2020 - Romans
Short of the Glory
This morning, we continue moving forward in Paul’s letter to the Romans. This morning we are going to cover over two chapters in Romans. If we can accomplish this… it will be a new world record… for me. I usually cover a paragraph or at most two. But this morning, we are going to cover from Romans 1:18 all the way through Romans 3:23. In these two+ chapters Paul makes onepoint. I needed to keep this one point together! So, two+ chapters…one sermon. I am not going to keep you in suspense. Here is the point…
Romans 3:22-23 For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
We are going to have to move quickly to cover this point. Hold on tight to your streaming device. Here we go.
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Last week, the point was… The Gospel is the power of God for salvation; therefore, we are not ashamed. Whenever you see the word, “salvation” you ask… saved from what? Paul begins to answer… saved from what…
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men...
The Gospel saves us from the wrath of God. In our section of Scripture this morning, Paul divides all the people of his world into three groups who are all under the wrath of God.
People Group 1… People who do whatever they feel like.
People Group 2… People who want to look good.
People Group 3… People who feel superior to the first two groups.
Let’s read about each of these groups as Paul says they all fall short of glory.
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People Group 1… People who do whatever they feel like.
Romans 1:18-25 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
The heavens and the earth; the entire universe exists in all its glory. Obviously, something; no, someone created this universe. Obviously, this being is powerful. This god should be worshipped. But our first group of people ignored the creator and foolishly worshipped the creation. The first group foolishly worshiped the things created rather than the Creator! Our first group is not too bright. They set a side God to create their own gods in order to indulge their lusts!
Romans 1:26-28 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Because the first, not too bright group, ignored God in order to created their own gods, God’s wrath turned them over to their own selfish passions. Sin carries, inside it, God’s wrath. Because they did not acknowledge God as creator; as the one who has the right to be worshipped and obeyed, the first group went down the hole of dishonorable passions. They did whatever they felt like doing, regardless of who it hurt; regardless of any moral code, regardless of God’s instructions, regardless of right or wrong. They dove down the hole into debased passions!
There is a technical word for Group 1… Hedonist. That is group one. Ignore God. Create your own god. Do whatever you want. Be a Hedonist. Live short of the glory.
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People Group 2… People who want to look good.
Romans 2:1-5 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things. Do you suppose, O man- you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself- that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
I believe Paul is writing to a second group of people he knows; the upright socialite. Many of the upright Romans in Paul’s world did not dive into the hedonism of their contemporaries. They wanted to look good. They wanted to hold the superior moral position. “We are better than Group 1 people. We look cool. We are sophisticated.” They restrained their unbridled passions of the lower kind of people. But secretly, they did the same sort of perversions. Behind closed doors they were just as sinful. They too were receiving the wrath of God!
Just because others don’t see you, doesn’t mean God doesn’t see you.
There is a technical word for Group 2… Hypocrites. Hypocrites fall short of the glory!
Which brings us to People Group 3…
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People Group 3… People who feel superior to the first two groups.
Romans 2:17-24 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth- you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."
The Jews of Paul’s day should have been the guides; the teachers; the light leading the rest of the world to do right. But even though they knew better, -they knew the Ten Commandments- they did not obey them. The name YWHW was blasphemed among the Gentiles by the way they lived! Instead of being the light to the nations! They did not bear the glory of YHWH to the nations! They did not keep their covenant with God!
These Jews boasted about knowing the law. They boasted about their relationship with God. They boasted about their covenant. They were certainly better than “the others”. They were the chosen. They were God’s people. They were the Jews. But they did not live up to their position.
The technical word for People Group 3 is… Arrogant. The arrogant fall short of the glory!
Paul concludes his judgment on all three groups…
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Romans 3:9-18 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Group 1…Those who don’t care who knows… jump into whatever sin they can find… They are under the power and punishment of their own sin! Hedonists give up the glory.
Group 2…Those who want to keep up appearances... but still engage in sin… also have become worthless. Hypocrites deny the glory.
Group 3…Those who should know better; who know God’s law… but judge, anyway… feel superior, anyway. Their tongues are poison. Arrogance can’t do glory.
Romans 3:23 …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
For all are under the power of sin. Sin is corrosive. Sin degrades a person. Sin leads a person down a hole into ever increasing selfishness. The hole implodes upon it self in disaster. Sin is sin because it carries with it the wrath of God. All Three Groups… the hedonist, the hypocrite and the arrogant… all go down the same hole. They end up under the control of sin.
AND… here is the sad part… maybe, the sadder part…
All three groups are not lifting up the glory of God. We, humans, are designed to be the image of God! We are created to bring God the glory. The purpose of our existence is to bring the glory of God to the world around us! We live to honor God. Glory is shining the love of God to the others! Glory is spread when we love the “others”. (Say that again, Tim.)
But all three groups, instead of shining the glory of God, crawled down the hole of selfishness. Their glory is shining in on themselves. But, shining glory inward is wrath. Shining on yourself brings destruction.
Conclusion…
Romans 3:23 …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
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There is a fourth group in our two chapters. This fourth Group is not under wrath. This fourth group have not gone down the hole…
People Group 4… Glory-Seekers
Romans 2:6-11 He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
Paul places Groups 1-3 into one category… under the wrath of God. They are self-seeking.
But this fourth group seeks glory. They do not want to fall short of glory. They want to give honor to God. They want to praise Creator-God. They want to obey God. They give glory to God by spreading his love to the world! In does not matter your ethnos… God will give eternal life to glory-seekers!
Let’s bring these two chapters forward from 57 AD to the 21stcentury.
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I suspect all three People Groups still exist today.
People Group 1… People who do whatever they feel like. There are people who are proud of their sin. We see people doing whatever they want; whatever feels good in the moment. We see people destroy their lives. Destroy others around them. The hedonists bring the wrath of God down on themselves as they crawl down the hole of passion. And post it on Facebook.
People Group 2… People who want to look good. They want to have the appearance of being better than the hedonists. But it’s simply hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is a showstopper with God. Wagging fingers at the others while still doing what they want is under the wrath of God.
People Group 3… People who feel superior to the first two groups. Religious people…
--who boast about knowing what is right;
--who want to educate everyone else;
--who should be the light of the world;
--But who just have venom in their words;
--Their arrogance kills any chance of being the light of the glory of God to the world!
All Three groups fall short of the glory of God. The light given them by God, this precious possession, given to shine his glory in the world has been stuffed down the hole of self-glorification!
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There is still the fourth group around, today… People Group 4… The glory-seekers.
Romans 2:6-11 He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; … but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
We must be in this group. We cannot afford to fall into the first three groups…
--We cannot simply do what whatever we feel like. We live to bring the glory of God to others.
--We cannot be hypocrites. We cannot judge everyone as maniacs or idiots. We cannot judge everyone who is looser than us as maniacs, while judging everyone who is tighter than us as idiots. We must be consistent in our grace to others.
--We cannot be arrogant. Arrogance falls short of the glory.
We, instead, seek glory. We seek good works. We seek -with all their hearts- to bear the love of his glory to the world! We must be glory-seekers!
Tim Stidham
July 26, 2020
Los Alamos Church of Christ
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