JUDGMENT & PARTIALITY, ROMANS 2:1-11

ROMANS 2A
JUDGMENT & PARTIALITY,  ROMANS 2:1-11
Introduction:   
The Last Impression
Sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a State Police Officer sees a car puttering along at 22 MPH. He thinks to himself, "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over.
Approaching the car, he notices that there are five elderly ladies-two in the front seat and three in the back-wide eyed and white as ghosts. The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?"
"Ma'am," the officer replies, "you weren't speeding, but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers." "Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly...Twenty- two miles an hour!" the woman says a bit proudly.
The State Police officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that "22" was the route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.
"But before I let you go, Ma'am, I have to ask... is everyone in this car OK? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven't muttered a single peep this whole time," the officer asks with concern.   "Oh, they'll be all right in a minute officer. We just got off Route 119."

For those of you who weren’t here last week we are looking at the book of Romans for the next several months. 
As I shared last week a chapter a week.  Looking at a part of it AM, PM, and BS. 
So you can breath because we won’t be taking the Rt 119 speed but the Rt 22 speed. 

I love the book of Romans.   Let me tell you a few reasons why.
Romans 1:16,17         
Romans 6:23        
Romans 5:8
Romans 8:1,2
Romans 8:37-39  37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:14-17  For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 10:9-11 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.
Romans 12:1,2  1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
I am sure I could relate a few more reasons.
  However I share just one more.  Romans 2:11  For God does not show favoritism.  “For God is no respecter of persons.”
I wish the first 10 verses of Romans 2 were as pleasant or could be added to my reasons I like Romans. 
But they are a bit harder.
I probably should have put over the door today steel toed shoes recommended.
I am going to combine two thoughts from these verses this morning.
Judgment
Favoritism
The message that Paul shares is for all. 
We are pretty fond of judgment as long as it is not against us or those close to us.
We don’t like it when others show partiality toward us.
And of course we never unjustly show partiality.
Now that I have got that out of the way let’s get started.
Let’s see what Paul has to say about all of this.

I.    Judgment

A.    Man’s way
We love to pass judgment and we make a lot of excuses why we are right in doing so.  
We are hypocritical in our judgment.
We are also quite condemning and unjust.
We generally look at the facts that we want to look at.
I am sure that a whole lot of us have condemned many people. 
Were we any better for it?
It probably really didn’t make us feel any better.

B.    God’s reaction to our way.
Paul starts verse 1 with “you have no excuse“.
If the Jews were like many they would be sitting there reading chapter 1 and saying go God give it to them because they deserve it.
Or wow I am glad that I am not like they are.
That reminds me of the Scripture that speaks about the man praying.  I am glad that I am not like that man over there.    
Luke 18:10-12  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
Paul says you are judging yourself, even condemning yourself while you judge others.
Why do you say that God?  God says, because you are doing the same things.   The exact same things or things that are just as sinful?  
Remember the Scripture that  says about trying to get the speck out of our friends eye while we forget the log in our own eye. 
O, but we think we can escape judgment.
Many times we are guilty of doing what we judge others for doing. 
You might not want to agree with me.
There are times we may be guilty of worse. 

C.    God’s way
Paul says that God’s judgment is based on truth as if to say ours is not. 
God is often gentle, kind, patient. 
I want Him to be that way to me.
I don’t really care that He is that way to you. 
I really don’t want God to be kind to the guy I want to judge.
Does any of that sound familiar?
The last part of verse 4 says “is intended to lead you to repentance.”
That reminds me of the quote,  “but for the grace of God there go I“.    
Maybe instead of being judgmental we need to say God I am realizing the bad, the wrong in me.  I am sorry.  Fix me.
God is saying you might think that you are so much better today but you are just storing up judgment for later.
His righteous judgment will be revealed.  

II.    Partiality vs. Impartiality

A.    Man’s partiality
How many times in life have you been completely impartial.
It is next to impossible for man to be impartial.
We see things the way we want to see them believing that we are seeing the truth. 
What does God say through Paul about us?
He says that our stubborn and unrepentant heart is storing up wrath against ourselves for the day of God’s wrath. 
Have you ever thought maybe you got by with one?
It sounds like we haven’t got by with anything.
His righteous judgment will be revealed that day. 

B.    God’s impartiality
God will repay each person according to what they have done.  6b
He won’t repay based on our name, our family, our status in life.
He will repay based on what we have done.
He shows impartiality to those doing good.
Paul expands on that in verse 7. 
The end result of our appropriate actions is eternal life. 
He equally shows impartiality to the self seeking who reject the truth and follow evil. 
He says that there will be wrath and anger upon them. 
He says in verse 9 that there will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil. 

C.    God’s abundant blessing.
Verse 10,   but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Verse 11, For God does not show favoritism.

Conclusion:   
Have you been passing judgment?
Have you been showing partiality?
The rewards of both are not good.
Let’s determine to have the heart, the attitude, and live the life that will result in as verse 10 says glory, honor, and peace.