And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.~ Romans 2:16
I am starting at the end. It's a very good place to start.
But, ends can be beginnings. As the meme has it, a man holding up a placard saying "The beginning is nigh!".
And if we speak in apocalyptic terms, (I almost feel like I am back in Revelation) then this verse is highly appropriate. Because it speaks of the judgement of the final day.
But it is at the end of this paragraph (2:1-16) that Paul wraps up his examination of God's righteous judgement, where he expounds the various combinations of behaviours and cultural backgrounds, with the assertion that Christ will judge all of these lives.
But here is a breakdown.
1. There are those who have no law, and therefore do not fulfil God's requirements.
2. There are those who have the Law and cannot keep it.
Both parties will be judged.
Both are up a certain creek in want of a certain rowing implement.
And then there is, mysteriously, another category.
3. Those who do not have the law, and yet somehow keep it.
I remember being set a question when I was at bible college on this very verse... But unfortunately I cannot remember my answer. But it is certainly, at first, a little perplexing.
We know that Paul later makes reference to 'all' having 'fallen short of the glory of God'.
He seems to be contradicting himself. How can they keep a law they do not have? Are there special types who are exempt from the need of salvation? He says that these people are 'a law unto themselves'.
Here are the vereses in question;
"for when the gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law these, although not having the law, are a law unto themselves."
It never really occurred to me before that he was not talking about unbelievers. I could be wrong, but I think now that the third category he refers to are not naturally 'good gentiles'. Remember he says, if righteousness could be obtained apart from the law then Christ died for nothing.
I think (and I freely admit that this is speculative) Paul is making a sideways reference to Gentile Christians, such as the ones he is writing to. And the clue to why I think this is here, in verse 15;
"Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness"
That sounds to me like the kind of believer that the prophets speak of when they talk of God writing his law in the hearts of men, when they speak of creating a new heart from a heart of stone.
That sounds to me like the description of the the postage new birth Christian.
And that for me, fits the overall argument much better.
But the key is here, that no matter what category you fall into;
Christ will judge all.
And he sees our secret lives. He knows the deeds done in secret, he knows the thoughts of our hearts. He will not miss a single heartbeat, not a breath nor a sigh, in his scrutiny.
We are told that what is done in secret will be proclaimed from the rooftops.
In the parable of the wheat and the weeds we ate told that they will be separated, the wheat from the chaff.
Now that sounds like a tricky and intricate job, but Jesus is up to it.
And here is the message.
According to my gospel, Paul says.
This judgement is the gospel, or rather a large and significant part of it.
A gospel without judgement is no gospel.
Or at least is only half a gospel.
What, I ask myself, when thinking about universalists, do they think Jesus is saving us from?
They reduce Christ to a self help guru.
They make a joke of the cross.
But that God gives us a new heart, where we come to do by nature the things required of us, and that when Judgement comes we have no need for fear.
That my friends, is truly gospel. Thay is good news. The Gospel is bad news for good people (people who think themselves good) but it is good news for bad people.
And that means you,
And it, thank God, means me.
God we live to thank you for Jesus,
This day,
And all days,
Amen.
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