Grace Unleashed
The Whole World On Trial
A Study of Romans 2:1-16
Opening: Hello everyone. The best way I know to summarize Romans 2:1-16, is to say, “The whole world is on trial.”
Introduction: Not long ago, my grandson, Elijah, and I boarded a plane for Boston. There was a man sitting in our row and talking on the telephone, and I overheard his conversation. He was talking about composing and publishing hymns. He was talking about the distribution of resources related to the singing of hymns. So when he finished his call I introduced myself and asked what he did for a living.
He said he publishes various musical resources within the Catholic tradition of faith. As we talked I mentioned that my friend, Keith Getty, has just published a hymnbook. The man expressed admiration for Keith Getty, but he said, “We wanted to use his hymn ‘In Christ Alone’ in our hymn book, but we had a problem with one of the verses. The hymn says, ‘till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.’”
The man said, “We didn’t want to use the phrase ‘the wrath of God.’ and we asked Keith if we could change it to the love of God—‘till on that cross as Jesus died, the love of God was satisfied.’ And Mr. Getty said no.”
I happened to be familiar with this story. I said to the man, “I’m glad Keith would not change his lyrics. The wrath of God is a very important biblical and theological truth.”
The man looked over at me and said, “That’s the Old Testament God; that’s all in the Old Testament.”
“No,” I said, “it’s in the New Testament too. Romans 1:18 says, ‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.’ The wrath of God is an important New Testament doctrine.”
“Well, yes,” he said, “but the people who sing our songs don’t understand all of that.”
“But they should understand it,” I said. “The wrath of God is His judicial response to evil and to the evil that is in this world. Let me ask you a question. If you are translating the book of Romans from the Greek into the English for a standard version of the Bible, would you use the word ‘wrath’ in verse 18 or would you replace it with ‘love?’”
He said that in a Bible translation he would use the word wrath. “But,” he said, “the people who sing our hymns won’t understand all that.” That was the end of our conversation, but it was so informative to me. We’re living in a time when even Christians or Christian faith traditions want to avoid the concept of the wrath of God. But if you delete the truth about the holiness of God, about the sheer evil of sin and the damage it does, and about God’s opposition to evil, then you have no basis upon which to explain the gospel or to appreciate the love of God which spares us and saves us and pardons us and delivers us.
The apostle Paul begins his explanation of the gospel at exactly this point. He puts the whole world on trial. God is the judge and the entire world—every human being who has ever lived—is in the courtroom facing condemnation.
Romans 1:18, he begins a systematic explanation of the nature and the contents of the message of the gospel and he begins by saying, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppressed the truth by their wickedness.”
In the remainder of chapter 1, Paul gives a remarkably accurate and candid description of the downward spiral of a culture or of a society that rejects God as Creator, that creates its own gods, that indulges in immorality, that endorses immoral sexual pursuits and perversions, and that descends into utter chaos and corruption.
Having exposed the pagan world’s downward spiral in chapter 1, Paul now turns to the religious moralist—especially the Jew—who assumes they are different and better. Chapter 2 is going to remind us that God’s standards do not shift according to pedigree or privilege.
Paul’s indictments in chapter 1 seem aimed at any culture or society, but in chapter 2 he is addressing his Jewish audience in particular. This is the view of most commentators. Paul first addressed the wickedness of the Gentile world in Romans 1:18-32. But now he is going to tackle the issue of the ingrained, inherent wickedness of the Jewish people. He devoted fifteen verses to the former, but he is going to spend 37 verses on the latter.
The reason is because many of the Jews believed they had a special connection with God through the covenant He made with Abraham, and they were depending on that history to save them.
When John the Baptist showed up on the east bank of the Jordan River to call the Israelites back to repentance, some of them objected, saying, “We have Abraham as our father” (see Matthew 3:9). Later, the Jewish scribes resisted Jesus, saying they were children of Abraham (John 8:33).
So the apostle Paul is about to address his Jewish readers. Nevertheless, the application is universal. Look at verse 1: You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
In other words, some people will see the description of the corruption in chapter 1 and say, “Yes, what is happening in our nation is terrible. People have rejected God and the reality of Him as creator. They have made false gods for themselves and become immoral in despicable ways, and the whole society is corrupt before God. Yes, that explains the days in which we are living.”
But now in chapter 2, the apostle Paul is going to say, “Yes, but the same evil exists in your heart too. You are guilty of the same things.”
It reminds me of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s quote, “The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”
Again he said, “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, or between political parts either—but right through every human heart.”
We may condemn the way the world behaves, but apart from the forgiveness of Jesus Christ we have the same lines of evil cutting through our own hearts.
Verse 2 says: Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. God’s reaction to evil isn’t based on an emotional response. It is based on a true analysis of right and wrong. Some people think they can get to Heaven because they have lived a relatively good life. Some think they will go to Heaven because of their race or religion. But we all have the sins of Romans 1 circulating in our own bloodstreams.
Verses 3 and 4 say: So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
Paul is referring to some Jewish writings here—including some references in the Old Testament—that speak of the riches of God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience. God is good. He is kind. He is forbearing. He is patient. He displays these qualities to us richly. But that doesn’t mean He will bend the rules of His justice for you or for me or for the Jews or anyone. A man or woman cloaked in black and sitting as a judge in a court of law may be a kind and patient individual, but they cannot set the guilty free.
The fact that God is rich in kindness, forbearance, and patience means we are more liable for judgment, for we have disregarded those things. God displays those qualities to draw us to repent of our sins. But if we neglect His goodness, we seal our own fate.
Verse 5 returns to the subject of God’s wrath: But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
How often the Bible warns of this coming day! Verses 6 and 7 says: God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Here the Bible tells us we will face one of two results at the end of life:
Eternal lifeOr wrath and angerWhat kind of person will face the anger and wrath of God? Those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and who follow evil.
But who will arrive at eternal life. Here Paul says the person who persists in doing good will inherit eternal life. At first, that sounds like Paul is preaching salvation by works. But I think the apostle is simply setting forth the requirement for going to Heaven and having a relationship with God.
We have to persist in doing good. In other words, we must live a perfect and sinless life. If we never sin, if we never make a mistake, if we never harbor an evil thought, if we perfectly fulfill the law both in our behavior and in our attitudes—if we are as righteous as the sinless and stainless Jesus Christ—then and only then will we get to Heaven on the basis of our own worthiness. But Paul’s overall theme in Romans 1:18 – 3:20 is that while this is hypothetically true, it is utterly impossible.
Dr. Douglas Moo wrote, “The promise of eternal life for those who do good is fully valid, but the power of sin prevents anyone from doing that good to the degree necessary to merit salvation.”
Paul now restates his argument in verses 9 and 10: There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
Eugene Peterson renders this verse: “Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.”
Now, verse 12: All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
Those who have the Mosaic Law, the Torah, will perish. Those who do not have the Torah will also perish because they, too, are guilty. There is a translation called the Voice, which puts this verse very well: “If one lives life without knowledge of the law—the teachings of the Torah—he will sin and die apart from the law. If someone else lives life under the law, his sin will be judged by what the law teaches.”
13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
In other words, what is required for Heaven is absolute righteousness. Absolute righteousness. Total obedience to the Torah, to the Law. Total conformity to the character of God.
14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)
Even Gentiles and pagans and people who do not have the Torah and have never read the requirements of God in pen and ink know that some things are right and some things are wrong. We instinctively know it is wrong to kill, wrong to take delight in hurting others, wrong to steal. God gave us a conscience. Yet none of us live in total obedience, total righteousness, or total holiness. And so, none of us are qualified on our own to experience Heaven.
Evangelical apologists frequently argue that humanity’s universal moral awareness—our shared sense of right and wrong—points to the existence of a moral Lawgiver. This is sometimes called the argument from moral law.
C. S. Lewis wrote, “Human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it.”
Francis Schaeffer wrote, “Man is moral. He knows what is right and what is wrong. This is not just sociological conditioning; it is rooted in the very structure of man as created in the image of God.”
William Lane Craig agreed, saying, “If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist. But objective moral values and duties do exist. Therefore, God exists.”
So Paul is telling us that everyone is guilty before God—those who have the Torah will be judged by the written Law and those who don’t have the Torah will be judged by the moral law God put into the universe and wrote upon their conscience. A day of judgment is coming for the entire world, and no one can withstand it by hoping they are good enough.
Verse 16 says, This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Romans 2 closes the courtroom door on self-righteousness. God’s judgment is impartial, His standard perfect, and His patience purposeful—to lead us to repentance. Only Christ, who perfectly fulfilled the Law and bore its penalty, can open that door again from the inside. This is the message of the Gospel.
Conclusion
This is the message everyone needs to hear. Recently I came across a remarkable story that appears in the archives and oral history of Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ).
During the brutal reign of Josef Stalin, officials in the Soviet Union confiscated thousands of Bibles and stored them in warehouses. In the southern Russian city of Stavropol, a large shipment of confiscated Scriptures was locked away and forgotten for decades.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, a team of Cru missionaries—part of the CoMission project to distribute Christian literature and teach Bible classes in Russian schools—was granted permission to retrieve and share those long-hidden Bibles. When word spread that they could finally distribute the Scriptures, a group of local students volunteered to help unload the truck and stack the boxes.
One of the students was not a believer. In fact, he was skeptical about Christianity and joined the crew mainly for the day’s wages. As he worked, curiosity got the better of him. He quietly slipped one of the old Bibles into his coat pocket, planning to keep it as a souvenir.
Later that day, he opened it—and what he saw stopped him cold. Inside the front cover was a handwritten name, one he recognized instantly. It was his grandmother’s signature.
The Bible he had chosen at random was the very copy the authorities had seized from his own grandmother decades earlier. Tears filled his eyes. The book that his grandmother had once read and prayed over had somehow found its way back to her grandson across the gulf of history. That moment changed his life. The faith that had been driven underground in one generation was reborn in the next through the living Word of God.
The whole world is on trial before Almighty God, and everyone is guilty. But we have a Book that tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Well, that’s our study of Romans 2:1-16. Next week we’ll begin with verse 17 and press onward into this incredible New Testament document—the letter to the Romans.
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