The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching through the book of Romans. Please open your Bible to Romans chapter 2 verses 14 through 16.

Tony Clark: All right, let's dive into the word of God together. Turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 2 as we continue our verse by verse study of the book of Romans on Sunday mornings and as you know, we're in 1 Samuel on Wednesdays and just going through the word of God because we're committed to making God's word plain one verse at a time and here we are in the book of Romans in chapter 2 looking at verses 14 through 16 and Father, we do thank you for this tremendous honor and privilege that we can study your word.

Lord, I pray for your anointing to speak your word to the hearts of your people. I pray that you would give us ears to hear what the spirit of God is going to say to us today in Jesus' name. Amen. Romans 2 looking at verses 14 through 16 and the title of this message is the judgment of God. The judgment of God. Now the Bible is filled with examples of God's judgment against sin. We have seen his judgment upon the world through the universal flood in Genesis chapter 6 through 9. We have seen God's judgment raining down fire and brimstone upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sexual wickedness in Genesis chapter 19.

And we saw God's judgment upon the world through a great famine in Genesis chapters 41 through 47. All of this is just in the first book of the Bible. So God's judgment is throughout the scriptures. Now by way of background, Paul in chapter 2 is describing to the believers in Rome how he judges because some of them were wondering how God will judge those who have never heard the gospel message. He told them in verse 11 that God doesn't show personal favoritism or partiality. And those who were given the law of Moses, the Jews will be judged by that.

And those who were not given the law of Moses will be judged by a different way according to verse 12. He told them in verse 13 it is not the hearers of the law that is just in the sight of God. In other words, there are many people who think that they're right and good with God because they come and hear the word of God taught. He said, no, it's not the ones who just hear hear of the word of God that are right in the sight of God, but those who are doers of the law that is right in the eyes of God.

And now we pick it up in verse 14. Look what it says there. For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law, these although not having the law are a law to themselves. So what is Paul saying? Well, number one, the Gentiles are the non-Jews. They were not given the law of Moses, the Ten Commandments at the base of Mount Sinai like the Jewish people were. However, it it is that the the Gentiles who were not given the Ten Commandments like the Jews were by nature do the things in the law by like verse 14 says.

How is that possible? How is it possible that the Jewish people receive at the base of Mount Sinai, God spoke down the Ten Commandments. How is it that the Gentile, though the non-Jews who were not given the law, how is it that by nature they do the things contained in the law? Somehow they knew that God wanted them to do something. They knew that God wanted them to do and how to live. How is that possible? Or they knew right from wrong. In other words, you don't have to be religious to know right from wrong.

There are people in remote places around the world who knows what is right and what is wrong. And Paul says at the end of this verse although not having the law are a law to themselves. How? We have already seen that God has revealed himself in two ways. Number one, through a person's conscious Romans 1 verse 19. We we went over that. And number two, through creation in Romans 1 in verse 20. As he already showed how God revealed himself through creation in Romans 1 in verses 20 to 23, now he will shed more light on how God reveals himself through our conscious.

So the way that the Gentiles who were not given the Ten Commandments by nature do those things in the law verse 15 shows us how. Look what it says there. Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscious also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them. The way that the Gentiles, the non-Jews who were not given the Ten Commandments were able by nature do the things in the law because the law was written in their hearts. Drum roll please. Their conscious also bearing witness and between themselves their thoughts accusing them or else excusing them.

Oh, let's go a little bit deeper than that. I mentioned in chapter 1 how the word conscious comes from two Latin words con that means with and science which means knowledge. So we do things with the knowledge that what we are doing is right or wrong. So the conscious is the judge that stands upon the courtroom of the mind accusing us or excusing us of the things we have said or done. And the standard that the conscious uses is the Ten Commandments. This is why natives in the jungles of Africa or South America that everyone loves to point to knows that it is not right to lie or to steal.

How? The Ten Commandments are written upon their hearts and when they violate or break one of them, the conscious accuses them and tells their minds that what they have said or done wasn't right. This is how atheists and agnostics have a standard of right and wrong in their lives because even though they don't believe in God or not sure whether there is a God, God's moral law, the Ten Commandments are written in their hearts. Now we talked about in Romans 1 how a person can ignore the convicting work of the conscious to the point where their conscious will be seared like a hot iron burning a piece of fabric when you leave it on too long.

1 Timothy 4 2 teaches. Now the Greek word for seared is and it means to brand. And you can see from the root of that word it it means to cauterize or to render here it is insensitive. In other words, we can ignore our conscious convicting us in a certain area to the point where we are rendered insensitive in that area of our lives meaning that we can lie and steal, use God's name in vain and other Ten Commandments to the point where it no longer bothers us to violate God's law in these areas. And this is a sad place to be in.

Now even though the English word uh conscious comes from two Latin words, the Greek word for conscious used in verse 15 is pseudodesis and it it literally means knowledge with or co-knowledge. Several synonyms are found throughout many ancient languages. They all have the basic meaning that there is a built-in sense of right and wrong that we all have that will activate a sense of guilt for our wrong actions. So our conscious will inform our minds or thoughts by either accusing us or excusing us. All of this will come to light. Look what it says in verse 16.

It says in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Now notice it says in the day when God will judge. Can we just stop and let that sink in? God will judge one day. That we we got to let that sink in. We so often we let that go in one ear and out the other. God who made the eye is not blind to what is going on. Nor is he deaf to the cries of those being mistreated, abused and taken advantage of. The perverts out there doing heinous things to children.

God won't let continue to just let that go. God is not going to wink wink or turn his head away from those things. God will judge. He will. I love what God told Moses. He said to go and tell my people something in Exodus 3 in verse 7. He said, you go tell my people I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their task masters for I know their sorrows or their pain. Oh, can I pause and encourage some of you here today? The same is true for you.

The Lord will say I've surely seen what you're dealing with in your marriage or on your job. He has heard your cries singles singles listen to me. He's heard your cries. You crying out of your loneliness and out of your hurt. He he hears you at night. He sees how you cry yourself to sleep. And God says he knows your sorrow, your pain that you're trying to endure. So not only will God judge the world in the next life, he will judge in this life as well. I I love it how uh uh uh thorough God's judgment will be.

He will judge. Notice this, the secrets of men. David understood this and this is why in that great Psalm 19 right around verse 12 David said, cleanse me from secret faults. He said even though I can hide these things from other people, oh, I can't hide them from you. The Bible says darkness and light are both alike to God. And here it is. He says, cleanse me from those things that no one else knows but you. Cleanse me from secret faults. This is why he is he says he's going to judge the secrets of men.

This is referring to the motives of men. This is so important because someone can do the right thing with the wrong motive. See we all we see is the outward of people, the outward actions of people. That's all we see. We don't know why they're doing it. God does. So this is talking about the motives or someone can do the right thing and it is done in secret and God sees it and rewards you openly for it like Matthew 6 6 says concerning prayer. This is why God says don't try to be some showboat when it comes to prayer.

Just like the religious leaders used to go on the corners. Lord, I thank you. And they on the corners, everybody walking by said, whoa, look look how spiritual he is. He just stopping right on the corner and praying and God said, I see that phony mess. And the reason why he wants to be looked at as being someone super spiritual. And God sees that kind of stuff. And God said, when you pray, go into your prayer closet, close the door and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. So don't try to be a showboat when it comes to praying.

See God not only sees what we're doing, but he sees why we're doing it. Are we doing something to be seen, to get patted on the back, for everyone to think well of us? These are the things God will judge because we can fool everyone with our outward actions, but we can't fool God because he is seeing the secrets of our hearts and why we're doing not only what we are doing, but why we are doing it. See a form of this judgment should take place every time we get together as a church. In 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 25 it says, and thus the secrets of his hearts are revealed and so fallen down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

All the context of these verses are concerning unbelievers whenever they come around believers at church. Once the preaching and teaching of God's word starts, the secrets of their hearts are revealed and they fall down in repentance and report that God is among you because there is no other way you could have known the thing these things unless God told you. They are the secrets of my heart. I can't tell you how many angry or very concerned husbands either after church or call the church during the week saying, did my wife tell you I was coming to church today?

And I normally answer and no sir. It was just God revealing the secrets of your heart. Or who told you to say those things? I remember I did a I did a funeral and and I just began to just stand up there and just speak into this family. I had no clue. I had a brother just, you know, said I do just got some drama going on. And every family has drama and it seems to always come out around funerals. So I began to speaking in their life. that family was so upset. They were so upset at me that during the week they called the church and and they were like and they had the the family members on speaker.

They said, who told you to say those things you said? I said, what are you talking about? You know about us fighting and what we're fighting about and this that and here. I said, that was God reading y'all's mail. That was during the time you've got mail. Yes, God was reading your mail. And and they were blown away. No, somebody had to tell you. Did my brother put you up there? No. I don't know your brother. And they just blown away. That's what happens. Who told you to say those things? God. The secrets of your heart was being revealed.

How many times do you have heard me say either now this is not in my notes or someone needs to hear this today. God is revealing the secrets of someone's heart through the teaching and preaching of God's word. So every time every time the word of God is going forth, I know when God has me go off script because I'm on the inside smiling saying the secrets of someone's heart is being revealed. And sure enough after church, man, there you go you all up in my house again. No, I was I was at home with my grandkids.

Oh, you in my house. But this is what happens. However, according to verse 16 there is coming an ultimate day when the secrets of everyone's heart will be revealed not by a man or church service, but by Jesus Christ himself. The Jews will be judged by the written law, the Ten Commandments given to them as a nation. And the Gentiles will be judged by the Ten Commandments written on their conscious. God will be just and fair in his judgment. We already saw how man will be without excuse when he stands before God in in Romans 1 in verse 20.

No one would be able to give God an excuse and say, well, see God see well what happened was. No one would be able to say this. No one would be able to say, well, God see I had a unfortunate upbringing. Or I was born in a foreign country where I I never heard or had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Or I was born in the hood and I didn't have a dad around and so I didn't have someone to guide me and I got into gang activity and drugs and all kind of stuff.

See you offering excuses. No man would be without excuse. No one will be able to say what happened was. No one. No one. Well, see God see I I grew up in an affluent area and then you know, our parents they were just you know, they didn't really believe in God. They just believe in hard work and stuff and the gospel. We didn't go to church and no one will be without excuse. No one. When they stand before God, God's judgment would be just and fair. Notice how Paul makes a bold statement at the end of verse 16.

He said that God's judgment, I want you to watch this, is going to be according to my gospel. Paul wasn't saying that he came up with the gospel. He was saying that the gospel Jesus Christ is something that he has personally embraced. He told them in in in in Romans 1 16 for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's Christ's gospel. It's not Paul's gospel. For it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek. It reminds me of what David said in Psalm 23 in verse 1.

The Lord is my shepherd. The possessive pronoun is used to show how David embraced the Lord as his shepherd for himself. So Paul picks up on this concept and said the gospel I am preaching to you and what Jesus will judge you by is my gospel. I accepted it. I embraced it. I preached it to you and you will be ultimately judged by it. This is what Paul is saying. I just wonder can you say as David did, the Lord is my shepherd. What or who is guiding your life today? David said God is shepherding.

He is shepherding my life. Can you say as Paul did that this gospel that you will be judged by one day is my gospel? Can you say I heard about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and I repented of my sin and I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. This gospel is mine. I've embraced it and I'm preaching it to you. The the possessive pronoun says a lot. Can you say that he's mine? He's my shepherd. He's my Lord. It is my gospel. Oh, I pray that you can say it before you leave here today because all of us will be judged.

But but when we don't know. We don't know around what corner death is. Folks are freaked out. You know, there's there's COVID. There's Delta variant. I don't know. It's just there's cancer. There it's just we all going unless the rapture, we all going to die something. So to it. Can we walk around it freaked out in fear and scared of the boogeyman, scared of our own shadow. What was that? That was my shadow. Oh. I was a little afraid. Stop. We got one day we got to we got to stop. One day we got to leave fear for faith.

One day. One day we have to. You heard me mention many times Elisha. Elisha was the prophet in the Old Testament who followed after Elijah. Elisha asked for a double portion of the spirit of God that was upon Elijah. And God did just that. If you would look at the miracles that Elijah performed, Elisha did twice the amount, double portion of the spirit. He did more miracles in the Bible than anyone else outside of Jesus. And then the Bible says, and Elisha got sick with the sickness by which he was going to die. We going to die something.

So do we go just scared of the boogeyman? We scared One day one day we got to embrace faith. One day. One day, dear people, one day we have to. I don't know who it is just just freaked out. You afraid of your shadow. I don't know who it is God is speaking to. One day we going to have to believe and take God at his word and we going to trust him. One day. And we call ourselves the people of God and we in we in fear. The Bible says the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Proverbs 28 1.

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We pray you've been blessed by God's word today and hope you'll tune in next time to hear the Word Made Plain.