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Title: Comforting Ourselves To Death
Over the course of the last three weeks as we have been studying in Chapter One, we have come across four consequences that Paul outlines of God moving away from humans as the ultimate earthly punishment upon our lives.
The reason it is the ultimate punishment for God to withdraw from us is that without God, we would not come to God, it is simply not a choice that we are able to make if left to our own natures. (If you have some tension with that point, I only ask that you be patient with my preaching, for the deeper we get into Romans, the clearer this idea will become.)
So, if God withdrawals Himself from us, and that eliminates our opportunities to be at peace with Him, then the result is a perfect justice when we die. At judgement, those who are not at peace with God through His son, suffer the full wrath of his justice and indignation, which is eternal suffering in Hell.
Right now we are dealing with the Judgement of God, soon we will be dialoging about the result of that judgement, which is Hell. For those of you that want to put yourself in the proper mind set concerning Hell and God’s wrath, the most effective recommendation I have for you is to listen to this CD. (John C’s gift and the profound effect it had on you.)
But for now, we will be concerned with this judgement itself.
V1 “Therefore…” I have again and again re-iterated that an excellent exercise in scripture whenever we see a “therefore” is to look back into the text and see what it’s therefore.
To do this we need to review the four consequences of Chapter one:
1. 1:21 “…their foolish hearts were darkened.”
2. 1:24 “…God also gave them up to uncleanness.”
3. 1:26 “…God also gave them up to vile passions.”
4. 1:28 “…God gave them up to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”
One could look at Chapter two, verse one and say, “Now this is God’s fault. The only reason that humans ended up in this place is because God darkened their hearts and gave them up to uncleanness, passions, and their own debased minds.”
But why did God do these things?
V21 They knew God and refused to glorify him.
V23 They changed the Glory of God into an idol.
V25 They exchanged the Truth of God for a lie.
V26 They worshiped the creature rather than the creator.
V26-27 They burned in homosexual lust.
V29-32 They did these things which were not fitting, and rather than give glory to God, they encouraged others to join them in sin against God.
My point: Consider how Jonathan Edwards puts it in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: When someone is walking in a slippery place, the only thing they need to fall is their own weight. In other words, God never pushes us into sin, we push him away, and he recedes, leaving us to wallow in our own putrid waste. The lowest point of my life was not the life I led before becoming a believer. Oh no, on the contrary, the lowest I have ever been are the moments that I am wallowing in my own sin, fully aware that it is sin.
V1-3 (read)
Let’s just say this flatly. Nobody is innocent. You are not innocent of your sin because you are washed with the blood of Christ, you are forgiven of you sin, there is a huge difference. And Paul calls us to the floor on it. How many more pious Christian judges to we need in the church?
We talked about this two weeks ago when we discussed the contemporary issue of homosexuality. How many more men do we need in this church who will openly criticize the gay lifestyle and then go home, and in the secret darkness of their offices view pornography on the web?
How many more women do we need to rail against the school systems for “corrupting their youth with un-biblical ideas” all the while holding secret grudges and gossiping about others in their own church?
How many more children do we need to come to church out of service to their parents, only to disobey them the moment they are out of sight of their parents?
Nobody is innocent. All deserve Hell. Most get just that. Some receive mercy.
And I can’t say it any more clearly that Paul does here: WE are all guilty so nobody has the right to judge us! We are so arrogantly protected in our own minds. We have put together systems of thought that have allowed us, through tradition, through what our parents taught us, to become so comfortable, so sure of our salvation that all of you right now are saying, “I totally agree with what Pastor Ben is saying about judgement and Hell, but it doesn’t apply to me, I’m saved.”
Are you sure?
How do you know? Because you baptized? Because someone told you that you were? Because you said some prefabricated “sinners prayer?” We shouldn’t be so comfortable with our own salvation.
I hear people in this church talk about assurance of salvation like it’s a rewards card you get when you sign up for Christianity. Friends, that assurance should come through years of trial, and tears, and that assurance should never, ever mean we are comfortable. If nothing else, the question, “Why me Lord, and not my parents? Why me Lord and not my children? Why me Lord and not my spouse?” Should haunt us until the day we die. When Paul says “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” in Phillipians 2:12 he does so because he’s terrified for himself and his people, that they have grown so comfortable with it that we don’t even question it anymore. If you can read these words and not be concerned there is something horribly wrong with you.
There is, however, a comparison in this passage that does offer some optimism. It concerns the idea of Human Judgement (imperfect) with Godly Judgement (Perfect.)
(F 9/11 story)
And Finally…
If this war was unjust, then Bush and everyone who was involved will pay dearly, in this life or the next. I take my comfort in something that others who don’t share my beliefs cannot. That God is in charge of all things. And he is the only righteous judge, and everyone will be judged according to his perfection. War has always existed, and always will.
I like how Napoleon put it on his deathbed.
I die before my time and my body shall be given back to the earth and devoured by worms. What an abysmal gulf between my deep miseries and the eternal Kingdom of Christ. I marvel that whereas the ambitious dreams of myself and of Alexander and of Caesar should have vanished into thin air, a Judean peasant–Jesus–should be able to stretch his hand across the centuries, and control the destinies of men and nations.