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.
Romans 2:1
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
Our scripture verse today comes immediately after the first chapter of Romans, in which Paul has spoken of his eagerness to visit with the church, of God’s love for them, and of the grace and peace that are theirs through Christ.
He also speaks of God’s wrath to ALL the unrighteousness and ungodliness of humanity, going on to list various ways in which it is made manifest, saying, “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 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.” (Romans 1:29-32)
So, when Paul says in our verse for meditation today, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself…” He is talking, literally, to everyone.
We may skip over the list Paul presents us with, in a rush to find a text that frees us from the need to concern ourselves with it, but that would be to miss his point. Who hasn’t envied? Who hasn’t been a participant in relational strife? Who has never been disobedient to a parent, foolish, or heartless? Has anyone not had a time they have acted unfaithfully toward God, trusting what the world offers over the way of Christ? In the next chapter, Paul says, “All have sinned, and fall short of the Glory of God.” There is no escaping that reality. God is Holy, and we are not.
It is when we recognize this that we can hopefully take hold of two things. Firstly, as Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:4-5, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Jesus is teaching that there is a place to offer counsel, but only after you have examined the sin in your own life and dealt with it; that is the place of gracious counsel. Judgmental condescension and finger pointing are far from this kind, careful approach to the wellbeing of another.
We also recognize the kindness and mercy of God. This is the unfathomable mystery of the gospel. That despite our rebellion against God, God still loves us. God forgives us and extends his grace to us. It’s as Paul contemplates the mercy and goodness of God in Romans 11:32-36, that he is reduced to pouring forth praise, saying:
“For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?’ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
For Reflection
- Consider the people in your life. Family. Friends. Colleagues. Are there times when you point a condescending finger at their behaviors, perhaps out of frustration or anger, rather than offering the kindness of caring counsel?
- Bring any confessions you may have in this regard to God. Ask for his help in addressing any sinful attitudes in your own life, giving thanks for his gracious forgiveness and forbearance of your imperfections.
Prayer
Good and gracious God, we thank you for your kind forbearance and gracious forgiveness of the sinful attitudes, words, and actions in our lives. Help us to bear with those in our lives who we find it difficult to be with, who are in fact teaching us about ourselves. Continue the good work that you have started in us, that we may grow to be more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
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Devotionals