Sermon Outline

Prepared by

Dr. Joseph P. Metoyer, Jr., Pastor/Teacher

August 5, 2001                                                                                                

Romans 2:1-3

Subject:  There is no excuse, and no escape!

  Introduction:  Goethe says that man does not know where he is going.  There is stark tragedy in that sentence, for again it reveals the blindness of the human heart, and above all the stubborn unwillingness to accept the truth of the divine revelation.[1]

I.                   No Excuse (v. 1)

According to Barnhouse, the object of these first couple of chapters of Romans is to go from the fact that all men are sinners to the terrible consequences of that fact.  The inevitable results of our sinfulness, is the certainty of God’s judgment upon all unrighteousness.  (Barnhouse V1 p.1 God’s Wrath).  Judgment and condemnation follow sin as night follows day.  The judgment of sin must be borne by the sinner, if it is not placed on the Savior.  Man needs a Savior! 

A.                Our text starts with, Therefore, and this use does not look back at the previous chapter but rather looks forward and is better translated, For the following reasons you are inexcusable, O man, who ever you are who judge.    

B.                 Paul gives us six principles that govern God’s judgment; we will only look at two today, but for your information here they are:  (v.1) Knowledge; (vv. 2-3) Truth; (vv.4-5) guilt; (vv. 6-10) deeds; (vv. 11-15) Impartiality; and (v.16) motive.

1.      Man does not qualify to sit in the supreme seat of judgment and judge another man for sin in that man’s life, because the man who judges is also in sin.  Have you ever criticized anyone for anything?  We are without excuse.  When we judge we are acknowledging that we have Knowledge of sin ourselves.  We have the ability to recognize sin.  Criticism arises from the fact that you have a conscience, which recognizes a sin in another because your conscience is aware of the existence of sin in self; and you have never lived up to the light of your own conscience, whatever it may be.

2.      Someone said, “The conscience that makes you aware of imperfection in another finds written on itself the guilt of its own imperfection.”  The only judgment or censure that is allowable in this world is that permitted to those who hold up the Word of God in order to mirror the sin of mankind.  Such stand forth to tell men of their sinfulness not through any possession of righteousness of their own, but only through the fact that they have come to the cross to receive the righteousness of Christ imparted as a gift and imputed to their account.[2]  Any other form of criticism is blind and arrogant and foolish and will one day meet with judgment itself. 

You are inexcusable, O man, whomever you are who judge.  Paul is telling the Jewish believers in the Church at Rome to stop criticizing the Greek believers in the Church because they, the Jews, are without excuse.  They are guilty of judging their brothers with the wrong attitude. (Rom. 2:8-11).

We could call this person a self-righteous person. 

               a.  Do you know what Jesus says about that?  (Matthew 5:20) For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 7:1-5)…there is a time however, to exercise careful discernment: (John 7:24) Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.  Jesus never allowed critical type judgment that self-righteous legalism promoted.  He demanded the exercise of moral and theological discernment.

II.                No Escape (Vv. 2-3)

Man is not only without an excuse to be critical of his brother, but the man who judges will not escape judgment himself.  (Hebrews 9:27) It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. 

A.                The second principle that governs God’s judgment is Truth.  (v.2) But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth.  When we judge or criticize someone we do it according to gossip, hearsay, or our own good opinions.  But God judges according to truth.  Someone said, “We hate our own faults, especially when we see them in others.”  How easy it is for us to condemn others, yet have the very same sins in our lives.

B.                 I want to suggest that the same excuses that were used in Paul’s day are being used today:  (1.) I am better than others and I don’t need Christ.  (2.) God has been good to me and will certainly never condemn me.  But Jesus has a response to that. (Luke 19:22) Out of your own mouth I will judge you.

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