Only God Can Judge Righteously

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


Background Notes written by Pastor Bob Brown
Pastor of Adult Education and Sunday Evening Worship

Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, 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, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2:2-4

My judgement is flawed. I long to see justice against all that is wrong, but then again...Do I want to see that same justice executed against me? No! The person who cuts me off in traffic, or doesn't use their turn signal - I'm quick to want to see them get pulled over, but when I do it I expect to get away with it.

The words of Romans 2:1 ring true with me, and I'm sure with many of you too! "for whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things."

"Human persons and their legal institutions are equally flawed and are guilty of the same short-comings as the persons they try to judge. If human beings are notorious for turning their backs on the truth (see Romans 1:18, 25), all efforts to fix the human condition through human structures will inevitably fail the test of truth (2:1)" [BN, 2].

We, humans, do not have the ability to see into the human heart - to make the ultimate judgement on a person's eternal state! Thankfully, God executes that kind of judgement because He does see into the human heart. "When it comes to the everlasting destiny of persons, can any of us apply justice consistently? Will not our own failures blind us? God's righteous judgement seeks repentance, and that means full human rehabilitation, something human judges rarely achieve" [BN, 2].

Thankfully, with all the bad news there is "Good News!" That Good News is the fact God in His kindness, tolerance, and patience is leading us to repentance, if we turn to Him through His Son Jesus Christ!

Join us this week in Worship at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene -

• Saturday 6:00pm
• Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:300pm