Blog 2 - Living Out God's Standards

Living out God’s Standard 

Read: 

• Romans 2

Last blog we looked at the importance of God’s word and how when we neglect it, we can go down a path where we live by our own standards, and we slip away from God’s standards. However, our standard is subjective, everyone has a different standard to live their life. So, what is okay to you may not be okay to others. We see the Romans in these verses trying to justify their sins by comparing to others. But we see in the first 5 versus the Romans are judging others, but Paul is reminding them to look at themselves. Paul is calling them out for their hypocrisy and not living by their own standards that they have set. We see this in verse 3 to 5 and verse 21 and 22. But when we look at our own lives we can fall so easily in this mindset of judging others. That’s why gossiping is dangerous when we talk about others baggage but don’t look at our own lives. It’s important that we focus on our own walk and aim to live by God’s standards and not set standards for other people to follow. We should look at ourselves just like Paul tells the Romans to look at themselves.

Now it is important to note that God judges all. We see in verse 11 that Paul reminds us that “there is no partiality with God.” This means that God is fair and will judge everyone fairly. For as Paul says in Galatians 3v28-29 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Jesus Christ.” So, as we are all one in Jesus Christ, God will treat us all the same but as God treats us the same, we should live by those standards and also treat others the same. For God knows our every move even in verse 16 “God will judge the secrets of men” meaning God will judge us for the sins we keep secret, which will mean all of us will be judged. So, what gives us the right to judge others for their wrongdoings when we are no better than them because we are sinful people too. This reminds me of the woman who the people accused of committing adultery in John 8 and the people were testing Jesus to see if he would stone the woman or not. Jesus’ response in verse 7 says “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” This shows us that we are all sinners who are under the judgement of God.

Even though we are under God’s judgement, we see in verse 4 God’s mercy in giving us repentance through His goodness and longsuffering. But in verse 5 it is because of the hardness and impatient of the Roman’s hearts that means they will see God’s wrath if they continue going down this pursuit of slipping away from God’s standards.

This all sounds scary; you’re probably wondering how we avoid then the judgment of God and how can we reach God’s standard? Well Paul answers this in verse 7 “Eternal life to those who is patient continuance in doing good, seek glory, honour, and immorality.” See what Paul is saying here is that we should seek God, in his glory, honour and immorality. We should set our heart to doing good works for God because he loves us, and we love him. That is not just God’s standard but also His grace towards us that he wants us to do good that will benefit us and those around us. This is why Paul commands us in verse 13 to 15 to not just be hearers of the word but doers of the word. This helps us to be like Christ as we read the Bible and put it into practice, and we pursue telling others about their need of salvation.

So, as we look to set our eyes upon God’s standards and being doers of God’s word, we should consider why we are doing it. As the Jews at the time thought circumcision would save them. Paul reminds us in these closing verses (v25-29) that God looks at our inward appearance and not the outward appearance. Meaning that we shouldn’t do good works in hope that we get saved or win favour with God, but we should do it because God loves us, he has saved us, and we want to obey out of a heart of thankfulness and love. We Paul mention this in Ephesians 2v8&9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

That’s why Christ died for us because He loves us that we can aim to be like him. We will never reach the perfect standard of God but as believers each day we should strive to reach his standards by help with the Holy Spirit living in us. So, we should pray for help and guidance, read God’s word and as Paul says in verse 7 “doing good and seeking his glory.”

Dear Lord thank you that you are a fair and just God. Help us to not just be hearers of your word but also doers of your word. Let us strive each day to reach your standards and let us not judge others for their short comings. Help us in our walk to be more like Jesus and through us we can show His love and mercy towards others. Amen.

 

Going Deeper Questions

1. Why is it important to not be judgemental towards others? How can we keep ourselves accountable in this area? (v1-5)
2. In verses 6-11 Paul describes how God will judge each person according to their deeds. How does that make you feel? What does that say about the character of God?
3. In verse 13 Paul tells us that we should not be just hearers of the law but doers of the law. What does this look like in our day to day lives and what practical steps could be taken to ensure that we are doers of God’s word?
4. In verse 17-24, how can we see ourselves like the Jews and how could we avoid falling into hypocrisy?
5. In verse 29, Paul writes that true circumcision is a matter of the heart, not just the outside appearance. What does this mean for followers of Jesus? How can we cultivate a heart that pleases God?