The Word: Romans 2:1-4

1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

3 Do you suppose, O man-you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself-that you will escape the judgment of God?

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? – Romans 2:1-4

Reflection Questions:

1. According to the text, how do you and I condemn ourselves?

2. What happens to a person who acknowledges (literally: judges) another person’s wrongdoing and then does it himself (2:3)?

3. How do some people wrongly respond to God’s kindness, forbearance and patience (2:4)? How should you and I respond to God’s kindness and patience (2:4)?

One saying that’s always stuck with me from my parents growing up was “Do as I say, not as I do!”  It was perplexing because my parents actions were contrary to the very mandates they wanted me to follow.  Thankfully for me I don’t have that problem…or do I?

One of the things I’ve been able to do is train my children to turn away from the TV if something bad or inappropriate comes on.  When my two oldest children were 4 and 2 years old they would ask “why daddy…why do we have to turn away from the commercials?” to which I would quickly respond “because it’s bad and daddy doesn’t want these bad things inside your heart”.  Very noble don’t you think. Fast forward and my kids are now 8 and 6 years old and so well trained that they instinctively turn away without me having to say anything.  The question they now ask is “Hey dad, how come when we turn away from the TV you don’t turn away too? Is it ok for you to have bad things in your heart?”

This is what the apostle Paul is writing about in Romans 2:1-4.  There were those in Rome who were so “mature” in “knowing” the scriptures that they completely absolved themselves from having to follow the very things they preached and judged others not to do.  In doing so, according to verse 1, they were condemning themselves and storing up judgement (v.3) because of their hypocrisy.  Their illogical conclusion (v.4) was that because God hadn’t immediately judged their sin that He somehow was alright with it.  They had completely misunderstood that His withholding of immediate judgement ( kindness and forbearance and patience) towards them was meant to lead to repentance.

It’s easy to see the evil in the world and completely overlook what’s happening at home or even in your own soul.  Although the following example is NOT ideal in the sense that segregation and discrimination are not noble pursuits in comparison to the righteous things we demand from others and fail to practice, the story does show the depths of sin and its power to deceive.

Strom Thurman, a long time South Carolina Senator (1953-2003) and 1948 segregationist presidential candidate, once said “There’s not enough troops in the Army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the Negro race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches.”  In 2003, 6 months after his death, Essie Mae Washington- Williams revealed she was Strom’s daughter, born to her black mother, Carrie Butler, at the age of 16 (Strom was 22). He had secretly supported her through college and into her adult life with payments made through relatives and friends.

Have we set different standards for our life than for other people? If we think we are better than another group of people, then it is very likely that we might fall into the same trap of thinking that we are good and beyond judgment. We might even think God’s judgment of others and His kindness to us means that we are free from God’s anger.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Let’s never forget that the same Gospel that saves others from darkness to light is the same Gospel that washes us from sins that entangle us.