Romans 2:1-4 - Tywin Lannister (Judgment Series, Part I)

 Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

Wherefore, defenseless are you, O man! everyone who is judging, for in what you are judging another, you are condemning yourself, for you who are judging are committing the same things.

We are all hypocrites. The effects of the adjectives stated previously leads to hypocrisy. Above is a proper, God given definition of the term “hypocrite,” which is crucial in both our understanding of man, and our understanding of God.

We are made in God’s image. God judges, thus, we judge as well. Yet we sin, and God does not. Thus, our judgments may be right on some occasion, and wrong on some occasion (in the meantime, God’s judgment is perfect and without flaw.) Paul does not state here that “judgment” itself is a bad thing, and in fact, judgment is an amoral topic. Some are scared of the word, of course: “judgment.” Just sounds scary, hmm? But consider the following two examples:

-       -- A judge sends a man to prison for 20 years following the non-consensual assault – rape – of his cousin, and the cousin receives 60 hours’ worth of free therapy sessions.

-      -- A judge exonerates a black man for a trial with falsification of evidence on the grounds of prejudice, and given an adequate sum of money to get his life back on track.

...Okay, these are shitty analogies, but they get my point across. In both cases, a judgment is made. But both are necessary judgments, no? Both judgments follow a positive line of thinking. Imperfect, yes, given they are judgments that follow a horrid act – but necessary judgments nonetheless.

Judgment is at its best when it is both second to God’s judgment, and cultivates, with humility and gratefulness, any ability to emulate God’s judgment. Paul doesn’t say we’re defenseless for the act of judging, because, in the previous verse, he already stated that we’re blamed for endorsing sin. No, men are guilty for doing the very things they judge others for. You judge others some type of way, and you can be absolutely certain that you, to any degree, are susceptible to the same judgment. In this sense, you’re guilty because you yourself still sin! The only One that can escape this vicious cycle is Jesus, the only Man fit to rule, and the Jews gave Him up.

Note that we’re talking about the judging of actions, not the judging of… like, basic things. Like, I can call the cat “cute,” but I don’t find myself “cute.” I’m not judging the cat’s action, but observing a component of the animal.

Aaaanyways, everyone on earth carries this weight on their shoulders; we are imperfect in our judgments and this reflects on us in any decision we make apart from faith in Christ. I’m sure you could take a deeper, more personal example from your own life and apply the same thought process. Even still, the notion that you have the ability to put yourself in a position to judge at this point in your life is a logical fallacy, and reveals you to be a hypocrite.

There is a flip side to this statement; treat others the way you would like to be treated (Matthew 7:12.) This one’s for the Jews, yes, but it’s not a bad principle to uphold by any means, and serves a complementary purpose to Paul’s words above.

Now we are aware that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who are committing such things.

This is another stipulation, and it’s not hard to follow: judgment of God is against those that are hypocrites. Judgment, here, is the concept, and it’s hypocrisy that’s reprehensible. Judging one for lusting is a logical and spiritual fault, as everyone desires something. God’s judgment, however, is the perfect judgment. He rebuts the hypocrisy.

The judgment of God is perfect and just. As He has created everything, including the truth, He knows exactly who can honor and who ignores Him, as He made them this way. If you love truth, or desire it, you must first come to grips with this simple fact: God knows all about you, and everything you’ve ignored on His front. His judgment is found in His Son, as we’ve established in verse 3, and is being laid out, here.

I’d like to take a moment and assert, as well, that this will not be the last time our apostle speaks of judgment. In 1 Corinthinans 6, he makes it clear that the saints, on Judgment Day, will judge the world. This is not condemning the world, mind you; these words have two different meanings. Judgment, by definition, is consideration. You can rest assured that God chooses saints that will edify (honor) Him, not inflict their own personal (hypocritical) judgments on others through their own moral or ethical perspective. God is smarter than that, and if you struggle to accept this, that’s okay! A) This is God’s Word, regardless of what you accept, and B) To accept it is exactly what Paul is referencing before: if you are meant for the Body, God will give you over to this mindset. Of course, at this point in the book it’s hard to see where the “grace” is, but we will get there.

Yet are you reckoning on this, O man, who art judging those committing such things, and art doing the same, that you will be escaping the judgment of God?

Hypocrisy puts you on trial before God to be judged. We can’t see this quite yet, as again, we’ve not discussed the “grace” portion of Romans, but God is not a tyrant. Judgment is amoral, and look at how He still blesses life on the race that does not deserve it (especially post-crucifixion?) It’s a toxic relationship, and we are the aggressors in the scenario. That is love. Please reconsider the notion that God’s whole deal is to send trillions to eternal damnation. Where is that written?

These are the people that believe they are escaping the judgment of God. There’s a huge difference between the words “justification,” or “forgiveness,” and “escape.” Escape implies you get away, or are exempt from what’s being said of humanity, here, which is where your ability to judge honestly falters. God’s indignation comes against sin, which is in all. If you’re seeking to escape the judgment now, you will face it later, either at the tail end of your life or during Judgment Day.

Something to note about the Concordant Literal is that, in printed form, the bold text has a specific Greek-English equivalent, while the non-bold, or ‘lightface’ type are additional words clearly written by Knoch to clarify the use and/or definition of the bold text (don’t freak out; all translators do this, but it’s Knoch that clarifies which words he uses.) The word “art” in this section is added by Knoch, and I wish he would have just said “are.” It bothers me, the Old English. That’s all.

Or are you despising the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, being ignorant that the kindness of God is leading you to repentance?

Love humbles… in every facet of life, love humbles anyone. Unconditional love is the most powerful and extravagant fingerprint God could leave on humanity. So many people squander this love… it’s such a shame. I wish so badly that most could read these words – not my words, though I’d be honored, but God’s Words, the words in bold. Love forces repentance and humbles.

The kindness of God leads you to repentance. From God’s perspective, His judgment = a kind service toward you. I know, I know, “Jesus my life is frickin’ hard! Care to be a little meaner, God?” But there’s a reason: this leads man to repentance. This is the only time the word “repentance” is found in the book of Romans. He writes the term three more times in his letters (2 Cor. 7:9-10, 2 Tim. 2:25,) says it twice more (Acts 20:21, 26:20,) and writes “repent” once (2 Cor. 12:21,), and says it twice more (Acts 17:30, 26:20.) This is a sparse topic of Paul’s writings. The concept of repentance focuses primarily on yourself and your sin. Look at yourself first, see your critical errors in sin, and turn from them.

Now, if that were all Paul had to say, it would be… kind of lame, not gonna lie. For Israel, the notion of repentance is… where it ends, really. There’s not much more to it than that. But Paul references it once here, in the “magna carta” of faith. It goes to show that repentance is a disciplinary process (2 Cor. 7,) and faith grows from this repentance. This doesn’t make it a weekly necessity in a church, nor a way to cleanse yourself of sin, but a method of teaching from God. To teach that repentance is something God requires for entrance into faith, as opposed to uses, is unfounded in Scripture (Acts 17:25.)