Series: The Judged
Message: You Idiot
Preacher: Damian Chandler
Reflection: Sam Millen
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jessyka Albert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 2:1-11 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: If we are saved by grace, why does Paul, in this passage, make it sound like we are rewarded for good works? For recovering legalists like me, a surface reading of Romans 2:1–11 can be disheartening. I have often heard Timothy Keller, one of my favorite authors/speakers say, “The gospel (Greek: euangélion) is not the good news of what we can do to be saved, but the good news of what has already been done to save us.” Keller compares the evangelist (the one who bears the euangélion) to a messenger—much like the soldier who, according to legend, ran for 26.2 miles from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the good news that they had won. The Athenians were saved. Incidentally, after he shouted, “Nike!” (victory), he dropped dead from exhaustion in the late summer heat. This is why I don’t run marathons!
So why are we judged by works? It is because our lives show how we have responded to the good news. My favorite verse is 1 John 4:19 which reads in some manuscripts like this: “We love Him because He first loved us” (NKJV). Whether through general revelation (Gentiles), or special revelation (Jews), the Holy Spirit has worked in all of our hearts and we have either turned toward or away from God’s love. What we do or don’t do does not contribute in any way to our salvation; it is merely our response to what God has already done for us. I have found that trying to be good is futile, especially when understanding God’s standard includes the motivation of the heart. Anyone can obey rules out of self-interest. But we cannot change our hearts. God’s standard of a pure heart is humanly impossible to attain. It exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees—and they were strict (see Matthew 5:20).
It is only God’s love that can transform our hearts and the more we contemplate on what God has done for us, the more we will love Him. When I focus on Christ and His sacrifice for me, I cannot help but love Him. I want to honor Him. I believe Morris Venden summarized the Christian life perfectly with the title of one of his books, Love God and Do As You Please. When we love God, more than anything else, we will want to please Him. And we can only love God when we experience His love. His love transform us. “We love Him because He first loved us.”
Recalibrate: When you hear the term "gospel" what comes to mind?
Respond: Spend a thoughtful hour contemplating on the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes (See Desire of Ages, p. 83).
Research: Look up the term "gospel" in any Bible dictionary.
Remember: "For God judges all people in the same way" (Romans 2:11, ICB).
Sam Millen is an Australian whose self-imposed exile in North America started 20 years ago. He has been a school chaplain, Bible teacher, youth pastor, associate pastor, and district pastor in conferences across the United States and Canada. As the current pastor at Anacortes Adventist Fellowship, Sam is utilizing the Washington State Ferry system to commute between Orcas Island (where he lives with his wife, Angie, and their three kids) and Anacortes.
Play a game of peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek with your little one today. Show surprise and joy every time you are found or seen. This is the good news—to be found by the one who loves us most, never to be lost again.
Play a game of human pyramid with your family and friends. Choose the strongest and largest to be at the bottom and then have the smallest at the top. To complete the task, everyone needs to carefully and gently climb on top of each other until you make a triangle. The person on the top could not be there if the people below them were not holding them up. Working together is what God designed us to do. Build something amazing!
We were reminded a couple of weeks ago, in Romans 1:16, that the Gospel is the power God uses to save everyone who believes. We aren't saved by the good things we do or how hard we work, but by Jesus. But when you realize how good Jesus is to you, you want to be that good to others. Take a look on the past week. How did you treat others? Did you yell back at someone who yelled at you? Did you talk badly about a friend who has been really rude to you lately? What are some ways that your life can reflect the love of Jesus this week? If Jesus can forgive you, how can you forgive others?