Romans 2:1-3
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. Now e know that God’s Judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape god’s Judgment?
In chapter one, Paul talks about idolaters, people who suppress the truth about God–The concept of God–The idea even of God’s existence. Paul ended the chapter by saying that idolatry is at the root of all kinds of wickedness and depravity. Paul was a good Jewish man. The other Jewish people to whom he was speaking naturally assumed that Paul’s diatribe was solely against the Gentiles. Since they didn’t worship the Jewish God, they had to be the idolaters he spoke of.
Now Paul turns the tables on them. And Paul does it from the position of judgment. Look how he carefully draws the parallel between those who judge others and idolaters. You who pass judgment do the same things, he says. He equates being judgmental with idolatry. Why do you suppose that is? Any time we judge another we set ourselves above them–We declare ourselves to be better than they are. When we judge others we set ourselves up to be the standard-bearers for what is true and right and honest and good. By judging others we are claiming the right to tell others what they should be doing with their lives, that, in effect, we possess the power to make them acceptable to God, if only they would repent of their ways and do things our way.
One doesn’t have a right to dictate to another how to live. That’s God’s prerogative. When you judge another you set yourself up as a demi-god, a little god, who expects to be obeyed. That’s idolatry. When you assign for yourself that which is God’s prerogative, you become guilty of idolatry. In chapter three we will see that according to Paul, everyone is a sinner. If that is true, then all are guilty of some form of wickedness, evil and/or depravity. If that is true, no one is worthy to judge another–we are all on equal footing in God’s eyes.
Romans 2:4
Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
For those who make a practice of judging others, it isn’t long before they want to become the jury and executioner too. That’s the illness of self-righteousness. They believe that they are the keepers of the truth and all who don’t follow their path are at the least, wrong, at the worst, doomed for all eternity.
Moses was given the Ten Commandments by God. From these two tablets the ten were expanded to over 600 laws which dictated to the people how to live, and was to provide an answer for every circumstance in people’s lives. The laws were rigid and demanding and required inflexible adherence, though there were “legal” ways of circumventing them.
For example, if your donkey fell into a well on the Sabbath, you couldn’t pull it out with a rope because that would be working and forbidden by the 3rd Commandment. However, if you took the Bible era equivalent of a woman’s bra and used that to pull the donkey out of the well, that was OK, because dressing was allowed and wrapping a bra around a donkey would be considered dressing and not working. The person with only a rope and not a bra, in order to fulfill the Law, would have to let his or her donkey drown. Following the letter of the Law was made more important than taking care of a human (or animal) need. To do otherwise would be a sin, and subject to God’s judgment. Or so the teachers of the Law said.
Paul says, now wait a minute. When you pass judgment on another for not believing your interpretation of the Law, you leave out an important factor. Whether the other’s actions are sin or not can be irrelevant. When you decide for yourself what’s right and what’s wrong in another’s life, often you ignore any mitigating circumstances, in favor of the letter of the Law. You demean God by ignoring God’s readiness to grant kindness, tolerance and patience with the sinner. Since only God can know the heart of the sinner, only God can determine the extent of the sinner’s transgression, based on the mitigating circumstances in the sinner’s life.
For example, the commandment says, “You shall not steal.” One steals a valuable object to further their riches. Another steals to keep their children from starving. Both clearly have broken The Commandment, but it is the mitigating circumstance that determines the gravity of the crime. The letter of the Law says that both have stolen and deserve to be punished equally. God’s compassion could say otherwise.
Paul further adds that God’s way of leading and teaching is with kindness, not just by demanding rigid adherence to a set of rules. God’s main concern is with the heart.
Romans 2:5-11
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. God “Will give to each person according to what he or she has done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, God will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: First for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: First for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.
Paul begins to lay down the basis for his doctrine of Christianity. The way to a right relationship with God is not about mere mechanical adherence to a set of rules. It is about becoming “pure in heart” Matthew 5:8 Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Some try to do good because they want to be good. They may fall, but then they pick themselves up and try again. Others do not do evil only because the opportunity doesn’t present itself. Which do you think God will favor?
Paul often had to address a problem with the Jewish Christians. They believed that because they were born into Judaism, God granted them special favors. No matter what they did, since they were “Abraham’s seed” (descendants), they believed God granted them special dispensation to do whatever they wanted to do, without fear of spiritual repercussions. Paul is quick to point out that God has no favorites–God judges everyone equally.
Paul quotes Psalm 62: 12 and Proverbs 24: 12 when he says, “(God) Will give to each person according to what he or she had done.” Note that not only Paul but also the author(s) of both Psalms and Proverbs indicate that each person is to be judged individually, not according to what the Rule Book says, but according to what each has done. “To those who by persistence…” How many times have we fallen short in our attempts to be better people? Paul says that God rewards our persistence. God Honors our trying. God asks not so much that we be perfected, but that we never give up trying to be better people.
And Paul warns that there will be nothing but trouble for those who think only of themselves–who reject the truth of God–who focus only on evil. Evil begets evil. One reaps what one sows.
Romans 2:12-16
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. (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, 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.) This will take place on the day when God will judge humanity’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
I know that most, if not all, of you consider yourselves good Christians who are saved, but have you ever wondered about what happens to all those other people in the world who may not have had the advantages you’ve had to learn about Christianity–who might never have heard of Jesus Christ? Like Indian tribes in the jungles of South America, for example. Or wonderful people of history like Mahatma Gandhi or Buddha, and their followers who though not Christian, were evidently great people who brought countless blessings to their people. What of all the people who lived before Christ? Can any of these people be “saved?” I believe these verses offer us some answers to these questions.
Essentially, Paul is saying that people will be judged in accordance with the teachings of their particular religion or doctrine to which they subscribe. (He discusses this theme more fully in chapter 14.) In the immediate application of the teaching, Paul is talking to the Gentile Romans and also to their Jewish counterparts, and telling them that “If you arte a good Jew and are trying to follow the Jewish law, then you must practice it fully because you will be judged by it. Conversely, if you are a good Gentile who doesn’t have the Law, but you’re living a righteous life, then God accepts you as you are.
In his letter to the Gentile Galatians Paul says, “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised (A requirement of the Law for becoming Jewish) that he is obligated to obey the whole Law.” (Galatians 5: 2,3)
In Galatians Paul was countering the teachings of some Jewish Christian leaders who were telling Gentiles who wanted to be Christian that they must first submit to the teachings and requirements of the Jewish law, including such things as circumcision. Paul was saying, in effect, “No, you don’t. The Law was the old covenant, replaced by the covenant of Christ, which requires only that you love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself.”
Paul also points out that just listening to the Law, “…Not those who hear the Law…” wasn’t enough–just going to Synagogue on Sabbath wasn’t good enough–One must then take action–obeying the Law–To be declared righteous. “…But it is those who obey the Law who will be declared righteous….” Paul says that Gentiles who have never learned the Law, nevertheless, have a sense of right and wrong innately, and if they obey the teachings of their hearts and consciences, they are doing what the Law really requires.
This is an especially important teaching, in that it obviously does away with all the petty rules and nonsense regulations that were part of the Law which no Gentiles would know about except they be taught. What remained would be those things pretty much laid out in the Ten Commandments–Love the one God, don’t disrespect God, be good to your parents, don’t lie, steal (persons or goods), murder or covet. These values could be found in almost any religion–and even among non-religionists.
In other words, a good Buddhist, for example, who follows the Buddha’s teachings, will reap rewards accordingly, as would others of whatever religion. And what of those, you may ask, who worship the goddess Pele, or Native Americans who worshipped Wakan-Dagre or the Great Spirit? Aren’t they idolaters?
Quite honestly I have to say (so as not to lead you astray), that this is a mystery. However, I have reconciled myself to this thought. It recalls the time when Moses asked God for God’s name and God answered with, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3: 13 &14). God rejected the label of a name because God cannot be limited. Consequently, it is conceivable to me that the one whom we call Yahweh, Jehovah, Lord, God, etc., etc., etc., could also be called Pele, or any other name assigned to the deity in whatever culture gave worship. We can trust that God doesn’t not show favoritism, and scripture tell us that it is God’s pleasure that none should perish, so we leave it to God to save them, as we know God will.
For our part, we have been given both the Law (the old covenant) and a new covenant in Jesus Christ. We can trust the words of Jesus who said, “I did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill (it)” (Matt. 5: 17). If it has been fulfilled, it has been completed. We are no longer under its obligation, but under the obligation of the covenant of Christ (see above). And if we obey that covenant, Jesus said, we fulfill all of the Law (Matt. 22:40)
Romans 2:17-29
Now you, if you call yourself a Jew, if you rely on the Law and brag about your relationship to God, if you know God’s will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the Law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, and instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth–you then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Circumcision had value if you observe the Law, but if you break the Law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the Law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 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.
One is not a Jew if he or she is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, one is a Jew if he or she is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from people, but from God.
In this section Paul sets out to describe what is required to have a right relationship with God. The typical Jewish person of Paul’s day who practiced the daily rituals of the Law considered him/herself to have a “special pipeline to God.” They were descendants of Abraham and Sarah. They practiced the outward signs of their religion and taught those around them to do the same. The men were circumcised. Because of this heritage they believed that God favored them above the rest of the world.
Paul comes along and upsets the applecart. Remember that Paul was Jewish and accepted the concept that the Jews were the “chosen” people. So when Paul speaks of a person being a Jew he is referring to being part of the “chosen.” So here’s Paul, a Jew, telling other Jews that what makes a person a chosen one–one considered righteous, accepted and acceptable to God, isn’t necessarily their heritage, but whether their “hearts are in the right place.”
It’s important that we examine the concept of the Law. The Hebrew (Jewish) scriptures are divided into three parts: the Law (also called the Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings. That part, which is called the Law, consists of all the teachings in the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Contained therein are not only the Ten Commandments, but also over 600 rules and regulations, which guided every aspect of Jewish life. (I referred to theses at the beginning of this chapter.)
It was the general understanding of the populace that by virtue of their heritage and by putting all these rituals and rules into practice, one was “right” by God. Paul says, “That’s not it. You’re not a ‘chosen one’ simply by what you appear to be. You are a ‘chosen one’ when your heart is circumcised–that is, when your heart seeks the things of God–love, mercy, compassion, justice. You don’t get to be a ‘chosen one’ simply by following the written code, i.e. The Law.”
Paul’s teaching here harkens to Jesus’ teachings, an example of which is shown in Matthew 15 when he challenged the Pharisees and teachers of the Law when they criticized Jesus’ disciples for breaking the Law regarding ritual uncleanness. In verses 10, 11, 17-20 Jesus said, “Listen and understand. What goes into your mouth does not make you unclean, but what comes out of your mouth, that is what makes you unclean…Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of your mouth come from the heart, and these make you ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make you ‘unclean;’ but eating with unwashed hands does not make you ‘unclean.’”
Paul is very critical of those who claim the name of “Chosen Ones” who, while claiming kinship with God, by virtue of their behavior turn people away from God. Not only were they breaking the very laws they were teaching others to uphold, their attitudes indicated they believed they were the God-appointed sole instructors of “The truth.” And they held in contempt anyone who didn’t believe they way they did.
We see them still today. These self-appointed purveyors of “The truth” fill churches and synagogues throughout the land. Dressed In appropriate attire, arm-in arm with their loved ones, they sing their hymns and pray their prayers, raise their arms to God, faithfully pay their tithes, attend Bible studies, give to the poor, and engage in myriad good works. And you are welcome into their church families, if and only if, you meet their criteria for acceptance.
Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals and Transgendered people don’t fit into the “acceptable” category for the most part. Some more enlightened denominations understand that homosexuality is inborn and not chosen, and they will open their doors, but with the stipulation that the welcome is predicated on the candidate remaining celibate. They fail to remember that all the way back in Genesis God said, “It is not good…to be alone. I will make a suitable helper.”
Many times, it has been because of the rejecting attitudes of these so-called “Chosen Ones” that so many gays, lesbians bi-sexual and transgendered have turned their backs on God. The word blaspheme here used by Paul means to speak evil of. When one describes a loving God as despising what God has created, one is surely speaking evil of God.
Paul is saying if you have a right relationship with God, if you are one of “The Chosen” you will have an open heart and a welcoming spirit. Your loving spirit may not be appreciated nor win praise from people, but that’s OK, God will praise you and that’s all the praise you’ll ever need.