God of Judgment: Roman 2:4-6
“4) Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5) But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6) who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:”. (Romans 2:4-6)
Your view of grace and the gospel will have a profound affect on how you live. Some view grace as a free ticket to live and do whatever you please. They reason that because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, the judgment and wrath side of God has been satisfied.
According to verse 5, that is a terrible mistake. It leads to a hard and unrepentant heart. It amounts to storing up God’s wrath against you. God call us to holiness and not hellishness.
Part of the confusion can be erased by understanding the difference between the Judgement Seat of Christ as recorded in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 and the Great White Throne Judgement talked about in Revelation 20:11-15. The Judgement Seat of Christ is for believers. The Great White Throne Judgement is for those unbelievers destined to join the devil and his angels in the lake of fire.
No matter where you stand, it is for judgement. God is the perfect Judge and He will render to every person according to their deeds. Because God is omniscient, (Knows all things) He will get the verdict right.
It is at this point that many walk away from the Gospel and Christianity. The notion of a God of justice and judgment did not fit into their understanding of an all loving God. This was true in the days of the Apostle Paul and it is true today.
That’s why Paul labors this point so hard in the opening three chapters of the book of Romans. The drift of human civilization away from God outlined in Romans 1:18-32 all shared a common denominator; it was easier for mankind to create religions that tolerated and embraced human depravity than it was to be accountable to the God of Creation.
Terry Baxter
State Representative Iowa House District 8
