Trinity Presbyterian Church in New Martinsville WV is studying Romans in Sunday Worship. This post summarizes portions of the sermon from April 9, 2017. You can watch the entire sermon at the end of the post.
Here is an overview of Romans 2:
God shows no partiality. You (the first century Jew) think you are owed whatever it is that you think God had promised by virtue of the fact that you have the special sign (circumcision) and the special revelation (the Law). However, everyone will be judged by the exact same standard. And by that standard you are just as guilty as everyone else.
Here is the chapter summarized section by section:
- You (the first century Jew) are just as guilty as the people we were just talking about in Romans 1 (vv 1-5).
- God judges everyone by the same standard (vv 6-11).
- That standard is the Law (vv 12-16).
- Possessing the Law is about accountability not advantage (vv 17-24).
- Having the Law means nothing if your heart is not transformed (vv 25-29).
This chain of reasoning was directed at Jews (The "You" in Romans 2), as one part of a precise argument. The bottom line was that true religion is not merely external; true religion involves a transforming change within the soul. Salvation does not bring mere external conformity; it brings heart change. Like first century Jews, today's Christians need to examine whether their outward appearance of righteousness (~circumcision) and their privileged position of knowledge (~the Law) is providing a false sense of security.
To aid this self-examination, here are some descriptions of the unchanged heart found in Romans 2:
- A hypocritically judgmental heart. 1-2.
- A presumptuous heart. 4.
- A hard and impenitent heart. 5.
- A defensively secretive heart. 16.
- A condescending heart. 17-20.
- An ostentatious heart. 29.
Listen to the sermon:
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