Judgment is the inevitable consequence of such a state of things, and in Romans 2:1-161Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: 8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11For there is no respect of persons with God. 12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. (Romans 2:1‑16), we have God’s principles of judgment in reference to the state of things described in the last chapter brought forward.
Judgment is first for acts of sin committed (see Rom. 1:32; 2:232Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1:32)
2But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. (Romans 2:2)); secondly, for despising the riches of God’s goodness, forbearance and long suffering (Rom. 4-5). Philosophers might judge and condemn their fellow-men, but whilst judging others, man condemned himself, for he that judged did the same things. Would such escape the judgment of God for these like acts of sin? Nay! And did man despise the goodness and long suffering and forbearance of God, not understanding that that goodness was calling him to repentance! Repentance was the only proper attitude for man to take in view of the judgment of God. This signifies literally “an after thought or reflection,” or a change of mind. It is always towards God as the object of the mind (see Acts 20:2121Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)) and from sins or dead works, and in a Christian sense from the rejection of Christ (see Matt. 3:22And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2); Heb. 6:11Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, (Hebrews 6:1); Acts 2:3838Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)). It is produced by believing the various testimonies of God given at various times; thus the goodness of God leads to repentance. The reader must distinguish such faith from faith in the gospel which brings salvation. The latter follows upon repentance. But would God go on forbearing forever, whilst men went on despising His goodness? Nay; but man was heaping up to himself wrath, against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. To God was committed the right of judgment, and He would render to man according to his deeds, according to the light each man had, whether it be heathen or Gentile, Jew or professing Christian; to them who by patient continuance in well doing sought for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life; but to those who were contentious, and were disobedient to the truth, but obeyed unrighteousness, there was nothing but tribulation and anguish, wrath and indignation to every soul of man that worked evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek; but glory, honor and peace to every soul that worked good, both to Jew first and also to Greek. Here God’s immutable principles of judgment are brought out, to Jew and also to Gentile. The Gentile without law would perish without law, the Jew who had the law would be judged by the law, that is on that principle, each being judged according to the light they had, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men according to Paul’s gospel.
When the Gentile who had not law did by nature the things contained in the law, these having not law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written on their hearts; their conscience bearing witness with them, and their thoughts accusing or excusing betwixt themselves. Conscience is here looked at as that faculty of the mind which God took care that man should have after the fall, which gives him the knowledge of good and evil. Every man has that, heathen as well as Jew or Christian. And this gives the measure of the Gentile; responsibility, besides having the light of creation shining upon him, telling him of his Creator.
The Jew besides this had the law, as God’s perfect measure as to what man ought to be for Him, when conscience became perverted through the false rules of good and evil, brought in by heathen idolatry; and this would be the measure according to which he would be judged.
The double ground on which God is going to judge the world is seen in His dispensational dealings of God with man from the beginning. Take first the Gentile world; man fills the earth with corruption and violence after the fall, and God judges him for his sins by sending the deluge, and sweeps every one off the face of the earth, save Noah and his family. But since the flood, according to the principles of Romans 2:44Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? (Romans 2:4), He has been exercising forbearance, giving His bow in the cloud as a sign of it. When He took up the Jewish nation and gave them the law at Mount Sinai, and they broke it, the word was “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (see Ex. 32:3333And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. (Exodus 32:33)). But on Moses’ intercession the principle of forbearance comes in, and God goes on with them on the principle shown us in Exodus 34:5-85And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. (Exodus 34:5‑8), not clearing the guilty, however, and under this principle the people are spared, only aggravating their judgment if they despised God’s goodness.
Under the gospel, the principle of grace comes in, and Christ is presented; but alas! men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Greatly aggravated then will be the professing Christian’s judgment; he will be judged not only for his sins, aggravated by God’s forbearance with him as with a heathen and Jew, but also for his rejection of Christ, and despising God’s grace, which is offered, and that continually in the gospel; besides, Christ is His rule, which is higher than that of conscience and the law. This however is not taken up particularly in this chapter.
Thus in Romans 2:1-16 God is presented going to judge men, first of all for their sins, and secondly for their despising His goodness. God will judge according to the light men have; in the meantime He is waiting, and that goodness should lead men to repentance. These are His unalterable principles of judgment, and it is only those who are born again, whether Gentile or Jew, or indeed Christian, that fulfill this responsibility to God, that is who patiently continue in well doing, and seek for glory and honor, and incorruptibility; and that alone is fulfilled in the new nature, or the circumcised heart, as is mentioned at the end of Romans 2; still if it were simply on the ground of responsibility all were lost! Man for himself needs the gospel both to be saved from his sins, and his Adam condition, and to get heaven as his portion. His original responsibility was only in connection with the earth of which he was created head, and by his sin lost. Of course being immortal, losing this he would be banished to hell; but blessed be God, grace offers him salvation and opens heaven to him.
From Romans 2:16-2916In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 17Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, 18And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 19And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 20An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 21Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou God? 24For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. 25For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. 26Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? 28For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:16‑29), the state of the Jew is described, he boasted of God and of knowing His will, as measured by the law, approved of the things that were more excellent, was confident that he was a, guide of the blind, an instructor of the foolish, and teacher of babes. But, alas! Whilst teaching others did he teach himself? No, whilst boasting of the law, he so dishonored God, that the name of God was blasphemed amongst the Gentiles through him. Circumcision verily profited if he kept the law, but if he was a breaker of the law, his circumcision became uncircumcision, and contrariwise in God’s sight. The poor Gentile, if by grace he kept the righteousness of the law, his uncircumcision would he counted for circumcision, yea, it judged him who circumcised broke the law. Circumcision of the heart was what God looked for, and that was the true Jew who had such a heart; true it was that only grace could produce such a heart.