God's Righteous Judgment - Part 1

So far Romans has been a wake-up call. Today it get plain scary. Chapter 2 starts by telling us that we have no excuse for our sin. We pass judgment on others when we are involved in the same sins. If we think back to the list from my last entry on God's Wrath, we all fall into sins listed in Romans 1:28-31. And we all pass judgment on someone else and that/those persons' sin. If it seemed as though I was passing judgment on homosexuals in the past few blog entries, although homosexuality is a sin and is wrong, it is no worse than the sin I commit. In the same passages about dishonest passions and homosexuality, comes the list of things Paul said are decreed by God to lead to death. "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless." Envy, deceit, gossip, slander, haughty, boastful, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. There's a list of sins proving I'm deserving of death, yet I pass judgment on others and their sin.

That's why I said chapter 2 is "plain scary." Verses 3-4 says, "Do you suppose, O man - you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself - that you will escape the judgment of God? 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?" I think far too many "Christians" presume on the riches of God's kindness, forbearance, and patience. I think too often we use the, "my sins are forgiven" card and allow ourselves to continue in sin. WE WHO LIVE WITH HARD, IMPENITENT HEARTS STORE UP WRATH FOR OURSELVES ON THE DAY OF WRATH, WHEN GOD'S RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT WILL BE REVEALED. That's a paraphrase of verse 5, but it's a wake up call to think that I sin, but pass judgment on others and their sin, to make myself look as though I'm better. If we are not broken over our own sin, we are probably not saved. If we remain in a life of sin, we are probably not saved. And without brokenness, without turning from sin, we are storing up wrath and on that day of judgment where We will hear, "depart from me, I never knew you." STOP living a lie. Turn from all your sin and lean on God. Realize God's patience and kindness is given for a time, to lead you to repentance. God's judgment will fall on those who do not turn from their own sin, but instead, sit back in judgment of others.

Praise God for His Patience and Kindness.