“Thank goodness we’re not that bad!” After Paul told the Roman Christians about mankind’s godless trajectory, he must have looked around at his audience and saw them nodding to each other as if to agree that “those people” were doomed for destruction. Many of the Christians in Rome were Jewish by birth and believed they had access to God that wasn’t available to Gentiles, and certainly not to evil sinners. If they were starting to puff up their chests with pride because at least they were circumcised, Paul shot them down quickly when he said, “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse.” (Romans 2:1)
Ouch, Paul! That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?
Here’s the truth: God doesn’t rank sins. If we fall short of God’s glory in even one area, we are a sinner. And what does a sinner need? A Savior!
The point Paul was making was if they hoped to be judged according to their deeds and make the cut, they were sadly mistaken. Circumcision didn’t matter if they didn’t have a Savior, and the same is true today. Even if you grew up going to church every Sunday, you memorize Bible verses, you pray every day, and you feed the poor, those are just deeds. And even our best deeds are filthy rags apart from Jesus.
God doesn’t judge according to our standards. He has set His own, and we can never meet them. We cannot please God without a proper relationship with Him. And we cannot have a proper relationship with Him apart from Jesus Christ. When God looks at us, He either sees our sin or He sees our Savior.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17 – ESV
No matter how much we try to get it right on our own, the only way to be right with God is a change of heart produced by the Holy Spirit. A change of heart that realigns our motives and turns our good deeds from filthy rags into white robes of righteousness washed by the blood of Jesus.
We all start from the same lost place, just as bad as anyone else. Only by grace through faith in Christ do we receive the strength and the ability to live a life that glorifies God.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
