Knowing and Obeying.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Welcome to Village Church. [0:01] If this is your first time here. [0:03] My name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:06] And if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Romans Chapter two. [0:09] We’re going to be starting in verse 11 this morning. [0:13] And as we’ve been going through this series,

[0:16] we’ve been taking a look at the work of God in saving man. [0:21] And he’s kind of unfolding the story of Christianity. [0:24] And it’s about right here in Chapter two that you may begin to grow a little bit weary. [0:30] Because the theme begins to start to look like everyone is terrible. [0:34] Everyone is awful. There is no hope. [0:37] But hold on for a while.

[0:39] We’re just at the beginning stages of the story that Paul’s telling. [0:43] And we’re going to get out of these thick woods soon. [0:47] But I hope that what you’re seeing in this is a little truth about yourself [0:52] and the lies that you can tell yourself. [0:56] The lie that you can begin to believe, [0:59] and that is that everyone else is a little worse than I am.

[1:04] I live in a sinful world, but I am not that sinful when in all actuality. [1:09] The truth of the story that’s being told is that your greatest problem in life is you. [1:16] The greatest liar you will ever meet is the one that you stare at in the mirror every morning. [1:22] And therefore, truth needs to come from an outside source. [1:26] And where Paul is leading us and where he’s guiding us and where he took us last week [1:31] was this fact that there is no partiality with God, because if there was partiality with God,

[1:37] that would mean that there was someone that was OK and someone that was better than someone else. [1:42] But there isn’t. [1:45] And so I’d say one of the most controversial statements, [1:47] and you’ll see why this morning that Paul makes in the book of Romans is really what we see in Romans two eleven. [1:54] And that is that statement that there’s no partiality with God, [1:57] because it seems that there is some partiality with God.

[2:03] Join me in Romans two eleven and reading what Paul really says to defend this statement. [2:11] Verse eleven, he says, for God shows no partiality. [2:15] Then in verse twelve, he says, for all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, [2:21] and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. [2:26] For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. [2:34] For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires,

[2:39] they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. [2:44] They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. [2:49] While their conscience also bears witness, their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them. [2:56] On that day, when, according to the gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. [3:04] So what Paul unfolds for us here is a defense of this statement, [3:08] that God shows no partiality to any man, to any human being on this world.

[3:14] God shows no partiality. [3:15] Then he unfolds about how ultimately the proof of that will come on that day, [3:21] when everyone stands before God for judgment. [3:26] And then on that day, there will be proof that there is no partiality with God. [3:30] So even in his defense of the statements that he is making, Paul is calling for faith. [3:36] Paul is calling for you to believe God more than you believe yourself.

[3:43] And he gives us this unbending truth in this section of verses. [3:50] And that first statement that we’re going to take a look at this morning, [3:53] and the first thing that he sets out to prove is that everyone is accountable to God. [4:00] Everyone is accountable to God. [4:02] And there’s a statement that epitomized when I was a teenager in the 1990s. [4:08] And I think it even has extended even into today because I think it just shows the human condition.

[4:13] And that is the statement that the great theologian Tupac said, and that is only God can judge me.

[4:21] But when we dating myself there, and that’s fine. [4:25] But when we begin to live life on this earth and we say statements like that, [4:31] I think it’s very easy for us to think that that type of statement is made with great reverence to God. [4:36] But I think it’s actually a statement made in blasphemy towards God, [4:40] because I think it’s a statement that’s made in this mystical thought that there isn’t actually a God. [4:45] So if only God can judge you and there isn’t actually a personal involved God in this world,

[4:51] then there is no judgment. [4:53] And so what Paul is seeking to do in this section of verses is completely rid our thoughts of such a reality [5:00] and let us know that there is a God and he uses some evidence to prove God, namely the law. [5:06] But that is where it seems to me partiality would actually come into context. [5:12] Because if there’s any proof of partiality in Scripture, it is the fact that God did not give the law to everyone. [5:18] He only gave it to this one nation, Israel.

[5:22] And more than that, Israel began to walk around the world saying, we are the chosen people of God.

[5:29] So if you’re looking at any human picture from fifteen thousand feet throughout the history of Israel [5:35] and they’re the ones that claim to have the one real true God, you may begin to say, [5:40] well, that’s some pretty good evidence for partiality. [5:45] But God gave them the law. [5:48] God chose them. [5:49] God set them apart for his own possession.

[5:51] God was partial to them. [5:54] One of the things that Paul’s going to show here is that Jesus completely shatters that reality [5:59] by showing us that Israel failed at what was their chief mission. [6:02] Their chief mission was to tell the world of God rather than keep it to themselves. [6:08] You can’t blame God for the sin of Israel. [6:11] But note what Paul says about the law, specifically in verse thirteen,

[6:18] when he says all who have sinned without the law will perish without the law. [6:22] And he’s making a great statement there about all Gentile people who had ever existed up to that point [6:27] and all people who exist up to this point who possibly never heard the gospel. [6:32] He’s making two points about the accountability that we all have to God. [6:38] The first one kind of begs the question, because I think it answers the question that Paul didn’t even ask. [6:44] Does anyone who’s never seen the law of God,

[6:50] avoided death?

[6:52] No.

[6:55] The law does not cause death. [6:57] Sin causes death. [6:59] And if Paul’s point throughout the entire text of Romans one through three is that everyone has sinned [7:06] and the wages of sin is death. [7:09] His point isn’t that the law can save you from sin. [7:11] His point is that the law simply shows you sin and people die with or without the law and death is in itself a judgment.

[7:19] So death brings the reality that something is wrong with the human condition. [7:26] No one lives forever.

[7:30] The longer I’m involved in pastoral ministry, the more evidence begins to rack up that no one knows even when they will die. [7:38] Some die young, some die old.

[7:43] Death is a reality that we all want to avoid, but we all must deal with.

[7:51] And Paul’s point here is that even those who have not had the law have never heard it a single time. [7:58] They’ve never seen that God set us a standard for living through this great revelation of the thou shouts, the thou shouts nots. [8:06] You do this, you don’t do that. [8:08] He’s saying they all come to a point where they die and this is a judgment of God on the lifestyles that they live. [8:14] And you say, well, then that’s not fair. [8:16] How were they to know they were doing wrong?

[8:20] Paul stated in this text that no one who doesn’t have the law [8:27] will be judged by the revealed law. [8:30] Note what he says in the second half of the verse. [8:33] All who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

[8:39] So here this statement, when you get into the depths of the complicated thing he’s saying here, [8:44] is that no one will be judged for what they don’t know.

[8:51] No one’s going to be held accountable. [8:53] It’s kind of like when you come into the house and you see a tray of cookies that your wife has made.

[8:58] And it doesn’t say don’t eat.

[9:02] There’s no law. [9:05] So I eat. [9:06] I have my fill. [9:08] I know of a different law that would slow me down, but I’m a sinner, so I ignore that one and I go by what hasn’t been revealed to me. [9:16] And I just have my fill and my wife comes out and she says, what have you done? [9:20] Those were for the neighbors.

[9:23] Whoops.

[9:27] Only God can judge.

[9:31] I didn’t know.

[9:33] I didn’t know.

[9:36] What Paul’s saying here is you will be judged by what you do know. [9:42] What he said in Romans chapter 1, verse 20 is very important in understanding this text when he says, [9:47] For his, God’s, invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world. [9:56] And the things that have been made, so they are without excuse.

[10:03] See, what Paul’s saying here is that not everybody has as much as everybody else, but everybody has enough.

[10:13] There’s enough evidence in this world that there is a God to hold every single person in this world responsible for their actions. [10:21] The question that Paul is answering here is that everyone will be judged by this statement. [10:28] The law doesn’t create sin. [10:29] The law simply reveals sin.

[10:33] He deals with the knowledge and the obedience to what you know, what they know, what everyone knows. [10:44] In knowing that there is a God that this world reveals, that there is this power that created everything that is around you. [10:51] God has made that abundantly clear. [10:52] And your denial of that does not save you from the fact that the world shows a God behind it. [10:58] And in knowing that, did you live seeking to know the God greater than you, the God that is there, and to give him glory rather than living for self-seeking motivations in which you make yourself God?

[11:14] According to Romans 1.20, every living being on this earth will be judged by that standard. [11:20] So when Paul says, everyone that doesn’t have the law will die without the law, he’s pointing out a Romans 1.20 reality that death reveals that something’s off and the world reveals the answer to that. [11:37] And that is the higher being, the higher power, God.

[11:43] But then there’s a temptation in your accountability to believe that your possession of the law will help you avoid judgment.

[11:56] Paul is rooting out religious pride in the second statement in Romans 2.13. [12:02] That if you do have the law, you’ll be judged by the law. [12:06] And he does that by dealing with the knowledge and the obedience that the law brings that it requires.

[12:13] That when you do have the law, it doesn’t give you less judgment, it actually gives you more.

[12:19] Gives you more responsibility. [12:22] Gives you more knowledge of the human condition. [12:25] Gives you more of a realization that something’s wrong. [12:28] Gives you more of a realization that you are a sinner. [12:32] Our excuses then are meaningless.

[12:36] And everyone is accountable to God. [12:40] That leads to Paul’s second statement there in Romans 2.14. [12:46] And that is that knowing the truth is of no advantage if you don’t obey it. [12:53] Number two this morning, knowing the truth is of no advantage if you don’t obey it. [13:00] Look in verses 13 and 14 once again. [13:02] Paul says, for it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

[13:09] For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves. [13:15] Even though they do not have the law. [13:18] Note what he’s saying in this section. [13:20] He’s saying you can know everything.

[13:25] There were some 639 laws that Israel had. [13:30] Paul’s saying you can memorize every single one of them.

[13:37] But if you do not do it, if you do not obey it, if it does not affect your life, then what good is your knowledge? [13:46] It’s useless. [13:48] Hearers of the law will not be justified. [13:52] This was completely controversial in religious Israel. [13:55] For they truly believed that because they simply had the law, they could be justified.

[14:04] Paul’s point is that their knowledge was worthless if they weren’t obeying it. [14:09] They had the law, yet they continued to create more laws in which they could excuse themselves from tougher laws about love, mercy, and justice. [14:17] And began to make the law about legalistic, miniscule, measuring their tithes, and their spices, and their dressings, and when they could pray and when they couldn’t pray.

[14:31] Paul’s point is you’ve had the law, but you’ve squandered it. [14:36] You’ve had the law, and you haven’t understood its purpose. [14:39] You’ve tried to set it up and reinterpret it to make you think that you are righteous. [14:44] While in actuality, the purpose of the law was for you to understand that you are a sinner in need of great mercy from the God who wasn’t only just there, but the God who in love revealed himself to you. [14:56] Heeping more judgment, heaping more responsibility, and what should have heaped more terror and fear of God on the nation of Israel, actually set them up in pride, thinking they were more significant than everyone else. [15:09] And they believed the lie that, yes, God is partial to us.

[15:14] That was not the mission that God had for them at all. [15:20] He is speaking of the law of Moses here, but none of them had kept it, nor would any of them be saved by it, because knowing the law won’t save you. [15:31] It won’t. [15:32] There’s two things at play here. [15:35] There’s first this reality that if knowing the law won’t save you, then no one can be justified by doing the law either, because in knowing it, they didn’t do it. [15:46] None of them did.

[15:47] None of us have. [15:48] None of us have lived lives in which we’ve been obedient enough to cancel out any of the debt of our sin.

[15:56] Can’t do that. [15:58] We’ve seen that. [16:00] But many commentators point out there’s a second reality here that Paul is speaking of. [16:07] That is the reality that he knew was coming and was certainly already there. [16:11] That is, not only does knowing the law not save you, but friends, knowing the gospel won’t save you either.

[16:20] Hearing the gospel. [16:22] Won’t save you.

[16:25] Intellectually agreeing.

[16:29] That’s probably true. [16:31] Will not save you. [16:34] Many commentators point out that that’s the second reality that Paul is dealing with here. [16:38] That he’s speaking to the effect of the gospel in your obedience to God. [16:41] And this is what I sincerely fear for many of us, specifically in an American religious context, is I believe that in some ways we’ve treated the gospel. [16:53] As first century Israel treated the law.

[16:58] We believe that while yes, I believe that it’s great that we’re free, we believe that there’s something salvific about that freedom.

[17:06] We believe there’s something salvific about our birth. [17:09] We believe there’s something salvific about our citizenship. [17:13] But when you understand something this morning, when what you know doesn’t match how you live, you will be judged.

[17:22] That day, as Paul is saying, is approaching. [17:25] That day is coming.

[17:28] We have more access to the gospel than anyone else on earth. [17:37] We practically act as though our knowledge and agreement with it will save us. [17:42] But with that attitude, we don’t see a need to have a life that resembles what we believe.

[17:52] We believe so many things about the gospel that are just completely untrue.

[18:00] If we just show up somewhere at some time on some morning, we are so much better than those who do not. [18:10] Not understanding the context for which we do what we do or the reasons for which we are what we are. [18:16] But thinking that there’s something about what I know that makes me different than everyone else, [18:20] and not understanding that there needs to be something that you do that follows through that thing that you know. [18:25] Yet you continue to pour out excuse after excuse as to why you can’t do what you know, while what you know won’t save, but you’re hoping that it will.

[18:37] Is knowledge of an agreement with the gospel saving faith? [18:42] Or is there more at play?

[18:46] James 1, 22-24 uses the same terminology, but about life in light of the gospel of Jesus. [18:54] The half-brother of Jesus said this, but be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

[19:03] We often leave those last two words out, and we say, oh, be doers, not just hearers. [19:10] But we don’t take it further to understand what the truth of those two statements are, because if you are a hearer and not a doer, [19:17] James’s point is, you will believe a lie.

[19:21] For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. [19:29] For he looks at himself and goes away, and at once forgets what he was like.

[19:36] Have you ever looked in the mirror and seen a problem, or if you’re like me, multiple? [19:42] And you said, man, I need to fix that. I need to pay attention to that. [19:49] Next week. Next time.

[19:56] Then you walk away, and you’re surprised the next morning when nothing’s changed. [20:00] So that’s still there. I knew I should have tweezed that yesterday.

[20:05] Oh, is that too personal? Too personal, sorry. [20:10] My wife is the greatest revelation of what she calls my chaotic hairs.

[20:18] I’ll let you in my circle of trust right now. Don’t use this against me later. [20:23] But my eyebrows, many of you probably don’t think I have any, but I do.

[20:29] See, yeah, I just broke glass over everyone right now. They’re like, I never noticed that before. Where are they?

[20:37] They’re white. Everything else is orange. [20:40] And in a world of orange, white does not show up. [20:43] But every once in a while, this orange guy will make his way south and pop out. [20:49] And my wife will just, I’ll see her, she’ll do that squint. [20:54] Wives, you do that, and it’s not nice. [20:57] Because we know something bad’s coming our way.

[21:00] My wife’s never squinted and said, I’m just, oh, you’re so handsome.

[21:04] It’s like, do you need glasses? No, no, she squints to let me know what’s wrong. [21:08] And she’s lovingly doing this, and she’s saying, oh, we got a couple problems.

[21:15] A couple problems. Let me go get you my tweezers. Or I can do it. [21:19] Oh, please heavens, no, don’t do it, honey. [21:22] She doesn’t realize that yanking hair from root does hurt. Does hurt. [21:29] But oftentimes, when we’re dealing with the effects of the gospel on our lives, [21:35] that’s the mentality that we use.

[21:39] We see the truth of who we are in light of who God is and what that causes is what it should cause. [21:46] It should cause abundant praise for his mercy, abundant thankfulness for what he’s done on our behalf. [21:53] But it should also serve as a light of the Holy Spirit into our lives, [21:57] in which we identify where God desires in his mercy to grow in us, [22:03] for us to make changes so that we cannot just simply hear, [22:08] but we can also do so that we can take the good news to other people

[22:11] so they can see our good works, as Jesus says in Matthew, Chapter five, [22:16] and give glory to our God in heaven because he’s the reason for the work that we do in our lives. [22:21] But when all that we do is see the spotlight on the issues in our lives and just say, that’s an issue. [22:28] I should probably take care of that later. And then we walk into a life of no mission. [22:34] We walk into a life in which we don’t hear the voice of God. [22:38] We will forget all the things that God has convicted us of to a point

[22:42] where in which our heart will begin to resemble the stone of not being regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

[22:51] And the question we must ask ourselves is how far can we go in that spectrum [22:56] until we realize that our heart was never turned to flesh, [23:00] but we were always left with a heart of stone because we never truly had real faith in Jesus Christ.

[23:10] Friends, without the change, there’s no faith.

[23:16] Do not walk away from the mirror that God gives us into our lives [23:21] and forget the changes that he lovingly says need to take place. [23:25] As much as it is of love for my wife to not allow me to walk in public looking foolish.

[23:33] How much more loving is it when God the Father sends the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Jesus [23:39] to reveal to me the changes that need to be made intentionally in my life.

[23:48] This was a loving thing that God does for us, yet many of us tune him out [23:52] and turn the rest of the world high blast so that we don’t have to hear his voice.

[23:59] The worst thing that could ever happen in your life is to be out of reach of the voice of God.

[24:09] A faith that does not change the activity of life to obedience to God’s calling is deceptive.

[24:20] Friends, do you understand that even in this moment, those excuses,

[24:28] those reasons that, oh, this isn’t about you, this is about someone else, [24:33] those reasons for which you’re saying, well, I just need a little more time before I can really change. [24:38] Do you understand that that’s deception?

[24:42] Do you understand that James, when he said you’re deceiving yourselves, [24:46] he’s shining a light on the lies.

[24:51] Friend, no longer believe those lies, but believe the grace of God that brings great change.

[24:58] Bring the grace of God into your life that will root out every lying thought [25:05] and replace it with the truth that Jesus saves.

[25:12] Soothing yourself with a false gospel that brings no repentance of sin is a lie from the pits of hell. [25:23] And I do not want you any longer to believe that.

[25:27] I do not any longer want you to stay in such a situation [25:32] where you believe it’s just a little problem, where you believe it’s just a little sin, [25:36] where you believe it’s just a secret thing that’s going on in your life. [25:41] It doesn’t affect anyone but me. [25:43] But understand that every unrepentant sin in your life is like throwing a pebble in the center of a lake. [25:50] It will just ripple out further and further and further.

[25:53] And the effects will be much greater and go much farther than you ever wanted it to do.

[26:01] That’s why Paul says this.

[26:05] In verse 15 he says, they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts [26:12] while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.

[26:22] Do you see the corruption that can happen in your conscience? [26:25] Your conscience can do two things. [26:27] And sometimes for me they do it simultaneously. [26:29] And that’s when I feel just completely schizophrenic. [26:33] That I will have in one thought a complete accusation of my condemnation.

[26:41] You’re not worthy of the gospel of Jesus. [26:44] You’re not worthy of salvation. [26:46] You’re not worthy for any good thing to come into your life.

[26:55] But then on the other side.

[26:59] Just keep on sinning.

[27:02] God doesn’t understand what you’re going through. [27:06] They don’t know in your group how hard of a life you’ve got. [27:11] They don’t understand the reasons why you can’t measure up. [27:16] They don’t understand the reasons why disobedience is just a little different for you.

[27:23] So I’ll have accusation. I’ll have excuses. [27:26] I’ll have it all pouring on me at one time. [27:29] And I feel like there’s absolutely no hope. [27:33] And then Paul makes this statement.

[27:38] He says on that day. [27:40] What day? The day you stand before God. [27:43] Paul personalizes. He says according to my gospel.

[27:50] Before I go any further I just want to say what do you do with those thoughts? [27:57] What do you do with the lie?

[28:01] That you don’t have to get right. [28:04] What do you do with the lie? [28:06] I’ll just take care of that next week.

[28:10] Secondly, what do you do with the accusations?

[28:13] You’re no good. [28:15] You’ll never amount to anything. [28:18] You can’t be used by God. [28:20] Don’t you know that you did this back here? [28:23] Oh my goodness. If they ever knew they would never want anything to do with me. [28:27] You’re worthless. You’re condemned.

[28:29] Jesus can’t even save you.

[28:33] And then what do you do when all that’s followed up by all these excuses about why everybody else is wrong and you’re right?

[28:41] Because let me tell you something. [28:44] Sin is so powerful. [28:46] My flesh is so strong. [28:48] And Satan is so accusatory about condemnation. [28:51] That sometimes you’re going through all three of them at the same time. [28:55] What do you do with that?

[28:57] You do what the apostle Paul did right there. [28:59] He said according to my gospel.

[29:04] I love the fact that in the original language Paul does not say this great theological treatise.

[29:11] About God’s gospel.

[29:16] But all these 15 different wonderful things that has no impact on him. [29:21] Because he doesn’t want to talk about what he knows. [29:25] He wants to talk about what he does.

[29:30] We need to get over what we know and go past what we do. [29:34] And only somebody that’s doing the gospel can say according to my gospel. [29:39] Paul’s owning it. [29:40] Paul’s taking it. [29:41] He’s saying I deserve it. [29:43] I deserve death.

[29:44] I know that. [29:45] But God is so loving that he has saved me from death. [29:49] I don’t deserve a new life. [29:51] But God is so merciful that in the resurrection he gives me a new life. [29:55] I have no ability to follow God. [29:58] I cannot please him.

[30:00] I cannot obey him. [30:01] But in great grace he’s given me the power of the Holy Spirit. [30:05] So that through me he will root out sin. [30:08] And he will bring obedience. [30:09] And he will do the work of mission. [30:12] I know that there’s excuses as to why I am what I am.

[30:15] But Jesus took every single one of those things to the cross with him. [30:21] All the sins done by me. [30:22] All the sins done to me. [30:24] All the pain caused by me. [30:26] All the pain caused to me. [30:27] He took every one of them.

[30:29] And he’s freed me so that I can live a life of worship. [30:33] And that’s where you are when you can say according to my gospel.

[30:39] That’s where Paul’s at.

[30:42] He knows. [30:44] He’s very familiar. [30:46] He’s intimately acquainted with all of the reasons he shouldn’t be an apostle. [30:52] Let’s not forget who we’re talking about here.

[30:55] This is the man that calls himself the chief of sinners.

[31:01] This is a man that most of the New Testament church, even while he’s writing them letters, [31:07] in Corinth he gets to his third letter to them. [31:09] And he’s still having to say, by the way, I’m really an apostle because they still don’t believe him.

[31:18] That’s the man that says according to my gospel.

[31:22] But then he goes further.

[31:27] On that day when according to my gospel,

[31:32] Zoom in on this.

[31:35] God judges the secrets.

[31:39] Of men. [31:41] By Christ Jesus.

[31:50] There are no secrets with God.

[31:56] You can cover it up. [31:58] You can hide it. [31:59] You can deny it. [32:00] You can pretend it didn’t happen.

[32:04] That will work with me. [32:08] Because I don’t know the secrets of men.

[32:13] But God does.

[32:18] God does.

[32:22] Friends, deal with your sin.

[32:26] Deal with your sin. [32:27] Do not allow it to take you so far that you can’t hear the voice of God to where you’re having to ask yourself, was I ever saved to begin with?

[32:35] And you say, I couldn’t get there. [32:36] Yes, you can.

[32:39] Yes, you can. I’ve seen so many people fake it for decades. [32:43] Only to deny the faith.

[32:46] And it’s always because of sin. [32:51] Every time. [32:53] Every time.

[32:56] Thirdly, this morning, we’ve got to understand something that when we see these things, that it’s because the law of God is written on every single heart.

[33:09] You know what he’s saying there? [33:11] You know, all morality is rooted in God. [33:14] He makes some pretty fantastic statements between verses 14 and 16 that just blow us away because we ask ourselves a question. [33:20] This is what the people in Rome are having to ask themselves because since Gentiles started coming to faith in Jesus Christ and it goes out, the question then becomes, well, if the law shows us our sin and then through sin we understand our need in Jesus, what do we do for people who’ve never had the Lord? [33:36] And Paul’s point is, oh, they may not have had the law, but they’ve been obeying a law and understand that that’s because God wrote the law on their hearts.

[33:50] Do you know, from very early on, with no instruction, children begin to show that there is a definition of right and wrong with them. [34:03] Do you know that cultures that are completely disconnected from any type of societal norm that we would call normal in Western civilization, they find these cultures, they find these unreached people and they go there and there’s always some type of code of conduct.

[34:19] There’s always some form of right and wrong.

[34:25] Even the largest, the greatest of atheistic people who says there is no law, if I walked up to them and punched them in the face, they would say, ouch, that was wrong.

[34:38] I use that silly example, but what I mean to say is there’s always a line in which we cross where someone will say something is right or something is wrong.

[34:48] And we must ask in any normal context, we must ask ourselves, where does that come from?

[35:00] And every time we see societal corruption and human depravity, we also see on its footsteps a provenient grace from God that prevents humanity from slipping into the realm of self-destructive extinction. [35:18] I mean, as sinful as the past few weeks have shown us humanity is, it kind of begins to beg the question, how have we made it so long without killing and eating each other?

[35:38] God.

[35:41] God. [35:42] That is how.

[35:46] Every person has boundaries of what they deem permissible. [35:51] And Paul explains the reasoning behind that in this text. [35:55] You know, C.S. Lewis in his great work, Mere Christianity, explains that morality must find its root in a higher power that can only be regarded as God. [36:05] Every appeal to explain morality is found wanting without a higher authority that gives definition to found the foundational reasons behind it. [36:13] Every other appeal is found completely inconsistent and all arguments against morality as a whole are inconsistent in their application. [36:23] All people have a point at which they will say something is wrong and the question then must become who defines that line?

[36:32] What do I do if my line is different than your line?

[36:37] Chaos? [36:39] No, the only solution is an appeal to a higher authority. [36:42] The only plausible answer is the appeal to a God. [36:47] And Paul’s answer to a world that’s dying without the law is that you see that morality that you have within yourself. [36:55] You see that guilt that can come. [36:58] You see that?

[36:59] That’s from the God who saves. [37:01] And I know that God. [37:02] His name is Jesus Christ.

[37:05] Paul’s argument for the law that was given to Israel, but at many levels, people without the law act in a way that’s completely coherent with the law.

[37:19] And Paul’s point here is one that’s very hard.

[37:24] Is that your ignorance will not save you.

[37:28] Your ignorance of the law. [37:31] Will not save you. [37:32] We’re conflicted. [37:34] We know what is wrong, yet we do wrong. [37:37] We know what is right, yet we often fail to do it. [37:41] That, according to Paul, is a revelation of God.

[37:48] Both the Jew who knew it and the Gentile who didn’t have it.

[37:52] Go past where their conscience, provided by the Holy Spirit of God, would allow them to go.

[38:03] Everyone on earth will have things that they believe are right and things that they believe are wrong. [38:07] But every single person on earth will also have to admit that none of them have even kept the law of their own conscience perfectly.

[38:17] None of you have.

[38:21] None of you. [38:22] Let’s take God’s law out of it. [38:24] None of you leave and live up to your own standards.

[38:29] Every single one of you are inconsistent. [38:32] Every single one of you are hypocrites. [38:35] Every single one of you would say, hey, don’t do that, and then you do it.

[38:40] All of us.

[38:45] Verse 16 summarizes the plight of all humanity. [38:51] God sees even that which is only found in my conscience. [38:55] Which no one else sees. [38:57] He knows the deepest conviction. [39:01] He knows my every excuse for why I think my sin is okay.

[39:08] I am without excuse.

[39:11] My conscience pleads for a gospel to heal my sin. [39:21] It pleads for good news.

[39:29] Friends, believing the gospel will save you.

[39:35] It will. [39:36] You see, but you said so many times today that knowing this won’t save you, knowing that won’t save you. [39:40] Now you’re saying believing this will save you. [39:43] Well, believing and knowing are two different things, my friend.

[39:47] Belief changes everything.

[39:51] The gospel changes my entire worldview.

[39:55] I exist for God. [39:58] And because of that, I must make it my aim to measure my life by his grace and then order my life by his call. [40:06] God has revealed to all the great need that we have, and he wants us to reveal to all the great fulfillment of that need and the person and work of God the Son, Jesus Christ.

[40:21] See, Acts 412 shows great grace as well as great urgency for which the gospel of Jesus must spread throughout the world. [40:32] In Acts chapter four, we read this. [40:34] There is salvation in no one else, for there’s no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

[40:46] There’s no other name.

[40:50] And you say, what judgment?

[40:55] What exclusion?

[40:58] One path?

[41:03] But in our great plea for excuses, we miss the great grace of this judgment. [41:10] There’s no other name, but there is a name.

[41:15] You must see the grace in that reality, that there is a name. [41:21] There didn’t have to be a name.

[41:25] God could have simply removed himself from being involved personally with us and said, I will judge your secrets by my law.

[41:37] But that’s not what the text says.

[41:42] The text says in verse 16, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

[41:56] Friends, the gospel’s great judgment. [41:57] It is, and I can’t take that sting away from you. [41:59] But what I want you to see this morning and what faith will tell you if you are redeemed and what faith will tell you if God wants to save you right now is the grace that God provided for you. [42:08] He gave you a name and He provided a way. [42:11] And that law which condemns and that death which condemns, it can save me. [42:16] It can redeem my secrets.

[42:17] And I can be judged by the man, the God, the Son, Jesus Christ one day. [42:23] And God will simply say, was His righteousness counted to your account? [42:30] Did you trust His sacrifice? [42:32] Did you accept the new life that He wanted to provide for you? [42:35] Because we are all in trouble. [42:37] I mean, we are.

[42:39] There ain’t no denying that one.

[42:43] But God says you can come before me with your secrets.

[42:49] And I’m not going to judge you by the law because if I did that, you’d go to hell. [42:55] I’ll judge you by Jesus Christ and if you trusted in Him.

[43:01] Everything exists for God. [43:05] The proclamation of that is judgment.

[43:09] But it is also a proclamation of grace.

[43:15] Live for the gospel of Jesus Christ. [43:18] Allow it to take root in your life.

[43:25] And then obey the gospel.

[43:29] Do what the gospel calls you to do. [43:32] Let it go out of your life into the lives of others because if it does not, [43:37] if you only hear, then what is your judgment?

[43:45] And what of those who need to hear?

[43:52] What of those in this world who are dying every single day in ignorance?

[44:03] What will the gospel cause in our lives to do something about that?

[44:15] We can fiddle around with all the leisure and all the comforts that this great nation affords to us, [44:20] or we can get busy doing something.

[44:24] We can get busy with doing something about the gospel and cease this silly just hearing after hearing after hearing [44:31] It’s exhausting.

[44:36] Live for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[44:40] As the band comes up, I want to spend some time in gratitude.

[44:53] Romans 1, 18 through, halfway through chapter 3 can really begin to bear weight on you.

[45:04] But that explanation always brings me to a place where I cry out for hope.

[45:13] And the meal gives me that hope.

[45:18] There’s so much judgment for my sin that I will never see.

[45:23] Because Jesus has already taken it.

[45:27] Past, present, future, the weights off. [45:30] I read that passage and I’m convicted to move on, but I’m not condemned.

[45:38] The plate has bread on it and that represents the broken body of Jesus Christ.

[45:45] The cup has juice in it that represents the blood of Jesus Christ. [45:51] And all of my sin, and all of my shortcomings, and all of my deception,

[46:04] Jesus poured his life out on the cross. [46:08] And when I drink the cup, when I eat the bread, that represents something that will always be true, [46:16] but he always wants me to come back and focus on what is true because of how quickly I’ll believe a lie.

[46:22] That is, that this life is not mine, this life is Jesus Christ.

[46:28] And if you’re in here and you’ve never trusted in Jesus, today can be the day of salvation for you. [46:34] If you’ll stop just knowing about the gospel and you’ll begin to trust the gospel, [46:38] if you’ll give your life over to Jesus Christ today, he will save you forever.

[46:46] Today is that day. Trust him and live for him. [46:51] But if you’re in here and you’ve already trusted in Jesus, [46:54] I want to invite you in just a moment to one of the six stations around this room. [46:58] To eat and drink. To reflect on the death of the Son of God for your sin.

[47:07] And then walk out these doors when we’re done worshiping and realize that your life was purchased with a price. [47:13] And that price was the life of God that now lives in you. [47:20] When you’re ready, come.