Because of this [humanity’s refusal to glorify or give thanks to God], God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But 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. God “will repay everyone according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.
—Romans 1:16-2:11 (TNIV)
There is so much to comment on here and so little time. 🙂 Therefore I have chosen to address two issues that Paul raises here. The first is on judging others. Somewhere along the line, we have developed the ridiculous notion that as Christians, we are to suspend all moral judgment concerning human behavior. You’ve heard it before and it goes something like this: “The Bible (or Jesus) tells us not to judge so that we won’t be judged. Therefore you have no business judging my behavior concerning (fill in the person’s favorite sin here).” In fact, we will go to almost any length to avoid being called—dare I even say the word?—”judgmental.”
But this, of course, is not true to Scripture nor to Jesus or Paul, as today’s passage illustrates. If you really think Jesus never passed judgment on other people’s behavior, then what are you going to do with the Seven Woes found in Matthew 23? Calling others “hypocrites,” “blind guides,” “snakes,” and “a brood of vipers” sounds like pretty judgmental language to me, and this from our Lord’s mouth!
In today’s passage, what Paul is reminding us is to be circumspect in our judgment. Are we guilty of the same thing for which we criticize others? If so, we’d best keep our mouth shut because we will call down God’s judgment on ourselves as well as those whom we criticize if we are guilty of doing the same as they are. Instead, Paul suggests, we should spend our time cleaning up our own act before we offer commentary on the same thing that others do. This, of course, echoes the teaching of Jesus on judgment and I encourage you to read the passage from Matthew 23 that I have linked to above.
No, we are not to suspend our moral judgment but neither do we have authority to cast judgment on people. Only God can do that, says Paul, and we can be certain that he will. We can praise or condemn behavior, providing we are not condemning in others that for which we are guilty of actively committing. And since Paul argues that all humankind is guilty of sin, we must be circumspect in judging the behavior of others. But Christians are certainly not supposed to keep quiet when they see egregious wrongs being committed.
Speaking out against sin is not being judgmental. It is calling a spade a spade. Just make sure you are including yourself in the mix when you speak out against sin because it has infected you as thoroughly as it has infected others. The Bible calls this mindset, “humility.”
The second issue I would address here deals with what appears to be a works righteousness that Paul is advocating. Is Paul really contradicting himself over the issue of justification by grace through faith and telling us that we must earn our way into heaven and God’s sight by our works? Well yes and no. Yes in that our works will always be the only valid manifestation of our faith in Christ. We have been saved by grace in Christ and he calls us into joyful obedience that can only be made manifest by our actions, i.e., our works.
For example, if I tell you that I have faith in you as a friend but then never behave toward you as if you were my friend, such as confiding in you or trusting you with some confidential information, my actions are the real indicator of my faith; I simply don’t trust you, despite what I tell you. Likewise with faith in Christ.
Likewise, if we really believe he has saved us from God’s wrath and judgment by his great and costly act on the cross, then we will behave in ways that manifest that trust. Out of a profound sense of gratitude and thanksgiving for all Christ has done for us, we will try to live holy lives that bring glory to him and which are tangible manifestations of our praise and thanksgiving because we know that Jesus is holy and he wants us to be holy. This is implicit in Paul’s writing here and he gets very explicit about it later in Romans.
As I preached on Sunday, when you really begin to understand the desperate and hopeless plight of the human condition, and can begin to wrap your mind around what God has done for us in Christ to overcome our dire straights, then you really will begin to have Good News on your hands. And when that happens, it is a life-changing and mind-blowing thing.