Romans 2 | The Purpose of the Law for Jews and Gentiles | God's Righteousness and Holiness

God’s Righteous Judgment

2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”[a] 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 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; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism. 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. 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 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. The Jews and the Law 17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[b] 25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. Blog: http://www.lanilaneocbina.online/ FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChibiLanilane youtube:    / @lanilaneocbina   Instagram & Tiktok: lanilaneocbina

Painful Reminders

Acts 14:19

Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

God has many ways to deter us from sin. One is to provide reminders for us that we never take disobedience to Him lightly. Before his conversion, Paul assumed that he was righteous before God. In reality, Paul was so disoriented to God that he arrested and executed Christians in order to please Him! Paul was so blinded to God’s will that when he watched Stephen being brutally murdered for his faith, Paul’s heart was hardened, and he became even more determined to imprison other Christians.

It is significant that there are two occurrences of stoning mentioned in the NT- Stephen’s and Paul’s. Was it coincidence that God allowed Paul to be stoned in the same manner as Stephen had been? God had certainly forgiven Paul for his involvement in Stephen’s death, but God also left him with a reminder of what his arrogance had led him to do. If pride could blind Paul to God once, pride could do it again. Perhaps Paul’s “thorn in flesh” was a direct result of this stoning. It may have served a visible reminder to Paul, and to others, of the terrible consequences of sin.

God is absolutely just. He loves, and forgives, but He does not compromise His righteousness. God deals with us uniquely. He draws upon our experiences to teach us about Himself. God will forgive us of our sin, but He may provide stark reminders of the ugliness of sin. Let us thank God that He loves us enough to remind us of the destructive consequences of sin in our lives. Blackaby(s), Experiencing God, daily devotionals (PH: Makati, 1998). 275.]

CONTEXT: Paul and Barnabas escaped from Iconium to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia. They healed a lame man and when people saw this and heard Paul’s words, they worshipped them as Zeus and Hermes, but Paul and Barnabas torn their clothes and rebuked them. The Jews hated Paul.

DEATH BY STONING: “Stoning is a method of execution during which a group of people, usually peers of the guilty party, throws stones at the condemned person until he or she dies. Death by stoning was prescribed in the Old Testament Law as a punishment for various sins. Both animals and people could be the subjects of stoning (Exodus 21:28), and stoning seems to have been associated with sins that caused irreparable damage to the spiritual or ceremonial purity of a person or an animal.” .. “Another mode of execution that was also considered stoning involved throwing the guilty party headlong down a steep place and then rolling a large stone onto the body.”- like what could have happened to Jesus in Luke 4:29 but He miraculously escaped. “[http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-stoning.html, viewed on Oct.1,2015.]

PERSPECTIVE OF STONERS: hating sin. Judgment. On the spot.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE ONE STONED: Fright. Shame. Anger. Plead. Sorry.

PERSPECTIVE FROM EXPECTATORS: Agreement with stoners. Sympathy for the one stoned. I don’t care at all.

PAUL DID NOT DIE: unlike Stephen, Paul lived after the stoning. He was reminded of God’s grace for him. Not to attack his conscience about what happened to Stephen but to remind him that he is a changed man of God and that he is living by His grace. His stoning had a purpose, but that purpose certainly was not because he sinned that time.

EMPHASIS OF STONING: Ugliness of Sin. Paul was reminded of its ugliness from his past.

God did not use that situation to punish Paul about something. It was just a reminder of him about the ugliness of sin. That he may not fall into it and he will be able to know how ugly it is to be punished because of sin. The gospel that he is delivering to every city involves this truth. People are sinners, and the ugly punishment of sin has been removed from us through God’s grace and love demonstrated on the cross. We are all free from the ugliness of sin because of Jesus!

PAUL’S EXPERIENCES: he was the boldest preacher because of his real experiences with God. He needed to experience the extremes to be as bold as he was. This is the reason why his preaching have content that brings life. And God did it through him. How about you? How  are your experiences affecting your purpose in spreading the Gospel?

©lanilaneocbina, http://everydaywithchibi.blogspot.com/2015/09/painful-reminders.html (PH: Jesus our Discipler Church, Oct.1,2015).