From Blindness to Kindness

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?~ Romans 2:1-4
 

There is a rather cheesy old saying that goes 'Whenever you point a figure at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you'. and it carries some weight.

Some people seem to take some kind of comfort in having someone to be superior to. But Jesus is very specific about those kinds of people (he says, whilst feeling superior to those horrible judging types!). He says that 'Whatever measure you use to judge people it will used 'unto you''. (Matt 7:2) and he then goes on to paint a comedic word sketch of probably the funniest joke in the bible.

 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

You see, as funny as the illustration is, it's point is deadly. The point is, really, both from Paul, and from Jesus, that everyone is flawed. But who is in the greater danger? The one who knows they have a problem, and can therefore seek help, or the one who can only see fault in others and will therefore never look for help. A doctor is for the sick rather than the healthy.

And when we talk of our state of sin before God, the stakes are raised instantly to critical levels.

The key here is that Paul says that 'now we know that God's judgement against those who do such things is based on truth'. So, you can fool others, you can even fool yourself with your denial, but you cannot for a second, fool God.

We are like the children that have been told in a game of hide and seek that 'so long as you can't see them, they can't see you'. All very well if that instruction is the difference between hiding in the middle of a field, or getting into a wardrobe and shutting the doors. But if it is the difference between the field and a boy standing in the middle of the field simply with his eyes shut, we see how ineffective the advice is. And we, if we say we have no sin, deceive ourselves, and are like that child. Just because we say that we cant see the sin, it's ridiculous to assume God doesn't.

If you remember my blog from a few posts back, you will be aware of how I talked about Jesus 'raising the bar' on the legal requirements for righteousness so that we will know that we need him to save us because it is impossible for us to save ourselves. This is an allusion to that principle.

Firstly, you break the rule by judging someone else for breaking the rule, so you have lost the argument before you have even started really.

And secondly, you have not understood, that it is God's kindness that leads you to repentance. In other words, he has been aware of your sin the whole time and shown you patience, forbearance and kindness, allowing you time to turn and come to him, and yet you have hardened yourself in denial and in judging others, rather than repenting.

And I am taken back to yet another of Jesus' wonderful illustrations; that of the tax collector and the Pharisee.

You will remember that the tax collector beats his breast and cries out ' God have mercy on me, a sinner!'

But the Pharisee addresses his prayers to God in a superior tone, saying;  ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I don't know about you, but I know who I identify with.... and it is the tax collector. Can you even imagine the audacity it would take to recommend yourself to God on your own merit, or to assume that because other people are obvious 'sinners' that you are somehow exempt?

I have never met a Christian who expressed themselves in such a way, because we all at some level understand this concept of grace. But I have heard other people defend themselves as 'basically a good person', even in the context of 'going to heaven'.

And , you see in these verses, the characters Paul describes are biting the very hand that feeds them, They do not even realise that they are being shown mercy in his patience, but the God they call upon to vindicate them, will be the be the very one to condemn them.

The 18th century puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards puts it even more starkly in his sermon 'Sinners in the hands of an angry God' Where, in an illustration, he describes God dangling them (sinners) over the fiery abyss, like spiders by their thread and all the while they curse God, who is the only thing between them and consignment to the flames.

I see this in light of that. Later on he talks of how sinners are treasuring up wrath for themselves, to be revealed on the day when wrath is unveiled. It is the exact reverse of where Jesus tells us; Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust can not eat away.

Jesus said, 'where you treasure is there your heart will be also'

And here it is . You can store up wrath, or you can store up heavenly treasure by grace. And you can collect the rewards of either.

But for us, and if you are reading this as a Christian, I presume you are included in this, who have understood the kindness of God, what is it that drew you? Was your experience of salvation merely a relief from the judgement you were under? Was it simply a legal transaction that you feel you had little connection to? Or did you begin to finally understand that you are loved eternally by a compassionate father? Even in his confrontation of our sin, his love for us was so evident.  Why even bother confronting us unless he cared about us and our situation?

But his love goes deeper still.

Later we are told;

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.~Rom 5 6-8

And the implication of God's kindness leading us to repentance is not simply a once and for all thing, but it is a pattern for life and for building your character in your spiritual journey. It is always an understanding of God's loving kindness to us that brings us transformation. It is never through effort and determination and hard discipline that we change, but we respond to his love.

As the Hymn has it,

Joyful, Joyful, Lord we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of Love,

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
Hail Thee as the sun above.

 

 



 This morning, let your heart unfold before God, responding to his love as a flower responds to the warmth of the Sun, because you are coming to understand a little more of the depths of his infinite love for you.

God keep you in his love,

This day,

And all days,

Amenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6SYZtMVyhc