Lonang Commentary on Romans 2

Rom. 2:1-5 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

There Are No Exceptions

Paul continues his argument that everyone is under a universal condemnation from sin, but at this point zeroes in on the human tendency to compare ourselves to others. The nearly universal result of which is that we never see ourselves as behaving as badly as others. Especially people who try to be a good person, or a religious person, where the tendency is to avoid mingling with certain people regarded as unclean – the heathen, the unchurched, the irreligious, the poor, the uneducated, the criminals, the immigrants, etc. Or, in the language of Jesus’ day, “tax collectors and sinners.”

So Paul emphasizes that yes, the condemnation of nature and the God of nature is universal, and yes, that means you. No, you are not somehow an exception to the rule that applies to every last person on earth. And here, I’d like to jump ahead to verse 11, “For God shows no partiality.” This verse can be taken in two senses – the first being that there are no exceptions. An impartial God is one who does not accept excuses, makes no exceptions or special cases, does not treat anyone differently from anyone else, and treats every last human being exactly the same, or at least on the same basis. His laws and judgments are applied absolutely equally.

People have a hard time accepting that God’s laws are often harsh, or at least they seem that way. He makes no exceptions or special allowances. He doesn’t “grade on a curve.” His laws don’t bend in our favor when we want them to. God’s mercy does not mean that He relaxes enforcement of His laws. The law is the law is the law. You, O man, must simply obey. This isn’t a negotiation.

If we think our goodness or efforts make us a special case, we are hypocrites, and hypocrisy merely blinds us to our own liability for judgment. The obvious comparison scripture is Mt. 7:1, where Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” And of course, Jesus regarded those who judge others as hypocrites. Mt. 7:5. But Jesus’ statement is often viewed as wisdom teaching, you know, a good rule of thumb to follow if you are to be wise yourself. Yet Paul is making it clear that this rule is not optional – you have no choice, this is simply the way things are. Tough if you don’t like it. This is God’s standard, “with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Jas. 1:17. And with that thought in mind, maybe Jesus wasn’t making it optional, either.

In verse 4, Paul says God’s kindness and forbearance in enforcing the universal law of creation is intended to lead us to repentance. Just as the Mosaic law was a tutor to lead to Christ (Gal. 3:24), so the law of nature itself is intended to lead to repentance. For indeed, not just the Mosaic law, but all laws, are intended to show people what it right and wrong behavior, so that people may repent and abstain from wrong behaviors. This is a universal principle for all laws of God. The voice of Christ did not go out into all the earth merely to condemn us, but also to bring us into fellowship with Him. But now, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Rom. 2:5-11 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

However, Judgment Is Deferred

Paul here jumps ahead to the day of God’s judgment, indicating when it is that God’s wrath – and the full penalty for violating God’s laws, but especially the laws of nature – will be meted out. Nothing in the discussion so far has to do with the special laws of the Jews, i.e., the Mosaic covenant. For purposes of vv. 7-8, conformity with the Mosaic law is not at issue, nor is it relevant. Paul is still considering the consequences of the laws of nature described in the prior chapter. But he is making clear that whether a person is a Jew or Gentile will make no difference in the end.

People differ in their understanding when this judgment will occur, largely depending on whether they believe in an earthly Millennial kingdom Christ, whether his kingdom will be spiritual only, or whether we are in the Millennium now. I cannot reconcile all of those views here, for indeed they are quite irreconcilable. Nor do I need to, for the main point is that both in Paul’s time, as now, that judgment has not happened yet, and is therefore still deferred.

Consequently, none of us may actually see firsthand, in our natural lifetimes, any judgment for our violations of God’s laws. But no one should be lulled by that possibility, if that how things finally play out, to conclude that judgment can be escaped. Mere physical death does not put anyone beyond the power of God to hold accountable, judge and punish. Paul says God’s wrath is being stored up for later. He has a number of reasons for doing this – to allow for his plans for the world to play out to their conclusion, to give people time to repent, etc. But there will be an eventual reckoning that is inescapable. God’s court will never be out of session.

Verse 6 claims that God will render to each person according to his works. Now we know better than to take this phrase out of context and assign some meaning that was never intended. For in the context of the rest of Romans, Paul will make it clear that salvation is not, and cannot be, based on any works of the law, i.e., compliance with the Mosaic laws of the Jews. So I only mention here that Paul likely uses works in the same sense as Eph. 2:10 (“For we are … created in Christ Jesus for good works”) and Jas. 2:17 (“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”) And, quite probably in the sense of 1Cor. 3:15, because it speaks of God’s judgment, “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

So our works cannot save us, but at the same time we will be judged for our works.

Which brings up the question of what God’s judgment and wrath will actually look like. In that regard, let me just quote Zep. 1:15-18: “A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom… . I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

Although, even in future prophecy, the order of Jew first, then Greek will be followed. In verse 9, Paul refers to the tribulation of the Jews (the time of Jacob’s trouble) as preceding – but not by much – the tribulation of the whole world. This, I believe, refers to Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks which starts the end-times clock running (and yes, I view this as literally meaning 490 24-hour days, not 490 years). The culmination of the 70 weeks is when the Abomination of Desolation occurs – the defilement of the Jewish altar on the Jerusalem Temple Mount. The rise of the Antichrist and God’s judgments on the Gentile nations follow this crucial event. All these things are yet future.

Verse 10 – speaking of the reward of those who do good (Jew first, then Greek) – refers to the inauguration of the Millennial kingdom of Christ, when all Israel will be saved and all the unresurrected Gentiles will not be. I know there are a lot of variations in eschatological views, but this is how I reconcile the Jew/Greek sequence with prophecy. The land of Israel will be wonderfully restored and the Jews will be the preeminent people in the world. The Gentiles will of course benefit from this and have the opportunity to then come to Christ, but the reality is that many will not. But in the end, everyone will be judged without partiality.

And thus we have the second sense in which God shows no partiality. For in spite of all the differences between God’s plans for Israel and His plans for the Church in world history right up through the end, when time is no more and the final judgment occurs, every individual Jew and individual Gentile will be judged according to the exact same standard of righteousness. Either they will have saving faith in the Lord or they will not. Nothing else will matter.

Rom. 2:12-14 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.

The Two Laws Shall Be Judged As One

Here Paul continues his argument that Jews and Gentiles will be judged by a common standard, by setting up a comparison between those without the law and those with the law. And the first question is, what law is he talking about? There are several choices, after all: 1) the laws of nature; 2) the covenant laws of the Old Testament; 3) the laws peculiar to the Jews; and 4) Roman laws (or civil laws in general). And the answer is, the laws peculiar to the Jews, specifically the Mosaic laws. This is confirmed by the statement, “Gentiles … do not have the law.” Romans was written to all the believers in Rome, which was likely a mixed audience of Jews and Gentiles, so Paul is covering both groups with regard to God’s laws.

Now this statement that “Gentiles … do not have the law” is so simple in concept, so directly unambiguous in language, that you really have to try hard to miss the obvious point. Namely, that the Mosaic laws were never given or applied to any Gentile peoples. And if this is true for Paul, writing decades after the death and resurrection of Christ, then it is also true today. For if anything Jesus did had altered the fact that the Mosaic laws were never given to the Gentiles, it would have happened already by the time this was written. Certainly Jesus did nothing, after Paul’s life, to alter who the Mosaic laws applied to.

I find it amusing how many people either misread this verse or ignore it, wanting so desperately to apply all or some of the Mosaic laws to everyone. Not everyone, of course – a minority (or so it seems to me) clearly perceive and understand that these words mean exactly what they say without spiritualizing or allegorizing them. Just like Mt. 5:17 (Jesus did not come to abolish the Mosaic law), which is constantly misconstrued by so many. Both verses, not coincidentally, deal with the extent, and to whom, the Mosaic laws apply today. Paul’s view, however, is abundantly clear. As he says in Rom. 15:8, “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises [and laws] given to the patriarchs.”

Much misunderstanding on this point flows from people not grasping the real purpose of the Mosaic laws. While the Law was in a sense a tutor to lead the Jews to Christ (Gal. 3:24), nonetheless the Law did not actually provide redemption, much less the redemption of Christ, specifically. In other words, though Israel was a theocratic nation politically, it was never a community of faith. That was never the purpose of the Law. What was the purpose of the Law? “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely.” Lev. 25:18-19.

Thus, the purpose of the Mosaic law was to enable the Jews to dwell in the land God gave them – moreover, to make the land fit for God to dwell among them. The Law neither made anyone righteous, nor was that ever its purpose. The reason for its existence was specifically tied to the land promised to Israel. How then, could that law ever apply to the Gentiles who did not, nor were they intended to, dwell in the Promised Land? The Jews had their laws for them, and the Gentiles had their laws for them.

Applying the common standard of righteousness to this situation, according to Paul, Gentiles without the Mosaic law will perish without it, and Jews will be judged by it. In reaching this conclusion, Paul never assumes that because Gentiles do not have the Mosaic laws, they therefore have none of God’s laws – far from it. Rather, by doing what nature requires, they do what the law requires. Not the Mosaic laws, of course, but the laws of nature, which again are an expression of God’s will for all people. These are the same laws described in chapter 1.

Rom. 2:15-16 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

The Nature of Conscience

With these verses, Paul begins to give us a more complete view of the conscience, which can either accuse or excuse. Previously, he only focused on the negative aspects in verse 5 (the hard and impenitent heart), and in Rom. 1:28 (the debased mind). Both of which imply a corruption and hardening of the conscience. For what is a debased mind, except one that takes pleasure in dwelling on sinful thoughts in spite of whatever guilty warnings the conscience may put forward, and gradually ignoring or dulling the conscience more and more over time.

What we have here is a good definition of conscience: the laws of God partially written on our hearts, that is, an innate knowledge of certain rules of right and wrong behavior. This knowledge is neither complete (nor can we ever expect it to be complete in this lifetime), nor learned (for it is innate, what philosophers call a priori). Every person has one, without exception, and is part of the moral awareness that makes each person formed in the image of God. It is part of human nature, being endowed in each person by physical birth. It is the law of nature living inside us, for we are each of us part of God’s creation, and therefore we necessarily partake of His creation laws. It is an instinctual negative response to wrongful choices.

Paul is not suggesting that only Gentiles have a conscience, for the fact of conscience, like the law of nature, applies to everyone. In a sense, those who have God’s written laws have an easier time knowing right and wrong, because God’s laws have been laid out in statutes that can be easily read. Those who do not have the written laws have only their observational skills of the non-verbal natural world, and their reasoning ability, both of which have been corrupted by the Fall. Having God’s laws in written form brings clarity to what would otherwise be a debatable matter.

But the main point here is that when judgment time comes, those who have the written law and those who don’t will be judged by the same standard – which was the point of the prior section. The unwritten law and the written law, when compared, are found to be the same, for they have the same God as their author. I’m not saying the law of nature includes all the components of the Mosaic law peculiar to the Jews, such as rituals, feasts, offerings and sacrifices, laws of the temple and priesthood, etc. I’m saying the basic laws of right and wrong moral behavior, as expressed in the Ten Commandments, for example, are the same. Nothing in the Ten Commandments is at variance with the law of nature. The standard of behavior under both is the same.

If we ask why God gave everyone a conscience, to answer that it brings a knowledge of sin in the hope of causing individual repentance, is only a partial answer, and not a very good one. For the conscience looks nowhere but inward, and merely looking inward will never reveal the gospel of Christ. All people are born sinful, not righteous, so the answer to our universal condemnation does not lie within ourselves. We must look outward for our redemption, to the wider creation and to the scriptures. But if that is the case, why does God still give everyone a conscience?

Because the conscience is sufficient, though only an incomplete knowledge of God’s laws, and in spite of our minds being corrupted, for self-government. God gave every person an innate knowledge of how to behave as a human being, and by giving us this sense of moral awareness, He expects us to use that knowledge to govern our behavior.

Did you ever ask yourself why, before the Tower of Babel, God gave mankind no nations and instituted no civil governments? It’s because He gave people everything they needed to govern themselves properly, if they would only try. Of course, humanity blew it big time, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t God’s plan. Do you think God’s plan for your life is to run all your decisions through someone else? No! He wants you to govern yourself.

How many times have you heard Jdg. 21:25 interpreted as an indictment against the Jewish people? You know, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Of course there was no king in Israel at that time – God didn’t give them one because He was king. 1 Sam. 8:7. And of course each man did what was right in his own eyes – because each man had a conscience and each man was capable of self-government. And that was God’s plan! How could the people be faulted for merely following the plan God gave them? It’s not as though the Israelites were any less sinful when the monarchy came along.

So yes, the conscience has a purpose beyond mere repentance. Even after coming to Christ, we all need to follow our conscience daily. Self-government doesn’t go away just because you are saved. Further, as Paul indicates here, our consciences will alternately accuse or excuse us on the day of judgment, when God judges our secrets – that is, our secret thoughts and intentions. Paul is here referring to something he will come back to later, namely, that sometimes whether something is a sin will depend on whether we believe it is sinful or not. Which I suppose is a way of saying the importance of the conscience to each person will never go away.

Rom. 2:17-24 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Required

With these verses, Paul continues his argument against people comparing themselves with others in order to find themselves more righteous. But whereas before he was concerned with individual comparisons, now he turns his attention to group comparisons. Specifically, the way the Jews regarded the goyim, the pagan or heathen Gentiles. And again, he zeroes in on the nature of the difference between them, in that the Jews had the specially revealed laws of nature’s God, the Mosaic laws, and the Gentiles did not.

This, of course, was a matter of pride with the Jews. They had several things the Gentiles did not – they were God’s own covenant people and a treasured possession, they were the oracles of the divine scriptures, and God dwelt among them in a unique way, in addition to having His laws by which they could know how to please Him. This made the Gentiles unclean and, except for certain business relationships, socially untouchable. Merely associating with Gentiles was worse than associating with tax collectors and sinners.

Which historically meant that the Jews, instead of reaching out to the Gentiles, looked down on them and steered clear of them. Not a very good way to let their light shine, as it were. Which is undoubtedly why Paul refers to being a light to those in darkness, bringing to mind scriptures such as Isa. 42:6 and 60:1-3, which portray Israel as being a light to the Gentile nations, eventually. An event partially fulfilled in Christ (Lk. 2:32), but never yet by the Jews as a nation. National fulfillment will have to wait until the start of the Messianic Age. This is a theme we will look at in more detail later.

Twice in this text Paul refers to the Jews boasting, and both times it is specifically related to having the law, knowing the law, and breaking the law. But what the Jews saw as a matter of pride was in reality the key to their failure. For though having God’s special laws was a great blessing, it also meant the Jews were held to a higher standard. Which recalls Lk. 12:48, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

Let me clarify. I’m not backtracking anything said previously, that the Jews and Gentiles are judged by God according to the same moral standard. What I’m saying, and what I think Paul is saying, is that because the Jews had not only God’s laws but His presence dwelling with them in the land, God expected them to have a higher level of compliance. And the Jews, seeing themselves as the teachers of others, assumed they were more compliant with God’s laws, too. For what the Jews had, that the Gentiles did not, was a greater knowledge of God’s laws. And that greater knowledge should have led to greater compliance.

Whereas the Gentiles had only the law of nature, they often sinned in relative (but not complete) ignorance. But the Jews, having the law, sinned with full knowledge of what was right and wrong. Thus, Paul’s chief point here is that notwithstanding having the laws of God, the Jews were no better than anyone else. Their boasting, their good behavior, and their shining example were of no avail before God. Treasured possession among the nations or not, each individual Jew is held to the same standard of righteousness as every individual Gentile. Merely having the law, or a greater knowledge of the law, will not help them.

The final point Paul makes in verse 25, in paraphrasing Eze. 36:20-23 and several other scriptures, is that the Jews’ disobedience makes things even worse than that. Sure, each individual Jew will be judged by the law, but the national disobedience actually works to discredit God’s laws in the eyes of the world. Think of blasphemy as the defamation of God – badmouthing or profaning the name of God and tarnishing His reputation. Making it more difficult for people to see a positive witness in God’s chosen people. Making it harder for anyone to see a benefit in having God’s laws and maintaining His presence among them.

The bottom line for Paul is that instead of taking pride in their national identity and feeling superior compared to Gentiles, the Jews have actually brought shame upon themselves. Paul, as a Jew, is telling his Jewish readers to be more humble, and acknowledge their own sinfulness, individually and corporately.

Rom. 2:25-27 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.

Man Looks Outside, God Looks Inside

Paul continues his argument with one more thing the Jews had that the Gentiles did not – circumcision. For by this the male Jews were physically marked as being God’s chosen people, giving them a sense of being clean compared to the Gentiles. But Paul takes that claim and negates it, essentially arguing the Lord’s words to Samuel: “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Sam. 16:7.

Just as having God’s laws and being His treasured possession among all people does not grant any Jew salvation from sin, neither does circumcision. As Paul lays it out, circumcision guarantees nothing, for it signifies nothing of the heart of man. Which is to say, circumcision counts as nothing to God when it comes to individual judgment. For God, the uncircumcised man who keeps God’s laws is more righteous than the circumcised man who does not keep His laws. I’m not saying, Paul isn’t saying, and the Lord isn’t saying, that righteousness is a matter of who keeps God’s laws better.

He is saying that obedience to God is better than going through the motions of appearing to be holy. It’s that old, “obedience is better than sacrifice” motif. 1 Sam. 15:22. Notice that both of these scriptures in 1 Samuel were well known to the Jews of the day, so these arguments should have hit home with Paul’s target audience. Paul’s bottom line message to his fellow Jews is this: when it comes to understanding your position before God, you are looking at all the wrong things. Don’t place your confidence in physical marks, religious rituals, national identity, God’s laws, or things like the temple. Get your heart right with God, for nothing else matters. And, in the larger context, everyone starts at a disadvantage, for we are all condemned in our natural state.

Rom. 2:28-29 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

The True Jew

This is one of the most misinterpreted set of verses in the Bible. So often misunderstood and/or taken out of context. In context, it is nothing more than a reiteration of what has already been said: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. Get your heart right with God, for nothing else matters.

And specifically for Paul’s Jewish readers, these verses are a recommendation to become a so-called true Jew, that is, not to be merely a Jew on the outside (ancestry, circumcised, follow the law), but also to be one on the inside (a heart right with God through faith). Not to rely on the things men can see, but to seek that which only God can see. To be both a physical (outward) and spiritual (inward) Jew. Or, as we might say today, to have the best of both worlds.

These verses are not, not, NOT:
a change in what it means to be Jewish;
a recommendation for Gentiles to become Jewish;
a declaration that all Christians have become Jewish;
an assertion that the Church has become the new Israel;
a statement that Israel and the Church have merged together; or
a claim that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan or program for His chosen people.

The fact is, Israel and the Church have nothing in common, and this text does not say that they do. For one thing, the Jews have never been, are not now, and will not be until such time as Christ returns, a community of faith, as mentioned already. The definition of Jewishness, or membership in the nation of Israel, is based exclusively on being born a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob according to the flesh. That is, not based on any spiritual or second birth, but strictly based on genealogical ancestry of the biological kind. Whether one has or ever had faith in God or not, has no bearing on whether that person is Jewish, or a descendant of Israel.

Further, the Jews were chosen as a national or ethnic group (the collective descendants of Jacob), whereas Christians are saved individually. There is no such thing as group, or collective, salvation in Christ. Christianity is exclusively an individual faith; Jewishness is exclusively a corporate ancestral designation. Neither group can affect the definition, status, purpose, mission, laws, or operating covenant governing the other.

The bottom line is that Israel and the Church have NOTHING in common. They will never merge, subsume, or be the same. The beginning of the Church has no impact on the continuation of Israel. More on this later.

It is not the legitimate business of the Church to appropriate attributes of Israel (whether its structure, governance, rituals, laws, or prophecies) and make them the pattern for the Church. One of the greatest heresies of the entire Church Age is the use of Israel as a pattern for the Church, thereby undercutting and subverting the gospel, the work and ministry of Christ, and God’s separate and distinct plans for both Israel and the Church. Let not man join together that which God has made separate.