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Romans 2:1-11
As Paul began his letter to the assemblies in Rome, he was desiring to establish the believers
there more firmly in the faith. Relations between Jewish and Gentile members of the church in
Rome were strained due to their unique circumstances, causing the assemblies to be contentious,
divided instead of thriving in an atmosphere of love.
The problem in Rome was that Jewish and Gentile believers were focused on their perceived
differences, instead of what they had in common Christ. Paul knew that the remedy for this lay
within the gospel of Christ itself. As the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome really came to
see themselves from Gods perspective, they would come to understand that the heart of man is
the same its sin-sick; but that in Christ, they now had a new heart both Jew and Gentile, one
heart for God.
Paul began with a universal indictment of unregenerate men. Unregenerate men are without
excuse, because God has revealed Himself to them, through the gospel in the stars the heavens
declare the glory of God (Ps 19:1).
Yet mankind rejected that revelation of God Paul was thinking back to the rebellion at Babel,
of all the families of Noah. They changed the glory of the incorruptible God the story of the
Coming Christ, as told by the star names and changed it into an image like corruptible men
and other gods of their imagination. Why? Because men did not want to submit to God; they
wanted to be a god unto themselves, to have the say over their lives.
They refused to glorify God as their Creator, refused to admit that they were merely His creation,
refused to acknowledge their need to be made righteous and so refused to come to God through
the Way that He revealed to them through His Christ. In the being of their spirit, they shut out
Gods revelation concerning Himself and so darkened their foolish hearts to the truth.
Paul then continued to record some of the unrighteous deeds that came out of mens evil hearts
of unbelief. Although Paul never mentions the Gentiles, it would be apparent to all of Pauls
listeners both Jewish and Gentile believers that the acts committed with their bodies the
lusts of their flesh was definitely a description of the pagan Gentile culture of that day. The
other sins mentioned lusts of the mind could also be ascribed to the Gentiles.
As mentioned, Paul does not name the Gentiles at first. Nor will he name the Jews, as we
continue in chapter 2 today. Paul will allow his listeners to find themselves and find each other
as a culture, in his descriptions, so as to keep them from going on the defensive, and shutting
down to his argument. In this way, Paul will encourage his listeners to see themselves, not from
their own perspectives, but from Gods perspective.
Then once they see themselves objectively, Paul will show that there is no essential difference
between the unbelieving Jew and Gentile, in the eyes of God. Both are equally subject to Gods
wrath, concerning their sin; and both will equally experience Gods judgment according to
their works.

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As we begin chapter two, you might notice that there is a significant change in pronouns
regarding the person(s) that Paul is addressing. As Paul began his universal indictment against
mankind, he used the third person plural they, them (1:18-23); and continued to use these
pronouns as he narrowed down to his indictment of the Gentiles (1:24-32).
But as Paul continues, he now switches to the second person singular pronoun you (2:1-5).
Is this significant? Yes! This marks Pauls transition from his indictment of the Gentiles to his
indictment of the Jews.
Now, how can we be certain that he is speaking about the Jews? Well, Paul tells us so. In verses
1-5, we find Paul addressing a single man O man as you. Paul then breaks off to explain
Gods judgment on both Jew and Gentile, and the reason for it (2:6-16). And then Paul resumes
his address to that single man you in verse 17.
It is there where we find Pauls you identified. Who is it? It is the Jew. So in this portion of
Pauls letter (not throughout the entire letter), he is distinguishing between Gentile and Jew by
using different pronouns they and you. And as you will see today, Pauls description of
this man in chapter 2 bears out the conclusion that Paul is indeed addressing the Jew here the
unbelieving Jew.
Lets read through the next section of Pauls letter together first.
[Romans 2:1-11]
Pauls indictment against the unbelieving Jew will proceed in four steps: that the Jew practices
the same sins for which the Gentiles will be judged by God (vv. 1-2); that the Jew will not escape
Gods judgment of his sin based on the fact that he is part of Gods chosen people (v. 3-4); that
the Jew will not escape Gods judgment because he has the Law (vv. 17-24, next week); and that
the Jew will not escape Gods judgment based on his circumcision (vv. 25-29, next week).
If Pauls Jewish audience will proceed to take these four steps with him in their understanding,
where will they arrive? At the conclusion that Gods dealings with the Jews and the Gentiles are
on the same basis: according to the absolute standard of Gods perfect righteousness.
Lets look at verse 1 again.
v. 1 Paul begins with Therefore; for this reason. For this reason, the Jew is inexcusable. For
what reason? If we look back at what Paul has just been saying, we would have to conclude that
this reason cannot be found in the immediately preceding verses (end of chapter 1).
Thats talking about the unrighteous deeds of the Gentiles; that gives us the reason the Gentiles
cannot be excused from Gods judgment. To find the reason that the Jews are inexcusable, we
need to return to verses 18-20, of chapter 1.

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As we have previously learned from this part of the letter, this is Pauls universal indictment of
mankind. God had made a general revelation of Himself to mankind, through the gospel in the
stars. In it, God showed man his need for righteousness, and the Way of righteousness, through
faith in His Christ.
But man suppressed that truth in unrighteousness, changing the glory of God, so that he could
practice his unrighteous deeds for which he is under the condemnation of holy God. And since
God showed man the way to be made righteous, but man refused it, it therefore leaves man
without excuse.
So what is the parallel to the Jew, of chapter 2? God has made a special revelation of Himself to
the Jews, in His written Word. In it, the Jew could see his need for righteousness (through the
commandments, etc) and the Way of righteousness, through Gods Christ (ceremonial Law).
But the Jew changed the glory of God in the written Law picturing Christ into a system of
works the religion of Judaism. For suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, in order to
practice their own unrighteous deeds, the Jew is likewise under the condemnation of holy God.
And since God showed the Jew the way to be made righteous, but the Jew refused to go Gods
way, it therefore leaves the Jew without excuse.
We can see that this is Pauls parallel thought here, because of what he says about the Jew
judging. Who does Paul say that the Jew judges, in verse one? Another. This word in the
Greek means other but different. Who would that be, then whos other, but different than the
Jew? The Gentile.
The Jews judged the Gentiles; they were always judging the Gentiles. The Jews, as the specially
chosen people of God, thought themselves superior to the Gentiles, especially in the religious
department. They judged the character of the Gentiles; they condemned their actions; they cited
their certain doom, in the hands of their holy God. The Jews regarded the Gentiles as fuel for the
fires of hell.
So the self-righteous Jew made himself the self-appointed judge of the Gentiles. And what was
the judgment of the Jew based on? How did he evaluate the character and works of the Gentile?
Based on the Jews knowledge of the Law; Gods revealed will. By the Law, the Jew knew what
was right, and what was wrong; and he knew those lawless Gentiles were always doing what was
wrong!
Paul says that in this, the Jew condemns himself; he pronounces his own sentence of judgment
upon himself. The fact that the Jew is able to judge the Gentile by Gods Law shows that the Jew
knows Gods Law. And if the Jew knows Gods Law, and transgresses it, what does that make
the Jew? A lawbreaker; a sinner.
And does the Jew indeed transgress Gods Law? Paul says, yes that the Jew practices the same
things as the Gentile; and the word for practice here indicates they did so repeatedly,
continually, just like the Gentiles.

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Now, the term same things doesnt necessarily mean the exact same sins. The Greek word for
same in this context doesnt mean identical, but means something equally abhorrent in Gods
sight. The religious Jews were not inclined to practice such sins as homosexuality, in their
culture, and they showed no proclivity toward drunken orgies. But Paul will name just a select
few of the sins Jews did practice later in the passage (vv. 21-23).
All sin is equally abhorrent to a holy God. And because the Jew knows it is sin, yet chooses to
practice it, it leaves him without excuse for his sin just as for the Gentiles. And in judging the
Gentiles for their sin, the Jew makes himself a hypocrite!
So Paul is indicating that the judgment of the Jew on the Gentiles has come right back on the
Jews own head. Is that fair of God? Lets see what Paul says.
v. 2 Paul had been addressing you, the unbelieving Jew; but now he uses the first person plural
pronoun we. Who is the we? Obviously, it is Paul and others, but who? We have a little
clue in the word that follows: we know. In this context, it is speaking of understanding, as a
child of God. Paul is speaking of himself, as a believer and anyone else who would include
themselves with him, as fellow-believers including those in Rome listening to Pauls letter.
What is it, then, that believers understand? That Gods judgment is according to truth against
those who practice sin. Believers know that God is absolutely righteous, and that all men are
measured against His standard of righteousness: His perfect Son. And believers know that none
measure up; no, not one.
What Paul is saying is that believers understand that Gods judgment on sinners for their sin is
just and fair; it is right, because God is holy and righteous; He cannot ignore sin. In this context,
this means that God cannot and will not overlook the sin of the Jew.
God cannot overlook sin, and therefore He must judge the sinner for it. Now Paul begins to
address the first of the three ways that the Jew deceives himself into thinking he can escape
Gods judgment. Well look at the other two ways next week.
v. 3-4 Remember that Paul is speaking to the unbelieving Jew. Here Paul asks him a question;
do you think you will escape Gods judgment, when all the while that you are judging the
Gentiles, you are practicing equally heinous sins? The answer seems obvious to us: of course
not! But the mind of the religious Jew saw things a little differently.
The Jew thought that, as one of Gods own chosen people, Gods judgment on him for his sin
would be less severe. In fact, many Jews thought they were even exempt from Gods judgment;
that their salvation was secured through their collective election, as a nation.
This was a false security; for Israels election will be secured only when the regenerate remnant
receives Jesus as their Christ, in the end.

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Turn to Matthew chapter 3. The Pharisees and Sadducees have come out to the wilderness to see
and perhaps receive Johns baptism. But John makes it clear that his is a baptism of
repentance.
[Matthew 3:7-12]
v. 7 What is a brood of vipers? Seed of the serpent. John was saying that the rulers were of
their father, the devil (Jn 8:44).
v. 8-10 These Jews thought that being the seed of Abraham secured salvation for them
collectively. John made it clear that their root did not matter their heritage; they would be
judged based on their fruit; had they borne the good fruit of righteousness?
v. 11-12 They are all Jews, but they are not all Israel, who are Israel (Rm 9:6); they are not all
Gods elect. Some are wheat true sons of God; some are chaff unregenerate men, just empty
shells, dead men walking. And it is the Son of God who will sort them out; He will be their
Judge.
[Return to Romans 2]
But the Jew deceived himself, in his mind. God had been merciful to Israel, as a nation, time and
again dealing with His nation in lovingkindness, in goodness, with forbearance and
longsuffering.
In His mercy, God did not give them what they deserved, for their sins He did not unleash His
wrath on them; He withheld His judgment; He restrained Himself. Why did God do this? To
give the Jews time to repent; to have a change of heart, concerning their sin, and to turn to Him,
and be saved.
In verse 4, the Greek words for not knowing actually means inattention as to result in
ignorance. The idea is that the Jew was willfully ignorant of the truth; they saw things the way
they wanted to see them.
So they viewed Gods longsuffering toward them as His approval on them; His favor, which they
assumed they had, as Gods chosen people. Instead of recognizing Gods abundant mercy on
them, they viewed God as one such as themselves: indulgent; playing favorites; willing to look
the other way, like a negligent parent.
So instead of being thankful, the Jews despised the riches of Gods goodness, and took it as
license to continue in their sin; a grave error, based on their skewed thinking about God.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, Because the 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; that is, they take their stay
of execution as a further opportunity to sin.
But Paul continues to straighten out that thinking.

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v. 5-6 Man can imagine whatever he wishes, but that doesnt change the reality of God. The Jew
can deceive himself into believing that God will overlook his sin, or go easy on him, but the
reality is the God is perfectly holy, and perfectly just, and cannot overlook his sin. And if the
Jew refuses to see things in their proper light Gods Light he shuts out that light, hardening
his heart against God, in his unbelief.
This is a heart that will not see its need for righteousness; and come Gods way to receive it. It is
an impenitent heart that is, a heart that refuses to change and accept Gods pardon in Christ
and therefore, remains under the wrath of a righteous God. And in that place, the Jew is heaping
up for himself more and more wrath as he continues in his sin until the time when God will
judge him.
And when will that be? Paul is referring to a specific time here the day of wrath and
revelation of the righteous judgment of God. This is a specific event, yet future, in which God
will manifest His final judgment on the wicked. What is that event called, in Scripture? The
Great White Throne Judgment. Were going to look at the description of that judgment very
briefly.
Turn to Revelation chapter 20. The apostle John was given to see the final judgment on the
wicked those who never believed into Jesus Christ. This judgment takes place at the end of the
1000 year reign of Christ on the earth.
[Revelation 20:11-15]
v. 11 This is why we refer to it as the Great White Throne Judgment. And who is seated on that
throne? Jesus Christ. Paul preached that God has appointed a day on which He will judge the
world in righteousness by the Man (meaning Christ) whom He has ordained (Acts 17:31).
Jesus said that the Father has granted the Son to have Life in Himself Life Everlasting and
has given the Son authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man (Jn 5:27). If any
man did not receive Jesus as His Savior, he will have chosen to receive Jesus as His Judge.
The earth and the heaven fled away from the face of Jesus; the face of the Judge. There was
found no place for them. The heavens and the earth have been cleansed. In heaven is the wife of
the Lamb, the true church. On earth are the regenerate nation of Israel and the regenerate Gentile
nations. Both those in heaven and those on earth have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rm 8:1); therefore, there is no place
for them at this judgment of condemnation. Only the unredeemed are present at this judgment;
the wicked.
v. 12-15 According to the imagery that we find in the book of Revelation, the sea mentioned is
the sea of humanity. Death is personified here, as the one who takes the earthly body after its
last breath has expired. Hades is where the souls of unrighteous men are kept until the day of
judgment. We see that each of these is delivering up the dead that are in them.

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This is the resurrection of condemnation of which Jesus spoke to the Jewish rulers (Jn 5:28-30);
entirely separate and distinct from the resurrection of the Life, which took place 1000 years
before. The resurrection of Life resulted in believers receiving their glorified bodies, which fit
them for the presence of God. The resurrection of condemnation will result in the wicked
receiving a just recompense for the sins they have committed, and their separation from God
forever.
The first set of books has a record of the works of the wicked. As the wicked refused to receive
the work of Christs redemption on their behalf, they must be judged on their own merits; based
on their own works. All of their actions, all of the thoughts and intents of their hearts, will be
seen in the true light of Gods judgment. All will be seen for what it is evil that of which God
cannot approve, and therefore cannot accept.
The Book of Life, which contains a record of the names of those redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb, will be carefully checked, to demonstrate that this is a just judgment on the wicked; and
their names will not be found there.
The judgment is just; their works will condemn them. Death, meaning the corrupt bodies, and
Hades, meaning the wicked souls, are together cast into the Lake of Fire the second death. And
the souls of the wicked will remain there separated from God, forever.
[Return to Romans 2]
This is the judgment to which Paul is referring in verse 5 the final judgment on the wicked. We
have seen that, at that judgment, men are judged according to their works, or deeds, as Paul says
here.
It is a retributive judgment, where men get back from God what they have stored up for
themselves and that would include the unbelieving Jew. And the Jew would have to
acknowledge that this is true, for verse 6 can be found in both the psalms (Ps 62:12) and the
proverbs (Prov 24:12).
Paul next goes on to indicate the judgment that God will render to each one. Who do you
suppose Paul means by each one? The Jew and the Gentile though still unnamed. Lets read
this again together.
v. 7-11 Now, this section has caused quite a bit of difficulty for both translators and
commentators. To give you the condensed version, most believe that verse 7 is speaking of
Gods reward for believers; verses 8-9 of Gods judgment on unbelievers; and verse 10 is
speaking about believers again.
Many translators, believing this to be a correct assessment of the passage, have further
complicated things by rearranging a key phrase from the Greek, and punctuating the passage in
such a way as to enhance this interpretation remember that Greek does not have any
punctuation marks, and relies on the wording to suggest pauses, stops and other inflections.

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But it is highly unlikely that this is what Paul was saying. Who are the two parties that Paul has
been speaking of, up until this point of the passage? The Jews and the Gentiles. Was Paul
speaking of believers, or unbelievers? Unbelievers. What judgment was Paul speaking about, in
verse 5? The Great White Throne Judgment. Who will be judged there? Unbelievers.
In verse 6, Paul is saying that at that judgment, God will render to each one according to his
deeds. Who are each one? The Jew and the Gentile. Therefore, as Paul continues on what
each will be rendered at the GWT judgment, he would be speaking of unbelieving Jews and
unbelieving Gentiles, in verses 7 and 8. Then at the end of verse 8 through verse 9, Paul speaks
of what God will render to them both, and finally names the two groups the Jew and the
Gentile.
Then, having indicated the judgment that both the unbelieving Jew and Gentile will receive, he
contrasts, in verse 10, the reward that those who have placed their faith in Christ will receive
whether Jew or Gentile. Because God is impartial verse 11. This gives you an idea of the true
flow, which fits the context of Pauls thought perfectly.
Now we will see how this plays out with the actual language. I have given you a sheet with the
KJV, and a modified translation as well.
The NKJV does a great disservice by changing the order in the Greek so that eternal life
appears as the first words of verse 7, when it is actually at the end of the verse, following
immortality. The KJV maintained the proper order on that.
Paul is speaking of what God will render to those who by patient continuance in good work a
more literal translation of the Greek are trying to gain glory, honor, immortality and everlasting
life. The idea is that they are striving to obtain the happiness and reward of heaven, as
resurrected sons of God.
But as we have seen, this refers to a group of unbelievers. Would this be the unbelieving Jews, or
the unbelieving Gentiles? The unbelieving Jews. It is the Jews who are persistently trying,
through their good works, to attain to the resurrection of life. But can they attain to it, in this
way? No, because they remain in their sins. The only thing they will attain is judgment as
Paul is showing. What a shock to the religious, self-righteous Jews!
Continuing in verse 8, the little word translated but in NKJV can easily be translated and; in
fact, the translators did so at the beginning of verse 3. This little word begins verses 2, 3, 5, 8,
and 10; a very common connecting word, used by Paul, as he records his train of thought.
Verse 8 is continuing Pauls thinking about those who will incur Gods judgment. This is the
second group; so the connecting word at the beginning of the verse should not be one that shows
contrast, but addition. It should be translated and.

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The Greek word translated self-seeking is translated contentious elsewhere in Scripture. The
idea here is those who are contentious against God; the rebels. They do not obey the truth, but
obey unrighteousness what is this group of unbelievers? The lawless Gentiles. They would
probably have readily agreed to this description of them.
God is going to render to each one the unbelieving Jew and the unbelieving Gentile (Greeks)
according to their deeds whether the so-called good works of the self-righteous Jews, or the
unrighteous works of the rebellious Gentiles.
God sees all their works as doing evil (v. 9) more literally in the Greek, working out the evil
their evil hearts of unbelief. And what will God render them? Indignation and wrath,
tribulation and anguish. The ideas that these words suggest are to be forever subject to Gods
displeasure for sin, crushed, in agony, pressed on every side, with no relief, and no escape. This
is Pauls expression of what the Lake of Fire will be like.
In verse 10, Paul is introducing a contrast to this terrible judgment But. This contrast shows
the reward that believers will receive from God. Paul employs two of the same words he used
for what the unbelieving Jews had been trying to obtain with their good works glory and honor,
describing the joy and reward of heaven. But then Paul introduces a new thought: peace.
The Jew was striving for immortality and everlasting life, without ever considering that they
must first have peace with God; that they must first be reconciled to Him. The problem was that
the self-righteous Jew did not see himself as a sinner; therefore, he did not see his need for the
righteousness of God, through faith in Christ.
Paul indicates that glory, honor and peace would be the reward of everyone who works what is
good. In the Greek, it is more like working the good. The idea is parallel but contrasting to
working out the evil in verse 9, with righteousness being the out-working of the heart of faith
of those who have put their faith in Christ, to become the righteousness of God, in Him.
Paul expressed a similar thought in his letter to the assembly in Philippi: work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His
good pleasure (Phil 2:12-13).
Salvation does not come out of good works; good works come out of salvation. A heart made
righteous in Christ through faith produces righteous works. Paul does not yet introduce that
thought here; only righteousness, being worked out of the heart.
Both in terms of the judgment of unbelievers and the reward of believers, Paul says, to the Jew
first and also to the Gentile. The Jews regarded their election as a guarantee that they would be
first in salvation, and last in judgment; but Paul insists that their priority be applied equally in
both cases.
So now Paul has named both of his parties, and they can see themselves from Gods perspective
both unrighteous, both subject to Gods judgment in themselves; but both with the opportunity
for the same heavenly reward through the out-working of the good.

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10

And that good can only be worked out, if they have become righteous. Paul will explore the one
and only way to become righteous through faith in Christ in detail in chapter 3. But first he
must diffuse the remaining deceptions of the unbelieving Jew concerning his supposed immunity
from prosecution based on the Law, and circumcision.
Next week: read chapter 2-3. Mt 7:1-5; Mt 15:1-20; Mt 23.