Romans 2:1-11 - You Too
The more innocent you consider yourself to be, the more guilty you likely are.
Romans 2:1–11 (NASB95)
1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
Canons of Dordt
Point I, Article 4: A Twofold Response to the Gospel
God’s anger remains on those who do not believe the gospel.
But those who do accept it and embrace Jesus the Savior with a true and living faith are delivered through him from God’s anger and from destruction, and receive the gift of eternal life.
Summary
We tend to judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves. If an NBA player misses two free throws in a row, they might hear the displeasure of the fans, many of which could not make a free throw to save their life.
There are reasons we hold NBA players to a different standard than ourselves - they are professionals after all. They have dedicated their life to the sport of basketball and have reached the pinnacle of competition. What does not make sense is trying to apply that same logic to our faith.
Paul warns that by judging others you condemn yourself. This was an error of the Israelites during Paul’s day. They took notice of the sinfulness of the gentiles yet ignored the fact that they themselves were guilty of many of the exact same things. This is despite the Israelites having a covenant with God where they agreed to keep his commands.
The focus of this passage is on the hypocrisy of Paul’s brethren, the Israelites. The concern is not on the calling out of sin; becoming aware of your sin is the first step on the pathway to repentance. The issue is that people were calling out the sins of others while they themselves were guilty of the same thing.
These are the actions of someone who knows right from wrong yet chooses to do what is wrong anyways. As Paul rightly points out, the judgment of God falls on those who practice such things.
Dig Deeper
For some reason, mankind has a kind of built in blind-spot for our own shortcomings. We can easily take issue with the actions of others while ignoring the areas of concern in our own lives.
One such instance dates back several decades, where a church member took issue with the youth group renting out the local pool on a Sunday evening for a youth event. Their concern was that by renting out the pool, it created a situation where the lifeguard had to work on Sunday. The hypocrisy of this objection is that this same church member went to lunch after church every Sunday, which by their own logic caused the cook and wait staff to work on Sunday. For the record, I take no issue with the youth renting out the pool; what is highlighted here is the “rules for thee but not for me” attitude of the objector.
By casting judgment on another, you condemn yourself when you do the very same thing. If you see a brother or sister in Christ who is struggling with unrepentant sin, the loving thing to do is to have the awkward conversation. What we want to avoid is becoming superficial or hypocritical in our care of others. Such correction should be done for their benefit in the hope they will repent and reconcile with God.
While it may be easier to find the fault in others, it is important to regularly spend time in self-reflection. By becoming aware of your sin, you will have the opportunity to repent and reconcile with God. When you see someone else struggling with sin, in addition to encouraging them in their battle, take time to access if you might struggle with the same thing. God is gracious beyond measure and that kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who through the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, leads us to repentance;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God will expose and crush any and all hypocrisy in your life;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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