And, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, do you think that you will escape the judgment of God?
Truth to Learn
God will judge us all.
Behind the Words
The word “practicing” is from prassō. As we learned a few verses back this means, “to perform an action continually, repeatedly, or habitually.” It is a picture of a musician practicing his or her instrument over and over. It is expressed here as a present participle indicating current, on-going action.
“Doing” is translated from the Greek verb poieō, meaning “to make or do.” It is different from prassō in that it implies an occasional action rather than a habitual one. This word, however, is also expressed as a present participle indicating a current, ongoing condition. Hence, it refers to ongoing occasional action.
Meaning Explained
Paul is talking about the tendency for the Roman Christians to be judgmental of the pagan Romans who constantly engage in sinful practices while these mostly Jewish Christians are guilty of committing many of these same sins. He is warning them that God will judge sin and sinfulness no matter whether it is an occasional sin or a habitual sin. To God, sin is sin!
Paul is teaching these Roman Christians (and us as well) about another condition of the human mind. He just showed us that finger pointing is self-condemning because we tend to see in others what we do ourselves. But also, we all have a tendency to excuse our own actions. After all, we know why we do these things, and we can easily excuse them in our own minds. Besides, we don’t do these things very often, and yet we see others doing these things over and over again.
Let’s not miss the point here. It would be easy to read this passage and say, “We shouldn’t care how others live and we certainly shouldn’t be judgmental.” But that’s not what Paul is saying. He’s saying that before we condemn others for their sinful actions, we need to look inwardly and deal with our own sin. Clearly the sin of harlotry is one which is easily condemnable, but when Jesus was confronted by those who wanted to stone a woman (the legal penalty for adultery) caught committing this sin, He responded:
He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. (John 8:7b)
In other words, our tendency to judge others does not absolve us from guilt and the consequences of our own sin; in fact, it increases our own condemnation.
Paul is going to teach these Christians that it is not important to prove who you are descended from; rather, it is important to demonstrate who has adopted you. That is to say, faith, not heredity nor legal obedience, is the key to salvation and a fulfilled Christian walk with God. We do not, nor did we ever, earn this salvation, either by action or inheritance. It is a gift that flows from the kindness of God. That’s what makes it so precious!
Application
The next time you see someone acting in a way that you know is wrong, remember that God is the Judge of all mankind, and He will execute His judgment according to truth, not according to appearance.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved