Therefore, every one of you who judges is without excuse. For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth. Do you think – anyone of you who judges who do such things yet do the same – that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (CSB)

How long do you think you can go in a day without making a judgmental statement or having a judgmental thought? Whether you struggle with this or not, our human nature (sin) causes us to size others up, question other’s motives and choices, and so much more. As soon as I saw this devo passage, I knew that God was going to have things to say to me about my judgmental tendencies – again. As I’ve wrestled with this topic over the past couple of weeks, I’ve really tried to be more aware of judgmental thoughts and calling them out and confessing them as sin.  

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Ironically, I was riding with my daughter the other day and she passed a VW Bug with a bumper sticker in what I thought was an unusual location. I commented to Megan, “Isn’t that a weird place to put a bumper sticker?” And then I heard my question out loud and wondered – is that judgmental or just curious? So, I asked her. In her wisdom she answered that my wording was judgmental; that if I’d just been curious, I might have worded it a bit more neutrally, but I was implying something about who put the sticker in that place. Hmmm. Conviction. Again.

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I hope you’ve been reading along in Romans so that each day these devotions make a bit more sense and help bring clarity to understanding the whole book of Romans. As we start chapter 2 today, it’s important to think back to where we were in chapter 1 where Paul spent a lot of time addressing how lost the Gentiles were. Now, in chapter 2, he switches his focus to the Jews – the religious of his day, those who perhaps felt that they were already “good” with God because they were His chosen people. But the bottom line is really found in Romans 3:9 where Paul writes, “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.”

So, diving into our passage for today, Paul is addressing the Jews who are the religious of his day. To put it into a modern context, it would be like addressing those who regularly go to church, those who profess to know Christ. Paul says in our passage for today, that when we judge others, we actually condemn ourselves because we do the same things. Ouch. What he’s saying is that we are all sinners. He says this again in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our sins may not be exactly the same, but in God’s eyes we are all sinners and that puts us on the same level – separated from God.  

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We are a people who like to think that we are not quite as bad as our neighbor or the person on the news, but we forget the reality that all of us are separated from God by our sin. When we make these judgments, we are standing in the place of God who is the Judge. We are also forgetting His incredible mercy and grace and patience toward each one of us in bringing us to redemption. It’s easy to forget that we had nothing to do with our own salvation except to accept His gift. He was the One who paid the price, and His Spirit did the work of calling us to Himself.  

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Romans 2:4 reminds us of God’s amazing gifts of kindness, patience and restraint. These are all traits that I struggle with in varying degrees depending on the day! But God abounds in these and pours them out toward us, “to lead us toward repentance” (Rom. 2:4). He doesn’t pour them out so that we will keep sinning or that we will keep doing what we’re doing – but His purpose is to bring us to a place of repentance. Wow. What a generous and gracious God!

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Considering this, when we judge others, we are really questioning God’s authority and grace and putting his patience, kindness, and restraint to the test. Have you ever thought about how your judgment of others actually offends God? I challenge you to meditate on these verses today and ask God if He is offended by your judgment of anyone in particular. Confess the sin of judging others and thank Him for His patience and kindness. Ask Him for a clear understanding that we are all saved by His grace.

God, thank you for your kindness, patience, and restraint that lead us to repentance. Help us today to allow your Spirit to convict where necessary and for our hearts to be led to repentance instead of judgment. I don’t want to offend you with my treatment of others or my cheapening of your grace. Forgive me and change me, Lord. Amen.