Romans 2...Part 1

Rom 2:1 Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judges another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things.

Rom 2:2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things.

Rom 2:3 And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Rom 2:5 but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Rom 2:6 who will render to every man according to his works:

Rom 2:7 to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:

Rom 2:8 but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation,

Rom 2:9 tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;

Rom 2:10 but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek:

For the beginning of this chapter it is important to remember the last section of the previous chapter, it gives context to chapter 2. Some have ignored what Paul has said, separating this into it's own chapter but it is important to recall that this is a letter written by Paul and letters have no chapter and verse division, those have been added for our ease of reference and do not always relate to the context.

For this beginning part of chapter 2 it is important to notice Matthew 7:1 also, the most misinterpreted verse in the Bible. Once again, in comparing Matthew 7:1 to chapter two here it is important to have the flow of the text in mind before trying to apply it to your life. Neither Jesus nor Paul told us not to judge when the context is used to understand the passage. In the case of the Matthew passage you need to read the entire Sermon and failing that, at least chapter 6 and all of seven. In our passage here Paul has just finished explaining that God has turned the Lost Man over to a reprobate mind and in the first verse of this chapter we are warned against condemning men for the same sin we are guilty of.

In the church we have a small body of Bond Servants belonging to Christ and then we have the bulk of the body who attend, some faithfully, for a variety of reasons. Christ knows who is who and we do not but the Church, not the building, but the Church is the body of Christ and we far to often fail to act as such. When a member falls into sin, and that does happen, we are to lift them up and restore them (Isa. 1:16-18) and not practice the common. We must stop shooting the wounded to get them out of the church.

It seems to be a much disliked title today but we must become the Bond Servants of Christ and seek to live a Holy life dedicated to God. Neither I nor anyone else can judge a thief when we, ourselves, are pocketing the extra five dollars or the extra quarter that the clerk mistakenly gave to us... that is also theft. We must judge enough to not approve of other's sin and we must judge when to lift them up because they are repenting.

One of the most vital points a follower of Jesus can learn to observe and learn to use for Christ is the change of seasons in a person's life. Everyone has these season changes in their lives, lost and saved alike. One of the most notable is the loss of a mate, everything about the surviving mate is subject to change. In the case of a Christian, it is then that we must move close to them and be willing to listen to them, whether they are crying or Wailing and ranting. And we must learn to do so and to keep our mouthes shut. You can help no one by revealing their inner most secrets to the world.

This is part one of Chapter Two.