Storing up wrath
Storing up wrath
Romans 2:5-8 We need to dedicate our lives to serving Him, not judging others.
“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 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, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.”
Romans 2:4-8 NASB1995
Chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Romans starts with a heading that reads “God’s Righteous Judgement” in the NKJV and NIV translations, “The Impartiality of God” in the NASB, “God’s Judgement of Sin” in the NLT. Enduring Word starts off in a similar vein, with the title “God’s Judgement Upon The Morally Educated.” Wikipedia’s entry for Romans 2 summarizes the chapter:
Although "the main theme of the Epistle [is] the doctrine of justification by faith", in verse 6 Paul "lays down with unmistakable definiteness and precision the doctrine that works, what a man has done, the moral tenor of his life, will be the standard by which he will be judged at the last day".
Paul is definitely targeting moralists with these verses, those in the Roman church who believed that their “high morals” made them better than others and more deserving of God’s grace. He starts verse 4 by pointing out that God treats believers with kindness and tolerance and patience. God is kind to us in terms of our past sin, since He hasn’t judged us yet. He’s tolerant of our present sin; we are constantly falling short of His glory, yet He withholds His judgement against us. God is patient with us, since He knows that we will always sin in the future, and once again He withholds His judgement.
So Paul asks if the recipients of his letter are just assuming that God is good to them because of their self-belief that they are “good” beings. As humans, we don’t seem to understand that God is kind, tolerant, and patient to sinners because He wants us to show gratitude and repent! Moralists believe that they are storing up merit with God when they condemn those who they believe are sinners, all the while continuing to sin themselves.
Rather than storing up merit, they’re storing up the wrath of God instead through their stubbornness and lack of repentance. Lutheran Bible commentator Richard C.H. Lenski provides a great image of God’s tolerance and patience toward the sinner:
“The figure is that of a load that God bears, which men heap up more and more, making heavier and heavier. The wonder of it all is that God holds any of it up even for a day; yet he holds up all its weight and does not let it crash down on the sinner’s head.”1
God’s judgement will not only come down on those who are unrepentant sinners, but also “those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” God rewards “those who … persevere in doing good” and “seek for glory and honor and immortality” with eternal life.
Paul’s message, that it is God who judges sinners — not us — is just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. We need to dedicate our lives to serving Him, not judging others.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I thank You that I have been saved by grace through my faith in Christ. Having come to that saving faith, I pray that You assist me in doing Your work in my life. I rely on Your Holy Spirit’s guidance and direction in my life, and trust in Your unfailing kindness and grace. May I produce much fruit to Your praise and glory. This I ask in the name of Jesus, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Lenski, R.C.H. "The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans" (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg, 1961)