Romans Chapter 2 Vs. 1

God's Righteous Judgment

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. Rom 2:1

thou art inexcusable,... Paul here addresses the Jews without naming them. He accurately describes them by their well-known disposition to justify themselves and condemn others Luke 18:19. They are guilty of some of the same things God condemns in Rom. 1:21-32, so they are liable to God’s just judgment on sin as much as Gentiles.

Condemnation according to divine standards

Truthfulness

In any generalization such as the preceding blanket indictment of pagan humanity Rom. 1:18-32 exceptions to the rule always exist. Obviously some pagans had high ethical standards and moral lifestyles and condemned the widespread moral corruption of their contemporaries. In addition the Jews morally stood in sharp contrast with the pagan world around them and freely condemned the Gentiles. Both groups of moralists might conclude that God’s condemnation did not apply to them because of their higher planes of living. But Paul insisted that they also stood condemned because they were doing the same things for which they judged others.

Therefore, Paul declared, at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself. Everyone in the entire human race has turned away from God and commits sins even though there are differences of frequency, extent, and degree. In addition the entire human race, especially moral pagans and the Jews, stood condemned before God (and have no excuse cf. Rom. 1:20 because God’s judgment is based on three divine standards — truth Rom. 2:2-4, impartiality Rom. 2:5-11, and Jesus Christ Himself Rom. 2:12-16 — which are absolute and infinite, condemning every person. It is very easy for us to see sin in other's lives when many times we are unable to see the very same sin in our own life. Many ministers have the attitude that they are exempt, because they preach. The same law applies to us all. There are not 2 sets of rules; one for the congregation and one for the preacher. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone needs Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Both Jews who was Paul’s primary audience here, and moral Gentiles who think they are exempt from God’s judgment because they have not indulged in the immoral excesses described in chapter 1, are tragically mistaken. They have more knowledge than the immoral pagan and thus a greater accountability.

“Condemn thyself:” If someone has sufficient knowledge to judge others, he condemns himself, because he shows he has the knowledge to evaluate his own condition.

“Doest the same things:” In their (the Jews) condemnation of others they have excused and overlooked their own sins. Self righteousness exists because of two deadly errors. (1) Minimizing God’s moral standard usually by emphasizing externals; and (2) Underestimating the depth of one’s own sinfulness.