Pastor Daniel Goulding · Nov 15, 2021 · 75 min listen · 3 min read

We Need a Little Christmas | Week 2 | Daniel Goulding

Big Idea

We need a Savior, not a season — not lawlessness and not self-righteousness will make us right with God.

In Romans 2, Paul dismantles the self-righteousness of religious people who feel superior to the unrighteous described in Romans 1. Using the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector as a lens, Pastor Daniel shows that churchgoers are just as condemned before a holy God as anyone else — because God's standard is perfection, not goodness. Our only hope is not better behavior or religious performance, but the mercy and grace found in Jesus, who fulfilled the law on our behalf so that all who believe in Him are declared righteous.

Key points

1
1Judging others as sinners actually condemns yourself, because you do the same things.
2
2The only valid comparison for followers of God is to God Himself, whose standard is perfect holiness.
3
3Don't confuse God's patience and mercy with God's approval — His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.
4
4God will judge everyone according to what they have done, including the secret lives of religious people.
5
5Every human being has God's moral law written on their heart — our conscience is proof that God is real and made us in His image.
6
6It is not good people who go to heaven — it is forgiven people, declared righteous through faith in Jesus alone.
7
7Self-righteousness is just as dangerous as lawlessness — both leave us without the Savior we desperately need.

Application

Pastor Daniel's call is straightforward and personal: stop measuring yourself against other people and start honestly reckoning with God's actual standard — which is perfect holiness. If that comparison leaves you feeling hopeless, that's exactly the point. The good news only makes sense when the bad news lands. Whether you have been running hard into rebellion or quietly trusting in your own religious track record, both roads lead to the same dead end. The invitation is to do what the tax collector did — beat your chest, stop pretending you have it together, and ask for mercy. Then live in the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus already paid what you could never pay. Ask yourself honestly: what are you doing with what God has entrusted to you, and are you building something that lasts — or something that burns?

Take it into your week

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“hey, if you have a bible, open up to Romans chapter two. Romans two is where we will be this morning. We are continuing in our series a little bit of Christmas”
From the transcript
“Last week, Bill looked at Romans chapter one, which is, hey, if you're living these lawless, ungodly, immoral lives, you are storing up wrath for yourselves”
From the transcript
“Luke 18 says this in verse nine, it says, Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else”
From the transcript
“Luke 18 says this in verse nine, it says, Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else”
From the transcript
“Verse 11 says, The Pharisee stood by himself and he prays this prayer. He says, I thank you God that I'm not like other people, the cheaters, the sinners, the adulterers”
From the transcript
“Verse 14, the story concludes and he says, I tell you, the sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted”
From the transcript
“This, friends, is what Paul is going to expound on in Romans chapter two. You and I will never be able to live a life that is good enough to appease God”
From the transcript
“Romans one, Paul tells people who are out there living these lawless lives. He uses the example of homosexuality to illustrate outside going outside of God's natural orders”
From the transcript
“He's gonna go after us right now in Romans chapter two. Here's how Romans two starts. He says, you may think that you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad”
From the transcript
“Verse three says, Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God's judgment when you do the exact same things”
From the transcript
“Verse four, here's how Paul continues. Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin”
From the transcript
“Verse six says that God is going to judge everyone according to what they've done. That is, or at least it should be, one of the most terrifying verses in the entire bible”
From the transcript
“Paul continues verse seven. He says, He's gonna give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers”
From the transcript
“Verse 14, he says, Even Gentiles who do not have God's lit and raw, they show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it. Even without having heard it, they demonstrate that God's law is written in their hearts”
From the transcript
“Romans three twenty three, Paul's gonna bring all this up. We'll dive more into this next week. But here's what Paul says. He says, Everyone, the unrighteous, the righteous, the Romans one, the Romans two, everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God's glorious standard”
From the transcript
“Romans three twenty six is one of the greatest messages and greatest verses in the entire bible for he was looking ahead, including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness for he himself is fair and just and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus”

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Jesus told this parable specifically to people who trusted in their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else — and if we are honest, that description fits more of us than we would like to admit. The Pharisee in the story was not a villain twirling his mustache. He was disciplined, faithful, and genuinely religious. He did the things. And yet Jesus said he left unjustified. Why? Because he was measuring himself against other people instead of against God. Pastor Daniel made this point sharply in his sermon: the only valid comparison for anyone who wants to stand before a holy God is God Himself. That is a standard none of us can reach on our own. The uncomfortable thing about this parable is that it holds a mirror up before we even get to Romans 2. Self-righteousness is not just a problem for first-century Pharisees. It shows up whenever we feel a quiet sense of superiority — when we notice someone else's failure and feel relieved that we are not like them. That relief is worth examining. It may be a sign that we are building our confidence on the wrong foundation. Today is simply a day to notice: where are you placing your confidence, and in whom?

For reflection

When you think about your standing before God, what do you instinctively point to — and is that actually enough?

Pray

Pray for honest self-awareness about where your confidence before God really comes from.

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Paul spends Romans 1 cataloguing the sins of the obviously rebellious — then in Romans 2 he turns the spotlight around. This message explores what happens when religious people assume they're standing on safer ground than everyone else.

Discussion questions

1
In Romans 2:1-3, Paul tells the person passing judgment on others that they are 'condemning yourself, for you who judge others do the same things.' What do you think Paul means by 'the same things' — and why does judging someone else put the judge under the same verdict?
2
Romans 2:4-5 warns that God's patience and kindness are not the same as His approval. How might people — religious or not — mistake God's patience for a sign that everything is fine between them and Him?
3
In Luke 18, Jesus contrasts a Pharisee who lists his religious credentials with a tax collector who simply says, 'O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' Pastor Daniel used this parable as a lens for Romans 2 — what is it about the tax collector's posture that Jesus says makes him the one who 'went home justified'?
4
Pastor Daniel pointed out that the only valid standard of comparison is not other people but God's own perfect holiness. How does that shift in measuring stick change the way we think about what it means to be 'a good person'?
5
Romans 2:14-15 says that even people who never had the written law still have God's moral law written on their hearts, with their conscience bearing witness. What does that tell us about why every human being is accountable before God — and what does it suggest about how we think about people who seem far from faith?
6
Pastor Daniel closed with the observation that it is not good people who go to heaven but forgiven people, declared righteous through faith in Jesus. How might that distinction — between earned goodness and received forgiveness — change the way a community of believers talks about and lives out the gospel together?

Pray together

Gratitude for a mercy we could never earn, and honesty before God about the places where we have trusted our own record more than His grace

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Go deeper

Continue the series

We Need a Little Christmas

Week 2 · 6 messages

Where these passages are preached

Romans 2 Romans 1 Luke 18 Romans 3

Explore related topics

God's Grace Judging Others Repentance Righteousness in Christ Self-Righteousness

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