28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man--you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself--that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man--you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself--that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
- How God feel about someone who condemns others while they continue sinning?
- What "acceptable" sins are mixed in with the "heinous" sins?
- Which of the sins listed in v. 29-30 could include judging others?
- What can we be sure of in regard to God's judgment?
- What is God thinking when He lets us live after we sin?
- How might judging others and having a hard, unrepentant heart go together?
I know that I have judged people. I am trying to learn to observe the sin as sin and not condemn the sinner. I find this very tough sometimes. Growing up in a "works-oriented" church environment, I have seen gossips judging someone who drinks alcohol. I have seen heartless people condemn another person's choice of style (not immodest, just different). I have seen people seeking Christ driven away by refusing to extend God's kindness to them. I thankful I am getting less and less judgmental. I pray that I continue to grow in extending the kindness and mercy of God. I have such a long way to go.
1 comment:
Comment on your question: "What 'acceptable' sins are mixed in with the 'heinous' sins?" I really don't know of any acceptable sin. God does not measure sin in degrees of some being more heinous than other sins. To God, sin is sin which separates us from Him.
In verse 30, a listing of sins are continued from verse 29 and I find the words "haters of God" very disturbing. Is this because we have started worshipping ourselves?Idolatry begins when we reject what we know about God. We no longer look at God as the creator and sustainer of life, but start to see ourselves at the center of the universe. And you know the sad part is that when we get to this point, we encourage others to follow. We encourage others to participate in our gossip and in other forms of tearing down and condemning others, and on and on. Instead, this wasted energy could and should have been put to use to glorify God and encourage others to follow him.
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