Judgment by man
Judgment by God
Therefore you are without excuse,
uh oh, Paul is not talking to those just described but to another group – those standing by, passing judgment…
we have seen without excuse 1:20 – without excuse on knowing that God exist!
But here Paul tells this second group that they are without excuse
Before Righteous God! Their creator!
Therefore you are without excuse every man of you who passes judgment,
Ok, Paul has been most critical of overt pagan, & while he was saying these things in chpt. 1 – a group was standing by not only agreeing with Paul, but judging & condemning those Paul was describing.
Every man of you irregular construction to cause them to divert their thinking on themselves.
Passing judgment
Present Active Ptc. Denoting continuous action
krinw to discriminate & make judgment – determine between good & evil, right & wrong
It is one of the fundamental characteristic of man to pass judgment
Pass judgment on others,
on self
& on God Himself
Since the garden man has assumed that he knows the difference between good & evil, right & wrong.
At end of Rom. 1 – man knows /ordinance of God…& these think that since they know the ordinance of God they can discern between good & evil, right & wrong
But what God is showing man is that the fall, & due to the moral destruction from the fall, man does not have the innate ability to judge right & wrong, good & evil—as God sees it
According to God
But man loves to judge, he chooses to live by performance standard then he judges others on basis of his list, his standards; he judges himself on basis of his list, his performance.
It is basic instinct of man to perform, to work & to be rewarded for his work or undeservant to be loved if he fails to perform.
& the base of man’s arrogance is that man has set himself up to judge God!
Man’s favorite pastime is to judge God…
Man assumes he knows how to judge & he judges God, when God is right or wrong, fair or unfair…
Man assumes he can figure God out
But also man takes it upon himself to judge others…as well as self
Present Ptc. notes this characteristic of man
Therefore you are without excuse every man of you who passes judgment,
Anytime someone opens their mouth to judge someone else they are demonstrating their arrogance, & they are demonstrating the great evil of Self righteousness.
When someone judges another they are either arrogant or inadequate -- & by judging others it makes them feel better about themselves.
for in that you judge another,
repeat of Pres. Act. Indic. of same word to pass judgment
plus another Gk. word another refers to another of different kind
What does Paul mean when he says …for in that you judge another of a different kind?
Simple: different than these Self-Rightesous moralist…
Different groups see themselves as distinct from other groups:
Three groups:
Pagan – Self-Rightious moralist – religious Jews
Here the Self-Righteous have set themselves up to judge the heathen, seeing a great difference between themselves & heathen…
for they would never do the things that the pagan does.
Therefore you are without excuse every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another,
in which sphere you judge another
1. The Self-Righteous legalist, Jew or Gentile, is always judging those whose sins are more obvious than his own. Self-Righteousness is often deceived of his own sins; he covers them over, rationalizes them, or just denies that they are really sins. Sins of the mind or even of the tongue are nearly so horrible, destructive as over sins, esp. body sins.
2. However, the moral or Self-Righteous types were born with the same imputation of Adam’s sin, & possesses the same sinful nature, as pagans of chpt. 1; & therefore the very same spiritual death, which means there is nothing that /the Self-Righteous unbeliever can do to make himself Righteous before God, any more than the pagan unbeliever. whom he judges.
3. The moral man is not the obvious sinner like his counterpart, the immoral man because he hides his sins behind a façade of legalism & covers them with his Self-Rightousness.
4. However the moral man, the Self-Righteous type, is just as guilty before God as the immoral man. Although he refuses to see this, he is in denial, hiding behind his Self-Righteousness.
5. But the Self-Righteous moral man has great arrogance, great pride of achievement which expresses itself in judging, maligning, slandering, gossiping about others.
6. Judging others, slandering, maligning others, is not only a sin, but it is a rationalization in which you build your Rightousness on someone else’s unrighteousness. Judging others, pointing out sins of others, makes the Self-Righteous feel superior & Righteous before God. He makes favorable comparisons with the immoral man, & rationalizes his own Righteousness before God.
In chpt. 2 Paul uncovers the un Righteousness of the moral man & of the Religious man.
Therefore you are without excuse every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another,
in which sphere you judge another
Now Paul turns on them:
you condemn yourself;
Pres. Act. Indic. katakrinw compound kata against + krino to judge: to pronounce judgment against; to condemn
Only note whom they are condemning—not yjr other group but themselves…
Always be careful when you judge others…you just may be judging yourself!
now Paul says something that will shock them:
For you who judge practice /same things
Pres. Act. Indic. prassw to practice habitually
You can hear them crying:
Oh, no, no, not us, we would never do such things they do…
2:1 Therefore you are without excuse,
every man of you who passes judgment,
for in that you judge another,
you condemn yourself;
for you who judge practice the same things.
No no, not us, we do not murder, we are not homosexuals or lesbians we are not God haters…
oh, we may gossip a little, or slander but we are not disobedient to our parents …& we show mercy to those who earn or deserve mercy…
Paul is shocking them into seeing that while they can see the overt sins of others, they do not see their own sins, & failures:
Oh, they look at the overt…but they fail to see that in their own souls they are guilty before God.
They are full of malice, insolent, gossips, slanderers (while they are judging) murder in their souls
they are arrogant –setting themselves up to judge others, in judging others they assume the prerogative of God, of Jesus Christ.
They are boastful…of how they are not like these others;
They are Unloving, & without mercy…
& most of all they reject the Divine solution:
Faith in the one sent by God…
They are fundamentally just like those they judge in that they are trying to earn from God, earn salvation; earn blessings…& when you try to earn from God you become a law breaker…
They pride themselves on their morality,
While morality is beneficial to society, but morality from energy of flesh, has absolutely no value before God—
This again is so difficult for so many to grasp, that before God there is no difference between even perversion sins, & morality before God, both done in energy of flesh, & energy of flesh has no merit before God
When people are moral in flesh, not in power of the Spirit, leads to legalism, & legalism leads to Systems of performance, & performance leads to judging others…to boast of oneself.
Look at this one verse…in one verse to judge is used 3x & a compound of the word is used once…so 4x in one verse.
It is amazing how many times in Scripture we are exhorted not to judge others, yet Christians make this a fundamental practice – to judge OA; to judge other bel.s & unbel.s
Matt. 7:1; Luke 6:37; Rom. 14:3 & 13
These same believer who set themselves up to judge others, pride themselves on how they love Jesus & how they follow Jesus…again, they lie & deceive themselves
John 3:17; 8:15; 12:47
Morality & Immorality
1. Neither morality nor immorality affect God
2. Any thing that comes from flesh nature of man is under condemnation from God.
Our righteousness is filthy rags before God;
Our love…no matter how sincere is not acceptable to God
Works of flesh receives no rewards at Judgment Seat of Christ.
3. Yes, before man, in orderly function of society morality is necessary, but do not confuse what is acceptable & necessary before man has having merit before God, for Sal. 1 or 2.
4. What is so interesting is that Satan understands what so few understand. Satan understands that while our sins & righteousness effect our relationship with OA, neither our sins nor our righteousness effect God.
Read Job 35:1-8
5. Morality is related to human race, & directly effects the orderly function of society, & it is always a part of God’s order for the Spirit filled believer.
6. However, before God, in our relationship with God, morality of the flesh has no merit before God & is as filthy rags. Only morality that is of the power & leading of Holy Spirit has any profit before God & any spiritual impact.
Morality from the flesh, comes from & encourages Self righteousness; & arrogance. & is so damaging because the moral believer prides himself before God & does not need to completely rely on Holy Spirit by faith.
7. In our relationship with God, is dependent up our total dependence on the one He sends…and this by faith alone; & remember that even this faith is a grace gift from God, given to every member of human race.
8. The Spirit Filled Life encompasses a moral life, without making morality a standard for living CWL & w/o making it a standard for others, by which he judges others.
& when believer ignores the Filling of the Holy Spirit, & tries to be moral he falls into moral arrogance—judging himself & others.
2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
3 and do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things & do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Note: in these two vss we have judgment 3x
& a contrast: Judgment by God &
Judgment by man
Man loves to judge: judge himself;
judge others
& man sets himself up to judge God!
Favorite pass time of man is to judge God
2 & we know that /judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
We know Pres. Act. Indic. eido to see so as to know; to see with perception
In 1:19 what is known about God is evident in them
In 1:32 they know (naturally) the ordinance of God –including being worthy of death
now here we know that the judgment of God is just
& we know that the judgment of God krima to judge
Judgment occurs 9x in this one chpt.
God is going to judge!!!!
And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
Rightly falls both KJ & NIV according to truth
Only God knows all the facts
Man loves to judge, because man thinks he knows enough to judge, but truth of the matter is, that God & only God knows all the facts
2 & we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
Practice Pres.Act.Ptc. prasso to practice
3 and do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things & do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
The question, assumes a positive reply; yes we do!
Note Suppose presents a way of thinking: logizomai – to compute, consider, reason, calculate,
It is amazing how people who judge others, justify their own actions, their own thoughts; they deceive themselves as they pass judgment on others.
Self-Righteousness cannot survive without judging, maligning, gossiping & slandering others! They survive by building their Righteousness, their purity, on someone else’s un-Righteousness; sins.
Do you suppose this O man vocative refers to those of vs 1; used to express contempt for the Self-Righteous of vs 1; who set themselves up to judge others. It conveys spiritual Indignation against Self-Righteous gossips.
This should be your attitude toward gossips, slanderers etc.
This Self-Righteousness appears on the surface to be moral, sweet, loving etc.
yet on the inside: dead…evil all the way.
And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things
this is done by judging the sins that they do not commit.
The moral man, in his judging, judges the immoral man as to his obvious known sins: homosexuality, murder, cheating, hating God, stealing, etc.
While at the same time, he himself, gossips, slanders, & is arrogant, judgmental, without love & without mercy.
and do the same yourself,
1. Self-Righteousness comes from hypocrisy & self deception.
2. Self-Righteousness clearly sees the sins, failures of others, while ignoring it’s own sins & failures.
3. Self-Righteousness does not see its own sins nearly as bad or damaging as the more obvious sins of those described in Rom. 1.
They minimize their own sins, while they make issue of the immoral sins of others.
This is how they build themselves up.
4. The overt sins of those described in chpt. 1; those of the immoral man, are quite obvious, while the mental sins & verbal sin of the Self-Righteous are hidden behind a façade of legalism & religion. A façade of purity for the Lord, sanctify of the saints etc. Keep the body of Believers pure.
So they justify their judging, as not judging, their gossip, as not gossip, their slander as not slander…because their cause is just! Their cause is purity.
5. But to God, before God’s Holiness, one type of sin, is just as much condemned as another. guilty of one – guilty of all! But the Self Righteous judges as if they are different.
6. Before God, the sins of the Self-Righteous person: judging, gossip etc. are just as obvious as those in chpt. 1.
7. Therefore the moral & Self-Righteous person is no more justified, pure, clean than the immoral person.
Man’s Righteousness has no merit before God.