But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. Romans 2:2
Some years ago, when the AIDS epidemic was attracting widespread attention, a relative of mine was speaking out against those who contracted the disease. At that time, much of the attention was on the homosexual community and the drug users who were in the majority of those infected. My relative declared that these people were merely reaping what they had sowed in wickedness, and he stated that he believed that everybody who came down with AIDS deserved it. But a brother-in-law spoke up and challenged him, asking him if the people who received tainted blood during transfusions deserved to get AIDS. He spoke of several friends of ours, fine Christian men who were hemophiliacs and who died from AIDS, and asked if they deserved to do so. It was an interesting discussion, because we know that some innocent victims often suffer the same problems as those who bring their own woes on themselves. Our text makes it plain that God is justified in meting judgment to sinners, both in this world and in eternity.
We cannot explain why some good people must suffer; that is all known to God and we lack His wisdom. We also cannot explain why some wicked people appear to be unaffected by the consequences of their deeds. But we do know that even if they escape consequences in this life, they must bear the full weight of judgment in the future. Our text declares that such judgment is according to truth. And God Who knows every thought and word and deed will render to every man according to his deeds (verse 6). But before we speak too harshly against the wicked and rejoice at the doom that awaits them, let us remind ourselves that we used to walk in their boots.
It is unlikely that any of us immersed ourselves in the depths of wickedness that is described in the previous chapter. While we should be thankful for that, we should not be proud of it. In fact, we should be ashamed of how wicked we were in light of the amount of truth that we were presented with. In my case, and probably yours as well, I was brought up from a child to know the truth, and to know that God is just in punishing sinfulness. And yet, even as a child, I broke my parents’ laws and deliberately broke the laws of God that I knew and understood. Nothing but the grace of God delivered me from the judgment that I fully deserved. And only the grace of God has preserved me from falling into a life of sin this far.
As we watch the wicked go on their way to judgment that is according to truth, let us give thanks that God took pity and saved us according to grace. -Jim MacIntosh