A Christian's Guide to American Politics

11/23/04 - Romans 2:1-3

1: "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself, for you who jusge practice the same things.
2: But we know that the judgement of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.
3: And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgement of God?" (New King James Version)

The context of this passage is especially important. This passage comes just after an extensive list of sins including envy, deceit, backbiting, violence, pride, boasting, disobedience, sexual immorality (adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, inscest, rape), untrustworthiness, being unloving, being unforgiving, and being unmerciful.

Now, what Paul is saying here is that if you are guilty of ANY of these sins you can't judge any other person guilty of any of these sins, because you also are imperfect. This is an extention of "Whoever among you is without sin, let him cast the first stone." It is one of the most important lessons we must learn if we are to be like Christ and ascend to heaven.

The political implications of this lesson are immense. Our constitution is set up to protect this philosophy. That's why, in our justice system, accused criminals have a right to a jury of their peers, so that no one individual can be responsible for judging another. Of course, it is always necessary to punish those who violate the laws of the land, which are in place to protect and govern a large population. However, while we may judge whether or not that individual broke the law, we can't judge that person's soul. We can't say that anyone is damned in God's eyes, or that a person is evil because they break the law.

There is no sin that is unforgivable in God's eyes. We are taught that when Jesus came to earth, he forged a new covenant with mankind, that all sins could be washed away through acceptance of Jesus and confession and repentance of sins. In light of that basic truth of our faith, does it not seem as though we travel in the opposite direction from Christ's teaching when we limit the time a person has to repent of their sins? We are supposed to follow Christ's teaching in our every day lives, and if we were all doing that, we would all be opposed to the death penalty. Christ repeatedly spoke out specifically against death sentances by stoning, and we often don't put it together that Christ made His sacrifice for us at the hands of the executioner. This is a very simple, if indirect, message.

God does not qualify sin. In the list of sins immediately prior to today's passage (Rom 1:28-32), we see that sins are all lumped together, and are all equal in God's eyes. To Him, the person who calls in to work sick so that he can go golfing is exactly as bad as Hitler. But we, as imperfect humans, have determined that some sins are worse than others. This is irrelavent to God. It does not matter to Him what your motives are. What matters is that ANY sin, no matter how inconsequential or justified we believe it is, seperates us from God, and that always makes Him equally sad. God's judgement will always be perfect, and He will judge according to His law, which means the church gossip will be judged on the same scale as the rapist. And likewise, He can wipe any sin clean, whether it's disobeying your parents or molesting a child.

In this country, we determine punishments for crimes based on their disruption of public peace. Thus, the crime of murder carries a far heavier sentance than say, vandalism or loitering. This is an excellent system for keeping the community secure, severely punishing those who cause the most disruption or are the most dangerous, and truly attempting to rehabilitate criminals who commit minor offenses. However, since Christians must apply the law of God to their everyday lives, it is important that we remember that God wants us to let Him do the judging and to allow His lost children to find their way home to Him, if they so choose. We must give them every opportunity to do so, and prematurely ending a person's life is, in essence, limiting their opportunity to find their way into Christ's embrace. It is not possible for us to truly appreciate the gift Christ gave us unless we give mercy to God's prodigal sons and daughters.

The death penalty has been renounced by the U.N., and it is banned in the vast majority of western industrialized countries. Too many times in this age of DNA evidence have we found out too late that an executed prisoner was not, in fact, responsible for the crime he or she was convicted of committing. In those cases, have we not unrightously judged and committed murder? Have we not seperated ourselves from God?

This is a practice that all Christians must fight to stop. It goes directly against everything that Christ stood for. It directly contradicts the root of Christ's message. Let us not forget that Christ ate with tax collectors, defended adulteresses, spent time with criminals, and shunned those who thought they were rightous in favor of those who acknowledged their imperfections.

****Suggested reading for further study on this topic - Matthew 5:28-48

posted by Sweet Tea @ 8:54 AM