🧲 Romans 2:4

I was thinking recently about the purpose of laws.

Whether we are talking about the law of the land or the law we encounter in Scripture, there is something about law that is rooted in deterrence. A law establishes a boundary and attaches consequences to crossing it. In that sense, law says, Don't do this.

And deterrence has its place.

Paul writes in Romans 13 that rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. First Timothy 1:9 tells us that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient. Law can restrain behavior. The possibility of punishment can cause someone to reconsider an action they might otherwise take.

But restraint is not transformation.

I know this from experience.

I spent nearly twelve years in prison. There were plenty of things I didn't do while I was incarcerated simply because I couldn't do them. My environment restrained my behavior. But when I was released, the riotous living began.

The restraint had been removed, and what had not been transformed revealed itself.

Consequences can change what I do.

Revelation changes who I am.

And that brings me to Romans 2:4:

“...the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.”

That word leadeth caught my attention.

The goodness of God does not merely stand at a boundary and warn me not to cross it. His goodness leads me somewhere.

And where does it lead me?

To repentance.

I have come to understand repentance differently than I once did. I don't see it simply as feeling sorry for my sins. The Greek word metanoia speaks of a change of mind—a change in the way we perceive and understand.

Seen that way, Romans 2:4 says something beautiful to me:

God reveals His goodness, and what I see changes the way I think.

That is very different from deterrence.

Law says, Don't go there.

Goodness says, Come and see.

And this is one of the reasons the revelation of the glory of God is so important.

When Moses asked God, “Show me thy glory,” God proclaimed Himself:

“The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth...”
—Exodus 34:6

His glory revealed who He is.

Merciful.

Gracious.

Slow to anger.

Abundant in goodness.

Faithful.

And when God ultimately desired to reveal Himself to us, He gave us His Son.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...”
—John 3:16

Love caused Him to give.

And the Son He gave came revealing the Father.

Jesus could say, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

God's ultimate desire isn't merely to deter us from sin. He draws us to Himself by revealing who He is.

Jesus said:

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
—John 12:32

There it is again.

Drawing.

Leading.

Revealing.

Not merely, Don't.

But, Come.

Come and see.

Come and know.

Come and discover for yourself that He is good.

And once you begin to know Him, something happens.

Everything else begins to pale in comparison.

Paul understood this. In Philippians 3, he looked at the things he once considered gain and counted them loss “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Notice what replaced those things.

Not another list of rules.

Knowing Christ.

He had seen something better.

This is transformation at its deepest level. Law can tell me that something is forbidden. Consequences can prevent me from doing it. But restraint cannot make me a new creature.

Then God reveals Himself.

I see His goodness.

I experience His mercy.

I discover His graciousness.

I recognize His faithfulness.

I behold His love demonstrated in Jesus Christ.

And what I see changes my mind.

His goodness leads me to repentance.

This does not mean that transformation eliminates every struggle. Paul himself spoke of doing what he did not want to do. Transformation is deeper than the absence of struggle. The revelation of God does something restraint never could.

It changes who we are.

“...we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”
—1 John 3:2

There is something transformative about seeing God as He is. John connects seeing Him with becoming like Him. That is the difference I am getting at. The law can tell me how I ought to behave, but the revelation of God shows me who He is. And as I see Him, I am transformed.

The things we once counted gain begin losing their glory because we have discovered something infinitely more valuable.

Or rather, Someone.

This is why eternal life is so much bigger than merely living forever.

Jesus said:

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
—John 17:3

To know Him.

That was the gift.

That was the intention.

The love of God caused Him to give His Son so that we might know Him, and in knowing Him, our perception changes. We change. What once appeared glorious begins to pale beside the excellency of knowing Him.

So there is a simple distinction worth remembering:

Law deters.
Goodness leads.
Christ draws.
Revelation transforms.

One can restrain my behavior.

The other reveals God to me and, in seeing Him, changes who I am.

“...the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.”
—Romans 2:4