, mentioned twice and given great weight, since it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance. The main point of this term is the unsearchable kindness of God who still remains kind even in the face of man's worse sin. It is illustrated nowhere better than in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here stands Jesus, who has poured his life and love out for twelve men. Here stands Jesus who has just washed the dusty feet of these twelve men in an action of supreme humility and servant love that none of them would ever forget. Here stands Jesus who zealously loved those passionate men. And there comes Judas, a passionate zealot for the cause of Israel, one of the twelve, one of those whose feet were washed, one who had taken the bread from Jesus' own hand, who was become the vessel of Satan, who was become the betrayer, who was become the Son of Perdition. And how does Jesus greet Judas? He said, "FRIEND, do what you have come for." FRIEND: a title of intimacy and love, reserved for such as Abraham the friend of God, bestowed on a man in the highest height of his sin. I wonder what Judas thought when he heard that word of inconceivable kindness in the garden? Was Jesus not making one final plea of kindness to a heart hardened with the hardness of hell itself? Surely our kind King will pursue us into the festering den of our sin, for the express purpose of showing us His kindness.

It is just this kindness that leads to repentance, because the kindness is so unexpected and so entirely overwhelming. Centuries ago, there was a small group of men who went to live as monks in the desert, devoting themselves to a life of simplicity and prayer. They were known as the Desert Fathers. One was named Abba Abraham. For nearly 50 years, Abraham ate neither bread nor meat, because of a vow he took before God. His life was simple, quiet and devoted. One day his only brother died, leaving his only daughter Mary as an orphan. Abraham adopted Mary and housed her in the outer room of his cell in the monastery. Through the small window between the two rooms, Abraham taught Mary the Psalms and other passages of Scripture. She eagerly prayed and sang with her uncle and even abstained from eating meat and rich food as he did. For 20 years Mary lived with Abraham in full devotion to God.

One day a man came to visit Abraham in order to learn from him. He was overcome with desire for Mary and began to speak tenderly to her. She had never known the attention of a man and was flattered by his advances. After many months of quiet conversation, she left her cell and walked alone with him. In the heat of passion, they came together, but when the act was over, she trembled with guilt. Weighed down with regret and self-condemnation, she felt as if she had shamed her uncle, herself, and her God. Silently, without speaking to anyone, she left for another city, taking refuge in a brothel. Abraham was greatly grieved at her departure. In prayer it was revealed to him that she was living a wanton life. After two years of seeking, he discovered where she was and exactly what she did. He sent a friend to go to the brothel and return with as much information as possible. When the friend returned, Abraham developed a plan to bring Mary back.

Abraham disguised himself as an army officer, complete with a large hat and coat. The normally quiet monk swaggered into the main room of the inn and bellowed, "I hear you have a fine young wench here. Let me have a look at her." When they were introduced, the blessed Abraham nearly dissolved in grief to see her clothed in a harlot's dress. Disguising his grief, he said in a loud voice, "I've come a long way for the love of Mary!" Abraham invited the woman to join him for a large meal. Though his stomach had not tasted meat or most of the other foods for nearly 50 years, he ate and drank with gusto. When the meal was over, the young girl invited him to come up to her room to lie with her.

Once upstairs, Mary knelt to untie his shoes. Taking off his hat, the old man looked at her and softly said, "I've come a long way for the love of Mary." Immediately she recognized her dear uncle. At first she resisted the old man's invitation to return to their home. "I cannot even look at you," she cried. "I am so full of shame." Then Abraham told Mary stories of Christ forgiving and freeing an unclean woman who later repaid him by washing his feet with her hair and her tears. He told other powerful stories, and through them Mary remembered the great redeeming love of the Savior. But of even more importance to her was the action of her uncle. She realized what a great sacrifice he had made to break his vow for her. She knew how much he loved her, and through that love she could imagine God's love for her.

She returned to the desert that day to resume her life of prayer and meditation. She provided inspiration, counsel, and understanding to all who visited her cell. There were no sins she could not understand. After her death, she became known as St. Mary the Harlot. (I adapted this story from pg. 138-140 of Stories for Telling, A Treasury for Christian Storytellers, by William R. White).

That is like the pursing kindness of God: relentlessly seeking us in our sin, even in the very midst of it, at great personal cost. God's kindness leads to repentance because it is so good that His goodness washes away our sin and guilt. Thank God our God pursues with kindness, rather than leaping to judge.

In addition to this kindness, Paul includes "forbearance and long-suffering." Both of these terms bespeak God's kindness in the face of flagrant, longstanding sin. The term "forbearance" here means "that truce with the sinner which by no means implies that the wrath will not be executed at the last, but stays the wrath in the hope of repentance." Similarly, the term "long-suffering" is the long continuation of both kindness and forbearance, a long act of withholding judgment in the hopes of bringing to redemption. This is God's modus operandi: like when He waited some 440 years for the sinful Amorites to repent, as recorded in Gen. 15:6. This is the chief difference between man's judgment and God's: our judgment is quick and harsh and ends in condemnation, while His is slow, beginning with the long pursuit of kindness, as God hopes wholeheartedly for the sinner's repentance.

While Rom. 2:4 shows how God's judgment begins in kindness, vs. 5-11 show how God's judgment is based on a single, impartial standard, unlike our double-standard judgment. Rom. 2:5 begins by summarizing the hardness of Judgmental Man in his swift condemnation: "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Here again, Paul draws out the fundamental contrast within this passage: between man's hard-hearted judgmentalism and unrepentant heart and the righteous judgment of God. In vs. 5, Paul cites the true darkness of the judgmental heart: it is virtually impossible for the person who elevates himself to the seat of the judge to lower himself again to repent humbly. Arrogant judgmentalism and humble repentance are as far apart as the sky is from the earth. Thus, Judgmental Man's heart is just as hard and unrepentant as the Immoral Man's heart: both actively turn their backs on God. Paul declares that this hardened, unrepentant man is himself under the wrath of God just as surely as those he set himself up to judge. But, the judgment of God differs significantly from man's bogus judgment. God's judgment is a righteous judgment.

But how is God's judgment a righteous judgment? GOD'S JUDGMENT IS RIGHTEOUS BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON A SINGLE, UNCHANGING STANDARD. THERE ARE NO DOUBLE STANDARDS WITH GOD. THERE IS NO PARTIALITY EITHER. Thus, God's judgment is equal for all and reflects His perfectly balanced character of righteousness and holiness.

But what is God's single standard? That is seen in vs. 6, which is a quote of both Ps. 62:12 and Prov. 24:12: "HE WILL RENDER TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:". Note that there is a colon at the end of verse 6, meaning that vs. 7-11 will detail how this standard of judgment will be applied by God to all humanity across time and race, without partiality. Simply put, God's standard is "YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW." He will measure the final harvest of all our deeds.

In verses 6-11, Paul describes God's judgment in a poem. This poem is a form of inverted parallelism, where verses 6 and 11 reflect similar meanings; verses 7 and 10 mirror one another (doing good, seeking glory and honor); and verses 8 and 9 paralleling one another (wrath and anger, tribulation and distress for those doing evil). More specifically, here is how the poem in vs. 6-11 is structured:

6: God's Standard: Render to Every Man According to His Deeds:
7: Doing good, seeking glory, honor
8: Obeying unrighteousness, wrath and anger
9: Tribulation and distress for all doing evil: Jew, Greek
10: Glory, honor and peace for all doing good: Jew, Greek
11: God's Standard: Applied to Every Man, Without Partiality

The theme of the poem is introduced in vs. 6: God's standard for every man. This theme is then illustrated in sharper detail in vs. 7-10 in two couplets. The main difference between the couplets in vs. 7, 8 and vs. 9, 10 is Paul's extension "both to the Jew firstly and to Greek" in vs. 9, 10. In the second couplet Paul takes the two principles of 7, 8 and universalizes them in 9, 10. He then summarizes the poem is vs. 11, stating that God's standard is applied universally to every man, without partiality.

Looking at these verses individually, Rom. 2:7 paints a portrait of a certain type of person, one who by persevering in doing good seeks for glory, honor and immortality. This person will receive the reward of eternal life. But where are such people today? Who continually, minute-by-minute, day-by-day, week-in and week-out, seeks for God's glory in everything, for His honor in every word spoken and deed done? Certainly none of us in this room seek continually like this!! How will this standard apply to us, since we fit more into verses 8 and 9 than verses 7, 10?

Paul is reiterating God's basic standard of righteous judgment out of the Law, echoing the Deut. 30 "Do this and you will live" concept. But who did this? Only One man in history could do it, and He did do it: Jesus Christ. Paul's argument here shows that God's judgment is indeed impartial and righteous. Anyone who continues by endurance in good works can have eternal life. Jesus Christ was awarded eternal life at the resurrection because he pursued good deeds unto the bitterest end imaginable, the end of the bloody cross. He loved and obeyed his God to the uttermost, and He loved His neighbor to the bitter end. He thus fulfilled the law, and was awarded eternal life. He is our only hope for eternal life, because every other human being in the history of the world is locked in the dilemma of vs. 8, 9.

Verses 8 and 9 speak to the state of fallen humanity, both corporately and individually. Verse 8 describes those under God's certain judgment as those who are "selfishly ambitious, not obeying the truth but obeying unrighteousness." What does that mean? "Selfish ambition" comes from the literal sense of "work for hire," through the political concept of "self-seeking or partisan factiousness," the word gets the general ethical sense of "self-seeking." Selfish ambition is having great plans for the self, with little or no thought about God. This really is the very essence of sin, the "I Don't Need You" attitude expressed to God as we plot the career of the self, hoping to catapult the self to human glory. The tragedy here is that while we are self-seeking, we are enslaved to obey unrighteousness. Thus, we become self-seeking slaves of sin. This is who we all are apart from Jesus Christ.

But starting at verse nine, Paul's poem takes on another dimension: Paul includes a statement on the universal nature of God's judgment. It is "of the Jew firstly and of the Greek." This is Paul's formula for the totality of humanity, expressed in terms of the two major groupings present in the Roman church to which he is writing. Thus, this standard is a single, unchanging standard and it is a universal standard.

Verse 10 closely mirrors verse 7, but like verse 9, it universalizes the standard which will be applied "both to Jew firstly and to Greek." Finally, verse 11 summarizes this whole portion of Paul's argument: "For there is no partiality with God." Man judges with partiality: "his sin" is worse than mine. God's judgment is impartial: all sin is sin, no matter what. There is irreproachable fairness in God's judgment. But that would be cold comfort were it not for Jesus Christ.

This whole passage reminds me of a dream a former pastoral colleague of mine used to have. He would wake up in a cold sweat every time he dreamed this dream. In the dream, he envisions himself up in heaven, before the throne of God. God the Father in all His fiery majesty and unapproachable light looks down at him and asks, "Why should I let you into heaven?" In the silence of the awful moment that follows, my friend cowers down, knowing he has nothing to say on his own behalf. But then, at just the right moment, a door opens and Jesus Christ walks into the throne room. My friend then straightens up, points to Jesus Christ, and he boldly tells God: "I'm with Him!" At this, God the Father nods His divine acceptance, and my friend awakens in a cold sweat and a thrill of thankfulness. Like that dream, this passage makes me extremely thankful for Jesus Christ. I am glad my God is a righteous and fair judge, but without Jesus Christ that fairness would be terrible.

So, in verse 4, we saw how God's judgment begins with a kindness that is meant to lead to repentance, as opposed to man's harsh and immediate judgment. Then, in verses 5-11 we saw how God's standard is a single, righteous standard applied universally to all humanity, as opposed to man's double standard where "his sins" are worse than mine. Now, we will look at how God will judge all humanity, regardless of whether they had a copy of the Law written on a scroll or the imprint of the Law written on their hearts.

God's Righteous Judgment Applied to All, With or Without the Law - 2:12-16

At this point a skeptic might ask: "If God's righteous standard of judgment comes from the Law as codified in the Hebrew Scriptures, what about the man on the island who never has read or even heard of the Law? How will God's judgment be fair for that man?" This is certainly one of the most classic arguments skeptics like to use against Christians. But we have an extremely sound answer in Rom. 2:12-16.

Paul's first argument is a foreshadow of what he explains in greater detail in Rom. 5:12-14. In Rom. 2:12, he examines the objection raised about the man or woman who has no access to the Law, and he discovers a fact about each one of them that is beyond dispute: each and every one of them dies. There is no exception to this rule. Now, since sin causes death, and all of them die, then all of them must have sinned, even though they sinned without the Law. Death then is the final judgment on their sin, rather than the Law. This is a difficult argument to quibble with: death has a persuasive final say in the matter, at least for us on this side of eternity.

But for those who have sinned under the Law, they will be judged by the Law. In vs. 13, Paul further explains how judgment will occur for those under the Law: they must be HEARERS AND DOERS of the Law, not just HEARERS only. Again, like we saw in vs. 6-11, there has been only One who was both a HEARER and a DOER of the Law to the point of justification: Jesus Christ. Only through faith in Him as the DOER are the rest of us HEARERS given the opportunity to have His DOING-HEARING combination applied to us that we might be saved through Him.

But perhaps the skeptic is still not convinced about the man or woman on the island who has no access to the written Law. By what standard will they be judged? In v. 14 Paul sets a unique standard for the Gentiles: "For whenever Gentiles having not the Law by nature might do the things of the Law, these not having the Law are a law to themselves." That last phrase "these not having the Law are a law to themselves" is crucial here. Here Paul establishes a standard internal to themselves, which is always with them even though the written Law is not. Thus, some internal standard will be identified by Paul to witness for them or against them, as the Law witnesses for or against those who are under the Law. Returning to our courtroom scene, Paul is going to call a witness from within the Gentiles which will prove they also are under judgment even when measuring their behavior against their own internal standard.

This "witness" Paul calls is found in vs. 15: "in that they show the work of the Law written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else excusing them." Paul begins here by admitting the fact that moral goodness is found in Gentiles apart from the Law, "who show the work of the Law written in their hearts." Paul admits that such good acts occur, BUT he is about to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that all Gentiles are under sin and will be judged by their own internal standard of right and wrong witnessed by their conscience.

Paul claims that the work of the Law is "written in their hearts." This is an appeal to God's design. The work of the Law is inherently designed into them as the image and likeness of God, perverted though that may be through the Fall. This is a clear NT development of the OT idea of Ecc. 3:11, that "He has also set eternity in their heart..." This also reiterates Paul's claim in Rom. 1:19, stating it in a more expansive version. There is something about God and His righteous ways that is deeply known within us, a submerged knowledge of right and wrong of which the conscience is the faithful transmitter.

Here Paul revisits his charge that men are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Those under the Law suppress the truth of the Law by being hearers of the truth only, and not being doers of the truth. For those of us not under the Law, the truth of the Law is written in our hearts. Thus, when we act to disobey it, our conscience cries out and we try desperately to suppress its voice. What the conscience whispers to us is truth about right and wrong that echoes the truth of God embodied in the Law. And we don't like to hear that still small voice. In fact, when it raises a point about our behavior, we typically argue with it, either finding ways to justify ourselves or we ignore its voice altogether. Paul argues brilliantly here, admitting the lack of the external measure of judgment and yet still carrying the point because the internal witness of the conscience also points to God's right and wrong, alternatively accusing or excusing the one who has no access to the Law.

Paul says that the person's inner thoughts are accusing or even excusing them. As the conscience announces within the Gentile that which is right and wrong, i.e. as the conscience gives Gentiles an internal standard, then an internal court battle begins, waged by opposing thoughts, thought "A" accusing the Gentile relative to the standard set by the conscience and thought "B" excusing the Gentile regarding the same action. How wonderful is this argument: there is not a human being alive who has not struggled and been weighed down by such an inner court battle.

When I think of this, I remember the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. In that novel, the hero Jean Valjean is sent to jail for years, just for stealing some bread to feed his sister's starving children. When he gets out, he commits a small theft once again, but then he meets a compassionate priest, and has a conversion experience when the priest shows him remarkable kindness rather than the harsh judgment of the police. He assumes a new identity, and becomes a wealthy businessman and the mayor of a small town. Years pass peacefully by. Then he hears of a court case where another man is being charged with the petty theft he committed the night he was released from prison. Some poor innocent is being charged as Jean Valjean. The real Valjean then faces a horrible dilemma, where he knows the right thing is to turn himself in, but he struggles with how much hurt and pain that will cause others who now depend on him for sustenance. He struggles so deeply with his conscience that his hair turns white as snow. He finally turns himself in, his conscience excusing him in this case, because he did the right thing.

In verse 16, Paul summarizes how God's judgment will be borne out in the life of the Gentile without the Law, "in a day when God judges." But what will God judge in the case of the Gentile without the Law? God will judge "the secrets of men." Thus, it is these same "hidden" inner wranglings, these inner courtroom battles of which we alone are aware, which will be exposed before the unblinking eye of God's judgment. Undoubtedly, God will see much in our secrets that is made up of sin, and His judgment will be more than justified.

This is profoundly disturbing to those who do not yet know peace with God through Jesus Christ. Can you imagine trying to stand before God while knowing all along what is right and wrong on the inside, while knowing all along the inner moral conflicts which rage and in which sometimes the right wins out and sometimes the wrong, and thinking about all our most rank sins, the most private ones, that will be exposed? Think of all the sordid fantasies and inner desires to possess, all the hatred and bitternesses, all the anger that has boiled in secret, all the secret scenarios we paint to get ahead... all THAT will be exposed to the sunlight of His just judgment, because we had an internal witness of the truth known as the conscience, just as certainly as the Jews had the external witness of the Law.

Finally, the ultimate Judge will be Jesus Christ, according to the great news Paul preached. In His first coming, He came to save and not to judge. But in the end, He will stand as the eternal judge, judging the secrets of men. But even in this word of direst judgment, there is a mighty flame of hope burning: God will judge the secrets of men THROUGH CHRIST JESUS. Surely it is ONLY through Him that such a searching judgment can be borne, in light of the forgiveness offered by our Christ of the Cross. My how these passages make me thankful for my Jesus!

Conclusion: Shaking Hands as Equal Sinners

So, we have seen a very profound contrast in this passage: the contrast between man's destructive judgmentalism and God's righteous judgment. But what about our own hearts in all this? What does God want to change about our own hearts?

Let's return to that two-second pause in the reception area of my first job. After the first split-second wave of disgust rolled over me as I realized Greg Harvey was gay, what happened in the next split-second was even more surprising to me. A thought occurred to me in the form of a piercing question: Who are you to judge? At that realization, my eyebrows raised at my own ugliness, and I walked toward Greg and shook his hand. We then worked together for the better part of a year, becoming not only colleagues but friends. In our wedding album, there is a picture of Greg and my other friends from that workplace. After the wedding, before we left for our six-month honeymoon in Ireland, I received a very warm card from Greg and his partner thanking us for including them at the wedding and embracing them in friendship. I wonder where Greg is now, or even if he is still alive. Lord, may Greg come to know Your kindness pursuing him, and may he turn to embrace You.

I hope I never forget Greg, that two-second pause, and that quiet question from God. His questions are piercing, and priceless. All of this reminds me of a little poem with which we will conclude, entitled Self-Righteousness, by John Byrom:

"He is a sinner," you are pleased to say.
Then love him for the sake of Christ, I pray.
If on His gracious words you place your trust,
"I came to call on sinners, not the just,"
Second His call; which if you will not do,
You'll be the greater sinner of the two.

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