Judging Ourselves Rightly

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”

(James 2:8-11 ESV)

We like to think of ourselves as good people. And, if questioned about it, we can offer up a pretty good defense of this position. We can point to areas of life where we have done quite well.

We might point out that we are good parents to our children. We may point out that we go to church most weeks. We may point out that we give to charities that benefit those in need.

However, in reality, we’re not the good people we believe ourselves to be. Even if there are areas of life where we feel we’re doing well, even if there are areas of life where we are doing well, this changes nothing. It changes nothing because there are also areas of life where we are not doing well.

Even if we are good parents to our children, we may demonstrate a lack of concern for other children in our sphere of influence. Even if we are going to church most weeks, we may be relying on our effort rather than the grace of God for salvation. Even if we are giving to charities that benefit those in need, we may be ignoring people in need in our own community.

The point James is making above is that we are all lawbreakers. We are all guilty. In fact, committing only one sin makes us a lawbreaker.

Even if it were possible for us to keep all of God’s commands, save one, we’d be guilty. We’d be just as deserving of God’s judgment as everyone else. And we’d be just as in need of his salvation.

However, realistically speaking, that life is not possible for us. Our sin is much greater than that. Even in areas where we think we’re doing well, sin is present. We fall short of God’s standards in ways we don’t even perceive.

We, then, must judge ourselves realistically. We must recognize our sin, and confess it to the Lord. And we must look not to our goodness, but to the grace of God, for salvation.