No Excuse...No Escape

15.

In reference to the resurrection body of the believer that is exempt from spoiled is exempt from decay is exempt from sinful corruption.

So the glorified body of the believer is that which we long for. Because then we will no longer be surrounded by this corrupt/you, whoever you live with a sense of brokenness about your corruption long for the money. The more important truth because there's a corresponding turn as well. It's not a pleasant thought. But God is storing up his wrath over soon and one day his wrath will be unleashed in judgment. We need not fear God's wrath because he's made a way of escape for us, but those without Christ will have no escape.

The apostle Paul wrote about all of this in Romans two and that's what were studying today here on wisdom for the heart stay with us, as Stephen baby opens God's word with this challenging message here Stephen with today's Bible lesson shortly after the death of the apostle Paul. That volcano named Vesuvius exploded like an atomic bomb interrupted for more than 40 hours flooded the city with molten lava poisonous gases and the ash had already killed the inhabitants before they could escape and rolled over them and sealed them as it were in a gigantic tomb of rock for hundreds of years the city remained buried under 20 feet of hardened lava. Modern excavations have revealed to us a perfectly preserved Roman city. One author wrote this Roman city was frozen in time. Caught in the act of being itself, but city was Pompeii. The city would've been one of the recipients of the letter of Paul, the Roman we have discovered already. It is a letter of the gospel which included in the good news is the bad news that warns humanity of coming judgment city was a city that if they had heard had read the letter and evidently made little difference we learned in our last discussion in verse four of Romans two that God is holding back the full venting of his wrath and his anger he has in his forbearance call date temporary truce of arm in his kindness is drawing people to repentance is important to remember his audience to remember in Romans one it is the immoral man who does revel in his sin, and were given the list if you said that the immoral man.

You're a liar and a thief in an adulterer and a sinner in general and judgment is coming that man would probably say to use so why let it come, let me live the way I want to live, but in Romans chapter 2, the audience is shifted now, not to the immoral man with the moral unbelieving man.

You tell the moral man. You're a liar and a thief in an adulterer and hillside.

Now hold on a second you think you are. I may not be perfect but I'm not that bad. I've done a few little things on this item sure everyone has. I told a white lie here. There are a few things in my life. You should see the good things I have done it if you haven't noticed, I'm in church.

Why should I fear he would say the molten lava God's judgment to that person. Paul is written in chapter 2 verse three.

Do you actually suppose man that you, the latter part of the verse will escape the judgment of God, or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance. Why does the moral man think lightly of God's kindness because even the needs it.

Why does the moral man think lightly of God's patience because he doesn't think he needs the patience of God.needs to be patient of the murderers got needs to be patient that the adulterers got needs to be patient to the sinners who find themselves in Romans chapter 1. It doesn't need to be patient with me seeing the moral man doesn't see himself like one of those little kids in the grocery store that I saw recently screaming at the top of his cart. His frazzled poor mother he's there in the checkout lane and with his mother and she won't give him that candy bar that the store with all other sorts of candy just low enough to reach from his cards is all strategically located right there to push mothers to the point of insanity and he is kicking his feet against the cards and he is screaming.

I wanted I want moral man says that's not me I have never been a problem child to God.

Paul says if you forgotten kindness of God leads you to what latter part of verse four repentance, you know, repentance is the Greek word literally means a change change of mind you change your mind about yourself and change your mind about your sin, you change your mind about God. Suddenly there is a brokenness. The true repentance brings your broken over the fact that you are a liar and because you are a liar you tell lies your broken over the fact that in your heart during adulterer and because of that you last your broken over the fact that you're a thief at hard and because of that you cheat and steal your broken over the fact that your coverage is at hard to because of that, you look discontented, greedy, lives your broken over the fact that your heart in your heart you're in idolater and because of that you live for yourself first.

She Paul was trying to show that the unbelieving immoral man in the unbelieving moral man are the same in this point, neither one of them ever come to the point of brokenness, the immoral man, at least might admit he's a center of the moral man ever will pull is expecting the moral man to defend himself and say I am basically a good person. God will see everything that I've done and gather some bad stuff, but I'm sure the good stuff will outweigh the bad stuff and I'll have no problem the making it into heaven.

I can stand up to the scrutiny of God's judgment will wait and see. Paul hasn't exactly where he wants him good.

He says, in effect, you want to be judged by the deeds in your life, that's exactly what God will one day do so.

Let's look at the deeds of your life now and allow them to either vindicate or condemn you and what are the deeds of the moral man's life. He says in verse five, but because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds. What Paul does your first of all is reveal the true character of moral man. The first keyword in your text as the words stubbornness, your translation may read hardness.

It's the Greek word square mate switch gives us our English medical terms sclerosis. We use the word in the same way we refer to arteriosclerosis as the hardening of the arteries in its life-threatening. So Paul here says that the moral man has a life threatening condition that is far worse if it is never cured is the hardening of the heart.

The sclerosis of our goes on further in this verse to describe the heart of moral man by saying he has and unrepentant heart.

The word unrepentant is the same word from verse four we read God leads you to repentance same word here in verse five, except it begins with a little Greek word alpha, which simply reverses the entire meaning verse four.

There's brokenness over sin. Verse five there is no brokenness over sin.

Verse four there is a change of mind about God. Verse five there is no change of mind about God. There is no change of heart. No change of will know repentance. The only time that adjective is found in the entire Greek New Testament is here a T. Robertson, the old Greek scholar translated it and on reconstructed the heart. You see, Paul's inspired strategy here.

He deals differently. In chapter 2 than he did in chapter 1 on the outside, the moral man looks good. He doesn't seem to be reveling in the wicked sins of chapter 1 he isn't the town drunk. He doesn't run around painting the town red isn't sitting on death row. No heat is a member of the church.

He's a volunteer teacher of underprivileged children need volunteers in the community. He is an upstanding reputation in his business.

So what Paul does with that man is show him an x-ray of his heart.

When God alone can see the Greek word used here for hard.

In verse five is the word cardigan or Cardenas which gives us our word cardiologist are Dr. cardiology the Cardenas of the unbeliever. Here in verse five, he tells us is in the process of growing harder and harder. That's why it's easier in human terms to speak in human terms for a moment for a child to come to faith in Christ and an older person, why because the older you get, the more stubborn your heart the more able you are to defend your sin. The more you resist the thought that you have to do an absolute about-face, the easier it is to say, look at all the good I've done good search sometime for you to pick up in your personal study of the word would be to track through the Bible to different conditions of the heart. The Bible talks about a stony heart a rebellious heart and uplifted heart seemed heart here he talks about the hardened heart moral man looks good and healthy on the outside but under the x-ray of God's holy gaze. He discovers that he has a fatal heart problem in the divine x-ray reveals Mr. moral man, you look good but you need a heart transplant, and only the divine physician can give you one you are in need of admitting your terminal and the need divine surgery. Paul tells us in verse five because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself what author wrote hardening the arteries may take you to the grave, but hardening of the heart will take you to hell's interesting word here.

The word translated storing up it means to stockpile. Little by little, the word has a nuance of a greedy person who carefully and meticulously stores things away hides them in corners and cubbyholes and closets and under the mattress and had all that well at the same time attempting to look generous, attempting to look like a giving person.

Paul says Mr. moral man. You think you're getting away with looking good you are, all the while storing up evil deeds not good deeds that will one day outweigh the evil deeds. What you are actually doing is storing up in the cubbyholes of your life. The wrath of God which will one day be unleashed in all of its terror because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart.

One author pictured it this way this text illustrates a miser who was unwilling to comprehend that he is collecting the exiled serpents, bringing them into his warm room where they will someday hatch all at once and destroy. In other words, Vesuvius is still rumbling every day you live every hour you refuse to repent is one more deposit into that terrible treasure. In fact, the word store up can be translated treasure. It's used in the previous verse translated riches. You have the treasure of God's kindness here now in this next verse, you have the treasure of God's wrath and on the day of judgment, the mountain of God's wrath will pour out against you.

There will be according to these few words and eternal reckoning of God's judgment read it again in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds the world despises the thought of a God who judges tell me about a God who loves don't tell me about a God of judges, but if he is indeed a perfect God, then he will be a perfect judge. JI Packer wrote in his book. Knowing God. These provocative words listen. What a God who did not care about the difference between right and wrong be a good God wouldn't God put no distinction between the beasts of history to Hitler's and Stalin's. If we dare use names and his own children be morally praiseworthy and perfect moral indifference would be an imperfection, and to not judge the world would be to show moral indifference. Listen to this carefully. The final proof that God is a perfect being is the fact that he has committed himself to judge the world must judge the world.

Now that Paul is shown, the moral man the condition of his heart.

He shows them the true condition of his character looked out of verse eight, where he describes, but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey righteousness, wrath and indignation. Now this is interesting because you would look at that list and say that's nowhere near as bad as chapter 1 but yet in the mind of Paul and in the mind of God. Sin is sin. And this is the description of the one who looks good but is secretly ambitious you can summarize the deeds of the moral man with three phrases he stubbornly persists in these three things.

Number one, selfish ambition that is he lives for himself. Second of all, disobedience to the truth. Why because he considers his opinion higher than God's third obedience to sins short-term gain and nobody seems to say my life is working out all rights all just ignore the rumbling of that nearby mountain. My friend, do you hear today to hear the rumbling of God's judgment will you run to the cross and place your faith in the lamb for it was at that moment that the wrath of God bore down on the son of God, he was able to pay that mountain pile of guilt in your life run to him you are safe in him because the wrath of God is already poured out against him.

He refused him and you stand before him one day naked and exposed before his wrath upon all his and finished with his diagnosis look back again at verse five. Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in other words, it's just growing little by little, and there is no hope, no cure, or it isn't the scale where you will somehow outweigh the good.

You will not be able to. Maybe you say well okay I know the judgment of God is coming defied diet is that appointed day. Perhaps, though, I can wait a little longer to give you the words of an old rabbi named Eliezer is quoted in my Jewish commentary on the New Testament used to say it was students repent. One day before you die and his students would respond.

How can we do that I don't knows on what day you will die. He says that is my point exactly. All the more reason to repent today that I want you to notice the character of the believer's life stands in contrast to the unbeliever backup in verse seven. By the way the world should be able to tell the difference between those who truly know him and have repented and those who have not should see not necessarily simply know what you believe but see how you behave. Frankly, let me say that they don't care what you believe it. They don't care that you can call the apostles Creed. I don't care that you can quote the Lord's prayer.

Listen to your vocabulary at work with a list they watch your life that your you communicate values you rub shoulders with them. Stop again for another moment as I interrupt my interruption. Some would say what this paragraph seems to imply that a person is going to go to heaven because of good works.

Verse seven just as the Mormons going to hell because of his work verse eight we need to remember something as students of the word. The context of the text often gives the meaning of the text Paul in Romans two is not defining the basis of salvation. He's not even talking about salvation than chapter 3 the basis for salvation described in the book of Romans is faith in Christ alone independently of any good work, but the basis for judgment is works for both the believer and the unbeliever the believer will one day stand at the bema seat of God's judgment. In second Corinthians 5 and is works will be judged not to see if he'll get into heaven but to see how we lived in the light of heaven.

Paul speaks in general terms about the ultimate judgment of the unbeliever given to us specifically in Revelation chapter 20 where the unbeliever stands at the great White throne of God, not to see if he is going to help but to understand why he is what Paul is doing in these few verses now just showing the contrast between the lifestyles of those who are going to heaven and those who are going to hell. Let me add this if you are living like someone going to hell. You have no assurance that you are going to heaven. It is not my responsibility to give you hope if you live like someone going to hell to challenge you to examine your faith to see if you are indeed truly one of his one thing to practice and pursue a righteous living in fail. That's the description of the believer. In Romans chapter 7, but it's another thing not to care at all about God's standard of righteousness. The snub your nose at the truth. The holiness of God.

The church is another thing entirely to say you know him, but live as if you do not know him and care not to live as if you know him true faith in Christ brings salvation apart from works by true faith reveals itself in good works. Paul wrote in Ephesians 210 for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, that is salvation for good works, that after salvation. In other words, good works are not the condition for salvation.

They are the consequent of salvation is it will what about the person is as well. I prayed when I was a kid I prayed one of the TNR in a dog and III walk the aisle and I signed the card or whatever and now I really care about the church I really care about the Lord and yet I'm going to happen because I prayed that prayer will you do about them.

The apostle John had that same question asked him those who abandon the faith of the early church and rebelled against the Lord openly even though they had one point had been part of the church and seemingly related to Christ.

When we renew his answer.

They went out from us, but they were really not all of us, for they had been thus they would have remained with us, but they went out in order that it might be shown that they were not of us.

What is the lifestyle of true faith.

Paul wrote in Titus two that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good work.

In other words, true faith produces a zeal for good works. That means that the utter lack of zeal for good works, means there is perhaps the utter lack of true faith. So one of the righteous deeds that will be evident in the life of the believer.

Verse seven. Those who by perseverance. Those who consistently pursue.

That means you at times can fail those who persevere in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality and eternal life's point is not to tell us how to get to heaven here in this context. His point is to tell us how to live as an evidence that we are our way to heaven only summarize that verse with three characteristics of the believer who, though not perfectly persistently persevere as this is where the theologian. This passage comes up with the phrase the perseverance of the St. in number one, seeking the glory of God involved in that is a sense of personal glory, not in pride but that glorious moment when we shall be in glory with him. Secondly, in pursuing honor with passion. Third, living for eternity's long term reward, not sins short-term reward God's long term eternity's long term reward another text says, among other things that we seek for immortality. We pursue immortality.

The word immortality. Here in verse seven simply means incorruption.

It appears again in first trillion 15 in reference to the resurrection body of the believer that is exempt from spoil is exempt from decay. It is exempt from sinful corruption. So the glorified body of the believer is that which we live far because then we will no longer be surrounded by this corrupt flash you who have repented you live with a sense of brokenness about your corruption long for the immortality of the glorified body and the person who has escaped the wrath of God enjoys forgiveness and the promise heaven do anything other than live the truth of Romans chapter 2 verse seven.

As believers living our lives in such away from our lips and from our character and from our repented broken hearts.

We in the way that says to our Savior. Thank you.

You say my life, save my life.

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