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, see, and act upon what you are trying to teach us by the Power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Romans 2: 1-8 (NASB).
“Therefore, you have no excuse, you foolish person, every one of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3But do you suppose this, you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6who WILL REPAY EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: 7to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life; 8but to those who are self-serving and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation.
What the Word is Saying
Paul is setting a standard here. A bar or line in which all people fall below. His emphasis is on personal accountability with God. No one is exempt from the judgement of God for their own life based on the more severe actions of our neighbor in their life. Everyone is guilty and must give an account for their own deeds. In this life it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. We do not deserve it, but he does it anyway. However, if we reject that repentance because of our stubborn hearts then the sins we are committing are being stored up and we will have to account for them in the judgement. It is not enough to give voice commitment to God and then act in direct opposition to that confession. Especially in America where the statistics put those who say they are Christians in an overwhelming majority it is easy to see this conundrum. People say that they believe in Jesus, but their actions say something entirely different. These are those who Jesus said the seed fell on the path and the birds came and ate it. They professed Lordship to Jesus but failed to believe in Him. Why can I say that? It is because the fruit produced is not consistent with a repentant heart. This is why Paul emphasized earlier in the chapter for the need of a circumcised heart and not relying on the circumcised flesh. IF we profess one thing and do another than we are lying to ourselves. Our foundation is not firm. We cannot as they say invest in “fire” insurance. Confessing Jesus as Lord just in case it really is required at the end of this life. Jesus judges the heart and the actions taken based on that belief.
This concept is not new or even a different gospel than one given to Paul by Jesus. Jesus said:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS (Matthew 7: 21-23, NASB).’”
It is possible that you are this person. You have relied on another faith to find entry into heaven. Meaning you got your “get in free card” from your parents. You supposed that going to church and observing the rituals would be enough to offset the wrongs you commit in your heart. Sure, you commit murder with your mouth, using your intellect and self-righteousness to cut down those around you. You give huge sums of money to show your piousness and pay your way to salvation. You act like a drunkard, lustful, greedy, and jealous fool all week and then put on your clean clothes to attend church on Sundays. You have bought a lie. The devil has deceived you; you are just as bankrupt in sin as everyone else. Jesus looks on the heart. The outside appearance of the man does not make the man. Rather: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart (Luke 6:45, NASB).” Jesus is not just a heart inspector by the grace of God but is also a heart surgeon.
If by the grace of God the Holy Spirit is convicting you of these things we learned about today I encourage you to repent. God is righteous and Holy and therefore we cannot stand in front of Him unless we have been cleansed of our sin. There is only way to do that and that is through confessing His Son Jesus as Lord and believing in your heart that He raised Him from the dead. You may say I have heard those verses my whole life and while that may be true. Do you truly believe them? You cannot have forgiveness of sins without the blood of Jesus, and you can only abide under the blood of Jesus if you believe the words are true. If you are unsure or if you are sure you have never given your life to Him let’s do it right now. Right where you are pray these words aloud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord, I believe you came to this earth and lived a sinless life. I believe you suffered and died on the cross for my sins. They laid your lifeless body in a tomb. Three days later you rose from the grave and because of that gift I can receive forgiveness for my sins and spend eternity with you. I ask you to send me your Holy Spirit to fill me with the power to live for you and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus Name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I encourage you to contact us. We would love to stand beside you and hold you up as you begin your journey with Him. I encourage you to find a church to attend. One where the Gospel of Jesus is preached. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you where He would have you go. IT could be that He is reminding you now, of someone who can help you. Wherever you go know that we have been where you are and someone else helped us to get a firm foundation to stand on. Also know that it is our Joy to lend support to those who are on the Journey to Jesus with us.
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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