The New Testament with Commentary Romans 2

Judgment

1 Now then, you there, whoever you are who judges someone else for things you practice yourself—you condemn yourself and are inexcusable. 2 Further, we know that God's judgment against those who practice such things* is according to truth. 3 So then, you there, you who judge those who practice such things while doing the same, do you really imagine that you will escape God's judgment?† 4 Or do you scorn the riches of His kindness, tolerance and longsuffering, not recognizing that the goodness of God is leading you toward repentance?‡ 5 Rather, due to your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are treasuring up wrath for yourself in the day of God's wrath and revelation and righteous judgment,§ 6 who will repay each one according to his works:* 7 to those who seek for glory, honor and incorruption, by persevering in doing good—eternal life;† 8 but to those who, due to self-seeking,‡ are actually disobeying the truth (while obeying the unrighteousness)—fury and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, upon every human soul who works at the evil,§ whether Jew (first) or Greek; 10 but glory, honor and peace to everyone who works the good, whether Jew (first) or Greek.*

11 Now there is no favoritism with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law; while as many as have sinned with law will be judged by law.† 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified‡ 14 (indeed, whenever the ethnic nations that do not have law do by nature the things of the law, these, although not having law, are a law to themselves; 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,§ and their reasonings among themselves accusing or even excusing) 16 in the day when God, according to my Gospel, will judge people's secrets by Jesus Christ.*

To Jews

Law

17 Look, you declare yourself a Jew, and rest on the Law, and boast in God, 18 and know the Will, and approve the superior things, being instructed out of the Law. 19 Further, you are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth.† 21 You then, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach not to steal, do you steal? 22 You who say not to commit adultery, do you adulterate? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the Law, do you dishonor God through the transgression of the Law? 24 For, just as it is written: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”‡

Circumcision

25 Now circumcision does have value if you keep the Law, but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So if the uncircumcised keeps the righteous requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised who fulfills the law judge you, complete with written code and circumcision, who are a transgressor of the Law? 28 Because a person is not a [true] Jew who is only one outwardly, nor is [true] circumcision something outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—in spirit, not letter—whose praise is not from men but from God.§

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*2:2 The ‘such things’ refers back to the content of 1:29-31.

†2:3 What sort of blindness could this be, for such a person to imagine that he will escape judgment?

‡2:4 Just because God is good, kind, tolerant and longsuffering, people imagine that He is weak, or even nonexistent [!]—how wrong they are!

§2:5 The full revelation of God's wrath and righteous judgment is going to take a lot of people by surprise. To ‘treasure up’ such wrath is incredibly stupid, if not insane.

*2:6 See Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12. Each one of us must give an accounting, based on what we did (not on what we said we believed).

†2:7 One is reminded of Cornelius as a case in point (Acts 10).

‡2:8 The essence of sin is self. It is our egocentricity that destroys us spiritually. All babies are self-centered, as they must be in order to survive physically in this world. But as they grow they need to be taught a better way.

§2:9 I suppose that God is wrathful because of the damage that such people inflict upon others, at least in part.

*2:10 Working good looks to be a better deal than working evil!

†2:12 God is just, and His judgment takes into account the amount of light that a person had, but all will be judged. Our Lord's words in Luke 12:47-48 spell this out.

‡2:13 Over and over the Text makes clear that we have to do.

§2:15 Everyone is born with a conscience, and with intelligence to see that some things produce a good result while others produce a bad result.

*2:16 In John 5:22 the Lord Jesus stated plainly that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, developing the theme in verses 23-29; see also Acts 17:31 and Revelation 19:15. That there are no ‘secrets’ unknown to God is made clear in passages like Psalm 139:1-16 and Hebrews 4:12-13. That the Day of God involves judging is clear in the OT, but it is only from the NT that we learn of the role that Jesus will play in that judging.

†2:20 “The embodiment of knowledge and truth” is an excellent description of the Scriptures.

‡2:24 See Isaiah 52:5 and Ezekiel 36:22. The problem of not practicing what one preaches has been around for quite a while.

§2:29 God looks on the heart. Those who worship Him must do so ‘in spirit and in truth’ (John 4:23-24). We do not choose who will procreate us, nor does a baby boy choose to be circumcised, so such factors cannot guarantee God's acceptance.