Payday Is Coming!
Romans 2:6-16
Intro: A pastor of a small church once received the following letter signed by “A Faithful Member”:
Dear Pastor:
You often stress attendance at worship as being very important for a Christian, but I think a person has a right to miss Sunday worship now and then. I think every person ought to be excused for the following reasons and the number of times indicated:
• Christmas (Sunday before or after)
• New Year (Party lasted too long)
• Easter (Get away for holidays)
• July 4 (National holiday)
• Labor Day (Need to get away)
• Memorial Day (Visit hometown)
• School Closing (Kids need break)
• School Opens (One last fling)
• Family Reunions (Mine & wife’s)
• Sleep late (Saturday night activities)
• Deaths in Family (Average two per year)
• Anniversary (Second honeymoon)
• Sickness (One per family member)
• Business Trips (A must)
• Vacation (Three weeks)
• Bad Weather (Ice, snow, rain, clouds)
• Ball games (Six per season)
• Unexpected Company (Can’t walk out)
• Time changes (Spring ahead; fall back)
• Special on TV (Super Bowl, etc.)
Pastor, that leaves only two Sundays per year. So, you can count on us to be in church on the fourth Sunday in February and the third Sunday in August—unless providentially hindered.
Sincerely,
A Faithful Member [Freddy Fritz, sermoncentral.com]
-We smile at a letter like this because we recognize it for what it is. It is merely an excuse for avoiding worship. We are all guilty of making excuses for one thing or another. But excuses won’t work when we stand before God. He will examine our hearts as well as our actions, and will judge us fairly based on how we lived this life.
-So let’s look at these verses in Romans 2 and see if we’re ready for Payday.
1. God will reward those who do good (6-7, 10-11)
6 God "will give to each person according to what he has done."
7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
10 … glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
-Those who do persistently do good will be rewarded with good. What will they receive? Eternal life, glory, honor, and peace. Those who do what is right will live forever. The glory refers to God’s glory that will shine on them, as they enjoy His presence forever. Honor speaks of God’s approval and blessing. Peace seems to indicate the peace that will be found in heaven – no more turmoil, pain, sin, or death. These things and more await those who do the right things in this life.
-Now, if we left it at that, a lot of people might include themselves in this category. After all, they do good things. Perhaps they are generous, mostly honest, hardworking, and like to help other people. But here’s the problem. They may do some good things, but they also do bad things. And good deeds do not cancel out bad ones.
-We need to remember who Paul is writing to and what situation he is dealing with. The Roman church started out as a Jewish church, but began accepting Gentile converts after a decade or more. Less than 20 years after it was founded, this Jewish church was suddenly 100% Gentile because the Emperor kicked all Jews out of Rome. For 5 years the church was led, influenced, and attended by Gentiles who had come to believe in Jesus. When the Jews were allowed to return to Rome, the church faced some serious issues. Some of the Jews began to look down on the Gentiles. After all, God had given His law to Jews and Jesus was a Jew. Therefore, they assumed that the Jewish way of life should be the model lifestyle for all believers. The Gentiles were guilty of all kinds of evil things. Worst of all, they didn’t even hardly know the law of Moses! What a shame! The church would no longer be in the hands of ignorant pagans. The Jews were back in town! Time to get back to “normal.”
-Now we saw in the 1st 5 verses of ch.2 last week that the Jews were just as guilty as the Gentiles. They were doing the same things as the Gentiles, but thought they could get a “Hall Pass” simply because they we Jewish and knew the law so well.
-So now we read about those who persistently do good and find their reward in heaven, we have to wonder who Paul is talking about. If we skip ahead to Romans 3:9-12, we see that “… Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one… 12 there is no one who does good, not even one."
-So God rewards those who do good, but nobody does good. Where does that leave us? In need of a Savior. In need of righteousness that does not come by doing good. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God – the glory that is found in His presence that everyone in heaven will enjoy.
-So, payday sounds good for those who do good, but nobody does. In fact, as much as we hate to admit it, we fit into this 2nd category.
2. God will punish those who do bad things (8, 9, 12)
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile …
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
-Selfishness has produced a lot of heartache and suffering in this world. Sin is typically an expression of selfishness. It is saying that I want the best of everything for myself and I will do anything to get it (steal, kill, lie, cheat, covet, commit adultery, etc.).
-God’s wrath and anger are reserved for those who are self-seeking, those who reject the truth, and follow evil. And His punishment is not just a slap on the hand. When the great and the small stand before Him, those who did not do what was right in this life will face eternal punishment. People will be judged by the light that was available to them.
-Again, most of us would not put ourselves in this category. Sure, we’ve sinned a little here and there, but nothing too bad. Surely God wouldn’t send us to hell for snitching cookies or telling white lies, would He?
-But when it comes right down to it, none of us is pure in heart, and none of us is blameless when it comes to sin. We’ve all sinned! We all need a Savior- Jews, Gentiles, everyone!
3. Knowing what is right does not save you (13-15)
13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
-The Jews had all of the right answers. They had God’s law! It had been entrusted to them. However, they were just as guilty as the pagans when it came down to obeying the law.
-Passing your driver’s exam will not keep you from getting a ticket. You must obey the rules of the road in order to avoid penalty.
-Even the Gentiles had a sort of law in their hearts. Their conscience scolding them when they were doing what was wrong or defending them when they were doing right. But they still violated the law of their conscience and did the selfish thing and rejected the truth of who God is.
-The point Paul is making in these first two chapters is that we’re all in the same boat! Jews, Gentiles, all of mankind – we are sinners. We cannot be good enough to gain God’s favor and avoid His judgment. Payday is coming and it doesn’t look good for the human race!
4. God’s Day of Judgment is on the Calendar (16)
16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
-Aren’t you glad that Payday didn’t come early?
-There is a date set for God to judge each person. It may seem elusive and obscure to us, and many refuse to believe it will ever happen. However, it is coming, and may be closer than we think.
-The fact that it is still somewhere in the future does not make it less ominous. Hebrews 9:27 says “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Every secret in our lives will be laid bare!
-Now, it seems like most of this is bad news! We’re all doomed! Nobody really does good! Our secrets will all be exposed! Everybody is destined for the wrath and anger of God. And even in these last words of v.16, Paul reminds the readers that God’s judgment is coming. But he uses a word here that does not seem to fit. He says that judgment will take place on a future day, “as my gospel declares.”
-Some of you already know that “gospel” means good news. So Paul is saying, “Here is the bad news: D-day is coming, just as I told you in the good news.”
-The good news is that even though we deserve death and eternal punishment, there is another way. Even though we haven’t been good or done good persistently, there is good news for us! Even though we’ve all gone our own way and none of us is righteous, we can still get right with God! Why? Because there is another kind of righteousness that comes by faith.
-Paul said in Romans 1:17 “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” And jumping ahead, Romans 3:22 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
-And folks, this is what changes everything for us! Payday is coming, but Jesus paid it all! We all were scheduled to pay for our sins, but Jesus stepped in and did what we could never do for ourselves. Even if we were to spend an eternity in torment, we could never pay for our sins. Only one person could do that – and He did! Jesus took our sin upon Himself and it was nailed to the cross with Him. He gave His life as an atonement or compensation for my sins! And now, by trusting in Him and what He did on the cross, I can face Payday with confidence that my sins are forgiven and my name is written down! I’m on heaven’s roster with no misdemeanors, no criminal history, no felonies, no violations to my name.
-Payday is coming! Are you ready? Each person will get what they deserve UNLESS they accept God’s one-time payment plan of His only Son. Jesus took what we deserved and gave us what we don’t deserve, all so we could do life with Him forever!
-If you need to accept God’s way of taking care of your sin problem, it is as simple as ABC. A= Admit you’re a sinner. B= Believe in Jesus as the Son of God who paid the price for your sins when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. C= Confess your sins to God and ask Him to be the leader of your life.
-God didn’t make it complicated, but He didn’t make it easy either. Following Jesus will be hard sometimes, but where else will you turn to find forgiveness and be made right with God? There is no other answer!
