Dr. Michael Youssef with a glimpse into what's ahead on this episode of Leading the Way Audio. A person who's eternally saved through the power and the blood of Jesus Christ through faith alone must give evidence of that salvation.
You say, how do you do this? We are created unto good works. We're being reborn unto good works.
Each one of us, when we come to Christ and be converted to Christ, we are given certain things to do. Not all the same, not all in the same measure, but yours. And that is what you will be judged by.
Mine, and that's what I'll be judged by. Welcome to Leading the Way with pastor and international evangelist, Dr. Michael Youssef. Stand by for an encouraging look at a difficult topic, judgment. You'll see that it's not God getting revenge on people.
Rather, it's a reminder of God's grace through Jesus. Do remember that the team of Leading the Way does everything possible to be the best stewards of God's provision. So please let us know how you connect with Leading the Way. You can share that information when you call to give a gift or to order a product.
866-626-4356. Now you can also visit us online, ltw.org. Right now though, let's listen together as Dr. Michael Youssef begins a challenging message from Romans chapter 2. In the last message, we saw how God will judge those who have inverted His truth. We saw how God is going to judge those who have perverted His gifts. We saw how God will judge those who have darkened mind. And immediately following that pronouncement that we saw in the last message, literally, if Paul was speaking and not writing, you can literally sense that he has not taken a breath. He did not even take a breath in without immediately jumping straight, immediately, upon those moralistic, self-righteous, religious Pharisees. Immediately, from chapter 1 to chapter 2.
There is no division in the original. Those who probably were saying when they heard Paul talk about those people who will be judged by God, who have inverted the truth, who have perverted His gifts, they probably were the ones who were saying, Attaboy, Paul. Sock it to them, Paul. Whack them on the head by this truth, Paul. We are with you, Paul. Because we are not like these wicked people, we are much better.
We are good. And that is why, as I said, without even taking a breath, Paul turns immediately and he warned those who have perverted the truth about God and those who are moralistic people, religious, self-righteous Pharisees, and says, You too, busters. Well, that's my word, not his. You are not going to escape the judgment of God. And that is why, in verse 1, and now he said, Therefore. Whenever you see the word therefore in the Bible, find out why it is therefore. It is to tell those moralist do-gooders, religious hypocrites, that you too are without an excuse. If you think that God is only going to judge the pagan Gentiles, and you've got a big shock coming to you, for you too are going to be judged. In fact, your judgment is probably going to be much stricter than theirs.
Why? Because you have refused to acknowledge the Messiah, your Messiah. Beloved, this principle applies today to Christians who are nominal, Christians who are professing Christians only, because they have greater knowledge of the truth. Therefore, they're going to be held more accountable with a stricter standard of accountability.
I'm going to come back to this, because the text does, not because I want to, but because the text does. Question, why is Paul so anxious to condemn those self-righteous people, those legalists, who think that they are better than somebody else, who think that they are really a privileged people? The answer is because these self-righteous people have committed two grave errors. In fact, every self-righteous, legalist, pharisaic, hypocrite have committed two errors. First of all, they underestimate the height of the standards of righteousness by God, both inwardly and outwardly, and they also do something else. They minimize the depth of their own sin. I'm okay. I'm good.
I haven't done any of the big ones. And they do this by exaggerating the sins of others, and they minimize their own sin. Jesus said in Matthew 7, 1 to 3, they notice the speck in somebody else's eye, but they overlook the log that's in their own eye. Look at verse 1. Therefore, you have no excuse. You who pass judgment on someone else, you need to remember, at whatever point you judge another person, by that same judgment you are condemning yourself, if you are committing the same sins.
Now, this really needs a lot of explanation. There can be no doubt that in chapter 1, Paul speaking to pagan gentiles, because that's where the epistle is going to roam. But here in chapter 2, he is speaking to the religious Jew.
And verse 10 makes that very clear, very, very clear. Both Jews and gentiles are equal in their sin. Both Jews and gentiles are equal in their need of salvation. Both Jews and gentiles are equal in facing of God's judgment.
He may write, please. The Jews in Paul's day believed that if they go through certain rituals, that if they keep certain days and festivals, that if they keep this high and holy days, all of that is going to produce righteousness with God. They really did. But, even if they fail to keep all these religious rituals, they're still not going to be condemned like the gentiles.
They did. Some of the rabbis actually taught that on that day, Abraham is going to be standing at the gate of hell. And he will not allow any Jew to go in. And that is why Jesus said, let me tell you something, I've got news for you. And then he tells them the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Both were Jews. One was righteous, one was living godly, one was not.
And he said they both ended up in two different destinations. Even the one who was trying to appeal to Abraham, which that's what some of the rabbi taught, didn't work. Abraham said, no, no, no, no, now you're receiving your judgment. And that is why Paul tells them Romans chapter 2 verses 1 to 16. He tells them a little bit more about that judgment of God.
Three things. First of all, he tells them that God's judgment is inevitable. It's inevitable, verses 1 to 5. Secondly, he said God's judgment is going to be so fair. It's very fair, verses 6 to 12. And thirdly, God's judgment will be impartial, verses 13 to 16.
Let's look at these very quickly. God's judgment is inevitable. No one anywhere who ever lived on the face of the earth will be able to escape their judgment. One day, when the heavenly courts are open, there will be no hung jury. There will be no loopholes in the law. There will be no acquittal based on technicalities. There will be no statutes of limitations.
Everyone is going to stand in the dark. Here's what he's saying. When you judge one another, we are often hard on others, but we're easy on ourselves. I've been there, I've done that. We are often harsh with others, but we're very lenient on ourselves. We are often gain satisfaction from condemning others in what may be the same faults which we make excuses for in ourselves. This ploy of pointing to others in order to get their eyes off ourselves will not provide an escape. It's not going to work in the day of judgment, because he sees all secrets of all hearts. He sees what nobody else is able to see.
He even sees what you can't see. On the contrary, by the very standards that we judge others, we ourselves are going to be judged. What the Word of God is saying to us is this. You cannot judge others if you don't judge yourself. Are you with me? You cannot judge others before you judge yourself.
Why? Because that will be pure hypocrisy. This is double standard. And my beloved friends, our society is filled with hypocrisy today. To place higher standards for others and loosen those same standards for ourselves will not be taken lightly by God.
He's watching. Verse 5, here's a use of translation. The reason God is patient and he does not whack people on the head as soon as they sin is because he wants them to repent.
That's a homespun translation, but you'll understand it, right? God longs for people to repent. And because of that longing in his heart, he gives them time again and again and again and patient with them as he was patient with us. But instead of repentance, they develop sclerosis of the heart. In fact, that's a word that's used here in the Greek. That's where we get the word from, from the Greek word, sclerosis, from which we get the hardening of the arteries. In the spiritual realm, it refers to the hardening of the heart. The heart that is no longer responding to the love of God. A heart that has become so insensitive to the conviction and to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Hear me right, please. The Bible says about Samson that his strength has left him, but he did not know. I'll make a confession to you, my beloved. This sentence keeps me on my knees. And I always say, Lord, do not allow this to happen to me. Secondly, God's judgment is fair. Look at verses 6 to 11. The idea of God's fairness and judgment is the theme runs straight through the Bible.
All the New Testament, straight through the Bible. But before I get to this, I sense that probably some of you, when you heard or read verse 6 of chapter 2 of Romans, you came unglued, right? And you said, what? The epistle about salvation by grace alone says that God will judge everyone on the basis of what they've done?
No, in a million, no. Be patient. Wait a minute.
Wait, I'm going to explain to you. What the Apostle Paul is saying is this. The day of judgment is going to be a public occasion where the public verdict is going to be pronounced. The day of judgment is going to be a day of separation, a day of sifting, a day of sorting out. And while those who have received Jesus Christ as their only Savior and Lord, they will escape the judgment of hell. But the Bible said, therefore there is no condemnation upon those who are in Christ Jesus. They will escape the judgment of hell, but they will not escape the accountability of God. We'll be held accountable to God. That's what he's talking about.
Not work's going to save you. But being a believer, I'm going to be held accountable. How I lived for God. How faithful I've been to him.
How I walked with him. This is what I like to call, it's our award or reward giving ceremony. There are some people going to get a lump of coal, and some will get crowns. 2 Corinthians 5, 10, the apostle Paul said, We, you notice that we, talking about himself, and me, and you, and all the believers in Jesus Christ, said we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. This is not the judgment of hell. Let me make sure you understand this. But we must stand before the accountability seat of Christ, so each of us may give an account of the stewardship that he handed us. In other words, it's going to mean whether you're going to receive a reward or not.
Hear me right, please. The subjective criteria of salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. That can never be changed. This is the gospel. The objective reality of salvation is how we conduct our lives. In other words, the way we lived our lives should testify to our salvation. Matthew 7, 16 to 20, Jesus said, You shall know them by their fruit.
That's the deed he's talking about, the fruit. Let me put it another way. A person who is eternally saved through the power and the blood of Jesus Christ through faith alone must give evidence of that salvation.
You see how you do this? By doing the work that God has planned for you. Ephesians makes it very clear. We are created unto good works.
We're being reborn unto good works. Each one of us, when we come to Christ and be converted to Christ, we are given certain things to do. Not all the same, not all in the same measure, but yours, and that is what you will be judged by.
Mine, and that's what I'll be judged by. Romans 14, 12 says, Each of us believers, each of us shall give an account of himself and herself to God. Look at verses 7 all the way to 10. It tells us that there are two groups of people, the saved and the unsaved. The accountability judgment for those who are saved, and it's going to be based on how much did they seek the glory of God, how much did they honor God in their life, how conscious they were of the presence of God in every moment of every day.
Two groups of people, two destinations, two different judgments. Verse 10 and 11 tells us that God's judgment, just like God's salvation, it has certain priorities. It's a priority of time. It's not a priority of people, but a priority of time.
Some might be asking, well, what are these priorities? Listen carefully. Because God's judgment is so fair, it will be based on how much knowledge a person received. Remember our core verse as it is a foundational verse for the Holy Epistle.
Romans 1 16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe first to the Jew and second to the Gentiles. Here in chapter 2 verse 10, he is saying the same thing in regard to the judgment. The Jews will be judged first, then the Gentiles. It's a priority of time.
You say, how come? Because salvation came first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles. For thousands of years, the Old Testament repeatedly, repeatedly, it is filled with the pronouncement that the Messiah is coming, started with Genesis 3 15, all the way through Jeremiah and Isaiah and Ezekiel, all saying the promised Messiah is coming. And when Jesus came, he said, I came to the household of Israel. You see, God's redemption was offered first to the Jews, and that is why they will be judged first. Salvation was then offered to the Gentiles, therefore, they will be judged according to whatever knowledge they may have. John chapter 1, Jesus came to his own. This is his own people, the Jewish people, but his own received him not. And therefore, whoever received him after that, God gave authority, God gave permission, God gave them the power to be called the children of God.
Regardless of their ethnic background. First, God's judgment is inevitable. Secondly, God's judgment is fair. Thirdly, God's judgment is impartial. It's impartial. Paul continues here by saying that the judgment upon the Jews will be first, and then it will be, it's going to be with stricter standards.
Why? Verse 12, because they had the law and the commandments and the prophets. The Jews heard the law read in the synagogue every single Saturday, while the Gentiles didn't even know what the law is. But both will face equal and impartial judgment. Both will be judged differently and by different standards, but equally in application. Beloved, verse 12 of Romans 2, if you've got your Bible, underline it, because it levels the playing field between Jews and Gentiles.
It levels it. They are in the same category of sin and death, therefore they are in the same category of judgment. Hear me right. This is the bottom line of this verse. While everyone will be judged, no one will be judged by the standards that they never knew. The non-believers will perish because of sin, not ignorance of the law. Those who live under the law will be judged by the law.
And if you name somebody who is able to keep the law all the time perfectly, you need to point him to me. Because the only one who could do this was Jesus. And that is why we're going to go to heaven on his coattail. He's the only one who can please the Father all the time.
Listen to me. No one will be judged by what he or she did not know. And that is why we believe that all the babies, when they die, they go to heaven. God shows no partiality in judgment.
So the question is, what about the Hindu and the Muslim and the Buddhist and the Animist and all the rest of it? You see, because God's moral law is imprinted on their heart, Paul said, by virtue of being created in God's own image, God's impartial judgment will be based on their heart knowledge. In fact, their conscience will testify and bear witness against them on the day of judgment. Their conscience will testify that they knew what was right and what was wrong, what was good and what's evil, but they kept doing the evil anyway. God's judgment will be so impartial, no one, no one, no one, no one anywhere in the globe could say, I've got a raw deal.
God's deal is a fair deal. Now I want to conclude by giving you four things. Summary of the judgment of God.
Four things. First of all, their rejection of the knowledge of God through his creation will condemn them. Secondly, their conduct based on their own knowledge of the eternal law imprinted on their hearts because they're created in God's own image will condemn them. Thirdly, their conscience which they have squashed and tried to suppress will testify against them. Fourthly, their innate knowledge of the right and wrong will condemn them. God's greatest judgment is going to be upon those who have lived in the West, where there is a church on every corner.
There are Christian radio and television programs all over the place. They're surrounded by Christian witnesses. They're surrounded by friends and family who try to witness to them. Those will suffer the sefirist judgment than those who have never heard the name of Jesus. You see, the hardest part of hell, if I can say that, is reserved for those who knew the gospel. And they may even follow Jesus for a time.
But then they turned their back on him and began to teach falsehood. If you're a person here and you have never really responded to the incredible love of God, and you know, but you know, that he's been calling you, he's inviting you, you can do that today. You can respond today. But those of us who know Jesus and love Jesus, let me plead with you.
We don't know the time and the hour in which he either calls us home or he comes back. And therefore I'm pleading with you. Walk faithfully with him. A plea to walk faithfully with Christ.
Thank you for joining listeners worldwide for this episode of Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. If you would like to talk about your faith journey with someone, maybe seek answers to questions that you may have, why don't you consider starting that conversation online or on the phone with a Leading the Way pastor or counselor. Start by going to ltw.org slash Jesus.
ltw.org slash Jesus. As we close today's Leading the Way, here are some testimonies that our team recently received, and we thought you would be encouraged to hear how God is working. Gabriel from Texas writes to say, I had a stroke, and God gave me a second chance. I just want to walk with the Lord in my second chance.
David writes to us from California to say, I've always considered myself as a good man. I've questioned religion most of my life. Suddenly, at the age of 52, I felt overwhelmingly compelled to become closer to Jesus.
Not sure why. I've never regularly attended church until recently. Now I look forward to Sunday.
I feel blessed. Be a part of impacting the neighborhood and the nations with the gospel message. Here's the number to call to get in touch with the team. 866-626-4356. The website ltw.org. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.
