Title: Laying Up Wrath/Romans 2:4-5
Contents
Human beings judge others because they see their actions through the eyes of good and evil. In other words, because deeds are divided into good deeds and evil deeds, so-called good deeds are viewed as being in a position to judge those who have done evil deeds. In the end, the standard of conversation between Job and Job's three friends, which I talked about last time, was good and evil. Job's friends who said, 'You have done this because you have sinned,' and Job, who said, 'When did I do evil,' both had the same standards of good and evil. So, they thought that we should do good and not do evil, and it is our opinion today. They are unaware of the fact that this idea that God delights in doing good and hates doing evil ultimately makes us judge.
When the thought that 'I did a good deed' hardens in you, you are eventually becoming the standard for good without even realizing it. This is what you should keep in mind the most. Unknowingly, one's actions become hardened as the standard of goodness. In that case, you have no choice but to judge others. I told you, my sister and sister, that people are sinners even if they worship, they are sinners even if they tithe, and even if they read the Bible and pray, they are sinners. This is because you were concerned that your actions would be the standard for good.
For example, if you say you have to read the Bible 5 chapters a day, that becomes a good thing. Then, naturally, not seeing Chapter 5 is defined as evil. If the church set a goal to evangelize 5 people a year, those who evangelize 5 people become righteous in the church, but those who fail to evangelize are reduced to evil believers who are not diligent in the sight of God. But God says that such judgment itself is evil. In other words, it is already saying that human beings live according to the standard of good and evil as evil.
Because we see actions based on good and evil in this way, God's wrath can only be understood as words that apply to those who have done evil. However, God's wrath is not given to those who have done evil and those who have done good. Romans 1:18-21 says that the wrath of God is wrath on all who know God, but do not glorify him as God or give thanks to him. To glorify and give thanks to God was the original form of created man. However, when he loses his appearance, man hates to have God in his heart, and he becomes the king and lives in the world as he pleases. This is the current state of human beings.
If God is angry with these people, on what basis will God be angry? It is a lost original human figure. It is the standard of wrath that judges us. Because of this, no matter what good we do, we cannot escape this wrath. Just because we are worshiping does not mean we are freed from wrath. Just because you are praying doesn't mean you can't escape wrath. That is, human goodness has no power to stop God's wrath. If this is the reality of human beings, what is the line we should expose, and how can we criticize and judge others when there is no line to reveal.
Verse 4 says, “Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and forbearance, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” Repentance is emphasized a lot in the church. As we emphasized that we must repent to become believers and only to repent as to be saved, eventually repentance has become the standard of goodness. Therefore, since those who have not repented naturally belong to evil and those who repent are judged to be those who belong to good, the current state of churches is that they try to repent intentionally. And you can see many of them boasting about their repentance.
But verse 4 says that God's mercy is leading you to repentance. That is, the sinner can repent because God's kindness led him to repentance, not because he wanted to repent. Repentance with the desire to repent is merely human repentance and is nothing more than a religious act. Because repentance is the result of God's mercy guiding us.
If so, then, what kind of heart should a believer have after repenting if he knows that God is merciful? Of course, you should be thankful that God's kindness has guided you. This is to glorify and give thanks to God. However, if you put repentance first as your own merits and make your repentance the standard of goodness and judge the unrepentant ones, you are only despising God's mercy and the richness of His forbearance and patience.
Even if I repented, if I knew that it was the result of God's mercy guiding me and not my own, then I would not judge someone for not repenting. Because he himself never repented. If there is, it is only that God has used me as a tool to show God's kindness to all people so that I can repent.
Even so, human beings insist on their own stubbornness until the very end. Considering the original human beings created, we must not forget that, in the end, raising one's goodness based on good and evil is nothing more than accumulating God's wrath in the end, even though it is impossible to promote one's own righteousness.
Have you ever thought to yourself, 'This is a good deed'? That obsession must be abandoned. You should know that someone is being judged by you when you live with that stubbornness in mind. Judgment means judgment. I am also a sinner under God's judgment, who shall I judge? This kind of heart will lead you to God's kindness and mercy.
Nevertheless, what those who claim to believe in God now are doing is full of glorifying God through good human deeds. However, what humans do and give is not to glorify God. The greatest thing a man can do to glorify God is to know that 'I have no righteousness'. Relying on Jesus Christ, who came to this earth for a new creation, knowing that 'I am a sinner that is so different from the original image God created' is to glorify God. What action is needed here?
The actions God wanted were not things that could be seen through human hands. We just had to lament about ourselves for not becoming the human beings God wants us to be through God's command to do it this way or that way. The works were perfectly shown through Jesus. The aspects that we cannot reveal are perfectly revealed through the Lord. So we can come to God through Christ. Believers must give up their intentions to glorify God or please God with their own. When we give thanks only to the Lord, we must know that God is pleased with that alone.