This chapter begins with the idea of judgment. Paul says that there is no excuse for those who judge other people. Today, many people have the wrong concept when it comes to this idea of judging. Many people feel cornered when someone confronts them about sin in a biblical manner. This is not the "inexcusable" act of judging addressed by Paul here. In reading Romans, one must remember that it is a letter. Concepts build on one another. Paul just finished a discourse on the gospel. He explained that without Christ, we are guilty of breaking the law and are deserving of punishment from God. He explained the penalty for sin and the provision for escaping the punishment of this sin. The judgment here is condemnation. It is not my telling someone else that they have sinned, but it is my trying to decide the penalty and punishment of that sin. Here Paul addresses another aspect of that judgment in the double standard. The people referenced in the first five verses look down and condemn others who are committing the same sins and the one looking down his nose! These people despise the goodness, patience, goodness, and grace of God.
The only One who can truly pass judgment on someone and decide penalty or reward is God. He will "render to every man according to his deeds." Verses seven through eleven detail examples of this rendering. To those who seek good, God rewards them according to those deeds. Those who seek evil will receive due recompense for their actions. God, unlike us humans, does not render a sentence according to the standard of the person being judged. He sticks to His standard.
Verses twelve through sixteen detail the standard whereby we are judged. The word "law" is mentioned eleven times. The law is the standard by which we are judged. The only way we can escape being held to the standard is by allowing Christ to take our places. This is the gospel.
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