Romans 2:1-16 – Response

The Big idea:
“Sinners” need Jesus.   That was Paul’s message in Romans chapter one.  The “self-righteous” need Jesus too.  That’s the message of Romans chapter 2.  Pastor Greg noted that Tim Keller sees Romans 1&2 as a commentary on the parable of the Prodigal Son(s) with chapter one focused on the younger brother who rebels against his father’s favor, and chapter two on the older brother who stays home and tries to earn his father’s favor.  Neither son “gets it”.  Both miss out on the relationship their father desired to have with them, a relationship that is based on grace.

For me:
This line of biblical thought really resonates with me.  I had a period in early adolescence when I was a rebel.  My biggest temptation then was to keep God at arm’s length because I didn’t want him to be my Lord, asking me to give up on my “fun”.  Like Billy Joel, at this point in my life I would “rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints”.  I was a closet pagan.  But by God’s grace I came to faith in high school and repented of my waywardness.  I “came to my senses”, like the younger son in the parable.

That was over 30 years ago.  Now, I’m no longer tempted so much toward the party scene.  These days my bigger temptation is toward Phariseeism.  Now, I attempt to keep God at arm’s length because I don’t think I need him as my Savior — since I’m delusional enough to believe I have a righteousness of my own apart from Jesus.

Obviously, the truth is I needed Jesus then to be both Saviour and Lord, and I need Jesus now to be both Savior and Lord.  The upshot of all this is that I need to repent on an ongoing basis of both rebellion and Phariseeism.  I don’t want to keep God at arm’s length, but rather I want to be embraced by His arms, acknowledging that I need Him as my Savior and desiring to honor Him as my Lord.

For you:
Do you identify more with the first chapter?  Are you a recovering rebel?  Or do you identify more with chapter two?  Are you a recovering Pharisee?  Either way, you will only find joy, peace & comfort in a right relationship with Jesus.  Only when you embrace him as both Lord and Savior will you find rest.  Will you repent today of both your unrighteousness & rebellion AND your false righteousness & Phariseeism?

For us:
How open are we as a church to the ‘younger brothers’ in our community?  Are we willing to put aside our temptation to act like the ‘older brother’?  Can we rejoice with the Father when the rebel comes to his / her senses and darkens our doors?    This will “rock our world”, if we make any real progress in this direction.  Are we willing to expand our comfort zone to see this happen?

~ John Truschel