Self-righteous and Hypocritical

Romans 2

If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, your sins have already been judged on the cross.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.” John 5:24 (ESV)

But are you ready for the judgment seat of Christ where your works will be judged?

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Rom. 14:10–12 (ESV)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Cor. 5:10

Paul knew that many of his readers would immediately pass judgment on the people he had just described in Romans 1. If, however, such readers would reflect on their own lives, they would realize that they are guilty of some of the same sins. Paul’s description fit all humanity. “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). All are subject to God’s righteous judgment, incurring either his honor or his wrath.

In reference to Romans 2, Warren Wiersbe asks us to honestly answer the following questions about ourselves:

• Do I judge myself or others? How easy it is to cover up my own failures by criticizing others?

• Am I grateful for God’s goodness? It is not the badness of man but the goodness of God that brings us to repentance. Do I take God’s many blessings for granted?

• Is my faith proved by works? Paul was not teaching salvation by works but works that prove salvation. Do I obey God’s truth and persist in holy living? Do I have a hard heart or a tender heart?

• Am I hiding behind religion? The Jews boasted of their law, but it could not save them. External rituals do not produce internal changes. God searches the heart. What does He see in my heart?
​
• Do I practice what I profess? Do I tell others what is right but then do what is wrong? Do I expect more of others than I do of myself?

Wiersbe, W. W. (1991). With the Word Bible Commentary (Ro 2:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Each of these questions are addressed in Romans 2 by the Apostle Paul. He reminds us that God judges honestly and without partiality, and no secret is hidden from Him, for He is not only omnipotent and omnipresent; but omniscient.
“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” Romans 2:11-16 (ESV)

According to this passage, judgment applies to Jews and Gentiles alike. Both will be judged by their law: For Jews, the law of Moses (especially the Ten Commandments); for Gentiles, the law that God had written on their own conscience.

However, many Jews boasted of their superior knowledge of God, but such knowledge was useless unless correctly applied. The circumcised Jew who disobeyed the law was worse off than the uncircumcised Gentile who kept it.

“But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” Romans 2:17-22 (ESV)

The Jews felt that because they had the law, they were superior. But having the law only made them more self-righteous and hypocritical. Dr. Tony Evans says, “External religion without internal conversion has absolutely no value to God. He never intended for his people to simply memorize his law. He intends for us to keep it, and we can only do that when we are changed from the inside out.” (Tony Evans Bible Study Commentary)

Verse 24 explains that perhaps the most tragic result of the Jews dishonoring God was their terrible witness to the world. May the hypocrisy of the saved never keep the gospel from getting to the lost!

“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?” Romans 2:25–27(ESV)

Those who were authentic Jews were not those who had merely performed external rituals like circumcision, but those who followed God in an obedient relationship. When religion trumps relationship, God is not present.

True membership in God’s family is a matter of heart attitude, not of physical birth or ritual purity, even King David addressed this with Solomon.

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10 Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”

Do you believe your kindness, goodness, works of righteousness, and your social justice activities will secure you a place with the Father in Heaven? Are you following obediently after Jesus, or are you relying on your own pursuits to keep the laws as your basis of acceptance into His eternal Kingdom? Are you spending more time following an empty religion or a personal relationship with King Jesus? Are you ready for the judgment seat of Christ where your works will be judged?
​
Today, know that "when religion trumps relationship, God is not present." (Dr. Tony Evans) Know that your works don’t save you, but Jesus will if you surrender to a personal relationship with Him. Know that as you passionately and obediently follow Him and His preserved Word, your heart will be changed and good works with be the resulting overflow.

---