Goodness Leads to Repentance

In Romans 2, I feel like I can dovetail on both of these aspects: loving God and God loving us and us loving others.

Romans tell us to begin with, that there is no excuse for us judging others.

• Man is without excuse – Both Jew and Gentile

• Both need the benefit of Salvation

o Jews thought themselves excused on the ground that they possed the Law and the oracles of God, and were His favorite people.

o The Jews were in the habit of accusing and condemning the Gentiles as wicked and abandoned.

• Paul affirms that they were inexcusable in their sins, that they must be condemned in the sight of God, on the same ground on which they condemned the Gentiles; that they had light and yet committed wickedness. 

• If the Gentiles were without excuse (1:20), in their sins, much more would the Jew, who condemned them, be without excuse on the same ground. 

[Thou art inexcusable] This does not mean that they were inexcusable for judging others; but that they had no excuse for their sins before God; or that they were under condemnation for their crimes, and needed the benefits of another plan of justification. 

As the Gentiles whom they judged were condemned, and were without excuse (Rom 1:20), so were the Jews who condemned them without excuse on the same principle; and in a still greater degree.

The word ‘judgest’ (

)here is used in the sense of condemning. 

Question: What can we extract or conclude from this chatter about judging and condemning others?

1.

People are prone to judge

. 

2.

Often, perhaps commonly, accusers themselves are guilty of the same offenses

. 

John 8 – Woman caught and brought before Jesus because of adultery. ‘If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’

2 Samuel 12:1-6, David readily condemned the supposed act of injustice mentioned by Nathan, even after what David had himself done. 

Kings and emperors have enacted severe laws agsinst the very crimes whitch they had constantly violated themselves.

3.

Religious / Spiritual piety or zeal may be no proof of innocence

.

Matt 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 

4.

The Heart is deceitful.

When we judge others we should make it a rule to examine ourselves on that very point. Such an examination might greatly mitigate the severity of our judgment; or might turn the whole of our indignation against ourselves. 

The rule of the love of others should also bring us to a state of mis-judging and condemnation of others because we too are inexcusable. 

Transition: The text moves us from being inexcusable in our sin and subsequent condemnation to a newly introduced understanding. That of kindness, in particular God’s Kindness.

What it is asking is if we neglect others the right to receive and enjoy God’s ways of dealing with sin, guilt and condemnation.

Despise/show contempt = kataphroneo {kat-af-ron-eh’-o} Meaning: 1) to contemn, despise, disdain, think little or nothing of

Application: If we want it, need it, and pursue it, why would we refuse for that to be the case for anyone/everyone?

Question: What do we extract in verse 4 about God?

That He is RICH – Wealth, Abundance, Plentitude

• Goodness – kindness

• Forbearance – anochees = Literally, his holding-in or restraining; or forebering to manifest his displeasure against sin. 

• Long-Suffering – Slowness to anger and punishment.

Transition: So, God is good! The Rule of Judgment is hypocritical and self-imposing; the Role of God is His Kidness which then Paul states should move us into a Response: Repentance. 

The Kindness of the God:

1.

Leads

– The tendency, the design of this understood goodness is to induce us to receive and enjoy forgiveness through repentance.

Application: When someone does something good for us to us (a present, a kind word, etc.) we say thank you or send a thank-you card or something like that right?!

2.

Repentance

– Change of mind, purpose, and life. The word here evidently means, not merely sorrow, but a forsaking of sin, and turning from it.

The tendency of God’s goodness and forebearance to lead people to repentance, is manifest in the following ways:

• Melding of caloused / uncompassionate / insensitive hearts.

• Display of the same grace to others.

Conclusion: I’ve spoken to you this month about unity, being rooted and grounded, love and now repentance againt condemnation and judgement.