Comments on: Exploring Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Romans 1

By: Scott Fillmer

Scott Fillmer — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:31:54 +0000

@heath those are great questions, and not all that easy to answer. I would say, to me, you disapprove of the sin, but love the sinner.

When we are judgmental we often set conditions in our mind about who those people are and that leads to other things. When we disapprove of something, we may disagree with the actions, but it doesn’t mean we are to condemn the person for those actions, that is up to God.

I think about it like a father child relationships might be. We don’t have to teach a child to lie, we have to teach them not to lie. So, when they lie, we might disapprove of their sinful nature and the action of lying, but we would not judge and condemn the child to be evil, not feed the child, tell him/her he is marked as a liar for life etc.

That may not make any more sense but I think one, the “love of people” element is gone, one is still there.

By: Heath Spurlock

Heath Spurlock — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:24:19 +0000

I get the whole judgment thing with a lumber yard in my eye and so forth. But what about verse 32 "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." How do we go about not being judgmental and disapproving at the same time? Heath Spurlocks last blog post..Romans Chapter 1

By: JenL

JenL — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:16:20 +0000

“We all fall short.” Yes. Yes, we do. I’m right there with you on “sin is sin” and came at this chapter from the same basic direction. Although, I think you were more eloquent at it!

By: b/

b/ — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:29:36 +0000

You did a great job treating a sensitive subject with integrity. People love to rail on this subject, and I knew someone else would do a great job with it, so I left it alone in mine, but I agree with you completely. We could go all day with improper exegesis, but the Bible just does not support those agendas.

I didn’t think you post was too long. Kept me engaged the entire time.

This chapter is setting the stage for the heaviness to come. As Heath says, “This is Strong stuff,” we are about to get in to.

b/s last blog post..Blogger Small Group