Romans 2:4
4 Or [e] despisest thou [kataphroneo] the riches [ploutos] of his
[autos] goodness [chrestotes] and [kai] forbearance [anoche] and [kai] longsuffering [makrothumia]; not knowing [agnoeo] that [hoti] the goodness [chrestos] of
God [theos] leadeth [ago] thee [se] to [eis] repentance [metanoia]? KJV-Interlinear
4 Or
do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not
knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ESV
Presumption is the biggest mistake that most Christians
make, and that leads them to dysfunctional Christian lives. Paul asks here, do you presume? And this is all directed at people who not
only do not comply with Gods spiritual process, but they do so, under the
presumption that they are somehow exempt from Gods reprimands, falsely thinking
so because their life is not under duress, not under stress, not under
judgment, but in fact seems to be relatively blessed, that these principles do
not apply to them.
And that is the wrong view of Gods goodness.
All things in the spiritual life are designed to
bring you to spiritual maturity and completeness and therefore phenomenal
success in your Christian life, in your personal life and essence.
Whether by the pressures of life that are designed to
get your attention and turn you around, or by the good things in life that are
designed to show you that there is going to be better and better, when you pursue
your spiritual life as expected. The
world is full of examples both ways.
If you are an unbeliever then any suffering as well
as any blessing, is designed to bring you to the gospel and Christ and
therefore salvation.
If you are a believer, then any suffering and any
blessing is designed to bring you to doctrine and therefore spiritual growth to
maturity and the completion of your life.
Too many people abuse these things. They either complain
or blame, if life is tough, or they take things for granted, if life is good.
And rather than looking at their situation, and
recognizing that they need to get with their daily study and grow up, they turn
away with contempt on the one hand, or on the other hand with the presumption
that these rules do not apply to them.
And the mistakes leading to spiritual failure,
abound.
For believers, suffering is designed to bring you
to confession and back into fellowship.
Blessing is designed to show you the goodness of God and likewise bring
you back to confession and fellowship and advancement to spiritual maturity. Because the end result of the spiritual life
all points to the phenomenal goodness of Gods blessing. Blessing that staggers the imagination.
But along the way, people lose sight of their spiritual
responsibilities and obligations. They
lose sight of the goal. They fall out of
the race. They begin to believe that
they have arrived and become indifferent, or more likely they simply begin to
define their own spiritual path, and they drift away. And in so doing they take up judging others
as a front or excuse to justify their non-compliance.
So, do not get distracted by the blessings or even
the pressures of the world. One day they
might not be there for you, as examples to guide you.
And worst of all, do not lose track, clear to the
end of your life, of what is expected of you, because when God calls you home,
then you have no more chances to correct your life or do it over.
