Introduction
In the verses we were studying last Sunday morning, Paul writes about the wrath of God which is being revealed right now in the present against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth about God by their wickedness. So, every living person knows the truth about God. Every living person knows there’s a God who deserves their worship. Every living person knows this, because God is continually revealing himself to us through the things he has made. He is continually showing himself to us.
But instead of glorifying God and giving thanks to him, people suppress the truth about God. They push him out of their thoughts. They shove him to the back of their minds. They deny him. And they also replace him. Instead of worshipping their Maker, people replace him and they worship and bow down to false gods and idols. As Paul says, they exchange the truth of God for a lie and they worship and serve created things rather than the Creator.
And because men and women have suppressed the truth about God and because they have replaced him, God has given them up to their sinful desires and he has let them fall deeper and deeper and deeper into sin and into all the misery sin causes. And that’s how God reveals his wrath in the here and now. He reveals his wrath by leaving people alone and by letting them go further and further along the path they’ve chosen for themselves which is a path that leads to destruction and death.
And that’s why we need the gospel. In the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed which is by faith from first to last. And what that means is that unrighteous sinners — who deserve to be condemned by God for all that they have done wrong — can become right with God. And we can become right with God by trusting in Christ the Saviour. Through faith in Christ, who gave up his life to make up for all that we have done wrong, we are declared right with God for ever. Though we have done everything wrong, God is prepared to treat us as if we’ve done everything right.
So, by nature we’re sinners, who suppress the truth about God and who replace him with false gods. And we therefore deserve to suffer the wrath of God in this life and in the next. But in the gospel, God declares to us that everyone who believes in his Son for salvation is declared right with God for ever and instead of suffering the wrath of God, we can expect only good things from the Lord in this life and in the next.
And in today’s passage, Paul continues to write about God’s judgment. And I should perhaps add that this is what the opening chapters of Romans are all about. In chapters 1 and 2 and 3 Paul is laying a foundation for what he wants to say in the rest of his letter. And he lays the foundation by proving that we’re all sinners who are justly liable to God’s condemnation and wrath. In verses 22 and 23 of chapter 3 he says that ‘There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ All have sinned. All are guilty. Every single person is guilty in the sight of God and is justly liable to God’s condemnation and wrath. That’s the foundation Paul lays in chapters 1 and 2 and 3 of this letter. And after laying that foundation, he goes on to explain the good news of the gospel. ‘There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.’ So, all have sinned. All are guilty. All deserve to be condemned. But we can be saved from God’s condemnation and wrath because of what God has done for us through his Son Jesus Christ.
Paul’s focus, or his target, in chapter 1 was the unbelieving Gentile. His focus in that chapter was the typical person living in the Roman Empire in the first century who worshipped false gods instead of the true God. And his focus in chapter 2 is the unbelieving Jew. It’s the typical Jew in the Roman Empire in the first century who worshipped God according to the law of Moses.
So, although Paul is writing this letter to the believers in Rome, he’s not writing about them. He’s writing to them about unbelieving Gentiles in chapter 1 and about unbelieving Jews in chapter 2. And so, in verse 1 of chapter 2, where he says ‘You’, he’s not directing that to his readers in Rome. He’s not saying to the believers in Rome that this is what you are like. No, when he says ‘You’ in verse 1, he’s imagining that there’s a Jew in the congregation and he’s addressing him. Or he’s saying to the believers in Rome that if he was speaking to an unbelieving Jew, this is what he would say to that unbelieving Jew to convince him of why he needed to trust in the Saviour.
And he really makes three points in today’s verses. His first point is that if it’s right for God to condemn unbelieving Gentiles for their sins, then it’s right for God to condemn unbelieving Jews for their sins. His second point is that God is impartial and he treats unbelieving Gentiles and unbelieving Jews in the same way. And his third point is that possessing the law of Moses — and that’s what the Jews boasted about — doesn’t really matter.
So, let’s turn to the text.
Verses 1 to 5
And we’ll start with verses 1 to 5 where Paul’s point is that if it’s right for God to condemn unbelieving Gentiles for their sins, then it’s right for God to condemn unbelieving Jews for their sins.
In verse 1 Paul is imagining that there’s an unbelieving Jew in the congregation. And he says that this unbelieving Jew passes judgment on someone else. So, we’re to imagine that this unbelieving Jew has been listening to everything Paul has said in chapter 1 about the unbelieving Gentiles and God’s judgment on them and he’s been nodding his head in agreement, because he believes that his unbelieving Gentile neighbours are sinners who are justly liable to God’s condemnation and wrath. He knows what they’re like and the wicked things they’ve done. He’s appalled by their sexual sins and he knows they’re full of wickedness and evil and greed and depravity and so on. He agrees one hundred per cent with Paul about his pagan neighbours who do not know God and who worship false gods.
Well, says Paul to this unbelieving Gentile, don’t you realise that you’re just like them? Don’t you realise that you who pass judgment do the same things? You do the same things, because you too are a sinner who disobeys God continually. Perhaps this unbelieving Jew didn’t do exactly the same things as their pagan neighbours, but this unbelieving Jew is still a sinner who sins against the Lord continually in thought and word and deed. This person’s heart is full of sinful desires and inclinations and attitudes. And what is in his heart leaks out and it affects what he says and does and how he treats the people around him.
Paul goes on to say in verse 2 that we know that God’s judgment on sinners is based on truth. So, God’s judgment on those who disobey his commandments is true. It’s just. It’s right for God to punish evildoers. It’s right for God to punish lawbreakers. We know this, Paul says. Everyone accepts this. And then he turns again to this typical, unbelieving Jew and he says to him in verse 3 that since it’s right for God to punish lawbreakers, do you think you’ll escape God’s judgment? Do you think you’ll escape God’s judgment when you do the same things as the unbelieving Gentiles?
And then Paul refers in verses 4 and 5 to God’s kindness and to his tolerance and to his patience. And he’s saying to this unbelieving Jew that God is being very patient with you. He’s being very kind towards you, because instead of punishing you for what you have done wrong, he’s been patient with you and he’s giving you time to repent. But instead of repenting, you’ve continued to sin against God and you’ve continued to break his commands. And by doing so, all you’re doing is storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
I said last week that God is revealing his wrath in the here and now by letting us fall deeper and deeper and deeper into sin and into all the misery it causes. So, God reveals his wrath right now in this life by giving us up to our sinful desires. But the Bible is also clear that there will be a great and terrible day of judgment in the future when Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. And on that day, the wicked will be condemned and sent away from the presence of God to be punished for ever. And Paul is saying here to this unbelieving Jew that he too will suffer God’s wrath, because he’s just as guilty as his pagan neighbours.
Paul is saying to the believers in Rome: Have you met this kind of person? Someone who judges everyone else for all the ways they’re broken God’s law. And yet, this person has also broken God’s law. And since this person has broken God’s law, then he too is liable to God’s condemnation and wrath.
Verses 6 to 11
Let’s turn now to verses 6 to 11. And Paul’s point here is that God is impartial and he treats unbelieving Gentiles and unbelieving Jews in the same way.
Paul says in verse 6 that ‘God will give to each person according to what he has done.’ He’s actually quoting from Psalm 62 and Proverbs 24. And Paul goes on to expand on this and to explain that God will give eternal life to all those who, by persistence in doing good, seek glory, honour and immortality. On the other hand, there will be wrath and anger for all those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and who follow evil. So, since God gives to each person according to what he has done, there will be eternal life for those who do good; and there will be wrath and anger for those who do evil. That’s in verses 7 and 8.
And Paul repeats the same idea in verses 9 and 10. So, there will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good. So, since God gives to each person according to what he has done, there will be eternal life for those who do good; and there will be trouble and distress for those who do evil.
Verses 9 and 10 are a repetition of verses 7 and 8, but with one addition. And the addition is the line: ‘first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.’ So, there will be trouble and distress for those who do evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. And there will be eternal life for those who do good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. In other words, God shows no partiality. He does not show favouritism. He doesn’t favour the Jew over the Gentile or the Gentile over the Jew. When it comes to the judgment, he will treat Jew and Gentile in the same way. He’ll treat the good Jew in the same way that he treats the good Gentile. And he’ll treat the bad Jew in the same way that he treats the bad Gentile. God does not show favouritism.
Now, before we move on, we need to ask who does Paul have in mind in verses 7 and 10 where he refers to those who receive eternal life for doing good? We need to think about this, because everywhere else in the Bible we’re taught that we receive eternal life, not because of what we have done, but because of God’s grace and mercy to us in Christ. Everywhere else in the Bible, we’re taught that we’re saved from God’s wrath by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. So, who does Paul have in mind in these verses when he refers to those who will receive eternal life for doing good?
If you read the Bible commentaries, you’ll discover that there have been many suggestions over the years as to how we should understand Paul’s words here. Some are better than others. One of the better ones is that Paul is referring here to Christians. Christians are sinners who are saved by grace through faith in Christ, who paid for their sins with his life. And having trusted in Christ for salvation, they’ve received the Holy Spirit to enable them to do good. So, Christians don’t receive eternal life because of the good things they have done. Instead they receive eternal life because of Christ and through faith in him. However, now that they believe, they live a life full of good deeds. Their good deeds are the evidence of their faith. And they’re saved by faith.
That’s one way to understand what Paul is saying here. So, when Paul refers to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he’s talking about believers. However, there’s another way to interpret Paul’s word, which I prefer. What Paul says in verses 7 and 10 is true: all those who persist in doing good will receive eternal life from God as the due reward for their life of perfect obedience. God will give eternal life as a reward to all those who who walk in the ways of the Lord and who obey God’s commandments personally and perfectly. God will give them eternal life because they have done everything the Lord requires.
But here’s the thing. No one — apart from the Lord Jesus Christ — no one has done all that the Lord requires. No one has obeyed God perfectly. No one has done all that he commands. And therefore not one of us will receive eternal life as a reward for a life of perfect obedience. On the contrary, all of us have done evil. Every Jew has done evil. Every Gentile has done evil. Therefore we all deserve to be condemned by God.
And that’s the message Paul wants to drive home. He’s not discussing here how to receive eternal life. He’ll get to that later in his letter. But that’s not what he’s discussing now. What he’s doing now, in this part of his letter, is demonstrating that we’re all sinners who deserve to be condemned by God.
So, Paul is not saying that the way to be saved from God’s wrath is by trying to do good. He’s saying to us that God treats Jewish and Gentile sinners in the same way. Whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile you’re a sinner and you’re justly liable to God’s condemnation and wrath. And so, you need to believe in the Saviour.
Verses 12 to 16
Let’s now turn to the final part of today’s passage which is verses 12 to 16. And Paul’s point in these verses is that possessing the law of Moses — and that’s what the Jews boasted about — doesn’t really matter.
In verse 12 Paul says that all who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law. So, he’s referring there to unbelieving Gentiles. The average person living in the Roman Empire in those days didn’t possess the Scriptures. They weren’t familiar with the stories of Adam and Noah and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. They didn’t know about the Exodus. And they didn’t know the Ten Commandments or any of the other laws which God gave to his people in those days. So, unbelieving Gentiles didn’t have God’s law to guide them.
However, as we saw from chapter 1, they are still without excuse because they don’t worship God, even though God has been continually revealing himself to them through the things he made. They might not have had God’s law to guide them, but they’re still guilty in the sight of God.
And Paul goes on to say in verse 12 that all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. He’s now referring to unbelieving Jews who possess God’s law, but who have not kept God’s law. Since they have sinned under the law, then they will be judged accordingly by God.
And Paul goes on to explain that having God’s law or hearing God’s law is not enough. What counts is that you obey God’s law. The Jews may have boasted that they had God’s law to guide them. But what good is having God’s law if they did not obey God’s law? That’s what counts.
And then there’s verses 14 and 15 which is a kind of an aside, which is why the NIV has put these verses in brackets. And Paul is saying in these verses that the Gentiles have the law in a sense. They may not have the law written down in a book, the way the Jews had the law written down in the Scriptures. However, they still have the law, because God has written his law on their hearts; and their conscience bears witness to them about whether or not they have done good or evil. I’ve said before that our conscience is a kind of God-given ethical organ. So, just as the eye is the organ on our body which enables us to see, so the conscience is the organ in our body which enables us to see the difference between good and evil. And when we do evil, our conscience convicts us. And when we do good, our conscience commends us. And God has given it to us. And he’s given it to every person. We all have this inner knowledge of what God requires. We all know that certain behaviours are wrong and that other behaviours are right. For instance, everyone knows in their heart that they should worship God. Everyone knows that they should honour their parents. Everyone knows that it’s wrong to murder another person. Everyone knows these things. Doing them is another matter. But everyone knows these things.
And so, the Jews thought they had a great advantage over the Gentiles, because the Jews have God’s law to guide them, whereas their pagan neighbours did not have God’s law. But Paul is saying that the Gentiles do actually have God’s law, because God has written it on their hearts. And in any case, having the law is not what matters. Possessing the law is not what counts. What counts is keeping the law. And no-one apart from the Lord Jesus has kept God’s law perfectly.
Conclusion
And so, in chapter 1 Paul proved that unbelieving Gentiles are liable to God’s condemnation and wrath because although they knew God, they did not worship him. And in chapter 2 Paul proves that unbelieving Jews are liable to God’s condemnation and wrath, because although they have God’s law to guide them and although they pass judgment on others, they themselves have not kept God’s law and they are just as guilty as everyone else.
And so, Paul is right. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all guilty in the sight of God. We all deserve to be condemned and to be sent out of his presence to be punished for ever for all that we have done wrong.
But because of God’s overflowing goodness and love, he sent his only begotten Son into the world to save us from the condemnation and wrath we deserve. He did what we are meant to do, but which we cannot do, which is to live a life of perfect obedience to God. And he did it for us. And then he suffered and died on the cross, bearing in his own body and soul the punishment that we deserve for all that we have done wrong. And he did it for us.
And when we believe in Christ, we are forgiven for what we have done wrong, because he took the blame for us when he died on the cross and he satisfied the justice of God which was against us. And when we believe in Christ, his record of perfect obedience to God becomes ours so that even though we may have done everything wrong, God treats us as if we’ve done everything right.
And God is prepared to treat us like this, not because we deserve it, but because he is full of love and grace and mercy and his love and grace and mercy overflow from him to us in Christ Jesus. We’re not singing it today, because we sang it last week at communion. But last week we sang: ‘love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.’ Once we grasp the greatness of God’s overflowing love for us in Christ, how can we continue to live for ourselves? Won’t we live for him and for his glory, doing his will and seeking to honour him in all we do and say?
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