God Shall Judge the Secrets of Men – Romans 2
“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” — Romans 2:16
This verse and the entire second chapter of Romans is absolutely terrifying! There is coming a day when God will the ‘secrets of men by Jesus Christ’! God knows the hearts of all men. Even those who are confident in their own knowledge and morality will be shown to be immoral, blasphemous thieves (v.19-24).
Whatever deeds and thoughts you think are secret, God knows them and God will judge you for them. And the standard God will use is not your neighbour but Jesus Christ Himself! With that in mind, no wonder God says that we are ‘inexcusable’ (Rom 2:1) and ‘without excuse” (Rom 1:20).
So, whoever you are and however good you think you might be, you fall far short of God’s righteous standards (Rom 3:23). Your sin and my sin are worthy of death (Rom 1:31).
This terrible news about the piercing judgment of God makes the good news of Christ’s payment for our sin and His willingness to forgive those who believe on Him absolutely marvellous! It is not until we realise how hopelessly condemned we are that we will appreciate the gracious salvation God provides for us in Christ.
So, what will it be, judgment or salvation? Those who don’t believe on Christ in this life will be judged by Christ in the next!