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The Book of Romans Chapter Two
Preface
Chapter one of Romans left off with the condemnation of mankind, and in it the apostle Paul addressed the subject of the heathen who has never heard the gospel of grace. This chapter addresses the condemnation of the moralist (through verse 16) and begins the two-part thesis on the condemnation of the Jews; specifically, the first part that addresses their condemnation for not genuinely keeping the law of God (2:17-29).
This chapter also addresses one of the most difficult passages (vss. 6-8) within the New Testament for those who hold to the biblical position that a believer cannot lose his salvation. This passage is seized upon by those of the Arminian persuasion to “prove” that the eternal security of the believer is a false doctrine, as well as those of various “bible-based religions” who hold that one gets to heaven by good works. And as for the mention of “religion,” this commentator believes that “religion” is “man’s attempt to achieve the approbation of God through self-effort; whereas Christianity is a relationship or union with a person, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, “religion” is Satan’s primary tool to divert man from a relationship with God.
Romans 2:1-4 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. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 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? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
The apostle Paul in the previous chapter declared that all unrighteous people are without excuse. In this chapter he demonstrates that the self-righteous, a trait that is evidenced by their judgment of others, are also without excuse. He does this by stating the standards by which everyone will be judged, i.e., (1) according to truth (vss. 1-5), (2) according to works (vss. 6-10), (3) without partiality (vs. 11), (4) according to God’s law, and (5) in the most intricate detail (vs. 16). In discussing works Paul introduces the principle of judgment, which is that righteousness is awarded and unrighteousness is not. The fact that righteousness before God is unobtainable through one’s self-effort is not addressed until later in the epistle. Still, the principle exists and, even though it cannot be achieved by man pertaining to his eternal salvation, this commentator believes it will have application regarding a person’s status in hell.
In the first four verses of the chapter Paul targets the self-righteous person (the moralist). These are persons who consider themselves better in terms of morality, education, and civility than others. They condemn the pagans for their behavior; yet, they are equally guilty themselves though perhaps in a more refined way. Such persons, regardless of their state of sophistication, are without excuse.
The sins of cultured people are essentially the same as those of the heathen. Although a moralist may argue that he has not committed every sin in the book, he should remember the following facts:
1. He is capable of committing them all.
2. By breaking one commandment, he is guilty of all (James 2:10).
3. He has committed sins of thought that he may never have committed in actual deed, and these are forbidden by the Word. Jesus taught that the lustful look, for instance, is tantamount to adultery (Matthew 5:28).
(Believer’s Bible Commentary, William MacDonald, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989)
Paul then takes up the subject of “judgment.” Paul informs the self-righteous person (moralist) that, unlike him, God will judge in accordance with truth. And God’s truth is both comprehensive and infallible; and, it is directed against anyone who practices unrighteousness.
Then Paul asks the moralist, who in fact ponders unrighteousness and performs its acts, two stinging questions:
Romans 2:5-10 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who "will render to each one according to his deeds": eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
This is the passage that was mentioned in the preface of this commentary. To the Arminian it contributes to his justification of his belief that one may lose one’s salvation. To the mind of the strict Calvinist it confirms his belief that a Christian must persevere toward holiness or otherwise he was not truly saved in the first place. To the religious person who adheres to a “works-salvation,” it confirms in his mind that salvation by works or “faith plus works” is the correct salvation path. Yet, all these are wrong.
If Romans does nothing else, it reveals that eternal salvation (“spirit” salvation) is solely a work of grace (unmerited favor) by God and is based solely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, a salvation that is apprehended by faith alone in Christ alone. This being the case, a person’s works (“good deeds”) have nothing to do with it—either achieving or maintaining it. This position will become obvious as the reader continues in this study.
As to the matter of works, there are two kinds: (1) human good works, which are works done by either the believer or unbeliever apart from the Spirit of God in one’s life, and which God considers as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6); and (2) divine good works, which are works performed by God’s Spirit through the believer who is in a position of having confessed his “known” sin and who exercises faith (1 John 1:9; Colossians 2:6; Galatians 2:20; Romans 15:4, 5; Ephesians 5:18). Whereas “works” have nothing to do with obtaining or maintaining “spirit” salvation, they have everything to do with one’s “soul” (or “life”) salvation; otherwise, known as “sanctification” (being set apart to holy living), which will culminate at the Judgment Seat of Christ in the achievement (or lack) of rewards and position during the Millennial Kingdom upon earth (1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12).
But in the passage at hand, first it should be noted that Paul is speaking about a principle of God’s judgment and not the only means of salvation of faith alone in Christ alone. Second, and even though this principle of God’s judgment, in theory, could result in eternal life (salvation from hell) for anyone who could remain sinless in this life, this is a condition that is totally unobtainable by man due to his sinful nature, a fact that is elucidated and accentuated later in this epistle.
But the principle stands, which is that God will render to each person according to his deeds. This is a principle that not only applies to the lost person but also applies to the Christian. In fact there is convincing argument that when Paul used the phrase my gospel (Romans 2:16; 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8), he is referring to the principle that there is recompense for one’s actions—a principle that will apply to both the lost and the saved. As to the lost, it may affect his status in the lake of fire. As to the believer, he will be rewarded for his divinely transacted (by the power of the Holy Spirit) good deeds; or, on the other hand, suffer great loss for only accomplishing “human good deeds” (deeds that are performed within the power of the “flesh”)—both to be recognized at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10) and which will affect his position during the Millennial Kingdom upon earth.
Paul’s gospel: In Rom. 2:16; 16:25; 2 Tim. 2:8, we have expression of Paul’s gospel. This is not another gospel but just a different aspect of the good news. In Paul’s gospel, the emphasis is upon rewards for obedient saints who have been saved by the grace of God. In the prison epistles—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 2 Timothy—Paul emphasizes the fact that whereas we are saved by grace, all rewards are meritorious, that is, based upon works.
Paul’s gospel is the great mystery that was revealed to him but that had been kept secret or hidden until that time. Many erroneously believe that the mystery that was revealed to Paul was the church, But the church came into existence sometime before Paul’s salvation, and we have Paul himself stating that he persecuted the church before his salvation (Gal. 1:13). THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF PAUL’S GOSPEL IS THAT IF A CHRISTIAN IS FAITHFUL, OBEDIENT AND SUFFERS WITH CHRIST, HE SHALL REIGN WITH CHRIST. OTHERWISE, SUCH A CHRISTIAN WILL STILL BE SAVED WITHOUT WORKS AND REWARDS, BUT AS THROUGH FIRE. See 2 Tim. 2:12; Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 3:14, 15. (Selected Writings of A. Edwin Wilson, Third Edition, Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc., 1996)
As mentioned, this passage defines a principle of God’s judgment that will apply to both the lost and to Christians. The difference being between them is that no matter the outcome, the Christian will escape hell because of the righteousness and sacrifice of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21); whereas, the lost will not. At best, the lost may only hope that all his “human good works” will establish a better position (status) for him in hell, which, by all accounts, will still be an agonizing and excruciating situation apart from God throughout eternity. This commentator believes that the preceding comment cannot be adamantly (dogmatically) defended by Scripture, but he believes it to be true. What is for certain is that the lost will be judged according to their works at the Great White Throne Judgment, even though the only factor that will send a person to the lake of fire (hell) will be the absence of his name in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:11-15).
The expression to the Jew first and also to the Greek reveals that God’s judgment will be according to privilege or light received. The Jews were first in privilege as God’s chosen people; therefore, they will be first in responsibility. This theme will be developed a little further down in this chapter.
Romans 2:11-16 For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the 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) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
God has no respect of persons, as is always the case with man. God is not partial! Partiality is a trait that existed within the early assemblies of believers and does in fact exist within society and most local churches today, to God’s sorrow and to man’s shame and eventual judgment. Read the following and be forewarned:
My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:1-9)
Whereas starting with the Church Age (Dispensation of Grace), there exists three classes of people—Jews, Gentiles, and believers (1 Corinthians 10:32), Paul in this passage has two classes in mind. He speaks of those without the law (Gentiles) and those under the law (Jews). In either case he makes the point that with the law or without it, man will be judged in accordance with or by the light he has received; and, sadly, will perish unless he is covered by the righteousness of Christ.
Possession and knowledge of the law is insufficient for justification. The principle, as is expressed in the “principle of judgment” above is that the doers of the law will be justified. The law demands perfect obedience, and if anyone could produce it from the day he was born, he would be justified. Only in this sense—and this is theoretical—can a person be justified “by works.” Yet, the truth is that no one could or can ever produce it, the one exception being God’s one and only unique Son, Jesus Christ.
Mere possession of the law is not enough. The law demands perfect and continuous obedience. No one is accounted righteous simply because he knows what the law says. The only conceivable way of obtaining justification under the law would be to keep it in its entirety. But since all men are sinners, it is impossible for them to do this. So this verse [passage] is really setting forth an ideal condition rather than something that is capable of human attainment. (Believer’s Bible Commentary, William MacDonald, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995)
And the Gentiles, who do not have the law, are a law unto themselves; because they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness. They form their own code of right and wrong behavior from their own moral intuition. All societies, it is argued, know that certain acts are basically wrong. Each person’s conscience serves as a monitor, confirming instinctive moral knowledge. And his thoughts are always making determinations pertaining to his actions, accusing or else excusing them, forbidding or allowing them.
But the day will come when both those with the law and those without the law, whether they be lost or saved, will be judged in the most intricate (the secrets of men) detail by God in accordance with the Gospel of Christ and all its ramifications: the lost at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15), and the saved at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). But the day will most certainly come when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my [Paul’s] gospel.
Romans 2:17-29 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident 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 babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
At this juncture the apostle Paul addresses even more specifically the Jewish people to whom the law was given. And his message is that even though they have been given and teach the law, theirs is a head-knowledge that is ineffective in their lives and not a heart-knowledge that produces change within their lives. Even though the Jew felt he had an exclusive relationship with God, it was necessary for Paul to show that under certain circumstances Gentiles may be closer to God then Jews.
He calls to their attention the fact that they “rest” on the law, which was never an intended function of the law, i.e., it was never designed to give rest but rather to awaken the conscience to a sense of sinfulness. He then states that they make their “boast” (glorified) in God who had entered into a unique covenant with the nation of Israel, and that they are confident that they know God’s will and maintain a morally and spiritual position as defined by God’s law.
Then in several verses he reminds them that they pride themselves on not only knowing the law but also on teaching it to the morally and spiritually blind. He essentially says they see themselves as qualified to correct the foolishness of others, but in reality their knowledge and unique position had never genuinely changed their character or lives. In essence, Paul is saying that the Jew had never taken his own teachings to heart. He gloried in the possession of the law, but dishonored the very God who gave it by breaking its sacred precepts.
This combination of “talking the walk” but not “walking the talk” caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of God (Isaiah 52:5). They judged God by his followers, as men have always done and do today.
In addition to the law, the Jew prided himself on the rite of circumcision. This is a minor surgical operation performed on the foreskin of the Jewish male. It was instituted by God as a sign of His covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:9-14). It expressed the separation of a people to God from the world. After a while the Jews so prided themselves on having had the operation that they contemptuously called the Gentiles “the uncircumcision.”
Here Paul links circumcision with the Law of Moses and points out that it was only valid as a sign when it was combined with a life of obedience. God is not a mere ritualist; He is not satisfied with external ceremonies unless they are accompanied by inward holiness. So a circumcised Jew who transgresses the law might just as well be uncircumcised.
Thus, if a Gentile adheres to the morality prescribed by the law, even if he isn’t under the law, his uncircumcision is more acceptable than the circumcision of a Jewish transgressor. In such a case the Gentile’s heart is circumcised, and that is what counts.
The superior behavior of the Gentile condemns the Jew, who, with his written code and circumcision does not keep the law or live the circumcised life, the life of separation and sanctification.
In God’s reckoning, a true Jew is not simply a man who has Abraham’s blood flowing in his veins or who has the mark of circumcision in his body. A person may have both these things and be the scum of the earth morally. The Lord is not swayed by external considerations of race or religion; He looks for inward sincerity and purity.
A real Jew is the one who is not only a descendant of Abraham but who also manifests a godly life. This passage does not teach that all believers are Jews, or that the church is the Israel of God [i.e., the spurious error of “replacement theology”]. Paul is talking about those who are born of Jewish parentage and is insisting that the mere fact of birth and the ordinance of circumcision are not enough. There must also be inward reality. (Believer’s Bible Commentary, William MacDonald, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995)
Even in the Old Testament circumcision and external sacrifices were useless without an obedient heart (1 Samuel 15:22; Isaiah 1:11-20).
Circumcision that is only outward is of no avail before God because God wants the outward demonstration to be the sign of an inward reality. Paul’s teaching is consistent with the Law and the Old Testament prophets, for both proclaimed the need for internal circumcision (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4). “In the Spirit, not in the letter”: The change of heart that Paul describes with the image of internal circumcision is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the result of external obedience to the Law. In fact, God condemns external observance if it is not the product of a righteous heart (see Is. 1:10-18). (The Nelson Study Bible, Nelson Bibles, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997)
Finally, Paul makes the statement that a real Jew, one inwardly not outwardly, is one that is praised by God. |