Passage Read: Romans 2-3
Meditation Verses: 2:3-6
Thought
Paul just condemned the world, all the unrighteous for their suppression of God's truth by their evil deeds. He pointed out that God gave them over to unnatural sexual desires as a demonstration of His wrath upon them. But their evil is not limited to these perverted lusts, but also all kinds of evil and rebellion and disobedience to parents and all kinds of other wrong behavior. Now he turns his attention to the self-described righteous people who see the more heinous of these evil behaviors and recoil at those who practice them. Paul gave quite a long list of evil behaviors that God condemns and that reveal God's wrath upon sinners. If we who desire to be counted righteous only condemn certain of these sins or only condemn unbelievers who practice these things but don't also condemn these behaviors in ourselves, then we will be shocked in the end when God counts us among the unbelievers and gives us the same treatment we expected only to befall the wicked. God showed mercy to us who also walked in at least some of these evil behaviors and He allowed us to hear and believe the Gospel of His grace so that we would be ashamed of our own evil behavior and turn away from it and learn to walk in God's righteous ways. He didn't send His Gospel to us so that we could walk in wickedness and not be condemned, but so that we would recognize wickedness and turn away from it. Meaning that those who are still practicing these things, still revealing God's wrath upon them by their commitment to rebellious ways, do not need our condemnation, but our compassion to present to them the only hope of freedom and salvation.
Application
God didn't choose me and save me so I could look down on all those still trapped in and committed to sin! God chose me because I would otherwise be condemned with them. He chose me so that I would turn away from any and all of these evil practices, in awe of God's mercy to me. And in awe of that mercy to me, I should be concerned for those who remain hell-bent on sin, so that I plead with them to receive the grace of God through Christ, and like me, turn away from all such evil ways. Being rescued from God's wrath is not cause for me to condemn those who remain under God's wrath, but cause for me to see my old self in them and want for them what I have now received.