Mountain View Baptist Church

[This is part of a series of sermons on the topic of "One Another".  To access previous messages, please click here.]

Last week we went back to our base, our foundation. We looked specifically at salvation in the morning and at proof of our Lord’s resurrection in the evening service. The week before that we discussed how we can do what is right for and by one another.

We talked last week about Moses and Stephen. Where Moses was worldly in his focus, upbringing and response, Stephen was spiritual when he let the Son of God, through the Holy Spirit, control his life. Where we see Stephen convicting souls and suffering from their rebellion against God, Moses was ostracized for what he thought was helping protect his ethnic brother. Clearly, we all look different on the outside, but we are very much alike on the inside. That is no truer than when we discuss the soul. The lost soul focuses upon things and solutions in the world. The saved soul focuses upon God’s will and deliverance.

Last week seemed quite a denunciation of Moses. We should take a moment to also note that God chose to introduce Himself to Moses at a different time. Moses met God later on a mountaintop and was saved. Moses got it right in the wilderness finally where he asked God to provide and do.

Like Stephen and like Moses eventually would, we too should ask God to provide and trust what He chooses for us. That is living out faith in Him. When we have faith in God’s will, we can love, support, and do what is right for one another.

Please turn to Romans 2. We find Paul’s epistle to the Romans beginning to describe how impartial God is with respect to His judgment. We have to remember, everyone who is guilty will be judged. Believer’s judgments will come. They are judged related to their works (2 Cor 5:10). We are without excuse. Every one who passes judgment upon another is hypocritical the moment those words pass their lips. The reason is plain in scripture; everyone will pass through judgment and there is only one Judge.

We are currently enjoying a presidential primary season in the 2012 election cycle. One of the things we hear in the news about candidates is personal information. News agencies and debate questions are often worded and in such a way by the press to push the pendulum to one side or the other. According to a number of media studies, this ‘leading question’ pendulum swings more normally than not to the tawdry side of the clock. Nasty news sells and no news outlet can pass up a good ‘gotcha’ story. As is true with many individuals pressing an agenda, those in the media are predominantly liberal and over 80% are registered democrats. They are not objective. Therefore, to claim they only want to get the facts out about candidates on the right, while plainly ignoring, even condoning the same activity on the left is the height of hypocrisy.

The real issue in the passage we study today is hypocrisy. There are three schools of thought that are associated with Romans 2:1-16. There are the moralists who believe that being a good human being to mankind and striving to make mankind better is the mark of someone headed for Heaven. A moral testimony speaks of individual salvation. There are the Jews that believe they have the leg-up to get into Heaven, being the selected and chosen people. They believe Jews are already headed there and Gentiles are judged on a different scale because of it. There is a third camp of commentators that says this is a severe criticism and condemnation of all hypocrites regardless of race, creed, color, social status, religion or culture. Let’s look at these a little more closely.

Commentators (Scofield among them) understand this as God’s judgment on the Gentile pagan moralist. Commentators concentrate on this epistle being Paul’s letter to the Romans, a predominantly pagan church. Taking this as the direct focus of the letter, commentators see Romans akin to the epistle to the Hebrews. Where the Hebrew’s epistle was for their edification predominantly to point to the complete perfection and total sufficiency of the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, Romans addresses their paganism and tells how it falls far short of messianic salvation. They worshiped any god that came along. The Roman philosophy was very pluralistic. They believed they were best served by a philosophical approach that tolerated the varied and divergent, even eclectic religions in their empire. The Roman emperor in Paul’s day, Marcus Aurelius, was a noted philosopher himself. The highest forms of society held personal morality as a tremendous virtue to be embraced. Romans were much like our Japanese today that hold honor and family dignity in the highest regard. The passage places them into the same category as any other pagan. An unbeliever is an unbeliever whether they are moral or not. Moreover, in God’s eyes, the Romans were not moral.

The second set of commentators understands this passage as a condemnation of the ethnic Jewish attitude as the chosen people of God. The prevailing attitude is that Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee. They would say Paul is trying to warn the prideful Jews in Rome who saw themselves as Jehovah’s favorites. Jewish pride rode high in their being pre-chosen for entrance into Heaven. The Jew would say they know that, although they have to do the right things according to the Law of Moses, they are a shoe-in for Heaven. Their attitude was such that they would denigrate any Gentile with words such as “unclean” and calling Gentiles “dogs.” They thought that the Gentile was unworthy of Heaven. Jews regularly compared man to man instead of looking at themselves compared to God. They forgot that they needed to love God, and love His law though. The Jew’s sin is hypocrisy. They were not extra moral because God chose them.

A better assessment of these passages probably is that all hypocrisy is being condemned, not just that of moralist or the Jew. God is no respecter of persons and He will judge all according to His whole law. The Gentile has the same opportunity as the Jew. Both must accept and believe in the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth for their salvation and as their redeemer/reconciler for entrance into the Father’s Kingdom.

We will read Romans 2, verses 9 through 16. For our message today we will concentrate on verse 15. We find a very specific area of mankind’s hypocrisy highlighted here -attitude. We cover two things with respect to hypocritical attitude and both of those things should be oriented and sensitive to the Savior and not toward man.

God makes no distinction between individuals. There are differing challenges we face as we know more about God. Christians are more accountable because we should know the truth. Consider our accountability. We understand and we say we know God is the creator of all yet we exercise no faith in Him outside of our claim to salvation, we have a works attitude. We actually deny God’s omnipotence regularly when we take it upon ourselves to decide what God might do. May I suggest that first, it is not up to us and second our works come from faith; our faith is not in our works.

I. Works attitude (15a)

The Jews’ works attitude, and that of natural man in all things, is oriented toward keeping the law. For the Jew it is a matter of right worship. These are the very things that Jesus preached against in His ministry. Jesus talked about the hypocrisy of the leadership in their trying to hold the masses in check through ritual after ritual, while they themselves sinned in their hearts all the time. They saw themselves as the chosen of God and unique among all the people of the world. Part of this is true. God did choose them. However, He chose them to preserve them, and as His specific children to bless and glorify Himself through them. They still had to love God and submit to Him. To receive the whole blessing of God was to obey God through a loving relationship,  loving to worship Him, loving to submit to Him.

A perfect example of their sin dealt with good deeds. The plain truth is that Israel was jaundiced against other people, even of their own race. They also saw any trouble as something to avoid. Israelites did not want to get involved for fear that there might be trouble. It could be too much work. They might need those few drachmas for bread themselves. This attitude did not trust God’s protection or provision. They did not trust God’s will.

Paying alms was another problem the Jews had. They gave what they needed to, and that was it. Malachi 1:6 and 3:8 documents their wicked attitude concerning greed and self-preservation. They were keeping the law not out of love, but out of necessity. Further, they were only giving God what they thought they could afford. Again, there was no heart in what they did. The widow’s mite is a wonderful lesson that we should take to heart. God will give us what we need; we need never be distressed. God may also choose to bless us in abundance. Both are His choices though, and we must be prepared for both. This dear little widow gave that last coin out of faith. We too should be willing to stretch ourselves in faith to do and give to God.

The Jews were devoted to their religion. Jesus challenged His disciples to have the devotion of scribes and Pharisees! (Matthew 5:20) Today we might look at Islam in some of the same light. Many of the followers of Muhammad could put the normal Christian to shame with their devotion. Unfortunately, just as it was with the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, devotion to a religion provides no eternal salvation.

In Christian circles, keeping the law takes on other forms. We might ask if we do Bible studies like we’re supposed to or if we do our morning and evening devotions. Do we do our family devotions as we’re supposed to? Are we working for Christ? Is our daily prayer and personal time with our Lord regular and dedicated? Do we do our concentrated studies in God’s word? Do we witness for the Lord?

These are all works folks. These are all works of the law written on their hearts. People know they are supposed to do these things. These are morals that God encourages in His people. However, God wants your attitude to be about Him and His ability in these works, not about you and yours. Barrett wrote the following:

“The reward of eternal life…is promised to those who do not regard their good works as an end in themselves, but see them as marks not of human achievement but of hope in God. Their trust is not in their good works, but in God, the only source of Glory, honour, and incorruption.”[i]

We have to remember that this works attitude born from a drive to obey the law is a failure without faith. Is our attitude one that would claim to deserve to be in Heaven because of these works? Do we claim to have earned a position in the church because of our deeds? Do we claim some special treatment or leniency in the ministry of Christ because of our long Christian history? Polycarp certainly did no such thing as he stood before the Roman emperor and claimed Christ at 90. Polycarp was martyred for his witness of over 80 years of devotion to Christ. If our Lord only operated in faith, and determined to die for it and for us through it, how much more should our attitude not be focused upon our works of righteousness, but the righteous God whom those works serve?

Not only is our Christian attitude of entitlement a problem with our faith, we also have a heart that we all too often want to follow. If we do the right things, it leads us to think we are a “moral” people or that our morals can get us credibility. It certainly does with man, at least the moral life we permit man to see in us. Morals do nothing for our eternal condition. We need to have a proper conscience attitude.

II. Conscience attitude (15b)

Keeping the law through works can develop an attitude of entitlement in individuals. Some men think that they deserve to be a deacon because they served in Sunday schools, their community and the widows of the church. Those are things Deacons are called to do in scripture; however one requirement is paramount above all the works, and that is that they be full of the Holy Spirit of truth. Their conscience, therefore their lives as a whole, must be driven by the indwelling Spirit.

We often think that if we work at something, we deserve something else. This is part of what our heart tells us. If we work at being a good person, we should be okay. We operate on a reciprocation principle when we think this way. If we give, we should get. The law that many Gentiles ascribe to is not one of maxims but morals. Written laws do not define their morality. Instead, their morality is often based upon the things that our social structure sees as “the Greater Good.” Their conscience bears witness of these works. One commentator wrote:

“Conscience is the mental faculty by which man judges his actions and passes sentence thereon.”[ii]

In our country today two ideologies are currently at war. These same two ideologies have been at war since Eve first saw the fruit and decided it was attractive, nutritious and good for enlightenment. She reasoned it was good for her. The fact is that the basic laws of God are written there in our hearts if we would consider them before we look at our ability to reason. These two factions are reason and faith.

Conscience strikes people differently. Some listen to their conscience for a nefarious purpose. Criminals in gangs operate this way. A gang member will do anything needed to in order to support the gang and its members, thievery, murder, assault, revenge against rivals, anything. Others read their conscience speaking of great reformation. A story associated with the reformer John Huss[iii] illustrates this strange dichotomy.

As the wood was laid at his feet to burn him at the stake for heresy, a poor widow came along with a small bundle of wood and placed it as close as possible to Huss’ feet. Being a stranger to him, he asked her what he had ever done to her or hers that she should hate him so much. She is supposed to have told Dr. Huss that she was very poor, she had scrimped and scraped to buy this small bundle of wood. Though he had never personally injured her or her kin, it seemed proper that she would buy the wood for such a purpose as to burn a heretic. John Huss’ conscience would have him give his body for God. The ladies conscience would have her give a bundle of wood to burn him for God.

A point that many make is that conscience, because it can be wrong, may be a goad or enticer and not necessarily a guide. The uninformed conscience can make a multitude of bad decisions and encourage the wrong direction. However, the properly informed conscience fed regularly by the Word of God and influenced by the Holy Spirit can make good regular decisions.

A Christian has a great advantage over the natural man in conscience. The Christian’s conscience is guided by the Holy Spirit and encouraged to push out impure thoughts. These thoughts might stand to accuse. Accusation can be either against self, or against another. It can also be a cause to excuse. A Christian can excuse behavior out of forgiveness that a natural soul might seek vengeance. A Christian can also excuse accusation because of a better-developed sense of spiritual influence. The believer knows that natural man is still controlled by Satan and will do the things of their father, the evil one. Equally, the believer knows another believer has a sin tainted heart that still acts worldly at times. Being unforgiving in our spirit hurts a Christian conscience.

A Christian forces him/herself to do good deeds regardless what they might see or associate from the world’s perspective. This is the issue with the Good Samaritan. The believer in Christ knows that regardless what might happen, their conscience would be seared not having helped when they could.

A Christian encourages others to good deeds through their conscientious efforts. Christians convict others with selflessness in many ways. One of the most impressive ways Christians have an impact is with money. Two or three times while at the store I’ve been given the wrong change – too much. There has never been a cashier yet that was not surprised when you give them back money instead of living with their mistake and taking the money. My children and I have found wallets with hundreds of dollars in them. We have been tested many times and I would like to think we pleased our Lord with our efforts.

A Christian feels the pang of the need to witness. The Christian conscience is always encouraged to witness. A new lease on life coupled with an eternal outlook has an amazing effect on the natural man. Every single individual on our world knows they have done things wrong. Every one of them has lied, even if it was as a child. Every one of them has deceived someone. Most if not all have stolen something. Once again age makes no difference according to God. The change from conviction to freedom from those convictions can have tremendous effect. The Christian wants to tell others of the relief their hearts have, being out from under the crushing weight of sin.

What is the difference between these examples of man’s conviction (minus Huss and the Christian’s convictions) and the convicting power that lives within the believer’s chest? God in the person of the Holy Spirit establishes a home in the chest (per se) of the believer (Joel 2:28; Ezek 36:24; John 7:38). God’s Spirit indwells the believer. He has many functions in this new abode. Chief among them is that He convicts the believer of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn 16:8-11). He can accuse in this position as the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. For the Christian, He can excuse where sin is covered by the blood of the lamb. Through these works, He also gives power to believers for boldness, love, and self-discipline (Acts 4:29; 2 Tim 1:7). With conviction and change, the Spirit also produces godly fruit in the believer (Gal 5:22-23). The conscience connected to the Holy Spirit makes the changes from the old man to the new man. The Spirit of God encourages one to leave the world behind and follow a path to eternal life.

To man, conscience is a moral guidepost upon which he judges his personal actions and those performed by others. The unfortunate aspect of this guidepost is that every individual manages their own conscience based upon their life experience, social status and exposure. Because of these senses, an individual’s conscience can be desensitized through exposure to worldliness and sin. Conscience-driven morals therefore are relative and vary greatly on a scale that has no originally determined boundaries. This is why sexual promiscuity is prevalent today; sex sells everything from bath soap to alcoholic beverages. Where there are no standards, there are no real morals. Morality becomes relative; to each his own.

With the Law there are standards, boundaries and requirements established. The laws of God in the Bible are developed, like most laws, for our protection. Just as man rejects many basic societal laws in favor of his own personally developed morality, so too man rejects the basic laws of God in favor of his own existence. The problem is natural man does not place the judgments on the correlated plane. God will judge on a infinite plane, whereas man only controls the temporal. Man’s law is flawed and finite, tied to a temporal jail. God’s law perfect and infinite, tied to an eternal Heaven and Hell.

We see in others both the working attitude and the conscience attitude. What we should do is encourage others in both of these attitudes and understand they have a personal relationship with God for both of these. God will convict every single person on the globe about His moral positions. Man will, more often than not, rebel against these encouraging convictions. I was reading a political blog the other day dealing with the Iowa caucus and how one of the candidates really upset a voter. The voter wrote:

“”Candidate X,” is saying that the pursuit of happiness is harming America. He wants to regulate society, he wants government in the bedroom, he wants government in our religious life.”

This blogger is simply rebelling against the candidate’s moral positions. They feel that if leadership has morals, they will be convicted in their immorality. They’re afraid and they’re right. Another commentator notes that some individuals have high ethical standards and a moral lifestyle. This convicts others especially when there is widespread corruption in their contemporaries. The reason is simple. The immoral see the moral as individuals who would press against their inability to control themselves. The immoral simply want no accountability while the moralist thrives on it.

Everyone views any challenge to their personally chosen morals as a threat. People fear others might find out just how wicked they are. They know just how wicked they are, but they do not want anyone else to know. The individual complaining about candidate ‘X’ above may believe in the right to abortion. They would not believe that an unborn innocent life in the womb has a right to pursue happiness over the decision of the mother. This is relative morality and the problem with the skewed thoughts of man today. We convict others but we should also excuse[iv] others understanding why they are who they are. They cannot help being evil when they have no guidepost.