Scripture Reference: Romans 2:1-16
Jesus Christ – Continued
Please review Romans 2:12-16 for background to this section.
Conscience is an important part of human nature, but it is not an absolutely trustworthy indicator of what is right. One’s conscience can be “good” (Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:5, 19; Hebrews 13:18) and “pure” (Acts 24:16; 1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3), but it can also be “evil or guilty” (Hebrews 10:22), “defiled or corrupted” (Titus 1:15), “weak” (1 Corinthians 8:7, 10, 12), and “seared” (1 Timothy 4:2). All people need to trust the Lord Jesus Christ so that “the blood of Christ” might “cleanse your [their] consciences” (Hebrews 9:14).
The Greek text of this verse begins with the phrase “in the day.” The certainty of divine judgment is emphasized by the words God will judge. The Agent of divine judgment is Jesus Christ (see John 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31). This judgment will deal with the secrets of men, or literally, the hidden things of men, and will reveal those things and prove God’s judgment right (compare 1 Corinthians 4:5). Paul’s gospel is not the standard of God’s judgment. The idea is that the righteous judgment of God is an essential ingredient of the gospel Paul preached and a reason for trusting Jesus’ finished redemption.
In this section we are studying, God is seen as the Creator-Sovereign of the universe conducting the moral government of His human creatures. God’s absolute standards are known. God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous impartially according to their works, which reveal their hearts. Since no human being, Jesus Christ excepted, can be declared justified or righteous by God on the basis of his own merit, every human is condemned by God. At this point in Paul’s argument the way a person can secure a righteous standing before God has not yet been presented by the Apostle. The emphasis of this study is on the justice of God’s judgment, leading to the conclusion that nobody on his own can be declared righteous by God.
As believers, we know that our redemption and justification is in Jesus Christ and Him alone. Again, remember what Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet before that grace is applied, we must realize and recognize that we are all condemned by God’s just judgment. Only through the Blood of Christ Jesus may we obtain, in the sight of God, justification and salvation, from condemnation. Jesus is the only way!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 