Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you take the words in this blog and breathe life into them. Apart from your anointing they are just words on a page. I ask that you quicken our hearts to hear, our eyes to see, and our hearts to act upon what you are trying to teach us by the Power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Romans 2: 9-16 (NASB).
“There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of mankind who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek, 10but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. 14For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus.”
What the Word is Saying
The Apostle Paul continues building on the foundation he established in Chapter one and the first eight verses of chapter two. That being that it is the actions of the believer that show the true nature of their heart. Your mouth cannot say one thing as your body is committing any number or severity of sins. The circumcision has to be of the heart, not of the body as Paul alluded to earlier. When the Jew or Gentile sins in violation of the law God turns them over to the wrath awaiting them. Paul says as much in verse 9 when he says tribulation and distress awaits the evil doer whether Jew or Greek. It is an outflow or result stemming from the action that occurred. Just as a river cannot flow backwards but must follow the path set out before it. So, sin produces calamity in the life of those who disobey God’s commandments. However, glory waits for those who follow God’s commandments whether Jew or Greek. There is no partiality or different standard for anyone from God. He is just God, and a debt must be paid for.
What is the debt? Well, it is sin or a breaking of God’s commandments. When a sin is committed whether it is by a Jew or Gentile God will judge the offense according to the law. This is because merely knowing the law or hearing its precepts is not enough to overcome it. Whether believer or unbeliever we must actually obey and follow the laws precepts. Again, one might say well I never heard the law or am not familiar with its guidelines. These are not sufficient excuses to be excused from the law. For as Paul asserts the “conscience” knows them. Think about it; somehow everyone has a barometer within them telling them right and wrong. They may become hardened in their hearts and ignore the prompting of their conscience. But the initial thought is there to be acted upon or ignored. All humanity knows that to take the life of another is wrong. Violence and rage, sexual immorality, drunkenness, and false witness against another are all things we as humans know are inherently wrong.
Where does this knowledge of right and wrong come from? It is the laws of God written on our hearts. He created us, he gave us free will to choose what we will do. Now free will is not an actual choice if we do not know what is being chosen. To return to the river analogy we are given a fork in the river and one way leads to wrath and the other to peace and joy. We are aware that we are making a decision that has consequences. We know when we do wrong it is a choice we made. We can lie to each other and say we were unaware of what we were doing. But God who knows our hearts judges the secrets of our hearts. We cannot lie to Him.
Maybe you have been reading this and realized how far you have fallen away from your relationship with God. You have desensitized your mind and accepted wrongful behavior as right in your mind. However, you know your heart is not right with God. I implore you to repent and seek his forgiveness right now. He will forgive and restore you and renew your mind. Maybe you have never come to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ His Son. You have not yet received victory over sin through the work Jesus did here on earth for us. Therefore, even though you want to do what is right according to your conscience you fail to live up to the standard you know is true. I have good news for you: Jesus is the heart surgeon who can change your life. He will take out that heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh that can not only hear the law but empower you to obey it.
Pray this prayer with me now. Right where you are, say these words out loud: “Jesus, I confess that you are Lord, I believe you came to this earth and lived a sinless life, you suffered and died on a cross for my sins, you were placed in a tomb, and three days later were raised from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner in need of redemption. I ask you to forgive me by the power of the blood you shed for me and to send your Holy Spirit to fill me with power to overcome the sin in my life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus Name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer with me, I encourage you to contact us so that we might encourage and stand beside you and hold you up as you begin your Journey with Jesus. I also encourage you to find a church to attend. One where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached. I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you to the place where you can find the support you need as you begin to follow Him.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying to us Today. I pray that God would send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.
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