Paul sounds a sober warning. God’s wrath is here; it is not some far-off future event. Paul says that God’s wrath is already at work in the world in what is effectively God’s “hands-off” policy. God, he says, steps aside and gives us over to idolatry, sexual sins, and depraved minds. Human sin and depravity are both its cause and effect. You see, we are not only punished for our sins, but we are punished by our sins. If God’s salvation consists essentially of His presence with us, then His wrath consists of His absence or separation from us. The bad news is this: God’s wrath is real. Without the good news of Jesus, no hope exists.
2:1 So you can see there are no excuses for any of us. If your eyes shift their focus from yourselves to others—to judge how they are doing—you have already condemned yourselves! You don’t realize that you are pointing your fingers at others for the exact things you do as well. 2 There’s no doubt that the judgment of God will justly fall upon hypocrites who practice such things. 3 Here’s what is happening: you attack and criticize others and then turn around to commit the same offenses yourselves! Do you think you will somehow dodge God’s judgment? 4 Do you take the kindness of God for granted? Do you see His patience and tolerance as signs that He is a pushover when it comes to sin? *How could you not know that His kindness is guiding our hearts to turn away from distractions and habitual sin to walk a new path?[a]
5 But because your heart is obstinate and shameless, you’re storing up wrath that will count against you. On the day of His choosing, God’s wrath and judgment will be unleashed to make things right. 6 As it goes, everyone will receive what his actions in life have cultivated. 7 Whoever has labored diligently and patiently to do what is right—seeking glory, honor, and immortality—God will grant him endless joy in life eternal. 8 But selfish individuals who make trouble, resist the truth, or sell out to wickedness will meet a very different fate—they will find fury and indignation as the fruit of living in the wrong. 9 Suffering and pain await everyone whose life is marked by evil living (first for the Jew, and next for the non-Jew). 10 But if you do what is right, you will receive glory, admiration, and peace (again, first for the Jew, then for the non-Jew). 11 God has no favorites.
12 If one lives life without knowledge of the law—the teachings of the Torah—he will sin and die apart from the law. If someone else lives life under the law, his sin will be judged by what the law teaches. 13 Here’s my point: just because a person hears the law read or recited does not mean he is right before the one True God; it is following the law that makes one right, not just hearing it. 14-15 For instance, some outsiders who are not required to follow the law often live quite naturally by its teachings. Even though the law wasn’t given to them, in themselves they have the law. Here’s the thing: their lives demonstrate that God has inscribed the law’s teachings on their hearts. On judgment day, their consciences will testify for them, and their thoughts will both accuse and defend them. 16 This good news given to me declares that this affirmation and accusation will take place on that day when God, through Jesus, the Anointed One, judges every person’s life secrets.
INSPIRATION
I’ve wondered, at times, what kind of man this Judas was. What he looked like, how he acted, who his friends were. . . . But for all the things we don’t know about Judas, there is one thing we know for sure: he had no relationship with the Master. He had seen Jesus, but he did not know him. He had heard Jesus, but he did not understand him. He had religion, but no relationship. As Satan worked his way around the table in the Upper Room, he needed a special kind of man to betray our Lord. He needed a man who had seen Jesus, but did not know him. He needed a man who knew the actions of Jesus, but had missed out on the mission of Jesus. Judas was this man. He knew the empire but had never known the Man. We learn this timeless lesson from the betrayer. Satan’s best tools of destruction are not from outside the church, they are from within the church. A church will never die from the immorality in Hollywood or the corruption in Washington. But it will die from corrosion within—from those who bear the name of Jesus but have never met him, and from those who have religion, but no relationship. Judas bore the cloak of religion, but he never knew the heart of Christ. Let’s make it our goal to know him . . . deeply. (From Shaped by God by Max Lucado.)
REACTION
7. What similarities do you see between Judas and the people Paul addressed in this letter? [Your Response Here]
8. How does Paul explain the difference between being religious and being right with God? [Your Response Here]
9. How would you define hypocrisy? Why do you think it is so harmful to the church? [Your Response Here]
10. What are some examples of spiritual corrosion that you see in the church today? [Your Response Here]
11. In what subtle ways does Satan try to corrode your relationship with Christ? [Your Response Here]
12. How can you guard against Satan’s attacks? [Your Response Here]
LIFE LESSONS
One relentless temptation we can expect to encounter involves our tendency to compare ourselves with others. This type of judging has only one purpose: to make ourselves feel better, superior, and spiritually safe. The Bible consistently points out the dangers and sin of such comparisons.
In Romans 2:1–16, Paul shows that comparisons simply deny the truth that we all stand before a holy God as fallen creatures in desperate need of his mercy. When we forget to include ourselves in that picture, we can’t see others clearly.
DEVOTION
Father, we have all taken wrong paths and made wrong choices. We know your law, yet we choose to ignore it. We strive to impress others with our knowledge of you when our hearts are far from you. Forgive us, Father. Guide us into a truer, deeper relationship with you.
JOURNALING
What can you do to deepen your relationship with Christ? How can you know him better? [Your Response Here]
FURTHER READING
To complete the book of Romans during this twelve-part study, read Romans 2:1–3:8. For more Bible passages on developing a relationship with Christ, read Matthew 12:50; John 1:12; 15:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 3:26; and Philippians 3:8.
