At the end of Romans 1, Paul catalogued the various sins of which the Gentiles were guilty – sins like homosexuality, murder, gossip, arrogance, and many more. For the Jewish brethren in his audience, this was likely met with hearty approval. When the sins of others are pointed out, that is often welcomed.
However, Paul did not stop there. As he turned his attention to his Jewish brethren in the church, he said that they “practice the same things” (Romans 2:1). His point was not that sin should be tolerated because “everybody sins.” He said in the next verse that “the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things” (Romans 2:2). We do not want to condone or justify a practice that God “rightly” condemns.
Paul explained that those who “practice such things” cannot expect to “escape the judgment of God” (Romans 2:3). While this is true of the godless, Paul was writing this letter to Christians – ones who should have already known this. This is why he said they had “no excuse” (Romans 2:1). They knew better, yet they still transgressed the law.
For those of us who are Christians, we know what God’s will is because He has revealed it to us in His word. We can look to the Scriptures and see the difference between right and wrong. We have been told of God’s judgment and the need to prepare for it.
So remember that there is no excuse for sin. God has told us what He expects of us. Rather than making excuses for failing to live up to His standard, we need to work on putting away sin from our lives.