Inescapable Judgment

The world is void of truth, yet the majority of people draw from its empty well. They turn to worldly education, daily talk shows, their own experiences, religion, and much, much more as their sources for determining truth. The world rejects absolute truth and devises its own standards for truth and integrity, if they believe in truth at all, thus tremendous conflict exists in our world. The foundational problem is that Christians find truth in one person, Jesus Christ (the living Word) (John 14:6) and the world does not. What Paul is saying to the Jews and the Gentile moralists (Romans 2:1-5) in Rome is that the judgment of God is always right and yours is not.  He is also clearly stating in Romans 2:1 that there is no one moral and ethical enough apart from Christ and finally, he is saying that God’s judgment is inescapable and because of God’s general revelation they are also without excuse. The only way to escape judgment is to repent and receive the finished work of Jesus. For Christians we are to never condemn a person or judge anyone based upon a standard from God’s word that we ourselves are falling short of. Christians have no right to condemn a person’s sin while not acknowledging their own sinful short comings. However the context of Romans 2:1-4 is the delusion of comparison judgment and self-righteousness, while being overly critical of others. Paul stated in Romans 2:2 “but we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.” We are not to measure ourselves against anyone; we are to measure by God’s truth.

Our standard for righteousness must be based upon God’s word and His Son Jesus Christ. For Christians it’s non-negotiable, our lives must be guided by His Word. There is nothing more sobering for a Christian and non-Christian alike, than to expose themselves to God’s standards for judgment. For the Christian, it humbles him or her and brings to light their need for God’s amazing grace. For the non-Christian, it brings them face-to-face with a holy God and standards they will never be able to obtain. In fact, this is exactly what Paul encourages people to do, to come before God’s truth and His righteousness.

When our eyes are focused on the purity and perfection of Christ, we look into a mirror and see our need to be cleansed. Jesus said that “blessed are the pure in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Those who see themselves broken and destitute before God have expressed godly repentance and are able to live lives that are pleasing to God because of the gratitude for the inconceivable mercy they have received through the gospel.

To function on the frontlines of a spiritual battlefield, Christians must strip off their self-righteousness and embrace the truth by which God will judge the world.