​The Tragedy of Rejecting God Part 3
Romans 2:1-11
The Righteous Will Live By Faith!
Humankind naturally rejects faith in God    Romans 1:18-32
-Part 1:  We suppress the truth, worship false gods   vs 18-23
-Part 2:  We worship our heart desires and creation   vs 24-32
 
Rejecting God leads to tragic lives
-We violate God’s natural design for our lives
-We destroy human relationships
-CS Lewis “[They] enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have
  demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved.” 
 
Today, The tragedy of trusting GOOD instead of God
-Read Romans 2:1-11
-note: Paul uses a diatribe literary device- “argument with an imaginary critic”
 
The tragedy of trusting Good instead of God!
1. Good blinds us of our bad  vs 1
-self-righteous people judge others without judging themselves
-“you do the same thing!”   the same sins (maybe 1:29-31)
-Matthew 7:1-5  you see their splinter, don’t see your log!
-note:  Jesus DID say evaluate (Matt 7:15-20)- the fruit of
   someone’s life determines if you can trust him/her spiritually
   -judging character is different than judging to gain moral
     superiority over others.
 
2.  God judges good based on truth  vs 2
-No one is good enough to pass as perfect
-Moral standards don’t save us
-No one can escape the truth!
 
3. Good gives false security  vs 3-5
-Good is generally rewarded in this life (see Proverbs!)
-But temporal blessings don’t erase God’s judgment of sin
   -good people mistake God’s patience for approval
   -good people become hard hearted, don’t see their sin
   -They will receive God’s wrath unless they repent
 
God will repay fairly  vs 6-11
Paul uses a chiastic literary arrangement, the main point is at the beginning and then restated at the end (vs 6 and 11)
1.  Eternal life to those who pursue what is right
-vs 7, 10
 
2.  Wrath and destruction for those who pursue evil
-vs 8, 9
 
3.  Those who “knew better” will be judged first!
-Jews, then Gentiles/Greeks   vs 9, 10
 
 
Stop trusting in GOOD!
1.  Agree with God- good isn’t good enough!
-Romans 3:23
 
2.  Believe in Jesus- He died to pay for our sins
-Everyone will be judged by their works!
   -No one can escape the wrath of God
-Putting our faith in Jesus makes us righteous!
   -A Christ follower is judged by Christ’s works
   -We are made perfect in God’s sight!
-Ephesians 2:8-9-  Trust the gift of God’s grace!
    -Good works don’t save us- that would diminish God’s glory
 
3.  Commit your whole life to Jesus Christ
-knowing is not good enough, we must repent and follow
-Matthew 3:8  “Therefore produce fruit consistent with
   repentance. 
-James 2:17  “In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is
  dead by itself”
-Stop using your own standards of good and evil
-Surrender to God’s truth
-Make Jesus your forever boss