We have covered Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1, and does anybody know, can anybody tell me what the general theme of Romans chapter 1 is? It's been a long time now, I think, several weeks since we talked about this book of Romans, but in the first chapter of Romans, Paul endeavors to teach us that the Gentiles are guilty before God. And he basically tells us that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against them because they are engaged in all kinds of sin and rebellion against him. And so, in addition to that, he tells us in Romans chapter 1 that the Gentiles don't have any excuse. Now, a lot of people think that just because people haven't heard the gospel, just because they haven't had the Bible, perhaps, translated in their language, and they haven't had access to the Scriptures and haven't had access to preachers, that they're not guilty. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that they are guilty. And the theme of Romans chapter 1 is that these heathen who didn't necessarily have all the information that the Jews had. Nevertheless, they are without excuse. Now, they are without excuse because they had revelation. Does anybody remember what kind of revelation they had? Creation. Romans 1, 19 and 20. It says, "...because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them, Now isn't that interesting? God has shown it unto them, even though they didn't have the Scriptures. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without what? Excuse. So they're without excuse. So don't let anyone try to convince you that people are not under condemnation. just because they've never heard the gospel. No, they've got creation and they haven't responded rightly to that either. So they are guilty. They're without excuse. But not only did they have creation, but they had another kind of revelation. And we found that over in chapter two. And that is in verses 14 and 15. And in Romans 2, 14 and 15, it says, 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, which show the work of the law written where? in their hearts. So the law is actually written in their hearts. Now, who's the only person, of course, that can do that? That's God. So God, in a mysterious way, put the law in their hearts, their conscience then bearing witness. Well, how do these Gentiles know right from wrong? Well, they know it because God has implanted His law in a general way in their hearts and in their consciences and in their minds. So they have that revelation and that renders them without excuse. Now we come to chapter 2 of Romans. Look in chapter 2 of Romans, it says, Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, Now Paul is changing his focus. He's not referring to the Gentiles anymore, but we're going to find in Romans chapter 2 that now he turns to the Jews. Now he sort of sneaks up on them because he doesn't call them by name until later in the chapter, but it's clear who he's talking about here. You see, the Jews are nodding their heads and saying, yes, the Gentiles are guilty. And Paul says, if you're nodding your head because you're agreeing that the Gentiles are under condemnation for the things that they have done, then you also are under condemnation because you are doing the same things. Take a look at verse 1 there, Romans 2, 1. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. Now, it's not the judging that's wrong in verse 1 here. The judging is right. They are acknowledging that the Gentiles are guilty because of their sins. That's right, and it's good to make that judgment. But what they are guilty of is doing the same things as the Gentiles. It says, Whosoever thou art that judges, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest do us the same things. So the thought here in the first verse of Romans chapter 2 then is that the Jews are also guilty if they are sinning just like the Gentiles. Now here's the problem. The Jews thought that they could do the same things as the Gentiles and somehow escape condemnation. They thought that they could sin and get away with it. Now, that doesn't seem right, and of course that's bad doctrine, isn't it? You can't sin and get away from God's condemnation. But the Jews thought that the law of condemnation, Paul calls it later in the book of Romans, the law of sin and death. If you sin, you die. They thought it didn't apply to them. That somehow this law of sin and death applied to the Gentiles, but not to God's privileged people. But Paul is going to teach here in the first few chapters of Romans that the law of condemnation is universal. You remember the Bible says, the soul that sinneth, it shall what? It shall die. That's Ezekiel 18, 20. And this promise of God excludes no man. It doesn't exclude a Gentile and it doesn't exclude a Jew. It does not exclude a nation. It does not exclude a bloodline. Condemnation for sin is universal and it is mandatory according to the justice of God. You see, God has to condemn sin. It's who He is. God is righteous and holy and He says, Thou shalt not sin. And therefore, the condemnation of sin and punishment for sin is required of God. That's what a good and righteous and holy God does. He punishes all sin. God is compelled by His own righteousness to punish sin. And so He punishes Gentiles and He punishes Jews. And this is the right and appropriate thing to do. But take a look at Romans 2.2. See, Paul tells the Jews here, he says, but we are sure that the judgment of God, that is His judgment against sin, His condemnation of sin, is according to truth against them which commit such things. Now, let's take a look at these words here. It says, We are sure. When it says, We are sure, Paul is not saying, We the Jews are sure. Because the Jews weren't sure about this at all. The Jews weren't sure that God was going to punish them because of their sins. The Jews thought, perhaps, that they were excluded from God's condemnation because they were privileged in some way. But Paul says we are sure. The Jews thought that they were immune to the judgment of God. And Paul is correcting the Jews in this passage. So he says, we are sure. Now Paul must have been talking about himself and perhaps the other apostles who had been enlightened about these things. God had taught the apostles these things. And so Paul says, we are sure. That is, he and the other apostles along with him are sure. And what he's saying is that you Jews may be confused about this, you may be very confused, but we are sure. So this is a sure saying, this is something coming from God. So he says, we are sure that the judgment of God, now the judgment of God here refers to God's judgment that both the Gentiles and the Jews are inexcusable. That has been basically the theme now. In chapter 1, the Gentiles are inexcusable. And in verse 1 of chapter 2, the Jews are inexcusable. And Paul says, we are sure that that judgment of God is correct. Alright, so let's read the verse there. Let's go back to verse 1. Therefore, thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges, For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same things." Then he says in verse 2, But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth. What does that mean, according to truth? Well, this would seem to mean that God's determination to punish sin in all men that is, Gentile and Jew, is right and appropriate. It's the right thing to do. And of course, if it's the right thing to do, then what will God do? He'll do it. God always does right. So we are sure, he says, that the judgment of God that all men are inexcusable is according to truth. It is not an ogreish, if that's a word, an ogreish thing for God to do to punish sin. God is not a bully. It's the right thing to do. It is also according to God's Word, because God has already told us that the soul that sinneth it shall die. And therefore, it is according to truth, Paul says. So God has promised to punish sin, and therefore, when a man sins, It is according to truth when God imposes condemnation. Let me ask you this. Now, I've been an attorney for 20 years. And you have been, I'm sure, around attorney shows. You've seen judges on TV, if not in person. What kind of a judge would we have who would not punish criminals? Maybe we have some of those these days. What would you think about a judge who would not punish a person that committed a crime? What if a judge never put a murderer in jail? What if a judge just let people go who committed crimes? We all know that that would not be right. But then, what if a judge punished some men for their crimes, but let other men who committed the same crimes go free? That wouldn't be right either, would it? And what Paul is saying is that our God is a righteous God. He assesses condemnation righteously. He does not impose condemnation with bias in His heart for any man or against any man. He does not look at two liars And say to the one, your sin condemns you, but to the other, your sin does not condemn you. That is not something that God does. He says in the Scriptures, there is none that doeth good. No, not one. And God condemns them both according to truth. So when it says according to truth there in verse two, it means that God does this righteously. It's all that he can do. Any man that sins against God is subject to condemnation. So here is the conclusion of the matter. If you have committed these sins, then you are not excused. Rather, you stand condemned under the law of God. Paul says, we are sure of it. We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth. But we see in the next verse, you see in verse 3, we see in the next verse what the Jews were thinking. In verse 3 it says, 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? So what were the Jews thinking in verse 3? They were thinking The Gentiles are guilty. I've done the same things, but God is going to let me go, you see. And so in verse 3, the Jews were thinking that they would escape the judgment of God. How foolish they were. They thought that they could escape the judgment of God even though they were sinners, just like the Gentiles. Now, first of all, let me say that this shows how prone men are to imagine that somehow they will escape the judgment of God. Now, this thought process is not isolated to the Jews, nor to that time period. I think it is prevalent today. People think that somehow, some way, that they are going to escape the judgment of God. If you went out on the street, I've seen them do this on television, and ask people, are they going to heaven? Do they think they're going to heaven? Most people would say, yes. And then they are asked, well, have you ever told a lie? Well, yes, I have. Have you ever cheated? Yes. Have you ever committed adultery? Well, yeah. And they know their hearts. are set on worldly pleasures. They know that they have very little concern for God at all. But somehow they imagine that they will escape the judgment of God. Now, this may be that old ostrich syndrome. You know what that is, don't you? Where you put your head in the sand and you ignore the truth. I'll just ignore my sin and hope that somehow God will not judge me. But Paul says, we are sure, he was sure, that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. You see, it was sure and certain that the Jews would be judged as well. Especially men who have had external advantages bestowed on them by God seem prone to believe that they will escape His judgment. The Jews had great advantages bestowed on them and the rest of the world did not have those advantages. The Jews had the Law and the Prophets. They had God's protection and His power upon them. And because they had all of this, they supposed that God would not condemn them for their sins. Paul says in verse 3, And thinkest thou this, O man, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Now, I suppose that this very principle carries over to those who are born into certain privilege in this life. Some are born into Christian families. And they suppose that they escape the judgment of God by being born into a Christian family. Some people think that they will escape the judgment of God because they're born into a Christian country. A lot of people think that about America. We used to think we were, and I suppose there are many Christians in America still, but that doesn't mean that if you're born here that you're going to escape the judgment of God. Some have had the privilege of going to church all of these years. and of learning the Scriptures. And they think, surely I will escape the judgment of God. But you know, sometimes great privileges can be a curse and not a blessing. Do you see how the great privileges that God bestowed on Israel turned out to be a curse unto them because they began to think that they were privileged characters and they could sin and get away with it because they were Israel. And so we see that Israel suffered that malady. They had great privileges and yet Paul tells them that they will not escape the judgment of God if they do the same things as the Gentiles. And certainly they did the same things. Now look how the Jews reacted to their great privileges in verse 4. Paul phrases this in the form of a question, but he's really stating a principle here about the Jews. He says, "...or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." Now, let's take a look at this. You'll notice here that God directed three of his very great attributes toward Israel. Remember that Paul is speaking to the Jews here and he says that God directed toward them his goodness and his forbearance and his Longsuffering. Those are the three things that He gave Israel. His goodness, His forbearance, and His longsuffering. There is no indication at all in chapter one of God bestowing such things on the Gentiles. There's no indication in chapter one that God bestowed the riches of His goodness on them. There's no mention of forbearance and longsuffering toward the Gentiles. There is no mention of God leading them to repentance. But on Israel, God poured out the riches of His goodness and His forbearance and His longsuffering. Notice first that God poured out His goodness on Israel. Now, this must have reference to all that God did on behalf of that nation. And we can recount them, summarize them this way. He chose them. He shepherded them all through life. He made them great promises. He brought them out of Egypt. He gave them His law. He prepared for them a land. He drove out the other nations. He spoke to them through the law and the prophets. He was near to them at all times. When they were apt to go astray, He warned them continually. God's tender mercies were on display in Israel to any and all who would have them. And then you will notice that God manifested another attribute. Besides His goodness, He manifested another attribute toward Israel, and that attribute was forbearance. Now, forbearance is when God bore with them without immediately executing vengeance. Now, what could God do if a man sinned against Him? Well, He could execute judgment immediately and you might be dead on the spot. Now, God has done that at various times in the Scriptures. But particularly with reference to Israel, though they sinned greatly against him, he delayed in his punishment of them. Now, all men will be punished when they sin, but God delayed his execution of punishment upon them. Now, the very idea of forbearance by God implies that they sinned after receiving His goodness. So God gave them all these riches of goodness, Paul calls it, and they continued to sin. There was a certain ingratitude on the part of the people. God was good to them and they thumbed their noses at His goodness. And what did God do? He bore with them. It's called forbearance. He didn't execute them right then. This shows the great patience of God who has the ability to strike a man down on the spot and yet with Israel he was forbearing. Now, He postponed the immediate execution of judgment and He bore with them. This is what David spoke of in the Psalms when he said, He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Oh, they merited much worse. But God was forbearing with Israel. Now, it's not that God is unjust. Sin will always be punished. The full penalty of sin will always be paid. But in His kindness and in His love for Israel, God was forbearing. The third thing that it says God was, was He was long-suffering. Do you see that? It was the riches of His mercy, His forbearance, and His what? Long-suffering. Long-suffering seems a lot like forbearance, but it adds something more to the mix. Long-suffering implies a long period of forbearance. You see, God could forbear for a minute if He wanted to. But when he forbears for a long time, you might say that he's long-suffering with them. A long course of ingratitude and sins on the part of the Jews is what God dealt with. This implies a great degree of patience on the part of God, a patience which extended through many ages and a vast accumulation of offenses. Now, the Apostle Paul calls this, you'll notice, the riches of the goodness and forbearance and longsuffering of God. You see that? That is in verse, what, two or three? Four, yeah. The riches of His goodness. When he says the riches of God's goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, this is to express, first of all, the great extent of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering. God was rich in these qualities toward Israel. The goodness of God never seemed to run out. The Jews sinned for hundreds of years. And though God was angry, His forbearance of their sins seemed to go on and on. And God suffered long with them. You remember how long it was from Moses to Christ? How long was that? Ladies, you should know this. Moses came along in 1500. And of course, that's 1500 B.C. So for 1500 years, God suffered long with Israel. When it says the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, it also is in order to show the great value of these qualities. Why are they rich? It's because these qualities are of high value, goodness and forbearance and long-suffering. And where would any of us be if God were not good to us? Where would any of us be if God did not forbear with us? And where would any of us be if God were not long suffering with us? Well, let me just touch on the next verse here. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." I think I forgot a page in my notes is what I did. At any rate, let me go back to verse 4 for just a second. You'll notice in verse 4 that the purpose of God's goodness and forbearance and longsuffering was what? What was the purpose of the whole thing? Why did God postpone judgment? To lead them to repentance. That was the purpose of it. And yet, it says in verse 4, what was the Jews' reaction to His goodness? They despised it. Paul can't believe it. He says, you despised His goodness and His forbearance and His longsuffering? Well, how did they despise it? They didn't understand what the goodness and forbearance and longsuffering was designed to do. God was waiting on them to repent, giving them every opportunity to repent. Just like a parent, I think, whose child gets into trouble. You don't like punishing them, do you? You would rather sort of wait just a little while. He'll do better. Sometimes they won't. But God took this approach with Israel. He gave them chance after chance after chance, hoping or giving them opportunity for repentance. But the Jewish nation despised the purposes of His goodness and long-suffering and forbearance. And they didn't repent. In fact, it says that they didn't know that the goodness of God was leading them to repentance. You see that in verse 4? Not knowing that the goodness of God. Why didn't they know that? Because they were blind and ignorant. And in verse 5 it says they were hard-hearted. They had an impenitent heart. They would not repent. And therefore, they turn the goodness and forbearance and longsuffering of God upside down and they would not repent. Therefore, what is treasured up against them in heaven? What's treasured up in verse 5? Wrath. This would seem to imply, and we may want to talk about this on another occasion, this would seem to imply that there are degrees of punishment. It seems that wrath is being treasured up in heaven. It's like stored up. Every time they sin, it goes into a pot. And one of these days, retribution for those sins is going to be poured out. Some people may sin more than others, some less than others, and it seems that God is going to pour out wrath accordingly. based on the extent of your sin. We'll talk more about some of that. But there also is going to be a day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Of course, that I think is talking about the last day. That great day of wrath, when Jesus Christ will spread His arms across the universe and He will gather all those that are subject to wrath and He will pour out the wrath upon them. There is a day of wrath coming. God is greatly long-suffering. He forbears for a long time. But one of these days, He will pour out His wrath in full measure and in the correct measure. Alright, well, many more things to be said about that. We'll save that for next time.