How Can God’s Judgment Be Fair to Everyone?
12All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Romans 2:12-16 (NIV)
We are looking at Romans 2:12-16 today, where Paul addresses the question of how God’s judgment can be fair to all people, regardless of their background or knowledge of the law, by judging them according to their actions and the state of their hearts.
First, Paul warns that those who know God’s commands and fail to obey them will be judged by the law (Ro. 2:12). It is not enough to merely hear or know the law; righteousness comes through obedience. This is a sobering reminder that knowledge alone does not guarantee a right standing before God.
Next, he dealt with the hypothetical Gentiles who, despite not having the law, obey its requirements by nature (Ro. 2:14). This raises the question: How can God justly judge those who have never heard of His law? Paul’s answer is that God’s law is inborn in people—everyone has a basic understanding of right and wrong, as evidenced by their conscience (Ro. 2:15). This innate sense of morality serves as a standard by which all people can be held accountable.
Jean-Paul Sartre, the famous atheist philosopher, believed that there are no objective moral values and that individuals must create their own meaning and morality. However, during World War II, Sartre actively participated in the French Resistance against the Nazi occupation. Despite his philosophical views, he recognized the inherent evil of the Nazi regime and worked to oppose it.
However, our consciences are not perfect. We often suppress the truth about God and His standards to pursue our own desires. As a result, our thoughts sometimes accuse us and at other times defend us (Ro. 2:15), indicating that we do not always follow our conscience and do things we know to be wrong.
Paul concludes by emphasizing that God’s judgment will be fair, taking into account the secrets of people’s hearts (Ro. 2:16). On that day, no one will be able to hide their inner motivations and desires behind a façade of religious observance.
This passage challenges us to examine our own lives in light of God’s righteous judgment. Do we merely possess knowledge of God’s law, or are we actively seeking to obey it? Are we living according to our God-given conscience, or are we suppressing the truth to pursue our own desires?
As we reflect on these questions, let us be reminded of the good news of the gospel. Despite our sinfulness and the fairness of God’s judgment, Christ has offered us a way to be made right with God through faith in His sacrifice on the cross. May this understanding of God’s judgment and grace motivate us to live lives that honor Him and align with His righteous standards.
Consider someone in your life who may not have a clear understanding of God’s law or the gospel. How can you share the truth of God’s righteous judgment and the hope of salvation through Christ with them in a loving and compassionate way?
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 2:1-16 were drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You“]
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I have had the opportunity to share the truth of God’s righteous judgement and the hope of salvation with persons that did not have a clear understanding of God’s law or the gospel on a few occasions just recently. One of the best ways that I have found to do this in a loving and compassionate way is to point out the way that it has related to my own experience, instead of using it as an opportunity to accuse or condemn them. Often times, I can relate well to their misunderstanding, as I have typically had the same misconceptions myself, and if I relate to them a personal experience that gave me clarity on the subject, many times they will be able to identify and see how it may relate to their own story. In this, I am also able to relay the biblical perspective on these matters as I compare and contrast it to my own previous misconceptions, and bring some clarity on the subject with love and grace. Ultimately, though, I rely on prayer, as it is only the Spirit that can bring a person into perfect clarity on these matters. This takes a lot of the pressure off, and frees me to love people as I attempt to pass on to them that which has been so freely given to me😊
I have shared my experiences and my understanding of the nature of the Lord when I can to any willing ears. The key here though is “the willing ears”. I have tried in the past to share my experiences with people who hearts have not been opened by God. If they haven’t seek God and aren’t interested in understanding God, then no matter how I want to share my experience it would do nothing to soften their hearts. Those with ears can hear only what the Lord wants them to hear.
I think that I’m in a unique position to share to certain people who may have gone through similar experiences as I have and who are new in the journey because their questions are the same as mine and my understanding is not that much ahead of their questions. When I was a TA in college I find that I’m actually better at explaining things to the students who are only a year or two behind me because I can empathize with their confusions. I’m better at explaining then the professors sometime :-). Often while trying to share my thoughts, I learn also and gain new insights.
God places me in the path of the people who are seeking and He use me to reach them (or at least I hope so). They can only be reached if He extend a hand and only if I submit to Him to let Him direct my words.
Thank you Lord for giving me the opportunity to see how You work to save the souls who reaches to You. It is a joy to watch You work Your daily miracles!