Paul speaking to the Gentile saints in Romans 1 speaks of
the condition of unregenerate Gentiles and their willful ignorance. Paul speaks of why the wrath of God was being poured
out. Paul says this in verses 21-23, “For
even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but
they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became
fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the
form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling
creatures.”
God’s purpose is to change this state of mankind. He wants us to live by faith and be covered by
the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His beloved Son. But we rejected Him and did our own thing which
brought condemnation and consequences. Paul
says this in verses 24-27, “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their
hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie,
and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed
forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to
degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that
which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural
function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with
men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty
of their error.”
Then it says this in verse 28 “And just as they did not see
fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do
those things which are not proper.” The unregenerate,
or non-believing Gentiles, were in a terrible condition.
Then Paul goes on to say this in verses 29-31, “being filled
with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent,
arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without
understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.”
But if this is not bad enough verse 32 tops it all off. “and
although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things
are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval
to those who practice them.”
This is the reason I feel like we are a reflection of each
other so when it comes to judging others it is like judging ourselves and it
should be left up to the Lord so that we don’t fall under His judgment. To prove my point read what it says in Romans
2:1-3, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for
in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge
practice the same things. And we know
that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass
judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you
will escape the judgment of God?”
Like I said, before we became believers we acted the same basic
way. It is so easy for a believer to look
down on a non-believer, judge and condemn them, forgetting where we were before
our conversion. This reminds me of the
scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day in John 8:3-11 when they brought a woman caught
in adultery to Him and He ended up saying, “he who is without sin let him cast
the first stone,” but no one could. Then
Jesus asked her where her accusers were, because they had all left so Jesus
said, “neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.” Even Jesus refused to condemn her and we need
to follow His example.
It seems we all need to be reminded of these things. I hope this tidbit has been a help and a blessing
to all who read it. God bless you and
yours and have a great day!!
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