Romans 2:5-8 (NIV)
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 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.
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Well is there anything in these verses that is troubling to you? What about, "To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life."

What in the world is Paul saying in this verse? There are some who say "deeds not creeds." What they are saying is that for years people have honored a set of beliefs by saying them but those creeds had nothing to do with how those people lived. So a younger generation comes along and exclaims, "deeds not creeds." The problem is what informs the deeds that they would go off to do. It is not either or but both and. This verse is certainly emphasizing the truth that judgment is based on works for everyone. The disciple of Christ and the non-believer will all have to give an account of their lives. However salvation is based on faith not on works. The disciple of Christ will be at the bema seat of Christ where Jesus will examine our lives. Remember these verses.Revelation 22:15 (NIV)
15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Notice in the verses above that the word practice is used and then the words ,"...that those who live like this..." will not be getting judged for how they behaved as a disciple but they will be outside all together. Here is a thought the word Christian is only used in God's word 3 times. The word discple is used around 278 times. I will get the exact number, but the point is that the weight of Scripture is on the word disciple not Christian. Can you be a Christian and not a disciple? You all have a great weekend.

Romans 2:1-4 (NIV)
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, 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 man, 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, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

Who is Paul addressing here in this section? There is legitimate disagreement as to whom Paul was addressing in Romans 2:1-16. It would seem fair to see verse 17 of chapter 2 as the real point of this section. In verse 17 Paul does start addressing the Jews. The section reads better with the Jews in mind throughout the whole section. Let's say it is not the Jews that Paul is writing too, at least it is those who hold themselves up as moral people. They are moral enough in their own eyes to pass judgment. The point of these verses is to help anyone realize that truth is the basis for God's judgment. In verse 3 Paul says, "So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things..." this is something that God would never do for God is truth not just a direction to truth. People, we, have this proclivity to not see ourselves as we really are in God's sight. No one escapes the judgment of God, that is why the just will live by faith.

While we pass judgment and do the things we condemn, God is being kind to not cut us off at the knees. It does not matter if it is a person in the bush in New Guinea, a judge in New York, a minister in Montana, or whoever it is, God is always showing us mercy and that is to draw us to Him. For many it is a stamp of approval of their lifestyle. People rationalize that nothing bad has happened to them as yet, therefore they must be okay. Everyday that God does not strike this planet with His overwhelming wrath, we all should be on our knees thanking Him for His kindness, tolerance, and patience. It is a message that Paul will relate again to us when he reminds us not to keep on sinning because we have been saved by grace. We should be eternally grateful that God sent His Son instead of His judgment. Don't worry, be happy--yes if you know Jesus.

Romans 1:29-32 (NIV)
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

You should be a little taken back by the list of sins that Paul puts together. Paul places greed in between evil and depravity and then list gossip with slanderer and God-haters. One time I was preaching and I put my own list together as I was talking about dealing with sin in our lives. A man let me know that his sin should not be listed with the ones had I listed, since his wasn't really a sin like those sins. Never before then or after this incident has anyone been so honest to confront me about their being offended with such sin lists. All sin is sin, some sin brings more of a dire consequence, but all sin separates us form the fellowship of God.



In verse 32 we discover just how knowledgeable they really are with God's decree. They know it and then flaunt it. It is bad enough that they know it and disobey it, but they go around giving approval of those who practice such things. In the Message is said, "they hand out prizes for those who do such things." What can stop these things? It is the Gospel of God. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Do you believe it? Do you believe that the answer to the ills of mankind is the Gospel or is it the Gospel and something else? We need to really wrestle with this question? Your answer may surprise you. Your practice may surprise you more.

More thoughts on chapter one. In the NIV, we find verses 24 and 26 start with, "and God gave them over." Their resistance of God was so strong and resolute that God let them have their own way. Many times God is not punishing us in the since that the Lord picks up a stick and hits us over the head with it. Notice in verse 27 Paul says, "...they receive in themselves their due penalty for their perversion." Acts of disobedience will in and of themselves cause a person to reap of the flesh. What we sew is what we reap. The most dangerous position to be in for any human being is for God to give them over to their own desires.

We were made to glorify God. We were created for the Lord. The real order of things is for everything to be in it's proper relationship to God. We have ruined that order, hence the ministry of reconciliation. In Romans chapter one we see how far we have fallen. We see the need for the ministry of reconciliation. Thank God that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. It is only the power of the Gospel that can bring a person back to the original order of things with God as the center and not man. Man really wants to play God. Man wants to be the center of his universe and anyone else that will join in to worship him.

When people see a follower of Christ, what they should witness is a person returning to the original design of the universe. The world should observe a person who has God in the center of their lives and is serving with joy and love. Think about the opportunity we have with our unchurched friends to introduce them to sanity--the right order of things. When we here things like, "it's as if the world has gone crazy," we need to say it is crazy and it went crazy a long time ago. Many strive to make the crazy things seem as normal and to take the normal things like serving God through Christ as a crazy notion and worse yet, a poisonous one at that. Ladies and gentlemen we live in a crazy world and God wants us to introduce people to sanity. Let's go for it.

I was in an airport recently and of course I was in the book store. Two books are out right now that are anti-God and anti-Christian. One wants to blame Christianity for about every human ill out there and the other says that God has a problem because He does not explain suffering to us. So here we go again. These are old and warn out arguments against Christianity and yet they persist. Why? Read Romans chapter one and you will see. These arguments and others will be resurrected every generation and each generation has to look to God for the answer. The Scriptures tell us over and over again that God is not obliged to give us answers. We are obliged to give an answer to the Lord. We reverse the order of things because we think the world revolves around us. Surprise, surprise, surprise it does not revolve around us! I have friends and family who suffer and it is heart wrenching but there is a better place and God sent His Son into this world to suffer for us.

We fell and we fell hard--we chose the wrong path. Romans chapter one really puts it all on us. The Word of God gives us many answers to many of our questions and we, if we are honest don't like the answers. I have been there where I try to figure it out for myself and I find the answer in the Scriptures, but I don't like that answer. I want sight. I want touch. I want evidence on my own terms not on God's terms. I do not say any of this lightly, because I do have friends and family who suffer.

The point that will be driven home by Paul over and over again is that we are locked up to God's grace and to faith. No one has an edge above these two words. We all need God's grace and the faith to say yes to the Lord. What do you need to believe God for today? What is not there by sight that God is saying, "Believe Me."

How can a loving and merciful God get so mad? I like Stott's insight into God's wrath that it is not like us humans who tend to fly off the handle. God has not lost His temper. God is revealing His wrath against people who know better. They suppress the truth in wickedness. One thing I have really come to terms with is that God is not going to judge anyone that does not deserve it. Everyone is made in the image of God and they can see all that is around them. They are connecting the dots, but do not want to admit the "crisis of belief" that would incur if they went with what their heart was telling them. We know better and still go our own pitiful way--anyways. They knew God and would not give God the credit. We must be careful of the same thing except in a different vein. When we know God has spoken to us and is redirecting our lives we must not hold back from the Lord. We must give Him the glory and have faith that leads to proper action.

Remember reading the book of Romans over and over again is one of the goals. Make sure you are picking out some verses to memorize. God bless you all.

Paul was ready to preach the Gospel or as it can be translated eager to preach the Gospel to those who were in Rome(1:14). Why would he be eager to preach to those in the church? This letter is going to the church who are already believers. I have never heard a Gospel presentation that I have not been blessed by. The Gospel blesses those who already know it. Paul was going to use this church as an outpost to bless the unreached as well. Who were the unreached? Paul says that he is, "...under obligation to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, to the wise and the unwise." Many say that Rome was settled by Greeks. If you disagree with that historical note then when Alexander the Great took over much of the known world Rome was certainly part of that takeover. The Greek language was spread almost to the whole world as well as its culture. Paul is obligated to what many would say of the Greeks and that is the polished and refined as opposed to the Barbarians. The Barbarians literally meant someone who said, bar bar. Their language was ugly and inharmonious, unlike that of the Greek language that was fluid and beautiful. Paul said he was obligated to the wise and unwise. Paul was going to preach the cross to those who are educated and to the uneducated.

In verse sixteen everything comes together for this letter. All that has been said up to this point and afterwords has to do with verse 16. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes, to the Jew first and to the Greek. What can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can bring you and me into a right relationship with the God of the universe--the Gospel. What is the answer that everyone is looking for it is Jesus. People are looking at so many things to bring them the happiness they long for but people are looking to the wrong things. The point is that people are looking!!!! People are searching and they do not know where to look. We must along with Paul be eager and ready to preach the Gospel of Christ. Why? We are obligated like Paul because of the grace that has been extended to us and because the Gospel is the power unto salvation.