THE BOOK OF ROMANS, Chapter 2, The Impartiality of God, The Jews Under the Law

 

THE BOOK OF ROMANS

Chapter 2

The Impartiality of God, The Jews Under the Law

BibleHub.com titles the following verses as “the impartiality of God”, whereas it could be titled “wake up hypocrites – you aren’t fooling anyone, especially not God”! The Apostle Paul described himself as a Pharisee among Pharisees; This expression emphasizes Paul’s pure Hebrew ancestry and cultural heritage. It suggests that he was not only ethnically Hebrew but also fully immersed in Hebrew culture and traditions. The Pharisees were a Jewish sect known for their strict observance of the Law and traditions. By identifying as a Pharisee, Paul highlights his rigorous adherence to the Mosaic Law and his commitment to living a life of religious purity. The Pharisees were respected for their knowledge of the Scriptures and their role in preserving Jewish identity. Paul’s background as a Pharisee is significant in understanding his initial opposition to the Christian movement and his later transformation, as seen in Acts 23:6 and Galatians 1:14. He is uniquely qualified to call out the hypocrisy, the arrogance and the foolishness of the religious leaders who violate their own teaching and preaching which leads to God’s judgement and punishment.

It could also be said that Paul is laying the foundation to explain the New Covenant in Jesus Christ.

(PLEASE NOTE: I have said on various occasions that the “Commentary Breaks” in these series of Bible studies are meant to help us practically apply what we are reading by asking “what does this say? What does this mean? What does this mean to me and what am I to do (with it or about it)?” My commentaries are not meant to be in-depth exegetical or theological commentaries. Please refer to BibleBum.com, Bible Gateway or the Blue Letter Bible for more in-depth studies and theological studies and commentaries.)

The Impartiality of God

Romans 2:1,Therefore you have no excuse, you (foolish) person, every one (of you) who passes judgment; for in that (matter in) which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. Verse 2. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. Verse 3. But do you suppose this, you (foolish) person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and (yet) does them (as well), that you will escape the judgment of God?

(Commentary Break): A proper understanding of a scripture verse or passage is best found by comparing it first to the surrounding verses and chapters and then by searching out other contextual verses in the Bible. In simpler terms, any interpretation of scripture must be interpreted by the context of the entire Word of God. Paul’s words are in context with the words of Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!” But these biting words of the Apostle Paul cut off any escape route from God’s judgment for any religious person, (church) leader, teacher, (Pharisee), who stands in judgment on others – particularly those who would be in a position of guiding, teaching and helping others in the matters of faith. If they (or you and I) preach and teach a Truth or Commandment from God, and we then violate that very thing, we are guilty not only of violating the Law, we will be judged. James 3:1 admonishes that “Not many [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who are teachers] will be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly]”.

It seems that the desire for the recognition that comes from such a valued position can override a person’s need for humility and their intention to be a servant of God. Sadly, today’s church is rife with this arrogance and these false teachers and wolves. Beware, dear friends. Beware. (End Commentary Break).

Verse 4. Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? Verse 5. But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, verse 6, who WILL REPAY EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: verse 7, to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life; verse 8, but to those who are self-serving and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation.

(Commentary Break): Paul is reminding us that it is God’s kindness and restraint and patience that leads a true believer to repentance. Jesus’s first and shortest sermon is about repentance and is found in Matthew 4:17. “From that time Jesus began to preach (kerusso – to proclaim with authority; not a simple request but a command that must be obeyed, referring to preaching the Gospel as the authoritative (binding) word of God, bringing eternal accountability to all who hear it; stresses the victory of God’s Gospel-message in the totality of His “good news.”]) and say, “Repent (metanoeó – “think differently after,” “after a change of mind for the better”; a wholehearted response to divine truth that issues in faith, obedience, and fruit worthy of repentance), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (eggizó – come near, at hand – as close as the wrist is from the hand; within you; with great force so as to knock you to the ground as the Light of God did to Saul of Tarsus, afterward known as Paul the Apostle on the road to Damascus, see Acts 9:3-5).

It is worth repeating that a “stubborn and unrepentant heart” will lead to wrath for yourself on the day of wrath; to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life; but to those who are self-serving and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation (a fierce and passionate anger of God, yet without sin).

We can escape from God’s indignation only through voluntary, humble, obedient repentance, which comes with the price of personal diligence and practice. (End Commentary Break).

Verse 9. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of mankind who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek, verse 10, but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Verse 11. For there is no partiality with God.

(Commentary Break): Interesting choice of Words: “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of mankind”. First, the Greek word for tribulation is ‘thlipsis’ (affliction, persecution, tribulation), from the root word ‘thlibo’ – pressure (literally or figuratively); affliction, anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble; which is the same word used when referring to the ‘Tribulation’ and the ‘distress’ of the Last Days (see Matthew 24, Daniel 12:1 and Zephaniah 1:15). This describes the varied pressures that press upon God’s people: external persecution, internal anguish, material hardship, and eschatological distress. Although the contexts differ, the theme is consistent—God’s people encounter constriction yet are sustained and refined by His sovereign grace. DO NOT BE FOOLED – the evidence is clear for those who are willing to wade through the swamp of denominationalism and the fog of biased eschatology. The world discernably entered the beginnings of the Last Days at the time of the Birth of Jesus; and those days (the first five tribulation seal periods called by Jesus as “the birth pains” of the tribulation (see Matthew 24:6-8), which have been overlapping and intensifying and will culminate with the breaking of the Sixth Tribulation Seal, the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord and the Wrath of the Lamb (the final seven years of the Tribulation period). The reason this is important – even urgent – is that most Christians are woefully unprepared for what is upon them and may be found like the unprepared servant (see Matthew 24:36-51) who is “cut into pieces and put with the hypocrites” or the Ten Virgins (see Matthew 25) who are left out of the Marriage Feast of Jesus and His Bride, the Church, or the servants cast into outer darkness for their unpreparedness – “for there is no partiality with God”! (End Commentary Break).

Verse 12. 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; verse 13, for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. Verse 14. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves, verse 15, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, verse 16, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus.

The Jews under the Law

Verse 17. But if you call yourself a Jew and rely upon the Law and boast in God, verse 18, and know His will and distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law, verse 19, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to people who are blind, a light to those in darkness, verse 20, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, possessing in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth— verse 21, you, therefore, who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one is not to steal, do you steal? Verse 22. You who say that one is not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who loathe idols, do you rob temples? Verse 23. You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? Verse 24. For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.

Verse 25. For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a violator of the Law, your circumcision has turned into uncircumcision. Verse 26. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will his uncircumcision not be regarded as circumcision? Verse 27. And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a violator of the Law? Verse 28. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. Verse 29. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God.

(Commentary Break): This book of Romans is sometimes called “The Constitution of Christianity,” “The Christian Manifesto,” and “The Cathedral of the Christian Faith”, can read like a legal portfolio and can be hard to decipher.

Summary of Romans 2:12–29:

In this passage, the Apostle Paul the Apostle argues that God judges all people impartially, whether they have the Law (the Jews) or not (the Gentiles).

1. 1. 1. Judgment is based on obedience, not mere knowledge (verses 12–16).

• • • Those without the Law (Gentiles) are judged apart from it, while those under the Law (Jews) are judged by it.
    • Simply hearing the Law doesn’t make someone righteous—doing it does.
    • Even Gentiles, who don’t have the written Law, sometimes follow it by nature, showing that God’s moral law is written on their hearts.
    • God will judge people’s secrets through Christ.

1. 1. 2. The Jews’ reliance on the Law is exposed (verses 17–24).

• • • Jews boast in having the Law and see themselves as guides to others.
    • Yet Paul confronts their inconsistency: they teach others but fail to obey the Law themselves.
    • Because of this hypocrisy, God’s name is dishonored among the Gentiles.

1. 1. 3. True circumcision is inward, not outward (verses 25–29).

• • • Physical circumcision (the outward sign of being a Jew) is only valuable if one obeys the Law.
    • A Gentile who obeys God is, in effect, “circumcised,” while a disobedient Jew is not.
    • True identity as God’s people is not external but internal—a matter of the heart, transformed by the Spirit, not merely by written code.

Paul dismantles religious complacency. Being part of a religious group or having God’s law isn’t enough—what matters is a transformed heart and genuine obedience. (End Commentary Break).

Listen dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus provides us safety and sanctuary. He is our provider and our supply, and He is the dependable Source of our supply. And the bottom line is that you and I must develop the habit of walking with Jesus, daily, moment by moment. We must set our minds, constantly and consistently on Him and His Word. This is the ‘connection’ with Him that we must develop.

The Bible says it this way, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. And that we are to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law”. This must become our reality.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young.

PS: If you desire a deeper theological line-by-line commentary, I recommend BibleHub.com.

Next: The Book of Romans, Chapter 3, All the World Guilty, Justification by Faith.

(Previous): The Book of Romans Chapter 1, The Gospel Exalted, Unbelief and Its Consequences

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