Uncircumcision and the Law

Introduction

As we consider Romans 2:25-29, we must look back at Romans 2:17-24. The first word in verse twenty-five, “for,” makes us look back to those verses to understand what Paul said in the final five verses.

Paul told the Jews in verses seventeen through twenty-three they had the name “Jew” because of God’s calling them to be His people, not because of something they had done or were. He told them they bore the name “Jew,” relied upon and boasted in God, knew His will, and approved the things that are essential because of receiving instruction in the Law. Paul challenged the Jews when he said they were confident they were guides to the blind, a light to those in darkness, correctors of the foolish, and teachers of the immature because they had the knowledge of the Law and the truth. These Jews had inflated egos because of their knowledge and circumcision.

Paul challenged the Jews in verses twenty-one through twenty-three. He said, 

You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? [NASB]

Paul used rhetorical questions in these verses. Rhetorical questions are a teaching tool used to make a person dig deeper than surface level to search for the true answer. In these verses, Paul challenged them on their sins. By doing this, He pointed out they were no better than the Gentiles and pagans. The Jews who boasted in their circumcision and being called Jews were not better than other people because they broke their covenant with God by sinning against Him.

Paul ended this section with the glaring statement to the Jews in verse twenty-four. He said, “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Why? The Gentiles saw the self-righteous Jews were no better than themselves. The Jews sinned just like the Gentiles, so why should the Gentiles honor and follow the God of the Jews? Ouch! This is a pointed charge!

Circumcision’s Value

With this reminder from verses seventeen through twenty-four, let’s learn what Paul continued to say to the Jews in verse twenty-five. He said, “For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law, but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.” Wow, did you understand that? Paul told them outright the Jews who sinned were just like the uncircumcised people. They were unclean heathens, too. The Jews who sinned were no better than the Gentiles and pagans. They prided themselves on being good. The Jews had the Law, God chose them, they kept the letter of the law, mostly, and they were circumcised. How much more Jewish could you get, right? Paul said, “Wrong!” The Jews’ circumcision of their foreskin was not beneficial to them.

In verses twenty-six through twenty-eight, Paul turned the Jews’ world upside down. He said,

So, if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. [NASB]

Paul said if the non-Jew, the Gentile and pagan, kept the Law without even having a covenant with God like the Jews, isn’t that Gentile or pagan really circumcised inwardly, in his or her heart, even though his skin is not? Circumcision was a bragging point for the Jews. It was an outward sign of their covenant with God. The Jews used it as a sign to say they were better than other people. If you weren’t circumcised, God didn’t choose you, is what they said and meant with their lofty-mindedness. The Jews of the time that Paul spoke to thought they were the elite because of being chosen by God and bearing the mark of their covenant with Him. Yet, they chose not to keep their covenant with God.

Paul took this idea one step further. Besides saying the physically uncircumcised who kept the Law really were circumcised (in their hearts), he said they would judge the circumcised, the Jew. “What? How dare they?” the Jews would have thought. “They are filthy pigs, rotten heathens. They could not touch my robe because they are so low,” a Jew might have said. Yet, those who kept God’s Laws, though they were physically uncircumcised, showed they were righteous and obedient to God’s Law. They obeyed the Law of God revealed to them and so were circumcised in their hearts and had a covenant with God, too. Therefore, these Gentiles and pagans who obeyed God’s revealed Law, would judge the circumcised Jews who were disobedient to God’s Law given in their covenant with Him.

Judgment and Rhetoric

Paul continued in this passage with verse twenty-eight. He brought a stinging statement of judgment to these Jews. He said, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.” A Jew is not someone who has circumcised flesh or who routinely goes through the motions to follow God. Genuine circumcision is not of the flesh.

What is genuine circumcision? Paul brought the biting revelation and the final truth to the Jews and his other readers and hearers with verse twenty-nine. With this verse, he reminded everyone who reads and hears this letter of what he taught in verse four. He said in verse twenty-nine, “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, and not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” The Jews, Paul said, got it wrong. They wanted everyone to see they were Jewish, the chosen people. They boasted about it and judged others because they sinned, all the while they, themselves, sinned, too. Paul taught them circumcision, true circumcision that showed evidence of a covenant with God, is not a cutting of the flesh. True circumcision is a circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit. When a person truly is circumcised by the Spirit of God, the old hardness of heart that comes because of sin and rebellion is cut away to make the person new and moldable by God. This circumcision removes sin and the guilt of sin, so the person can walk in newness of life. The person whose heart is circumcised seeks only to please God by obeying Him and growing closer to Him. He or she does not seek the praise of people by outwardly showing and stating how good he or she is. That is a sin.

Verse twenty-nine takes us back to a fact Paul taught with a rhetorical question in verse four. He asked in this verse, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” The initial answer to this rhetorical question would be a resounding, “No,” by the Jews. The more considered answer would be, “Yes.” Paul taught that the Laws of God were to lead people to recognize His kindness and love, and to follow Him in righteousness by faith. Remember, “He is a Jew who is one inwardly” by circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, not by the letter (vs 29). God’s kindness should lead you to give your heart to Him. He will circumcise your heart to remove its hardness caused by sin.

Conclusions

Doing right acts for the wrong reasons does not make a person righteous. A wrong reason could be doing good things so people see you doing them. It could be giving great sums of money to a charity so you can take a tax deduction. There’s nothing wrong with doing good things. What is wrong is seeking glory for yourself? Who gave you the ability and desire to do the good things, whether giving time, money, or skills? God. So, He should be the One who gets the glory, not you. Right acts with wrong motives is not righteousness. They are good deeds. Right acts will not make you righteous and clean before the Lord. You cannot earn your way to heaven by doing good deeds. Only righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ the Savior will do that. Paul called this being justified by faith. Read what Paul wrote in Romans 3:21-30.

Now, apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for these is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God, He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. [NASB]

God is the God of all who by faith accept the salvation He offers through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. None of us has anything to boast of in ourselves. We cannot keep the Law 100% of the time because we are sinful. Still, we must remember, God did not create the Law to make us perfect; only Jesus Christ can do that. He created the Law to lead us to Him, to see His kindness and love, and then to follow Him as ones He made righteous by our faith in Jesus. We have every reason to boast of God, to give Him all the glory.

Do you practice moralism, doing right things? This doesn’t prevent your heart from sinning. Being religious is no answer and has no power to keep you from sinning or to remove your sins. It has no power to make you clean and right before God. Does your moralism prevent you or other people from knowing the Lord?

It’s now your time to decide. Are you circumcised in your skin or your heart? Have you accepted God’s salvation through faith? None of us can do enough good works to earn our way into heaven. Only God’s grace and love make it possible. Will you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior today?

God, I am unable to do right all the time. I’m a failure at it. Please forgive me for the wrong things I have done, thought, or said. Please make be clean and right with You. You alone are the only way to salvation and righteousness. I give my heart and life to You, today. Amen.

God's Truths and Judgment (part 2)

Introduction

With the start of Romans 2, Paul began specifically speaking to Jews and Greeks, not just the pagans of Romans 1. He stated four main truths of God in chapter two and emphasized them with rhetorical questions. The four main truths are in verses two, eleven, sixteen, and twenty-nine. Paul said in verse two, “And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.” In verse eleven, he wrote, “For there is no partiality with God.” With verse sixteen, Paul emphasized God’s omniscience by saying, “God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” He concluded this chapter, but not the thought, by saying in verse twenty-nine, “Circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, and not by the letter; and his [the righteous person] praise is not from men, but from God.”

In the previous Bible study of Romans 2:1-4, we learned from Paul God’s truths and judgment, and truths about humankind. The four basic truths in this chapter speak of God’s righteousness, justice, and impartiality, the unrighteousness of each person, and God’s mercy and grace. In verses one through four, two statements of fact/truth occur-God bases His judgment on truth and all people are sinners. Verse one speaks on the unrighteousness of people while verse two tells about the righteousness of God and His judgments. Paul’s rhetorical questions of verses three and four point out the truths of verses one and two. The first question asks, will you or anyone escape judgment? The second question, which comes from verse four, asks, do you disregard the riches of God’s kindness? In these four verses, Paul taught the Roman saints and other hearers and readers that each person sins and those sins separate him/her from God. He explained God sees the sins of each person. This sinfulness disqualifies anyone from judging or condemning another person for his/her sins. Only a righteous person can judge and condemn and no one is righteous except God. This means only God is qualified to judge, and His judgments are right. Yet, Paul said, God wants every person to receive salvation. He said in verse four, “The kindness of God leads you to repentance.” God wants no one to perish and be separated permanently from Him because of his/her sins.

These truths led Paul to continue to lay a theological foundation in verses five through eleven. With verse five, Paul explained God’s judgment occurs because of stubbornness and the unrepentant hearts of people. He then taught God judges based on the deeds of people in verses six through ten. With verse eleven, Paul instructed again that God is righteous and impartial. God is the only qualified Judge because He is righteous. With the next Bible study, in verses twelve and thirteen, Paul explained God’s judgment is fair. He bases His judgment of each person on the revelation given to him/her. This laid the groundwork for understanding hearing God’s Laws does not make a person righteous, but instead doing them out of obedience and love, with one's heart. This statement means the Jews were not the only ones for whom God gives His grace and mercy through the Messiah. The Jews would be accountable to the Law God gave them, which they continually failed to follow. God would hold the pagans and Greeks accountable to the revelation given them through nature and God’s continual active creative process and the conscience He gives each person. Paul will finally arrive at the point where he says no person can keep the Law, or follow the natural laws and ethics God gives without a changed heart. With this overview of Romans 2:5-11, let’s delve into these verses.

God’s Judgment of an Unrepentant Heart

In Romans 2:5, Paul said,

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

[Note: All Bible passages are from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.]

Understand that in Romans 2:1-4, Paul said God’s judgment comes on people because of truth. The truths he spoke of are God is righteous and able to judge with fairness, and humanity is unrighteous and cannot be an impartial judge. In the next verses, he said the judgment of God comes on people because of their works/deeds. Because of something people do, Paul said people will receive God’s wrath. The actions of the people come from a stubborn and unrepentant heart, he said. Remember, Jesus said what comes from the heart of a person makes him/her unclean. A stubborn and unrepentant heart does not act righteously.

The word “stubbornness” Paul used in verse five comes from the Greek word sklerotes. Sklerotes means hardness of heart, obstinacy, and perverseness. The literal meaning of this word is “hard from being dry.” Paul gave the word greater meaning by adding the word “unrepentant” or “impenitent.” The word “unrepentant” comes from the Greek word ametanoetos. Ametanoetos means no repenting or changing of the inner man, no changing of the mind, and thinking differently. For Hebrews, hardness of heart-stubbornness-was what the rabbis and teachers preached and taught against. In Deuteronomy 10:16, Moses taught the Israelites not to be stubborn. Instead, he told them to circumcise their hearts. In Romans 2:5, Paul aligned himself with this thought. Actions against God come not just from stubbornness, but from an unrepentant or unchanged inner being-an unchanged heart. The Law of God required the circumcision of the Jews’ flesh. To be a child of God, the Holy Spirit must circumcise a person’s heart. Moses spoke of circumcision of the heart in Leviticus 26:4, too. Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 4:4, “Circumcise yourself to the LORD and remove the foreskins of your heart.” Paul joined these men with Romans 2:5 when he said the people had stubborn and unrepentant hearts. Circumcising the flesh according to the Law of God does not save a person from God’s wrath. Circumcision of the heart, that is being a child of God like Abraham by faith, saves a person. This shows itself by obedience to God that comes from love of Him by a person. Jesus said this in John 14:15 when He said, “If you love Me keep My commandments.” John the apostle said in 2 John 1:6, “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.”

Paul continued with this thought of verse five and said because of their stubborn and unrepentant hearts, they stored up wrath for themselves in the day of judgment. The listeners and readers of Paul’s letter, he said, built up layer upon layer of judgment for themselves because of their unrepentant and stubborn hearts shown through their actions. The judgment for their stubbornness and unrepentant hearts is God’s wrath that comes through His righteousness. This word “wrath” comes from the Greek word orge. It means anger, passion, punishment, and vengeance. Orge is a settled anger proceeding from swelled anger that built up. It’s not an outburst, but a controlled, passionate feeling against sin. God’s mercy and kindness kept Him from punishing the sinners hoping they would turn to Him for forgiveness and salvation. People continue to sin and God’s judgment of those multiplied sins amasses and swells His anger against sin. This is God’s righteous wrath. This wrath against sin will be His righteous judgment against each person.

Paul told them when this judgment for their stubborn and unrepentant hearts would come. He said it would come on the day of wrath and revelation. The Hebrews looked forward to the day of the Lord when God would defeat their enemies and save them. They often forgot the day of the Lord would come upon all people, not just their enemies. People forget they deserve judgment, too. God will judge all people on the day of the Lord, the day of wrath and revelation. This day of revelation, Paul said, would be a revealing, an uncovering. The Greek word for “revelation” is apokalupsis. It means an unveiling, uncovering, revealing. Bible authors primarily used this word for the revelation of Jesus Christ and especially God’s will. David used it in Psalm 110:5. Paul used it in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and 2 Thessalonians 1:5. Jude spoke of it in Jude 1:6. This day of wrath and revelation would not be a time for God’s anger to run rampant like that of humans or how people imagined their false gods would punish. It would come from God’s righteous judgment, the judgment Paul spoke of in Romans 2:2. Remember, in Romans 2:2, Paul said, “And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.” God bases His judgment on His standard of right and wrong considering His eternal morality known through natural laws, conscience, and His Laws, that is through His revelation of them and Himself.

In Romans 2:5, Paul turned the thoughts about the day of judgment and righteousness upon its head. He turned the Jews ideas backwards. Paul said, instead of them storing up treasures/rewards for themselves in heaven, their failure to recognize the need for a more radical repentance and total turning to God caused them to store up not “good” things in heaven, but “wrath.” The day of God’s judgment would bring judgment upon themselves and not just their enemies. The Jews and others who thought they did “good enough” would show their supposed “righteous” works did not meet the mark of God’s standards. People will understand they can do nothing of their own merit to earn reward in God’s kingdom. Everyone is unrighteous. Righteousness requires a heart turned toward God.

Questions for Reflection:

·         What do you do that you consider good or righteous?

·         When you consider that action, does it truly fall within the category of what God considers righteous? Maybe it’s self-serving or ego-centric.

·         Have you stopped to ask God what He wants you to do today instead of figuring it out for yourself?

·         You might think of good things to do, but God knows what is best and what truly is needed.

·         Stop and ask God for His guidance on what is best and what He wants you to do.

·         Are you storing up wrath and judgment or glory, honor, and peace from God?

God’s Judgment of Deeds

In verse five, Paul said God will judge a person based upon his/her heart. In the next five verses, he returns to teaching God will also judge people based on their actions/deeds. Paul said in verses six through ten,

Who will render to every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Verse six carries forward from verse five. Paul said, God, by His righteous judgment, will give according to each person’s deeds. The two-word verb “will render” comes from the Greek word apodidomi. It means to give from, as in to return as a payment or award/reward in relation to the source of the giving back.  People get from God what they deserve. Based on a person’s actions/deeds, God will give to him/her what he/she earned on judgment day-either wrath or treasures. We understand this better when we understand the Greek word behind our English word “according.” This word, “according,” comes from the Greek word kata. Kata is something that comes down from a higher plane to a lower plane. It is a reward given from someone higher to someone lower based on his/her actions, words, and thoughts. Paul said God will give back as payment right rewards for each persons’ deeds from His righteous judgment right rewards-either wrath and indignation, or treasures. David, Solomon, and Jesus each taught this idea. David said in Psalm 62:12, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.” Solomon said in Proverbs 24:12, “If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not He who weighs the heart perceive of it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done?” Jesus said in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done.” God sees each person, their deeds and heart, and will render the reward according to them.

Questions for reflection:

·         What do you deserve for what you have done? Be honest.

·         What does God offer you through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus the Messiah?

For Seeking God’s Ways

Paul continued with verse seven explaining what God would give back to a person for his/her actions. He said, “To those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.” This word “perseverance” comes from the Greek word hupomone. It means endurance, patient waiting for, and unswerved from a person’s deliberate purpose and loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. A person who perseveres to God’s righteous laws in his/her heart by action and word will do good and receive a righteous reward from Him. This “doing going” describes a person’s thoughts, actions, and words that originate with God and which He empowered in the person’s life. Jesus spoke of this in parable form in Luke 8:15 when teaching about planting seeds on good soil. The writer of Hebrews spoke of this perseverance in doing God’s will and receiving His promised reward in Hebrews 10:36.

For the person who steadfastly stands for what God calls righteous, seeks out His righteous will, and seeks to bring glory and honor to Him, God will give the reward He promised, eternal life. In seeking to bring glory and honor to God, this person brings glory and honor to him/herself (Romans 2:10 & Hebrews 2:7). This person seeks God’s approval, not man’s. Peter spoke about the willingness to go through trials saying that proves their faith. He said in 1 Peter 1:7, “That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The reward for this steadfastness to God and His righteousness, Paul said, is eternal life. Eternal life is ageless and unending. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:10, Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Jesus’ destruction of death by His resurrection means He has power over death and can reward it to the children of God. Though people by nature have perishable bodies, God can raise them to imperishable bodies. This means flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but must put on the imperishable that God gives through His forgiveness of a person’s sins when they repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When a person does this, he/she inherits an imperishable body through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:42).

The reward for following God and seeking His righteousness is eternal life. Seeking God and His will in thought, action, and word is living by God’s moral standard. What people think is best may not be what God considers is best. When we seek God’s way and are God’s children, we reap the reward of eternal life.

Questions for reflection:

·         Do you seek honor and glory now while on earth?

·         Or rather, do you seek God’s best bringing glory and honor to Him?

·         If you are a child of God through faith, your eternal reward will be honor and glory while in His presence for eternity.

For Seeking Selfish Ambition

Whenever Paul taught about living God’s ways, he always juxtaposed it against the ways of sinful humanity. In verse seven, he taught about the reward for persevering in doing good and seeking God’s glory and honor. With verse eight, Paul taught about seeking to do things that puts one’s self first and God’s resultant judgment of those people who do. He said, “But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.”

Contrasted to verse seven’s teaching about seeking to do good according to God, Paul taught about selfish ambition. “Selfish ambition” comes from the Greek word eritheia. It means seeking followers or adherents by giving gifts. A person who does this seeks fame and followers, notoriety from people. This person does not seek to bring God glory and honor, but to bring him or herself glory and honor. He or she puts his/her self-interest ahead of what the Lord declares is right or best for people. Often, this scramble for fame or followers results in harm to one or more people. Each of us has heard of people who seek fame and followers not caring that they are twisting the truth of God or potentially harming people physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. Paul spoke of this selfish ambition in 2 Corinthians 12:20, Galatians 5:20, and Philippians 1:17 & 2:3. James spoke of it in James 3:14-16. He said it does not come down from heaven but is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” Seeking to promote self and not seeking God’s will brings God’s judgment, the opposite of the reward Paul taught in verse seven.

Paul continued to define this person who will receive the opposite reward of eternal life. He said these people “do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness.” “Obey” comes from the Greek word apeitheo (ap-i-theh-o) and means disobey, rebel, disloyal. Its literal meaning is to refuse to allow the Lord to persuade you. These people who do not obey choose purposely to rebel against what they know the Lord wants. They turn their backs on Him and His truths. These truths of God are divine truths revealed to humankind through God’s creation and continuing creative process, through the human conscience, through the Law, and through Jesus Christ. These rebellious, disobedient people choose not to believe, to turn their backs on God, and to delight in wickedness. God will condemn them, Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:12. The people who seek selfish ambition obey unrighteousness. They violate God’s standards and cause His divine disapproval.

For these selfishly ambitious people, Paul taught God’s judgment would come. Just as God rightly judges the people seeking His ways, He rightly judges the selfishly ambitious. Those who seek what they want without caring about other people or God store up wrath and indignation instead of treasures in heaven for the day of judgment. Though God pours kindness on these selfishly ambitious people to lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4), they continue to walk in unrighteousness. While God in His forbearance showed these unrighteous people His kindness, they chose to live by seeking self. On God’s day of judgment, unrighteous-selfishly ambitious-people will receive His wrath and indignation. This wrath will pour out passionately against their sins in indignation that is in intense opposition against sin. God jealously loves each person and fights for each person by battling sin. He loves us so much He battles sin for us to give us the chance to seek Him and receive His forgiveness, and eternal life with Him.

Questions for reflection:

·         Do you strive always to go for the next rung on the ladder wanting more wealth or fame?

·         Does that seeking wealth and fame sometimes cause hurt for another person?

·         That self-seeking also causes hurt in your relationship with God. He wants to love you, lead you, and be in an eternal love relationship with you.

·         Self-seeking and ignoring God will bring His wrath and indignation on judgment day.

·         What keeps you from seeking God and His kingdom? Are you afraid you won’t have enough money to live on or you won’t rise above the status of your past? Give it to God. Repent. Turn to Him giving Him your life and seeking His will.

God’s Righteous Judgment

With verses nine and ten, Paul reiterated for clarity what God’s judgment would be for people who seek Him and those who choose to turn away from Him. He said in verses nine and ten, “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

The "tribulation" Paul spoke of in verse nine comes from the Greek word thlipsis. It means feeling hemmed in especially by internal pressure so that a person feels confined and restricted without options. The "distress" Paul spoke of is a difficult circumstance that God authorized. It causes anguish. Remember, nothing can come against a person without God’s permission. He will allow trials to grow a person closer to Him or, if a person chooses to walk away from God, they appear to be punishment. Paul said in this verse, for every person who does evil (malice that flows outward in action and word from a morally rotten character), times of feeling hemmed in without options will come. God will also allow times of distress to come to lead a person back to Him or to punish the person who does evil. Paul dictated later in Romans 8:35-39, even when people go through distressing times and times of trial, nothing can separate a person from the love of God through Jesus Christ. He is there ready to fight the battle for you and give you rest as you go through them with Him.

Notice Paul added a dependent clause to verses nine and ten. He said these judgments of God would come on the Jew first then also the Greek. Just as God’s salvation came to the Jews first then spread to non-Jews by proclamation of the gospel, so God’s judgment will fall first on the Jews then the Greeks.  Peter said in 1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel?” God will judge every person, those to whom God revealed Himself first through the gospel, then to the others. No one will be exempt from God’s judgment. Paul explained the person who did evil and did not repent and turn to God will go through tribulation and distress.

With verse ten, Paul explained God’s judgment of the person who does good-what is upright, honorable, and acceptable to Him. To these people, He will give glory, honor, and peace. For the people who sought glory while on earth, they would not have it forever. For those who sought to do God’s righteous will, He would give them glory for eternity. Besides that, God would give honor to the person of righteous living. He would show them respect. To have righteous God give you honor would be like the president of a nation bowing down to you. This means you have value and respect from God and from people. The person who does good would also receive the peace of God. This peace is peace of mind and welfare. Nothing can separate you from God and His love. This peace is also a wholeness that comes from God making that person complete in and through Him. It results from God’s uniting with the person so he/she receives cleansing physically, emotionally, and mentally, and joins spiritually with Him into a wholeness. This honor, glory, and peace of God upon a person is for all who do good, the good of God empowered by Him through faith.

Once again, this judgment and reward for those who do God’s good is for the Jew first and also the Greek. Paul said this because the gospel went to the Jew first and then to the Greek, the rest of the world. God wants all people to return to Him through forgiveness and faith. He does not look at one nation, tribe, or language group and condemn them because of some characteristic. God calls all people to come to Him. Paul made this clear in 2 Timothy 2:3b-4 when he said, “God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God wants all people (anthropos) to receive salvation and be in a relationship with Him, the truth.

Questions for reflection:

·         Where do you stand with God? Are you doing what you want and deserve the negative judgment from Him?

·         Have you repented and turned toward God following Him with your heart and obeying Him because of your love for Him?

·         God’s heart is to be in a relationship with you.

God’s Impartial Judgment

The second main truth of Romans 2 becomes clear after Paul taught on what God considers righteous and unrighteous actions and thoughts. Paul ensured the Romans addressed by this letter understood God will judge people who did and did not have His Laws because of their actions and their hearts. Neither Jew nor Greek is exempt. With verse eleven, Paul stated unequivocally how God judged. He said, “For there is no partiality with God.”

For the people to whom Paul wrote in this letter, this truth was very significant. Remember, the Roman emperors persecuted the Jews. Later, Nero persecuted the Christians and blamed them for the great fire of Rome in July 63 A.D. The Jews of Rome bickered with the God-followers and later the Jesus-followers. The Jewish-background believers debated with the Gentile-background believers. The people of Rome who treasured peace (pax Romana) felt they had to live with no peace from these monotheistic worshipers. Each group of people felt they were more right, and judged the others. Paul said in Romans no person can judge another because each person has sinned (2:1). Only God is righteous and can judge. Therefore, God will judge all people because everyone sins.

With this section, understanding the mindset of “us” and “them” in Rome, Paul stated God judges impartially. The word “partiality” comes from the Greek word prosopolempsia. It means favoritism where the outward circumstances of a person, not his/her inner merits, determines the judgment. With God, no person would be worthier of favoritism because of being rich, high-born, or powerful. A person without these statuses are not less worthy than the rich, high-born, or powerful. With the truth about God in this verse, Paul said God would not look at the outward appearance of a person, and what he/she does or owns when making His judgment. He would look at each person’s heart. God would have no favorites-would not be prejudiced-because He loves all people and shows kindness to lead them to repentance. Moses spoke of this in Deuteronomy 10:17 when he said God does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. Luke said this in Acts 10:34 when he recorded Peter saying, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality.” 

God is impartial. He does not show favoritism. God judges each person according to his/her heart and actions. To the person who does good, He gives glory, honor, peace, and eternal life. For the person who does evil, God will give tribulation and distress. Why does God judge this way? He wants everyone to come to know Him and be in a right relationship with Him. God rewards people who do good and righteous deeds and wants to reward all people with good things from Himself-glory, honor, peace, and eternal life.

Questions for reflection

·         Where do you stand with God?

·         Will God reward you with glory, honor, peace, and eternal life?

·         Will He reward you with tribulation and distress?

·         Each person has a choice to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. What will you choose?

Recap

In verses five through eleven, Paul taught God is impartial in His judgment. God’s judgment is righteous and that of humanity is flawed because each person is sinful. Paul said people who sin have stubborn and unrepentant hearts. They seek to serve themselves instead of considering God’s best. This can cause harm to one’s self and other people, and it causes a chasm to rise between God and that person.

Paul said God will judge each person on the day of judgment and wrath according to his/her deeds. For people who persevere in doing good and seeking to bring glory and honor to God, God will reward eternal life. The people who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but instead are unrighteousness, will receive wrath and indignation. This wrath and indignation of God will come about as tribulation and distress. In case the Jews who prided themselves on following God’s Law thought themselves better than other people and considered themselves above God’s judgment, Paul said God would judge the Jews first. God is impartial and will judge all people according to the revelation they received from Him. No one will be exempt from God’s judgment. The Jews understood this if they recalled Moses’ teaching. God looks at the heart of a person.

Conclusion and Relevance

Circumcision of the heart as Paul spoke of in Romans 2:29 is a heart that is pure and separated unto God for His will and service. Moses taught about it in Deuteronomy 30:6 when he said, “The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul and live.” The Jewish man circumcised his foreskin to show his agreement to the old covenant of Israel with God. Circumcision of the heart indicates being set apart to love God fully, inside and out. The Pharisees took pride in their physical heritage boasting about circumcision. John the Baptist warned them if they did not circumcise their hearts, God could raise up children for Abraham, those who were non-Jews (Matthew 3:9). Paul told the Galatians in Galatians 3:29 the true seed of Abraham are the ones who follow Abraham’s example and believe in God. Physical circumcision does not make a person a child of God. Faith does. It was why God called Abraham His child. God reckoned his faith to him as righteousness. Jeremiah told the Israelites to circumcise their hearts or God’s wrath would break out and burn like fire because of the evil they did.

Each of us does wrong, we go against God’s moral laws. No one can hide from Him. God sees everyone and everything they do. He knows where you are and knows your heart, actions, and words. After Paul wrote each section to the pagans, Greeks, and Jews, he quoted King David in Romans 3:10-12. He said, “There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one.”

Not one person is sinless. We each sin. Yet, God loves us. He made a way for us to be in a right relationship with Him. That way was the perfect sacrifice for sins. It was not a pure white lamb or dove, but the death of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus loves us so much, He took our penalty, God’s judgment, and paid the price for our sins. He chose to die in our places so we could live forever with God in His kingdom. This was God’s plan from the beginning of time. He wanted nothing to separate us from Him and provided the way for the cleansing and justification of each person. This way caused Him pain. It caused Jesus much agony, but He loves us so much He willingly died for all people. When a person turns toward God, repents, and believes in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit circumcises his/her heart.

Paul put it this way in Romans 5:6-8

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Know this-

you are Sinful

God Loves you

Jesus Died to pay for your judgment

What will you do –

Harden your heart or

Repent and turn toward God through faith in Jesus Christ?