The Trial of the Moral Person

Jesus told a story one time in Luke chapter 18. It's not our text for today, but it does really highlight what Paul will talk about in Romans chapter 2. Jesus told a story in Luke chapter 18 about two people who went into the temple to pray, and one of them was a good moral person who thought very highly of himself, and Jesus told this story for those who thought very highly of themselves and looked down on other people. And so this man really thought very highly of himself, but he was a good guy. And the other man who went into the temple was a sinner. In fact, he was a tax collector and in the Jewish society, that was the scum of society. That was the person who collected taxes for the Roman government, who in every Jewish mind had sold his soul to the Romans and had betrayed his people, and beyond that was very envious and self-serving and collected more money than he was due, so that he could lie in his pockets. And so a tax collector has seen as the very scum of society. And so these two men come into the temple, and the man who's very moral and good thinks a lot of himself, the Jesus says, is standing over to the side and he lifts up his head, and he says, about himself, I thank you God that I'm not like other men are, not like evil workers and adulterers and thieves, not even like that tax collector. Because I give a tenth of all that I possess, and I fast twice in the week, I'm really a good person. And Jesus said the other man was off to himself, would not even lift his head up to heaven, but Baudi said, and beat his chest as a sign of real mourning and recognition of sin, and said, oh God be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus' valuation of that scene in the temple was this, that man, the one who said, God be merciful to me, a sinner. That man went home right with God, not the other one. Remember that story. We're in the book of Romans on Sunday morning, and we've made it to Romans chapter two. We saw in chapter one that after a long introduction Paul introducing himself and his theme, the gospel, which really involves a righteousness from God. That's what the gospel is all about. And that's what the theme of the book of Romans is, a righteousness from God. Our righteousness is not good enough. We need a righteousness that comes down from God. So Paul introduces that theme, and then like a prosecuting attorney in the first three chapters, he is going to prove that all mankind is under the judgment of God, and is worthy of a guilty sentence, all mankind. And in proving that the righteousness is needed by man, he breaks mankind down into three categories, three different groups of people. The first group of people, we looked at in Romans chapter one, and that's the kind of people who are just out and out wicked and moral and godly in your face kind of sinners. I mean they just live and out and out open, sinful lifestyle. In fact, go deeper and deeper and descend to where God finally says I'm taking my hands off, you've chosen that path. Now you're going to reap the consequences of that in your own life. Those kind of people, the ungodly wicked sinners in chapter one are being referenced. Now some of you may think of those kind of people or hear that kind of description and say, wow, I'm glad I'm not like that. And you may not be. You say, you know, I come out looking pretty good. The trial of the ungodly that doesn't apply to me. I'm a good person. I work hard. I provide for my family. I'm a good neighbor. I help my neighbors. I keep the law, pay my taxes. I'm a good person. I do good things. I would never be unfaithful to my family. I would never think of killing anybody. I certainly wouldn't steal from anybody. I'm a relatively good person, especially compared to that person in chapter one. I'm a pretty good moral person. Well, Paul's going to bring you to trial today. In Romans chapter two, verses one through sixteen, we have the trial of the moral person. Maybe look like the person you saw on the screen. The kind of person who as a family person looks great. External. Everything is wonderful. Law-biting citizen. Good provider for the family. Good moral person. And you may be here this morning like that and you're thinking, you know, compared to, compared to the guy in chapter one, I'm doing pretty good. I think God will smile on me and I'll be okay. And I'll probably be able to get to heaven because look at me. I'm a really, I'm really a good person. If you're thinking that way this morning, Paul is going to show you that even a good moral person is under the judgment of God and rightly so. You see, we have a tendency to think that we're okay if we're living pretty decent lives because we do not understand the holiness of God and we do not understand the depth of the sinfulness of man. Let me a picture it this way. When we lived in Indiana back in the 1980s, I kept hearing this advertisement for Mount Wawasi, a ski slope and I'm thinking a mountain, a mountain in Indiana. You've ever been to Indiana. You're thinking, where are the mountains? It's flat. So I'm always excited. I want to see this mountain, Mount Wawasi. So one day I actually was driving in the area and decided to drive by it to see what this ski slope was like. I couldn't believe. Mount Wawasi looked like a little bump in the landscape. I mean, someone that has to get you started by pushing you off to do any skiing on that mountain. I'm from West Virginia. That's not a mountain. I know real mountains. But you know the person in Colorado would look at us and say, you think you have mountains? Three, four thousand feet. We've got mountains 12,000, 14,000 feet out here. We have real mountains. The person in Nepal would look at the person in Colorado. So you think you got mountains 12, 14,000. We got 26,000, 28,000 feet mountains. We've got real mountains. That's easy for you to look good when you compare yourself to people who are lower. The people who may be more wicked outwardly. It's very easy to look good. But all of us are Mount Wawasi's when it comes to comparing to God's standard of righteousness, which is the Mount Everest. And the Gulf is even greater than that. So good moral person and Paul says, we're going to put you on trial today. And we're going to marshal the evidence to show that even if you're a good moral person, you deserve the judgment of God. So with the moral person in mind, Paul will detail three principles of divine judgment. Thinking about the moral person and his objections to God, or Paul will detail three principles of God's judgment. The first one is this. God's judgment is certain. It is certain. Now what Paul is going to do in the first five verses is talk about this good moral person. Open up his mind and God is going to show us exactly what's in the mind of the good moral person. And prove that because of what God knows is in our minds and hearts, his judgment is certain. Let's read these verses. Verse one, follow along with me, you therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else for whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you a mere man pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God opens up the mind and heart of the good moral person and says, I want to show you what's in there to prove that my judgment is certain. And when God looks into the heart and mind of a good moral person, this is what he sees. He sees a person who tends to be judgmental. Verse 1, you therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else. The good moral person tends to compare his life or her life with others and think, you know, I come out looking pretty good. They read chapter 1, they see the kinds of people that are spoken of there and they say, man, I'm glad that's not me. And certainly it isn't me, I live a pretty decent life. Never imagining they are under the same condemnation of God. Never thinking that they could ever be placed in the same category as far as the certainty of God's judgment. So good moral person tends to be kind of critical, quick to point out the faults and failures of others, to point the finger at others and think of themselves as righteous, self-righteous. Now maybe you would never say that, maybe you would never put it in those words, but you thought it. As you've looked at others, compared yourself to others and thought, you know, I'm doing pretty good in comparison to them. And God is saying you who judge others are guilty as well. And by the way, judging others is not just the in the mind and heart of an unsaved person who may be a good moral person. It also happens with Christians. It also happens with believers. In fact, it does become, I think, the favorite indoor sport of many Christians is to find fault, judge, condemn others who may not see everything exactly like they do. We become very self-righteous and be critical of people who may not see everything exactly like I do or do everything exactly like I do. And we become very critical and judgmental. We even jump to people's or to conclusions about people's devotion to God based on what we see externally. Two of the greatest preachers of the late 1800s, excuse me, late 1800s, 19th century were D.L. Moody here in America and Charles hadn't spurged in London. They had not met each other. They had heard a lot about each other, of course, new of each other, but they had never met each other until a point where D.L. Moody was invited to England for a series of crusades. And so they determined they would meet and D.L. Moody showed up at Spurgeon's house. And when Spurgeon answered the door, Spurgeon had a cigar in his mouth. And Moody was a guest. He stepped back, said, how can you, a man of God, smoke like that? And Spurgeon pointed his finger right into Moody's bulging stomach and said, how can you, a man of God, eat like that? It's very easy to condemn the faults of others and not recognize we have our own, right? Inside the mind of a good moral person, God says, I see judgmentalism. Tend to be judgmental. Secondly, the good moral person tends to be blind. In other words, blind to his own sin. Look at verse 1 again, you therefore have no excuse, you who passed judgment on someone else. Now here it is, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself because you who passed judgment do the same things. And you said, oh, wait a second, that's not fair. I don't do the same things as that person in chapter 1, that person who's an out and out pagan, who's very wicked and immoral and lives a flagrant sinful lifestyle. I don't do the same things as that person. I'll wait a second. Remember, God is opening up your mind and your heart to see what's on the inside and it is his judgment. It is his evaluation that yes, you do the same things. The reason why we deny that is because we do not see sin as God sees sin. Maybe you have never overtly cursed or taken the Lord's name in vain, but in the silence of your own heart and mind, you've thought it before. Under your breath, you've said that before. Haven't you? I'm getting a lot of blank stares like you don't have any idea what I'm talking about. I know better than that. Okay, you may have never said a word like that, but you thought things like that in moments of anger or frustration. You may have never in your life stolen someone, stolen something from someone. Yet in your thinking, you have envied what they have. You have wanted what they have. In your life, you may have never committed murder, but in your heart and in your mind, you have plunged the mental knife into that person's heart. You see, we are all guilty. Even the best moral people are guilty of sins that no one else can see. We would not want anyone else to know. And certainly, we might not act out, but we're guilty of them in our heart and mind. And God knows that. God sees all of that. And so God says you're just blind to your own sin. And sometimes the reason we're blind is because we're very good at renaming sin. Other people lie. We just exaggerate a little bit. Other people cheat. We just adjust our expense account a little bit. Other people betray folks. We just protect our rights. Other people steal. We just borrow with kind of an open-ended arrangement. Other people are prejudiced. We just have convictions. Other people are defencied. We're just setting the record straight. Other people are hot tempered and stubborn, but we just stand firm on principles. We have a tendency to rename our sins so it doesn't look so bad. And God says, I see what's in the heart and what's in the mind. And even the best moral person is guilty. Guilty. And oftentimes blind to our own sin. So God says, when I open the heart, open the mind, what I see, and I'm telling you, my judgment is certain, because what I see is I see one who tends to be judgmental, one who tends to be blind. Thirdly, I see one who tends to be very smug, very self-assured about where they are. Verse two. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. He's talking about those back in chapter one, those immoral wicked people. We know that that judgment is true. And the good moral person has a tendency to agree. Yeah, oh yeah, God, go get them, God. Yeah, they deserve it. But notice Paul's statement in verse three, so when you, a mere man, past judgment on them, and yet do the same things. Remember, God's looking at the mind and the heart, you're doing the same things. Do you think you will escape God's judgment? Paul blows our smug, self-assured feelings right out of the water when he says, you will not escape God's judgment. God's judgment is certain, even though you may not live out and act out the things that you think, or have in your heart, feelings and attitudes and so forth that you may express in your heart, you still have accountability to God for what's in your mind and heart. So you will not escape God's judgment. Don't be smug about the fact that you know, you live a pretty decent life, pretty good moral person. When God opens up the heart and mind, He sees one who tends to be judgmental, one who tends to be blind, one who tends to be smug, fourthly, one who tends to be hardened. Hardened. Look at it in verse 4 and 5. Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Now notice God's evaluation of that in verse 5, but because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart. That's hardness, hardness of heart, callousness of heart. He says, because of that, you're storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath. When His judgment, righteous judgment will be revealed. You see in verse 4 Paul is basically saying, God is being tolerant, God is being kind, God is being gracious to you, and you misinterpret that. You think God is giving you a divine stamp of approval for the way you're living and because God doesn't zap you and God doesn't move into judge you immediately, you think, it's okay, evidently it's all right. God's not doing anything to stop me. And that's a misinterpretation of that. What Paul says is really what God is doing is he's trying to show you kindness to give you opportunity to repent, to turn to him and recognize your sin. That's what he's doing. He's giving you time, he's giving you opportunity. And when you are stubborn in your thinking that I must be okay, when you are unrepentant in your spirit, when in your heart, you say, I must be okay, it's all right. God's not doing anything. There's no judgment for me. When you do that continually, you further harden your heart and it becomes callous toward what God is doing in your heart. What God is doing to bring you back to him. You don't hear him anymore. A hardness of heart ensues. In chapter 1, we saw a hardness of heart that comes about by repeated sin. People get hardened and callous in their heart and God gives them over. No longer deals with them. In chapter 2, you've got good moral people who misinterpret God's inaction as approval on their lifestyle and by that very same thing develop a hardness of heart and a callousness of heart. And Paul says, you're in trouble when you do that because what's happening is you're storing up wrath. Did you catch that expression in verse 5? Storing up wrath until the day of God's judgment. It's kind of like this. We're supposed to have some pretty severe thunderstorms later today or at least that was the forecast this morning and even a flash flood morning tonight. If that happens and we get some really hard and heavy rain, then there will be some dams in our area that will have muddy, roiling water coming up behind them. But down river, everything looks okay. All that activity is going on behind the dam with that muddy, broiling water building up behind the dam. But down river, it looks all right. Nothing's wrong. But the potential is there at least for that dam to break and all kinds of mayhem come loose down river. And that's exactly the picture Paul's talking about here. Because everything looks okay down river so far, you think no judgment for me. I stack up pretty well against the person in chapter 1 that an ungodly immoral person. I'm okay. God's not doing anything to me. I'm okay. What is there to worry about? I'll tell you what there is to worry about. All that muddy stuff piling up behind the dam. That's what there is to worry about. And someday it's going to break loose on the day of God's judgment. Because he knows your heart, he knows your mind, he knows what takes place inside and he knows that even on the outside though you may be a good moral, law-abiding, family-providing, neighbor-helping citizen, there's some wickedness inside and you are guilty of sin before God. So God's judgment is certain. Secondly, with the moral man person in mind, Paul says God's judgment is impartial. It is impartial. Look at verse 6. God will give to each person according to what he has done to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil first for the Jew then for the Gentile but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good first for the Jew then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. Now these verses have been troubling to some confusing to others because on first reading it sounds like Paul is saying if you do good you get eternal life, if you do bad you get judgment. So you can work your way to heaven. If you do good you'll get saved, if you do bad you go to hell. I mean that's what it looks like on first reading. Obviously Paul cannot be saying that you are saved by your good works. That would violate all the rest of what he says in the New Testament. In fact look at chapter 3 and verse 20 where he makes it very clear therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law. In other words by your good works you'll never get right with God. Rather through the law we become conscious of sin. Chapter 4 verses 4 and 5. Paul says now when a man works his wages are not credit to him as a gift but as an obligation. However to the man who does not work the idea is trying to work for your salvation. To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked his faith is credited as righteousness. So Paul obviously is not contradicting himself. He's obviously not teaching that we are saved by works but that God's judgment is impartial. I believe what Paul is saying in these verses is very consistent with what's taught in the rest of scripture and it's this that if you are genuinely saved if you have genuine true faith in Christ it will show itself in good works. It will result in a changed life in some kind of evidence in your life that you're born again that you belong to God. It will demonstrate itself. I think what Paul is saying in these verses he's describing the person who is truly saved who evidence is his genuine faith by the good works that he does and the change in his life that's the person who gets eternal life. That's very consistent with what James said in James chapter 2 when James says in the same way faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action is dead or it's not not a real faith not a genuine faith notice how he describes that he says but someone will say you have faith I have deeds show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do. You see the point there genuine faith is demonstrated by what we do it's always shown if there's no life change no evidence of of any life change or think a heart for the things of God then there's no genuine faith because genuine faith always demonstrates itself in some way in a life change in what we do. So Paul's just being consistent with what James said and with what Paul himself has said in Ephesians chapter 2 where Paul says for it is by grace you've been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it is the gift of God salvation is a gift not something we do not by works couldn't be any planer than that so that no one can boast but then look at what he says in verse 10 for we those who have placed their faith in Christ verses 8 and 9 we are God's workmanship his artistry his poem poem the word is created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do so Paul himself will say that salvation is not by good works you do so don't misunderstand what he's saying in Romans 2 salvation is not by good works it is totally by the grace of God free gift that he offers and you receive it by faith in Christ but when you become a believer then God has created you to do good works and those good works are the evidence of genuine faith so what Paul's saying in Romans 2 is very consistent with that I love the way Martin Luther used to say it when he would comment on James 2 he would say we are saved by faith alone but we are not saved by a faith that is alone in other words faith is always accompanied it demonstrates itself in a changed lifestyle in good works so what Paul saying is consistent with that he's just looking at the good works the end of it the evidence of salvation saying the person who lives this way shows evidence of genuine faith that's the person who will be in heaven but that's not even really Paul's emphasis in verses 6 through 11 it's just something people grapple over and struggle with his real emphasis in verses 6 through 11 is that God's judgment is impartial because we will all be judged by our works notice it verse 6 he says God's judgment is impartial as to the content of judgment verse 6 says God will give to each person according to what he has done now think about that for a moment God's judgment is impartial as to the content of that judgment we are all judged by our works when we stand before God now that is true for a believer for a person who is a Christian a follower of Christ it is also true for an unbeliever all of God's future judgment when we stand before him is on the basis of works what we have done if you are a believer if you know Christ is your savior you will appear before what's called the judgment seat of Christ and look at how Paul describes that in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive notice what is do him for the things done while in the body whether good or bad so we will be judged for our works for the way we've lived our lives since we've come to know Christ and the Bible teaches another passage as it will be rewarded for those works which have been done for Christ which the way we live that was for his glory will be rewarded for that will suffer loss of reward for those things which were not good but we'll be judged according to our works that you know the same thing is true of unbelievers if you are not saved if you don't know Christ is your savior you will stand at another judgment called the great white throne judgment and this is how the Bible describes that revelation chapter 20 verse 11 then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on earth and sky fled from before his presence for there was no place for them and I saw the dead great and small by the time this judgment comes all believers have been judged so they only dead people left or unsafe people I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and books were opened now notice this next sentence another book was open which is the book of life the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books the sea gave up the dead that were in it death and hideies gave up the dead that were in them now notice the next phrase each person was judged according to what he had done unbelievers will be judged at the great white throne judgment on the basis of their works to determine severity of judgment I don't know how all that looks how it works an eternal judgment but that's what the Bible says it'll be judged according to their works now please understand this whether or not you receive Christ as your Savior determines which of those judgments you will be at if you receive Christ as your Savior and trust him and him alone for your salvation you'll be at the judgment seat of Christ as a believer you will be judged for your lifestyle you will be in heaven if you have not received Christ as your Savior you'll be at the great white throne judgment and you will spend eternity in the lake of fire separated from God but you also be judged by your works that's Paul's point here verse six God will give to each person according to what he has done God has all the records God has all the facts his judgment is completely impartial when it becomes the content of that judgment and he will judge by the book your position in life your popularity your fame who you are how good you may have lived outwardly how self-righteous you may have been will not sway his judgment he's got the books he has all the facts he knows exactly what has been in your mind and heart every moment you've lived and even good moral people who don't act out simple lifestyles will have a lot to answer for in that day so God's judgment is just or God's judgment is is certain it is also impartial but it's not only impartial as to the content it's impartial as to the people being judged that's what verse 11 is all about for God does not show favoritism so his his judgment is also impartial as to the people being judged no favoritism the Greek word literally means he does not he does not show anyone favor by face the idea has to do with the face he is not swayed by the face an interesting study was done of judicial sentencing in the United States of America which showed that people who are more attractive typically receive lesser sentences than people who are not you know why we just have a tendency to be swayed by what we see have you ever wondered why defense attorneys will always have their their clients dress up real nice clean shaven look nice coat and tie nice clothing when they appear in the courtroom that's the reason we just have a tendency to think wow someone who looks so clean cut nice and fine young man looks like and fine young lady looks like well they couldn't have committed this crime that they're guilty of or charged with we have a tendency to be swayed by external appearance you don't sway God that way God doesn't look on the face God is not judged by your personality by your beauty or pensiveness or attractiveness or who you were in this life by we have positioned none of that matters with God his judgment is entirely impartial as to the people being judged no matter who you are it is by the record of your life and God knows exactly what's in your heart in mind so his judgment is impartial but then Paul goes on to say God's judgment is also just not only is it certain not only is it impartial it is also just we have a tendency to object that those who live outwardly moral lives shouldn't be judged like people in chapter one who live openly immoral wicked lives and while there may not be the severity of judgment there will be judgment and God is justified in judging even the good moral person and here's how Paul explains that first of all he deals with two groups of people two groups of people verse 12 all who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law in other words there are two groups of people people who do not have the law in other words they don't have the Bible they they may have never gone to church they may have never seen a Bible may have never read a Bible they do not have an awareness of what God expects in his word people without the law they will be judged according to what they have but those who have the law will be judged according to the law two kinds of people those who know the Bible have the Bible they've heard the Bible and those who haven't so two kinds of people but one principle of judgment look at verse 13 one principle of judgment it's basically this people will be judged according to the light they have look at how Paul says at verse 13 for it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight but is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous again in the context and consistent with Paul's theology and all of his writings Paul is saying it's not those who just hear that gets saved it's those who evidence genuine faith by obedience who are truly saved but notice he then deals with those who may not have the law look at verse 14 he says indeed when Gentiles who do not have the law due by nature things required by the law they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts their conscience is also varying witness in their thoughts now accusing and even defending them what Paul is saying is that every person this one principle of judgment is this every person will be judged according to the light that they have even people who do not have the law still are accountable to God even people who've never had a Bible never seen a Bible never read a Bible are still accountable to God God's judgment is just even for those who have never seen a Bible now we saw back in chapter 1 that they they are accountable to God because of creation that at least shows something about God that they answered to him for but in chapter 2 he's saying there's something else that people are accountable for who may have never heard a message from the word and that is God has put an inward sense of right and wrong in them and they are accountable for how they responded to that so the one principle of judgment is your accountable for whatever light you've received and by the way because you're here this morning you have a much greater accountability to God now I want to say something I hope you'll understand you may be here this morning and maybe you're not sure that you're saved maybe you've never trusted Christ as your Savior it's very dangerous for you to be here really is at least it's dangerous for you to be here and walk out rejecting the word of God and the way of salvation because you have great responsibility and accountability to God because you've heard the word you've heard the message of the gospel and so you have great accountability to God those who have not heard they'll be judged based on the light they have but there is sufficient light there to render them accountable to God that's what Paul is saying here and part of that light they have is the inward sense of right and wrong which leads me to three steps of accountability Paul describes three steps of accountability under this one principle of judgment for the two groups of people especially the group who've never heard the law and these are the three steps of accountability this is what renders a person who's never heard the Bible never seen a Bible accountable to God these three steps the first step is the inward sense of right and wrong that God puts in each person verse 14 when Gentiles who do not have the law do by nature things required by the law they are a law for themselves in the words that becomes their accountability to God even though they do not have the law since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts what Paul's talking about is that all people everywhere have some inborn sense of right and wrong people everywhere know it's wrong to kill other people it's wrong to steal others possessions it's wrong to lie now that over time can become clouded and the conscience can be deadened so that people don't recognize that anymore but God is built within each person it's part of being made in the image of God that inborn sense of right and wrong that's the first step that makes us accountable to God now the second step is your conscience because once you recognize there is right and wrong it is wrong to kill people it is right to tell the truth I mean people realize that who are not saved once you realize that then your conscience begins to come into play you see what he says there in verse 15 toward the end of the verse their conscience is also bearing witness and the idea is when you violate that inborn sense of right and wrong although you may have never heard the word of God when you violate that inborn sense of right and wrong God has put within you a conscience that starts saying okay you're wrong you're wrong and then the third step comes in and that is your thoughts your thoughts then jump into the picture here and they decide whether or not you're going to listen to your conscience okay so step three is your thoughts verse 15 and their thoughts now accusing now even defending them or in other words sometimes accusing sometimes defending now you see what Paul say everybody's got an inborn sense of right and wrong when you violate that sense of right and wrong your conscience begins to hammer on you but then your thoughts swing into the picture and your thoughts say you know conscience you're right that's wrong I shouldn't do that or your conscience may start defending you well that's not as bad as what's the other people do that's not even as bad as that deacon up at that church I live better than he does your thoughts begin excusing you your thoughts begin defending you well I can't help but my parents were like that you know I'm just that way or you know you don't understand how I've grown up you don't understand my environment or society or whatever it's the government's fault or you know whatever some excuse begin to defend yourself and when you do that you begin to deaden the voice of conscience and you become more callous to where your conscience is no longer a reliable guide of right and wrong and the whole picture becomes clouded but those three steps make you accountable to God whether or not you have ever seen a Bible or heard a Bible message you're still accountable to God because of that inborn sense of right and wrong the conscience cooperating that and then your thoughts either agreeing with your conscience or disagreeing and excusing yourself you're accountable to God for how you respond to that remainder of the image of God in you so what God is saying is my judgment is just even for the good moral person who's not religious may have never read the Bible my judgment is still just because they are accountable to me so here's what Paul's saying if I could sum it up this way for the good moral law-abiding family providing neighbor helping law keeping citizen good just good old person for that person who may not be religious at all and may not know Christ for that person God says you're guilty you stand before the judgment of God guilty and my judgment is certain because I know what's in your heart and mind you may not live out like other people do but I know what's in your heart and mind so my judgment is certain and he wants you to know his judgment is impartial he will not be swayed by good moral conduct by who you are by your face he will not be swayed by external things he knows your heart he knows your mind and God wants you to know that not only is his judgment certain not only is it impartial it is just and so I want to say this to you this morning my friend if you have never recognized that you are a sinner and if you've never trusted Christ as your savior you will be judged with God's perfect judgment I don't care how good you are I don't care how moral person you are if you've never recognized that you're a sinner and receive Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for you for your salvation then you will be judged with God's perfect judgment the pastor in England one time was amazed at what he saw at the front of his church the end of the service people were encouraged in that setting to come to the altar and pray and the pastor looked down and noticed that there was a judge who was a very very high-standing member of the community and just to his right was an ex-convict a man had been sentenced to prison served seven years in prison was now out of jail and the pastor recognized that the man who had been put in prison was put in prison by this judge and he just kind of marveled at that scene of those two praying together and as he stood greeting people at the back the judge walked out and they shook hands and the judge said to him did you see who was praying next to me this morning the pastor said yes I did and the judge responded what a marvel of God's grace the pastor said yeah that's right and you begin to comment on the conversion of that ex-convict and the judge said oh no no no that's not what I'm talking about I'm talking about me you see that the ex-convict it was very easy for him to see that he was a sinner needed a savior I was born into a very cultured family I was taught to respect my elders I was taught to do what is right and good and to have good moral character I did well academically I went to Oxford I got my degrees I became a judge I went to the top of my profession and it is only by the grace of God that I recognized the sin of myself righteousness and pride and I recognized that where I not to turn to Christ I would be just like anyone else no matter how wicked they lived it took the grace of God to convince me of my sin and my friend it takes the grace of God to convince every one of us of our sin and need of Christ if you're a good moral person and you would shake your finger and wag your head at those who live outwardly wicked lifestyles God wants you to know you too will stand before him in judgment and his judgment is certain it is impartial and it is just would you pray with me