*I apologize to those following my study on Romans for the lengthy time period between chapter 1 posts and chapter 2. I have a lot going on. I will try and do better.
As chapter 1 of Romans closes, Paul is discussing the sinfulness of man. He makes the case that the Gentiles are without excuse and are therefore not an exception to the general rule that no one will be or can be accepted by God according to the terms of law. Although most commentators or “experts” seem to agree that Paul was making reference to the Gentile readers (those that were not given a special revelation-i.e., Law of Moses), there is also little doubt that every point he makes is applicable to all man.
And so this brings us to the beginning of chapter 2, where Paul is continuing to talk about mankind’s sinful ways.
WHO SPECIFICALLY IS PAUL WRITING TO HERE?
This question often comes up at this juncture of studying this epistle. Many agree that here in chapter 2, Paul transitions from the Gentiles as his focus to the Jews as his focus. But the question is at what point? Some believe it is in v.1. Others believe it is in v.9. Either way, Paul’s whole point here is that no one is left out. All are susceptible to God’s wrath and therefore fall short. Every person is in dire need of something greater than law. Personally, it seems to me that v.1 marks the beginning of Paul’s transition from speaking primarily to the Gentile reader to the Jewish reader. See also v.4. By the time he gets to v.17 there is certainly little doubt that he is speaking to the Jew.
I think it is important to mention here also, that it is possible to get so "bogged down" in this that we miss Paul’s point entirely. Regardless of who thinks what as for who Paul is specifically talking to and when, it doesn’t change the overall message, which is summed up quite well in Romans 2:11; for God shows no partiality. Paul states in Romans 3:9, “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.” Let’s not miss this overall point of the section.
This first overall section (1:18-3:20) is emphasizing that law as a means of salvation falls short. Because we are less than perfect, we cannot be right with God in terms of a system of law. Therefore because of our inability to keep the law perfectly, law is unable to save us. If our ability to keep law is our means of salvation, then salvation becomes impossible (Mark 10:27; Romans 3:20).
MAN UNDER GOD’S WRATH (vv.1-5)
In reading the first verse, let us remember that the Jews were especially notorious for being arrogant and judgmental. Jesus’ ministry attests to this fact as well. This is one reason why I think Paul seems to be shifting his focus on the Jews at this point, especially when you consider vv.3-4. It is no secret that the Jews took their status as “God’s chosen ones” to an absurd extreme. They thought that because of their status as God’s special people that He would just forgo the standard concerning them—the standard they were so apt and quick to place on everybody else. They assumed that their status as God’s people was an automatic ticket to heaven. Can God’s elect find themselves guilty of this today? I think this is clearly our application. Paul wants them (and us) to realize that God’s grace, mercy, and kindness is never something to be taken advantage of. These wonderful gifts from God are actually designed to lead us to live righteously. God’s goodness is not for the purpose of excusing sin, but rather to stimulate a response of active and submissive faith.
Repentance as it is used here means to change one’s mind about God and especially about one’s own sin. It is when the sinner admits to the awful nature of his/her sin that this person begins to see the fruits of repentance. Like all of us when we become Christians, it must start with our recognition of (1) the seriousness of sin, (2) the fact that we are deep in it, and (3) we unequivocally need help from One greater than ourselves to get us out of it. Paul completes this thought by suggesting that if things don’t change with them, they are going to be just as “condemned” as those they are criticizing (v.5).
A large part of Paul’s message here, and we will see this even more as we continue through the epistle, is that God's bringing judgment really takes a lot of pressure off of us feeling like we have to do it. This letter to the Romans is really quite a liberating message when you think about it. It is God’s judgment that really counts, not ours. Paul will elaborate on this extensively in Romans 14. Also note that “judgment” as it is used in this text does not mean merely discerning right from wrong. Obviously we can’t help but do this (Matthew 7:20; John 7:24). But this term “judgment” carries the idea of “passing off condemnation” or "passing off a sentence." This is not our role and we shouldn’t do it (Matthew 7:1-5). It is one thing to lovingly address sin as it stares us in the face; it is quite another to assign motive when we do not know all the details. We are not detectives. God has not called us to be private investigators. And we certainly should not criticize others for something with which we are guilty ourselves. Paul wants these Christians to understand that if they condemn others while they themselves do what these others are doing, then this necessitates their own condemnation.
GOD DOES NOT SHOW PARTIALITY (vv.6-11)
As we read this, keep in mind the overall context of what Paul is conveying. Law falls short. If we are saved by law, then what Paul is saying here applies to all of law and we therefore have no hope of eternal life because of the truths revealed in Romans 3:23, Galatians 3:10, and James 2:10.
I believe the essence of Paul’s message here, keeping it in its proper context, is that if we are saved by law-keeping, then we are all doomed. None perfectly keep the law so as to be saved by it. No one will stand before God on Judgment Day and be justified due to his/her law keeping. I will elaborate on this more tomorrow, as I will make a separate post on this section. But for now, I will just say that I do not believe Paul is teaching justification by works here in Romans 2.
On the other hand, something else that Paul is demonstrating here is that it does indeed matter what we do. For example, in applying this to us, if we are baptized that is great, but are we living it too? In essence, Paul is confirming to these elitists here, Yes you will be treated like all others. And no, you will not be given special consideration on Judgment Day just because you are “my people. And here’s why…"
Dr. Jack Cottrell states it well when he discusses in his commentary on Romans how these Jews were confusing their “election” with their “salvation.” These are separate entities and the Jews were treating them as if they were synonymous concepts. Just because they were God’s chosen people did not necessitate God not holding them to the same standard of judgment. Likewise for us today, we are God’s elect, but our status as Christians does not mean that we are automatically saved, or that we have a free ride to heaven based on our status as the called out by God. Paul wants these Jews to understand, In the same way the Gentiles fall short in these areas and in the same way they sin, so do you. You too are deserving of eternal punishment.
WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE?
Verse 11 is a strong statement for a lot of reasons. It is terse but definitely falls under that proverbial “dynamite comes in small packages” category. When you keep what Paul says here under its proper context, this is extremely powerful in teaching us how to deal with others, isn’t it? I am not suggesting that we should not lovingly correct error when the opportunity arises. In fact, often times when we do not want to, we still should. This is reality and it is Biblical. But the point here is that all of us, regardless of what our imperfections are, are still imperfect, nevertheless. We need to realize that we are just as much in need of God’s grace as the person we are often tempted to condemn and criticize. We must approach things in a humble way, realizing that we ourselves are unworthy. We are all doing something wrong. None of us are flawless. Also, don't forget the meaning behind how "judging" is used in this context. When we are harsh and critical of others, we could very well ask ourselves, “Who do we think we are? This is undoubtedly the essence of Paul’s message to these folks here and among other places in this letter (i.e., Romans 14:4, 10-13, 17-19). In fact, isn’t this also precisely the question James raises in James 4:12?
In the next post, we will look at the question, "Does Romans 2 teach justification by works?"
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