SERMON: LEVELING THE FIELD

Romans 2:1-5 | Twin City Bible Church | twincitybible.org/media/sermons/

God is Impartial

• Matthew 3:7-9 – John the Baptist rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees, calling them a “brood of vipers.”
• They should not presume security in their heritage as Abraham’s descendants because God can raise up children from stones.
• Matthew 21:31-32 – Jesus declares that tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before the religious leaders.
• They rejected John’s call to righteousness, while the sinners believed.

Three Sins the Moralist is Guilty of:

I. Hypocrisy

• Romans 2:1 – No one has an excuse; those who judge others condemn themselves by practicing the same things.
• Matthew 7:1-5 – Jesus warns against judging others while being blind to one’s own faults.
• The hypocrisy of pointing out a speck in another’s eye while ignoring the log in one’s own.
• Romans 2:2 – God’s judgment is righteous and falls on those who practice hypocrisy.
• Deuteronomy 32:4 – God is just, faithful, and without injustice.
• Psalm 96:13 – The Lord will judge the world in righteousness.

II. Presumption

• Romans 2:3 – Those who pass judgment on others while committing the same sins will not escape God’s judgment.
• Romans 2:4 – Do not take lightly the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience.
• Kindness = Goodness (Ephesians 2:7)
• Tolerance = Restraint
• Patience = Long-tempered (Exodus 34:6)
• Numbers 14:18 – God is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, but He will not clear the guilty.
• The kindness of God is meant to lead to repentance (Romans 2:4).
• Psalm 25:7 – God’s kindness remembers His people.
• Psalm 34:8 – "Taste and see that the Lord is good."
• Joel 2:13 – Return to the Lord; He is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love.
• Mark 1:15 – "Repent and believe in the gospel."
• Luke 5:32 – Jesus calls sinners, not the righteous, to repentance.
• Jeremiah 3:12 – The Lord invites faithless Israel to return, for He is gracious.
• Hosea 6:1 – Return to the Lord; He may discipline, but He will heal.

III. Obstinacy

• Romans 2:5 – Stubbornness and an unrepentant heart store up wrath for the day of God’s righteous judgment.
• "Stubbornness" = sklerotes (hardness).
• Deuteronomy 10:16 – "Circumcise your heart and stiffen your neck no longer."
• Jeremiah 4:4 – Remove the foreskins of your heart.
• Zephaniah 1:15 – The coming day of the Lord is a day of wrath, trouble, distress, destruction, and darkness.
• Revelation 6:17 – "The great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

Concluding Thoughts

1. Be on guard against hypocrisy and presumption.
• Daniel Doriani: “We condemn sins like cursing, murder, and theft while committing them in different forms (harsh words, unkindness, envy).”
2. Think rightly about repentance.
3. Do not allow stubbornness to linger.