Romans 1 talked about evil people.
Now Romans 2 talks about good people who talk about evil people.
Ray Stedman said, “Good people don’t steal, but they do cheat.
Good people don’t drink too much, but they do eat too much.
Good people aren’t violent, but they do gossip.
Good people say, “Look at those evil people.” Evil people say, “Look at those hypocrites.”
My dad often said, “There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us; there is nobody left to criticize any of us.”
So, have you ever done anything God didn’t want you to do?
“Therefore you have no excuse or justification, everyone of you who (hypocritically) judges and condemns others; for in passing judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, because you who judge (from a position of arrogance or self-righteousness) are habitually practicing the very same things (which you denounce.)” — Romans 2: 1
The Bible Commentary says, “Eternal life is not a reward; it’s a gift.”
Grace, from the Greek “charis,” means “gift.” We are saved by grace; it is the gift of a loving God who sent his only Son into our world to die for our sins.
But judgment is based on what we do with that gift.
Wife Mary Ella and I experienced God’s grace this past weekend after she broke her femur.
Our lives since that moment have been filled with the grace of God.
It began with the EMTs who went out of their way to avoid causing her any more pain.
Then came the first ER nurse whose wife is the principal at the school where our oldest son serves as an assistant principal.
It continued with another ER nurse who is the sister of our grandson’s closest middle school friend and to the niece of our oldest son’s best friend in high school.
And finally to all the people who God placed in our medical path during surgery and now in the cardiac unit where she’s being treated for atrial fibrillation discovered after her surgery.
All through the weekend and following week, we’ve experienced the grace of a God who put lots of people in our path to say, “I love you and I’ve put these people in your path to take care of you!”
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga. With wife, Mary Ella, they are missionaries to the Navajo Reservation.
