Romanschapter 2
29 verses · Paul · AD 56 or 57 · Paul's letters
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, Romans Overview.
Paul wrote this letter from Corinth about AD 57 to house churches in Rome where Jewish and Gentile believers sat side by side. Many of the Jewish believers had grown up with the Law, the covenant and circumcision as marks that set them apart. In this chapter Paul speaks as a teacher arguing with a listener, asking questions and answering them. Listen for the moment the listener is named, and for the questions that come faster after it. Listen also for the standard of judgment he says applies to everyone. Read it as the second step of one argument.
Context
- Who
- Mixed house churches in Rome, where Jewish believers carried real advantages of heritage and Gentile believers carried none.
- What
- Paul's argument that the one who judges others is judged by the same standard, and that God judges Jew and Gentile alike by truth and by deeds.
- Where
- Written from Corinth to the house churches in Rome.
- When
- About AD 57, early in the reign of Nero, while Paul was at Corinth.
- Why
- To show that no one, including those who hold the Law, can stand before God on their own record.
Historical context
Paul writes here in a style Greek and Roman teachers used constantly: the diatribe, where a speaker argues with an imaginary opponent, asks the objections out loud, and answers them. The sudden "you" is a technique, not a personal attack, and audiences knew the form.
Show the rest of the historical context, 2 more paragraphs
Jewish communities across the empire genuinely did possess something no one else had, the Law, the covenant, the Scriptures, and Gentile neighbours often admired their morality even while mocking their customs. That advantage is not denied here; it is granted, and then tested.
Circumcision was the physical mark of belonging to the covenant people, performed on the eighth day and impossible to undo. Saying that a Gentile who keeps the Law's requirements counts as circumcised, and a Jew who breaks it counts as uncircumcised, moved the boundary marker from the body to the heart. That was explosive.
Significance
To Jewish believers in Rome, this chapter said that possessing the Law was not the same as keeping it, and that God judges without favouritism, a principle drawn from their own Scriptures.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
To Gentile believers, it removed the ground for looking down on anyone. Everyone who judges is condemned by the same standard he uses, and God's kindness is meant to lead to repentance rather than to confidence.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
You Who Judge Are Doing the Same Things
Romans 2:1-2
you who pass judgment on another: Chapter 1 left the nations under charge, and chapter 2 turns it on the reader who was agreeing. The man who passes judgment on another condemns himself, for he does the same things. Verse 2 gives the standard: God judges such men on the truth.
Romans 2:1
“That we must not rashly judge of another. In the Gospel according to Luke: "Judge not, that ye be not judged: condemn not, that ye be not condemned." Of this same subject to the Romans: "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. But he shall stand; for God is able to make him stand." And again: "Wherefore thou art without excuse, O every man that judgest: for in that in which thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou doest the same things which thou judgest.”
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jewspatristic
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Romans 2:1
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man,.... Some think, from the connection of these words with the preceding chapter, that the Gentiles are here meant; and particularly those among them who seemed to be virtuous, and took upon them to be the reprovers of others, and yet did the same things themselves, as Socrates, Cato, Seneca, and others; and therefore must be inexcusable, because they knew better, and would be thought to have been so; wherefore such could never be justified before God by their works, but might be justly condemned by him, nor shall they escape his righteous judgment.”
Romans 2:1
“Therefore - Διὸ Dio. The force of this word here has been the subject of much discussion. The design of this and the following chapter is to show that the Jews were no less guilty that the Gentiles, and that they needed the benefit of the same salvation. This the apostle does by showing that they had greater light than the Gentiles; and yet that they did the same things.”
based on truth: Barnes takes this as what all people already grant, that God will judge those who do such things. Matthew Henry sees a judgment based on truth weighing the heart, as at 1 Samuel 16:7. Wesley adds that God makes no exceptions.
Romans 2:2
“So that both the gospel and Christ must be His, to whom appertain the law and the nature which are to be vindicated by the gospel and Christ-even at that judgment of God which, as he previously said, was to be according to truth.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
Romans 2:3-4
do you think you will escape God’s judgment?: Verse 3 names the moralist's silent assumption, that condemning a sin in someone else buys an exemption from it. Verse 4 stacks three words for what has held the judgment back: kindness, tolerance and patience. God's kindness leads a man to repentance.
Romans 2:3
"But do you suppose this, O man, every one of you who judges those who do such things, and does them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?" If all the things which the Law speaks, it speaks to those who are under the Law, then the things which the Gospel, or the Apostle, now speaks, it speaks not to the princes of this age, nor to the kings of the world, but to the rulers and leaders of the Churches, namely to those who judge those who are within, that is, to bishops, or presbyters and deacons.
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
disregard the riches of His kindness: Barnes reads disregard as abuse: the man treats God's delay as room to go on sinning. Matthew Henry applies it first to Israel, which had singular tokens of favor. The more light a man sins against, the more love he sins against.
Romans 2:4
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness - Wilt thou render of none effect that marked benevolence of God towards thee which has given so many superior advantages, and that forbearance which has tolerated thy many miscarriages, and that long-suffering which, after repeated provocations, still continues to bear with thee? Not knowing - Αγνοων, not acknowledging that this goodness of God, which has so long manifested itself in forbearance and long-suffering, leadeth thee to repentance - was designed to accomplish this blessed end; which thy want of consideration and acknowledgment has rendered, hitherto, ineffectual.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:4
“This is especially applicable to the Jews, who had singular tokens of the divine favour. Means are mercies, and the more light we sin against the more love we sin against. Low and mean thoughts of the divine goodness are at the bottom of a great deal of sin.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 2:4
“The apostle is intensely personal in his address. This verse is not spoken to us all in the mass, but to some one in particular. The apostle fixes his eyes upon a single person, and speaks to him as “Thee” and “Thou.” “Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” It should ever be the intent of the preacher to convey his message to each hearer in his own separate individuality.”
Romans 2:5-6
your hard and unrepentant heart: A hard and unrepentant heart stores up wrath for itself, the way a man stores up money, one day at a time. The store opens on the day God reveals His righteous judgment. Verse 6 gives the standard there: God repays each one according to his deeds.
Romans 2:5
“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart,.... The apostle goes on to show, that such persons who promise themselves impunity on the score of prosperity, shall not always go unobserved and unpunished; for there is a day of wrath and righteous judgment hastening on, and will take place after they have filled up the measure of their iniquity. There is a natural "hardness" of the heart in every son and daughter of Adam; and there is an acquired habitual hardness, which is increased by sinning; and a judicial one, which God, for sin, sometimes gives persons up unto.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:5
“What an awful idea is here expressed--that the sinner himself is amassing, like hoarded treasure, an ever accumulating stock of divine wrath, to burst upon him in "the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God!" And this is said not of the reckless, but of those who boasted of their purity of faith and life.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 2:5
“And that day of wrath will be the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. The wrath of God is not like our wrath, a heat and passion; no, fury is not in him ( Isa. xxvii. 4 ): but it is a righteous judgment, his will to punish sin, because he hates it as contrary to his nature.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The words come from Psalm 62:12, and Matthew Henry calls this a truth Scripture repeats often. Chrysostom sees the judgment turn at once to the reward of eternal life in the next line, so the rule cuts both ways. God repays good deeds and evil deeds alike.
Romans 2:6
“Now let us inquire concerning the just judgment of God, in which he will render to each one according to his works. And first indeed let the heretics be excluded, who speak of good or evil natures of souls; and let them hear that God will render to each one not according to nature, but according to his works. In the second place let the faithful be built up, lest they suppose that this alone can suffice for them, that they believe; but let them know that the just judgment of God renders to each one according to his works.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
Romans 2:7-8
by perseverance in doing good: Two patterns of life stand here, each with its end. Perseverance in doing good, seeking glory, honor and immortality, ends in eternal life. Self-seeking, rejecting the truth and following wickedness ends in wrath and anger.
Romans 2:7
“To them who, &c.--The substance of these verses is that the final judgment will turn upon character alone. by patient continuance in well-doing, &c.--Compare Lu 8:15: "That on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience"; denoting the enduring and progressive character of the new life.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:7
"But glory and honour," he says, "to every one that doeth good." God therefore has given that which is good, as the apostle tells us in this Epistle, and they who work it shall receive glory and honour, because they have done that which is good when they had it in their power not to do it; but those who do it not shall receive the just judgment of God, because they did not work good when they had it in their power so to do.
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 4patristic
Romans 2:7
“Those that seek for the vain glory and honour of this world often miss of them, and are disappointed; but those that seek for immortal glory and honour shall have them, and not only glory and honour, but peace. Worldly glory and honour are commonly attended with trouble; but heavenly glory and honour have peace with them, undisturbed everlasting peace.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
self-seeking: Matthew Henry sees self-seeking as a quarrel with God, for every willful sin strives against its Maker. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hear in it the resistance to the gospel and the truth that Paul met from his own people in Acts 18. Wrath and anger answer that resistance.
Romans 2:8
“But unto them, etc. - 2. He will manifest his indignation, and inflict wrath - punishment, on all who are contentious - who obstinately dispute against the truth, and obey unrighteousness - who act under the influence of the principle of sin, and not under the influence of the Spirit of God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 2:8
“But to them that are contentious - Like thee, O Jew, who thus fightest against God. The character of a false Jew is disobedience, stubbornness, impatience.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 2:9-10
trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: Trouble and distress fall on everyone who does evil. Glory, honor and peace go to everyone who does good. The order is the same in both halves, Jew first, then Greek, the priority of 1:16 carried into judgment.
Romans 2:9
“Of the Jew first - Here we have the first express mention of the Jews in this chapter. And it is introduced with great propriety. Their having been trained up in the true religion, and having had Christ and his apostles first sent to them, will place them in the foremost rank of the criminals that obey not the truth.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
glory, honor, and peace: Wesley reads the three rewards against the penalties of verses 8 and 9: glory answers wrath, honor answers anger, and peace answers trouble and distress. Origen explains the order. The Jew stands first in reward as in judgment, for God entrusted His words to him first.
Romans 2:10
Yet why wrath and indignation to the Jew first, and to the Greek? Because glory and honor also belong to them first. For to them first were entrusted the oracles of God, and they themselves say: "Blessed are we, O Israel, for the things that please God are known to us."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:10
“But glory - Just opposite to "wrath," from the divine approbation. honour - Opposite to "indignation," by the divine appointment; and peace now and forever, opposed to tribulation and anguish.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 2:10
“It is not enough to know well, and speak well, and profess well, and promise well, but we must do well: do that which is good, not only for the matter of it, but for the manner of it. A continuance in well-doing. Not for a fit and a start, like the morning cloud and the early dew; but we must endure to the end: it is perseverance that wins the crown.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
God does not show favoritism: The Greek word for favoritism is prosopolepsia, receiving a face, the favor a judge shows to the man standing in front of him. The Jew and the Greek are judged by the same truth, and owning the law changes no sentence.
Romans 2:11
“For - This particle is used here to confirm what is said before, particularly that this punishment should be experienced by the Jew as well as the Gentile. For God would deal with both on the principles of justice. Respect of persons - The word thus rendered means “partiality,” in pronouncing judgment, in favoring one party or individual more than another, not because his cause is more just, but on account of something personal - on account of his wealth, or rank, or function, or influence, or by personal friendship, or by the fear of him.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:11
“For there is no respect of persons with God - He will reward every one according to his works. But this is well consistent with his distributing advantages and opportunities of improvement, according to his own good pleasure.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 2:11
“Jews and Gentiles stand upon the same level before God. This was Peter's remark upon the first taking down of the partition-wall ( Acts x. 34 ), that God is no respecter of persons; and it is explained in the next words, that in every nation he that fears God, and works righteousness, is accepted of him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The Law Written on the Conscience
Romans 2:12-13
All who sin apart from the law: The Gentile who sins apart from the law perishes apart from the law; the Jew who sins under the law is judged by that law. Verse 13 states the law's own term: the doers of the law are the ones declared righteous. Hearing it changes nothing.
Romans 2:12
“They sinned, not only having the law, but en nomo -- in the law, in the midst of so much law, in the face and light of so pure and clear a law, the directions of which were so very full and particular, and the sanctions of it so very cogent and enforcing. These shall be judged by the law; their punishment shall be, as their sin is, so much the greater for their having the law.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:12
“For as many as have sinned without law, etc. - They, viz. the Gentiles, who shall be found to have transgressed against the mere light of nature, or rather, that true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, Joh 1:9, shall not come under the same rule with those, the Jews, who have in addition to this enjoyed an extraordinary revelation; but they shall be dealt with according to the inferior dispensation, under which they lived: while those, the Jews, who have sinned against the law - the positive Divine revelation granted to them, shall be judged…”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 2:12
“As I have heard from a certain presbyter, who had heard it from those who had seen the apostles, and from those who had been their disciples, the punishment [declared] in Scripture was sufficient for the ancients in regard to what they did without the Spirit's guidance. For as God is no respecter of persons, He inflicted a proper punishment on deeds displeasing to Him.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IVpatristic
the doers of the law: Chrysostom weighs the words before God: a hearer of the law may look righteous before men, and God judges the life. Barnes sets the line beside James 1:22. Matthew Henry adds that Israel held the law without keeping it, and so needed a righteousness from God.
Romans 2:13
That we must labour not with words, but with deeds. In Solomon, in Ecclesiasticus: "Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds useless and remiss." And Paul, in the first to the Corinthians: "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." Also to the Romans: "Not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He who shall do and teach so, shall be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jewspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:13
“For not the hearers of the law are, even now, just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified - Finally acquitted and rewarded a most sure and important truth, which respects the gentiles also, though principally the Jews.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 2:13
“For not the hearers ... - The same sentiment is implied in Jas 1:22; Mat 7:21, Mat 7:24; Luk 6:47. The apostle here doubtless designed to meet an objection of the Jews; to wit, that they had the Law, that they manifested great deference for it, that they heard it read with attention, and professed a willingness to yield themselves to it. To meet this, he states a very plain and obvious principle, that this was insufficient to justify them before God, unless they rendered actual obedience. Are just - Are justified before God, or are personally holy.”
Romans 2:13
“This the apostle here opposes: it was a great privilege that they had the law, but not a saving privilege, unless they lived up to the law they had, which it is certain the Jews did not, and therefore they had need of a righteousness wherein to appear before God. We may apply it to the gospel: it is not hearing, but doing that will save us, John xiii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 2:14-15
do by nature what the law requires: Gentiles who never received the law sometimes do by nature what the law requires, and so are a law to themselves. The law was written on their hearts, with conscience as witness and thoughts accusing or defending, a court sitting inside the man.
Romans 2:14
“For when the Gentiles which have not the law,.... The objection of the Gentiles against their condemnation, taken from their being without the law, is here obviated. The apostle owns that they had not the law, that is, the written law of Moses, and yet intimates that they had, and must have a law, against which they sinned, and so deserved punishment, and which they in part obeyed; for these men do by nature the things contained in the law.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:14
“Therefore, in this, we seem to hear the voice of the Lord, which prohibits some things and commands others. And so, if anyone does not obey those things which we believe have once been commanded by God, he is considered subject to punishment. However, the commandment of God is not written with ink on stone tablets, but is impressed in our hearts by the spirit of the living God. Therefore, our own opinion becomes its own law.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On Paradise, Chapter 8patristic
Romans 2:14
“The things contained in the law - The ten commandments being only the substance of the law of nature. These, not having the written law, are a law unto themselves - That is, what the law is to the Jews, they are, by the grace of God, to themselves; namely, a rule of life.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
written on their hearts: Gill takes the work of the law to mean its substance, written in the mind with no tables of stone. Conscience, Wesley adds, obeys its owner least of all. Augustine sets beside it 1 John 3:20, where God is greater than the heart that condemns.
Romans 2:15
“But as for his saying "in the hearts," it must not be supposed that the law is said to be written in that member of the body which is called the heart. For how could flesh either put forth such perceptions of prudence, or contain such great storehouses of memory? But it must be understood that the rational power of the soul is customarily called the heart. And the Apostle says that those who hold the law inscribed in their hearts make use of the testimony of a sound conscience.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:15
“Which show - Who thus evince or show. The work of the law - The design, purpose, or object which is contemplated by the revealed Law; that is, to make known to man his duty, and to enforce the obligation to perform it. This does not mean, by any means, that they had all the knowledge which the Law would impart, for then there would have been no need of a revelation, but that, as far as it went, as far as they had a knowledge of right and wrong, they coincided with the revealed will of God.”
Romans 2:15
“Their conscience - There is none of all its faculties which the soul has less in its power than this. Bearing witness - In a trial there are the plaintiff, the defendant, and the witnesses. Conscience and sin itself are witnesses against the heathens.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus: Secrets translates ta krypta, the things covered over, so the judgment of that day reaches motive and thought. The judge is Christ Jesus, and the Father carries out that judgment through the Son. Paul calls this a settled part of the gospel he preaches.
Romans 2:16
“Now let us see what follows: "And their thoughts among themselves accusing one another, or even defending them, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men according to my Gospel, through Jesus Christ." Who would doubt that the judgment of God is right, where accusers and defenders and witnesses are employed? And indeed from this just judgment of God let us men take an example, and let us never suppose that a judgment can be held just without an accuser, and a defender, and witnesses.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:16
“In the day when God shall judge - And all this shall be farther exemplified and proved in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ; which judgment shall be according to my Gospel - according to what I am now laying down before you, relative to the impartiality of God, and his righteous procedure in judging men, not according to their opinions or prejudices, not according to revelations which they never possessed, but according to the various advantages or disadvantages of their political, religious, or domestic situation in life.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 2:16
“Men generally form their judgments, even of themselves merely from what is apparent. According to my gospel - According to the tenor of that gospel which is committed to my care. Hence it appears that the gospel also is a law.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Circumcision of the Heart, Not of the Letter
Romans 2:17-18
if you call yourself a Jew: The unnamed moralist of verse 1 now has a name. He calls himself a Jew, rests on the law and boasts in God. Verse 18 grants what he really holds: he knows God's will and approves what is superior, trained by the law itself.
Romans 2:17
"But if you are called a Jew, and rest in the law, and glory in God, and know his will, and approve the more useful things, being instructed by the law, and are confident that you are a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and of truth in the law. You then who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:17
“Behold - Having thus stated the general principles on which God would judge the world; having shown how they condemned the Gentiles; and having removed all objections to them, he now proceeds to another part of his argument, to show how they applied to the Jews. By the use of the word “behold,” he calls their attention to it, as to an important subject; and with great skill and address, he states their privileges, before he shows them how those privileges might enhance their condemnation.”
Romans 2:17
“Behold--"But if" is, beyond doubt, the true reading here. (It differs but in a single letter from the received reading, and the sense is the same).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
approve of what is superior: The Greek behind approve of what is superior can also mean testing things that differ, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown keep both senses. Matthew Henry turns the knowledge against its owner. To know and approve the better and do the worse makes the guilt greater.
Romans 2:18
“I see the better, but pursue the worse. and it is common for sinners to make that approbation an excuse which is really a very great aggravation of a sinful course. They got this acquaintance with, and affection to, that which is good, but being instructed out of the law, katechoumenos -- being catechised.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 2:19-20
a guide for the blind: The five titles, from guide for the blind to holder of the law, were real offices toward proselytes and watching Gentiles. The last phrase is morphosis, the outward shape of knowledge. Paul uses the same word of hollow religion at 2 Timothy 3:5.
Romans 2:19
“And art confident - This expression denotes the full assurance of the Jew that he was superior in knowledge to all other people. It is a remarkable fact that the Jews put the fullest confidence in their religion. Though proud, wicked, and hypocritical, yet they were not speculative infidels. It was one of their characteristics, evinced through all their history, that they had the fullest assurance that God was the author of their institutions, and that their religion was his appointment.”
the embodiment of knowledge and truth—: The voices divide on embodiment. Theodore of Mopsuestia takes it as the substance of knowledge and truth, and Matthew Henry as its outward show, knowledge that never reaches the heart. Clarke hears these titles as the Jew's verdict on the Gentiles, counted infants and fools.
Romans 2:20
“An instructor of the foolish,.... All men in a state of unregeneracy are foolish, and need instruction; here the common people among the Jews, who knew not the law, are meant; it was very usual to call anyone of their doctors and masters מורה, "an instructor": it follows, a teacher of babes; either in age or in understanding; such who taught either of them were called by the Jews מלמדי תינוקות, "teachers of babes". Thus they paraphrase the text in Dan 12:3, "they that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament.”
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 2:20
“An instructer of the foolish, etc. - Ye believe the Gentiles to be babes and fools when compared with yourselves; that ye alone possess the only true knowledge; that ye are the only favourites of Heaven; and that all nations must look up to you as possessing the only form of knowledge, μορφωσιν της γνωσεως, the grand scheme and draught of all true science, of every thing that is worthy to be learned: the system of eternal truth, derived from the law.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 2:21-22
you, then, who teach others: The build collapses in four questions. The man who teaches others is asked whether he teaches himself, and the man who preaches against stealing is asked whether he steals. Two more counts follow, adultery and temple robbery, hierosyleo, profiting from the idols he says he abhors.
Romans 2:21
“Hence his invective against the transgressors of the law, who teach that men should not steal, and yet practise theft themselves. (This invective he utters) in perfect homage to the law of God, not as if he meant to ten sure the Creator Himself with having commanded a fraud to be practised against the Egyptians to get their gold and silver at the very time when He was forbidding men to steal, -adopting such methods as they are apt (shamelessly) to charge upon Him in other particulars also.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:21
“The greatest obstructors of the success of the word are those whose bad lives contradict their good doctrine, who in the pulpit preach so well that it is a pity they should ever come out, and out of the pulpit live so ill that it is a pity they should ever come in. He specifies three particular sins that abound among the Jews:-- (1.) Stealing.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 2:21
“He now inverts the order: for sins against God are the most glaring in an heathen, but not in a Jew. Thou that abhorrest idols - Which all the Jews did, from the time of the Babylonish captivity. Thou committest sacrilege - Doest what is worse, robbing Him "who is God over all" of the glory which is due to him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
do you commit adultery?: Ambrosiaster reads the adultery figuratively, as a Jew corrupting the law by removing Christ from it. Gill insists on the plain sense of the sin, and Barnes cites the Talmud's charge against celebrated rabbis by name. Matthew Henry hears Psalm 50:18 behind the question.
Romans 2:22
“Dost thou commit adultery? - There is no doubt that this was a crime very common among the Jews; see the Mat 12:39 note; Joh 8:1-11 notes. The Jewish Talmud accuses some of the most celebrated of their Rabbies, by name, of this vice. (Grotius.) Josephus also gives the same account of the nation. Thou that abhorrest idols - It was one of the doctrines of their religion to abhor idolatry. This they were everywhere taught in the Old Testament; and this they doubtless inculcated in their teaching. It was impossible that they could recommend idolatry.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:22
“Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery,.... Adultery here is to be taken not figuratively for adulterating the word of God, and mixing it with their own inventions; but literally for the sin of adultery, and that not in heart only, but in act: dost thou commit adultery? an iniquity which greatly prevailed among the Jews at this time of day; hence Christ calls them "an adulterous generation", Mat 12:39; and that to such a degree, that by the advice of their great Rabbi, R.”
Romans 2:22
“This is likewise charged upon that sinner ( Ps. l. 18 ), Thou hast been partaker with adulterers. Many of the Jewish rabbin are said to have been notorious for this sin.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 2:23-24
You who boast in the law: The boast of verse 17 becomes the charge of verse 23. A law held in the mouth and broken in the life dishonors the God who gave it. Verse 24 puts Scripture behind the charge: the Gentiles blaspheme God's name because of Israel's own conduct.
Romans 2:23
“Makest thy boast ... - To boast in the Law implied their conviction of its excellence and obligation, as a man does not boast of what he esteems to be of no value. Dishonourest thou God - By boasting of the Law, they proclaimed their conviction that it was from God. By breaking it, they denied it. And as actions are a true test of man’s real opinions, their breaking the Law did it more dishonor than their boasting of it did it honor. This is always the case.”
blasphemed among the Gentiles: Paul quotes Isaiah 52:5, and Chrysostom adds Ezekiel 36:20, where the exile of Israel led the Gentiles to blaspheme God's name. Chrysostom sees a double charge, the sin and the blasphemy it provokes. A people made for God's praise had become His dishonor.
Romans 2:24
“There is a blasphemy which we must avoid completely, viz., that any of us should give a pagan good cause for blasphemy by deceit or injury or insult or some other matter justifying complaint. It is that blasphemy in which the Name is deservedly blamed, so that the Lord is deservedly angry. But the words "Because of you my Name is blasphemed" seem to cover every blasphemy. So then, are we all lost, since the whole Roman circus assails the Name, for no fault of ours, with its wicked outcries?”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Idolatry 14patristic
Cross references
Romans 2:24
- QuotingIsaiah 52:5“And now what have I here? declares the LORD. For My people have been taken without cause; those who rule them taunt, declares the LORD, and My name is blasphemed continually all day long.”
'The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you' ('as it is written')
Romans 2:25-27
Circumcision has value if you observe the law: Circumcision has value where the law is kept. Break the law and the mark counts as no mark at all. Verse 26 credits an uncircumcised man who keeps the law as circumcised, using logizomai, the verb chapter 4 uses of Abraham.
Romans 2:25
“Circumcision indeed profiteth - He does not say, justifies. How far it profited is shown in the third and fourth chapters. Thy circumcision is become uncircumcision - is so already in effect.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:25
For circumcision--that is, One's being within the covenant of which circumcision was the outward sign and seal. verily profiteth, if thou keep the law--if the inward reality correspond to the outward sign. but if, &c.--that is, "Otherwise, thou art no better than the uncircumcised heathen."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 2:25
“For circumcision verily profiteth,.... The plea from circumcision in favour of the Jews, and their acceptance with God, and justification before him, is here, and in the following verses, considered. The apostle allows that circumcision was profitable; which must be understood whilst it was in force, before the abrogation of it, for since, it is not profitable but pernicious; and then it was only profitable, in case the law was kept: if thou keepest the law; that is, perfectly; for circumcision obliged persons to keep the whole law.”
Romans 2:25
“God did not give the law nor appoint circumcision in vain. This must be referred to the state of the Jews before the ceremonial polity was abolished, otherwise circumcision to one that professed faith in Christ was forbidden, Gal. v. 1 .”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
regarded as circumcision?: Augustine counts such Gentiles into the house of Israel, for each keeps the law by love in the heart. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown find a case in Cornelius, a Gentile who knew the truth of the law. His uncircumcision is regarded as circumcision.
Romans 2:26
"But if the uncircumcision keeps the righteous requirements of the law, shall not that which is by nature uncircumcision, fulfilling the law, judge you, who by the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law?" We said above that the Apostle is discussing two Jews and two circumcisions, and that he mentions now the carnal, now the spiritual.
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 2:26
“But the case here put is, we think, such as that of Cornelius (Ac 10:1-48), who, though outside the external pale of God's covenant, yet having come to the knowledge of the truths contained in it, do manifest the grace of the covenant without the seal of it, and exemplify the character and walk of Abraham's children, though not called by the name of Abraham.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law: Wesley places the condemning on the day of verse 16. Chrysostom admires the tact of the wording: Paul sets the uncircumcised man against the lawbreaker himself and leaves circumcision unshamed. Matthew Henry notes that to a careless hearer the law stays a bare writing that never rules him.
Romans 2:27
“Which is by nature - Which is the natural state of man; his condition before he is admitted to any of the unique rites of the Jewish religion. If it fulfil the law - If they who are uncircumcised keep the Law. Judge thee - Condemn thee as guilty. As we say, the conduct of such a man condemns us. He acts so much more consistently and uprightly than we do, that we see our guilt. For a similar mode of expression, see Mat 12:41-42. Who by the letter ... - The translation here is certainly not happily expressed.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:27
“Judge thee, that is, help to add to thy condemnation, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress. Observe, To carnal professors the law is but the letter; they read it as a bare writing, but are not ruled by it as a law. They did transgress, not only notwithstanding the letter and circumcision, but by it, that is, they thereby hardened themselves in sin.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 2:27
And that the Lord did not abrogate the natural [precepts] of the law, by which man is justified, which also those who were justified by faith, and who pleased God, did observe previous to the giving of the law, but that He extended and fulfilled them, is shown from His words. "For," He remarks, "it has been said to them of old time, Do not commit adultery. But I say unto you, That every one who hath looked upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 4patristic
Romans 2:28-29
a Jew because he is one outwardly: The chapter ends by settling what a Jew is. The mark that counts is inward, a circumcision of the heart worked by the Spirit. Paul plays on the name itself: Judah means praise, so the true Jew is the man whose praise comes from God.
Romans 2:28
“For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly,.... The apostle removes the plea in favour of the Jews, taken from their name and privilege, by distinguishing between a Jew and a Jew, and between circumcision and circumcision: "he is not a Jew which is one outwardly"; by mere name, nature, nation, religion, and profession: neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; which takes away the flesh of the foreskin, but not the carnality of the heart; leaves a mark upon the flesh, but no impression on the mind.”
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 2:28
“For he is not a Jew - A genuine member of the Church of God, who has only an outward profession. Neither is that circumcision - Circumcision is a rite which represents a spiritual thing, viz. the change and purification of the heart, as may be seen, Jer 4:4, Jer 4:6, Jer 4:10; Jer 9:26; Eze 44:7, Eze 44:9.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
circumcision is a matter of the heart: Wesley hears Deuteronomy 30:6 behind circumcision of the heart, where God promises to circumcise the hearts of His people. Gill takes a Jew inwardly as one with a work of grace in the heart. Ambrosiaster points to Abraham, who believed before he was circumcised.
Romans 2:29
“But he is a Jew which is one inwardly,.... Who has an internal work of grace upon his soul: who has not only an outward name, but an inward nature; not the law of God in the hand, but in the heart; not an external righteousness only, but internal holiness; and who is not a mere outward court worshipper, but a worshipper of God in Spirit and in truth.”
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 2:29
“Now it is quite within the purpose of the God of the law that circumcision should be that of the heart, not in the flesh; in the spirit, and not in the letter.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
Romans 2:29
“But he is a Jew - He comes up to the design of the Jewish institution; he manifests truly what it is to be a Jew. Which is one inwardly - Who is “in heart” a Jew. Who has the true spirit, and fulfils the design of their being separated as a special people. This passage proves that the design of separating them was not merely to perform certain external rites, or to conform to external observances, but to be a people holy in heart and in life.”
Romans 2:29
“But he is a Jew - That is, one of God's people. Who is one inwardly - In the secret recesses of his soul. And the acceptable circumcision is that of the heart - Referring to Deut. xxx, 6; the putting away all inward impurity.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: The general principles on which God judges the world, then their application to the Jew, as Barnes classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The turn to you | The chapter speaks straight to one person, and the word you stands in 14 of its 29 verses. Charles Spurgeon notes how intensely personal the address is, the apostle fixing his eyes on a single hearer. At verse 17 the one addressed is named as a Jew, and the questions of verses 21 to 23 are put to him face to face.Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1714, "Earnest Expostulation" (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1883, on Romans 2:4. | Romans 2:1, Romans 2:3, Romans 2:17, Romans 2:21 |
| Five questions to the teacher | Verses 21 to 23 put five questions to the teacher of the law, two in verse 21, two in verse 22 and one in verse 23. Each sets what he teaches beside what he does. Albert Barnes holds that the form of a question carries the truth with greater force, and Chrysostom notes that the questions turn the hearers on themselves.Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on Romans 2:21. | Romans 2:21, Romans 2:22, Romans 2:23 |
| The Jew first, then the Greek | The phrase first for the Jew, then for the Greek comes at verse 9 and again at verse 10, and it repeats the order of 1:16. Origen explains the order: the Jew stands first in judgment as he stands first in glory, for the words of God were entrusted to him first.Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, 253, on Romans 2:10. | Romans 2:9, Romans 2:10 |
How this chapter is built
6 more paragraphs on the patterns
Albert Barnes divides the chapter in two. Verses 1 to 16 set out the general principles on which God judges the world, by truth, by deeds and without favoritism, and verse 17 applies them to the Jew. The chapter speaks throughout to one listener, and five questions in verses 21 to 23 set his teaching beside his conduct. It closes by moving circumcision from the body to the heart.
Where it stands in the letter
Chapter 1 left the Gentile world without excuse, and this chapter brings the one who agreed with that verdict under the same judgment. It leaves an open question, what advantage the Jew then has, and Barnes reads the opening of chapter 3 as the answer to that objection.
Where to go deeper
The inward mark of verse 29 has its own page at /featured/circumcision-of-the-heart, and the whole charge of chapters 1 to 3 is traced at /featured/the-universal-indictment.
Sources: Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on Romans 2:17, 2:21 and 3:1; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1714, "Earnest Expostulation", 1883, on Romans 2:4.
Keep studying
Studies9
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on Romans 2:17 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710, on Romans 2:12.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Augustine of Hippo; Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; Frederic Godet, Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans and Theodore of Mopsuestia, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.