“And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose, O man – you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself – that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” Romans 2:2-5
By condemning others according to a moral standard, we show that we’re aware of sin. Protest against the concept though we may, when we judge others and condemn them, we prove that God has written His truth upon our hearts and into the very fabric of life.
There are a few essential truths to consider from this passage.
First, all people engage in application of moral law. We will either judge biblically or in some man made fashion. To think rightly about our condition – that is, biblically – is to come to Christ due to the recognition of our own personal sin. The soul that obsesses about the sins of others is likely not engaged in their own battle to mortify sin. But we mustn’t miss that non-believers are, interestingly, very busy in their moral battles as well. The lie is that it’s Christians who are moral busybodies (which should never be the case, but we’ll get to that another day).
Take, for example, the recent controversy surrounding the comedian, Dave Chappelle, who made jokes at the expense of LGBTQ activists. One of his primary critics, a woman named Ashlee Marie Preston, it’s been uncovered, has in the past made a series of violent and racist tweets against Asians. This is the sort of thing that comes to mind when reading today’s passage. Even with our feeble and arbitrary moral standards, which are far lower than God’s righteous standard, we fall short.
Oh, and also, there’s never any grace when we judge. The gospel is meant to lead us to repentance. Talk of sin is meant to lead us to Christ. Human judgment is vicious. It tears down and that’s it. In Christ, the law is applied as a schoolmaster. The intent of Christian judgment is the glorification of Christ and the ultimate salvation of the sinner through grace. There is no grace in human systems.
Second, the Bible presents judgment as both a fact to be reckoned with and the great event of history. We’re uncomfortable with it because we’re embarrassed by God’s wrath. Why? Because we don’t seriously consider God’s holiness and we’re more afraid of the disapproval of men than God.
But God is holy and He will one day, on that great Day, judge all men. What a Christian is to think about this is simple, yet profound.
We should remember that we ourselves are sinners in dire need of grace. We should hate sin – both ours and all sin we see and experience in the world. But this will not and must not lead to depression because we know salvation in Christ. More than that, we know that all sin will be judged. We know that the person who sidesteps many of life’s most egregious sins, who tiptoes around them, who seems quite virtuous to the world, and yet doesn’t come to Christ, will face wrath and fury on the great Day of the Lord. There is no escape. The standard is perfect holiness or hell. None of us will stand before God justified by works.
To store up wrath is a frightful thing to consider but that’s literally what’s happening. Unrepentant sin is added and multiplied to a ledger of perfect knowledge by a God who knows the secrets of men. To experience the blessings of this life – of talents, wealth, leisure, family, friends, etc. – and not thank God for them is an abomination. To such a man or woman Jesus speaks in Luke 12:13-21. To such a person Ecclesiastes 12 is written. Repent and be saved for now is the time. This is the great day of grace. The guarantee of the truth of this subject is the fact that all men die and once they die, we will all stand before the judgment of Christ – either in grace, recognizing His Lordship, or insisting upon our own.
The wrath of God and Judgment Day also carry with them an important blessing in Christian life. Consider the psalmist when he admitted that his “steps had almost slipped” because of his envy of the arrogant. He saw the prosperity of the wicked and how pride and tyranny were their necklace. He noted how they mock and speak openly about oppression…indeed, they speak from on high, he says. They have, he reports, set themselves up as rulers against heaven and mock the thought that God knows anything about them at all. Oh, how he pours out his battered heart! He says, “surely in vain I have kept my heart pure…for I have been stricken all day long…”.
But, listen…watch! Then Asaph says, “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.”
Oh, how blessed is the mercy of God that He included this Psalm for us – us who struggle with the rising tide of sin we see all around, which threatens to sweep us away all while the mockers and scoffers ride upon those waves in apparent triumph. Praise be to God for Psalm 73!
“Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Surely You have set them in slippery places; You have cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O, Lord, when aroused, You will despise their image.” Psalm 73:17-20. God’s wrath was upon Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. In faith, the judgment and wrath we deserve was placed upon His innocent, sinless form. In faith, His perfect righteousness is placed upon us. In faith, the Judge comes to us, though wretched, fallen, self-debased rebels, and places upon us pure and white robes of holiness that were His and leads Him away for the punishment we deserve. Whipped, beaten, pierced, mocked…for you! For you. And instead, not this horror you deserve for standing defiant against the perfect and all-powerful God, though but a drifting pebble upon an ocean, you are now wrapped in divine love. In forgiveness. You are restored and your sins are thrown away to the winds, never to be seen, nor heard…your sins are like chaff that the wind drives away. As far as east is from west, your sin is put away from you. Who is there to condemn now that Christ is the One to whom you flee? Have you sinned against Him even today? Then go back, Christian. Yes, you may have fallen in this battle, but you are to Him like that lone and lost sheep…listen to His voice and cry out.
Jesus seeks. Jesus saves. Jesus restores. Jesus Christ our Lord is our all. We will fail but He will not. Nothing on this earth, no power, no tribulation, can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. The power of sin is great, but the power of the Lord is greater. Repent of your sin everyday and wipe that ledger clean with His blood and His unending love and you will never know the wrath to come.
But that wrath will fall upon the unrepentant. Don’t let the days of evil and the temporary success of the wicked crush your joy. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God! We rejoice that God is God and that He is holy. That Day is coming and is one day closer today than yesterday. So in your struggle against sin, your own and that of the world, remember these great truths. Remember that the wrath of God is amazing and fearsome and perfect. And remember Christ. Always remember Him and be saved.
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