3/05/15
– Romans 2:1-16 “Don’t be a Hypocrite”
We
continue on from last week’s teaching on rebellion against God who rejects
those who wilfully and consistently oppose His law for no other reason than it
suits them to do what they want to do. Such people march to the tune of “I did
it my way”, all the way to hell, in fact, because only those who do it God’s
way (that is, according to God’s holy requirements) will be permitted to enter
eternal life in heaven.
Romans
2:1 – Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art
that judgest: for wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
The word ‘therefore’ means that
this passage follows on, is the result of, the previous passage in the 2nd
half of Romans 1. God had chosen His special people, the Jews, to serve Him,
and had called them to be a priesthood to the nations (the Gentiles).
Exodus 19:5-6 – 5Now therefore, if ye will
obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar
treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: 6And ye shall be unto me a
kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are]
the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
In verses 9 & 10 of today’s passage,
Paul makes a point of putting the Jews first but also the Greeks, and explains
in Vs 11 that God has no favourites when it comes to judgement. It is clear, therefore
(now, there’s that word again!) that the one being judged was the Greek (Gentile)
while the one doing all the self-righteous judging was the (shock, horror) Jew,
God’s special people!
But what did Jesus say about the
pharisees? (And He surely had a lot to say!!)
Matthew 23:1-14;
23-36 – 1Then spake
Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2Saying, The scribes and the
Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3All
therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do; but do
not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4For they bind heavy burdens and
grievous to be borne, and lay [them] on men’s shoulders; but they [themselves]
will not move them with one of their fingers. 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they
make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6And love the uppermost rooms at
feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men,
Rabbi, Rabbi. 8But be
not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, [even] Christ; and all ye
are brethren. 9And
call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which
is in heaven. 10Neither
be ye called masters: for one is your Master, [even] Christ. 11But he that is greatest among
you shall be your servant. 12And
whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself
shall be exalted. 13But
woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye
them that are entering to go in. 14Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and
for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall
receive the greater damnation.
23Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of
the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to
leave the other undone. 24[Ye]
blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the
platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26[Thou] blind Pharisee,
cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter, that the
outside of them may be clean also. 27Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited
sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men’s]
bones, and of all uncleanness. 28Even
so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy
and iniquity. 29Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the
prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30And say, If
we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with
them in the blood of the prophets. 31Wherefore
ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed
the prophets. 32Fill
ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33[Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers,
how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men,
and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some]
of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute [them] from
city to city: 35That
upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood
of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias,
whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36Verily I say unto you, All these
things shall come upon this generation. (And it did indeed come upon their generation!)
Yes, when it came to being good
according to the law, the
pharisees were the Olympic gold medalists! (not God’s law, of course,
but their own – see Matthew
15:9 – But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines
the commandments of men.)
They
judged others around them; they even judged Jesus for being such a “sinner”.
Matthew
9:11 – And when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto
his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans
and sinners?
Luke 15:2 – And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth
with them.
And when Jesus
continued to reveal their lies and deceit, they falsely accused Him of crimes
leading to His crucifixion.
Mark 14:53, 55-56, 63-64 – 53And they led Jesus away to
the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the
elders and the scribes..…….
55And the chief priests and
all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found
none. 56For many bare
false witness against him, but their witness agreed
not together.…………
63Then the high priest rent
his clothes, and saith, What need we any further
witnesses? 64Ye have
heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of
death.
Luke 23:13-15 – 13And Pilate, when he had
called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14Said unto them, Ye have
brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the
people: and, behold, I, having examined [him] before you, have found no
fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15No, nor yet Herod: for I sent
you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.
John 19:6-7 – 6When the chief priests
therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify
[him], crucify [him]. Pilate saith unto them, Take
ye him, and crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him. 7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he
made himself the Son of God.
Romans 2:2 – But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth
against them which commit such things.
But such hypocrites cannot escape
God’s judgement. The truth reveals their sin and the truth judges their lies.
God’s word is truth. Therefore all that opposes the
truth must by logic be lies.
Romans 2:3 – And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest
the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Such people should not judge others
while doing the same sin as that which they condemn. This is the meaning behind…..
Matthew 7:1-5 – 1Judge not, that ye be not
judged. 2For with
what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you again. 3And
why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s
eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine
own eye? 4Or how wilt
thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out
of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? 5Thou hypocrite, first cast out
the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the
mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Note that Christians are
required to make judgements concerning the behavior of people, as to whether
they are sinning or not. We are not told to avoid judging others; rather we are
not to judge others when we do the same thing ourselves – that is, judge as hypocrites.
Too often people who desire to avoid being judged will tell us that we
shouldn’t judge others – judge not that you be not judged! But this is almost
always used by people who have some sin in their lives and want it to stay
hidden (or occult – which means “secret” or “hidden”!). Ultimately, it is God who
will judge all. Or, more specifically, God has committed all judgement to the
Son. John 5:22 – For the
Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment
unto the Son:
Romans 2:4 – Or despisest thou the riches of his
goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of
God leadeth thee to repentance?
despisest – kataphroneo
= to treat with disdain. It appears to be an assumption that because they
existed as God’s people, therefore they should be considered saints, rather
than sinners. Even today, especially in churches that should know better,
people have a strong tendency to feel that because they are attending church as
God’s people, then they must by association with God be blessed as His people.
They see the health and wealth gospel as a natural consequence of being God’s
people. They despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance and longsuffering
(patience). Instead of God’s apparent goodness leading us to think we should be
blessed by Him, rather we should repent all the more for being so undeserving
of His goodness etc. That is, the more we know of God, the more we should perceive
our lack of worth in and of ourselves.
God’s goodness should lead us
therefore to be like the tax collector, rather than the pharisee!
Luke 18:9-14 – 9And he spake
this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and despised others: 10Two
men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a
publican. 11The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not
as other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
publican. 12I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13And the publican, standing
afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote
upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
In fact, this passage in Romans could
very well reflect this parable of Jesus.
Romans 2:5 – But after thy hardness (obstinacy; stubbornness) and
impenitent (unrepentant) heart treasurest
up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God;
If we take this passage as a
warning against hypocrisy, with the pharisees being key examples of such, then
instead of them building up treasures in heaven, they are building up wrath in
the day of judgement when God reveals all their works for what they are. (See
Malachi 4:1 where the wicked are burned up like stubble.)
Romans 2:6 – Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Proverbs 24:12 – If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it
not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider [it]?
and he that keepeth thy soul, doth [not] he
know [it]? and shall [not] he render to [every]
man according to his works?
We will reap what we sow. We do it our
way or God’s way!
Romans 2:7 – To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory
and honour and immortality, eternal life:
This is the lot of those who seek
after God. The ‘good’ side of the coin.
Matthew 6:33 – But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you.
Our first priority is to seek God’s
kingdom and His righteousness. This will bring eternal life, because we have
patiently sought to follow God’s pathway for our lives.
Romans 2:8 – But unto them that are contentious (a desire to put one’s self
forward in opposition to God), and do not obey the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
The contentious ones are those who
think their way is right, and therefore any other way is wrong. If God says to
obey righteousness, then they will obey unrighteousness. They seek their own
way, and no-one, not even God will tell them otherwise. They only know their
own “truth” and no-one else may oppose. These ones are contentious for the sake
of going in another direction to God’s truth, much like those in Romans 1:18-32,
especially Vs 32.
And, these self-seeking contentious
ones – those who ‘did it their way’ – will conveniently avoid the truth, and instead
seek that which appears to promise them what they decide they should
have. However, the consequences of rebellious self-seeking behavior is the indignation and anger of God…… (This is the ‘bad’
side of the same coin. There are usually two ways of looking at things, from God’s
point of view, and our point of view.)
Romans 2:9 – Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil,
of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
….. and the tribulation and anguish
that comes from a life lived in selfishness, in opposition to God’s truth and
righteousness. We will reap what we sow; if we sow contention, then ultimately we’ll reap contention. If we sow evil, then we’ll
reap tribulation and anguish.
Man does evil because he thinks of
what he can get out of it, but he remains unsatisfied. His soul is empty of
goodness and he has nothing in his life with which to bless others. He can do
no good for anyone else; he has filled his life with greed, and greed cannot
help those around him. We fill ourselves by filling others. Paul here makes the
point that it is the Jew who is first to be accused of evil (because they of
all people should have known better). The Jew who thinks he is above the law is
the one who will be judged by that same law (Vs 12 below).
However, the Gentile also, even
without the benefit of the knowledge of the law, will still perish without the
law (Vs 12 below). This once again is the ‘bad’ side of the coin.
Romans 2:10 – But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to
the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Here we return to the ‘good’ side
of the coin. Paul continues to contrast those who do what is good with those
who do what is bad. In particular, he has noted the hypocrisy of many of the
Jews who, being God’s people, still sin, yet more so because they who have the
law will be judged by the law (Vs 12 below). That is, the knowledge of the law has
increased their guilt. They should have known better! And it is the Jew who is
also placed first here in the benefits for working that which is good, because the
law was given to the Jews as God’s people. However, this also doesn’t exclude
the Gentile from the same benefits for those who seek to do that which is good.
Ultimately it doesn’t matter whether you are Jew or Gentile; all will reap the
consequences of either obeying or disobeying God.
Romans 2:11 – For there is no respect of persons with God.
God does not have favourites. If
the Gentile sins, then the Gentile is condemned, and if the Jew sins, the Jew
is condemned. The soul that sins shall die.
Ezekiel 18:19-32 – 19Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When
the son hath done that which is lawful and right, [and] hath kept all my
statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity
of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon him. 21But
if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all
my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he
shall not die. 22All
his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto
him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23Have I any pleasure at all
that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: [and] not that he should
return from his ways, and live?
24But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all
the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his
righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he
hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned,
in them shall he die.
25Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel;
Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26When a righteous [man] turneth
away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity,
and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done
shall he die. 27Again,
when the wicked [man] turneth away from his
wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he
shall save his soul alive. 28Because
he considereth, and turneth
away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he
shall not die. 29Yet
saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not
equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? 30Therefore I will judge you, O
house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent,
and turn [yourselves] from all your transgressions; so
iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31Cast away from you all
your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and
a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 32For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God:
wherefore turn [yourselves], and live ye.
Romans 2:12 – For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without
law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
as many as have sinned – whosoever, whoever, all who have……
without law – written law, as opposed to natural law which all
have. Vs 14 & 15
shall…perish – apollumi – metaphorically: to devote or give over to eternal
misery in hell
judged by the law – they that know of God’s written law will be
condemned by their failure to obey it, suggesting the greater condemnation for
such people.
Many Jews (especially
the pharisees) arrogantly thought that because they were God’s special people, God
would always be on their side, watching over them, and protecting them. But,
says Paul, those who know the law will be judged by that law (and, of course,
found guilty if they sinned). Those who didn’t know the law wouldn’t be judged
by that law, but their consciences would still know good from evil, and this
would still condemn them (see Vs 15 below).
The pharisees would
condemn the Gentile as being outside the law; they considered all those outside
the law to be unable to be saved. To them, the Gentiles were the unredeemable sinners,
not the Jews, especially the self-righteous pharisees!
Either way, with or
without the law, all will be found guilty if they sin. (And because all have
sinned – Romans 3:23 – all will be found guilty.) And especially for the Jew,
having the law was a burden, not a benefit, if they sinned. The pharisees just
didn’t get the point of it all, that the law was meant to condemn them and lead
them to throw themselves upon God’s mercy (see Luke 18:9-14).
Romans 2:13 – (For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God,
but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Hearing the law is of no benefit
unless people are actively obedient to that law.
James 1:22 – But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves. And those who do manage to actively obey the law shall be
justified. However, Romans 3 clearly demonstrates that by the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight (Romans
3:20). No-one could ever fully obey the law!
Romans 2:14 – For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the
things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves:
Even the Gentiles, who don’t have the
written law of God, still know enough to be guilty of sin against God, and thus
have no excuse, no defence, against God’s holy judgement. It is built into
their nature to know what the law teaches. And if they see something as wrong, even if they are not one of God’s people, their conscience
about their behaviour will still condemn them. See Vs 15.
Romans 2:15 – Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness, and [their] thoughts the mean while
accusing or else excusing one another;)
The law that is written in their
hearts, their very being, their conscience, will lead them to know that which
is right and that which is wrong. For instance, all human societies know that
murder is a crime against their society. And yet in the animal kingdom,
conquest by death is a natural thing.
thoughts – logismos
– reasonings, opinions, reflections, judgements such as passed by conscience.
These reflections on their behaviour will either accuse them, or excuse them,
as good consciences should do.
Romans 2:16 – In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus
Christ according to my gospel.
In
the day
– often signifies the end-times, but can also signify the reaching of a
particular point in time, in particular the final judgement here. This
continues on from Vs 12 with Vs 13-15 being added (in parentheses – brackets)
as explanations in between. God’s judgement by the law on those who have sinned
by the law (Vs 12) will be by Jesus Christ –
John 5:22 – For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
the
secrets
– Ecclesiastes 12:14 – For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil..
of
men –
not just Jew, nor Gentile, but all men are included here.
according
to my gospel
– the gospel Paul was sent to preach as an apostle of Christ (an apostle is one
sent with orders, and probably used this way by Paul in Romans 1:1). This
gospel preached that man must receive forgiveness (by God’s grace) for his sins
without which he could not come before God with confidence.
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in
time of need.
All mankind is required to make peace with a holy God without
which there is no forgiveness for sin, and thus eternal condemnation for all
who refuse the gift of life in Jesus Christ, whether they be Jew or Gentile. In
particular, those who think they have an inside seat on God’s favour (as those
to whom God gave the written law), think again, for God does not have
favourites, especially if they think that by being God’s people
they deserve special consideration above others who are not seemingly as
favoured by God. Note well all those who think that by attending church they
are doing God a favour!
Paul has introduced the gospel, the power of God unto salvation
(Romans 1:16), and then looked at the reasons for the gospel. For if there is
no sin, then the gospel is of no effect! It is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth (Romans
1:16) yet without sin, the gospel is irrelevant. But because all
have sinned (Romans 3:23) then Christ’s gospel must be for the justification of
all by faith (Romans 3:24-25).
And while those who had the law (the Jews) were clearly judged by
the law, not one Gentile could claim that his lack of the law could excuse him,
for the working of the law is written within his heart (his inner being, his
thinking, his conscience) and can never be denied. That is, They are without excuse (Romans
1:20). Effectively, because no-one may be justified by the
works of the law (which condemns all), therefore justification for all
must be by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:28 – Therefore we conclude that a man
is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:19-20a – 19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight
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