What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. Romans 3:9
Comparisons is something that happens all the time. One product is compared to another to determine which is better. Services are often compared trying to gain more business based on how well or poorly the service provided was like. People will often get compared with others to determine their value or reliability. In this process many often think that they are better than others and that everyone is inferior to them. After talking about judgement,
Paul asks what many were probably thinking that were they (Paul and other believers) better than the Greeks and non-believers. He says that they are not any better because everyone is under the judgement of sin.
The world claims that everyone is supposed to be equal yet does not live that way. Each nation feels that they are the best. Groups of people in each nation feel that they are better than all the rest. Slavery rose from groups feeling that others were inferior.
Religious wars are often fought over one group thinking they are the better. Inside of Christianity, many denominational groups or individual churches feel that they are better than anyone else. Individual Christians will often act like they are better than the world.
Reality is, no one is any better than anyone else. Every person that has ever lived, both believers and non-believers, outside of Jesus, has sinned against God and deserves eternal death and punishment.
The only thing that makes a believer separate from the world is that the believer recognizes sin in self, repented of that sin and has believed in Jesus for salvation, allowing God to make the believer into a new creation.
In some of your abilities and talents you may be better than other people, but in judgement against sin, you are the same as every other person on the earth. Any sin in your life needs to have repentance of and a belief in Jesus to remove those sins. Do not allow your belief in Jesus to make you think you are any better than a non-believer. Unless it was by the grace of God, you would be just like the sinner–lost and under judgement of God’s wrath against your sin. Give everyone a chance to believe in Jesus, just as you were given.
Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will understand what you have in Jesus; that you will know the grace God has given you; and that you will be a witness to the lost about who Jesus is.
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