“The Stubborn and Unrepentant Heart” Romans 2:1-16

I went to the store to get new tires for one of our cars. When I walked in, I saw a young man who didn’t impress me at all. He had tattoo sleeves on both arms, weird piercings and just had a look that said to me this guy wasn’t going to be very responsible. Clearly, he was into other things rather than doing his job well. Still, I would have to endure as best I could.

Imagine my surprise, then, when this young man proved to be one of the most professional and courteous of people. He listened to what I wanted, assisted me in every way and kept in close communication with me. When I left that day, I knew that I had met someone who underscored the phrase, “Never judge a book by its cover.”

I don’t remember what I had for my meals that day, but I do know I had some humble pie that day.

The people being described by Paul in today’s passage are similar to me in that they had and have a tendency to look down their noses at those they deem inferior to them. Paul speaks to the “moral people,” whereas in Romans 1:18-32 Paul spoke about those who live openly immoral lives and encourage others to do the same.

Central Truth: Christ died for the “moral person” because even they have a stubborn and unrepentant heart.

The “moral person”

1. Stands condemned for their judgment of others (1-4)

Stephen lived in Boulder, Colorado, for a few months a while ago. He enjoyed himself while he was there, but he said he thought the people there were hilarious. He had moved from very conservative Waco and now found himself in the heart of very liberal Boulder. Stephen claimed that the people there were so condescending to those who didn’t see eye-to-eye with them. He said he found the place to be highly hypocritical.

So it is with the “moral people” Paul describes in these verses. They look at the way the immorals live, and pride themselves that they aren’t like that at all. To them, all the immorals did were to live to party, to indulge and to cause things to go bad. The immorals cared nothing about anyone but themselves.

The morals saw themselves as better than that because they did care. They held down respectable jobs, raised respectable families and lived by a certain code of ethics and integrity. It was a code that they sort of developed on their own, but it was one they lived by, nonetheless. And that made them better.

Paul’s words of admonition warns the morals that they are not free from judgment themselves. He reminds them that the morals are not so different than the immorals. The same things they condemn others for are things they do in secret. “You pass judgment on and yet do the same thing” is how Paul puts it.

The problem with the way we judge others is that our own judgment is skewed. We try to determine right or wrong based upon what mankind has determined is right or wrong, but we never consider what the Giver of Laws has to say on the matter.

Put it another way. Let’s suppose I decide to play a game of basketball. I’ve played basketball all my life in my driveway, using the basket that I hung up over the garage. My basket is low enough that I can dunk the ball. I can’t really jump, but the basket isn’t regulation height. I also have a tendency to walk with the ball more than I should, but I limit my walks to one or two extra steps. Oh, and there are times I double dribble, but the guys I play with agree that we each get a “do-over” in some of those instances.

Now, I decide that I’m pretty good at basketball, and I decide to go play in a league. My buddies and I who have played by our rules in my driveway enter a tournament and we begin play. Almost immediately, we are called for a travel. Then a double dribble. Our shots are clanging off the basket because it’s much higher than the one we regularly play with.

At a time out, we go over to the ref and we explain to him that he’s being unfair. “We have rules we play by at our house, and we follow those rules carefully. Why aren’t you calling the game the way we do?” To which the ref responds, “I don’t know what your rules are, nor do I really care. We are playing by official rules found in this rule book, and either you follow these rules or you suffer the consequences.”

Paul’s words in v. 4 remind us that God has always used the Law to draw us closer to Him. He gave us His Laws to show us that we fall short of His ways constantly, and we need to rely on Him and His grace. Instead, the morals respond with, “But we play by our rules and our morals. We don’t need someone else to tell us whether or not we are good or not. We make that decision.”

Unfortunately, the Bible tells us there is only One Judge, and He has the official book of rules.

1. Faces trouble and distress (5-11)

At first blush, as we read these few verses, it seems to indicate that it is possible to live life in such a way so that we can earn salvation. Verse 7 says, “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life.” But look at the surrounding verses and it becomes readily clear that Paul is saying that, while it is theoretically possible for someone to earn eternal life, the reality is that no one lives up to the level of persistence that would so earn this benefit.

Look how the morals are described. They are stubborn and unrepentant. They are storing up wrath for themselves. They are self-seeking, rejecting the truth (“my way is just as good as God’s way”) and following evil. Paul is very clear in this passage that each person, no matter how moral they may be, if they insist on following their own ways, will always fall short. A rather prominent person recently said that he never saw the need to repent or seek forgiveness of his sins, yet he professed to be a Christian. He refused to acknowledge that he had fallen short—that’s the stubbornness Paul writes of.

Just because you don’t kick puppies, don’t cheat on your taxes, drive the speed limit and go out of your way to help little, old ladies cross the street, that does not give you a pass on God’s judgment. Consider the 10 Commandments and consider how Jesus reinterpreted several of them in light of the Sermon on the Mount. To lust after someone is to commit adultery, according to Jesus. To get angry with someone is committing murder, according to Jesus. Being so untrustworthy that you have to swear on specific things is the same as being an inveterate liar. Now, consider this and we have to ask ourselves, “Have I really lived such a good life that I can stand before God and demand He let me into His heaven?”

1. Lives apart from the Law (12-16)

“I know that ignorance of the law is no excuse, but, practically speaking, isn’t it blatantly unfair to condemn someone by a law that they didn’t even know existed?” That may be the argument many a person might make if they find themselves before a judge accused of a crime that had no idea they were committing. In most cases, if a person has no intention to commit a crime, then that person is not guilty. Exceptions are there, but for the most part, a person has to have a knowledge that they were committing a crime to be found guilty.

If we recognize that such is the case in a worldly court, shouldn’t we also expect God to be fair in that regard? Paul seems to indicate such is the case, but he warns us that each of us, if we are moral, have the Law in one form or another with us. He begins these verses declaring that the failure to keep the Laws of God is a sentence of guilt. He pointedly reminds us that it is not the hearing of the Law that is important; it is the doing that matters. And very few of us have ever kept every aspect of the Law.

It’s in verses 14-15 that Paul raises the matter of the state of mind and knowledge of the law as a defense that doesn’t work in God’s judgment. He tells us that the moral person has an inherent understanding of the Law, and that “natural acceptance” of the Law is what condemns the person.

Remember that in a Jewish court of law, there must be two witnesses to bring a ruling of guilt before a person. Here, Paul tells us that the witnesses against the Gentile without the Law are our consciences and our thoughts. The frustrating thing (and the liberating thing) about God is that we cannot hide our thoughts from Him. We cannot lie to God, claiming we never thought such a thing. In fact, these thoughts will be used against those who stand judgment because their names are not written in the Book of Life.

What about the conscience? I find it interesting that our consciences are strongest the first time we do what we know to be wrong. When we decide to do what is wrong, the first time, we believe the whole world is secretly watching us, that we won’t get away with it. We feel terrible about what we’ve done. But the next time we choose to do it, the guilt is less, the conscience is weaker. And yet, God tells us in these verses that that very conscience we have a tendency to forget after a while is that which will act as a witness against us.

Conclusion

It is possible for a moral person to live their moral life in an immoral society. It is possible for a person to deny the presence of God in their lives and still live a moral life. There are many good people in our world who strive to do what is right and good, even though they have no profession of faith in Christ.

And yet, the Bible tells us that even the moral person stands accused and is guilty before God. We cannot use our rules and ethics to justify ourselves before Him, because the bottom line of sin is not that we act reprehensibly in this world, but that we deny the need for God in our lives. And that is the sin we cannot excuse.

And that’s why Christ had to die for the moral person.