commentary Romans 2

1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

     He who condemns another for a sin that he also is committing only judges himself. That fact is asserted forcefully in this chapter (see Rom 2:21-23), and the cogent result is to distinctly advise all men of the weight of their sins (Rom 3:23). Jews and Greeks are equally inexcusable, equally guilty before the Judge: the Jews failed to follow the Law that they were given by God, and the Gentiles failed to follow the law of their conscience, also given to them by God.

     This is true in the legal sense also. No man is able to pronounce another to be “guilty of sin” because both are sinners. The judge must recuse, for his judgment is inadmissible on the grounds of similar trespass and guilt. God’s judgment, on the other hand, is perfect, righteous and according to truth, for He alone is absolutely good and sinless. This concept is important to retain fresh in the mind for those involved in church administration and also in personal relationships. Judging another to be guilty of sin is serious business (Rom 14:4). The correct approach is to eschew offering my judgment in favor of rightly and soberly sharing God’s judgment (see note Mat 7:1). For example, do not condemn the one living in adultery by offering your own views, but specify rather what God has said in His Word (Heb 13:4, for one example).

     The Christian’s commission is to preach and do the Law of Christ, not to sit as judge of others (James 4:11). Certainly the church is tasked with making determinations of sin, for we have been given the book of His law and charged to know it and keep it (John 12:48). So in that sense we do judge (1Cor 5:3), but always according to righteous judgment (John 7:24). However, the ground and manner of human judgment is limited (as we have tried to explain above). Judge nothing before the time, for Christ will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and every intention of men’s hearts (1Cor 4:5). That judgment is far more serious than any censure of church or man. Let us then be careful to warn the wayward of that awful and inescapable tribunal.

3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

     Hypocrisy is perhaps the most serious condition of sin to be found in any person or church. People who teach the importance of living a righteous life and require it of others must themselves live in such manner, or the judgment of God will fall upon them with great weight (Mat 21:44). Virtually the entire 23rd chapter of Matthew is dedicated to Jesus’ condemnation of the self-righteous, hypocritical Pharisees.

     Hypocrisy is actually a form of rebellion. These people possess full knowledge of the truth yet do not regard it. Instead, they reveal just how little they value the mercy and goodness of God, which has been revealed in shining clarity by the blood of Christ shed for the forgiveness of their sins. The condition of willfully living in sin is soberly expressed in Hebrews 10:26, which describes the sore punishment of the man who treads underfoot the law of Christ and disgraces His holy covenant (Heb 10:29-31). Thinkest… that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Answer: I tell you NAY: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13:3).

5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

     Every hypocrite, and every rebellious man, and also every deceived person are in high danger of hell-fire. All three are in the same category. They know the Truth but are not doing it. Their continuing willful acts of sin simply increase their debt of sin unto greater and greater punishment, just as the good acts of the righteous are laying up for them treasures in heaven (Mat 6:20). The next few verses will more fully develop this dichotomy.

     Two words in this verse should be especially alarming for any wavering Christian: “thy hardened and unrepentant heart.” Breaking free of those two chains is a very difficult battle! Once indulged and tolerated for a time, the pleasures of sin grip the heart ever more tightly, and if it is not soon broken, by and by it becomes impossible to renew them again unto repentance (Heb 6:6). The Devil works relentlessly and cleverly to choke out the Word once sown by tempting the Christian with all manner of lusts, cares and deceit (Mark 4:19). So take heed for your soul, the Apostle warns in Heb 3:13, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. The heat of the sun slowly turns soft mud into hard bricks, so also will the constant exposure of a tender soul to acts of wickedness eventually make it hard as stone. The Pharisees are a case in point. Their continued hypocrisy hardened their hearts until they became abject reprobates to all truth and Christ. The Christian must take this warning seriously and personally, for it is very hard to view oneself without bias in the severe light of reality and truth (see 1Cor 11:28).  

     At the last day, the righteous wrath of God will be revealed in judgment against all men who have disregarded His call to repentance and salvation. He will appear in wondrous glory to render just recompense to every man according to his deeds. (Mat 25:46). This sober warning has been virtually negated by many self-appointed, so-called theologians, who have by many devious tricks explained away those verses which warn of Hell and Eternal Judgment. If the Word of God was intended to be understandable, then they are fatally wrong and have deceived many into selling their souls eternally unto Satan. I recall the story of a man who dreamed he had died and gone to Hell, where he found all to be so terrible true: fire, torment, wailing and regret. Inert bodies lay everywhere, face down in the never-dying embers, and he ran from one to the next, looking intently into every face. Finally someone asked him what he was doing, and he said, “I’m looking for that preacher who told me there was no such place as this. He’s here too, I know.”

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

     Two classes of people are here described. Those who seek to inherit eternal life by following the path of Faith, and those who choose to follow the path of anti-Faith. Do the deeds we have done in the flesh matter to God? Calvinists say NO, but these verses emphatically say, YES. 

     The Greek noun ergon (works, deeds) is repeated in verses 6-7, so we translate:  “God will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by persevering in good deeds seek for glory, honor and immortality He will give eternal life, but to them who are contentious and disobedient to the truth in following unrighteousness He will render indignation and wrath.” These last two words are used many times in the Greek Scriptures to describe the hot vengeance of God against all unrighteousness. Each is found six times in the Revelation in contexts of God’s great wrath falling upon all who do wickedly. To not obey the truth is to experience the vengeance of flaming fire and the punishment of everlasting destruction at the coming of the Lord (2Thes 1:7-10). 

     How terrible are those two words, “good deeds,” to the minds of many well-intentioned but truth-flawed Christians! Their Protestant theologies make them recoil with horror at the thought of a man seeking to do “good works.” They immediately equate “good works” with “earning one’s salvation,” in spite of the clear fact that this verse doesn’t say that, nor is it what Anabaptists believe. No man can earn his salvation by doing good works because his sins have disqualified him; it is utterly impossible for him to earn salvation. Good deeds cannot undo bad deeds. Just as a man who has killed another is forever a murderer, so too every man is forever a sinner. And no sinner will ever inherit eternal life. The only hope of any man to be saved is to find someone to save him – he must have a Savior. Nevertheless, a man’s good deeds are not odious in the sight of God! Re-read Isaiah 64:6 and the surrounding verses if you have heard that text quoted in support of the afore-mentioned fallacy. The Scriptures say that God created man to do good works (Eph 2:10), and that if any man does not evidence them, he will be cast out in the end (Mat 25:30). Good works are everywhere commanded in all sobriety (2Cor 5:10). It is a constantly-encountered Gospel truth that cannot be countervailed, no matter how oft-repeated are the slurs against it.

9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

     The two choices presented in the previous verses are repeated, but now the Apostle applies them universally to every soul of man, that is, Jews and Gentiles alike. The same criteria are intoned: He that doeth evil; he that worketh good, and again the words are the same, although they are verbs this time (katergazomai).

11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

     In the New Covenant Age, God does not make difference between the Jew and Greek. This was divinely revealed to Peter by way of special revelation in a thrice-repeated dream accompanied by miraculous signs (Acts 10). It is a concept especially important for some of Paul’s Jewish readers, who thought to avoid judgment by simply being a Jew, one of God’s chosen people (1Pet 1:17; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25). This chapter persuasively demonstrates to the Jewish people that God’s judgments are no longer based upon parentage or any other idea of favoritism. The Truth applies equally to all. Show meritorious character by persevering in well-doing and you will be rewarded with of eternal life; show dishonorable character by following unrighteousness and you will reap indignation and wrath.

12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

     We have just read that every soul of man will be judged according to his deeds done in the body, whether Jew or Greek. The Gentiles, although not having the Law of Moses, had nonetheless sinned by transgressing the law of their conscience and their souls will perish even though they did not have that Law. The Jews, having the Law of Moses, did not obey it and shall likewise perish. Both are guilty before God, but are judged according to separate law sets.

     The word law (nomos) is used in four senses in the New Testament. Usually the intended sense is made obvious by the context, but on some occasions a more careful reading is required. Nomos appears 21 times in this chapter alone and will be frequently found in the coming chapters. Although there are some exceptions, in the book of Romans the word virtually always refers to the Law of Moses, for the purpose of this epistle is to convince the Jews that their Law cannot bring them salvation.

Here are the four meanings of the word law in the Scriptures:

     The Law of the Moses was the basic set of rules that God had decided for His Covenant with the people of Israel. When disobedience and high complacency continued without remedy, that covenant came to an end and Christ instituted the New Covenant with updated laws (see note on Mat 5:1).

13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

     This statement exposes the false notion of some (like Luther) that the Apostle James describes a different Gospel than Paul. Compare James 1:22-25 with Romans 2:13. They are virtually identical. The fundamental truth that James taught is that a Christian must act upon his confession or else his faith is defective. It’s not saving faith. Unfortunately, many evangelicals rely only on selective verses in the Pauline epistles (like Rom 10:9), and fail to hear him fully. The present verse is very strong: hearing and believing alone is not sufficient for justification. It is imperative that one act upon his belief and do what has been commanded (1Tim 4:16). This is the Faith that saves, and this is the wise man whose works shall stand in the last storm (Mat 7:24-27).

     Here, for the first of many times, we encounter the word justified (dikaioo) in the book of Romans. Protestant theologians have devised a special meaning for this word in their theology of salvation, but one which does not conform with its varied usages in the Greek Scriptures. Yet Paul didn’t here coin a new word to teach a new truth; he used an old word to expound an old truth. The adjective form (dikaios) is even more widely used, and appears in this verse too. A study of the Septuagint and New Testament indicates that to be justified is to be made righteous or holy. See Gen 38:26 and Mat 11:19 for first occurrences of dikaioo in the Testaments. Calvinists however, have added a subtle element to the definition that significantly changes its meaning. In their view, to be justified is to be declared righteous or holy. For the difference of one word, the meaning is utterly transformed and now they can claim that justification is only a juridical declaration! Would God declare a man to be righteous when in actuality he is not? The Anabaptist belief is that through the sacrificial death of Christ, God has the authority and power to make a man righteous by taking away his sins (John 1:29; Is 53:4). Jesus didn’t just declare the leper to be clean, but truly cleansed him wholly (Mark 1:40-42).

     Justified and sanctified are virtually synonyms (see 1Cor 6:11). Perhaps justification emphasizes the initial, judicial aspect of salvation, whereas sanctification emphasizes the continuing operation of salvation. 1) What justification does God offer for delivering the elect from the bonds of Satan? The death of His Son justifies their redemption (Rom 4:25; 5:9). 2) What is the means of their sanctification? The body of the Son of God (1Cor 1:30; Heb 10:10). Clearly the two terms have the same grounds.

14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

     These verses compare the Gentile who lives honorably by the law of his conscience with the Jew who does not keep the Law of Moses. Since there is no respect of persons with God (v11), He will judge each person with equity, taking into account each one’s differing level of knowledge and ability. The Gentile who respects the law of his conscience (which is written in their hearts from birth), will be judged according to that law. The Jew will be judged according to his obedience to the Law of Moses, which they have been especially privileged to receive. After His resurrection, Jesus apparently announced His victory to the souls in Hades who had lived without knowledge of the Law and certain of them were saved (see notes 1Pet 4:6; 3:19).

     The mind of every person, no matter where he lives nor when he was born, is pre-printed with a simple knowledge of right and wrong. It is the law written in their hearts (see 2Cor 3:2-3; Heb 8:10-11). As a child grows up, the conscience within his mind will be influenced and re-shaped (almost always negatively) by exterior experiences and environments (Tit 1:15). However, that simplest of all rules, “Love God, love thy neighbor,” is universally and intrinsically born in the human mind. Even the evolutionist and atheist cannot escape it. It is one of those basic truths that rules all of life.

     Their thoughts. The word is logismos – the reasonings of their mind either condemn their own actions or approve of them. The conscience is the only law-set to guide those reasonings. The conscience is an important warning-device that God has installed in every human being and we should heed it carefully (1Tim 1:19; 1Pet 3:21; 2Tim 1:3). For more on the Conscience, see note on 1Cor 8:10.

16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

     The hidden, concealed deeds of all men will be exposed for everyone to see in the day that God comes to judge the world (v6). This warning is especially important for the hypocrites, who are a major target in this chapter. Maybe their sins will not be seen in this life, and maybe they will be ignored; but they will surely be shown and known at the beginning of the next life (1Tim 5:24).

17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, 18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

     Here is the self-righteous, hypocritical Jew who is in full knowledge of God’s will. He holds the truth of the Law in his very hands and yet does not follow its precepts. He teaches everyone what the Law says, but does not do it himself. Will such a person escape the judgment of God? (v3). Absolutely not! Indeed, those who possess the truth will be held to a higher standard and if they show themselves to be unworthy they will incur a greater punishment (Rom 1:18; Mat 12:41). This truth is no less incumbent upon the Christian hypocrite who outwardly appears pious and righteous, but whose inner heart is full of wickedness and sins.

The following is extracted from Adam Clarke’s commentary on Rom 2:21.

25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

     Circumcision is spiritually beneficial for the Jew who keeps the Law, but is without value if he does not keep the Law. There a several New Testament correlations to this concept. Baptism, for instance, is beneficial for the Christian who keeps the commandments of Christ, but is without value to the one who disobeys Him. Praise and worship is beneficial for the obedient Christian, but abhorrent to God if he is rebellious (Isa 1:13). Let us go on to spiritual maturity, and leave childhood behind.

26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

     Returning to the topic of Rom 2:14-15, the Apostle affirms that those who have never heard the Gospel message and yet live an honest life may yet receive Christ’s acceptance (Rom 5:13). While the details surrounding the salvation of such a person are uncertain and unrevealed in the Scriptures, this we do know: it is very rare to find in the world a person who honestly and sincerely perseveres in doing good (v7) without possessing the knowledge of Christ. Yes, the power and majesty of God can be inferred by a man studying His creation (Rom 1:20), but hearing the Gospel preached is far more effective.

     Cornelius is a prime example of a uncircumcised man who feared God and served his fellowman by love (Acts 10). Salvation came to his household. His account seems to be similar to other New Covenant examples, in which the Holy Spirit organizes the lives of seeking men and women so that they are brought into the sphere of Godly persons and environments. God is able to bring missionaries that follow the leading of the Spirit to discover these people.

     The righteousness (dikaioma) of the Law. This word should probably have been translated “statutes” or “judgments” as it was in Rom 1:32. See note on Rom 5:18.

28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

     Given the afore-stated truths concerning circumcision, it follows that to be a Jew in the present age of the Gospel is an inwardly condition instead of physical attributes and lineage. The Apostle Paul is teaching, of course, under the terms of the New Covenant, in which there is no longer Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision (Col 3:11). Now, he says, the real Jew is of the heart, in the spirit. In this sense, the true Jew is a Christian, whether a natural Jew or not. Any person who claims to be Jewish by the lineage of Abraham is an imposter (Php 3:3). You must be of faith to be considered a child of Abraham (Gal 3:7) no matter if you are a blood Jew or not (Gal 3:29). God is able of stones to raise up children unto Abraham (Mat 3:9).

     In the spirit and not in the letter. I believe this refers to obeying the spirit of the law of Christ and not lawyerly following the strict letter of the rule, which is the real meaning of “legalism.” That was the high crime of the Pharisees, who created all manner of exceptions and loopholes to the Mosaic Law so that they could avoid its more difficult, more important rules. Beware that we do not repeat their error! Jesus warned them (and us) to keep the spirit of the law, but not leave undone the minor parts either (Mat 23:23). The ditches are deep on both sides of the correct path. Both are traps for the disobedient; the self-righteous hypocrite on one side, and the lazy libertarian on the other. See Rom 7:6; 2Cor 3:6.

     Circumcision is that of the heart. The true, spiritual significance of circumcision is denying oneself the desires of the flesh (Col 2:11). Even the Prophets knew this (see Jer 4:4).