“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” (Romans 2:1)
These are arresting words! Paul has just finished outlining the wrath of God in chapter 1 …
- God’s invisible qualities have been made visible in nature … men are without excuse
- They neither glorified God nor gave thanks to Him
- Their thinking became futile; their hearts darkened
- They became fools
- They became filled with every kind of wickedness
- They not only did wicked things but approved of those who were wicked …
And then Paul … in his very next paragraph changes pronouns to YOU! It’s as if he was standing among us … pointing out the evil of “those people over there” … and then he turns on us and shouts, “You, therefore have no excuse!” Ouch!
Our Pastor (also conveniently named Paul) reminded us that we cannot point our fingers at others while we accept and approve of our “common, respectable sins” … our “Christian” sins. The gospel, the good news was not just for the prodigal who wasted time in wild living … but it is also for the self-righteous elder brother whining at home when the prodigal’s return is celebrated!
How shall we then live?
God’s invisible qualities have been made visible in nature … therefore
- We should glorify God and give thanks to Him!
- Accept that Christ has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption
- We put off the old sinful self and put on the righteousness of God!
