The Epistle of Paul The Book of Romans series: Learning to be rooted and established in The Cross of Christ
Thou...that judgest
Romans 2:1 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.
Paul now turns his attention to the self-righteous moralist.
Judgments: Through the scriptures; God is presented as a judge. In the Old Testament, the judgment of God is observable through the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the collapse of various nations, including both Israel and Judah. In the New Testament, judgment tends to occur in eight areas:
1. The cross judgment (John 16:11)
2. The believer's self-judgment (1 Corinthians 11:31)
3. The chastisement by the Father (Hebrews 12:6-11)
4. The Bema (judgment seat) of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10)
5. The Tribulation (Ezekiel 20: 37, 38)
6. The judgment of Gentile nations (Matthew 25: 31– 46)
7. The Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20: 11– 15)
8. The judgment of angels (1 Corinthians 6:3).
Let the reader understand that God will judge according to truth (v. 2), deeds (v. 6), light (vv. 11–15), and the gospel, which reveals human thoughts and motives (Matthew 12:36).
Wuest says:
"Denney comments; "The apostle has now to prove that the righteousness of God is as necessary to the Jew as to the pagan; it is the Jew who is really addressed in this chapter from the beginning." Alford says; "The address passes gradually to the Jews. They were the people who judged - who pronounced all Gentiles to be born in sin and under condemnation: - doubtless, there were also proud and censorious men among the Gentiles, to whom the rebuke might apply, but these are hardly in the apostle’s mind." Denney is again helpful, "The Jew is ready enough to judge the Gentile.
But he forgets that the same principle on which the Gentile is condemned, namely, that he does evil in spite of better knowledge (Romans 1:32), condemns him also. His very assent to the impeachment in (Romans 1:18-32) is his own condemnation. This is the force of deo, ’therefore.’ " As to the words "Thou that judgest, doest the same things," Denney says, "Not, you do the identical actions, but your conduct is the same, i.e., you sin against light. The sin of the Jews was the same, but their sins were not."
"Inexcusable" is anapologētos, "without an apology or defense," the word "apology" being used here not in the sense of begging one’s pardon, but in the sense of talking one’s self off from a charge. The Jew is unable to talk himself off from the charge of failing to live up to the light he has. "Judgest" is krinō, "to pick out, separate, approve, determine, pronounce judgment." The word here refers to censorious criticism and judgment. It refers to a derrogatory appraisal of another’s character, the forming of a judgment of his character.
"Condemn" is katakrinō, the word krinō, "to judge," and Kata, "down," "to judge down," thus, "to condemn."
Translation: Therefore, you are without a defense, O man, everyone who judges, for in that in which you are judging another, yourself you are condemning, for you who judge, practice the same things."
Brother Swaggart says in his Commentary on The Book of Romans;
"1. Christ cannot put the seal of his approval upon nature's strength, its wisdom, or its glory
2. Jesus Christ is the source of all things we receive from God (John 1:1; 14:6)
3. The Cross of Christ is the means by which all good things are given to us from God (1 Corinthians 1:17)
This verse presents this segment as directed to the Jews, in an effect when it says, somewhere in you judge another you condemn yourself says, that God judges one who judges another in the same manner in which he himself has judged, hence, "condemning himself" Matthew 7:1-2 tells about when Jesus was speaking of this type of judgment "Judge not, that ye be not judged"
"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again".
In effect, it says that the Jews were known better than the Gentiles, whom they constantly berated.
The Jews at this time basically held themselves high and of imposing height, consequently pronouncing all gentiles to be born in sin and under condemnation, in other words, they were the people who judged others, However, they forgot that the same principle on which the gentiles were condemned namely that he was evil despite the fact of available knowledge to the contrary condemned the Jews also."
Paul is very plain when he says that we should never think highly more than we ought to (Romans 12:3).
Even Jesus dealt with those who thought they were law-keepers but yet looked down their nose on others, the same ones that our savior would die for one example is the woman caught in the middle of adultery, those around her thought that they were doing a good thing by stoning her according to the law but yet they soon forgot that they too were sinners as well and without sin we see this when Jesus says in John 8:7
“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”.
Let us keep in mind that we were all born into sin, but because of the Grace of God that came through the finished work of The Cross, we too are saved by Grace through Faith as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:11-13;
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
We as Saints must never look down our noses on anyone, Jesus did not come for the saved but for the lost (Matthew 15:24; Romans 10:13) the Lord's Grace stretches as far as the East is from the West and whoever calls on His name, He is quick to listen.
We must do the same and never judge someone because we think we are better than them but to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18) so when Jesus comes back He'll find us doing exactly what He told us to do and finding us to be faithful in it.
Rebuke and reprove when done right will point people back to the finished work of the cross and never with a superior self-righteous attitude (Luke 9:23).
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