The Book of Romans: “No More Excuses”

 The Book of Romans

Introduction:

Good morning my friends. Welcome to Eastern Shore Baptist Church. My name is Stuart Davidson. I am the pastor here. Today we find ourselves back in the book of Romans. This is the fourth lesson in a 27 week series. 

Today’s message is entitled “No More Excuses”. Have you ever heard that before? No more excuses?

Today’s Message:

“No More Excuses”

I heard those words growing up quite a bit. 

There is no excuse for making that bad grade! My parents said those words to me because I had ample time to study, to prepare, to ask questions. Still, I made a bad grade. 

There is no excuse for my room to look that way! Again, my parents said those words to me because I had been given time to clean my room. Day after day I had chances to pick up my things, clean up my mess, and get my life in order. Still, I failed to do what I had time to do. 

There is no excuse for my decisions. I’ll never forget the time that I heard those words from my first boss and supervisor Randy Overstreet. Randy was the Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church of Birmingham. I was a young, very inexperienced, youth pastor. Randy had given me a directive. 

“Stuart”, Randy said, “do not do that again”. He was firm. He looked me right in the eyes. 

Do you know what I did?

I did the very thing he told me not to do. I was not meaning to disobey but disobedience happened anyway. I was called into his office and let me tell you friends, I left crystal clear on what Randy expected of me. 

In every case, I was without excuse. I was told. I was given the picture. From my parents to those in supervision over me, I was aware of the consequences of my actions. 

I had a choice to make. I could listen. I could be obedient. I could follow the directions and stay within the boundaries that were set for me. 

Or…

I could be disobedient. I could go my own way, carve my own path, and make my own calls. In doing so, I would create a situation where sure, swift and righteous judgement would come my way. 

You see friends, we are all judging and being judged. It is just a part of our existence. All of us are making judgement calls. I made judgements according to my own standards and received the just consequences for those actions. However, there have been many other times in my life when I made judgements not according to my standards but according to God’s standards and the outcome was very different. 

Do you know why? Do you know why the outcomes were different when the standards shifted?

Simply put, God’s standard, His systems, and His judgements are always right. Always, without exception. God and everything God does is always good and always right. He is always righteous. Even if God’s judgement offends us, He is right. Even if God’s standards are deemed culturally irrelevant or incongruent, God is right. 

Do me a favor this morning, fill in the blanks under “Today’s Thought” 

God’s judgements are rendered without reproach! He is always right and always righteous. 

Do you believe that this morning? Do you believe that God is always right and always righteous? 

What about when following God puts distance between your son or daughter? 

What about when following God puts you at odds with your family members?

What about when following God means sacrificing your comfort, your security, or your desires?

What about when you are suffering? When you wake up to the bitter pill of pain and when you go to sleep on the hard pillow of hurt? 

Even then friends, God…and all that He does…is loving, good, right and righteous. 

Today’s Thought:

God’s Judgments Are Rendered Without Reproach! He Is Always Right And Always Righteous!

I can’t help but think of the Old Testament character of Job. Job a wealthy man of great material means. He had servants. His tents could hardly be numbered. He had the love of his family. He had a great many children to carry on his legacy and his family line. Job was a wealthy man. His flocks were large. In a worldly sense, Job seemed to have everything a man could want. 

Power. 

Status. 

Wealth. 

All belonging to Job. Then, suddenly, as quickly as the success came for Job, it evaporated like puddles in the noon day sun. You see, Satan was given permission to test Job. Satan told God that if he were allowed to destroy Job, taking all that was valuable to him, that Job would turn on God. Satan believed that Job would curse God. 

God, proving a point to Satan, allowed Job to suffer. Job lost his home, his wealth, his servants, and worst of all…his family. Job’s wife turned on him. She blamed him for all of this catastrophe on some secret sin in Job’s life. Job’s friends came to him and accused him of sinning against God and that he was somehow receiving his just punishment. Job was told to “curse God and die”.

Imagine that, being told to “curse God and die”. Job’s wife and Job’s friends did not believe that God was always good, always righteous, always above reproach. Job, at one of his lowest points, even contends with God. 

Have you ever been angry with God? Ever feel like God is not listening, like He doesn’t care, like He is somehow distant or unaware of what’s happening to you? If you have, you are in good company. Job was right there with you. Still, listen to what Job says about God. 

If you go and read Job 1:20-21, you see Job’s confession…

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’”

In Job 13, Job reaffirms his commitment to God saying, 

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

Job had a critical understanding. Job understood that life cannot be lived on our own terms, by our own understandings, by our feelings which change with time. He understood that no matter how the culture shifts, God is always right. He understood that even when the people around him question God, God alone is the Creator, the Maker of all things and all things submit to His power, His rule, and His authority. 

Again, God is always right, always good, and always above reproach. 

R.C. Sproul is one of my all time favorite writers, teachers and preachers. He is just so rich in quality theology. In studying for this message, I spent time reading through his book on Romans. His book is called, “The Gospel of God: Romans”. I would encourage you to check it out. Listen to what he says about God’s judgements. 

Today’s Quote:

“God’s judgment is always according to truth. He is never arbitrary, never capricious. Every verdict He renders flows from His perfect knowledge and unchanging character. While human judges may be swayed by emotion, ignorance, or bias, the judgment of God is never unjust. He judges righteously because He is righteousness itself. In His courtroom, there are no technicalities—only truth, justice, and holy impartiality.”

R.C. Sproul’s, “The Gospel of God: Romans”

Background and Context:

Let’s stop for a moment and talk about Romans 2:1-11. As you know, Paul has just finished laying out in chapter 1 how the world has turned its back on God. He’s talking about obvious sin, idolatry, sexual immorality. It’s like he’s preaching and the crowd is nodding along saying, “Amen, Paul! You tell ’em!”

But then Romans 2 starts and Paul turns the spotlight back on us. He shines the light of God’s righteous judgement back on people like you and me. He basically says, “Now hold up… before you start pointing fingers, let’s talk about you.” He moves from talking about them to talking about us. He confronts the religious crowd—the ones who look good on the outside but are just as broken on the inside.

Paul reminds us that God’s judgment is fair, righteous, and—praise the Lord—patient. He isn’t impressed by our outward religion; He’s after transformed hearts. 

And the good news? God’s kindness isn’t there to coddle us in our sin—it’s meant to lead us to repentance! 

Romans 2 is not a finger-wagging passage—it’s a call to authentic faith. It reminds us we’re all in need of grace, and that God sees every heart and judges with perfect justice and mercy.

Bottom line: don’t just look the part—live the part. God’s looking not just for churchgoers, but for Christ-followers.

Statement of Belief:

Before we jump into today’s Scripture, I want to remind you that…

“We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect.”

Today’s Scripture:

Romans 2:1-11 ESV

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. [2] We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. [3] Do you suppose, O man-you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself-that you will escape the judgment of God? [4] 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? [5] 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. [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 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.

Pastor: “This is the word of the Lord.” 

Congregation: “Praise His name, praise His Holy name!”

3 Importance Lessons on God’s Judgement…

Lesson One: God’s Judgments Are Based on Truth, Not Appearances vs. 1–2

So, let’s dive into today’s text. What I want to do this morning is to reveal to all of us 3 important lessons on God’s judgements. Our first lesson this morning is that God’s judgements are based on truth, not appearances. Remember friends, God’s judgements are grounded in truth and not appearances. Think about it like this, when we judge others by how others appear, we commit sin and condemn ourselves. 

Go back to verses 1-2 this morning. 

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. [2] We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 

There is a tv show that came out several years ago called “Undercover Boss”. How many of you have seen that show? So a few of you. Well here’s the premise. A boss, usually the CEO or a large multimillion dollar company, dresses down from his corporate attire. He or she goes into disguise mode. I remember one episode had the CEO of Domino’s Pizza working in a local pizza store. None of the workers, including the manager of the store, realized that they were working side by side with the CEO of the company. The idea of the show was that all the workers would change their behavior if they knew that the big boss was working by their side. The producers wanted to get the worker’s and the manager’s real actions. They wanted to capture the real work ethic of everyone involved. It was also meant to show the CEO how their corporate decisions affected the people on the ground, the men and women doing the work. 

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

On that particular episode, the store manager kept barking orders, rolling his eyes, and trash-talking the “new guy” behind his back. He judged the undercover CEO as lazy, inexperienced, and not worth his time. You could see the arrogance dripping from every interaction. But the best part—at the end of the show, when the boss finally revealed who he really was, the manager’s face went white as a Domino’s pizza box. You could hear a pepperoni drop in that room.

See, the whole time the manager thought he was in charge, thought he could pass judgment. But he didn’t have all the facts. He judged based on appearance, not truth. The one he looked down on actually held the highest authority in the room.

Romans 2:1-2 reminds us that we do the same thing when we look at others, assume we know their story, and play judge and jury. But God doesn’t judge like we do—He sees the heart. He sees the truth. He knows every motive, every hidden struggle, and every unspoken pain. His judgment is always right because it’s based on what’s real, not what’s visible.

Look at what Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:5, 

Matthew 7:5 KJV

“Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Now that’s a vivid picture, isn’t it? Jesus as He often does is dipping His toe into the hyperbole pool.

 He says, “You’re worried about the tiny speck in your brother’s eye, while you’ve got a plank sticking out of your own face!” It’s like someone with a telephone pole glued to their forehead saying, “Hey friend, you’ve got something in your eyelashes.” Pretty absurd, right?

That’s the danger Paul is warning about in Romans 2. We become spiritual critics—pointing out every flaw in someone else while ignoring the stuff God’s still working on in us. Jesus isn’t saying never address sin—He’s saying don’t do it hypocritically. Check your own heart first. Let God deal with your junk before you start evaluating everyone else’s.

So if God’s judgment is based on truth—not appearance—and ours is so often based on what we think we see, then we’d better leave the judgment seat to the only One who deserves to sit in it. Our job isn’t to inspect everyone else’s fruit—it’s to surrender our own hearts, confess our own sin, and walk in humility. That’s when we start to see clearly. That’s when grace gets real.

3 Importance Lessons on God’s Judgement…

Lesson One: God’s Judgments Are Based on Truth, Not Appearances vs. 1–2

Lesson Two: God’s Judgments Are Impartial and Just vs. 6, 11

So, let’s move to our second point this morning. God’s judgements are impartial and just. God judges each of us impartially, without favoritism. His judgments are based on our heart, what we do, not on our status, our family, or what we look like on the outside. 

Go back to verses 6 and 11, 

He will render to each one according to his works:

For God shows no partiality.

So, here you have Paul writing to the Romans. If you were to hop into your Delorean, flip on your flux capacitor, turn your time sensors back 1107 years you arrive to the moment that a man named Saul was chosen by the great prophet Samual to be King over Israel. God had warned the people of Israel not to have a King. They didn’t need a King. God was their King. However, the people demanded an earthly King. God told them that a human King would lead them to ruin but still, the people demanded. God, never forcing Himself on anyone, relented and allowed the people to have what they desired. 

From the very start, the people of Israel chose their King poorly. They did what most of us would do today. They wanted a strong man. They wanted a man who fit the billing of other earthly kings. 

Did they care about character?

Did they search for integrity?

Did they desire someone who truly loved God?

I think you know the answer. 

No. No. And No again. 

If you go to I Samual 9:2, you will see the resume that the people wanted in their King. 

“Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.”

You heard me correctly friends. They chose the man Saul because he was handsome. Fella was probably a mix of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. He was also tall. How tall you ask? Literally head and shoulders taller than anyone else. He had the face of George Clooney and the body of Shaquille O’Neal. 

What a guy? He looked the part but he didn’t fit the part. He may have looked like an angel but he had the character of modern day Hollywood rapper!

I’ll prove it to you. 

•He suffered from impatience. As a King he felt like the rules didn’t apply to him in I Samuel 13. 

•He always seemed to fear people instead of respecting and honoring God. We see this terrible character flaw in I Samuel 15. 

•He was prideful, arrogant and insecure. Saul became prideful and self-focused, even setting up a monument for himself again in I Samuel 15:12

•He was a jealous man. Envious to a fault in I Samuel 18. 

•He was a violent man and possessed a combustable temper. He tried many times to kill David out of envy and paranoia in I Samual 18 and 19. 

•He was disobedient in warfare, refusing to listen to God’s commands in 1 Samuel 15:1–9.

•He was deceitful. A liar. He would always make excuses for his own failures. He would blame others for his troubles. We see this in 1 Samuel 15:13–15.

•He was unwilling to repent for his sins and mistakes in 1 Samuel 15:30.

•He was a terribly bitter and vengeful man as he pursued David in I Samuel 24 and 26.

•He even dabbled in the occult in 1 Samuel 28.

I think that you are getting the picture. 

What was Israel’s mistake? They looked at Saul and saw a man who physically had the look. He appeared to have the traits, the tools, and the training. There was one thing missing though. He didn’t possess the heart. 

God is different. God doesn’t look at our appearance. He is not interested in our clothing, the cars we drive, the houses that we possess, or how much money we have in the bank. He is not impressed by our status, our portfolios, how many people we know, or how famous we may become. 

We all come into the world the same and we will all exit the same. 

What God does consider is our hearts. He considers our motivations. God cannot be bought. He cannot be bribed. His scales are always exact. 

In ancient times, business was often times done using scales. 

When someone came to buy or sell goods, they would weigh them on a scale—one side holding the product, the other the weights. And here’s the deal: dishonest merchants would sometimes use rigged weights—a little heavier here, a little lighter there—to tip the scale in their favor. But not God. His scales are honest. His judgment is fair. You don’t have to worry about God playing favorites or rigging the system. He never has, and He never will.

That’s exactly what Moses reminded the Israelites in Deuteronomy 10:17 (CSB):

“For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.”

Did you catch that? No partiality. No bribes. You can’t sweet-talk your way into God’s good graces. You can’t dress it up, donate your way in, or talk circles around your conscience. God’s not impressed with résumés—He’s concerned with righteousness. He’s not looking for religious showboating and He is not concerned with your height—He’s searching for surrendered hearts.

So when Paul says in Romans 2 that God shows no favoritism, he’s reminding us that the ground at the foot of the cross is level. Doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, powerful or unknown, Jew or Gentile, pastor or prodigal—God will judge each of us justly. Not by the image we project, but by the life we live. And that, friends, should both humble us and give us hope. Because if God judges fairly, then grace is available to everyone who truly repents and walks with Him.

Aren’t you glad today that we serve a God who is just and right in all His ways?

3 Importance Lessons on God’s Judgement…

Lesson One: God’s Judgments Are Based on Truth, Not Appearances vs. 1–2

Lesson Two: God’s Judgments Are Impartial and Just vs. 6, 11

Lesson Three: God’s Judgments Are Righteous and Rewarding vs. 7–10

Here is our last point:

God’s Judgments Are Based on Truth, Not Appearances 

God’s Judgments Are Impartial and Just

And…

God’s judgements are righteous and rewarding. God promises eternal life to everyone who persists in doing good in Christ’s name. Those who are self seeking and reject the truth of the Gospel will face wrath and anger. 

Again, go back to verses 7-10. 

“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 and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

The other day I heard a story about about 7 year old Emouree Johnson. She lives right here in the great State of Alabama. Scottsborough, Alabama to be exact. If you go to my Facebook account, you will see that I actually posted the story a few weeks ago. Little Emouree Johnson experienced a horrible tragedy in her life. Her mother died suddenly, unexpectedly. It was a terrible nightmare morning. Her mother, 29 years old, died. Little Emouree said that it was the worst day of her life because her Mommy was her everything. 

Everyday, Emouree and her grandmother would go to the cemetery after school to visit her mother. They would sit at the grave, talk to Emouree’s mother, tell stories, and cry. Emouree began to notice something that didn’t sit right with her. It seemed that everyone else who had been buried in the cemetery had large, beautiful, ornate headstones. Some had granite while others had beautiful marble headstones. Emouree’s mother had a small, simple, plastic card. Imagine the little plastic card holders that lawn care businesses leave in your yard after they have done work or conducted a service. That was Emouree’s mother’s headstone. 

Emouree said that she felt like her mother was being left out. 

You see, Emouree did not come from a wealthy family. A headstone was several thousand dollars and her family just didn’t have the money. So, Emouree devised a plan. She started a lemonade stand. A dollar for a glass of lemonade. 

When the good people of Scottborough heard the story, they mobilized. Emouree was able to raise the money she needed to honor her mother. 

For some reason that story resonated with me. We often thing of doing good as something that needs to be flashy. A work that needs to be in the spotlight, making the front pages of the news. A good deed is not good unless it is immediately praised and paraded through the streets. Friends, I just am not sure that is the Jesus way. 

The older that I get, the more I am confident, the more I am convinced that Christ wants us to be