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Read Romans 2:5-11

Who stores up wrath for the day of judgment? If I were just guessing, I'd say it was God. As we continue to sin, he's getting angrier and angrier at our deplorable behavior. Even though I've studied the life of Jesus for decades, sometimes I still think God is like Thor. But Paul tells us that we are the ones storing up wrath. It's the same verb Jesus used for storing up treasure (Matthew 6:19). We were made to be like Jesus, but we've become like Sméagol. Who, in their right mind, would store up wrath for themselves? Well, Paul has made it clear that, left to ourselves, we are not thinking straight. Like Gollum, our hearts are hardened. In seminary, a professor told me that a hardened heart is overexposed and under-responsive to the truth. I shuddered. I was studying God's word all day long but did not have the capacity to respond to God all day long. The problem wasn't that God's word was weak, but that it was too convicting for me to bear. I knew my heart was getting numb to God's grace. Twice Paul tells us "first to the Jew, and also to the Greek." It's the same formula he used in Romans 1:16 to tell us the gospel came "first to the Jew, and also to the Greek." If you are not Jewish and felt jealous that the gospel came to the Jewish people first, you might feel grieved that God's judgment also comes to them first. But look more carefully. The point is that God doesn't show favoritism to anyone. We are accountable to God in proportion to what we know about him. I've gone to church for my entire life; sometimes multiple times a week. I might think that gives me an advantage over a new believer. But that's only true if decades of encountering God have shaped me to love God and my neighbor, developed my character to be like Christ, and humbled me to thank God for his grace. I'm uncomfortable that God will judge me according to my works. What I want to say is, "God, judge me by what Jesus did on the cross!" That is my only hope for salvation. Frank Thielman shows how this standard is ordinary biblical thinking: God defends the oppressed, isn't fooled by pious excuses, and holds his own people to the same standard as everyone else. John Stott explains, "although justification is indeed by faith, judgment will be according to works." Our good works can't earn God's verdict, but they show whether we've actually received his grace. God isn't out to get us. The problem is that we are tripping ourselves up as we run away from him. Even so, God is pursuing us. When God sees how empty our lives have become, he doesn't just pity us. His kindness is designed to lead us to repentance. As he works in our hearts, we turn away from evil and start to do good to everyone. Imagine the joy of immortality, crowned with God's honor, in a world of perfect peace.