God’s Judgement and the Law

Passage: Romans 2:11-16

There is no partiality with God, vs. 11.

How many of us have favorites or play favorites?  How many of us have experienced favoritism either positively or negatively?

The Bellingham Herald has been running a long series of everyone’s favorites in Whatcom County, from tacos and hamburgers to coffee and donuts.

We all have favorites.  You have your favorites, like where you sit on Sunday morning.  Would you dare say you have a favorite child or grandchild?  I give favorite son status to different sons at different times.  Todd gets it when he puts up our Christmas lights.  Zach has it now since he is visiting and has brought home a wonderful young lady for us to meet.

There are favorites in the Bible.  Jacob had a favorite wife and a favorite son.  Even Jesus had three favorite disciples, Peter, James and John and John was most favorite, the beloved.

The Jews were sure they were God’s favorite, they were the chosen nation.  But what did God say about that?  Why did He choose them?

Did God choose them because they were great, many in number, stronger, superior?  No, they were the least, they were pathetic as nations go (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).  When God chooses who does He choose?  The least, the lowly, the weak and foolish.  We see again and again God’s preference for the poor, the widow and orphan.

This is the danger of the doctrine of election, it creates the temptation to arrogance, to feeling superior, that we are special, that there is something better about us since we are chosen.

Why did God choose us?  Was it because we are better, because we are American, because we are Dutch, or not like those people in Bellingham or Seattle or Olympia, not like those Democrats or Republicans, not like those kids at the public schools, or like those hypocrites at the Christian school, or not like those other churches?  Maybe because we were less sinners?  What does Scripture say?