Romans 2-Be Careful When Feeling Proud

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Verses 1-3: "Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?" Have you ever heard the phrase, "Be careful when pointing your finger at someone because there are 3 pointing back at you"? That is kind of what the Apostle Paul is talking about in the above passages. We are quick to judge others sins, but forget we need constantly be checking ourselves for sinful attitudes that have taken root. One commentary gives this example: a.) "what about Seneca, the Roman moral teacher and tutor of Nero? He would agree wholeheartedly with Paul regarding the morals of most pagans, but a man like Seneca would think, 'I'm different from those immoral people.' b.) Many Christians admired Seneca and his strong stand for 'morals' and 'family values.' But too often he tolerated in himself vices not so different from those which he condemned in others - the most flagrant instance being his connivance at Nero's murder of his mother Agrippina." (BlueLetterBible.org). It is easy to point out what others are doing wrong while ignoring our own sins. Now, I am not talking about this panzy, unbiblical idea being pushed today that basically says "don't ever correct me when I'm wrong", "don't hold me accountable", "don't judge me". This last one ("don't judge me") is actually being misused. That is for another post. But that is not a command in the Bible. People just like to take that verse out of context. Anyway, the Apostle Paul is telling us, here in Romans, to be careful about getting proud of our "goodness" because sin has a way of creeping in while we are busy pointing out what others are doing wrong. References https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/archives/guzik_david/studyguide_rom/rom_2.cfm