Welcome to Bible Believers Fellowship. On this program we will be listening to our study from Romans chapter 2 verses 1 through 16 as Paul goes on the offensive against those hypocrites who preach salvation by law instead of by grace. If possible we encourage you to open your King James Bible and read with us as we join our study of Romans chapter 2 verses 1 through 16. Romans chapter 2. Paul's going to now bring it down to the personal. He's going to bring it down to the individual. He's going beyond just speaking in general terms of society. And in verse 1 of chapter 2, he says, therefore, and every time you see a therefore, you have to understand it's there for a reason. He's building on. He's following what we studied in chapter 1. And considering all that we had already studied in chapter 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. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 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? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering? not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." So what he's building on is what he said in the previous chapter, and he ended in verse 32 saying that, knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man. Now, He says, Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. But that's not a period. And the thought continues, For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same thing. Now, let's take a minute. We want to look at a couple passages about this, because this is probably one of the worst heresies in the church today that is causing some of the worst problems we have. When you look at all the heresies and the accommodation of sin, those are symptoms. But the root cause is an ignorance of the Word of God, but also an unwillingness to obey the Word of God. The Bible teaches us to judge. It doesn't say ever in the Bible that it's a sin to judge. And people will say that, and I always ask them, show me in the Bible. where it says that it's a sin to judge. And one of the places they'll quote is here in Romans 2.1. And I say, well, it says you're inexcusable for judging. Well, they've stopped reading and didn't read the whole thing because what's inexcusable is for someone to judge someone else for doing something they are guilty of. They're hypocrites. Look at Matthew 7, verses 1 through 5. Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgments ye judge, ye shall be judged. And with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? For how wilt thou say to thine brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Now, any intelligent person can read this and see that judging is not the problem, but judging with a measure that you can't live up to is the problem. And he ends in verse 5 by saying, once you have cast out the beam out of your own eye, then you're able to judge. And you're able to, as it says, see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. And therein too lies the motivation. What's wrong with judging is when you judge for the purpose of condemning. But if you're judging with the purpose and desire to restore, then that's a righteous judgment. That's the right way to judge. Look at Luke chapter 6. These again are the words of Jesus Christ. And He lays out the measure, the way to know right from wrong as far as judgment. Luke 6.37, He says, Judge not and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not and ye shall not be condemned. Forgive and ye shall be forgiven. And so the measure is that if you judge and you're not a hypocrite, then you won't be judged. But if you're a hypocrite and you judge, they're going to turn around and judge you. Trust me. People are going to turn around and even if they can't, they will even try to turn around and say, well, look at you. Look at what you have done in your past. That's usually what they reach to. And instead of getting upset, that leads you to an opportunity where you can say, you know what? It's true that in my past I did these things. But that's why I am confronting you lovingly, because you need to understand that what I understood is that Jesus Christ died for my sins, paid the price, and I repented And I am not living in willful rejection of His commandments. You are. So, you are in danger. And as a friend, and as someone who loves and cares enough for you to risk this kind of confrontation, I am confronting you with this in hopes that you'll listen. And most of the time, they won't. The purpose of your confronting them is for restoration. Look at, let's see, John chapter 7. And here's another passage from Jesus that if we are not to judge, then Jesus is basically encouraging us to sin. Because if judging is a sin, then explain why in John 7, 24, Jesus said, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. So there is Jesus telling you to judge. But He's telling you in one place not to be a hypocrite. and another place not to condemn, and another place not to judge by the appearance. In other words, you can't just judge a book by its cover. You can't judge on circumstantial evidence. If you think a person might possibly be doing this or that, there's a legitimate thing that you can do, and that is to ask the person. Flip a few pages past Romans into 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 2. We've quoted verse 14 a lot because it's an important verse to grasp. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Then in the very next verse, verse 15, But he that is spiritual judgeth all things. Yet he himself is judged of no man. In other words, in this context, in this text in particular, everything Jesus just taught us, not to be a hypocrite, not to be condemning, not to judge by appearance, but if you're spiritual, then you will judge, but you will not be a hypocrite, and you will not condemn, and you will not judge by appearance, and you will not be judged of any other man because you're not a hypocrite, and you're not judging unjustly. You see how the Bible brings it all together. It's just a clear, concise, unquestionable teaching about judging. And yet, most Christians today are so ignorant of the Bible that they will only quote enough to be dangerous. And they'll tell you not to judge. Any man who does not judge is insane. There is no way you can go through life and not judge. You have had to have judged the character, not by appearance, but by the content of their character. You have had to judge men and women as far as business, as far as friendships, as far as your spouse, even the church you attend. Everything comes down to you judging. And if you claim to have a friend or spouse or business associates that you've chosen and yet you claim to not have judged, you're either a liar or just simply clueless as to what you actually have done. You have judged them worthy of your trust. If you go back to the book of Proverbs, it's constantly telling you, be careful about your associates. Now, how are you going to do that if you don't judge? And you have to judge by what standard? Live up to Mike? No. Live up to Greg? No. Live up to the Word. You choose the type of associates you have based on the Word of God. And the Word of God tells you what to look for in people. So back in Romans chapter 2, we lay that standard out that what Paul is confronting these guys with is, hey, don't judge these people that we read about in Romans 1 if you're doing the same thing. Don't be a hypocrite. Thankfully, we can say in verse 2 that we're sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things, whether they're professing Christians or not. Someone can, well, I've seen it enough down here to know people can play the part of a Christian for many years. And before in this life, on the earth, it comes out. How many people do we know who were able to get by with a secret double life kind of thing? And we had no idea. And then we'll get to heaven and find out they were total fraud the whole time. In verse 3, He says, And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest then which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Think twice. You better think better of that. And then, really, he appeals to your sense of rational decency in verse 4. Despise thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. So it's not only don't judge and be a hypocrite, but beyond that, look at how good God is. And look how merciful and long-suffering He is. And that should lead you to repent, to appreciate what God has done. But what do we read elsewhere? The last days, it'll be a thankless generation. They won't be thankful for what God has done. They'll just scoff at the cross. Jesus dying on the cross and shedding His blood and paying the full price for their sins is of no importance to them. They don't appreciate it. They're thankless. boasters of their own selves, lovers of their own selves, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And it continues in verse 5, 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. who will render to every man according to his deeds. So we can rest assured that not only those people we read about in chapter 1, but even us. Don't forget, you're human and you're going to stand judgment as well. If you're saved, then you're going to be judged according to your works as to what kind of reward. Not a matter of salvation. But there is still loss. There is still going to be loss. There will be people who see their works go up as with fire, like a trial by fire. and they'll be standing there with nothing to show. And if you're unsaved, then your works will be judged and you will be condemned by your works. Because you haven't lived up to the standard. That's why I tell folks, if you think you're going to get to heaven by your works, you better understand what you're up against. The standard is Jesus Christ. And unless you match Him, and I don't hesitate to say, if you think you match Jesus Christ, you're an egomaniac. There is nobody lived up to His standard, and unless that's the standard you can reach, you're not going to get into heaven by your works. And do you think you're Jesus the second? First of all, walk on water, just to demonstrate that for us here. And not just a puddle. We want to take you out to the river. Yeah. About a mile offshore. And that will get the message through that you're not Jesus the second. He continues, verse 7, to them who by patient continuance and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. So there's the judgment seat of Christ. Those who seek by patient continuance and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. That's not, you didn't do that to be saved. You did that because you are saved. But, verse 8, unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath, tribulation, and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile." What does it mean, be contentious? Well, that's the person you're sharing the gospel with, and they want to argue with you. and they want to debate it, and they want to reason their way out of it, and they want to, most of the time, reason around the idea that they're not righteous. They want to argue the inherent goodness of man, or at least I'm good. I'm not a bad guy. I'm not bad. You weigh my good and my bad. My good outweighs my bad, and that sort of thing. That's the contentious person. But also, them that do not obey the truth. That is, when you share the gospel, they simply reject it. They will not believe and be saved. And they obey unrighteousness. That's your choice. Jesus said there's only two ways to go. There's no fence setters. You're either obeying the gospel, which means you believe, are born again and living for the Lord, or you are obeying unrighteousness, which means you're a slave to sin. And you can talk the talk all you want, but your life will reflect it. You are a slave to unbelief and sin. You're a bondage to unbelief and sin. And the only way out is to simply look to the cross and what Jesus Christ has done. And by believing that, there's a supernatural event that takes place that releases you from that bondage. And it releases you on many levels. It releases you mentally. And it releases you spiritually. It releases you from the guilt and shame that you sense and you know belongs to you. But it also releases you from this, not only knowing your loss, but releases you from the idea that you can do something to alleviate your state of being lost. That you can remedy the problem. It releases you from that. And you are released to freedom. The liberty that's in Christ that comes by believing in the cross. I no longer am going to even seek to do enough to be saved. And the ironic thing is, in the flesh, you would say, you would think that that would mean, well, that means you're just not going to do anything. You know, you think you're saved and it's settled, so that means you're just going to do whatever you want the rest of your life. But that's why it's not natural. It's supernatural. Because when you get saved, you don't just get that mentality, you put on the mind of Christ. And the mind of Christ is, I'm not here to be served, I'm here to serve. There are a lot of people who don't get that when you're saved, there is going to be fruit, that behold, If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, people love to quote, but they chop off verse 10. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For, verse 10, for we are His workmanship, Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Faith is a gift. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. And you're saved by grace through faith, not of works. So the works don't help save you. But don't chop off verse 10. If you truly are saved, you are now His workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. So there's going to be good works. And yet a lot of Christians, and this is rampant among Baptists, they believe that if you say that, that you are somehow adding works to salvation, even though you're making it clear, no, the works are a result of being saved. But they want to insist that you can basically be saved and there be no evidence of a new birth and you're still saved. And you see how you just leave anything up to men and they will twist it and turn it into a joke, turn it into heresy. But there is a movement within fundamental Christians who preach a gospel that is without regeneration or new birth that results in anything. And what they do is they take verses where it says, To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Well, that's true, but that's talking about the unsaved man. that works, doesn't have anything to do with it, and you believe under righteousness, and your faith is counted for righteousness. That's true. That's not talking about what happens after you believe. Context, context, context. Amen. But you trust me, you'll hear a lot of people out there, especially the little, you know, say this, sinner prayer crowd, you know, People, I was talking about, they go into a person's house and say, well, do you want to go to hell? Well, no. Wouldn't you like to go to heaven? Well, yes. Would you pray this prayer with me? Dear Lord, I believe I'm a sinner. I ask you to save me. In Jesus' name, amen. That person is no more saved than a Satanist. Because the Bible still says the only way to be saved isn't by saying a sinner's prayer, so called, which you won't find in the Bible, and saying, Jesus, save me. Find that in the Bible. It's not in there. The Bible says you are saved when you actually, in reality, believe in the death, burial and resurrection. That you're saved when you believe that Jesus died for your sins, was buried and rose again. You're saved right then. And only then are you saved. But Mike, we've gone around door-to-door. You knock on doors. You talk to people. And you run into all these people who are quote-unquote saved. They have no fruit, no evidence. They don't go to church. Anything. the crowd will argue, this other crowd I was telling you about, they'll say, well, that doesn't save you. That's true. But there's got to be fruit. There has to be evidence that you are a believer or you're not a believer. God never saved anybody and left them in that state. They are born again. They're regenerated. They're a new creature. But that's one of the least favorite books of that crowd. That was one of the weaknesses of Luther, by the way. became so stuck on justification that he left off regeneration. And he even said one of these days he was going to rip James out of the Bible. Why? Because it contradicted his doctrine. I take it all. We're saved by faith, by grace through faith, not of works. But if you're saved, you are regenerated. The Holy Spirit now lives in you and moves you to do things. I'd rather have someone who hadn't made a profession, somebody who had and was a professor. That's how you do that, too. You recognize a tree by its fruit. That's right. Fruit inspectors. And of course, we do have to start here. We're not just on our pedestal and saying, you know, well, those people are bad. But, you know, when I look at myself, I know that I believed. I know what God's Word says. So I know I'm saved. But I still also recognize that Peter said, make your calling and election sure. Peter didn't just say, oh, where did Peter ever say, oh, you said a sinner's prayer, don't worry about it. Paul says, check yourself whether you be in the faith. So I'm going to take their word for it and not these modern guys out here trying to reason their way around the new birth. That if you're saved, it's by faith alone, by grace through faith alone, there's no works involved. But if you are saved, then there is going to be fruit. There's going to be evidence. For there is, back in Romans 2 verse 11, for there is no respect of persons with God. And that's one thing that's beautiful about God. He's just, He's merciful, but He's just and it's across the board. There's no respect of persons. Verse 12, for as many have sinned without law shall also perish without law. And as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. So he's talking about now, think in terms of a Jew, and he's talking about Jewish believers here, that if you were, he says in verse 12, if you have sinned without law, you perish without law, and as many as sin in the law shall be judged by the law. So whatever standard you had in this life, If you're a Jew and you have the law, you really have a stricter standard you're going to be judged by. But if you're a Gentile, you're still going to be judged, because you have evidence of the law, which he goes into in verse 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, which show the work of the law written in their hearts. their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." In other words, Gentiles, just right now, what's going on with the gay marriage thing? It's on the books, marriage is a man and a woman. And it's always been that way. And so what do they do? Now they're trying to overthrow what they know to be the truth. To make something marriage that isn't marriage. And that's throughout society. Gentiles, even the unsaved world, they got married. Why? Because they know there's something inbuilt by God in humans that they should have one man and one woman, and there should be faithfulness. And so even the unsaved world mimicked the church and Christians by getting married. There's evidence, in other words, God saying you can see that they are law unto themselves. They have evidence in their conscience. They know right from wrong. And God's going to confront them with that. And the truth of the matter is, every one of us, before we ever got saved, even, I don't care what came out of our mouths, I don't even care what our thoughts were, deep down inside of you is a knowledge that you are a sinner. Every man knows, if he's honest with himself, he knows he's a sinner. If you notice, I don't know if your Bible has the parentheses, but in verses 13 to 15, this is kind of a parenthesis thought, that he's throwing in, and I want to do something. I want us to read verses 12 and 16 together. Beginning verse 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 in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. In other words, what you just read here from about 12 and 16 were the thought, and between there, in verses 13 through 15, Paul was answering questions that he knew people would ask. And so he's answering the questions before he even finishes the answers. But he's saying that as many as have sinned without the law shall perish without the law, and those who have the law will be judged by the law in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." Judgment is coming. Verses 13 through 15, he explains, you're without excuse. Whether you're Jew or Gentile, you have a standard that you will admit you knew and that you did not live up to. So, what's the remedy? Whether you're a Jew with the Mosaic Law or a Gentile without it, the only remedy is to admit you didn't live up to the standard that you knew you should have, and to turn to Jesus Christ, who not only lived up to the standard, but became a sacrifice for your sin, having not known sin, being God manifest in the flesh without sin, He is the only possible remedy for your sin and mine. He's the only one who was able to be placed on a cross and it not be a waste of time. If He had nailed anybody else, including Paul, Moses, me, you, or anybody else, it would have been a waste of time. We would have died for our sins, and the payment would not have been full, and we would have still had to go to hell. But Jesus being God in the person of Jesus Christ, human and God, without sin, He then was actually qualified to be the sacrifice that God would then allow to be nailed to a cross. And He paid the full price, and He paid it on a level of infinity, which means He didn't just pay for one other person. It wasn't an exchange of one for one. It was an exchange of one for all. In the same way, when you think about Adam in the garden and people ask this, well, Adam sinned. Why didn't Adam have to pay for his sin? Why did that all come on us? Well, it's the law of heredity. Our first father was Adam and when he sinned, it infected everybody that came from him. And all of us go back through Noah back to Adam. All of us come from him. But just the same as one man sinned and it all infected us, in the same way, one man died for sin. who happen to be more than just a man. God, without sin, and by one man, life comes to all who believe. And that's really how simple it is. We encourage you to visit our website at kjvbiblebelievers.com to download this and many other messages free of charge in mp3 format. 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