Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Are You Aware of Your Own Sin? | New Testament | Romans 2

Episode Date: July 20, 2023

Are other people's sins worse than yours? Do you find yourself falling into hypocrisy? Do you feel superior to other Christians? If so, Romans 2 is for you. In today's episode, Patrick explains the reason there should be no such thing as a prideful Christian. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Romans 2

Welcome to 10 minute Bible talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. Yesterday, we began Paul's letter to the Romans, and I explained that in this letter, he unpacked the entire biblical story. So yesterday, we listened as Paul described the consequences and sources of human sins. And today, he moves forward into the story to talk about how God gave his law to the ancient Jews. but this law it didn't solve the problem of sin for one simple reason knowing what a sin is doesn't

prevent you from committing the sin unfortunately many jews felt a sense of superiority over their gentile neighbors simply because they had this law i mean it kind of makes sense if you think about it they know a better way to live so they must be better than those people and this explains why so many jewish christians thought that their gentile neighbors needed to become Jews themselves. They thought that their Gentile neighbors, if they were going to follow Jesus, the Jewish king. Well, they needed to eat kosher. And if you were a man, you needed to be circumcised. But Paul said that this was an exercise in missing the point. Being circumcised does you no good if you break the law. And everyone breaks the law. He writes in Romans 217. Now you, if you call

yourself a Jew, if you rely on the law and boast in God, if you, You know his will and approve what is superior because you are instructed by the law. If you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in the dark, an instructor for the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth. You then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you not steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit?

do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written, and he's quoting from Ezekiel here, and Ezekiel was judging Israel because all of Israel had broken the law. God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. Circumcision has a value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirement will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised the one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who even though you have the written code and circumcision are a lawbreaker paul is clear just because you look good on the

outside doesn't mean you're all good on the inside and god cares far more about the heart than external appearances like circumcision i think that christian are often at risk of falling into a similar pattern. We loudly condemn certain behaviors that are the most obvious. We condemn sexual sin, sex outside of marriage and adultery. We condemn theft. We condemn dirty words. We condemn substance abuse.

And we think we're better than people because maybe we don't commit those kinds of sins. But the truth is more complicated. Because even as we judge others, we are judged by our own behavior. inside of churches respectable sins thrive sins that are harder to see or that we treat as less of a big deal sins like gossip greed pride anger quarrelling malice maybe you've been there you've judged a friend harshly in your heart or with your words because you can see their sin and you find their sin really offensive but you turn a blind eye to the way you gossip about them behind their back You turn a blind eye to your own consumerism, to your own greed, to buying whatever you like.

You ignore your own pride and your own sense of superiority. Paul continues the story of Israel, and I think it confronts us too. Romans 2 verse 1. You, therefore, have no excuse. You who pass judgment on someone else. For at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself. Because you who passed judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think that you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? When we judge others, despite knowing that we are under God's judgment for our own sin, we mistake his kindness to us in forgiveness. We mistake that as a sign that our sin is less serious. No, God's kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.

His kindness is meant to propel us to show kindness to others who sin just as we do. There should be no such thing as a proud Christian who boasts in his own righteousness because all Christians know that they've broken the law and that's how they've broken themselves. Are you aware of your own sin? do you allow that awareness to break into your mind and heart when you judge others?

Jesus is calling you to two things at the same time. First, you ought to be deadly serious about the deadliness of your own sin, but second, you must also be deadly serious about showing the mercy God has shown you to others. The good news is that Jesus does not merely transform our outward behavior so that we look like good Christians. No, Jesus and His grace and mercy. and love and kindness transforms us from the inside out. Or in Paul's language in Romans too,

he doesn't merely circumcise the body. He circumcises the heart, and he transforms us by his spirit. Jesus doesn't do this because we deserve it, not because our good behavior has earned it, but because of his extravagant love. He showers his merciful forgiveness on you so that you can go and do likewise and point others to him. Who are you judging right now?

Who do you need to show mercy? Who do you need to forgive? It's precisely because you have the forgiving love and mercy of Jesus, that you're free to extend that mercy and love to others. So go, find that person you want to judge. Love them. Show them mercy. Let your kindness lead them to repentance.

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