Jesus Is the Bridge Ministries

1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Except in a jury trial, a judge has several functions in deciding a case: a determination of the facts; how applicable law applies; rendering a decision, and, in a criminal case, imposing a sentence. In order to be a judge, though, the person must be given authority in that position, either by appointment or election. When we judge other people, the main problem is that we lack the authority to do so. That is a function that God reserves for himself, in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 4:1). We can certainly judge if something is right or wrong, but it is not up to us to judge the person involved. For one thing, as pointed out in this and other passages, we are judging others as sinners when all of us are sinners. Our reaction should not be to condemn others, but to repent of our own sins, and seek God's forgiveness. We should not hate others because of their sin; we should direct our hatred at the sin itself, and its sources: the world, the flesh, and the Devil

We aren't judges; all of us are on trial. The only hope we have of being found "not guilty", of being justified, is through faith in Jesus Christ. That applies to the whole human race, as affirmed in the last chapter. Every one of us is born with the consciousness of right and wrong, as part of our nature. Whether we ever hear the name of Jesus Christ or not, God still holds us accountable for what we do, based on whether we accept or ignore the guidance of conscience. Christ died for the sins of us all; I don't pretend to know how God judges those who never had the opportunity to know Jesus, but this passage affirms that even some of those will be saved. When the day of judgment does come, and sentence is passed, no facts will be in dispute, and justice will be done. Christ himself, through whom life is given, will himself determine those who have accepted him, and those who reject him. He will also be the give of eternal death.

17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The passage speaks to those who are righteous in their own eyes, but not God's. Self-righteousness is not reserved for the Jews, but they considered themselves, and themselves alone, God's chosen people. No one else was privileged to enjoy God's blessings and promises. It is common for cults, in our day, to declare that everyone not belonging to their group is going to hell. Even some presumed Christian churches seem to take that attitude. This habit of condemning others while excusing ourselves takes another form, too, one that also took root among the Jews: legalism. Obeying a set of rules becomes a path to salvation, a fleshly substitute for faith in Christ. As with the Pharisees, such teachers and leaders impose burdens on others they make no real attempt to carry themselves.

Because someone is a Jew, Paul says, doesn't mean they should be counted among God's people, which they called the circumcision. Rather, the standard is one one of righteousness, not of heritage. Similarly, coming from a Christian home, and growing up in church doesn't make someone a Christian, but what they do with Christ. In the Catholic church, being born in a Catholic family and being baptized with the appropriate ritual as an infant is all that is required to assure that the person belongs to Christ. Even some Protestant churches, out of the Anglican tradition, practice infant baptism, with a similar view. The belief is just as wrong as that of the Jews that God's favor was their birthright. We are God's by our choice, not our genes, and that choice is the one of accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. The work that makes the difference is the one that the Spirit does inside us, not the work of some ritual, such as adult or infant baptism, or the consequence of an accident of birth.