What’s your sin of choice?

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, every one of you who judges is without excuse. For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.” Romans 2:1 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “What’s your sin of choice?”

What’s your favorite sin? Come on, you know you have one. Mine is gluttony. I love food. Especially sweets. I can eat a half gallon of ice cream in a single sitting. I don’t just eat one donut, I eat three (or maybe four). Cookies, cake, bread, pasta – those are some of my favorite things. Fortunately, I do have a little self-discipline that enables me to control those cravings a bit, and I’m also compulsive about exercise (I work-out every day), otherwise, I would be in terrible shape.

If you have been following along with our study of Romans, then you may remember when we looked at Romans 1:18 and we learned the difference between general revelation and special revelation. In that verse Paul was talking about general revelation and how it is that God has revealed Himself to all humans simply through creation itself. But we also learned that God reveals Himself to a much greater degree through special revelation to His people. For us as Christians, He does that by means of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, and through His written Word in the Bible.

In chapter one Paul made it clear that all people are without excuse for rejecting God simply because of general revelation. But now in chapter two he shifts the focus from those who have only general revelation to those of us who have special revelation. If those with only general revelation are without excuse, then how much more must that be true for those with special revelation of God?

In the previous section Paul presented his case against the inexcusable sinfulness of the immoral pagan, the non-Christian. Now he shifts the discussion to that of the religious moralist – those who know the One True God, but who have become religious hypocrites.

Religious moralists tend to think of themselves as holy, pure, forgiven by Christ, and therefore somehow above reproach. But those people out there? The pagans? The homosexuals? The adulterers and murderers? They’re on a high-speed train to hell and they’d better change their ways!

When Paul writes in Romans 2:1 that “every one of you who judges is without excuse,” he isn’t telling us not to judge the adulterers and murderers and all the others. Those actions are contrary to the Word of God, they are an offense to God, and we are to say so. So, what does Paul mean when he writes that by judging them, we are without excuse? He explains in the rest of the verse: “For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.”

What he’s saying is that if you have the knowledge needed to know that they are sinning, then you also have the knowledge to know that you are sinning too. How dare you judge them and then excuse yourself? You may not be a homosexual but are you a glutton? You may not be a murderer, but are you a gossiper? Maybe you aren’t an adulterer, but are you greedy? Then you are without excuse too and you should know it. If you know enough to recognize their sin, then you also know enough to recognize your own sin.

The first principle for judging rightly is not that you have the knowledge to recognize the sins of others, but more importantly that you recognize your own sin and you do something about it.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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