Romans 2:4-6
by:
Dan Hill, PhD
Pastor, Southwood Bible Church
7655 South Sheridan Avenue
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74113
E-Mail: hill918@aol.com
Romans 2:4
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and
patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
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This shows the contrast between the one who judges and condemns and the
one true Judge, God Himself.
How does God lead man to Himself? Not by Judgment, but through kindness,
patience, and forbearance. God judges those who refuse Him.
Our Lord's earthly ministry was designed to draw men to God and He did not
do so by judgment. And He had every right to judge!
John 12:47, And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do
not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
Kindness, forbearance, and patience show our God as being rich in His divine
restraint towards mankind.
1. Kindness: This word in the Greek refers to sensitivity and understanding.
God knows us and is sensitive to what we are. He knows we are not perfect.
He knows we are sinners and has made a provision in Christ for that.
2. FORBEARANCE: This word looks at God's tolerance of mankind even when
man displays contempt and ignorance of Him.
3. PATIENCE: Even though mankind is deserving of judgment, God restrains
His judgment, giving man opportunity after opportunity to turn by faith
alone to Him.
Paul then takes the first word in the list KINDNESS, uses it again to indicate
the entire list and tell us that it is these characteristics and actions
of God that will lead us to repentance.
REPENTANCE is the Greek word METANOIA. In its simplest form it means to
change one's mind.
The changing of our minds is essential at salvation as well as in the Christ
Centered Life.
In all the many ways it is used it always refers to that which precedes
faith.
Acts 3:19, Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away,
in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Hebrews 6:1, Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ,
let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance
from dead works and of faith toward God,
II Corinthians 7:10, For the sorrow that is according to the will of God
produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow
of the world produces death.
Repentance is the changing of our minds regarding our condition, our actions,
our sins, our needs.
Once the mind has changed it is ready to direct faith toward the divine
provision and solution.
Therefore, repentance is the mental attitude that is expressed in confession.
Repentance may be preceded by Godly sorrow but that sorrow ends at confession.
Godly sorrow, repentance, confession all are designed to lead us to faith
in the only solution for our sins which is the work of Jesus Christ upon
the Cross.
Topic: ESSENCE OF GOD
Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up
wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God,
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Now that we have seen the character and actions of God towards us as sinners
what about the character and actions of the moral man who judges others?
In contrast to the Kindness, Forbearance, and patience of God we have three
characteristic of the moral judge:
1. Stubbornness: Whereas the character of God melts and moves
the heart to repentance, here we have stubbornness which is only found here
indicating that which is unwilling to be changed.
The result of others' sins are judged, then the one judging establishes
for himself a false sense of security thinking he is okay.
If we as believers become stubborn, and in Ephesians 4:18 we are told that
we can, we will never allow ourselves to be changed, transformed, into the
image of God. God wants to mold us but if we harden ourselves against Him,
there is no molding.
2. Unrepentant Heart: A direct contrast to the desire and goal that God
has for us. Having become stubborn we are unwilling to change, unwilling
to even consider that we are wrong, in sin, in error and need to have a
change on mind.
Romans 12:2, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
3. Storing up wrath for yourself: The word STORE UP is the Greek
word THASAURIZO, from which comes the English word THESAURUS or a STORE
HOUSE.
The one who is stubborn and unrepentant continues to judge others, living
a lifestyle of anger towards others, bitter, vindictive, judgmental.
They continue to store up condemnation to themselves. They build up an inventory
of hate. This one will never grow better but only grow worse.
These characteristics result in the anger of the one who judges and then
. . .
"In the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God",
The day of wrath: while at times this refers to the Tribulation, it is also
used of any time God moves judge man.
He is forbearing and patient, opportunity is given for repentance, but eventually,
and be sure of this, God's wrath will come.
TOO OFTEN MAN DRAWS A FALSE conclusion from the silence of God. But God
is patient, he allows man to keep on filling up the storehouse of his own
guilt.
II Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to
come to repentance.
Man's judgments lack the one thing that most characterize God's judgment,
and that is righteousness. God perfect righteousness enables Him to be perfectly
fair in all His judgments.
REVIEW TO THIS POINT:
- This principle of moral judgment is not applied to courts, legal systems,
parents, coaches, teachers, employers. A person in authority has an obligation
to judge within that system.
- When we morally judge others, we condemn ourselves because we are
overlooking the fact that we sin also.
- When we judge others we are taking that which is the prerogative of
God to ourselves. He alone is the righteous judge.
- Even God does not judge man until the proper time. He draws mankind
to Himself not by judgment but by kindness (verse 4).
Yet in arrogance we judge others even when God does not and we store up
anger in ourselves (verse 5).
The problem we face when we judge is a problem of faith. We do not believe
that God is in control. We do not believe that he will judge, or that he
will judge the way we determine. Hence, we lack faith in Him.
Romans 2:6
[It is God] Who will render to every man according to his deeds.
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Here Paul quotes Psalms 62:12 in order to set up the next few verses:
Paul is not talking about salvation in this passage. He is not showing us
how men are saved, because man is not saved by his deeds. He is showing
us why man is lost, why he is condemned, and that his evil deeds are an
evidence of this condemnation.
John 3:19, And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the
world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds
were evil.
Now lets take this out to the final expression of God's wrath on man which
is the Great White Throne Judgment:
Revelation 20:11-15
1. This passage refers to a time after the Millenial reign of
Christ.
Note verse 10: Satan is forever cast into the Lake of Fire
2. There are two judgments mentioned in heaven:
a. The Judgment Seat of Christ: For believers Only
Mentioned in Rom 14:10, II Cor 5:10, and described in I Cor 3:12-15
Place of Reward based on what we did with what Christ provided.
b. The Great White Throne of Judgment: For unbelievers:
A demonstration of the Justice and Righteousness of God having provided
salvation for the human race
The Lord Jesus who was judged for sins now judges those who rejected salvation
in Him
John 5:22-27 tells us that the Father committed all judgment to the Son.
The dead who stand. This is not physical death but spiritual death. They
are the ones who since their first death have been in Torments.
3. There are two sets of Books mentioned:
a. The Book of Life: Begins with every name of everyone born.
When a person dies the first death (physical death) without Christ, their
name is removed. Revelation 3:5 speaks of Christ removing names from the
book of life
b. Books of works: When a person is removed from one book his works are
recorded in these volumes.
An exact record not of sins, those were paid for at the Cross, but of works,
deed, good works and deeds, a record of Human Good.
4. The judgment is out of the book of life. If the name is not there the
books of works are open. Their good works are totaled up, a tally is made.
But their works, good deeds, cannot save them because they are
found to fall far short of the finished work of Christ.
5. Then the Second Death:
Revelation 20:14-15, And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire.
End Lesson 8
Warren Doud [ Grace Notes ]
1705 Aggie Lane, Austin, Texas 78757
Phone: 512-458-8923
E-Mail: wdoud@bga.com
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