"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience"
presume: to think against, to despise
As we have seen in the last few verses, Paul has been attacking the self-righteous attitude of many of the Jews of his day. Many of us, as Christians, battle this same attitude today. Here, Paul is describing the natural tendency of a self-righteous attitude to despise the fact that God freely pours out His riches of kindness, forbearance, and patience. First, what does self-righteous actually mean?
righteous: morally right, justifiable, acting in a moral or upright way. So, self-righteous means be confident in ones own ability to act in a moral, justifiable, or upright way.
Those who think they are accepted by God based on their own moral or justifiable acts look down on or despise the fact that God pours out His riches on those who don't "measure up."
The fact is, according to Romans 2:11, God shows no partiality. This is the last thing that a person who spends all their time attempting to better their standing with God through action wants to hear. Jealousy and bitterness begin to take over...sound like anyone that Jesus described?
The Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-32
Jesus' parable of the prodigal son describes perfectly the effects of a self-righteous mindset. The father was overjoyed when his son came back from a life of sin and waste, but who wasn't so happy to see his father's reaction...who "despised the riches of his fathers kindness, forbearance, and patience"? The older brother was absolutely angry at how his father accepted the younger brother back into the family, to the point that he wouldn't even attend the celebration. The older brother was caught up in the self-righteous mindset that he deserved more based on his choices.
What does the father say to the older son at the end of the parable:
It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'
This is the awesome fact about God's love...we cannot earn it! He loves us not because of what we do or have done, but in spite of all that we have done and continue to do...we need to wrap our minds around this.
"not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance"
This is a very important part of the puzzle that self-righteous people miss. The reason that God pours out His riches of kindness, forbearance, and patience is to lead us sinners - including those with a judgmental attitude - to repent for these sins. As we cry out to God, He will reveal our sinfulness to us, and give us the strength to overcome...He loves us and wants us to be as close to Him as possible.
But...how do most stubborn people react?
"But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed."
When someone believes that their standing with God is based on how good they can live their life, and then spends years attempting to live this "good" life, convincing themselves that everything they do right gives them a better chance of getting into heaven - the hardest thing to do is let go of all of that and realize the sinfulness of not trusting in God's finished work alone.
Repenting for the sin of self-righteousness is one of the hardest and most humbling processes.
I believe that is why Paul warns us by revealing that most people who freely judge others will refuse to repent because of their hard hearts. This should cause us as God's children to examine ourselves, to make sure that we are not guilty of a judgmental spirit that can lead to a hardening of the heart.
While it is possible for any one of us to act in a self-righteous or judgmental way, it is a different and more serious issue to maintain this way of thinking - this attitude - as a lifestyle that becomes who a person is. This is exactly the same as refusing to turn away from any other sin - and we are warned over and over in God's word what a life of sin without remorse indicates.
You will recognize them by their fruits Ma4 7:16
Those that refuse repent of their sinful fruit are as a result storing up wrath for themselves on the day of judgement.
As God's children, lets "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance." Mat 3:8. Ask God to reveal to each one of us if and when we are guilty of a judgemental spirit, so that we can deal with it and become more effective at the task we are called to do - sharing the gospel!
Please share any insight you may have on these verses!
Next post: 1.2.13 - Everyone have a happy and safe New Years!
NOTE: For an amazing and in depth study on the parable of the prodigal son, I highly recommend Tim Kellers "The Prodigal God.
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