We Need a Little Christmas | Week 2 | Daniel Goulding

75 min

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Nov 15, 2021 · 4 min read · 75 min listen

What you and I are desperately in need of is a Savior, not a season — and self-righteousness condemns us just as surely as lawlessness does.

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Scripture in this message

Big Idea

The good news is that God offers mercy to people who have no hope of earning their way to Him. Romans 2 shows that religious, "good" people are just as condemned before a holy God as anyone else, because heaven requires perfection, not goodness. Our only hope is not behaving better but believing in Jesus, who satisfied God's justice in our place.

Key points

1
1Following God is not a simple checklist — Paul refuses to make it that easy.
Pastor Daniel opens with a lighthearted marriage story about learning his wife's coded language, then applies it to Romans: we wish following God were as simple as a list of rules, but Paul insists we live in a tension between lawlessness and self-righteousness, and neither one saves us.
2
2Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector shows that only the desperate one goes home justified.
Working through Luke 18:9-14, Pastor Daniel explains that a Pharisee represented the best of the best of first-century Judaism while a tax collector was the worst of the worst, yet it was the tax collector who beat his chest and pleaded for mercy who left justified, while the self-satisfied Pharisee did not.
3
3Romans 2 turns the finger back on religious, church-going people who condemn the 'sinners' of Romans 1.
Paul says that judging others for lawlessness only proves you know the standard, and therefore condemns yourself, since you do the same things in secret. Pastor Daniel uses Jesus' raising of the standard on adultery (looking with lust) to show all of us are guilty, not just the obviously immoral.
4
4Don't confuse God's patience and mercy with His approval.
Using a Fry's self-checkout illustration about scanning less and less of the cart without getting caught, Pastor Daniel shows how we mistake the absence of immediate punishment for divine okay-ness, when in reality God's kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, not comfort us in hidden sin.
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5There is a coming judgment where God will judge everyone according to what they've done — including believers' secret lives.
Pastor Daniel distinguishes a first judgment (whether Jesus is Lord of your life) from a second judgment for believers, where God asks what we did with what He entrusted to us; he pictures believers bragging about houses and possessions only to hear God call it worthless, since it's forgiven people, not good people, who go to heaven.
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6Paul's bleak picture in Romans 1 and 2 is meant to set up the greatest news the world has ever heard.
Peeking ahead to Romans 3:23-26, Pastor Daniel shows that everyone — unrighteous and self-righteous alike — has sinned and falls short, yet God freely and graciously declares us righteous through Christ's sacrifice, received by belief, not behavior.

Application

We need a Savior, not a season — so stop trusting your own goodness and start believing in Jesus.

Stop comparing yourself to other people
Pastor Daniel says the only comparison we're allowed to make is to God's own standard of holiness, not to people who seem worse off than us.
Don't mistake God's patience for His approval
If sin hasn't caught up with you yet, don't assume God is fine with it — His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance, not comfort you in what you're hiding.
Examine what you're really building your life on
Ask what you're doing with what God has entrusted to you this week, rather than chasing houses, cars, and possessions that will burn away at judgment.
Trade self-righteousness for honest desperation before God
Whether you've never trusted Jesus as Lord or you've drifted into relying on your own behavior modification, admit you're in the same desperate need of grace as anyone else and believe in Jesus.

Take it into your week

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”

7-day devotional

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

Day 1

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.

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

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

We Need a Little Christmas | Week 2 | Daniel Goulding

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Evidence of Eternity | Week 4 | Message

Evidence of Eternity | Week 1 | Message

Identity Crisis | Week 4 | Bill Bush

We Need a Little Christmas | Week 1 | Bill Bush

Love Defined | Week 4

Weekday Warrior | Week 3

We Need a Little Christmas | Week 2 | Daniel Goulding

The big idea

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Evidence of Eternity | Week 4 | Message

Evidence of Eternity | Week 1 | Message

Identity Crisis | Week 4 | Bill Bush

We Need a Little Christmas | Week 1 | Bill Bush

Love Defined | Week 4

Weekday Warrior | Week 3