Romans 2
God's Righteous Judgment
1You, 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. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God "will give to each person according to what he has done."[a] 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism.
12All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
The Jews and the Law
17Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."[b]25Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
9 comments:
Our God is a God that knows every action, every thought that we do and have. Also, there is a difference between calling ourselves Christians, and truly living up to that name.
Something that really struck me was the importance of preaching the gospel to ourselves.. to myself. I often find myself complaining that people aren't doing their part, but neither am I. Another part was in v. 4 "God's kindness leads you toward repentance".. that really hit my heart in that it is only by His mercy and grace that we are saved and that His kindness extends to all, regardless of how much they have sinned.
I think too often we focus solely on the loving and merciful nature of God. But I think His wrath is overlooked way too often. As Christians, I find that we're too content with our lives and don't take sin as seriously as we should. I think Paul is really striking down hypocrisy in the church in this chapter. The chapter before, he was mentioning the great faith of the Romans and so this chapter seems very harsh in comparison. I think we really need to start living keeping these warnings that Paul writes about in mind. Sin is a serious issue no matter what it is. It is offensive to God. I think that's why mercy and love are that much more sweeter .
I remember it was only a few months ago when I read this same passage. The first paragraph was what really struck me then because it was always so easy to judge other people. It was easy to always judge people for doing the wrong things or not doing more. But then when i read this passage, i realized that i could do more myself and encourage others at the same time. By doing so, it has been a lot easier for me to be more understanding and i believe God can help me continue to do so.
1You, 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.
This verse reminds me of Pastor Won Ho's talk this last FNL about confrontation. Before we start looking at other people's faults, we should first deal with the log in our own eye. Who are we to judge others when we ourselves have so much sin?
I agree with Eunice that Paul's emphasis on the hypocrisy of the church is important. I remember hearing once that the biggest cause of aetheism is Christians who don't really act like Christians. When we as Christians sin against God, it not only hurts our own relationship with him, but it also sends a message to non-Christians too. I've known more than a few people who have been turned off by Christians who say one thing and do the other - or as Paul says, those who teach others, but do not teach themselves. Definitely magnifies the consequences of sin.
I really liked today's chapter, because it was kind of a wake-up call. Paul keeps asking rhetorical questions which really dug into my heart - "Do you think you will escape God's judgment?" "Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience?" I often do think I will escape God's judgment, because well I'm not a murderer or a criminal. I'd like to think that I'm a decent human being and so I don't really think of my sins as something that God will condemn. But all sin is the same in God's eyes and although that's a scary though, it really goes to show how lightly I take my own sins and how seriously I SHOULD be taking them.
I don't think what I wrote made any sense, but it made sense in my head when I was writing it. Another thing I liked was verse 11 when Paul says "God does not show favoritism". Sometimes I think that if I wasn't exposed to Christianity from such an early age, I probably wouldn't be Christian. And then this leads me to think that God favors some people over others because it seems like some people have it easy and are born into a Christian family while there are people in the world who don't know about God and have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel. It doesn't seem fair. But verses 12-16 sort of provided an answer for me. Paul says that those who obey the law will be declared righteous, but I found it unfair how the Gentiles don't have these laws. Then Paul goes on to say that even though the Gentiles don't have the law, if they show that the law is written in their hearts by acting accordingly and doing what the law requires, they too can be declared righteous.
I have a question. How do I get my name to be blue and underlined like everyone else's? Mine is black :(
oops! now it says yearbook. that was robin up there and so is this.
Post a Comment