The Justice and Grace of God

The Justice and Grace of God
Romans 1:18-2:4
“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?”

The Book of Romans is considered one of the most important books of the Bible. Similar to how the books of Genesis and Exodus are crucial for understanding the Old Testament, the Gospel of John and the book of Romans are central to comprehending the New Testament. The book of Romans starts by affirming the revelation of God. Paul challenges the idea that people can plead ignorance about God’s existence and His supreme rule over the entire universe and thus avoid the certainty of judgment. Just like a painting reflects the hands of the painter who created it, the intricate complexity of creation reflects the hand of the creator. When people deny God's existence or claim ignorance about Him, Paul directs our attention back to creation. The struggle for faith is not about evidence or the lack of it. Paul confronts us with the real issue. Refusing to acknowledge God's existence and supreme authority over our lives is a deliberate effort to ignore the evidence God has woven throughout His creative work. The real issue behind unbelief and rejection of God's moral law is the desire to suppress the truth to justify our lawlessness deliberately. God does not orchestrate the decline into moral and spiritual chaos; instead, it is permitted to happen as God allows us to pursue the destructive effects of sin. The consequence of rejecting God's moral code is spiritual judgment and eternal death.

Because sin is a willful act of disobedience and rejection of God, we are without excuse. God does not judge people because He is capricious and unloving but because we have rejected the offer of His grace. He is a holy and righteous God who must condemn sin. If He failed to judge sin, He would be condoning evil. Nevertheless, He confronts us with our sin, not because He is evil or vindictive, but because He desires all people to seek Him. A righteous God must condemn and judge sinners because of their willful rejection of the truth. A loving God provides the way to avert this coming judgment so that we would no longer be judged but obtain eternal life. The role of God's grace in our salvation should invoke a sense of gratitude in us, for it is through His grace that we can be saved.

Paul lays down two fundamental truths, namely God’s righteousness and man’s sinfulness, as the foundation for the gospel message. We would not require God's grace without recognizing our sinfulness and understanding God’s justice and grace. Continuing in sin will inevitably lead to judgment (verse 2). Paul is not pointing out our sin to be judgmental but rather to prepare us to accept the offer of salvation. No matter how deep we've fallen into sin (see 1:28-32), we are never beyond God's grace and forgiveness. The starting point for salvation is acknowledging that God is just in condemning us.

To understand the teaching of the New Testament we need to start with the recognition of the justice and grace of God and place them in perfect balance.  To reject His grace is to face a just God who will bring judgment upon sin.  To reject His justice is to rationalize sin and fail to see the need for salvation.  The message of the New Testament thus centers on these two truths.  God is holy and just and will judge sin with eternal judgment, and He is gracious and forgiving and makes salvation possible through Christ. Therefore, we must ask ourselves this: Are we embracing God's grace at work in our lives, or are we rejecting it and facing certain judgment? This is the question that Paul continues to challenge us with throughout the rest of the book, and it's a question we must all contemplate today.