By Pastor Greg
“Please don't call me judgmental. I am merely an ambassador. On behalf of God I call people to holiness and righteousness. As I said in one of my letters to the church in Corinth, "We are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, 'Come back to God!'” (2 Corinthians 5:20). As His ambassador I call people to submit to God's standard of holiness in all areas of their life. I do not judge. That right belongs to God alone. I speak what He has already declared. But, I do take my responsibility as His ambassador seriously. The Church dare not remain silent on matters of holiness and righteousness. God has not given us that option.”
Okay, I didn’t write a letter to the Corinthian Church, but Paul did. But I can almost hear the Apostle Paul speaking those words as he traveled throughout the empire calling people to submit to God. You need to know that Jesus didn’t merely said “God loves you”. And neither did Paul simply walk from city to city telling people that God loved them. He said it plain and simply that we humans are a wicked bunch. And by our conduct we confirm that we have turned our back to God. And because of this, we, anyone, everyone stands condemned before God. But the question that is often asked is “who is condemned”. Of course the answer is everyone, unless, of course, they have fallen to their knees, confessed they are a sinner, and repented of their sin. Then they become a believer. But, if a believer recommits one of these sins, are they re-condemned for their actions? Where does grace enter into the picture? What of God’s love? Does it not extend to those who sin? Tough questions which, I believe can be answered by a single word found in today’s text: Practice.
1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:1-4 NASB).
As I stated last week, the list that Paul gives in Romans 1:18-31 is given so an individual might read this, be convicted of their sinfulness, and turn to God. For example, reading over this list, a person learns that envy is an attitude opposed to the very nature of God. Hopefully, that person will become convicted by this revelation, realize they are indeed a sinner, confess their sinfulness to Jesus, repent of their sin, and find Salvation. Conviction leads to confession which leads to repentance which grants Salvation in the name of Jesus. This is why Paul begins with sin. Without realizing they are sinners, a person will not know they need a Savior.
One of the problems in Paul’s time and our time today is that we have a tendency to categorize these sins. Our culture today is even trying to remove certain sins from this list, giving an individual an excuse for the way they live. But Paul warns us that we are without excuse. As I stated last week, these sins are the symptoms of a heart that has rejected God. So if the Deceitful person condemns the Murderer, they are, in effect, condemning themselves because Deceitfulness is one of the symptoms seen in a heart that has exchanged the glory of God for the corruption of humanity. No one can say “I have no need for a Savior because I’ve never murdered anyone”. And the excuse that “I’ve been a good person” doesn’t work either. That’s because the “Good Person” may not have committed murder, but sure might be quite greedy or selfish. Paul says that when someone condemns the sinful behavior in others, they are condemning themselves; not because they practice the same sin, but because they practice any sin.
The hope is that a person reads this list and realizes that they have no excuse. As they examine their own life they will see the sin within themselves. And realizing this, they are convicted, which leads to repentance, which leads to Salvation. But the person who reads this list excluding themselves by categorizing certain sins, they will remain un-convicted by their seemingly “less offensive” sins and continue to practice these sins. And by continuing to practice these sins, this person indicates that their heart is still turned against God. And if they are still living a worldly life un-convicted of sin there can be no salvation; for salvation begins with a heart that is first convicted. And so, the person who hears that they are a sinner yet refuses to admit they are a sinner remains a sinner. They are still condemned.
But what of the believer who sometimes commits one of these sins. Will they find themselves re-condemned? The answer is found in one simple word that Paul uses frequently in this section; Practice. To practice these sins is to feel no guilt or remorse even though they have learned the truth. However, the Believer who sometimes stumbles and falls back in their old sins does not practice these things. The Believer sins and is convicted. The Christian who commits one of these sins hopefully feels convicted by that sin and turns to Jesus for forgiveness.
The point here is that the Christian who sins needs forgiveness, not Salvation. They don’t need to come to Jesus for Salvation all over again. Jesus has already dealt with this. But the one who continues to practice these sins is the one who needs Salvation. The difference here is that the Believer sins and is convicted while the non-believer sins, is un-convicted, and continues to practice these things.
Actually the true Believer is in total agreement with Paul. When they see one of these worldly traits within themselves they admit that it is wrong. But the person who is only deceiving themselves will not admit this. They fight tooth and nail to keep from being convicted at all. That person, who refuses to be convicted, cannot truly be saved; for Salvation comes when we are first convicted by sin.
Salvation comes by what? By Faith. But faith in what? Faith that the death of Jesus has paid the penalty for our . . . our what? Our sins. But what sin? The sin that we have exchanged the righteousness of God for the corruption of humanity as seen by this list of sins mentioned by Paul. I cannot stress this enough. Salvation comes when a person first admits they need a Savior, not simply by repeating some prayer. And unless a person admits they are a sinner, they are not going to admit they need a Savior.
What about Grace, some have asked. Where does grace enter into all of this? What we need to keep in mind is that the Word of God speaks of Truth and Grace, not Grace or Truth. Unfortunately the Church has presented one or the other. Those who proclaim Truth alone leave people without hope, condemned in their sinfulness. Those who preach Grace alone leave a person in their sin. Truth is the goal God has place before us. Grace is what He grants us as we strive to get there.
And now to the questions:
1. When I read over that list I became concerned that I might be gossiping. Could you please define what gossiping is?
a. Answer: Reading over Paul’s list could and should cause us to examine our lives and question our behaviors. This is what it is intended to do. So if you feel a twinge of guilt about something, by all means spend some time examining your heart and your motives. However, Gossip is one of those sins that can be easily overlooked, much like pride or selfishness. Gossip is best described as (1) an intention to tear down or criticize someone behind their back, (2) sharing information about someone that should be held in confidence (or sharing information about someone without their permission), (3) making broad unfounded assumptions about an individual or a situation without knowing the facts and then spreading our perceptions or assumptions as facts. A good litmus test to determine if you are gossiping is to ask yourself if you would be willing to say these words while the person was listening. If you are concerned who might overhear what you are about to say, then it is probably gossip. Never say something about someone behind their back that you wouldn’t be willing to say in front of them. Let me finish by offering this advice. If someone comes up to you either in the church or out in the community and says “did you hear about the Jones”, the proper thing to do is reply “no I didn’t, and are you sure you have permission to share this? If not, what you are doing is gossip, and it is a sin”. Truthfully, there is no harm in asking someone if you may share their information. It is wrong to share it without their permission.
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