1 ¶ Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art who 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 those who commit such things.
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, who judgest those who 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 because of thy hardness and impenitence of heart, thou treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the Day of Wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who will render to every man according to his deeds;
7 to those who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality: eternal life;
8 but unto those who are contentious, and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness: indignation and wrath,
9 tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man who doeth evil, upon the Jew first and also upon the Gentile;
10 but glory, honor and peace to every man who worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned apart from the law shall also perish apart from the law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.
13 (For it is not the hearers of the law who are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, they, not having the law, are a law unto themselves,
15 which shows the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts meanwhile either accusing or excusing one another.)
16 Thus will it be on the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel.
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 from the law,
19 and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth.
21 Thou therefore who 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 in the law, dost thou dishonor God through breaking the law?
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 un circumcision.
26 Therefore if the Un circumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his un circumcision be counted for circumcision?
27 And shall not un circumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who having the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh.
29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and whose circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter, and whose praise is not from men, but from God. |
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2:1-16 People who Judge others compared with God’s Judgement.
Paul does not say if he is talking about the Jew or the Gentiles. This passage says that God will judge fairly, not considering if the person had been living under the Law of Moses or not.
v1-4 Men want to be judges and says "I cannot be guilty." Because they judge others, then they show how bad they are themselves. How can a man or woman be a judge when he / she is doing exactly the same thing.
Can any of us say we have not done one of the wrong things listed in Romans chapter 1? We even ignore all God’s gifts and the way of repentance.
v5-11. God now examines how man behaves and judges him on these actions.
v5-6 All that man has done is to store up anger against God’s Holy wishes and His righteousness. Note that it is individual punishment for "every man," v6.
v7 Eternal life is the reward for those who seek God.
v8-9 But those who do not seek God will receive the punishment. Both Jew & Gentile equally.
v10 A contrast with v8,9 "doeth evil" or "worketh good."
v11-14 God treats all equally, whether they have known God’s Law or not. Because if you know the law then it will be used to judge you, but those who have not had the law have made their own laws out of what they felt was wrong and right, but in most cases these have become similar to God’s law.
v15,16 Men and woman have a conscience, they know good and evil. So God can judge through Jesus and the Gospel.
This passage teaches how God will deal with those at the judgement who have never heard the Gospel.
2:17-3:20 The wrong things of Man.
v17-23 The Jew begins to plead "Not guilty" using religion as an excuse for their wrong. They were even saying that because they had the Law they could teach others how to live. But they were the blind leading the blind, teaching others "do not steal" when they were stealing themselves. Not teaching themselves wrong and right. They were even boasting in the law and then dis-honouring God by breaking His Law.
v24 The Jew was also encouraging the non Jew to blaspheme God by the way the Jew was living.
2:17-3:8 The Law and the Jew.
V25-29 What it means to be a true Jew. Paul shows that a Gentile (the uncircumcised) who observes or keeps the requirements of the law is in God’s sight the same as the law keeping Jew (the circumcised). Paul stresses that this Gentile could be a judge of any Jew has not kept the law.
The Jew has the "outward sign" of God’s chosen people, (circumcision) but it is the contents and behaviour of their hearts that God will judge. A true ‘Jew’ is from the inside, their heart, not the "outward sign." |
