This commentary on Romans 2 by Glenn Pease synthesizes insights from various authors to illustrate Paul's message about the universality of sin among Jews and Gentiles. It emphasizes the need for humility and self-reflection among those who judge others, highlighting that both groups are equally in need of salvation. Pease aims to compile these thoughts to assist Bible students in understanding the theological implications of Paul's teachings.

1. ROMAS 2 COMMETARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
The following commentary consists of my own thoughts combined with the thoughts of the
many authors both ancient and modern who have made comments on this most important
letter of Paul. I have quoted so many others because I have found in each a unique way to
convey the ideas that Paul is seeking to communicate. Sometimes I have not been able to
give credit, and if anyone discovers the name of the author quoted and lets me know, I will
gladly give credit where credit is due. If anyone does not want their quotes expressed in this
commentary, they can let me know as well, and I will delete them. My e-mail is
glenn_p86@yahoo.com The purpose of this commentary is to bring the thoughts of many
authors together in one place in order to save the Bible student a lot of time in research. All
of the comments are available to anyone, but it takes an enormous amount of time to read
all of the resources. I have brought together what I feel are the best thoughts on the text in
this one place to save others the time. It is my pleasure to do so, and I use these studies
myself to teach a class of about 20 people. The numbering system uses letters as well as
numbers because it gives me the freedom to add new material I discover without doing the
numbers all over. I welcome any comments, and I will add them to this commentary if they
contribute new and valued insight. I share comments of scholars who differ in their views,
and leave the reader to decide which are most consistent with God's full revelation.
ITRODUCTIO
1. Scott Grant, “Paul told the sad story of the Gentiles in Romans 1:18-32. The Jewish story
was in the shadows, forming the subplot. As Paul turns the page, the sad story of the Jews
emerges in Romans 2:1-3:20. If Romans 1:18-32 featured the story of Gentile sin, Romans 2
features the failure of the Jews to rescue the Gentiles from sin.”
2. Bob Deffinbaugh, “The second chapter of Romans is vitally important. In this passage
Paul must demonstrate the sinfulness of the Jews if he is to validate his conclusion in
chapter 3 that “all” (both Jews and Gentiles) “have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” (3:23). The condemnation of the Gentiles is demonstrated by their rejection of God’s
self-revelation through His creation (1:18-32). The greater guilt and condemnation of the
Jews is evident in their rejection of an even greater revelation of God, not only in nature, but
through the Law, and the gospel (see 2:16, 17-20). Paul must show all mankind to be
unrighteous and in need of God’s righteousness, in Christ. Proving the self-righteous Jew to

2. be a sinner is Paul’s most challenging task.
Paul’s Jewish readers should be humbled by the words of the apostle, who was also a self-righteous
Jew until his conversion (see Philippians 3). Paul’s Gentile readers will also be
helped by this indictment of the self-righteous Jew. The “Judaisers” were constantly at work
to impose their errors upon the churches (see, for example Acts 15; Galatians; Philippians
3:2ff.; Colossians 2:16ff.; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; Titus 1:10-16). Exposing the errors of Judaism
would serve as a preventative, or at least a caution, to the Gentiles to avoid such teaching
and practice.
Understanding Paul’s indictment of self-righteous Jews in our text can be a great help in
understanding other Scriptures. Paul’s accusations in Romans 2 are but a summation of the
indictments of the Old Testament prophets. The mindset of the self-righteous Jew, as
described in our text, enables us to understand the constant tension which existed between
the Jewish religious leaders and Jesus, prominent in all the Gospels. Jesus’ indictments of
the self-righteous Jews, recorded in the Gospels, are more easily understood in the light of
Paul’s words in our text.
A study of Romans 2 will also dissolve many of the alleged “tensions” between the theology
of Paul and that of James. We hear sometimes that Paul emphasized faith while James
emphasized works, and that each was stressing one dimension of the truth. When I compare
Paul’s words in Romans 2 with those in James 1-3, I find hearty agreement. Paul’s teaching
in Romans 2 will underscore and affirm the teaching of James and will stress the
importance of good works. What we will find is that it was the self-righteous Jews (and not
Paul) who failed to see the importance of good works. The reason for this failure is
fascinating and instructive.”
3. Robert Haldane, “I the preceding chapter, the Apostle had described the state of the
idolatrous Pagans, whom he had proved to be under the just condemnation of God. He now
passes to that of the Jews, who, while they rejected the righteousness of God, to which the
law and the prophets bore witness, looked for salvation from their relation to Abraham,
from their exclusive privileges as a nation, and from their observance of the law. In this and
the two following chapters, Paul combats these deeply-rooted prejudices, and is thus
furnished with an opportunity of clearly unfolding the doctrine of the Gospel, and of
proving that it alone is the power of God unto salvation. In the first part of this chapter, to
the 24th verse he shows that the just judgment of God must be the same against the Jews as
against the Gentiles, since the Jews are equally sinners. In the second part, from the
beginning of the 25th verse to the end, he proves that the external advantages which the
Jews had enjoyed, were insufficient to ward off this judgment. From his language at the
commencement of this chapter, in respect to that judgment which the Jews were accustomed
to pass on the other nations, and to which he reverts in the 17th verse, it is evident that
through the whole of it he is addressing the Jews, and not referring, as many suppose, to the
heathen philosophers or magistrates It was not the Apostle’s object to convince them in
particular that they were sinners. Besides, neither the philosophers nor magistrates, nor any
of the heathens, occupied themselves in judging others respecting their religious worship

3. and ceremonies. Such observances, as well as their moral effects on those by whom they
were practiced, appeared to the sages of Greece and Rome a matter of perfect indifference.
The Jews, on the contrary, had learned from their law, to judge, to condemn, and to abhor
all other religions; to keep themselves at the greatest distance from those who profess them;
and to regard all idolaters as under the wrath of God. The man, then, who judges others —
to whom, by a figure of speech, Paul addresses his discourse in the first verse — is the same
to whom he continues to speak in the rest of the chapter, and whom he names in the 17th
verse, ‘Behold, thou art called a Jew.’
4. Vernon McGee, “Religious people, self-righteous people, and so- called good people need
a Savior. In chapter 2 Paul sets down certain principles by which God is going to judge
good people. Chapter 1 reveals the unrighteousness of man, and chapter 2 reveals the
self-righteousness of man.
5. Once you get into studying this book it is hard to get out of it. Chuck Swindoll spent
nearly a year preaching from it. Donald Barnhouse spent three and a half years, and
Martin Lloyd Jones spent eight years. There are endless possibilities of gaining more truth
and wisdom from the study of this letter of Paul.
God's Righteous Judgment
1. You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass
judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you
judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because
you who pass judgment do the same things.
Amplified: THEREFORE YOU have no excuse or defense or justification, O man, whoever
you are who judges and condemns another. For in posing as judge and passing sentence on
another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge are habitually practicing the very
same things [that you censure and denounce].
Phillips: ow if you feel inclined to set yourself up as a judge of those who sin, let me assure
you, whoever you are, that you are in no position to do so. For at whatever point you
condemn others you automatically condemn yourself, since you, the judge, commit the
same sins.

4. 1. How pathetic is human nature, for people who do wicked things are quick to judge and
condemn others who do wicked things, and maybe even the same wicked things. It does not
make sense, for they by so doing are condemning themselves. People tend to think that they
are more righteous than others, and so even though they have sinful attitudes and actions,
they feel justified in condemning others who do the same things they do. There is a human
pride that is quick to forgive oneself, and slow to see how the other guy is no worse than
themselves.
Paul is seeking to make it clear to all people that we are all in the same boat, and we are
sunk without God’s plan of salvation. We do not like to admit this, for we tend to feel very
strongly that we are not as bad as other people. There are the good guys and the bad guys,
and we are the good guys. On the one side you have the criminal element, and on the other
side you have the law abiding citizen element. On the one side you have the uneducated
hoodlums, and on the other hand the well educated and sophisticated class. There is a
world of difference in people, and we see ourselves most often in the category of those who
are the good guys with every right to pass judgment on the other class of people who are
the bad guys. We have painted a beautiful picture of how we fit into the scheme of things.
The only problem is, we fail to compare our picture with the one that God has painted,
which shows us how he sees things.
God’s picture shows us all in the same category, and without excuse for passing judgment
on others, for even if we may do the lesser of two evils, we are still evil and violate God’s
laws. We are all equally sinners, and all equally lost without hope if God does not provide a
way by which we can become righteous in his sight. All of the horrible sins that Paul writes
of in the last part of chapter 1 are the sins of the Gentile pagans who rejected God, but Paul
is now saying these same sins are the sins of the Jews as well. They are the sins of all people,
for all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. All who sit and gloat over the
sins of others are getting the rug pulled out from under them here, and they are falling flat
on their faces, for Paul is putting all of us in our place as sinners. Sin may be relative in
terms of degree, but in terms of its reality in all human lives, it is universal.
1B. Greg Herrick, “Paul’s point is that since God’s judgment is based on truth and not on
any fudging of the grades for the sake of the “chosen” crowd, the Jew is equally held
accountable to God. Jews cannot condemn others for their sins when they practice the same
ones. The Jew of Paul’s day knew and approved of the fact that God’s judgment is in
accordance with the truth, yet he failed to apply it to himself because, in his zealous
criticism of overt Gentile sin, he failed to similarly apply God’s revealed standard to his
own life. Paul says that God’s impartial judgment extends to the covenant people as well.
When it comes to God’s judgment against sin, we must all examine our lives, for we have a
tendency to throw the first stone, all the while conveniently forgetting that we all live in
glass houses.”
1C. It is so easy to be blind to our own sins, and so eagle eyed in spotting the sins in others.

5. The greatest example of this in the Bible is the story of athan coming to David with a
story that made him so angry that he wanted the culprit killed without a trial. We find it in
II Sam. 12. “The LORD sent athan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were
two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large
number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he
had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food,
drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “ow a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his
own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he
took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come
to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to athan, “As surely as the
LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over,
because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then athan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel,
says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave
your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel
and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did
you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah
the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword
of the Ammonites. 10 ow, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because
you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
God knew that David would play the hypocrite, and that is why he tricked him into facing
up to his own guilt. He had himself on a pedestal as if he as the king was worthy to pass
judgment on others, forgetting that he was guilty of the same cruel behavior that he was
condemning. Unfortunately, David is not alone in this prideful state of mind where we
pretend to be superior to all the other sinners running loose in the world. Almost no one
escapes from being judgmental toward others on things that they are guilty of themselves.
They may be in a different context, but they are the same in essence. Just as David never
stole anyone's pet lamb, but he stole another man's only wife.
1D. Adam Khan wrote, “HAVE YOU EVER SEE something left where it shouldn't be
and thought, Who is the idiot who left this here?! And then remembered it was you?
I have. And you'd think that would cure us forever of our natural tendency to wrathfully
assume bad intentions or carelessness or stupidity when others do wrong. But it didn't cure
us, did it?
Studies show that when you make a mistake, you'll emphasize the circumstances that made
you do it. But when someone else does something wrong, you think it's because they are a
jerk. That's regular language. More accurately, when you make a mistake, you will
probably think it was because of the circumstances. But for others you probably won't be
so lenient. You'll attribute more of the cause to the person's character or personality. You'll
assume they did the wrong thing because they have a personal weakness or character flaw.

6. I used to work at a place where one of my customers was a really nice guy but kind of odd.
One time one of my co-workers criticized the customer for being odd. She had clearly
judged him without ever wondering WHY he might be that way. When I told her about his
experience in Vietnam (he was shot through the head and suffered brain damage) her
harsh judgment of him completely vanished and was replaced by guilt for ever having
thought those things about him.
Remember that next time you pass judgment on someone you don't know well. ot even for
their sake. Remember it for YOUR sake. Your judgment influences the way you feel and
the way you behave toward that person. Harsh judgment makes you feel critical and holier-than-
thou, and that doesn't feel nearly as good as compassion. If you make an assumption
that the person has circumstances that would explain their behavior, you can feel
compassion and that will change the way you treat the person. This is a very important way
you can become more like the person you've always wanted to be. Resist the urge to judge
and give people the benefit of the doubt.”
Paul's point in this whole section of his letter is that the Jews are just as guilty as the
Gentiles that the Jews look down on as the scum of the earth. They called them the Gentile
dogs, and assumed that they were worthless sinners with no redeeming value. Paul is telling
them that apart from the grace of God, they are in the same category, and if God judged
sin on the spot, they would all be dead and gone long before judgment day.
1E. Paulette Furey wrote, “With her out-of-control salt and pepper dated hairstyle and
caterpillar like eyebrows – Susan Boyle, the spunky little Scottish firecracker, defied the
odds against her and made the world take notice. It wasn’t her intention to force society to
ponder the question “why are we so quick to make judgment?”This 47-year-old matronly
woman, who has never been kissed, is no stranger to having people laugh and make fun of
her. In school she struggled with a learning disability and was abused and teased by her
classmates. Reportedly, the scars of their comments remain to this day. And instead of
getting married and having children, she committed her life to caring for her parents until
their death and she now lives alone with her cat, Pebbles. She longed to be a singer and
somehow found the strength and courage to go after her dreams and audition on Britain’s
Got Talent. Since then, there has been well over 80 million hits to several you-tube videos
that show her singing “I dreamed a dream”. One video pans the audience and judges
reaction as she walks out on stage. The snickering, eye rolling and obvious distaste towards
her quickly turned to praise and admiration as soon as she opened her mouth and filled the
air with her purity. Instantaneously, everyone and everything – changed.
Instead of immediately passing judgment, we need to understand and have compassion for
that person – to put one self in their shoes. Often, we are so quick to make judgement of
others that we fail to take notice of our own faults. We need to pay more attention to our
own imperfections and learn to understand others. If we truly step back and take an
objective look at ourselves, then perhaps we wouldn’t be so critical of others.We need to
keep in mind that everyone has a story and if we show compassion instead of jumping to
conclusions, they will reveal their true selves. Most people we come in contact with can

7. even teach us something about mankind and about ourselves.When we have compassion it
means we go without judgement to anyone in need. Compassion is the direct opposite of
judgment, so it is impossible to judge others and be able to express compassion at the same
time.If we judge others then we are not showing compassion – we are not seeing the
suffering in the other person.”
1F. William Barclay, “In this passage Paul is directly addressing the Jews. The connection
of thought is this. In the foregoing passage Paul had painted a grim and terrible picture of
the heathen world, a world which was under the condemnation of God. With every word of
that condemnation the Jew thoroughly agreed. But he never for a moment dreamed that he
was under a like condemnation. He thought that he occupied a privileged position. God
might be the judge of the heathen, but he was the special protector of the Jews. Here Paul is
pointing out forcibly to the Jew that he is just as much a sinner as the Gentile is and that
when he is condemning the Gentile he is condemning himself. He will be judged, not on his
racial heritage, but by the kind of life that he lives.
The Jews always considered themselves in a specially privileged position with God. God,
they said, loves Israel alone of all the nations of the earth. God will judge the Gentiles
with one measure and the Jews with another. All Israelites will have part in the world to
come. Abraham sits beside the gates of hell and does not permit any wicked Israelite to go
through. When Justin Martyr was arguing with the Jew about the position of the Jews in
the Dialogue with Trypho, the Jew said, They who are the seed of Abraham according to
the flesh shall in any case, even if they be sinners and unbelieving and disobedient towards
God, share in the eternal Kingdom. The writer of the Book of Wisdom comparing God's
attitude to Jews and Gentiles said: These as a father, admonishing them, thou didst prove;
but those as a stern king, condemning them, thou didst search out (Wis.11:9). While
therefore thou dost chasten us, thou scourgest our enemies a thousand times more
(Wis.12:22). The Jew believed that everyone was destined for judgment except himself. It
would not be any special goodness which kept him immune from the wrath of God, but
simply the fact that he was a Jew.”
1G, I like the way Thomas Browning begins his sermon on this first verse. He pictures the
Jewish man listening to Paul expound in chapter one on the horrible sins of the pagan
Gentile world. As a high-minded moralist he is looking down his nose and saying, “That’s
right Paul, let them have it. ever heard truer. That’s how they are all right…Let them
have it with both barrels…get em’…hammer em’ for what they are… depraved, deluded
infidels…smut-faced gutter rags.Let em’ have it Paul. Come-upance…give them their
come-upance.” Then Paul turns to this self-righteous, and pompous Jew and lets him have
it with both barrels, for his whole message in these early chapters of Romans is designed to
show that all men are sinful and under the wrath of God, and without excuse in pretending
they have any right to judge anyone else as alone deserving of God's judgment. What a
shock it had to be to this Pharisee who thought he was the good guy, and the Gentile was
the bad guy.
2. John Piper, “Why such a long section to persuade us that we are sinners? Do we really

8. doubt it? Well, yes, we do. We suppress the truth because it is so uncomfortable. We may be
willing to make some general concessions that we are not perfect, since nobody is perfect.
But not many people are willing to admit that deep down inside they are really flawed and
proud and selfish and rebellious, and therefore separated from God and in need of what the
Bible calls salvation.
I preached in the park this summer, and when I came to the issue of how sinful we are, one
of our women told me that a person near her said, You don't really believe that, do you?
Friday, I was in Orlando to give a message and heard the speaker before me say, It is a
great irony that the twentieth century is the bloodiest century in history - not just because
of the Holocaust, but because of millions killed under Stalin in Ukraine and millions killed
in China under Mao, and perhaps 20% of the population of Cambodia executed under Pol
Pot, and 800,000 Tutsis killed in Rwanda, 30 million by abortion in America - it is a great
irony that at the end of the bloodiest century in history there are people who deny the
existence of evil and there are still people who believe that human beings are basically good,
and just need education, not salvation. If our century teaches anything it is that the
uneducated have no corner on depravity.
3. Gill, “Some think, from the connection of these words with the preceding chapter, that
the Gentiles are here meant; and particularly those among them who seemed to be
virtuous, and took upon them to be the reprovers of others, and yet did the same things
themselves, as Socrates, Cato, Seneca, and others; and therefore must be inexcusable,
because they knew better, and would be thought to have been so; wherefore such could
never be justified before God by their works, but might be justly condemned by him, nor
shall they escape his righteous judgment. Others think the Jews are meant, who despised
and condemned the Gentiles, and thought themselves to be righteous persons, and justified
in the sight of God; and who, though they were secretly guilty of many abominable
iniquities, yet were very severe upon the sins of others, and therefore inexcusable: others
think that magistrates are designed, whether among Jews or Gentiles, who reprove and
punish sin in others, and therefore must be supposed to know the law, and the nature of sin,
and so are inexcusable and self-condemned when they do the same things; wherefore
though they may pass with impunity among men, they shall not escape the judgment of
God. Rather the words respect every man, of whatsoever nation, office, or place; and may
be particularly applied to hypocrites, and seem designed to correct censoriousness, and
hasty judging, and to throw confusion on such who value themselves on being the censurers
and reprovers of others: whosoever thou art that judgest; whether a Jew or a Gentile, a
public magistrate or a private person:
4. HERY “In the former chapter the apostle had represented the state of the Gentile
world to be as bad and black as the Jews were ready enough to pronounce it. And now,
designing to show that the state of the Jews was very bad too, and their sin in many
respects more aggravated, to prepare his way he sets himself in this part of the chapter to
show that God would proceed upon equal terms of justice with Jews and Gentiles; and now
with such a partial hand as the Jews were apt to think he would use in their favor.

9. The Jews were generally a proud sort of people, that looked with a great deal of scorn and
contempt upon the poor Gentiles, as not worthy to be set with the dogs of their flock; while
in the mean time they were themselves as bad and immoral--though not idolaters, as the
Gentiles, yet sacrilegious, v. 22. Therefore thou art inexcusable. If the Gentiles, who had
but the light of nature, were inexcusable (ch. i. 20), much more the Jews, who had the light
of the law, the revealed will of God, and so had greater helps than the Gentiles.
5. Jamison, “From those without, the apostle now turns to those within the pale of revealed
religion, the self-righteous Jews, who looked down upon the uncovenanted heathen as
beyond the pale of God's mercies, within which they deemed themselves secure, however
inconsistent their life may be. Alas! what multitudes wrap themselves up in like fatal
confidence, who occupy the corresponding position in the Christian Church!
If the evangelical Christian is going to judge others for not reading the Bible and knowing
it, he had better be quite a scholar himself, or he is only making rope for his own hanging.
If ignorance is no excuse, how much less is knowledge an excuse. Greater is the
condemnation when one knows and still doesn’t do. The case here is with those who have
special revelation and they are condemning those who have it not. They do not realize that
having it puts them under even greater condemnation for disobedience. Men are quick to
judge in others what they do themselves. David condemned the injustice that athan told
of in II Sam. 12:1-6, even when he was the guilty one. Zeal against sin is no proof of
innocence. It is unbecoming in a Christian to be judgmental.
6. Godet, “He is about to drag to God’s tribunal the nation which thinks itself at liberty to
cite all others to its bar.” It is not true loyalty or love to let your own people or nation go
uncriticized when they are out of God’s will. Politicians are constantly calling each other in
milder terms, traitors to their country for being critical of it, but the Bible is filled with
such and calls the prophets who did so the truly loyal ones. It is not unAmerican to
disapprove of government policies anymore than the prophets who criticized Israel. It is
never wrong to oppose your own if they are clearly out of the revealed will of God. God’s
people have a right and an obligation to challenge anything not in accord with God’s will.
Jew or Gentile who sets self up as the judge of others only condemns himself when he is
also guilty. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. This means that only
constructive criticism is legitimate for the Christian. Both Gentile libertinism and Jewish
legalism are condemned on the same basis. The pious scorn of the elder brother against his
prodigal brother is just as evil as that of those who helped him waste his substance in
riotous living. If we condemn a thing and still do it, it is worse than if we approve it and do
it. The more judgmental one becomes the more he had better be sure he is perfected, for he
only condemns himself if he is yet bound by the sin he condemns.
The Jews were proud and holier than thou. They even treated Jesus with contempt. They
felt they would not be judged on the same basis as the Gentiles, but would receive special
favor as the chosen of God. They felt that all Israelites would have a part in the world to
come. They had a saying, “Abraham sits beside the gates of hell and does not permit any

10. wicked Israelite to go through.” Justin Martyr, long after Paul was dead, arguing with a
Jew in his Dialogue With Trypho had this reply from the Jew-“They who are the seed of
Abraham according to the flesh shall in any case, even if they be sinners and unbelieving
and disobedient towards God, share in the eternal kingdom.” See Matt. 8:11-12.
7. Piper goes on, “Do you recall how John the Baptist preached at first to the unbelievers of
Israel: You brood of vipers; who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?… Do not
begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you, God is able
from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.' There were many in Israel who had
the misguided notion that belonging to the chosen people, being a Jew, was a free pass at
the judgment day. So John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul struggled to get the point across that
those who reject Jesus and live in sin will be condemned at the judgment day whether Jew
or gentile. It was to the Jewish towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida to whom Jesus said, Woe
to you ... For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon (gentile cities) which occurred
in you, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. evertheless, I say to you it will
be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you (Matthew
11:21,22). Jesus turns the false notion on its head: worse for the Jews in judgment, not
better, because their privilege was greater.
8. Hodge in his commentary wrote, “In order to appreciate the force of the apostle’s
reasoning in this and the following verses, it should be remembered that the principal
ground on which the Jews expected to be accepted by God was the covenant which he had
made with their father Abraham, in which he promised to be a God to Abraham and to his
descendants after him. The Jews believed that this promise guaranteed salvation for all
who retained their connection with Abraham through the observance of the law and the
rite of circumcision. Therefore they expected to be regarded and treated not so much as
individuals, each dealt with according to his personal character, but as a community to
whom salvation was assured by the promise made to Abraham.
Paul begins his argument at a distance; he states his principles in such general terms that
they could not fail to secure the assent of the Jew, before he was aware of their application
to himself. It is clear that the Jews are addressed in this chapter both from the whole tenor
of the argument, and from its particular application to the Jews from verse 17 onwards.
This way of viewing the passage is now generally accepted, though many of the earlier
commentators supposed either that no particular people were being spoken of here or that
the apostle had in mind the best pagans, or at least those who did not seem to approve of
the sins mentioned in the preceding chapter, but rather condemned them.”
9. Stedman, “Here Paul talks about those who pass judgment on others. If there are any
here this morning who do not belong in that category, we will excuse you. You are free to
go, because I want to talk to those who have, at one time or another, passed judgment on
someone else. The apostle makes two points about these people in Verse 1:
First, he says that these people know the difference between right and wrong; otherwise
they would not presume to be judging. They have a clear understanding of a standard.
They know that one thing is wrong and another thing is right. They are clearly aware,
therefore, that there are things that are wrong, and which merit the judgment and wrath of

11. God released in society. This wrath, explained in Chapter 1, is primarily God's removal of
the restraints upon human wickedness, allowing evil to become widespread and publicly
evident. That is the wrath of God at work. The people Paul speaks of in Chapter 2 are
aware that there are things that bring forth the wrath of God, things that cause society to
degenerate.
Paul's second point about these people who have a clear view of what is wrong in society is
devastating. He says they are guilty because they are doing the same things themselves. The
judges are as guilty as the ones they have in the dock.
As a practiced, self-righteous hypocrite, I always have a feeling of surprise at that
statement. I feel that whenever moral people, those who pride themselves on a degree of
righteousness and a standard of ethics, read a statement like this, they are taken by
surprise. What do you mean? How could this be?
This reminds me of our Lord's account of his return, when all the nations are to be judged
before him {cf, Matt 25:31-46}. He will separate them into two bands, the sheep and the
goats. The test of judgment is made on the basis of how people treat others. He will say to
the sheep, When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink, when I was hungry you fed me, when
I was naked you clothed me, when I was in prison you visited me. To the goats he will say,
When I was thirsty you did not give me to drink, when I was hungry you did not feed me,
when I was naked you did not clothe me, and when I was sick or in prison you did not visit
me. Both groups are taken by surprise and say, When did this happen? When did we see
you thirsty or hungry or naked? We don't remember that! This feeling of surprise is
highly indicative of how little we understand ourselves and why we need a passage such as
this. We are all guilty.
I am going to use myself as an example, simply because I feel I am such an excellent
example of what the rest of you are like. As I have been thinking this through, I see three
ways by which I try to elude the fact that I am guilty of the things that I accuse others of
doing:
First, I am congenitally blind toward many of my own faults. I just am not aware of them. I
do not see that I am doing the same things that others are doing, and yet other people can
see that I am. I don't see it, and neither do you see it in yourself. We all have these blind
spots. One of the greatest lies of our age is the idea that we can know ourselves. We often
argue, Don't you think I know myself? The answer is, o, you do not know yourself.
You are blind to much of your life. There can be areas that are very hurtful and sinful that
you are not aware of.
I stayed with a pastor and his delightful family not long ago. They had three children, two
boys and a girl. The oldest boy was about sixteen, and, like all sixteen-year-olds, he was
very concerned about the undisciplined life of his twelve-year-old brother. One day, his
mother said, he came in all upset at something his brother had done. He said, Who does
he think he is? Why, he acts as though he's as good as the rest of us! What a typical
example of the attitude we all have, only he was honest enough to say it.

12. I caught myself the other day saying to someone, Relax! Take it easy! It was only
afterward that I heard my own voice and realized that I was not relaxed, and I was not
taking it easy myself. Have you ever lectured your children on the sin of procrastination?
Then did you barely get your income tax report in on time, or not get it in at all?
How blind we are! We are congenitally blind toward many of our own faults. We just do
not see them. In that way we can indeed be guilty, as the verse says, of doing the very things
we accuse others of doing.
A second way we try to elude the fact that we are guilty of the very things we accuse others
of doing is by conveniently forgetting what we have done that is wrong. We may have been
aware of our sin at the time, but somehow we just assume that God is going to forget it. We
do not have to acknowledge it in any way -- he will just forget it. As the sin fades from our
memory, we think it fades from his, as well.
For example, let's consider our thought life. Much of this passage must be understood in
the light of our Lord's revelation in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says that God, who
looks at the heart, sees what is going on in the inner attitude and judges on that basis; he
doesn't judge as men judge, according to what is observable from the outward life. In the
Sermon on the Mount we learn that if we hold a feeling of animosity and hatred against
someone, if we are bitter and resentful and filled with malice toward an individual, then we
are guilty of murder, just as though we had taken a knife and plunged it into that person's
breast, or shot them with a gun. If we find ourselves lustfully longing to possess the body of
another, if we play with this idea over and over in our mind, and treat ourselves to a
fantasy of sex, we have committed fornication or adultery. If we find ourselves filled with
pride, yet we put on the appearance of being humble and considerate of others, we are
guilty of the worst of sins. Pride of heart destroys humanity.
We think these things will go unnoticed, but God sees them in our heart. He sees all the
actions that we conveniently have forgotten. He sees it when we cut people down, or speak
with spite and sharpness, and deliberately try to hurt them. He sees it when we are unfair
in our business tactics, when we are arrogant toward someone we think is on a lower social
level than ourselves. He sees it when we are stubborn and uncooperative in trying to work
out a tense situation. All these things God takes note of. We, who condemn these things in
others, find ourselves guilty of the same things. Isn't it remarkable that when others
mistreat us we always think it is most serious and requires immediate correction. But when
we mistreat others, we say to them. You're making so much out of a little thing! Why it's
so trivial and insignificant.
The third way we try to elude the fact that we are guilty of the very things we accuse others
of doing is by cleverly renaming things. Other people lie and cheat; we simply stretch the
truth a little. Others betray; we simply are protecting our rights. Others steal; we borrow.
Others have prejudices; we have convictions. Others murder and kill; we exploit and ruin.
Others rape; we pollute. We cry, Those people ought to be stoned! Jesus says, He that is
without sin among you, let him cast the first stone, {cf, John 8:7}. Yes, we are all guilty of
the same things we accuse others of doing.

13. 10. Someone wrote this to illustrate again the point Stedman is making.
You lose your temper; I have righteous anger.
You're a jerk; I'm having a bad day.
You have a critical spirit; I bluntly tell the truth.
You gossip; I share prayer requests.
You curse and swear; I let off steam.
You're pushy; I'm intensely goal-oriented.
You're greedy; I'm simply taking care of business.
You're a hypochondriac; but I'm really sick.
You stink; I merely have an earthy aroma.
Thomas a Kempis said, ““How rarely we weigh our neighbor
in the same balance in which we weigh ourselves.”
10B. Another author added, “Furthermore, we are masters at cleverly using semantics to
escape the guilt of which we accuse others. For example, it’s not unusual for us to think in
these terms:
I have convictions, but
You are prejudiced.
I am firm, but
You are a pig-headed fool.
I am conservative, but
You are reactionary.
I am progressive, but
You are radical.
I am righteously indignant, but
You are always flying off the handle about nothing.
I have reconsidered, but
You have gone back on your word.
I am discerning, but
You are intolerant.
10C. Brian Bill, “Harry Ironside tells the story about Bishop Potter who was sailing for
Europe on an ocean liner many years ago. When he boarded he found out that he had to
share his cabin with another man and after meeting his roommate he went up to the
purser’s desk and asked if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s
safe. He explained that he ordinarily wouldn’t do this but after meeting the man who was

14. to occupy his room, he could just tell from his appearance that he was not a very
trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked,
“It’s all right, Bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. Your bunkmate has
already been here and left his valuables for the same reason!”
It’s so easy to condemn in others the very same thing we excuse in ourselves. I want to state
at the very beginning that I am a hypocrite…and so are you. I have many examples to
choose from but I’ll pick just one. When we were in Biloxi two months ago all the men slept
in the church sanctuary. The first night we were there I tried to figure out who the snorers
were so I could position myself as far away from them as possible. Sure enough, almost as
soon as the lights went off, the Jon Dewald chainsaw started running and didn’t turn off
until morning. I hassled him the whole next day for keeping us all awake. Before we went to
sleep the next night I enlisted one of the guys and we picked up Jon’s cot and took it outside.
I gave Jon grief all week.
When I arrived home I told Beth about Jon’s incessant snoring and she just looked at me
and started laughing. I asked her why she was looking at me like that and she said,
“Because you snore a lot, too!” I couldn’t believe it. Here I had jumped on Jon when I was
probably keeping others up with my nocturnal noisiness. When I asked Jon for permission
to share this story with you he started laughing as well. And then he told me something that
just confirms my holy hypocrisy. He told me that when he woke up during the first night he
heard snoring in surround sound and I was apparently leading the choir.
Why is it that we tend to be harder on others than we are on ourselves? Why are we inclined
to exaggerate the faults of others while excusing our own foibles? In short, why do we look
down on people who sin differently than we do? We all tend to divide sins into two
categories: my sins and your sins, and of course, your sins are worse than mine.” “I like how
Eugene Peterson paraphrases this verse: “Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But
if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others,
think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know
one.”
Let’s just admit that we enjoy judging others and we tend to judge them most severely for
the same things we’re guilty of. That reminds me of the elderly couple who had stopped at a
restaurant while they were on a road trip. After finishing their meal, they jumped back in
the car. After about twenty minutes the wife told her husband that she had unknowingly left
her glasses back at the restaurant. The husband blew his top because there was no place to
turn around. When they finally headed back, he groused and complained the whole way,
scolding his wife for being so forgetful. He reminded her that this was ruining their day and
they were now going to be late for their next stop. When they finally arrived at the
restaurant, the wife opened the door quickly and hurried across the parking lot. The
husband rolled down his window and yelled, “While you’re in there, you might as well get my
hat and credit card.”
11. John MacArthur steps on our toes again as he writes, “Paul's description fits us all to a
certain extent...for we all have an amazing tendency to point the finger at someone else --
the amazing ability to find someone whom we consider worse than we are, and to ask God

15. to concentrate on him and leave us alone. All of us know someone whom we consider a little
bit lower on the ethical scale than we are, and what a comfort they are to our hearts! Every
time our conscience gives us a little stab, we immediately remember these people, and we
take courage, and feel a lot better. Have you ever noticed how frequently this attitude is
encountered? When you are stopped by a traffic policeman, and he comes up beside your
car, you say to him, Officer, what are you bothering me for? Why don't you go out and
catch some of the teenage speeders, and leave us law abiding citizens alone? We all want a
lightning rod that will divert the stroke of divine wrath from us, and channel it off to
someone we consider a little more worthy of it.”
12. People fall into the two categories that Jesus taught in one of his parables. Two men
went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The
Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other
people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. 12 'I fast twice a week;
I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was
even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be
merciful to me, the sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather
than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles
himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:10-14) One was too good to need mercy, and the other
was so bad he felt unworthy of mercy. This story totally reverses the human perspective of
the good guys and the bad guys, for it was the good guy who did not need salvation who
was lost, and the bad guy who did not deserve it who was saved because he recognized he
did not deserve it. If you are so sure that you are a good guy, the chances are good that you
are, in fact, the bad guy. Phariseeism blinds us to our sinfulness, and our need for a Savior.
13. The poet sums up the point of Paul perfectly.
Your best resolutions must wholly be waived,
Your highest ambitions be crossed;
You need never think you are going to be saved
Until you have learned you are lost.
14. Preceptaustin records this humorous illustration of being judgmental of others. “In his
little book Illustrations of Bible Truth, H. A. Ironside pointed out the folly of judging
others. He related an incident in the life of a man called Bishop Potter.
“He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on
board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see
the accommodations, he came up to the purser’s desk and inquired if he could leave his
gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that ordinarily he never
availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who
was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might
not be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables
and remarked, ’It’s all right, bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. The
other man has been up here and left his for the same reason!’”
15. Scott Grant, “The person whom Paul addresses in verse 1 is anyone who is guilty of
hypocrisy. His description of such a person resonates with what was known of pagan

16. philosophers who espoused a certain morality but failed to live up to it. They would
practice at least some of the “same things” Paul condemned in Romans 1:29-32, even
though they too condemned them. Such people, who suppose themselves superior, are
without excuse before God and are subject to his judgment. However, a pagan Gentile, even
if he were morally inclined, would not “suppose” that he would have anything to do with
Paul’s Jewish God. Paul’s hidden target, the Jews, begins to emerge in verse 3. Jewish
hypocrites would be inclined to suppose that they would escape the judgment of their
God.” “In the end, it doesn’t matter whether one is a Jew or Gentile. What matters is how
one has lived one’s life. In that the Jews are Paul’s emerging target, this means that they
have no advantage before God in the final judgment. Judgment based on deeds, instead of
Jewish privilege, makes the case for the impartiality of God.”
16. Bob Deffinbaugh, “The sins of the Gentiles were obvious, even blatant. They openly
practiced idolatry, immorality, sexual perversion, and other evils. Jewish sins were less
obvious and more devious. Jewish sins were concealed by “fast talk” or “fine print.” They
were often justified as acts of righteousness. This is plainly seen in the gospels where our
Lord strongly rebuked the Jewish religious leaders for their hypocrisy. The self-righteousness
of the Jews made it extremely difficult to convince them of their sinfulness,
even though their sins were (in some cases) greater than those of the Gentiles. Because of
their “blindness” and “hardness of heart,” Paul found it necessary to catch the Jews off
guard by attacking them from behind.
The self-righteous Jew was so blind to his own sin that he failed to recognize that Paul’s
indictment in Romans 1:18-32 was a universal indictment. The revelation of God’s nature
through creation was given to the Gentiles and the Jews. The same sins for which Paul
indicts the “heathen” are also committed by the Jews. As they read Paul’s words, their
minds unconsciously replaced Paul’s general references (which would have included the
Jews) with specific references (identifying only the Gentiles). They mistakenly assumed that
Paul was in perfect agreement with them. After all, Paul was condemning the Gentiles as
sinners, proving them to be worthy of divine wrath and retribution. And to this they could
say a hearty, “Amen!” Let the Gentiles be condemned. They deserved it. Little did they
expect Paul to turn to them next, indicting them for precisely the same sins. “
17. Sadler, “The Apostle has now finished his count
against the Gentiles, and he turns to the Jews, but instead of treat
ing them as a community which had fallen from God, he indivi
dualizes. He singles out a particular Jew whom he supposes to be
standing by him, and brings to bear upon him the judgment he
passes on others, as his own condemnation. It seems to me a
mistake to suppose that the Apostle treats the Jew as a hypocrite :
he rather considers him to be a proud, overweening, censorious,
self-righteous person who supposed that his election, his knowledge
of Scripture, his circumcision, his Sabbath observance entitled himto
consider any Gentile he might meet as unholy and unclean, a sinner
to whom he was fully entitled to say, Stand by thyself, come not
near to me, for I am holier than thou. This judging, this cen-

17. soriousness seems to have been in the Lord s time a special
characteristic of all strict Judaism. They judged the Lord Himself,
they judged His Apostles. They were ever on the watch to assert
their superiority and to find fault. Were there then no humble-minded
religious Jews who were Jews inwardly, and were cir
cumcised in heart ? Very few, I believe, and for this reason,
that all who were led by the Spirit had become or were fast be
coming Christians, and the typical, the normal, the Pharisaic Jew
was, we may say, invariably a judge. St. James, supposed to be of all
others the one who would be lenient with his co-religionists, and do
them justice, warns even the converted Jews against this national sin.
He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother,
speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law : but if thou judge the
law, thou art not a doer but a judge . . . who art thou that judgeth
another ? (iv. 11, 12). But could it be said that the Jews had so
forsaken the true worship of God as to be given up by Him to un-natural
lust ? o, it may not have been so, but nevertheless the
Lord, Who seeth the heart, when He sojourned among them
brought them in guilty of the state of mind and heart set forth in
the 29th, 30th, and 31st verse of the last chapter, full of unrighteous
ness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, deceit,
despiteful, proud, disobedient to parents, so that they made void
the law in order to excuse themselves when they withheld from
their parents needful sustenance.”
18. Calvin, “Therefore inexcusable art thou, O man. This reproof is directed
against hypocrites, who dazzle the eyes of men by displays of outward
sanctity, and even think themselves to be accepted before God, as
though they had given him full satisfaction. Hence Paul, after having
stated the grosser vices, that he might prove that none are just before
God, now attacks saintlings (sanctulos) of this kind, who could not
have been included in the first catalogue. ow the inference is too
simple and plain for any one to wonder how the Apostle derived his
argument; for he makes them inexcusable, because they themselves knew
the judgment of God, and yet transgressed the law; as though he said,
Though thou consented not to the vices of others, and seemest to be
avowedly even an enemy and a reprover of vices; yet as thou art not
free from them, if thou really examinest thyself, thou canst not bring
forward any defense.
For in what thou judgest another, etc. Besides the striking resemblance
there is between the two Greek verbs, krinein and katakrinein (to judge
and to condemn,) the enhancing of their sin ought to be noticed; for
his mode of speaking is the same, as though he said, Thou art doubly
deserving of condemnation; for thou art guilty of the same vices which
thou blamest and reprovest in others. It is, indeed, a well-known

18. saying, -- that they who scrutinize the life of others lay claim
themselves to innocence, temperance, and all virtues; and that those
are not worthy of any indulgence who allow in themselves the same
things which they undertake to correct in others.
For thou, judging, doest the same things: so it is literally; but the
meaning is, Though thou judgest, thou yet doest the same things. And
he says that they did them, because they were not in a right state of
mind; for sin properly belongs to the mind. They then condemned
themselves on this account, -- because, in reproving a thief, or an
adulterer, or a slanderer, they did not merely condemn the persons, but
those very vices which adhered to themselves. “
2. ow we know that God's judgment against those
who do such things is based on truth.
1. God’s judgment is not based on a whim of emotion, but on the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth. In other words there can be no bribes in the court of God, and
no special deals made in secret. All is out in the open and based on the pure facts to
establish guilt. Someone said, “When the fire hits the wood, hay and stubble it makes no
difference if it is a sinful Gentile or saintly Jew who built it-it burns.” God is not deceived
by the false judgment of men, and no subtle thinking will enable the guilty to slip past God.
Self-righteous condemnation of others in an attempt to cover and hide ones own sins will
not work with God. one of the tricks of the trade by lawyers will have any effect on God’s
judgment, and so the bottom line is, there is no escape for anyone, for all are guilty. People
in the business of judging others are only adding to their own judgment, for hypocrites are
more severely judged than those who honestly admit they are sinners.
1B. Given Blakely, “It is essential that we understand the judgment of God to be an
expression of His nature, or Person. It is something that cannot be forever suppressed.
Eventually, God will confront and condemn everything and everyone that is contrary to
Him. It is inevitable. His throne is prepared . . . for judgment (Psa 9:7), and the
preparation is not in vain. ot only does mercy and truth go before His face, but, He
declares, justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne (Psa 89:14; 97:2).These
qualities have not disappeared in Jesus. Rather, He has come to affirm them forever. As it is
written, Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever (Isa 9:6-7). Eventually, we must all appear before the

19. judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10), for God will judge the world in righteousness by that
Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He
hath raised Him from the dead (Acts 17:31). ot one small portion of His judgment will be
compromised at that time. It will be thoroughly righteous, and in complete keeping with
His Divine and holy nature.
1C. Leon Morris wrote, “God has one standard He judges by and that is truth. It's really
frightening today to see how little the truth has to do with most criminal proceedings.
Technicalities about how evidence was gathered seem to be far more important than the
question, Did he do it? Defense attorneys don’t even ask their client, Did you do it?
Their job is to raise doubts whether he did it or not. ot so with God. This is an important
truth - God's judgment is not based on personal bias (i.e., it makes no difference whether
you are Jew or Greek or whether your parents were pagans or Christians, or how much
money you give, or how long your prayers are, etc.) but God judges ACCORDIG TO
TRUTH...His scales of justice are PERFECT and for that we should rejoice. Whatever God
does is by nature right.”
1D. Berean Corner, “(2:2-6) In what various ways do people avoid facing up to being
punished by death for their hateful behavior?
AS. (1) By gaining support for their wickedness through associating with similarly wicked
people (1:32). (2) By identifying hateful behavior in others. They delude themselves into
thinking that with such razor sharp ability to see wrong in others, they must be people
deserving of life (2:1, 3). (3) 2:4-5 indicates that people infer from the length of time they
can go on enjoying life without turning from their wickedness that God has decided to
overlook it and not to punish them (1:29-31; 2:1, 3).
But Paul destroys all this delusional thinking by saying (2:2, 6) that a day is coming in
which God will most certainly judge people on the basis of how they themselves have
behaved. People's knowledge of the right, manifest in their ability to see wrong in others,
will constitute no mitigating circumstance. And the extended time God's kindness gives
people to repent will only increase their punishment because they kept on sinning during
all this time.”
2. Gill, “By the judgment of God, is not meant what is exercised on and towards men in
this life, but what will follow after death; which is called judgment to come, is represented
as certain, will be universal as to persons and things, and is here called the judgment of
God, in opposition to the judgment of men; and because it will be carried on by God only,
who is omniscient and omnipotent, and will be definitive: this is and will be, according to
truth, against them which commit such things; in opposition to all hypocrisy and
unrighteousness: and it may design the law and light of nature by which the Gentiles, the
law of Moses by which the Jews, and the Gospel of Christ by which all have enjoyed the
Gospel revelation, will be judged; or the truth of their own consciences in them all: now we
may be sure of this judgment; and of its being according to truth, from reason, from
Scripture, and from the being and perfections of God.”

20. 3. Henry, ““That the judgment of God is according to truth,--according to the eternal rules
of justice and equity,--according to the heart, and not according to the outward appearance
(1 Sam. xvi. 7),--according to the works, and not with respect to persons, is a doctrine
which we are all sure of, for he would not be God if he were not just; but it behoves those
especially to consider it who condemn others for those things which they themselves are
guilty of, and so, while they practise sin and persist in that practice, think to bribe the
divine justice by protesting against sin and exclaiming loudly upon others that are guilty, as
if preaching against sin would atone for the guilt of it
4. Barnes, “But we are sure - Greek, “We know.” That is, it is the common and admitted
sentiment of mankind. It is known and believed by people generally that God will punish
such crimes. It is implied in this declaration that this was known to the Jews, and it was
particularly to the purpose of the apostle so to express himself as to include the Jews. They
knew it because it was everywhere taught in the Old Testament, and it was the
acknowledged doctrine of the nation. The design of the apostle here, says Calvin, is to take
away the subterfuges of the hypocrite, lest he should pride himself if he obtained the praise
of human beings, for a far more important trial awaited him at the bar of God. Outwardly
he might appear well to people; but God searched the heart, and saw the secret as well as
the open deeds of people, and they who practiced secretly what they condemned openly,
could not expect to escape the righteous judgment of God. God, without respect of persons
would punish wickedness, whether it was open, as among the Gentiles, or whether it was
concealed under the guise of great regard for religion, as among the Jews.
The judgment of God - That God condemns it, and will punish it. He regards those who
do these things as guilty, and will treat them accordingly.
According to truth - This expression is capable of two meanings. The Hebrews sometimes
use it to denote truly or certainly. God will certainly judge and punish such deeds. Another
meaning, which is probably the correct one here, is that God will judge those who are guilty
of such things, not according to appearance, but in integrity, and with righteousness. He will
judge people according to the real nature of their conduct, and not as their conduct may
appear to people. The secret, as well as the open sinner therefore; the hypocrite, as well as
the abandoned profligate, must expect to be judged according to their true character. This
meaning comports with the design of the apostle, which is to show that the Jew, who secretly
and hypocritically did the very things which he condemned in the Gentile, could not escape
the righteous judgment of God.
Against him - That is, against every man, no matter of what age or nation.
Which commit such things - The crimes enumerated in Rom. 1. The apostle is not to be
understood as affirming that each and every individual among the Jews was guilty of the
specific crimes charged on the pagan, but that they were as a people inclined to the same
things. Even where they might be externally moral, they might be guilty of cherishing evil
desires in their hearts, and thus be guilty of the offence, Mat_5:28. When people desire to do
evil, and are prevented by the providence of God, it is right to punish them for their evil
intentions. The fact that God, prevents them from carrying their evil purposes into
execution, does not constitute a difference between their real character and the character of
those who are suffered to act out their wicked designs.

21. 5. Calvin, “ But we know that the judgment of God, etc. The design of Paul is to
shake off from hypocrites their self-complacencies, that they may not
think that they can really gain any thing, though they be applauded by
the world, and though they regard themselves guiltless; for a far
different trial awaits them in heaven. But as he charges them with
inward impurity, which, being hid from the eyes of men, cannot be
proved and convicted by human testimonies, he summons them to the
tribunal of God, to whom darkness itself is not hid, and by whose
judgment the case of sinners, be they willing or unwilling, must be
determined.
Moreover, the truth of judgment will in two ways appear, because God
will punish sin without any respect of persons, in whomsoever it will
be found; and he will not heed outward appearances, nor be satisfied
with any outward work, except what has proceeded from real sincerity of
heart. It hence follows, that the mask of feigned sanctity will not
prevent him from visiting secret wickedness with judgment. It is, no
doubt, a Hebrew idiom; for truth in Hebrew means often the inward
integrity of the heart, and thus stands opposed not only to gross
falsehood, but also to the outward appearance of good works. And then
only are hypocrites awakened, when they are told that God will take an
account, not only of their disguised righteousness, but also of their
secret motives and feelings.”
6. Robert Haldane, “The real import of this phrase will be ascertained in considering the
chief error of the Jews about this matter. While they admitted that God’s law, in general,
condemns all its transgressors, yet they hoped that, as the children of Abraham, God would
in their case relax the vigor of His requirements. What the Apostle asserts, then, is designed
to explode this error. If God should sentence Gentiles to condemnation for transgression of
the work of the law written in the heart, and pass a different sentence on Jews transgressing
the law of Moses, His judgment or sentence would not be according to truth. If some
transgressors escaped, while others were punished, the truth of the threat or penalty was
destroyed. The truth of God in His threatening, or in the penalty of the breach of His law, is
not affected by the deliverance of those saved by the Gospel. The penalty and the precept
are fulfilled in Jesus Christ the surety. While God pardons, He by no means clears the guilty.
His people are absolved, because they are righteous; they have fulfilled the law, and suffered
its penalty, in the death and obedience of Jesus Christ, with whom they are one. The object
of the Apostle, then, was to undeceive the Jew in their vain hope of escape, while they knew
themselves to be transgressors. And it equally applies to nominal Christians. It is the most
prevalent ground of hope among false professors of Christianity, that God will not be so
strict with them as His general threatening declares, because of their relation to Him as His
professed people.”

22. 3. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them
and yet do the same things, do you think you will
escape God's judgment?
Phillips: What makes you think that you who so readily judge the sins of others, can
consider yourself beyond the judgment of God?
1. Paul is making it clear to all that no man is the valid judge of another man, and to
pretend that one is such a valid judge is to take on greater judgment on himself, for he is
usurping the role of God, who alone can be the valid judge of anyone. Paul asks if we think
we can escape God’s judgment by being judges of others, and the answer most people give
is, “Yes, of course I can escape, for I am the righteous one, and they are the guilty ones, so I
have a right to judge.” Such an attitude brings them before God’s judgment seat with
greater sin, for they presume to have the wisdom to judge other when they do not even have
the wisdom to see their own sin that is worthy of judgment. Gifford wrote, It is the same
notion that is rebuked by John the Baptist, Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father
(Matt. iii. 8, 9.) Paul is saying your geneology will not cut it, for you will be judged just
like those who never heard of Abraham.
1B. Henry, “Can the heart-searching God be imposed upon by formal pretences, the
righteous Judge of all so bribed and put off? The most plausible politic sinners, who
acquit themselves before men with the greatest confidence, cannot escape the judgment of
God, cannot avoid being judged and condemned. This implies they had that very thought.
Men are prone to abuse a privilege and think they can get by with what others cannot.
Some think they can simply confess and then go and keep on doing it. We hate our own
faults in others.
1C. Dr. Ray Pritchard, “Let us suppose that every time a baby is born, an invisible tape
recorder is hung around its neck. As that baby grows up, the tape recorder faithfully
records all the moral judgments that person makes about another person: “She’s so catty,”
“He can’t be trusted,” “Only a fool would do a thing like that,” “I’d die before I would say
something like that,” “He doesn’t deserve a second chance.” Think of all the thousands and
thousands of moral judgments we make every year. And the invisible recorder catches them
all. Finally, the day comes when the man stands before the Almighty. He protests that he
doesn’t deserve to be there, that God has nothing on him, that he’s been a very good
person. From nowhere, a finger appears and presses a button on the tape recorder around
the man’s neck. Out comes the sound of all the moral judgments that man made over 75
years. When it is over, God says, “ow I will judge you by the same standards you used in
judging others.” Who could survive that judgment?”
2. Godet the French commentator wrote, “Dost thou reason that thou wouldst escape,

23. -thou? A being by thyself? A privileged person? And he adds, The Greek word here used
(logizomai) well describes the false calculations whereby the Jews persuaded themselves
that they would escape the judgment wherewith God would visit the Gentiles. According to
the Jewish tradition only the Gentiles would be judged; while all ‘Jews, as the children of
the kingdom of Messiah, would inherit it! The Jews were expecting God to have a
double standard for judgment; one for the no good Gentiles, and another for his favorites,
the Jews. Unfortunately, God is no respecter of persons, and he has only one standard, and
that is truth. If it is true that you do the same things as those you condemn, then you too
will be condemned.
2B. Dr. Wayne Barber, “Paul shows that divine privilege and divine blessing do not excuse
or exempt someone from God’s judgment. This is where they messed up. The Jew was so
privileged. He had the covenants, the law, the promises, the commands, everything. For
some reason he thought that made him a privileged character. He took what he had, turned
it around, didn’t appreciate it and used it as a license to sin. God says, Just because you
have been divinely blessed; just because you have been divinely privileged does not exempt
you from judgment. All that privilege, all of My goodness, was meant for something else.
3. Donald Grey Barnhouse offers this pithy paraphrase of Romans 2:3: You dummy-do
you really figure that you have doped out an angle that will let you go up against God and
get away with it? You don’t have a ghost of a chance. There is no escape. Do you
understand? o escape-ever. And this means you-the respectable person, sitting in
judgment upon another fellow creature, and remaining unrepentant yourself”
4. William ewell wrote, Of course, this whole second chapter, and the first part of the
third, is meant by God, whose name is Love, to drive us out of our false notions of Himself
and His judicial procedure, into the arms of our Redeemer, Christ; who has borne wrath,
the wrath of God, as our Substitute. But whether you are brought to flee to Christ or not,
you must face the facts: God is a God of judgment, and a God of truth. See how He spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up. It is not because God loves to judge and condemn,
for He definitely says judgment is His strange work (Isa28:21). evertheless, He must
judge, and it must be according to truth, according to the facts, the realities which are,
of course, known to Him. He needs no jury to decide any case. He is Himself Witness,
Jury and Judge.
4B. Barnes, “And thinkest thou ... - This is an appeal to their common sense, to their deep
and instinctive conviction of what was right. If they condemned those who practiced these
things; if, imperfect and obscure as their sense of justice was; if, unholy as they were, they
yet condemned those who were guffey of these offences, would not a holy and just God be
far more likely to pronounce judgment? And could they escape who had themselves
delivered a similar sentence? God is of “purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look
upon iniquity, Hab_1:13. And if people condemned their fellow-men, how much more
would a pure and holy God condemn iniquity. This appeal is evidently directed against the
Jew. It was doubtless a prevalent sentiment among them, that provided they adhered to the
rites of their religion, and observed the ceremonial law, God would not judge them with the
same severity as he would the abandoned and idolatrous Gentiles: compare Mat_3:9;

24. Joh_8:33. The apostle shows them that crime is crime, wherever committed: that sin does
not lose its essential character by being committed in the midst of religious privileges; and
that those who professed to be the people of God have no special license to sin. Antinomians
in all ages, like the Jews, have supposed that they, being the friends of God, have a right to
do many things which would not be proper in others; that what would be sin in others, they
may commit with impunity; and that God will not be strict to mark the offences of his
people. Against all this Paul is directly opposed, and the Bible uniformly teaches that the
most aggravated sins among people are those committed by the professed people of God;
compare Isa_1:11-17; Isa_65:2-5; Rev_3:16.
5. Gill, “Rom 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things,
and doest the same,.... Some men may be so vain as to imagine, that though they do the
same things which they condemn in others, they shall escape the judgment of God: but
such will find themselves most sadly mistaken; there is no avoiding the general judgment;
all men must come to it; there will be no eluding it through craftiness and deceit, through
bribery and corruption; there will be no escaping condign punishment, through might in
the criminal, or through the judge's ignorance of his crimes, or want of ability and power to
punish.”
6. Bob Deffinbaugh, “Did the Jews really sin in the same way as the Gentiles? Were the
Jews guilty of immorality, sexual impurity and perversion, idolatry, robbery, and even
murder? The answer is a clear and undeniable, “Yes!” The historical accounts of Israel’s
past actions prove Paul’s accusations to be true (see, for example, Exodus 32 and umbers
25). The Old Testament prophets indicted the Jews of old for the same sins that Paul names
in Romans 1. Consider these texts: ( I just share a few of the many he lists.)
How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once
lodged in her, But now murderers. Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with
water. Your rulers are rebels, And companions of thieves; Every one loves a bribe, And
chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, or does the widow’s plea come
before them” (Isaiah 1:21-23,).
Woe to those who enact evil statutes, And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,
So as to deprive the needy of justice, And rob the poor of My people of their rights, In order
that widows may be their spoil, And that they may plunder the orphans. ow what will you
do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom
will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth? (Isaiah 10:1-3, ).
“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit
adultery, and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal, and walk after other gods that you
have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name,
and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? Has this house,
which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have
seen it,” declares the LORD (Jeremiah 7:8-11.)

25. Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the
inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in
the land. There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing, and adultery. They employ
violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. … Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked
with bloody footprints. And as raiders wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the
way to Shechem; Surely they have committed crime. In the house of Israel I have seen a
horrible thing; Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself. Also, O Judah, there is a
harvest appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people (Hosea 4:1-2; 6:8-11).
ot only do the Old Testament Scriptures prove that Paul’s accusations were accurate
concerning the Jews of Old, the ew Testament Scriptures indicate that the Jews of Jesus’
and Paul’s day were guilty of the same sins. In Matthew 23, our Lord charged the scribes
and Pharisees with hypocrisy (23:13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29), stealing (23:14, 25), murder
(23:31, 34, 37), self-indulgence (23:25) and lawlessness (23:28). Furthermore, Paul’s list of
Old Testament indictments in Romans 3:10-18 is applied to the Jews of his day, to show that
they were guilty of just such sins:”
7. Haldane, We may here observe how prone men are to abuse, to their own destruction,
those external advantages which God bestows on them. God had separated the Jews from
the Gentiles, to manifest Himself unto them; and, by doing so, He had exalted them above
the rest of the world, to whom He had not vouchsafed the same favor. The proper and
legitimate use of this superiority would have been to distinguish themselves from the
Gentiles by a holy life. But instead of this, owing to a fatal confidence which they placed in
this advantage, they committed the same sins as the Gentiles, and plunged into the same
excesses. By this means, what they considered as an advantage became a snare to them; for
wherein they judged others, they condemned themselves. We may likewise remark how
much self-love blinds and betrays men into false judgments. When all the question was
respecting the Gentiles, the Jews judged correctly, and conformably to Divine justice; but
when the question is respecting themselves, although they were equal in guilt, they would
not admit that they were equally the subjects of condemnation.
8. Calvin, “And thinkest thou, O man, etc. As rhetoricians teach us, that we
ought not to proceed to give strong reproof before the crime be proved,
Paul may seem to some to have acted unwisely here for having passed so
severe a censure, when he had not yet proved the accusation which he
had brought forward. But the fact is otherwise; for he adduced not his
accusation before men, but appealed to the judgment of conscience; and
thus he deemed that proved which he had in view -- that they could not
deny their iniquity, if they examined themselves and submitted to the
scrutiny of God's tribunal. And it was not without urgent necessity,
that he with so much sharpness and severity rebuked their fictitious
sanctity; for men of this class will with astonishing security trust in
themselves, except their vain confidence be forcibly shaken from them.
Let us then remember, that this is the best mode of dealing with
hypocrisy, in order to awaken it from its inebriety, that is, to draw
it forth to the light of God's judgment.

26. That thou shalt escape, etc. This argument is drawn from the less; for
since our sins are subject to the judgment of men, much more are they
to that of God, who is the only true Judge of all. Men are indeed led
by a divine instinct to condemn evil deeds; but this is only an obscure
and faint resemblance of the divine judgment. They are then extremely
besotted, who think that they can escape the judgment of God, though
they allow not others to escape their own judgment. It is not without
an emphatical meaning that he repeats the word man; it is for the
purpose of presenting a comparison between man and God.
4. Or do you show contempt for the riches of his
kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that
God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
Amplified: Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and
underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are
you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God's kindness is intended to lead you
to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?
Phillips: Are you, perhaps, misinterpreting God's generosity and patient mercy towards you
as weakness on His part? Don't you realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to
repentance?
1. When we are busy condemning others for their sins, we are hiding from the light of
God’s word that shows our hearts are also filled with sinful violations of God’s revealed
will. We are showing contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience, for
he has been putting up with us for years and not judging us and punishing us for what we
deserve. We are blocking out our own transgressions by our focus on the sins of others, and
so we are ignoring the grace of God that has preserved us from the judgment we deserve.
We are not even aware of God’s kindness, and this is bad news, for if we were fully aware
of that kindness of God we would repent of our own sins and fall before him with hearts
filled with gratitude for his mercy in sparing us from what we deserve. In other words, we
miss this life changing and cleansing experience because we refuse to accept the truth that
we are just as guilty as those we condemn. We are just like the Pharisees who missed the
blessings of Christ because they were so much better than the people that Jesus ministered
to. They judged them as unworthy sinners, and could not see that they were just as sinful.
That blindness caused them to miss out on the salvation that was offered them by Jesus.
They did not repent because they did not realize the kindness God was showing them in his

27. Son. They were too good to need his forgiveness, and the result is they missed it.
The blackest sin is not righteousness violated but mercy despised. The reason for God’s
restraint is to lead to repentance. God is patient for His goal is always man’s salvation.
But men often misunderstand and think because God does not judge for sin that it does not
matter to him. See II Pet. 3:9. The man who thinks that because he does not suffer he can
continue in sin makes his judgment all the greater.
1B. Preceptaustin has this wonderful explanation of the tolerance or forbearance of God.
“Anoche describes a refraining from the enforcement of something. It is as if God had
granted us temporary clemency, where clemency is defined as a mild, merciful disposition
in the one who otherwise has the power and/or duty to punish. Anoche implies something
temporary which may pass away (cp Ge 6:3) under new conditions. Hence it is used in
connection with God's passing over of sins in the time preceding Christ's sacrificial death,
Paul explaining in the only other T use of anoche that...because in the forbearance of God
He passed over the sins previously committed. (Romans 3:25)
Anoche was used in secular Greek writings to describe a truce between warring parties. A
truce represented a suspension of fighting, especially a suspension of considerable duration
and by agreement of opposing forces. Anoche described an armistice which is a temporary
suspension of hostilities by agreement between the opponents. The distinction is that the use
in Scripture involves a one sided armistice in which God suspends justly deserved
punishment even in the face of men continuing to be His enemy (Ro 5:10) and continuing to
exhibit hostility (Col 1:21) toward Him. What an awesome God You are to sinners such as
we!”
1C. What we see here is that God saves men in a temporal way before he saves them in a
spiritual and eternal way. The temporal salvation is a great gift, for it means that sinners
are kept alive in the hope that they will use the gift of life to receive the greater gift of
eternal life purchased for them by Christ. They will never get that chance if God judged
them immediately for their sin. So it means that every person alive is being saved in this
temporal sense, and all of them have this gift by God’s grace, for he hopes that they will see
it as grace and turn to him to receive his greater grace. It is a paradox, but the fact is, the
lost are also saved in that they are not condemned for their sinfulness immediately, but
allowed to live and experience God’s blessings in hopes that they will come into the
kingdom of God by faith in Jesus as Savior. Temporal salvation is the means by which God
brings people to eternal salvation. Every day that a man does not die is a gift of God’s
tolerance and patience. Can you be lost and saved at the same time? If you are talking
about temporal salvation, the answer is yes, but by definition the lost cannot be saved in the
sense of eternal life. It is good to point out to the lost that they are saved by the grace of
God already in the temporal sense, for this is meant to be a motivation to receive the
fullness of his grace in Christ. Most lost people do not know that they are already saved in
this sense, and they need to hear it so they are made to understand the love and mercy of
God, and of his desire to make them his children so they can escape from being children of
wrath.
1D. The sad reality is that men use their temporal salvation to carry on in their sinfulness
even more because they are not made to pay any penalty for it. Why not do it more if there

28. is no judgment for it? Solomon saw it in his day and wrote in Eccles. 8:11, “ Because the
sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men
among them are given fully to do evil.” This is the contempt for God’s riches that Paul is
writing about that will end in greater judgment. God does not kill you for your death
deserving sin, and so you spit in his face and sin all the more instead of being grateful and
crying out for his forgiveness. Here is the picture of the ultimate fool.
1E. Preceptaustin gives us this understanding of the patience of God. “(makrothumia from
makros = long + thumos = temper) (Click study of makrothumia) is literally a “long-temper”.
A short-tempered person speaks and acts impulsively and lacks self-control.
Makrothumia means patience with people, the ability to bear long in the face of
disappointment and opposition. God is longsuffering, putting up with provoking people or
circumstances without retaliating. Makrothumia is God's long suffering, as if His the
pouring out of His wrath was on a long fuse, burning slowly but giving time to escape. The
slowness in avenging wrongs demonstrates His goodness and forbearance—for long
periods of time (cf. 2Pe 2:5).”
1F. William Barclay adds that makrothumia “is characteristically a word which expresses
patience with people. Chrysostom defined it as the characteristic of the man who has it in
his power to avenge himself and deliberately does not use it. Paul is, in effect, saying to the
Jews: “Do not think that the fact that God does not punish you is a sign that He cannot
punish you. The fact that His punishment does not immediately follow sin is not a proof of
His powerlessness; it is a proof of His patience. You owe your lives to the patience of
God....almost everyone has “a vague and undefined hope of impunity,” a kind of feeling
that “this cannot happen to me.” The Jews went further than that; “they openly claimed
exemption from the judgment of God.” They traded on his mercy, and there are many who
to this day seek to do the same.”
1G. Preceptaustin, “ In summary, Kindness refers to the benefits God gives, forbearance
refers to the judgment He withholds, and patience to the duration of both. For long periods
of time the Lord is kind and forbearing. That is God’s common grace or providence that
He bestows on all of fallen mankind.”
2. Gill, “The apostle anticipates an objection against what he had said, taken from the
prosperity of these persons; who might conclude from thence, that they were not so wicked
as he had represented them; and that they should escape the judgment of God, otherwise
they would have been punished by God in this life, and not have prospered as they did;
which objection is removed by observing, that it was not their innocence, but the riches
of divine goodness, and longsuffering and forbearance, which were the causes of their
prosperity: by the riches of God's goodness, are not meant the riches of his special,
spiritual, and eternal goodness, which his own people are only partakers of: but the general
riches of his temporal and providential goodness, which the men of the world have
commonly the greatest share of; they have it in great plenty, which is signified by riches:
and by his longsuffering and forbearance are designed, not his forbearance of his chosen
ones and his longsuffering to them, which issue in their salvation; but his forbearance of
sinners, and longsuffering towards them, in not as yet pouring down his wrath and

29. displeasure on them; all which are despised by them; the riches of his goodness, when he
is not glorified for his providential mercies, and in them, and when these are abused to the
lusts of men. The forbearance of God is despised, when men on account of it harden
themselves in sin; and his longsuffering when they deny his concern in Providence, or a
future judgment, and promise themselves impunity. Moreover, the apostle obviates the
above objection by asserting that God's end in his goodness, forbearance, and
longsuffering, was not to testify to their innocence, as they imagined, but to lead them to
repentance, of which they were ignorant;
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.
This is to be understood not of a spiritual and evangelical repentance, which is a free grace
gift, and which none but the Spirit of God can lead, or bring persons to; but of a natural
and legal repentance, which lies in an external sorrow for sin, and in an outward cessation
from it, and reformation of life and manners, which the goodness of God to the Jews should
have led them to; who had a large share of the good things of life, a land flowing with milk
and honey, and many outward privileges which other nations had not, as the giving of the
law, the covenant and promises, the word and ordinances; and repentance here chiefly
designs, as it may respect the Gentiles, a change of mind and practice in them relating to
idolatry and superstition ow the providential goodness of God has a tendency to lead
persons to repentance on this account; but of this end of divine goodness the Gentiles were
ignorant; nor was this end answered thereby; which shows the wretched depravity of
human nature; see (Acts 14:15-17) .
3. Barnes, “Or despisest - This word properly means to contemn, or to treat with neglect. It
does not mean here that they professedly treated God’s goodness with neglect or contempt;
but that they perverted and abused it; they did not make a proper use of it; they did not
regard it as suited to lead them to repentance; but they derived a practical impression, that
because God had not come forth in judgment and cut them off, but had continued to follow
them with blessings, that therefore he did not regard them as sinners, or they inferred that
they were innocent and safe. This argument the Jews were accustomed to use (compare
Luk_13:1-5; Joh_9:2); and thus sinners still continue to abuse the goodness and mercy of
God.
The riches of his goodness - This is a Hebrew mode of speaking, for “his rich goodness,”
that is, for his abundant or great goodness. Riches denote superfluity, or what abounds, or
which exceeds a man’s present desires; and hence, the word in the ew Testament is used to
denote abundance; or what is very great and valuable; see the note at Rom_9:23; compare
Rom_11:12, Rom_11:33; 2Co_8:2; Eph_1:7, Eph_1:18; Eph_3:8, Eph_3:16; Col_1:27;
Eph_2:4. The word is used here to qualify each of the words which follow it, his rich
goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering.
Goodness - Kindness, benignity.
Forbearance - ἀνοχῆς anochēs. Literally, his holding-in or restraining his indignation; or
forbearing to manifest his displeasure against sin.
Long-suffering - This word denotes his slowness to anger; or his suffering them to commit
sins long without punishing them. It does not differ essentially from forbearance. This is
shown by his not coming forth, at the moment that sin is committed, to punish it. He might

30. do it justly, but he spares people from day to day, and year to year, to give them opportunity
to repent, and be saved. The way in which people despise or abuse the goodness of God is to
infer that He does not intend to punish sin; that they may do it safely; and instead of turning
from it, to go on in committing it more constantly, as if they were safe. “Because sentence
against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully
set in them to do evil,” Ecc_8:11. The same thing was true in the time of Peter; 2Pe_3:3-4.
And the same thing is true of wicked people in every age; nor is there a more decisive proof
of the wickedness of the human heart, than this disposition to abuse the goodness of God,
and because he shows kindness and forbearance, to take occasion to plunge deeper into sin,
to forget his mercy, and to provoke him to anger.
ot knowing - ot considering. The word used here, ἀγνοῶν agnoōn, means not merely to
be ignorant of, but it denotes such a degree of inattention as to result in ignorance. Compare
Hos_2:8. In this sense it denotes a voluntary, and therefore a criminal ignorance.
Leadeth thee ... - Or the tendency, the design of the goodness of God is to induce people to
repent of their sins, and not to lead them to deeper and more aggravated iniquity. The same
sentiment is expressed in 2Pe_3:9, “The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that
any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” See also Isa_30:18, “And
therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you;” Hos_5:15; Eze_18:23,
Eze_18:32.
Repentance - Change of mind, and purpose, and life. The word here evidently means, not
merely sorrow, but a forsaking of sin, and turning from it. The tendency of God’s goodness
and forbearance to lead people to repentance, is manifest in the following ways.
(1) It shows the evil of transgression when it is seen to be committed against so kind and
merciful a Being.
(2) It is suited to melt and soften the heart. Judgments often harden the sinner’s heart,
and make him obstinate. But if while he does evil God is as constantly doing him good; if the
patience of God is seen from year to year, while the man is rebellious, it is adapted to melt
and subdue the heart.
(3) The great mercy of God in this often appears to people to be overwhelming; and so it
would to all, if they saw it as it is. God bears with people from childhood to youth; from
youth to manhood; from manhood to old age; often while they violate every law, contemn
his mercy, profane his name, and disgrace their species; and still, notwithstanding all this,
his anger is turned away, and the sinner lives, and “riots in the beneficence of God.” If there
is anything that can affect the heart of man, it is this; and when he is brought to see it, and
contemplate it, it rushes over the soul and overwhelms it with bitter sorrow.
(4) The mercy and forbearance of God are constant. The manifestations of his goodness
come in every form; in the sun, and light, and air; in the rain, the stream, the dew-drop; in
food, and raiment, and home; in friends, and liberty, and protection; in health, and peace;
and in the gospel of Christ, and the offers of life; and in all these ways God is appealing to
his creatures each moment. and setting before them the evils of ingratitude, and beseeching
them to turn and live.
And from this passage, we cannot but remark,
(1) That the most effectual preaching is what sets before people most of the goodness of
God.

31. (2) Every man is under obligation to forsake his sins, and turn to God. There is no man
who has not seen repeated proofs of his mercy and love.
(3) Sin is a stubborn and an amazing evil.
Where it can resist all the appeals of God’s mercy; where the sinner can make his way
down to hell through all the proofs of God’s goodness; where he can refuse to hear God
speaking to him each day, and each hour, it shows an amazing extent of depravity to resist
all this, and still remain a sinner. Yet there are thousands and millions who do it; and who
can be won by no exhibition of love or mercy to forsake their sins, and turn to God. Happy
is the man who is melted into contrition by the goodness of God, and who sees and mourns
over the evil of sinning against so good a Being as is the Creator and Parent of all.
4. Clarke, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness - Wilt thou render of none effect
that marked benevolence of God towards thee which has given so many superior
advantages, and that forbearance which has tolerated thy many miscarriages, and that
long-suffering which, after repeated provocations, still continues to bear with thee?
ot knowing - Αγνοων, not acknowledging that this goodness of God, which has so long
manifested itself in forbearance and long-suffering, leadeth thee to repentance - was
designed to accomplish this blessed end; which thy want of consideration and
acknowledgment has rendered, hitherto, ineffectual. This was a maxim among the Jews
themselves; for, in Synopsis Sohar, it is said: - The holy blessed God delays his anger against
the wicked, to the end that they may repent and be converted.
5. Henry, “He draws up a charge against them (Rom_2:4, Rom_2:5) consisting of two
branches: -
1. Slighting the goodness of God (Rom_2:4), the riches of his goodness. This is especially
applicable to the Jews, who had singular tokens of the divine favour. Means are mercies, and
the more light we sin against the more love we sin against. Low and mean thoughts of the
divine goodness are at the bottom of a great deal of sin. There is in every wilful sin an
interpretative contempt of the goodness of God; it is spurning at his bowels, particularly the
goodness of his patience, his forbearance and long-suffering, taking occasion thence to be so
much the more bold in sin, Ecc_8:11. +ot knowing, that is, not considering, not knowing
practically and with application, that the goodness of God leadeth thee, the design of it is to
lead thee, to repentance. It is not enough for us to know that God's goodness leads to
repentance, but we must know that it leads us - thee in particular. See here what method
God takes to bring sinners to repentance. He leads them, not drives them like beasts, but
leads them like rational creatures, allures them (Hos_2:14); and it is goodness that leads,
bands of love, Hos_11:4. Compare Jer_31:3. The consideration of the goodness of God, his
common goodness to all (the goodness of his providence, of his patience, and of his offers),
should be effectual to bring us all to repentance; and the reason why so many continue in
impenitency is because they do not know and consider this.
6. Stedman, “Paul's question is, Why are you acting the way you are?Why do you judge
others so critically and so constantly, yet never seem to judge yourself? Surely it can't be
that you think you are going to escape! If you know that God judges according to truth,
you must be included in that judgment as well. If it is not that you think you'll escape his

32. judgment, then it must be that you are treating with disdain the opportunities God gives
you to repent. Why are you allowed to live? Why are you permitted to experience life, to
find a new year lying ahead of you, with all its chances to correct these wrong attitudes and
conditions? God's goodness, tolerance, and patience are exhibited in his giving you a
chance to change, a chance to acknowledge your sins and to be forgiven. We have to see all
our life in this respect. A faithful God, judging the inner part of life, does give us these
opportunities. He knows we are blind. He knows that we often struggle at recognizing what
is wrong in our life, and so he gives us these opportunities to repent and change. These
moments of truth are very important.”
7. Given Blakely, “The word despise is an usually strong one. Coming from katafronei/j,
it means to treat with contempt, look down upon, and think nothing of. More particularly,
it means to treat with neglect, disregard, despise, disdain, or think little or nothing
of.Thayer This is not an intellectual sin, as though a person thought upon the goodness of
God and replied, I hate God’s goodness, and want nothing to do with it. Rather,
something that is despised is OT thought upon. It is pushed to the back of human thought
in preference for other things. Thus, to despise the goodness of the Lord is to consider it
unworthy of extended thought or energetic pursuit. The consideration of Divine goodness is
rejected in favor of other priorities.
Those who ponder God’s goodness and forbearance and longsuffering will come to the
same conclusion as Jeremiah. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not (Lam 3:22). With understanding, those who do not
despise these Divine qualities will say with Jacob, I am not worthy of the least of all the
mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant (Gen 32:10).
To despise the Lord’s goodness and forbearance and longsuffering is to fail to come to
these conclusions. It is to neglect to see that only the withholding of Divine wrath has kept
sinners alive. Only the longsuffering of the Lord has stopped them from dropping into hell.
Rather than God recognizing their good works, He has had to restrain Himself from
destroying them because of their deeds. That is the real situation.
One of the treacherous traits of lukewarmness is that it leads one to despise what is sorely
needed for recovery and acceptance. We are living in such a time. Men–religious men–seem
blissfully unaware of, and disinterested in, the goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering of
God. It is a most serious condition.
The riches of God’s forbearance speaks of His leniency toward those deserving His
wrath. It is true that God prefers mercy over sacrifice (Hos 6:6). The Lord forbears
pouring His wrath upon men in order that He might show mercy to them. That is His
preference. He is not looking for a reason to condemn men, but for an opportunity, so to
speak, to save them.
In pleading with Israel, Joel appealed to the longsuffering of God–His slowness to anger,
and preference to bless the people. So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to
the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness;

33. And He relents from doing harmKJV (Joel 2:13). This is God’s nature. The Spirit
moved Peter to state the reality and value of God’s longsuffering, relating it to salvation.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is
longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentanceKJV (2 Pet 3:9).
If men will ponder the goodness of God, allowing their hearts and minds to dwell upon
it, it will lead them to any required repentance. This is the best way to come to repentance,
much to be preferred over His chastening. This is the aspect of spiritual life to which the
Spirit referred when He said, For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned
with the world (1 Cor 11:31-32). Rather than stubbornly continuing in sin, seeking their
own fleshly satisfaction, men ought to ponder how good God has been to them. He has not
dealt with them according to their sins (Psa 103:10). By this, the Spirit means God’s
judgments have been less harsh than the sins of men deserve.
Even in His punishments, God is good, allowing for men to be sensitive and come to Him.
o wonder it is twice stated in Scripture, but I will correct thee in measure, and will not
leave thee altogether unpunished (Jer 30:11; 46:28). His judgment never goes beyond the
boundary of God’s character.
All of this is designed to provoke men to repent of their refusal to retain God in their
knowledge. It is intended to turn them from seeking their own ways to seeking the Lord, to
which vocation they have been appointed (Acts 17:26-27).
8. Haldane, “Goodness. — This is the best translation of the word. Mr. Tholuck says that it
signifies love in general. But the idea expressed is more general than love. An object of
goodness may be very unworthy of being an object of love. A distinction must be made
between goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering. Goodness imports the benefits which
God hath bestowed on the Jews. Forbearance denotes God’s bearing with them, without
immediately executing vengeance — His delaying to punish them. It signifies the toleration
which He had exercised towards them after extending to them His goodness; so that this
term implies their ingratitude after having received the benefits which God had bestowed,
notwithstanding which He had continued the course of His goodness.
Long-suffering signifies the extent of that forbearance during many ages, denoting a degree
of patience still unexhausted. Their sins were not immediately visited with the Divine
displeasure, as would be the case in the government of men. The term goodness respects
their first calling, which was purely gratuitous, Deuteronomy 7:7. Forbearance respects
what had passed after their calling, when, on different occasions, the people having
offended God, He had, notwithstanding, restrained His wrath, and had not consumed
them. It is this that David celebrates in 19A310 Psalm 103:10, and 106. Long-suffering
adds something more to forbearance; for it respects a long course of ingratitude and sins on
the part of that people, and imports an extreme degree of patience on the part of God, — a
patience which many ages, and a vast accumulation of offenses, had not exhausted. The
Apostle calls all this the riches of His goodness, and long-suffering, and forbearance, to
mark the greatness of their extent, their value and abundance, and to excite admiration in

34. beholding a God all-powerful, who has no need of any of His creatures, and is infinitely
exalted above them, striving for so long a period with an unrighteous, ungrateful,
rebellious, and stiff-necked people, but striving with them by His goodness and patience.
This language is also introduced to correct the false judgments of men on this patience of
God; for they are apt, on this account, to imagine that there is no God. If, say they, God
existed, He would not endure the wicked. They suppose that God does not exercise His
providence in the government of the world, since He does not immediately punish their
sins. To repress these impious thoughts, the Apostle holds forth this manner of God’s
procedure as the riches of goodness and patience, in order that the impunity which it
appears that sinners enjoy, might not be attributed to any wrong principle. Or despisest
thou. — God’s goodness is despised when it is not improved as a means to lead men to
repentance, but, on the contrary, serves to harden them, from the supposition that God
entirely overlooks their sin.” “ “It also follows that it cannot be said that when God thus
externally calls persons on whom it is not His purpose to bestow grace, His object is only to
render them inexcusable. For if that were the case, the Apostle would not have spoken of
the riches of His goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, — terms which would not
be applicable, if, by such a call, it was intended merely to render men inexcusable.”
9. John Piper has an excellent paragraph on the paradox of God’s riches coming to those
who are facing his wrath. In other words those who deserve his judgment are still objects of
his love and grace, which is called common grace. It is common because it is the goodness
of God being shown to all people both saved and unsaved. He wrote, “Yes there is kindness
in the midst of wrath. God is always doing more than one thing. Jesus said, He causes His
sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous
(Mt 5:45-note). Paul said to the pagans of Lystra, [God] did not leave Himself without a
witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying
your hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17). He said this to people who were dying
and suffering and sinning under the wrath of God. God warns with his wrath and he woos
with his kindness. He speaks both languages: severity and tenderness. Do you recall how
Jesus interpreted the coming of John the Baptist as a severe, leather-girded, locus-eating,
desert-living, adultery -condemning prophet, on the one hand, and his own coming as a
party-going, wine-making, child-healing, sin-forgiving savior, on the other hand? He said,
We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not
mourn. Instead, you said, John has a demon and Jesus is a glutton (Mt 11:17). The
gospel came with both languages, but they would not hear. O, unbeliever, God is speaking
to you in your pain to warn you, and God is speaking to you in your pleasure to woo you.
Don't misread the voice of God.”
10. Calvin, “Dost thou despise the riches? etc. It does not seem to me, as some
think, that there is here an argument, conclusive on two grounds,
(dilemma,) but an anticipation of an objection: for as hypocrites are
commonly transported with prosperity, as though they had merited the
Lord's kindness by their good deeds, and become thus more hardened in
their contempt of God, the Apostle anticipates their arrogance, and

35. proves, by an argument taken from a reason of an opposite kind, that
there is no ground for them to think that God, on account of their
outward prosperity, is propitious to them, since the design of his
benevolence is far different, and that is, to convert sinners to
himself. Where then the fear of God does not rule, confidence, on
account of prosperity, is a contempt and a mockery of his great
goodness. It hence follows, that a heavier punishment will be inflicted
on those whom God has in this life favored; because, in addition to
their other wickedness, they have rejected the fatherly invitation of
God. And though all the gifts of God are so many evidences of his
paternal goodness, yet as he often has a different object in view, the
ungodly absurdly congratulate themselves on their prosperity, as though
they were dear to him, while he kindly and bountifully supports them.
ot knowing that the goodness of God, etc. For the Lord by his kindness
shows to us, that it is he to whom we ought turn, if we desire to
secure our wellbeing, and at the same time he strengthens our
confidence in expecting mercy. If we use not God's bounty for this end,
we abuse it. But yet it is not to be viewed always in the same light;
for when the Lord deals favorably with his servants and gives them
earthly blessings, he makes known to them by symbols of this kind his
own benevolence, and trains them up at the same time to seek the sum
and substance of all good things in himself alone: when he treats the
transgressors of his law with the same indulgence, his object is to
soften by his kindness their perverseness; he yet does not testify that
he is already propitious to them, but, on the contrary, invites them to
repentance. But if any one brings this objection -- that the Lord sings
to the deaf as long as he does not touch inwardly their hearts; we must
answer -- that no fault can be found in this case except with our own
depravity. But I prefer rendering the word which Paul here uses, leads,
rather than invites, for it is more significant; I do not, however,
take it in the sense of driving, but of leading as it were by the hand.”
11. The bottom line is, all men are rich in the kindness of God. He does not judge our
sinfulness in this life. He patiently puts up with it all in hopes that men will see their folly,
and their need of his salvation. Every day of their lives is a gift out of the treasure of his
grace. He could withdraw it an any time, but he lets sinners go on and on year after year.
He is not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance. He has no pleasure
in judgment, but only in salvation. He has no desire to see anyone condemned. He wants
people to see their need, and then see his solution to that need in His Son. They are already
potentially rich beyond imagination, but they will lose it all unless they come to confess
they are sinners and in need of a Savior. Potential riches only become permanent riches to
those who have eternal life, and that life comes only when people trust Jesus as the only one
who can save them from their sinfulness.

36. 12. “God, in His compassion, allows the fruitful seasons and harvests to all mankind,
regardless of spiritual condition. If it were not for this longsuffering then man would perish
before he had the opportunity to accept or reject the Gospel message. Theologians call this
working of God's goodness Common Grace, or the Grace that God bestows freely to all
mankind. This same Common Grace is a witness of God's existence: Acts 14:15-17 [15]
And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and
preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: [16] Who in times past
suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. [17] evertheless he left not himself without
witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our
hearts with food and gladness.
13 A W Tozer wrote “I think there is little doubt that the teaching of salvation without
repentance has lowered the moral standards of the Church and produced a multitude of
deceived religious professors who erroneously believe themselves to be saved when in fact
they are still in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. God will take nine steps
toward us, but He will not take the tenth. He will incline us to repent, but He cannot do our
repenting for us.”
14. Michael P. Andrus, “The tolerance of God refers to the fact that He withholds judgment
when He has every right to deliver it. If you sinned this week and were not judged for it--if
you gossiped and weren't struck dumb, if you lusted and didn't lose your eyesight, if you
hated and didn't lose your life--that's evidence of the tolerance of God.”
15. Spurgeon, “The apostle is intensely personal in his address. This verse is not spoken to
us all in the mass, but to some one in particular. The apostle fixes his eyes upon a single
person, and speaks to him as Thee and Thou. Despisest thou the riches of his
goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth
thee to repentance? It should ever be the intent of the preacher to convey his message to
each hearer in his own separate individuality. It is always a very happy sign when a man
begins to think of himself as an individual, and when the expostulations and invitations of
the gospel are seen by him to be directed to himself personally. I will give nothing for that
indirect, essay-like preaching which is as the sheet lightning of summer, dazzling for the
moment, and flaming over a broad expanse, but altogether harmless, since no bolt is
launched from it, and its ineffectual fires leave no trace behind. I will give nothing for that
kind of hearing which consists in the word being heard by everybody in general, and by no
one in particular. It is when the preacher can Thee and Thou his hearers that he is
likely to do them good. When each man is made to say, This is for me, then the power of
God is present in the word. One personal, intentional touch of the hem of Christ's garment
conveys more blessing than all the pressure of the crowd that thronged about the Master.
Observe that the apostle singled out an individual who had condemned others for
transgressions, in which he himself indulged. This man owned so much spiritual light that

37. he knew right from wrong, and he diligently used his knowledge to judge others,
condemning them for their transgressions. As for himself, he preferred the shade, where no
fierce light might beat on his own conscience and disturb his unholy peace. His judgment
was spared the pain of dealing with his home offenses by being set to work upon the faults
of others. He had a candle, but he did not place it on the table to light his own room; he
held it out at the front door to inspect therewith his neighbours who passed by.
The poet of the night-watches wrote,—
All men think all men mortal but themselves.
As truly might I say, All men think all men guilty but themselves. The punishment which
is due to sin the guilty reckon to be surely impending upon others, but they scarce believe
that it can ever fall upon themselves. A personal doom for themselves is an idea which they
will not harbor: if the dread thought should light upon them they shake it off as men shake
snow-flakes from their cloaks. The thought of personal guilt, judgment, and condemnation
is inconvenient; it breeds too much trouble within, and so they refuse it lodging. Vain men
go maundering on their way, whispering of peace and safety; doting as if God had passed
an act of amnesty and oblivion for them, and had made for them an exception to all the
rules of justice, and all the manner of his courts. Do men indeed believe that they alone
shall go unpunished? o man will subscribe to that notion when it is written down in black
and white, and yet the mass of men live as if this were true; I mean the mass of men who
have sufficient light to condemn sin in others. They start back from the fact of their own
personal guiltiness and condemnation, and go on in their ungodliness as if there were no
great white throne for them, no last assize, no judge, no word of condemnation, and no hell
of wrath. Alas, poor madmen, thus to dream! O Spirit of Truth save them from this fatal
infatuation.
Sin is always on the downward grade, so that when a man proceeds a certain length he
inevitably goes beyond it. The person addressed by the apostle first thought to escape
judgment, and then he came to think lightly of the goodness, forbearance, and
longsuffering of God. He thinks he shall escape in the future, and because of that he
despises the present goodness and longsuffering of the Most High. Of course he does. If he
does not believe in the terrors of the world to come for himself, he naturally reckons it to be
a small thing to have been spared their immediate experience. Barren tree as he is, he does
not believe that he will ever be cut down, and therefore he feels no gratitude to the dresser
of the vineyard for pleading, Let it alone yet another year, till I dig about it, and dung it.
I wish, as God shall help me, to drive hard at the consciences of men upon this matter. I
would be to you, my careless friend, what Jonah was to ineveh: I would warn you, and
bestir you to repentance. Oh that the Holy Ghost would make this sermon effectual for the
arousing of every unsaved soul that shall hear or read it!
Thou hast known the goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering of God. According to
the text, riches of these have been spent upon unconverted, ungodly men, and upon thee
as one of them. Let me speak with thee first, O man, and remind thee how favoured thou
hast been of God by being made a partaker of the riches of his goodness. In many cases

38. this is true of temporal things. Men may be without the fear of God, and yet, for all that,
God may be pleased to prosper their endeavors in business. They succeed almost beyond
their expectation—I mean some of them; probably the description applies to thee. They rise
from the lowest position, and accumulate about them the comforts and luxuries of life.
Though they have no religion, they have wit, and prudence, and thrift, and so they compete
with others, and God permits them to be winners in the race for wealth. Moreover, he
allows them to enjoy good health, vigour of mind, and strength of constitution: they are
happy in the wife of their youth, and their children are about them. Theirs is an envied lot.
Death seems for awhile forbidden to knock at their door, even though he has been ravaging
the neighbourhood; even sickness does not molest their household. They are not in trouble
as other men, neither are they plagued like other men. Abraham had to prepare a
Machpelah, and David mourned over his sons; but these have had to make scant provision
for family sepulchre; a hedge has in very deed been set about them and all that they have. I
know that it is thus with many who do not love God, and have never yielded to the
entreaties of his grace. They love not the hand which enriches them, they praise not the
Lord who daily loadeth them with benefits. How is it that men can receive such kindness,
and yield no return? O sirs, you are to-day blessed with all that need requires; but I pray
you remember that you might have been in the depths of poverty. An illness would have lost
you your situation; or a slight turn in trade would have left you bankrupt. You are well to-day;
but you might have been tossing to and fro upon a bed of sickness; you might have
been in the hospital, about to lose a limb. Shall not God be praised for health and freedom
from pain? You might have been shut up in yonder asylum, in the agonies of madness. A
thousand ills have been kept from you; you have been exceedingly favoured by the
goodness of the Most High. Is it not so? And truly it is a wonderful thing that God should
give his bread to those that lift up their heel against him, that he should cause his light to
shine upon those who never perceive his goodness therein, that he should multiply his
mercies upon ungodly men who only multiply their rebellions against him, and turn the
gifts of his love into instruments of transgression.
Furthermore, this goodness of God had not only come to you in a temporal form, O
impenitent man, but it has also visited you in a spiritual manner. Myriads of our fellow
men have never had an opportunity of knowing Christ. The missionary's foot has never
trodden the cities wherein they dwell, and so they die in the dark. Multitudes are going
downward, downward; but they do not know the upward road; their minds have never
been enlightened by the teachings of God's word, and hence they sin with less grievousness
of fault. You are placed in the very focus of Christian light, and yet you follow evil! Will you
not think of this? Time was when a man would have to work for years to earn enough
money to buy a Bible. There were times when he could not have earned one even with that
toil; now the word of God lies upon your table, you have a copy of it in almost every room
of your house; is not this a boon from God? This is the land of the open Bible, and the land
of the preached word of God; in this you prove the riches of God's goodness. Do you
despise this wealth of mercy? Possibly you have enjoyed the further privilege of sitting
under a ministry which has been particularly plain and earnest; you have not had sermons
preached before you, they have been preached at you: the minister has seized upon you and
tugged at your conscience, as though he would force you to the Saviour. With cries and
entreaties you have been invited to your heavenly Father, and yet you have not come. Is this
a small thing?

39. The apostle then dwells upon the riches of forbearance. Forbearance comes in when men
having offended, God withholds the punishment that is due to them; when men, having
been invited to mercy, have refused it, and yet God continues to stretch out his hands, and
invite them to come to him. Patient endurance of offenses and insults has been manifested
by God to many of you, who now hear these words of warning. The Lord knows to whom I
speak and may he make you, also, know that I am speaking to you, even to you. Some men
have gone back to the very sin of which for awhile they repented; they have suffered for
their folly, but have turned again to it with suicidal determination. They are desperately set
on their own ruin and nothing can save them. The burnt child has run to the fire again; the
singed moth has plunged again into the flame of the candle; who can pity such self-inflicted
miseries? They are given over to perdition, for they will not be warned. They have returned
to the haunt of vice, though they seemed to have been snatched from the deep ditch of its
filthiness. They have wantonly and wilfully returned to their cups, though the poison of
former draughts is yet burning in their veins. Yet, despite this folly, God shows forbearance
towards them. They have grievously provoked him when they have done despite to his
word, and have even turned to laughter the solemnities of his worship, against their own
consciences, and to their own confusion: yet when his hand has been lifted up he has
withdrawn it in mercy. See how God has always tempered his providence with kindness to
them. He laid them low so that they were sore sick, but at the voice of their moaning he
restored them. They trembled on the brink of death, yet he permitted them to recover
strength; and now, despite their vows of amendment, here they are, callous and careless,
unmindful of the mercy which gave them a reprieve.
Did you ever think what is included in the riches of forbearance. There are quick tempered
individuals who only need to be a little provoked, and hard words and blows come quick
and furious: but, oh, the forbearance of God when he is provoked to his face by ungodly
men! By men, I mean, who hear his word, and yet refuse it! They slight his love, and yet he
perseveres in it. Justice lays its hand on the sword, but mercy holds it back in its scabbard.
Well might each spared one say,—
O unexhausted Grace
O Love unspeakable!
I am not gone to my own place;
I am not yet in hell!
Earth doth not open yet,
My soul to swallow up:
And, hanging o'er the burning pit,
I still am forced to hope.
Our apostle adds to goodness and forbearance the riches of longsuffering. We draw a
distinction between forbearance and longsuffering. Forbearance has to do with the
magnitude of sin; longsuffering with the multiplicity of it: forbearance has to do with
present provocation; longsuffering relates to that provocation repeated, and continued for
a length of time. Oh, how long doth God suffer the ill manners of men! Forty years long
was he grieved with that generation whose carcasses fell in the wilderness. Has it come to
forty years yet with you, dear hearer? Possibly it may have passed even that time, and a

40. half-century of provocation may have gone into eternity to bear witness against you. What
if I should even have to say that sixty and seventy years have continued to heap up the
loads of their transgressions, until the Lord saith, I am pressed down under your sins; as a
cart that is full of sheaves I am pressed down under you. Yet for all that, here you are on
praying ground and pleading terms with God; here you are where yet the Saviour reigns
upon the throne of grace; here you are where mercy is to be had for the asking, where free
grace and dying love ring out their charming bells of invitation to joy and peace! Oh, the
riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering. Three-fold is the claim: will you
not regard it? Can you continue to despise it?
I should like to set all this in a striking light if I could, and therefore I would remind you of
who and what that God is who has exhibited this goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering
to men. Remember how great he is. When men insult a great prince the offence is thought
to be highly heinous. If anyone should openly insult our own beloved Queen, and continue
to do so, all the nation would be clamorous to have the impertinence ended speedily. We
cannot bear that a beloved ruler should be publicly insulted. And what think you of the sin
which provokes God? which to his face defies him? and in his very courts resists him? Shall
this always be forborne with? Is there not a limit to longsuffering? Goodness also adds
another item to the provocation; for we naturally say, Why should one so good be treated
so cruelly? If God were a tyrant, if he were unrighteous or unkind, it were not so much
amiss that men stood out against him; but when his very name is love, and when he
manifests the bowels of a Father towards his wandering children it is shameful that he
should be so wantonly provoked. Those words of Jesus were extremely touching when he
pointed to his miracles, and asked, For which of these things do you stone me? When I
think of God I may well say—for which of his deeds do you provoke him? Every morning
he draws the curtain and glads the earth with light, and gives you eyes to see it; he sends
his rain upon the ground to bring forth bread for man, and he gives you life to eat thereof
—is this a ground for revolting from him? Every single minute of our life is cheered with
the tender kindness of God, and every spot is gladdened with his love. I wonder that the
Lord does not sweep away the moral nuisance of a guilty race from off the face of earth.
Man's sin must have been terribly offensive to God from day to day, and yet still he shows
kindness, love, forbearance. This adds an excessive venom to man's disobedience. How can
he grieve such goodness? How can divine goodness fail to resent such base ingratitude?
Think also of God's knowledge; for he knows all the transgressions of men. What the eye
does not see the heart does not rue, is a truthful proverb; but every transgression is
committed in the very presence of God, so that penitent David cried, Against thee, thee
only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight. Transgression is committed in the sight
of God, from whose eyes nothing is hidden. Remember also, that the Lord never can forget;
before his eyes all things stand out in clear light, not only the things of to-day, but all the
transgressions of a life. Yet for all this he doth forbear. With evil reeking before his face, he
is slow to anger, and waiteth that he may be gracious.
All this while, remember, the Lord is great in power. Some are patient because they are
powerless: they bear and forbear because they cannot well help themselves; but it is not so
with God. Had he but willed it, you had been swept into hell; only a word from him and the
impenitent had fallen in the wilderness, and their spirits would have passed into the realms

41. of endless woe. In a moment the Lord could have eased him of his adversary; he could have
stopped that flippant tongue, and closed that lustful eye in an instant. That wicked heart
would have failed to beat if God had withdrawn his power, and that rebellious breath
would have ceased also. Had it not been for longsuffering you unbelievers would long since
have known what it is to fall into the hands of an angry God. Will you continue to grieve
the God who so patiently bears with you?
Be it never forgotten that sin is to God much more intolerable than it is to us. He is of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity. Things which we call little sins are great and grievous evils to
him: they do, as it were, touch the apple of his eye. Oh, do not, he says, do not this
abominable thing that I hate! His Spirit is grieved and vexed with every idle word and
every sensual thought; and hence it is a wonder of wonders that a God so sensitive of sin, a
God so able to avenge himself of his adversaries, a God who knows the abundance of
human evil, and marks it all, should nevertheless exhibit riches of goodness and
forbearance and longsuffering; yet this is what you, my ungodly hearer, have been
experiencing many a long year. Here let us pause; and oh that each one who is still unsaved
would sing most sincerely the words of Watts:—
Lord, we have long abused thy love,
Too long indulged our sin,
Our aching hearts e'en bleed to see
What rebels we have been.
o more, ye lusts, shall ye command,
o more will we obey;
Stretch out, O God, thy conqu'ring hand,
And drive thy foes away.
False prophets in these evil days play into men's hands and hold out the hope that you may
go into the next world wrong, and yet be set right in the end. This is a vile flattery of your
wicked hearts; but yet remember that even according to their maundering centuries may
elapse before this fancied restoration may occur. A sensible man would not like to run the
risk of even a year of agony. Half-an-hour of acute pain is dreaded by most people. Can it
be that the very men who start back from the dentist's door, afraid of the pinch which
extricates an aching tooth, will run the risk of years of misery? Take the future of the
impenitent even on this footing, it is a thing to be dreaded, and by every means avoided. I
say, these flattering prophets themselves, if rightly understood, give you little enough of
hope; but what will come to you if the old doctrine proves to be true and you go away into
everlasting fire in hell, as the Scripture puts it? Will you live an hour in jeopardy of such a
doom? Will you so despise the longsuffering and forbearance of the Lord?
Despisest thou the longsuffering of God? Dare you do it? I tremble as I think of a man
despising God's goodness. Is not this practical blasphemy? Darest thou do it? Oh, if thou
hast done it hitherto, do it no more. Ere yon sun goes down again, say within thy heart, I
will be a despiser of God's goodness no longer; I will arise and go unto my Father, and I

42. will say unto him,—Father, I have sinned. I will not rest until in the precious blood he has
washed my sins away.
Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? ow there are many here who know
as a matter of doctrine that the goodness of God leads them to repentance, and yet they do
not know it as a practical truth affecting their lives: indeed, they so act that it is not true to
them at all. Yet, if they do not know this they are wilfully ignorant; not willing to retain in
their minds a fact so disagreeable to them. one are so blind as those who will not see: but
he who does not see, and yet hath eyes, has a criminality about his blindness which is not
found in that of those who have no sight. Dear hearer, whether you know this truth or not, I
would remind you that God's patience with you is meant to lead you to repentance.
How? say you. Why, first by giving you an opportunity to repent. These years, which are
now coming to a considerable number with you, have been given you in order that you
might turn to God. By the time you were twenty-one you had sinned quite enough; perhaps
you had even then begun to mislead other youths, and to instruct in evil those under your
influence. Why did not God take you away at once? It might have been for the benefit of
the world if he had done so; but yet you were spared till you were thirty. Did not each year
of your lengthened life prove that the Lord was saying I will spare him, for perhaps he
will yet amend and think upon his God. I will give him more light, and increase his
comforts; I will give him better teaching, better preaching; peradventure he will repent.
Yet you have not done so. Have you lived to be forty, and are you where you were when you
were twenty? Are you still out of Christ? Then you are worse than you were; for you have
sinned more deeply and you have provoked the Lord more terribly. You have now had
space enough. What more do you need? When the child has offended, you say, Child,
unless you beg pardon at once, I must punish you: would you give a boy so many minutes
to repent in as God has given you years? I think not. If a servant is continually robbing
you; if he is careless, slothful, disobedient, you say to him, I have passed over your faults
several times, but one of these days I shall discharge you. I cannot always put up with this
slovenliness, this blundering, this idleness: one of these times you will have to go. Have
you not so spoken to your female servant, and thought it kind on your part to give her
another chance? The lord has said the same to you; yet here you are, a living but
impenitent man; spared, but spared only to multiply your transgressions. This know, that
his forbearance gives you an opportunity to repent; do not turn it into an occasion for
hardening your heart.
But next, the Lord in this is pleased to give a suggestion to you to repent. It seems to me
that every morning when a man wakes up still impenitent, and finds himself out of hell, the
sunlight seems to say, I shine on thee yet another day, as that in this day thou mayest
repent. When your bed receives you at night I think it seems to say, I will give you
another night's rest, that you may live to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus. Every
mouthful of bread that comes to the table says, I have to support your body that still you
may have space for repentance. Every time you open the Bible the pages say, We speak
with you that you may repent. Every time you hear a sermon, if it be such a sermon as
God would have us preach, it pleads with you to turn unto the Lord and live. Surely the
time past of your life may suffice you to have wrought the will of the Gentiles. The times

43. of your ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth men everywhere to repent. Do
not life and death, and heaven and hell, call upon you so to do? Thus you have in God's
goodness space for repentance, and a suggestion to repent.
But something more is here; for I want you to notice that the text does not say, The
goodness of God calleth thee to repentance, but leadeth thee. This is a much stronger
word. God calls to repentance by the gospel; God leads to repentance by his goodness. It is
as though he plucked at your sleeve and said, Come this way. His goodness lays its gentle
hand on you, drawing you with cords of love and bands of a man. God's forbearance cries,
Why wilt thou hate me? What wrong have I done thee? I have spared thee; I have spared
thy wife and children to thee; I have raised thee up from the bed of sickness; I have loaded
thy board; I have filled thy wardrobe; I have done thee a thousand good turns; wherefore
dost thou disobey me? Turn unto thy God and Father, and live in Christ Jesus.
If, on the other hand, you have not received rich temporal favours, yet the Lord still leads
you to repentance by a rougher hand; as when the prodigal fain would have filled his belly
with husks, but could not, and the pangs of hunger came upon him; those pains were a
powerful message from the Father to lead him to the home where there was bread enough
and to spare. The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. Oh, that thou wouldest
yield to its sweet leading, and follow as a child follows the guidance of a nurse. Let thy
crosses lead thee to the cross; let thy joys lead thee to find joy in Christ.
Do you not think that all this should encourage you to repent, since God himself leads you
that way? If God leads you to repentance he does not mean to cast you away. If he bids you
repent, then he is willing to accept your repentance, and to be reconciled to you. If he bids
you change your mind, it is because his own mind is love. Repentance implies a radical
change in your view of things, and in your estimate of matters; it is a change in your
purposes, a change in your thoughts and in your conduct. If the Lord leads you that way he
will help you in it. follow his gracious leading till his divine Spirit shall lead you with still
greater power and still greater efficacy, till at last you find that he has wrought in you both
repentance and faith, and you are saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. If the
goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance, then be sure of this, that the goodness of God
will receive thee when thou dost repent, and thou shalt live in his sight as his well-beloved
and forgiven child.”
16. Greg Herrick, The point Paul wants to make in 2:4 is that the Jew who thinks he can
sin and escape the judgment of God because he has a particular relationship with God—a
relationship that the Gentile who was without the Law did not have—is sadly mistaken.
This kind of Jew demonstrates contempt for the wealth of God’s kindness, forbearance,
and patience and does not realize the true intent of God’s patience; God’s patience and
forbearance do not imply that God is weak, but rather they are expressions of his chosen
method for dealing with sinners in order to lead them to repentance (metavnoian,
metanoian). Holding God’s kindness in contempt is a very serious posture to advance
against God and can only lead to divine wrath and anger.
17. Robert Brow, 2:4 In this verse we have the first reference in the epistle to repentance.

44. In the Old Testament there was a place for deep contrition (Psalm 51:1-5; Isaiah 6:5;
Jeremiah 14:7-9). But the characteristic word was a call to shubh. This Hebrew verb is
used 670 times. It means to return, go back, come back, be brought back. That means
that repentance is a turning to God to be changed by the Holy Spirit of God (see John 7:37-
39).
18. William Barclay, “Paul reminded the Jews of four things.
(i) He told them bluntly that they were trading on the mercy of God. In Rom. 2:4 he uses
three great words. He asks them: Are you treating with contempt the wealth of his
kindness, and forbearance and patience? Let us look at these three great words.
(a) Kindness (chrestotes). Of this Trench says: It is a beautiful word, as it is the expression
of a beautiful idea. There are two words for good in Greek; there is agathos and there is
chrestos. The difference between them is this. The goodness of a man who is agathos may
well issue in rebuke and discipline and punishment; but the goodness of a man who is
chrestos is always essentially kind. Jesus was agathos when he drove the moneychangers and
the sellers of doves from the Temple in the white heat of his anger. He was chrestos when he
treated with loving gentleness the sinning woman who anointed his feet and the woman
taken in adultery. So Paul says, in effect, You Jews are simply trying to take advantage of
the great kindness of God.
(b) Forbearance (anoche). Anoche is the word for a truce. True, it means a cessation of
hostility, but it is a cessation that has a limit. Paul, in effect, is saying to the Jews, You think
that you are safe because God's judgment has not yet descended upon you. But what God is
giving you is not carte blanche to sin; he is giving you the opportunity to repent and to
amend your ways. A man cannot sin forever with impunity.
(c) Patience (makrothumia). Makrothumia is characteristically a word which expresses
patience with people. Chrysostom defined it as the characteristic of the man who has it in
his power to avenge himself and deliberately does not use it. Paul is, in effect, saying to the
Jews: Do not think that the fact that God does not punish you is a sign that he cannot
punish you. The fact that his punishment does not immediately follow sin is not a proof of
his powerlessness; it is a proof of his patience. You owe your lives to the patience of God.
One great commentator has said that almost everyone has a vague and undefined hope of
impunity, a kind of feeling that this cannot happen to me. The Jews went further than
that; they openly claimed exemption from the judgment of God. They traded on his
mercy, and there are many who to this day seek to do the same.
(ii) Paul told the Jews that they were taking the mercy of God as an invitation to sin rather
than as an incentive to repentance. it was Heine who made the famous, cynical statement.
He was obviously not worrying about the world to come. He was asked why he was so
confident, and his answer was, God will forgive. He was asked why he was so sure of that,
and his reply was, C'est son metier It is his trade. Let us think of it in human terms.
There are two attitudes to human forgiveness. Suppose a young person does something
which is a shame, a sorrow and a heartbreak to his parents, and suppose that in love he is
freely forgiven, and the thing is never held against him. He can do one of two things. He can
either go and do the same thing again, trading on the fact that he will be forgiven once
more; or he can be so moved to wondering gratitude by the free forgiveness that he has

45. received, that he spends his whole life in trying to be worthy of it. It is one of the most
shameful things in the world to use love's forgiveness as an excuse to go on sinning. That is
what the Jews were doing. That is what so many people still do. The mercy and love of God
are not meant to make us feel that we can sin and get away with it; they are meant so to
break our hearts that we will seek never to sin again.
(iii) Paul insists that in God's economy there is no most favoured nation clause. There may
be nations which are picked out for a special task and for a special responsibility, but none
which is picked out for special privilege and special consideration. It may be true, as Milton
said, that When God has some great work he gives it to his Englishmen, but it is a great
work that is in question, not a great privilege. The whole of Jewish religion was based on the
conviction that the Jews held a special position of privilege and favour in the eyes of God.
We may feel that that is a position which nowadays we are far past. But is it? Is there no
such thing nowadays as a colour bar? Is there no such thing as a conscious feeling of
superiority to what Kipling called lesser breeds without the law? This is not to say that all
nations are the same in talent. But it is to say that those nations who have advanced further
ought not to look with contempt on the others, but are, rather, under the responsibility to
help them move forward.
(iv) Of all passages of Paul this deserves to be studied most carefully in order to arrive at a
correct idea of Paulinism. It is often argued that his position was that all that matters is
faith. A religion which stresses the importance of works is often contemptuously waved aside
as being quite out of touch with the ew Testament. othing could be further from the
truth. God, said Paul, will settle with each man according to his deeds. To Paul a faith
which did not issue in deeds was a travesty of faith; in fact it was not faith at all. He would
have said that the only way in which you can see a man's faith at all is by his deeds. One of
the most dangerous of all religious tendencies is to talk as if faith and works were entirely
different and separate things. There can be no such thing as faith which does not issue in
works, nor can there be works which are not the product of faith. Works and faith are
inextricably bound up together. How, in the last analysis, can God judge a man other than
by his deeds? We cannot comfortably say, I have faith, and leave it at that. Our faith must
issue in deeds, for it is by our deeds we are accepted or condemned.”
5. But because of your stubbornness and your
unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against
yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his
righteous judgment will be revealed.
Amplified: But by your callous stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up
wrath and indignation for yourself on the day of wrath and indignation, when God’s
righteous judgment (just doom) will be revealed.

46. Phillips: Or are you by your obstinate refusal to repent simply storing up for yourself an
experience of the wrath of God in the day when, in his holy anger against evil, he shows his
hand in righteous judgment?
1. It is hard to believe that people can be so blind to their need of forgiveness of sin, and of
their need for a Savior. How can anyone be unaware of their sinfulness? It is not really that
they are unaware, but that they stubbornly refuse to admit it, and defy all attempts to pry
open their unrepentant heart. We have a hint here as to why women are more open to
respond to the Gospel than men, for men are notorious for being stubborn. The find it hard
to commit to a relationship, and they will not ask for directions, and they refuse to go to a
doctor until it is almost too late. They are the stubborn breed, and they feel no need to
depend on God, for they consider themselves self-sufficient. It is hard for men to submit to
Jesus as their Lord, for this seems like a weak and feminine thing to do, and so they
stubbornly refuse to be submissive. Women find it much easier to do so, but they also have
their stubborn streak, and so both sexes stand guilty of holding on to their unrepentant
heart.
1B. Preceptaustin gives us this information on the Greek word for stubborn. This is the only
place the word is used in the ew Testament. ...sklerotes from sklerós = dry, hard, tough,
harsh, used, of a stone which is specially hard for masons to work; metaphorically of a king
who is inhuman and hard in his treatment of his subjects) describes callousness, hardness or
obstinacy (which is the quality of perversely adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in
spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion). Sklerotes is a resistant or stubborn attitude with
regard to any change in behavior, this attitude denoting unreceptibility. In the present use
Paul is describing the hard, impenitent hearts of his unsaved religious readers.
Stubbornness is an unreasonable and perverse unyielding attitude, one which is determined
not to change (we all have firsthand experience with this attitude from time to time!) and
refusing to comply with or agree to.
1C. Every parent knows the frustration of having a child who stubbornly refused to obey
their commands. They have no choice but to punish the child in some way, for stubborn
disobedience is intolerable. The peace of the family in disrupted to the point that noone can
be happy. Anger soon takes over in the parents, and something has to be done to convince
the child that it is too painful to let them continue to hurt themselves and the whole family.
Judgment of some sort is the inevitable response to stubbornness, and our heavenly Father
sees it the same way as our earthly father. There will be no forgiveness and peace between
child and father until their is a softening of the hard stubborm heart, and a submissive spirit
of cooperation. The heart in the Bible covers the mind and the emotions.
1D. John MacArthur wrote, In most modern cultures, the heart is thought of as the seat of
emotions and feelings. But most ancients—Hebrews, Greeks, and many others—considered
the heart to be the center of knowledge, understanding, thinking, and wisdom. The ew
Testament also uses it in that way. The heart was considered to be the seat of the mind and
will, and it could be taught what the brain could never know. Emotions and feelings were

47. associated with the intestines, or bowels.
1E. Unknown author, “ot only can treasures of reward be laid up, but treasures of wrath
as well. See Acts 7:51 and James 5:2. There is a cumulative character to continued evil
conduct. Here is a fool indeed who is amassing for himself a stock of divine displeasure.
Every hour the sinner does not repent adds another drop behind the dam of God’s long
suffering which will overflow in the day of judgment.
1F. There seems to be a sort of bank account in heaven where each act of goodness makes a
deposit for reward in the day of judgment, but there is also an account where for each act
of folly there is deposited a piece of wrath. So when we stand before God on judgment day
and our individual safe is opened we will either be richly welcomed into heaven, or be
devoid of all wealth, and have nothing but a hugh accumulation of wrath that sends us in
the opposite direction. Every day we are making a deposit in our account that will either
make us rich forever, or poor forever. We all know it is wise on the human level to make
deposits that assure us of a better future. obody makes deposits of trash, and saves up
that which is of no value, but can even be harmful to their future. Why are people so
stubborn when it comes to God’s banking program. It makes so much sense to prepare for
eternity, and not just for the short time that we have before we die. We listen to all kinds of
men who persuade us to invest, save, and make decisions that will effect our future, but we
will not listen to God who is telling us that if we will repent and trust his Son for salvation,
we can go on forever experiencing his love and all the benefits of being a part of his eternal
family. Only stubborn fools would pass up an offer like this, and unfortunately there is no
shortage of such fools.
1G. Stubbornness seem to be a major reason why people are not saved, and this could
explain why more women respond to the gospel than men. Men are notorious for their
stubbornness in many areas of life. They won’t ask for directions, and they won’t go to a
counselor until their marriage is almost hopeless to save. They are so often opposed to
commitment to a relationship. We could go on and list the ways they are stubborn, but the
worst of it, they are stubborn in admitting they have a need for God and salvation. So often
it is the case that a wife will open her heart and come to Christ, but her husband will not do
so. He does not like to admit he needs what she needs, for that makes him feel weak. He
wants to be strong and independent, and yielding to the Lordship of Christ just does not
appeal to him.
1H. Vernon McGee, “If you are not saved, let me say this to you: you know God has been
good to you. God has blessed you. Think of the multitudes of folk on this earth who have
nothing, who are literally starving to death. And here you are, a wicked man, living on top
of the world. Do you think God is not going to judge you? Do you think that you are going
to escape? My friend, the very goodness of God ought to lead you to repentance.”
2. Gill, “the day of wrath; which the Scriptures call the evil day, (Amos 6:3) (Ephesians
6:13) ; the day fixed by God, when he will call men to an account for their sins, and stir up
all his wrath against them:of the righteous judgment of God; so some copies read; that is,

48. the day of the righteous judgment; so the Arabic version reads, and of the appearance of
God, and of his righteous judgment; for the judgment will be at the appearance of Christ,
who is God, and at his kingdom, (2 Timothy 4:1) . The Alexandrian copy reads, and of the
retribution of the righteous judgment of God; and so the Ethiopic version seems to have
read, rendering the words, if so, or seeing thy retribution may come upon thee, and if
the judgment of God may befall thee; for when the judgment of God shall come, as there
will be a revelation of men's sins, and of the wrath of God against them, there will be a just
retribution according to their works. Or the revelation of the righteous judgment of
God; that is, when the judgment of God, which is now hid, shall appear; and which is said
to be righteous, because it will be carried on in a righteous manner, and proceed upon,
and be executed according to the strictest rules of justice and equity.
3. Jamison, “What an awful idea is here expressed--that the sinner himself is amassing, like
hoarded treasure, an ever accumulating stock of divine wrath, to burst upon him in the
day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God! And this is said not of the reckless,
but of those who boasted of their purity of faith and life.
3B. Given Blakely, “HARDESS AD IMPEITECE Here is truth worthy of extended
consideration. Hardness and a lack of repentance (impenitence) always go together. Men
do not repent because their hearts are calloused and hard. Also, their hearts become even
more stony because they do not repent. A lack of repentance is never innocent, incidental,
or to be treated as though it were not lethal to the soul. Unless a person repents, hell is sure.
Impenitence is more than simply not repenting. It is REFUSIG to repent, obstinately
clinging to sin under the delusion that it brings advantage.
When men struggle with making the right choice, it is because of hardness of heart. We do
well not to adopt an approach that leaves them thinking they have a lot of time to make up
their minds concerning the Lord. Away with long-term orientation programs designed to
prepare people to become Christians. Where did such a foolish notion originate? Let there
be a return to the urgency of turning to the Lord.
There is an appointed day, however, when the judgment of God will no longer be
restrained, or mingled, as it were, with mercy. It is then that the fulness of Divine judgment
will be made known. The absolute correctness of this judgment will also be revealed in a
most precise manner. God will be justified in all of His sayings, particularly those
relating to His judgment (Rom 3:4). o one will be sent to hell unjustly. o person will be
gathered to be forever with the Lord unrighteously. There will not be a dissenting voice
heard throughout all the universe. That God is impeccably just and righteous will be
evident, and the mouths of all the ungodly will be stopped.

49. How frequently the righteous judgment of God is declared in Scripture. He shall judge
the world in righteousness . . . He loveth righteousness and judgment . . . He shall judge thy
people with righteousness . . . But judgment shall return unto righteousness . . . righteousness
and judgment are the habitation of his throne . . . the righteous judgment of God (Psa 9:8;
33:5; 72:2; 94:15; 97:2; Thess 1:5).
The heavenly chambers will echo with praise in that day–extolling the righteous judgment
of our God. Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou
hast judged thus. . . . true and righteous are thy judgments . . . true and righteous are his
judgments (Rev 16:5,7; 19:2). The righteousness of God’s judgments will be perceived.
Then, there will be no sympathy for the ungodly, and no tolerance of their wicked ways. o
tears will be shed because of the damnation of the ungodly.”
4. Henry, ‘The rise of this provocation is a hard and impenitent heart; and the ruin of
sinners is their walking after such a heart, being led by it. To sin is to walk in the way of the
heart; and when that is a hard and impenitent heart (contracted hardness by long custom,
besides that which is natural), how desperate must the course needs be! The provocation is
expressed by treasuring up wrath. Those that go on in a course of sin are treasuring up
unto themselves wrath. A treasure denotes abundance. It is a treasure that will be spending
to eternity, and yet never exhausted; and yet sinners are still adding to it as to a treasure.
Every wilful sin adds to the score, and will inflame the reckoning; it brings a branch to
their wrath, as some read that (Ezek. viii. 17), they put the branch to their nose. A treasure
denotes secrecy. The treasury or magazine of wrath is the heart of God himself, in which it
lies hid, as treasures in some secret place sealed up; see Deut. xxxii. 34; Job xiv. 17. But
withal it denotes reservation to some further occasion; as the treasures of the hail are
reserved against the day of battle and war, Job xxxviii. 22, 23. These treasures will be
broken open like the fountains of the great deep, Gen. vii. 11. They are treasured up against
the day of wrath, when they will be dispensed by the wholesale, poured out by full vials.
Though the present day be a day of patience and forbearance towards sinners, yet there is a
day of wrath coming--wrath, and nothing but wrath. Indeed, every day is to sinners a day
of wrath, for God is angry with the wicked every day (Ps. vii. 11), but there is the great day
of wrath coming, Rev. vi. 17. And that day of wrath will be the day of the revelation of the
righteous judgment of God. The wrath of God is not like our wrath, a heat and passion; no,
fury is not in him (Isa. xxvii. 4): but it is a righteous judgment, his will to punish sin,
because he hates it as contrary to his nature. This righteous judgment of God is now many
times concealed in the prosperity and success of sinners, but shortly it will be manifested
before all the world, these seeming disorders set to rights, and the heavens shall declare his
righteousness, Ps. l. 6.
5. Barnes, “But after thy hardness - The word “after” here κατά kata means in respect to,
or you act according to the direct tendency of a hard heart in treasuring up wrath. The
word “hardness” is used to denote insensibility of mind. It properly means what is
insensible to the touch, or on which no impression is made by contact, as a stone, etc.
Hence, it is applied to the mind, to denote a state where no motives make an impression;
which is insensible to all the appeals made to it; see Mat_25:24; Mat_19:8; Act_19:9. And
here it expresses a state of mind where the goodness and forbearance of God have no effect.

50. The man still remains obdurate, to use a word which has precisely the meaning of the
Greek in this place. It is implied in this expression that the direct tendency, or the inevitable
result, of that state of mind was to treasure up wrath, etc.
Impenitent heart - A heart which is not affected with sorrow for sin, in view of the mercy
and goodness of God. This is an explanation of what he meant by hardness.
Treasurest up - To treasure up, or to lay up treasure, commonly denotes a laying by in a
place of security of property that may be of use to us at some future period. In this place it is
used, however, in a more general sense, to accumulate, to increase. It still has the idea of
hoarding up, carries the thought beautifully and impressively onward to future times.
Wrath, like wealth treasured up, is not exhausted at present, and hence, the sinner becomes
bolder in sin. But it exists, for future use; it is kept in store (compare 2Pe_3:7) against future
times; and the man who commits sin is only increasing this by every act of transgression.
The same sentiment is taught in a most solemn manner in Deu_32:34-35. It may be
remarked here, that most people have an immense treasure of this kind in store, which
eternal ages of pain will not exhaust or diminish! Stores of wrath are thus reserved for a
guilty world, and in due time it “will come upon man to the uttermost,” 1Th_2:16.
Unto thyself - For thyself, and not for another; to be exhausted on thee, and not on your
fellow-man. This is the case with every sinner, as really and as certainly as though he were
the only solitary mortal in existence.
Wrath - ote, Rom_1:18.
Day of wrath - The day when God shall show or execute his wrath against sinners;
compare Rev_6:17; 1Th_1:10; Joh_3:36; Eph_5:6.
And revelation - On the day when the righteous judgment of God will be revealed, or
made known. Here we learn:
(1) That the punishment of the wicked will be just. It will not he a judgment of caprice or
tyranny, but a righteous judgment, that is, such a judgment as it will be right to render, or
as ought to be rendered, and therefore such as God will render, for he will do right;
2Th_1:6.
(2) The punishment of the wicked is future. It is not exhausted in this life. It is treasured
up for a future day, and that day is a day of wrath. How contrary to this text are the
pretences of those who maintain that all punishment is executed in this life.
(3) How foolish as well as wicked is it to lay up such a treasure for the future; to have the
only inheritance in the eternal world, an inheritance of wrath and wo!
6. Clarke, “But after thy hardness - Occasioned by thy long course of iniquity. And
impenitent heart-produced by thy hardness, through which thou art callous to the calls and
expostulations of conscience. Treasurest up - continuest to increase thy debt to the Divine
justice, which will infallibly inflict wrath - punishment in the day of wrath - the judgment
day, in which he will render to every man according to his works. The word treasure the
Hebrew uses to express any kind of store or collection: - Treasure or plenty of rain.
Deu_28:12 : The Lord shall open unto thee his good Treasure, to give the Rain unto thy
land. Treasure of punishment. Deu_32:34, Deu_32:35 : Is not this sealed up among my
Treasures? To me belongeth Vengeance and Recompense. Treasures of mines, i.e.
abundance of minerals. Deu_33:19 : They shall suck of the Abundance of the seas, and of

51. Treasures hid in the sand. So treasures of gold, silver, corn, wine, oil, etc., mean collections
or an abundance of such things: the word is used by the Greek writers precisely in the same
sense. By wrath we are to understand punishment, as in Rom_1:18; and it is used so by the
very best Greek writers. See Kypke.
The treasure of wrath, in this verse, is opposed to the riches of goodness, in the preceding.
As surely as thou despisest, or neglectest to improve the Riches of God’s Goodness, so
surely thou shalt share in the Treasures of his Wrath. The punishment shall be
proportioned to the mercy thou hast abused.”
7. Everyone is sending something on ahead to be waiting for them in heaven, but the
stubborn hard hearted unbeliever who refused to obey God is sending, not treasure, but
trash. He is sending the stuff that will determine his judgment to be one of God's wrath. He
is not sending what will produce a golden crown, and beautiful jewels, but what will
produce worthless junk that is to be cast into the lake of fire. It is overwhelming to consider
the depth of the folly of stubborn people who resist all subjection to God who wants to
prevent their eternal rejection from his presence and all the glory of what he wants people
to experience by his grace.
8. The wrath of God is easy to understand, for it is the anger that any of us would have if all
the good we did for people was taken for granted and never once were we acknowledged as
being of any value to them. If we did wonderful helpful things for someone and they never
once said thankyou, you know you would be angry and hurt by their ingratitude. So God is
angry with those whom he blesses with so many positive things in the natural world, and
then offers them eternal life on top of that, and they never say thanks. In fact, they say to
the Gospel of his love, o thanks! Wrath is the only alternative left when all love is
rejected. Spurgeon said, God's wrath, though it come not on you yet, is like a stream that
is dammed up. Every moment it gathers force. It bursts not the dike, yet every hour it is
swelling it. Each moment of each day in which you remain an unbeliever you are treasuring
up wrath against the day of wrath when the measure of your iniquity is full.
9. Spurgeon took the wrath of God seriously in his preaching. He wrote, It is absolutely
necessary that men should be convinced of sin. The fashionable theology is, Convince men
of the goodness of God. Show them the universal fatherhood, and assure them of unlimited
mercy. Win them by God's love, but never mention His wrath against sin or the need of an
atonement or the place of punishment. Comfort and encourage, but never accuse and
threaten. That is the way of man, but the way of the Spirit of God is very different. He
comes on purpose to convince men of sin, to make them feel that they are so guilty that they
are lost and ruined and undone. He comes to remind them not only of God's loveliness, but
of their own unloveliness. The Holy Ghost does not come to make sinners comfortable in
their sins, but to cause them to grieve over their sins. He does not help them to forget their
sin or think little of it, but he comes to convince them of the horrible enormity of their
iniquity. It is no work of the Spirit to pipe to men's dancing.
10. Calvin had a unique way of saying it: This is a remarkable passage: we may hence

52. learn what I have already referred to — that the ungodly not only accumulate for
themselves daily a heavier weight of God’s judgments, as long as they live here, but that the
gifts of God also, which they continually enjoy, shall increase their condemnation; for an
account of them all will be required: and it will then be found, that it will be justly imputed
to them as an extreme wickedness, that they had been made worse through God’s bounty,
by which they ought surely to have been improved. Let us then take heed, lest by unlawful
use of blessings we lay up for ourselves this cursed treasure.
11. Preceptaustin says, Although not popular in many theological circles, it is nevertheless
a fact that wrath is as much a part of the righteous character of God as is His love. If God
did not exercise wrath against injustice he would be unrighteous. A universe in which evil
exists unchallenged and ultimately unvanquished is inconceivable and could not be ruled
by a good God of holy love Who exercises righteous judgment as explained in the next
verse.
12. There is no escaping the fact that the wrath of God was poured out on Israel in 70 A. D.
It was a day of judgment, and Jesus told the people of his day that this judgment would
come upon the people of that generation in Matt. 23:36, 24:34, Mark 13:30, and Luke
21:32. It was the destruction of Judaism as it was known in the Old Testament, and never
again has the Jewish people been able to function according to the laws of the Old
Testament, because they no longer have had from that time to the present the temple in
which so many of the laws of God were fulfilled.
13. There are some who argue that Paul is speaking to a higher class of Gentiles in the first
16 verses of this chapter, but most would agree with Greg Herrick who responds to this
view by writing, While this is certainly a reasonable option, it is not the best one. There
are many indications in the passage that suggest that Jews are in view: (1) “passing
judgment on someone else” is particularly a Jewish habit practiced against the Gentiles; (2)
Paul says “we know” which indicates that he and his fellow Jews are in mind since the
Gentiles do not know that God’s judgment is in accordance with the truth (2:2); (3)
showing contempt for the riches of his kindness, etc. is particularly relevant if Jews are in
mind since they knew about these truths (i.e., from the abundant witness in the OT; [2:4]);
(4) The Jews, not the Gentiles, knew that God’s kindness does not mean weakness, but is
intended to lead men to repentance (2:4); (5) the mention of the Jews in 2:17 is abrupt if
they are not already intended in 2:1-16; (6) the “for” in 2:1 reads quite well when Jews are
in view (see exposition); (7) Romans 2:1-16 may be based on texts like Wisdom of Solomon
11-15 which would indicate that the Jew is the specific target of the passage; (8) the Jews
were indeed guilty of some of the same sins as the Gentiles (2:1, 21-24); (9) The manner in
which Paul mentions the Jews in 2:17 indicates that they have been in view all along. The
reason he waits to mention them explicitly in 2:17 is to prevent them from reacting
negatively too quickly, closing him off, and refusing his indictments in 2:1-16. It will begin
to dawn on them throughout the passage that they are in view, but this point will be
brought home, without doubt, in 2:17ff.
14. Haldane, “The Apostle here intimates that the contempt which the Jews had evinced of

53. the Divine calling could not remain unpunished. Thy hardness. — This is a figurative
expression, and strongly expresses the natural obduracy and insensibility of their hearts
with respect to God, as impenetrable by the strongest external force. othing but the power
of the Spirit of God can overcome it. It is the term which Moses often employs to express
the obstinacy of Pharaoh. He also employs it to mark the corruption of the Israelites; and,
in general, the Prophets use it to signify the inflexible perversity of sinners. It is in this
sense that Ezekiel attributes to man a heart of stone, — a heart which does not feel, and
which nothing in man himself can soften. These passages, and many similar ones, denote an
inclination to wickedness so strong and so rooted, that it has entire possession of the man
and of all the powers of the soul, without his being able to undeceive himself, and to turn to
God.
The greatness of this obduracy was made manifest by the number and force of the external
invitations which God had employed to lead the Jews to repentance, and which the Apostle
calls His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering; for these invitations refer to the
frequent and earnest exhortations of His word, His temporal favors, the afflictions and the
chastisements He had sent, and all His other dispensations towards the Jewish people,
respecting which it is said, ‘What could have been done more to My vineyard that I have
not done in it?’ Isaiah 5:4; and again, ‘I have spread out My hands all the day unto a
rebellious people,’ Isaiah 65:2. When men remain inflexible under such calls, it is the
indication of an awful obduracy, of a heart steeled and shut up in impenitence. Such was
the state of the Jews. This passage is explicit in opposition to all who suppose that God
employs nothing for men’s conversion but the efficacy of His word, accompanied with other
circumstances calculated to make an impression on their minds. Without the immediate
operation of the Holy Spirit, these will always prove ineffectual. Thou treasurest up unto
thyself wrath. — This is a strong expression, and a beautiful figure. It proves that sins
will be punished according to their accumulation. A man is rich according to his treasures.
The wicked will be punished according to the number and aggravation of their sins.
15. Thomas Browning, People who reject the riches of God’s kindness do so
because they want to store up for themselves a completely different kind of
treasure. I love what Donald Grey Barnhouse calls such people. He calls them “misers of
wrath.”13 Don’t you think that is an extraordinary image? You can
almost visualize some withered old man sitting alone at a table in a dark room
pulling his prized coins to himself and counting them and worshipping them.
You can also see coming home at the end of the day pulling from his pocket each
additional deposit earned by the sweat of his sinful labors and adding it to his
pile. You can see him marveling over the gleam of each coin failing to note that
each has some pronouncement of judgment on it. No, he is only concerned with
adding more. And so he deposits and deposits and deposits until the exhausted
riches of God’s mercy, tolerance and patience whisper, “You know that’s it.
Time is up…It‘s time to settle. It’s time to get paid. Its time to get what’s due
you…Come-upance…You thought it grand for them to get what they deserved,
now it’s your turn. Come-upance… come-upance…come-upance”

54. 6. God will give to each person according to what he
has done.
1. God treats all with equality, and all will have an equal chance to receive according to
their actions. What you do in life will be judged as of value to God, or as worthless, and he
will give accordingly to all. Every evil word or deed is recorded, and will be the basis of
God's judgment on that great day. Without a Savior who has died for a person's sins, they
will demand payment from those who chose to use their life in this way, and that will mean
they will be cast out of God's presence, for he will no longer dwell where sin and evil are
present. This text does suggest that each sinner will be judged differently according to the
degree of their sinfulness. How this works out is a mystery, for all of the lost go to the same
place as far as we know, and how their punishment differs we cannot determine. It makes
sense that pagans and non-believers who have been influenced by a Christian culture, and
who have lived a decent life, would be less severely judged that those who lived a life of
consistent violations of the Ten Commandments. We have too little knowledge of the
specifics of judgment day to know just how God is going to do this, but we know he will be
just and fair in all he does.
1B. Among the things that will be judged are the use we make of our tongues, for we will be
judged according to our words. In Matthew 12:34-37 Jesus says to the Pharisees,You brood
of vipers, how can you, being evil speak what is good? For from the fullness of the heart the
mouth speaks; the good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good, and the evil
man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil. And I say to you that for every
careless word that men speak, they shall render an account in the day of judgment. For by
your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be condemned.
1C. These few verses here in Romans are a puzzle, for the Bible clearly teaches that we are
saved by faith and not by works, and yet in the day of judgment the focus is not on faith
but on works. We are rewarded or condemned based on the good we do, or the evil we do.
This seems like a contradiction, and Bible teachers have to struggle with how to interpret
these texts in the light of the whole of what Paul has written. The bottom line is that true
faith that saves must be exhibited in a life of good works. If one just believes in Jesus in
order to go to heaven, but does not want to live for Jesus in time, there is good reason to
doubt his salvation. How can one be saved for eternity if they do not want to follow Jesus in
time, and go about doing good in love and compassion as he did? Salvation by faith is truly
simple, for all one has to do is believe and trust Jesus for what he did on the cross. That is
the first step toward heaven, but there is a life he wants to save in time, and if your life does
not show that it is pursuing what Jesus pursued as our example, there is much room for
doubt that one has really received Jesus as Lord. A servant obeys his master, and if one
does not obey Jesus and his teaching there is no reason to assume that that person has

55. made Jesus his master. There is no escaping the stong link between faith and works. They
are partners, and it is folly to try and put some kind of wedge between them and exalt one
over the other. I know faith is so exalted over works because people think they can save
themselves by being good, but this leads to the other perversion of people thinking they can
be saved by faith without being good. Why separate them when it is unnecessary. Keep
them as full partners just the way the Bible does, so people know they are a team, and you
cannot have one and ignore the other. Faith without works is dead, and works without faith
is dead. People who want one without the other will have none of the fruits of either. They
are partners, and you take them as a team or you get the value of neither.
1D. Spurgeon put it this way...I would not give much for your religion unless it can be
seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine. Don't let the opportunities slip by. Be
confessed up, repented up and filled up with the Holy Spirit and you will be ready
to recognize the opportunities God graciously gives. And remember that although we are to
be seen doing good works, we must not do good works in order to be seen!
1E. Martin Luther in his preface to his comments on Romans wrote...”Oh, it is a living,
busy, active, mighty thing, this faith; and so it is impossible for it not to do good works
incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question
rises; it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them. He who does not these
works is a faithless man. He gropes and looks about after faith and good works, and knows
neither what faith is nor what good works are, though he talks and talks, with many words,
about faith and good works.”
1F. Works are the basis of reward, and many will lost that, but still be saved. In his first
letter to the Corinthians Paul emphasized that no man can lay a foundation other than the
one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (the Vine). ow if any man builds upon the
foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will
become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire
itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it
remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but
he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. (1Cor 3:11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
2. Barnes, “Who will render - That is, who will make retribution as a righteous Judge; or
who will give to every man as he deserves.
To every man - To each one. This is a general principle, and it is clear that in this respect
God would deal with the Jew as he does with the Gentile. This general principle the apostle
is establishing, that he may bring it to bear on the Jew, and to show that he cannot escape
simply because he is a Jew.
According to his deeds - That is, as he deserves; or God will be just, and will treat every
man as he ought to be treated, or according to his character. The word “deeds” (ἔργα
erga)is sometimes applied to the external conduct. But it is plain that this is not its meaning
here. It denotes everything connected with conduct, including the acts of the mind, the
motives, the principles, as well as the mere external act. Our word character more aptly
expresses it than any single word. It is not true that God will treat people according to their
external conduct: but the whole language of the Bible implies that he will judge people

56. according to the whole of their conduct, including their thoughts, and principles, and
motives; that is, as they deserve. The doctrine of this place is abundantly taught elsewhere in
the Bible, Pro_24:12; Mat_16:27; Rev_20:12; Jer_32:19. It is to be observed here that the
apostle does not say that people will be rewarded for their deeds, (compare Luk_17:10,) but
according to κατά kata their deeds. Christians will be saved on account of the merits of the
Lord Jesus Christ, Tit_3:5, but still the rewards of heaven will be according to their works;
that is, they who have labored most, and been most faithful, shall receive the highest reward,
or their fidelity in their Master’s service shall be the measure or rule according to which the
rewards of heaven shall be distributed, Mat. 25:14-29. Thus, the ground or reason why they
are saved shall be the merits of the Lord Jesus. The measure of their happiness shall be
according to their character and deeds. On what principle God will distribute his rewards
the apostle proceeds immediately to state.
3. Gill, “Who will render to every man according to his deeds. God will be the Judge, who
is righteous, holy, just, and true; every man in particular will be judged; as the judgment
will be general to all, it will be special to everyone, and will proceed according to their
works; for God will render to wicked men according to the demerit of their sins, the just
recompense of reward, eternal damnation; and to good men eternal life, not according to
the merit of their good works, which have none in them, but according to the nature of
them; such who believe in Christ, and perform good works from a principle of grace, shall
receive the reward of the inheritance, which is a reward of grace, and not of debt. In other
words, God will render to evil men according to the true desert of their evil deeds; and of
his own free grace will render to good men, whom he has made so by his grace, what is
suitable and agreeable to those good works, which, by the assistance of his grace, they have
been enabled to perform.
4. Henry, “He will render to every man according to his deeds (Rom_2:6), a truth often
mentioned in scripture, to prove that the Judge of all the earth does right.
5. John Piper, “On what basis will the final judgment be made? What are the real issues of
life? Paul sums it up in Romans 2:6, God will render to every man according to his
deeds. Verses 9 and 10 are more precise about what sort of deeds: There will be
tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil ... but glory and honor and
peace to every one who does good. The real issue of life is not one's race or job or status or
salary or looks or religious form. The real issue is whether one does good or does evil.
But wait a minute. Is that the way Christianity talks? What about the promise: Believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved? What about grace and mercy and the
justification of the ungodly? Didn't Paul say in Titus 3:5 God saved us not on the basis of
works done by us in righteousness, but he saved us according to His mercy through the
washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit? And in Ephesians 2:8, By grace
you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast. How can it be that we are saved by grace, through faith,
not by deeds, and yet will be judged according to our deeds in the final judgment?
Some people solve this apparent contradiction by saying that Romans 2 describes a

57. judgment that God's people have no part in. It is only for the unbelieving. I think that
solution is contrary to Paul's intention and to the teaching of Jesus. Paul said, God will
render to everyone according to his deeds, not just unbelievers. It is sunshine clear that
Paul believes there is a life-style that excludes one from the Kingdom of God and therefore
Christians do not have it. For example in Galatians 5:19-21 he warns Christians against the
deeds of the flesh like strife, jealousy, dispute, factiousness, envy, drunkenness, etc., because
those who practice such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Likewise 1
Corinthians 6:9,10; Ephesians 5:5). Final judgment will accord with our deeds.
And Jesus Himself was even stronger in stressing that you cannot finally pass muster at the
judgment day if your life has not been changed in keeping with His commandments. For
example, Matthew 6:14,15: If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your
transgressions. Or consider the parable of the wise and foolish builders, Matthew 7:24-27.
Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like one whose house won't be
washed away in the flood… But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do
them will be like a person whose house collapses in the deluge. This is a picture of
judgment and the issue is, Have we done Jesus' words?
Let's take one more example from Jesus because this one gives the clue to our problem how
we can be saved by grace through faith and yet final judgment still be according to works.
In Matthew 12:34-37 Jesus says to the Pharisees,
You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil speak what is good? For from the fullness of
the heart the mouth speaks; the good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is
good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil. And I say to you
that for every careless word that men speak, they shall render an account in the day of
judgment. For by your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be
condemned.
Here is the crucial clue: on judgment day we will be judged according to our deeds,
including the acts of our tongue, because deeds are the infallible sign of what fills the heart.
From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. You can judge a tree by its fruit and
you can judge a heart by its deed. The issue is not really, Are we saved by faith in Christ or
by good deeds? The issue is, On the judgment day how will God make manifest that His
judgment is just? And the answer is, He will certify to the world that we have saving faith
by calling our deeds to attest to its reality.
In the courtroom of the Kingdom of God all the world will be assembled before the
righteous judge and all will be guilty of a capitol offense. Yet some will be acquitted and
others condemned. The deepest reason for the separation is that one group has been
forgiven because of their identification with Christ through faith, the other group has not.
But what Paul is teaching in Romans 2:7-10 is that in that courtroom a witness will be
called forth to testify to the reality of faith or its absence. And that witness is our deeds,
which we can see from Romans 1:28-32 include deeds of the mind as well as the body,
attitudes as well as actions.

58. It is by grace we are saved through faith; not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. But the
heart that is full of faith will overflow in attitudes and actions very different from those
which flow from unbelief. Therefore, our deeds will testify, truly to the genuineness or
absence of faith, and it is not inconsistent for God to judge us according to our works. But
we must understand that this judgment according to works does not mean we earn our
salvation. Our deeds do not earn, they exhibit our salvation. Our deeds are not the merit of
our righteousness, they are the mark of our new life in Christ. Our deeds are not sufficient
to deserve God's favor, but they do demonstrate our faith. Please keep that distinction clear
in your mind regarding our attitudes and actions: they do not earn, they exhibit; they do
not merit, they mark; they do not deserve, they demonstrate. And therefore, God will
render to every man according to his deeds, including Christians.
6. Given Blakely, “All men will be dealt with in strict accordance with their deeds, or what
they have done. This is a consistent proclamation throughout Scripture, and is disruptive to
stilted theology. Judgment will be according to the works, or deeds, of men. And I saw
the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book
was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works,
by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and
Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one
according to his works (Rev 20:12-13). Jesus said, For the Son of man shall come in the
glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his
works (Matt 16:27). Paul said, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor 5:10). Of the wicked it is said, whose end shall be
according to their works (2 Cor 11:15). Of the godly it is declared, every man shall
receive his own reward according to his own labor (1 Cor 3:8). Our labor is not in vain in
the Lord.”
7. Barclay, Of all passages of Paul this deserves to be studied most carefully in order to
arrive at a correct idea of Paulinism. It is often argued that his position was that all that
matters is faith. A religion which stresses the importance of works is often contemptuously
waved aside as being quite out of touch with the ew Testament. othing could be further
from the truth. God, said Paul, will settle with each man according to his deeds. To
Paul a faith which did not issue in deeds was a travesty of faith; in fact it was not faith at
all. He would have said that the only way in which you can see a man's faith at all is by his
deeds. One of the most dangerous of all religious tendencies is to talk as if faith and works
were entirely different and separate things. There can be no such thing as faith which does
not issue in works, nor can there be works which are not the product of faith. Works and
faith are inextricably bound up together. How, in the last analysis, can God judge a man
other than by his deeds? We cannot comfortably say, I have faith, and leave it at that.
Our faith must issue in deeds, for it is by our deeds we are accepted or condemned.
7. “The Pauline teaching that believers will be judged according to works has naturally
provoked significant discussion in the history of scholarship. Kent Yinger, in a dissertation
written under Andrew Lincoln, takes a fresh look at the matter. Yinger organizes the study

59. in four major sections. He commences with a survey of scholarship, introducing readers to
the history of modern interpretation on the question. Then the motif of judgment according
to deeds is examined in Jewish literature, which includes the OT Scriptures, the OT
Pseudepigrapha, and the Qumran literature. The next major section investigates the
Pauline literature, and texts from Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, and Colossians are studied to
determine the Pauline teaching. Yinger wraps us his work with conclusions, and there are
three appendices as well. Yinger demonstrates that the motif of judgment according to
deeds was widespread in Jewish literature, not only in the OT but also in the
Pseudepigrapha and Qumran literature. The Pauline appropriation of the theme, therefore,
cannot be limited to a single text but demonstrates instead Paul’s familiarity with the
biblical tradition as a whole. The author also shows that judgment according to deeds is
employed in various contexts, whether to praise God, comfort the righteous, or warn those
who were sinning. He adopts the covenantal nomism view of Sanders, arguing that good
works were not an earning of salvation but a response to God's grace. He also qualifies
Sanders by saying that obedience does not maintain covenant status but evidences or
manifests one's relationship with God. onetheless, Sanders is fundamentally correct in
saying one gets in by God's grace and stays in by obeying covenantal stipulations.
God's judgment of people according to their deeds is sensible, according to Yinger, when we
realize that it is a holistic judgment. God does not demand perfection, but good works
reveal the integrity, consistency, and authenticity of persons. One does not, therefore,
become righteous at the judgment, but one's righteousness is vindicated and confirmed at
the judgment. Paul, in Yinger's view, stands in continuity with Jewish antecedents.
Judgment according to works was a fundamental element of his gospel and cannot be
dismissed as hypothetical. o element of legalism exists in the Pauline gospel, for people
enter a relationship with God by grace and confirm their relationship with him by works.
Paul, therefore, adopts the covenantal nomism of his Jewish ancestors and contemporaries.
He differs, of course, in trumpeting the Christ event rather than the Torah as the means by
which one enters God's people. Yinger also thinks Paul emphasizes the role of the Spirit
more than Judaism, although we should not draw the conclusion that legalism was taught
in Judaism. or does Yinger think that Paul's view of good works should be described only
in terms of evidence of salvation, for it is also clear that good works are a condition for
receiving eternal life (Gal. 6:8-9). Apparently, says Yinger, Paul himself felt no tension
between judgment according to works and justification by faith, for he taught the two side
by side and often. Paul simply expected that those who had received God's grace would live
righteously. Yinger acknowledges an existential tension, even if a theological tension is
absent, conceding that some of those who believe in Christ may apostatize. Yinger's work is
helpful in many respects, showing that the theme of judgment according to deeds
permeates the OT, second temple Jewish literature, and Paul. Judgment according to
works is not hypothetical as Yinger rightly acknowledges. It is a constituent part of the
Pauline gospel. Despite insightful exegesis in a number of texts, Yinger's work fails in a
number of respects. The relationship between faith and works in Paul receives astoundingly
little emphasis.”
8. Peter J. Leithart, “2 Cor. 5:10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad.

60. Eccl. 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing,
whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Rom. 2:16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according
to my gospel.
Rom. 14:10, 12. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy
brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.… So then every one of
us shall give account of himself to God.
Matt. 12:36–37. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall
give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
ot to mention John 5:28-29: for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will
hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life,
those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Or 1 Corinthians 4:5: Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait
until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and
disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from
God.
I haven't been able to find a single text that plausibly talks about final judgment - or about
temporal judgments for that matter - that says anything different. God renders and will to
each according to what he has done. It's entirely possible that I've missed some texts,
though.”
9. Preceptaustin, “Here are all the T uses of the phrase good work(s) or good deed(s)
(ote some of these uses use kalos for good rather than agathos)...
Matthew 5:16 (note) Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Mt 26:10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you bother the woman? For she
has done a good deed to Me.
Mark 14:6 But Jesus said, Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good
deed to Me.
John 10:32-33 Jesus answered them, I showed you many good works from the Father; for
which of them are you stoning Me? 33The Jews answered Him, For a good work we do
not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be
God.

61. 2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be
recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad
(Comment: bad is not kakos or evil as the Textus Receptus has it but phaulos =
worthlessness. Phaulos signifies the impossibility of any true gain ever coming forth from
the action being judged).
2 Cor 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all
sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; (Comment:
This verse emphasizes that good deeds are grace deeds and as such are in no may natural
deeds but supernatural deeds.)
Ephesians 2:10 (note) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Philippians 1:6 (note) - For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good
work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:10 (note) - so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please
Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God; (Comment: Here we see good works can be discerned by bearing spiritual fruit and
we observe from this prayer beginning in Col 1:9-note that the person who does good deeds
is filled with a knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. In other
words they are not filled up with themselves and their desire for men's adulation.)
2Th 2:17 - comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. (Comment:
Paul explains the role of prayer in good deeds.)
1Ti 2:10 but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness.
1Ti 5:10 - having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she
has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted
those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.
1Ti 5:25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are
otherwise cannot be concealed.
1Ti 6:18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to
share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that
they may take hold of that which is life indeed. (Comment: ote the eternal aspect of good
deeds done in this present age!)
2 Timothy 2:21 (note) - Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a
vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. (Comment:
ote our part in making ourselves holy vessels which God would use to carry out His holy
deeds.)

62. 2 Timothy 3:17 (note) - so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good
work. (Comment: Observe the vital role of the all Scripture in equipping the man or
woman of God for good deeds! What is the implication if a person is continually practicing
good deeds but is virtually never taking in the pure milk of the Word?)
Titus 1:16 (note) They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being
detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed. (Comment: Possessors of
Christ's Spirit, not professors of such, are the only ones who can perform good God
glorifying deeds.)
Titus 2:7 (note) in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in
doctrine, dignified,
Titus 2:14 (note) who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless
deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
(Comment: Realization of the truth that we are His precious possession, motivates to be
boiling or on fire for good deeds.)
Titus 3:1 (note) Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be
ready for every good deed, (Comment: Being ready or prepared for God deeds
necessitates that we walk in communion with Christ so that we might see with eyes of faith
those deeds which were prepared beforehand.)
Titus 3:8 (note) This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to
speak confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good
deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.
Titus 3:14 (note) And let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing
needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
Hebrews 10:24 (note) and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good
deeds, (Comment: We need to provoke one another to carry out good deeds.)
1 Peter 2:12 (note) Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in
which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they
observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (Comment: The purpose of good deeds is
similar to that explained by Jesus in Matthew 5:16)”
From the example of Jesus,
Who went about doing good,
We are to honor our Savior
By helping wherever He would. —Hess
10. Calvin, “Who will render to every one, etc. As he had to do with blind
saintlings, who thought that the wickedness of their hearts was well
covered, provided it was spread over with some disguises, I know not

63. what, of empty works, he pointed out the true character of the
righteousness of works, even that which is of account before God; and
he did this, lest they should feel confident that it was enough to
pacify him, if they brought words and trifles, or leaves only. But
there is not so much difficulty in this verse, as it is commonly
thought. For the Lord, by visiting the wickedness of the reprobate with
just vengeance, will recompense them with what they have deserved: and
as he sanctifies those whom he has previously resolved to glorify, he
will also crown their good works, but not on account of any merit: nor
can this be proved from this verse; for though it declares what reward
good works are to have, it does yet by no means show what they are
worth, or what price is due to them. And it is an absurd inference, to
deduce merit from reward.”
10. Godet, “o account will be taken of any external circumstance, but solely of the aim
which has governed the man's moral action. It has been asked how this maxim can be
reconciled with the doctrine of justification by faith/ Fritzsche finds in them two different
theories presenting an insoluble contradiction. Others think that in the judgment the moral
impcrfeetious of believers will be covered by their faith ; which would convert faith into a
means of sinning with impunity. What a just judgment that would be ! Melanchthon,
Tholuck, and others hold that this standard is purely hypothetical ; it would be the
standard which God would have applied if redemption had not intervened. But the future,
will render, is not a conditional (would render). Besides, jiulgmcnt according to the
deeds done, is attested by many other passages, both from Paul (Horn. xiv. 12 ; 2 Cor. v.
10 ; Gal. vi. (i), from Jesus Himself (John v. 28, 20 ; Matt. xii. 36, 37, etc.), and from other
writings of the ew Testament (Hev. xx. 18). Ritschl thinks that throughout this passage it
is a Pharisee whom Paul introduces as speaking, and who starts from a narrow idea of
divine justice—the idea, viz., of retributive justice. But what trace is there in the text of
such an accommodation on the apostle's part to a standpoint foreign to his own ? The
logical tissue of the piece, and its relation to what precedes and follows, present no breach
of continuity. There is only one answer to the question raised, unless we admit a flagrant
contradiction in the apostle's teaching : that justification by faith alone applies to the time
of entrance into salvation through the free pardon of sin, but not to the time of judgment.
When God of free grace receives the sinner at the time of his conversion, He asks nothing of
him except faith ; but from that moment the believer enters on a wholly new
responsibility ; God demands from him, as the recipient of grace, the fruits of grace. This is
obvious from the parable of the talents. The Lord commits His gifts to His servants freely ;
but from the moment when that extraordinary grace has been shown, He expects
something from their labor. Comp. also the parable of the wicked debtor, where the
pardoned sinner who refuses to pardon his brother is himself replaced under the rule of
justice, and consequently under the burden of his debt. The reason is that faith is not the
dismal prerogative of being able to sin with impunity ; it is, on the contrary, the means of
overcoming sin and acting holily ; and if this life-fruit is not produced, it is dead, and will
be declared vain. Every barren tree will be cut down and cast into the fire (Matt. iii. 10).
Comp. the terrible warnings, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, Gal. vi. 7, which are addressed to believers.”

64. 11. Haldane, “This signifies also that there will be a diversity of punishment, according to
the number or greatness of the sins of each individual, not only as to the nature, but also
the degree, of their works, good or bad; for the punishment of all will not be equal,
Matthew 11:22,24; Luke 12:47,48. There will not, however, as the Pharisees imagined, and
as many nominal Christians suppose, be two accounts for each person, the one of his good
works, the other of his sins, — the judgment being favorable or unfavorable to him
according as the one or the other predominates; for there will be no balancing this sort.
‘According to his deeds,’ means that, in the judgment, God will have no regard either to
descent or to birth, either to the dignity or quality of the person, — or whether he were Jew
or Gentile, as to the privileges he enjoyed, or any such thing, which might counteract
justice, or turn it from its course; but that it will regard solely the works of each individual,
and that their deeds will comprehend everything that is either obedience or disobedience to
the law of God. The judgment of the great day will be to all men according to their works.
The works of those who shall be condemned will be the evidence that they are wicked. The
works of believers will not be appealed to as the cause of their acquittal, but as the
evidence of their union with Christ, on account of which they will be pronounced
righteous, for in them the law has been fulfilled in their Divine surety.”
12. Arthur Pink, “The truth of God may well be likened to a narrow path skirted on either
side by a dangerous and destructive precipice: in other words, it lies between two gulfs of
error. The aptness of this figure may be seen in our proneness to sway from one extreme to
another. Only the Holy Spirit’s enabling can cause us to preserve the balance, failure to do
which inevitably leads to a fall into error, for error is not so much the denial of truth as the
perversion of truth, the pitting of one part of it against another.
The history of theology forcibly and solemnly illustrates this fact. One generation of men
have rightly and earnestly contended for that aspect of truth which was most needed in their
day. The next generation, instead of walking therein and moving forward, warred for it
intellectually as the distinguishing mark of their party, and usually, in their defense of what
was assaulted, have refused to listen to the balancing truth which often their opponents were
insisting upon; the result being that they lost their sense of perspective and emphasized what
they believed out of its scriptural proportions. Consequently, in the next generation, the true
servant of God is called on almost to ignore what was so valuable in their eyes, and to
emphasize that which they had, if not altogether denied, almost completely lost sight of.
It has been said that Rays of light, whether they proceed from the sun, star, or candle,
move in perfect straight lines; yet so inferior are our works to God’s that the steadiest hand
cannot draw a perfectly straight line; nor, with all his skill, has man ever been able to invent
an instrument capable of doing a thing apparently so simple (T. Guthrie, 1867). Be this so
or not, certain it is that men, left to themselves, have ever found it impossible to keep the
even line of truth between what appear to be conflicting doctrines: such as the sovereignty
of God and the responsibility of man; election by grace and the universal proclamation of
the Gospel; the justifying faith of Paul and the justifying works of James. Only too often,
where the absolute sovereignty of God has been insisted upon, it has been to the ignoring of
man’s accountability; and where unconditional election has been held fast, the unfettered
preaching of the Gospel to the unsaved has been let slip. On the other hand, where human
accountability has been upheld and an evangelical ministry been sustained, the sovereignty

65. of God and the truth of election have generally been whittled down or completely ignored.
Many of our readers have witnessed examples which illustrate the truth of what has been
said above, but few seem to realize that exactly the same difficulty is experienced when an
attempt is made to show the precise relation between faith and good works. If, on the one
hand, some have erred in attributing to good works a place which Scripture does not
warrant, certain it is that, on the other hand, some have failed to give to good works the
province which Scripture assigns them. If, on the one side, it be serious error to ascribe our
justification before God to any performances of ours, on the other side they are equally
guilty who deny that good works are necessary in order to our reaching heaven, and allow
nothing more than that they are merely evidences or fruits of our justification. We are well
aware that we are now (shall we say) treading on thin ice, and running a serious risk of
ourselves being charged with heresy; nevertheless we deem it expedient to seek Divine aid in
grappling with this difficulty, and then commit the issues thereof to God Himself.
In some quarters the claims of faith, though not wholly denied, have been disparaged
because of a zeal to magnify good works. In other circles, reputed as orthodox (and they are
what we now have chiefly in mind), only too rarely are good works assigned their proper
place, and far too infrequently are professing Christians urged with apostolic earnestness to
maintain them. o doubt this is due at times to a fear of undervaluing faith, and
encouraging sinners in the fatal error of trusting to their own doings rather than to and in
the righteousness of Christ. But no such apprehensions should hinder a preacher from
declaring all the counsel of God. If his theme be faith in Christ, as the Saviour of the lost,
let him fully set forth that truth without any modification, giving to this grace the place
which the apostle gave it in his reply to the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:31). But if his subject
be good works, let him be no less faithful in keeping back nothing which Scripture says
thereon; let him not forget that Divine command, Affirm constantly, that they which have
believed in God might be careful to maintain good works (Titus 3:8).
The last-quoted scripture is the most pertinent one for these days of looseness and laxity, of
worthless profession, and empty boasting. This expression good works is found in the
ew Testament in the singular or plural number no less than thirty times; yet, from the
rarity with which many preachers, who are esteemed sound in the faith, use, emphasize, and
enlarge upon them, many of their hearers would conclude that those words occur but once
or twice in all the Bible. Speaking to the Jews on another subject, the Lord said, What. . .
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder (Mark 10:9). ow in Ephesians 2: 8-10,
God has joined two most vital and blessed things together which ought never to be
separated in our hearts and minds, yet they are most frequently parted in the modern
pulpit. How many sermons are preached from the first two of these verses, which so clearly
declare salvation to be by grace through faith and not of works. Yet how seldom are we
reminded that the sentence which begins with grace and faith is only completed in verse 10,
where we are told, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We began this series by pointing out that the Word of God may be taken up from various
motives and read with different designs, but that 2 Timothy 3:16,17, makes known for what
these Scriptures are really profitable, namely for doctrine or teaching, for reproof,
correction, instruction in righteousness, and all of these that the man of God may be
perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. Having dwelt upon its teaching about

66. God and Christ, its reproofs and corrections for sin, its instruction in connection with
prayer, let us now consider how these furnish us unto all good works. Here is another
vital criterion by which an honest soul, with the help of the Holy Spirit, may ascertain
whether or not his reading and study of the Word is really benefiting him.
1. We profit from the Word when we are thereby taught the true place of good works. Many
persons, in their eagerness to support orthodoxy as a system, speak of salvation by grace
and faith in such a manner as to undervalue holiness and a life devoted to God. But there is
no ground for this in the Holy Scriptures. The same Gospel that declares salvation to be
freely by the grace of God through faith in the blood of Christ, and asserts, in the strongest
terms, that sinners are justified by the righteousness of the Saviour imputed to them on
their believing in Him, without any respect to works of law, also assures us, that without
holiness no man shall see God; that believers are cleansed by the blood of atonement; that
their hearts are purified by faith, which works by love, and overcomes the world; and that
the grace that brings salvation to all men, teaches those who receive it, that denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, they should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present
world. Any fear that the doctrine of grace will suffer from the most strenuous inculcation of
good works on a scriptural foundation, betrays an inadequate and greatly defective
acquaintance with Divine truth, and any tampering with the Scriptures in order to silence
their testimony in favour of the fruits of righteousness, as absolutely necessary in the
Christian, is a perversion and forgery with respect to the Word of God (Alexander
Carson).
But what force (ask some) has this ordination or command of God unto good works, when,
notwithstanding it, though we fail to apply ourselves diligently unto obedience, we shall
nevertheless be justified by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, and so may be saved
without them? Such a senseless objection proceeds from utter ignorance of the believer’s
present state and relation to God. To suppose that the hearts of the regenerate are not as
much and as effectually influenced with the authority and commands of God unto obedience
as if they were given in order unto their justification is to ignore what true faith is, and what
are the arguments and motives whereby the minds of Christians are principally affected and
constrained. Moreover, it is to lose sight of the inseparable connection which God has made
between our justification and our sanctification: to suppose that one of these may exist
without the other is to overthrow the whole Gospel. The apostle deals With this very
objection in Romans 6:1-3.
2. We profit from the Word when we are thereby taught the absolute necessity of good works.
If it be written that without shedding of blood is no remission (Heb. 9:22) and without
faith it is impossible to please him (Heb. 11:6), the Scripture of Truth also declares,
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb.
12:14). The life lived by the saints in heaven is but the completion and consummation of that
life which, after regeneration, they live here on earth. The difference between the two is not
one of kind, but of degree. The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more
and more unto the perfect day (Prov. 4:18). If there has been no walking with God down
here there will be no dwelling with God up there. If there has been no real communion with
Him in time there will be none with Him in eternity. Death effects no vital change to the
heart. True, at death the remainders of sin are for ever left behind by the saint, but no new
nature is then imparted. If then he did not hate sin and love holiness before death, he

67. certainly will not do so afterwards.
o one really desires to go to hell, though there are few indeed who are willing to forsake
that broad road which inevitably leads there. All would like to go to heaven, but professing
Christians are really willing and determined to walk that narrow way which alone leads
thereto? It is at this point that we may discern the precise place which good works have in
connection with salvation. They do not merit it, yet they are inseparable from it. They do not
procure a title to heaven, yet they are among the means which God has appointed for His
people’s getting there. In no sense are good works the procuring cause of eternal life, but
they are part of the means (as are the Spirit’s work within us and repentance, faith and
obedience by us) conducing to it. God has appointed the way wherein we must walk in order
to our arriving at the inheritance purchased for us by Christ. A life of daily obedience to
God is that which alone gives actual admission to the enjoyment of what Christ has
purchased for His people—admission now by faith, admission at death or His return in full
actuality.
3. We profit from the Word when we are taught thereby the design of good works. This is
clearly made known in Matthew 5:16: Let your light so shine before men, that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. It is worthy of our notice
that this is the first occurrence of the expression, and, as is generally the case, the initial
mention of a thing in Scripture intimates its subsequent scope and usage. Here we learn that
the disciples of Christ are to authenticate their Christian profession by the silent but vocal
testimony of their lives (for light makes no noise in its shining), that men may see (not
hear boastings about) their good works, and this that their Father in heaven may be
glorified. Here, then, is their fundamental design: for the honour of God.
As the contents of Matthew 5: 16 are so generally misunderstood and perverted we add a
further thought thereon. Only too commonly the good works are confounded with the
light itself, yet they are quite distinct, though inseparably connected. The light is our
testimony for Christ but of what value is this unless the life itself exemplifies it? The good
works are not for the directing of attention to ourselves, but to Him who has wrought them
in us. They are to be of such a character and quality that even the ungodly will know they
proceed from some higher source than fallen human nature. Supernatural fruit requires a
supernatural root, and as this is recognized, the Husbandman is glorified thereby. Equally
significant is the last reference to good works in Scripture: Having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by
your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation (1 Pet. 2:12).
Thus the first and final allusions emphasize their design: to glorify God because of His
works through His people in this world.
4. We profit from the Word when we are taught thereby the true nature of good works. This
is something concerning which the unregenerate are in entire ignorance. Judging merely
from the external, estimating things only by human standards, they are quite incompetent to
determine what works are good in God’s esteem and what are not. Supposing that what men
regard as good works God will approve of too, they remain in the darkness of their sin-blinded
understandings; nor can any convince them of their error, till the Holy Spirit
quickens them into newness of life, bringing them out of darkness into God’s marvelous
light. Then it will appear that only those are good works which are done in obedience to the
will of God (Rom. 6:16), from a principle of love to Him (Heb. 10:24), in the name of Christ

68. (Col. 3:17), and to the glory of God by Him (1 Cor. 10:31).
The true nature of good works Was perfectly exemplified by the Lord Jesus. All that He
did was done in obedience to His Father. He pleased not himself (Rom. 15:3), but ever
performed the bidding of the One who had sent Him (John 6:38). He could say, I do always
those things that please him (John 8:29). There were no limits to Christ’s subjection to the
Father’s will: He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8). So
too all that He did proceeded from love to the Father and love to His neighbour. Love is the
fulfilling of the Law; without love, compliance with the Law is naught but servile subjection,
and that cannot be acceptable to Him who is Love. Proof that all Christ’s obedience flowed
from love is found in His words, I delight to do thy will, O my God (Ps. 40:8). So also all
that Christ did had in view the glory of the Father: Father, glorify thy name (John 12:28)
revealed the object constantly before Him.
5. We profit from the Word when we are taught thereby the true source of good works.
Unregenerate men are capable of performing works which in a natural and civil sense,
though not in the spiritual sense, are good. They may do those things which, externally, as to
matter and substance of them, are good, such as reading the Bible, attending the ministry of
the Word, giving alms to the poor; yet the mainspring of such actions, their lack of godly
motive, renders them as filthy rags in the sight of the thrice holy One. The unregenerate
have no power to perform works in a spiritual manner, and therefore it is written, There is
none that doeth good, no, not one (Rom. 3:12). or are they able to: they are not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Rom. 8:7). Hence, even the ploughing of the
wicked is sin (Prov. 21:4). or are believers able to think a good thought or perform a good
work of themselves (2 Cor. 3:5): it is God who works in them both to will and to do of his
good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
When the Ethiopian can change his skin, and the leopard his spots, then may they also do
good that are accustomed to do evil (Jer. 13:23). Men may as soon expect to gather grapes of
thorns or figs of thistles, as good fruit to grow upon or good works to be performed by the
unregenerate. We have first to be created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10), have His Spirit put
within us (Gal. 4:6), and His grace implanted in our hearts (Eph. 4: 7; I Cor. 15:10), before
there is any capacity for good works. Even then we can do nothing apart from Christ (John
15:5). Often we have a will to do that which is good, yet how to perform it we know not
(Rom. 7:18). This drives us to our knees, begging God to make us perfect in every good
work, working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ (Heb.
13:21). Thus we are emptied of self-sufficiency, and brought to realize that all our springs
are in God (Ps. 87:7); and thus we discover that we can do all things through Christ
strengthening us (Phil. 4:13).
6. We profit from the Word when we are taught thereby the great importance of good works.
Condensing as far as possible: good works are of great importance because by them God
is glorified (Matt. 5:16), by them the mouths of those who speak against us are closed (1 Pet.
2:12), by them we evidence the genuineness of our profession of faith (James 2:13-17). It is
highly expedient that we adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things (Titus 2:10).
othing brings more honour to Christ than that those who bear His name are found living
constantly (by His enablement) in a Christ-like way and spirit. It was not without reason
that the same Spirit who caused the apostle to preface his statement concerning Christ’s
coming into this world to save sinners with This is a faithful saying, etc., also moved him

69. to write, This is a faithful saying. . . that they which have believed in God might be careful
to maintain good works (Titus 3:8). May we indeed be zealous of good works (Titus
2:14).
7. We profit from the Word when we are taught thereby the true scope of good works. This is
so comprehensive as to include the discharge of our duties in every relationship in which
God has placed us. It is interesting and instructive to note the first good work (as so
described) in Holy Writ, namely, the anointing of the Saviour by Mary of Bethany (Matt.
26:10; Mark 14:6). Indifferent alike to the blame or praise of men, with eyes only for the
chiefest among ten thousand, she lavished upon Him her precious ointment. Another
woman, Dorcas (Acts 9:36), is also mentioned as full of good works; after worship comes
service, glorifying God among men and benefiting others.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work (Col. 1:10). The bringing up (not dragging up!) of children, lodging (spiritual)
strangers, washing the saints feet (ministering to their temporal comforts) and relieving
the afflicted (1 Tim. 5:10) are spoken of as good works. Unless our reading and study of
the Scriptures is making us better soldiers of Jesus Christ, better citizens of the country in
which we sojourn, better members of our earthly homes (kinder, gentler, more unselfish),
throughly furnished unto all good works, it is profiting us little or nothing.”
7. To those who by persistence in doing good seek
glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
1. Right away we see a key factor in how God judges men. It is not because they went
forward at a Billy Graham crusade, or made some sort of decision to believe in Jesus. It is
because of their persistence in doing good. If making a decision does not lead to a life of
persistent good works there is a good reason to doubt that their was a true conversion to
Christ. He went about doing good, and he expects his followers to do the same. If one makes
a decision to believe, but does not live a life that exhibits the love of Christ, there is
something missing, and that something is a key factor in judgment. A truly converted
person will pursue the life of his Savior. He will long for the glory, honor and immortality
that Jesus promises to his followers. He will demonstrate that desire by a life of persistent
doing of good. It is true that we are not justified by our works, for there is no way any man
can do enough good to pay for his sins. Jesus shed his blood to atone for all sin, and it is
only by trust in him as one's Savior that sin can be forgiven. We are justified by faith in
him alone. But there is another aspect of salvation called sanctification. This is not the
salvation of our eternal souls, but the salvation of our lives in time. This second stage of
salvation takes place as we grow in our love for Christ and his will. This is a growing
process that is to lead us to persistence in doing good, and in pursuing glory, honor and

70. immortality. In other words, we play a key role in this second stage of salvation. It is all by
grace that we can play this role, but we must play it successfully to receive the final gift of
God which is eternal life. Preachers spend too much time trying to keep faith and works
separate, when the Bible makes it clear they are partners, and our complete salvation of
body, mind and spirit demands both.
1B. Paul is being very Old Testament here, for he is saying what is very familiar to the
Jewish reader. Preceptaustin says, This principle of judgment by deeds (works) should be
very familiar to his Jewish readers for it is clearly taught in the Old Testament. For
example Isaiah records Jehovah's words: Say to the righteous that it will go well with
them, for they will eat the fruit of their actions. Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with
him, for what he deserves will be done to him. (Isa 3:10,11) In a parallel passage in
Jeremiah Jehovah declares I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to
each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds. (Jer 17:10, cp Jer
17:9) Jeremiah again records that the LORD of hosts is the One Who is great in counsel
and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to
everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. (Jeremiah 32:19)
There is no ew Testament teaching that says God has changed his method by which he
will judge men. In all judgment texts of the ew Testament God is shown to still judge men
according to their deeds. It is the most fair and practical way to judge all people of all time.
It puts all men on an equal level with all others concerning what they have done with the
time God has given them.
1C. Piper wrote, verse 7 says that eternal life is given to those who persevere in good
deeds, the meaning is that the faith that justifies always sanctifies. A changed life - not a
perfect life - always comes as the fruit of being united to Christ. So a transformed life is a
necessary condition of eternal life, but does not earn or merit eternal life. Or, as Jesus said,
in Matthew 7:16-17, You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from
thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the
bad tree bears bad fruit. The appearance of fruit does not make a tree a fruit tree. But it
shows that it is a fruit tree. So a transformed life does not make a person a Christian. But a
transformed life shows that a person is a Christian. The point this morning is that it is a
good thing, indeed it is a necessary thing, to seek glory and honor and immortality. Seek
it. Want it. Pursue it. Crave it. Love it. Desire it more than you desire any earthly thing.
That is the point. Don't be a listless, apathetic, sluggish person when it comes to spiritual
things. And if you are like that, then intensify your prayers that God would ignite your
heart with the preciousness of glory and honor and immortality.
1D. Jamison, “The substance of these verses is that the final judgment will turn upon
character alone.”
1E. Given Blakely, “Just what is doing good? To some, it may be seen as simply being
neighborly, or the avoidance of doing obviously wrong things. But this is not the case, for
that kind of behavior is based upon the flesh, and not the Spirit. Here the Spirit shows us
the impact of a righteousness from God upon the individual. Righteousness is not only

71. imputed to us, it is effective in enabling men to live godly. Thus men so energetically engage
in the pursuit of eternal life that their whole lives are restructured by that pursuit. Doing
good refers to being personally involved in the good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God (Rom 12:2). At the lower end, it is doing good unto all men, especially unto them who
are of the household of faith (Gal 6:10). At the high end, it is being perfected by God
working within us in every good work to do His will (Heb 13:20). In every case, it is
personal involvement in the will of the Lord.
There is an appropriate way in which the promises of God are to be sought. This is not only
an activity of the mind. It includes the marshaling of all our resources in the quest. Doing
good involves the subordination of the flesh, living by faith, and walking in the Spirit.
1F. There are many who say Paul is only writing about judgment here and not about
salvation, but that is hard to convince anyone who sees God giving eternal life to those who
have done good. If that is not salvation, then what is? They are trying to escape the
conclusion we have been writing about that says you have to keep faith and works together
as partners. They want to focus on faith alone for salvation, and ignore the role of works. It
does not work, for Paul links them here as partners, and you have to face reality that they
work together or they don't work at all. We are justified by faith alone, but we are
sanctified by faith and works, and salvation is not complete until we are sanctified, which
means having a life that is saved to some degree. If there is no sanctification there is reason
to doubt that there has been any justification, for, as James said, Faith without works is
dead. There is no wiggle room whereby you can escape this Biblical reality.
1G. Another thing that seems so clear according to Paul is that judgment day includes both
those who receive eternal life and those who receive eternal wrath. They are both being
dealt with in these few verses, and this fits the teaching of Jesus when he said in John 5:28-
9, Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear
his voice 29and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have
done evil will rise to be condemned. Jesus and Paul teach that all people will be judged at
the same time. Many come up with the speculation that the saved are judged at one time,
and then after the millennium the lost are judged. I say it is speculation because I see no
place where this is taught by Jesus or Paul. As far as I can determine it is a modern
interpretation that the Bible scholars through most of history did not see. Paul apparently
did not see it either, for he is teaching that the good and bad are dealt with at the same
time.
1H. Calvin did not see it either for he wrote on this passage, The day of the last judgment
is called the day of wrath, when a reference is made to the ungodly; but it will be a day of
redemption to the faithful. And thus all other visitations of God are ever described as
dreadful and full of terror to the ungodly; and on the contrary, as pleasant and joyful to the
godly. Hence whenever the Scripture mentions the approach of the Lord, it bids the godly
to exult with joy; but when it turns to the reprobate, it proclaims nothing but dread and
terror. He goes on, for the books shall then be opened; the sheep shall then be separated
the goats, and the wheat shall be cleansed from the tares. The sheep and goats are there at
the same time and are separated. This is a one time judgment called the last judgment.

72. 2. Henry, “The objects of his favor: Those who by patient continuance, c. By this we may
try our interest in the divine favor, and may hence be directed what course to take, that we
may obtain it. Those whom the righteous God will reward are, First, Such as fix to
themselves the right end, that seek for glory, and honor, and immortality; that is, the glory
and honor which are immortal-acceptance with God here and for ever. There is a holy
ambition which is at the bottom of all practical religion. This is seeking the kingdom of
God, looking in our desires and aims as high as heaven, and resolved to take up with
nothing short of it. This seeking implies a loss, sense of that loss, desire to retrieve it, and
pursuits and endeavors consonant to those desires. Secondly, Such as, having fixed the right
end, adhere to the right way: A patient continuance in well-doing. 1. There must be well-doing,
working good, v. 10. It is not enough to know well, and speak well, and profess well,
and promise well, but we must do well: do that which is good, not only for the matter of it,
but for the manner of it. We must do it well. 2. A continuance in well-doing. ot for a fit
and a start, like the morning cloud and the early dew; but we must endure to the end: it is
perseverance that wins the crown. 3. A patient continuance. This patience respects not only
the length of the work, but the difficulties of it and the oppositions and hardships we may
meet with in it. Those that will do well and continue in it must put on a great deal of
patience.
The product of his favor. He will render to such eternal life. Heaven is life, eternal life, and
it is the reward of those that patiently continue in well-doing; and it is called (v. 10) glory,
honor, and peace. Those that seek for glory and honor (v. 7) shall have them. Those that
seek for the vain glory and honor of this world often miss of them, and are disappointed;
but those that seek for immortal glory and honor shall have them, and not only glory and
honor, but peace. Worldly glory and honor are commonly attended with trouble; but
heavenly glory and honor have peace with them, undisturbed everlasting peace.
3. Gill, “To them who by patient continuance in well doing…
These words are descriptive of one sort of persons, to whom God will render according to
their works; and must be understood not of the Gentiles, the best and most moralized
among them; for they sought after worldly things, after human wisdom, and popular
applause, and not after God, his honor and glory, nor after immortality, which is only
brought to light by the Gospel; nor of the pharisaical Jews, who sought for righteousness
by the works of the law, and honor and glory from men, and not from God; nor of any
unregenerate persons, but only of such who have the true principles of grace implanted in
them, whether Jews or Gentiles: now the things which these men seek after are
glory;
not the glory of this world, nor any from the men of it; but the glory of God and Christ; to
be glorious within and without, by the grace and righteousness of Christ here, and to enjoy
eternal glory with him hereafter.
Honor;
not that which Adam had in innocence, and did not abide in; but that which is, and abides
with Christ, and which all the saints have, and shall have.

73. Immortality;
not the immortality of the soul, which is common to all; but the incorruption of the body, or
the glorious resurrection of it to everlasting life at the great day, or the incorruptible crown,
and never fading inheritance of the saints in light. The manner in which these things are
sought is, by patient continuance in well doing; by doing good works, and by doing these
good works well, from a principle of faith and love, and with a view to the glory of God;
and by patiently enduring reproaches and sufferings for well doing, and by persevering
therein: not that these things are to be had, or are expected by the saints to be had for the
sake of patience and well doing; yet they may be sought for, and looked unto, as an
encouragement to well doing, and continuance therein; and though not for, yet in well
doing there is a reward. These words do not express that for the sake of which glory is had;
but only describe the persons who seek, and the manner in which they seek for it, to whom
God will render
eternal life,
which he of his rich grace promised them before the world was, and of his free favour has
put into the hands of Christ for them, and which, as a pure gift of grace, he bestows on
them through him.
4. Barnes, “To them - Whoever they may be.
Patient continuance - Who by perseverance in well doing, or in a good work. It means that
they who so continue, or persevere, in good works as to evince that they are disposed to obey
the Law of God. It does not mean those who perform one single act, but those who so live as
to show that this is their character to obey God. It is the uniform doctrine of the Bible that
none will be saved but those who persevere in a life of holiness, Rev_2:10; Mat_10:22;
Heb_10:38-39. o other conduct gives evidence of piety but what continues in the ways of
righteousness. or has God ever promised eternal life to people unless they so persevere in a
life of holiness as to show that this is their character, their settled and firm rule of action.
The words well doing here denote such conduct as shall be conformed to the Law of God;
not merely external conduct, but that which proceeds from a heart attached to God and his
cause.
Seek for - This word properly denotes the act of endeavoring to find any thing that is lost,
Mat_18:12; Luk_2:48-49. But it also denotes the act when one earnestly strives, or desires to
obtain anything; when he puts forth his efforts to accomplish it. Thus, Mat_6:33, “Seek ye
first the kingdom of God,” etc. Act_16:10; 1Co_10:24; Luk_13:24. In this place it denotes an
earnest and intense desire to obtain eternal life. It does not mean simply the desire of a
sinner to be happy, or the efforts of those who are not willing to forsake their sins and yield
to God, out the intense effort of those who are willing to forsake all their crimes, and submit
to God and obey his laws.
Glory and honour and immortality - The three words used here, denote the happiness of
the heavenly world. They vary somewhat in their meaning, and are each descriptive of
something in heaven, that renders it an object of intense desire. The expressions are
cumulative, or they are designed to express the happiness of heaven in the highest possible
degree. The word “glory” δόξαν doxan denotes properly praise, celebrity, or anything
distinguished for beauty, ornament, majesty, splendor, as of the sun, etc.; and then it is used

74. to denote the highest happiness or felicity, as expressing everything that shall be splendid,
rich, and grand. It denotes that there will be an absence of every thing mean, grovelling,
obscure. The word “honor” (τιμὴν timēn) implies rather the idea of reward, or just
retribution - the honor and reward which shall be conferred in heaven on the friends of
God. It stands opposed to contempt, poverty, and want among people. Here they are
despised by people; there, they shall be honored by God.
Immortality - That which is not corruptible or subject to decay. It is applied to heaven as
a state where there shall be no decay or death, in strong contrast with our present condition,
where all things are corruptible, and soon vanish away. These expressions are undoubtedly
descriptive of a state of things beyond the grave. They are never applied in the Scriptures to
any condition of things on the earth. This consideration proves, therefore, that the
expressions in the next verse, indignation, etc. apply to the punishment of the wicked beyond
the grave.
Eternal life - That is, God will “render” eternal life to those who seek it in this manner.
This is a great principle; and this shows that the apostle means by “their deeds” Rom_2:6,
not merely their external conduct, but their inward thoughts, and efforts evinced by their
seeking for glory, etc. For the meaning of the expression “eternal life,” see the note at
Joh_5:24.
5. John Piper, “So the main point is: Jews and Greeks (that is, Gentiles) will get eternal
life (verse 7), or wrath and indignation (verse 8) not in accord with Jewishness or any
inherited distinctive, but according to their works. Jews may go first into heaven and
first into hell, but whether they go to the one or the other will be decided the same way for
them as for everyone else. That's the main point of the text.
According to Works - What is ot in Question
But here's an urgent question. How does receiving eternal life or eternal wrath according
to works fit with receiving eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ on the basis of God's
righteousness, not ours? In general there are two possible answers to this question. But
before I give them to you, let me make sure you see what is in question and what is not.
Here is what is not in question. We are not questioning whether we are justified, set right
with God, and eternally secured not on the basis of our deeds, but on the basis of God's
own righteousness imputed to us through our faith in Christ alone.
So, for example, Romans 3:28 says, We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart
from works of the Law. Faith is the bond that unites a person to Christ, who is himself the
foundation of justification.
The key of faith is even clearer in Romans 4:5, But to the one who does not work, but
believes in [that is, trusts, has faith in] Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
credited as righteousness. So faith functions to unite us to Christ before we have the good
deeds of godliness, and this faith is treated as if it were our righteousness because it unites
us to God's righteousness.

75. Again Romans 5:1 says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. So justification - getting right with God - is through faith,
not deeds.
And finally, Romans 8:33-34 shows that what is at stake here is indeed the final judgment
and eternal life, as in Romans 2:7. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? [Future
tense, namely, at the judgment day!] God is the one who justifies. In other words, no one
is going to be able to override the judgment of God in declaring his elect ones acquitted on
the basis of Christ's death for them. Then he states that basis in verse 34, Who is the one
who condemns? [implied: nobody! Why? Because . . .] Christ Jesus is He who died, yes,
rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. So the
death of Christ in my place, and the justification (the righteousness God imputes) is the
basis of the gift of eternal life, not our deeds.
That's what is not in question.
According to Works - What Is in Question
What is in question is how the judgment according to works here in Romans 2:6-10 fits
together with that. I said that, in general, there are two possible answers to this question.
One says that eternal life would be based on perfect obedience if anybody had it. But
nobody does, and so the only way to eternal life is by faith in Christ. The other way says
that God never promised eternal life on the basis of good deeds, but always makes good
deeds the evidence of faith that unites us to God in Christ, who is the basis of eternal life.
Let me try to say it another way, using verse 7 in particular. Verse 7 says, To those who by
perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, [God will give]
eternal life. What does that mean?
The first answer would say, it means that God would give eternal life on the basis of perfect
obedience if anybody had it. But nobody does, and so the point of the verse is simply to
stress the hopelessness of man without the gospel of grace.
The other answer would say, it means that God does indeed give eternal life to those who
persevere in obedience not because this obedience is perfect or because it is the basis or the
merit of eternal life, but because saving faith always changes our lives in the power of the
Holy Spirit so that true believers persevere in doing good. In other words, a changed life of
obedience to God's truth (verse 8) is not the basis of eternal life, but the evidence of
authentic faith which unites us to Christ who is the basis of eternal life.
ow, I think this second way of viewing these verses is correct. This is why verse 6 says,
[God] will render to every person according to his deeds, not on the basis of his deeds,
or because of the merit of his deeds. Eternal life is always based on Jesus Christ and
through our faith. But since faith, by the Holy Spirit, always sanctifies or changes us into
the image of Christ (one degree at a time, 2 Corinthians 3:18), there will be deeds that
accord with this saving faith. So while eternal life will be awarded only to believers, it

76. will be awarded according to - there will be an accord with -their deeds. There will be a
way of life that God can put on display to demonstrate to the world that this person's faith
was real.
That's the way I understand these verses. Let me give you some reasons for this
understanding.
ot Earned by Deeds
1. The first reason is simply that the verses don't look like they are hypothetical. They don't
sound that way. They sound straightforward, to the effect that God gives eternal life - not
that he would, but that he does - to those who have perseverance in good work. This
seems the most natural way to take the verses.
2. There is a clue in verses 4b-5 that Paul, in these verses, does not have perfect obedience
in mind as the path to eternal life. . . . not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to
repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up
wrath for yourself in the day of wrath . . . otice the importance of repentance.
It's because they have unrepentant hearts that they are storing up wrath in the judgment.
So if they had repentant hearts, they would not store up wrath at the judgment day. This is
a pointer to the fact that Paul is not thinking in an all-or-nothing way about righteousness
here. He is thinking that God is kind and merciful and willing to forgive people for their
sins if they will repent and turn to him for mercy. He doesn't stress yet what the basis of
that mercy is in Christ's death, but he does show that perseverance in doing good
probably includes a repentant heart that depends on mercy for forgiveness for failures.
That's the path to eternal life.
3. Consider Romans 6:22. Here Paul describes the Christian life and how it relates to
holiness and eternal life. He says, But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to
God, you derive your benefit [literally: you have your fruit], resulting in sanctification [or
holiness], and the outcome [the goal, telos], eternal life. ow notice how eternal life is
related to the life of a believer. It is the goal or the outcome. Of what? Of being enslaved
to God (by faith, I would argue) which yields the fruit of holiness.
This is very close to what Romans 2:7 says. There it says that God will give eternal life to
those who persevere in good work. Here it says that eternal life is the outcome of the
holiness that comes from being freed from sin and enslaved to God.
4. Consider Romans 8:12-13. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh - for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but
if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. What is at
stake here? What is at stake is death and life, and the meaning is clearly spiritual and
eternal, not temporal - because people die and live temporally on a very different basis
from what these verses say. So they are describing the path that leads to eternal life.

77. And what is it? Verse 13: If you are living [this is actual lived-out behavior in view]
according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds
of the body [notice that the issue is a practical battle with sin in our bodily life], you will
live. So the point again is the same as Romans 2:7. There it says that God will give eternal
life to those who persevere in doing good; here is says that God will give eternal life to those
who put to death the deeds of the body. That is how we persevere in doing good. We live by
the Spirit through faith. The good deeds don't earn eternal life. They are the fruit of
depending on the power of the Spirit in faith.
5. Finally, consider Galatians 6:8-9. Galatians is the book closest to Romans in the
argument it develops about justification by faith. So we are in the same orbit of thought. As
I read these two verses, watch for how eternal life comes to Christians. Paul is speaking to
the church: The one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption [the
opposite of immortality], but the one who sows to the Spirit [see Romans 8:13] will from
the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap
[eternal life] if we do not grow weary.
This is virtually identical in thought to Romans 2:7. There God gives eternal life to those
who persevere in doing good. Here in verse 9, if we don't lose heart in doing good (which
is the same as persevering in doing good) we will reap. Reap what? Verse 8: The one
who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
ow, in none of these texts does it say that eternal life is earned by or merited by or based
on good deeds. They simply say, in effect, that the final verdict of eternal life will accord
with good deeds. They go together. And the reason they go together is not that works has
replaced faith or that merit has replaced grace, but because the gospel of justification by
faith is the power of God unto salvation. It is not a weak thing. The gospel does not come
into a life and leave it under the dominion of sin. It comes in the power of the Holy Spirit.
And where it is believed, trusted and cherished, it produces what Paul calls the obedience
of faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26). And eternal life always accords with that.
Trust Christ to Bring You to the Father
The implication of this is plain: Tremble at the magnitude of what is at stake in your life!
And trust Christ to bring you to the Father. And do you see what that implies?
1. One of the reasons there is false faith is that some people think they are trusting Christ to
bring them to the Father, when they don't even want the Father. They want their sins
forgiven and they want to escape hell, but they don't want God. They don't love him. The
very notion of knowing him and loving and wanting him above all things is foreign to them.
So they may say that they are trusting Christ to bring them to the Father, but, in fact, they
are trying to use Christ to get the gifts of God, not God. Don't do that. Love God. Want
God. Cherish God. Delight in God. God himself is the Content and Goal of saving faith.
2. Finally, when you trust Christ to bring you to the Father, you trust him to enable you to
do whatever it takes to get to the Father. If there are good deeds that need to be done, you

78. don't turn from faith to works. You lean all the more on Christ who will work in you what
is pleasing in God's sight. When he died for you, he bought not only justification, but
sanctification. If holiness is needed, holiness will be given to those who trust him.
verse 7 says that eternal life is given to those who persevere in good deeds, the meaning is
that the faith that justifies always sanctifies. A changed life - not a perfect life - always
comes as the fruit of being united to Christ. So a transformed life is a necessary condition
of eternal life, but does not earn or merit eternal life. Or, as Jesus said, in Matthew 7:16-17,
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs
from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad
fruit. The appearance of fruit does not make a tree a fruit tree. But it shows that it is a
fruit tree. So a transformed life does not make a person a Christian. But a transformed life
shows that a person is a Christian.
The point this morning is that it is a good thing, indeed it is a necessary thing, to seek
glory and honor and immortality. Seek it. Want it. Pursue it. Crave it. Love it. Desire it
more than you desire any earthly thing. That is the point. Don't be a listless, apathetic,
sluggish person when it comes to spiritual things. And if you are like that, then intensify
your prayers that God would ignite your heart with the preciousness of glory and honor
and immortality.
Defining Glory, Honor and Immortality
Let me get at it with three E's. I use these three E's to define glory and honor and
immortality because I think glory is the main thing to seek and honor and immortality are
simply aspects of it. The three E's are Excellence, Echo and Extension. I'm going define
glory as a kind of divine excellence. I think honor is the echo of that excellence in the
regard of God and angels and saints. And immortality is the extension of that excellence
forever into the future.
So picture a great and excellent person moving into eternity with no death. The extension
of his movement forever and ever without death or any decay or corruption or diminishing
is his immortality. And as he moves through eternity forever and ever, his excellence is seen
by other excellent persons and is echoed back to him in honor and praise. So what I hope
you can see is that the excellence itself is the main thing and that immortality is simply that
it lasts forever and honor is simply that it is recognized and approved for what it is in the
minds and hearts of other excellent persons, especially God.
So I want to focus on the meaning of seeking glory. That is the central thing. But there is
something about seeking honor that begs for comment before I take up seeking glory.
Seeking Honor
Whose approval and whose regard and whose praise should we be seeking? The answer is
given in two places: Romans 2:29 and 1 Corinthians 4:5. In Romans 2:29 Paul says, He is
a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not

79. by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. A genuine Christian is not
pursuing praise from men, but praise from God. That is the honor he wants. In 1
Corinthians 4:5, Paul says that at the judgment God will bring to light the things hidden
in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will
come to him from God.
ow this raises the question of what God would praise in man. Is this idolatry on God's
part? Is he putting man above his own glory? Is he implying that there is a value or a
beauty or a virtue that comes from outside God himself that constrains God, as it were, to
worship something about man? The answer lies in the meaning of the glory we seek.
Seeking Glory
That leads us to the final and main issue: what does it mean for us to seek glory?
Whose glory? And if we say, God's glory, do we mean that we are seeking to see it or that
we are seeking to share in it? And if we say, see it and share in it, do we mean share in it
the way Satan wanted Eve to share in it in Genesis 3:5? - God knows that in the day you
eat from [the tree] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God. Is that the way we
should want to share in God's glory? Absolutely not. So we have to be careful here. Huge
things are at stake in the way we think about this, and the way we seek glory.
I think Paul's answers to our questions go like this: We are to seek God's glory. And seek it
first in the sense of wanting to see it and enjoy it for what it is as we see it in God revealed
in his word and works. Romans 1:23 says that the folly of ungodliness is that people
exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image. This is a failure to seek the
glory of God. We are to seek it as the highest treasure of our worship - our admiration and
delight and reverence - and not exchange it for anything.
Romans 5:2 says Through [Christ] we have obtained our introduction by faith into this
grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And verse 11 shortens
it down to the absolute essence of our desire: ot only this, but we also exult in God. ot
mainly the glory of God that we might share, but God himself, period. That is the essence
of our seeking. We long for God. Or which is the same thing, God in his glory or God in his
excellence.
So yes, seeking the glory of God means seeking to see it and know it and enjoy it as it is in
God. But that is not all that is meant here, in view of what Paul says in Romans 8. Look at
Romans 8:17. If [we are] children [of God, then we are], heirs also, heirs of God and
fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with
Him. So here, our seeking is not just to see the glory of God but to share in the glory of
God.
Keep on going in Romans 8:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with

80. the glory that is to be revealed to us. [Yes, glory will be revealed to us, but it goes on to say
that it will also transform us and make us glorious with the same glory.] For the anxious
longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation
was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the
creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the
glory of the children of God.
This is what Paul means in Romans 8:30 when he says, These whom [God] justified, He
also glorified. So seeking glory means both seeking to see it and to share it.
So that leaves us with the question: if we are to share in the very glory of God, and seek this
as part of eternal life, what does it mean, and how can we keep it from being what Satan
wanted Eve to do in trying to be like God?
I would put it like this: to be glorified, or to share in the glory of God, and yet not be God is
to be fitted by God in mind and spirit and body to know the glory of God and enjoy the
glory of God and thus display the glory of God with the very energy of God. What this does
is keep the meaning of glorification radically God-centered. Even though we are being
glorified, every aspect of our sharing in his glory is a fitting of us to know or enjoy or
display his glory. Which is the same as to say: our glory is to know his glory. Our glory is to
enjoy his glory. Our glory is to display his glory. And our glory is to do all of that not in our
own strength, but in the strength that God himself supplies so that our joy may be full and
his glory fully shown.
So I exhort you and urge you to seek glory and honor and immortality. Seek the excellence
of God - to see it and to share in it - to know it and enjoy it and display it. Seek the echo of
that excellence in the praise of God himself. And seek the everlasting extension of that
excellence into all eternity.
How Do I Seek Glory and Honor and Immortality?
And if you ask how, I leave you with two instructions.
1. Look to Christ
1. One is: look to Christ and the glory of his finished work on the cross for sinners. This is
what we stressed at the beginning. Justification and eternal life are not earned by our
deeds. They are freely given to those who look to Christ in faith. So if we are going to
obtain the glory of God and be glorified we must trust Christ. We are justified by faith
(Romans 5:1) and those who are justified will be glorified (Romans 8:30). Therefore faith is
the first and indispensable key to seeking the glory of God.
But don't treat Christ or faith as less than they are. When I say look to Christ I mean
look steadfastly to the glory of Christ as your greatest treasure. I mean what Paul says in 2
Corinthians 4:4 and 3:18. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul says that the gospel of Christ is the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. So to look to Christ for justification

81. is to seek the glory of God in Christ. It is not something separate. This is what faith does. It
receives Christ in the gospel as the glory of God. This is what faith feeds on in the gospel.
Four verses earlier, in 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul says, We all, with unveiled face, beholding
the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just
as from the Lord, the Spirit. In other words, looking to Christ in the gospel is a beholding
of the glory of the Lord which changes us from one degree of glory to the next into his
image.
This is where good deeds come in. Our good deeds are part of the likeness to Christ. And
this likeness to Christ comes from seeing and savoring the glory of Christ in the gospel.
This is why Paul says in Romans 2:7 that those who seek glory by perseverance in good
deeds will receive eternal life. The likeness to Christ is evidence that we already now being
glorified - not by works, but by looking to Christ in the gospel. To see is to become. To
look is to become like.
2. Suffering Lies in the Path to Glory
2. The second instruction I would give in answer to the question how we seek the glory of
God comes from realizing that there are many sufferings on the path that leads to glory.
How shall we respond to them? And how will they help us on to the glory we seek.
The answer of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 is this: We do not lose heart, but though our outer
man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light
affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we
look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Here again the key is Where are we looking? We should be looking to eternal things gained,
not temporal things lost (Philippians 1:21). This is the pathway to an eternal weight of
glory far beyond comparison. Suffering is not incidental to our quest for glory. It is an
essential part of it. And this suffering is not just persecution. It is the decaying of our
bodies. Romans 8:17-18 says the same thing, even more forcefully, as part of how we seek
glory: If [we are] children [of God, then we are], heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs
with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that is to be revealed to us.
That suffering includes the groaning of verse 23 as we wait for the redemption of our
bodies. It is not just suffering that comes from persecution, but all the futilities and
miseries of this life. If we look to Christ in them, and suffer with him and not against him,
then verse 17 says we will be glorified with him - now and forever.
So my answer to the question how we seek the glory and honor and immortality of God is:
look to Christ. Look to him for the glory that he is in the gospel of his death and
resurrection. See him and savor him as the image of the glory of God. And look to him in

82. your suffering. Look to the things that are eternal. Look to Christ. Look to the glory of
God. Taste him. Trust him. Be transformed by him.
6. Stedman, “The question Paul brings out here is this: What do you really want out of life?
What are you seeking? If you are by persistence in doing good seeking glory and honor
and immortality, i.e., if you want God's life, you want to be his kind of a person, you want
to honor him and be of value to him -- if that is what you really want above everything else,
then you will find it. God will give you eternal life. In the context of the whole Scripture,
this means you will find your way to Jesus Christ, for he is life eternal. You will find him as
your Redeemer and Lord and Savior. You will grow increasingly like him, as you judge
these evil areas of life, and honestly confess them, not assuming that God will pass over
them. But what do you really want?
If what you really want is not God, truth, life, glory, and immortality -- if you really want
pleasure and fame and wealth and power and prominence, if you want to be the center of
things and have everybody thinking of you and looking at you and serving you -- then,
according to this passage, there will be trouble and stress for every human being who does
evil, first for the Jew, and then for the Gentile. God plays no favorites. Church member or
pagan, civilized or savage, white, brown, red, black or yellow, it makes no difference before
God.
ow if all this sounds very harsh, if it sounds unloving, it is because you have not read the
passage in its context. For this is not inconsistent with the picture of a loving God, who
loves humanity and wants to restore it. It is a picture of a loving God who loves us so much
that he tells us the truth, and that is true love. He will not allow us to deceive ourselves, to
be tricked and trapped by falling into self-deceit. He tells us the truth. There is no way out,
except one, and that is what he wants us to see. God's love is helping us to see that there is
only one way to deal with sin -- admit it is there, and recognize that God has already dealt
with it in Christ. On that basis, God offers us full and free forgiveness. There is no other
way.
Any person who thinks he will escape by taking another route, or listening to some of the
other voices that try to trap us into ways of rationalizing these feelings, and accepting them
on other terms rather than dealing with them as ugly sins before God, will discover
ultimately that he has stored up a treasure house of wrath. That is why God tells us the
truth now. God, in great love and at tremendous cost, has provided a way out. It is that we
surrender self. We give up self-seeking and living for ourselves, and begin to live for the
God who made us. By the power of the Lord who forgives us and restores us and makes us
his own, we have heaven instead of hell. C. S. Lewis says the principle of giving up self runs
all through life, from top to bottom:
Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life, and you will save it.
Submit to the death of your ambitions and your favorite wishes every day, and the death of
your whole body in the end, submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal
life. Keep back nothing. othing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.

83. othing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look out for yourself
and you will find, in the long run, only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.
But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in.
This is the gospel. This is what this tremendous passage is aiming at, that we might realize
there is no hope, none whatsoever, except in a day-by-day yielding to the plan and the
program of God, as we find it in Jesus Christ our Lord.
7. Haldane, “ Patient continuance in well-doing. — This well expresses the sense of the
original. It signifies perseverance in something arduous. It is not mere continuance, but
continuance in doing or suffering something that tries patience. The word is used to signify
perseverance, patience, endurance, — a perseverance with resistance to all that opposes,
namely, to all temptations, all snares, all persecutions, and, in general, to all that could
discourage or divert from it, in however small a degree. It is not meant that any man can
produce such a perseverance in good works, for there is only one, Jesus Christ, who can
glory in having wrought out a perfect righteousness. He alone is holy, harmless, undefiled,
and separate from sinners. But here the Apostle only declares what the Divine judgment
will demand according to the law, to which the Jews were adhering for justification before
God, and rejecting that righteousness which He has provided in the Gospel. He marks
what the law will require for the justification of man, in order to conclude from it, as he
does in the sequel, that none can be justified in this way, because all are guilty.
Seek for glory, and honor, and immortality. — Glory signifies a state brilliant and
illustrious, and honor the approbation and praise of God, which, with immortality,
designate the blessings of eternal life. These God would, without doubt, confer in
consequence of perseverance in good works, but which cannot be obtained by the law. Here
we see a condemnation of that opinion which teaches that a man should have no motive in
what he does in the service of God but the love of God. The love of God, indeed, must be
the predominant motive, and without it no action is morally good. But it is not the only
motive. The Scriptures everywhere address men’s hopes and fears, and avail themselves of
every motive that has a tendency to influence the human heart. The principles of human
nature have God for their author, and are all originally right. Sin has given them a wrong
direction. Of the expressions, glory and honor, Dr. Macknight gives the following
explanations: — ’Glory is the good fame which commonly attends virtuous actions, but
honor is the respect paid to the virtuous person himself by those who have intercourse with
him.’
According to this interpretation, those who are seeking for immortality and eternal life are
seeking for the favor and respect of men! Eternal life. — The Apostle does not say that God
will render salvation, but ‘eternal life.’ The truth declared in this verse, and in those that
follow, is the same as that exhibited by our Lord when the rich young man asked Him,
‘What good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ His reply was, ‘If thou wilt enter
into life, keep the commandments,’ Matthew 19:16; and when the lawyer, tempting Him,
said, ‘Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? ‘Jesus answered, ‘Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all

84. thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,’ Luke 10:25. The verse before us, then, which
declares that eternal life shall be awarded to those who seek it by patient continuance in
well-doing, and who, according to the 10th verse, work good, both of which announce the
full demand of the law, are of the same import with the 13th verse, which affirms that the
doers of the law shall be justified.
In all these verses the Apostle is referring to the law, and not, as it is generally understood,
to the Gospel. It would have been obviously calculated to mislead the Jews, with whom Paul
was reasoning, to set before them in this place personal obedience as the way to eternal life,
which, in connection with what he had said on repentance, would tend directly to lead them
to mistake his meaning on that subject. But besides this, if these verses refer to the Gospel,
they break in upon and disturb the whole train of his reasoning, from the 18th verse of the
first chapter to the 20th of the third, where he arrives at his conclusion, that by the deeds of
the law there shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God. Paul was afterward to declare the
way of justification, as he does, ch. 3:21, 26, immediately after he drew the above
conclusion; but till then, his object was to exhibit, both to Jews and Gentiles, the
impossibility of obtaining justification by any works of their own, and, by convincing them
of this, to lead them to the grace of the Gospel. In conversing with the late Mr. Robert Hall
at Leicester, respecting the Epistle to the Romans, he remarked to me that this passage had
always greatly perplexed him, as it seemed to be not only aside from, but even opposed to
what appeared, from the whole context, to be the drift of the Apostle; and I believe that
every one who supposes that the Apostle is here referring to the Gospel will experience a
similar difficulty.”
8. Haldane goes on, “ I know that the view here given of these verses is contrary to that of
almost all the English commentaries on this Epistle. I have consulted a great number of
them, besides those of Calvin, and Beza, and Maretz, and the Dutch annotations, and that
of Quesnel, all of which, with one voice, explain the 7th and 10th verses of this chapter as
referring to the Gospel. The only exception that I am aware of among the English
commentaries is that of Mr. Fry, who, in his exposition of the 16th verse, remarks as
follows: — ’He (the Apostle) introduces this statement of the certainty of a judgment to
come, of the universal guilt and inevitable condemnation of mankind in the course of
justice, in order to show the universal necessity of a Savior, and of that righteousness which
was of God by faith. And it seems altogether extraordinary that some expositors should
concede the above account of the last judgment to include a description of the Redeemer’s
bestowing the reward of the inheritance upon His people, and that of such the Apostle
speaks when he says, “To them that, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek glory,
honor, and immortality, eternal life;” “Glory, honor, and peace, to every one that doeth
good.” For most assuredly this is not the language of the righteousness of faith, but the
exact manner of speaking which the Apostle ascribes to the righteousness of the law. To the
same purpose Mr. Marshall, in his work on The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, 14th
edit., p. 94, observes, ‘They grossly pervert these words of Paul, “Who will render to every
man according to his deeds; to them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for
glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life,” where they will have Paul to be declaring
the terms of the Gospel, when he is evidently declaring the terms of the law, to prove that
both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, and that no flesh can be justified by the works of

85. the law, as appeareth by the tenor of the following discourse.’
9. Dr. Wayne Barber, “ow there are four things that mark a person as a righteous person.
He seeks, first of all, for glory that God might be recognized in what he does. Secondly, he
seeks for honor, that God might be honored, and one day he might be honored when God
looks at him and says, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. ext he seeks for
immortality. He looks forward to the day when he will get his imperishable body, his
incorruptible body, when he can be conformed in the image of Christ Jesus. Finally, he
seeks for eternal life. Philippians 1:21 says, For me to live is Christ. The word live
means the essence of life. He says, Jesus is my life and seeks for this daily. He seeks to
live in the abundance of what God has come to offer him in the good news of Jesus Christ.
That is his main goal in life. He is not perfect, but in his heart, that is where he is focused,
that is what he wants.”
10. Constable, “Paul probably meant that if a person obeys God perfectly, he or she will
receive eternal life. Those who do not obey God perfectly receive wrath. Later he would
clarify that no one can obey God perfectly, so all are under His wrath (3:23-24).79 Another
view is that eternal life is not only a free gift, but it is also a
reward for good deeds. On the one hand we obtain eternal life as a gift only by faith (3:20;
4:5; cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:40; Eph. 2:8; Titus 3:5). However in another sense as Christians
we experience eternal life to the extent that we do good deeds (cf. 6:22; Matt. 19:29; Mark
10:30; Luke 18:29-30; John 10:10; 12:25-26; 17:3; Gal. 6:8).
In this view Paul's point was this. Those who are self-righteous and unbelieving store up
something that will come on them in the future, namely, condemnation (v. 5). Likewise those
who are humble and believing store up something that will
come on them in the future, namely, glory, honor, and immortality. Paul was speaking of
the believer's rewards here. Other interpreters believe Paul meant that a person's
perseverance demonstrates that his heart is regenerate.81 However that is not what Paul
said here. He said those who persevere will receive eternal life. One must not import a
certain doctrine of perseverance into the text rather than letting the text speak for itself.”
11. Godet, “But is it asked again, where, in this description of a normal human life, are
faith and salvation by the gospel to be found ? Does Paul then preach salvation by the work
of man ? The apostle has not to do here with the means whereby we can really attain to
well-doing; he merely affirms that no one will be saved apart from the doing of good, and
he assumes that the man who is animated with this persistent desire will not fail, some time
or other, in the journey of life, to meet with the means of attaining an end so holy and
glorious. This means is faith in the gospel—a truth which Paul reserves for proof at a later
stage. lie that doeth truth,'1'' said Jesus to the same effect, comcth to the light,'1'' as
soon as it is presented to him (John iii. 21 ; comp. vii. 17). The love of goodness, which is the
spring of his life, will then lead him to embrace Christ, the ideal of goodness ; and, having
embraced Him, he will find in Him the triumphant power for well-doing of which he was in
quest. The desire of goodness is the acceptance of the gospel by anticipation. The natural
corollary of these premisses is the thought expressed by Peter : the preaching of the gospel

86. before the judgment to every human soul, either in this life or in the next (1 Pet. iii. 19, 20,
iv. 6).' Comp. Mutt. xii. 31, 32. And if the apostle has spoken of patient continuance in this
pursuit, it is because he is well aware of that power of self-mastery which is needed,
especially in a Jew, to break with his nation, and family, and all his past, and to remain
faithful to the end to the supreme love of goodness.”
12. Haldane, “ I have noticed that from this passage the Church of Rome endeavors to
establish the merit of works, and of justification by means of works. Accordingly, Quesnel,
a Roman Catholic, in expounding the 6th verse, exclaims, ‘Real merits; necessity of good
works. They are our good or bad actions which render the judgment of God mild or severe!’
And indeed, were the usual interpretation of this and the three following verses the just one,
it must be confessed that this Romanist would have some ground for his triumph. But if we
take the words in their plain and obvious import, and understand the Apostle in this place
as announcing the terms of the law, in order to prove to the Jews the necessity of having
recourse to grace, and of yielding to the goodness and forbearance of God, leading them to
repentance, while he assures them that ‘not the hearers of the law are just before God, but
the doers of the law shall be justified,’ then the whole train of his discourse is clear and
consistent. On the other supposition, it appears confused and self contradictory, and
calculated not merely to perplex, but positively to mislead, and to strengthen the prejudices
of those who were going about to establish their own righteousness. For in whatever way
these expressions may with certain explanations and qualifications be interpreted in an
evangelical sense, yet unquestionably, as taken by themselves, and especially in the
connection in which they stand in this place, they present the same meaning as is announced
in the 13th verse, where the Apostle declares that the doers of the law shall be justified.
13. Sadler, “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek
for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life :
counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God
(1 Cor. iv. 5). Again, Knowing that whatsoever good thing any
man doeth the same shall he receive of the Lord (Ephes. vi. 8).
Again, Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not
unto men. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward
of the inheritance : for ye serve the Lord Christ (Col. iii. 23).
Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Gal. vi. 8). I could have
given twice as many, but I will add one more assertion from
this Epistle : We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of
Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, Every knee
shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God, so then
every one of us shall give account of himself to God (xiv. 10, 11).

87. I have given these passages in full as corroborating from his-own
writings the assertion of the Apostle in verse 6, because this
verse, with the four verses which follow, are of unspeakable im
portance in settling the relations of the doctrine of St. Paul with
that of his Master and with that of his brother Apostle. If we
take them as we find them, and understand them according to
their seemingly plain meaning, they are, if we except the sayings-of
the Lord Himself, the strongest words in the ew Testament on
the side of good works, and the necessity of a holy life if we are to-be
saved at the last great day. They are much stronger on the
side of a final justification by works than the single assertion of St.
James, Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not
by faith only. The slightest acquaintance with them, connected,
of course, with what we find in the rest of the Pauline Epistles,,
ought to have saved many estimable Church writers from hazarding
such teaching as that St. Paul s doctrine of Justification needs to-be
corrected or supplemented by that of St. James that if taken
by itself it leads to Antinomianism, and so forth. I my self have heard
such statements, and I have been told that it was no uncommon
thing to hear such absurdities in the University pulpits. It makes-one
think that men who could say such things could never have
once carefully read the Pauline Epistles certainly never seriously
compared them with themselves, and with the rest of Scripture, but
taken their ideas of the Apostle s doctrine at second-hand, from
the assertions of Antinomians and Solifidians.
But some of the foremost German Lutherans have treated this
place as if it did not represent St. Paul s real sentiments. He speaks
here, they think, not as a Christian from the Christian standpoint,
but as a Jew : but if this be so, then the Apostle unequivocally de
clares that men can be justified and attain eternal life by the law,
and that too after Pentecost after the promulgation of faith in
Christ as the one thing needful. ow, if it be really needful to
reconcile the Apostle to himself, we have only to ask, why did St.
Paul preach Christ ? Evidently that men might live Christian
lives not merely that they might be washed from sin or pardoned,
but that they might partake of His power and grace and so live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. This is
what the Apostle declares in the very centre of this Epistle : What
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God,
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin [or as
a sin-offering] condemned sin in the flesh : that the righteousness of
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit (Rom. viii. 1-4).
When then St. Paul says that God will render eternal life to

88. them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek glory, honour,
and immortality (or incorruption), he means those who by
repentance, and faith, and prayer, and careful continuance in
the Body of Christ, and endeavours to keep the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace, and constant watchfulness lest they fall, and
diligent use of the means of grace, seek for glory and immortality.
All these things are included under that law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus, which makes us free from the law of sin and death.
Paul here unequivocally declares that patient continuance in
well-doing is what God will reward ; but it is impossible to imagine
that he meant to teach that this might take place independently of
the grace of Christ.
8. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject
the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and
anger.
Phillips: It also means anger and wrath for those who rebel against God's plan of life, and
refuse to obey his rules, and who, in so doing, make themselves the very servants of evil.
1. The self-seeking life is just the opposite of the life that seeks for glory, honor and
immortality by pursuing a Christlike life of doing good. This self-centered life pursues self
pleasure, and cares nothing for truth, and God's purpose for life. It is life that pursues evil,
and that evil is basically the breaking of God's moral laws by a life of immorality and the
hurting of other people for selfish ends. This kind of life leads to the judgment of being alone
for all eternity. You lived for self, and that is what you will have in the end, just yourself.
Hell will be the loneliest experience imaginable. They reject the truth. They walk away from
the light God gives them. They turn from that light and walk into darkness following the
ways of evil. Even God with all his love and mercy cannot stomach such behavior forever,
and so he has to rid his eternal kingdom of such trash by severe judgment.
1B. Preceptaustin, Selfishly ambitious. (eritheia) means self seeking, strife, contentiousness,
extreme selfishness, rivalry and those who seek only their own. In a word, eritheia is the
desire to be number one no matter the cost! Thayer adds that it refers to a courting
distinction, a desire to put oneself forward, a partisan and factious spirit which does not
disdain low arts; partisanship, factiousness. Eritheia describes personal gratification and
self-fulfillment at any cost, which are the ultimate goals of all fleshly endeavors. Eritheia has

89. no room for others, much less genuine humility. It is that ultimate self-elevation rampant in
the world today which is the antithesis of what the humble, selfless, giving, loving, and
obedient child of God is called to be in Christ and only possible in the power of His Spirit.
1C. Jamison, “referring to such keen and determined resistance to the Gospel as he himself
had too painfully witnessed on the part of his own countrymen. (See Ac 13:44-46; 17:5, 13;
18:6, 12; and compare 1Th 2:15, 16). “In dispensing his frowns (v. 8, 9). Observe, [1.] The
objects of his frowns. In general those that do evil, more particularly described to be such
as are contentious and do not obey the truth. Contentious against God. Every wilful sin is a
quarrel with God, it is striving with our Maker (Isa. xlv. 9), the most desperate contention.
The Spirit of God strives with sinners (Gen. vi. 3), and impenitent sinners strive against the
Spirit, rebel against the light (Job xxiv. 13), hold fast deceit, strive to retain that sin which
the Spirit strives to part them from. Contentious, and do not obey the truth. The truths of
religion are not only to be known, but to be obeyed; they are directing, ruling,
commanding; truths relating to practice. Disobedience to the truth is interpreted a striving
against it. But obey unrighteousness--do what unrighteousness bids them do. Those that
refuse to be the servants of truth will soon be the slaves of unrighteousness. [2.] The
products or instances of these frowns: Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish.
These are the wages of sin. Indignation and wrath the causes--tribulation and anguish the
necessary and unavoidable effects. And this upon the soul; souls are the vessels of that
wrath, the subjects of that tribulation and anguish. Sin qualifies the soul for this wrath.
The soul is that in or of man which is alone immediately capable of this indignation, and
the impressions or effects of anguish therefrom. Hell is eternal tribulation and anguish, the
product of wrath and indignation. This comes of contending with God, of setting briers and
thorns before a consuming fire, Isa. xxvii. 4. Those that will not bow to his golden sceptre
will certainly be broken by his iron rod. Thus will God render to every man according to
his deeds.
2. Barnes, “Who are contentious - This expression usually denotes those who are of a
quarrelsome or litigious disposition; and generally has reference to controversies among
people. But here it evidently denotes a disposition toward God, and is of the same
signification as rebellious, or as opposing God. They who contend with the Almighty; who
resist his claims, who rebel against his laws, and refuse to submit to his requirements,
however made known. The Septuagint use the verb to translate the Hebrew word מרה
maarah, in Deu_21:20. One striking characteristic of the sinner is, that he contends with
God, that is, that he opposes and resists his claims. This is the case with all sinners; and it
was particularly so with the Jews, and hence, the apostle used the expression here to
characterize them particularly. His argument he intended to apply to the Jews, and hence
he used such an expression as would exactly describe them. This character of being a
rebellious people was one which was often charged on the Jewish nation, Deu_9:7,
Deu_9:24; Deu_31:27; Isa_1:2; Isa_30:9; Isa_65:2; Jer_5:23; Eze_2:8, Eze_2:5.
Do not obey the truth - Compare Rom_1:18. The truth here denotes the divine will, which
is alone the light of truth (Calvin). It means true doctrine in opposition to false opinions;
and to refuse to obey it is to regard it as false, and to resist its influence. The truth here
means all the correct representations which had been made of God, and his perfections, and

90. law, and claims, whether by the light of nature or by revelation. The description thus
included Gentiles and Jews, but particularly the latter, as they had been more signally
favored with the light of truth. It had been an eminent characteristic of the Jews that they
had refused to obey the commands of the true God, Jos_5:6; Jdg_2:2; Jdg_6:10; 2Ki_18:12;
Jer_3:13, Jer_3:25; Jer_42:21; Jer_43:4, Jer_43:7; Jer_9:13.
But obey unrighteousness - The expression means that they yielded themselves to iniquity,
and thus became the servants of sin, Rom_6:13, Rom_6:16-17, Rom_6:19. Iniquity thus may
be said to reign over people, as they follow the dictates of evil, make no resistance to it, and
implicitly obey all its hard requirements.
Indignation and wrath - That is, these shall be rendered to those who are contentious, etc.
The difference between indignation and wrath, says Ammonius, is that the former is of short
duration, but the latter is a long continued remembrance of evil. The one is temporary, the
other denotes continued expressions of hatred of evil. Eustathius says that the word
“indignation” denotes the internal emotion, but wrath the external manifestation of
indignation. (Tholuck.) Both words refer to the opposition which God will cherish and
express against sin in the world of punishment.
3. Gill, “ But unto them that are contentious,.... This is a description of the other sort of
persons to whom God will render according to their deeds, who are of the contention;
who contend for victory, and not truth; strive about words to no profit; are quarrelsome,
and sow discord among men, and in churches; and do not obey the truth; neither attend to
the light of nature, and to that which may be known of God by it; nor regard and submit to
the Gospel revelation and so design both the Gentiles, which knew not God, and Jews, and
others, who obey not the Gospel: but obey unrighteousness; are servants of sin: to these
God renders indignation and wrath; wrathful or fiery indignation, the hottest of his fury.
4. Henry, “In dispensing his frowns (Rom_2:8, Rom_2:9). Observe, [1.] The objects of his
frowns. In general those that do evil, more particularly described to be such as are
contentious and do not obey the truth. Contentious against God. every wilful sin is a quarrel
with God, it is striving with our Maker (Isa_45:9), the most desperate contention. The Spirit
of God strives with sinners (Gen_6:3), and impenitent sinners strive against the Spirit,
rebel against the light (Job_24:13), hold fast deceit, strive to retain that sin which the Spirit
strives to part them from. Contentious, and do not obey the truth. The truths of religion are
not only to be known, but to be obeyed; they are directing, ruling, commanding; truths
relating to practice. Disobedience to the truth is interpreted a striving against it. But obey
unrighteousness - do what unrighteousness bids them do. Those that refuse to be the
servants of truth will soon be the slaves of unrighteousness. [2.] The products or instances
of these frowns: Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. These are the wages of sin.
Indignation and wrath the causes - tribulation and anguish the necessary and unavoidable
effects. And this upon the soul; souls are the vessels of that wrath, the subjects of that
tribulation and anguish. Sin qualifies the soul for this wrath. The soul is that in or of man
which is alone immediately capable of this indignation, and the impressions or effects of
anguish therefrom. Hell is eternal tribulation and anguish, the product of wrath and
indignation. This comes of contending with God, of setting briers and thorns before a
consuming fire, Isa_27:4. Those that will not bow to his golden sceptre will certainly be
broken by his iron rod. Thus will God render to every man according to his deeds.

91. 5. John Piper, “Eternal life or God's wrath and fury - these are the two alternatives. In 2
Thessalonians 1:9 Paul speaks of those who do not obey the gospel and says, They will pay
the penalty of eternal destruction. Jesus concludes the parable of the great final judgment
in Matthew 25:46 with the words, These will go away into eternal punishment but the
righteous into eternal life.
Hell is the most appalling reality we can imagine. o horror of suffering in history can be
compared to what John calls the lake of fire and where Jesus said their worm does not
die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48). To go through life distrusting and disobeying
the infinite God, is an infinite sin and will be punished with eternal torment.
But if hell is infinitely horrible to imagine, eternal life in the presence of Jesus is infinitely
beautiful to contemplate. The happiness that the saints will have in the age to come will be
more satisfying than all the moments of joy experienced by all men in all history. Has there
ever been a moment when you thought you would burst because you were so happy?
Multiply that a thousand times and let it increase continually for an eternity, and you may
get some notion of what eternal life with Christ will mean.
I conclude with a summary of answers to our three questions. 1) All people without
exception will pass through the final judgment of God. 2) The judgment will be according
to their attitudes and actions which are a sure sign of the genuineness or absence of faith in
Christ. 3) The fork in the road leads either to eternal life or to wrath and fury. If you
haven't yet, choose life! Why would you perish? Trust in Christ and do His will. And for
those who love Him already, delight yourselves in the most glorious hope you can conceive,
and let everything you do flow from faith.”
6. William Barclay adds his interesting analysis of eritheia writing that it...is a word whose
meaning degenerated, and the story of its degeneration is in itself a grim commentary on
human nature...the interesting thing about this word is that...we would very naturally and
almost inevitably derive it from eris, which is the word for `strife'; but that is not its
derivation at all. Erithos originally meant 'a day labourer'; the word was specially
connected with `spinners' and 'weavers', and the popular derivation was from erion, which
means 'wool'. Eritheia therefore began by being a perfectly respectable word with the
meaning 'labour for wages'. It then begins to degenerate. It began to mean that kind of
work which is done for motives of pay and for nothing else; that kind of work which has no
motive of service whatever and which has only one question—What do I get out of it? It
therefore went on to mean 'canvassing and intriguing for public office'. It was the
characteristic of the man who sought public office, not for any service he could render the
State, but simply and solely for his own honour and glory and for his own profit. It then
acquired two other meanings.
First, it came to be used of 'party squabbles', of the jockeying for position and the
intriguing for place and power which is so often characteristic of both secular and
ecclesiastical politics. Second, it ended up by meaning 'selfish ambition', the ambition
which has no conception of service and whose only aims are profit and power.

92. It is extremely interesting to see how the T uses it. By far its greater number of uses occur
in Paul, and no one knew the inside of the Early Church better than Paul did. It was the
fault which could so easily wreck a Church. It was the fault which nearly wrecked the
Church of God at Corinth by splitting it into sects and factions who were more concerned
with their own supremacy than the supremacy of Christ. In Philippi it had actually become
the moving motive of certain preachers. They were eager rather to show their own
greatness than the greatness of Christ. Long ago Denney bitingly said that no preacher can
show at one and the same time that he is clever and that Christ is wonderful. It was
characteristic in Paul of the works of the flesh and in James of the earthly and sensual
wisdom. It is the characteristic of the man who applies earthly and human standards to
everything, and who assesses things by the measuring rod of personal prestige and personal
success.
It is an illuminating light on human nature that the word which began by describing the
work that a man does for an honest day's pay came in the end to describe the work which is
done for pay and pay alone. It is a warning to our own generation, for most of our troubles
today are not basically economic troubles; they spring rather from the spirit which asks,
always, What can I get out of life? and, never, What can I put into life?
7. Dr. Wayne Barber, “The word selfishly ambitious is the Greek word that means
mercenary. It is the same word for the word hireling. It is a person who does what he does
for profit. What does this have to do with Israel? It was profitable to be a Jew during that
time. They could put taxes on the people and make a killing being a Jew. That is why such
an indictment was against them. He says, Here you are judging other people, and you are
making money off of them. You are a mercenary. You are full of selfish ambition.
8. C. A. M. Hunter, A man's destiny on Judgment Day will depend not on whether he has
known God's will but on whether he has done it.
9. Sadler, “It is very noteworthy that a sin which
very many professing Christians account to be no sin at all, is
singled out from all others as one that will be punished by God at the
last ; but so it is, and this is in accordance with very much that is
in the writings of this Apostle ; as, for instance, he writes to the
Corinthians : Ye are yet carnal ; for whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as
men ? (1 Cor. hi. 3) and he includes strife (ipiQtiai, same word) as
among the works of the flesh which will prevent men from inherit
ing the kingdom of God (Gal. v. 20). According to this men
require to be converted from a factious, caballing, schism critical spirit
as much as they require to be converted from covetousness or forni
cation, and indeed it was when the Apostles exhibited this spirit in
seeking the highest places that the Lord laid down the need of their
conversion: Except ye be converted and become as little children
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of God (Matth. xviii. 3).

93. 10. Calvin, “But to those who are contentious, etc. There is some irregularity in
the passage; first, on account of its tenor being interrupted, for the
thread of the discourse required, that the second clause of the
contrast should be thus connected, -- The Lord will render to them,
who by perseverance in good works, seek glory, and honor, and
immortality, eternal life; but to the contentious and the disobedient,
eternal death. Then the conclusion might be joined, -- That for the
former are prepared glory, and honor, and incorruption; and that for
the latter are laid up wrath and misery. There is another thing, --
These words, indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish, are joined
to two clauses in the context. However, the meaning of the passage is
by no means obscure; and with this we must be satisfied in the
Apostolic writings. From other writings must eloquence be learnt: here
spiritual wisdom is to be sought, conveyed in a plain and simple style.
Contention is mentioned here for rebellion and stubbornness; for Paul
was contending with hypocrites who, by their gross and supine
self-indulgence, trifled with God. By the word truth, is simply meant
the revealed will of God, which alone is the light of truth: for it is
what belongs to all the ungodly, that they ever prefer to be in bondage
to iniquity, rather than to receive the yoke of God; and whatever
obedience they may pretend, yet they never cease perversely to clamor
and struggle against God's word. For as they who are openly wicked
scoff at the truth, so hypocrites fear not to set up in opposition to
it their artificial modes of worship. The Apostle further adds, that
such disobedient persons obey or serve iniquity; for there is no middle
course, which those who are unwilling to be in subjection to the law of
the Lord can take, so as to be kept from falling immediately into the
service of sin. And it is the just reward of outrageous licentiousness,
that those become the bondslaves of sin who cannot endure the service
of God. Indignation and wrath, so the character of the words induces me
to render them; for thumos in Greek means what the Latins call
excandescentia -- indignation, as Cicero teaches us, (Tusc. 4,) even a
sudden burning of anger. As to the other words I follow Erasmus. But
observe, that of the four which are mentioned, the two last are, as it
were, the effects of the two first; for they who perceive that God is
displeased and angry with them are immediately filled with confusion.
We may add, that though he might have briefly described, even in two
words, the blessedness of the godly and also the misery of the
reprobate, he yet enlarges on both subjects, and for this end -- that
he might more effectually strike men with the fear of God's wrath, and
sharpen their desire for obtaining grace through Christ: for we never
fear God's judgment as we ought, except it be set as it were by a

94. lively description before our eyes; nor do we really burn with desire
for future life, except when roused by strong incentives, (multis
flabellis incitati -- incited by many fans.)”
9. There will be trouble and distress for every human
being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile;
1. The Jews were the first to receive God's blessing and guidance, and they will be first also
to experience his judgment for their disobedience. All will get what they deserve, but they
get to be first. It is not always a good thing to be first. Doing evil is not excused just because
you have a great heritage like the Jews have. You can have a long list of godly relatives who
have done wondrous works for the kingdom of God, but if you choose to do evil, it will not
be hidden in the day of judgment to protect the image of your ancestors. Every person will
be judged individually and not based on their family or group experience.
2. Barnes, “Tribulation - This word commonly denotes affliction, or the situation of being
pressed down by a burden, as of trials, calamities, etc.; and hence, to be pressed down by
punishment or pain inflicted for sins. As applied to future punishment, it denotes the
pressure of the calamities that will come upon the soul as the just reward of sin.
And anguish - στενοχωρία stenochōria. This noun is used in but three other places in the
ew Testament; Rom_8:35; 2Co_6:4; 2Co_12:10. The verb is used in 2Co_4:8; 2Co_6:12. It
means literally narrowness of place, lack of room, and then the anxiety and distress of mind
which a man experiences who is pressed on every side by afflictions, and trials, and want, or
by punishment, and who does not know where he may turn himself to find relief.
(Schleusner.) It is thus expressive of the punishment of the wicked. It means that they shall
be compressed with the manifestations of God’s displeasure, so as to be in deep distress, and
so as not to know where to find relief. These words affliction and anguish are often
connected; Rom_8:35.
Upon every soul of man - Upon all people. In Hebrew the word “soul” often denotes the
man himself. But still, the apostles, by the use of this word here, meant perhaps to signify
that the punishment should not be corporeal, but afflicting the soul. It should be a spiritual
punishment, a punishment of mind. (Ambrose. See Tholuck.)
Of the Jew first - Having stated the general principle of the divine administration, he
comes now to make the application. To the principle there could be no objection. And the
apostle now shows that it was applicable to the Jew as well as the Greek, and to the Jew pre-eminently.
It was applicable first, or in an eminent degree, to the Jew, because,
(1) He had been especially favored with light and knowledge on all these subjects.
(2) These principles were fully stated in his own Law, and were in strict accordance with
all the teaching of the prophets; see the note at Rom_2:6; also Psa_7:11; Psa_9:17;

95. Psa_139:19; Pro_14:32.
Of the Gentile - That is, of all who were not Jews. On what principles God will inflict
punishment on them, he states in Rom_2:12-16. It is clear that this refers to the future
punishment of the wicked, for,
(1) It stands in contrast with the eternal life of those who seek for glory Rom_2:7. If this
description of the effect of sin refers to this life, then the effects spoken of in relation to the
righteous refer to this life also. But in no place in the Scriptures is it said that people
experience all the blessings of eternal life in this world; and the very supposition is absurd.
(2) It is not true that there is a just and complete retribution to every man, according to
his deeds, in this life. Many of the wicked are prospered in life, and “there are no bands in
their death, but their strength is firm;” Psa_73:4. Many of the righteous pine in poverty and
want and affliction, and die in the flames of persecution. othing is more clear than there is
not in this life a full and equitable distribution of rewards and punishments; and as the
proposition, of the apostle here is, that God will render to every man according to his deeds
Rom_2:6, it follows that this must be accomplished in another world.
(3) The Scriptures uniformly affirm, that for the very things specified here, God will
consign people to eternal death; 2Th_1:8, “In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction,” etc.; 1Pe_4:17. We may remark also, that there could be no
more alarming description of future suffering than is specified in this passage. It is
indignation; it is wrath; it is tribulation; it is anguish which the sinner is to endure forever.
Truly people exposed to this awful doom should be alarmed, and should give diligence to
escape from the woe which is to come.
3. Clarke, “Tribulation and anguish - Misery of all descriptions, without the possibility of
escape, will this righteous Judge inflict upon every impenitent sinner. The Jew first, as
possessing greater privileges, and having abused greater mercies; and also on the Gentile,
who, though he had not the same advantages, had what God saw was sufficient for his
state; and, having sinned against them, shall have punishment proportioned to his demerit.
4. Gill, “ Tribulation and anguish,.... These, with the foregoing words, are expressive of the
second death, the torments of hell, the worm that never dies, and the fire that is not
quenched: which will fall
upon every soul of man that doth evil; whose course of life and conversation is evil; for the
soul that sins shall die, Eze_18:4, unless satisfaction is made for his sins by the blood of
Christ:
of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; regard being had to what nation they belong.
5. Henry, “ In dispensing his frowns (Rom_2:8, Rom_2:9). Observe, [1.] The objects of his
frowns. In general those that do evil, more particularly described to be such as are
contentious and do not obey the truth. Contentious against God. every wilful sin is a quarrel
with God, it is striving with our Maker (Isa_45:9), the most desperate contention. The Spirit
of God strives with sinners (Gen_6:3), and impenitent sinners strive against the Spirit,

96. rebel against the light (Job_24:13), hold fast deceit, strive to retain that sin which the Spirit
strives to part them from. Contentious, and do not obey the truth. The truths of religion are
not only to be known, but to be obeyed; they are directing, ruling, commanding; truths
relating to practice. Disobedience to the truth is interpreted a striving against it. But obey
unrighteousness - do what unrighteousness bids them do. Those that refuse to be the
servants of truth will soon be the slaves of unrighteousness. [2.] The products or instances
of these frowns: Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. These are the wages of sin.
Indignation and wrath the causes - tribulation and anguish the necessary and unavoidable
effects. And this upon the soul; souls are the vessels of that wrath, the subjects of that
tribulation and anguish. Sin qualifies the soul for this wrath. The soul is that in or of man
which is alone immediately capable of this indignation, and the impressions or effects of
anguish therefrom. Hell is eternal tribulation and anguish, the product of wrath and
indignation. This comes of contending with God, of setting briers and thorns before a
consuming fire, Isa_27:4. Those that will not bow to his golden sceptre will certainly be
broken by his iron rod. Thus will God render to every man according to his deeds.”
6. Godet, “The terms tribulation and anguish describe the moral and external state of the
man on whom the indignation and wrath of the judge fall (ver. 8). Tribulation is the
punishment itself (corresponding to wrath) ; anguish is the wringing of the heart which the
punishment produces ; it corresponds to the judge's indignation. The soul is mentioned as
the seat of feeling. The phrase, every soul of man, expresses the equality and universality of
the treatment dealt out. Yet within this equality there is traced a sort of preference both as
to judgment and salvation respectively (ver. 10), to the detriment and advantage of the Jew.
When he says first, the apostle has no doubt in view (as in i. 16) a priority in time ; comp. 1
Pet. iv. 17. Must we not, however, apply at the same time the principle laid down by Jesus,
Luke xii. 41-18, according to which he who receives most benefits is also the man who has
the heaviest responsibility ? In any case, therefore, whoever escapes judgment, it will not be
the Jew ; if there were but one judged, it would be he.”
7. Haldane, “ Tribulation and anguish. — These two terms denote the punishment, as the
indignation and wrath designate the principle on which the condemnation proceeds. They
also designate the greatness of the punishment. Upon every soul of man. — This
universality is intended to point to the vain expectations of the Jews, that they would be
exempt from that punishment, and assists in determining the import of the phrase
‘according to truth’ in verse 2, meaning what is just. It signifies, too, the whole man, for it
must not be imagined that the wicked do not also suffer in their body. Jesus Christ says
expressly that they shall come forth unto the resurrection of damnation. This refutes the
opinion of Socinian heretics and others, who insist that the punishment of the wicked will
consist in an entire annihilation both of body and soul. The terms ‘tribulation and anguish’
signify a pain of sensation, and consequently suppose the subsistence of the subject. That
doeth evil. — The word in the original designates evil workers, as persons who practice
wickedness habitually. The connection of punishment with sin is according to the order of
Divine justice; for it is just that those who have offended infinite Majesty should receive the
retribution of their wickedness. It is likewise according to the denunciation of the law,
whether it is viewed as given externally by the word, or as engraved internally in the
conscience of every man, for it threatens punishment to transgressors. Of the Jew first, and

97. also of the Gentile (literally Greek). — In this place, ‘the Jew first’ must mean the Jew
principally, and implies that the Jew is more accountable than the Gentile, and will be
punished according to his superior light; for as the Jew will have received more than the
Gentile, he will also be held more culpable before the Divine tribunal, and will
consequently be more severely punished. His privileges will aggravate his culpability, and
increase his punishment. ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I
will punish you for all your iniquities,’ Amos 3:2; Matthew 11:22; Luke 12:47. But although
the judgment will begin with the Jew, and on him be more heavily executed, it will not
terminate with him, but will be also extended to the Gentile, who will be found guilty,
though not with the same aggravation.”
8. Sadler, “The
meaning of the Apostle seems to be that the Gentiles, because of
their being without the pale of the law, will have no unfair advan
tage. If they have sinned against conscience and internal light,
they will be punished in just proportion to their sin ; but this we
must leave entirely to God. The perish cannot possibly mean
in every case everlasting destruction in Gehenna. In by far the
greater part of cases where the word is used it means simply
perishing by death, and the nearest approach which we can make
to an explanation is that they will die in their sins, and be sub
ject to such punishment as God in His combined justice and mercy
will award. This seems saying little, but it is all that we have any
business to say. To say that they will not be punished at all, is to
stultify the Apostle for having written the sentence : and yet
virtually to say that God has put it out of His power to inflict any
but the extremest punishment of everlasting torture leads to the
denial of the existence of God.
10. but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does
good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
1. Again it is the individual who is rewarded for doing good, and not the group. If you
belong to a group of people who do good, but you do not, it will not do you any good that
you are a member of that group, for you will be judged by your own personal good works,
and not that of the group.
1B. C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, People often think of Christian morality as a
kind of bargain in which God says, If you keep a lot of rules, I'll reward you; and if you
don't, I'll do the other thing. I do not think that's the best way of looking at it. I would

98. much rather say that every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of you,
the part that chooses, into something a little different than what it was before. And, taking
your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly
turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature; either
into a creature that is in harmony with God and with other creatures and with itself, or else
into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God and with its fellow creatures and with
itself. To be the one kind of creature is heavenly, i.e., it is joy and peace and knowledge and
power; to be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal
loneliness. Each of us, at each moment, is progressing to the one state or the other.
1C. Jamison, “first in perdition if unfaithful; but if obedient to the truth, first in salvation
(Ro 2:10).”
1D. Godet, “The third term : peace, describes the subjective feeling of the saved man at the
time when glory and honor are conferred on him by the judge. It is the profound peace
which is produced by deliverance from wrath, and the possession of unchangeable
blessedness.”
2. Gill, “But glory, honor, and peace…Which are so many words for the everlasting
happiness of the saints; which is a crown of glory that fadeth not away ((1 Peter 5:4) );
an honour exceeding that of the greatest potentates upon earth, since such that enjoy it will
be kings and priests, and sit with Christ on his throne to all eternity; and is a peace that
passes all understanding: all which will be rendered to every man that doth good, to the
Jew first, and also to the Gentile; which none without Christ, and his grace, and by the
strength of nature, does, or can do; not that good works are causes of salvation, but are
testimonies of faith, and fruits of grace, with which salvation is connected, whether they be
found in Jews or Gentiles; for neither grace nor salvation are peculiar to any nation, or set
of people.
3. Clarke, “But glory, honor, and peace - While the finally impenitent Jew and Gentile shall
experience the fullest effects of the righteous indignation of the supreme Judge, even man
that worketh good - that lives in a conscientious obedience to the known will of God,
whether he be Jew or Gentile, shall have glory, honor, and peace; i.e. eternal blessedness.
4. Henry, “The product of his favour. He will render to such eternal life. Heaven is life,
eternal life, and it is the reward of those that patiently continue in well-doing; and it is
called (Rom_2:10) glory, honour, and peace. Those that seek for glory and honour
(Rom_2:7) shall have them. Those that seek for the vain glory and honour of this world
often miss of them, and are disappointed; but those that seek for immortal glory and
honour shall have them, and not only glory and honour, but peace. Worldly glory and
honour are commonly attended with trouble; but heavenly glory and honour have peace
with them, undisturbed everlasting peace.”
5. Haldane, “ Glory, honor, and peace. — Glory, as has already been observed, refers to the
state of blessedness to which those who shall inherit eternal life will be admitted; honor, to
the praise and approbation of God, to which is here added peace. Peace is a state of
confirmed joy and prosperity. As added to glory and honor, it may appear feeble as a

99. climax, but in reality it has all the value that is here ascribed to it. o blessing can be
enjoyed without it.
What would glory and honor be without peace? What would they be if there was a
possibility of falling from the high dignity, or of being afterward miserable? To every man
that worketh good. — Happiness, by the established order of things, is here asserted to be
the inseparable consequence of righteousness, so that virtue should never be unfruitful; and
he who had performed what is his duty, if any such could be found, should enjoy rest and
satisfaction. This is also according to the declaration of the Divine law; for if, on the one
hand, it threatens transgressors, on the other, it promises good to those who observe it. ‘The
man that doeth them shall live in them,’ Galatians 3:12. Since, then, no righteous man could
be disappointed of the fruit of his righteousness, it may, in consequence, be asked if any
creature who had performed his duty exactly would merit anything from God? To this it is
replied, that the infinite majesty of God, which admits of no proportion between Himself
and the creature, absolutely excludes all idea of merit. For God can never be laid under any
obligation to His creature; and the creature, who is nothing in comparison of Him, and who,
besides, has nothing but what God has given him, can never acquire any claim on his
Creator. Whenever God makes a covenant with man, and promises anything, that promise,
indeed, engages God on His part, on the ground of His truth and faithfulness; but it does not
so engage Him as to give us any claim of merit upon Him. ‘Who hath first given to Him, and
it shall be recompensed unto him again?’ Romans 11:35. Thus, in whatever manner we view
it, there can be before God no merit in men; whence it follows that happiness would not be
conferred as a matter of right on a man who should be found innocent. It must be said,
however, that it would be given by a right of judgment, by which the order and proportion
of things is preserved, the majesty of the law of God maintained, and the Divine promises
accomplished. But, in awarding life and salvation to him who has the righteousness of
Christ imputed to him, God is both faithful and just, on account of the infinite merit of His
Son. To the Jew first, and also to the Greek. — When glory and honor are promised to the
Jew first, it implies that he had walked according to his superior advantages, and of course
would be rewarded in proportion; while the Gentile, in his degree, would not be excluded.”
6. The editors of Calvin's commentary give us these notes:
“It has appeared to some difficult to reconcile this language with
the free salvation which the gospel offers, and to obviate the
conclusion which many are disposed to draw from this passage -- that
salvation is by works as well as by faith. To this objection Pareus
answers, that the Apostle speaks here of salvation by the works of the
law, not indeed as a thing possible, which he subsequently denies, but
as a declaration of what it is, that he might thereby show the
necessity of a gratuitous salvation which is by faith only. And this is
the view which Mr. Haldane takes. But there is no need of having
recourse to this hypothesis: for whenever judgment is spoken of even in
the ew Testament, it is ever represented in the same way, as being
regulated in righteousness, according to the works of every individual.
See Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Colossians 3:24, 25; Revelation

100. 20:12; Revelation 22:12. It will be a judgment, conducted according to
the perfect rule of justice, with no respect of persons, with no regard
to individuals as such, whether high or low, much or little favored as
to outward privileges, but according to what their conduct has been,
under the circumstances of their case. The rule, if heathens, will be
the law of nature; if Jews, the law which had been given them.
Judgment, as to its character, will be still the same to those under
the gospel; it will be according to what the gospel requires. -- Ed.
With regard to the construction of this passage, 6-10, it may be
observed, that it is formed according to the mode of Hebrew
parallelism, many instances of which we meet with even in the prose
writings of the ew Testament. one of the ancients, nor any of the
moderns, before the time of Bishop Lowth, understood much of the
peculiar character of the Hebrew style. All the anomalies, noticed by
Calvin, instantly vanish, when the passage is so arranged, as to
exhibit the correspondence of its different parts. It consists of two
general portions; the first includes three verses, Romans 2:6, 7, and
8; the other, the remaining three verses. The same things are mainly
included in both portions, only in the latter there are some things
additional, and explanatory, and the order is reversed, so that the
passage ends with what corresponds with its beginning. To see the whole
in a connected form, it is necessary to set it down in lines, in the
following manner -- 6. Who will render to each according to his works,
-- 7. To those indeed, who, by perseverance in well -- doing, Seek
glory and honor and immortality, -- Eternal life 8. But there shall be
to them who are contentious And obey not the truth, but obey iniquity,
--Indignation and wrath: Then follow the same things, the order being
reversed -- 9. Distress and anguish shall be on every soul of man that
worketh evil, -- On the Jew first, and then on the Greek; 10. But glory
and honor and peace, To every one who worketh good, -- To the Jew first
and then to the Greek; 11. For there is no respect of persons with God.
The idea in the last and the first line is essentially the same. This
repetition is for the sake of producing an impression. The character of
the righteous, in the first part, is, that by persevering in doing good
they seek glory, honor, and immortality, and their reward is to be
eternal life: the character of the wicked is that of being contentious,
disobedient to the truth, and obedient to unrighteousness, and their
reward is to be indignation and wrath. The character of the first, in
the second part, is, that they work good; and of the other, that they
work evil: and the reward of the first is glory, honor, and peace, and
the reward of the other, distress and anguish; which are the effects of
indignation and wrath, as glory honor, and peace are the fruits or the
constituent parts of eternal life. It is to be observed that priority
in happiness, as well as priority in misery, is ascribed to the Jew. --”
Ed.

101. 11. For God does not show favoritism.
1. He does not have one standard for Jews, and a different standard for Gentiles. All are
condemned in the same way, and all are saved by faith. God is a God of peace and love, and
so if he showed favorites he would be the cause of conflict in his own family, and a house
divided against itself cannot stand. You have all that anyone in the world has in terms of
God's promises.
1B. Greg Herrick, “Thus 2:7-10 evidences a universality and equality in the judgment of
God; all will receive according to their deeds. There is, nonetheless, an order to the
judgment; it is to the Jew first and then to the Greek. But the order is not just
chronological in that the Jews were first in salvation-history to receive the gospel and
therefore they should be judged first. There is also a logical priority put upon the Jews.
Since they did receive the gospel ahead of the Gentiles, they will be judged ahead of the
Gentiles. The reason this is so is because there is no partiality (proswpolhmyiva,
proso„pole„mpsia) with God (Gal 2:6; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; James 2:1). The Jews may have
thought that they were the first to receive salvation and the last to receive judgment, but
that would make God partial and unjust.”
2. Stedman, “I am amazed to see in my own heart how many times I expect God to show
favoritism. Even as a Christian, I expect him to overlook areas of my life without any
acknowledgment on my part that they are there. I expect him to forget them without
revealing to me what their true nature is. Yet the Scriptures tell us that God is constantly
bringing to our attention times when we see ourselves clearly. What valuable times they
are!
Paul says that when we refuse to judge these areas we are storing up wrath for ourselves.
The word is treasures. We are laying up treasures, but the treasure is wrath. This is the
same word that Jesus employed when he said, Lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven,
{Matt 6:20 KJV}. We are constantly making deposits in a bank account which we must
collect one of these days. In his wrath, God allows us to deteriorate as human beings. We
become less than what we want to be. I think C. S. Lewis has described this very accurately.
In his book, Mere Christianity, he says,
People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, If you
keep a lot of rules, I'll reward you; and if you don't, I'll do the other thing. I do not think
that's the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a
choice, you are turning the central part of you, the part that chooses, into something a little
different than what it was before. And, taking your life as a whole, with all your
innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a
heavenly creature or into a hellish creature; either into a creature that is in harmony with

102. God and with other creatures and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and
hatred with God and with its fellow creatures and with itself. To be the one kind of creature
is heavenly, i.e., it is joy and peace and knowledge and power; to be the other means
madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us, at each
moment, is progressing to the one state or the other.
In very eloquent terms, that is saying the same thing Paul brings out here. God is a
righteous God. He judges men and he assesses wrath against those who do wrong. o
matter what the outward life may be like, he sees the inward heart and judges on that
basis. There is a righteous judgment awaiting. It comes, in part, all through life, because we
experience the wrath of God even now. But a day is coming when it all will be manifested,
one way or the other.
3. Henry, “As to the spiritual state, there is a respect of persons; but not as to outward
relation or condition. Jews and Gentiles stand upon the same level before God. This was
Peter's remark upon the first taking down of the partition-wall (Acts x. 34), that God is no
respecter of persons; and it is explained in the next words, that in every nation he that fears
God, and works righteousness, is accepted of him. God does not save men with respect to
their external privileges or their barren knowledge and profession of the truth, but
according as their state and disposition really are. In dispensing both his frowns and
favours it is both to Jew and Gentile. If to the Jews first, who had greater privileges, and
made a greater profession, yet also to the Gentiles, whose want of such privileges will
neither excuse them from the punishment of their ill-doing nor bar them out from the
reward of their well-doing (see Col. iii. 11); for shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
4. Gill, “For there is no respect of persons with God.
] It will not come into consideration, at the day of judgment, of what nation men are; or
from what parents they are descended; nor of what age and sex persons be; nor in what
state and condition they have lived in this world; nor will it be asked to what sect they have
belonged, and by what denomination they have been called; or whether they have
conformed to such and such externals and rituals in religion; but only whether they are
righteous men or sinners; and accordingly as they appear under these characters,
judgment will proceed. Some object from hence, though without any reason, to the doctrine
of particular election of certain persons to everlasting salvation. This passage respects
matters of strict justice, and is a forensic expression relating to courts of judicature, where
persons presiding are to have no regard to the faces of men, but do that which is strictly
just between man and man; and does not respect matters of grace and free favour, such as
giving alms, forgiving debts… A judge, as such, is to regard no man's person, but to
proceed in matters before him, according to the rules of law and justice; should he do
otherwise, he would be chargeable with being a respecter of persons; but then he may
bestow alms on what objects he pleases; and forgive one man who is personally indebted to
him, and not another, without any such imputation. This, applied to the case in hand,
abundantly clears it; for though God, as a Judge, respects no man's person; yet in matters
of grace he distinguishes one person from another, as it is plain he does by the bounties of
his Providence. Besides, God is not bound to any person by any laws, but acts as a
Sovereign; he is not moved by anything in the creature; as his choice is not confined to

103. persons of any particular nation, family, sex, or condition, so neither does it proceed upon
anything, or a foresight of anything in them, or done by them; and as there is no worthiness
in them that are chosen, and saved above others, so no injury is done to the rest: add to all
this, that those that are saved by virtue of electing grace, are saved in a way of
righteousness agreeably to the holy law, and strict justice of God; so that no complaint can
be made against the distinguishing methods of grace, upon the foot of strict justice.”
5. Barnes, “For - This particle is used here to confirm what is said before, particularly that
this punishment should be experienced by the Jew as well as the Gentile. For God would
deal with both on the principles of justice.
Respect of persons - The word thus rendered means “partiality,” in pronouncing
judgment, in favoring one party or individual more than another, not because his cause is
more just, but on account of something personal - on account of his wealth, or rank, or
function, or influence, or by personal friendship, or by the fear of him. It has special
reference to a judge who pronounces judgment between parties at law. The exercise of such
partiality was strictly and often forbidden to the Jewish magistrates; Lev_19:15; Deu_1:17;
Pro_24:23; Jam_2:1, Jam_2:3,Jam_2:9. In his capacity as a Judge, it is applied often to
God. It means that he will not be influenced in awarding the retributions of eternity, in
actually pronouncing and executing sentence, by any partiality, or by regard to the wealth,
function, rank, or appearance of people. He will judge righteous judgment; he will judge
people as they ought to be judged; according to their character and deserts; and not
contrary to their character, or by partiality.
The connection here demands that this affirmation should be limited solely to his dealing
with people as their judge. And in this sense, and this only, this is affirmed often of God in
the Scriptures; Deu_10:17; 2Ch_19:7; Eph_6:9; Col_3:25; Gal_6:7-8; 1Pe_1:17; Act_10:34.
It does not affirm that he must make all his creatures equal in talent, health, wealth, or
privilege; it does not imply that, as a sovereign, he may not make a difference in their
endowments, their beauty, strength, or graces; it does not imply that he may not bestow his
favors where he pleases where all are undeserving, or that he may not make a difference in
the characters of people by his providence, and by the agency of his Spirit. All these are
actually done, done not out of any respect to their persons, to their rank, function, or wealth,
but according to his own sovereign good pleasure; Eph. 1. To deny that this is done, would
be to deny the manifest arrangement of things everywhere on the earth. To deny that God
had a right to do it, would be,
(1) To maintain that sinners had a claim on his favors;
(2) That he might not do what he willed with his own; or,
(3) To affirm that God was under obligation to make all people with just the same talents
and privileges, that is, that all creatures must be, in all respects, just alike.
This passage, therefore, is very improperly brought to disprove the doctrine of decrees, or
election, or sovereignty. It has respect to a different thing, to the actual exercise of the office
of the Judge of the world; and whatever may be the truth about God’s decrees or his
electing love, this passage teaches nothing in relation to either. It may be added that this
passage contains a most alarming truth for guilty people. It is that God will not be
influenced by partiality, but will treat them just as they deserve. He will not be won or awed
by their rank or function; by their wealth or endowments; by their numbers, their power, or

104. their robes of royalty and splendor. Every man should tremble at the prospect of falling into
the hands of a just God, who will treat him just as he deserves, and should without delay
seek a refuge in the Saviour and Advocate provided for the guilty: 1Jo_2:1-2.
6. Clarke, “For there is no respect of persons with God - The righteous Judge will not act
according to any principle of partiality; the character and conduct, alone of the persons
shall weigh with him. He will take no wicked man to glory, let his nation or advantages be
what they may; and he will send no righteous man to perdition, though brought up in the
very bosom of Gentilism. And as he will judge in that day according to character and
conduct, so his judgment will proceed on the ground of the graces, privileges, and blessings
which they had received, improved or abused. And as there is no respect of persons with
God in judgment, so there can be none in the previous administration of his saving
blessings. He that will be condemned for his unrighteousness, will be condemned on the
ground that he had sufficient grace afforded him for the salvation of his soul; and his
condemnation will rest on the simple principle, that he abused the grace which was
sufficient to save him, by acting in opposition to its dictates and influence. o man, in that
great day, shall be brought to heaven through any partiality of the Judge; and no man sent
to hell because God did not afford him sufficient grace, or because he had made a decree
which rendered even his use of it ineffectual to his salvation. In reference to the great
design of God, in the salvation of man, it shall be said, - in time, at the day of judgment,
and throughout eternity, - There Is o Respect of Persons with God.
7. Godet, “ For there is no respect of persons with God. For all those who have-sinned
without law shall also perish, without law: and all those who hate ginned in the law shall he
judged by the lair.'-—The principle stated in ver. 11 is one of those most frequently
asserted in the Old Testament; eomp. Deut. x. 17 ; 1 Sam. xvi. 7 ; 2 Chron. xix. 7 ; Job
xxxiv. 19. Accordingly, no Jew could dispute it.”
8. Calvin, “There is no respect of persons, etc. He has hitherto generally
arraigned all mortals as guilty; but now he begins to bring home his
accusation to the Jews and to the Gentiles separately: and at the same
time he teaches us, that it is no objection that there is a difference
between them, but that they are both without any distinction exposed to
eternal death. The Gentiles pretended ignorance as their defense; the
Jews gloried in the honor of having the law: from the former he takes
away their subterfuge, and he deprives the latter of their false and
empty boasting.
There is then a division of the whole human race into two classes; for
God had separated the Jews from all the rest, but the condition of all
the Gentiles was the same. He now teaches us, that this difference is
no reason why both should not be involved in the same guilt. But the
word person is taken in Scripture for all outward things, which are

105. wont to be regarded as possessing any value or esteem. When therefore
thou readest, that God is no respecter of persons, understand that what
he regards is purity of heart or inward integrity; and that he hath no
respect for those things which are wont to be highly valued by men,
such as kindred, country, dignity, wealth, and similar things; so that
respect of persons is to be here taken for the distinction or the
difference there is between one nation and another. [68] But if any
hence objects and says, That then there is no such thing as the
gratuitous election of God; it may be answered, That there is a
twofold acceptation of men before God; the first, when he chooses and
calls us from nothing through gratuitous goodness, as there is nothing
in our nature which can be approved by him; the second, when after
having regenerated us, he confers on us his gifts, and shows favor to
the image of his Son which he recognizes in us.”
9. Calvin's editors add the following:
“The word prosopolepsia, respect of persons, is found in three
other places, Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; and James 2:1; and in
these the reference is to conditions in life. In Acts 10:34, the word
is in another form prosopoleptes, a respecter of persons, and as a verb
in James 2:9. The full phrase is prosopon lambano, as found in Luke
20:21, and Galatians 2:6. It is a phrase peculiar to the Hebrew
language, and means literally, to lift up or regard faces, that is,
persons, ns' phnym. See Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 10:17; 2
Chronicles 19:7 An argument has been hence taken to oppose the doctrine
of election; but this is to apply to a particular thing what belongs
entirely and exclusively to another. This belongs to the administration
of justice, but election is the exercise of mercy. Even Grotius admits,
that God manifests a difference in bestowing benefits, but not in
exercising Judgment. Indeed, in the present instance, with regard to
the subject handled by the Apostle, there was a manifest difference;
the Gentile had only the law of nature, but the Jew had a revealed law.
Yet when brought to judgment there was to be no respect of persons,
each was to be judged impartially according to the circumstances of his
condition. And further, election does not proceed on the principle of
showing respect of persons, that is, of regarding men according to
their privileges or outward circumstances, or kindred or relation in
life, or any thing in man; but its sole and exclusive ground or reason
is the good pleasure of God. -- Ed.
10. Deffinbaugh, “God is impartial. He does not judge men on the basis of who they are (Jew
or Gentile). He judges men on the basis of what they have done (deeds) with what they have
been given (revelation). It is not the possession of God’s standards which makes men holy,
but living in obedience to these standards. Conversely, men are condemned for rejecting the
revelation of God which they have received.

106. Those who possess the Law—the Jews—are judged in terms of their obedience to the Law.
The Gentiles, who did not receive the Law, are judged according to that which they know
to be right and wrong. The Jews can thereby be judged by their obedience to the objective
standard of the Law, while the Gentiles are judged by their obedience to the subjective
standard. Only God knows the hearts of the Gentiles, and thus only He can judge them.
This is an indictment against the Jews, who would judge the Gentiles by their Law (even
though they had not received it), but would not judge themselves by it (even though they
had received it).”
11. Haldane, “Whatever difference of order there may be between the Jew and the Gentile,
that difference does not change the foundation and substance of the judgment. To have
respect to the appearance of persons, or to accept of persons, is the vice of an iniquitous
judge, who in some way violates justice; but the Divine judgment cannot commit such a
fault. Besides, we must never lose sight of the train of the Apostle’s reasoning. His design is
to show that the Jews, being, as they really are, sinners equally with the Gentiles, are
involved with them in the same condemnation. This is what he proves by the nature of the
Divine judgment, which is according to truth, that is, which is perfectly just, ver. 2; which
renders to every man according to his deeds, ver. 6; and which has no respect of persons,
ver. 11; and consequently it will be equal to the Jew and the Gentile, so that neither the one
nor the other can defend himself against its sentence.”
12. John Piper, “ow in verse 11 Paul states the principle or the truth about God
underlying this train of argument: For there is no partiality with God. This is why God
will judge the Jews and the Gentiles not according to their appearance or their
circumstances or their cultural or religious advantages, but according to something more
intrinsic. This is something fundamental about God. This is impartiality. This is one of the
two big truths I want you to get this morning. So we need to dwell on it. In fact, the rest of
this text dwells on it and ties it in to a second big truth about man.
This is such a major truth about God that the ew Testament seems to invent a word for it
- several words. Before the ew Testament there are no instances of the word used here for
partiality or respecter of persons. The idea was there in the Old Testament: God does
not receive face, they would say, that is, he is impartial - he is not moved by irrelevant
external appearances. He sees through them and goes to the heart of the matter and is not
partial to appearance and circumstance. obody breaks the rules and gets away with it, no
matter how powerful or clever or wealthy or networked. All are judged by the same
measure.
In the ew Testament this was so important to make clear that the writers took these two
words, receive face and combined them into a new verb in James 2:9 - be-a-face-receiver
(prospolempteo) - and two new nouns - a-face-receiver (prosopolemptes, Acts
10:34) and face-receiving (prosopolempsia, Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians
3:25, James 2:1). There is no face-receiving with God, Paul says.
How Can God Be Impartial When Only the Jews Received the Law?

107. But there is a problem here - an objection that has to be answered. So Paul takes another
step in his argument. Here's the objection: You say, Paul, God is going to judge all people
according to their deeds, and therefore impartially, but, in fact, God gave the Law of Moses
only to the Jews, and so they have access to what deeds are required of them, and the rest
of the world doesn't. So how can you say that God is impartial to judge according to deeds
when he has only told one group of people what the deeds are that they should do?
Here's the first part of his answer from verse 12: God is impartial because all who have
sinned without the Law [that is, nations who don't have the Old Testament Law of Moses]
will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law [Jews who have
the Law of Moses] will be judged by the Law. You can see that this is a direct response to
an objection: They don't have equal access to what they will be held accountable for!
This is an objection that comes up often in defending Christianity from it critics: what
about people who don't have the same access to the Bible that you have? What's Paul's
answer? He says, You are right: different groups of people have different advantages when
it comes to the amount of truth God has revealed. But then he says, the judgment of God
will not be partial to those who had access to more truth, it will be according to the truth
they do have. So he says, verse 12: 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. The
Law of Moses will not be brought in to condemn those who sinned with no access to the
Law of Moses. It will be used only to judge those who had access to it.
How Can You Do the Law if You Haven't Read it?
But that immediately raises another problem that Paul now has to answer. Somebody is
going to say: How can anyone do what the law requires if they don't have a copy of the Law
to read and follow? Paul, you say that doing and not hearing is what counts, but still those
who have the Law are at an advantage, because they know what they have to do.
Verses 14-15 are Paul's answer. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do
instinctively [literally, by nature] the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law
to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their
conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.
So Paul's answer to the question: How can God be impartial in judging according to our
deeds if the Jews have the law and the Gentiles don't?, is that the Gentiles do have the law.
The moral law of God is written on their hearts, verse 15 says. Or, as verse 14 says, They
are a law to themselves. Then he says in verse 15b that the evidence for this is that the
moral behavior of all kinds of people all over the world shows that they have a sense of
many true moral obligations, and their consciences confirm this with the conflicting self-defenses
and self-accusations that it constantly brings up.
ow let's get the whole train of thought before us, from verse 11 on. First Paul says that
there is not partiality with God (verse 11). Then he defends this in verse 12 by saying

108. that God's judgment will fall according to how we respond to the measure of truth that we
have access to. Then he explains (verse 13) that mere hearing of the law is no advantage to
the Jew at the judgment day, and not hearing it is no disadvantage to the Gentile, because
doing and not hearing is the issue. Then he explains (verses 14-15) that the law really is
available to those who have no copy of the Law of Moses, because God has written it on the
heart and given all of us a conscience to awaken us to this moral knowledge in our hearts.
All Have the Moral Law of God on Their Hearts
ow here is the second great truth I want you to see this morning - the truth about man. All
human beings have the moral law of God stamped on their hearts. Paul is teaching
something enormously important here about human nature. otice the wording of verse
14: When Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these,
not having the Law, are a law to themselves. The instinctively is literally by nature.
In other words, Paul is telling us something fundamental here about human nature. This is
what it means to be human - to have the law of God pressed or stamped or written on our
heart.
We have seen this teaching before in 1:32 (They know the ordinance of God, that those
who practice such things are worthy of death) and 1:26 (Women exchanged the natural
function for that which is against nature) and 1:21 (They knew God). And the point of
it all is to stress that every human being is guilty before God because everyone suppresses
(1:18) the truth and none lives up to even the demands of his own conscience, let alone all
the demands of God known to him. evertheless, all are accountable to God and will be
without excuse at the judgment day. All Jews and all Gentiles are accountable to God and
guilty before him under the power of sin.
ow we are in a position to see clearly the two great truths that I mentioned at the
beginning: one about God and one about man.
The Truth about God is that he is not partial. And what God's impartiality means is that he
judges not on the assumption that we all have access to the same amount of truth, but that
we all have the truth we need to be held accountable, and that we will be judged by our
response to what we do have, not what we don't have. God is so committed to this
dimension of his justice that he secures it by creating every human soul with the imprint of
his moral law and with the capacity to know his glory revealed in nature. He is impartial
not merely with what he finds in the world; rather he sees to it that what he finds in the
world conforms to his impartiality.
So the second great truth (about man) is built on the first one (about God), namely, all
human beings have the moral law of God stamped on their heart. Every human soul, as it
comes to consciousness, knows that it is created by God, and dependent on God, and should
honor and thank God (1:20-21), and should do the things that are written on the heart
(2:14-15), and that failing to do them is worthy of death (1:32).
Impact of These Two Great Truths

109. ow these are great truths to know and will have an impact in your life if you will embrace
them for what they really are. Here are three examples of the kind of difference it could
make in your life - if you know yourself this way and your children this way and others this
way.
1. An Implication of Knowing Yourself this Way
Consider one implication of knowing yourself this way. If God is impartial and judges by
fixed standards that he has revealed, and if you, in the depths of your human nature as the
image of God, have the moral law of God stamped on your being, then to know this and
embrace this will give a tremendous gravity and solidity and stability to your convictions
about God and about truth and right and wrong. Because you will see clearly that there are
fixed truths and fixed moral standards that you do not make up. They are not mere human
opinion, but come from God, outside of us. Life is not a cafeteria of equal options from
which you can choose. Life comes with profound givens. God exists. God is impartial. God
is and knows the truth. God has imprinted it on human hearts. It is knowable. We will be
judged by it. Therefore life is not trivial. And our convictions about God and morality gain
gravity and solidity and stability.
2. An Implication of Knowing Your Children this Way
Consider one implication of knowing your children this way. Look upon your children as
beings whose souls God himself created in his own image and inscribed with the law of
God. Look upon them as beings who are endowed, like no other creature, with the capacity
to know God and, in fact, will know God -enough to perish by or live by. Ponder, as you
look at your child, that here is a person who has been prepared specially to live according
to goodness and truth. Here is a being not to be taken for granted, or trifled with, or
neglected - a being whose main purpose in the universe has been set by God: that he or she
know God and do God's will. To know your children in this way will make you more
serious about your parenting and the glorious privilege and responsibility of joining God's
inner work to bring these children up into Christ and make God known and loved.
3. Implications of Knowing Others this Way
Finally, consider two implications of knowing others this way. Everyone you know at work
or school or in the neighborhood has the law of God written on his or her heart. Everyone
you know, knows the impartial God. Whether they suppress this knowledge or not, they
have it. They know their Creator at a profound level, and they know their duty at a
profound level. God has dealt with them deeply before you ever came on the scene. God has
gone before you in preparing them for himself and his will.
So here's the first implication: therefore, be hopeful in 1999 as you do evangelism, not
minimizing the blinding effects of sin, but also not despairing that there is no point of
connection in the person you care about. There are points of connection, deeper than you
ever dreamed. Speak the truth in love and God may be pleased to make the connection

110. between what they know by nature, and what you tell them from the Word of God.
And the last implication is this: beware of despising anyone. Every time you disapprove of
someone - a politician, a colleague, a church member or leader, a person of another culture
or race - remember that God has written his law on that person's heart and given him or
her the knowledge of himself. This is to be marveled and wondered at, not despised.
Human nature in the image of God, fallen and depraved as it is, should nevertheless spread
the aroma of sanctity and reverence over all our repugnance or disagreement. There is an
honor that belongs to man as man in the image of God, who wrote his law on all our hearts.
12. All who sin apart from the law will also perish
apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will
be judged by the law.
1. The Gentiles might object to God's judging them, for they did not have the law like the
Jews did, and so how can God treat them the same when there is really no equality in the
resources they had to know God's will? God is not going to judge the Gentiles on the basis
of the law, for they did not have the law of Moses. They will be judged, not on what they did
not have, but on what they did have, and what they did have was the moral law written on
their hearts, as Paul goes on to say. They are not held accuntable for knowing the law, but
for what was in their conscience. Their condemnation will not be due to their breaking the
law of Moses, but because they broke their own inner law of knowing right from wrong.
God will not hold anyone accountable for what they did not know, for that would be unfair,
and God is always fair.
1B. Gill, “For as many as have sinned without law…This is an instance of the strict justice
of God, and proves him to be no respecter of persons; for the Gentiles, who were without
law, the written law of Moses, not without the law of nature in their breasts, nor without
some civil laws and statutes of their own; inasmuch as they sinned against the God of
nature, and the law and light of nature, they shall also perish without law: not that their
condemnation and perdition will be illegal, or not in due course of law; but it will not
proceed upon, or according to the law of Moses, they never had; and much less for not
believing in Christ, of whom they never heard; but their perdition will be for their sins
committed without the law of Moses, against the law of nature: their not having the written
law of Moses will be no plea in their favour, or be a reason why they should not be
condemned; their persons will not be regarded as with or without the law, but their sins
committed by them, to which facts their consciences will bear witness:
and, so on the other hand, as many as have sinned in the law; who have been in and under

111. the law of Moses, and have sinned against it, meaning the Jews: shall be judged by the law;
and condemned by it, as they were in this world, and will be hereafter: their having this law
will be no bar against their condemnation, but rather an aggravation of it; their hearing of
it will be no plea in their favour; nor their doing of it neither, unless they could have done it
to perfection; for perfect obedience it requires, as a justifying righteousness, otherwise it
curses, condemns, and adjudges to death.”
2. Clarke, “For as many as have sinned without law, etc. - They, viz. the Gentiles, who shall
be found to have transgressed against the mere light of nature, or rather, that true light
that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, Joh_1:9, shall not come under the same
rule with those, the Jews, who have in addition to this enjoyed an extraordinary revelation;
but they shall be dealt with according to the inferior dispensation, under which they lived:
while those, the Jews, who have sinned against the law - the positive Divine revelation
granted to them, shall be judged by that law, and punished proportionably to the abuse of
such an extraordinary advantage.
3. Barnes, “For - This is used to give a reason for what he had just said, or to show on what
principles God would treat man, so as not to be a respecter of persons.
As many - Whosoever. This includes all who have done it, and evidently has respect to the
Gentile world. It is of the more importance to remark this, because he does not say that it is
applicable to a few only, or to great and incorrigible instances of pagan wickedness, but it is
a universal, sweeping declaration, obviously including all.
Have sinned - Have been guilty of crimes of any kind toward God or man. Sin is the
transgression of a rule of conduct, however made known to mankind.
Without law - ἀνόμως anomōs. This expression evidently means without revealed or
written law, as the apostle immediately says that they had a law of nature, Rom_2:14-15.
The word “law,” νόμος nomos. is often used to denote the revealed Law of God, the
Scriptures, or revelation in general; Mat_12:5; Luk_2:23-24; Luk_10:26; Joh_8:5,
Joh_8:17.
Shall also perish - ἀπολοῦνται apolountai. The Greek word used here occurs frequently in
the ew Testament. It means to destroy, to lose, or to corrupt, and is applied to life,
Mat_10:39; to a reward of labor, Mat_10:42; to wisdom 1Co_1:19; to bottles, Mat_9:17. It is
also used to denote future punishment, or the destruction of soul and body in hell,
Mat_10:28; Mat_18:14; Joh_3:15, where it is opposed to eternal life, and therefore denotes
eternal death; Rom_14:15; Joh_17:12. In this sense the word is evidently used in this verse.
The connection demands that the reference should be to a future judgment to be passed on
the pagan. It will be remarked here that the apostle does not say they shall be saved without
law. He does not give even an intimation respecting their salvation. The strain of the
argument, as well as this express declaration, shows that they who had sinned - and in the
first chapter he had proved that all the pagan were sinners - would be punished. If any of
the pagan are saved, it will be, therefore, an exception to the general rule in regard to them.
The apostles evidently believed that the great mass of them would be destroyed. On this
ground they evinced such zeal to save them; on this ground the Lord Jesus commanded the
gospel to be preached to them; and on this ground Christians are now engaged in the effort
to bring them to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. It may be added here, that all modern
investigations have gone to confirm the position that the pagan are as degraded now as they

112. were in the time of Paul.
Without law - That is, they shall not be judged by a law which they have not. They shall
not be tried and condemned by the revelation which the Jews had. They shall be condemned
only according to the knowledge and the Law which they actually possess. This is the
equitable rule on which God will judge the world. According to this, it is not to be
apprehended that they will suffer as much as those who have the revealed will of God;
compare Mat_10:15; Mat_11:24; Luk_10:12.
Have sinned in the law - Have sinned having the revealed will of God, or endowed with
greater light and privileges than the pagan world. The apostle here has undoubted reference
to the Jews, who had the Law of God, and who prided themselves much on its possession.
Shall be judged by the law - This is an equitable and just rule; and to this the Jews could
make no objection. Yet the admission of this would have led directly to the point to which
Paul was conducting his argument, to show that they also were under condemnation, and
needed a Saviour. It will be observed here, that the apostle uses a different expression in
regard to the Jews from what he does of the Gentiles. He says of the former, that they “shall
be judged;” of the latter, that they “shall perish.” It is not certainly known why he varied
this expression. But if conjecture may be allowed, it may have been for the following
reasons.
(1) If he had a affirmed of the Jews that they should perish, it would at once have excited
their prejudice, and have armed them against the conclusion to which he was about to come.
Yet they could bear the word to be applied to the pagan, for it was in accordance with their
own views and their own mode of speaking, and was strictly true.
(2) The word “judged” is apparently more mild, and yet really more severe. It would
arouse no prejudice to say that they would be judged by their Law. It was indeed paying a
sort of tribute or regard to that on which they prided themselves so much, the possession of
the Law of God. Still, it was a word. implying all that he wished to say, and involving the
idea that they would be punished and destroyed. If it was admitted that the pagan would
perish; and if God was to judge the Jews by an unerring rule, that is, according to their
privileges and light; then it would follow that they would also be condemned, and their own
minds would come at once to the conclusion. The change of words here may indicate,
therefore, a nice tact, or delicate address in argument, urging home to the conscience an
offensive truth rather by the deduction of the mind of the opponent himself than by a harsh
and severe charge of the writer. In instances of this, the Scriptures abound; and it was this
especially that so eminently characterized the arguments of our Saviour.
4. Henry, “He proves the equity of his proceedings with all, when he shall actually come to
Judge them (Rom_2:12-16), upon this principle, that that which is the rule of man's
obedience is the rule of God's judgment. Three degrees of light are revealed to the children
of men: -
1. The light of nature. This the Gentiles have, and by this they shall be judged: As many as
have sinned without law shall perish without law; that is, the unbelieving Gentiles, who had
no other guide but natural conscience, no other motive but common mercies, and had not
the law of Moses nor any supernatural revelation, shall not be reckoned with for the
transgression of the law they never had, nor come under the aggravation of the Jews' sin
against and judgment by the written law; but they shall be judged by, as they sin against,

113. the law of nature, not only as it is in their hearts, corrupted, defaced, and imprisoned in
unrighteousness, but as in the uncorrupt original the Judge keeps by him. Further to clear
this (Rom_2:14, Rom_2:15), in a parenthesis, he evinces that the light of nature was to the
Gentiles instead of a written law. He had said (Rom_2:12) they had sinned without law,
which looks like a contradiction; for where there is no law there is no transgression. But,
says he, though they had not the written law (Psa_147:20), they had that which was
equivalent, not to the ceremonial, but to the moral law. They had the work of the law. He
does not mean that work which the law commands, as if they could produce a perfect
obedience; but that work which the law does. The work of the law is to direct us what to do,
and to examine us what we have done. ow, (1.) They had that which directed them what to
do by the light of nature: by the force and tendency of their natural notions and dictates
they apprehended a clear and vast difference between good and evil. They did by nature the
things contained in the law. They had a sense of justice and equity, honour and purity, love
and charity; the light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable,
conservation of public peace and order, forbade murder, stealing, lying, perjury, etc. Thus
they were a law unto themselves. (2.) They had that which examined them as to what they
had done: Their conscience also bearing witness. They had that within them which approved
and commended what was well done and which reproached them for what was done amiss.
Conscience is a witness, and first or last will bear witness, though for a time it may be
bribed or brow-beaten. It is instead of a thousand witnesses, testifying of that which is most
secret; and their thoughts accusing or excusing, passing a judgment upon the testimony of
conscience by applying the law to the fact. Conscience is that candle of the Lord which was
not quite put out, no, not in the Gentile world. The heathen have witnessed to the comfort of
a good conscience.
- Hic murus aheneus esto,
+il conscire sibi -
Be this thy brazen bulwark of defence,
Still to preserve thy conscious innocence.
- Hor.
and to the terror of a bad one:
- Quos diri conseia facti
Mens habet attonitos, et surdo verbere caedit -
o lash is heard, and yet the guilty heart
Is tortur'd with a self-inflicted smart
- Juv. Sat. 13.
Their thoughts the meanwhile, metaxu allēlōn - among themselves, or one with another. The
same light and law of nature that witnesses against sin in them, and witnessed against it in
others, accused or excused one another. Vicissim, so some read it, by turns; according as they
observed or broke these natural laws and dictates, their consciences did either acquit or
condemn them. All this did evince that they had that which was to them instead of a law,

114. which they might have been governed by, and which will condemn them, because they were
not so guided and governed by it. So that the guilty Gentiles are left without excuse. God is
justified in condemning them. They cannot plead ignorance, and therefore are likely to
perish if they have not something else to plead.
2. The light of the law. This the Jews had, and by this they shall be judged (Rom_2:12): As
many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. They sinned, not only having the
law, but en nomō - in the law, in the midst of so much law, in the face and light of so pure
and clear a law, the directions of which were so very full and particular, and the sanctions of
it so very cogent and enforcing. These shall be judged by the law; their punishment shall be,
as their sin is, so much the greater for their having the law. The Jew first, Rom_2:9. It shall
be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon. Thus Moses did accuse them (Joh_5:45), and they fell
under the many stripes of him that knew his master's will, and did it not, Luk_12:47. The
Jews prided themselves very much in the law; but, to confirm what he had said, the apostle
shows (Rom_2:13) that their having, and hearing, and knowing the law, would not justify
them, but their doing it. The Jewish doctors bolstered up their followers with an opinion
that all that were Jews, how bad soever they lived, should have a place in the world to come.
This the apostle here opposes: it was a great privilege that they had the law, but not a saving
privilege, unless they lived up to the law they had, which it is certain the Jews did not, and
therefore they had need of a righteousness wherein to appear before God. We may apply it
to the gospel: it is not hearing, but doing that will save us, Joh_13:17; Jam_1:22.
5. Stedman, “In Romans, Paul describes the four types of men who resist and refuse the
gospel. Two of these types we have already looked at: There is the obviously wicked person
who, in essence, simply defies God. He is described at the end of Chapter 1: Although they
know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only
continue to do these very things, but also approve of those who practice them, {Rom 1:32
IV}. This type includes the whole world of people who flaunt morality, defy the words of
God, and who encourage people to get involved more deeply in things that are hurtful and
destructive.
In Chapter 2, Paul deals with the second type of man who rejects the gospel, the self-righteous
moralist, who is outwardly decent, good-living, and clean-cut. Inwardly, however,
he is filled with resentments, jealousies, murder, hatred, and envy; and his attitudes are as
wrong as the actions of those who are outwardly evil. The problem is that such men delude
themselves by thinking that everything is going to be all right with them. Because they have
maintained a certain respectable facade, they think that God is going to overlook the inner
sins of their life and that there is going to be no judgment for them because everything
appears to be fine.
ow we come to the last two types of people who resist the truth: One of these is the
unenlightened pagan. Here we are dealing with the question of what to do about the people
who have not heard the gospel. What about those who live where the Bible is unknown, or
those who are in a different religion where there is no reference to the facts of the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? In this passage Paul says that their problem is that
they defile their consciences. The other and last type is that of the religious devotee who

115. seeks deliverance from the judgment of God by religious practices, rituals, performances,
and knowledge of the truth.
These two types of people are introduced by a statement of the universal lostness of
mankind, found in Chapter 2, Verses 12 and 13:
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under
the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in
God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. {Rom 2:12-13
ow this is probably the strongest statement from the hand of Paul and it answers the
question non-Christians ask Christians more often than any other, What about the people
who have never heard of Jesus Christ? Usually they are thinking of savages in jungles.
They seldom think of the savages in the concrete jungles of our cities, but both are in the
same condition, as we will see. Paul's answer to this question is that they will be judged by
their own standards. God judges men, not according to what they do not know, but
according to what they do know. They will be judged by their own standards.
So far in Romans, Paul has made three great statements about the basis of the judgment:
In Chapter 2, Verse 2, Paul says that God's judgment is according to truth, i.e., it is
realistic. He only deals with that which is actually there. God does not falsely accuse
anyone, but he judges according to truth.
Then in Chapter 2, Verse 6, he says God judges according to works. ow that is interesting,
because that shows God is patient. God, who does see what is going on in our inner lives
and who judges wholly on that basis, nevertheless waits patiently until our inner attitude
begins to work itself out in some deed, speech, or attitude that we manifest openly.
Therefore, God allows men to be their own judge, to see for themselves that what is coming
out is a revelation of what is inside.
In Chapter 2, Verses 9-10, Paul also says the judgment of God is according to light. That is,
God is not going to summon all mankind and tell them they are going to be judged on the
basis of the Ten Commandments.
(By the way, I was taken to task because I speak only about what God says to men. One
woman got very disturbed because she wanted to be included in this; so I want to make it
clear that when I say men I am using it in the long-standing generic sense in which men
stands for mankind. That has always been a grammatical feature of the English language,
and, before that, of the Greek and Hebrew languages. All languages have this grammatical
device and it is simply ridiculous to say that this is a sexist term when used in that generic
sense.)
But man, in this generic sense, is certainly going to be judged according to light. That
means that God will say to that individual, What did you think was right and wrong?
When the individual answers, God's question then is, Did you do the right, and not the
wrong? By that standard, of course, everyone fails. Paul makes clear that this is true. He

116. says, All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law. The fact that
such men never heard the Ten Commandments, or anything else that is in the Bible, does
not mean that they are going to be acceptable in God's sight. They will perish, not because
they did not hear, but because what they did know was right, they did not do.”
6. Barclay put it this way, A man will be judged by what he had the opportunity to know.
If he knew the Law, he will be judged as one who knew the Law. If he did not know the
Law, he will be judged as one who did not know the Law. God is fair. And here is the
answer to those who ask what is to happen to the people who lived in the world before
Jesus came and who had no opportunity to hear the Christian message. A man will be
judged by his fidelity to the highest that it was possible for him to know.
7. Barclay continues, Paul goes on to say that even those who did not know the written
Law had an unwritten law within their hearts. We would call it the instinctive knowledge of
right and wrong. The Stoics said that in the universe there were certain laws operative
which a man broke at his peril--the laws of health, the moral laws which govern life and
living. The Stoics called these laws phusis, which means nature, and urged men to live kata
phusin, according to nature. It is Paul's argument that in the very nature of man there is an
instinctive knowledge of what he ought to do. The Greeks would have agreed with that.
Aristotle said: The cultivated and free-minded man will so behave as being a law to
himself Plutarch asks: Who shall govern the governor? And he answers: Law, the
king of all mortals and immortals, as Pindar calls it, which is not written on papyrus rolls
or wooden tablets, but is his own reason within the soul, which perpetually dwells with him
and guards him and never leaves his soul bereft of leadership.
8. Calvin, “Whosoever have sinned without law, [69] etc. In the former part of
this section he assails the Gentiles; though no Moses was given them to
publish and to ratify a law from the Lord, he yet denies this omission
to be a reason why they deserved not the just sentence of death for
their sins; as though he had said -- that the knowledge of a written
law was not necessary for the just condemnation of a sinner. See then
what kind of advocacy they undertake, who through misplaced mercy,
attempt, on the ground of ignorance, to exempt the nations who have not
the light of the gospel from the judgment of God.
Whosoever have sinned under the law, etc. As the Gentiles, being led by
the errors of their own reason, go headlong into ruin, so the Jews
possess a law by which they are condemned; [70] for this sentence has
been long ago pronounced,
Cursed are all they who continue not in all its precepts.
(Deuteronomy 27:26.)
A worse condition then awaits the Jewish sinners, since their

117. condemnation is already pronounced in their own law.”
9. Haldane, “ Here Paul explains the equality of the judgment, both with respect to the
Gentiles and the Jews. Without law, that is, a written law; for none are without law, as the
Apostle immediately afterwards shows. The Gentiles had not received the written law;
they had, however, sinned, and they shall perish — that is to say, be condemned — without
that law. The Jews had receded the written law; they had also sinned, they will be judged
— that is to say condemned — by that law; for in the next verse Paul declares that only the
doers of the law shall be justified; and consequently, as condemnation stands opposed to
justification, they who are not doers of it will be condemned. In one word, the Divine
justice will only regard the sins of men; and wherever these are found, it will condemn the
sinner. The Gentiles shall perish without law. They will perish, though they are not to be
judged by the written law. It is alleged by some, that although the Apostle’s language
shows that all the Gentiles are guilty before God, yet it does not imply that they will be
condemned; for that they may he guilty, yet be saved by mercy through Jesus Christ. But
the language of the Apostle entirely precludes the possibility of such a supposition. It is not
said that they who have sinned without law are guilty without law, but that they shall
‘perish without law.’ The language, then, does not merely assert their guilt, but clearly
asserts their condemnation. They shall perish.
o criticism can make this expression consistent with the salvation of the Gentiles who know
not God. They will be condemned by the work of the law written in their hearts. Many are
inclined to think that the condemnation of the heathen is peculiarly hard; but it is equally
just, and not more severe, than the punishment of those who have sinned against revelation.
They will not be Judged by the light which they had not, nor punished so severely as they
who resisted that light.”
13. For it is not those who hear the law who are
righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the
law who will be declared righteous.
1. Paul is making it quite clear here that doing what the law demands is a key factor in
being a godly person who is righteous before God. So often Christian will declare that they
are free from the law, for they are under grace. They misunderstand this to mean that they
do not have to obey the laws of God because they are saved by grace. Being saved by grace
does not eliminate the Christian's duty to obey the Ten Commandments, and live a life that
pleases God. We still have obligations to do all that is loving our neighbor as ourselves, and
this means doing good works in conformity to the law of love. We are free from all of the

118. legalism of the law, and all of the rituals and ceremonies that were just for Israelites, but we
are not free from the laws demand for righteous living that pleases God. If we sit under the
teachings of the law, but then do not obey them, we will not be righteous in God's eyes, for
he demands more than mere knowing of his will. He demands the doing of his will, and only
those who do it will be declared righteous.
2. Gill, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God…
The apostle here shows, that the Jews were justly condemned, notwithstanding their having
and hearing of the law; since hearing without doing it, will never denominate persons
righteous in the sight of God, however it might recommend them in the sight of men:
regard seems to be had either to the first delivery of the law by Moses to the people of
Israel, when he read it to them, and they hearkened to it, and promised obedience; or
rather to the reading and hearing it every sabbath day; and may include a speculative
knowledge of it, without a practical obedience to it; and which therefore must fall greatly
short of entitling them to a justifying righteousness; since not these,
but the doers of the law, shall be justified;
by whom are meant, not such who merely literally and externally fulfil the law, as they
imagine; for the law is spiritual, and regards the inward as well as the outward man, and
requires internal holiness, as well as external obedience; and the apostle is speaking of
justification before God, who sees the heart, and not before men, who judge according to
outward appearance: nor are such designed who are imperfect doers of the law; for the law
requires a perfect obedience, and what is not perfect is not properly righteousness; nor
does it, nor can it consider an imperfect righteousness as a perfect one; for it accuses of,
pronounces guilty, curses, and condemns for every transgression of it. But such only can be
intended, who are doers of it spiritually, internally, as well as externally, and that perfectly.
Adam, in his state of innocence, was a perfect doer of the law; he sinning, and all his
posterity in him, none of them are righteous, but all pass under a sentence of
condemnation. The best of men, even believers in Christ, are not without sin in themselves;
and when any of the saints are said to be perfect, it must be understood in a comparative
sense, or as they are considered in Christ. There never was but one since Adam, and that is
Christ, who has fulfilled, or could perfectly fulfil the law; the thing is impossible and
impracticable for fallen man: hence these words must be understood either hypothetically,
thus, not the hearers of the law, but if there were any perfect doers of it, they would be
justified before God; or else of such persons who are considered in Christ, by whom the
whole perfect righteousness of the law is fulfilled in them, and who may be reckoned as
perfect doers of it in him, their substitute, surety, and representative.
2B. Unknown author, “Verse 13: For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in
God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. It is not
enough for people to have the law—to be declared righteous on the basis of the law, they
have to keep it. However, Paul soon says that “no one will be declared righteous in [God’s]
sight by observing the law” (3:20). At first glance, these two verses appear to contradict
each other. However, Romans 2:13 talks about theory; Romans 3:20 talks about real life. If
people did obey the law, they would be righteous, but they sometimes disobey and therefore
fall short of being counted righteous on that basis. That is why everyone needs the gospel.”

119. 3. Clarke, “For not the hearers of the law, etc. - It does not follow, because one people are
favored with a Divine revelation, that therefore they shall be saved; while the others who
have not had that revelation, shall finally perish: this is not God’s procedure; where he has
given a law - a Divine revelation, he requires obedience to that law; and only those who
have been doers of that law - who have lived according to the light and privileges granted
in that revelation, shall be justified - shall be finally acknowledged to be such as are fit for
the kingdom of God.
4. Barnes, “For not the hearers ... - The same sentiment is implied in Jam_1:22; Mat_7:21,
Mat_7:24; Luk_6:47. The apostle here doubtless designed to meet an objection of the Jews;
to wit, that they had the Law, that they manifested great deference for it, that they heard it
read with attention, and professed a willingness to yield themselves to it. To meet this, he
states a very plain and obvious principle, that this was insufficient to justify them before
God, unless they rendered actual obedience.
Are just - Are justified before God, or are personally holy. Or, in other words, simply
hearing the Law is not meeting all its requirements, and making people holy. If they
expected to be saved by the Law, it required something more than merely to hear it. It
demanded perfect obedience.
But the doers of the law - They who comply entirely with its demands; or who yield to it
perfect and perpetual obedience. This was the plain and obvious demand, not only of
common sense, but of the Jewish Law itself; Deu_4:1; Lev_18:5; compare Rom_10:9.
Shall be justified - This expression is evidently synonymous with that in Lev_18:5, where
it is said that “he shall live in them.” The meaning is, that it is a maxim or principle of the
Law of God, that if a creature will keep it, and obey it entirely, he shall not be condemned,
but shall be approved and live forever. This does not affirm that anyone ever has thus lived
in this world, but it is an affirmation of a great general principle of law, that if a creature is
justified by the Law, the obedience must be entire and perpetual. If such were the case, as
there would be no ground of condemnation, man would be saved by the Law. If the Jews,
therefore, expected to be saved by their Law, it must be, not by hearing the Law, nor by
being called a Jew, but by perfect and unqualified obedience to all its requirements. This
passage is designed, doubtless, to meet a very common and pernicious sentiment of the
Jewish teachers, that all who became hearers and listeners to the Law would be saved. The
inference from the passage is, that no man can be saved by his external privileges, or by an
outward respectful deference to the truths and ordinances of religion.
5. Jamison, “For not the hearers, etc. — As touching the Jews, in whose ears the written
law is continually resounding, the condemnation of as many of them as are found sinners at
the last involves no difficulty; but even as respects the heathen, who are strangers to the
law in its positive and written form - since they show how deeply it is engraven on their
moral nature, which witnesses within them for righteousness and against iniquity, accusing
or condemning them according as they violate or obey its stern dictates - their
condemnation also for all the sin in which they live and die will carry its dreadful echo in
their own breasts.”

120. 6. William Barclay, “In the translation we have slightly changed the order of the verses. In
the sense of the passage Rom. 2:16 follows Rom. 2:13, and Rom. 2:14-15 are a long
parenthesis. It is to be remembered that Paul was not writing this letter sitting at a desk
and thinking out every word and every construction. He was striding up and down the
room dictating it to his secretary, Tertius (Rom. 16:22), who struggled to get it down. That
explains the long parenthesis, but it is easier to get the correct meaning in English if we go
straight from Rom. 2:13 to Rom. 2:16, and add Rom. 2:14-15 afterwards.
In this passage Paul turns to the Gentiles. He has dealt with the Jews and with their claims
to special privilege. But one advantage the Jew did have, and that was the Law. A Gentile
might well retaliate by saying, It is only right that God should condemn the Jews, who had
the Law and who ought to have known better; but we will surely escape judgment because
we had no opportunity to know the Law and did not know any better. In answer Paul lays
down two great principles.
(i) A man will be judged by what he had the opportunity to know. If he knew the Law, he
will be judged as one who knew the Law. If he did not know the Law, he will be judged as
one who did not know the Law. God is fair. And here is the answer to those who ask what is
to happen to the people who lived in the world before Jesus came and who had no
opportunity to hear the Christian message. A man will be judged by his fidelity to the
highest that it was possible for him to know.
(ii) Paul goes on to say that even those who did not know the written Law had an unwritten
law within their hearts. We would call it the instinctive knowledge of right and wrong. The
Stoics said that in the universe there were certain laws operative which a man broke at his
peril--the laws of health, the moral laws which govern life and living. The Stoics called these
laws phusis, which means nature, and urged men to live kata phusin, according to nature. It
is Paul's argument that in the very nature of man there is an instinctive knowledge of what
he ought to do. The Greeks would have agreed with that. Aristotle said: The cultivated and
free-minded man will so behave as being a law to himself Plutarch asks: Who shall
govern the governor? And he answers: Law, the king of all mortals and immortals, as
Pindar calls it, which is not written on papyrus rolls or wooden tablets, but is his own reason
within the soul, which perpetually dwells with him and guards him and never leaves his soul
bereft of leadership.
Paul saw the world divided into two classes of people. He saw the Jews with their Law given
to them direct from God and written down so that all could read it. He saw the other
nations, without this written law, but nonetheless with a God-implanted knowledge of right
and wrong within their hearts. either could claim exemption from the judgment of God.
The Jew could not claim exemption on the ground that he had a special place in God's plan.
The Gentile could not claim exemption on the ground that he had never received the written
Law. The Jew would be judged as one who had known the Law; the Gentile as one who had
a God-given conscience. God will judge a man according to what he knows and has the
chance to know.”
7. Stiffler, A man may hear the law read every Sabbath day in the synagogue, but if he
does not do the things enjoined by it he fails. For the only virtue in hearing the law lies in
hearing to do. This is exceedingly simple. A child might hear his parent's

121. command, might admire the clearness of his voice and the perspicuity of his words, but
what of this approval if he did not obey and do as told? The child could not be held just. In
these two verses, 1 2 and 13, substitute gospel for law in reading them, and they
present the truth and the admonition suited to modern times.
8. Berean Corner, “(2:13) Should the statement, The doers of the law shall be justified,
be understood (1) as an abstract possibility of how people will be saved if they keep the law
perfectly (though no one ever does), or (2) as signaling the obedience to the law that begins
with the repenting and banking of one's hope on God's kindness (2:4)?
AS. (2), the latter, because
(a) the point made in the preceding train of thought is that enjoying God's favor depends
on doing righteousness (2:2-3; 6-7; 10-11).
(b) All repentance from sin must be a compliance with the law, because the repentance of
2:4 is a repentance from wickedness (1:32-2:3) to the doing of good works (2:6-7, 10-11),
which the law enjoins (2:13).
(c) God's forgiveness of sins is necessarily implied in the kindness he extends to sinful
people in urging them to repent. 2:4 makes it clear that repentance is a turning to this
kindness and that would be possible only by being assured of God's forgiveness for one's
sins.
(d) The doing of the law to be justified does not have to mean perfect compliance here
any more than in Rom. 8:4, which speaks of the righteous demand of the law as being
fulfilled in those who walk in the Holy Spirit. But it surely does mean a compliance with the
law made possible only by being indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:7), for those not
indwelt by the Spirit are in such rebellion against God that they cannot even begin to be
subject to his law. According to Rom. 8:13 only those living according to the Spirit, and not
the flesh, will live.
(e) Such repentance is a decisive aspect of gaining acceptance with God, for Paul proceeds
to say in verses 14-15 that as a result of the recently-inaugurated Gentile mission, certain
Gentiles, not exposed to the law like the Jews, have had a change of heart (nature--v. 14)
because of the law's being written on their hearts by regeneration (cf. Jer. 31:31-34). This
repentance is as effectual in bringing them to God as it is for any Jews doing the same.
Such Gentiles have had the secrets of their hearts judged and laid bare as they have heard
the preaching of the Gospel (v. 16; cf. 1 Cor. 14:24-25) and so have repented and become
born again.
OTE. My mentor at the U. of Basel, the late Prof. Dr. Bo Reicke, in Syneidesis in Roem.
2, 15,Theologische Zeitschrift l2 (1956), 157-161, has given the best interpretation of 2:l5-
l6 I know of. He translated these verses as follows:
15 Certain Gentiles are showing [present tense] the work of the law written in their hearts

122. [cf. Jer. 31:31ff. ], in that their feelings shared with each other for thoughts which accuse or
even excuse them is confirmed 16 in the day when God judges [present tense! cf. 1 Cor.
14:24f] the hidden things of people according to my gospel through Jesus Christ.
OTE. Protestantism's understanding of the doers of the law shall be justified (2:13) as
setting forth a hypothetical way of salvation (e.g., Calvin, Inst. III, 17.13; Leon Morris, The
Epistle to the Romans. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988], 123-24) comes from nothing
explicit in the preceding train of thought, but from its need for a theological exegesis.
8. Godet, “It will certainly, therefore, be required of us that wo be righteous in the day of
judgment if God is to recognize and declare us to be such ; imputed righteousness is the
beginning of the work of salvation, the means of entrance into the state of grace. But this
initial justification, by restoring communion between God and man, should guide the latter
to the actual possession of righteousness, that is to say, to the fulfillment of the law ;
otherwise, this first justification would not stand in the judgment (see on ver. 0). And hence
it is in keeping with Paul's views, whatever may be said by an antinomian and unsound
tendency, to distinguish two justifications, the one initial, founded exclusively on faith, the
other final, founded on faith and its fruits.'1 Divine imputation beforehand, in order to be
true, must necessarily become true, that is to say, be converted into the recognition of a real
righteousness.”
9. Haldane, “ This verse, with the two following, forms a parenthesis between the 12th and
16th, explanatory of the two propositions contained in the 12th. Some also include the 11th
and 12th in the parenthesis. If this mode of punctuation were adopted, the 13th, 14th, and
15th verses would be a parenthesis within a parenthesis; but for this there is no occasion, as
the 11th and 12th verses connect with the 10th, and also with the 16th. For not the hearers of
the law. — Against what the Apostle had just said concerning the equality of the judgment,
two objections might be urged, — the one in favor of the Gentiles, the other in favor of the
Jews. The first is, that since God has not given His law to the Gentiles, there can be no place
for their condemnation, — for how can they be condemned as transgressors if they have
not received a law? The second objection, which is contrary to the first, supposes that the
Jews ought to be more leniently treated, since God, who has given them His law, has, by
doing so, declared in their favor, and made them His people: He will therefore, without
doubt, have a regard for them which He has not for the others, whom he has abandoned.
The Apostle obviates both these objections in this and the two following verses, and thus
defends his position respecting the equality of the judgment. As for the last of them, which
he answers first in this 13th verse, he says that it is not sufficient for justification before
God to have received the law, and simply to be hearers of it; but that it must be observed
and reduced to practice. This is an incontestable truth. For the law has not been given as a
matter of curiosity or contemplation as a philosophical science, but to be obeyed; and the
greatest outrage against the law and the Legislator, is to hear it and not to take heed to
practice it.
It will be in vain, therefore, for the Jew to say, I am a hearer of the law, I attend on its
services, I belong to the covenant of God, who has given me His testimonies. On all these

123. accounts, being a transgressor, as he is, he must be condemned. The presence of the article
before the word law in both the clauses of this verse, which is wanting in the preceding
verse, shows that the reference is here to the Jews under the written law. The doers of the
law shall be justified. — By this we must understand an exact obedience to the law to be
intended, which can defend itself against that declaration, ‘Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.’ For it is not
the same with the judgment of the law as with that of grace. The Gospel indeed requires of
us a perfect obedience to its commands, yet it not only provides for believers’ pardon of the
sins committed before their calling, but of those also which they afterwards commit. But the
judgment of the law admits of no indulgence to those who are under it; it demands a full and
perfect personal observance of all its requirements — a patient continuance in well-doing,
without the least deviation, or the smallest speck of sin; and when it does not find this state
of perfection, condemns the man. But did not the law itself contain expiations for sin? and
consequently, shall not the judgment which will be passed according to the law, be
accompanied with grace and indulgence through the benefit of these expiations? The legal
expiations had no virtue in themselves; but inasmuch as they were figures of the expiation
made by Jesus Christ, they directed men to His sacrifice. But as they belonged to the
temporal or carnal covenant, they neither expiated nor could expiate any but typical sins,
that is to say, uncleanness of the flesh, Hebrews 9:13, which were not real sins, but only
external pollutions. Thus, as far as regarded the legal sacrifices, all real sins remained on the
conscience, Hebrews 10:1, for from these the law did not in the smallest degree discharge;
whence it follows that the judgment, according to the law, to those who are under it, will be
a strict judgment according to law, which pardons nothing. The word justified occurs here
for the first time in this Epistle, and being introduced in connection with the general
judgment, means being declared just or righteous by a judicial sentence.
14. Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do
by nature things required by the law, they are a law
for themselves, even though they do not have the law,
1. God made man in his image, and though man has fallen, he still has a nature that is
aware of what is right and wrong. He has a conscience, and he has a culture that has made
laws of behavior that tell him what is acceptable and what in not acceptable. All people
have some sort of standard of right and wrong, and often they are very much like the Ten
Commandments. God will not hole them accountable for those commandments, however,
but only for the commandments of their culture and conscience. If they obey the laws of
their inner nature, and of their culture, they are obedient people, and they will be accepted

124. as good people by God. In other words, they did the best they could with the limitations
they had. This will be taken into account in their judgment, and those who did their best to
live up to the laws they had will be less severely judged than those who violated their own
conscience and the laws of their society.
2. The vast majority of pagan people around the world, and the non-Christian people in
our own country never murder anyone, and they do not commit adultery, and steal their
neighbors property. They live with a good measure of obedience to the Ten
Commandments, and by this add to the peace of the community and culture. We call this
being civilized, and this is a good thing, for all of our lives would be less peaceful and
enjoyable if all non-believers were continually breaking all of God's commandments.
Thank God for decent pagans, for their conformity to moral laws adds to the blessings that
we all enjoy in our culture. We see this breaking down, and our culture becomes more and
more ungodly, but it is still far from what it could be if all non-believers were forsaking
their inner laws. The point is, all people have some standards of behavior, and they are
better people when they obey those standards, and this will benefit them in the day of
judgment. It cannot save anyone in terms of eternal life that is found only in Christ, but it
can lead to a lesser judgment.
3. The point is that no man can ever accuse God of being unfair in his judgment of people,
for he has a valid basis for all his condemnation. It is based on the level of the laws they are
exposed to. If they have his law that came through Moses, they will be judged by that. If
they had no other law but what was built into their conscience, they will be judged by that.
If all they had was some laws of their culture, they will be judged by those. Eveyone has
some basis for judgment, and God will be just in holding all people only accountable for the
level of law they were expected to obey. According to this it would be possible for a pagan
living in the greatest moral darkness to be a good person because they obeyed to a high
degree the laws they were accountable for obeying. Obeying these laws does not save them,
but it does lead to God's showing greater mercy in his judgment on them. They could not
have done more than they did, for they did not have the light that other had. They did the
best they could with what they had. Of course, it was still not good enough, for on any level
they were still sinners and worthy of condemnation. The best of men are men at best, and
all sin and come short of the glory of God. All are worthy of condemnation.
4. Gill, “For when the Gentiles which have not the law…
The objection of the Gentiles against their condemnation, taken from their being without
the law, is here obviated. The apostle owns that they had not the law, that is, the written law
of Moses, and yet intimates that they had, and must have a law, against which they sinned,
and so deserved punishment, and which they in part obeyed; for these men
do by nature the things contained in the law.
The matter and substance of the moral law of Moses agrees with the law and light of
nature; and the Gentiles in some measure, and in some sort, did these things by nature; not
that men by the mere strength of nature without the grace of God, can fulfil the law, or do
anything that is acceptable to God; and indeed, what these men did was merely natural and
carnal, and so unacceptable to God. Some understand this of nature assisted by grace, in

125. converted Gentiles, whether before or after the coming of Christ; others expound the
phrase, by nature, freely, willingly, in opposition to the servile spirit of the Jews, in their
obedience to the law; though it rather seems to design the dictates of natural reason, by
which they acted: and so
these having not the law,
the written law,
are a law to themselves; which they have by nature and use, and which natural reason
dictates to them. So Plato distinguishes the law `into written and un written : the written
law is that which was used in commonwealths; and that (kata eyh) (ginomenov) , which
was according to custom or nature, was called unwritten, such as not to go to market
naked, nor to be clothed with women's clothes; which things were not forbidden by any
law, but these were not done because forbidden by the unwritten law;''which he calls
unwritten, because not written on tables, or with ink; otherwise it was written in their
minds, and which by nature and use they were accustomed to.
5. . Henry, “Three degrees of light are revealed to the children of men:--
1. The light of nature. This the Gentiles have, and by this they shall be judged: As many
as have sinned without law shall perish without law; that is, the unbelieving Gentiles, who
had no other guide but natural conscience, no other motive but common mercies, and had
not the law of Moses nor any supernatural revelation, shall not be reckoned with for the
transgression of the law they never had, nor come under the aggravation of the Jews' sin
against and judgment by the written law; but they shall be judged by, as they sin against,
the law of nature, not only as it is in their hearts, corrupted, defaced, and imprisoned in
unrighteousness, but as in the uncorrupt original the Judge keeps by him. Further to clear
this (v. 14, 15), in a parenthesis, he evinces that the light of nature was to the Gentiles
instead of a written law. He had said (v. 12) they had sinned without law, which looks like a
contradiction; for where there is no law there is no transgression. But, says he, though they
had not the written law (Ps. cxlvii. 20), they had that which was equivalent, not to the
ceremonial, but to the moral law. They had the work of the law. He does not mean that
work which the law commands, as if they could produce a perfect obedience; but that work
which the law does. The work of the law is to direct us what to do, and to examine us what
we have done. ow, (1.) They had that which directed them what to do by the light of
nature: by the force and tendency of their natural notions and dictates they apprehended a
clear and vast difference between good and evil. They did by nature the things contained in
the law. They had a sense of justice and equity, honour and purity, love and charity; the
light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable, conservation of public
peace and order, forbade murder, stealing, lying, perjury, c. Thus they were a law unto
themselves. (2.) They had that which examined them as to what they had done: Their
conscience also bearing witness. They had that within them which approved and
commended what was well done and which reproached them for what was done amiss.
Conscience is a witness, and first or last will bear witness, though for a time it may be
bribed or brow-beaten. It is instead of a thousand witnesses, testifying of that which is most
secret; and their thoughts accusing or excusing, passing a judgment upon the testimony of

126. conscience by applying the law to the fact. Conscience is that candle of the Lord which was
not quite put out, no, not in the Gentile world. The heathen have witnessed to the comfort
of a good conscience.
Their thoughts the meanwhile, metaxy allelon--among themselves, or one with another. The
same light and law of nature that witnesses against sin in them, and witnessed against it in
others, accused or excused one another. Vicissim, so some read it, by turns; according as
they observed or broke these natural laws and dictates, their consciences did either acquit
or condemn them. All this did evince that they had that which was to them instead of a law,
which they might have been governed by, and which will condemn them, because they were
not so guided and governed by it. So that the guilty Gentiles are left without excuse. God is
justified in condemning them. They cannot plead ignorance, and therefore are likely to
perish if they have not something else to plead.
2. The light of the law. This the Jews had, and by this they shall be judged (v. 12): As
many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. They sinned, not only having the
law, but en nomo--in the law, in the midst of so much law, in the face and light of so pure
and clear a law, the directions of which were so very full and particular, and the sanctions
of it so very cogent and enforcing. These shall be judged by the law; their punishment shall
be, as their sin is, so much the greater for their having the law. The Jew first, v. 9. It shall be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon. Thus Moses did accuse them (John v. 45), and they fell
under the many stripes of him that knew his master's will, and did it not, Luke xii. 47. The
Jews prided themselves very much in the law; but, to confirm what he had said, the apostle
shows (v. 13) that their having, and hearing, and knowing the law, would not justify them,
but their doing it. The Jewish doctors bolstered up their followers with an opinion that all
that were Jews, how bad soever they lived, should have a place in the world to come. This
the apostle here opposes: it was a great privilege that they had the law, but not a saving
privilege, unless they lived up to the law they had, which it is certain the Jews did not, and
therefore they had need of a righteousness wherein to appear before God. We may apply it
to the gospel: it is not hearing, but doing that will save us, John xiii. 17; James i. 22.
3. The light of the gospel: and according to this those that enjoyed the gospel shall be
judge (v. 16): According to my gospel; not meant of any fifth gospel written by Paul, as
some conceit; or of the gospel written by Luke, as Paul's amanuensis (Euseb. Hist. lib 3,
cap. 8), but the gospel in general, called Paul's because he was a preacher of it. As many as
are under that dispensation shall be judged according to that dispensation, Mark xvi. 16.
Some refer those words, according to my gospel, to what he says of the day of judgment:
There will come a day of judgment, according as I have in my preaching often told you;
and that will be the day of the final judgment both of Jews and Gentiles. It is good for us
to get acquainted with what is revealed concerning that day. (1.) There is a day set for a
general judgment. The day, the great day, his day that is coming, Ps. xxxvii. 13. (2.) The
judgment of that day will be put into the hands of Jesus Christ. God shall judge by Jesus
Christ, Acts xvii. 31. It will be part of the reward of his humiliation. othing speaks more
terror to sinners, or more comfort to saints, than this, that Christ shall be the Judge. (3.)
The secrets of men shall then be judged. Secret services shall be then rewarded, secret sins
shall be then punished, hidden things shall be brought to light. That will be the great

127. discovering day, when that which is now done in corners shall be proclaimed to all the
world.
6. . Stedman, “ow I hope that your text of the Scriptures puts Verses 14 and 15 in
parentheses because this all comes within the context of Paul's argument that there is a day
coming when God is going to judge the secrets of men everywhere and all that is hidden
will be revealed. In Luke 12:3 Jesus himself spoke of that: What you have said in the dark
will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear behind closed doors
will be proclaimed from the housetops, {Luke 12:3 IV}. ow there were some in Paul's
day who said that because the Jews possessed the Law and knew God's truth, they would
not be condemned in that judgment. But Paul is saying, Look, if your knowledge of truth
is what saves you, then everybody will be saved, even the savages and the pagans, for they
show that they have a law, too. They know a great deal about the Law; it is written on their
hearts, and their consciences act as judges within them, just as they do within those of us in
the more civilized world. On that basis, you see, everyone would be saved. But God does
not judge that way.
ow here we have a revelation of what goes on in the primitive world. Men and women
who have never heard anything about the Bible, Jesus Christ, Moses, the Ten
Commandments, or any standard that we are familiar with, nevertheless are subject to
judgment because they have truth written in their hearts. They do know what is right and
wrong. They show it in their own lives.
I have just finished reading an amazing book called Peace Child, which has been made into
a movie. It is a wonderful and remarkable story, taking place in the last couple of decades
in the island of ew Guinea. Some missionaries went there and found a tribe of people who
were so degraded, so sunken in immorality, that they actually idolized treachery. They
admired the man who could win someone's love, friendship, and trust, and then betray and
murder him. Such a man was held up as an admirable person to follow. When the
missionaries first came among these people, they despaired of ever reaching them, for there
seemed to be no ground of appeal to a people that had so reversed the moral standards of
life. However, as they lived among them and got better acquainted with their culture, they
discovered that this moral reversal was universal, except at one point. There was one
situation in which they recognized that men and women were bound to a moral standard,
and that was in the case of an exchange of a peace child. If a tribe gave a baby or a child
from their tribe to another, then that other tribe would be bound to keep its agreements
and to honor its treaty with the first tribe. If they did not, they would lose face and be
regarded as a despicable people. It was at this point the missionaries were able to introduce
the gospel, for they pointed out that God had given up a peace child in Jesus Christ. Thus
these people were bound to honor God. It is a remarkable story, but it shows clearly how
God had prepared the way for the gospel by building into this culture a concept that would
be ready and waiting when the gospel came. ow these people were living according to the
rule of conscience; and the conscience, as Paul points out here, never brings a settled peace.
These tribes are a continual testimony to that fact.
7. . Barnes, “For when - The apostle, in Rom_2:13, had stated a general principle, that the

128. doers of the Law only can be justified, if justification is attempted by the Law. In this verse
and the next, he proceeds to show that the same principle is applicable to the pagan; that
though they have not the written Law of God, yet that they have sufficient knowledge of his
will to take away every excuse for sin, and consequently that the course of reasoning by
which he had come to the conclusion that they were guilty, is well founded. This verse is not
to be understood as affirming, as an historical fact, that any of the pagan ever did perfectly
obey the Law which they had, any more than the previous verse affirms it of the Jews, The
main point in the argument is, that if people are justified by the Law, their obedience must
be entire and perfect; that this is not to be external only, or to consist in hearing or in
acknowledging the justice of the Law; and that the Gentiles had an opportunity of
illustrating this principle as well as the Jews, since they also had a law among themselves.
The word “when” ὅταν hotan does not imply that the thing shall certainly take place, but
is one form of introducing a supposition; or of stating the connection of one thing with
another, Mat_5:11; Mat_6:2, Mat_6:5-6, Mat_6:16; Mat_10:19. It is, however, true that the
main things contained in this verse, and the next, actually occurred, that the Gentiles did
many things which the Law of God required.
The Gentiles - All who were not Jews.
Which have not the law - Who have net a revelation, or the written word of God. In the
Greek the article is omitted, “who have not law,” that is, any revealed law.
By nature - By some, this phrase has been supposed to belong to the previous member of
the sentence, “who have not the law by nature.” But our translation is the more natural and
usual construction. The expression means clearly by the light of conscience and reason, and
whatever other helps they may have without revelation. It denotes simply, in that state
which is without the revealed will of God. In that condition they had many helps of
tradition, conscience, reason, and the observation of the dealings of divine Providence, so
that to a considerable extent they knew what was right and what was wrong.
Do the things - Should they not merely understand and approve, but actually perform the
things required in the Law.
Contained in the law - Literally, the things of the Law, that is, the things which the Law
requires. Many of those things might be done by the pagan, as, e. g., respect to parents.
truth, justice, honesty, chastity. So far as they did any of those things, so far they showed
that they had a law among themselves. And wherein they failed in these things they showed
that they were justly condemned. “Are a law unto themselves.” This is explained in the
following verse. It means that their own reason and conscience constituted, in these things, a
law, or prescribed that for them which the revealed law did to the Jews.
8. . Clarke, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, etc. - or does it follow that the
Gentiles who have not had a Divine revelation, shall either perish, because they had it not;
or their unrighteous conduct pass unpunished, because not having this revelation might be
considered as an excuse for their sins.
Do by nature the things contained in the law - Do, without this Divine revelation, through
that light which God imparts to every man, the things contained in the law - act according
to justice, mercy, temperance and truth, the practice of which the revealed law so
powerfully enjoins; these are a law unto themselves - they are not accountable to any other
law, and are not to be judged by any dispensation different from that under which they live.

129. Rabbi Tanchum brings in the Supreme Being as saying: When I decreed any thing against
the Gentiles, to whom I have not given laws and statutes, and they know what I have
decreed; immediately they repent; but the Israelites do not so. Tanchum, fol. 43. 2.
9. John Piper wrote, All human beings have the moral law of God stamped on their
hearts. Paul is teaching something enormously important here about human nature. otice
the wording of verse 14: When Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the
things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves. The instinctively
is literally by nature. In other words, Paul is telling us something fundamental here
about human nature. This is what it means to be human - to have the law of God pressed or
stamped or written on our heart.
We have seen this teaching before in 1:32 (They know the ordinance of God, that those
who practice such things are worthy of death) and 1:26 (Women exchanged the natural
function for that which is against nature) and 1:21 (They knew God). And the point of
it all is to stress that every human being is guilty before God because everyone suppresses
(1:18) the truth and none lives up to even the demands of his own conscience, let alone all
the demands of God known to him. evertheless, all are accountable to God and will be
without excuse at the judgment day. All Jews and all Gentiles are accountable to God and
guilty before him under the power of sin.
10. Godet, “..for example, eoptolemus in Philoctetes, when he refuses to save v Greece at
the expense of a lie ; or Antigone, when she does not hesitate to violate the temporary law of
the city to fulfil the eternal law of fraternal love ; or Socrates, when he rejects the
opportunity of saving his life by I escaping from prison, in order to remain subject to the
magistrates. Sophocles himself speaks of these eternal laws (oi ael vofioi), and contrasts this
I internal and divine legislation with the ever-changing laws of man.”
11. Calvin, “For when the Gentiles, etc. He now states what proves the former
clause; for he did not think it enough to condemn us by mere assertion,
and only to pronounce on us the just judgment of God; but he proceeds
to prove this by reasons, in order to excite us to a greater desire for
Christ, and to a greater love towards him. He indeed shows that
ignorance is in vain pretended as an excuse by the Gentiles, since they
prove by their own deeds that they have some rule of righteousness: for
there is no nation so lost to every thing human, that it does not keep
within the limits of some laws. Since then all nations, of themselves
and without a monitor, are disposed to make laws for themselves, it is
beyond all question evident that they have some notions of justice and
rectitude, which the Greeks call preconceptions prolepseis, and which
are implanted by nature in the hearts of men. They have then a law,
though they are without law: for though they have not a written law,
they are yet by no means wholly destitute of the knowledge of what is
right and just; as they could not otherwise distinguish between vice
and virtue; the first of which they restrain by punishment, and the
latter they commend, and manifest their approbation of it by honoring

130. it with rewards. He sets nature in opposition to a written law, meaning
that the Gentiles had the natural light of righteousness, which
supplied the place of that law by which the Jews were instructed, so
that they were a law to themselves.
12. Constable, “Even Gentiles who do not have the Mosaic Law know that they should do
things that are right and not do things that are wrong (v. 14). Right and
wrong are the basic elements of the Mosaic Law. Paul did not mean that
Gentiles are indifferent to any law except what they invent in their own
self-interest. He meant that they have a law that is instinctive, namely, an
intuitive perception of what is right and what is wrong. All people have
this. One writer sought to explain what Paul did not, namely, how human
beings can and do know God's moral law apart from special revelation.85
In addition to this innate sense of morality, Gentiles also have consciences
(v. 15). The ew Testament presents the human conscience as a
computer-like faculty. It has no pre-programmed data in it, but whatever a
person experiences programs his or her conscience. If he learns that lying
is wrong, for example, his conscience will from then on bring that
information to his mind in appropriate situations. Therefore some
individuals who grow up in cultures that value a particular practice that
other cultures abhor, such as deception or treachery, have no conscience
about being deceptive or practicing treachery. All people grow up learning
that some things that are truly bad are bad and other things that are truly
good are good. Thus our conscience, while not a completely reliable
guide, is helpful as we seek to live life morally.86 The ew Testament
speaks of a good conscience (Acts 23:1; 1 Tim. 1:5, 19), a clear
conscience (Acts 24:16; 1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18), a guilty
conscience (Heb. 10:22), a corrupt conscience (Titus 1:15), a weak
conscience (1 Cor. 8:7, 10, 12), and a seared conscience (1 Tim. 4:2).”
13. Haldane, “For. — This is the proper translation of the Greek particle, and not therefore
according to Dr. Macknight, who entirely misunderstands both the meaning of the passage
itself, and the connection in which it stands, and founds upon it a doctrine opposed to all
that is contained on the subject, both in the Old Testament and the ew. This verse has no
connection with, or dependence whatever on, the foregoing, as is generally supposed, but
connects with the first clause of verse 12, which it explains.
Together with the following verse, it supplies the answer to the objection that might be made
to what is contained in the beginning of that verse, namely, that God cannot justly condemn
the Gentiles, since He has not given them a law. To this the Apostle here replies, that though
they have not an external and written law, as that which God gave to the Israelites, they
have, however, the law of the conscience, which is sufficient to establish the justice of their
condemnation. This is the meaning of that proposition, having not a law, are a law unto
themselves; and of that other, which show the work of the law written in their hearts; by
which he also establishes the justice of what he had said in the 12th verse, that as many as

131. have sinned without law shall also perish without law. He proves it in two ways: 1st ,
Because they do naturally the things that the law requires, which shows that they have a law
in themselves, since they sometimes act according to its rule; 2nd , He proves it by their not
being devoid of a conscience, since, according to its decisions, they accuse or excuse one
another. This evidently shows that they have a law, the work of which is written in their
hearts, by which they discern the difference between right and wrong — what is just, and
what is unjust.
They who have not a law, — that is, an externally written law, — do by nature the things
contained in the law. It could not be the Apostle’s intention to assert that the heathens in
general, or that any one of them, kept the law written in the heart, when the contrary had
been proved in the preceding chapter; but they did certain things, though imperfectly,
commanded by the law, which proved that they had, by their original constitution, a
discernment of the difference between right and wrong.
They did nothing, however, in the manner which the law required, that is, from the only
motive that makes an action good, namely, a spirit of obedience, and of love to God. God
governs the world in this way. He rules the actions of men and beasts by the instincts and
affections which He has implanted in them. Every good action that men perform by nature,
they do by their constitution, not from respect to the authority of God.
That the Pagans do many things that, as to the outward act, are agreeable to the law of
God, is obviously true, and should not be denied. That they do anything acceptable to God
is not true, and is not here asserted.”
14. Sadler, “It has been asked whether it is not a paradox that the Apostle
should say here the doers of the law shall be justified when we
find him laying down in the next chapter, By the deeds of the law
shall no flesh be justified. But the Apostle does not say abso
lutely the doers of the law shall be justified, as if it was an inde
pendent truth. He says it with reference to hearing without
doing. It is quite conceivable that a law might be given by God
which a man could do in his natural strength. If a man obeyed
such a law he would be justified so far as that law was concerned.
How this justification would bear upon his eternal interests is another
matter altogether. But an unprejudiced Christian, who under
stands the whole argument of the Apostle, need not entertain the
question. By doers of the law he understands those who do what
is good and right in the sight of God by the power of Christ s risen
Life and the grace of the Holy Spirit, according to the words of the
apostle I have quoted above, God sent His own Son in the like-less
of sinful flesh .... that the righteousness of the law may be
filled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit
Rom. viii. 4).

132. 15. Faith Mountain website, “ In previous passages Paul taught about the atural
Revelation of God (that is, He is easily seen through the designed world around us). ow
that great Apostle turns to proofs of God through morality. This is a little harder concept to
understand, but as valid as the atural Revelation apology. The argument follows these
lines:
I know both right and wrong. All mankind intrinsically understands right
and wrong. Right and wrong, however, in order to be valid, must be based on a
standard. If not based on a standard, then all concepts of right and wrong are
only opinions, arbitrarily assigned by mankind, and in essence invalid. If the
standard that establishes right and wrong is finite, coming out of flawed
mankind itself, then both the standard as well as the right and wrong are in
themselves only arbitrary distinctions without true value. In order for right and
wrong to be validated it must come from an Immutable, Perfect Source that
designed such concepts. In other words, morality, to be valid, must have come
from the Designing hand of God.
This statement is the most direct definition of the Ethical Revelation of God. To make this
statement easier to understand let's look at it this way:
Among mankind, regardless of race, tribe, religion, or creed, it is wrong to
murder, rape, and steal. Even Atheists, who declare that there is no God, will be
quick to tell you that these actions are morally wrong. But there can be no
defined area of morality, no certain right and wrong, if there is no standard to
back it up. I know that twelve inches is twelve inches because, at some time in the
historical past, men got together and agreed on the dimensions of a ruler.
Mankind cannot get together and define morality. Only God can define this state,
for He alone is the Designer of all Creation.
Paul notes that, though the Jews were the stewards of the Written Law of God (the
Mosaic Code), they failed to obey the things written in that code. On the other hand the
Gentiles, to whom the Written Law never came, obeyed the Unwritten Code of morality in
their conscience. They were faithful, whereas the chosen people were unfaithful. As Jesus
taught in Luke:
Luke 12:47-48 [47] And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared
not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
[48] But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be
beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be
much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask
the more.
God gave the Jews much, yet they ignored what was given by their sinful traits. God gave
the Gentiles little, yet they obeyed the Code He had written in their hearts. The Jews had no
excuse for failing as the Stewards of God.”

133. 15. since they show that the requirements of the law
are written on their hearts, their consciences also
bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now
even defending them.
1. Barnes, “Which show - Who thus evince or show.
The work of the law - The design, purpose, or object which is contemplated by the
revealed Law; that is, to make known to man his duty, and to enforce the obligation to
perform it. This does not mean, by any means, that they had all the knowledge which the
Law would impart, for then there would have been no need of a revelation, but that, as far
as it went, as far as they had a knowledge of right and wrong, they coincided with the
revealed will of God. In other words, the will of God, whether made known by reason or
revelation, will be the same so far as reason goes. The difference is that revelation goes
further than reason; sheds light on new duties and doctrines; as the information given by
the naked eye and the telescope is the same, except, that the telescope carries the sight
forward, and reveals new worlds to the sight of man.
Written in their hearts - The revealed Law of God was written on tables of stone, and then
recorded in the books of the Old Testament. This law the Gentiles did not possess, but, to a
certain extent, the same requirements were written on their hearts. Though not revealed to
them as to the Jews, yet they had obtained the knowledge of them by the tight of nature. The
word “hearts” here denotes the mind itself, as it does also frequently in the Sacred
Scriptures; not the heart, as the seat of the affections. It does not mean that they loved or
even approved of the Law, but that they had knowledge of it; and that that knowledge was
deeply engraved on their minds.
Their conscience - This word properly means the judgment of the mind respecting right
and wrong; or the judgment which the mind passes on the morality or immorality of its own
actions, when it instantly approves or condemns them. It has usually been termed the moral
sense, and is a very important principle in a moral government. Its design is to answer the
purposes of an ever attendant witness of a man’s conduct; to compel him to pronounce on
his own doings, and thus to excite him to virtuous deeds, to give comfort and peace when he
does right, to deter from evil actions by making him, whether he will or no, his own
executioner: see Joh_8:9; Act_23:1; Act_24:16; Rom_9:1; 1Ti_1:5. By nature every man
thus approves or condemns his own acts; and there is not a profounder principle of the
divine administration, than thus compelling every man to pronounce on the moral character
of his own conduct. Conscience may be enlightened or unenlightened; and its use may be
greatly perverted by false opinions. Its province is not to communicate any new truth, it is
simply to express judgment, and to impart pleasure or inflict pain for a man’s own good or
evil conduct. The apostle’s argument, does not require him to say that conscience revealed
any truth, or any knowledge of duty, to the Gentiles, but that its actual exercise proved that
they had a knowledge of the Law of God. Thus, it was a witness simply of that fact.

134. Bearing witness - To bear witness is to furnish testimony, or proof. And the exercise of the
conscience here showed or proved that they had a knowledge of the Law. The expression
does not mean that the exercise of their conscience bore witness of anything to them, but
that its exercise may be alleged as a proof that they were not without some knowledge of the
Law.
And their thoughts - The word “thoughts” (λογισμῶν logismōn) means properly
reasonings, or opinions, sentiments, etc. Its meaning here may be expressed by the word
“reflections.” Their reflections on their own conduct would be attended with pain or
pleasure. It differs from conscience, inasmuch as the decisions of conscience are
instantaneous, and without any process of reasoning. This supposes subsequent reflection,
and it means that such reflections would only deepen and confirm the decisions of
conscience.
The mean while - Margin, “Between themselves.” The rendering in the margin is more in
accordance with the Greek. The expression sometimes means, in the mean time, or at the
same time; and sometimes afterward, or subsequently. The Syriac and Latin Vulgate render
this mutually. They seem to have understood this as affirming that the pagan among
themselves, by their writings, accused or acquitted one another.
Accusing - If the actions were evil.
Excusing - That is, if their actions were good.
One another - The margin renders this expression in connection with the adverb,
translated “in the mean while,” “between themselves.” This view is also taken by many
commentators, and this is its probable meaning. If so, it denotes the fact that in their
reflections, or their reasonings, or discussions, they accused each other of crime, or
acquitted one another; they showed that they had a law; that they acted on the supposition
that they had. To show this was the design of the apostle; and there was no further proof of
it needed than what he here adduced.
(1) They had a conscience, pronouncing on their own acts; and,
(2) Their reasonings, based on the supposition of some such common and acknowledged
standard of accusing or acquitting, supposed the same thing. If, therefore, they
condemned or acquitted themselves; if in these reasonings and reflections, they
proceeded on the principle that they had some rule of right and wrong, then the
proposition of the apostle was made out that it was right for God to judge them, and to
destroy them; Rom_2:8-12.
1B. His judgment will be according to light and he will receive a greater degree of
punishment because of his refusal of the light. The principle of greater light bringing
greater accountability and a more severe judgment is clearly taught in Scripture - study the
following passages (Mt 10:15, 11:20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 12:41 Jn 19:11, Lu 10:12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
12:47,48, 20:46, 47, Heb 10:29]
1C. Dr. Ray Pritchard, “This was not a new idea. The Greek poet Sophocles spoke of “the
unwritten and indelible laws of the gods.” The Platonic philosopher Plutarch called it “a
law which is not written in books, but implanted in the heart of man.” In fact, this concept
of a universal moral code was widely discussed by the Greeks and Romans. Paul simply
picks up that concept and applies it to the Gentiles.”

135. 2. Clarke, “Which show the work of the law - In acting according to justice, mercy,
temperance, and truth, they show that the great object of the law, which was to bring men
from injustice, cruelty, intemperance, and falsity, is accomplished so far in them: their
conscience also bearing witness - that faculty of the soul, where that Divine light dwells and
works, shows them that they are right; and thus they have a comfortable testimony in their
own souls of their own integrity: their thoughts, the mean while, accusing, or else excusing
one another; or rather, their reasonings between one another accusing or answering for
themselves. As if the apostle had said: - And this point, that they have a law and act
according to it, is farther proved from their conduct in civil affairs; and from that correct
sense which they have of natural justice in their debates, either in their courts of law, or in
their treatises on morality. All these are ample proofs that God has not left them without
light; and that, seeing they have such correct notions of right and wrong, they are
accountable to God for their conduct in reference to these notions and principles. These
seems to be the true meaning of this difficult clause. See below.
3. Gill, “Which show the work of the law written in their hearts,.... Though the Gentiles had
not the law in form, written on tables, or in a book, yet they had the work, the matter,
the sum and substance of it in their minds; as appears by the practices of many of them, in
their external conversation. The moral law, in its purity and perfection, was written on the
heart of Adam in his first creation; was sadly obliterated by his sin and fall; upon several
accounts, and to answer various purposes, a system of laws was written on tables of stone
for the use of the Israelites; and in regeneration the law is reinscribed on the hearts of
God's people; and even among the Gentiles, and in their hearts, there are some remains of
the old law and light of nature, which as by their outward conduct appears, so by the
inward motions of their minds,
their conscience also bearing witness; for, as the Jews say (r) נשמתו של אדם מעידה בו , the soul
of a man witnesses in him; for, or against him:
and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another; and this the
Heathens themselves acknowledge, when they (s) speak of
tameion dikasthrion kai krithrion thv suneidhsewv, the conclave, tribunal and judgment
of conscience; and which they call δικαστην δικαιοτατον, the most righteous judge:
whose judgment reason receives, and gives its suffrage to, whether worthy of approbation or
reproof; when it reads in the memory as if written on a table the things that are done, and
then beholding the law as an exemplar, pronounces itself either worthy of honour or
dishonor.''
4. Calvin, “Who show the work of the law [73] written, etc.; that is, they
prove that there is imprinted on their hearts a discrimination and
judgment by which they distinguish between what is just and unjust,
between what is honest and dishonest. He means not that it was so
engraven on their will, that they sought and diligently pursued it, but

136. that they were so mastered by the power of truth, that they could not
disapprove of it. For why did they institute religious rites, except
that they were convinced that God ought to be worshipped? Why were they
ashamed of adultery and theft, except that they deemed them evils?
Without reason then is the power of the will deduced from this passage,
as though Paul had said, that the keeping of the law is within our
power; for he speaks not of the power to fulfill the law, but of the
knowledge of it. or is the word heart to be taken for the seat of the
affections, but only for the understanding, as it is found in
Deuteronomy 29:4,
The Lord hath not given thee a heart to understand;
and in Luke 24:25,
O foolish men, and slow in heart to believe.
or can we conclude from this passage, that there is in men a full
knowledge of the law, but that there are only some seeds of what is
right implanted in their nature, evidenced by such acts as these -- All
the Gentiles alike instituted religious rites, they made laws to punish
adultery, and theft, and murder, they commended good faith in bargains
and contracts. They have thus indeed proved, that God ought to be
worshipped, that adultery, and theft, and murder are evils, that
honesty is commendable. It is not to our purpose to inquire what sort
of God they imagined him to be, or how many gods they devised; it is
enough to know, that they thought that there is a God, and that honor
and worship are due to him. It matters not whether they permitted the
coveting of another man's wife, or of his possessions, or of any thing
which was his, -- whether they connived at wrath and hatred; inasmuch
as it was not right for them to covet what they knew to be evil when
done.
Their conscience at the same time attesting, etc. He could not have
more forcibly urged them than by the testimony of their own conscience,
which is equal to a thousand witnesses. By the consciousness of having
done good, men sustain and comfort themselves; those who are conscious
of having done evil, are inwardly harassed and tormented. Hence came
these sayings of the heathens -- A good conscience is the widest
sphere; but a bad one is the cruelest executioner, and more fiercely
torments the ungodly than any furies can do. There is then a certain
knowledge of the law by nature, which says, This is good and worthy of
being desired; that ought to be abhorred.
But observe how intelligently he defines conscience: he says, that

137. reasons come to our minds, by which we defend what is rightly done, and
that there are those which accuse and reprove us for our vices; [74]
and he refers this process of accusation and defense to the day of the
Lord; not that it will then first commence, for it is now continually
carried on, but that it will then also be in operation; and he says
this, that no one should disregard this process, as though it were vain
and evanescent. And he has put, in the day, instead of, at the day, --
a similar instance to what we have already observed.”
5. Calvin's editors wrote:
Calvin seems to consider that the latter part of the verse is only
a expansion or an exposition of the preceding clause respecting
conscience: but it seems to contain a distinct idea. The testimony of
conscience is one thing, which is instantaneous, without reflection:
and the thoughts or the reasonings -- logismon, which alternately or
mutually accuse or excuse, seem to refer to a process carried on by the
mind, by which the innate voice of conscience is confirmed. This is the
view taken by Stuart and Barnes, and to which Hodge is inclined.
Another view of the latter clause is given by Doddridge, Macknight,
Haldane, and Chalmers The last gives this paraphrase of the whole
verse, -- For they show that the matter of the law is written in their
hearts -- both from their conscience testifying what is right and wrong
in their own conduct, and from their reasonings in which they either
accuse or vindicate one another. But to regard the two clauses as
referring to conscience and the inward workings of the mind, appears
more consistent with the context. The Gentiles are those spoken of: God
gave them no outward law, but the law of nature which is inward. Hence
in the following verse he speaks of God as judging the secrets of
men, as the inward law will be the rule of judgment to the Gentiles --
Ed.
6. Godet, “Verse 15 does not refer to the accidental fulfillment of some good actions ; it
denotes the totality of the moral law written in the heart. The figure of a written, law is
evidently borrowed from the Sinaitic law graven on the tables of stone. The heart is always
in Scripture the source of the instinctive feelings from which those impulses go forth which
govern the exercise of the understanding and will. It is in this form of lofty inspiration that
the law of nature makes its appearance in man. The plural : their heart, makes each
individual the seat of this sublime legislation. The last propositions of the verse have
embarrassed commentators not a little. They have not sufficiently taken account of the
starting-point of this whole argument. St. Paul, according to the connection Of ver. 14 with
ver. 18, does not wish merely to prove that the Gentile possesses the law ; he means to
demonstrate that he hears it, just as the Jew heard it at Sinai, or still hears it every Sabbath
in the synagogue (aKpoan'/c, hearer of the law, ver. 13«). And to this idea the appendix
refers which closes ver. 15.

138. That the Gentile has the law (is a law to himself), is already demonstrated. But does he hear
this law distinctly ? Does he give account of it to himself ? If it were not so, he would
certainly remain inferior to the Jew, who brings so much sagacity to bear on the discussion
of the sense and various applications of the legal statute. But no ; the Gentile is quite as
clever as the Jew in this respect. He also discusses the data of the moral instinct which serves
as his guide. His conscience joins its approving testimony afterhand to that of the moral
instinct which has dictated a good action ; pleaders make themselves heard within, for and
against, before this tribunal of conscience, and these discussions are worth all the subtleties
of Rabbinical casuistry.—Ivveich/air, the conscience (from amistdtvat, to know with or
within oneself). This word, frequently used in the ew Testament, denotes the
understanding (the vovc, for it is a knowing, elievai, which is in question), applied to the
distinction of good and evil, as reason (the Siarota) is the same vovc applied to the
discernment of truth and falsehood. It is precisely because this word denotes an act of
knowledge that it describes a new fact different from that of the moral instinct described
above. What natural impulse dictated without reflection, conscience, studying it afterward,
recognizes as a good thing. Thus is explained the aiv, with, in the compound verb
ov/ipnprvpetv, to bear witness with another. Conscience joins its testimony to that of the
heart which dictated the virtuous action by commending it, and proves thereby, as a second
witness, the existence of the moral law in the Gentile. Volkmar : Their conscience bears
testimony besides the mural act itself which already demonstrated the presence of the divine
law. Most really, therefore, the Gentile has a law—law not only published and written, but
heard and understood. It seems to me that in the way in which the apostle expresses this
assent of the conscience to the law implanted within, it is impossible not to see an allusion to
the amen uttered aloud by the people after hearing the law of Sinai, and which was repeated
in every meeting of the synagogue after the reading of the law.—But there is not only
hearing, there is even judging. The Rabbins debated in opposite senses every kind of acts,
real or imaginary. The apostle follows up the comparison to the end. The soul of the Gentile
is also an arena of discussions. The hr/iouni denote the judgments of a moral nature which
are passed by the Gentiles on their own acts, either (as is most usually the case)
acknowledging them guilty (jcaTvyopeiv, accusing), or also sometimes (such is the meaning
of i/ mi ; comp. ver. 14 : when it happens that . . .) pronouncing them innocent. Most
commonly the voice within says : That was bad ! Sometimes also this voice becomes that of
defence, and says : o, it was good ! Thus, before this inner code, the different thoughts
accuse or justify, make replies and rejoinders, exactly as advocates before a seat of judgment
handle the text of the law. And all this forensic debating proves to a demonstration not only
that the code is there, but that it is read and understood, since its application is thus
discussed.—The ptra^'u aX'Afouv, between them (among themselves).”
“How can one help admiring here, on the one hand, the subtle analysis whereby the apostle
discloses in the Gentile heart a real judgment-hall where witnesses are heard for and
against, then the sentence of the judge ; and, on the uther hand, that largeness of heart with
which, after drawing so revolting a picture of the moral deformities of Gentile life (chap, i.),
he brings into view in as striking a way the indestructible moral elements, the evidences of
which arc sometimes irresistibly presented even by this so deeply sunken life ?
7. Haldane, “The work of the law. — We have here a distinction between the law itself, and

139. the work of the law. The work of the law is the thing that the law doeth, — that is, what it
teaches about actions, as good or bad. This work, or business, or office of the law, is to teach
what is right or wrong. This, in some measure, is taught by the light of nature in the heart of
every man.
There remains, then, in all men, to a certain degree, a discernment of what the law requires,
designated here the ‘work’ of the law; the performance or neglect of which is followed by
the approbation or disapprobation of the conscience. It has no relation to the authority of
the lawgiver, as the principle of the law itself; but solely to the distinction between actions,
as right or wrong in themselves, and the hope of escaping future punishment, or of obtaining
future reward. The love and the reverential fear of God, which are the true principles of
obedience, have been effaced from the mind; but a degree of knowledge of His justice, and
the consciousness that the violations of His law deserve and will be followed by punishment,
have been retained. Written in their hearts. — This is an allusion to the law written by the
finger of God upon tables of stone, and afterwards recorded in the Scriptures. The great
principles of this law were communicated to man in his creation, and much of it remains
with him in his fallen state. This natural light of the understanding is called the law written
in the heart, because it is imprinted on the mind by the Author of creation, and is God’s
work as much as the writing on the tables of stone. Conscience witnessing together, —
together with the law written in the heart. But it may be asked, Are not these two things the
same? They are not. They are different principles. Light, or knowledge of duty, is one thing,
and conscience is another. Knowledge shows what is right, — the conscience approves of it,
and condemns the contrary. We might suppose a being to have the knowledge of duty,
without the principle that approves of it, and blames the transgression. Their thoughts the
meanwhile accusing, or else excusing between one another. — ot alternately, nor in turn.
Their reasonings (not thoughts) between one another, condemning, or else defending. What
is the object of their condemnation or defense? ot themselves, but one another; that is,
those between whom the reasonings take place. The reference evidently is to the fact that, in
all places, in all ages, men are continually, in their mutual intercourse, blaming or excusing
human conduct. This supposes a standard of reference, — a knowledge of right and wrong.
o man could accuse and condemn another, if there were not some standard of right and
wrong; and no man could defend an action without a similar standard. This is obviously the
meaning of the Apostle. To these ideas of right and wrong are naturally joined the idea of
God, who is the sovereign Judge of the world, and that of rewards and punishments, which
will follow either good or bad actions. These ideas do not fail to present themselves to the
sinner, and inspire fear and inquietude. But as, on the other hand, self-love and corruption
reign in the heart, these come to his support, and strive, by vain reasonings, to defend or to
extenuate the sin. The Gentiles, then, however depraved, lost, and abandoned, and however
destitute of the aid of the written law, are, notwithstanding, a law to themselves, having the
law written in their hearts. They have still sufficient light to discern between good and evil,
virtue and vice, honesty and dishonesty; and their conscience enables them sufficiently to
make that distinction, whether before committing sin, or in the commission of it, or after
they have committed it. Besides this, remorse on account of their crimes reminds them that
there is a God, a Judge before whom they must appear to render account to Him of their
actions. They are, then, a law to themselves; they have the work of the law written in their
hearts.

140. That the knowledge of the revealed law of God has not been preserved in every nation, is,
however, entirely to be attributed to human depravity; and if it was restored to one nation
for the benefit of others, it must be ascribed to the goodness of God. The law of God, and the
revelation respecting the Messiah, had been delivered to all men after the flood by oah,
who was a preacher of the everlasting righteousness, 2 Peter 2:5, which was to be brought
in, to answer the demands of that law. But all the nations of the earth had lost the
remembrance of it, not liking to retain God in their knowledge. God again discovered it to
the Jews in that written revelation with which they were favored. If it he asked, Why was
the law vouchsafed in this manner to that nation and not also to the Gentiles? Paul explains
this mystery, ch. 11: It is sufficient then to say that God has willed to make known, by this
abandonment, how great and dreadful was the fall of the human race, and by that means
one day to magnify the glory of the grace which He purposed to bestow on men by Jesus
Christ. He willed to leave a great part of men a prey to Satan, to show how great is His
abhorrence of sin, and how great was the wrath which our disobedience had kindled against
the world. But why did He not also abandon the Jews? Because He chose to leave some ray
of hope in the world, and it pleased Him to lay the foundation of redemption by His Son.
But why was the greater part abandoned? Because then was the time of Divine wrath and
justices and sin must be allowed to abound that grace might super abound. Why, in fine,
choose the nation of the Jews rather than any other nation? Because, without any further
reason, it was the sovereign good pleasure of God.”
8. Sadler, “
It has been asked, Do not the words do by nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves, which show the work of the law written in their
hearts do not these words seem to mean that natural religion,
or natural virtuous principles, or the light of conscience, apart from
revelation, is sufficient ? o, certainly not. The light of nature,
though given by God at the first, was like the Jewish law, only
preparatory. It was to convince men of sin, and to lead them to
desire more light to understand the will of the Supreme Being,
and more power to fulfil it, both of which were given only in Christ,
But though it did not cover the whole ground of human life, it was
good, so far as it reached, for it was light from God Himself. And
not only was it light from God, but it was light from Christ. It
was the light of the Indwelling Word, the pre-existent Word or Son.
We must acknowledge this if we give its due weight to the state-ment
of St. John that the life which was in Christ was the
light of men, and that Christ in His pre-existent state was the
light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world
(John i. 4, 8). This is acknowledged by one of the earliest of
Christian writers, a philosophical believer in the best sense
Whatever, he writes, either lawgivers or philosophers uttered

141. well, they elaborated by finding and contemplating some part of
the Word. But since they did not know the whole of the Word,
which is Christ, they often contradicted themselves. And again,
o one trusted Socrates so as to die for this doctrine, but in
Christ, who was partially known even by Socrates, for he was and
is the Word Who is in every man, c. For each man [he has
particularly named Plato] spoke well in proportion to the share he
had of the Spermatic Word; and again, For all the writers were
able to see realities darkly through the sowing of the implanted
Word that was in them (Justin Martyr, Apol. ii. ch. 10, 13).
This seems to be a reproduction of what we find in the book of Proverbs,
where the Divine Wisdom is represented as saying, Then was I
by him, as one brought up with him ; and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him. Rejoicing in the habitable part of his
earth, and my delights were with the sons of men (Prov. viii. 31).
When, then, we are told that it is impossible to suppose that the
Apostle here means that these good and virtuous persons among
the heathen were saved or justified by doing by nature the things
contained in the law, because men can only be saved by Christ,
we answer that we can never know in the case of any heathen man
whether his goodness may not be from Christ, and that by
nature does not mean by unaided nature, but by such aid as God
the Father of Lights may see fit to give, though He may not see fit
to reveal it to us. If it be rejoined that they certainly had not the
conscious knowledge of Christ, we reply, o more have Christian
infants, whom yet we believe to be in a state of salvation.
16. This will take place on the day when God will
judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel
declares.
1. Jamison, “here specially referring to the unfathomed depths of hypocrisy in the self-righteous
whom the apostle had to deal with. (See Ec 12:14; 1Co 4:5).
1B. It is interesting that Paul says that his gospel includes the day of judgment. It is
surprising because those who preach the gospel seldom share this aspect of it. Judgment is
not good news. The good news is that you can be ready for the judgment by receiving the
pardon that God offers in his son. Receive Jesus as your Savior, and you are not going to
hell from the judgment seat of God. You may suffer loss, but you will have eternal life

142. rather than eternal death.
2. Greg Herrick, “Someone has once quipped that the definition of a jury is: “twelve people
chosen to decide who has the best lawyer.” With the current state of litigation in America,
it’s no wonder that people are openly skeptical about truth and justice in our law courts.
Indeed, the problem with justice is that it appears to be no longer admissible in our
practice of law.
There is coming a day, however, when things will be different—radically different. It is a
day Paul refers to in Romans 2:16 when God will judge men. There will be no need for
lawyers; God does not need to listen to crooked defense strategies. There will be no need for
remembering what actually happened; God is omniscient and omnipresent. He knows what
happened better than we do; indeed he was there when the deeds were done. There will be
no need to attempt to discern whether someone is actually telling the truth or not; again,
God knows all things. In short, it will be a perfect situation: a holy judge who cannot lie or
sin, be bought off or corrupted in any way. He will possess complete knowledge of all
mitigating factors and circumstances and his verdict will be just with no opportunity for
appeal. Indeed, there can be no appeal, for there is no higher court. It will be a radically
different day, for an omnipotent, omniscient, and holy judge will take the stand and settle
issues once and for all. The question surfaces, then, “on what basis does God judge people.”
Paul provides an answer in Romans 2:1-16: God judges people impartially, according to
their works and the truth. Let's take a deeper look now.
3. Barnes, “In the day - This verse is doubtless to be connected with Rom_2:12, and the
intermediate verses are a parenthesis, and it implies that the pagan world, as well as the
Jews, will be arraigned at the bar of judgment. At that time God will judge all in
righteousness, the Jew by the Law which he had, and the pagan by the Law which he had.
When God shall judge - God is often represented as the Judge of mankind; Deu_32:36;
Psa_50:4; 1Sa_2:10; Ecc_3:17; Rom_3:6; Heb_13:4. But this does not militate against the
fact that he will do it by Jesus Christ. God has appointed his Son to administer judgment;
and it will be not by God directly, but by Jesus Christ that it will be administered.
The secrets of men - See Luk_8:17; Ecc_12:14, “For God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing,” etc., Mat_10:26; 1Co_4:5. The expression denotes the
hidden desires, lusts, passions, and motives of people; the thoughts of the heart, as well as
the outward actions of the life. It will be a characteristic of the day of judgment, that all
these will he brought out, and receive their appropriate reward. The propriety of this is
apparent, for,
(1) It is by these that the character is really determined. The motives and principles of a
man constitute his character, and to judge him impartially, these must be known.
(2) They are not judged or rewarded in this life. The external conduct only can be seen by
people, and of course that only can be rewarded or punished here.
(3) People of pure motives and pure hearts are often here basely aspersed and
calumniated. They are persecuted, traduced, and often overwhelmed with ignominy. It
is proper that the secret motives of their conduct should be brought out and approved.
On the other hand, people of base motives, people of unprincipled character, and who are

143. corrupt at the heart, are often lauded, flattered, and exalted into public estimation. It is
proper that their secret principles should be detected, and that they should take their proper
place in the government of God. In regard to this expression, we may further remark,
(1) That the fact that all secret thoughts and purposes will be brought into judgment,
invests the judgment with an awful character. Who should not tremble at the idea that the
secret plans and desires of his soul, which he has so long and so studiously concealed, should
be brought out into noon-day in the judgment? All his artifices of concealment shall be then
at an end. He will be able to practice disguise no longer. He will be seen as he is; and he will
receive the doom he deserves. There will be one place, at least, where the sinner shall be
treated as he ought.
(2) To execute this judgment implies the power of searching the heart; of knowing the
thoughts; and of developing and unfolding all the purposes and plans of the soul. Yet this is
intrusted to Jesus Christ, and the fact that he will exercise this, shows that he is divine.
Of men - Of all people, whether Jew or Gentile, infidel or Christian. The day of judgment,
therefore, may be regarded as a day of universal development of all the plans and purposes
that have ever been entertained in this world.
By Jesus Christ - The fact that Jesus Christ is appointed to judge the world is abundantly
taught in the Bible, Act_17:31; 2Ti_4:1; 1Pe_4:5; Joh_5:22, Joh_5:27; 1Th_4:16-18; Mat.
25:31-46.
According to my gospel - According to the gospel which I preach. Compare Act_17:31;
2Ti_4:8. This does not mean that the gospel which he preached would be the rule by which
God would judge all mankind, for he had just said that the pagan world would be judged by
a different rule, Rom_2:12. But it means that he was intrusted with the gospel to make it
known; and that one of the great and prime articles of that gospel was, that God would
judge the world by Jesus Christ. To make this known he was appointed; and it could be
called his gospel only as being a part of the important message with which he was intrusted.
4.Clarke, “In the day when God shall judge - And all this shall be farther exemplified and
proved in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ; which
judgment shall be according to my Gospel - according to what I am now laying down
before you, relative to the impartiality of God, and his righteous procedure in judging men,
not according to their opinions or prejudices, not according to revelations which they never
possessed, but according to the various advantages or disadvantages of their political,
religious, or domestic situation in life.
Much stress has been laid on the word, φυσει, by nature, in Rom_2:14, as if the apostle
designed to intimate that nature, independently of the influence of Divine grace, possessed
such principles as were sufficient to guide a man to glory. But certainly the term cannot be
so understood here. I rather think that the sense given to it in Suicer’s Thesaurus, vol ii. col.
1475, reipsa, revera, Certainly, Truly, is its sense here: for when the Gentiles, which have not
the law, φυσει ποιῃ, Truly, or in effect, Do the things contained in the law, etc. This seems to
be its sense in Gal_4:8 : When ye knew not God, ye did service to them which φυσει,
Certainly are no gods; i.e. are false gods. Suicer quotes Cyril of Alexandria, (sub
Anathematismo iii. in Actis Ephesinis, p. 212), speaking of the union of the two natures in
Christ; he calls this union φυσικην, natural; that is, says he, αληθη, true, or real. He adds,

144. that the word should be thus understood in Eph_2:3 : We were by nature, φυσει, children of
wrath; and says, φυσει αντι του αληθως· φυσει is here used for αληθως, Truly; We were
Truly, Incontestably, the children of wrath, even as others. That is, like the rest of mankind,
we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and, consequently are exposed to
punishment. Some think that this text refers to the natural corruption of man; but, although
it is true that man comes into the world corrupt, and that all men, since the fall, are very far
gone from original righteousness, yet it is not clear that the text in Eph_2:3, speaks of any
other thing than the effects of this degeneracy.
I prefer this sense, in the passage in question, to that which says the light of nature, or
natural instinct, is here meant; for I know of no light in nature that is not kindled there by
the grace of God. But I have no objection to this sense: “When the Gentiles, which have not
the law, do, by the influence of God upon their hearts, the things contained in the law, they
are a law unto themselves; that light and influence serving instead of a Divine revelation.”
That the Gentiles did really do the things contained in the law, in reference to what is
termed natural justice, and made the wisest distinctions relative to the great principles of
the doctrine of civil Rights and Wrongs, every man conversant with their writings will
admit. And in reference to this the word φυσει may be legitimately understood thus - they
incontestably did the things contained in the law, etc.
The passage in Rom_2:15, Their thoughts - accusing or excusing one another, certainly
does not refer to any expostulations or operations of conscience; for this is referred to in the
preceding clause. The words accusing, κατηγορουντων, and excusing, απολογουμενων,
answering or defending one another, μεταζυ αλληλων, among themselves, are all forensic or
law terms, and refer to the mode of conducting suits of law in courts of justice, where one is
plaintiff, who produces his accusation; another is defendant, who rebuts the charge and
defends himself; and then the business is argued before the judges. This process shows that
they have a law of their own, and that to this law it belongs to adjust differences - to right
those who have suffered wrong, and to punish the guilty.
As to the phrase written in their hearts, it is here opposed to the Jewish laws, which were
written on tables of stone. The Jews drew the maxims by which their conduct was regulated
from a Divine revelation: the Gentiles theirs from what God, in the course of his providence
and gracious influence, had shown them to be right, useful, and necessary. And with them
this law was well known and affectionately regarded; for this is one meaning of the phrase,
written in the heart. It was from this true light, enlightening the Gentiles, that they had so
many wise and wholesome laws; laws which had been among them from time immemorial,
and of which they did not know the origin. Thus Sophocles, in the noble speech which he
puts in the mouth of Antigone: -
Ου γαρ τι νυν γε κὐχθες, αλλ’ αει ποτε
Ζη ταυτα, κοὑδεις οιδεν εξ ὁτου φανη
“ot now, nor yesterday, but evermore
These laws have lived: nor know we whence they came.”
Antig. ver. 463-4.
These are the laws, νομινα, which the Spirit of God wrote originally on their hearts; and
which, in different forms, they had committed to writing.

145. 5. Gill, “ In the day when God shall judge,.... These words are to be read in connection with
Rom_2:13, and express the time when both Jews and Gentiles will be judged, called a
day, both because of the clearness and evidence of the judgment that will be made, and
because a certain time is fixed, though not known, which will surely come; also the matter
of the judgment, which will be,
the secrets of men: whether good or bad, which are only known to God and themselves, and
which may have been done ignorantly by them; for God shall bring every work into
judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil, Ecc_12:14,
which is so interpreted by the Jews (t),
when R. Jochanan came to that Scripture, he wept; for God shall bring every work into
judgment with every secret thing;''
upon which the gloss says, yea, for those things which are hidden from him, which he has
committed through ignorance, will he bring him into judgment; everything, even the least
thing in a literal sense, but not for such silly trifling things they mention in the same place;
doubtless the Holy Ghost means the secrets of men's hearts and actions, and the hidden
things of darkness which are contrary to the holy law of God. The person by whom this
awful judgment will be carried on is,
Jesus Christ; to whom all judgment is committed, who is ordained Judge of quick and dead,
and is every way fit for that office, being God as well as man, and so both omniscient and
omnipotent: and this the apostle says will be,
according to my Gospel; his meaning is not that the Gospel will be the, rule of judgment,
because he speaking of the judgment of the Gentiles, as well as of the Jews, who never heard
of the Gospel; but that what he had said concerning a day of judgment, of Christ's being the
Judge, and of God's judging by him the secrets of men, were as true and as certain as the
Gospel which he preached was; and was conformable, or agreeable to it, as the Arabic
version reads it, and might be learned and proved from it. This he calls, my Gospel; not
because the author or subject of it; but because it was committed to his trust and was
preached by him; and in opposition to, and to distinguish it from the Gospel of the false
apostles. Eusebius says (u), that the Apostle Paul had used to call the Gospel according to
Luke his Gospel, and that it is said, that whenever he makes mention of his Gospel, he
designs that.
6. Henry, “The light of the gospel: and according to this those that enjoyed the gospel shall
be judge (Rom_2:16): According to my gospel; not meant of any fifth gospel written by
Paul, as some conceit; or of the gospel written by Luke, as Paul's amanuensis (Euseb. Hist.
lib 3, cap. 8), but the gospel in general, called Paul's because he was a preacher of it. As
many as are under that dispensation shall be judged according to that dispensation,
Mar_16:16. Some refer those words, according to my gospel, to what he says of the day of
judgment: “There will come a day of judgment, according as I have in my preaching often
told you; and that will be the day of the final judgment both of Jews and Gentiles.” It is

146. good for us to get acquainted with what is revealed concerning that day. (1.) There is a day
set for a general judgment. The day, the great day, his day that is coming, Psa_37:13. (2.)
The judgment of that day will be put into the hands of Jesus Christ. God shall judge by
Jesus Christ, Act_17:31. It will be part of the reward of his humiliation. othing speaks
more terror to sinners, or more comfort to saints, than this, that Christ shall be the Judge.
(3.) The secrets of men shall then be judged. Secret services shall be then rewarded, secret
sins shall be then punished, hidden things shall be brought to light. That will be the great
discovering day, when that which is now done in corners shall be proclaimed to all the
world.
7. Spurgeon, “So fully had he taken it into himself that he could not do less than call it my
gospel. In another place he speaks of our gospel; thus using a possessive pronoun, to
show how believers identify themselves with the truth which they preach. He had a gospel,
a definite form of truth, and he believed in it beyond all doubt; and therefore he spoke of it
as my gospel. Herein we hear the voice of faith, which seems to say, Though others
reject it, I am sure of it, and allow no shade of mistrust to darken my mind. To me it is glad
tidings of great joy: I hail it as 'my gospel.' If I be called a fool for holding it, I am content
to be a fool, and to find all my wisdom in my Lord.
Should all the forms that men devise Assult my faith with treacherous art, I'd call them
vanity and lies, And bind the gospel to my heart.
Is not this word my gospel the voice of love? Does he not by this word embrace the
gospel as the only love of his soul—for the sake of which he had suffered the loss of all
things, and did count them but dung—for the sake of which he was willing to stand before
ero, and proclaim, even in Caesar's palace, the message from heaven? Though each word
should cost him a life, he was willing to die a thousand deaths for the holy cause. My
gospel, saith he, with a rapture of delight, as he presses to his bosom the sacred deposit of
truth.
My gospel. There is a touch of discrimination about the expression. Paul perceives that
there are other gospels, and he makes short work with them, for he saith, Though we, or
an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let me be accused. The apostle was of a gentle spirit; he prayed heartily for the
Jews who persecuted him, and yielded his life for the conversion of the Gentiles who
maltreated him; but he had no tolerance for false gospellers. He exhibited great breadth of
mind, and to save souls he became all things to all men; but when he contemplated any
alteration or adulteration of the gospel of Christ, he thundered and lightninged without
measure. When he feared that something else might spring up among the philosophers, or
among the Judaizers, that should hide a single beam of the glorious Sun of Righteousness,
he used no measured language; but cried concerning the author of such a darkening
influence, Let him be accursed. Every heart that would see men blessed whispers an
Amen to the apostolic malediction. o greater curse can come upon mankind than the
obscuration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul saith of himself and his true brethren, We
are not as many, which corrupt the word of God; and he cries to those who turned aside
from the one and only gospel, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? Of all new

147. doctrines he speaks as of another gospel, which is not another; but there be some that
trouble you.
As for myself, looking at the matter afresh, amidst all the filthiness which I see in the world
at this day, I lay hold upon the pure and blessed Word of God, and call it all the more
earnestly, my gospel,—mine in life and mine in death, mine against all comers, mine for
ever, God helping me: with emphasis—my gospel.
ow let us notice what it was that brought up this expression, My gospel. What was Paul
preaching about? Certainly not upon any of the gentle and tender themes, which we are
told nowadays ought to occupy all our time; but he is speaking of the terrors of the law, and
in that connection he speaks of my gospel.
8. The day implies that all judgment will take place at one time. The day may be a century
or even a millennium, but it is a one time event in contrast to those who break up the day of
judgment into a number of different times. othing will be secret any longer, for what God
knows will be brought out into the open, and there is nothing he does not know. He also
knows the secrets that are good, so that those who have many limitation, but who have a
heart filled with love and desire to do the will of God will be recognized and rewarded
accordingly. Many a bed ridden person has a longing to do much for the kingdom of God,
but they cannot carry out their desires. God knows the secrets that nobody else knows
about such persons.
9. Spurgeon saw the judgment of all men as one event. He wrote, By judging is here meant
all that concerns the proceedings of trial and award. God will judge the race of men; that is
to say, first, there will be a session of majesty, and the appearing of a great white throne,
surrounded with pomp of angels and glorified beings. Then a summons will be issued,
bidding all men come to judgment, to give in their final account. The heralds will fly
through the realms of death, and summon those who sleep in the dust: for the quick and
the dead shall all appear before that judgment-seat. John says, I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God; and he adds, The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. Those that have been so long
buried that their dust is mingled with the soil, and has undergone a thousand
transmutations, shall nevertheless be made to put in a personal appearance before the
judgment-seat of Christ. What an issue will that be! You and I and all the myriad myriads
of our race shall be gathered before the throne of the Son of God. Then, when all are
gathered, the indictment will be read, and each one will be examined concerning things
done in the body, according to that he hath done. Then the books shall be opened, and
everything recorded there shall be read before the face of heaven. Every sinner shall then
hear the story of his life published to his everlasting shame. The good shall ask no
concealment, and the evil shall find none. Angels and men shall then see the truth of things,
and the saints shall judge the world. Then the great Judge himself shall give the decision:
he shall pronounce sentence upon the wicked, and execute their punishment. o partiality
shall there be seen; there shall be no private conferences to secure immunity for nobles, no
hushing up of matters, that great men may escape contempt for their crimes. All men shall
stand before the one great judgment-bar; evidence shall be given concerning them all, and
a righteous sentence shall go forth from his mouth who knows not how to flatter the great.

148. 10. Spurgeon continues, ow I call your attention to the fact that GOD WILL JUDGE
THE SECRETS OF ME. This will happen to all men, of every nation, of every age, of
every rank, and of every character. The Judge will, of course, judge their outward acts, but
these may be said to have gone before them to judgment: their secret acts are specially
mentioned, because these will make judgment to be the more searching. By secrets of
men, the Scripture means those secret crimes which hide themselves away by their own
infamy, which are too vile to be spoken of, which cause a shudder to go through a nation if
they be but dragged, as they ought to be, into the daylight. Secret offences shall be brought
into judgment; the deeds of the night and of the closed room, the acts which require the
finger to be laid upon the lip, and a conspiracy of silence to be sworn. Revolting and
shameless sins which must never be mentioned lest the man who committed them should be
excluded from his fellows as an outcast, abhorred even of other sinners—all those shall be
revealed. All that you have done, any of you, or are doing, if you are bearing the Christian
name and yet practising secret sin, shall be laid bare before the universal gaze. If you sit
here amongst the people of God, and yet where no eye sees you, if you are living in
dishonesty, untruthfulness, or uncleanness, it shall all be known, and shame and confusion
of face shall eternally cover you. Contempt shall be the inheritance to which you shall
awake, when hypocrisy shall be no more possible. Be not deceived, God is not mocked; but
he will bring the secrets of men into judgment.
11. Spurgeon has a focus on Paul saying my gospel. He wrote, So fully had he taken it into
himself that he could not do less than call it my gospel. In another place he speaks of our
gospel; thus using a possessive pronoun, to show how believers identify themselves with the truth
which they preach. He had a gospel, a definite form of truth, and he believed in it beyond all doubt;
and therefore he spoke of it as my gospel. Herein we hear the voice of faith, which seems to say,
Though others reject it, I am sure of it, and allow no shade of mistrust to darken my mind. To me
it is glad tidings of great joy: I hail it as 'my gospel.' If I be called a fool for holding it, I am content
to be a fool, and to find all my wisdom in my Lord. Should all the forms that men devise Assult
my faith with treacherous art, I'd call them vanity and lies, And bind the gospel to my heart.
12. Spurgeon continues, My gospel. There is a touch of discrimination about the
expression. Paul perceives that there are other gospels, and he makes short work with
them, for he saith, Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you, let me be accused. The apostle was of a gentle
spirit; he prayed heartily for the Jews who persecuted him, and yielded his life for the
conversion of the Gentiles who maltreated him; but he had no tolerance for false gospellers.
He exhibited great breadth of mind, and to save souls he became all things to all men; but
when he contemplated any alteration or adulteration of the gospel of Christ, he thundered
and lightninged without measure. When he feared that something else might spring up
among the philosophers, or among the Judaizers, that should hide a single beam of the
glorious Sun of Righteousness, he used no measured language; but cried concerning the
author of such a darkening influence, Let him be accursed. Every heart that would see
men blessed whispers an Amen to the apostolic malediction. o greater curse can come
upon mankind than the obscuration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul saith of himself and
his true brethren, We are not as many, which corrupt the word of God; and he cries to
those who turned aside from the one and only gospel, O foolish Galatians, who hath

149. bewitched you? Of all new doctrines he speaks as of another gospel, which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you.As for myself, looking at the matter afresh,
amidst all the filthiness which I see in the world at this day, I lay hold upon the pure and
blessed Word of God, and call it all the more earnestly, my gospel,—mine in life and mine
in death, mine against all comers, mine for ever, God helping me: with emphasis—my
gospel.
13. I cannot stop quoting Spurgeon, for he is the most eloquent preacher in history in
stressing so many important points of Paul. He wrote, GOD WILL JUDGE THE
SECRETS OF ME BY JESUS CHRIST. He that will sit upon the throne as the Vice-regent
of God, and as a Judge, acting for God, will be Jesus Christ. What a name for a
Judge! The Saviour-Anointed—Jesus Christ: he is to be the judge of all mankind. Our
Redeemer will be the Umpire of our destiny.
This will be, I doubt not, first for the display of his glory. What a difference there will be
then between the babe of Bethlehem's manger, hunted by Herod, carried down by night
into Egypt for shelter, and the King of kings and Lord of lords, before whom every knee
must bow! What a difference between the weary man and full of woes, and he that shall
then be grit with glory, sitting on a throne encircled with a rainbow! From the derision of
men to the throne of universal judgment, what an ascent! I am unable to convey to you my
own heart's sense of the contrast between the despised and rejected of men, and the
universally-acknowledged Lord, before whom Caesars and pontiffs shall bow into the dust.
He who was judged at Pilate's bar, shall summon all to his bar. What a change from the
shame and spitting, from the nails and the wounds, the mockery and the thirst, and the
dying anguish, to the glory in which he shall come whose eyes are as a flame of fire, and out
of whose mouth there goeth a two-edged sword! He shall judge the nations, even he whom
the nations abhorred. He shall break them in pieces like a potter's vessel, even those who
cast him out as unworthy to live among them. Oh, how we ought to bow before him now as
he reveals himself in his tender sympathy, and in his generous humiliation! Let us kiss the
Son lest he be angry; let us yield to his grace, that we may not be crushed by his wrath. Ye
sinners, bow before those pierced feet, which else will tread you like clusters in the wine-press.
Look ye up to him with weeping, and confess your forgetfulness of him, and put your
trust in him; lest he look down on you in indignation. Oh, remember that he will one day
say, But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither,
and slay them before me. The holding of the judgment by the Lord Jesus will greatly
enhance his glory. It will finally settle one controversy which is still upheld by certain
erroneous spirits: there will be no doubt about our Lord's deity in that day: there will be no
question that this same Jesus who was crucified is both Lord and God. God himself shall
judge, but he shall perform the judgment in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, truly man,
but nevertheless most truly God. Being God he is divinely qualified to judge the world in
righteousness, and the people with his truth. Spurgeon has a whole lot more on this text,
and he is worth looking up on the internet, for he has more to say on this verse than all
others combined.”
14. Dr. Wayne Barber, “It doesn’t mean they are saved. He is not teaching that if a Gentile
has this much light and responds to it, God will make an exception with him and bring him

150. into the kingdom. That is not what he is saying. He is saying when He judges him, whatever
judgment falls upon him will be determined by how much light he received and how much
light he rejected.
In Hebrews 11, the hall of faith, Rahab is there. How much light did she have? Just a little.
But she responded to it and ended up in Hebrews 11 and in James. How much did
Abraham have? A whole lot! But you are going to be judged according to how much you’ve
got and whether you reject it or respond to it. ow obviously, the Gentiles will still perish
without Jesus Christ. But somehow, there is going to be a just retribution to them
depending on the light they have received and the light they have rejected.”
15. Calvin, “In which God shall judge the secrets of men [75] Most suitable to
the present occasion is this periphrastic definition of judgment: it
teaches those, who willfully hide themselves in the recesses of
insensibility, that the most secret thoughts and those now completely
hid in the depths of their hearts, shall then be brought forth to the
light. So he speaks in another place; in order to show to the
Corinthians what little value belongs to human judgment, which regards
only the outward action, he bids them to wait until the Lord came, who
would bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the
secrets of the heart. (1 Corinthians 4:5) When we hear this, let it
come to our minds, that we are warned that if we wish to be really
approved by our Judge, we must strive for sincerity of heart.
He adds, according to my gospel, intimating, that he announced a
doctrine, to which the judgments of men, naturally implanted in them,
gave a response: and he calls it his gospel, on account of the
ministry; for the authority for setting forth the gospel resides in the
true God alone; and it was only the dispensing of it that was committed
to the Apostles. It is indeed no matter of surprise, that the gospel is
in part called the messenger and the announcer of future judgment: for
if the fulfillment and completion of what it promises be deferred to
the full revelation of the heavenly kingdom, it must necessarily be
connected with the last judgment: and further, Christ cannot be
preached without being a resurrection to some, and a destruction to
others; and both these things have a reference to the day of judgment.
The words, through Jesus Christ, I apply to the day of judgment, though
they are regarded otherwise by some; and the meaning is, -- that the
Lord will execute judgment by Christ, for he is appointed by the Father
to be the Judge of the living and of the dead, -- which the Apostles
always mention among the main articles of the gospel. Thus the sentence
will be full and complete, which would otherwise be defective.”
16. Calvin's editors wrote:
In accordance with some of the fathers, Jerome, Chrysostom,

151. Theophylact, and others, Calvin connects this with the immediately
preceding verse: but almost all modern critics connect it with the 12th
verse, and consider what intervenes as parenthetic. This is according
to our version. In the Romans 2:12, both the Gentile and the Jew are
spoken of, and that with reference to judgment. In this verse the time
and the character of that judgment are referred to, and its character
especially as to the Gentile, as his case is particularly delineated in
the parenthesis. The Apostle then, in what follows, turns to the Jew.
According to my gospel must be understood, not as though the gospel
is to be the rule of judgment to the Gentile, but as to the fact, that
Christ is appointed to be the Judge of all. See Acts 17:31. -- Ed.
17. B. H. Carroll, “We know now only in part, but then we shall know as we are known. The
wicked, as quick as a flash of lightning, will see the exceeding sinfulness of all their past sins.
In the case of every man before his conversion he realizes that the heart is deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked, who can know it? I, the Lord. He is the only one. It is the
easiest thing in the world for
a man, when he looks at his good qualities, to take a telescope and look through the little end
of it and see them more in number and larger in bulk than they really are. But he reverses
that telescope to look at his faults, and sees them infinitesimally few and small, and by the
same strange power by which he sees double in the first group, he sees his faults blend and
become fewer in number. He sees one star with the naked eye where there are two, and just
a splash in the milky way where there are ten thousand distinct worlds. By a kind of hocus
pocus he takes up his little handful of evil deeds and begins to apologize for them, and
finally stands off and says, with complacency, ow, LORD, see my record. You can see how
my good preponderates over the evil. Right at that time comes the flashing of the supernal
light of infinite holiness upon the scales and presto! What a change! These good deeds that
look so mountainous and multitudinous begin to diminish in size and number and shrink
and pulverize until they become like fine dust. One breath of wrath blows them away like
powder. On the other side, that little infinitesimal group of evil begins to multiply and
magnify and swell and tower and blacken until it is a great mountain range, peak after
peak, oozing with the putrid poison of that abominable thing which GOD hates -- SI. So in
a sense never before, all will then admit that by the deeds of the law no man can be
justified. Carroll goes on-
ow comes another strange thought -- that judgment in the last day will be, says Paul,
according to my Gospel. The judgment of the heathen will be according to this gospel, and it
will be well for him, even if a lost soul, that he be judged according to this Gospel. There cannot
be a case of a lost man in which it should be better for him to be judged by somebody else than
JESUS. Here is a little baby that has never personally committed any sin. It dies one hour from
its birth without ever lisping its mother's name. It has inherited sinfulness of nature. It died, in
the sense of condemnation, when Adam sinned. To put it as an extreme case, let us call it a
heathen baby. Suppose he was not judged by the gospel. He would be forever lost. But the
Gospel points to another HEAD, JESUS CHRIST the Second ADAM. The death of JESUS
CHRIST avails for the salvation of that one whose condemnation is only on account of Adam's
sin and only on account of inherited depravity. If it were not for the Gospel, that child would

152. perish throughout eternity, because the law could not save him.
All the heathen children who die before they reach the years of personal accountability are
saved. Take the adult heathen. Even if he be lost, it is better for him that he be judged according
to the Gospel than merely according to the law of nature. There is never any mercy in the law of
nature. In the light of grace Paul, speaking of the heathen, says: And the times of this
ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent. In
CHRIST He bears with the sins of the heathen in a way that the law could not bear. Let a baby
and a man stick their hands into the fire. The fire burns the baby who is ignorant the worst
because it is most tender.
But when JESUS judges the heathen, He judges them more kindly, because they lacked
knowledge, and though the man be lost forever, there are degrees in hell. ot all men who go to
hell will have the same extent to suffering. It is not like running all the sentences into one mold
so that they will all come out alike, as candles, in length and thickness; but according to light and
opportunity JESUS will judge. The servant that knows not his master's will and does it not, shall be
punished with few stripes. If there is one principle of the final judgment of JESUS CHRIST that is
transcendentally above any other principle, it is this principle: that the judgment will be rendered
according to the light, the privilege, the opportunity.
Here the words of JESUS, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment, than for that city. Why? Because these had great light; those little
light. That is why it is a benefit to a lost man to be judged by JESUS CHRIST. That is one of the
sweetest thoughts that ever creeps into my mind -- that JESUS shall be my judge. o wonder
David, when GOD put the alternative before him, Would you rather fall into the hands of your
enemies or into the hands of the living GOD, said, LORD GOD, let me fall into thy hands. Do
not leave my chastisement to be assessed by men. I never think of GOD's judgment except with
satisfaction. Even when I am thinking about things I have done that are wrong, I am glad that GOD
is to be the JUDGE.”
18. Haldane, “This verse is to be construed in connection with the 12th, to the contents of
which the three intermediate verses had given, in a parenthesis, the explanatory answers. In
the day when God shall judge. — It is here assumed by the Apostle that God is the Judge of
the world. This is a truth which nature and right reason teach. Since intelligent creatures
are capable of obedience to law, it necessarily follows that they have a judge, for the law
would be null and void if it were left as a dead letter, without a judge to put it in execution.
And as there is a law common to the whole human race, it must also be admitted that there
is a common Judge. ow this Judge of all can only be God, for it is only God who possesses
all the qualifications for such an office. The Apostle likewise assumes that there will be a day
when God will hold this judgment. This is also a truth conformable to right reason, for there
must be a fired time for rendering public the decrees of justice, otherwise it would not be
duly honored, since its honor consists in being recognized to be what it is before all
creatures.
If, then, there were only individual judgments, either in this life or at death, justice would
not be manifested as it ought to be. Hence it follows that there must be a public and solemn
day in which God will execute judgment before the assembled universe. Besides, the Apostle
here intimates that there will be an end to the duration of the world, and the succession of

153. generations; for if there be a day appointed for a universal judgment, it follows that all men
must there appear. And if such be the case, their number must also be determined, while,
without a single exception, the time of their calling and of their life must terminate, so that
the succession of generations must come to an end. The secrets of men. — It is not here
meant that God will judge only their secrets, so that their public and known actions should
pass without being judged; for there is nothing that God does not judge. But it is intended to
show with what exactness the judgment will proceed, since it takes account of things the
most secret and the most concealed. It will not resemble the judgment of men, which cannot
fathom the hearts and thoughts. God will not only take cognizance of external, but also of
internal actions, and will discover even the inmost thoughts of men. All actions, then,
whether open or secret, will come into judgment; but secrets or hidden things are here said
to be judged, because they are reached by no other judgment. If men can conceal their evil
deeds, they are safe from human judgment. ot so with respect to the Judge at the great
day. The most secret sins will then be manifested and punished. By Jesus Christ. — God will
carry into effect that judgment by Jesus Christ. ‘He hath appointed a day, in the which He
will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained,’ Acts 17:31.
Jesus Christ will conduct the judgment, not only as it respects believers, but also the wicked.
If the secrets of men are to be brought into judgment, and if Jesus Christ is to be the Judge,
He must be the Searcher of hearts, Acts 1:24; Revelation 2:23. He must then be truly God.
In the economy of Jesus Christ there are two extreme degrees, one of abasement, the other
of exaltation. The lowest degree of His abasement was His death and burial. The opposite
degree of His exaltation will be the last judgment. In the former He received the sentence
which condemned Him, and which included in His condemnation the absolution of His
people. In the latter He will pronounce the condemnation or absolution of all creatures. In
the one, covered over with reproaches, and pierced with the arrows of Divine justice, He was
exposed on the cross as a spectacle to the whole city of Jerusalem, when He cried, ‘My God,
My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ In the other, arrayed in glory and majesty, He will
appear before the whole universe, in the glory of His Father, who commands all the angels to
worship Him. According to my Gospel. — Paul calls the Gospel his Gospel, not that he is the
author of it, for it is solely from God; but to say that of it he is the minister and herald, —
that it is the Gospel which he preached. The Gospel, in a large sense, includes everything
revealed by Jesus Christ. The Judgment then shall take place according to the declarations
therein contained.
The Jews and the Law
17. ow you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on
the law and brag about your relationship to God;

154. 1. Paul now begins a series of verses that make it clear that Jews do not have any advantage
with God just because they are Jews and have the law. The bottom line is not having all of
these advantages, but having a heart that is willing to do what is known to be right and
pleasing to God, and beneficial to man. Judaism is eliminated by Paul as giving Jews an
advantage over the Gentiles, for in reality the Gentile who obeys God is a more true Jew
than the one who has grown up with all of the advantages of the Jews, but who does not live
according to the law. This whole series of advantages that Paul now lists are of no value
without obedience.
2. Clarke, “Behold, thou art called a Jew - What the apostle had said in the preceding
verses being sufficient to enforce conviction on the conscience of the Jew, he now throws off
the cover, and openly argues with him in the most plain and nervous manner; asserting
that his superior knowledge, privileges, and profession, served only to aggravate his
condemnation. And that, in fact, he who, under all his greater advantages, transgressed the
law of God, stood condemned by the honest Gentile, who, to the best of his knowledge
obeyed it. Dr. Taylor.
And restest in the law - Thou trustest in it for thy endless salvation. The word επαναπαυη,
implies the strongest confidence of safety and security. Thou reposest thy whole trust and
confidence in this law.
And makest thy boast of God - That thou knowest his nature and attributes, which are not
known to the Gentiles. The word, καυχασαι, implies the idea of exulting in any thing, as
being a proper object of hope and dependence: and, when referred to God, it points out that
He is the sure cause of hope, dependence, joy, and happiness; and that it is the highest honor
to be called to know his name, and be employed in his service. As if the apostle had said: You
rejoice in God as the object of your hope and dependence; you praise and magnify him; you
account it your greatest honor that He is your God, and that you worship him.
3. Barnes, “Behold - Having thus stated the general principles on which God would judge
the world; having shown how they condemned the Gentiles; and having removed all
objections to them, he now proceeds to another part of his argument, to show how they
applied to the Jews. By the use of the word “behold,” he calls their attention to it, as to an
important subject; and with great skill and address, he states their privileges, before he
shows them how those privileges might enhance their condemnation. He admits all their
claims to pre-eminence in privileges, and then with great faithfulness proceeds to show how,
if abused, these might deepen their final destruction. It should be observed, however, that
the word rendered “behold” is in many manuscripts written in two words, ἔι δὲ ei de,
instead of ἴδε ide. If this, as is probable, is the correct reading there, it should be rendered,
“if now thou art,” etc. Thus, the Syriac, Latin, and Arabic read it.
Thou art called - Thou art named Jew, implying that this name was one of very high
honor. This is the first thing mentioned on which the Jew would be likely to pride himself.
A Jew - This was the name by which the Hebrews were at that time generally known; and
it is clear that they regarded it as a name of honor, and valued themselves much on it; see
Gal_2:15; Rev_2:9. Its origin is not certainly known. They were called the children of Israel

155. until the time of Rehoboam. When the ten tribes were carried into captivity, but two
remained, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The name Jews was evidently given to denote
those of the tribe of Judah. The reasons why the name of Benjamin was lost in that of
Judah, were probably,
(1) Because the tribe of Benjamin was small, and comparatively without influence or
importance.
(2) The Messiah was to be of the tribe of Judah Gen_49:10; and that tribe would therefore
possess a consequence proportioned to their expectation of that event.
The name of Jews would therefore be one that would suggest the facts that they were
preserved from captivity, that they had received remarkably the protection of God, and that
the Messiah was to be sent to that people. Hence, it is not wonderful that they should regard
it as a special favor to be a Jew, and particularly when they added to this the idea of all the
other favors connected with their being the special people of God. The name “Jew” came
thus to denote all the peculiarities and special favors of their religion.
And restest in the law - The word “rest” here is evidently used in the sense of trusting to,
or leaning upon. The Jew leaned on, or relied on the Law for acceptance or favor; on the
fact that he had the Law, and on his obedience to it. It does not mean that he relied on his
own works, though that was true, but that he leaned on the fact that he had the Law, and
was thus distinguished above others. The Law here means the entire Mosaic economy; or all
the rules and regulations which Moses had given. Perhaps also it includes, as it sometimes
does, the whole of the Old Testament.
Makest thy boast in God - Thou dost boast, or glory, that thou hast the knowledge of the
true God, while other nations are in darkness. On this account the Jew felt himself far
elevated above all other people, and despised them. It was true that they only had the true
knowledge of God, and that he had declared himself to be their God, Deu_4:7; Psa_147:19-
20; but this was not a ground for boasting, but for gratitude. This passage shows us that it is
much more common to boast of privileges than to be thankful for them, and that it is no
evidence of piety for a man to boast of his knowledge of God. An humble, ardent
thankfulness that we have that knowledge a thankfulness which leads us not to despise
others, but to desire that they may have the same privilege - is an evidence of piety.
4. Gill, “Behold, thou art called a Jew,.... From hence to the end of the chapter the Jews are
particularly addressed; their several privileges and characters are commemorated, which
by an ironical concession are allowed them; several charges are brought against them, even
against their principal men; and the plea in favour of them, from their circumcision, is
considered; and the apostle's view in the whole, is to show that they could not be justified
before God by their obedience to the law of Moses: behold; take notice, observe it, this
will be granted: thou art called a Jew; thou art one by name, by nation, and by religion;
but no name, nor outward religion, nor a mere profession, will justify before God:
and restest in the law; which may be understood of their having the law and the knowledge
of it, what is to be done and avoided easily, without any fatigue and labour; of their pleasing
and applauding themselves with the bare having and hearing of it; of their trust and
confidence in it; and of their inactivity and security in it, as persons asleep; and so of their

156. coming short of the knowledge of the Gospel, and of Christ the end of the law for
righteousness, their whole confidence being placed in that: so the Targumist in Jer_8:8
paraphrases the words,
we are wise, and in the law of the Lord, אנחגא רחיצון , do we trust;''
and makest thy boast of God. There is a right boasting of God in opposition to boasting in
the creature, when men ascribe all the blessings of nature and grace to the Lord alone, and
praise him for all their enjoyments, temporal and spiritual; and when they trust in, and
glory, and make their boast of Christ as the Lord their righteousness, in whom alone they
are, and can be justified. But the boasting here spoken of, was such that was not right; these
men boasted of their bare external knowledge of the one God, when the Gentiles around
them were ignorant of him; of their being the covenant people of God, when others were
aliens and strangers; and of their having the word and worship of the true God, which other
nations were unacquainted with; and, on these external things they depended, which was
their fault.
5. Stedman, “ow Paul goes on to take up the case of the religious devotee of his day, the
Jew. Today we need only substitute the title church member to bring it up to date --
because we American church members are in the same condition as the Jew was in the
culture of Paul's day. We have a great body of truth that we delight in, and we feel proud of
our knowledge and our understanding of it. But unfortunately, we oftentimes hope and
think that knowledge, in itself, is what is going to deliver us in the sight of God.
Paul lists here the five great advantages which the Jews of his day had and on which they
relied for their position before God:
First, they relied on possessing the Law. There are many people in the churches of America
today who rely upon the fact that the Bible is available to them. We have the Bible in
twenty-five different versions and many take great pride in owning a specific version. I
am a King James Christian! If it was good enough for the Apostle Paul, it's good enough
for me! Or We're liberated! We have the American Standard Version! You hear people
bragging about this! Well, that is exactly what the Jew was doing in Paul's day.
Second, they bragged about their relationship to God. The Jew made it clear that he had a
special inside track with the Almighty. You hear people talking like that today. God, Billy
Graham, and I were just talking the other day... We make it clear that we have a special
standing with the Good Lord, as he is usually called, and in some way we brag about our
relationship to God.
Third, the Jews were people who knew the will of God. They had the Scriptures, they had
the Ten Commandments, and the knowledge of what God wanted. There are many today
who boast about their knowledge of the Word of God and who rest upon that fact.

157. Fourth, these Jews approved of what was superior, i.e., they rejected certain attitudes and
actions in life and chose only that which was regarded as morally superior. Many, many
church members do this. They take pride in the fact that they do not do certain things. I am
amazed at how many people think that God is going to be impressed by the things they do
not do. We don't dance, we don't drink, we don't go to the movies, we don't go to theaters,
we don't play cards, we don't drink coffee, and on and on.
Finally, the Jews were instructed in the Law. There were many who could quote great
passages of Scripture and they took pride in that. ow, there is nothing wrong with any of
these advantages except that the Jews and many of us today depend on them for
righteousness. We feel we have a special standing with God because of them; and that is
what is wrong.
6. Henry, “They were a peculiar people, separated and distinguished from all others by
their having the written law and the special presence of God among them. (1.) Thou art
called a Jew; not so much in parentage as profession. It was a very honourable title.
Salvation was of the Jews; and this they were very proud of, to be a people by themselves;
and yet many that were so called were the vilest of men. It is no new thing for the worst
practices to be shrouded under the best names, for many of the synagogue of Satan to say
they are Jews (Rev. ii. 9), for a generation of vipers to boast they have Abraham to their
father, Matt. iii. 7-9. (2.) And restest in the law; that is, they took a pride in this, that they
had the law among them, had it in their books, read it in their synagogues. They were
mightily puffed up with this privilege, and thought this enough to bring them to heaven,
though they did not live, up to the law. To rest in the law, with a rest of complacency and
acquiescence, is good; but to rest in it with a rest of pride, and slothfulness, and carnal
security, is the ruin of souls. The temple of the Lord, Jer. vii. 4. Bethel their confidence, Jer.
xlviii. 13. Haughty because of the holy mountain, Zeph. iii. 11. It is a dangerous thing to rest
in external privileges, and not to improve them. (3.) And makest thy boast of God. See how
the best things may be perverted and abused. A believing, humble, thankful glorying in
God, is the root and summary of all religion, Ps. xxxiv. 2; Isa. xlv. 15; 1 Cor. i. 31. But a
proud vainglorious boasting in God, and in the outward profession of his name, is the root
and summary of all hypocrisy. Spiritual pride is of all kinds of pride the most dangerous.
7. Darby, “Also God would have realities. The Gentile who fulfilled the law was better than
a Jew who broke it. If he called himself a Jew and acted ill (chap. 2: 17), he only
dishonoured God, and caused His name to be blasphemed among the Gentiles whilst
boasting in his privileges. He then enlarges on the point that God requires moral reality,
and that a Gentile who did that which the law demanded was better worth than a Jew who
disobeyed it, and that the real Jew was he who had the law in his heart, being circumcised
also in the spirit, and not he who had only outward circumcision. This was a condition
which God could praise, and not man only.
8. Greg Herrick, “Hypocrisy—carefully presenting one appearance on the outside, while
clinging to another on the inside—is declared by Jesus to be like a white washed tomb.
Such houses for the dead look great, however, even impressive on the outside, but… and

158. you know how the rest of that goes (cf. Matt 23:27). Two stories illustrate well the nature of
hypocrisy and the pain that comes with it.
The first is related by Stuart Briscoe. He tells the story of the time he was in business and
had to deal with a coworker who had embezzled a large sum of money from the bank for
which they both worked. The reason for the embezzlement was that he had two wives and
families and was trying to run two homes. When he was apprehended and fired, he stunned
everyone by saying, “I am very sorry for what I have done, and I need to know whether I
should fulfill my preaching commitments on Sunday in our local church!” Briscoe says that
in the following weeks he spent much time mending the damage done by the man’s
inconsistency. To Briscoe’s chagrin, he found that his fellow workers not only despised the
man but also “were quick to dismiss the church he belonged to as a ‘bunch of hypocrites,’
the gospel he professed to believe as a ‘lot of hogwash,’ and the God he claimed to serve as
‘nonexistent.’”
The second story involves a saloon keeper who sold his tavern to a local church. The
members tore out the bar, added some lights, gave the whole pale a fresh new coat of pain,
and installed some pews. Somehow a parrot which belonged to the saloon keeper was left
behind. On Sunday morning that colorful bird was watching from the rafters. When the
minister appeared, he squawked, ‘ew proprietor!’ When the men who were to lead in
worship marched in, the bird piped, ‘ew floor show!’ But when the bird looked out over
the congregation, he screeched, ‘same old crowd!’
The church in the U.S. and Canada has a tremendous crisis of credibility. I realize that
some non-Christians, especially those in the media, want to characterize Christians as
hypocritical whenever the opportunity arises, but I wonder how much of what they say is
true and deserved. Certainly not all of it is, but there are times when the gap between our
preaching and our practice resembles a canyon rather than a ditch, and our critics are
correct when they dutifully point this out. The immense problem of the current, low
morality among Christians—and the obvious indictment regarding the powerlessness of
our religion—I am convinced, constitutes the single most damaging blow to the cause of the
gospel in America. Based on Christian testimony and lifestyle, it is difficult to see what, if
any, difference the gospel really makes. o amount of rigorous apologetic for the faith—as
important as that is—will supplant or squelch the consistent noise coming from the moral
megaphone of our lives. That “consistent noise” is precisely that Christians are, by and
large, “inconsistent.” They proclaim one ethic and live another. Or as one person quipped,
“they traffic in unlived truth.” There is, at present, a great and lamentable distinction that
needs to be drawn between Christian ethics and the ethics of Christians. The tide will
change, however, when Christians repent and seek the living God who reigns from Monday
to Sunday.
9. Herrick goes on, “Paul mentions five things about the Jew in 2:17-18, all of which are
connected to the fact that as a Jew he had been instructed out of the very revealed Law of
God. When a man referred to himself as a Jew it was done with pride since, as such, he did
not commit the same sins as the lawless Gentile—or so he thought—and thus, in his mind,
he accorded special favor with YHWH and was specially chosen by him. As a Jew he relied

159. on the law, that is, he derived his sense of security with YHWH from his connection with,
and obedience to, the Law. He was also one who supposedly, having obeyed the Law, could
boast about his relationship with the true God whereas Gentiles who were guilty of such
varied and awful sins could obviously make no such claim. All they could do is hope to be
taught by a Jew!
That this is the Jews’ focus in boasting in God is clear from the next claim, i.e., that they
know his will (ginwvskei toV qevlhma, ginoskeis to thele„ma). The term will refers
primarily to that revealed in the Mosaic Law and includes spiritual and moral truth. The
Jew supposedly knows right from wrong in matters of worship and ethics and claims that
he can, therefore, teach others.
As someone who knew the will of God, the Jew could then rightly judge between what was
proper, spiritually and morally speaking, and what was not. He was able to approve the
superior things (dokimavzei taV diafevronta, dokimazeis ta diapheronta), as Paul says,
since he had been instructed out of the law (kathcouvmeno ejk tou~ novmou,
kate„choumenos ek tou nomou). The Jew was to have learned how to discern the will of
God through catechetical instruction based on the Law. In short, the Jew’s religion was a
revealed religion—God making himself known to man—and as the special recipient of that
revelation, he prided himself in his name, position, and knowledge.”
10. Scott Grant, “Paul brings the Jews sharply into focus in verse 17. His description of a
hypocrite in verses 1-4 resonates with his description of a specifically Jewish hypocrite.
Highminded: Jews are no better than high-minded Gentiles. They rely on the law, but it
only gives them a false sense of security, in that they transgress it. They boast in God, that
they are his people, but their actions invalidate their claims. They know the law and
therefore deem themselves able to teach others, but they
themselves are not living up to what the law commands. They skirt the law in ways that
enable them to steal, commit adultery and rob pagan temples. Like the pagans of Romans
1:18-20, they reject the revelation they’ve been given in self-deceiving ways so that they are
unaware of what they’re doing. If the pagans are guilty of idolatry, sexual misconduct and
antisocial behavior in Romans 1:18-32, so are the Jews.
They boast not only in God but also in God’s law. In their eyes, their possession
of the law makes them God’s people. But their transgression of the law dishonors God, just
as men and women dishonor the bodies that God gave them when they misuse them in
same-sex pursuits (Romans 1:24-27). The hypocritical Jew is no better than the homosexual
pagan. He dishonors God and shows that he does not value the “honor” connected with true
humanity and a future with God (verse 7).
The real problem with the Jews in Romans 2, however, is not that they are sinners
just like the Gentiles, but that “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of
them.” They thought of the Gentiles in terms described in verses 19-20: blind, living in
darkness, foolish and immature. The purpose of God’s covenants with Abraham and Israel
was to address the sin of the world (Genesis 12:3, Exodus 19:5-6). The Lord called Israel,
his servant, to be a light to the nations so that his salvation would reach to the end of the
earth (Isaiah 42:6, 49:6). But the light became part of the darkness. The solution to the
problem became part of the problem. Therefore, the Gentiles, not seeing the light,

160. blaspheme, or slander, the name of God. In quoting from Isaiah 52:5, with echoes from
Ezekiel 36:20, Paul evokes the time in the 6th Century B.C. when the Jews were in exile,
held captive by the Babylonians, who mocked the Lord. The Lord had raised up the
Babylonians and sent Israel into exile because of its persistent idolatry. Paul is saying that
the Jews still have given the Gentiles no reason to worship the Lord.”
11. Calvin, “Behold, thou art named a Jew, etc. Some old copies read ei de,
though indeed; which, were it generally received, would meet my
approbation; but as the greater part of the manuscripts is opposed to
it, and the sense is not unsuitable, I retain the old reading,
especially as it is only a small difference of one letter. [77]
Having now completed what he meant to say of the Gentiles, he returns
to the Jews; and that he might, with greater force, beat down their
great vanity, he allows them all those privileges, by which they were
beyond measure transported and inflated: and then he shows how
insufficient they were for the attainment of true glory, yea, how they
turned to their reproach. Under the name Jew he includes all the
privileges of the nation, which they vainly pretended were derived from
the law and the prophets; and so he comprehends all the Israelites, all
of whom were then, without any difference, called Jews.
But at what time this name first originated it is uncertain, except
that it arose, no doubt, after the dispersion. [78] Josephus, in the
eleventh book of his Antiquities, thinks that it was taken from Judas
Maccab᪽us, under whose auspices the liberty and honor of the people,
after having for some time fallen, and been almost buried, revived
again. Though I allow this opinion to be probable, yet, if there be
some to whom it is not satisfactory, I will offer them a conjecture of
my own. It seems, indeed, very likely, that after having been degraded
and scattered through so many disasters, they were not able to retain
any certain distinction as to their tribes; for a census could not have
been made at that time, nor did there exist a regular government, which
was necessary to preserve an order of this kind; and they dwelt
scattered and in disorder; and having been worn out by adversities,
they were no doubt less attentive to the records of their kindred. But
though you may not grant these things to me, yet it cannot be denied
but that a danger of this kind was connected with such disturbed state
of things. Whether, then, they meant to provide for the future, or to

161. remedy an evil already received, they all, I think assumed the name of
that tribe, in which the purity of religion remained the longest, and
which, by a peculiar privilege, excelled all the rest, as from it the
Redeemer was expected to come; for it was their refuge in all
extremities, to console themselves with the expectation of the Messiah.
However this may be, by the name of Jews they avowed themselves to be
the heirs of the covenant which the Lord had made with Abraham and his
seed.
And restest in the law, and gloriest in God, etc. He means not that
they rested in attending to the law, as though they applied their minds
to the keeping of it; but, on the contrary, he reproves them for not
observing the end for which the law had been given; for they had no
care for its observance, and were inflated on this account only, --
because they were persuaded that the oracles of God belonged to them.
In the same way they gloried in God, not as the Lord commands by his
Prophet, -- to humble ourselves, and to seek our glory in him alone,
(Jeremiah 9:24,) -- but being without any knowledge of God's goodness,
they made him, of whom they were inwardly destitute, peculiarly their
own, and assumed to be his people, for the purpose of vain ostentation
before men. This, then, was not the glorying of the heart, but the
boasting of the tongue.”
12. Deffinbaugh, “In verses 17-20, Paul describes the self-righteous pride which the Jew
found in his possession of the Law. The Law was one of the “badges” of piety which the Jew
proudly wore. Possession of the Law led the Jew to conclude that he was superior to a
Gentile. The description of verses 17-20 is not a picture of reality; it is a caricature of the
puffed-up Jew and his distorted perception of his own superiority.
The self-righteous Jew thought of himself as one who relied upon the Law. As such, he
boasted in God. Possession of the Law somehow gave the Jew a privileged relationship with
God, with a resulting assurance of His protection and blessing (verse 18). Possessing God’s
Law also gave the Jew an inside track on knowing the will of God. He knew the mind of
God, His plans and purposes (the Gentiles, of course, did not). He had a grasp of what really
mattered, guided as he was by the Law (verse 18). The Law gave the Jew the edge,
superiority, and thus he was capable of leading the blind and of guiding those with less
illumination—those who were still “in the dark” (verse 19). The Law gave the Jew the
superior knowledge necessary for teaching the uninformed and the immature. The Law was,
for the Jew, the embodiment of all knowledge and truth (verse 20). The possession of it put
one above all others.

162. Paul was not impressed with what the Jew thought of himself. He did not deny that the Law
was a great source of truth, wisdom, and guidance, for so it was (see Psalm 119, especially
verses 97-100). The real issue was not the virtue of the Law and its precepts, as taught by the
Jew, but the Law as practiced by the Jew. It was not the possession of the Law which made
one righteous. It was not even the teaching of the Law which made one righteous.
Righteousness (according to the standard set out in the Law itself and by Paul in verses 5-
16) was the result of keeping the Law. It mattered not if one taught that it was wrong to
steal, to commit adultery, or to worship idols. It mattered only that one obeyed the Law by
refraining from these sins. If the Jew did not keep the Law, it would only condemn him.”
13. Blakely, “ow the Lord will show further evidence of the deep corruption of mankind.
He will focus upon the people who received more than any other society, the Jews. Although
unparalleled advantages were given to them, they still did not rise from the moral pit into
which sin had cast humanity. They had more information than anyone else. They were
blessed above all others. They were given every possible benefit apart from regeneration,
and yet sin dominated them, and did so ruthlessly. Because of the strength of this argument,
I am compelled to restate the advantage they received. It is staggering to consider. If
external favor is sufficient to induce righteousness, the Jews would certainly have been
righteous.
They were given God's own words. What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is
there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the
oracles of God (Rom 3:1-2). Advantage and advance, however, are not the same. If
receiving the Word of God is of itself sufficient to correct human conduct, then a moral
change should have been evident in Israel. But it was not! Even with such a marvelous
advantage, flesh remained unchanged.
ow the Spirit will confirm it is not possible to obtain Divine acceptance by means of
conferring blessings upon the flesh. It is not possible to have more fleshly distinction than
Israel, and yet it was not adequate to make them righteous.
In all of the world, and throughout all history, there is only one nation that has achieved
formal acceptance by God. That is the Jewish nation. This does not set well with the
nationalist, but it perfectly accords with the Scriptures. Hear the Word of the Lord. For
you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people
for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth (Deut
14:2). For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath
chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the
earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in
number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved
you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the
LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of
bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt (Deut 7:6-8). These are only
representative of a number of similar Divine affirmations (Deut 26:18-19; 28:9-10; Ex 19:5-
6).”

163. 14. Blakely goes on, “The word Jew is used thirty-two times in Scripture. It is first used in
the book of Esther, where it occurs no less than eight times. All of them refer to Mordecai,
carried away by ebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian captivity. Jesus is called a Jew (John
4:9), as well as Peter (Acts 10:28), Aquila (Acts 18:2), Apollos (Acts 18:24), and Paul (Acts
22:3). This section of Romans has affirmed the Gospel is God's power unto salvation to the
Jew first (1:16). Eternal reward and punishment will also be to the Jew first (2:9-10).
The word Jews occurs forty-five times, also being mentioned first in the book of Esther.
The mother of Timothy is called a Jewess (Acts 16:1), as well as Drusilla, the wife of Felix
the Governor (Acts 24:24). I only mention this to point out the recognition and use of this
term by the Holy Spirit.
The only reason for the distinction of this people is God's choice and blessing of them.
Surely, if fleshly distinction can bring Divine acceptance, the Jews will qualify.”
Almighty God made agreements only with them. He made certain promises to them,
showing His commitment to them- covenants. He told them if they would obey Him, they
would receive unprecedented blessings. Perhaps you have not thought recently of the
magnitude of some of those promises.
• o male or female would be barren among them or their cattle-Deut 7:14.
• God would bless their water and their bread-Ex 23:25a.
• He would take sickness away from them-Ex 23:25b.
• He would make all of their enemies turn from them-Ex 23:27.
• He would drive all of the enemies from their land in one year, lest the beasts of the
field multiply against them-Ex 23:29.
• He would bless them in the city and in the field-Deut 28:3.
• God would bless the offspring of the people, land, cattle, and sheep-Deut 28:4.
• Their baskets and kneading bowls would be blessed with an abundance of food-Deut
28:5.
• They would be blessed when they came in, and blessed when they went out-Deut
28;6.
• God would cause their enemies to be smitten before them, and run seven different
ways-Deut 28:7.
• He would command a blessing upon their storehouses-Deut 28:8a.
• Everything they put their hand to would prosper-Deut 28:8b.
• They would be plenteous in goods, offspring, cattle, and crops-Deut 28:11.
• The heavens would give rain to them at the proper time-Deut 28:12a.
• They would lend to many nations, and never borrow-Deut 28:12b.
• God would make them the head, and not the tail-Deut 28:13.
These are only a sampling of the covenants God made with Israel. If Divine commitments
alone can make men better, these surely would have been effective.
15. Haldane, “Here commences the second part of this chapter, where Paul purposes to show
that all the external advantages of the Jews over the Gentiles were unavailing for their
protection from the just condemnation of God. In the first place, he enumerates all their
privileges, on account of which the Jews could exalt themselves above the Gentiles.

164. Afterwards he lays it to their charge that, notwithstanding all these privileges, they were
sinners, equally guilty as others. Finally, he shows that, being sinners, as they all were, their
advantages would avail them nothing, and would only aggravate their condemnation.
Behold, thou art called a Jew. — The Apostle here continues his discourse to the same
persons whom, from the commencement of the chapter, he had addressed, and now calls on
the Jew by name. In this verse, and the three following, Paul classes the advantages of the
Jews under six particulars: 1. Their bearing the name of Jew. 2. Having received the Law. 3.
Having the true God as their God. 4. Knowing His will. 5. Discerning what is evil. 6. Their
ability to teach and guide other men.
As to the first of these, the name Jew embraces three significations: — confession, praise,
and thanksgiving; and by these three things that people was distinguished from all other
nations. The Jew alone had been chosen as the confessor of God, while all the rest of the
world had abjured His service. The Jew alone was appointed to celebrate His praises, while
by others He was blasphemed. The Jew alone was appointed to render thanksgiving to God
for multiplied benefits received, while others were passed by. In that name, then, in which
the Jews gloried, and which distinguished them from all other nations, and implied all the
privileges they enjoyed, they possessed already a signal advantage over the Gentiles Dr.
Macknight and Mr. Stuart prefer surnamed to called; but the name was not exactly what is
called a surname. It was the name of a whole people. The word called, or denominated, is
more appropriate, for it answers both to their name as a people and to their religion, both of
which are comprised in the name Jew. And restest in the law — That is to say, thou hast no
occasion to study any other wisdom or philosophy than the law. It is thy wisdom and thy
understanding, Deuteronomy 4:6. The term restest signifies two things: the one, that the
labor was spared the Jews of employing many years and great endeavors, and traveling to
distant countries, as was the case with other nations, in acquiring some knowledge and
certain rules of direction.
The law which God had given them rendered this unnecessary, and furnished abundantly all
that was required for the regulation of their conduct. The other idea which this term
conveys is, that they had an entire confidence in the law as a heavenly and Divine rule which
could not mislead them, while the Gentiles could have no reliance on their deceitful
philosophy. And makest thy boast of God — amely, in having Him for their God, and
being His people, while the Gentiles, having only false gods, were ‘without God in the
world,’ Ephesians 2:12. The Jews had the true God, the Creator and Lord of heaven and
earth, the Lord who had performed glorious miracles in their favor, who had even spoken to
them from the midst of fire, for the Author of their calling, for their Deliverer, for their
Legislator, for the Founder of their government, and for their King and Protector. His
earthly palace was in the midst of them; He had regulated their worship, and caused them
to hear His voice. The other nations possessed nothing similar. They had therefore great
reason to glory in Him, and on this account David said that in God was his strength and his
refuge, Psalm 18, 62:7
16. William Barclay 17-29, “To a Jew a passage like this must have come as a shattering
experience. He was certain that God regarded him with special favour, simply and solely

165. because of his national descent from Abraham and because he bore the badge of
circumcision in his flesh. But Paul introduces an idea to which he will return again and
again. Jewishness, he insists, is not a matter of race at all; it has nothing to do with
circumcision. It is a matter of conduct. If that is so, many a so-called Jew who is a pure
descendant of Abraham and who bears the mark of circumcision in his body, is no Jew at
all; and equally many a Gentile who never heard of Abraham and who would never dream
of being circumcised, is a Jew in the real sense of the term. To a Jew this would sound the
wildest heresy and leave him angry and aghast.
Rom. 2:29 contains a pun which is completely untranslatable. The praise of such a man
comes not from men but from God. The Greek word for praise is epainos. When we turn
back to the Old Testament (Gen. 29:35; Gen. 49:8), we find that the original and traditional
meaning of the word Judah is praise (epainos). Therefore this phrase means two things. (a)
It means the praise of such a man comes not from men but from God. (b) It means the
Jewishness of such a man comes not from men but from God. The sense of the passage is
that God's promises are not to people of a certain race and to people who bear a certain
mark on their bodies. They are to people who live a certain kind of life irrespective of their
race. To be a real Jew is not a matter of pedigree but of character; and often the man who is
not racially a Jew may be a better Jew than the man who is.
In this passage Paul says that there are Jews whose conduct makes the name of God ill-spoken
of among the Gentiles. It is a simple fact of history that the Jews were, and often still
are, the most unpopular people in the world. Let us see just how the Gentiles did regard the
Jews in ew Testament times.
They regarded Judaism as a barbarous superstition and the Jews as the most disgusting
of races, and as a most contemptible company of slaves. The origins of Jewish religion
were twisted with a malicious ignorance. It was said that Jews had originally been a
company of lepers who had been sent by the king of Egypt to work in the sand quarries; and
that Moses had rallied this band of leprous slaves and led them through the desert to
Palestine. It was said that they worshipped an ass' head, because in the wilderness a herd of
wild asses had led them to water when they were perishing with thirst. It was said that they
abstained from swine's flesh because the pig is specially liable to a skin disease called the
itch, and it was that skin disease that the Jews had suffered from in Egypt.
Certain of the Jewish customs were mocked at by the Gentiles. Their abstinence from
swine's flesh provided many a jest. Plutarch thought that the reason for it might well be that
the Jews worshipped the pig as a god. Juvenal declares that Jewish clemency has accorded
to the pig the privilege of living to a good old age, and that swine's flesh is more valuable to
them than the flesh of man. The custom of observing the Sabbath was regarded as pure
laziness.
Certain things which the Jews enjoyed infuriated the Gentiles. It was the odd fact that,
unpopular as they were, the Jews had nonetheless received extraordinary privileges from
the Roman government.
(a) They were allowed to transmit the temple tax every year to Jerusalem. This became so
serious in Asia about the year 60 B.C. that the export of currency was forbidden and,
according to the historians, no less than twenty tons of contraband gold was seized which
the Jews had been about to despatch to Jerusalem.

166. (b) They were allowed, at least to some extent, to have their own courts and live according to
their own laws. There is a decree issued by a governor called Lucius Antonius in Asia about
the year 50 B.C. in which he wrote: Our Jewish citizens came to me and informed me that
they had their own private gathering, carried out according to their ancestral laws, and
their own private place, where they settle their own affairs and deal with cases between each
other. When they asked that this custom should be continued, I gave judgment that they
should be allowed to retain this privilege. The Gentiles detested the spectacle of a race of
people living as a kind of separate and specially privileged group.
(c) The Roman government respected the Jewish observance of the Sabbath. It was laid
down that the Jew could not be called to give evidence in a law court on the Sabbath. It was
laid down that if special doles were being distributed to the populace and the distribution
fell on the Sabbath, the Jews could claim their share on the following day. And--a specially
sore point with the Gentiles--the Jews enjoyed astrateia, that is, exemption from
conscription to the Roman army. This exemption was directly due to the fact that the Jewish
strict observance of the Sabbath obviously made it impossible for him to carry out military
duties on the Sabbath. It can easily be imagined with what resentment the rest of the world
would look on this special exemption from a burdensome duty.
There were two special things of which the Jews were accused.
(a) They were accused of atheism (atheotes). The ancient world had great difficulty in
conceiving of the possibility of a religion without any visible images of worship. Pliny called
them, a race distinguished by their contempt for all deities. Tacitus said, The Jews
conceive of their deity as one, by the mind alone.... Hence no images are erected in their
cities or even in their temples. This reverence is not paid to kings, nor this honour to the
Caesars. Juvenal said, They venerate nothing but the clouds and the deity of the sky.
But the truth is that what really moved the Gentile to such dislike, was not so much the
imageless worship of the Jews, as the cold contempt in which they held all other religions.
o man whose main attitude to his fellows is contempt can ever be a missionary. This
contempt for others was one of the things which Paul was thinking of when he said that the
Jews brought the name of God into disrepute.
(b) They were accused of hatred of their fellow-men (misanthropia) and complete
unsociability (amixia). Tacitus said of them: Among themselves their honesty is inflexible,
their compassion quick to move, but to all other persons they show the hatred of
antagonism. In Alexandria the story was that the Jews had taken an oath never to show
kindness to a Gentile, and that they even offered a Greek in sacrifice to their God every
year. Tacitus said that the first thing Gentiles converted to Judaism were taught to do was
to despise the gods, to repudiate their nationality, and to disparage parents, children and
brothers. Juvenal declared that if a Jew was asked the way to any place, he refused to give
any information except to another Jew, and that if anyone was looking for a well from which
to drink, he would not lead him to it unless he was circumcised. Here we have the same
thing again. The basic Jewish attitude to other men was contempt and this must ever invite
hatred in answer.
It was all too true that the Jews did bring the name of God into disrepute, because they shut
themselves into a rigid little community from which all others were shut out and because
they showed to the heathen an attitude of contempt for their worship and complete lack of

167. charity for their needs. Real religion is a thing of the open heart and the open door; Judaism
was a thing of the shut heart and the shut door.”
17. Some might charge Paul with anti-semitism, but this will not hold up in the light of his
commitment to Jews. Thomas Browning wrote, “Romans 9:1…I speak the truth in Christ--
I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit-- 2 I have great sorrow and
unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off
from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel.
ow do you get that? He is saying, “If I had my way, I would be willing to
endure the pangs of hell that my brothers might be saved.” I do not see how
anyone could have ever charged him with being anti-Semitic. But even if he had
not been Jewish what he says would have not been anti-Semitic. First, not every
criticism of Judaism is anti-Semitic. It is not anti-Semitic if it is true and if it is
offered in love and affection. I for one do not accept the fact that evangelism of
the Jews is an act of anti-Semitism. I think it is the exact opposite. I think it is the
truest possible expression of genuine love and affection. We certainly do not
evangelize the Jews because we hate the Jews. In the same way we do not
evangelize the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses because we hate them. We
do not argue with them because we hate them. We argue with them…we cajole
them…we plead with them…because we have been shown the light of the mercy
of God in the face of Christ. It seems to me that there is nothing more anti-
Semitic in the world than to let our Jewish friends just slip off into eternity
without having ever heard the truth of the gospel in Christ.”
18. if you know his will and approve of what is
superior because you are instructed by the law;
1. Henry, “They were a knowing people (v. 18): and knowest his will, to thelema--the will.
God's will is the will, the sovereign, absolute, irresistible will. The world will then, and not
till then, be set to rights, when God's will is the only will, and all other wills are melted into
it. They did not only know the truth of God, but the will of God, that which he would have
them to do. It is possible for a hypocrite to have a great deal of knowledge in the will of
God.--And approvest the things that are more excellent--dokimazeis ta diapheronta. Paul
prays for it for his friends as a very great attainment, Phil. i. 10. Eis to dokimazein hymas
ta diapheronta. Understand it, (1.) Of a good apprehension in the things of God, reading it
thus, Thou discernest things that differ, knowest how to distinguish between good and evil,
to separate between the precious and the vile (Jer. xv. 19), to make a difference between the
unclean and the clean, Lev. xi. 47. Good and bad lie sometimes so near together that it is
not easy to distinguish them; but the Jews, having the touchstone of the law ready at hand,
were, or at least thought they were, able to distinguish, to cleave the hair in doubtful cases.

168. A man may be a good casuist and yet a bad Christian--accurate in the notion, but loose and
careless in the application. Or, we may, with De Dieu, understand controversies by the ta
diapheronta. A man may be well skilled in the controversies of religion, and yet a stranger
to the power of godliness. (2.) Of a warm affection to the things of God, as we read it,
Approvest the things that are excellent. There are excellences in religion which a hypocrite
may approve of: there may be a consent of the practical judgment to the law, that it is good,
and yet that consent overpowerd by the lusts of the flesh, and of the mind:--
--------Video meliora proboque
Deteriora sequor.
I see the better, but pursue the worse.
and it is common for sinners to make that approbation an excuse which is really a very
great aggravation of a sinful course. They got this acquaintance with, and affection to, that
which is good, but being instructed out of the law, katechoumenos--being catechised. The
word signifies an early instruction in childhood. It is a great privilege and advantage to be
well catechised betimes. It was the custom of the Jews to take a great deal of pains in
teaching their children when they were young, and all their lessons were out of the law; it
were well if Christians were but as industrious to teach their children out of the gospel.
ow this is called (v. 20), The form of knowledge, and of the truth in the law, that is, the
show and appearance of it. Those whose knowledge rests in an empty notion, and does not
make an impression on their hearts, have only the form of it, like a picture well drawn and
in good colours, but which wants life. A form of knowledge produces but a form of
godliness, 2 Tim. iii. 5. A form of knowledge may deceive men, but cannot impose upon the
piercing eye of the heart-searching God. A form may be the vehicle of the power; but he
that takes up with that only is like sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.
They were a teaching people, or at least thought themselves so (v. 19, 20): And art
confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind. Apply it, (1.) To the Jews in general.
They thought themselves guides to the poor blind Gentiles that sat in darkness, were very
proud of this, that whoever would have the knowledge of God must be beholden to them for
it. All other nations must come to school to them, to learn what is good, and what the Lord
requires; for they had the lively oracles. (2.) To their rabbis, and doctors, and leading men
among them, who were especially those that judged others, v. 1. These prided themselves
much in the possession they had got of Moses's chair, and the deference which the vulgar
paid to their dictates; and the apostle expresses this in several terms, a guide of the blind, a
light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, the better
to set forth their proud conceit of themselves, and contempt of others. This was a string
they loved to be harping upon, heaping up titles of honor upon themselves. The best work,
when it is prided in, is unacceptable to God. It is good to instruct the foolish, and to teach
the babes: but considering our own ignorance, and folly, and inability to make these
teachings successful without God, there is nothing in it to be proud of.”
2. Barnes, “And knowest his will - The will or commands of God. This knowledge they
obtained from the Scriptures; and of course in this they were distinguished from other

169. nations.
And approvest - The word used here is capable of two interpretations. It may mean either
to distinguish, or to approve. The word is properly and usually applied to the process of
testing or trying metals by fire. Hence, it comes to be used in a general sense to try or to
distinguish anything; to ascertain its nature, quality, etc.; Luk_12:56. This is probably its
meaning here, referring rather to the intellectual process of discriminating, than to the
moral process of approving. It could not, perhaps, be said with propriety, at least the scope
of the passage does not properly suppose this, that the Jew approved or loved the things of
God: but the scope of the passage is, that the Jew valued himself on his knowledge of what
was conformable to the will of God; see the notes at Rom. 14.
The things that are more excellent - The word translated here “more excellent” denotes
properly the things that differ from others, and then also the things that excel. It has an
ambiguity similar to the word translated “approved.” If the interpretation of that word
above given is correct, then this word here means those things that differ from others. The
reference is to the rites and customs, to the distinctions of meats and days, etc., prescribed
by the Law of Moses. The Jew would pride himself on the fact that he had been taught by
the Law to make these distinctions, while all the pagan world had been left in ignorance of
them. This was one of the advantages on which he valued himself and his religion.
Being instructed ... - That is, in regard to the one God, his will, and the distinguishing rites
of his worship.
3. Clarke, “Knowest his will - Hast been favored with a revelation of his own will,
immediately from himself.
The things that are more excellent - τα δισφεροντα, The things that differ - that revelation
which God has given of himself makes the nicest distinctions between right and wrong;
between vice and virtue; showing how you should walk so as to please God, and,
consequently, acquire the most excellent portion that human spirits can have on this side
heaven: for all these blessings ye acknowledge to receive from your law, being instructed,
κατηχουμενος, being catechized, from your infancy, in the knowledge of Divine things.
4. Gill, “ And knowest his will,.... ot the secret will or purpose of God; nor his revealed
will in the Gospel, for of this they were ignorant; but his declared will in the law, showing
what is to be done, and what is not to be done: to know which in express terms was a
privilege, that other people had not; but then the bare knowledge of this will be of no avail:
for persons may know their Lord's will, as the Jews did, and not do it, and so be worthy to
be beaten with many stripes:
and approvest the things that are more excellent: or triest the things that differ; from one
another, and from the will and law of God; or as the Syriac, discernest וליתא , things that
are convenient; agreeable, which are fit and ought to be done: and having tried and
discerned them, they approved of them in their judgment as the things more excellent; but
then they did not put these excellent things in practice which they approved of; and the
knowledge and approbation they had of these things, arose from their
being instructed out of the law, and not the Gospel; for the excellent things of the Gospel,
they had no discerning, knowledge and approbation of; see Phi_1:10.”

170. 5. Calvin, “And knowest his will, and approvest things excellent, etc. He now
concedes to them the knowledge of the divine will, and the approval of
things useful; and this they had attained from the doctrine of the law.
But there is a twofold approval, -- one of choice, when we embrace the
good we approve; the other of judgment, by which indeed we distinguish
good from evil, but by no means strive or desire to follow it. Thus the
Jews were so learned in the law that they could pass judgment on the
conduct of others, but were not careful to regulate their life
according to that judgment. But as Paul reproves their hypocrisy, we
may, on the other hand, conclude, that excellent things are then only
rightly approved (provided our judgment proceeds from sincerity) when
God is attended to; for his will, as it is revealed in the law, is here
appointed as the guide and teacher of what is to be justly approved.”
6. Given Blakely, “Knowing the will of God is ordinarily commendable, and is the
objective for every child of God (Rom 12:10). But that is not the case here. This is a
prideful, or boastful, knowledge. It is not the spiritual knowledge of the will of God
(Col.1:9-10). Here the knowledge of the Law is vainly placed above the doing of it. The law
did not pronounce the blessing upon those who K+EW the Law, but those who DID it
(Gal 3:12). The propensity of the Jews to glory more in knowing that in doing is epitomized
in the Pharisees. Once, when they sent officers to arrest Jesus, the men returned without
Him. The Scripture records the dialog between the officers and the Pharisees. Here is how
they reasoned. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them,
'Why have you not brought Him?' The officers answered, '+o man ever spoke like this Man!'
Then the Pharisees answered them, 'Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the
Pharisees believed in Him. But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.
The Law did not say the person who does not know the law is cursed. Rather, it declared
Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law
to do them (Gal 3:12; Deut 27:26). Being an expert in what God requires does commend the
individual to God. That is not sufficient ground for boasting.To view it another way,
knowing all of the answers cannot make a person righteous.”
7. Haldane, “And knowest His will. — That is, what is agreeable to Him, what He requires
them to do, what He commands, what He prohibits, what He approves, and what He
rewards. The term knowest signifies not a confused knowledge, such as the Gentiles had by
the revelation of nature, but a distinct knowledge by the revelation of the word, which the
Gentiles did not possess. ‘He showeth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments
unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for His judgments, they have not
known them,’ 19E719 Psalm 147:19,20. At the same time, the Apostle does not mean to
say that the Jews had a practical knowledge of the will of God, for he immediately accuses
them of the contrary. And approvest things that are excellent. — This is the fifth advantage,
which follows from the preceding. They knew the will of God, and, knowing that will, they
consequently knew what was contrary to it; that is to say, those things which God does not
approve, and which He condemns. For the declaration of what God approves includes, in
the way of opposition and negation, those things which He does not approve.

171. From this we learn the perfection of the written law, in opposition to unwritten traditions;
for nothing more is needed in order to know the will of God, and to discern what
contradicts it. Being instructed out of the law. — This refers to the two preceding articles
— to the knowledge of the will of God, and to the discernment of the things that are
contrary to it. From their infancy the Jews were instructed in the law.
19. if you are convinced that you are a guide for the
blind, a light for those who are in the dark,
1. Stedman, “Paul goes on to list four privileges which the Jews felt were theirs because
they had these advantages:
First, they felt they were a guide to the blind. Today we have those who are always ready to
correct anybody around them, to impart truth to those unfortunate people who have not
learned anything yet.
Second, the Jews felt they were a light to those in the dark. Every now and then we run into
people who are quite ready to dazzle us with their knowledge of the Scriptures. They know
all about the antichrist, they know when Christ is coming again, they know all the elective
decrees of God, they are thoroughly acquainted with the superlapsarian position of the
people before the Fall, etc., and they take great pride in this knowledge.
Third, the Jews felt they were instructors of the foolish. A lady came up to me after a
service on Sunday and told me a long, painful story of how she had injured her wrist in an
auto accident. The emergency doctor who took care of her happened to let slip a couple of
curse words while working on her. She lectured him at great length about how she was a
Christian, how she wouldn't listen to this kind of language, and how terrible it was that he
took the name of God in vain. This attitude is typical of many who feel they are instructors
of the foolish, because they have a knowledge of the Scriptures.
The fourth privilege which the Jews possessed was that they were teachers of children. I am
amazed at how many want to teach Sunday school classes for the wrong reason. ow there
is a right reason, but many want to teach because they feel they are imparting truth to
people who need it, and they take great ego satisfaction in doing it.
Paul's judgment of such people is, You are guilty yourself. This attitude of the Jew is the
same one Paul condemned earlier in the moral Gentile. You are outwardly righteous and
correct, but inwardly you are doing the wrong thing. They were envious, proud, covetous,
lustful, bitter, dangerous people. Religious zealots are dangerous people. The Jews were

172. notorious in the Roman empire for being over-sharp in business deals. That is why Paul
says, You who preach against stealing, do you steal? They were not above a little hanky-panky
with slave girls they had to deal with. Paul says, You who say that people should
not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? They were ready to profit from trade with
pagan temples. He says, You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? They bragged about
the Law, but Paul says, God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.
That was the ultimate judgment upon the Jews. To them, blasphemy was the worst of sins.
Yet Paul says, Though you claim to have so much, and to be so knowledgeable, yet what
you have done is to blaspheme God. People have been turned away from God because of
you.
I do not think I have to detail how true that is of American Christianity as a whole. And not
only in this country, but around the world, Christians have caused people to turn from God
because of our attitudes and the way we approach people. I have often thought it is
amazing how the people who keep close records on how many they win to Christ never
keep any records on how many they drive away. And the name of God is blasphemed
because of that.
2. Gill, “And art confident that thou thyself…Being vainly puffed up in, their fleshly minds,
they were strongly persuaded that they were very fit persons to be a guide to the blind:
all men are by nature blind, as to the knowledge of divine and spiritual things; the meaner
sort of the people among the Jews seem to be intended here; or else the ignorant Gentiles,
whom the Jews were very fond of making proselytes to their religion and laws; but
miserable guides were they, whether to their own people, or others; blind guides of the
blind. Gospel ministers best deserve this title:
a light of them that are in darkness; so Christ, John the Baptist, the disciples of Christ, and
all Gospel ministers are; but these men, who arrogated such characters to themselves, were
dim lights, and dark lanterns. The apostle seems to have respect to those very high and
exalted characters the Jews give of their doctors, as when they call one, (arwhnd anyuwb) ,
the lamp of light F23; another, (avydq) (anyuwb) , the holy lamps F24; and a third,
(larvy rn) , the lamp of Israel F25; with many others of the same kind.”
3. Barnes, “And art confident - This expression denotes the full assurance of the Jew that
he was superior in knowledge to all other people. It is a remarkable fact that the Jews put
the fullest confidence in their religion. Though proud, wicked, and hypocritical, yet they
were not speculative infidels. It was one of their characteristics, evinced through all their
history, that they had the fullest assurance that God was the author of their institutions,
and that their religion was his appointment.
A guide of the blind - A guide of the blind is a figurative expression to denote an instructor
of the ignorant. The blind here properly refers to the Gentiles, who were thus regarded by
the Jews. The meaning is, that they esteemed themselves qualified to instruct the pagan
world; Mat_15:14; Mat_23:15.
A light - Another figurative expression to denote a teacher; compare Isa_49:6; Joh_1:4-5,
Joh_1:8-9.
In darkness - A common expression to denote the ignorance of the Gentile world; see the

173. note at Mat_4:16.
4. Given Blakely, “The confidence of reference comes from being wise in ones own eyes
(Prov 26:12). God's view of such confidence is declared by the prophet Isaiah. Woe unto
them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isa 5:21). This is not a
confidence that comes from a sense of Divine acceptance or the experience of the grace of
God. It is the result of thinking exposure to the truth, and an academic understanding of it,
qualifies the individual to instruct others in the ways of the Lord. Let it be clear, this is
emphatically not the case.”
5. Haldane, “This is the sixth advantage, depending on those preceding. The law not only
instructed the Jews for themselves, but also for others, and in this they held that they
enjoyed a great superiority over the other nations. A guide to the blind. — The Gentiles are
here called blind, for with all the lights of their philosophy, of their laws and their arts, they
were after all blind, since, with the exception of those of true religion, which they did not
possess, there is no true saving light in the world. A light of them which are in darkness. —
The Rabbis called themselves the light of the world, to which our Lord appears to refer
when He gives this title to His Apostles.”
20. an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants,
because you have in the law the embodiment of
knowledge and truth--
1. Gill, “An instructor of the foolish…
All men in a state of unregeneracy are foolish, and need instruction; here the common
people among the Jews, who knew not the law, are meant; it was very usual to call anyone
of their doctors and masters (hrwm) , an instructor: it follows, a teacher of babes;
either in age or in understanding; such who taught either of them were called by the Jews
(twqwnyt ydmlm) , teachers of babes. Thus they paraphrase the text in (Daniel 12:3) :
``they that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament. This is the Judge who
judges, the judgment of truth truly, and the collectors of alms: and they that turn, many to
righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever; these are, (twqwnt ydmlm) , the teachers of
babes Though these are said to be inferior to the wise men, or doctors: which hast the
form of knowledge, and of the truth in the law: they had not a true knowledge of the law;
only a draught and scheme, the outward form of the law, and a mere shadow and
appearance of the knowledge of the truth of it. From hence the apostle would have it
concluded, that though the Jews had the law, and in some sense knew it, yet inasmuch as
they did not perform it, they could not be justified by it; and that even their teachers, their
greatest masters and doctors, were very deficient, as appears from what follows; and since

174. they could not be instilled by it, who taught others the knowledge of it, the hearers of it
could not expect justification from it.”
2. Barnes, “Of the foolish - The word “foolish” is used in the Scriptures in two
significations: to denote those who are void of understanding, and to denote the wicked.
Here it is clearly used in the former sense, signifying that the Jew esteemed himself
qualified to instruct those without knowledge.
Of babes - This is the literal meaning of the original word. The expression is figurative,
and denotes those who were as ignorant as children - an expression which they would be
likely to apply to all the Gentiles. It is evident that the character bare given by Paul to the
Jews is one which they claimed, and of which they were proud. They are often mentioned as
arrogating this prerogative to themselves, of being qualified to be guides and teachers of
others; Mat_15:14; Mat_23:2, Mat_23:16, Mat_23:24. It will be remembered, also, that the
Jews considered themselves to be qualified to teach all the world, and hence evinced great
zeal to make proselytes. And it is not improbable (Tholuck) that their Rabbies were
accustomed to give the names “foolish” and “babes” to the ignorant proselytes which they
had made from the pagan.
Which hast the form of knowledge - The word translated here as “form” properly denotes
a delineations or picturing of a thing. It is commonly used to denote also the appearance of
any object; what we see, without reference to its internal character; the external figure. It
sometimes denotes the external appearance as distinguished from what is internal; or a
hypocritical profession of religion without its reality; 2Ti_3:5. “Having the form of
godliness, but denying its power.” It is sometimes used in a good, and sometimes in a bad
sense. Here it denotes that in their teaching they retained the semblance, sketch, or outline
of the true doctrines of the Old Testament. They had in the Scriptures a correct delineation
of the truth. Truth is the representation of things as they are; and the doctrines which the
Jews had in the Old Testament were a correct representation or delineation of the objects of
knowledge; compare 2Ti_1:13.
In the law - In the Scriptures of the Old Testament. In these verses the apostle concedes to
the Jews all that they would claim. Having made this concession of their superior
knowledge, he is prepared with the more fidelity and force to convict them of their deep and
dreadful depravity in sinning against the superior light and privileges which God had
conferred on them.
3. Clarke, “An instructer of the foolish, etc. - Ye believe the Gentiles to be babes and fools
when compared with yourselves; that ye alone possess the only true knowledge; that ye are
the only favourites of Heaven; and that all nations must look up to you as possessing the
only form of knowledge, μορφωσιν της γνωσεως, the grand scheme and draught of all true
science, of every thing that is worthy to be learned: the system of eternal truth, derived
from the law. If, therefore, ye act not as becomes those who have such eminent advantages,
it must be to your endless disgrace and infamy.
4. Henry, “They were a teaching people, or at least thought themselves so (Rom_2:19,
Rom_2:20): And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind. Apply it, (1.) To the
Jews in general. They thought themselves guides to the poor blind Gentiles that sat in

175. darkness, were very proud of this, that whoever would have the knowledge of God must be
beholden to them for it. All other nations must come to school to them, to learn what is
good, and what the Lord requires; for they had the lively oracles. (2.) To their rabbis, and
doctors, and leading men among them, who were especially those that judged others,
Rom_2:1. These prided themselves much in the possession they had got of Moses's chair,
and the deference which the vulgar paid to their dictates; and the apostle expresses this in
several terms, a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of the
foolish, a teacher of babes, the better to set forth their proud conceit of themselves, and
contempt of others. This was a string they loved to be harping upon, heaping up titles of
honour upon themselves. The best work, when it is prided in, is unacceptable to God. It is
good to instruct the foolish, and to teach the babes: but considering our own ignorance, and
folly, and inability to make these teachings successful without God, there is nothing in it to
be proud of.”
5. Blakely, “As valuable as erudition is, it is not the heart of kingdom-understanding. A
disciplined and logical mind, and a thorough acquaintance with the text of Scripture are
not to be despised. However, neither are they to be elevated as though they were sufficient
in themselves. They have no impact at all upon human character. They cannot change the
affection or renew the heart. either, indeed, can they bring righteousness to the person
possessing them. That is the point of our text.
There is a higher form of understanding. It does not promote pride, or puff up those who
have it, as earthly knowledge does (1 Cor 8:1). This is spiritual undertanding, and it comes
from God. It is the RESULT of true righteousness, and not the cause of it. Paul prayed for
believers to have this kind of understanding. For this reason we also, since the day we heard
it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Col
1:9-10).”
6. Calvin, “I take what follows, having the form of knowledge, as a reason for
the preceding; and it may be thus explained, -- because thou hast the
form of knowledge. For they professed to be the teachers of others,
because they seemed to carry in their breasts all the secrets of the
law. The word form is put for model (exemplar -- pattern); [81] for
Paul has adopted morphosin and not tupon: but he intended, I think, to
point out the conspicuous pomp of their teaching, and what is commonly
called display; and it certainly appears that they were destitute of
that knowledge which they pretended. But Paul, by indirectly ridiculing
the perverted use of the law, intimates, on the other hand, that right
knowledge must be sought from the law, in order that the truth may have
a solid basis.”
7. Haldane, “An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes. — These titles explain clearly
what the others indicate in metaphorical terms, and further exalt the privileges of the Jews.
Here we may remark that, although to the Gentiles God had given abundance of temporal

176. good things, all this was still as nothing in comparison of the blessings vouchsafed to the
Jews. Which hast the form of knowledge, and of the truth in the law. — This does not signify
semblance in contradistinction to substance, for it was the thing of which the Jews boasted.
It means the representation or exhibition of truth and summary of knowledge which was
contained in the law. The meaning is the same as when we speak of a body of divinity. The
Jews considered that they had a body of truth and knowledge in the law. In these
expressions, then, truth and knowledge are represented as embodied in a visible form. The
Jews had that form in the law, that is to say, the law was to them a form and model, whence
they were to take all the true notions of God, of His religion, and of the duty of man, and a
rule to which they ought to be referred. In general, from all these advantages which God
had so liberally bestowed on the Jews, we may collect that His goodness had been great in
not entirely abandoning the human race, but in having still lighted up for it, in a corner of
the earth, the lamp of His law, to serve as His witness. His wisdom has not been less
conspicuous in having thus prepared the way for the mission of His Son, and the
establishment of His Gospel throughout the whole world. For the law was a schoolmaster
until the coming of Christ. We also learn that when God does not accompany His external
favors with the internal grace of His Holy Spirit, the depravity of man is such, that, instead
of turning to God, he multiplies his transgressions, as the Apostle immediately proceeds to
show by the example of the Jews. We see, too, how aggravated was their ingratitude in the
midst of such distinguished benefits.
21. you, then, who teach others, do you not teach
yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you
steal?
1. Practicing what you preach is the key to the true life pleasing to God. He is not pleased
with right teaching that is not followed up by obedience. The thief may teach his children
not to steal, and that is of value, but it does not win him any favor with God when he does
not follow his own advice. Teaching what is right is not a substitute for doing what is right.
God does not give credits to the teacher who teaches not to steal and then goes out to steal.
2. Gill, “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou notthyself? Several charges
are here brought against the Jews, even against their teachers; for though they are put by
way of question, they are to be considered as so many assertions and matters of fact; thus,
though they taught others, they did not teach themselves; they were blind leaders of the
blind; they were ignorant of the law, of the spirituality of it; they were desirous to be
teachers of the law, understanding neither what they said, nor whereof they affirmed: they
were ignorant of the righteousness of God, of whom they boasted; and of the more excellent
things of Moses, and the prophets, they pretended to explain; and of the Messiah, of whom
their prophecies so much spoke: and besides, what they did understand and teach, they did

177. not practise themselves; than which nothing is more shameful, or more betrays stupidity
and ignorance; for as they themselves say,``he that teaches men, (hvey al awhv rbdb) ,
that which he himself does not do, is like a blind man who has a lamp in his hand, and
enlightens others, but he, himself walks in darkness.'' And such teachers they own were
among them ``Beautiful (say they F3) are the words which come out of the mouths of them
that do, them: Ben Assai was a beautiful preacher, but did not well observe;''i.e., to do what
he said.
Thou that preach at a man should not steal, dost thou steal? some understand this
figuratively, of stealing, or taking away the true sense of the law, and putting a false one
upon it; of which these men were notoriously guilty: but rather, it is to be understood
literally, not only of the inward desires and motions of their minds after this sin, and of
their consenting to, and conniving at theft and robbery, but of their doing it themselves;
who, under pretence of long prayers, devoured widows' houses, (Matthew 23:14) (Mark
12:40) (Luke 20:47) , plundered and robbed them of their substance: no wonder that these
men preferred Barabbas, a thief and a robber, to Jesus Christ.”
3. Henry, “He aggravates their provocations (v. 21-24) from two things:--
1. That they sinned against their knowledge and profession, did that themselves which
they taught others to avoid: Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Teaching
is a piece of that charity which begins at home, though it must not end there. It was the
hypocrisy of the Pharisees that they did not do as they taught (Matt. xxiii. 3), but pulled
down with their lives what they built up with their preaching; for who will believe those
who do not believe themselves? Examples will govern more than rules. The greatest
obstructors of the success of the word are those whose bad lives contradict their good
doctrine, who in the pulpit preach so well that it is a pity they should ever come out, and
out of the pulpit live so ill that it is a pity they should ever come in. He specifies three
particular sins that abound among the Jews:-- (1.) Stealing. This is charged upon some that
declared God's statutes (Ps. l. 16, 18), When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with
him. The Pharisees are charged with devouring widows' houses (Matt. xxiii. 14), and that is
the worst of robberies. (2.) Adultery, v. 22. This is likewise charged upon that sinner (Ps. l.
18), Thou hast been partaker with adulterers. Many of the Jewish rabbin are said to have
been notorious for this sin. (3.) Sacrilege-robbing in holy things, which were then by special
laws dedicated and devoted to God; and this is charged upon those that professed to abhor
idols. So the Jews did remarkably, after their captivity in Babylon; that furnace separated
them for ever from the dross of their idolatry, but they dealt very treacherously in the
worship of God. It was in the latter days of the Old-Testament church that they were
charged with robbing God in tithes and offerings (Mal. iii. 8, 9), converting that to their
own use, and to the service of their lusts, which was, in a special manner, set apart for God.
And this is almost equivalent to idolatry, though this sacrilege was cloaked with the
abhorrence of idols. Those will be severely reckoned with another day who, while they
condemn sin in others, do the same, or as bad, or worse, themselves.
2. That they dishonoured God by their sin, v. 23, 24. While God and his law were an
honour to them, which they boasted of and prided themselves in, they were a dishonour to

178. God and his law, by giving occasion to those that were without to reflect upon their religion,
as if that did countenance and allow of such things, which, as it is their sin who draw such
inferences (for the faults of professors are not to be laid upon professions), so it is their sin
who give occasion for those inferences, and will greatly aggravate their miscarriages. This
was the condemnation in David's case, that he had given great occasion to the enemies of
the Lord to blaspheme, 2 Sam. xii. 14. And the apostle here refers to the same charge
against their forefathers: As it is written, v. 24. He does not mention the place, because he
wrote this to those that were instructed in the law (in labouring to convince, it is some
advantage to deal with those that have knowledge and are acquainted with the scripture),
but he seems to point at Isa. lii. 5; Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 23; and 2 Sam. xii. 14. It is a lamentation
that those who were made to be to God for a name and for a praise should be to him a
shame and dishonour. The great evil of the sins of professors is the dishonour done to God
and religion by their profession. Blasphemed through you; that is, you give the occasion
for it, it is through your folly and carelessness. The reproaches you bring upon yourselves
reflect upon your God, and religion is wounded through your sides. A good caution to
professors to walk circumspectly. See 1 Tim. vi. 1.
4. Clarke, “Thou therefore - Dr. Taylor has paraphrased this and the three following verses
thus: “What signify your pretensions to knowledge, and the office of teaching others, if you
have no regard to your own doctrine? What are you the better for preaching against theft,
if you are a thief yourself? Or for declaring adultery unlawful, if you live in the practice of
it? Or for representing idolatry abominable, if you are guilty of sacrilege? What honors or
singular favors do you deserve, if, while you glory in the law and your religious privileges,
you dishonor God, and discredit his religion, by transgressing his law, and living in open
contradiction to your profession? And this is more than supposition; notorious instances
might be produced of the forementioned crimes, whereby the Jews of the present age have
brought a reproach upon religion among the Gentiles; as well as those Jews of former
times, of whom the Prophet Ezekiel speaks, Eze_36:23 : And I will sanctify my great name,
which was Profaned among the Heathen, which ye have Profaned in the midst of them.”
That the Jewish priesthood was exceedingly corrupt in the time of the apostle, and that
they were so long before, is fully evident from the sacred writings and from Josephus. The
high-priesthood was a matter of commerce, and was bought and sold like other
commodities. Of this Josephus gives many instances. The rapine of Eli’s sons descended to
several generations. Dr. Whitby well observes that of all these things mentioned by the
apostle the Jewish doctors were notoriously guilty; and of most of them they were accused
by our Lord.
1. They said and did not; and laid heavy burdens upon others, which they would not
touch with their own fingers, Mat_23:3, Mat_23:4.
2. They made the house of God a den of thieves, Mat_21:13; Joh_2:16.
3. They were guilty of adultery by unjust divorces, Mat_19:9.
4. Their polygamy was scandalous: even their rabbins, when they came to any place,
would exclaim, Who will be my wife for a day?
As to idolatry, they were perfectly saved from it ever since the Babylonish captivity but to
this succeeded sacrilege, as is most evident in the profanation of the temple, by their

179. commerce transacted even within its courts; and their teaching the people that even their
aged parents might be left to starve, provided the children made a present to the temple of
that which should have gone for their support. According to Josephus, Bell. Jud. l. vi. c. 26,
They were guilty of theft, treachery, adultery, sacrilege, rapine, and murder. And he adds,
that new ways of wickedness were invented by them; and that of all their abominations the
temple was the receptacle. In his Antiquities of the Jews, lib. xx. c. 8, he says: The servants
of the high priests took away, by violence, the tithes of the priests, so that many of them
perished for want of food. Even their own writers acknowledge that there were great
irregularities and abominations among the rabbins.
So Bereshith rabba, sect. 55, fol. 54:
“Rabbi Abun proposed a parable concerning a master who taught his
disciples not to pervert justice, and yet did it himself; not to show respect of
persons, and yet did it himself; not to receive bribes, and yet received them
himself; not to take usury, and yet took it himself. The disciple replied: -
Rabbi, thou teachest me not to take usury, and yet thou takest it thyself! Can
that be lawful to thee which is forbidden to me?”
5. Barnes, “Thou therefore ... - He who is a teacher of others may be expected to be
learned himself. They ought to be found to be possessed of superior knowledge; and
by this question the apostle impliedly reproves them for their ignorance. The form of
a question is chosen because it conveys the truth with greater force. He puts the
question as if it were undeniable that they were grossly ignorant; compare Mat_23:3,
“They say, and do not,” etc.
That preachest - This word means to proclaim in any manner, whether in the synagogue,
or in any place of public teaching.
Dost thou steal? - It cannot be proved, perhaps, that the Jews were extensively guilty of
this crime. It is introduced partly, no doubt, to make the inconsistency of their conduct mere
apparent. We expect a man to set an example of what he means by his public instruction.”
6. Calvin, “Thou, who then teachest another, teachest not thyself, etc. [82]
Though the excellencies (encomia -- commendations) which he has
hitherto stated respecting the Jews, were such as might have justly
adorned them, provided the higher ornaments were not wanting; yet as
they included qualifications of a neutral kind, which may be possessed
even by the ungodly and corrupted by abuse, they are by no means
sufficient to constitute true glory. And hence Paul, not satisfied with
merely reproving and taunting their arrogance in trusting in these
things alone, employs them for the purpose of enhancing their
disgraceful conduct; for he exposes himself to no ordinary measure of
reproach, who not only renders useless the gifts of God, which are
otherwise valuable and excellent, but by his wickedness vitiates and
contaminates them. And a strange counselor is he, who consults not for

180. his own good, and is wise only for the benefit of others. He shows then
that the praise which they appropriated to themselves, turned out to
their own disgrace.
Thou who preachest, steal not, etc. He seems to have alluded to a
passage in Psalm 50:16, where God says to the wicked,
Why dost thou declare my statutes, and takest my covenant in thy
mouth? And thou hatest reform, and hast cast my words behind thee: when
thou seest a thief, thou joinest him, and with adulterers is thy
portion.
And as this reproof was suitable to the Jews in old time, who, relying
on the mere knowledge of the law, lived in no way better than if they
had no law; so we must take heed, lest it should be turned against us
at this day: and indeed it may be well applied to many, who, boasting
of some extraordinary knowledge of the gospel, abandon themselves to
every kind of uncleanness, as though the gospel were not a rule of
life. That we may not then so heedlessly trifle with the Lord, let us
remember what sort of judgment impends over such prattlers,
(logodoedalis -- word-artificers,) who make a show of God's word by
mere garrulity.”
7. Haldane, “This and the two following verses are in the Vulgate without interrogation, but
the ancient interpreters read them with the interrogation. The meaning, in either case,
remains the same. After having exalted the advantages of the Jews above the Gentiles with
as much force as they could have done themselves, Paul unveils their hypocrisy, and exhibits
the vices which were concealed under so fair an exterior He afterwards confirms the whole
of his charges by the testimony of Scripture. In this manner he establishes more fully what
he had said in the beginning of the chapter, that they condemned themselves, and that they
could not hope to escape the just judgment of God, but were accumulating a treasure of
wrath. Teachest thou not thyself. — This implies that the Jews did not practice the precepts
of their law. It implies that they were practically ignorant of it. Preachest, or proclaimest. —
There is no reason to suppose, with Dr. Macknight, that the learned Jews are here the
persons addressed. The whole of the Jews are addressed as one person. What is said applies
to them as a body, and does not exclusively relate to the scribes and teachers. Should not
steal. — The sins here specified were evidently such as were practiced among the Jews. They
are not merely supposed cases, or specifications for illustration. It is taken for granted that,
as a body, the sins mentioned were very generally chargeable on them. Would the Apostle,
addressing the Jews as one man, have asked why they were guilty of such a sin, if they were
not very generally guilty of it? Mr. Tholuck, then, has no ground to suppose the contrary.
8. Sadler, “ Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not
thyself? thou that preachest, c. The Apostle in writing this
must have had in his mind Psalm 1. 16. But unto the wicked God

181. saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou
shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth, seeing thou hatest in
struction and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest
a thief then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker
with adulterers. St. Paul would not have said this if his country
men could with any show of reason have objected to the covert
accusation of theft, or adultery, or sacrilege, which he brings against
them. With respect to the second of these charges, adultery, they
were literally an adulterous generation.
When they brought the woman accused of adultery before the
Lord and He said, He that is without sin among you, let him
cast the first stone at her, and they all, convicted by their own
consciences, went out, there can be no doubt but that their con
sciences convicted them of the same crime as that of which they
accused the woman. Godet tells us that adultery is a crime winch
the Talmud brings home to the three most illustrious Kabbis, Akiba,
Mehir, and Eleazar.
22. You who say that people should not commit
adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor
idols, do you rob temples?
1. Paul is asking some embarrassing questions here, for nobody wants to answer them.
Who is going to admit publicly that they commit the very sins that they condemn in others.
That would be self incrimination, and who wants to be self-condemned? They do not want
to admit they have lust that is equivalent to adultery, and they do not want to admit that
though they have nothing to do with idols, the still do profane holy things.
It is easy to tell people what not to do, but still be doing it yourself. Parents become a joke
to their children by telling them to never drink alcohol, but the kids know they are
drinking the stuff all the time. Don't lie kids, they say, and the kids hear them on the phone
lying all the time. The kids are not fooled, and they conform to what they see and hear and
become just like the parents in their bad character. The parents reject idols, but then make
it clear to the kids by skipping church on a regular basis to go to sports event, camping, and
a host of other things that puts the place of worship way down on the totem pole of their
values. They teach their kids to avoid idols, but then rob them of the chances to worship the
true God.
1B. Greg Herrick, “The meaning of the last sin mentioned, namely, to rob temples

182. (iJerosulei', hierosuleis), is difficult to determine precisely, but it seems to refer to stealing
idols from pagan temples in order to use the materials from which they were made. Though
the rabbis made numerous concessions, this was prohibited in Deuteronomy 7:25-26. Other
commentators, however, have suggested that the term hierosuleis is more general and
means “to commit sacrilege” against a temple, and in particular the Jerusalem temple.”
2. Gill, “Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery…
Adultery here is to be taken not figuratively for adulterating the word of God, and mixing
it with their own inventions; but literally for the sin of adultery, and that not in heart only,
but in act:dost thou commit adultery? an iniquity which greatly prevailed among the Jews
at this time of day; hence Christ calls them an adulterous generation, (Matthew 12:39)
(16:4) (Mark 8:38) ; and that to such a degree, that by the advice of their great Rabbi, R.
Jochanan ben Zaccai, they left off the trial of the suspected woman, cases of this nature
being so very numerous: and this sin prevailed not only among the common people, but
among their principal doctors; as may be learnt from their own writings, and from that
conviction of this iniquity which the Scribes and Pharisees were brought under by Christ,
when the woman, taken in adultery, was had before him by them, (John 8:9) .
Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? for though at this time they
abhorred idolatry, to which their forefathers were so much inclined, and so often fell into,
yet they were guilty of sacrilege; by violating the worship of God, and polluting it with their
own inventions; by pillaging or withholding, or not offering the sacrifices they ought; an by
plundering the temple, and converting the sacred things of it to their own use.”
3. Barnes, “Dost thou commit adultery? - There is no doubt that this was a crime very
common among the Jews; see the Mat_12:39 note; Joh_8:1-11 notes. The Jewish Talmud
accuses some of the most celebrated of their Rabbies, by name, of this vice. (Grotius.)
Josephus also gives the same account of the nation.
Thou that abhorrest idols - It was one of the doctrines of their religion to abhor idolatry.
This they were everywhere taught in the Old Testament; and this they doubtless inculcated
in their teaching. It was impossible that they could recommend idolatry.
Dost thou commit sacrilege? - Sacrilege is the crime of violating or profaning sacred
things; or of appropriating to common purposes what has been devoted to the service of
religion. In this question, the apostle shows remarkable tact and skill. He could not accuse
them of idolatry, for the Jews, after the Babylonish captivity, had never fallen into it. But
then, though they had not the form, they might have the spirit of idolatry. That spirit
consisted in withholding from the true God what was his due, and bestowing the affections
upon something else. This the Jews did by perverting from their proper use the offerings
which were designed for his honor; by withholding what he demanded of tithes and
offerings; and by devoting to other uses what was devoted to him, and which properly
belonged to his service. That this was a common crime among them is apparent from
Mal_1:8, Mal_1:12-14; Mal_3:8-9. It is also evident from the ew Testament that the temple
was in many ways desecrated and profaned in the time of our Saviour; notes, Mat_21:12-13.
4. Henry, “ That they sinned against their knowledge and profession, did that themselves
which they taught others to avoid: Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?

183. Teaching is a piece of that charity which begins at home, though it must not end there. It
was the hypocrisy of the Pharisees that they did not do as they taught (Mat_23:3), but pulled
down with their lives what they built up with their preaching; for who will believe those
who do not believe themselves? Examples will govern more than rules. The greatest
obstructors of the success of the word are those whose bad lives contradict their good
doctrine, who in the pulpit preach so well that it is a pity they should ever come out, and
out of the pulpit live so ill that it is a pity they should ever come in. He specifies three
particular sins that abound among the Jews: - (1.) Stealing. This is charged upon some that
declared God's statutes (Psa_50:16, Psa_50:18), When thou sawest a thief, then thou
consentedst with him. The Pharisees are charged with devouring widows' houses
(Mat_23:14), and that is the worst of robberies. (2.) Adultery, Rom_2:22. This is likewise
charged upon that sinner (Psa_50:18), Thou hast been partaker with adulterers. Many of the
Jewish rabbin are said to have been notorious for this sin. (3.) Sacrilege - robbing in holy
things, which were then by special laws dedicated and devoted to God; and this is charged
upon those that professed to abhor idols. So the Jews did remarkably, after their captivity
in Babylon; that furnace separated them for ever from the dross of their idolatry, but they
dealt very treacherously in the worship of God. It was in the latter days of the Old
Testament church that they were charged with robbing God in tithes and offerings (Mal_3:8,
Mal_3:9), converting that to their own use, and to the service of their lusts, which was, in a
special manner, set apart for God. And this is almost equivalent to idolatry, though this
sacrilege was cloaked with the abhorrence of idols. Those will be severely reckoned with
another day who, while they condemn sin in others, do the same, or as bad, or worse,
themselves.”
5. Calvin, “Thou who abhorrest idols, etc. He fitly compares sacrilege to
idolatry, as it is a thing of the same kind; for sacrilege is simply a
profanation of the Divine Majesty, a sin not unknown to heathen poets.
On this account Ovid (Metamor. 3,) calls Lycurgus sacrilegious for
despising the rites of Bacchus; and in his Fasti he calls those
sacrilegious hands which violated the majesty of Venus. But as the
Gentiles ascribed the majesty of their gods to idols, they only thought
it a sacrilege when any one plundered what was dedicated to their
temples, in which, as they believed, the whole of religion centered. So
at this day, where superstition reigns, and not the word of God, they
acknowledge no other kind of sacrilege than the stealing of what
belongs to churches, as there is no God but in idols, no religion but
in pomp and magnificence.
ow we are here warned, first, not to flatter ourselves and to despise
others, when we have performed only some portions of the law, -- and,
secondly, not to glory in having outward idolatry removed, while we
care not to drive away and to eradicate the impiety that lieth hid in
our hearts.”
6. Haldane, “Oppression of the poor, and adultery, are the crimes with which the Jews were
chiefly charged by our Lord. Abhorrest idols. — The Jews now generally abhorred the

184. idolatry to which in the former ages of their history they were so prone, even in its grossest
forms. The word in the original signifies to abominate, alluding to things most disagreeable
to the senses.
This is according to God’s account of the sin of idolatry. According to human standards of
morality, idolatry appears a very innocent thing, or at least not very sinful; but in Scripture
it is classed among the works of the flesh, Galatians 5:20, and is called ‘abominable,’ 1 Peter
4:3. It robs God of His glory, transferring it to the creature. Commit sacrilege. — The word
here used literally applies to the robbery of temples, for which the Jews and many
opportunities, as well as of appropriating to themselves what was devoted to religion, as is
complained of, ehemiah 13:10; and of robbing God in tithes and offerings, Malachi 3:8;
also of violating and profaning things sacred.”
7. Sadler, “ Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege ? We
should have rather supposed that the Apostle would have written
Thou that professest to abhor idols, dost thou worship an idol? *
But whatever sins the Jews fell into in St. Paul s time, idolatry had
certainly no place among them ; the Babylonian captivity seemed
to have altogether purged them from the sin of open idolatry.
Some have supposed that as the word sacrilege here means the
robbing of sacred shrines or temples, that allusion is made to the
sins of which the last of the prophets accuses them, of robbing
God by withholding the tithes and offerings due to Him, and that
they in the persons of the heads of their religion had made sacri
legious gain of part of the area of the Temple courts by letting it
out to those who sold sheep, oxen, and doves; but most probably
the Jews were at this time given to assist in the actual robbery of
temples. Such is implied in the words of the town clerk of
Ephesus : Ye have here these men, who are neither robbers of
churches, c. (Acts xix. 37), where the same word is used as here.
If they had not been known to take part in such robbery the official
Would not have thought of making such a denial. Godet seems to
give the meaning in his exposition: Thy horror of idolatry does
not go the length of preventing thee from hailing as a good prize
the precious objects which have been used in idolatrous worship,
when thou canst make them thine own. The Jews probably did
not pillage the Gentile temples themselves, but they filled the place
of receivers of the things stolen.
23. You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God
by breaking the law?

185. 1.Bragging about what you have from God is mockery if you do not give God back what he
gave the law to achieve in your life. People are often like the Jews in that they are so proud
of their heritage, but do nothing to enhance that value and pass it on to the next generation.
They brag about their heritage, and their treasured values passed down for generations,
but they do not honor the traditions that made it great. They let the value decay so that it
loses its meaning. So the Jews let the value of the law decay so that it did not bring blessing
and order to their lives as God intended. They ignored the law he gave, and brought
dishonor on the name of God, for his law became a mere joke, and not something to be
taken seriously
2. Gill, “Thou that makest thy boast of the law…
Of their having it, which other nations had not; of their knowledge of it, which many of
their own people were without, or had but a small share of; and of their keeping of it even
to perfection: through breaking of the law dishonourest thou God? sin sometimes is
expressed by a word which signifies a fall; sometimes by another, which signifies missing
of the mark, or straying from it; sometimes by another, which signifies a contrariety to the
law of God; and here, by one which signifies a passing over it, and the bounds which it
has set, as the rule of man's obedience; and hereby God, the lawgiver, is dishonoured: for as
God is glorified by good works, when rightly performed, he is dishonoured by evil ones; for
his authority, as a lawgiver, is trampled upon and despised. ow persons guilty of such
iniquities as here mentioned, could not be justified before God, or accepted by him on
account of any works of righteousness done by them.”
3. Barnes, “Makest thy boast ... - To boast in the Law implied their conviction of its
excellence and obligation, as a man does not boast of what he esteems to be of no value.
Dishonourest thou God - By boasting of the Law, they proclaimed their conviction that it
was from God. By breaking it, they denied it. And as actions are a true test of man’s real
opinions, their breaking the Law did it more dishonor than their boasting of it did it honor.
This is always the case. It matters little what a man’s speculative opinions may be; his
practice may do far more to disgrace religion than his profession does to honor it. It is the
life and conduct, and not merely the profession of the lips, that does real honor to the true
religion. Alas, with what pertinency and force may this question be put to many who call
themselves Christians!”
4. Calvin, “Thou who gloriest in the law, etc. Though every transgressor
dishonors God, (for we are all born for this end -- to serve him in
righteousness and holiness;) yet he justly imputes in this respect a
special fault to the Jews; for as they avowed God as their Lawgiver,
and yet had no care to form their life according to his rule, they
clearly proved that the majesty of their God was not so regarded by
them, but that they easily despised him. In the same manner do they at
this day dishonor Christ, by transgressing the gospel, who prattle idly
about its doctrine, while yet they tread it under foot by their

186. unbridled and licentious mode of living.”
5. Haldane, “The Jews gloried in the law as their great national distinction, yet they were
egregiously guilty of breaking it, which was highly inconsistent and dishonorable to God,
not merely ‘as God was the author of the law,’ which is the explanation of Mr. Stuart, but
because they professed to be God’s people and to glory in His law. In any other light, the
breach of the law by the Gentiles, when they knew it to be God’s law, would have been
equally dishonorable to God. But God is dishonored by the transgressions of His people, in a
manner in which He is not dishonored by the same transgressions in the wicked, who make
no profession of being His. It is a great aggravation of the sins of God’s people, if they are
the occasion of bringing reproach on His religion. The world is ready to throw the blame on
that religion which He has given them; and it is for this that the Apostle, in the following
verse, reproaches the Jews in regard to the heathen. Sinners also are thus emboldened to sin
with the hope of impunity, and opposers make it a handle to impede the progress of Divine
truth.
It appears that in the above three verses the Apostle alludes to what is said, Psalm 50:16-21.
‘But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare My statutes, or that thou
shouldst take My covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest My
words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been
partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.
These things hast thou done, and I kept hence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an
one as thyself: but I was reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.’ On this it
may be remarked, that the 50th Psalm predicts the change which God was to make in His
covenant at the coming of the Messiah, and likewise His rejection of His ancient people. As
to the change of the covenant, it was declared that the sacrifices of the law were not
acceptable to Him, and that henceforth He will not require from men any other than those
of praises, thanksgivings, and prayers, which are the only acceptable worship.
Respecting the rejection of His ancient people, God reproaches them with their crimes, and
more especially with hypocrisy, which are precisely the charges made against them in this
place by the Apostle. The conclusion from the whole is, that the pretended justification of
the Jews by the external advantages of the law was a vain pretense; and that, as they had so
vilely abused the law of which they boasted, according to the prediction of the Psalmist, it
must follow that the accusation now brought against them was established.
The Apostle, in these verses, exhibits the most lively image of hypocrisy.
Was there ever a more beautiful veil than that under which the Jew presents himself? He is
a man of confession, of praise, of thanksgiving; a man whose trust is in the law, whose boast
is of God, who knows His will, who approves of things that are excellent; a man who calls
himself a conductor of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of the
ignorant, a teacher of babes; a man who directs others, who preaches against theft, against
adultery, against idolatry; and, to sum up the whole, a man who glories in the
commandments of the Lord. Who would not say that this is an angel arrayed in human

187. form — a star detached from the firmament and brought nearer to enlighten the earth? But
observe what is concealed under this mask. It is a man who is himself untaught; it is a thief,
an adulterer, a sacrilegious person, — in one word, a wicked man, who continually
dishonors God by the transgression of His law. Is it possible to imagine a contrast more
monstrous than between these fair appearances and this awful reality?
Doubtless Paul might have presented a greater assemblage of particular vices prevalent
among the Jews, for there were few to which that nation was not addicted. But he deems it
sufficient to generalize them all under these charges, — that they did not teach themselves
that they dishonored God by their transgressions of the law; and of these vices he has only
particularized three, namely, theft, adultery, and sacrilege: and this for two reasons, — first,
because it was of these three that God had showed the greatest abhorrence in His law; and,
secondly, because these three sins, in spite of all their professions to the contrary, were usual
and common among the Jews. There was no people on earth more avaricious and self-interested
than they. It is only necessary to read the narrations of their prophets and
historians, to be convinced how much they were addicted to robbery, to usury, and to
injustice. They were no less obnoxious to the charge of fornication and adultery, as appears
from the many charges preferred against them in the writings of the Prophets. They
converted the offerings to the purposes of their avarice, they profaned the holy places by vile
and criminal actions; and as the Lord Himself, after Jeremiah, upbraided them they turned
God’s house of prayer into a den of thieves.
These three capital vices, which the Apostle stigmatizes in the Jews, like those which he had
preferred against the Gentiles, stand opposed, on the one hand, to the three principal virtue
which he elsewhere enumerates as comprehending the whole system of sanctity, namely, to
live soberly, righteously, and godly; and, on the other hand, they are conformable to the
three odious vices which he had noted among the Gentiles, namely, ungodliness,
intemperance, unrighteousness. For theft includes, in general, every notion of
unrighteousness; adultery includes that of intemperance; and the guilt of sacrilege, that of
ungodliness. Hence it is easy to conclude that, whatever advantages the Jews possessed
above the Gentiles, they were, notwithstanding, in the same condition before the tribunal of
God, — like them unrighteous, like them intemperate, like them ungodly, and, consequently,
like them subjected to the same condemnation.
24. As it is written: God's name is blasphemed among
the Gentiles because of you.

188. 1. This is strong language in which Paul is blasting the hypocrisy of the Jews. They make
big professions of keeping the law, but they really do not do so, and so their hypocrisy is
seen by the Gentile world and they blaspheme the name of Israel's God because of what
they see as a double standard. The Jews look down on the Gentile dogs as unworthy
sinners, and proclaim themselves as worthy to be the chosen people of God. They exalt
themselves in pride, but the Gentiles see nothing but vain hypocrisy and so they are the
ones looking down their nose at the Jews and the God who has the audacity to choose them
as his representatives in the world. Their God is not too sharp to make them his choice is
the feelings of the Gentiles.
The Jews spread bad news rather than the good news that God intended. God expected his
people to be a blessing in the world of the Gentiles, but instead they became a curse, for
they led people to curse the God they represented. The Christians did the same thing
among the Indians of our nation. They rejected Christianity because they said the white
man was worse than they were, and they wanted no part of the God they worshiped for
they did not want to become as bad as the white man was.
2. Gill, “For the name of God is blasphemed…
The being and perfections of God, such as his holiness, omniscience, and omnipotence, are
denied, or evil spoken of; and also the law of God, and the forms of worship instituted by
him: among the Gentiles through you: through their iniquities, who when they observe
them, conclude that the God of Israel is not omniscient, or he would know, and take notice
of these things; and that he is not holy, or he could not bear them; nor omnipotent, or he
would revenge them:
as it is written; the passage or passages referred to are not mentioned, but are perhaps
(Isaiah 52:5) (Ezekiel 36:20,23) . In the former of these texts the words are, they that rule
over them make them to howl; saith the Lord, and my name continually every day is
blasphemed; which are spoken of the rulers of the people, either of their ecclesiastical or
political rulers, or both; and so Aben Ezra interprets them of (larvy ylwdg) , the great
men of Israel; and here by the apostle are applied to their doctors and wise men: and in
the latter are these words, thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house
of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the Heathen; that
is, by their unbecoming walk and conversation, and especially by the disagreeable conduct
of their principal men: and the Jews own the same things, and complain of them in much
the same language the apostle here does, saying, they disgrace the law before the people
of the earth, (the common people, or else the Gentiles,) how? a wise man sits and expounds
in the congregation, saying, thou shalt not lend upon usury, and he lends upon usury; he
says, thou shalt not commit a robbery, and he commits a robbery; he says, (bwngt al) ,
thou shalt not steal, and he steals: says R. Berechiah, it happened to one man that his
cloak was stolen from him, and he went before the judge about it, and he found it spread
upon his bed or couch: and, says the same Rabbi, it happened to a certain man that his pot
was stolen from him, and he went before the judge about it, and he found it upon his
hearth: hence it is said, as they were increased they sinned against me, therefore will I
change their glory into shame, (Hosea 4:7)

189. 3. Clarke, “For the name of God is blasphemed, etc. - In Debarim rabba, sect. 2, fol. 251, it
is said: - “The rulers destroy the influence of their own words among the people; and this is
done when a rabbin, sitting and teaching in the academy, says, Do not take usury, and
himself takes it; do not commit rapine, and himself commits it; do not steal, and himself
steals.” That they were exceedingly lax in their morals, the following fact proves: - “Rabbi
Ilai said, If a man see that his evil propensities are likely to prevail against him, let him go
to some place where he is not known, and let him put on black clothes, and cover his head
with a black veil; and then let him do whatsoever he pleases, lest the name of God should
be publicly profaned.” Moed katon, fol. 17. 1. In Sohar Levit. fol. 31, col. 122, it is said: -
“On three accounts the Jews are obliged to remain in captivity -
1. Because they openly reproach the Shechinah -
2. Because they profane themselves before the Shechinah -
3. Because they turn away their faces from the Shechinah.”
But it would be endless to collect from their history the proofs of the charges brought here
against them by the apostle. See Whitby, Schoettgen, and others.
4. Barnes, “The name of God - The name and character of the true God.
Is blasphemed - ote, Mat_9:3. That is, your conduct is such as to lead the pagan world to
blaspheme and reproach both your religion and its Author. By your hypocrisy and crimes
the pagan world is led to despise a religion which is observed to have no effect in purifying
and restraining its professors; and of course the reproach will terminate on the Author of
your religion - that is, the true God. A life of purity would tend to honor religion and its
Author; a life of impurity does the reverse. There is no doubt that this was actually the
effect of the deportment of the Jews. They were scattered everywhere; everywhere they were
corrupt and wicked; and everywhere they and their religion were despised.
Among the Gentiles - In the midst of whom many Jews lived.
Through you - By means of you, or as the result of your conduct. It may mean, that you
Jews do it, or profane the name of God; but the connection seems rather to require the
former sense.
As it is written - To what place the apostle has reference, cannot be certainly determined.
There are two passages in the Old Testament; which will bear on the case, and perhaps he
had them both in his view; Isa_52:5; Eze_36:22-23. The meaning is not that the passages in
the Old Testament, referred to by the phrase, “as it is written,” had any particular reference
to the conduct of the Jews in the time of Paul, but that this had been the character of the
people, and the effect of their conduct as a nation, instances of which had been before
observed and recorded by the prophets. The same thing has occurred to a most melancholy
extentin regard to professed Christian nations. For purposes of commerce, and science, and
war, and traffic, people from nations that are nominally Christian have gone into almost
every part of the pagan world. But they have not often been real Christians. They have been
intent on gain; and have to a melancholy extent been profane, and unprincipled, and
profligate people. Yet the pagan have regarded them as Christians; as fair specimens of the
effect of the religion of Christ. They have learned therefore, to abuse the name of Christian,
and the Author of the Christian religion, as encouraging and promoting profligacy of life.

190. Hence, one reason, among thousands, of the importance of Christian missions to the pagan.
It is well to disabuse the pagan world of their erroneous opinions of the tendency of
Christianity. It is well to teach them that we do not regard these people as Christians. As we
have sent to them the worst part of our population, it is well to send them holy men, who
shall exhibit to them the true nature of Christianity, and raise our character in their eyes as
a Christian people. And were there no other result of Christian missions, it would be worth
all the expense and toil attending them, to raise the national character in the view of the
pagan world.
5. Henry, “That they dishonoured God by their sin, Rom_2:23, Rom_2:24. While God and
his law were an honour to them, which they boasted of and prided themselves in, they were
a dishonour to God and his law, by giving occasion to those that were without to reflect
upon their religion, as if that did countenance and allow of such things, which, as it is their
sin who draw such inferences (for the faults of professors are not to be laid upon
professions), so it is their sin who give occasion for those inferences, and will greatly
aggravate their miscarriages. This was the condemnation in David's case, that he had given
great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, 2Sa_12:14. And the apostle here
refers to the same charge against their forefathers: As it is written, Rom_2:24. He does not
mention the place, because he wrote this to those that were instructed in the law (in
labouring to convince, it is some advantage to deal with those that have knowledge and are
acquainted with the scripture), but he seems to point at Isa_52:5; Eze_36:22, Eze_36:23;
and 2Sa_12:14. It is a lamentation that those who were made to be to God for a name and
for a praise should be to him a shame and dishonour. The great evil of the sins of professors
is the dishonour done to God and religion by their profession. “Blasphemed through you;
that is, you give the occasion for it, it is through your folly and carelessness. The reproaches
you bring upon yourselves reflect upon your God, and religion is wounded through your
sides.” A good caution to professors to walk circumspectly. See 1Ti_6:1.
6. Stedman, Paul's judgment of such people is, You are guilty yourself. This attitude of
the Jew is the same one Paul condemned earlier in the moral Gentile. You are outwardly
righteous and correct, but inwardly you are doing the wrong thing. They were envious,
proud, covetous, lustful, bitter, dangerous people. Religious zealots are dangerous people.
The Jews were notorious in the Roman empire for being over-sharp in business deals. That
is why Paul says, You who preach against stealing, do you steal? They were not above a
little hanky-panky with slave girls they had to deal with. Paul says, You who say that
people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? They were ready to profit
from trade with pagan temples. He says, You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? They
bragged about the Law, but Paul says, God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles
because of you. That was the ultimate judgment upon the Jews. To them, blasphemy was
the worst of sins. Yet Paul says, Though you claim to have so much, and to be so
knowledgeable, yet what you have done is to blaspheme God. People have been turned
away from God because of you.
I do not think I have to detail how true that is of American Christianity as a whole. And not
only in this country, but around the world, Christians have caused people to turn from God
because of our attitudes and the way we approach people. I have often thought it is

191. amazing how the people who keep close records on how many they win to Christ never
keep any records on how many they drive away. And the name of God is blasphemed
because of that.
7. Christians, like the Jews before them, fail to realize that the world is always watching
people who profess a strong religious faith, for they are skeptical of its validity, and they
will take note of every bit of evidence that shows that it is fake and not authentic. The Jews
professed belief in a God so holy they would not even pronounce his names, but the
paradox is that they blasphemed his name by their inconsistencies and sinful behavior.
Their high and noble confessions were a joke to the Gentiles whose pagan friends were
more trustworthy than the Jews. The greatest damage to the name of God does not come by
the pagan world with all of his cursing, but by the believing world with all of its hypocrisy.
You can count on it that if people are cursing God because of your unloving behavior, you
are going to suffer loss or reward on the day of judgment.
8. The world is filled with non-Christians who never commit adultery, but who are faithful
to their wives for life. Can you imagine how disgusted they are with the reports that
Christian pastors by shocking numbers are guilty of adultery? Many lay leaders are in the
same boat, and even more so now that we are a sex saturated society. I believe they can be
forgiven, and should be if they repent and get counseling, and in some cases they can even
be restored to ministry, but what about the people who will never believe in Christ because
of their foolish choice to defy the revealed will of God? Does God take this type of thing
lightly, or is their serious judgment ahead?
9. Look at an example of how he dealt with this very thing in the life of David. athan the
prophet said to him, 'Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing evil in His
sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be
your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10 'ow therefore, the
sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken
the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise
up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes,
and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12
'Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.' 13
Then David said to athan, I have sinned against the LORD. And athan said to David,
The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.14 However, because by this
deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that
is born to you shall surely die.
10. Barclay, “Barclay, There were two special things of which the Jews were accused.
(a) They were accused of atheism (atheotes). The ancient world had great difficulty in
conceiving of the possibility of a religion without any visible images of worship. Pliny called
them, a race distinguished by their contempt for all deities. Tacitus said, The Jews
conceive of their deity as one, by the mind alone.... Hence no images are erected in their
cities or even in their temples. This reverence is not paid to kings, nor this honour to the
Caesars. Juvenal said, They venerate nothing but the clouds and the deity of the sky.

192. But the truth is that what really moved the Gentile to such dislike, was not so much the
imageless worship of the Jews, as the cold contempt in which they held all other religions.
o man whose main attitude to his fellows is contempt can ever be a missionary. This
contempt for others was one of the things which Paul was thinking of when he said that the
Jews brought the name of God into disrepute.
(b) They were accused of hatred of their fellow-men (misanthropia) and complete
unsociability (amixia). Tacitus said of them: Among themselves their honesty is inflexible,
their compassion quick to move, but to all other persons they show the hatred of
antagonism. In Alexandria the story was that the Jews had taken an oath never to show
kindness to a Gentile, and that they even offered a Greek in sacrifice to their God every
year. Tacitus said that the first thing Gentiles converted to Judaism were taught to do was
to despise the gods, to repudiate their nationality, and to disparage parents, children and
brothers. Juvenal declared that if a Jew was asked the way to any place, he refused to give
any information except to another Jew, and that if anyone was looking for a well from
which to drink, he would not lead him to it unless he was circumcised. Here we have the
same thing again. The basic Jewish attitude to other men was contempt and this must ever
invite hatred in answer.
It was all too true that the Jews did bring the name of God into disrepute, because they
shut themselves into a rigid little community from which all others were shut out and
because they showed to the heathen an attitude of contempt for their worship and complete
lack of charity for their needs. Real religion is a thing of the open heart and the open door;
Judaism was a thing of the shut heart and the shut door.
11. Calvin, “For the name of God, etc. I think this quotation is taken from
Ezekiel 36:20, rather than from Isaiah 52:5; for in Isaiah there are no
reproofs given to the people, but that chapter in Ezekiel is full of
reproofs. But some think that it is a proof from the less to the
greater, according to this import, Since the Prophet upbraided, not
without cause, the Jews of his time, that on account of their
captivity, the glory and power of God were ridiculed among the
Gentiles, as though he could not have preserved the people, whom he had
taken under his protection, much more are ye a disgrace and dishonor to
God, whose religion, being judged of by your wicked life, is
blasphemed. This view I do not reject, but I prefer a simpler one,
such as the following, -- We see that all the reproaches cast on the
people of Israel do fall on the name of God; for as they are counted,
and are said to be the people of God, his name is as it were engraven
on their foreheads: it must hence be, that God, whose name they assume,
is in a manner defamed by men, through their wicked conduct. It was
then a monstrous thing, that they who derived their glory from God
should have disgraced his holy name; for it behooved them surely to
requite him in a different manner.”

193. 12. Haldane, The Apostle, in these verses, exhibits the most lively image of hypocrisy. Was
there ever a more beautiful veil than that under which the Jew presents himself? He is a
man of confession, of praise, of thanksgiving -- a man, whose trust is in the Law, whose
boast is of God, who knows his will, who approves of things that are excellent, a man who
calls himself a conductor of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of
the ignorant, a teacher of babes; a man who directs others, who preaches against theft,
against adultery, against idolatry, and to sum up the whole, a man who glories in the
commandments of the Lord. Who would not say that this is an angel arrayed in human
form -- a star detached from the firmament, and brought nearer to enlighten the earth? But
observe what is concealed under this mask. It is a man who is himself untaught; it is a thief,
an adulterer, a sacrilegious person; in one word, a wicked man, who continually dishonors
God by the transgression of his law. Is it possible to imagine a contrast more monstrous than
between these fair appearances and this awful reality?
13. Deffinbaugh, “This quotation can be traced back to several Old Testament texts,
including Isaiah 52:5 and Ezekiel 36:20-21. In both cases, God is mocked by the Gentiles on
account of Israel’s disregard for and disobedience of the Law. They have been cast out of the
land of Israel and have been sent into captivity. The Gentiles were chuckling to themselves
because the Israelites’ God appears to be unable to give them the land He promised them.
They do not know that God disciplines His people for their disobedience. God’s deliverance
of His captive people would be for the sake of His name, not on account of the Jew’s piety or
faithfulness (see Ezekiel 36:22-24).
The present condition of the Jews was also a reproach to the name of God. They professed to
believe in God’s Law, and they were proud to “possess” it, but they did not practice it. Far
worse, when they were confronted by the “Living Word,” the “incarnate Word,” Jesus
Christ, they rejected God’s final revelation, putting Him to death (see John 1:1-18; Hebrews
1:1-3; 1 John 1:1-3). Paul’s reference to this quotation from the Old Testament may have
been a veiled warning, for this disobedient people would once again be thrust out of the
land, and God’s name would be, for a season, blasphemed among the Gentiles.”
14. Haldane, “The charge alleged here against the Jews, is not that they themselves
blasphemed the name of God as some understand it, but that they gave occasion to the
heathen to blaspheme. The Apostle is not charging the Jews with speaking evil of God, or
with one particular sin, but with the breach of their law in general. He here confirms what
he had just said to this purpose in the foregoing verse, by the authority of Scripture. Many
suppose that he refers to a passage of Isaiah 52:5, where the Prophet says, ‘And my name
continually every day is blasphemed.’ But there the Prophet does not charge the Jews as
having, by their bad conduct, occasioned the injury which the name of God received. He
ascribes it, on the contrary, to the Assyrians, by whom they had been subjected. In the
passage before us, the reference is to Ezekiel 36:17-20, where it is evident that the Jews, by
the greatness and the number of their sins, had given occasion to the Gentiles to insult and
blaspheme the holy name of God, which is precisely the meaning of the Apostle.

194. The Gentiles, as the Prophet there relates, seized on two pretexts to insult the name of God,
— the one drawn from the afflictions which the sins of His people had brought upon them,
and the other from the contemplation of the sins themselves. According to the first, they
accused the God of Israel of weakness and want of power, since He had not saved His people
from so miserable a dispersion. According to the second, they imputed to the religion and
the God of the Israelites all the crimes which they saw that people commit, as if it had been
by the influence of God Himself that they were committed. It is on account of these two
arrogant and malignant accusations that God reproaches His people for having profaned
His name among the nations; and adds (not for the sake of His people, who had rendered
themselves altogether unworthy, but for that of His own name) two promises opposed to
those two accusations, — the one of deliverance, the other of sanctification: — ’For I will
take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you
unto your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean,’
Ezekiel 36:24,25. I will deliver you, in order to repel their insult on Me, in accusing Me of
want of power. I will cleanse you, in order to vindicate Myself from the accusation of being
the author of your crimes.
God had no need of either of these ways of justifying Himself. He had shown, on numerous
occasions, the irresistible power of His arm in favor of the Israelites; and the sanctity of His
law was self-evident. Yet He promises to do these things for His own glory, inasmuch as the
Gentiles and His people had dishonored His name.
o accusation against the Jews could be more forcible than that which, in the verse before
us, was preferred from the testimony of their own Scriptures. It proved that not only were
they chargeable before God with their own sins, but that they were likewise chargeable with
the sins which the Gentiles committed in blaspheming His name. This showed clearly that
they were no more prepared to sustain the judgment of the strict justice of God than were
the Gentiles, whom they were as ready to condemn as the Apostle himself was.
25. Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but
if you break the law, you have become as though you
had not been circumcised.
Phillips: That most intimate sign of belonging to God that we call circumcision does indeed
mean something if you keep the Law. But if you flout the Law you are to all intents and
purposes uncircumcising yourself!

195. 1. Obedience is the bottom line, and if you are disobedient to the law all the rituals in the
world will not make you pleasing to God. Rituals can be meaningful and important acts in
following God, but when life is not lived in obedience to what God has commanded, they
lose all their value, and having them then is no better than not having them. It is obedience
that give meaning to rituals, and with it, they have no meaning. Getting baptized today is
the same thing. It is a meaningless ritual to those who are baptized, but who do not live a
life of obedience to the revealed will of God. The non-baptized person in our culture who
does live according to the revealed will of God is more pleasing in his sight than those who
are baptized who do not so live. A sign of something has to have that something exist which
it points to. A sign that says free gas ahead, but has to place to get the gas is less than
worthless, for it is a sign sign with no reality it is pointing to. Circumcision and baptism are
signs pointing to a life that has made a commitment to do the will of God, but if the person
baptized and circumcised does not do the will of God, the sign is also less than worthless,
for it is actually a condemnation. It is like a wedding ring on the finger of a man having one
affair after another. The sign is a lie, and not a symbol of commitment. The bottom line is,
no sign is of any value without the reality to back it up.
1B. Don't weep for those who have never heard, but weep for those who have heard the will
of God and have chosen not to obey it. All of their external rituals and symbols are
worthless without obedience. They only have value if what they stand for is a reality in the
life of the one who has them and does them. With privilege comes responsibility, and if this
is not the response, the privilege is of no value. It is the same with baptism. It is of value if
your life is really buried with Christ and raised to new life, but if it is a mere ritual that
changes nothing in your life style, it is of no value. God wants righteousness and not ritual.
I an convinced that baptism is to be by immersion, but the reality is that if the person who
is sprinkled lives a life pleasing to God, and the person who is immersed does not, the mode
of baptism will not make up for the lack of obedience. The person who was never baptized
at all will be more pleasing to God if their life conforms to his revealed will. The bottom
line is obedience and not any external act. The ideal, of course, is the external acts followed
by a life that illustrates what that act stands for.
2. Henry, “He asserts the utter insufficiency of their profession to clear them from the guilt
of these provocations (v. 25-29): Circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law; that is,
obedient Jews shall not lose the reward of their obedience, but will gain this by their being
Jews, that they have a clearer rule of obedience than the Gentiles have. God did not give
the law nor appoint circumcision in vain. This must be referred to the state of the Jews
before the ceremonial polity was abolished, otherwise circumcision to one that professed
faith in Christ was forbidden, Gal. v. 1. But he is here speaking to the Jews, whose Judaism
would benefit them, if they would but live up to the rules and laws of it; but if not thy
circumcision is made uncircumcision; that is, thy profession will do thee no good; thou wilt
be no more justified than the uncircumcised Gentiles, but more condemned for sinning
against greater light. The uncircumcised are in scripture branded as unclean (Isa. lii. 1),
as out of the covenant, (Eph. ii. 11, 12) and wicked Jews will be dealt with as such. See Jer.
ix. 25, 26.
3. Gill, “For circumcision verily profiteth…

196. The plea from circumcision in favour of the Jews, and their acceptance with God, and
justification before him, is here, and in the following verses, considered. The apostle allows
that circumcision was profitable; which must be understood whilst it was in force, before
the abrogation of it, for since, it is not profitable but pernicious; and then it was only
profitable, in case the law was kept: if thou keepest the law; that is, perfectly; for
circumcision obliged persons to keep the whole law. ow the circumcised Jews did not keep
it in such sense; wherefore circumcision was of no use to them, but, on the contrary, was an
handwriting against them. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made
uncircumcision; that is, it is not accounted circumcision; it is of no avail; such a man was
all one as an uncircumcised Gentile, and appeared to be uncircumcised in a spiritual sense:
the apostle perhaps alludes to a practice among some of the Jews, to bring on and draw
over the foreskin, after they had been circumcised; (See Gill on 1 Corinthians 7:18).
4. Clarke, “For circumcision verily profiteth - It is a blessing to belong to the Church of
God and wear the sign of the covenant, provided the terms of the covenant are complied
with.
But if thou be a breaker of the law - If thou do not observe the conditions of the covenant,
the outward sign is both without meaning and without effect. This was a maxim of the
rabbins themselves; for they allowed that an apostate or ungodly Israelite must go to hell,
notwithstanding his circumcision.
5. Barnes, “For circumcision - Joh_7:22 note; Act_7:8 note. This was the special rite by
which the relation to the covenant of Abraham was recognised; or by which the right to all
the privileges of a member of the Jewish commonwealth was acknowledged. The Jews of
course affixed a high importance to the rite.
Verily profiteth - Is truly a benefit; or is an advantage. The meaning is, that their being
recognised as members of the Jewish commonwealth, and introduced to the privileges of the
Jew, was an advantage; see Rom_3:1-2. The apostle was not disposed to deny that they
possessed this advantage, but he tells them why it was a benefit, and how it might fail of
conferring any favor.
If thou keep the law - The mere sign can be of no value, The mere fact of being a Jew is
not what God requires. It may be a favor to have his Law, but the mere possession of the
Law cannot entitle to the favor of God. So it is a privilege to be born in a Christian land; to
have had pious parents; to be amidst the ordinances of religion; to be trained in
Sundayschools; and to be devoted to God in baptism: for all these are favorable
circumstances for salvation. But none of them entitle to the favor of God; and unless they
are improved as they should be, they may be only the means of increasing our
condemnation; 2Co_2:16.
Thy circumcision is made uncircumcision - Thy circumcision, or thy being called a Jew, is
of no value. It will not distinguish you from those who are not circumcised. You will be
treated as a pagan. o external advantages, no name, or rite, or ceremony will save you.
God requires the obedience of the heart and of the life. Where there is a disposition to
render that, there is an advantage in possessing the external means of grace. Where that is
missing, no rite or profession can save. This applies with as much force to those who have
been baptized in infancy, and to those who have made a profession of religion in a Christian
church, as to the Jew.”

197. 6. Imagine how angry the Jews would be with Paul when they heard him teaching such a
thing as this. It is blaspheme to them, for Paul is saying they become no better than the
dirty Gentiles, and are uncircumcised just like these wicked dogs they would never dream
of eating with in the same house let alone the same table. Again, it is not wonder they
wanted him dead. Clearly, Paul was an enemy of the Jews who were hypocrites, and this
was the majority of his day. They saw their circumcision as that which set them apart as a
special people. Paul says it is worthless, and less than worthless if you do not fullfill your
end of the covenant by obedience. Otherwise, you are just another pagan with a different
name. Paul is not trying to win friends in this letter by ignoring all that is wrong with
people and their conduct. He is exposing them all so that no one can hide from the absolute
necessity of having a Savior who can forgive and cleanse from sin.
7. Robert Brow, 2:25-29 CIRCUMCISIO of the Spirit
In addition to relating his teaching to religious law and God's wrath, any Jewish rabbi
must give his explanation of the meaning of circumcision. The explanation could be in
terms of national identity, commitment to the torah, or a covenant relationship. In this
section Paul refers to Gentiles who live their lives without the Jewish rite (see 2:14-15), and
suggests that at their best their heart attitude relates to the inner heart experience of which
circumcision is the sign.
We could not prove from this section alone that Paul has the Holy Spirit in mind. But he
must be thinking of the verse in the Torah Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart,
and do not be stubborn any longer (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; see Jeremiah 4:4).
The idea of heart circumcision, and its opposite was picked up in Stephen's speech, You
stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy
Spirit (Acts 7:51). It is almost certain that the still unconverted rabbi Saul was in the
Sanhedrin when Stephen said this. We wonder whether Paul's Epistle of the Spirit could be
his testimony to the man of good standing (quite possibly a friend of Paul), full of the
Spirit and wisdom, whom he eventually had stoned for blasphemy (Acts 7:58-8:1).
2:25 Heart faith should have been clear from the Jewish rite of circumcision. This is why a
heart turning (shubh) to God should have resulted in the moral change suggested by the
commandments listed in the previous verses (2:21-23; see 10:6-8).
2:26-27 This means that people of other nations who turn to God and have their heart
changed will inevitably condemn the hypocrisy of those who are circumcised and fail to be
open to the inner reality.
Paul then gives an astonishing definition of a true Jew. It is not a matter of external and
physical behavior, but of inner heart circumcision. What counts is a circumcision of the
heart in the Spirit (here the RSV translation 'spiritual' misses Paul's characteristic use of
'in the Spirit').

198. We could transpose Paul's words to say A person is not a Christian who is one outwardly,
nor is true baptism something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Christian who is
one inwardly, and real baptism is a matter of the heart - it is in the Spirit.
It was when Paul was in Antioch that the term Christian was first applied to disciples of
Jesus (Acts 11:26). A disciple means someone who has begun to learn with a teacher
(rabbi, guru). And an essential part of teaching after baptism was faith in the power of
God, or Spirit of God, who had raised Jesus from the death. We will see how Paul makes
this connection in 6:1-11 (see Colossians 2:11-12).
8. Berean Corner, “(2:25) What common ground should lead Jews to agree that such a
transgression of the law invalidated one's circumcision?
AS. The canonical scriptures talked of the need for circumcised Jews also to have a
circumcised heart (Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; 9:25-26). These passages make
clear that the lack of such a heart invalidates one's circumcision.”
9. Calvin, “ For circumcision indeed profits, etc. He dissipates by anticipation
what the Jews might have objected in opposition to him in the defense
of their own cause: for since circumcision was a symbol of the Lord's
covenant, by which he had chosen Abraham and his seed as his peculiar
people, they seemed not to have gloried in vain; but as they neglected
what the sign signified, and regarded only the outward form, he gives
this answer -- That they had no reason to lay claim to any thing on
account of the bare sign. The true character of circumcision was a
spiritual promise, which required faith: the Jews neglected both, the
promise as well as faith. Then foolish was their confidence. Hence it
is, that he omits to state here the main use of circumcision, and
proceeds to expose their gross error, as he does in his Epistle to the
Galatians. And this ought to be carefully noticed; for if he were
explaining the whole character and design of circumcision, it would
have been inconsistent in him not to have made mention of grace and
free promise: but in both instances he spoke according to what the
subject he had in hand required, and therefore he only discussed that
part which was controverted.
They thought that circumcision was of itself sufficient for the purpose
of obtaining righteousness. Hence, speaking according to such an
opinion, he gives this reply -- That if this benefit be expected from
circumcision, it is on this condition, that he who is circumcised, must
serve God wholly and perfectly. Circumcision then requires perfection.
The same may be also said of our baptism: when any one confidently
relies on the water of baptism alone, and thinks that he is justified,
as though he had obtained holiness by that ordinance itself, the end of
baptism must be adduced as an objection; which is, that the Lord

199. thereby calls us to holiness of life: the grace and promise, which
baptism testifies (testificatur) and seals, (obsignat,) need not in
this case to be mentioned; for our business is with those who, being
satisfied with the empty shadow of baptism, care not for nor consider
what is material (solidum -- substantial) in it. And this very thing
you may observe in Paul -- that when he speaks to the faithful of
signs, apart from controversy, he connects them with the efficacy and
fulfillment of the promises which belong to them; but when he contends
with the absurd and unskillful interpreters of signs, he omits all
mention of the proper and true character of signs, and directs his
whole discourse against their perverted interpretation.
ow many, seeing that Paul brings forward circumcision rather than any
other part of the law, suppose that he takes away justification only
from ceremonies: but the matter is far otherwise; for it always
happens, that those who dare to set up their own merits against the
righteousness of God, glory more in outward observances than in real
goodness; for no one, who is seriously touched and moved by the fear of
God, will ever dare to raise up his eyes to heaven, since the more he
strives after true righteousness, the clearer he sees how far he is
from it. But as to the Pharisees, who were satisfied with imitating
holiness by an outward disguise, it is no wonder that they so easily
deluded themselves. Hence Paul, after having left the Jews nothing, but
this poor subterfuge of being justified by circumcision, does now also
take from them even this empty pretense.”
10. Deffinbaugh, “Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant (see Genesis 17:9-
14; Exodus 4:24-26). After this, circumcision was mentioned only casually in the rest of the
Pentateuch (Exodus 12:44, 48; Leviticus 12:3). But for the Jew, circumcision was a mark of
distinction. It was that which distinguished the Jew from the heathen. Consequently, the
Jews took great pride in circumcision. Because circumcision was linked with the self-righteousness
of the Jews, Paul used this rite to clinch the point he was making—that the
Law was not only to be possessed, professed, and proclaimed; it was to be practiced.
Circumcision identified a man as a Jew. It was, as it were, a physical profession that one was
a Jew. This profession of circumcision had no value unless it was backed up by the practice
of the professor. For one to demonstrate by his practice that he was indeed a Jew made his
profession by circumcision a valid distinction. Otherwise, circumcision was of as little value
as placing a Mercedes Benz hood ornament on a broken down Volkswagen.”
11. Haldane, “Paul here pursues the Jew into his last retreat, in which he imagined himself
most secure. He presses him on the subject of circumcision, which the Jews viewed as their
stronghold — that rite even more ancient than Moses, and by which they were distinguished
from the other nations. The sum of this, and the following verses to the end of the chapter, is,
that the Jews being such as the Apostle had represented them, all their advantages,
including circumcision, could only enhance their condemnation before the tribunal of God,
and that, on the contrary, if the Gentiles, who have not received the law, observed its

200. precepts, they would be justified without circumcision. Two things are here to be observed,
namely, what is asserted of the Jews and Gentiles, and the proof that follows. The assertions
are, that circumcision serves only as a ground of condemnation to transgressors of the law;
and, on the other hand, that the want of it would be no detriment to those who fulfilled the
law. The proof is, that before God the true Jew and the true circumcision consist not in
external qualities, but in internal and real holiness. The reason why circumcision was not
included in the enumeration before given of the advantages of the Jews is, that in itself it is
not an advantage, but only a sign of other advantages; and it is mentioned here, because, in
the character of a sign, it includes them: to name circumcision then, is to refer to them all.
In this verse the Apostle does not speak of circumcision according to its real and most
important signification as he does in the two concluding verses, but in that view in which the
Jews themselves considered it, as the initiatory and distinctive rite of their religion, without
the observance of which they believed they could not be saved. Circumcision verily
profiteth, if thou keep the law. — It is not meant that circumcision will come into the
account before the tribunal of God, as the fulfilling of the law, but that it would be an aid
and motive to the observance of the law, and viewed in the light of an obligation to keep the
law; if the Jew had kept it, he could refer to his circumcision as an obligation which he had
fulfilled. Circumcision may be viewed in two lights, either as given to Abraham, or as
enjoined by Moses. 1. It was the token of the covenant that Abraham should be the father of
the promised Savior, and, moreover, a seal or pledge of the introduction and reality of the
righteousness imputed to him through faith, while uncircumcised, in order that he might be
the father of all believers, whether circumcised or not, to whom that righteousness should
also be imputed. 2. Circumcision, as enjoined by Moses, was a part of his law, John 7:22,23.
In the first view, it was connected with all the privileges of Israel, Philippians 3:4,5; in the
second, it was a part of the law, whose righteousness is described, Romans 10:5. f14 The
Jews entirely mistook the object of the law, Romans 5:20, Galatians 3:19, which shut up all
under sin, Galatians 3:22, by cursing every one who continued not in all things written in
the book of the law to do them; and in this view, as a part of the law of Moses, circumcision
could only profit those who kept the whole law. But instead of this, the name of God was
blasphemed among the Gentiles, through the wickedness of the Jews, and hence their having
the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law would only aggravate their condemnation.
When, therefore, the Apostle says, if thou keep the law, he supposes a case, not implying that
it was ever verified; but if it should exist, the result would be what is stated. If, on the other
hand, the Jew was a breaker of the law, his circumcision was made uncircumcision,
Jeremiah 9:26; it would be of no more avail than if he had not received it, and would give
him no advantage over the uncircumcised Gentile. This declaration is similar to the way in
which our Lord answers the rich young man. If the law is perfectly kept, eternal life will be
the reward, as the Apostle had also said in verses 7 and 10; but if there be any breach of it,
circumcision is of no value for salvation.
26. If those who are not circumcised keep the law's

201. requirements, will they not be regarded as though they
were circumcised?
1. Paul is saying that the pagan Gentile who has never heard of God's law may choose to
live a life that conforms to that law, and they will be seen by God as the true Jews, and they
will be regarded as truly circumcised people. That which a symbol stands for is more
important than the symbol itself. Better is the man who obeys God than one who has a
symbol of obedience on his body. Better is the actual hotel that the billboard that represents
it. Having what God wants a person to be is far superior than having the symbol of what
God expects. If you have the reality and not the symbol, that is better than having the
symbol but not the reality.
God is not so superficial that he is captivated by rituals and ceremonies. He is more
interested in hearts and motivations. You can go through every religious ritual that has
been invented and still not make any impression on God if you do not live the life that
pleases him. On the other hand, those who may have never heard of such rituals can please
God if they live according to what the law requires. This is the kind of ceremony God is
pleased with. A life that does unto others what they wish to be done unto them.
2. Jamison, “Two mistaken interpretations, we think, are given of these words: First, that
the case here supposed is an impossible one, and put merely for illustration [HALDAE,
CHALMERS, HODGE]; second that it is the case of the heathen who may and do please
God when they act, as has been and is done, up to the light of nature [GROTIUS,
OLSHAUSE, c.]. The first interpretation is, in our judgment, unnatural; the second,
opposed to the apostle's own teaching. But the case here put is, we think, such as that of
Cornelius (Ac 10:1-48), who, though outside the external pale of God's covenant, yet having
come to the knowledge of the truths contained in it, do manifest the grace of the covenant
without the seal of it, and exemplify the character and walk of Abraham's children, though
not called by the name of Abraham. Thus, this is but another way of announcing that God
was about to show the insufficiency of the mere badge of the Abrahamic covenant, by
calling from among the Gentiles a seed of Abraham that had never received the seal of
circumcision (see on Ga 5:6); and this interpretation is confirmed by all that follows.”
3. Gill, “Therefore if the uncircumcision keep…These words are spoken hypothetically; if
any such persons could be found among the Gentiles who keep the whole law of God; and
can only be absolutely understood of such, who from a principle of grace act in obedience
to the law; as in the hands of Christ, and who look to Christ as the fulfilling end of it, for
righteousness; in whom they keep the righteousness of the law perfectly: shall not his
uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? by this question it is suggested, that an
uncircumcised Gentile, who keeps the law as in the hands of Christ, and under the
influences of his Spirit and grace, and keeps it in Christ, is reckoned a circumcised person
in a spiritual sense, and must be preferable to a circumcised Jew that breaks it.”

202. 4. Henry, “He shows that the uncircumcised Gentiles, if they live up to the light they have,
stand upon the same level with the Jews; if they keep the righteousness of the law (v. 26),
fulfil the law (v. 27); that is, by submitting sincerely to the conduct of natural light,
perform the matter of the law. Some understand it as putting the case of a perfect
obedience to the law: If the Gentiles could perfectly keep the law, they would be justified
by it as well as the Jews. But it seems rather to be meant of such an obedience as some of
the Gentiles did attain to. The case of Cornelius will clear it. Though he was a Gentile, and
uncircumcised, yet, being a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house (Acts x.
2), he was accepted, v. 4. Doubtless, there were many such instances: and they were the
uncircumcision, that kept the righteousness of the law; and of such he says, (1.) That they
were accepted with God, as if they had been circumcised. Their uncircumcision was
counted for circumcision. Circumcision was indeed to the Jews a commanded duty, but it
was not to all the world a necessary condition of justification and salvation. (2.) That their
obedience was a great aggravation of the disobedience of the Jews, who had the letter of the
law, v. 27. Judge thee, that is, help to add to thy condemnation, who by the letter and
circumcision dost transgress. Observe, To carnal professors the law is but the letter; they
read it as a bare writing, but are not ruled by it as a law. They did transgress, not only
notwithstanding the letter and circumcision, but by it, that is, they thereby hardened
themselves in sin. External privileges, if they do not do us good, do us hurt. The obedience
of those that enjoy less means, and make a less profession, will help to condemn those that
enjoy greater means, and make a greater profession, but do not live up to it.
5. Barnes, “Therefore, if the uncircumcision - If those who are not circumcised, that is, the
pagan.
Keep the righteousness of the law - Keep what the Law of Moses commands. It could not
be supposed that a pagan would understand the requirements of the ceremonial law; but
reference is had here to the moral law. The apostle does not expressly affirm that this was
ever done; but he supposes the case, to show the true nature and value of the rites of the
Jews.
Shall not his uncircumcision - Or, shall the fact that he is uncircumcised stand in the way
of the acceptance of his services? Or, shall he not as certainly and as readily be accepted by
God as if he were a Jew? Or in other words, the apostle teaches the doctrine that acceptance
with God does not depend on a man’s external privileges, but on the state of the heart and
life.
Be counted for circumcision - Shall he not be treated as if he were circumcised? Shall his
being uncircumcised be any barrier in the way of his acceptance with God? The word
rendered “be counted,” is what is commonly rendered “to reckon, to impute”; and its use
here shows that the Scripture use of the word is not to transfer, or to charge with what is not
deserved, or not true. It means simply that a man shall be treated as if it were so; that this
lack of circumcision shall be no bar to acceptance. There is nothing set over to his account;
nothing transferred; nothing reckoned different from what it is. God judges things as they
are; and as the man, though uncircumcised, who keeps the Law, ought to be treated as if he
had been circumcised, so he who believes in Christ agreeably to the divine promise, and
trusts to his merits alone for salvation, ought to be treated as if he were himself righteous,
God judges the thing as it is, and treats people as it is proper to treat them, as being

203. pardoned and accepted through his Son.”
6. Calvin, “If then the uncircumcision, etc. This is a very strong argument.
Every thing is below its end and subordinate to it. Circumcision looks
to the law, and must therefore be inferior to it: it is then a greater
thing to keep the law than circumcision, which was for its sake
instituted. It hence follows, that the uncircumcised, provided he keeps
the law, far excels the Jew with his barren and unprofitable
circumcision, if he be a transgressor of the law: and though he is by
nature polluted, he shall yet be so sanctified by keeping the law, that
uncircumcision shall be imputed to him for circumcision. The word
uncircumcision, is to be taken in its proper sense in the second
clause; but in the first, figuratively, for the Gentiles, the thing for
the persons.
It must be added -- that no one ought anxiously to inquire what
observers of the law are those of which Paul speaks here, inasmuch no
such can be found; for he simply intended to lay down a supposed case
-- that if any Gentile could be found who kept the law, his
righteousness would be of more value without circumcision, than the
circumcision of the Jew without righteousness. And hence I refer what
follows, And what is by nature uncircumcision shall judge thee, etc.,
not to persons, but to the case that is supposed, according to what is
said of the Queen of the south, that she shall come, etc., (Matthew
12:42,) and of the men of ineveh, that they shall rise up in judgment,
etc., (Luke 11:32) For the very words of Paul lead us to this view --
The Gentile, he says, being a keeper of the law, shall judge thee
who art a transgressor, though he is uncircumcised, and thou hast the
literal circumcision.
7. Haldane, “The Apostle does not mean to affirm that an uncircumcised Gentile can fulfill
the righteousness of the law, nor does he here retract what he had said in the first chapter
respecting the corruption and guilt of the Gentiles, but he supposes a case in regard to them
like that concerning the Jews in the preceding verse. This hypothetical mode of reasoning is
common with Paul, of which we have an example in this same chapter, where he says that
the doers of the law shall be justified; of whom, however, in the conclusion of his argument,
ch. 3:19, he affirms that none can be found.
The supposition, then, as to the obedience of the Gentile, though in itself impossible, is
made in order to prove that, before the judgment seat of God, neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision enters at all into consideration for justification or condemnation. If an
uncircumcised Gentile kept the law, his uncircumcision would avail as much as the
circumcision of the Jew. The reason of this is, that the judgment of God regards only the
observance or the violation of the law, and not extraneous advantages or disadvantages,
and, as is said above, with God there is no respect of persons. In reality, then, the Jews and
Gentiles were on a level as to the impossibility of salvation by the law; in confirmation of

204. which truth, the inquiry here introduced is for the conviction of the Jew on this important
point. But what is true upon a supposition never realized, is actually true with respect to all
who believe in Jesus. In Him they have this righteousness which the law demands, and
without circumcision have salvation. Dr. Macknight egregiously errs when he supposes that
the law here referred to is the law of faith, which heathens may keep and be saved: this is a
complication of errors.”
27. The one who is not circumcised physically and yet
obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you
have the written code and circumcision, are a
lawbreaker.
1. Paul is saying that the day of judgment will be full of surprises, for there will be Gentiles
there who never had the law of God, but who lived in obedience to it anyway, and they will
judge those who had the law but did not obey it. In other words, there are people who are
not of the elect who live more in conformity to what God desires for man than those who
are chosen to represent him in the world. Here is Paul's hint of pagan godliness. People who
have little light from God, but who still recognize what is right from wrong and choose to
follow the right way.
1B. Paul in this section is agreeing fully with James who said, Faith without works is
dead. That is what Paul is saying to the Jews. They make a big issue of their faith in
Abraham and the law, but they do not keep the law, and so their faith is dead and
worthless. Better to be a Gentile who never heard of the law, but who is a person who lives
a life of love and morality. He is a better Jew than the Jews who do not live lives of love and
morality. These so called Gentile dogs are going to condemn the natural Jews who have the
law, and all of the advantages of knowing God's will so fully, because they with less keep it
more fully than those who have it all. Less is more when there is a heart inclined to do the
right things even though they have no written code telling them they should do so. To have
the code and then not follow it is worthy of greater condemnation.
1C. Jesus gave an example of this in several places. ........and the men of ineveh and the
queen of the south will condemn the men of that generation, in which Christ lived,
(Matthew 12:41,42) (Luke 11:31,32) . Jesus said that even the wicked people of Sodom will
suffer less judgment that the Jews of his day, for had they had all the evidence of his
miracles and truth they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. Jesus said, And
whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city,
shake off the dust of your feet. Truly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of

205. Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. (Mt. 10:14,15) Many
pagan peoples will be less severely judged than the so called peoples of God in history, for
they did a better job of living a life the way God intended it to be lived than those who had
the full benefit of his revelation. Instead of feeling sorry for those who never heard, be
praying for those who have heard and still do not live according to the light they have
received.
2. Gill, “And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature…That is, the Gentiles, who are by
nature uncircumcised; for as circumcision was by the command of God, and performed by
the art of men, uncircumcision is by nature, and what men naturally have. ow if it,
such persons, fulfil the law in Christ, they will judge thee, the circumcision: and condemn,
as oah condemned the old world, (Hebrews 11:7) , and the men of ineveh and the queen
of the south will condemn the men of that generation, in which Christ lived, (Matthew
12:41,42) (Luke 11:31,32) .
Who by the letter and circumcision transgress the law; that is, either by the law, which is
the letter, and by circumcision, or by circumcision which is in the letter, (Romans
2:29) , sin being increased by the prohibitions of the moral law, and the rituals of the
ceremonial law, and the more so by a dependence upon an obedience to either of them, or
both, for justification.”
3. Barnes, “Which is by nature - Which is the natural state of man; his condition before he
is admitted to any of the unique rites of the Jewish religion.
If it fulfil the law - If they who are uncircumcised keep the Law.
Judge thee - Condemn thee as guilty. As we say, the conduct of such a man condemns us.
He acts so much more consistently and uprightly than we do, that we see our guilt. For a
similar mode of expression, see Mat_12:41-42.
Who by the letter ... - The translation here is certainly not happily expressed. It is difficult
to ascertain its meaning. The evident meaning of the original is, “Shall not a pagan man who
has none of your external privileges, if he keeps the law, condemn you who are Jews; who,
although you have the letter and circumcision, are nevertheless transgressors of the law? ‘
The letter - The word “letter” properly means the mark or character from which syllables
and words are formed. It is also used in the sense of writing of any kind Luk_16:6-7;
Act_28:21; Gal_6:11, particularly the writings of Moses, denoting, by way of eminence, the
letter, or the writing; Rom_7:6; 2Ti_3:15.
4. Henry, “He shows that the uncircumcised Gentiles, if they live up to the light they have,
stand upon the same level with the Jews; if they keep the righteousness of the law
(Rom_2:26), fulfil the law (Rom_2:27); that is, by submitting sincerely to the conduct of
natural light, perform the matter of the law. Some understand it as putting the case of a
perfect obedience to the law: “If the Gentiles could perfectly keep the law, they would be
justified by it as well as the Jews.” But it seems rather to be meant of such an obedience as
some of the Gentiles did attain to. The case of Cornelius will clear it. Though he was a
Gentile, and uncircumcised, yet, being a devout man, and one that feared God with all his

206. house (Act_10:2), he was accepted, Rom_2:4. Doubtless, there were many such instances:
and they were the uncircumcision, that kept the righteousness of the law; and of such he says,
(1.) That they were accepted with God, as if they had been circumcised. Their
uncircumcision was counted for circumcision. Circumcision was indeed to the Jews a
commanded duty, but it was not to all the world a necessary condition of justification and
salvation. (2.) That their obedience was a great aggravation of the disobedience of the Jews,
who had the letter of the law, Rom_2:27. Judge thee, that is, help to add to thy
condemnation, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress. Observe, To carnal
professors the law is but the letter; they read it as a bare writing, but are not ruled by it as
a law. They did transgress, not only notwithstanding the letter and circumcision, but by it,
that is, they thereby hardened themselves in sin. External privileges, if they do not do us
good, do us hurt. The obedience of those that enjoy less means, and make a less profession,
will help to condemn those that enjoy greater means, and make a greater profession, but do
not live up to it.”
5. Greg Herrick, “Paul continues his argument by asking a rhetorical question that
demands a positive answer, though not all Jews would have agreed. He asks: if the
uncircumcised man (hJ ajkrobustiva, he„ akrobustia) keeps the righteous requirements of
the Law, will he, in contrast to the circumcised man who does not keep the Law, be
regarded (logisqhvsetai, logisthe„setai) as circumcised, i.e., a member of the covenant
community and heir of the promises of God? According to Paul, he will certainly be
regarded as such.
Further, that very man who is uncircumcised by birth and yet keeps the Law, he will judge
(krinei~, krinei) the circumcised lawbreaker as though uncircumcised. And he will do this
despite the fact that the man claims to have both the written code (grammato,
grammatos), namely, the Mosaic Law and circumcision as the sign.”
6. Constable, “In our day cans and bottles have labels on them to indicate what is inside.
Circumcision was a label and implied that the Jew was obedient to God.
However if he was not completely obedient the label was not only worthless but misleading.
The contents of the can are more important than the label. Similarly if a Gentile was
completely obedient to God the absence of the label of circumcision was not of major
consequence. The Jews had put more emphasis on the presence of the label than on the
contents of the can. Paul's point was that disobedience brings
condemnation and perfect obedience theoretically brings salvation, regardless of whether
one is a Jew or a Gentile.”
7. Here is a strange situation, for the gentile that the Jew has been judging is now judging
the Jew, for he is more righteous than the Jew because he is more in harmony with the law
of God than the Jew. What a shock this had to be for the Jews in Rome who first read this.
It is no wonder that Paul had Jewish enemies out to get him and hinder his work. This was
like saying that someday the Jehovah Witness will judge the Baptist, or that some cult
member will judge the Calvinist. The fact is, any person, regardless of their label, may be
more in harmony with God by their life style and conduct than others who make big

207. professions of religion, but who do not back it up with behavior that pleases God. Jews and
Christians both could find themselves being condemned by followers of Islam, and other
faiths that they severely condemn. Being judgmental is way too risky for those who are not
perfect, for it will come back on them in the end, and they could very well be the target
rather than the shooter.
8. Calvin, “By the letter and circumcision, etc. A construction [85] which
means a literal circumcision. He does not mean that they violated the
law, because they had the literal circumcision; but because they
continued, though they had the outward rite, to neglect the spiritual
worship of God, even piety, justice, judgment, and truth, which are the
chief matters of the law.”
9. Haldane, “Paul continues in this verse to reason on the same supposition as in the one
preceding, and draws from it another consequence, which is, that if the Gentile who is
uncircumcised fulfilled the law, he would not only be justified, notwithstanding his
uncircumcision, but would judge and condemn the circumcised Jew who did not fulfill it.
The reason of this conclusion is, that in the comparison between the one and the other, the
case of the circumcised transgressor would appear much worse, because of the superior
advantages he enjoyed. In the same way it is said, Matthew 12:41, that the inevites shall
condemn the Jews. The uncircumcision which is by nature. — That is to say, the Gentiles in
their natural uncircumcised state, in opposition to the Jews, who had been distinguished and
set apart by a particular calling of God. Dr. Macknight commits great violence when he
joins the words ‘by nature’ with the words ‘fulfill the law,’ as if it implied that some Gentiles
did fulfill the law by the light of nature. Who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress
the law. — Dr. Macknight affirms that the common translation here ‘is not sense.’ But it
contains a very important meaning. The Jews transgressed the law by means of their
covenant and circumcision being misunderstood by them. This fact is notoriously true: they
were hardened in their sin from a false confidence in their relation to God. Instead of being
led to the Savior by the law, according to its true end, they transgressed it, through their
views of the letter of the law and of circumcision; of both of which, especially of
circumcision, they made a savior. The fulfilling of the law and its transgression are here to
be taken in their fullest import, namely, for an entire and complete fulfillment, and for the
slightest transgression of the law; for the Apostle is speaking of the strict judgment of justice
by the law, before which nothing can subsist but a perfect and uninterrupted fulfillment of
all the commandments of God. But it may be asked how the uncircumcised Gentiles could
fulfill the law which they had never received.
They could not indeed fulfill it as written on tables of stone and in the books of Moses, for it
had never been given to them in that way; but as the work of the law, or the doctrine it
teaches, was written in their hearts, it was their bounded duty to obey it. From this it is
evident that in all this discussion respecting the condemnation of both Gentiles and Jews,
the Apostle understands by the law, not the ceremonial law, as some imagine, but the moral
law; for it is the work of it only which the Gentiles have by nature written in their hearts.

208. Besides, it is clear that he speaks here of that same law of which he says the Jews were
transgressors when they stole, committed adultery, and were guilty of sacrilege.
10. Thomas Browning, “the Jews of Paul’s day had come to view circumcision as something
of a magic bullet. Many truly believed that if a man was circumcised it was a final
guarantee of salvation. ow in case you are skeptical of that listen to these quotes given by
Charles Hodge’s in his commentary on Romans. Rabbi Menachem, in his Commentary on
the Books of Moses, says, “Our Rabbis have said that no circumcised man will see hell.” In
the Jalkut Rubeni, number 1, it is taught, “Circumcision saves from hell.” In the
Midrash Tillim, it is said, “God swore to Abraham that no one who was circumcised should
be sent to hell.” In the book Akedath Jizehak, it is taught that “Abraham sits before the gate
of hell, and does not allow any circumcised Israelite to enter there.”
ow you may be thinking to yourself, “You know there is a direct corollary
between this passage and someone’s confidence in the baptism they received
as an infant.” I would have to say, “That is true.” But I would also have to say
there is a direct corollary between this passage and someone’s confidence in the
baptism they received as an adult. There is a direct corollary here between this
passage and someone’s confidence in having spoken in tongues, in having
walked an aisle, in having prayed a sinner’s prayer, in having taught Sunday
school, in having worked a bus route, in having done anything that they feel
settled their salvation. Paul’s point is that any rite apart from reality is
unrighteousness. Let me say that again. Paul’s point is that any rite apart from
reality is unrighteousness.
But he doesn’t stop there he even turns it around the other way and says, “The
reality apart from the rite is actually righteousness.” He says that quite plainly
when he says:IV Romans 2:27…The one who is not circumcised physically and yet
obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and
circumcision, are a lawbreaker.”
28. A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor
is circumcision merely outward and physical.
1. Many a natural born Jew is going to be very offended by these words of Paul, for they
make a great deal of their being Jews, and being God's people. How would you like to go
into a synagogue and proclaim this to the congregation. I suspect that crucifixtion would be
reinstated. You can better understand why the Jews followed Paul and tried to get him
arrested and killed. He was attacking everything that mattered to them. There whole image
was based on being Jews by birth, and by confirming that in the covenant of circumcision.
Take this away and you destroy their foundation as a religion. It should not be a surprise

209. that the Jews hated Paul just as much as they hated Jesus.
The problem with mere externals is that anyone can perform them. A non believer can be
baptized and partake of communion, but these external acts do not make his heart open to
God's guidance. Externals do not change people in any way that pleases God. There has to
be changes within to make a person a true Jew.
1B. Barclay, To a Jew a passage like this must have come as a shattering experience. He
was certain that God regarded him with special favour, simply and solely because of his
national descent from Abraham and because he bore the badge of circumcision in his flesh.
But Paul introduces an idea to which he will return again and again. Jewishness, he insists,
is not a matter of race at all; it has nothing to do with circumcision. It is a matter of conduct.
If that is so, many a so-called Jew who is a pure descendant of Abraham and who bears the
mark of circumcision in his body, is no Jew at all; and equally many a Gentile who never
heard of Abraham and who would never dream of being circumcised, is a Jew in the real
sense of the term. To a Jew this would sound the wildest heresy and leave him angry and
aghast.
2. Jamison, “In other words, the name of Jew and the rite of circumcision were
designed but as outward symbols of a separation from the irreligious and ungodly world
unto holy devotedness in heart and life to the God of salvation. Where this is realized, the
signs are full of significance; but where it is not, they are worse than useless.
ote, (1) It is a sad mark of depravity when all that is designed and fitted to melt only
hardens the heart (Ro 2:4, and compare 2Pe 3:9; Ec 8:11). (2) Amidst all the inequalities of
religious opportunity measured out to men, and the mysterious bearing of this upon their
character and destiny for eternity, the same great principles of judgment, in a form suited
to their respective discipline, will be applied to all, and perfect equity will be seen to reign
throughout every stage of the divine administration (Ro 2:11-16). (3) The law written on
the heart (Ro 2:14, 15) --or the Ethics of atural Theology--may be said to be the one deep
foundation on which all revealed religion reposes; and see on Ro 1:19, 20, where we have
what we may call its other foundation--the Physics and Metaphysics of atural Theology.
The testimony of these two passages is to the theologian invaluable, while in the breast of
every teachable Christian it wakens such deep echoes as are inexpressibly solemn and
precious. (4) High religious professions are a fearful aggravation of the inconsistencies of
such as make them (Ro 2:17-24). See 2Sa 12:14. (5) As no external privileges, or badge of
discipleship, will shield the unholy from the wrath of God, so neither will the want of them
shut out from the kingdom of heaven such as have experienced without them that change of
heart which the seals of God's covenant were designed to mark. In the sight of the great
Searcher of hearts, the Judge of quick and dead, the renovation of the character in heart
and life is all in all. In view of this, have not all baptized, sacramented disciples of the Lord
Jesus, who profess that they know God, but in works deny Him, need to tremble--who,
under the guise of friends, are the enemies of the cross of Christ?
3. Gill, “For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly…The apostle removes the plea in
favour of the Jews, taken from their name and privilege, by distinguishing between a Jew

210. and a Jew, and between circumcision and circumcision: he is not a Jew which is one
outwardly; by mere name, nature, nation, religion, and profession: neither is that
circumcision which is outward in the flesh; which takes away the flesh of the foreskin, but
not the carnality of the heart; leaves a mark upon the flesh, but no impression on the mind.
This is nothing, is not the true, solid, substantial, spiritual circumcision, which only avails
in the sight of God.”
4. Henry, “He describes the true circumcision, v. 28, 29. (1.) It is not that which is outward
in the flesh and in the letter. This is not to drive us off from the observance of external
institutions (they are good in their place), but from trusting to them and resting in them as
sufficient to bring us to heaven, taking up with a name to live, without being alive indeed.
He is not a Jew, that is, shall not be accepted of God as the seed of believing Abraham, nor
owned as having answered the intention of the law. To be Abraham's children is to do the
works of Abraham, John viii. 39, 40. (2.) It is that which is inward, of the heart, and in the
spirit. It is the heart that God looks at, the circumcising of the heart that renders us
acceptable to him. See Deut. xxx. 6. This is the circumcision that is not made with hands,
Col. ii. 11, 12. Casting away the body of sin. So it is in the spirit, in our spirit as the subject,
and wrought by God's Spirit as the author of it. (3.) The praise thereof, though it be not of
men, who judge according to outward appearance, yet it is of God, that is, God himself will
own and accept and crown this sincerity; for he seeth not as man seeth. Fair pretences and
a plausible profession may deceive men: but God cannot be so deceived; he sees through
shows to realities. This is alike true of Christianity. He is not a Christian that is one
outwardly, nor is that baptism which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Christian that is
one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose
praise is not of men but of God.
5. Stedman, “The Jews, of course, prided themselves (and still do today) on the rite of
circumcision, the symbol that they were God's people. You only need to substitute baptism,
confirmation, or church membership to apply that to the twentieth century, to Protestant
or Catholic American. So many Americans rest upon the fact that they have been baptized,
confirmed, or accepted as members of a church, as the sign that they belong to God. Paul
says that is useless and worthless, if something has not happened in the heart.
Paul's final conclusion about the religious man is in Verses 28-29. A man is not a Jew if he is
only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. o, a man is a Jew if
he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the
written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God. {Rom 2:28-29 IV}
That last phrase is a play on words. The word praise is taken from the word Judah,
from which we get the word Jew. Paul says the Jew is not praised by men but by God;
but he also makes clear what constitutes a true Jew in God's sight.
ow this is one of the most hotly debated questions in the state of Israel today. The Israelis
are constantly trying to decide what is the basis of Jewry. What makes a Jew? Is it religion?
Is it observing the Old Testament Law, keeping a kosher kitchen? Many Jews are atheists,

211. having no use for the Old Testament, and yet they claim to be Jews because their ancestry
is Jewish; their mothers and fathers, as far back as they know, were Jews. Is that the basis
on which to claim Jewishness? There are black Jews who are petitioning to belong to Israel.
But other Jews say you have to be white to be a Jew. What makes a Jew?
God says that nothing outward makes you a Jew. One becomes a Jew when his heart is
changed. As with Abraham and Jacob, you become a Jew when you believe in Yeshua
Hamashiach, Jesus the Messiah. The Jews for Jesus group is telling people this today. What
makes you a Jew is not the culture from which you came, the ritual through which you
have gone, the circumstances of your life, or your background, ancestry, or history, but the
fact that you have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what makes you a Jew.
Paul wrote in Galatians 3:29: If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise. {Gal 3:29 IV} Paul's conclusion of this section of Chapter
2 of Romans is that man without Christ is hopelessly lost. Though he defies God, deludes
himself, defiles his conscience, or denies what he himself teaches, he is absolutely,
hopelessly lost until he comes to know the Lord Jesus and lives on the basis of that
relationship. That is what makes a Christian.
It is not a question of whether you are baptized, galvanized, sanforized, or pasteurized. The
question is: Do you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have you received the gift of
righteousness which God gives to those who do not deserve it, cannot earn it, but receive it
by his love and grace? We will see what additional problems this raises with the Jews in
the next section of the book of Romans.”
6. Darby, God would have realities. The Gentile who fulfilled the law was better than a
Jew who broke it. If he called himself a Jew and acted ill (chap. 2: 17), he only dishonoured
God, and caused His name to be blasphemed among the Gentiles whilst boasting in his
privileges. He then enlarges on the point that God requires moral reality, and that a Gentile
who did that which the law demanded was better worth than a Jew who disobeyed it, and
that the real Jew was he who had the law in his heart, being circumcised also in the spirit,
and not he who had only outward circumcision. This was a condition which God could
praise, and not man only.
7. Calvin, “For a Jew is not he, etc. The meaning is, that a real Jew is not to
be ascertained, either by natural descent, or by profession, or by an
external symbol; that the circumcision which constitutes a Jew, does
not consist in an outward sign only, but that both are inward. And what
he subjoins with regard to true circumcision, is taken from various
passages of Scripture, and even from its general teaching; for the
people are everywhere commanded to circumcise their hearts, and it is
what the Lord promises to do. The fore-skin was cut off, not indeed as
the small corruption of one part, but as that of the whole nature.
Circumcision then signified the mortification of the whole flesh.”

212. 8. Haldane, “The Apostle now passes to what is reality, not supposition, and gives here the
proof of what he had affirmed, namely, that circumcision effects nothing for transgressors of
the law, except to cause their deeper condemnation, and that the want of circumcision would
be no loss to those who should have fulfilled the law. The reason of this is, that when the Jew
shall appear before the tribunal of God, to be there judged, and when he shall produce his
title as a Jew, as possessing it by birth, and his circumcision, as having received it as a sign
of the covenant of God, God will not be satisfied with such appearances, but will demand of
him what is essential and real. ow the essence and reality of things do not consist in names
or in eternal signs; and when nothing more is produced, God will not consider a man who
possesses them as a true Jew, nor his circumcision as true circumcision. He is only a Jew in
shadow and appearance, and his is only a figurative circumcision void of its truth. But he is
a Jew, who is one inwardly; that is to say, that in judging, God will only acknowledge as a
true Jew, and a true confessor of His name, him who has the reality, — namely, him who is
indeed holy and righteous, and who shall have fulfilled the law; for it is in this fulfillment
that confession, and praise, and giving of thanks consist, which are the things signified by
the name Jew. It is thus we are to understand the contrast which Paul makes between
‘outwardly’ and ‘inwardly.’ What is outward is the name, what is inward is the thing itself
represented by the name. And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the
letter. — It is essential to keep in view that here, and in all that precedes, from the beginning
of the 18th verse of the first chapter, Paul is referring not to the Gospel, but exclusively to
the law, and clearing the ground for the establishment of his conclusion in the following
chapter, verses 19th and 20th, concerning the universal guilt of mankind, and the
consequent impossibility of their being justified by the law. The whole is intended to prepare
the way for the demonstration of the grand truth announced, ch. 1:17, and resumed, ch.
3:21, of the revelation of a righteousness adequate to the demands of the law, and provided
for all who believe.
From a misapprehension in this respect, very erroneous explanations have been given by
many of this verse and the context, as well as of the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of the second
chapter, representing these passages as referring to the Gospel, and not exclusively to the
law. This introduces confusion into the whole train of the Apostle’s reasoning, and their
explanations are entirely at variance with his meaning and object. And circumcision . —
This passage is often considered as parallel to that in the Epistle to the Colossians, ch. 2:11.
‘In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ.’ But the purpose of the
Apostle in the one place and the other is altogether different. Many passages, in different
connections, which are similar in their expressions, are not so at all in their meanings. For
the illustration of this, it is necessary to remember that the Apostle, as has just been
observed, is here referring solely to the law, and likewise that circumcision in one view
respected the legal covenant, of which it was a ceremonial obligation, and in another, the
evangelical covenant, of which it was a type.
In the character of a ceremonial obligation of the legal covenant, it represented the entire
and perfect fulfilling of the law, which consisted not merely in external holiness, but in
perfect purity of soul; and in this sense it represented what no man possessed, but which
every man must have in order to be justified by the law. In the character of a type, it

213. represented regeneration and evangelical holiness, which consists in repentance and
amendment of life by the Spirit of Christ, and in that sense shadowed forth what really
takes place in those who believe in Jesus Christ. In Colossians, 2:11, the Apostle views it in
this last aspect; for he means to say that what the Jew had in type and figure under the law,
the believer has in reality and truth under the Gospel.
But in the passage before us Paul views it in its first aspect; for he is treating of the
judgment of strict justice by the law, which admits of no repentance or amendment of life.
The meaning, then, here is, that if the Jew will satisfy himself with bringing before the
judgment of the law what is only external and merely a ceremonial observance, without his
possessing that perfect righteousness which this observance denotes, and which the Judge
will demand, it will serve for no purpose but his condemnation. That of the heart in the
spirit. — That is to say, what penetrates to the bottom of the soul; in one word, that which is
real and effective. The term spirit does not here mean the Holy Spirit, nor has it a mystical
or evangelical signification; but it signifies what is internal, solid, and real, in opposition to
that which was ceremonial and figurative. And not in the letter. — ot that which takes
place only in the flesh, according to the literal commandment, and in all the prescribed
forms. In one word, it is to the spiritual circumcision that the Apostle refers, which is real in
the heart and spirit. Whose praise is not of men, but of God. — Here Paul alludes to the
name of Jew, which signifies praise, which may be taken either in an active sense, as
signifying praising, or in a passive sense, as praised.
Moses has taken it in this second meaning; when relating the blessing of Jacob, he says,
‘Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise.’ The Apostle here takes it in the same
way; but he does not mean that this praise is of men, but of God. The meaning is, that in
order to be a true Jew, it is not sufficient to possess external advantages, which attract
human praise, but it is necessary to be in a condition to obtain the praise of God.
The object of the whole of this chapter is to show that the Jews are sinners, violators of the
law as well as the Gentiles, and consequently that they cannot be justified before God by
their works; but that, on the contrary, however superior their advantages are to those of the
Gentiles, they can only expect from His strict justice, condemnation. The Jews esteemed it
the highest honor to belong to their nation, and they gloried over all other nations. An
uncircumcised person was by them regarded with abhorrence. They did not look to
character, but to circumcision or uncircumcision. othing, then, could be more cogent, or
more calculated to arrest the attention of the Jews, than this argument respecting the name
in which they gloried, and circumcision, their distinguishing national rite, with which Paul
here follows up what he had said concerning the demands of the law, and of their outward
transgressions of its precepts. He had dwelt, in the preceding part of this chapter, on their
more glaring and atrocious outward violations of the law, as theft, adultery, and sacrilege,
by which they openly dishonored God. ow he enters into the recesses of the heart, of
which, even if their outward conduct had been blameless, and the subject of the praise of
men, its want of inward conformity to that law, which was manifest in the sight of God,
could not obtain his praise.

214. 29. o, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit,
not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not
from men, but from God.
1. Paul is saying that a true Jew is not determined by genealogy, but by what goes on in
their inner being. If God is pleased with what he sees in the heart of a person, and he
praises that person, that person is a true Jew. Jewishness is internal and not external.
External characteristics do not stimulate the praise of God. It is only what he sees inside a
person that will motivate God to praise a person. When God spoke from heaven and said of
Jesus, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased,” he was not referring to his external
characteristics, but to the beauty and holiness of his heart.
1B. What Paul is saying here is really quite anti-semitic, for he is denying that those who
are born Jews, and who have been brought up in Judaism with all of its legalistic tradtions,
as well as its great heritage, are not really Jews at all in its Biblical definition. Those who
are only Jews by birth, or by heritage, or by choice to follow their religion are not Jews
inwardly. They only have the outward name of Jew, and the external rituals of the Jew, but
if they are not Jews inwardly, they are not true Jews. This has to be very offensive to the
Jewish world, for in essence Paul has written off Judaism as a valid religion that is pleasing
to God, and in essense this is the Christian position. obody who does not accept Jesus as
Savior are God's people. We call the Jews God's people, for they were from the beginning
with the choice of Abraham to be the father of God's people, but when they rejected their
Messiah they lost that status. ow it is Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, who are God's
people.
2. We usually think of praise as being a human activity directed at God, but here we see it
can also be a God activity directed at men. What honor in life could be greater than to
receive the praise of God? This is the ultimate prize of life.
3. Gill, “But he is a Jew which is one inwardly…Who has an internal work of grace upon
his soul: who has not only an outward name, but an inward nature; not the law of God in
the hand, but in the heart; not an external righteousness only, but internal holiness; and
who is not a mere outward court worshiper, but a worshiper of God in Spirit and in truth.
The Jews have a saying themselves,
``that whosoever denies idolatry, (ydwhy arqn) , is called a Jew:''
so that, according to them, this is a name that is not confined to themselves, but belongs to
all such who truly fear and worship God; and they say, in the same place, that Pharaoh's

215. daughter was called (tydwhy) , a Jewess, because she denied idolatry, and went down to
wash herself from the idols of her father's house. And elsewhere,
``that faith does not depend upon circumcision, but upon the heart: he that believes not
as he should, circumcision does not make him a Jew; and he that believes as he ought, he
indeed is a Jew, though he is not circumcised.''
And circumcision is that of the heart; which God requires, and he himself promises to give,
(Deuteronomy 10:16) (30:6) (Jeremiah 4:4) , upon which last passage, a very noted Jew has
this observation, (blh tlm ayh taz) , this is the circumcision of the heart; the very phrase
the apostle here uses: circumcision of the flesh was typical of this, which lies in a godly
sorrow for sin, in a putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, and in renouncing a man's
own righteousness in the business of justification. The ancient Jews had some notion of this
typical use of circumcision. So Philo the Jew says, that circumcision taught (hdonwn kai
paywn pantwn ektomhn) , the cutting off of all pleasures and affections: and elsewhere
he says: it is a symbol of two things particularly; the one is the cutting off of pleasures, as
before; and the other is the removal of arrogancy, that grievous disease of the soul: and in
another place he calls purity, or chastity, (peritomhv peritomhn) , the circumcision of
circumcision. ow this our apostle says is in the spirit; meaning either the spirit or soul of
man, which is the seat and subject of it; or the Spirit of God, who is the author of it: the
Ethiopic version reads it, by the Holy Ghost:and not in the letter; or by the letter of
the law; but the Holy Ghost produces this spiritual work instrumentally, by the preaching
of the Gospel. To which the apostle adds, whose praise is not of men, but of God; referring
not to circumcision immediately spoken of before, but to the Jew who is one inwardly: and
alludes to the name Judah, from whence the Jews are called, which comes from the word
(hdy) , which signifies to praise; and intimates here, that such persons must not expect
praise from men, who are only taken, with outward things, but from God, who searches
and knows the heart.”
4. Barnes, “But he is a Jew - He comes up to the design of the Jewish institution; he
manifests truly what it is to be a Jew.
Which is one inwardly - Who is “in heart” a Jew. Who has the true spirit, and fulfils the
design of their being separated as a special people. This passage proves that the design of
separating them was not merely to perform certain external rites, or to conform to external
observances, but to be a people holy in heart and in life. It cannot be denied that this design
was not generally understood in the time of the apostles; but it was abundantly declared in
the Old Testament: Deu_6:5; Deu_10:12-13, Deu_10:20; Deu_30:14; Isa_1:11-20; Mic_6:8;
Psa_51:16-17; 50:7-23.
And circumcision is that of the heart - That is, that circumcision which is acceptable to
God. and which meets the design of the institution, is what is attended with holiness of
heart; with the cutting off of sins; and with a pure life. The design of circumcision was to be
a sign of separation from the pagan world, and of consecration to the holy God. And this
design implied the renunciation and forsaking of all sins; or the cutting off of everything
that was offensive to God. This was a work especially of the heart. This design was often
stated and enforced in the writings of the Old Testament; Deu_10:16, “Circumcise,
therefore, the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked;” Jer_4:4; Deu_30:6.

216. In the spirit - This is an expression explaining further what he had just said. It does not
mean by the Holy Spirit, but that the work was to take place in the soul, and not in the body
only. It was to be an internal, spiritual work, and not merely an external service.
And not in the letter - That is, not only according to the literal, external command,
Whose praise ... - Whose object is not to secure the praise of human beings. One of the
main characteristics of the Jews in the time of Christ was, a desire to secure honor among
men, as being exactly scrupulous in the performance of all the duties of their religion. They
prided themselves on their descent from Abraham, and on their regular conformity to the
precepts of the Law of Moses; Mat_3:9; Mat_6:2, Mat_6:5; Luk_18:10-12; Mat_23:23.
But of God - “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the
heart;” 1Sa_16:7. The praise of God can be bestowed only on those who conform really, and
not externally only, to his requirements.
The remarks which are made here respecting the Jews, are also strictly applicable to
professing Christians, and we may learn,
1. That the external rites of religion are of much less importance than the state of the
heart.
2. That the only value of those rites is to promote holiness of heart and life.
3. That the mere fact that we are born of pious ancestors will not save us.
4. That the fact that we were dedicated to God in baptism will not save us.
5. That a mere profession of religion, however orthodox may be our creed, will not save
us.
6. That the estimate which people may put on our piety is not the proper measure of our
true character and standing.
7. It is an inexpressible privilege to be in possession of the Word of God, and to know our
duty. It may, if improved, conduce to our elevation in holiness and happiness here, and
to our eternal felicity hereafter.
8. It is also a fearful thing to neglect the privileges which we enjoy. We shall be judged
according to the light which we have; and it will be an awful event to go to eternity
from a Christian land unprepared.
9. Whatever may be the destiny of the pagan, it is our duty to make preparation to meet
God. The most wicked of the pagan may meet a far milder doom than many who are
externally moral, or who profess religion in Christian lands. Instead, therefore, of
speculating on what may be their destiny, it is the duty of every individual to be at
peace himself with God, and to flee from the wrath to come.
5. Clarke, “But he is a Jew - A true member of the Church of God.
Which is one inwardly - Who has his heart purified, according to what God has uniformly
prescribed by his prophets; see above: for circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, εν
πνευματι by the Spirit of God, who is the author of all spiritual affections and holy
purposes: or, every thing here is to be understood spiritually, and not literally; for without
holiness none can please God, and without holiness none can see him.
Whose praise is not of men - It has, with great probability, been conjectured that the
apostle may here refer to the signification of the name Jew, or Judah, יהודה Yehudah,

217. Praise, from ידה Yadah, he Praised. Such a one is a true Israelite, who walks in a conformity
to the spirit of his religion: his countrymen may praise him because he is a steady professor
of the Jewish faith; but God praises him, because he has entered into the spirit and design of
the covenant made with Abraham, and has got the end of his faith, the salvation of his soul.
Sentiments like these, on the same subject, may be found in the ancient Jewish writers.
Rabbi Lipman gives the opinion of their most ancient and pure writers in these words: - “A
certain Christian mocked us, saying, ‘Women, who cannot be circumcised, cannot be
reckoned among Jews.’ Such persons are ignorant that faith does not consist in
circumcision, but in the heart. He who has not genuine faith is not a partaker of the Jewish
circumcision; but he who has genuine faith is a Jew, although not circumcised.” izzachon,
um. 21, p. 19. It is a curious maxim of the Talmudists, That the Jews sit in the inmost
recesses of the heart. idda, fol. 20, 2. This is exactly the sentiment of St. Paul: Circumcision
is of the heart, in the spirit. In short, common sense, as well as their law and their prophets,
taught every considerate man among them that God could be pleased with their rites and
external performances no farther than they led to holiness of heart and righteousness of life.
1. What the apostle says, in the preceding chapter, concerning the Gentiles doing by
nature the things contained in the law, if properly considered, would lead certain
persons from forming erroneous judgments concerning the Divine dispensations. We
are not to suppose that God is not to be found where his written word does not appear;
nor that the salvation of the nations yet unblessed with the light of the Gospel is
impossible. God has never confined himself to any one particular way of
communicating his salvation, any more than he has confined his saving grace to one
people. His word is an indescribable blessing; but that word becomes effectual to
salvation when accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was that Spirit which
gave the word originally; and that same Spirit can speak without this word. It is
through his influence alone that the Gentiles do the things contained in his own law;
and it is not to be wondered at that the work is the same, both in the law and in the
heart, when it has proceeded from the same Spirit.
2. God therefore will judge all nations according to the use and abuse they have made of
this word, whether it was written in the heart, or written on tables of stone.
3. As he is no respecter of persons, all nations are equally dear to him; and he has
granted and will grant to them such discoveries of himself as have been and will be
sufficient for their salvation.
4. His Word is an infinite blessing; and he has given it to one people that they may be the
means of conveying it to another. Europe, and especially Christian Europe, has got the
Bible; and God requires Europe to send the Bible throughout the earth. If this be not
done, through their neglect, the Gentile nations will not be destroyed by a merciful
God; yet the Europeans will have a most solemn and awful account to render to their
Judge, that they have hidden the heavenly light under their own bushel. Britain is
shaking herself from the dust, and, by means of the British and Foreign Bible Society,
is sending the holy Scriptures to every kingdom, and nation, and people, and tongue.
The Gentiles are now learning from the written law more fully and savingly what the
Spirit of God had before written on their hearts; and it seems as if the kingdom of God
were now about to come with all-conquering power.

218. 6. Henry, “He describes the true circumcision, Rom_2:28, Rom_2:29. (1.) It is not that
which is outward in the flesh and in the letter. This is not to drive us off from the observance
of external institutions (they are good in their place), but from trusting to them and resting
in them as sufficient to bring us to heaven, taking up with a name to live, without being
alive indeed. He is not a Jew, that is, shall not be accepted of God as the seed of believing
Abraham, nor owned as having answered the intention of the law. To be Abraham's
children is to do the works of Abraham, Joh_8:39, Joh_8:40. (2.) It is that which is inward,
of the heart, and in the spirit. It is the heart that God looks at, the circumcising of the heart
that renders us acceptable to him. See Deu_30:6. This is the circumcision that is not made
with hands, Col_2:11, Col_2:12. Casting away the body of sin. So it is in the spirit, in our
spirit as the subject, and wrought by God's Spirit as the author of it. (3.) The praise
thereof, though it be not of men, who judge according to outward appearance, yet it is of
God, that is, God himself will own and accept and crown this sincerity; for he seeth not as
man seeth. Fair pretences and a plausible profession may deceive men: but God cannot be
so deceived; he sees through shows to realities. This is alike true of Christianity. He is not a
Christian that is one outwardly, nor is that baptism which is outward in the flesh; but he is
a Christian that is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in
the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God.”
7. John Wesley, “That circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;
-- that the distinguishing mark of a true follower of Christ, of one who is in a state of
acceptance with God, is not either outward circumcision, or baptism, or any other outward
form, but a right state of soul, a mind and spirit renewed after the image of Him that
created it; -- is one of those important truths that can only be spiritually discerned. And
this the Apostle himself intimates in the next words, -- Whose praise is not of men, but of
God. As if he had said, Expect not, whoever thou art, who thus followest thy great
Master, that the world, the one who follow him not, will say, `Well done, good and faithful
servant!' Know that the circumcision of the heart, the seal of thy calling, is foolishness with
the world. Be content to wait for thy applause till the day of thy Lord's appearing. In that
day shalt thou have praise of God, in the great assembly of men and angels.
I am, First, to inquire, wherein that circumcision of the heart consists, which will receive
the praise of God. In general we may observe, it is that habitual disposition of soul which,
in the sacred writings, is termed holiness; and which directly implies, the being cleansed
from sin, from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit; and, by consequence, the being
endued with those virtues which were also in Christ Jesus; the being so renewed in the
spirit of our mind, as to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.
To be more particular: Circumcision of heart implies humility, faith, hope, and charity.
Humility, a right judgment of ourselves, cleanses our minds from those high conceits of our
own perfection, from that undue opinion of our own abilities and attainments, which are
the genuine fruit of a corrupted nature. This entirely cuts off that vain thought, I am rich,
and wise, and have need of nothing; and convinces us that we are by nature wretched, and
poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked. It convinces us, that in our best estate we are,

219. of ourselves, all sin and vanity; that confusion, and ignorance, and error reign over our
understanding; that unreasonable, earthly, sensual, devilish passions usurp authority over
our will; in a word, that there is no whole part in our soul, that all the foundations of our
nature are out of course.
At the same time we are convinced, that we are not sufficient of ourselves to help ourselves;
that, without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing but add sin to sin; that it is He alone who
worketh in us by his almighty power, either to will or do that which is good; it being as
impossible for us even to think a good thought, without the supernatural assistance of his
Spirit, as to create ourselves, or to renew our whole souls in righteousness and true
holiness.
A sure effect of our having formed this right judgment of the sinfulness and helplessness
of our nature, is a disregard of that honor which cometh of man, which is usually paid to
some supposed excellency in us. He who knows himself, neither desires nor values the
applause which he knows he deserves not. It is therefore a very small thing with him, to be
judged by man's judgment. He has all reason to think, by comparing what it has said,
either for or against him, with what he feels in his own breast, that the world, as well as the
god of this world, was a liar from the beginning. And even as to those who are not of the
world; thought he would choose, if it were the will of God, that they should account of him
as of one desirous to be found a faithful steward of his Lord's goods, if haply this might be
a means of enabling him to be of more use to his fellow-servants, yet as this is the one end
of his wishing for their approbation, so he does not at all rest upon it: For he is assured,
that whatever God wills, he can never want instruments to perform; since he is able, even
of these stones, to raise up servants to do his pleasure.
This is that lowliness of mind, which they have learned of Christ, who follow his example
and tread in his steps. And this knowledge of their disease, whereby they are more and
more cleansed from one part of it, pride and vanity, disposes them to embrace, with a
willing mind, the second thing implied in circumcision of the heart, -- that faith which alone
is able to make them whole, which is the one medicine given under heaven to heal their
sickness.
The best guide of the blind, the surest light of them that are in darkness, the most perfect
instructor of the foolish, is faith. But it must be such a faith as is mighty through God, to
the pulling down of strong-holds, -- to the overturning all the prejudices of corrupt
reason, all the false maxims revered among men, all evil customs and habits, all that
wisdom of the world which is foolishness with God; as casteth down imaginations,
reasoning, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Here, then, is the sum of the perfect law; this is the true circumcision of the heart. Let the
spirit return to God that gave it, with the whole train of its affections. Unto the place from
whence all the rivers came thither let them flow again. Other sacrifices from us he would
not; but the living sacrifice of the heart he hath chosen. Let it be continual offered up to
God through Christ, in flames of holy love. And let no creature be suffered to share with

220. him: For he is a jealous God. His throne will he not divide with another: He will reign
without a rival. Be no design, no desire admitted there, but what has Him for its ultimate
object. This is the way where in those children of God once walked, who, being dead, still
speak to us: Desire not to live, but to praise his name: Let all your thoughts, words, and
works, tend to his glory. Set your heart firm on him, and on other things only as they are in
and from him. Let your soul be filled with so entire a love of him, that you may love
nothing but for his sake. Have a pure intention of heart, a steadfast regard to his glory in
all your actions. Fix your eye upon the blessed hope of your calling, and make all the
things of the world minister unto it. For then, and not till then is that mind in us which
was also in Christ Jesus; when, in every motion of our heart, in every word of our tongue,
in every work of our hands, we pursue nothing but in relation to him, and in
subordination to his pleasure; when we, too, neither think, nor speak, nor act, to fulfil our
own will, but the will of him that sent us; when, whether we;' eat, or drink, or whatever
we do, we do all to the glory of God.
8. Barclay, Rom. 2:29 contains a pun which is completely untranslatable. The praise of
such a man comes not from men but from God. The Greek word for praise is epainos.
When we turn back to the Old Testament (Gen. 29:35; Gen. 49:8), we find that the original
and traditional meaning of the word Judah is praise (epainos). Therefore this phrase means
two things. (a) It means the praise of such a man comes not from men but from God. (b) It
means the Jewishness of such a man comes not from men but from God. The sense of the
passage is that God's promises are not to people of a certain race and to people who bear a
certain mark on their bodies. They are to people who live a certain kind of life irrespective
of their race. To be a real Jew is not a matter of pedigree but of character; and often the
man who is not racially a Jew may be a better Jew than the man who is.
9. John Piper, “WHO IS A TRUE JEW? (Romans 2:25-29)
For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of
the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So if the uncircumcised man
keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as
circumcision? 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 transgressor of
the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is
outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that
which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but
from God.
How a Gentile Becomes a Jew
The main point that I want to make from this text this morning is that God will regard you
as a Jew - that is, will count you, though you be a Gentile, as a member of his chosen people
- if you keep the requirements of the Law, that is, if you fulfil the Law. I base it mainly on
verse 26: So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his
uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? In other words, a Gentile (that's what is
meant by the uncircumcised man) who fulfils the requirements of the Law will be
counted as a true Jew - a true member of God's chosen people, Israel.
ow, there are at least three urgent questions you may ask about this main point.

221. 1. One would be: I thought the point of this unit (Romans 2) was to show that the Jews are
under sin and in need of the Gospel of justification by faith (Romans 3:9). Why does Paul
make a point about Gentiles becoming Jews? It seems out of place. How does this fit into
his over-all purpose to show that all are under sin?
2. Another question you may ask would be: How does the promise that Gentiles will be
regarded as true Jews, if we keep the requirements of the Law, fit together with the
promise that we are justified not by works of the Law but by faith (Romans 3:28)? Does
this promise in Romans 2:26 really come true for anybody? Or is it hypothetical? Is this
really Christian experience - to fulfil the requirements of the Law and so be counted as a
true Jew?
3. Finally, you might ask, Why does it matter if I am counted as a Jew or not? I don't get up
in the morning wishing I were a Jew. Why would you even think of preaching a sermon
that has such a foreign notion as its main point? This is not a felt need. Who wants to be a
true Jew anyway? And why would they want that?
ow that is the way I want to built this message - by answering those three questions, one
at a time.
Questions - Possible Objections
1. First of all, If the point of Romans 2 is to show that the Jews are under sin and in need of
the Gospel (Romans 3:9), why does Paul make a point in verse 26 about Gentiles becoming
Jews? It seems out of place. How does this fit into his over-all purpose to show that all are
under sin?
otice verse 25 and its connection with verse 26. For indeed circumcision is of value if you
practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become
uncircumcision. ow that is what we expect in this section: a word to Jews. What's the
point of verse 25? The point is that external marks of election and privilege - external
marks of being a Jew - are really of no value at all if the person who has those marks lives a
life of transgressing the Law. In other words, if you reject the real message of the Law of
God and have a rebellious heart against God, then external rituals, such as circumcision,
will not do you any good. You will not be right with God.
So Paul is supporting the point from verses 17-24 that the Jewish people in general in his
day were not teaching themselves the real meaning of the Law (verse 21), and were
transgressing it at its core. And having the external marks of the covenant, like
circumcision, was of no value at all to keep them from judgment. They are under sin and in
need of the gift of God's righteousness, just as we Gentiles are.
ow the connection with verse 26. Paul draws out a lesson for the Gentiles: So (=
therefore) if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his
uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? In other words, if your failure to fulfil the
Law means that your circumcision is of no value (verse 25), then it follows that the crucial
thing is not externals like circumcision, but a true grasp of what the Law was really
teaching about the heart and about faith and about the obedience that comes from faith
(see last week's message). And if that is what really matters, then Gentiles - the
uncircumcised - who grasp the real meaning of the Law and have their hearts changed by
the Spirit and live out the obedience of faith (see 1:5; 16:26), they will, in reality, be the true

222. Jews.
Gentile Conversions Leading to Jewish Conversions
Why make this point? Because it underlines at least two things Paul wants to say to his
Jewish kinsmen to help prepare them for the gospel.
1) If outsiders, like the Gentiles, are really inheriting the promises given to the Jews while
the Jews aren't, it shows how badly the Jews misunderstood their own Law. As verse 21
says, they did not teach themselves. They stumbled over the real message of faith, and
turned the Law into a catalog of external performances. If the Gentiles can become Jews
and inherit the promises, then the Jews really missed it. They put external reality, like
circumcision, where internal reality, like faith, should have been (see Romans 9:32).
2) If outsiders, like the Gentiles, are really taking the place of natural-born Israelites in the
kingdom of God, then this shows how badly the Jewish people need to be saved. They are
not just seen to be lost, because everyone else is lost; their lostness is even more clear,
because those who are less likely candidates than themselves are being saved and taking
their own place at the table of salvation, while Jews are missing out.
So my answer to the first question is: Paul brings up the issue of Gentiles becoming Jews to
help the Jews see that they really have misread their Bibles and really do need salvation by
grace through faith, the same as the Gentiles who are inheriting the very promises they
thought belonged only to Jews.
2. The second question might be: If your main point is that God will regard Gentiles as
Jews if they keep the requirements of the Law, how does that fit together with the promise
that we are justified not by works of the Law but by faith (Romans 3:28)? Does this
promise in verse 26 really come true for anybody, or is it hypothetical? Is this really
Christian experience - to fulfil the requirements of the Law and so be counted as a true
Jew?
Keep in mind the verse that we are focusing on - verse 26: So if the uncircumcised man
keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as
circumcision? I take this to mean that, if you keep the Law as it was really meant to be
kept, then, even if you are a Gentile, you will be reckoned by God to be a part of his true
chosen people -which includes inheriting eternal life. That is, you will enter eternal life if
you fulfil the true intention of the Law (see 2:7).
ow let me give two responses to the question of whether this is a Christian experience and
how it fits with justification by faith alone. Let's start with the immediate context and then
go to Romans 8.
In verse 27, Paul repeats the truth that the one who is physically uncircumcised will be in
a position of judging, not of being judged, at the last day, if he keeps [literally: fulfils] the
Law. Then verse 28 starts with the word for to show that Paul is giving some support
for what he has just said, namely, that Gentiles who fulfil the Law will be counted as true
Jews and will be in the position of judges, not of being judged, at the last day.
And what he says in this support, especially verse 29, is very helpful for understanding how
Gentiles are counted to be Jews if they fulfil the true meaning of the Law. Verses 28-29:
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the

223. flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by
the Spirit, not by the letter . . .
The point of verse 29 is that the Holy Spirit is the one who makes uncircumcised Gentiles
into circumcised Jews, namely, by circumcising their hearts. Circumcision, Paul says, is, in
essence, an internal change of heart, not an external change of the sexual organ. When he
contrasts letter and Spirit (verse 29), he means that the Jews had been experiencing
the Law at the external level (letter). But, in fact, the Law called for an internal change
produced by the Spirit, even if the Law itself couldn't produce that change (see Romans
8:3f).
Well, all of this shows that Paul has Christians in mind, because this is the way he talks
about Christian conversion. For example, in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, he says, ot that we are
adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is
from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of
the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Letter of the Law - Spirit of the Law
In other words, behind this language of letter and Spirit is Paul's whole
understanding of the Christian life as an expression of the new covenant. In the promises
of the new covenant, which Jesus bought with his own blood (Luke 22:20), God promises to
take out the heart of stone and give us a new heart and put his Spirit within us and cause us
to walk in his Law. Listen to Ezekiel 36:37b: I will put My Spirit within you and cause you
to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances (see also Ezekiel
11:19-20).
This promise shows that keeping the Law and fulfilling the Law are something that God
promised when the Holy Spirit was given to his people in the fuller measure of the new
covenant. So when verse 26 says, If the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the
Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?, we should understand this
of the Christian Gentile who has been given the Spirit and has stopped treating the Law
as a dead letter that kills. Rather, the Law now has become the expression of God's good
moral will for life that grows like fruit from a circumcised heart of faith that the Holy
Spirit has brought about. In other words, keeping the requirements of the Law is a free gift
of the Spirit.
This is not legalism. This is not earning salvation. This is the obedience of faith which Paul,
in Romans 1:5, said was the goal of all his ministry: We have received grace and
apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's
sake. Keeping the requirements of the Law means discovering that the Law really teaches
us to trust God's grace and then live in a way that shows the reality of that trust by the
power of God's indwelling Spirit, not the powerless, dead letter.
The second response I have to the question (Is the keeping of the Law so as to be counted a
true Jew really a Christian experience?) is to look at Romans 8:3-4: For what the Law
could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the
requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, [the same idea as Romans 2:26-27], who do
not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

224. This makes it clear that the idea of fulfilling the Law is a Christian experience and that it
really does happen, and that it happens in the lives of those who walk according to the
Spirit. Christ died for us and purchased for us the new covenant blessings of the Spirit, and
now He is at work in our lives enabling us to live out - not perfectly, but enough to show we
trust him - the moral law of God.
So now we go back to Romans 2:26, So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements
of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? What this means is
that Christ has died for us and has purchased for us the gift and power of the Holy Spirit
the way the new covenant promised. The Spirit within us has freed us from the Law as a
dead letter (Romans 7:6), and has shown us that the Law is really a call to trust a
merciful and gracious God for the free gift of forgiveness and righteousness, and then to let
his moral will guide the way we express our faith in life.
So, even though we are Gentiles and may not be physically circumcised, we fulfil the Law
and are regarded by God as true Jews on the basis of our faith, which is confirmed by our
obedience to God's moral law. And we know he is talking about God's moral law and not
the ceremonial law, because circumcision is not included. And we know he is talking about
sincere obedience, not sinless obedience, because at the very heart of the new covenant is
the blood of Christ which covers all our sins (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:12), which we
wouldn't need if we were made sinless at conversion.
3. Finally, someone might ask, Why does it matter whether or not I am counted as a Jew? I
don't get up in the morning wishing I were a Jew. Why would you even think of preaching
a sermon that has such a foreign notion as its main point? Who wants to be a true Jew
anyway? And why would they want that?
Since our time is up and I intend to pick it up here next week, I will content myself with two
short and very important reasons.
One is that God is at pains to explain to you that you are a true Jew. This is God's word to
you about who you are if you are a believer. To say that you are not interested in being a
Jew is like saying you are not interested in knowing your true identity. Since the Fall, we
are all like people who have gone through a horrific ordeal and have lost our memory. We
are all plagued with amnesia. And we are wandering about in the world trying to figure out
who we are.
One Person knows who we are. God. He made us. He defines us. If we are ever going to
know who we are in our essence, we will learn it from God or not at all. Therefore it is a
great gift to us that he should tell us that an essential part of our identity is that we are true
Jews if we fulfil the obedience of faith. Don't reject God's good gift because you can't see
the benefits of being a true Jew. That's the first thing I would say: God is telling you who
you are. Pay attention. Receive the gift. Don't assume you know a better thing to be than
what God says you are.
And finally, I would say, you ought to want to be a true Jew because salvation belongs to
the Jews (John 4:22), and all the promises of God are yours if you are a true Jew (see
Romans 11:17-18). What a great thing it is to be able to go to the whole Bible, Old and ew
Testament, and know that this is my book. I am a Jew. These are my promises. This is
my story. This is my Messiah. This is my God (Jeremiah 31:33). You can say that today -

225. Jew or Gentile - if you will trust in the all-satisfying mercy of God in Christ Jesus and
repent of your sins.
Here is where I will pick it up next week. I want you to revel in this. All I have been able to
do today is lay some foundations. ext week we will step back and get the bigger picture of
why it is so thrilling to be a true Jew.”
10. Constable, “We now discover a second reason Paul chose to address his fellow
Israelites as Jews in this section (vv. 17-29). ot only was Jew a title
that non-Jews used to describe Israelites, but the word Jew comes from
the name Judah, which means praise. Paul was saying the person who
really praises God is not one who merely wears the label of circumcision
but one who really obeys God. Such a person has a circumcised heart (cf.
Deut. 30:6; Jer. 4:4; 9:25-26; Ezek. 44:9). Heart circumcision is a spiritual
operation that the Holy Spirit performs, not a physical operation that
conforms to the letter of the Mosaic Law. The truly obedient person will
not only praise God, but God will also praise him. He will not just receive
the praise of men for his professed obedience to God.”
11. Calvin, “What he then adds, in the spirit, not in the letter, understand
thus: He calls the outward rite, without piety, the letter, and the
spiritual design of this rite, the spirit; for the whole importance of
signs and rites depends on what is designed; when the end in view is
not regarded, the letter alone remains, which in itself is useless. And
the reason for this mode of speaking is this, -- where the voice of God
sounds, all that he commands, except it be received by men in sincerity
of heart, will remain in the letter, that is, in the dead writing; but
when it penetrates into the heart, it is in a manner transformed into
spirit. And there is an allusion to the difference between the old and
the new covenant, which Jeremiah points out in Jeremiah 31:33; where
the Lord declares that his covenant would be firm and permanent when
engraven on the inward parts. Paul had also the same thing in view in
another place, (2 Corinthians 3:6,) where he compares the law with the
gospel, and calls the former the letter, which is not only dead but
killeth; and the latter he signalizes with the title of spirit. But
extremly gross has been the folly of those who have deduced a double
meaning from the letter, and allegories from the spirit.
Whose praise is not from men, etc. As men fix their eyes only on those
things which are visible, he denies that we ought to be satisfied with
what is commendable in the estimation of men, who are often deceived by
outward splendor; but that we ought to be satisfied with the all-seeing
eyes of God, from which the deepest secrets of the heart are not hid.
He thus again summons hypocrites, who soothe themselves with false
opinions, to the tribunal of God.”

226. 12. WHO IS A TRUE JEW? Part Two(Romans 2:25-29)
For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of
the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So if the uncircumcised man
keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as
circumcision? 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 transgressor of
the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is
outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that
which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but
from God.
Gentiles Can Become Jews
Paul's purpose in this chapter is to underline the need of the Jewish people (along with the
rest of the world) for the gift of righteousness which God gives freely to those who trust
Christ (Romans 3:20,28; 1:16-17). Both Gentiles and Jews are under the dominion of sin
(3:9), and in need of a salvation that God is ready to give to all those who put their trust in
his Son.
ow in these verses (2:25-29) the way Paul underlines this need that Jewish people have is
to show that Gentiles, are actually becoming the true Jews, and will even stand in judgment
over the Jews at the judgment day. This was a staggering thought to Paul and his fellow
Jews - that Gentiles could be counted as Jews who inherit God's promises to Israel, while
natural-born Jews are judged and perish.
How Can This Be?
How could this be?
Well, Paul's argument is remarkable and is full of rich truth for us today. There are
implications in this text for us that are breathtaking. Let's quickly get into Paul's flow of
thought and then broaden our horizon to another passage of Scripture that will help us
understand this one even better.
Amazingly, he says in verse 26 that the uncircumcised man (the Gentile) will be regarded
by God as a circumcised man (a true Jew) if he keeps the requirements of Law. So if the
uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be
regarded as circumcision? So it isn't circumcision that makes you a true Jew, it is keeping
the requirements of the Law - that is, it is understanding what the Law was really all about
and being changed by it in the heart and living out God's purpose for man taught in it (see
1 Corinthians 7:19).
Then in verse 27, even more amazingly, Paul says that the Gentiles will be a living
indictment of the disobedient Jews at the judgment day if the Gentiles keep the law.
And he who is physically uncircumcised (=Gentile), if he keeps the Law, will he not judge
you who, though having the letter of the Law and circumcision, are a transgressor of the
Law?
So in both verses 26 and 27, Paul pictures some Gentiles really being part of God's people
and being saved from judgment, while some natural-born Jews are judged and perish at
the judgment day. This underlines the need of Jews not to presume upon their privileged

227. place as Jews. They are sinners like everyone else and liable to judgment.
How Can Some Jews ot Be Jews?
ow, again, how can this be? How can Paul say that natural-born Jews may not really be
Jews, and Gentiles, even without being circumcised, may really be Jews? Because if this is
true, then you and I today may actually become true Jews and part of God's chosen people
with all the privileges promised to the children of Abraham.
Paul knows this is a staggering thought for the Jews and Gentiles of his day and so he gives
some supporting explanation in verses 28-29.
But before I show you his argument, I want to make sure you are with me and that you see
this truth in at least one other place in the ew Testament -namely, the truth that Gentiles
actually become part of God's chosen people Israel.
The clearest place to see this is Ephesians 2:11ff.
Remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision
by the so-called Circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands [ote!
The Jews are the so-called circumcision - this is the same point as in Romans 2:25ff: they
are Jews, but not true Jews] -(12) remember that you were at that time separate from
Christ [=the Jewish Messiah], excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to
the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (13) But now in
Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ. . . . (19) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens
with the saints, and are of God's household.
So you can see how Paul thinks in this regard. In relation to Christ, Gentiles really do
become part of the commonwealth of Israel (verse 12). They become true Jews.
But how does Paul explain and defend this in Romans 2:28-29? What makes these two
verses so remarkable is that they are given as the explanation of how Gentiles become true
Jews by keeping the requirements of the law (verse 26) and fulfilling the law (verse 27,
more literal than keeping the law). Verse 26 says that an uncircumcised Gentile will be
regarded as truly circumcised if he keeps the law. And verse 27 says that the
uncircumcised Gentile will judge transgressors of the law if he fulfills the law.
Then comes the explanation for how such Law-keeping or Law-fulfilling makes a
person a Jew. He answers, verses 28-29: 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 which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is
not from men, but from God.
This is amazing. The reason it's amazing is that what Paul is trying to show is why Law-keeping
- Law-fulfilling - makes one a true Jew, and his answer is all about internal change,
not external activity. He says, in essence, that Law-keeping or Law-fulfilling makes you a
true Jew because it is not mainly an external thing, but an internal thing. It has to do
mainly with the sense of the heart and not the seeing of the letter. It has to do mainly with
praise that comes from God in secret, not the praise of man in public (see Matthew
6:4,6,18). That is what the Law is really all about. Otherwise the argument doesn't work.
The argument says: Gentile, you can be truly circumcised to God and belong to him as a

228. true Jew, if you fulfill the Law! Really? says the Gentile, How so? And Paul answers,
Because being truly circumcised and being a true Jew is a matter of the heart and
happens by the Spirit. ow, that answer only makes sense if fulfilling the law means
experiencing this heart-change by the Spirit, and then living in sync with that inner change.
So the point is that a person is a true Jew - a true part of God's redeemed people - if he
fulfills the Law, that is, if his heart is circumcised by the Spirit to love God. Deuteronomy
30:6 promised, The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your
descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that
you may live. That's what Paul is talking about here, and you don't have to be a natural-born
Jew, he says, for it to happen to you.
But it wasn't happening for many Jews and it was happening for some Gentiles. Why?
Draw a Picture
Let me try a picture to see if I can make this plain for the children, and then maybe the
adults will get it too.
At the top of the picture is God. You can't see God, so we will just write the word G-o-d. At
the bottom of the picture there is a heart - our heart. In the middle between God and us
there is the Law -picture a book, the Bible. ow the ultimate aim of the Law is to bring our
heart and God together in a personal relationship of love and trust and obedience, not just
an acquaintance like you might have with the store clerk or the mailman. But a deep and
personal love relationship and fellowship.
But this was not happening for the very people of the Book. Most of the Jews were reading
the Law and learning the Law and summing it up in lists of regulations and doing most of
them. And in all this, Paul has said, they were transgressing the Law, and their
circumcision was useless and didn't help them at all (verse 25).
Why? Because something is missing from the picture. What's missing? Tell me on the basis
of verse 29 alone. He is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the
heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. What
is missing is the Spirit.
How shall we draw the Spirit? He is invisible. Let's use arrows. Draw an arrow from the
Law in the middle down to the heart. The Spirit takes the Law and writes it on the heart
(Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:27) so that we love it and it becomes part of us,
rather than being merely an external pressure from the outside.
Then draw another arrow from the heart up through the Law to God. The Spirit not only
takes the Law through our eyes into our hearts; it also takes us through the Law into God.
And that's the ultimate goal of the Law: a personal relationship of love with the living God
through his Word.
Writing Equations
Without the Spirit we either reject the Law of God out of hand, or we change it into
something we can manage. And in either case we lose, and the Law condemns us: you can
become a transgressor of the law by rejecting it or by trying to keep it in your own
strength. Paul calls the law minus the Spirit: letter. And he says in another place, the
letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

229. So let's put two summary equations in the corner of our picture.
Law minus Spirit = 1) external religious ritual (like circumcision) 2) the need for the praise
of man to keep you going 3) death, because the Law becomes mere letter, and that kills
Law plus Spirit = 1) internal circumcision of the heart 2) satisfaction in the praise of God,
even if no man approves you 3) life, because the Spirit unites us to God in love
ow what's the point of all this? The main point I want you get this morning is this: Seek
and cherish the work of the Spirit of God in your life to make you a true Jew. Our salvation
hangs on this - the work of the Spirit -
1) circumcising our heart to love the Lord (Deuteronomy 30:6) 2) writing the Law of God
on our heart (Jeremiah 31:33) 3) freeing us from our need for the praise of man (Romans
2:29)
All of this is what Christ obtained for us when he shed his blood to seal the new covenant
(Luke 20:22; Hebrews 13:20).
But still someone may say, Is it really important that we think this way about our
salvation? Can't I just be a simple Christian, and not worry about being a Jew, or a
descendant of Abraham, or circumcised in heart?
Wild Branches Grafted into the Olive Tree
I think the way I will answer that question is to take you to Romans 11 and simply walk
with you through one more text and let you decide how important you think this is. In
Romans 11:17-25, Paul compares the true Israel to a cultivated olive tree with natural
branches, and the Gentile world to a wild olive tree with wild olive branches. I will make a
few comments as we read starting at verse 17.
(17) But if some of the branches [= some Jews by birth] were broken off, and you, being a
wild olive [= Gentiles], were grafted in among them [= became true Jews, or the true
circumcision, as Paul says in Romans 2:26-29] and became partaker with them of the rich
root of the olive tree [the root of the olive tree is the covenant God made with Abraham and
his true descendants, and to become a partaker of this root is to became a beneficiary of
salvation, the promise made to Abraham and his descendants that he would be their God
and they would be his people; if you are grafted in -if you become a part of true Israel -
that's yours], (18) do not be arrogant [you Gentiles] toward the branches [the natural
Jews]; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the
root supports you [O how easily we get this turned around, thinking that Christianity is the
mother and Judaism is the dependent daughter, when in fact, Judaism is the mother and
Christianity is the dependent daughter. Our life, our hope, our salvation is sustained only
by God's commitment to the covenants he has made with Israel -the root supports you,
not vice versa].
(19) You will say then [you Gentiles], Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted
in. (20) Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief [so we see that faith is what
makes you a Jew or not, which, in view of 2:26-27, means the essence of Law - keeping it in
faith], but you stand by your faith [you have a part in this rich root of the promise of God
to be your God if you believe in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as Paul said in Galatians 3:7, It

230. is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham - you stand only by faith; that's the
essence of being a true Jew and part of the Israel of God]. Do not be conceited, but fear;
(21) for if God did not spare the natural branches [Jews have been broken off and
condemned for unbelief], He will not spare you either [you can be as deceived as they were
about being a true Jew if you try to cling to this tree without the Spirit changing your
heart].
(22) Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell [Jews who were not
true Jews, uncircumcised in heart], severity, but to you [Gentiles who have the Spirit of
God and faith in Christ], God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness [that is, continue
in faith by the power of the Spirit]; otherwise you also will be cut off [O how many
professing Christians there are whose attachment to the tree of life is simply external and
ritualistic, without the work of the Spirit circumcising their hearts to love God]. (23) And
they [the broken-off branches of the Jews] also, if they do not continue in their unbelief,
will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. (24) For if you were cut off from
what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated
olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their
own olive tree? (25) For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery - so
that you will not be wise in your own estimation - that a partial hardening has happened to
Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so [= thus] all Israel will be
saved.
Is it important for you to be a true Jew? All of God's saving blessings come to the world
through the rich root of the olive tree, the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob to be their God. There is no salvation outside Israel. Paul wrote these things to the
Gentile church in Rome for a reason; and I preach them to you for a reason. I want you to
be grafted into the olive tree and to remain firm by faith and drink of the rich root of God's
promises and be saved.
So consider the kindness and severity of God (Romans 11:20) and remain in his kindness.
* * * *
Other Relevant Texts to Be Studied
Genesis 17:25 - And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the
flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his
son.
Leviticus 26:40 - If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their
unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility
against Me -- 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of
their enemies -- or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make
amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will
remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will
remember the land.
Deuteronomy 10:14 - Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest
heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His
affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all
peoples, as it is this day. 16 So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. 17

231. For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty,
and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
Jeremiah 4:4 - Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And
burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.
Jeremiah 9:23 - Thus says the LORD, Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not
the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him
who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who
exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,
declares the LORD. 25 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, that I will
punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised -- 26 Egypt and Judah, and Edom
and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on
their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are
uncircumcised of heart.
Matthew 8:10 - ow when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were
following, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 I
say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out
into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 15:22 - And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out,
saying, Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.
23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying,
Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us. 24 But He answered and said, I was
sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 But she came and began to bow down
before Him, saying, Lord, help me! 26 And He answered and said, It is not good to take
the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. 27 But she said, Yes, Lord; but even the
dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus said to her,
O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish. And her daughter was
healed at once.
Romans 9:6 - But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel
who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham's
descendants, but: THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCEDATS WILL BE AMED. 8
That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the
promise are regarded as descendants.
1 Corinthians 7:19 - Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what
matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.
Galatians 5:6 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means
anything, but faith working through love.
Galatians 6:15 - For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creation.
Philippians 3:1 - Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is
no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil
workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship

232. in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,
Colossians 2:11 - In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without
hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
Revelation 3:9 - Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are
Jews and are not, but lie -- I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make
them know that I have loved you.
Revelation 2:9 - I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the
blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
11. Ed Tarkowski, The unbelieving Jews rebuked by John the Baptist and Jesus were cut
off from the Jews who did believe and who now formed the Church. The Gentiles who
came to believe later through Paul's preaching would be added to the believing Jews. These
Gentiles did not become Jews. They became the spiritual sons of Abraham by faith after
the Spirit. They became members of the one body of Christ. All of these believers would be
counted as the spiritual children of Abraham and would be the dwelling place of God in the
Spirit. According to God's plan, the unbelieving Jews would be dispersed, to be regathered
in the latter days when God brings out the final remnant from natural Israel. Until then,
the gospel would be preached to all nations, to the Jews and the Gentiles alike.
(Eph 2:11-22 KJV) Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh,
who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made
by hands; {12} That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world: {13} But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are
made nigh by the blood of Christ. {14} For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and
hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; {15} Having abolished in his
flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in
himself of twain one new man, so making peace; {16} And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: {17} And came and
preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. {18} For through
him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. {19} ow therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
{20} And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief corner stone; {21} In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord: {22} In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.