After detailing Roman’s 1 seven-fold slippery slope of sin’s ruin too many succumb to, Romans 2 gives a stern warning to many. The admonition is applicable to most of us. The caution is not to judge others of their sins, as we are guilty of many of the same iniquities.
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” Romans 2:1
Most of the time when people judge others:
- They do not have all the facts, truth, and circumstances. God knows the truth and all the circumstances of every instance; we usually do not.
“But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.” Rom. 2:2 - They do or have done the same sins that they are judging others for committing.
“And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” Rom. 2:3 - They show no mercy to the sinners, and want them dealt with right away; even though they have been spared thousands of consequences for their sins! God’s wonderful mercy and giving us multiple chances often give us time to repent and halt our iniquities.
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Rom. 2:4 Also: Rom. 2:5.
Again, we have no business judging anyone. We are warned that how we judge others will determine the severity by which we are judged:
“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Mat. 7:2 Also: Mark 4:24.
We will all face a judgment from the One that knows all truth (Rom., 2:11), and will judge all fairly. Ultimately God will judge every one of us.
- His judgment for our sins often occurs during this life. No one gets away with sin. There is a wage for our iniquity.“For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Gal. 6:8 Also: Col. 3:25.
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7 - Believers will not be judged for their sins (John 3:18, 5:24, 6:40, I John 2:12). However they will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ: “Now if any man build upon this foundation [Christ] gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” I Cor. 3:12-15 Also: Eph. 6:8.
- The believer will be judged for his works for the Lord, and get or lose rewards.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” II Cor. 5:10 The “we” is referring to Christians. It is Christians that will face the Judgement Seat of Christ. See also: Rom. 14:10. - All unsaved from all ages will eventually be judged at the White Throne Judgment,
“Who will render to every man according to his deeds:” Rom. 2:6 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.13 … judged every man according to their works. 14 … This is the second death.15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev 20:12-14.
Unfortunately, judging others is a part of most of our everyday activities. We judge what we think a person really meant when they talked to us. We judge why we think a person did something. An innocent action done by a person may inaccurately be assumed to be done for a wrong motive. We sit on our throne of self-righteousness, and judge all around us!
All of us are imperfect. Not one of us wants to be judged for any of the things we have done. We all want to be forgiven for our mistakes and wrong-doings; yet, we are so critical of others. We have a lot of nerve! God has spared us a lot of our just desserts. Why can we not do the same for others?
“Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you.”
It is a very misunderstood or perhaps misapplied biblical principle you are writing about here Bro Brinkworth. The admonition…Judge not, lest ye be judged is the rallying cry of many a sinner when attempting to justify their sin. They will pull that so called sword from their spiritual scabbard at the first sign anyone is attempting to point out their sin.
Vengeance is not yours, judgement is not yours, but also toleration of sin is not yours, taking part and condoning are not yours.
I would say to those who seek to use this principle for justification for their sin that judgment and tolerance are two different issues and that knowing right from wrong, sin from righteousness is not judgment but obedience. The recognition and spotlighting of sin is not necessarily judgement.
The trick for the Christian is to leave the judgement to God. We have no authority or power to condemn anyone. All the while recognizing and avoiding the sin around us.
Thanks Bro Brinkworth, very thought provoking.
A related article about what you were commenting on would be http://openthoumineeyes.com/lessons/judging.html.
As usual, that is awesome…thanks for sharing that.