Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

‭‭You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

I find here the pinnacle of evil in this last verse of Romans 1: perpetuating evil in one’s life and approving of it and promoting it to other.  It is the final stage of decline of a civilization.  It makes me wonder, is my country here?  In some ways it feels like we in the United States are on the precipice of this final stage.  We have a some leaders in the US who promote evil and give awards to those who practice it.  Others resist this and some stand by.  We have justice being applied in our country right now, in such diverse ways, that someone guilty of a massive crime is getting no or little punishment, while someone guilty of no crime is getting a severe sentence based on twisted logic and truth.  Why are some persecuted?  Because they do not promote and approve of the lies.  This is madness and it is what we are called to fight against as followers of Jesus.  However, in our fight against injustice, we must be careful to not elevate our own status by putting others down.  And this is where Paul kicks off Romans 2.  In speaking most likely to Jewish Christians, who sometimes would segment the Gentiles into a lessor category because they did not follow their customs, Paul issued a harsh rebuke here.  The rebuke is to stop pointing fingers at your brother or sister in Christ and start focusing on your own sin issues.  Pride only increases sinful behavior, and so these Jews who were judgmental were falling into more sin themselves, and they were being devisive in the church in Rome.  Humility and obedience are the two things Paul is challenging us to. Obedience with pride leads to sin and humility with disobedience is also sinful.  We must maintain both humility and obedience in our Christian walk.  

Lord, thank you for this great challenge here in Romans.  Teach me to stay humble.  All I accomplish for good is through your Spirit and so YOU DESERVE ALL THE GLORY!  I give you the credit, and the reigns of my life today.  Steer me in your ways and teach me to be humble and gracious I pray!