Jul 30 | Resistance Lectionary Part 5: Standing up, speaking out

Citation: Romans 2:4b-11

I did some creative snipping for clarity’s sake so I’ll post the chosen passage below.

Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed. For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

 

This passage follows a well-known “text of terror”: Romans 1:18-27, which has been used to clobber the queer community for too long. What’s interesting about this, and about many similar texts of terror, is that many of those who use it as a cudgel ignore not only the context but everything around it. What follows it is a warning from Paul that those who condemn should not stand in judgement, for they too are guilty of sin.

Not an ideal response for our purposes, but not what you might have expected if you’ve had this passage hurled at you at some point.

The liberal church is rightly vigilant about the way talk of sin can turn abusive, but as we’ve seen in the recent past, civility in discourse can only get you so far. Eventually, someone needs to stand up and name the evil, or we risk standing by while it flourishes.

It is possible to call out sin in a way that demonstrates care for someone’s soul. Unfortunately, the kind of churches who make use of this often do so not only unkindly, but about issues that are more about culture than Christ, while remaining silent on issues that the Bible is quite clear about, like justice for the poor and the oppressed.

We may or may not share Paul’s conviction that the wicked will be punished by God in or outside of this lifetime. We can be sure, however, that God cares deeply about the way we walk in the world among our fellow creatures. We dare not be resentful of the forgiveness that pours forth from God’s heart for others, for there will surely come a time when all of us will need it.

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