Romans 2

I'm writing a series of articles on the book of Romans, which, as you know, is one of the more difficult and controversial books of the New Testament. This is not going to be a verse-by-verse analysis by any means, but I will write a lengthy article on each chapter of this sixteen-chapter book. I hope that you find this helpful...

In Romans 1, Paul emphasized the sins of the Gentiles, and now in chapter two he focuses on the sins of the Jews. He begins in verse one: "Therefore, you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things." The apostle is trying to make the point here (and he completes this point later in chapter two, as well as in chapter three) that no man has the right to think that he is better than anyone else; we have no right to judge one another. Now, this is not to say that we cannot recognize the sins of others, or that we cannot somehow tell others that they are in error, but ultimately we have to humbly recognize that we cannot excuse our own sin in the process.

Specifically, Paul is dealing with hypocrisy. In verse three, the apostle adds, "And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?" The Gentiles thought highly of themselves because of their promotion to salvation, and likewise, the Jews thought highly of themselves because of their heritage, but there were too many cases of hypocritical judgment.

In verse four, Paul attributes our salvation to the goodness of God. It is God's goodness that leads us to repentance. That is, we recognize the gift of salvation which is offered through Jesus Christ and we are led to repent and be saved.

Beginning in verse five, Paul begins to discuss the final day of judgment. His main point is not the day of judgment itself, but the fact that God will judge without partiality. There is coming, according to verse five, a "day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." While our personal judgments can be incorrect and misguided, God's judgment is righteous, and there's coming a day when we will all be on the receiving end of that judgment. These hypocritical judges in chapter two were treasuring up for themselves "wrath in the day of wrath." That is, they were making it worse on themselves by continuing in their hypocrisy.

The key here is that God will "render to each one according to his deeds...for there is no partiality with God" (vv. 6, 11). The Gentiles and Jews would be judged according to the same standard, and while we don't have the Jewish-Gentile controversy today, we need to recognize this lesson just the same. It doesn't matter how much money a person has, or where they live, or what religion they're a part of...every one of us will be judged by the word of God (Jn. 12:48).

So far, chapter two has been fairly easy to dissect, but don't worry, the remaining part of the chapter will give us some trouble. In verses 12-16, Paul talks about the Gentiles prior to the coming of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross; those Gentiles who lived when the Law of Moses was in effect. We all know that the Mosaical law was for the Jews. So the question presents itself: to which law were the Gentiles bound? Were they, too, bound to the law of Moses? No, for the Mosaical covenant was not made with them, but with physical Israel (Deut. 5:1-3). Were the Gentiles automatically condemned because of their disobedience to the Law of Moses? No, for Romans 3:19 says, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped..." The Gentiles were not judged according to the Law of Moses, for it was not their law! Should we then conclude that the Gentiles were without law? Of course not, for "where there is no law there is no transgression" (Rom. 4:15). If the Gentiles were not bound to ANY law, then they would have been sinless, but Paul already refuted that notion in chapter one. So we MUST conclude that the Gentiles were bound to law. The question is, to which law were they bound?

Paul says in Romans 2:14-15 says, "for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having a law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them." It appears to me that the Gentiles were bound to an unwritten law. As we noticed in Romans 1:20, any human being can examine the creation of God (i.e. the physical world) and see the Creator. It is inferred, I believe, that we can derive from this knowledge a basic sense of right and wrong, and a basic sense of worship and adoration of the Creator. When a Gentile without access to the Law of Moses, worshiped the God of heaven and followed the law written on their hearts (vv. 15), they were justified before God. Notice, later in the chapter, in verse 26: "Therefore, if an uncircumcisedman keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?" Even though the Gentiles didn't have the law, and even though they were uncircumcised (which was an abomination among the Jews), they could be one with God based on their faith.

Did God reveal Himself in a special way to the Gentiles, as He did to the Jews? Did they have a written law of which we are unaware? No, for Romans 3:1-2 says, "What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of uncircumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God." The Jews' advantage was that they had a written law. To them were committed the oracles, or sayings of God.

Before we move on, there is something that I want to clarify. Even though I believe that the Gentiles of old could be saved apart from the Law of Moses, I do not believe that people today can be saved apart from the Law of Christ. There may be some sincere people out there in the world, but that doesn't mean they are saved. Acts 17:30 says, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent." Every person today is accountable to the law of Christ. While the Mosaical law was limited to the Jews, the law of Christ is for all men (Jn. 14:6; Ac. 4:12; 1 Jn. 2:2), and therefore all are bound to it!

This is all very interesting, but ultimately, Paul, in Romans 2:12-16, is building up to a greater point. The Jews condemned the Gentiles and viewed them with disdain, but they were hypocrites! The Jews who knew God's will and approved of the things that were excellent and who were instructed out of the law (vv. 18) were condemning the Gentiles for things of which they themselves were guilty. Notice verses 21 for example: "You , therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?" This was a rhetorical question. Paul's point is that yes, there were Jews who were thieves who at the same time condemned the thievery of the Gentiles. The Jews were so self-righteous and so arrogant that they were blind to their own sins. They condemned the Gentiles as wicked adulterers and idolators, but they failed to recognize that they were just as guilty in many respects.

This problem often plagues churches today. While Christians ought to be different than the sinners of the world...while we ought to be more holy and more righteous...and while we ought to consistently practice what we preach...there are many Christians who are hypocrites. They go to church every Sunday and act pious, but they're living a double life. They mock the sinners all around them, but they themselves are committing the same sins and that without repentance! What a reproach we bring upon Christ and the church when we give into pretense and hypocrisy.

As Paul closes the chapter, he makes this point: some of the Gentiles, despite their uncircumcision were better than the hypcritical Jews, because at least they were circumcised inwardly (because of their faithfulness to God). It was better to be a sincere, God-fearing Gentile than a two-faced Jew. In all of this, Paul is trying to cut the Jews down to size...just as he cut the Gentiles down to size in chapter one.