11-8-20 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Pastor Tim Patoka

End Time 2: Last Judgment November 8, 2020 God’s Righteous Judgment Romans 2:2-11 1) Shows No Favoritism 2) Is Patiently Coming

If you haven’t picked up on it already, this Sunday is quite different than what we’ve had these past few months. Besides having the color red adorn our altar furniture and my robe, we’ve also changed our worship focus to Jesus’ second coming on the Last Day. You might think that this sudden change happened because your pastors, or at least me, finally had enough of our prolonged pandemic and has given up on the here and now. Or perhaps you personally are thinking about the end of times because of what did or didn’t happen in our recent elections.

But I can assure you that our change in worship focus is not because of such things.

Rather, it’s what we do every November when we transition to a new season of the church year called “End Time.” As we look at what the Bible says about these last days bookended by Jesus’ ascension into heaven and his future return in power, we do well to consider the Last Judgment that God will give out on the Last Day. In the words that we’ll specifically consider from Romans chapter 2, we hear warnings and encouragements written specifically for Christians like us in light of God’s righteous judgment. It’s true, God’s righteous judgment shows no favoritism and it is patiently coming. But for those who take the Bible’s teachings to heart, they have nothing to fear. Rather, they can look forward to God’s righteous judgment with joyful and confident hearts for they know that’s God’s judgment for those who have faith in his Son Jesus Christ is this – not guilty of sins and therefore welcomed into heaven.

The Basis of God’s Righteous Judgment Before we get into the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans chapter 2, it first would do us good to briefly review what exactly Last Judgment is all about. As we heard in our First Lesson from Daniel chapter 7, God will come with all his glory and might and judge the multitudes of people before him on the basis of his opened books. As described in Revelation 20(:12), one of these books is the Book of Life which has the names of all God’s children through faith written in it. It is this faith in Jesus Christ that is the basis of our God’s righteous judgment. If a person has faith, they have forgiveness. And if they have forgiveness, they have life, salvation, and every other spiritual blessing! But if they don’t have faith, then their sins are still credited against them and their righteous judgment will be one of eternally guilty.

As Lutherans who rightly emphasize our salvation through faith alone, given to us by God’s grace alone, it might have alarmed you to see how much talk this is about good works in our readings this morning. In our Gospel reading, we have Jesus separating the believing sheep from the unbelieving goats on the basis of their good works. In Romans chapter 2, we have Paul 1

Pastor Tim Patoka

End Time 2: Last Judgment November 8, 2020 urging Christians to do what is good and persist in it. At first glance, this talk of works seems to contradict what we just said about faith being the basis of God’s righteous judgment of people.

But upon closer examination, we see that faith and works are not contradictory teachings.

Rather, they complete the picture of what a Christian’s life should look like when it comes time for Last Judgment.

As mentioned in both Old and New Testaments (Ps 62:12; Pr 24:12; Jn 15:1-8; Ro 2:6; Jm 2:17; etc.), though we are saved by faith alone, our faith is never alone. Rather, our faith in Christ is the engine that drives our God-pleasing thoughts, words, and actions that he considers good. A Christian’s faith and resultant living go hand in hand. We recognize that what a person does in their life is the result and reflection of what’s inside.

Therefore, we view a Christian’s good works in the same way – a result and a reflection of the faith that is inside. If a Christian’s works are missing or evil, it’s likely because of their faith in some way. I mention these things so that we can rightfully understand what the Apostle Paul is aiming for with his encouragement for Christians to persist in doing good. What he’s calling for is a faith that trusts in God’s promises because that’s the only way we can do good things in the first place.

Be Mindful of God’s Righteous Judgment But not everything Christians did in Paul’s day was good. In the tail end of Romans chapter 1, Paul lists a litany of sins that were common, and sometimes encouraged, in the pagan 1st century Romans world. And it wasn’t just the pagans who were doing these, but also some Christians!

Christians who came from Greek and Jewish lineages. We see this difference mentioned a couple of times to show that God’s righteousness judgment shows no favoritism of any kind.

At this time, it was often thought that God would show favoritism to the Jewish people because they had been his Old Testament people and had grown up with God’s Word. The Greeks, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. If anyone was going to get favorable treatment, surely it would be those of Jewish lineage! As a result, it wouldn’t such a serious thing for them to practice some of the sins they earlier had condemned. But as the Apostle Paul teaches, God shows no favoritism among people. As he says, “Are you thinking that you will escape God’s judgment, you who judge those who do such things and then do the same things yourself?”

(Romans 2:3) God’s children cannot have a double standard that expects others to live as God demands without modeling it themselves.

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome about 25 years after Jesus ascended into heaven. A full generation had come and gone since then. And it seems that some believers were beginning to mistake God’s patience to about the Last Day for empty words.

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Pastor Tim Patoka

End Time 2: Last Judgment November 8, 2020 They thought they had plenty of time to get things right, but not right now. We hear again what Paul has to say, “Or do you have so little regard for [God’s] rich kindness, his restraint, and his patience, that you ignore the fact that the purpose of God’s kindness is to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) God’s patience in bringing righteous judgment is not so we can indulging our sinful wants for as long as possible. Yet evidently, some were.

It’s for these reasons that Paul wakes his listeners up and warns them about God’s righteous judgment by giving them the stark reality of their situation – “As a result of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God will reveal his righteous judgment.” (Romans 2:6) Paul speaks these condemning words to them so that they may prepare for God’s righteous judgment accordingly and so face it with the joy and confidence that only faith in Christ can give.

We don’t live in a world that calls people either Jew or Greek. But that doesn’t mean we’re all that different from Paul’s original audience in Romans chapter 2. Like many others, we can think that God will show favoritism with his righteous judgment. For those of us who have grown up in the church, we can be tempted to think that we’ll have it easier than those who didn’t because we’ve had the Word of God shape our lives from early on. As such, our childhoods probably look much better than those who didn’t grow up in the church. Or we can give ourselves undue credit because of our current situation. Despite our prolonged pandemic and nation’s want to turn in on itself, we are still making time for God’s Word. If we’re here inperson, we’ve taken on some amount of risk just to be here. If we’re here virtually, we’ve put the distractions of home aside so we can tune in and grow in faith. That’s not the case for every Christian out there right now.

If you think 25 some years is a long time to wait for something, how about 2,000 some years? That’s how long we’ve been in these last days waiting for the Lord to bring Last Judgment on the Last Day. Might we too be guilty of mistaking God’s patience for empty words? Might we misuse the time that God has given us to indulge our sinful wants just a little longer before we have to change our ways? In many ways, we find ourselves with the same stubborn and unrepentant hearts that Paul’s original audience had and in danger of storing up God’s wrath against ourselves.

Rejoice in God’s Righteous Judgment But before we go any further, let us remember what it is that God is basing his righteous judgment on – faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin. That’s a good thing. Faith is trust, trust in who Jesus is, what he has done for us on the cross, and what he promises to those who believe in him. If God was basing his righteous judgment on our actions in any way, we would be in trouble. For our faith-driven life will never be a perfect result and reflection of our faith, no matter how much we may try. We could never have confidence before our Lord or look at 3

Pastor Tim Patoka

End Time 2: Last Judgment November 8, 2020 his righteous judgment with joy. But because God’s righteous judgment is based on faith, we indeed can have confidence and joy of that not guilty verdict we will receive from our Lord.

And God graciously gives us time to prepare accordingly. As the Apostle Paul explained, the reason why God is patient to bring his righteous judgment on the Last Day is so that we have time to repent of our wrongs. If you remember from our worship service on October 11, repentance can be understood as a U-turn arrow where we turn away from sin while also turning toward God. You can look back to that worship service or in your Catechism at home for more information on repentance. And for the billions of people who have already passed away, God gave them their entire lifetimes to come to repentance. While we don’t know how much time in this world God has given us so that we may come and remain in repentance, we certainly have more than what’s needed.

We also can take comfort in that God’s righteous judgment doesn’t show favoritism. As we heard in Romans chapter 2, “God ‘will repay each person according to what he has done’— 7 eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality by persisting in doing what is good….10glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good—for the Jew first and for the Greek. 11For God does not show favoritism.” (Romans 2:6-7, 10-11) If you have faith, which we expect to be accompanied with God-pleasing acts as explained before, then you have the full amount of God’s blessings. This is no different than Jesus’ death on the cross which paid the price of all sins for all people.

And if you ever think that God shows favoritism with his forgiveness and only gives it to those who are supposedly better than you, don’t entertain those thoughts. No matter what your story may be or how dismal your Christian life may look, if you have faith in Jesus Christ then you have forgiveness, life, and salvation. You have God’s righteous judgment that declares you not guilty for the wrongs you have done.

Prepare for God’s Righteous Judgment We don’t know exactly when God will give his righteous judgment for all eternity to us.

It will be on the Last Day when he comes to judge the living and the dead whether that be today, tomorrow, or at any other unknown time. But it will certainly happen when we pass away from this world. And since there are no second chances or things like reincarnation, this righteous judgment will be the final word. As such, now is the time to prepare for it. And thankfully, because we have God’s Word, we know how to.

Remember what God is basis his righteous judgment on. While our good works strive to be the result and reflection of our faith, that’s not what God is basing his judgment on. Instead, it is on faith that trusts in Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin. If a person has this, then they will be judged not guilty of sins and therefore welcomed into heaven.

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Pastor Tim Patoka

End Time 2: Last Judgment November 8, 2020

Until that righteous judgment comes, let us make good use of the time that God has graciously given us. Don’t mistake God’s patience for empty words! Rather, use the time he has given you to come to and regularly practice repentance so that you may remain in God’s Word at all times. After all, why put tomorrow what you can do today?

With a heart that is set on God’s Word, let us then direct our thoughts, words, and actions so that they are a proper result and reflection of our faith in Christ. Like the believing sheep in Matthew chapter 25, let us have God-pleasing lives that are so naturally producing that we don’t remember all the good things we do in thanks to our God. And let us remember that as we speak and act in ways that show our Christian identity, we cannot help but let our light shine to others.

The result of such preparation allows us to look to God’s righteous judgment with joy and confidence. Confidence because we know that God will eternally judge us not guilty of the sins we have committed because of the faith we have in Christ. And joyful because we know that this righteous judgment is the start of our eternity in heaven whether it happens our last day or the Last Day. Although God’s righteous judgment can seem a bit scary, let us instead take Paul’s words in Romans chapter 2 to heart so that we can prepare for it accordingly and look forward to it with joyful and confident hearts. Amen.

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