Romans 2
COMMENTARY:
: 1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whosoever you are that judges: for wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you that judge does the same things. (379 “inexcusable” [anapologetos] means without excuse, without defense, or indefensible.)
DEVOTION: Every human being is a sinner. We sin from the time we are born until the time we die. There are differences in the frequency, extent and degree of sin in each of our lives. These differences still show our need to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
It is thought that the Jews were judging the Gentiles who were condemned in chapter one for all of their sins. The list of sins is long. Each person doesn’t commit all of the sins but the Jews thought the Gentiles were worse sinners than them because they had the Old Testament and the sacrifices.
Paul is stating that if anyone judges someone else as a sinner but doesn’t think that they sin or that they don’t sin as much as others are only deceiving themselves.
They are without defense when they stand before a holy God. HE will look at their self-righteous attitude and judge them on that basis. We are not to look at others to find fault but to encourage them to first become a believer and then to instruct them by our example and the Word of God as to what a genuine believer acts like during their stay here on this earth.
We have to first admit that we are sinners too. There is no place for respecting of persons in the church of Jesus Christ.
Each person has their gift given at the point of salvation and is to use their gift for the furtherance of the kingdom of God through the local church. Some have gifts that put them in the public view more than others but that doesn’t mean that they are better or less sinful. It means that they are held more accountable to God and should keep short accounts with God regarding confessing their sins.
One other thing that this verse points out is that we usually judge others for the same sins we are guilty of. We see it so plainly because we are dealing with it on a regular basis ourselves. Watch out!! You are telling others what is going on in your life.
CHALLENGE: Judging others while not dealing with our own sinfulness is a sin in God’s eyes.
: 5 But after your hardness and impenitent heart treasures up to yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: (279 “impenitent” [ametanoetos] means admitting no change of mind, unrepented, characterized by a refusal to abandon any pagan or self-righteous disposition for a new disposition characterized by trust in Jesus for salvation and an accompanying holy life, obstinate, or obdurate.)
DEVOTION: Have you ever watched a child that will not give up a toy they want to play with while other children want a turn with the same toy? Have you ever watched an adult who wants to watch a program on television when someone else wants to change the channel to find another program? Have you ever watched someone in church who was in control of a certain program in the church when they find out that someone else is going to get that position?
Human beings want to have their own way in all areas of their life. If someone interferes with their will they will face their wrath.
God wants every human being to yield their will to HIS. HE wants every human being to turn from their sin and follow HIM. If they refuse to turn from their sin and continue to want to do what they want no matter what they will face consequences that the LORD has laid down in the Bible.
This verse states as a fact that those who refuse to turn from their sin they will face a terrible punishment. This is true whether a person is a Jew or Gentile. Paul is warning his fellow Jews that they don’t have a special place with God if they are not willing to turn from their sin. They can’t count on religion to save them. They can’t count on their family to save them. They can’t count on their physical circumcision to save them.
They can only be given salvation on their repentance or turning from sin to HIS provision of salvation. That was true in the days of Paul and it is true today as well. No one will be able to say they never heard. They will be given a viewing of their opportunities to become a believer and they will see that they stubbornly refused to follow Jesus.
CHALLENGE: Don’t let that be true in your life!!!
: 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. (2927 “secrets” [kruptos] means concealed, private, inward, or hidden.)
DEVOTION: The Bible warns of a double life. Some people can be one way on Sunday and different the rest of the week. These people go to church every Sunday and say the right words and do the right things but inwardly they are different. Paul was warning those attending church that there are false believers in their midst. The Jews thought at because of their nationality they were closer to God than the Gentiles. They thought that they had physical circumcision they were guaranteed a spot in heaven. Paul told them that there had to be a circumcision of the heart. It was the inward life that was important, not the external appearance. It was great if the inward life was the same as the external appearance. This was not true of some in the church in Rome.
God knows what we have done with our lives. There are no private things in our lives that God does not know. Paul warns us about judging other people. What happens most of the time is that those who speak out against someone else are committing the same sin themselves. We have a tendency to like to look at other people’s sins and feel better about ourselves. That is not something God wants in our lives. He wants us to be those who help others in their struggles through life.
Paul wants us to know that God is rich in goodness, forbearance and long-suffering with his children. We are to practice the same with our fellow believers. Why does God practice these three traits? They lead people to repentance.
Our responsibility is to help other believers to see their need for repentance if they are living in sin. We are to do it in the spirit of meekness, not in the spirit of hardness of heart. Paul tells the Romans that the heart is the real judge of a person. He wants the Romans to make sure that their hearts are right before God. We need to make sure our hearts are right before God on a daily basis, so that, we can help others grow closer to the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Work hard not to lead a double life. Be consistent in your internal and external appearances. Ask a close personal friend to keep you accountable.
: 29 But 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. (2927 “which is one inwardly” [kruptos] means secret, hidden, concealed, not accessible to view, the inmost being, in their secret (room), or concealed.)
DEVOTION: Paul is making a distinction between a genuine Jew and one that just looks like a Jew. He states that you can be born into a Jewish family. You can be circumcised in the flesh. You can go to the synagogue. You can eat Jewish meals. You can celebrate Jewish holidays. You can do all these things but not be a Jew in the eyes of the LORD.
God doesn’t look at our outward appearance that we can use to trick people into believing that we are a follower of the LORD. All those outward acts don’t fool the LORD. HE looks someplace else.
HE looks at our inner man. HE looks at our heart. HE is very interested in the motive behind our actions. HE is very interested in whether we want public recognition for any of our actions. HE knows what we are expecting of HIM when we do certain things that we think will get us HIS praise.
God wants us to be genuine. HE wants us to care because HE cares. HE wants us to love because HE loves. HE wants us to give because HE is a giver. HE wants us to be thankful. HE wants us to give glory to HIM instead of ourselves.
Too often we don’t say we love other believers because that is the way we really feel. We don’t even like some of the people we go to church with each Sunday. We don’t talk to others. We go in and go out without really getting to know the people we are supposed to love. The command is to love one another. Did you feel the love the last time you were in church? Did you give anyone some love when you were in church last time? What would happen if every believer really showed they loved one another this Sunday in every Bible believing church in our world? There would be a lot of people running away because they would think we were crazy. God is crazy about us. HE sent HIS only true Son to die for us.
CHALLENGE: What kind of crazy love do we need today to reach our world for Christ?
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