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Romans 2

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God's Impartial Judgment of Moralizers 1–5

1
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. ​
2
But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. ​
3
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
4
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? ​
5
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; ​

Judgment According to Deeds 6–11

6
Who will render to every man according to his deeds: ​
7
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, ​
9
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; ​
10
But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11
For there is no respect of persons with God. ​

Law, Conscience, and Universal Accountability 12–16

12
For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; ​
13
(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. ​
14
For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: ​
15
Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) ​
16
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. ​

The Failure of the Privileged Jew 17–29

17
Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, ​
18
And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
19
And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
20
An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
21
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? ​
22
Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? ​
23
Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
24
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. ​
25
For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. ​
26
Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
27
And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
28
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: ​
29
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Romans 2

Verse 1

inexcusable — Anapologetos, 'without a defence', found only here and in Rom 1:20, 'so that they are without excuse'. 'Therefore' carries the verdict of chapter 1 to the one who passes it on others. 'Judgest' and 'condemnest' are krino and its compound katakrino: the judgment he gives is the sentence he earns.

Verse 2

according to truth — Paul appeals to what is already known: 'we are sure'. The judgment (krima) of God is 'according to truth', matching Abraham's question, 'Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' (Gen 18:25), and the Psalm, 'he shall judge the world in righteousness' (Ps 9:8).

Verse 4

the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering — Three words: chrestotes, kindness; anoche, self-restraint (found only here and in 3:25); makrothumia, slowness to anger, the quality the LORD proclaims of himself in Ex 34:6, 'longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth'. Its aim is 'repentance' (metanoia), as 2 Pet 3:9 says.

Verse 5

treasurest up unto thyself wrath — Thesaurizo, to store up a treasure, the verb of Matt 6:19–20, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures'. 'Hardness' (sklerotes) and 'impenitent' (ametanoetos) each occur only here in the New Testament. It is laid up 'against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God'; 'revelation' is apokalupsis.

Verse 6

render to every man according to his deeds — The line of Ps 62:12, 'thou renderest to every man according to his work', and of Matt 16:27. It states the standard of the judgment; Paul later sets beside it 'a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law' (3:28), and 'by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified' (3:20).

Verse 8

do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness — A matched pair: apeitheo, to refuse persuasion, and peitho, to be persuaded and obey. 'Contentious' is eritheia, self-seeking, listed among the works of the flesh in Gal 5:20. 'Indignation' (thumos) and 'wrath' (orge) are the two words for the anger of God that follow.

Verse 9

of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile — The order of Rom 1:16, 'to the Jew first, and also to the Greek', now applied to judgment as it was to the gospel; 'Gentile' here is Hellen, Greek. 'Anguish' is stenochoria, narrowness of room, found elsewhere in Rom 8:35 and 2 Cor 6:4; 12:10. Judgment 'must begin at the house of God' (1 Pet 4:17).

Verse 11

no respect of persons — Prosopolepsia, literally the lifting of a face, favour shown by status. It occurs four times in the New Testament (here; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; James 2:1). Moses said it of the LORD, 'which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward' (Deut 10:17), and Peter at Cornelius's house, 'God is no respecter of persons' (Acts 10:34).

Verse 12

without law… in the law — Two classes, answering Gentile and Jew (v.9). Anomos, the adverb 'without law', occurs only here, twice in the verse. Those who sinned without the law 'perish without law'; those who sinned 'in the law' are 'judged by the law'. The Gentiles' side is explained in vv.14–15, and the Jew's in vv.17–24.

Verse 13

the doers of the law shall be justified — 'Hearers' (akroatai) are set against 'doers' (poietai), as in James 1:22. The law's own promise is 'which if a man do, he shall live in them' (Lev 18:5), the 'righteousness which is of the law' that Paul cites in 10:5. 3:20 adds that 'by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified'.

Verse 14

a law unto themselves — The Gentiles 'have not the law', the written law of Moses, yet 'do by nature' (physis) 'the things contained in the law'. What they do shows what 1:19 said, that 'which may be known of God is manifest in them'. Peter found at Cornelius's house that 'in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him' (Acts 10:35).

Verse 15

the work of the law written in their hearts — Graptos, written, occurs only here. The 'conscience' (syneidesis) 'bearing witness' uses the verb of 8:16 and 9:1. 'Excusing' is apologeomai, to make a defence, from the same root as 'inexcusable' in v.1. The new covenant of Jer 31:33 has the same wording: 'write it in their hearts'.

Verse 16

the secrets of men by Jesus Christ — Krupta, hidden things, the same word as 'inwardly' in v.29. God judges them 'by Jesus Christ', the man 'whom he hath ordained' of Acts 17:31. 'My gospel' is Paul's own phrase for the message he preached, as in 16:25. Ecclesiastes 12:14: 'God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing'.

Verse 17

thou art called a Jew — The address turns from 'O man' (v.1) to the Jew by name. Eponomazo, to bear a name, occurs only here. Rest 'in the law' and boasting 'of God' are the privileges listed through v.20; Isaiah had spoken of those 'called by the name of Israel' who swear by the LORD's name, 'but not in truth, nor in righteousness' (Isa 48:1).

Verse 21

teachest thou not thyself? — Four questions follow, the last three each setting the Jew's teaching against a commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal' and 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' (Ex 20:14–15), then idols (v.22). 'Teachest' (didasko) and 'preachest' (kerusso, to proclaim as a herald) name the role the Jew claims toward the Gentile in vv.19–20.

Verse 22

dost thou commit sacrilege? — Hierosuleo, to rob a temple, found only here. Its noun is in Acts 19:37, where the town clerk says of Paul's companions that they are 'neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess', 'churches' meaning temples. Abhorring idols while taking what is holy is the inconsistency Paul presses.

Verse 24

the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you — Paul cites Isa 52:5, 'my name continually every day is blasphemed'. Ezekiel gives the same charge of Israel among the nations: 'they profaned my holy name' (Ezek 36:20), where they were known as 'the people of the LORD'. 'Blasphemed' is blasphemeo, to speak injuriously.

Verse 25

thy circumcision is made uncircumcision — Circumcision was the sign of the covenant: 'Every man child among you shall be circumcised' (Gen 17:10). It 'profiteth' (opheleo) with obedience; a 'breaker of the law' (parabates, transgressor) cancels what it signified. Jeremiah's call, 'take away the foreskins of your heart' (Jer 4:4), already looked past the flesh.

Verse 28

he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly — 'Outwardly' is en to phanero, in the visible; v.29 answers with en to krupto, in the hidden. The same turn is made in 9:6, 'they are not all Israel, which are of Israel', and in John's warning to those relying on descent, 'We have Abraham to our father' (Matt 3:9).

Verse 29

circumcision is that of the heart — Moses had told Israel to 'circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart' (Deut 10:16) and promised that 'the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart' (30:6). 'Not in the letter' recalls 'the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life' (2 Cor 3:6). 'Praise' (epainos) echoes the name Judah, 'Now will I praise the LORD' (Gen 29:35).