Bill Acton :: Romans 2:1-3:8 - The Jews' Need of Salvation by Faith

Sermon Outline for Romans 2:1-29; Romans 3:1-8

The Jews’ Need of Salvation by Faith

1. The Self-righteous Sin by Judging Others – Rom 2:1
2. The Self-righteous Are Lost Because the Judgment of God Is Based on Justice and Truth – Rom 2:1-16
   1. God’s judgment is just because it is based on His omniscience – Rom 2:1-3
   2. God’s judgment is just because He gives ample time for repentance – Rom 2:4-5
   3. God’s judgment is just because it is according to man’s works – Rom 2:6-11
      1. The nature and end of accepted works – Rom 2:7, 10
      2. The nature and end of rejected works – Rom 2:8-9
         1. Character of the unrighteous
            1. Contentious – factions seek their own gain
            2. Obey not the truth
            3. Obey unrighteousness
         2. Condemnation of the unrighteous
            1. Wrath
            2. Indignation
            3. Tribulation
            4. Anguish
   4. God’s judgment is just because it is according to man’s response to the light He has – Rom 2:12-16
      1. The Gentile and his light of conscience – Rom 2:12-16
      2. The Jew and his light given in the Law of God – Rom 2:3, 12
   5. God’s judgment is just because it is according to the Gospel of Christ – Rom 2:16
3. The Jew Had Failed – Rom 2:21-29
   1. The nature of their failure – Rom 2:21-22
   2. They taught one thing and acted another – hypocrites – Mat 23
      1. They were thieves – Rom 2:21; Mat 23:14 KJV
      2. They were adulterers – Rom 2:22
      3. They were guilty of sacrilege – Rom 2:22
      4. They gained wealth by robbing heathen temples – Act 19:24-27
   3. The tragic consequence of their failure – Rom 2:23-24
      They made the Name of God an offense to the Gentiles through their actions. God is always judged by the lives of those who profess to be His people – 2Ti 2:19
   4. The cause of their failure – Rom 2:25-29
      1. Obedience in the test of reality – Rom 2:25-26
         1. Mat 7:21-23
         2. Rom 6:14-23
         3. Jas 1:22-25
         4. 2Ti 3:5 – Having a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof
      2. Faith and obedience are above the ordinance, sign, liturgy, ritual. An ordinance is a sign; if there is no accompanying personal faith, the sign has no value in us. – Rom 2:26-27
         1. The Jew thought circumcision was essential to eternal life
         2. Abraham was righteous before circumcision
      3. True relationship to God is a matter of the heart – not outward ceremony and ritual – Rom 2:28-29
         The inner man must be transformed by the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit.