Dr. Cecil A. Fayard - 2001 Sermons
Sunday, February 25, 2001   

INTRODUCTION: Self-righteousness is very deadly sin. It is a sin that Jesus attacked often. Self-righteousness can also come under several different titles: hypocrisy, arrogance, pride, and conceit. Self-righteousness crosses every financial, racial, and intellectual line.

Self-righteous folks judge others while seeing no need to look at themselves and evaluate their own actions. Self-righteous folks do not see themselves as sinners; they see themselves as better than anyone else- and that is dangerous.

In Romans 1:18-32, Paul tells us of God's wrath against the gross immorality of the openly ungodly. Now in Romans 2-1-16, he "turns his attention to 'respectable' sinners who, thinking themselves better than others, fall into the selfsame sins as those they pretend to despise" (Phillips 35).

Romans 2:1-16 are written mainly to the Jews (verse 9-1 0), but also applies to the Gentiles.

1. VERSES 1-6, THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS ARE JUDGED ACCORDING TO TRUTH
   1. Verse 1, "Therefore thou art inexcusable, 0 man......."
      
      1. Because the wicked practices of the Gentiles are an abomination to God, you too are without excuse when you practice the same wickedness. How could this be?
         
         1. Many Jews by their pride, their self-righteousness made an idol of themselves.
            
         2. The Jews were arrogant seeing themselves as privileged as God's chosen nation.
            
      2. The self-righteous person sees other men's sins as worse than his own. He compares himself to those he declares to be sinners: the prostitutes, the drunk, the gang members. He says, "I am better than they are."
         
         1. He trusts in his baptism, church membership, status in the community and club memberships to get him to heaven. All of this flatters him.
            
         2. The self- righteous person makes the mistake of measuring himself by his own standard and not God's. God's standard is His holy law which no man can keep.
            
            1. If you are trusting in keeping the Ten Commandments to get you into heaven, you'll not make it.
               
            2. Romans 3:20.
               
      3. The principles of this verse is illustrated by King David. David had been indulgent of his sin with Bathsheba, his murder of Uriah, and his marriage to Uriah's widow. David was indignant when he heard the story of the poor man's cherished lamb being taken and slain by a rich man. David was indignant at another, but indulgent of himself (II Samuel 12:5-7).

   2. Verse 2, In this verse, we have four certain things:
      1. "But we are sure ...." ) Paul speaks of absolute certainty. It will happen!
         
      2. "That the judgment of God..." Men should tremble at this in this godless age.
         
      3. "According to truth." God's truth will win out. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). Without Jesus, you don't have truth.
         
      4. "Against them which commit such things." A penalty and a judgment is against them which commit such things: the outwardly immoral and the smugly self-assured sinner.
         
         1. The sinner is "weighed in the balances and found wanting" (Daniel 5:27).
            
         2. Self-righteousness will not save. "All of our righteousness are as filthy rags......"

   3. Verse 3, The self-righteous man who judges others will not escape God's judgment.
      
      1. Joshua Graft suggests four ways of escape-
         
         1. One might not be found out, but God says: "Be sure your sin will find you out."
            
         2. One may escape beyond the jurisdiction of the court, but remember God is everywhere.
            
         3. One might fail to be convicted in trials, but every transgression will receive "a just recompense of reward" (Hebrews 2:2).
            
         4. One might get out of the pen and hide, but there is a hell from which none will escape.
            
      2. The self-righteous man will not escape (Hebrews 2:3).

   4. Verse 4, The reason for "the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering" of God are not to make folks self-satisfied but to bring them to belief.
      
      1. God's common grace shows His goodness to man.
         
      2. Oh, that you might see what God has done for you, and that it might lead you to repentance (II Tim 2:25).
         
      3. With all that has been done, man resists God and conversion.

   5. Verses 5-6, Lost friend, God has been good to you. He has blessed you. You don't deserve anything but hell.
      1. By rejecting the truth men treasure up wrath. "It pictures a sinner storing away day by day a fresh deposit of wickedness for judgment in the coming day" (Phillips 41).
         
      2. "The day of wrath speaks of God's final judgment of mankind (I Peter 3:7; Revelation 20:11-15).
         
      3. Verse 6, Every man will be responsible for his own sins. Because they obey not the Gospel, they will come under God's wrath (II Thessalonians 1:7-9).

2. VERSES 7-15, JUDGMENT ACCORDING TO DEEDS
   1. Verse 7, this verse describes the fruit of the regenerated life (Titus 3:5).
      
      1. No one is ever saved by good works; salvation is always by grace through faith.
         
      2. The redeemed patiently serve God for we are created unto good works (Ephesians 2:1 0).
         
      3. We see in this the perseverance of the saints.

   2. Verses 8-9, Verse seven spoke of the saved, the regenerated one. Verse eight and nine speak of the lost, the unregenerated.
      
      1. There is wrath for the unregenerate (II Thessalonians 2:12).
         
      2. Those who are self-righteous, filled with self-ambition, will suffer for they see no need of a Savior.

   3. Verse 10, Here we once again go back tot he redeemed. Those who serve God out of a pure heart, a redeemed, believing heart, have "glory, honor, and peace." (Romans 5:1; 8:1). If you are not "in Christ Jesus," you are lost.

   4. Verse 11, The Jews thought they had a leg up on the Gentiles. Not so when it comes to salvation by faith. God shows no favoritism.

   5. Verse 12, There are two classes of people here: the Jews and Gentiles. Both are condemned if the reject Christ.

   6. Verse 13, this verse does not mean that men are saved by works, but it means that saved men demonstrate or give evidence of faith by works (James 1:22).

   7. Verses 14-15, Man, whether Jew or Gentile, is without excuse.
      1. God has given witness to all (1:20).
      2. God has given to man the evidence of His goodness and the witness of the stars.

3. VERSE 16, JUDGED ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL
   1. The final test of judgment will be a man's relationship to Jesus Christ.

   2. Paul had been entrusted with the Gospel of Christ.
      
      1. "...Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel."
         
      2. I Corinthians 15-3-4; Romans 1:16.