February 5, 2018
The Gospel: God's Rescue Plan
Romans 2:6–16
Randall Miller
Central Truth
Jesus is more than a teacher; He is a Savior. Jesus didn’t just talk about God; He became the way for us to know God personally. We’re not saved by what we do; we’re saved by trusting in what Jesus already did on the cross.
Romans 2:6–16
6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking 1 2:8 Or contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
God's Judgment and the Law
12 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.
Dive Deeper | Romans 2:6–16
Are these verses telling us that doing good and obeying God’s law will make us innocent in the eyes of God on judgment day? What if we’ve done good things and bad things? Will God weigh our good deeds and our evil ones to determine if the good outweighs the bad?
By no means!
Scripture is clear that we cannot earn salvation based on our good works; salvation only comes through faith in Jesus (John 3:16, 14:6; Romans 3:28, 10:9-10). As followers of Jesus, we don’t do good things to be saved, we do good things because we are saved (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-32). This passage reminds us that God will judge everyone equally based on His perfect standard regardless of our race, culture, background, age, socio-economic status, etc. (Romans 2:6-11). We have no excuses for breaking God’s law (Romans 2:12-16).
God is holy, just, loving, and wise (1 Peter 1:16; Isaiah 6:3, 30:18, 55:9, 63:7; Psalms 9:7-8; Proverbs 3:19). He created us to have a relationship with Him. But when sin entered the world, our relationship with God was broken. We were no longer perfect and could not enter into the presence of our holy God (Genesis 3; Romans 3:23). Because God is just, our sin must be punished (Romans 5:12). Unfortunately, the punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23).
But God, in His infinite wisdom, devised a rescue plan—captured in the gospel—to restore our broken relationship with Him. God sent Jesus to die in our place. Before enduring the cross, Jesus predicted He would die and rise from the dead (Matthew 16:21, 27:62-64; John 2:18-22). And Jesus did exactly that (Matthew 28:5-6; Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:6). He willingly endured God’s wrath against sin on the cross to pay the punishment for our sins (Isaiah 53:5-6; Matthew 26:39; Romans 5:6). His resurrection from the dead proves that He has the authority to forgive sin and power over death, and He endured the entire punishment for our sins.
What love! What good news—a gospel of grace! To God, you and I are worth dying for.
This month's memory verse
Life in the Spirit
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
– Romans 8:1
Discussion Questions
1. God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you. What questions do you have about the gospel?
2. Have you put your faith in Jesus (Romans 10:9-10)? If yes, does your life reflect your faith (Hebrews 12:1-3)? If no, what is holding you back?
3. Do you believe Jesus is who He claimed to be (John 14:6; Matthew 16:21, 24-27)? Why is Jesus not just another good teacher? In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher; he'd either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he'd be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." Do you agree with Lewis? Why or why not?
4. Why is the bodily resurrection so important to the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:16-22)? How do we know Jesus rose from the dead? What proof exists to support the fact that Christ rose from the dead (John 20:11-18; Luke 24:36-43)?
5. Why does sin separate us from God (Psalm 5:4; Isaiah 59:2)? Why is Jesus the only one who can save us and restore our broken relationship with God (Isaiah 53; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:6)?