Admonish Without Judgment

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

ADMONISH WITHOUT JUDGMENT

Rom 2:1-4

2:1 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. 2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

NIV

It is interesting that in the very beginning of this letter Paul says their faith is known all over the world, yet here he is giving them a real scolding about their judgmental attitudes. We would think that among believers whose faith is so well known, their behavior would follow their faith. However, even as we made that statement, we are guilty of judging them. Although it appears Paul is judging their behavior while telling them they should not judge each other. But is what Paul said a judgment or is he simply admonishing them regarding their actions. We are told that if a brother is catch in sin, which judging someone would be sin, we are to go to them and tell them for the purpose of their repentance, which again is changing the way they think. However, Paul is not going to a person privately, he is writing a letter to the church as a whole, and because this letter is preserved as part of the canon, we would think this letter is relevant for our learning. The point being that we should be very careful about passing judgment on anyone, for in doing so, we are being judged by God. Of course, he forgives all our sin, but then is it right to just go on willfully being judgmental of others? Perhaps some believers think it is appropriate to correct another, which is a result of judging either their attitudes or behaviors, believing we are helping them. One of the life lessons we learned many years ago, when we first started being able to preach the word, was to never preach problems in the church, but merely preach the word, and let the word do it work in the lives within the sound of our voice. This would also translate into our personal interactions with everyone we encounter. We should always be about the good news, and not about giving a scolding, yet that is exactly what Paul is doing, at least it sure looks like that. When we take on the role of judge, Paul says we show contempt for the riches of God's kindness, tolerance, and patience. We would also think that if we say that we want to be more like Jesus, then we should be exhibiting kindness, tolerance, and patience with each other rather then looking for the speck in another’s eye, while there is a log in our eye. This judgementalism could be a result of thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. On one hand it seems to be a live-and-let-live scenario, on the other hand, we should assist each other in our faith, but that is done through building up, and not tearing down. We do know that ultimately this letter to the Romans is one to build their faith, to assist them in their walk with the Lord, and it appears that includes some admonishment, but without judgment. That does seem impossible, yet with God all things are possible. Let is always be in tune with God and not with our own feelings, then maybe we can admonish without judgment.