Wisdom And Balance In Judging

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

–Romans 2:1 (NIV)

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A base thought regarding this verse is the following:

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“Whenever we find ourselves feeling justifiably angry about someone’s sin, we should be careful. We need to speak out against sin, but we must do so in a spirit of humility. Often the sins we notice most clearly in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sins in more socially acceptable forms.”[1]

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There is a hypocritical trap in judging people adversely. But in this there is also the trap of self-condemning oneself when suitable and godly judgment need take place. Christians are apt at falling into both traps.

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The essence in this is balance. We must act on knowledge simply by being aware and not calling adverse attention to it. Being adult (i.e. reasonable, rational, realistic, responsible and logical) in this way means we recognise faults in other people -- that thing we’re to avoid in them, and we simply use this knowledge wisely without bringing harm to the person or to limit them unless they’re a danger to themselves or others.

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Here too, Paul might be suggesting “anyone who might judge another [could or should] include himself or herself in the scope of his accusation.”[2] He is also calling forth a time when creatures would no longer judge, but the Creator will. I mean, ultimately, whose role is it to judge?

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“Judging itself is not condemned... [but we condemn ourselves when we] practice the same things.”[3] In the cultural context of the Romans passage, the “Jews are condemned for... not merely judging but also practicing the very evil that they denounce.”[4] To this, Paul does not necessarily mean the Jews were practicing the idolatry and homosexuality as many Gentiles were that he was referring to... but he targets the ‘inherentness’ of a heart against the things of God. [5]

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The moment we go past knowledge into judging people from an emotion base (and we’ve all done it, and do it from time to time) we’re probably guilty of that same thing Paul talks about -- because the emotion probably indicates we have inherent sin issues to deal with ourselves. Judge, but know that judging brings us to potentially dangerous territory; let’s tread cautiously, adding ourselves to the ‘scope of the accusation.’ Inevitably we’ll be fairer with others as a result.

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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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ENDNOTES:
[1] The New International Version, Life Application Study Bible, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1988, 1991), p. 2029. Commentary on Romans 2:1.
[2] Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans – The New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), p. 130.
[3] Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans – Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (ECNT) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House Co., 1998), p. 107.
[4] Thomas R. Schreiner, Ibid, p. 107.
[5] Thomas R. Schreiner, Ibid, p. 107.