"The judgement of God is according to truth" (2:2)
cf. Joshua 24:14
cf. John 4:23
cf. John 14:6
All "truth" comes from God
Therefore the rejection of TRUTH is the rejection of God!
Embracing that which is false is a rejection of that which is true.
Whilst the believer is captivated by He who is the TRUTH the world is fascinated by fallacy and fiction
Our appreciation of the sum total body of truth will be different
No man knows all of the truth
All have a different grasp of, a different appreciation or assimilation of the truth
We are not judged as to how much of the truth we know - not ATTAINMENT
Not judged as to how deeply we understand the TRUTH
But we are judged as to our ATTITUDE to the truth
"But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath." (2:8)
This attitude to the truth reveals our attitude of heart, wither it be the rejection of:

1. Gods Glory in Creation – CREATION
2. Gods Goodness in Conscience – CONSCIENCE
3. Gods Grace in Covenant promise – COVENANT
4. Gods Gospel in Christ - CHRIST

At different points in time and in different dispensations God has been rejected by man at these different levels
Irrespective as to what point man rejected the truth the end result is the same man rejected the truth from God and the truth of God.
That testimony of truth (Romans 2:2) which is rejected by man (Romans 2:8) is in fact different aspects of the truth concerning Christ (2:16) - judgement according to truth is judgement "by Jesus Christ"

1. Creation - is the revelation of the Creatorial Glory of Christ (John1:1;Col1)
2. Conscience - is the moral light from Christ (John1:9)
3. Gospel is the revelation of the Redemptive Glory of Christ

It matters not which one of these spheres of Divine truth we reject - in rejecting 1 we reject Christ.
God has revealed His truth and man has rejected His truth
God is not morally obliged to present Gods truth in Christ so I can reject that too!
All men will be judged as to their attitude to the TRUTH
Some will be judged as having rejected the revelation of:

1. Gods TRUTH in CREATION
2. Gods TRUTH in CONSCIENCE
3. Gods TRUTH in COVENANT
4. Gods TRUTH in CHRIST

The common point is the same
All have rejected Gods truth
If I have an illness, eg a life threatening infection there are various ways I can avoid being cured:

1. I can refuse to believe that I am ill, its not real, don't believe in illness, its all in the mind and therefore never seek medical help at all! - denial of Gods testimony in creation
2. I can refuse to believe the doctors diagnosis - he's a bit dramatic that doctor, terrible for exaggerating, the bleak diagnosis troubles my conscience and so I reject it - refuse conscience!
3. I can refuse to take the medicine, I don't like banana flavoured antibiotics - refuse salvation!

It doesn't matter at which point I reject the truth: in this case I have a life threatening infection and need urgent treatment, the outcome is the same!

Notes from a message preached on the Epistle of the Romans:

Romans Chp2 Vs1: 'Conscience an Echo out of Eden' - JS Gillespie (11/11/2008

1. The Corruption and the Condemnation of Conscience (v1)
2. The Source and the Standard of Conscience (v2)
3. The Problem and the Purpose of Conscience (v3-4)
4. The Response to and the Results of Conscience (v5-12)
5. The Evidence and Experience of Conscience (v13-16)

The Corruption and the Condemnation of Conscience (v1) Anyone who can appreciate that there is a problem with the list of 23 moral evils in Romans 1:29-32 has a major problem on their hands – they are fit for hell! Gen39:6-21 – can we perceive that there is a problem, an injustice in the events of Genesis chp 39? Can we discern in this story of Joseph that there is injustice, unfairness and sin? Can we see:

• “unrighteousness” in the dealings of Potiphars wife with Joseph? He did only good (Gen39:6,8,9) and she rewarded it with evil.
• “fornication,”
• “wickedness,”
• “covetousness” - she desired what was not hers – Joseph
• “maliciousness” - acted with revenge and spite when she failed to get what she wanted (39:17ff), she didn't just accept that things were not going to go her way!
• “envy” - wanted to take away from Joseph what she could not have!
• “murder” - her actions could easily have resulted in the death of Joseph as per the baker of Genesis 40.
• “deceit” - she deceived her husband
• “malignity”
• “whisperers” - Constructing and concocting a story before her husband returns (Gen39:14)
• “Backbiters” - with vengeful hatred on Joseph

Anyone who can appreciate that there is a problem with the list of 23 moral evils in Romans 1:29-32 has a major problem on their hands – they have a conscience. Sometimes it is easier to see the significance of these sins in the context of human actions rather than simply in a list of events. We know that certain things are right and some things are wrong If they are wrong for others they are wrong for us too! The first time we read of conscience coming into action in Genesis 3:7; by verse 12 it is corrupted – instead of being used to convict Adam of his own sin he is using it to criticise and condemn his wife!

The Source and the Standard of Conscience (v2) What is the source of human conscience? Conscience has its origins back in Genesis chp 3 Conscience comes to us as an echo out of Eden! Conscience is a universal pointer to an absolute standard of right and wrong Conscience at it simplest is the inner awareness in the heart of man that his actions have a significance beyond the immediate context in which they occur. Conscience involves at least 3 separate components: A knowledge of an absolute standard of righteous (Rom 2:15; 9:1) An awareness of a responsibility towards God: (1 Peter2:19; 3:21; Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16) A warning or conviction when we have fallen short of that standard / when we have broken or offended that standard (1Co8:7,10,12; 10:25,27,28; 2Co1:12;4:2; 1Tim1:19;3:9;4:2; Heb9:9,14; 10:2,22) How did that conscience come to be? Romans 2 makes it quite clear that conscience is a reflection of the standards of the creator (2:2,3,15) Man first experienced the stirrings of conscience in the garden of Eden Conscience was not the direct product of sin, conscience was not created by sin and Satan – sin and Satan are not creatorial, only Christ is creatorial: “(Joh 1:3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (Col 1:16) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” Sin cannot truly give rise to light but rather to darkness It is not sin that gives us a knowledge of Gods standards but rather God Himself: “(Joh 1:9) That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” But it was in the garden of Eden that the conscience first fired up as man created in the image of God, with the knowledge of Gods character, reflecting the nature and standards of the Creator sinned against his creator. Something foreign to that creation and those to standards God had given was introduced into that creation and man perceived that this was alien to his creator – these were the first stirrings of conscience. It was not that sin created conscience but rather conscience triggered a response to sin in the heart of man! Jag yourself with a needle and you feel pain, the needle does not create pain however, the nerve cells, the prostaglandins, the prostacyclines, the electrical impulses in the nerve cells, the connections to the spinal cord and to the brain cause pain, the needle only triggers the process set up by God from creation. The conscience came from God (Rom2:2) the standards are Gods (Rom2:2,14) sin merely triggers the response.

The Problem and the Purpose of Conscience (v3-4) No sooner did Adam perceive the effects of conscience on his soul than he misused it: Gen 3:12 – to accuse another, to accuse Eve, but if Eve's behaviour was wrong then so was Adams! Conscience had a purpose, not only was conscience an echo out of Eden that tells us that we have eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but it is also an echo that reminds us that there is a tree of life! The message of this book is that there is such a tree of life! “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (Act 5:30) “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.” Conscience is not only the emptiness that comes form eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil it is also the gnawing, painful hungering and yearning after the fruit of the tree of life! Praise God for conscience! The true purpose of conscience is not only to convict of sin but it is to convert the soul Conscience is designed to prove to our hearts that we are sinners and that salvation can never be on the basis of how good I am but rather if I am ever to be saved it must be upon the basis of what and who God is. Salvation can only be possible if God is “forbearing” - patient, forgiving of the repentant sinner (v4) Conscience has its final work not only in convicting of sin but in casting me upon the grace and mercy Conscience is not there for me to be critical of others nor to be scathing of God but rather to convict of my own sin. Believers 252: “Here conscience ends its strife and faith delights to prove, the sweetness of the Bread of Life, the fullness of thy love.”

The Response to and the Results of Conscience (v5-12) I can do 1 of 2 things: Reject conscience and harden my heart (v5) – The Barrier of Conscience. This was interestingly Adams first reaction in the garden of Eden: to hide! To hide under the fig leaves (3:7) and to hide behind the trees in the garden (3:8) and to hide behind his wife (3:12). Convicted of sin he knew that there was a problem within, his response was impulsive rather than intelligent, reactive rather than reasoned – he felt his sin exposed and so hide.

Respond to conscience (v7) - The Brokenness of Conscience

(Psa 111:3) “His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.” They seek for the 'work of God' - “Glory, honour and immortality” is the work of God. down through the generations there have been those who have responded to conscience, to the light of creation and to the light of conscience and on that basis have, even in the days before the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ have been given further light:

Abel: (Heb 11:4) “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” - the same conscience that drove his father to cover and hide drew Able to bring of the firstlings of the flock as a sin offering to God to make reconciliation between God and man!

Job: (Job 1:8) “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

Noah: (Gen 6:8) “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

Job, Noah and Daniel: (Eze 14:14) “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.”

David: (1Sa 13:14) “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.”

(Heb 11:13) “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

(Heb 11:40) “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

(Heb 12:23) “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect”

The Brokenness of Conscience. Leads me to all sufficient grace!

The Evidence and Experience of Conscience (v13-16) In giving me conscience God has given me a terrifying gift – He has given me the ability to comprehend His basis of judgement We saw that in creation God gave me the ability to comprehend His character in that creation (Rom1:19-20), so too in conscience God has given me the ability to understand His basis for judgement and His verdict against me! No one will be in hell who does nor understand why they are there! Hell will no doubt come as a shock to many but perhaps not a surprise. Conscience is the evidence for the prosecution against me (v14-15) God has laid up in the very nature of your being, in the very foundations of your heart the ability to understand why He casts you into hell. The ability to understand what is happening and why it is happening. That ought to make us tremble if we are unsaved.

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

3 Categories of Sinners:

1. Rotten Sinners of chp 1
2. Self-Righteous Sinners of 2:1-6
3. Religious Sinners for chp 2

Rotten Sinners of chapter 1

The pagan idolaters

Self-Righteous Sinners (2:1-6) They are able to discern sin but not to dispense with sin! Judge sin in others but not in self No repentance from their own sin Notice that the condemnation of these self-righteous sinners is NOT that they fail to live a perfect life - which cannot be expected of any man but rather they fail to repent from the sin that they have committed and continue to commit (2:4) Judgement is made against their attitude of heart rather than against their ability to lead sinless lives! God will continue on from where they left off and will bring judgement to its "righteous" conclusion (2:5) and that against them! Compare 1 John3:4 where Gods condemnation is not so much against mans inevitable inability to keep to the righteous law of God but rather Gods judgement is against the heart of man, the attitude of man to Gods righteous law: "....for sin is the transgression of the law." or literally "for sin is lawlessness" as attitude of anti-law, of anti-God and of anti-Christ that permeates through the whole of humanity and forms much of the subject of the epistle of 1 John. These men begin the spiritual journey; they feel the conviction of sin but it never becomes a personal challenge / conviction Religion but no reality The religious hypocrite, like the Pharisee of Matthew 23

It is so easy to agree with the facts of scripture Easy to learn the doctrines and the dogmas of scripture Easy to preach and teach the letter but to miss the Spirit Easy to fail to apply the truth to our own heart and life

Religious Sinners (chapter 2) The Jew with the law

3 Groups of People:

1. Pagan Idolater (chapter 1)
2. Enlightened / educated / religious gentile (2:1-16)
3. Jew (2:17ff)

3 distinct administrations / dispensations of God 3 distinct ways in which God has dealt with people 3 distinct ways in which God has given men the opportunity to find Him There is a 4th - not mentioned in the opening 2 chapters of Romans

1. The Age of Innocence
2. The Age of Conscience
3. The Age of Law
4. The Age of Grace

Why has God dealt with men in different ways? To demonstrate to all who are willing to come to Him in faith that there is only one way by which men and women can come. There is only one foundation upon which a man or woman can know God That is to come in humility and faith before God, receiving salvation as a free Gift on the Gods terms and not ours. Mans only hope lies not in himself but only in God! One by one God allows man to explore the options leading to salvation and to systematically fail. Man must come in his search for salvation to one conclusion and one alone: "Without ME ye can do nothing" "Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that in due season He might lift the up..." "Ask and it shall be given..."

But man might say: If only we had the right ENVIRONMENT we would be alright SO Gods first administration was in a perfect environment - Eden No Sin, No Suffering, No Strife, No Poverty, No drugs, No Drink Man failed, man fell In the perfect environment man chose to trust Satan rather than the creator The problem lay in mans heart There is only one desirable feature in man that God could not create: that was willing obedience, devotion that flows from desire rather than design. God could not create, uncreated devotion God desired a Passion for God from mans Pleasure in God Man chose sin and Satan!

If only we had the right EDUCATION we would be alright Man left the garden of Eden with the knowledge of good and evil believing that, that knowledge would fit him to become: "as gods knowing both good and evil" (Gen3:5) This knowledge, this instinctive appreciation of right and wrong is picked up in Romans chapter 1 + 2 (eg 1:28; 2:1-6) and is constantly and consistently rejected by man! Man constantly acts contrary to conscience and delights in it! Perhaps then what we need is something a bit more formal:

If only we had the right ORGANISATION we would be alright! This is a very modern idea! Organise problems out of mans life: communism and socialism of the last century - organise out inequalities, greed, suffering and organise in equality and even distribution of wealth. See it even in our sphere of work, every time a problem is encountered the response is more organisation, greater administration, new protocol. If mans heart is not right we will never organise an attitude to be right before God. Gods next administration was that of LAW A perfect law and not only a law but the organisation and structure with it. God intended that the nation be led not by a king but by prophets and priestly men. They had rules governing worship, family life, contracts, health, infection, food, hygiene, war and farming. This failed, men knew more than ever before but this lead simply to an even greater condemnation than ever before (2:12)! So what does that lead us to then?

The Day / Dispensation of Grace What are the principles here? You've failed You cannot do it yourself: not by environment, education or organisation Shout for help: "He that calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" There is help , there is salvation for us in Christ: "when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." One of the great truths of the book of Romans is that in every day and age there have been those who have come to the truth: You've failed You cannot do it yourself: not by environment, education or organisation Shout for help: "He that calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" There is help , there is salvation for us in Christ: "when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

Amongst them:

• Abraham (Rom4:1ff)
• David (Rom4:6ff)
• Job (Job1:1ff)
• Noah (Ezek 14:14; Gen 6:8)
• Daniel (Ezek 14:14)
• Isaac (Matt8:11)
• Jacob (Matt8:11)
• Elijah (Matt 17:3)
• Moses (Matt 17:3)
• Abel (Matt 23:35; Heb 11:4)
• and those great men and women of faith of Hebrews chapter 11!

In the gospels, Christ connects with the men and women of faith in the past:

• John 4:6 - Jacobs Well
• John 8:56 – Abraham
• Luke 18:22 – Abraham
• Matt 8:11 – Isaac
• Matt 8:11 – Abraham
• Matt 8:11 – Jacob
• Matt 8:17 – Isaiah
• Matt 17:3 – Moses
• Matt 17:3 – Elijah
• Matt 23:35 – Abel
• Matt 23:35 – Zechariah

There is continuity between the old and the new That continuity lies in 1 person - Christ (Romans 2:16) cf. Psalm 132:9ff; Gen 22:18 Of these Paul speaks in Romans 2:7. Psalm 111:2-3 - These were all saved by faith There were those who unlike the Rotten Sinners of Romans 1 responded to the "Works of the Lord" by "seeking" Him out (Psalm 111:2) and by seeking for His: 'honour' and 'Glory' and 'righteousness' and that 'forever' (Psalm 111:3) They 'humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God' They were marked by repentance towards sin: Abraham left his idols (Gen 12; Joshua 24:2) David sought forgiveness (Psalm 51) Jacob wrestled with God Rahab left the old life behind her and let down the scarlet thread Ruth turned her back on Moab

https://graceinchrist.org/romans

The Gospel was Promised in the Old Testament (Rom1:2) The Gospel is Paralleled in Gods Creation (Rom1:18-20) Principles that can be seen in creation: Godhead There is one God who is in control He is responsible for the whole of creation He is marked by "power" and 'intelligence' - "Godhead" One God and one creator evident by the unity and harmony of nature Creation is not higglety pigglety For example the orchid bee and the coryanthes flower, the coryanthes is specific for a particular species of bee, and for the male of that species in specifically, the flower is designed around the bee, and infact it contains many design features:

1. the scent to attract the bee
2. a slippery slope for it to fall into the bucket
3. nectar dripping into the bucket shaped flower
4. a step shaped part out of the bucket flower
5. the design of the stamen and the pollen packet and
6. a part of the flower shaped like a tunnel for the bee to crawl through.

Not only that but the bee collects esters from the plant and stores them in special compartments in its legs and then releases them to attract the female bee at mating season!

An addded level of complexity exists; the orchids are highly vulnerable to slugs and snails, tend to grow on ants nests, the ants protect the orchids, and produce formic acid which acidifies the soil and is an ideal growing medium for the orchid!

The God who created the orchid, created the bee! The oneness and unity of design in nature is evident. We can see His "eternal power and Godhead" Evolution says the purpose of life is to reproduce! The Coryanthes says it is not! The Coryanthes is fussy about the means of reproduction and the transfer of the pollen, picking only one creature - the bee, only one species and only the male! The Purpose of Creation is to stand as testimony to the power, wisdom and Glory of the Creator! The Principle of resurrection

God is able to Raise the Dead This principle is evident too in creation Rom6:5 - "Planted together in the likeness of His death we shall also in the likeness of His resurrection" The seed is planted in the ground, dead looking and unpromising and yet from the humble acorn can come the mighty oak tree Never ever think that it is unreasonable that God can bring life from the dead or that God can raise up our lives from the deadness of the sin they were stepped in, into the newness of His own life. The seed of a date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) was discovered during an archaeological excavation at King Herod's Palace on Mount Masada near the Dead Sea. Nicknamed "Methuselah" the palm that sprouted from this ancient seed has been Carbon-dated at about 2,000 years old

God has built in hope to His Creation (8:20)

Our expectations of life out strip our experience of life We have a hope for life and for health and happiness that is never realised in time Physical life is passing and we yearn for more

God is able to give second chances (chp 11)

He is able to take the wild branch and graft it into the cultivated stock We are not too far gone for God Death

All life ends in death (5:12-21)

There is no escaping God We are expected to ask: what next?

God is able to transform lives (12:12) 'metamorphosis' Can God transform me? The evidence is all around us: Caterpillar to the butterfly Maggot to the fly Tadpole to the frog

God has given us a conscience of sin (2:15) This conscience anticipates judgment (2:16) We possess Gods knowledge of His moral law.

https://graceinchrist.org/romans