Romans 2 reminds me of seeing what hides in the darkness. As the guide walked, he warned my friend and the rest of the safari tourists, “Do not leave your tent at night”. Then he aimed his bright light just past the edge of camp, revealing dozens of hyenas lurking. That is the feeling I had when the young pastor began reading chapter 2. “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else… are condemning yourself”. I considered myself a good judge of character. I knew I was quick to categorize people and avoid risky types. Then he read the statement that terrified me to my core. “When you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?” I did think I was safe inside my flimsy belief system. Compared to others, I was pretty decent. Suddenly the spotlight focused on my own defects. If I can so easily assign guilt to someone else, didn’t God also have the right to judge me? I saw the danger in my logic. He continued, “you show contempt for the riches of His… patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance”. I had assumed that since I had never been caught, that God was overlooking my minor offenses. The pastor added, “Never confuse God’s patience with His approval”. He was speaking directly to my life.
The pastor continued reading. “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself”. I had understood God to care about “mankind”, but this sounded personal. He continued, “God will repay each person according to what they have done”. He spoke about “eternal life” and those that “reject the truth”. He pointed to “trouble and distress” ahead for both Jews and Gentiles. Then he read another verse that needed more evaluation. “For God does not show favoritism”. Most of my friends growing up were either Jewish or Catholic. I thought both would have a problem with that statement. But Paul explained, “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”. The pastor explained the intricacies of the 613 Jewish commandments, but quickly noted that Gentiles also have God’s standard. He said that God gives us a conscience to guide us, and “The requirements of the law are written on their hearts”. I knew I had violated my own conscience so I too was guilty.
The teacher continued with yet another frightful revelation. He spoke about “the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ”. We are not going to be judged relative to others, but against our own actions, motivations and knowledge. I was now much less confident in my own goodness. The chapter closes with a direct commentary about those that trust in their knowledge of scripture. First to the Jew, he calls them “a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor… a teacher… because you have… knowledge and truth”. But he warns that this can lead to pride in thinking we are above others. He asks the religious, “Do you not teach yourself?” Knowing right and wrong does not mean we perfectly do the right thing every time. Those with more understanding are held to an even higher standard; “You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” And he relates this to a very personal symbol of submitting to God’s authority. “Circumcision has value if you observe the law”. Paul makes a distinction between the outward symbol, and the internal attitude it represents. He mocks the hypocrite, “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly”. Paul describes this changed attitude as a “circumcision of the heart”. I sat there, knowing I was completely exposed and night was approaching. I only knew that I would be back the next week “to hear God’s solution to our problem”. Friend, will you join me?