Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word through the most effective media available, like this podcast.

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Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day. This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory, the self righteous.

Speaker 3

Those who think surely they're okay with God because they have adhered to some moral code.

But I want you to notice what Paul says in this passage. He says the self-righteous person is just as guilty as the unrighteous person.

Why? Because of his condemnation of others and his contempt for the grace of God.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. In the church today, there are countless individuals who call themselves Christians, attend worship every week, and do their best to live pretty much by the rules.

But in their hearts, they've never really put their faith in Jesus Christ. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains why our own self-righteousness can never save us.

Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message: Dr. Jeffress.

Speaker 2

Thanks David, and welcome to Pathway to Victory. Have you ever met an overzealous Christian who tries to make you feel small and unworthy? They come at you with judgment rather than grace. You can almost feel their bony finger thumping into your chest. Listen, you're not alone. I've been in that position all too many times. Even Paul the Apostle ran into religious zealots.

And on today's program, we're going to read his scathing attack against the self-righteous clerics of his day. Paul lived in challenging times, in many respects much like our own times. Well, not long ago, I came across a book that opened my eyes to the cultural setting in which Paul lived and ministered. It made his New Testament writings come alive to me. And I'd like to send you this masterful resource. It's titled *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*.

Paul was a Jewish rabbi who, before his conversion, hated and persecuted Christians. But after his spiritual transformation, Paul traveled far and wide to tell others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. In this illustrated guide, you'll learn about the political and religious pressures that Paul addressed. They're much like the pressures you and I feel in our world.

Today, let me send you an illustrated guide to the Apostle Paul. I'll send a copy to your home when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Now let's get started with today's message. We're in Romans chapter two, and I titled today's message "The Religious Right in Hell."

Speaker 3

James Hammond was a plantation owner who also served as a governor and congressman during the time of the Civil War. Besides being a defender of slavery, James Hammond was known for his voracious sexual appetite. In 1839, Hammond purchased a slave girl named Sally along with Sally's 18-month-old daughter Louisa. Hammond fathered several children by Sally, and then, when Louisa was old enough, he fathered several children by her as well.

James Hammond's political career was interrupted briefly when his brother-in-law, Wade Hamilton, accused him of sexually abusing four of Hamilton's teenage daughters. But the most amazing thing about James Hammond was the way he reacted when tragedy struck his life: his wife left him after an epidemic destroyed many of his slaves and livestock. This is what James Hammond actually wrote: "It crushes me to earth to see everything of mine so blasted around me. Negroes, cattle, mules, hogs, everything that has life around me seems to labor under some faded malediction. Great God, what have I done? Never was a man so cursed. What have I done or omitted to do to deserve this awful fate?"

You know, the ability for self-delusion is both limitless and dangerous. Those who fail to come to terms with their own sins are inclined to condemn others and show contempt for the grace of God, which is why they are fully deserving of the wrath of God. That is the message that we have come to today in our study of the book of Romans. If you have your Bibles this morning, I want you to turn to Romans chapter two as we discover why it is that the moralist, the religious, will be right in hell.

Look at chapter two, verse one: "Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment. For in that you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things." The reason God says the self-righteous person is guilty is because he condemns other people. The Bible says there is a particular kind of judgment we are never to engage in. We are not to perform the kind of judgment that only God is capable of rendering.

Here are three kinds of judgments that only God is capable of performing. First of all, when we determine people's obligation in the gray areas, we are never to do that. We are never to determine people's obligation in the gray areas of the Christian life. That is to be guilty of judging. What do I mean by the gray areas? Look, when we speak out against adultery, homosexuality, lying, cheating, or murder, we're not guilty of formulating judgments; we are simply repeating the judgments that God has already made. We have not only every right but every responsibility to do that as God's spokesman.

But we also have to admit there are some things in the Christian life that are gray; that is, the Bible doesn't speak directly about them. And in those cases, we are not to judge other people. What Paul is saying is you and I have no right to judge another Christian in these areas. They report to God, their master, themselves. You don't report for them, so abstain from making those determinations in the gray areas of life.

Secondly, we are not to try to discern people's motives. If you try to judge a person's motives, you're participating in a judgment that God is only capable of performing. When you say something like, "Well, you know the reason she did that is because she's trying to look holier than thou," you're not to do that. We don't know a person's heart. In Proverbs 16:2, Solomon said, "All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives."

Number three, we are not to try to determine a person's eternal fate. Again, we are performing the kind of judgment that only God can perform. When we say that person is beyond redemption, that person can never be forgiven, James said in James 4:12, "There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" There's only one person who can sentence someone to hell, and that is God himself. We can't perform that judgment; only God can make that kind of judgment.

Why is the self-righteous person guilty before God? First of all, because of his condemnation of others. Secondly, because of his hypocritical conduct. Look again at verses one to three: "Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment. For in that you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. And do you suppose this, O man, that when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and you do the same yourself, do you think you will escape the judgment of God?"

The self-righteous are guilty because they condemn activity that they themselves condone. Such a person will not escape God's judgment. That's what he's talking about here. Before you judge other people, make sure you're using the same standard on yourself.

Now let me add a word of clarity here. Paul is not saying you can never speak out against any sin that you have committed yourself. He's not saying that because look at Paul's own example. Paul was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a murderer of Christians. He called himself in 1 Timothy 1 the chief of all sinners. That means he was probably guilty of every sin in the book, and yet he spoke out against sin.

Here's the difference: Paul confessed his sin and he found the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. He repented; he turned away from his sin. He did not condemn sin in others that he condoned in his own life. And the same is true for you and me. Sometimes it's those who have committed sins that are in the best position to speak out against those sins once they've repented of them.

What Paul is saying here is don't have two standards, one by which you judge others and one with which you judge yourself. You will not escape the judgment of God. You see, the self-righteous person engages in selective obedience. He wants to think, "Well, as long as I'm not guilty of this or this, I'm okay with God." The problem is God doesn't grade on the curve. God demands 100% compliance with his law.

You say, "Well, who can do that? Who can keep all of the law?" Exactly, exactly. That's why we all stand in need of the grace of God. But the self-righteous person doesn't understand that. The Bible says it is his condemnation of others, his hypocritical conduct that leads, thirdly, to his contempt for God's grace. Because he does not understand the seriousness of his own sin, he actually has contempt for God's grace.

Look at verse 4 of Romans 2: "Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" The self-righteous treat lightly the riches of God's kindness. Now those of you who are parents understand what this means. Imagine saying to your child, "You know, it's Saturday; I want you to do some chores around the house, mow the lawn, or pick up your room, or do the dishes." Your child says to you, "Well, how much are you going to pay me for that?"

And you say, "I beg your pardon, pay you?" "Yeah, how much are you going to pay me?" And so you say, "Well, let's think about it. Let's think about the food that you put in your mouth every day, or the clothes you wear on your back, or the bed you sleep in every night." And what does your child say? Your child looks at you and rolls his eyes and says, "Big deal." Now what is he saying? He's saying, "That's nothing. You owe those things to me." He is treating lightly your kindness.

Now that's exactly why the self-righteous person is condemned before God. He actually has a contempt for the goodness, the grace of God. He believes God owes him those things. I want you to notice in verse 4 three gifts of God that the self-righteous treat lightly. First of all, they treat lightly God's kindness. This word kindness refers to God's general blessings to the non-Christian as well as the Christian: the gift of life, the gift of family, the gift of health, the gift of rain. All of those are God's gifts to all of us, and yet the self-righteous treats those lightly. "Ah, he owes those things to us."

Secondly, God's forbearance; he treats that lightly. That word forbearance means withholding judgment. The fact that God doesn't strike you and me dead the first time we sin and send us straight to hell is only because of his forbearance, his withholding judgment. And the third gift we treat lightly, the self-righteous person is God's patience. That word patience, macrothumeo, means long-suffering. It simply refers to God's continued forbearance. Not only does God refuse to strike you dead and judge you the first time you sin, he keeps withholding that judgment.

Why is that? Is it because he condones what you're doing? No. Notice what he says in verse 4: "It is the riches of his kindness that lead you to repentance." The only reason he hasn't judged those of you who are not yet Christians, the only reason he hasn't slain you and sent your soul to hell, is he is hoping that you will turn to him in repentance. The only reason Christians right now, listening to this broadcast or here in this sanctuary, who are engaged in secret sin, the only reason God has not exposed you, the only reason God has not sent his severe discipline in your life, is to give you perhaps one last chance to repent.

In 2 Peter 3:9, the apostle Peter wrote, "For the Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance." Listen, God doesn't condone what you're doing; he is simply giving you one last chance to repent. But the self-righteous person doesn't understand that. He thinks God is obligated to show patience toward him. It's like one person said who was engaged in sin. Somebody asked him, "Do you think God is going to forgive you of that sin?" He said, "Well, of course he's going to forgive. That's his job."

That's what it means to treat lightly the grace of God. Matthew Henry wrote, "There is in every willful sin a contempt for the goodness of God." And it's that contempt that makes the self-righteous person fully deserving of the wrath of God.

And that leads to verse 5. We've looked at the description of the self-righteous. Why is the self-righteous person guilty? Because of his condemnation of others, his hypocritical conduct, and his contempt for the grace of God. Now notice what happens to the self-righteous: the destiny of the self-righteous. Verse 5: "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds."

Now we saw in chapter one, verse 18, Paul said, "The wrath of God is right now being poured out upon all unrighteousness." That is, those who engage in sin are already experiencing the wrath of God in their life. Some of that is through the created order. When you break God's universal laws, there are consequences to doing so. Sometimes God's wrath is expressed in direct intervention in a person's life. There is a present wrath of God being poured out, but that doesn't preclude a future day of God's wrath that is yet to come.

Remember that word wrath. Anger is the word orge in Greek. It doesn't mean a volcanic eruption of anger like we often experience in our own lives. No, that word orge means a settled and building opposition to all that is evil. It is like water building up behind a dam. It builds and it builds and it builds, and one day it splashes over that dam and destroys the dam and floods everything below. One day God's wrath, which is right now being stored up, is going to be poured out on all unbelievers.

And notice, it is a day of God's wrath. It's not a period; it's not an age. There is a specific day, hour, minute yet to come when God is going to pour out his wrath on all unrighteousness. When is that day? Hold your place here and turn over to Revelation, chapter 20. It's this period of time, this judgment we talked about in our series on Bible prophecy, the Great White Throne Judgment of God.

Let me just remind you of what happens on that day. The time of the judgment is at the Great White Throne Judgment. John says in verses 11 and 12, "And I saw a great white throne, and him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne." This is all the unsaved who are standing before the throne. "And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life."

Now notice the basis of this judgment in verses 12 and 13: "And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in them. Death and Hades," that's the temporary place of the unsaved dead, "they gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds."

This surprises many people that God is going to judge the unsaved by their works. "Well, I thought we were judged by grace and not by works." Not for the unbeliever. He's resisted the grace of God, so he's going to be judged by his works. He has said, "If somebody needs to be saved, it's not me. If somebody is guilty before God, it is not I. I am just fine having God judge me by my works." And so God says, "Fine, we will judge you by your works."

But what the unbeliever doesn't realize is this: the standard of judgment at the White Throne Judgment is not the relative righteousness of other people; it is the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. And by that standard, all have fallen short of the glory of God. And that's what he's talking about here in verses 5 and 6.

Turn back to Romans 2: "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the Day of Wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds." What does Paul mean, "storing up wrath for the Day of Wrath?" I read one writer this week who used this analogy. Imagine an old miser who stores up gold. He hoards gold coins week after week, year after year, decade after decade. He takes these gold coins and he hides them in his attic so that they're not stolen. Over the decades, he builds up a huge mound of these gold coins. Every week, every month, every year, he thinks he is storing up wealth for himself.

But one night, while he sleeps, the gold in the attic above him crashes through the ceiling and falls upon him, killing him immediately. The miser thought he was storing up wealth for himself, but in fact, he was storing up judgment. And so it is with everyone who resists the grace of God. Every minute of every hour of every day, we are storing up wrath. Every wrong thought that we have, every unkind word, every day that goes by that we don't thank God for His blessings that he's given to us is like adding to those gold coins. We are storing up wrath for ourselves that one day will come crashing down upon us.

You say, "Pastor, how can I escape that sure and certain day of God's wrath that the Word of God talks about?" Here's the key. When you face God, and by the way, we're all going to face God one day, when we face God, we don't want to be dressed in unrighteousness. Sin will never allow us into the presence of God. But secondly, we don't want to be dressed in self-righteousness either. Our righteousness is like a filthy rag to God. The key is to make sure when we face God, we are dressed in Christ's righteousness.

See, the Bible says, the moment you trust in Christ as your Savior, he wraps you in the perfection, the righteousness of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's just like the hymn writer said: when we accept the righteousness of Christ, we are dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 5:9: "Much more than having been justified by his blood, we shall escape the wrath of God through Him."

Speaker 2

Isn't that amazing? While all of us deserve God's wrath for our sin, he's provided a way of escape. And now it's time for you to take your next steps. Hearing the truth is never enough. All of us are required to respond. Isn't it time to say yes to God's call?

Well, at Pathway to Victory, we know that some of your best encounters with God occur not while you're listening to the radio, but while you're in the quietness of your own home. For that reason, we're committed to providing excellent resources to help you reflect on God's word.

Today I'm pleased to send you a practical book that will catapult your understanding of the New Testament writings. It's the book that I mentioned earlier in today's program, an illustrated guide to the Apostle Paul. Anyone who's curious to learn more about the Bible should add this resource to his or her collection. With vivid photographs from the Holy Land, maps and sketches, this illustrated guide will open your mind to the times in which the New Testament was written.

And when you respond today, I'll also include a favorite in our collection, the Journeys of Paul Map and brochure so that you can easily trace the footsteps of this spiritual giant. Thanks for your generosity in supporting Pathway to Victory with your best gift. Our ministry is reaching people all across North America and around the world, and we couldn't possibly be on this trajectory of growth without the partnership of friends like you. Together, God is using our collective gifts to pierce the darkness with the light of his word.

Speaker 1

David thanks Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, you're invited to request the book *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*. Plus, you'll receive the *Journeys of Paul Map*. Now this is an exclusive full-color reference tool that conveniently tucks into the back of your Bible.

To make your request, call 866-999-2965 or give online at ptv.org. When your gift is $75 or more, we'll also send you the *Grace Powered Living* audio and video discs containing messages from Romans chapters one through eight. To request the teaching set, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address: P.O. Box 223, 609, Dallas, TX 75222. One more time, that's P.O. Box 223, 608, Dallas, TX 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again next week when the series *Grace Powered Living* continues right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.

Picture yourself relaxing aboard a luxury cruise ship as you sail the Mediterranean Sea on the Pathway to Victory *Journeys of Paul* Mediterranean cruise. This 11-day journey will take you to unforgettable destinations in Italy, Turkey, and Greece. Plus, you'll have the option to extend your trip with additional adventures in Rome. To book your spot on the 2025 *Journeys of Paul* Mediterranean cruise, go to ptv.org.

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