God the Judge.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Alright, go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. [0:02] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:04] I’m one of the pastors here at Village. [0:06] And as always, I’m glad to see each and every one of you. [0:09] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open to Romans, Chapter 2. [0:13] We’re going to be starting in verse 1 today.

[0:16] Before we get into that, I do want to let you know that a week from yesterday, [0:20] that’s next Saturday, November the 1st, the day after Halloween, [0:25] we’re going to be having our annual Halloween chili cook-off. [0:28] And this is a great time every single year. [0:32] We have tons of people from the community come out. [0:35] Last year we had our largest crowd ever, and with the growth of the church,

[0:39] we anticipate to have even more this year. [0:42] That’s going to be starting at 2.30, and we’re going to wrap it up around 5 [0:46] when it starts to get a little dusky outside. [0:48] And you get an extra hour of sleep next Saturday night. [0:52] So come ready to just expend all of your energy. [0:55] It’s going to be a great time.

[0:57] But there’s something that you’ve got to know about next Saturday. [0:59] If you call Village Church home, this event is not for you. [1:07] This event is for the community. [1:09] This is an outreach event. [1:12] And so what I want you to know, and what I want you to help us out with, [1:16] is that we’ve still got some slots.

[1:18] If you go on the website or onto our social media page on the city, [1:22] there are places where you can sign up to Man Bounce houses for trunk or treat, [1:28] to bring some of the good chili, or to do different games for the kids. [1:33] And what I need you to do, either during the service on your phone, [1:36] or when you get home, and you can get on the old interwebs, [1:42] what I want you to do for me is I want you to sign up to serve in an area.

[1:47] And I’m so thankful that some of you have the mindset, [1:51] well, I’m just going to come and I’m going to find out what’s needed, [1:55] and I’ll do something that’s needed when I get there. [1:57] And I love that attitude. [1:59] But before that, what I need you to do is I need you to let us know specifically what you can do. [2:04] Because if everybody has that mindset, everybody organizing is going to be having a panic attack

[2:09] next Friday night, thinking that none of you are going to do anything.

[2:14] So please, sometime today, go on there and help us sign up. [2:18] Because there’s something that throughout our culture that’s happening, [2:22] and that is that specifically if you’re in my age group, if you’re under 40 years old, [2:28] people will always say that we love making statements on Facebook, [2:33] making statements on social media about how no one does anything, no one serves anyone, [2:37] and then we ourselves see that as our service,

[2:41] that we’ve informed the world how worthless they are. [2:44] Well, if that’s all you ever do, you’re with them.

[2:50] So serve. [2:52] Serve specifically in an area. [2:54] Find somewhere where God can plug you in and use you, really as a lifestyle. [3:00] And I love the video that we showed of all the different people that come week in and week out [3:05] and serve here at Village Church. [3:06] But the next time we make one of those videos, I want you to be on it.

[3:10] Because some of you really need to find a place to serve and understand that that is [3:15] what Romans 12 calls your reasonable act of worship to the God who gave his all to you. [3:22] So you need to give your life back to him. [3:25] And every Sunday morning, we have an opportunity to live the mission of Jesus. [3:28] We have people who have never been here before here every single Sunday, [3:32] and you have an opportunity to learn to live a lifestyle of God’s mission here every single Sunday morning.

[3:38] And so start by serving somewhere next Saturday. [3:43] Start by serving somewhere next Sunday morning. [3:46] And then begin to invest your life in the lives of others, [3:50] realizing that as Romans chapter 1 has showed us, that it’s not about us, it’s about Jesus Christ. [3:55] He’s the one that gives us life. [3:57] He’s the one that calls us to follow him.

[4:00] And when we’re just sitting on the sidelines, [4:03] we’re not really living the life that Jesus has for us. [4:07] When we’re just sitting on the sidelines, what we’re doing is, is that we’re just thinking it’s all about us. [4:13] And that’s not the life that Jesus has for you. [4:15] The life that Jesus has for you is for it to be about everyone else. [4:19] And so start today to live your life for others.

[4:23] And that’s where you’re really going to find where life is all about. [4:26] And I promise you, it will change your life forever. [4:30] And today, when we get into Romans chapter 2, [4:33] we really begin to see it fleshed out how practically the gospel of Jesus works out in our lives. [4:41] And Paul is still in the area that’s going to make us uncomfortable. [4:44] He’s still in the area that’s going to upset us, because today he’s going to talk about judging others.

[4:50] And now I know that we all hate judgmental people, but the fact of the matter is, is that we all are judgmental people. [4:56] The very moment that you say, man, that guy is so judgmental, [4:59] well, you just judged him. And so you’re in the same boat that he’s in. [5:05] And the reality of what Paul’s been laying out for us is that he says, we’ve gotten our purpose for life upside down. [5:12] We’ve gotten the way that we live upside down. [5:15] We’ve gotten our worship upside down.

[5:17] And he’s shown us through sexuality. He’s shown us through our families. [5:20] He’s shown us through our pocketbooks. [5:22] He’s shown us through our relationships with our friends and the way that he finished up Romans chapter 1, [5:27] that people are ultimately sinful to the core. [5:33] And he showed us that it’s because our minds, we don’t even believe the right things. [5:37] And what happens when we don’t believe the right things is we don’t live for the right things.

[5:41] We don’t do the right things. [5:44] And Paul is so smart because he knows how I work, is that I’ll read through that whole list and I’ll be like, [5:50] you know what, you’re right. The world is falling apart around me. [5:54] Culture is so sinful. [5:55] I see this list every day in the lives of the people that are around me. [6:01] Man, if people would just repent, if people would just get their lives right,

[6:05] if people would just be more like me, and this is Paul’s response. [6:10] Therefore, you have no excuses, O man. [6:14] Every one of you who judges, for in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself. [6:21] Because you, the judge, practice the very same things. [6:27] We know that the judgment of God falls rightly on those who practice such things. [6:31] Do you suppose, O man, you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself,

[6:37] that you will escape the judgment of God? [6:40] Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, [6:45] not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, [6:48] but because of your hard and impenitent heart, [6:53] you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, [6:57] when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

[7:03] Paul knows that he’s writing this to a certain segment of people, [7:07] which is really, as I think we’ll find out, is really all people who are going to have the same reaction. [7:14] And that’s that, you know what, other people are sinful. [7:17] And Paul’s speaking to a group of people that either they find themselves in one of a few different camps, [7:22] there may be many, but the few different camps that Paul’s going to write to are people [7:26] who are finding their self-worth and finding what we would call self-righteousness

[7:32] in the way that they grew up in a religious lifestyle, [7:36] in the way that they grew up under the reigning empire of Rome, [7:39] and they find their purpose, their identity, their self-righteousness as a Roman citizen, [7:46] or somebody that thinks, you know what, I’m going to find my self-worth, [7:50] I’m going to find my self-righteousness in just the family that I come from, [7:54] or the things that I’ve accomplished, or the political affiliation that I have.

[7:59] And in all of those ways of life, you look at people and you say, [8:03] man, if those people could just measure up to the standards being set by the way that I’m living,

[8:09] everybody would be as righteous as I am. [8:12] And so Paul directly confronts us where we are, [8:18] because life and people have not changed much since then. [8:23] We still find our self-righteousness in those very things, [8:27] and even a whole new list of things that we create every single day. [8:32] Paul wants us to know that you will not escape the judgment of God

[8:39] regardless of what you’ve accomplished, regardless of the family you were born in, [8:45] regardless of the ethnic group you were born into, [8:50] regardless of how moral you think you’ve been or how moral you think your parents have been. [8:56] Regardless of anything, the same judgment that falls on all those that you’re pointing at [9:02] are going to fall directly on you. [9:03] You know, we spent a brief moment last week on kind of taking what Paul is saying

[9:09] from the they mentality to the I mentality, [9:14] realizing that I have sinned against God, realizing that I have broken God’s righteous law. [9:22] And so Paul’s going to go further down that ideal this week in Romans, Chapter 2, [9:28] just starting in verse 1, and really for the next few weeks, [9:31] he’s going to tick away at all of the things that we find self-righteousness in, [9:35] and all of the ways that we try to frankly, at the end of the day,

[9:39] try to use to prove that we’re better than other people. [9:44] All the things that we try to use to prove that we’re not as bad as those people [9:50] that we prefer to think of as less than ourselves. [9:54] You see, Romans 2 begins dealing with the topic of judging others, [9:57] but what I want you to understand first and foremost this morning is that everyone does this. [10:03] Every single person in here is judgmental.

[10:06] If it’s one thing that I’ve realized in my life is I’ve never run into a single person who wasn’t judgmental. [10:11] I already used the example that the moment that you call someone else judgmental, [10:15] well, you’ve immediately judged them. [10:18] And the reality is that in thinking that we have any self-righteousness whatsoever [10:23] by anything that we do or anything that we are or anything connected to our name or our fame [10:28] or our standing in culture, that that makes us self-righteous.

[10:36] That makes us judgmental. [10:39] So this morning I want to take a look at the only one who can judge, and that is God the Judge. [10:46] Even in religion, which is what many would call what we’re taking part in this morning, [10:52] we find ourselves in a judgmental state. [10:56] Is that we would say, hmm, so-and-so is not here. [11:00] I am. Good for me.

[11:04] The reality is, the commentator has once said, that whenever you judge someone that’s not as religious as you are, [11:10] you’re judging yourself. [11:13] See, Romans 2 begins with a section that throws cold water on the pride of a judgmental person [11:18] who doesn’t realize that he or she is also guilty of the very things that you would hold someone else to the standard of. [11:26] Have you ever set a goal for yourself or set an ideal for your life and not measure it up in some way? [11:32] I think all of us have, and in that very instant, what we should realize is,

[11:36] is a very important life lesson. [11:39] That is that I am not perfect. [11:43] As much as I would love to think that I am, I’m not. [11:46] There are many faults, there are many failures, and there are many ideals that I even set up about myself and others. [11:53] And at the end of the day, when I really look at what’s happening, is that I’m not even meeting my own standards. [11:59] If I can’t meet my own standards, who else can?

[12:04] The reality is that no one can. [12:06] But nor was I ever meant to set the standard. [12:11] How useful is a standard set by a person who can’t even reach his own standards? [12:18] It’s not. It’s completely useless.

[12:22] And so the answer is in finding out who can set a proper standard. [12:27] What we’re going to see this morning is that there’s only one who can set a standard that’s righteous. [12:32] There’s only one who can set a standard and then have all reality in his life show that he has reached every standard. [12:38] And that is God alone. [12:41] Notice that when verse one talks to us, it says, Oh, man, every one of you that judges and passing judgment on yourself, [12:52] because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

[12:56] Note what he says in verse two. [12:57] He says, we know that the judgment of God falls rightly on those who practice such things. [13:05] So whose judgment matters? [13:07] It’s God. [13:09] You know, number one, this morning, that God’s judgment is always right. [13:13] God’s judgment is always right.

[13:16] Think about it this way. [13:17] If there is a God who’s there and he has designed the world to show his glory, [13:23] and I have in any way, even for a moment, gotten it wrong, then why do you? [13:29] Why do I think that I can judge others? [13:32] Why do I trust myself to be objective and understanding of what’s going on in other people’s lives? [13:41] I mean, you’ve ever had a moment where you really just come face to face with what a sinner you are?

[13:46] Where you’re seeing the life of Christ or you’re seeing the glory of the gospel. [13:51] You’re caught up in a moment of repentance where you come face to face with sin and you know what regret is. [13:57] You know what conviction is. [13:58] And have you ever in just a few moments later, then laid your hot judgment on someone else?

[14:08] I think all of us have been there. [14:11] And what that serves to expose isn’t just that I’m a judgmental person. [14:17] What that serves to expose is that my sin runs far deeper than I think it does. [14:23] My sin doesn’t just run to the level of I have disobeyed God. [14:29] My sin runs to the level where I even lie to myself that I’m better than anyone else. [14:38] I know that in my life, Luke 18 has almost become a reality where the Pharisee is praying beside a tax collector,

[14:43] and his first words out of his mouth are, oh, thank God, I’m not like this tax collector.

[14:51] Have you ever had a prayer like that?

[14:55] Oh, thank God, I’m not like that guy. [14:59] Or, oh, thank God, I’m not in that situation that they are. [15:02] Or, oh, thank God, I’m not feeling the judgment of God here like this guy obviously is.

[15:11] Do you know that’s not righteousness making you feel that way? [15:14] Not real righteousness. [15:16] That’s self-righteousness. [15:19] Because you will never see that type of attitude exude from the one who really is worthy of judging others.

[15:29] See, God never has to compare himself to anyone else. [15:32] God never has to compare his situation to someone else. [15:36] Because God stands in perfect judgment, and in his judgment, what do we see? [15:41] We ultimately, we see grace. [15:43] We see a God who empties himself, becomes one of us, dies for all of us, [15:50] and then raises again to give us brand new life.

[15:53] That’s how he uses his judgment. [15:56] God is the only righteous judge. [15:58] And this entire section throughout chapters 2 and 3, I’m going to let the cat out of the bag, [16:03] not like you couldn’t have read ahead, [16:05] is leading us to the reality of what Romans 3.23 is going to show us in just a few weeks. [16:09] And that is that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

[16:16] Friend, did you know you’re a sinner?

[16:19] Did you know that you did not make it to this building this morning without sinning? [16:23] And I know some of you are thinking, well all I’ve done so far is eaten a Pop-Tart. [16:26] You didn’t do that with righteousness.

[16:29] Alright, you should have had some fat-free yogurt, you glutton.

[16:36] But the reality of what God is showing us [16:41] is that even in a moment of thinking we’ve done good, our motive hasn’t been pure.

[16:48] Even in a motive of helping someone else, [16:51] well ultimately God’s not getting the glory because we didn’t do it in worship of him.

[16:57] You see, nothing that we do in this life is ever completely [17:03] righteous. None of us have clean hands. [17:06] Sin is deceptive and works within us, [17:10] even to convince us to believe lies of our own righteousness, [17:13] lies of our own self-worth, lies that we are good enough. [17:17] You know, one of the greatest enemies that you ever have will be you.

[17:21] See, everybody thinks that the greatest enemies that they have to fight, [17:24] the greatest warriors that are in their life trying to defeat them are going to come from the outside, [17:28] but you know the scripture talks about the greatest enemy in life is you, [17:31] it calls it the flesh. [17:33] So there’s a war going on inside of you. [17:37] We allow temptation in and we give into it because we think,

[17:40] surely I’m not going to deceive myself. [17:43] But you will. Over and over. [17:44] And your judgment of others actually serves to reveal that. [17:48] And it continues even now to this day. [17:50] Look in Proverbs chapter 21. [17:52] It shows that our judgment is faulty.

[17:54] It says the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. [17:57] He turns it wherever he will. [18:00] Every way of man is right in his own eyes. [18:05] But the Lord weighs the heart.

[18:10] See, we have this way of convincing ourselves, [18:12] even in moments of, have you ever found yourself in a moment of obvious sin? [18:16] I mean, it’s just like clear cut. [18:18] You sinned. [18:20] And you make an excuse.

[18:24] That’s what that text is talking about. [18:28] See, every way is right in the eyes of a man.

[18:32] That work that you did, that thought that you had, [18:34] that action that you took, that judgment that you laid on someone, [18:37] that wrath that you poured on your spouse or your child. [18:42] Has your spouse ever given you a ten pound comment and you levied a seventy-five pound response?

[18:49] Oh yeah.

[18:51] Has your child ever caught you at a weak moment, [18:57] done the simplest of wrongs, and you gave them a life sentence?

[19:05] You see, the way that we react and act towards others shows who we really are. [19:12] And so then we’ll look at it and we’ll say, well, the answer is, is I will better myself. [19:18] You’re still acting the judge. [19:21] You’re still keeping everything in the palm of your hand, saying, [19:25] not only am I going to judge others, but I’m righteous enough to judge myself. [19:30] See, I’m going to fix it. I’m going to make it work.

[19:34] But the text there says, no, friend, it’s the Lord that weighs the heart. [19:40] You will even deceive yourself. [19:43] Only God knows what’s going on in every person’s heart. [19:46] Sometimes it’s only God that knows what’s going on in my heart. [19:50] Sometimes I can’t even figure. [19:51] Ever had a moment where you woke up one morning and you’re just like, what is wrong with me?

[19:56] Sometimes I can’t even figure myself out. [19:58] And in that moment, I feel completely handicapped. [20:00] I feel completely condemned. [20:02] I feel completely hogtied in a state of not knowing how to change myself. [20:07] And in that moment, my first response isn’t, you know what, I need to turn to the Lord. [20:13] I’m going to spend some time seeking his face.

[20:15] Now, my response is I’ll figure this out.

[20:21] I’ll heal myself. [20:24] Well, friend, when you have a disease, especially a terminal one like sin, you cannot heal yourself. [20:33] And you would think it was foolish for anyone else to think that. [20:37] But for some reason, you’ve got it under control in a world of everyone who shows that no one has it truly under control.

[20:47] You know, the reality is that this text, it isn’t saying, no, there’s no judgment. [20:55] Now, the text is showing, and I think we’re feeling, this text shows what real judgment is all about. [21:00] That every one of us, as Romans chapter one at the end of the chapter says it, everyone deserves to die. [21:08] I can’t really pretty that up. [21:11] When Paul wrote that, it’s probably the harshest thing you’re ever going to see in scriptures. [21:14] That everyone that practices all these things, and he’s given us such a list that everyone’s done these things.

[21:20] He’s like, well, you know, everyone that does this deserves to die. [21:22] And then everybody’s like, well, I’m glad I don’t deserve to die. [21:25] And then he’s like, well, you’ve judged others, so therefore you deserve to die. [21:28] Oh, OK, I guess I deserve to die. [21:30] Well, that’s a great pick me up. [21:31] You don’t see that on the side of a coffee cup.

[21:35] You’ll rarely see the end of Romans chapter one on a T-shirt. [21:37] Everyone deserves to die. [21:40] Maybe at a metal concert, you’ll see it paraphrased, but not in everyday life. [21:44] You don’t go to Christian festivals and the ode to sin is played anywhere. [21:49] But Paul wants us to understand that we are not righteous, but that there is only one who’s righteous. [21:55] And that’s because God’s standards matter and you’re condemned under that standard.

[22:00] But look at what Psalm chapter one forty five says, Psalm one forty five seventeen puts it this way. [22:05] The Lord is righteous in all his ways. [22:09] Then it continues and kind in all his works.

[22:17] The reason that my judgment, one reason is so imperfect, is because it’s so unkind.

[22:28] It’s not unfeeling. Oh, there’s a lot of feeling in it. [22:32] A lot of harshness, a lot of pain, a lot of wrath. [22:36] Sometimes I go, oh, I’m going to bring the pain today.

[22:42] The scriptures notes that God’s righteousness and God’s judgment doesn’t go there. [22:47] His judgment goes, it says he’s kind in all of his works. [22:50] You know, God is perfect in every imaginable way. [22:53] And even in ways that I can’t even imagine, God is perfect. [22:58] But did you know that God is also kind?

[23:02] In every imaginable way. [23:05] And you know that God is kind in ways that I can’t even imagine. [23:12] And I don’t think that we’re used to putting those two together. [23:15] It’s like we read Psalm one forty five and we’re like, that doesn’t even make sense. [23:19] Righteousness, kindness, he’s righteous in every way. [23:22] He’s kind in every way. But isn’t this about wrath?

[23:25] I think the psalmist would look at you and say, even the wrath of God is kind. [23:30] Because the wrath of God protects the most important thing that this world has ever known, [23:37] and that is the glory of God. [23:41] And if God did not protect his glory, then that would be unkind because the world would cease to be good. [23:52] There’s only two ways to really grasp what Paul’s talking about here. [23:57] And the first way is that it’s only when you see judgment from God that you realize that you personally need redemption.

[24:07] Do you know if God never told us about his wrath that that would be unkind of God? [24:12] Because it’s only in light of his judgment that we know that we need to be redeemed. [24:16] And he did not have any burden to show us that we need to be redeemed. [24:25] It’s kind that God showed us that. [24:28] The second way God’s ultimately kind in his righteousness is that it’s only when you see the real judge that you stop defending your self-righteousness. [24:38] God could have justly allowed us to justify ourselves all the way into oblivion separated from him in hell.

[24:46] But instead, God confronts us. [24:49] See, we’ve in our culture been so accustomed to see confrontation as something less than kind. [24:55] And we say, man, it’s really unkind the way God has wrath in the Old Testament. [24:59] It’s really unkind the way that God has such wrath in Romans chapter 1. [25:02] I mean, who does he think he is? [25:04] Well, ultimately, he thinks he’s the judge.

[25:07] Because he is. [25:09] And it’s kind. [25:11] But you know what’s unkind?

[25:14] Us. [25:15] Point number two this morning, do you know that hypocrisy hinders the mission of Jesus? [25:21] I mean, isn’t that what self-righteousness really is? [25:24] I mean, let’s be honest. [25:25] It’s hypocrisy. [25:27] But the reality of what hypocrisy really is is that it starts with that whole judgmental thing.

[25:31] Do you know really the number one reason people say they don’t like Christians because of how hypocritical Christians are? [25:37] Well, I’m not going to deny it because, yeah, we are. [25:41] That’s why we need to be saved. [25:43] That’s why we need redemption. [25:46] Is because we’re hypocrites. [25:47] Because we’re judgmental.

[25:49] Because we do the wrong thing and then try to prove that it’s the right thing. [25:53] But ultimately, it’s not something that we should say, and I’m proud of it. [25:58] Well, no, you should never be proud of your sin, friend. [26:01] And you should understand that my hypocrisy and your hypocrisy hinders the mission of Jesus. [26:07] Because it doesn’t point anyone to the righteousness of God. [26:09] It always tries to point someone to the righteousness of you, which doesn’t even exist.

[26:14] Our judgmental nature, when based on ourselves, only serves to reveal our sinfulness. [26:19] The problem with self-righteousness is that it’s never based in reality. [26:23] You don’t have any, friend. [26:26] Everyone both hates it, and everyone has it. [26:30] No one sees himself or herself or who they truly are without God showing it to you. [26:36] I mean, we judge, and we are hypocritical, and we set up self-righteousness in so many ridiculous ways in our culture.

[26:45] Some of us are gluten-free, while some of us are gluten-full. [26:48] Both fully convinced that the way to health is both ways. [26:52] And, well, you’re just an idiot if you don’t agree with me.

[26:56] Some of us use cloth diapers, and the rest of us help pampers maintain their healthy margins. [27:01] And both of us are convinced that the other one is a waste of space and a complete idiot when it comes to raising children. [27:09] Some of us recycle, and some of us leave that up to the trash man. [27:14] Both of us are fully convinced that the other one doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

[27:20] Some of us are vegans, and we get angry when they confuse us with vegetarians.

[27:29] Some of us are carnivores, and we just love tasty meat. [27:35] And we don’t understand how you live without it.

[27:39] I’m using we on purpose on that one.

[27:44] But we set up camps where we judge, we judge, we judge. [27:48] Some of us, I don’t know who you are, but we have cable. [27:54] And some of us are [27:55] Some of us preach the self-righteousness of not having cable, all the while streaming Hulu seven hours a day.

[28:06] Some of us are organic, and some of us are some form of chemically synthetic.

[28:14] Some of us like Coke, and some of us like Pepsi. [28:18] And some of us are angry because we’re not buying generic. [28:22] All the money we waste on name brands.

[28:27] You know, all laughing aside, I think we laugh because we know it’s true.

[28:34] We see different, and we think wrong. [28:37] Sometimes it’s just different.

[28:40] We see someone that doesn’t understand everything that I’ve ever thought in my 30-some years of living, [28:47] and we say, what’s wrong with you? [28:49] Did you not grow up the same way I did? No, they didn’t.

[28:55] All the while, honestly, just simply trying to prove not that I’m right and they’re wrong, [29:04] but that I’m better and they’re less.

[29:09] Because I need to prove that everything that I do, every act that I have, is righteous. [29:17] Even though that type of righteousness only comes from this, comes from inside of me. [29:23] I think we’ve already seen that’s not real righteousness at all. [29:26] There’s some ways that we do this that aren’t even funny, but rather they hinder the gospel.

[29:33] See, when it comes to things that matter, we reveal our hypocrisy on many levels as well. [29:38] We’ll rail against homosexuals deserving hell while fornicating or committing adultery. [29:45] You rail against judgmental people while actually judging them yourselves. [29:50] We’ll picket signs at abortion clinics and then go home and have promiscuous sex.

[29:57] See, the reality of what we do to people who just sin differently than we do [30:03] should show our condemnation, not reveal self-righteousness. [30:08] You are not better than someone else just because your struggles are in a different area.

[30:20] Every one of us needs the grace of the God who saves. [30:27] None of us measure up. [30:32] None of us are perfect. [30:34] None of us are completely obedient.

[30:40] We’ll try to hide our family’s sins while proclaiming that we have none.

[30:51] Friend, that is the ultimate hypocrisy.

[30:58] We’ll paint a pretty face on while we’re really dealing with serious struggle. [31:06] That if just for a moment our hypocrisy would fade, we could get the help that we need from the God who can save anyone.

[31:17] This friend, hypocrisy runs deeper than any of us would ever admit. [31:20] It’s not the person next to you. It’s you. [31:24] It’s you. And it’s me. [31:29] The reality is, is we simply need to confess that we have sinned before we’ll ever be any help to anyone else. [31:41] You know, Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 and 2, we have one of Jesus’ most quoted as well as misunderstood statements. [31:49] Here’s the way Jesus talks about judging others.

[31:51] He says, Judge not that you be not judged, for with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. [32:00] You see, Paul is restating this principle in Romans 2, the second half of verse 1. [32:05] Note what he says there. He says, he says that, for in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself because you the judge practice the very same things. [32:13] And look down at verse 3. He says, Do you suppose, O man, you who judge those who practice such things, and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?

[32:25] You see, Paul is simply restating the words of our Savior. [32:29] Typically, our judgment on others is a defense mechanism to prove that we’re better than they are. [32:34] Here’s what Tim Keller says about it. He says, [32:36] Condemning others while excusing ourselves is what allows us to hang on to both our self-righteousness as well as hold on to our sin. [32:46] You see, we’ll be judged by the same standards that we levy on everyone else, and we must realize that we can’t even live up to our own standards, [32:54] and that judging others deceives us into thinking that everyone else has more sin to deal with than you do.

[33:01] Therefore, you’re better than they are. [33:04] Friends, the reality is that we must judge ourselves and help others by showing God’s standards. [33:13] You see, the reason this is often a misquoted verse in Matthew chapter 7 is because what we do is we take it and we say, [33:19] Well, I can’t speak truth into anyone’s life. I’ve just got to always focus on me and never help anyone. [33:25] Well, who do you think you are? Don’t judge me. Jesus said, Never judge anyone. [33:29] That’s actually not at all what his intention was, because in the very same breath, just a few verses later, he tells us to judge people.

[33:37] Note what he says down in Matthew chapter 7, verses 18 through 20. [33:41] He says, A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. [33:45] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. [33:55] So what Jesus is saying there, he’s saying, Do you want to know who my followers are? [33:59] Well, look at the life that they’re living.

[34:03] Says good fruit comes from me. Bad fruit does not come from Jesus. [34:09] And you will know who’s following me by their fruits. [34:15] There’s a newsflash that requires judgment. [34:19] It does. That judgment, though, is different than what Jesus started talking about in verse one. [34:26] Do you know what the judgment Jesus are talking about in verse one? [34:29] The self-righteous judgment that comes from you.

[34:32] What’s Jesus talking about in 18 through 20? A judgment based on him. [34:38] You see, real judgment is based on God, not you. [34:43] God has revealed himself to us in two ways. [34:46] He’s shown himself to us ultimately. The ultimate revelation of God is found in Jesus Christ. [34:51] But then secondly, he’s also shown it to us in the Scriptures, which always point us to Jesus Christ. [34:56] You see, God alone is the standard under which things can be judged.

[35:00] But he has shown us that standard, and it reveals that we’ve all sinned. [35:04] See, it doesn’t excuse any of us. See, we all see that I’ve got some bad fruit. [35:09] But Jesus gives us a way of dealing with the bad fruit. [35:13] He comes in and gets beneath the wood of the tree that is me, and he literally replaces my heart. [35:22] And so then can grow out of my life good fruit. [35:24] But can I ever for a moment say, look at me, man, I got some good fruit.

[35:30] Don’t you want to be me? [35:32] No, I look at that and I say, but by the grace of God, I would not have such fruit growing in my life. [35:37] I can claim that I did none of this. [35:40] Jesus alone has saved me. Jesus’ grace has given me the ability to obey. [35:45] Jesus alone has given me the privilege of bearing fruit for his cause and his mission. [35:50] And when I don’t get to that point, I’m left with nothing but self-righteousness.

[35:55] Do you know what self-righteousness is? It’s the ultimate bad fruit. [35:59] Because a follower of Jesus Christ will never point anyone to his righteousness. [36:02] The follower of Jesus Christ will spend all of his time pointing to the righteousness of Jesus and Jesus alone. [36:09] That’s why in Romans 1 verse 17, he put it this way. [36:14] It’s for in it the righteousness of God is revealed in what? The gospel. [36:18] From faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

[36:23] The righteous shall live by faith, must be seen in light of all who have sinned. [36:30] The only righteousness is that which comes from God. That judgment falls at your doorstep. [36:36] That’s why Paul states that you who judge are condemned by your judgment because you don’t measure up to God’s standards. [36:43] God alone measures up and he showed that to us through Jesus. [36:49] Not only by measuring up, but by revealing the perfect kindness in Jesus and taking the judgment for all who have sinned against himself. [36:57] How amazing and ridiculous is it that the one person in human history that has had righteousness was condemned by all those who had no righteousness.

[37:10] It’s revealing about us. [37:15] It’s also very revealing about the kindness of God. [37:20] True judgment makes you realize that you are sinful and only God can save anyone. [37:29] See, because finally this morning in point three, God’s kindness leads us to repentance. [37:38] I mean, Paul’s working it here, man. He’s like, you know what? You who judge, you’re going to be judged by the same judgment. [37:44] None of you have measured up.

[37:46] So I mean, if I’m not like knowing what’s coming next, what I’m going to think is if I’m just hearing this being read to me, I’m like, man, he is about to unleash Holy wrath. [37:56] To say everyone once again, you deserve to die. [38:02] Let’s see what Paul says.

[38:06] He makes a statement first. He says, do you presume the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? [38:12] Then he makes this amazing game changing statement. [38:15] This is the most game changing statement of all time. [38:18] Everywhere Paul begins to do this is where we have to see salvation in the text. [38:24] This is the kindness of God is meant to lead us to repentance. [38:32] If you’ve been tracking with Paul so far, that should confuse you.

[38:39] Because he’s been showing a lot of wrath. [38:43] You haven’t worshiped right.

[38:46] You haven’t used your bodies right.

[38:49] You haven’t used your motives right. [38:53] You got your family all wrong. [38:55] You got your money all wrong. [38:57] You got society all wrong. [38:58] You got your relationships all wrong. [39:01] And God is wrathful about it.

[39:03] He’s angry about it. [39:04] You deserve to die for it. [39:06] And then he says, and God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance. [39:10] Huh?

[39:19] Without the wrath of God, there would be no kindness.

[39:27] Because without the wrath of God, like I said, you wouldn’t know you needed to be redeemed. [39:33] And you wouldn’t know who’s the judge of all of your sin. [39:36] And if you didn’t know any of that, you’d never understand why the cross of Jesus Christ [39:42] is so ultimately, eternally, and infinitely kind.

[39:50] You see, Paul lays us out with this wrath so that we will see,

[39:55] I deserve punishment. [39:58] I deserve to die. [40:01] I deserve for God to be mad at me. [40:03] I deserve for God to do his worst. [40:06] And Paul’s letting us know, the worst is out there. [40:09] And you deserve it.

[40:11] And then he starts pointing to the God of Isaiah 30, verse 18. [40:17] He says, Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you. [40:24] Therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. [40:29] For the Lord is the God of justice, and blessed are all those who wait for him. [40:37] You know, self-righteousness is you not waiting for God.

[40:43] It’s you saving yourself.

[40:46] Paul’s saying this wrath that God has revealed, this exaltation of his glory,

[40:54] it’s so that he can show grace to you.

[40:58] It’s so that he can be merciful to you. [41:02] You see, many of us want to read a verse like the kindness of God, [41:05] and then cancel out all of his wrath. [41:07] And what we must realize is that when we do that, [41:10] when we take the sting of sin away, [41:12] and we just want everybody to feel good about themselves,

[41:15] and want to act like we’re not sinful, [41:17] all that does is take God’s kindness and reduce it to worthlessness.

[41:23] Because without his wrath, he can’t be kind. [41:26] Without his wrath, there’s nothing to save me from. [41:28] Here’s what Richard Niebuhr, the theologian said. [41:31] He said that what we’ve done when we remove the wrath of God, [41:34] is that we have a God without wrath, bringing men without sin, [41:37] into a kingdom without judgment, through the work of Christ without a cross.

[41:43] Without sin, the cross makes no sense.

[41:48] Without God’s wrath, the judgment isn’t on me. [41:52] See, it cheapens the grace of God, and actually removes his infinite kindness. [41:58] The reality is that God doesn’t ignore sin. [42:00] He deals with it. [42:02] All that your self-righteousness proves [42:06] isn’t that you’re better than others and everyone else is less than.

[42:11] It proves that you need a kind God to save you from yourself. [42:17] Look at 2 Peter 3, verse 9.

[42:21] It says, The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness. [42:26] It tells me even God has critics. [42:29] But is patient toward you. [42:33] Look at this. [42:35] Not wishing that any would perish, [42:40] but that all should reach repentance.

[42:45] We have a God who is kind in ways that we can’t even imagine. [42:53] He’s so much kinder than I am. [42:55] So much more worthy of praise than I am. [42:59] In the moment that I try to point righteousness at myself, that’s blasphemy.

[43:06] Your self-righteousness is such blasphemy and foolishness [43:10] that it is his wrath on you right now. [43:14] Go on. [43:17] Do your best. [43:19] Prove how much better than you are, than everyone else is. [43:23] Prove how much more sinful everyone else is than you are.

[43:28] God is kindly patient, waiting for you to see the truth. [43:34] But if you don’t, you will simply go into eternity, self-consumed, [43:40] self-absorbed, self-righteousness, and suffer. [43:45] All the while proclaiming yourself as the better one.

[43:55] Verse 5, he says this.

[43:59] Because of your hard and penitent heart,

[44:05] you are storing up wrath for yourself. [44:08] On the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

[44:17] See, God’s kindness doesn’t excuse your sin. [44:19] It doesn’t give you a way out from your sin. [44:21] It doesn’t just say, oh, my sin doesn’t matter, I’ll do what I want.

[44:27] God’s kindness is to lead you to repentance.

[44:31] Because God wants every one of us to look to the cross and say, I don’t deserve that.

[44:38] But oh God, I’m so thankful you gave it anyway.

[44:44] The righteousness of God is not something that comes from inside of me. [44:49] It’s something that comes from a gift that he gives. [44:53] So first this morning, I want to talk to the Christian.

[44:57] Christian, stop pointing people to yourself.

[45:02] Repent of that and point people to Jesus. [45:06] He alone is the judge. [45:09] If sin must be called out, and it must,

[45:14] let it be through the lens of God’s grace. [45:17] Which you have and the world needs.

[45:24] And as the band comes up, I want to talk now to anyone in here that isn’t a follower of Jesus. [45:31] Maybe you’ve realized today that the only righteousness that you have is from inside of you. [45:37] You’ve been for years trying to prove your worth. [45:40] You’ve been for years trying to prove how you can measure up. [45:43] And this morning, the gospel has given you this realization that you don’t measure up. [45:47] And my message to you is, is that welcome to the club.

[45:52] There’s not a single righteous person in this room right now. [45:57] We are all sinners in need of a savior.

[46:03] Maybe you’ve felt judged your whole life.

[46:07] Maybe you’ve felt less than. [46:10] Maybe all that you think you have in your life are self-righteous people. [46:15] You just feel their judgment heaping on you day in, day out.

[46:21] Here’s a message I have for you, and that is, is that their judgment doesn’t matter.

[46:28] What they think about you in the view of eternity is meaningless.

[46:34] You see, we have a kind, perfect God who wants to save you. [46:39] We have a kind, perfect God that shows that our value is seen in the person and work of God the Son, Jesus Christ. [46:51] And then his message to you from the cross is, is that you’re never going to feel like you measure up. [46:59] But you don’t have to measure up. [47:02] Because Jesus did it for you. [47:05] Jesus was obedient for you.

[47:07] Jesus sacrificed his life for you. [47:10] And Jesus rose again from the dead so that you could have a new life in which you simply say, [47:15] I may not measure up, but I know the God who does. [47:22] And he saved me from myself.

[47:26] If that’s you this morning, I want to invite you to trust Jesus Christ as your savior. [47:33] Wherever you’re sitting, just trust in him. [47:35] Turn from your sin. [47:37] Turn from your low self-esteem or turn from your ridiculously high self-esteem. [47:42] And trust in the only one who has any esteem.

[47:46] And that’s Jesus Christ. [47:48] If that’s you this morning, there’s some in the foyer. [47:50] I’ll be standing right over here.

[47:53] I’d love to pray with you. [47:55] But if you’re in here and you’re a follower of Jesus, [47:58] the table of communion, the bread and the cup, [48:01] are open for you to proclaim that you know the judge. [48:05] We’ve got a judge that says, when you’re ready, come.