The Worst of the Worst

     I am grateful for an early morning men's Bible study that I attend twice a month. It is an opportunity for me to be "one of the guys" and to study the Scriptures for myself (rather than for a sermon or lesson than I am preparing at the church). I need this in my life, just like any other guy.
     This morning we started our journey through Paul's Letter to the Romans, covering the first two chapters. What strikes me is how unashamed Paul is not only to share the Good News message of the Gospel, but to call everybody and their brother a sinner. This is the starting point for us, if we are going to understand why Jesus came. And as Paul teaches us, we all fall short of the glory of God.
     We hear this phrase an awful lot in the church today, but do we really grasp how true it is? We all fall short of the glory of God -- non-believers and believers alike.
     In chapters 1 and 2, Paul speaks to several groups of sinners. The first (1:18-32) is the non-Christian; the people of the world who behave wickedly (murder, strife, deceit, gossips, the foolish, et. al). As Christians, we objectively (and oftentimes judgmentally) refer to this group as those people, and say things like, "Can you believe how they behave. I'm so glad I don't behave like them."
     The second group (1:32) is the non-believers who not only act wickedly, but who "applaud others who practice" wicked living. These folks do not merely act in a wicked way, or make mistakes in life; they rejoice in this wickedness and applaud when others join them in the gutter.
     But before we feel too cozy in our righteousness as believers, Paul reminds us that as believers, we too fall short of God's righteousness. We also, even though we are saved, continue to live rebelliously and participate in many of the same things that those people engage in.
     The final category of people in chapters 1 and 2 -- what I call the worst of the worst -- is the believer who judges other people as wicked while he exhibits that same wicked behavior. For example, the Christian who judges the homosexual or the divorcee and then goes online and surfs porn. Or how about the person who teaches generosity to children during a Sunday School lesson and then is ruthless in his business dealings at work for the rest of the week.
     Paul writes, "You say, 'We know that God's judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.' Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God?" (Romans 2:2-3) He also says, "... It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God's sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified."
     This is not Paul back-tracking from the Gospel of grace and lifting up a model of works-righteousness. This is just a point of fact. If I am a believer and I know the Gospel of truth, then that truth needs to be reflected in the ways I conduct my life.
     We could walk away from these first two chapters a little discouraged, saying things like, "Man, what a bummer. Now I feel like a real loser. Thanks for the pick-me-up, Paul." If you feel like this, keep in mind that we need to begin with this fact, that we all fall short of the glory of God. Only then can we receive the Good News that awaits us in the latter chapters of Romans.
     Hang in there. The Good News is coming!