AN INCENTIVE TO REPENTANCE
‘The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.’
Romans 2:4
‘The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.’ God is very good to us. He gives us time for repentance. He waits to be gracious. He spares men who provoke Him to anger every day, that He might see if they will return and repent. But God will not always wait.
I. Let the goodness of God touch your heart!—Think how good God has been to you—how many, no worse sinners than you, have been cut off in their sins, and you have been spared! ‘God spared not the angels which sinned; but cast them down to hell, and delivered them unto chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment’—yet He has spared you, although you have sinned so often and hardened your heart against His love. God struck down Ananias and Sapphira with instant death because they told a lie; how many lies have you not told, and yet God has spared you? Why?—that His goodness might lead you to repentance. Is it not by the goodness of God that we are all of us alive here to-day? Suppose you had died last night, what would have become of you? Where would your soul have gone? Or suppose in that illness, years ago, when you were really frightened about yourself, and thought you would never get better, suppose you had died then, were you ready? Would not you be even now among those who are, with the fallen angels, reserved unto judgment? with the rich man, tormented in the flame? If you had died, as some have died, as some of you might die almost at any time, with an oath on your lips, with a lie on your tongue, or roaring out some ribald song or jest as you reeled home from the beershop, where would you be now? Why are you spared? By the goodness of God, you are spared that you might have time to repent.
II. God’s goodness is shown also in His willingness to forgive us if we do repent.—We have every encouragement to repent given us by the goodness of God. Sinners need much encouragement to lead them to repentance. For repentance is a humbling and distasteful work. A man does not like to own even to himself that he has done wrong. He is afraid to call to mind his sins and to confess them to God. He would rather forget them as quickly as possible, and flatter himself with the vain hope that God has forgotten them too. He says to himself, ‘God is merciful, He will not be hard on me.’ But mark this, brethren, there is no encouragement in God’s Word to believe that God forgives, or ever will forgive, sin, until it has been repented of and confessed. But there is every encouragement to believe, and be assured that God does freely forgive us when we repent and confess our sins. It is not enough to say that we are sinners—that is easy enough, there is nothing humbling in it, because we comfort ourselves with the thought that we are only like other people. We must confess, not merely that we are sinners, but we must confess our sins.
III. The voice of Satan hinders.—But, ah! something whispers to you that it is too late for you to repent; that God would not forgive you; that you would be sure to go and do just the same wrong things again. Whose voice is it? Who is it that tempts men and women to sin, and then whispers into their ear doubts of God’s goodness, and tells them that it is too late? It is the voice of a liar—of the liar of all liars, the Devil. Don’t listen to that evil voice; don’t believe that lying whisper. Believe Jesus, Who says, ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.’ Believe Him Who has silenced those lying whispers for ever by the beautiful story of the prodigal son, showing the readiness of God to forgive the penitent immediately upon his confession, by the father in the parable running to meet the poor lad as soon as he arose and went to his father to say, ‘Father, I have sinned.’ Do not let the malice of a lying Devil keep you back from repentance. Believe the good of God, and let it lead you to repentance. Never despair of the mercy of God. Have you committed the sins of adultery and murder, like David? and yet hear his witness to the goodness of God to the vilest sinners: ‘I said I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and so Thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.’ Repent, then, at once, with humble confession of such sins as you can remember, and with a hearty resolution to forsake them by God’s help.
Illustration
‘During one of the London Missions a poor girl, living a very sinful life, went into one of the churches, and a Sister, who was there, went and spoke to her, as she did to many others like her, and entreated her to repent and leave her bad life. The girl refused; but next day she was riding in a cab which met with an accident. The girl was not hurt, but her little dog, which she held in her arms, was killed. The poor girl thought, “What if I had been killed instead of that little dog?” She saw so clearly in it the goodness of God leading her to repentance, that she went back to that church and declared herself willing to forsake her wicked course of life, and entered one of those refuges for fallen women, where they are sheltered from temptation, are taught the way of salvation, and have the means provided them of making a fresh start and gaining an honest living. “Was not this a brand plucked from the burning?” ’

THE JUDGMENT
‘The day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.’
Romans 2:16
This verse should be joined to the tenth. That asserts an impartial judgment of Jew and Gentile. The intervening verses give a parenthetic series of reasons for this impartiality.
I. There is a day of judgment.—A fixed and definite time. When, is not known: but the fact is certain.
( a) Scripture testimony ample, varied, peremptory and express.
( b) Conscience confirms Scripture.
( c) Our natural sense of justice. Man’s instinctive feeling is that, if the world is under moral government, there must be a day of retribution and redress and recompense.
II. The matter of judgment.—‘The secrets of men.’ Apparently only a part; yet the chief part, and virtually the whole matter of judgment is men’s secrets. This embraces not only the inward and hidden things, but also the outward things as effected by the inward.
( a) Secrets. The things we have kept in our inmost heart.
( b) Outward actions will be tested and judged by the ‘secrets.’ It will be seen how far the inward and the outward corresponded, and a true moral value will be assigned to the outward deed, according to its ‘secret’ spirit. Many showy deeds will shrivel up and become only pieces of pride, vanity, selfishness, meanness. Many insignificant actions and endurances, unnoted of men, will be invested with unspeakable grandeur from the inner Christian principle from which they sprang.
III. The judge is God.—As Creator and Lawgiver He is Judge; but His judicial function He has delegated to Jesus Christ, the Mediatorial King ( John 5:22-27). He judges by Christ Jesus. Therefore—
( a) There will be a visible transaction in judgment. It will be no invisible act, such as the judgment which a man’s conscience now passes on him; but a veritable, literal, matter-of-fact occurrence patent to all.
( b) There will be impartial justice.
( c) There will be no appeal. If God judges by Jesus Christ alone, the great white throne is the highest and last judgment-seat, from which a case cannot be carried to God Himself. If His judgment is impartial and according to truth, how can there be an appeal from His bar? How trying a position for impenitent sinners to face the Son of Man, Who came to save sinners! With what boldness and confidence may saved sinners face their Saviour as Judge!
IV. Judgment part of the gospel message.—It is the gospel to warn sinners of the coming judgment of their hidden thoughts, and to comfort saints by the prospect of the full revelation of their true character, and vindication of their righteousness. The gospel involves the idea and fact of a day of judgment as a fundamental element. Did not Christ come to save us from the condemnation of sin? ‘Abide in Him, that when He shall appear we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.’