- Amen, all right, well great to be here tonight.
Thank you, Pastor Shelley, as always,
for the opportunity to preach,
and thank you all for coming.
And I'm glad to hear you all recovered
from what I now call the Red Hot Rona variant.
Everyone wants to name these variants.
It should be called the Red Hot Rona variant.
And every time you go, just realize it's gonna happen,
but it's worth it every time.
If you haven't made it down to Red Hot,
you gotta make it down.
So we are here in Romans chapter two.
I like to do a Bible study tonight
through Romans chapter number two.
You know, we heard a lot about Romans chapter one
in the month of June, so I think we have that chapter
nailed down as a church family here pretty well.
So we're gonna go ahead and go
into Romans chapter number two.
Now, if we recap really quickly
what Romans chapter one talks about.
And in Romans chapter one, Paul,
he's praising the saints that are in Rome.
He's praising the fact that their faith is spoken up
throughout the whole world.
He's letting him know that he's praying for them,
that he wants to come see them
and impart some spiritual gift to them.
He talks about the power of the gospel in Romans chapter one
and talks about how he's prepared himself
and he's ready to preach the gospel
to all those that are at Rome,
to everyone that's at Rome,
to the Jews, to the barbarians, to the Greek, to everyone.
He's made himself a servant to all.
And then he ends with obviously the strong condemnation
against the reprobates in Romans chapter one.
And people who don't like the reprobate doctrine
come to Romans chapter two and they go to verse one
to try to discount what Paul had just taught
in Romans chapter one.
Let's go ahead and read that in Romans chapter two,
verse one.
It says, "Therefore, thou art inexcusable, O man,
"whosoever thou art that judgest.
"For wherein thou judgest another,
"thou condemnest thyself.
"For thou that judgest doest the same things."
And so people will come here and say,
see, you know, you shouldn't judge the reprobates,
you shouldn't judge the sodomites,
you shouldn't judge anyone that Paul was just condemning
in Romans chapter one because we shouldn't judge,
according to Romans chapter two verse one,
is what they'll say.
But that's not what this verse is teaching.
Really, you can look at this verse in two ways,
and I think the primary way, the best way to look at this,
is that this verse is condemning hypocritical judgment,
which, throughout the Bible,
that's the type of judgment that is condemned.
It's hypocritical judgment that is condemned.
You know, Jesus said, "Judge not according to the appearance,
"but judge righteous judgment."
We are supposed to judge,
and, of course, if someone is judging someone,
they're condemning their self
if they're guilty of those exact things
that they're condemning other people of.
It's like if you wanted to judge your brother in Christ
for being late to church, but you always are late to work.
You know, it's like you're condemning yourself.
You know, you're guilty of the same things.
It's like you don't judge your brother
for having bad breath when you have bad breath.
Whatever, it's a stupid example.
But you get the idea.
Judgment, in a hypocritical way,
is always condemned in the Bible.
And someone who does this,
you're actually just condemning yourself,
is what the Bible says.
It's a very foolish thing to do.
But keep your place in Romans 2 throughout this sermon.
But go to Matthew chapter number seven.
Matthew chapter number seven.
Like I said, the most important way to interpret this verse
is that it's condemning hypocritical judgment.
People in Romans chapter two,
he's condemning those that are judging,
who he just judged,
that are guilty of the same exact things.
Look at Matthew chapter number seven, verse one.
Jesus says, "Judge not."
And see, that's where most churches stop reading,
right there.
They don't wanna hear anything else
that the chapter has to say.
It says, "Judge not."
That's what the haters online love to comment
on all of our sermons, "Judge not."
But there's actually more to Matthew chapter seven
than just those two words.
Let's keep reading.
"That ye be not judged for,
because with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged."
So Jesus says, "The same way that you judge someone else
is the same way that they're gonna judge you."
Okay, so if you're willing to stand up to that,
then at least realize that you're gonna be judged
the same way that you judge other people.
With what measure ye meet,
it shall be measured to you again.
"And why beholdest thou the moat
that is in thy brother's eye,
but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye."
So Jesus isn't saying,
hey, don't judge under any circumstances whatsoever.
He's saying, make sure that you realize
that when you judge, you're gonna be judged.
With the same measure that you measure,
it's gonna be measured to you again.
And don't, when you have this giant plank
with this giant log in your eye,
don't be so worried about the moat that is in your brother's eye,
the little speck of dust that is in your brother's eye.
Look what he says in verse number four.
"For how wilt thou say to thy brother,
'Let me pull out the moat out of thine eye,
and behold, a beam is in thine own eye.'
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye,
and then shalt thou see clearly
to cast the moat out of thy brother's eye."
See, Jesus doesn't say, hey, leave the log in your eye
and leave the moat in his eye and just go on your happy way.
Just come as you are, leave as you came.
No, he says, make sure you fix up that log in your eye.
Then you can see clearly to help your brother
with the moat that is in his eye.
So when you're judging someone, you have to self-assess,
is this something that I am guilty of?
Or am I guilty on the same level,
maybe of a sin that's very similar to this?
Like I said, you know, someone shows up late to church
and you judge them for that, but you show up late to work.
You know what I mean?
It doesn't necessarily have to be the exact same thing,
but you know, is it a speck or is it a log?
Think about the level of sin that you're involved in
and don't judge someone if you're doing the exact same things.
So Romans chapter number two,
and here's another way that I think
that can help us understand this verse
and why he's bringing this up,
is I believe that the context of Romans chapter two,
overall as a chapter, is the rebuke of the Jews.
That is what I think Romans chapter two
is the key part to understanding this chapter,
is because in Romans chapter one,
remember how he said that he writes
to all that are in Rome, okay?
And so this is a mixed audience
that he's talking to throughout the book of Romans.
And I believe that Romans chapter two specifically
is more geared towards the Jews.
Look at verse number 17 real quickly
of Romans chapter number two.
Listen to the wording here.
Behold, thou art called a Jew.
Thou art called a Jew.
So he's saying you, you are called a Jew.
Go to verse number 24 really quickly.
Says for the name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles through you.
You see how he's separating his.
He's like the Gentiles over here,
they're blaspheming God through you, the Jews, right?
Now, whether or not the Jews were, you know,
physically reading this or not, I don't know.
Because sometimes a preacher will be preaching
against a group and say, you, you know,
wicked Pentecostals, you, you, you.
And they'll use that terminology
and they're not necessarily like speaking
to Pentecostals in the room.
You know what I mean?
But I definitely think that Paul is addressing the Jews
in Romans chapter number two.
And that's important because the Jews
are very hypocritical.
They are often guilty of things very grievous,
but they make exceptions for themselves.
Like, you know, it's okay to lie to a goyim
or something like that is one of the things that Jews teach.
And so when they teach that, they're inexcusable
when they're judging people that are doing the same things
that they themselves are doing.
Look at verse number two.
It says, but we are sure that the judgment of God
is according to truth against them,
which commit such things.
So he's establishing the judgment
that he pronounced in Romans chapter one.
He's not saying, oh, don't judge anyone
that I was just condemning.
There's no reason to judge ever.
No, he's like, the judgment of God
is according to truth against them which commit such things.
He's establishing the judgment
that he laid down in Romans chapter one.
Look at verse number three.
He says, "And thinkest thou this, O man,
"that judgest them which do such things,
"and doest the same,
"that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?"
He's saying, do you really think
that there's something special about you,
that there's something different about you,
to where you can be doing the exact same things,
but you will somehow escape the judgment of God?
No, it doesn't work like that.
God is not a respecter of persons,
which we'll learn about later in this chapter,
but this is the attitude that the Jews have,
that they are special, chosen people,
that they kind of have their own set of rules.
They don't have to play by the same rules
as the rest of the world does,
but Paul is a person here who really loves the Jews.
He wants the Jews to be saved.
His heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
is that they'd be saved,
but he needs to tell them the truth here,
and whether it's the Jew or any unsaved person,
don't think that just because you think you're special
that you're gonna escape the judgment of God,
and you know, people are often very good
at identifying the sins in other people
and not in themselves.
You know, we go out soul winning,
we ask someone, are you 100% sure
that if you die today, you go to heaven,
and most people in Texas say yes,
and it's like, well, I haven't done anything that bad.
I'm a pretty good person, you know.
What are they doing?
They're thinking that they're gonna escape
the judgment of God,
even though if they really took an honest look at themselves,
they're guilty of the things
that they think are really bad too.
Everyone is a sinner.
Every single person has fallen short of the glory of God.
But people today, the Jews or just a lot of unsafe people,
they think that they're gonna escape the judgment of God
because they think there's something special about them,
something different about them.
I'll read for you John 3.36
while you turn to 1 Thessalonians 2.
John 3.36 says,
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,
"and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life,
"but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Every single person, whether they understand it or not,
whether they believe it or not,
if they are unsaved,
the Bible says that the wrath of God is abiding on them.
It's not all good.
You know, you try to hand someone an invite,
"Hey, you go to church anymore?"
"I'm good."
It's like, no, you're not.
You're on your way to hell.
No, and a lot of people don't know that.
And the Jews don't know that.
They think that they can judge people
that are doing the same things that they're doing
and that they're gonna escape the judgment of God.
But every single person is in this condition,
the unsaved, and including the Jews.
Look at 1 Thessalonians chapter number two, verse 14.
"For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God,
"which in Judea are in Christ Jesus.
"Ye have suffered like things of your own countrymen,
"even as they have of the Jews."
Now he's speaking of the Jews,
"who both killed the Lord Jesus in their own prophets,
"and have persecuted us, and they please not God,
"and are contrary to all men,
"forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles,
"that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always,
"for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."
So according to Paul,
the person who deeply cared for and loved the Jews,
he says that the wrath of God is upon these people.
And so, Paul, the loving thing to do
when someone thinks that the wrath of God is not on them,
but it is, the loving thing to do
is to tell them about that,
is to rebuke them and to let them know,
hey, do you really think
that you're gonna escape the judgment of God?
You're judging these people
that are committing all these sins,
you're guilty of the same thing?
You think there's something different about you?
No, actually, the wrath is upon them to the uttermost,
is what Paul said.
They're contrary to all men.
You know, this is coming from someone
that loved the Jews very, very much.
And we have to think about this in ourselves.
Oftentimes, it's very easy to diagnose someone else's problem
in their life, someone else's sin.
Very easy to see when someone else is backslidden.
But oftentimes, we ourselves have a hard time
diagnosing our own problems.
And that's why we need the Bible to correct us,
to show us where we're wrong, and why we often
need a preacher like Paul to come
and to tell us where we're wrong.
Tell us, hey, do you really think
that you're going to escape the judgment of God?
Here's what you're really like.
And that's what he's going to do later on in this chapter.
Go to Romans chapter number two, verse four,
Romans two, verse four, where he says, he says,
"Or despiseth thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance
and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance?"
He's saying, do you really think
that you're going to escape the judgment of God?
Are you really despising the riches of his goodness
and his forbearance and his longsuffering?
And oftentimes, when things are good in people's lives,
they often think that the wrath of God is not abiding on them.
This world that's unsaved, if God has blessed them
with a wife, if God has blessed them with kids,
if God has blessed them with a good job and a good car
and a good house and all these things,
it couldn't possibly cross their mind
that God's wrath could be abiding on them.
And the thing is, the Jews were blessed greatly by God.
The oracles of God were committed unto them first.
God gave them lots of physical blessing as well.
And the thing is, instead of taking the goodness,
the forbearance, the long-suffering,
the riches of God's goodness, and the goodness of God
leading them to repentance, leading them to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, instead, what did they do?
They despised it.
And that's what Paul's calling them out on.
He's like, are you despising the riches of his goodness?
His long-suffering and his forbearance?
And even in our own lives, you know,
everyone in here is saved, hopefully.
But even saved people, God oftentimes has to send trials
and tribulations and hard times for us.
God often has to keep us down and keep us humble
because sometimes that's the only way
that we're gonna love him, that we're gonna serve him.
It should be that we should never despise God's riches
and goodness and long-suffering and forbearance.
We should never despise that stuff.
We should allow the goodness of God lead us to repentance.
We should allow, when God blesses us,
to that be enough for us to just love God
and wanna keep serving him.
But sadly, a lot of people, when things are good for them,
they do despise God's grace.
They do despise the riches that he gives them.
And that is the story of the Jews.
God constantly is just giving them grace, delivering them,
sending them prophets, sending them his only begotten son
to die on the cross for them, to be their savior,
to be their messiah.
And the goodness of God, did it lead them to repentance?
No, it did not.
Rather, they despised that repentance.
And it's the same thing for a lot of Christians today.
You know, you'll get saved, you know,
you let the goodness of God lead you to repentance
for salvation.
And of course, when I mean repentance,
I'm talking about changing your mind,
putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
not repenting of your sins for salvation.
But a lot of times, Christians then after salvation,
God will continue to bless them
and then they'll forsake serving God.
They'll pray for a car.
I've seen people pray for a car
so that they can come to church.
And then God gives them the car and they quit church.
I've seen people pray for a good job
and God gives them the job and then they quit church.
They quit soul winning.
That's just the nature of human beings.
You know, we ought to thank God for the good times
while we have them.
We ought to thank God for his riches and his blessings
when he gives it to us and not despise the riches
of God's goodness and not make him have to give us
a hard time to keep us in line because I mean,
God definitely ended up giving the Jews a hard time
and he's giving them a harder time in the future
in the end times for sure.
Romans chapter number two, actually I'll go to Psalm 73
and I'll read for you Matthew 5 45.
It says that you may be the children of your father
which is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise
on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain
on the just and on the unjust.
So whether you're saved or unsaved,
God often sends the rain on the just and on the unjust.
There's people that are unsaved that are living lives
that from the outward perspective you could say,
wow, this person's being blessed by God.
They have a great family, they have great health,
they have wealth, they have everything that they can need
'cause God sends the rain on the just and on the unjust.
But you know what the unjust should do
when God's raining on them?
They should let the goodness of God lead them to repentance.
God shouldn't have to rain up
and pour out wrath upon their lives
for them to come to Christ.
And he shouldn't have to do that for his people
either after they are saved.
Look at Psalm chapter number 73, verse one, it says,
"Truly God is good to Israel,
"even to such as are of a clean heart.
"But as for me, my feet were almost gone,
"my steps had well-knife slipped.
"For I was envious at the foolish
"when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
"But there are no bans in their death,
"but their strength is firm.
"They are not in trouble as other men,
"neither are they plagued like other men.
"Therefore, pride compass them about as a chain.
"Violence cover them as a garment.
"Their eyes stand out with fatness.
"They have more than heart can wish.
"They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression.
"They speak loftily.
"They set their mouth against the heavens
"and their tongue walketh through the earth.
"Therefore, as people return hither
"and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
"And they say, how doth God know?
"And is there knowledge in the most high?
"Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world.
"They increase in riches."
See, not only does God just send the rain on the just
and on the unjust, sometimes he sends it on the ungodly,
on the extremely wicked.
Sometimes extremely wicked people are just filled
with fatness, they have more than their heart could wish,
there's no bands in their death, they die long,
they die a peaceful death at old age.
But you can't confuse the fact that someone's life
looks good with whether or not the wrath of God
is on that person or not.
Because God sends it to the just and to the unjust
and to the wicked.
So no matter what situation you find yourself in,
you know, it should lead you to repentance.
It shouldn't have to be God's wrath.
It should be even God's goodness
that leads us to repentance.
Romans chapter number two, Romans chapter number two,
let's look at verse number five.
It says, "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart,
"treasurer's up done to thyself wrath
"against the day of wrath and revelation
"of the righteous judgment of God."
See, throughout the Bible, the Jews are called
a people that have a stubborn heart, a hard heart,
an impotent heart, and what's happening
because of this hard heart, they're treasuring up
unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath.
The longer someone is on this earth,
the longer that they reject the gospel,
the longer that they reject all the blessings
that God's giving them, they are treasuring up wrath
unto themselves, and that's why we have to have
a heart for people, and that's why one of the biggest
ministries that Pure Words Baptist Church has
is soul-winning, because this world, Jew or Gentile-like,
that are unsaved, they are treasuring up wrath
against themselves unto the day of wrath,
and that is a terrible thought, and if you love people,
you ought to want to deliver them.
If you love people, you ought to want to tell them
that they're in that position like Paul's doing here.
He's telling them the uncensored truth.
Look at verse number six.
It says, "Who will render to every man
"according to his deeds, to them who by patient continuance
"in well-doing, seek for glory and honor
"and immortality, eternal life.
"But unto them that are contentious
"and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
"indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish
"upon every soul of man that doeth evil,
"of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.
"But glory, honor, and peace to every man
"that worketh good, to the Jew first,
"and also to the Gentile."
Look at verse six real quick.
It says, "Who will render to every man
"according to his deeds, every single person someday
"will be judged by their works."
Every single person, saved or unsaved.
Now for the saved, we're gonna be judged
by our works at the judgment seat of Christ.
Go to 1 Corinthians three and I'll read for you
2 Corinthians five, 10 it says,
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ
"that everyone may receive the things done in his body
"according to that he hath done,
"whether it be good or bad."
The Bible clearly says we must all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ.
You can't escape that.
You will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Look at verse 12 of 1 Corinthians three.
It says, "Now if any man build upon this foundation,
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble,
every man's work shall be made manifest.
For the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire.
And the fire shall try every man's work
of what sort it is.
Any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward.
Any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss,
but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."
So even though we're saved by our faith
and we're never gonna be judged by our works
in the aspect of whether or not we go to heaven or hell,
you still are gonna be judged by your work someday.
And God is gonna reveal the works
that you've done on this earth by fire.
And what remains the fire is that which has eternal value.
What remains the fire is that which actually mattered
in your life, things that are spiritual.
The times that you spent praying for someone,
the times that you went out soul winning,
the times that you went to church,
the times that you read the word of God,
the times that you taught your children the word of God,
the times that you helped out a brother in Christ,
the gold, the silver, and the precious stone,
that's what we should be striving to in our lives.
And in Romans 2, he says,
"To them who by patient continuance in well-doing
"seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life."
That's the type of person that we wanna be,
someone who has patience and continuance
in our works for God.
It reminds me of the word steadfast.
Being steadfast, someone who's patient
and is continuing in that good work,
that's exactly where we wanna be, and here's the thing,
it doesn't make sense to bury your head in the sand
and act like the judgment seat of Christ
isn't gonna happen someday,
and just bury your head in the sand
and not take a real look at your Christian walk
and ask yourself truly,
are my works the gold, silver, and precious stone,
or are my works that wood, hay, and stubble?
It makes no sense, ignorance is not bliss.
We should actually examine ourselves
and see if the works that we are doing
are going to abide that fire someday,
'cause whether or not you have any good works,
you yourself will be saved, even so as by fire,
but you know what, I wanna have more than just me in heaven.
I wanna have rewards in heaven for the things that I do,
but you know what, the unsaved also have a judgment
where they will be judged by their works.
Go to Revelation chapter number 20.
Revelation chapter number 20.
You see, a loving person would not ignore,
would not forbear to tell someone who's unsaved
about the coming judgment that they will face.
Revelation chapter number 20, verse number 11.
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
"from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away,
"and there was found no place for them.
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.
"And the books were opened, and another book was opened,
"which is the book of life.
"And the dead were judged out of those things
"which were written in the books according to their works."
Just like Romans chapter two said,
that every man will someday be judged by their deeds.
Us as the saved, we're judged by our deeds
at the judgment seat of Christ,
but someday God's gonna open the books,
which I believe one of those is the law of God.
And you know what?
They're gonna be judged according to their works.
And guess what?
Every single one of them is going to be found wanting.
Every single one of them has transgressed God's law
and will not stand at this judgment.
Look at verse 13, "And the sea gave up the dead,
which were in it, and death and hell
delivered up the dead, which were in them."
So everybody who's already been in hell
for thousands and thousands of years,
people that died in the sea,
they're gonna be resurrected again.
They're gonna be let out of hell for a short season
just to stand before Almighty God,
to be judged by their works.
And then in verse 14,
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire."
This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire.
That is the reality.
Whether people wanna admit that it's real or not,
whether Christians wanna pretend like it's real or not,
whether the unsaved wanna pretend like it's real or not,
every single person that is unsaved
someday will be judged by their works.
And when they are found
that they've transgressed God's law,
they will be cast into the lake of fire,
all of eternity.
And you know what, a lot of Christians
sadly have forgotten about this truth,
that everyone's gonna be judged someday
because it sure seems like not that many people
are going out and preaching the gospel anymore.
It sure seems like a whole lot of people
don't seem to really care that this whole world
is gonna be judged someday by God
and cast into the lake of fire.
You know, your unsaved family members,
your mother, your grandmother,
everyone's loved ones out in this world
will be judged by God someday.
And if they are not saved,
they will be cast into the lake of fire.
It's a sad, depressing thought, but you know what?
A loving person will acknowledge this truth.
A loving person will tell someone about this truth
and will warn someone about this truth.
That is why Paul is bringing it up.
That is why Paul's bringing it up.
You know what?
These unsaved Jews that he loves so much,
they will be judged by their works someday.
Let's go back to Romans chapter number two.
Romans chapter number two.
Actually, go to Romans chapter nine really quickly,
because I just wanna show you the love
that Paul had for his people in Romans chapter number nine.
Romans chapter number nine, look at verse one.
It says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not.
My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost
that I've great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
He's saying, look, I am so depressed.
I have this continual sorrow in my heart.
What is it?
For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ
for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh.
Paul loved his kinsmen of the flesh, the Jews, so much
that he's saying, I would wish myself
to go to hell for them.
He's saying, I would give up my salvation
for the Jews to be saved.
Romans chapter 10, he says, brethren, my heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.
And you know, Paul had a very godly and loving spirit
'cause a lot of times I've noticed that people wanna attack
the spirit of our churches and the spirit of the new IFB
and say that we don't have a sweet spirit,
we don't have a loving spirit.
But I just wanna remind you that the same Apostle Paul
that wrote Romans chapter one is the same Apostle Paul
that wrote Romans chapter two.
The same Apostle Paul that wrote Romans chapter nine.
The same Apostle Paul that wrote Romans chapter 10.
The same Paul that condemned the reprobates
that said that they can't be saved,
that said that there's no hope of salvation for them.
The same Paul that hated them,
also loved people that could be saved
and his life was about the gospel.
And so don't tell us, don't tell a soul winning church
that they don't have a sweet spirit,
that they don't have a good spirit
when they're out preaching the gospel.
There's nothing sweeter than that.
And guess what, you could still condemn the reprobates
and have a sweet spirit.
Why?
By loving the people of this world
and bringing them the gospel.
Now Paul's love was just unparalleled.
I know the realities of hell.
I've read the Bible
and I would not give up my salvation for anyone.
I'm not that loving of a person.
I'll be honest with you.
Hell is too terrible.
Hell is too absolutely just miserable of a punishment.
I wouldn't give it up for anyone.
I'm just being honest with you.
It's too much to bear.
But you know what Paul said?
That he'd be willing to give that up for his brethren,
his kinsmen, according to the flesh.
That's unbelievable when you think about that.
That's a loving person.
I wonder if people would have accused Paul
of having not a sweet spirit, of having a bad spirit.
We have the same spirit that the apostle Paul had.
I'll read for you Colossians 1.27.
It says, "To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory, whom we preach,
warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom
that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."
The love that Paul had that motivated him
to rebuke the Jews, to tell them the truth,
to tell the whole world that the judgment is coming.
Look, he says, "We warn every man."
And that's what we should do as a church.
That's what you should do as a soul winner personally,
is you should make it your life's mission.
Hey, if you can't win every man, at least warn every man.
At least get the blood off of your hands
and at least warn people of the judgment of God that is coming.
Not just for our nation, but for individuals.
For every single person, the judgment of God
that is coming for them.
Hey, warn every man that you can.
If you don't know how to go soul winning,
there's men in this church that can teach you.
There's ladies in this church that can teach you.
You don't have to have some special skill
to be a soul winner.
All you have to do is show up and be a silent partner
and learn the ropes and you can do it as long as you want.
You don't have to be a talker right away.
But hey, make it your life's mission to warn every man.
Have some love for your fellow mankind.
Look at verse 11 of Romans chapter two.
Romans chapter two.
So he's saying look, he's gonna render to every man
according to his deeds.
Now look what he says in verse 11.
For there is no respect of persons with God.
That is a very important verse.
Now what does it mean to be a respecter of persons?
It says someone who treats people differently
according to their rank, status, or importance.
So a respecter of persons is like someone
who judges, not justly.
If someone is a person of high status
and they do something really bad and they judge them
different than Joe Blow, who does the exact same thing,
that's someone who's a respecter of persons.
But here's the thing, God is not a respecter of persons.
Obviously, God loves the Jews.
God was very long-suffering to the Jews.
He sent them to prophets, rising up, early sending them.
Jesus said, "How often would I have gathered them together
as a hen gathereth her chickens?"
You know, God did everything possible for Israel.
He was long-suffering to them, but at the end
of the day, God is not a respecter of persons, period.
And every single person that does not believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of who you are,
regardless of what nation you are,
regardless if you're a preacher,
regardless of whatever, if you do not believe
on Jesus Christ, you will go to hell,
because God is not a respecter of persons.
Now, think about this.
Most people have this mentality.
When you go out and ask them,
are you 100% sure that you're going to heaven?
What are some of the answers you hear?
Well, my dad was a preacher.
Hey, I heard Jack Hiles preach in person.
I'm a deacon.
I've heard once people be like,
my grandma was a preacher.
And I'm like, that's horrible.
That's not going to get you into heaven, okay?
You know, it's just like, you know, I went to church.
I did this, I did that.
And they think that God is going to have respect for them
because there's something special about them.
They were a pastor.
They were a deacon.
They heard Jack Hiles preach in person.
Look, there's nothing special about you or me
that's going to get us to heaven.
There's one that was special, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who the Bible says was just and the justifier of them
which believeth in Jesus.
He's the one that was just, he's the one that was perfect,
and he's the one that justifies.
It's not you, it's not me.
It's not the Jews, it's not anyone.
Now Jesus actually talked about this mentality.
Go to Luke chapter number 13, Luke 13.
Luke chapter number 13 says in verse 23,
"Then said one unto him, 'Lord, are there few that be safe?
Are there few people that are going to heaven?'
And he said unto them, 'Strive to enter in
at the straight gate, for many I say unto you,
will seek to enter in and shall not be able.
When once the master of the house is risen up
and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without
and to knock at the door, saying,
Lord, Lord, open unto us.'
Now what is the reasons that they're going to give?
They're not saved, they're not in the kingdom of heaven.
What are their reasons that they give
of why they should be let in?
And he said, 'And he shall answer and say unto them,
I know you not once you are, then shall you begin to say,
ye have eaten, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence,
now as taught in our streets.'
Hey, Jesus, let us in.
Why should I let you in?
Well, we've eaten and drank in your presence.
I mean, that makes me special, right?
I had a meal around you.
I drank around you.
You've taught in our streets.
But he shall say, I tell you, I know ye not whence ye are.
Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
And sometimes I show this to people out soul winning,
and they'll say, oh, I'm 100% sure, I'm Baptist.
I do this, this, and that.
And I say, well, you know, Jesus talked about a lot
of people who were even around Jesus Christ,
who weren't even saved.
So I just like to check with people.
Because look, these people were around Jesus,
drinking and eating in his presence.
They're teaching in his streets and they're not saved.
Is God gonna be a respecter of persons?
Say, oh, you walked around with Jesus.
You touched the hem of his garment.
You're automatically going to heaven.
No, God is not a respecter of persons.
You either put all your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
and you're saved or you don't and you go to hell.
It doesn't matter who you are.
It doesn't matter if you're the president
of the United States.
It doesn't matter if you're the head of the United Nations.
It doesn't matter who you are.
If you do not believe in Jesus Christ,
you will go to hell.
I'll read for you 1 Timothy 1, 12.
It says, "And I thank Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry, who
was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious.
But I obtained mercy, because I did it
ignorantly in unbelief."
Now, here's the thing.
This swings both ways, this whole thing of God
not being a respecter of persons.
It doesn't matter how good you think you are.
It doesn't matter what your Baptist pedigree is.
If you haven't trusted in Christ, you're not saved.
Here's the flip side of that.
God is not a respecter of persons.
It doesn't matter how horrible of an upbringing you had,
how sinful you were in the past,
if you do put your faith in Jesus Christ, you're saved.
What was Paul?
He was before a blasphemer.
He was before a persecutor and injurious,
and not only did Paul get saved,
he ended up being one of the greatest Christians
of all time.
Why?
Because God's not a respecter of persons, that's why.
It does not matter.
God gave us free will,
and someone has to choose to be saved.
The kings of the earth,
the mighty men have to choose to be saved.
They have to choose to humble themselves.
They're not getting in just because they're a mighty man
on earth just because they're king or prince on earth.
And hey, the most lowly person, the most jacked up person,
the drunk, the fornicator, the adulterer,
if they choose to put their faith on Jesus Christ,
God's not a respecter of persons.
They can be saved too.
Not only that, they can choose,
they can have the free will to follow the word of God,
to love God, to obey his commandments,
to start doing what the Bible says,
and they can be used greatly by God,
regardless of their past, regardless of who they are.
Why?
Because God is not a respecter of persons.
Now, I wish that America would understand this today.
I wish they would understand
that God's not a respecter of persons,
because a lot of Americans
are absolute respecters of persons today,
especially the American left,
who see everything through the lens of race.
What is that?
It's being a respecter of persons.
God is not a respecter of persons.
God does not give a rip what the color of your skin is.
He does not give a rip what country you were born in.
He's not give a rip how much money you have in your wallet,
yet these are all things that people care about,
that people make judgments about.
You think about Caleb, he was a Kenazite,
yet he was one of the two spies
that actually made it into the promised land
and actually inherited the land.
Simon was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ,
who was a Canaanite.
You know, God can use people of other nations.
God doesn't care what nation you're born in,
but yet today in America,
people like President Joe Biden says,
"Hey, if you don't know whether or not you should vote
for me or Trump, then you're not black."
Basically saying like,
"Hey, here's how you have to think if you're a black person.
Let me tell you what you black people should be thinking.
Let me tell you how to think.
Oh, you have to be a leftist Democrat to be a black person.
Otherwise, you're not really a black person."
How is that not racist again?
How is that not being a respectful person
saying that by the color of your skin,
you should be voting for Joe Biden?
You know, I've seen people post videos lying
about our church at Steadfast saying that we teach
that black people can get to heaven
only if they're slaves in heaven.
This is the stupidity of the American left.
Just seeing everything through the eyes of race,
making up all these lies.
Look, we don't care about anyone's race, period.
We do not care.
Red, yellow, black, and white,
they all have the same soul.
And guess what?
All the ones that believe on Jesus Christ
are going to heaven
and all the ones that don't are going to hell.
God is not a respecter of persons
and I'll preach the gospel to anyone of any skin color,
of any nationality.
I mean, it's so funny.
People look at a guy like me
and just like sometimes will automatically accuse me
of being racist until they find out
that I learned a second language to preach the gospel.
And I'm not the only person that's done that.
There's been tons of people that have done that.
Pastor Shelley's done that.
Lots of men have done things like that.
But look, judge not according to the parents,
but judge righteous judgment.
Don't just look at someone and be like,
"Oh, they're white, they must be a racist."
You know, like we're just soul winning right now
and we're walking by and someone rolls down the window
and just starts screaming and cussing at us.
And look, it could be one of two things.
Either they hate Christians or they hate white people.
But I've had multiple experiences like that,
especially in Houston,
where black people won't even talk to me,
where I will try to give them a card
and they will just ignore me.
Why?
Because the media is doing a good job of dividing people
into making people respectors of persons.
That's why.
Looking at a white guy and saying,
"Oh, he must be racist."
No, actually, I'm trying to get you safe.
Actually, I'm trying to bring you into the family of God
where your color doesn't matter,
but the left is absolutely destroying people's minds today.
Proverbs 24, 23 says,
"These things also belong to the wise.
"It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment."
Martin Luther King said,
"I look to a day when people will not be judged
"by the color of their skin,
"but by the content of their character."
Now, Martin Luther King was a wicked person,
but I agree with this quote.
But here's the thing,
I wish the left would actually believe this quote.
I wish that they would actually judge people
by the content of their character
and not by the color of their skin.
You know, a lot of schools now
are teaching critical race theory,
basically just teaching that all white people are racist.
How is that judging people by the content of their character?
It's judging people by their color of their skin
is what it is.
But guess what?
Romans two taught us that God is not a respecter of persons.
Go back to Romans chapter two, Romans two.
In verse 12, it says,
"So God's not a respecter of persons.
"For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have
sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. For not the heroes of the law are just before God,
but the doers of the law shall be justified." It says, "For when the Gentiles, which have not
the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto
themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing
witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." He's saying if you
sin without law, you'll perish without law. If you sin in the law, you'll be judged by the law. And then
I like how he talks about when the Gentiles do the things that are written in the law, how it's a law
unto themselves, and that their conscience is bearing witness, and their thoughts are the meanwhile
accusing or else excusing one another. And just a side note here, the Bible teaches that God has
given everyone a conscience. Everyone naturally has a general sense of right and wrong instilled
in them. You know, you don't have to have a debate over whether murdering a baby is wrong. I mean,
you're a psychopath if you would even debate whether or not that that is right or wrong.
But that's why the Bible says that the fool has said in their heart there is no God. Some of the
stupidest people on this earth are atheists that reject objective morality. They say there's no
such thing as objective morality. There's no such thing as an absolute wrong or an absolute right.
But the Bible talks about how these people in their conscience, the law of God is written in
their conscience, that it's bearing witness in their thoughts, the meanwhile accusing or else
excusing one another. You know, you don't have to debate. Even if someone has never read a single
word of the Bible, if you were to ask them, "Is it wrong to murder a child? Is it wrong to rape
someone?" Yes, it's absolutely wrong. You don't have to be taught that kind of stuff. God instilled
that kind of stuff into us. And that was just a side note, but let's get to Romans chapter number,
or sorry, Romans 2.16. It says here, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus
Christ according to my gospel." Now that seems kind of like a random statement, but if you look,
verses 13 through 15 is one parenthetical statement. So verse 16 actually comes right after
what he was saying in verse 12. "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without
law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law in the day when God shall
judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." So look, if you want to be justified
by the law. If you want to try to be saved by the law, God's going to judge you by the
law. Or there's another way to be judged, which is by the gospel. And that's the way
that I want to be judged, because the gospel is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved." The law is a long list of "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not" that
I cannot live up to. And so people foolishly make the decision to believe in work salvation.
Well guess what? If you've sinned without law, you'll perish without law, you've sinned
in the law, you'll be judged by the law, or you can be judged by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
That's the way I want to be judged, because I can't make it on my own. Now look at verse
17. It says, "Behold, thou art called a Jew," that's why I say I believe that the target of
Romans chapter 2 is being spoken to the Jews, "and resteth in the law, and maketh thy boast of
God." So these people think that they're saved. They're resting in the law. They're trusting in
law to get them to heaven. They're making the boast of God. They're God's chosen people. They're
special. They're holy. They're the Pharisees. Look at verse 18. "And knowest his will,
and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law. And art confident
that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor
of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which has the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself. Thou that preachest a man
should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou
commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy
boast of the law? Through breaking the law dishonorous thou God? And this is in verse 24.
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you as it is written. So he's
basically rebuking the Jews here. He's saying look you guys think that you're spiritual leaders,
you guys think that you're all that in a bag of chips, but do you not even look at yourself and
how much of a hypocrite you are? Do you not even look at yourself and realize that you're guilty
of the exact things that you're preaching against? Do you not even realize that as you stand and are
so confident that you're a man of God that God is actually being blasphemed among the Gentiles
through you because of you? And so he's rebuking them very very sharply. Now we're going to come
back to this later and see what lessons we can learn from this, but let's finish out this chapter
here. Let's look at verse number 25. It says for circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law,
but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore,
if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted
for circumcision, and shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfill the law,
judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision does transgress the law. For he is not a Jew,
which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh,
but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart and the spirit,
and not of the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. So think about this rebuke he's
saying. He's saying, look, you guys think that you're all that, you think you're spiritual leaders,
you're blaspheming God's name, and in fact, you're not even saved. He's saying the Gentiles that are
fulfilling the law of God, even though they're the uncircumcision, they're actually going to judge
you. And he goes, in fact, you're not even a Jew. Let me explain to you what a real Jew is. It's
actually the people that have believed on Jesus Christ. It's actually the people who are not
circumcised physically, but their circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the
letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Now that is where this chapter ends. And of course,
the whole purpose of Romans chapter two is a rebuke to the Jews because the rest of the book
of Romans, he's going to lay down that doctrine of salvation by faith so hard, it's unbelievable.
But he has to first explain to them, you guys are jacked up. You guys are not saved. You guys are
hypocrites. God is actually being blasphemed because of you. You're not even saved and you're
not even a Jew, okay? Paul is just ripping these people to shreds. But where is it coming from?
It's coming from a place of love, is it not? It absolutely is. He wants these people saved.
But look, if you want someone saved, you have to tell them the truth, whether that truth is
ugly or not. Now, towards the end of this rebuke, he says that the Gentiles are going to be the
uncircumcision, which is by nature. If it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter and
circumcision does transgress the law. So how is it that the Gentiles are going to be judging the
Jews? Did they somehow keep the law? Did the Jews just fail at keeping the law? But the Gentiles,
the uncircumcision, they somehow figured out how to do it correctly. No, that's not why. Go to
Romans chapter number nine again. Here's how, at the end of Romans chapter nine, look at what it
says in verse 30. It says, "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after
righteousness." They weren't trying to keep the law. They weren't trying to say, you know, we have
to keep the law perfectly to get to heaven. They weren't even following after righteousness.
They have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. So even though
the Gentiles, they weren't seeking righteousness, they did attain and find righteousness, verse 31.
But Israel, the physical Jews, which followed after the law of righteousness, they were trying
to follow the law. They were saying that it was by works. They have not attained to the law of
righteousness. Wherefore? Why? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of
the law. They stumbled at that stumbling stone as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling
stone and rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." You know how you
fulfill the law by believing on Jesus Christ? The person that was perfect, the person that was just,
and the justifier of him which believeth on Jesus Christ. That is how you are justified. But look,
if you're seeking righteousness through the law, you're always going to fail. Why? Because if you
keep the whole law but offend in one point, you're guilty of all, James chapter 2 10 says. And so,
he has to tell the Jews this and explain to them why they're in such a jacked up situation. Now,
really quickly here, I know we've already gone over the whole chapter. Now that we're done with
the chapter, let's just apply a few things to our lives, get a few lessons from this chapter that
are having to do with other things. So, number one, the lesson that we can take from this chapter
is that we need to be aware of frauds. Be aware of spiritual frauds, spiritual phonies. Just because
someone is dressed up, all spiritual, just because someone calls themselves rabbi, just because
someone calls themselves a preacher or a pastor, just because someone makes their boast of God
and rests in the law and approves the things that are more excellent, they think that they're a guide
of the blind, that they're a teacher of the foolish, that they're all these things, that doesn't make
them legit. They could think all those things about themselves all day long, but these Jews
weren't even saved, they weren't even step one, and so you have to beware of Frossey. Let's read
this portion of Romans chapter 2 again where it says in verse 17, it says, "Behold, thou art called
a Jew, you're called spiritual, and rest in the law, and make us thy boast of God, and knowest his will,
and approve us the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident,
they are really persuaded in themselves, that thou art, that thou thyself art a guide of the blind,
a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes,
which has the form of knowledge, and of the law. So look, these people were in spiritual leadership,
they were so confident that they were teachers of the law, that they were great
instructors, but yet they were nothing. Yet Paul is having to tell these people that they're not
even saved. And look, our country today is plagued by phony spiritual leaders. We even ran into a guy
today who was a member of Joel Osteen's church, a phony spiritual leader, a guy who's not even saved,
a guy who maybe he really thinks that he's an instructor of the foolish,
a teacher of babes, this is my Bible, I am what it says I am, I can do what it says I can do,
I am what it says I am in 2 Peter chapter 2 and in Jude. That's what you are, spiritual frauds.
Just because someone calls themselves a man of God does not make it so. And what to God that we
would get back to reading our Bibles for ourselves and as a nation actually being able to judge and
discern when someone is a false prophet or when someone is a fraud. And today we have a whole
movement of house church movements where people who are unqualified, where people have no leadership,
no pastor over them, they just get together with a bunch of friends and they say, "Well,
I think the Bible says this. What do you think it means, Bill? Well, I think it means this and the
new King James. What about you, Bob? Well, I have the message Bible and it says this." Look,
that is a fraud. And obviously that's an extreme example, but honestly it's not that much different
in the new evangelical churches. It's not that much different in the fun-centered churches either.
You have women teaching Sunday school in a lot of churches. People that the Bible says should not
be teaching in church. I'll read for you 1 Timothy 1.5. It says, "Now the end of the commandment is
charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, from which
some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jingling, desiring to be teachers of the law,
understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm." Now, isn't that like these Jews in
Romans chapter 2? They are just so confident that they're teachers of the law. They desire to be
teachers of the law, but they have no clue what they're saying. Why? Because they don't even
understand salvation. And for the life of me, I don't understand why a Christian would ever look
up to a person who's a preacher or pastor who is wrong on salvation and want to hear anything from
them. You're like, "Oh, well, yeah, I know he's wrong on salvation, but have you heard where he
stands on COVID?" It's like, "No, I don't care." It's like he's a false prophet. He's a hardcore,
hyper-dispensationalist, rukminite. It's like he desires to be a teacher of the law,
but he doesn't even understand what he's saying or whereof he affirms. No, we need to depart from
people like that and rather not follow a bunch of people that are so prideful that they can't just
be trained properly or they can't just put themselves under a man of God who is trained
and qualified properly. One of the qualifications of a pastor is not a novice, lest he being lifted
up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. You know, what more of a prideful thing
to stand up with the sacred word of God and call yourself a preacher or a minister when you don't
even understand it, when you're not even saved. It's absolute hypocrisy. We need to get back to
reading our Bibles to be able to see these kind of things. I'll read for you 1 Timothy or 2 Timothy
2.15. It says, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase
unto more ungodliness." These preachers that are just preaching vain babblings, just this profane
and vain babbling, the Bible says it increases more ungodliness. And you can see that in our
nation. With the increase of bozo preachers and with the increase of false prophets, you see an
increase of ungodliness in our nation. Why? Because no one has the wherewithal, no one knows how to
take the sword, the word of God, and preach it anymore. No one knows how to explain to the people
of this nation right from wrong anymore. And it's because people are not shunning the profane in vain
babblings. Verse 17, "And their word will eat as doth a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus,
who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow
the faith of some." So when you let these type of people preach, it increases more ungodliness,
and it overthrows people's faith. You know, I don't know the exact numbers off the top of my
head, but it seems like religion as a whole is on the decline in the United States. It is definitely
the independent fundamental baptist movement as a whole. Obviously, I believe God's blessing the
new IFB in our churches, and God can bless an individual church that's doing the right thing,
but just as a whole, you see our nation getting more ungodly, more people's faith being overthrown,
and why? It's like the people in Romans chapter two, that's why, that are causing the word of
God to be blasphemed through them. Number two, the other thing we can learn from Romans chapter two
really quickly is that it's very important to guard your testimony. It's very important to guard
your testimony. The Bible talks about how these people that were preaching don't steal, they're
preaching, don't commit adultery, they are saying that they have whore idols but they're committing
sacrilege, they're doing all these things. It was causing people to blaspheme God through them and
obviously, you know, we don't believe in lifestyle evangelism, we don't think people are going to get
saved by looking at your good life. We still should guard our testimonies and realize that our
testimonies, our lifestyle can have an influence over what God, what people think about God. You
got to think about, you know, are you causing your children to someday blaspheme God through you?
You don't want to be that hypocritical family that shows up to church one way, that acts one way at
church, and then at home is a completely different person. You don't want to be the preacher that's,
you know, saying don't steal while stealing, don't commit adultery while committing adultery,
and obviously every single person is a sinner. God uses imperfect men. Every single person is
a hypocrite at some point of their life to some extent, but we have to take this very seriously
because it's God's name at stake when we allow ourselves to be hypocrites. I'll read for you.
Second Samuel 12, 14 says, "How be it by this deed, when David committed adultery and had Uriah the
Hittite murdered, Nathan the prophet says, 'Thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the
Lord to blaspheme. The child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.'" Now, no one would
say that King David was a bad guy. He was the man after God's own heart. He was a great man of God,
yet he committed very wicked sins of adultery and murder. And what ended up happening as a result of
that? He's given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. People now are looking at
David and saying, "Well, if that's the God of David, what do I want to do with that? What do
I want to do with the God that causes a man to steal a man's wife and then murder him?" Right?
And that's a wrong attitude to have, but it is the attitude people will have whether you like it or
not. And so we have to be very careful to guard our testimonies. On Ecclesiastes chapter number 10,
go to Ecclesiastes chapter number 10, it says in verse 1, "Dead flies cause the ointment of the
apothecary to send forth a stinking savor so that the little folly him that is in reputation for
wisdom and honor." You know, if you've been a Christian for a long time, if you've been walking
and growing in the Lord, and you've gotten a lot of sin out of your life, people look up to you as
a spiritual person, and you never know who might be looking up to you. There's lots of kids in this
church, lots of people that you reach out soul winning. The Bible says that when you're in
reputation of honor, when someone thinks of you and you have a good reputation, you have a good name,
and they even find out about a little folly, it's that it's like a dead fly in the ointment of the
apothecary. That dead fly just kind of ruins the whole thing, it makes the whole thing stink.
And look, that's not fair, we're all sinners, we all make mistakes, but just realize that you as
a Christian are going to be held to a higher standard by this world. You are an ambassador
of Christ, and I'm not just talking about preachers or pastors in the ministry, I'm saying you as an
ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ must guard your testimony to the best of your ability. And
yeah, we all mess up, and yeah, we're all sinners, but just realize fair or not, people will hold you
to a higher standard, and you need to take your testimony seriously. Why? So that the name of God
is not blasphemed. If that's not worth it in and of itself, I don't know what is. You know, to guard
the sacred, holy name of God so that it's not blasphemed through our actions. Lastly, in Romans
chapter 2, the last lesson, go to Romans chapter 2 verse 25, Romans chapter 2 verse 25, and that is
that faith plus works salvation is a damnable heresy. Faith plus works salvation is a damnable
heresy. Now that's something that hopefully every single person here knows and believes, but hey,
it's in the chapter. So let's look at it one more time. Verse 25, it says, "For circumcision
verily profiteth." You want to be justified by the law, Jews. It says, okay, your circumcision
verily profiteth you if thou keep the law. If you can do everything perfectly, if you can never
transgress the law, then yeah, go ahead and get circumcised and follow the law and you'll be fine.
But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. If you're
trusting, and obviously no one in here is trusting in their circumcision to get them to heaven,
and no one we really talk to out there is trusting in their circumcision to get them to heaven. But
look, whatever it is, you're trusting 99% in Jesus Christ and 1% in your works, then guess what? Your
circumcision is made uncircumcision. In fact, there's a verse that says something similar to
that. Galatians chapter 5, I'll read for you, verse 2, it says, "Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is
circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ has become of no effect unto you.
Whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace." Now Galatians 5,
4 is often a verse I use out soul winning, showing people, look, if you think you have to have faith
in any works, 1% works, 99% faith, then Christ has made no effect unto you whatsoever. Christ's blood
does not get applied to you when you're trusting in any of the works of the law. You must trust
100% in Jesus Christ. And of course throughout Romans chapter 3 and Romans 4, Romans 5, and all
throughout the book of Romans, that's what Paul's going to be focusing on. He lays down the doctrine
of salvation extremely hard in the book of Romans. But I just want to end it with this. Go to Romans
chapter 1. Romans chapter 1 says in verse 14, "I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians,
to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that
are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Now obviously we
focus more on the Jews tonight and Paul rebukes the Jews very harshly in this chapter. But look,
we have to consider ourselves the same way, debtors to the Greeks and to the Jews, and realize that
both Jews and Gentiles alike, most of them in this world are unsafe. Most of them in this world are
going to hell. They're on their way to hell. And look, we need to be like Paul, where as much as
in us is, we're ready to preach the gospel to them also. We need to make ourselves servants
to the barbarians, to the Jews, to the Greeks. We need to love people. And how do we love people?
Well, we tell them the truth, like Paul told them about what a messed up situation they're in. And
tell them, look, you are a sinner. You are deserving of going to hell. And look, so am I. And look,
there's a way to get out of that. It's not by the works of the law. It's not by circumcision. It's
not by going to church. It's not by helping old ladies cross the street. It's by trusting in
Christ. It's by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and receiving the free gift of eternal life.
Look, if we love people who want to be like Paul, hey, tell people the truth of what situation
they're in, but be ready to preach them the gospel also. Let's have a word of prayer.
Lord, thank you so much for this day and thank you for your word. Thank you so much for the
book of Romans. So much great truth and doctrine in it. I pray that you'd help every single person
in here to always read their Bibles and treasure your word. Help us all to grow and become better
Christians and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.