Well, this week I was summoned to jury duty. And I didn't just call in, they called me into the courthouse. And I didn't just sit at the courthouse, they actually invited me into the courtroom. And who here has never been on a jury in your entire life? Who here you have been on a jury before? Okay, well, this week, I went from one group to the other. I was on the jury all week long, and the case is now closed, the verdict has been reached. So, I can tell you all about it here tonight. And wait till you see how being on the jury goes with our passage of Scripture, Romans 2:6-11. I want to invite everybody to open up because I was wondering what it was going to be like when we got to this clear passage about a judgment. And a little did I know that I would be executing justice at the courthouse that same week, that we preach this passage here at our church. So please, I invite you to turn to Romans 2:6-11 will be our text. And I'm going to invite everyone to stand up for the public reading of Scripture, and including, if you're watching this online or outside, will you stand up with us, let's give this our full and undivided attention. This is the very Word of God. Please follow along as I read Romans 2:6-11.
“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.”
That's the reading of Scripture, please go ahead and have your seat. And I want to invite you, if you got one of our bulletins coming in, to open that up and pull out the handout, if you want to take some notes, that would be great. But I want you to see what we call a key item or a chiastic structure of the text here, you kind of get the main point in the middle. And so, he starts with the point. And you can see he kind of works into a point and then he comes back out from the point that he makes. And so, when you look at it, as it is here, on the handout, you can see very clearly that verses 6 and 11 line up with one another and verses 7 and 10 align up with one another and right there in the middle. And the crux of the argument there is verses 8 and 9. And so that's a structure that we're going to get three points from here in this sermon. That the thing he wants to say in Romans 2:6 is that God, he's there. Remember, if we go back to Romans 2:5, we were talking about God's righteous judgment is going to be revealed. And when God's righteous judgment is revealed, God will render to each one according to his works. In fact, if we go to the end, how it comes back out of that thought, God shows no partiality.
So, I walk into the courtroom, and some of us have been there on jury. I saw many hands, and many have not been on a jury before, maybe you've been in a courtroom before but not on the jury. Well, when you walk into the courtroom, it doesn't look like it looks on television, everything's a lot closer when you're actually there. And you walk in and the bailiff’s right there, and he's got his uniform on. He's got his gun there. And there's the prosecutor and the defense attorney, and there's the accused, and they're all standing there. And they look at you right when you walk in, I was in a small courtroom. And so, they're like, Okay, what do you bring into court? Like you're the one who's going to make the decision about what happens here. Well, at least twelve of you are, then the judge walks in and the judge starts to explain that nobody here is going to execute justice. No, you are going to decide this man is innocent until proven guilty. But the burden of proof on the prosecution, if they can prove him beyond a reasonable doubt, to be guilty, you're going to decide if someone is guilty or not guilty. Now, I'm just observing all of this. I'm just finding this fascinating. I'm just like, wow, I can't believe I'm preaching on this weekend. And now I'm here in court. This is a great introduction to the sermon. Lord. Thank you so much. This is great. But what happens is, it turns out this case, which I'm now allowed to talk about, I can't sign a book deal for 90 days, but I can talk about it with anybody I want. And so, it turns out this case is about whether a restraining order has been violated or not, that is the subject of the case. And so, they can't give you the evidence, they can't tell you the details of the case. But it definitely starts to sound like a situation where there's been perhaps some domestic violence. And as soon as that is made clear in this courtroom, it is very hard for many of my fellow jurors, many of the few of us that are there in this room, representing the 3.2 million residents of Orange County, bringing justice to this courtroom. A lot of them are just openly saying, I don't know if I could be a juror on a case like this, because I'm going to have favorites. They're saying I don't think I could be unbiased in the way that I will just judge based on the evidence of what has been done, because I was a victim of domestic violence, or I was a witness of some kind of abuse that went down in my house growing up. And so, I'm over here, I'm not even an alternate, I'm not even close to being on the jury. And they excuse so many people who cannot be impartial, because they've already had a personal experience in regards to this. I mean, it was very sad and very sobering to see how many people's lives right here where we live have been definitely negatively impacted by some kind of domestic violence. And so, the many jurors are being excused and all of a sudden, I find myself in an alternate seat, and all of a sudden, they're asking me questions. And I'm saying, Well, I'm a pastor. And that's what I do. And I'm like, okay, who's going to tell me to leave? Right? And there are so many people who have had a rough time, what about this particular issue that they excuse many of the jurors, and I ended up in one of the seats. Now you can't even talk to me anymore, I realize I am on this jury. Because we cannot find it is hard to find twelve people who could talk about this kind of an issue in an impartial way, people were saying, I'm going to show sympathy to one side of this case, some people were even saying this is traumatic for me to even be here right now. And to even talk about this, there was a lot of our own personal experience that got brought into that courtroom. And let's just make it very clear here today, there is no jury on Judgement Day, there will not be any favoritism, there will not be any kind of different ruling based on any personal experience, or what we have been through in life.
The Scripture is trying to tell you something here tonight, that there is a day of judgment coming when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. And God will render to each one according to his works. God will show no partiality in the context here, it's very clear, nobody's getting away with it because they're a Jew. And that's one of the thoughts, hey, salvation comes to the Jew first, then to the Greek. Oh, it also works the other way, that judgment comes to the Jew first and then to the Greek. If you think you're a certain kind of person, who have been through certain kinds of things, and so therefore, you somehow are going to have a Get Out of Jail Free card on Judgement Day. Let it be known here in this Scripture, that God is going to judge you according to what you have done. It's not going to be based on some kind of sympathy or some kind of related personal experience, it will be based on your own works, and no partiality will be applied. Now, this is something that the Bible is trying to tell you. And this is going to be a hard sermon for you to listen to. I'll tell you right now, because when we talk about judgment, when we talk about what this passage is describing people who do good, this is what happens to people who do evil, this is what happens. It's very easy to think about judgment in a theoretical kind of a sense. It's a lot different when you're in the room and judgment is going down. So, it's easy for you to think well good people, bad people. How does this whole judgment thing work? No, this is about you.
You are going to be summoned before the judge and you are going to be judged according to your works. It doesn't matter who you are. God shows no partiality. This is a fundamental principle of Scripture 101. And you Can I learn this by experience, you don't want to wait till judgment day to figure out how the judgment is going to work. And so, when he says this here in Romans 2:6, he is quoting Scripture. In fact, I want to take you back to the Hebrew Bible, go to the book of Psalms, chapter 62. Let's go back to the Hebrew Bible. Let's go back to the writings, what we call the Old Testament, the part of the Bible, written in Hebrew, they both broke into three different sections. The third section, that was the Law, there was the Prophets. And the third section was the Writings. The first book of the writings was the Psalms, then it was Proverbs, then it was Job. Let me just share with you a few verses here, so that you can get the sense that this line, this idea that God will judge us according to what we have done, according to our works. This is a regular statement made throughout Scripture repeated over and over to get your attention and to make a point to you, not to just give you some general idea of how judgment will work, but to teach you in particular what is going to happen so that you would be prepared, so that you would be ready. Psalm 62 is a great psalm of David, waiting on the Lord, pouring out his heart in prayer before the Lord. Look at our conclusion in Psalm 62:11-12. Once God has spoken twice, have I heard this, that power belongs to God, and that to you O, Lord, belong steadfast love and then underline it, circle it. Here it is, for you “will render to a man according to his work.” When Paul writes Roman 2:6, he is quoting previously written Scripture. This is not just a point Paul is personally trying to make, this is a point God is making. And Paul is just one of the human authors. The Holy Spirit is inspiring to say to you, you're going to get judged for what you have done. That's how it works. And so, you see that God has, I've heard it once. I've heard it twice, God has all the authority, all the power, praise God. He's also got all the steadfast love, and he's ready to forgive. He’s going to hold you to the truth. And he's got grace and mercy. And he will judge you, he will render it, it will be done to you, according to what you have done.
Go over to Proverbs chapter 24:12 here, Paul could be referring to because the language is so similar here in the wisdom of Solomon in the book of Proverbs, it talks about this day of adversity, this day of trouble that is going to come. And so, it says in verse 11, of Proverbs 24, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this.’” If you show up on Judgement Day, and you're like, I didn't know I was going to get busted for everything I've done. I didn't know there was going to be accountability at the end of this thing. I didn't know this. “Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man, according to his work?” You don't get to say you didn't know there was judgment because the Bible is full of people saying God's going to judge you according to what you have done.
Go to the book of Jo, go to in the Hebrew Bible. It would be the next book for us, we might have to flip back a couple of books here to Job chapter 34:11. So this guy Elihu, this young man shows up and he's heard Job talking, and he's heard Job's three “friends,” accusing him, and now Elihu he's got plenty to say, after observing this whole long conversation. And he says something, he might have been the first guy to even say here, and the Psalms, and the Proverbs might be picking up on what was said here in Job 34:11, where Elihu lays out this fundamental principle “For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him.” So, he's got this right idea that God is the judge of our sin. That's how this whole thing works. In Heaven, there is a book, and what is being written down in the book is everything you've ever said, thought, or done, and on the Day of Judgment, at the Great White Throne, the books will be opened, and it will be read what you have done, and you will be judged according to what you have done
Let's get this down for point number one: You will be summoned before the judge. You will be summoned before the judge. Your day in court is coming. That's what the Bible is telling you. This is the beginning of wisdom. This is the fear of God that everything you do, whether good or evil will be judged, you will be held accountable according to what you have done. That's what the Scripture says. That's what Romans 2:6 is saying. But it's quoting a long line of other Scriptures. In fact, go with me to Matthew chapter 16. Let's go now to the New Testament, the part of the Bible, written in Greek, and let's see what Jesus himself had to say. Surely Jesus brought a new way, and none of this judgment according to what you've done stuff from Jesus. Right? Well, actually, look what Jesus says here. Jesus actually says, he's going to be the one doing the judging. And he says here in 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” Jesus says, hey, I'm not abolishing the law, I'm fulfilling the law. And the theme that has already been revealed that there is a judgment coming according to what you have done, I am actually the one who will come in the glory of my Father with all the holy angels, and I will judge you according to what you have done. This is the clear, repeated testimony of Scripture. This is something that all of us need to hear the Word of the Lord. And we don't just need to know it in some, I guess there's a judgement day coming, you have a judgment day coming, you have a day before the judge. And what you have done, you will be judged according to that.
Now go back to Romans 2:6 here, because once we eventually found a jury of people who were ready to not be partial, and not based on a previous experience, or some feeling of sympathy, but they were ready to examine the facts of the case, we sat there for days, and the facts of the case were presented to us. And so, we heard many different witnesses come forward, they're in court. And we heard from the lady who got the restraining order against this man, and who called 911, and who gave this testimony that he violated the restraining order. And so, you can imagine the drama there in the courtroom that day, when here’s this man, and here's this woman, and clearly there is tension that you can feel now they're in the room. And then here comes a police officer. And he gives us the testimony of when he served the man with the restraining order. And then we've got testimony from other police officers who arrested the man after they thought he had violated the restraining order. And then evidence is coming in. And we have body camera evidence that we're watching there in courtroom and we've got transcriptions of different phone calls. And so here we are, now we're getting the facts of the case. We're hearing from witnesses; we are observing things of evidence. And so, all the case is being presented right there before us. And this goes on for multiple days of us hearing all this testimony. And so now, we've been doing this all day, Wednesday, all day Thursday, and we're coming to late in the afternoon on Thursday, and they send us off. Here goes to twelve of us into the room to deliberate and we will establish justice here, the twelve of us. Right? And you can see we've got all the evidence, you can literally watch the videos, you can read the transcripts, there's all the people's evidence, all six pieces of evidence. We're talking about it, and you can feel it there in the room. You can feel this tension that many people there, first time jurors just like me, and they are not comfortable with saying that this man is guilty. We've got the evidence right there. We literally have a picture of this guy at this woman's house on the day that he's accused of committing this crime. We have literally this case boils down to we have a picture of the guy breaking the restraining order. It is right here. But the heaviness, the heaviness of twelve people coming together and saying guilty. You can tell people don't want to do it. People don't Want to say it. There's a hesitation. We're not going to come to a verdict on Thursday, not because we don't have the facts, not because it's not clear what has been done, not because we can't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, no, we're not going to come to a verdict because it is such a heavy thing to sit there and to say that someone else is guilty. And this is just about this particular case. Like if you actually sit in court, and you actually think about rendering a judgment, it’s like it caused people to pause, people who knew what was true. Still, they were like, well, what if the man didn't fully understand the restraining order? What if he didn't have the mental capacity to fully understand? What if he didn't fully understand everything? What if language was a barrier for him, and he didn't fully understand everything that was going on, and you can feel there's like, there's sympathy rising up within the jury room, there's compassion, there's wanting to perhaps excuse what is going to happen because the idea of actually pronouncing judgment is such a heavy thing that there are people in the room who don't want to say it.
The quote, it says here in Romans 2:7-10, it says “to those who by patience, and well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life, but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also to the Greek. Doesn't matter who you are. And if you think you're one of God's chosen people, so you're going to get out of it. No. This passage is making it clear, it's happening to the Jew and to the Greek. And there are two options. If you do evil, there's tribulation and distress. If you do good, there's glory, honor, and peace. So let it be written. So let it be done.
See, people have a natural human tendency to want to avoid the subject of judgment, to want to avoid making a judgement, when we're all sitting here in the jury room to want to avoid sermons like this, where it flat out says, if you do this, this is what happens to you. And if you do this, this is what happens to you. That's how it works. Even us who like to study the Bible together on a Saturday night, this might be a topic we would rather avoid and not seriously think about. I knew this was going to be a tough passage when we got to it in the book of Romans. As soon as I knew, as a church, we were going to do the book of Romans, I knew this was going to be one of the hardest passages in the entire book for people right here in this room, because this is a very un-Romans passage of Romans right here. Romans is famous for justification by what, everybody? Faith. You are declared righteous, not based on anything you do, but based on a transfer of trust to what Jesus has already done for you. It's not based on your work; it's based on the finished work of Jesus. And when you realize that you can't be saved by your own works, because you're not good. No, not one, and you transfer your trust to Jesus, who was good, who was perfect, who was righteous, and he sacrificed himself on your behalf. When you believe in Jesus, the just shall live by their faith. That's what everybody knows Romans for, it's famous. It's awesome. That's why we're studying it. These verses say something that doesn't quite sound like that. These verses say, let me tell you how judgment works. It works based on what you do. Let me tell you how that works. If you do good, you get glory, you get honor, you get immortality; if you don't do good, if you do evil, you get wrath and fury. That's what it says. There's no other way you can read those verses. It says that there are some people who are doing good and they're on their way to glory, and there are some people who are doing evil, and they are on their way to wrath. And so then, wow, how does that work? How does it say that in Romans 2:6-11 and then in chapter 3 make this huge point that there is no one who does good not even one, and then later on it says that the only way anybody can be righteous is through their faith in Jesus. But here in chapter 2, it acts like there are good people who are going to get glory and there are evil people who are going to get wrath. How does it say that here? And so, the Bible scholars begin to do their interpretations? And there's kind of two different ways that people are interpreting this passage. One is that this is just a theoretical good that there is this theory that people would do what is good, but no one actually does good according to chapter three. And so, this theoretical good for which you would receive the glory and honor and immortality, well, that's not really a real thing. So, it's saying how judgment won't work, but no one's actually capable of doing good. So, you could go read some Bible scholars, that's how they would interpret this passage. But other Bible scholars would say, well, actually, though, what this is talking about is this is talking about Christian people who have been saved, because people who have been saved, they're not only saved out of their sin, they're saved in Christ Jesus.
What are we saved for? according to Ephesians 2:10. It says, we’re saved for what? Good Works. And so maybe this is talking about people who are saved, and they're therefore now patiently doing good. Why? Because they want the glory of Jesus, they're living by faith, they have a radical salvation and are walking out their newness of life, as the book of Romans is going to go on to say. It’s a real thing that happens to people so which one is it? We'll look back at the context with me here? Look back at Romans 2:4-5, because it's very important that when we are zooming in on verses 6 to 11, we don't take verses 6 and 11. It's important when you're studying any part in the Bible, that you don't take it out of context, can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Okay, I love reading the Bible in the Hebrew and Greek, I love using all kinds of different tools to study the Bible. But anybody here you can use one of the best tools ever to make sure you come up with good interpretations of Scripture, context, context, context. That's what you need to come up with for the right interpretation. And one of the things we can see here in context, why are we even talking about being judged according to works? We'll look back at verses 4-5 where it says, “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” what, everybody? “Repentance”? Okay, well, that's an idea we just heard about by people getting baptized here tonight. That's a change of mind. That's a turnaround where somebody was living for themselves and doing evil, and then by God, granting them repentance and giving them salvation in Jesus Christ, their life turns around, and they're no longer living for self-seeking, towards evil, but they're now living for God's glory. And they're doing now good. They're bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. Right? They're proving their repentance by their deeds. So, we are in the context of the one time that the book of Romans talks about repentance is right before our passage. In fact, verse 5 is really the kickoff to our passage, because it says” because of your hard and impenitent, or you could translate it unrepentant heart. So, we've got some people knowing the kindness, to lead them to repentance, but other people in their stubborn unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. See, there are people who are going to hear what we're preaching in church, and they're going to somehow walk out of here thinking, that's not talking about me. There are people that are going to hear this whole sermon about judgment and still walk out of here, like they won't be judged.
And when I'm with a group of my fellow citizens, when I'm with a group of other jurors, and we have all the evidence on the table, and it comes to the moment that we need to make our judgment, you can just feel that people don't want to get real about judgment right there in the room. You can feel it right here in this room right now. Because this is saying that based on how you live your life, something is going to happen to you, whether good or evil, glory or wrath, and people don't want to think about that. And because he brought it up in verse 5, now he's really getting into it in verses 6-11. Okay, so the truth is we are saved by our faith in Jesus, but in the Scripture, it teaches, you are judged by your works. And so, we're going to see that both of those possible interpretations of Romans 2:6-11 are true. There is no one who does good apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that?
But people who are saved by Jesus, they genuinely go and live a new life of good works. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Okay. So, the truth is that when the Bible talks about judgment, it talks about it based on what you have done. That's a thought you need to actually let your brain really think about, even in the book of Romans, which is famous throughout history for helping people see, I'm saved by faith, not by my works that I have done. Even in Romans, it says, you're judged according to what you have done. Have you really thought about that? Or have you just kind of I don't really want to think about being judged. I don't want to think about how judgment works. Let me let you hear from Jesus on this. Go to Matthew chapter 25. Everybody turn with me to Matthew 25. Because Jesus has more to say in the Gospel of Matthew about judgment. And notice how Jesus does not make the issue of judgment simply about whether you have put your faith in Jesus or not. Notice what he says, I want you to really think about this example that Jesus gives here in Matthew 25:31-46. I'm going to read this story. This is what Jesus is teaching about the judgment that is coming, because the only way that you can be prepared for the judgment to come is you have to be warned about it, you have to hear about it. You have to know about judgment preemptively. You cannot wait until it is too late. And so, here's Jesus saying in Matthew 25:31-46: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Like one of the things we all need to take a moment tonight to think about is Jesus doesn't say well believed good and faithful servant. He says well done, good and faithful servant.
Point number two let's get it down like this: Judgment is for what you have done. That's what the Bible says. And it's saying it here in a passage about the righteous and the wicked being judged based on what they did to the least of these, like we did it to Jesus. So, if your idea of saving faith is I believe in Jesus, therefore, I'm good and there is no repentance in your life, there is no change in the way that you conduct yourself, there is no you've been saved for the purpose of good works. If you think you can believe in Jesus and still live for yourself and still do evil that's not how judgment works. And we’ve got to really think about this, maybe you've never really thought about this in Paul's mind. There is no contradiction in chapter 2, saying that people are going to be judged according to those who are really doing good, patiently looking for the glory and those who are self-seeking, doing evil getting wrath. He doesn't think it's weird that that's in chapter 2, and then he says nobody's good in chapter 3. And then he says the only way to be saved is by faith in Jesus and 3 and into 4, he finds no contradiction there. Can you understand all of this without contradiction? Or do you think, hey, works just don't even matter? Then why is Jesus saying this? Like, you're going to tell me you've got faith, and you don't need works? Well, the faith that saves us, yes, we are saved by faith alone. But the faith that saves us is never alone, because faith always leads to what everybody? See, have you really thought this all the way through?
Like, one of the things that's going on, as I'm now Tuesday at court Wednesday at court Thursday at court, I'm thinking, Lord, when am I going to prepare to preach this sermon? Like this is a great illustration. But we got to get into the text, Lord. And so, we get these long lunch breaks. I don't know if anybody works for the government around here. But these lunch breaks, man, I've never had lunch breaks like this in my life, right? And so, we get this lunch break, and I'm booking it to In and Out Burger and I've got my Romans commentaries, and I'm sitting there, and I'm ready to get into the text. I'm ready to get into some Scripture. Lord opened my eyes. We got to preach a sermon this weekend. This is my chance right here. And right when I'm ready, like my wife is texting me. I’ll pray for your study right now. I'm opening up the Bible, ready to see the glory of the Lord, right here walk in three of my fellow jurors. And they're saying, wow, that was such a long walk over here to In and Out. Oh, wow. It's so hot. Man. I can't believe we have to do that walk all the way back to the courthouse. Man, this wasn't a great idea that we had to walk all the way down here. This got to be like the hottest day of the year. Three jurors walk into In and Out and I can hear them all saying this, right there when I'm like Romans, Romans, Romans, Romans, and I just drove here in my air-conditioned car that has four seats. That was very nice. What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to say, well, I believe in Jesus and just keep studying my Bible? Or do I offer my fellow jurors a ride back to court in a nice car with air conditioning guys? See, I can say I believe in Jesus, but what do I do? See the very next day, now I'm really got to get cranking on this sermon. Right? And now that I'm in these lunch breaks, they’re so long, but I’ve got to make the most of this time. And there's a food court over here, and I'm going to go, I'm going to go hunker down in this food court, and I'm going to get into the meat of the word right now. Right? And I'm like booking it. I'm on a mission. I'm a man with a mission from God, to preach the word on my way into this food court. Excuse me, sir. Can you help me? I'm not making this up. Sir, can you help me? Well, what kind of help do you need? Oh, I'm hungry, sir. I'm hungry. Now what am I supposed to do? I'm too busy. My ministry is the word and prayer. Right? Well, what's your what's your name? Sir, Willie. Willie, what have you been up to? I just got out of prison two weeks ago. What am I supposed to do? See, I can say I believe what I believe. What am I supposed to do? When somebody walks up to me? And says, Will you help me? And I'm on a ridiculously long lunch break? What am I supposed to do? See? I don't know who this guy is. But he's asking me for help. Am I supposed to be like, well, I believe in Jesus, so I'm fine. Or am I supposed to be like, I need to treat this guy Willie like he is Jesus right now. You could tell me what you believe. But what do you do? As you did it to these you did it to me. That's what our Lord Jesus has said. He said, why do you call me Lord, Lord? And he doesn't say why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not believe what I tell you? He says, why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you? He says the difference between the wise man and the foolish man is the man who hears the words of Jesus and not believes them. I understand justification by faith. That's why we're going through the book of Romans, because nobody is getting saved based on anything you do. It is all based on what Jesus has done. Can I get an Amen from anybody?
But then why is Jesus always making a big point about what we do? Have you really thought that all the way through that this idea that many people may be here tonight believe that many people go into churches around here believe is I don't have to worry about judgment, it doesn't matter what I do, because I believe in Jesus, therefore, I'm good. That's not what these verses are saying to us. That's something you need to rethink if that's what you've been saying. Jesus is saying how you treat even the least of the people around you, reflects what you really believe about Jesus, how you obey the commands of Jesus, reflects, if you really love Jesus. Some people in this room tonight have a fake made-up relationship with Jesus in their mind that is not reflected in anything they do in their life. That's something you’ve got to rethink about. Because he's pointing to what you do. That's what Paul can say. Paul can say that there are people out there who are doing good, why are they doing good? Because they believe in the glory. Why do they believe in the glory? Because they've got the living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because they've had a change of mind of repentance, because they have been saved in Christ Jesus for good works. That's why they're living in a new way. Their faith compels them to go and do something in the name of Jesus. Those people on Judgment Day, they will be rewarded according to what they have done. That's what the Scripture says. Judgment is according to what you have done, it says that throughout the Bible, and if you haven't really wrestled with that thought about that, we got to take the Bible for what it says, not what we want it to say, or what makes sense to us. We’ve got to take it for what it says. And Jesus is saying, when that person comes up to you, and they ask you for help, what are you going to do about it? That's the question.
Now go back to Romans chapter 2, because the middle part of our chiasm here, Romans 2:8-9, right here in the middle, I mean, this is really the point he was jumping off of, from Romans 2:5, remember verse 5, let's go back and read verse 5, “because your heart is stubborn, “and impenitent,” or unrepentant heart, that's why you're storing up wrath for yourselves on the day of wrath. So, wrath is a clear theme in Romans. God is angry at sin. He's angry at sin presently giving people over to their sins. And he's angry at sin in the sense that a day of wrath is coming when his righteous judgment will be revealed. Just in case you think that righteous judgment is talking about somebody else, and not you, no, God's going to render to everyone according to their works, whether you're doing what is good, or here's what it says now, in verse 8, “but for those who are self-seeking,” or traditionally translated contentious. Why are you contentious with other people? Because you're putting yourself above other people. Self-seeking, and they do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, “there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil.”
That's what it says. The reality that we got to get down to when it comes to judgment is that people who keep living for themselves, people who don't do what God tells them, in fact, they do the opposite of what God tells them, they will get wrath. There is a day of judgment coming. And there's not going to be a sympathetic jury that'll try to say to them, they didn't understand or they couldn't get it or something. No, there's not going to be any sympathy, you will be judged according to what you have done. That's what it says it's coming on that day. And it's warning every one of us about it ahead of time. So we can get right now because there won't be getting right on that day. That's what it's saying. And so, he's doubling down on this. He's saying that some people, even people who think they know God, even people who think they're goody two shoes, they're on the right side, they're okay with God. Even some of those people are right now storing up, not treasure in heaven, but wrath on the day of judgment. And just in case you don't think that's you, let's make it very clear, judgments come in for everybody, according to what you have done. Don't think we're talking about somebody else. We are talking about you right now. That's what the point he's trying to make right here. Oh, you think the Jew is exempt from judgment? No, this judgment is coming to the Jew first, then to the Greek, every single person. That's what the judgment is coming for.
So, this is a heavy thought. This is the heaviest thought out of all heavy thoughts that people that you and I know, who persist in doing evil, and they do not respond to hearing the truth of God's word, they don't respond to the truth of the gospel, that there is a God-man who mediates between us and God, and we can be saved through faith in him because he died on the cross to pay for our sins. They don't obey the truth. They don't respond with repentance and faith to the gospel. No, in fact, look what it says right there in verse 8, they “obey unrighteousness.” Well, there will be wrath and fury. The reality of judgment coming is something that we need to all take a moment tonight to realize that at the end of everybody's life, there will be a guilty and there will be a not guilty, and we're not going to be able to sit in some room and hesitate and put it off and act like well, maybe there's not going to be any well maybes. There are two possible outcomes. That's what we have right here. That is the revelation as something we need to actually think about for a minute. That if you have not repented and believed in the Gospel of Jesus, if Jesus hasn't saved you so that you're a new person, you right now are on your way to this kind of wrath and judgment. And if you have by the grace of God had your eyes opened to see yourself as a sinner, and you begged God, you turned yourself in, said, you're not innocent, confess your sins before God and found his steadfast love is faithful and just to forgive you for your sin, well, then just consider this, that people you know are guilty, and are on their way to judgment, this is heavy. This is a hard thing to think about. And I'm afraid that some of us would rather just not think about the fact that we serve a God of wrath. Does anybody want to say Amen to that in Orange County, California, in 2022, that what we're learning about God here is he will never be okay with sin, there will be wrath and fury? This is the truth.
And so, we come back on Friday morning, and we go back into that jury room, and you can't put it off any longer, we are going to have to sit here in this room until we come out with guilty or not guilty. And all we have is what has been done right in front of us. That's what we're here to make the judgment call on. And there were certain individuals in our jury room, and I could relate to how they were feeling. Because it was like this heavy thing that we were going to say that this man was guilty for violating his restraining order, because we didn't know what was going to happen to this man. Because we said that in this room and some of my fellow jurors, they needed to see the evidence a few times. And then there's like this moment, when we're all sitting there, and everybody knows what needs to be said. And nobody's ready to say it. And so, guess who? Your pastor is the guy who just has to say, in the quietness of this room, guilty. That's the verdict. That's the judgment. And the thing is, this guy who, who violated a restraining order literally did something he was told by the law not to do, and did it knowingly had the ability not to do it, but did it with full intent. You know what the truth is, I don't think he did fully understand what he was doing. I don't think he did fully understand that what he did was going to be a judge, and a prosecutor and a defense attorney, and a bailiff, and a clerk and twelve of us and two alternates for four days of our lives. I don't think he knew that judgment day was coming when he made that decision.
I don't think a lot of people understand that judgment day is coming for the things that they are doing right now in their life. That is what the Scripture is teaching. And that is a concept that if you and I can get not just in our heads, but in our hearts, that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom for you personally, and that will grow within you such a heart for God to turn people in repentance to save people in the Gospel of Jesus, because you don't want people, you know, being found guilty on the Day of Judgment. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? I mean, Judgment Day is coming and there will be no jury to sympathize, to feel that to try to stall it to try to find a way out of it. There will only be the judge. He's already got all the evidence. It's already laid out right there before him. He already was, he already was a witness himself. He already knows the law that you broke and there will be judgment there will be wrath and fury there will be tribulation and distress. That's what the scripture is teaching us. And you need to turn yourself in now, if you haven't already. And you need to get some kind of defense, you need someone to stand up and defend you because you will not be able to defend yourself; you will be found guilty according to what you have done.
Turn with me to 1 John, let me let me encourage you with these words that John writes here and in 1 John 1, going into chapter 2. And he says here in 1 John, let's pick it up, 1 John 1:6. Look what it says here, “If we say we have fellowship with him,” I know Jesus, I believe in Jesus. “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness.” Okay, here I am saying, I believe in Jesus, but what am I doing, I'm still self-seeking. I'm not obeying the truth; I'm still obeying unrighteousness. Remember, the book and theme of Romans is the obedience of faith, the idea that real faith produces an obedience in our lives. So, I'm claiming faith, but I'm still obeying unrighteousness. Well, that's what it's talking about here. 1 John 1:6-10, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Look at this 1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate,” we have a defense attorney, we have someone who will stand up for us “with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Is that good news to anybody right there. Okay? So, here's the thing, if you all want to act like you're fine with Jesus, while you're still doing evil, John just said, you're a liar. All right? He said, you don't understand how this works. You can't claim to know Jesus is the judge. Jesus already knows what you do. He knows whether you know him or not, by the way you live? Are you living a new life that seeks for glory? And starts doing good? Or are you still living for yourself and not obeying his truth? Jesus knows that about you. So, you can't claim to be in the light, you might look like you're in the light to me, to everybody that knows you around here. No, but this is Jesus we're talking about. So he is going to know the truth about you and you're going to stand for Jesus. Everybody here is meeting Jesus as the judge. We're all standing before him. In the end, we will all be rendered according to our works, whether good or evil. And it says here that if you confess your sins, if you get honest about your sin, if you agree with God, about what you have done, if you turn yourself in as guilty, if that's your plea, he is faithful, and it is right, because he already paid for your sin on that cross. Hey, he is just to forgive you for your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. So, you should not sin. Go to 1 John 2:1, “I am writing” so that you would see don't continue in sin. Don't stay in that sin any longer. If you confessed it and been forgiven for it and cleansed from it, well go and do good. Now don't go back and keep doing that sin. But if anyone does sin, you’ve got the best possible defense attorney, your best possible advocate, the best possible one.
Point number three, let's get it down like this: You need Jesus for your defense. You need Jesus for your defense. You will have no claim on the Day of Judgment. But there is one who will claim you by his blood. There is one who will acknowledge you before the Father. And so, you need to turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus because judgment day is coming and not only do you need to do this, every single person in this room needs to do it, every single person you know needs to do it. Because someday there's going to be a judgement and there won't be any jury to sympathize with you. There will be one who is wholly one who is righteous, one who has wrath and fury. And on a day of wrath, his righteous judgment will be revealed. And you don't want to wait till you get to his courtroom to find out this is true. You want to see the truth of God's Word here today. And you want to realize judgment day is real. And I need to make sure I'm ready because I've got Jesus standing in defense for me, I'm trusting in him as my propitiation. Propitiation, that's the idea of an atoning sacrifice. That is someone who has satisfied God's wrath for your sin; the offer of satisfaction for the wrath of God is available not only for your sin, but for the sin of the whole world. People don't have to experience wrath on Judgment Day, because Jesus experienced the wrath of God on the cross. Can I get an Amen from anybody on this? He already took the wrath; he already took the judgment. This is the good news. And we need to know that good news for ourselves. And we need to share that good news with other people around us. Because there is a judgement day. And when you sit in court, and you see people who know this person did it, but they don't want to say guilty. You realize that a lot of us here in Orange County, 3.2 billion residents, we are living life like God is not going to judge when he is telling you flat out that is exactly what he is going to do. And he is telling you, he has good news of great joy for all people, that there is one, a Savior who has come, and that Savior already took God's wrath in your place, already paid for your sin. And when you transfer your trust to Jesus, you will no longer experience wrath on judgment day. But you will hear him say well done, good and faithful servant. So, we want to worship Jesus. Now let me pray for us:
Father in heaven. Father, I just pray that you will be merciful to us, to let us really think about judgment. And what your Word is saying to us. We see that it's quoted over and over again. And we want to just say, oh, I don't have to think about that. And the more because I've believed in Jesus, Father, I pray that we would think about what your Word is saying here. That we would consider it seriously for our own souls, as our faith in Jesus as our repentance, based on the good news of the gospel, that Jesus died for us, and rose again. Has that really made a difference in our life? Has there been a turnaround? Has there been a repentance? Or are we actually claiming Jesus, while our hearts are still hard, and our lives are still unrepentant? And we're actually still saying, we believe in Jesus, put on the way to a day of wrath, according to what we have done. Father, I pray that we would all take a moment to consider ourselves and do we have confidence that when we stand before the judgment, that Jesus will stand as our advocate, he will stand in our defense, that he will claim us as one of his people by His blood? Father, I pray that you will increase our faith, that you will give us that confidence that your perfect love casts out fear that we will know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And we will know we're in Christ Jesus, because look what he's done in our lives. Father, we just pray for those who are here in this room right now. And they haven't put their trust in Jesus, they haven't turned from their sin. Father, we pray that today would be a wakeup call. Father, we pray that they would stop violating orders that you have told them to observe. We pray that today they would stop thinking it's okay to step over the blood of Jesus on their way to more sin. We pray that they would see the hypocrisy of claiming that Jesus died for their sin, and he paid it in full, and they're saved from their sin while they still go home and keep on doing it. Father, let today be the day that people realize they're on their way to judgment and that they need to turn now before it's too late. So, Father, let your words sound forth, let the warning be heard that there be conviction in people's hearts. Let people understand that they will be judged for what they have done. And let that fear of you turn people from evil here tonight. Let people look at Jesus on the cross and see now I see why he was up there. He was up there for me. I needed him to die for me. Open eyes tonight to see Jesus that he took the wrath, that he paid the price, that he experienced judgment for our sin so that we could receive his righteousness by faith, and we could live a new changed life through the power of his resurrection. Let people see tonight that Jesus took the wrath and let them live in sin no longer. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.