3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
And do you think [calculated] this, O man,
Some moralists are under the impression that somehow God marks them off as special and that they will not face the norm of the absolute standards of God.
The word “think” means to calculate. This is a careful consideration of the facts. These people make a mistake in their calculation about how God operates. Their mathematics are off because they think God is impressed with their righteousness. They need to recalculate their judgments about God.
you who judge those practicing such things,
The moralists ultimately practice the “such things” because their morality is only relatively higher than that of the immoral folks. The issue is that they do not measure up to the absolute standard of God’s righteousness (chapters 3-5).
and doing the same,
There is inconsistency and self-deception in the moralist who thinks he has some special standing before God. He does not and cannot measure up to the absolute righteousness of God. Moralists are inconsistent because in principle they do the same thing as immoral people. They are deceived because they think somehow they will escape God’s judgment based on their own righteousness.
that you [emphatic] will escape the judgment of God?
There is no escape from God’s judgment without accepting His solution, because everyone is without excuse. Emphasis on the word “you” here demonstrates that moralists need to get this point: “Do you, the moralist of all people, make the calculation that you will escape God’s judgment based on your own morality?” The answer to the question of whether or not they will escape the judgment of God is “No, they will not.”
PRINCIPLE:
The judgment of God is inescapable if we rest on our own morality.
APPLICATION:
God does not accept the assessment of men about their sin. It is amazing that the moralists think that they will escape the judgment of God. This is especially true of religious people.
All are sinful before God because of His absolute righteousness. The standard is too high for a moral approach to fellowship with God. If people cannot escape the judgments of men, how will they escape the judgment of God? The answer to that “how” is to believe that Jesus died for our personal sins on the cross. When one does this, God declares him as right as God is right (chapter 3-5).
