Power Point - January 25, 2005

 

 

JUDGMENT OF THE UP AND OUT

January 25, 2005

 

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

-Romans 2:1-2

 

This verse is all about the judgment of the up and out. Paul gives us three reasons that all people, including good people are going to be judged. Judgment is according to truth, deeds, and the Gospel.

 

God deals with people who are feeling rather superior to others. All they do is turn up their nose and say, “Well, certainly those people need the Gospel. Look how wicked they are…but, not me!” Paul called these people hypocrites because they do the same things in their heart that the non-believers are doing all over the world. The sin of the hypocrite is standing in judgment against others, thinking they deserve the judgment of God but not them. They are hard on others and easy on themselves.

 

In the Shakespearean plays and in the plays of Greece and Rome, the actors would wear masks—Hypocritis, which is the hypocrite or the actor. There are people who have a veneer of religiosity and an exterior of respectability, but when you pull off the mask, you uncover what’s truly on the inside.

 

Jesus said when you look deep down into the hearts of all people, regardless of the external, we’re full of dead men’s bones—we’re all guilty before God. We’re all sinners and we all need Jesus Christ. The first thing we need to do is to quit hiding behind our masks and the judgment that pass upon other people. The saddest thing is that most hypocrites can be found in churches. They enjoy playing the game of finding fault, criticizing, slandering, and putting people down. They judge about the sins of the flesh that seem to be gross. And yet the sins of pride, arrogance, and bitterness are in their hearts.

 

If you have passed judgment upon others, ask God to forgive. If it weren’t for the grace of God, we would be walking where the others who aren’t believers are walking. Make reconciliation and begin to understand that we are just as human and sinful as the rest of the world.

 

SPEAK TRUTH IN LOVE, NOT JUDGMENT.