No Partiality with God in Judgment

Where we're continuing on in this series, so I've labeled this section. This is like the third third part of what's the discussion what what some we've called the moral man and Paul is going to show how the moral man is judged by God and this particular one actually has to do with there's no partiality with God and that's really about the we're going to see that doesn't make a difference who a man is and Is he a man who has received the Law, the Law of Moses? Is he a man who hasn't received the Law of Moses? God will treat them fairly, and He will treat them based upon what they've received. Okay, so the outline, I've used this before.

We're down here, basically we're in the section on the Gentiles. We talked about the first two sections, starting in verse 18 through 32. we talked about the sometimes it's called the heathen or the immoral man and he had all these all these list of things that he did and he was judged by God for those sins so now we move into the section in chapter 2 we talk about the the moral man and he's judged by God's truth and Mike covered that and then last week he talked about the moral man's judgment and we kind of focus on the fact that that was It looked like that connected well with the judgment of the nations at the end of the tribulation period. And then this week we're going to continue that discussion, but we're going to talk about this partiality, no partiality with God. And then next week we're going to start into the section on the Jewish man, our woman is condemned, and then the whole world is condemned. Paul's building a case that no man can come before God and say that he, in his own self, is righteous and deserves acceptance by God only on God's terms, only by accepting His Son.

And of course, we're going to see that actually, we're going to see that the placing of these verses are tough. Do they really belong in the church age? The verses we just read, are those verses for the church age? Boy, you have a tough time if they are. So anyway, we'll discuss that in a bit here.

So from last week, we started out this discussion in verse 5 about the fact that Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart God is storing up wrath for the day of wrath and the revelation of his righteous judgment and from that really that last part of that verse verse 5 the day of wrath which you could connect very well, I think with the tribulation period and God's righteous judgment so we went down through and we saw that God will render to each person according to his deeds and And there's two couplets here, seven and eight are one set. On the one hand, perseverance in doing what is good, versus on the other hand, they do not obey the truth. And then the other set is down at the last, nine and ten. Every soul of man who does evil, and then talk every soul man who does good and that connected very well we read through the passage in Matthew about the judgment of the nations where the Lord Jesus talks about the sheep and the goats and it fits very well this doesn't apply to the church age certainly because we're under grace so that's a challenge in these verses from last week and this week where do they fit and some people like I mentioned last week have taken the view that well these are just principles these are principles of how God operates well The problem is there's principles for the church age and there's principles not in the church age. So hopefully we see these in light of where they really belong in God's plan for man.

I want to review this again from last week. I thought this was a good observation that Brother Hal made back in 2004-2006 about what was Paul's perspective when he wrote this section. So we see that Paul also wrote Some verses in first Thessalonians about the end times Especially like in first Corinthians 1551 where he said he included himself He said we you know, he says we will do this. We will do that.

He says we will not all sleep We will be changed in the moment and the twinkling of an eye at the Trump For the Trump will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed. So Paul saw himself Even though he had a short life. He saw himself He's going to be raptured. He's going to be changed. He was part of that. That was going to be imminent. It's going to happen.

So his writing about judgment, his writing about the judgment that occurs at the end of the tribulation period, and he understood that because he authored many of the books that talk about that. He's not going to go through the tribulation period. I misspoke last week. He understood it, but he's not going to go through it. So he knew about the tribulation period, the day of wrath. But he was going to be raptured. He saw himself raptured, being changed. So he understood that.

I think that seems to make sense and connect well with verses 1-5 there. So now, especially verse 5, the day of wrath. Okay, so now, last week we talked about the judgment of the nations, 6-10. This week we're going to talk about the discussion that relates to the impartiality in judging the Gentiles and the Jews.

Okay, so today's verses so let me just put them all up here and what I want to show you is that He has this general statement in verse 11. There's no partiality with God Then if you notice I kind of I divided up 12 into a and B part because the a part of the verse is going to talk about these people who have sinned without the law and And so that, you know, you'd say that's got to be, that's got to be the Gentiles. Because, and the reason you say that, because 12b says, and all who have sinned under the law. So he's comparing the ones who have sinned without the law, the Gentiles, in 12a, with 12b where it's those who have sinned under the law. So we'll see the rest of the verses here kind of track with those verses. 13's going to track with 12b.

It's going to talk more about the Jews. and then 14 and 15 is going to expand on what we talked about the Gentiles and then it's going to wind up in 16 on the day, here we have another kind of day, and the question is, is this a general statement about a day, or is this focusing on a particular day? And I'll say that when we get to that point, he's going to talk about another day, another point, which I think you can identify a time when he's going to do that. According to his gospel, he will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ.

Okay, so now here's some, I call this underlying issues, And I was helped a lot, you know, these verses are interesting and challenging. And I found more, and I started reading different people here, and fortunately we have Newell to read. I haven't really gone through Newell a lot. Mike has gone through it a lot, and it's really neat. I'm going to use Newell quite a bit today. And also, Chafer looked at these verses, so I found I was really blessed by looking at these gentlemen.

So this is from Chafer. So he points out, at the cross, it will be seen the divine application of the law ceases when the cross came right that the God's law no longer was them that was for Israel the law was given to Israel when when Christ came and died on the cross that all changed for Jew and Gentile and he has this phrase it's from a verse we are shut up to grace grace is the operating system that both Jew and Gentile can come to Christ through not through the law But he points out two problems with that. First is the problem with the Jew. But the Jew, because of his unbelief, still persists in observance of the law. And we saw that, right?

They continued to do the sacrifices they tried. And they had a temple, right? They carried on. And eventually the temple was destroyed. But they had the law of Moses, even though that wasn't how God wanted them to come to him. He wanted them to come through Christ. They ignored that. So that's problem number one. Problem number two, the Gentiles, they failed to see that the death of Christ was the way to God as well. But what they did is, they assumed the law. They assumed that, well, we'll just live good lives. I'll be a good person. I'll live to be a good person. And we're going to see that that's actually an attribute that comes from God. A man's conscience of right and wrong has come from God. And Schaeffer really points this out well. That's something that is very... Actually, if you use that as your way to get to God, you're in trouble. Because you say, I have this feeling of right and wrong.

I'm the standard. Whereas God is the standard, not man. So lastly here, these two errors, both of the Jew and the Gentile are clearly seen in Scripture. So we're going to see part of that as we go through these verses. Okay, so let's start off. Verse 1. For there is no partiality with God. So it basically is a state in which something continues to exist, a me. So this is a state in which God exists. He's not partial. And partial here is this idea. He's no respecter of person.

And it's really a colorful Greek word. It has the idea, it's made up a word of face and a verb to receive. So it's literally to receive face. So if you think about that, you look at a person's face, I look at a person, I look at Mike Doyle, and I say, Mike Doyle, my fellow brother in the Lord, fellow elder, and so on. I know the guy, that's his face, and I see a face of someone else. I see a face of Saddam Hussein, or I see a face of Hitler, I see a face of Biden, or whoever.

So God does not judge men on what they look like. Because you're evaluating that on that characteristic of that person. That face goes with who that man is. So God says, I don't judge a man that way. God is not influenced by the face of a person. And here's a verse that kind of states the same thing. Opening his mouth, Peter said, I most certainly understand that God is not one to show partiality.

So we're going to see how this impartiality with God is going to flow down through the verses, through 12 through 16. So verse 12. So here we start out. This is the A part. This is going to focus on the Gentiles. And so we're going to have some principles about the unbelieving Jew and Gentiles being judged here. For all who have sinned without the law. We're assuming it's Gentiles here.

And it's this word we studied this morning, actually, in Sunday school. It's the word for missing the mark, hamartio or hamartano in this case. It's to miss the mark, miss the mark of God's righteousness. It says, for all who have sinned and missed the mark of God's righteousness without the law.

So what's interesting here, and this is a little challenging, I found going through there, we look at definite articles. Well, this one gets tough, because it turns out there's no definite article in this case, but just in the context and the flow of this, it's got to be the Law of Moses. So I took it, and other people seemed to go along with that as well, so I kind of went down that path. So you can talk to me about that if you feel differently.

So men have sinned, even without the Law given to God by Moses. So God has put within man, we're going to see that shortly, And he will judge them even though they didn't have his law. The Jews did. He's going to judge them differently because they had more light than the Gentiles did. So the first statement is he's judged men who do not have the law. He will judge them, basically. And then the second part of that, not only is he there without the law, but they will perish without the law.

God is judging the Gentiles on the information they have received. And we're going to see what information they've received in a bit here. That will be explained in 14 and 15. They'll perish. And perish, you know, maybe you've come across this before.

Perish is an extinction. The word sounds like extinction, but God creates eternal beings. So man will either live with God eternally or without God eternally. So the idea of perishing here is not extinction, But it's ruin or loss or loss of well-being.

That's kind of the idea. So Schaeffer says about this verse, this verse speaks of the certainty of divine judgment on the Gentiles before the cross or during the period in which the law was divinely imposed on Israel. And I added, not the church age. And this is the challenge of these verses. So Schaeffer and I think it can't be the church age. The law is not enforced in the church age. So this basically is saying that God... This is without the law. They're being judged without the law.

We're going to see why they were judged. And it's... We'll see that shortly. Okay. Let's go on to the second part. So here's the second part of it. All who ascend under the law. The Jews. It's again, it's to miss the mark. Under the law. No different article again. But by the context, we take it to be the law of Moses. will be judged by the law.

And this is where Chafer has a couple of interesting points here. He has three points. He says it's impossible to believe, and I like this phraseology, it's impossible to believe that the Scriptures offer an optional choice. You know, you get an optional choice exam, right? You can choose A or B. Well, no, we don't get that. God has decided, by His grace. that we're going to come to him through Jesus Christ. So we don't get the optional choice and justification by the law, we're justified by grace through faith.

And Romans 3.20 speaks to that, by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified.

So again, Chafer kind of points out, the law was enforced. These verses show that this is, these verses apply to that time period, not the church age. Okay, then 13. So this kind of connects. This seems to be a statement. This is another tough statement. I listen to different people. Merriman says this is a principle that God is stating. I would say this is a principle that applied during the time the law was valid for the nation of Israel. And there's a principle like that for us now.

I didn't actually read the verse here. For it is not the hearers of the law who are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. So I think that fits in the time period Israel had the law. Because it can't fit with the church age, we can't be justified by the law in the church age. But we do have a similar principle under grace, but it's not for justification.

And we're actually studying that in James. We're going to see that in the book of James here. And here's a statement, a similar idea here. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man building his house on the rock.

Now we have, if you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. Then a couple in James, but prove yourselves to be doers of the word, not merely hearers of the word. And then finally, the last one in James basically talks about the fact that you look at the perfect law of liberty, not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. So in the church age, we're blessed by not just being hearers of God's word, but doers of God's word.

It seems like in the time period when the law was in force, that this verse applies. Okay, so now on to 14. So now we're going to talk about, this is going to be further amplification of the fact that the Gentiles are being judged with God without the law. He's going to say that again. For the Gentiles who do not have the law, do instinctively the things of the law. So it's basically for or whenever. The Gentiles did not have the law. So here, if you think about it, the law was given externally, right?

It was given to the nation of Israel on Mount Sinai, given to Moses. He brought it down written on tablets. He did it a couple of times because they broke one along the way. Anyway, it was given specifically through a revelation. And so some have claimed, apparently, this is some of these responses.

This is from Chafer, I believe. He says, this refutes the fact that the law was given to all nations. It was only given to the Jews. do instinctively the things of the law. So what's that about? It's by nature. Instinctively is this idea of by nature. So a couple of disclaimers. This doesn't mean that God instinctively has given man, as we're going to see in more detail, instinctively has given man the things of the law. That doesn't mean he got the whole law like Moses did. But they're unconsciously aware. I like what Newell said here. They're unconsciously aware, the moral being of what's right and wrong.

I was kind of thinking about the fact that when you have children, sometimes you say, you know better, Johnny, or you know better, Susie. And many times you haven't necessarily told them about that, but we know that your kids know right from wrong. You don't have to actually teach them that. They know that. Now, it's not that they should be reminded of that, but they know, and we all know, instinctively, because God has put it within us.

And there's going to be some really cool aspects of that we're going to see here shortly. So that's what this thing's of the law. Not having the law, they are a law unto themselves. So this is interesting. OK. OK. So actually, an alternate translation of that is these, law not at having, not at all having, do their own selves to their own selves are law. So you have, they are a law unto themselves, or you could say, to their own selves they are a law.

So how does that, what does that mean? So first, they do not have all the law they have as an external act, and he's kind of repeating himself here. Next, they are by moral constitution, not by internal enactment. So they are a law to themselves. So let's think about that. So that's the assumption of the law. So here's an aspect later.

The Gentiles, just like we, they have this sense of the law within themselves. Well, they have used that to claim that they have the law. Let us never suppose that because of this self-imposed legality and misguided conscience, there's any divine recognition of being under the law. The Gentiles are never under the law, only the Jews.

But this idea of having this law within yourself and making that your guidance for your life is what's being talked about here. So, 15. Now they are a law to themselves. I'll explain that part. In that they are as much as show the works of the law are written in their hearts.

So a really key thing here, it's the works, the interlinear has the works of the law. It's not the law. God has written the works of the law, not the law. Because we know that demonstrators show their actions. It's to show the works of the law, or to demonstrate the works of the law.

It is works that is written by God in the Constitution of the Gentiles God is describing how he has constituted all men There is a work within them making them morally conscious And that's what I was kind of referring to in the fact that that men know instinctively what's right and wrong Because God is that he's done a work of his righteousness his law within every person. He's created and So here's an aspect.

This verse says, they're conscious bearing witness. So in that they show the works of the law written in their hearts, they're conscious bearing witness. So what's interesting is we saw back in chapter 1 that what we call the immoral man, even the immoral man knew the righteous judgment of God from 32a. And here we have So that both, in chapter 1 and chapter 2, we have both men, either the moral man or the immoral man, or the heathen, they have this consciousness of God, this right and wrong consciousness of God. The Gentile's conscious bearing witness.

So the idea of bearing witness, you know, you think of bearing witness like in a trial, you bear witness to the facts of a trial. Well, this is the internal bearing witness with yourself. And the words, it's kind of interesting here, it's the idea of to know with, it's a co-knowledge with oneself, a co-knowledge with oneself to bear witness with another. And you're bearing witness with yourself that you know you have something within yourself that determines right and wrong. Therefore, you are bearing witness with oneself, the witness born to one's conduct by his conscience.

Okay, let's go on. And their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending themselves or them. So accusing is to speak against. Defending is how you defend or speak against or plead with oneself. So the consciousness is molded and they stand before a self-condemnation. And there's no blessing there. A man, let's see if I can, here.

So he's talking about the idea that man within himself has a sense of right and wrong and he calls this a legal conscience. So they either accuse themselves or defend themselves. A person will say, well I'm not as bad as Johnny or I'm not as bad as the person next door. I'm a better person because I have this internal code within myself. that tells you what's right and wrong, and I'm better because I do a better job at that. So man is all, it's all internal to a man. They judge, and by self-imposed law, either self-accusers or self-excusers.

I like that. Self-accusers or self-excusers. According as they create a conscience in regard to the law. Okay. So now we're going to get specific here. On that day when... I'm just going to read the first and middle part. And there's two modifiers to this judging.

On that day when God will judge the secrets of men. So the connection here is back with verse 12, I believe. Back in verse 12 it said, For all who have sinned without the law will perish without the law. And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. And then, on or in that the day when God will judge the secrets of men." So Vincent says here, both classes of men shall be condemned and both the results will be perishing.

So he actually has two aspects here. From verse 12 we saw the ones that those without the law were perishing, but they're judged So you have perishing and then you have what will be judged by the law and confined to those who have the law. So you have perishing versus being judged. Today, it seems like to me that this focuses on the great white judgment. It's speaking about unbelievers and they will be judged by God at that point. In verse 16, it points to God's impartial judgment will be included people's secret thoughts as well as their overt acts.

And then lastly, we have these two modifiers, these two phrases, according to my gospel. So according to is according to a norm or standard of my gospel. And my gospel is a phrase that Paul used quite a bit. It really focused on that being the true gospel, And it was his gospel because he received it, for I neither received it from man, nor I was taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. So one modifier is according to the gospel.

And the second part is through the judge, through Christ Jesus. And Christ Jesus is God has given all judgment to the Son. So we see here in Acts it talks about that. He is fixed today in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof of all men by raising him from the dead.

And then the second verse is in John 5.22. Not even the father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the son. So hopefully this hasn't been... So final thoughts here. This is from Newell.

So he's going to try to kind of go through here and look at this idea of God writing or the work of the law in men's heart. So he's going to refer to it as a work. He says, God here declares that there is a righteous work, this writing of His law. Divinely written and maintained in all men's hearts from which they cannot escape Okay, that's point one point two because their conscience agrees with it in their inner workings This work of writing in their hearts is evidently what lies at the root of human conscience. That's why we that's how we have a conscience That's why we say I shouldn't do that. I shouldn't do this Now I was talking with money a little bit, you know men Scripture talks about men's conscience being seared and it seems like that that men that Have fallen into sin after a time they what's called they sear their conscience and that's probably a whole nother discussion but this is just showing that man has a conscience and that consciousness from God and God's going to Going to say I gave that information and that's sufficient for me to to hold you accountable Okay, let's go on here The law of Moses has never been written in the hearts of the Gentiles. The Jews are a different situation, but towards the Gentiles it's not.

But a divine work is present in all men, this working of writing His law in your heart. It's writing the work of the law in your heart. The moral and spiritual constitution of man came 2,000 years before the Mosaic Law at creation. So when God created man, he gave them. He wrote that in their hearts. And this last one here is kind of a confusing paragraph, but he basically says that the Mosaic Law was a copy, if you will. God put it in man directly, and then the Mosaic Law was kind of a written expression of that. But it's only a partial expression. So, anyway. Hopefully this wasn't too confusing a message. Let me know what you think.

So let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, Lord. We thank you for the blessings we have. We thank you that you knew us from the beginning, from creation. You, in your sovereignty, have written in every man's heart a knowledge of right and wrong, a knowledge of you. And that's the measure that you will judge men about what knowledge they have received. Lord, and we're thankful that we have received, uh, knowledge, uh, from our, from scripture, uh, a scriptural revelation of who Christ is. And we believe that and trust to that Lord. We pray the other men and women would, would see, um, who you are and trust you as your savior in Christ's name. Amen.