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; 1Pet 2:12; Titus 3:8; James 3:13). 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 Jew first – the Apostle repeats his earlier words (Rom 1:16), which recognizes once again the latent, endemic difficulty of Christian Jews in the Apostolic era to accept Gentile believers into the churches of Christ unless they kept the Law of Moses. This epistle, in particular, proves to the Jewish Christians that God no longer requires men to keep that Law, but now commandeth all men every where to repent (Acts 17:30). The blood Jews had been given much and so were under greater responsibility (Luke 12:48); they had been entrusted with the very oracles of God (Rom 3:2). He that ignores God’s gifts will find that they have been taken away (Mat 13:12) and given unto another (Mat 21:43).
Notice that the criteria of verses 7-8 are intoned again: He that doeth evil; he that worketh good, and again the words are the same, although they are verbs this time (katergazomai). God loves to see His people doing good works. It shows that His creation is performing just as He had planned. Calvinists will quibble and object, but they’re actually arguing with Jesus; I just said it in my own words. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Mat 5:13-18; also 1Pet 2:12; Titus 2:10).
The book of Romans is supposedly the basic text for Reformed Theology, yet at the very beginning the Apostle Paul refutes one of their topmost planks – that works play no role in our final salvation. Dozens of affirmations in the New Testament Scriptures demand that to be called, FALSE DOCTRINE (for example, Mat 16:27; 1Pet 1:17; 2Thes 1:8; 2Cor 5:10; Heb 5:9; Rev 20:12-13). Of course, the Bible also says that we are saved by grace through faith and that our calling is not according to our works (see Eph 2:8-9; Rom 4:2-6; 2Tim 1:9; Rom 11:6; Titus 3:4-5). These seemingly contradictory passages are very easily reconciled by simply reading them more carefully – the latter ones patently speak of a man’s initial salvation, while the former ones describe the state of salvation. No man will be saved by his works; but the man who is saved will work. See note for previous verse.
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 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 Old Testament (John 8:5).
- The Law of the New Testament (Gal 6:2).
- The Law of God, eternal and never-changing (Rom 8:7).
- Law in a variety of general senses, the conscience being the most common (Rom 2:15; Rom 7:23).
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 according to 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 righteous equity, taking into account each one’s level of knowledge and ability. The Gentile who respects the law of his conscience, written into his heart at birth, will be judged according to that law. The Jew will be judged according to his obedience to the Law of Moses, which he has been highly privileged to receive. After His resurrection Jesus announced His victory to the souls in Hades (see notes Mat 27:52-53; Eph 4:8-10) and some believe at that time He preached to the souls of the dead who never had knowledge of the Law (see notes 1Pet 3:19-20; 4:6).
The mind of every person, no matter where he lives or when he was born, is pre-printed with a simple knowledge of eternity, and right and wrong (Ecc 3:11). It is the law written in their hearts (see 2Cor 3:2-3; Heb 8:10-11). As a child matures, the conscience within his mind will be influenced and re-shaped (usually negatively) by exterior experiences and environments (Tit 1:15). However, the greatest but simplest of all rules, “Love God, love thy neighbor,” is an intrinsic, universal rule set that comes preinstalled in the human mind. It’s like the BIOS, or basic instruction set, that a programmer installs in the deepest memory bank of a computer. Even the atheist was born with this law, or conscience, in his mind.
Except for, Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy, the Ten Commandments encapsulate this universal law that a Gentile might do by nature (phusis). The Apostle’s conclusion at the end of this chapter essentially re-states the fact: Uncircumcision (the Gentiles) which is by nature (phusis), if it fulfill the Law, judges the circumcision (the Jews) that transgress the Law (Rom 2:27).
Their thoughts. The word is logismos – the reasonings of their mind. The mind is constantly evaluating conditions and interpreting words and deeds. It is judging everything, accusing or else excusing according to the law of their conscience which, for the Gentile, is the only law-set to guide those reasonings. For the Christian, the conscience is an important warning-device that must be re-calibrated to the Word of God (see note for 1Cor 8:10). To have a good conscience before God is absolutely essential (1Tim 1:19; 1Pet 3:21; 2Tim 1:3).
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
The hidden, concealed deeds of every person will be exposed for all to see in the day that God comes to judge the world (v6; 1Cor 4:5). This warning is especially ruinous for hypocrites, who are a major target in this chapter. Maybe their sins will not be seen in this life, and maybe they will be seen but ignored; however, they will surely be shown and known at the beginning of the next life (1Tim 5:24; Mat 10:26).
The Apostle Paul was a highly gifted persuader. He could show the truth of the matter with such compelling exposition that he rarely needed to go on defense. This forced his opponents to go low and attack his person – his speech, presence, authority and apostleship (2Cor 10:10). Paul responded to these attacks with impressive tact, sometimes acknowledging his weaknesses but appealing to God’s calling upon him, and sometimes with simple fact injections that could not be denied. So here, in saying, according to my gospel, I think he is affirming that his teaching is nothing less than the Gospel of Christ. To question Paul’s authority would be to question Christ. It’s a subtle, appropriate preface to the next verses, in which Paul confronts the harshest adversaries of Christ, bar none.
Down to the present day, ethnic Jews have demonstrated a hardness of heart that borders on insanity (see note for Rom 11:29). God told the prophet Isaiah, Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD (Is 30:8-9). Those shocking words continue to be demonstrated in natural Israel to astonishing extents.
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 Paul refers to the same self-righteous hypocrites that Jesus had so strongly condemned when He walked this earth. Blind guides, He called them. The Jews were filled with self-importance and their consciences were so cauterized they could not see their miserable spiritual condition. They had the Oracles of knowledge and truth in their very hands and yet did not obey its precepts. Instead, they went about teaching everyone their own interpretation of the Law, while circumventing it themselves (Mat 23:2-4). Will such persons escape the judgment of God? (v3). Absolutely not! In fact, as noted in verse 10, the Jews are subject to a higher standard on account of having received so much (Rom 9:4).
The Jews rested in the Law and boasted of God, but that faith was very out of balance. They thought themselves to be so special! Absolutely, undeniably destined to be saved because God Himself had said so – He had chosen them by sworn promise. So they sneered openly at the Gentile dogs and basked in their meticulous genealogies which proved to them that they were blessed children of Abraham. Somehow they blissfully ignoring the fact that God had strictly warned generation after generation that His choice of them was conditional. If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine (Ex 19:5; Ex 15:26). The extreme spiritual pride of the Pharisees is revealed in their audacious response to the blind man that Jesus had healed: Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? (John 9:34). Apparently, the scribes were sure that they were not born in sins and that they were erudite instructors according to knowledge.
It is sadly ironic that this false confidence of the Jews was reborn in Christianity a few centuries after Paul wrote this. Augustine, a former Gnostic himself, began to promulgate in the church those heretical ideas of the Gnostics concerning human sin and free grace. And centuries later, Luther and Calvin adopted Augustine’s theology. Jewry and what is now called “Reformed Theology” share this basic belief: “God has chosen me, therefore I am unconditionally, irrevocably destined to be saved.” Yet, God cannot deny Himself (2Tim 2:13). He will always act and be true to who He is – righteous, fair, just, holy, but also kind, merciful and forgiving. To extend grace to active rebel is to act contrary to His nature, it denies who He is.
Paul overtly implies that the Jews practiced robbery (klepto), adultery (moicheuo) and sacrilege (hierosuleo). Was that true? Yes; Jesus had said the same of them. Of course, the Pharisees did not openly steal, fornicate and “rob temples” (the literal translation of hierosuleo). Instead, they connived “lawful” ways to devour widow’s houses and steal from their own parents by invoking Corban (Mat 23:14; Mark 7:9-13). They also invented a way to commit “legal adultery,” (see below) and robbed the Temple by finding ways to avoid giving to God what the Law required. They extracted exorbitant charges and fees from the common people who came to offer “approved” sacrifices in the Temple. This is the true meaning of legalism – to twist the Word of God so that it doesn’t mean what it plainly says. The following is extracted from Adam Clarke’s commentary on Rom 2:21.
“That the Jewish priesthood was exceedingly corrupt in the time of the apostle, and that they were so long before, is fully evident from the sacred writings and from Josephus. The high-priesthood was a matter of commerce, and was bought and sold like other commodities…They said and did not; and laid heavy burdens upon others, which they would not touch with their own fingers, Mat 23:3-4. They made the house of God a den of thieves, Mat 21:13; John 2:16. They were guilty of adultery by unjust divorces, Mat 19:9. Their polygamy was scandalous: even their rabbins, when they came to any place, would exclaim, Who will be my wife for a day? As to idolatry, they were perfectly saved from it ever since the Babylonish captivity but to this succeeded sacrilege, as is most evident in the profanation of the temple, by their commerce transacted even within its courts; and their teaching the people that even their aged parents might be left to starve, provided the children made a present to the temple of that which should have gone for their support. According to Josephus, Bell. Jud. l. vi. c. 26, They were guilty of theft, treachery, adultery, sacrilege, rapine, and murder. And he adds, that new ways of wickedness were invented by them; and that of all their abominations the temple was the receptacle.”
This agrees with Malachi 3, which is a long, astonishingly clear prophecy of the Messiah coming unto His own and finding them cursed with a curse, a nation of adulterers, sorcerers, and false swearers who have robbed Me. Paul’s letter to the Romans was written to Christians, the body of Christ made up of Jews and Gentiles, so his point can hardly be missed: “You Jews have chosen Christ and have left behind the spiritual adultery and hypocrisy of your fleshly brethren. Surely you are not thinking of re-joining the blasphemers by returning to boast in the Law!”
While this passage is piercingly directed to the non-believing Jews, the general truth taught herein falls just as hard upon the Christian hypocrite who outwardly appears pious and righteous, but whose inner heart is full of wickedness and spiritual adultery. For the sin of hypocrisy is tremendously damaging to the churches of Christ (see note for 1Pet 2:1).
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 worthless if he does not keep the Law. The advantage of circumcision (the word is often used as a euphemism for “Judaism”) is that they had been given the ancient Sacred Texts of the One True God (Rom 3:1-2). These held the very keys to eternal life, the master key being Jesus Christ Himself (see John 5:29). But now that the Law of Moses has ended, circumcision and all of the other Old Covenant rites, rules and ceremonies have been done away by the Ruler of the New Covenant (Heb 8:13). It was a hard, slow process for Jewish Christians to come to this knowledge and it is remarkable that Paul, a circumcised Hebrew of the Hebrews himself, came so quickly to see the truth in this crucial matter (see note for Gal 2:12).
The fact that Paul reminded the churches so often that circumcision is no longer required in the New Covenant reveals just how divisive this issue was in the early churches of the Kingdom (see Gal 5:1-6; 1Cor 7:19; Gal 6:15; Col 3:11). Before Christ, the token of circumcision was sensible, for God had just one family, the Jews by blood after their father Abraham. But now that the Covenant has been extended to all nations, people and races according to the same faith that Abraham had, the rite of circumcision on the eighth day is made obsolete. For more on this subject, see my note for Gal 5:2.
While circumcision profits nothing for the believer, Jewish or Gentile, the principle which Paul here references has several New Testament correlations. Baptism, which some liken to circumcision given that both are initiations into their respective covenants, is beneficial for the Christian who keeps the commandments of Christ, but profits nothing if he returns to a life of wickedness and disobedience. Another example is Praise in the worship service, which ascends a pleasing odor to the throne of God when offered up by holy, obedient Christians, yet the same Praise is abhorrent to Him if offered up by rebellious hypocrites (Is 1:13).
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?
The circumcised but law-breaking Jews demonstrate that circumcision is not a substitute for inward devotion to God (v29). In fact, Paul says, a circumcised Jew that does not keep the Law is no better off than a uncircumcised Gentile. And that makes good sense. However, his next point, which is basically the converse of foregoing statement, was surely more difficult for the Jews to accept: “An uncircumcised Gentile who keeps the Law is counted by God to be circumcised, and even rises up to judge the circumcised transgressors.” Wow. That narrows the profitability of circumcision considerably.
By nature (phusis). Earlier Paul said that Gentiles which had never heard the Law (or the Gospel) yet live an honest life might still be received by God (see Rom 2:14-15). Now he adds circumcision into the mix. Even that all-important Jewish rite cannot rise to the crucial level of importance of heart-obedience to God’s statutes, or the righteousness (dikaioma) of the Law (v26). Dikaioma should probably be translated “statutes” (as in Rom 1:32) and plainly does not refer to the whole Law that God gave to Moses, but to the basic law of the conscience (see note Rom 2:15).
The Scriptures do not explain exactly how a person who has never heard the Gospel can be saved by simply keeping the law of his conscience, but this we do know: an honest person who perseveres in doing good (v7) without knowing about Christ is a rarity. 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 a far more effective stimulant for salvation.
Cornelius is an example of a Gentile who feared God (Acts 10) and salvation came to his house. The Roman centurion is another (Mat 8:5). And actually, there are many testimonies in the New Covenant age in which the Holy Spirit has miraculously worked in the lives of seeking men and women. I have personally experienced events where God clearly organized the lives of truth-seekers, bringing them from afar into environments which were teaching the Way of Truth. If you are a missionary (and we all are), then pray that the Lord of the harvest would send into your little world men and women whose hearts are feeling around for God (Acts 17:27).
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 a determination not based upon physical attributes and lineage, but is established by looking inwardly, by evaluating the heart and spirit. The Apostle is plainly teaching that under the terms of the New Covenant, there is no longer Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision (Col 3:11). In the new Kingdom of Christ, he says, the real Jew is any person that has had his heart circumcised. What does that mean? He explains in another place: In (Christ) ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh (Col 2:11).
In other words, the spiritual significance of circumcision is cutting away sinful practices, it is denying the desires of the flesh, purging away selfishness from the soul and spirit. In a word, it is dedicating oneself to living a holy life (1Pet 1:15). Even the Prophets somehow knew that the physical rite of circumcision carried a deeper spiritual meaning. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings (Jer 4:4).
So the true Jew is a Christian, whether he happens to be a natural Jew or not. Any person who claims to be a Jew because he is of the lineage of Abraham is an imposter (Php 3:3). No, the Scripture’s criteria for being a child of Abraham is to have the faith of Abraham (Gal 3:7; 3:29). That shouldn’t be all that hard to imagine, for God is able to raise up children unto Abraham from dead stones (Mat 3:9).
The chief goal of every true Jew is to obey the Law of Christ, but in the spirit and not in the letter. Meaning, not according to the Jews’ lawyerizing and strict letter-of-the-rule legalisms. 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 to not repeat their error! Jesus warned them (and us) to keep the spirit of the Law, but to not leave undone the minor parts either (Mat 23:23). The ditches are deep on both sides of the correct path and 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.
Whose praise is not of men, but of God. This last phrase might have stung a little, for the Jews absolutely loved the praise of men (Mat 23:5; John 12:43). I don’t believe Paul was implying that the Christian Jews were that sort of people, but he does seem to be asking them again, “Why are you so set on circumcision and keeping the Law when your fellow countrymen are just doing it for the praise of men?”