Romans 2 Commentary
ROMANS 2 COMMENTARY
vv.1-3 “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.”[1]
v.4 “Paul told the Jews that they were taking the mercy of God as an invitation to sin rather than as an incentive to repentance. […] Let us think of it in human terms. There are two attitudes to human forgiveness. […] 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.”[2]
vv.5-11 “Although God does not usually punish us immediately for sin, his eventual judgment is certain. We don’t know exactly when it will happen, but we know that no one will escape that final encounter with the Creator.”[3]
v.12-15 “People are condemned not for what they don’t know, but for what they do with what they know. Those who know God’s written Word and his law will be judged by them. Those who have never seen a Bible still know right from wrong, and they will be judged because they did not keep even those standards that their own consciences dictated.”[4]
v.25-27 “If the law was the major distinctive of the Jews, a close second was circumcision. As with the law, so with circumcision, the nation was guilty of placing unwarranted confidence in the rite. […] Paul’s contention is that circumcision and observance of the law cannot be separated. If one has the symbol of Judaism and lacks the substance, of what value is the symbol? Society has laws that demand that the labeling of a can or bottle match the contents. How much more should there be correspondence in the spiritual realm! If a Gentile should manifest success in observing the law, the lack of circumcision is surely not so important as to discount his spiritual attainment (cf. the line of thought in 2:14).”[5]
[1] The Letter to the Romans. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev.ed. (Ro 2:12). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
[2] The Letter to the Romans. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev.ed. (Ro 2:12). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
[3] Life Application Study Bible, Study Note on Romans 2:5-11
[4] Life Application Study Bible, Study Note on Romans 2:12-15
[5] Gaebelein, Frank E. Gen. Ed. Expositor’s Bible Commentary CD (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992) notes for Romans 2.