“But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” (Romans 2:3-8 NASB1995)

Not all judging is wrong. We should not judge hypocritically, or unjustly, or by human standards, or by comparing others to ourselves, or in hate, with the wrong motives, or prejudicially, or without a hearing. But we who are living righteously, in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, are to judge sin for what it is. And we are to judge sinful behaviors in people who make sin their practice, especially in those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And we are to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness, and to call all people to repentance and to obedience to God and to his commands.

[Matthew 7:1-6; John 7:24,51; John 8:15-16; Romans 2:3; 1 Corinthians 2:15-16; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:2-5; 1 Corinthians 14:29; 2 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Galatians 6:1-5; Ephesians 5:11; James 5:19-20; 2 Peter 2:1-22, 1 John 2:18-20; 1 John 4:1; Jude 1:22-23]

But in the biblical context of this passage in Romans 2, it is addressing the subject of judging others hypocritically, i.e. of judging others for what you yourself are also doing while you may also be doing even worse things than what they are doing. Yes, you may be correct in stating the obvious, that sin is wrong, but if you are condemning another for their sins while you knowingly and deliberately and habitually are committing the same or worse sins, that is hypocritical. And, in reality, you are condemning yourself. For you will not escape the judgment of God any more than they will.

And then there is the matter of the consequences of living in sin versus living for God in walks of obedience to his commands. Jesus Christ, in his death on that cross, did not put our sins to death with him so that we can now live in sin guilt free. He did not die that horrible death and then rise from the dead to leave us unchanged, still living in sin and for the flesh. He gave his life up for us on that cross to deliver us out of our addiction to sin so we will now serve him with our lives, in surrender to his will, in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, and no longer as slaves to sin.

Just because we make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, it does not assure us of forgiveness of all sins, and of heaven as our eternal destiny, if we do not deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. For if we do not repent of (turn away from) our sins, but we stubbornly continue living to please the flesh, and not God, then rather than having the hope of eternity with God, we are, instead, storing up wrath for ourselves in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. For not all who call him “Lord” have eternal life with God.

So, please understand that all of us will stand before our Lord on the day of judgment, and we are all going to be judged by God according to our deeds. Thus, if we have died to sin, and so we have persevered in following our Lord in obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace, then we are given the hope of eternal life with God. But if we choose to live selfishly, according to the sinful lusts of the flesh, in direct disobedience to God and to his commands, and so we do not obey our Lord, in practice, then heaven is not what awaits us. We will face the wrath of God, and hell as our destiny.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

The Heart of Man

Based off Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23
An Original Work / April 4, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Listen to me ev’ryone and
Understand this teaching of Christ:
Why do you break the commands
Of God for the sake of tradition?
When you follow the ways of man,
And don’t obey the words of Christ,
You nullify the words of God,
And you hold to the ways of man.

What comes out of a man’s mouth is
What makes him unclean and dirty.
The things that come out of the mouth
Come from the heart, from within him.
The heart of man is so sinful;
From his nature, out comes evil:
Lying, cursing, greed and malice,
Lust and lewdness, deceit, slander.

Jesus calls us to obey him;
Turn from our sins; follow His ways.
Yet, his people honor him with their lips,
but their hearts not with Him.
Their worship of God is in vain.
Their teachings are rules taught by man.
Jesus calls us; gently leads us
To return and follow His truth.

Judgment and Mercy
An Original Work / April 13, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love