God's Righteous Judgment, Romans 2:1-5

"Therefore you have no excuse, O man..." (2:1)

This is the 2nd time Paul uses this word in Romans -- (αναπολογητος [anapologetos] w/0 excuse, w/o legal defense, unanswered). In Romans 1:20, Paul uses it to declare that all people are held accountable to God's general revelation. Stott said, "Through general revelation people can know God's power, deity, & glory (not his saving grace through Christ), & that this knowledge is enough not to save them but rather to condemn them, because they do not live up to it." In other words, through God's creation or created things, we should acknowledge God & honor Him as such with our lives. That is why it is so important for the Christian to be involved in missions. Because God would use us to inform unreached people about God's special revelation -- that Jesus Christ came to save sinners & He Himself is propitiation/atonement for sins. 

Yet, Paul uses this word again in 2:1 for "every one of you who judges." Let me share a few insights from Stott's commentary: 

• We possess a "tendency to be critical of everybody except ourselves" (82). 
• "We work ourselves up into a state of self-righteous indignation over the disgraceful behavior of other people, while the very same behavior seems not nearly so serious when it is ours rather than theirs."
• Thomas Hobbes wrote of people who "are forced to keep themselves in their own favor by observing the imperfections of other men."
• "This is not a call either to suspend our critical faculties or to renounce all criticism & rebuke of others as illegitimate; it is rather a prohibition of standing in judgment of other people & condemning them (which as human beings we have no right to do), especially when we fail to condemn ourselves. For this is the hypocrisy of the double standard, a high standard for other people & a comfortable low one for ourselves."

It is a powerful rebuke to us all. Paul warns 2 different groups of people: 

• Group 1 (Romans 1:18-32) -- these are people who do things they know to be wrong & give approval to those who do the same. 
• Group 2 (Romans 2) -- these people do what they know to be wrong & condemn others who do them. This is hypocrisy.

"... not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" (2:4)

Paul rebukes the appeal of the Romans as they "presume on the riches of his kindness & forbearance & patience." Paul is pointing out that they cannot use their theological arguments to support their lifestyle of sin. The word he uses is καταφρονεις [katafronice], meaning "to presume, to look down upon, to despise, to think lightly, to have the wrong idea about someone." The Romans were entertaining wrong ideas about God's goodness. We do the same when we rationalize our sinful behavior by saying, "God will forgive me." You may be right, He may have & may will forgive you, but God's kindness & character is supposed to lead you to repentance not a license to keep on sinning. 

Conclusion

Possibly the wisest thing we can do in response to this passage is to repent. We should ask God to help us turn from sin & to worship Him. May we refuse to think lightly of His grace & kindness & understand that his kindness is supposed to lead us to Him.