Beauty in the Book: Romans 2
Themes
This chapter of Romans digs into themes of judgement, righteousness, morality and conscience, and helps us gain insight how the concept of circumcision relates to New Testament believers.
Questions
This chapter addresses the following questions:
Is it fair for me to judge others?
What is God like as a supreme judge? What qualifies his judgement?
How do I think about my conscience in regards to God’s law and ways?
Can people know God’s ways if they haven’t read Old Testament law?
Moving Forward
This writing will break down the chapter section-by-section, offering commentary for your reflection. Don’t miss the ending titled Beauty in the Book where it all gets wrapped up in a bow—highlighting how every chapter is woven with uplifting realities of God’s goodness and grace.
Romans 2:1-4
This passage reads as a plea: a plea to drop the judgmental attitudes of self-righteousness and cling to the mercy of God, embracing his general attitude of compassion—letting the good we want “for” people eclipse the good we want “from” them.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8 NIV
When we are insensitive and stingy with our mercy, quick to anger and slow to love, not only do we misrepresent the heart of God to others, but we misunderstand all that he has lavished on us—from his very heart to ours. Paul dives right in, urging his readers to not pass judgement.
The concept of not passing judgement—knowing that we, ourselves, are far from sinless—is a theme Jesus touched on time-after-time during his ministry time walking the earth. I’ve summarized a few instances below:
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14): A pharisee and a tax collector went to the temple. The pharisee went and prayed off by himself, convinced he was better than those around him and puffed up in self-righteousness over the ways he felt he was “getting it right”. Meanwhile, a tax collector stood far off, grieving in humble desperation for God’s compassion. Only one of these men found justification in God’s eyes.
Here, the one who knew he was in desperate need of mercy was better off.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor (Matthew 18:21-25): A man was in major debt to his king. Think: millions of dollars worth of debt. He begged for forgiveness and the king wiped his entire slate clean. (Woah—generous!) That guy trotted off and ran into a guy who owed him a bit of money. Think: a few thousand dollars. Rather than extending the same generosity he received, he grabbed this guy by the throat (Eek!) and had creditors seize him and throw him in prison. (Oof!) As you can imagine, bystanders saw this and were pretty upset! They ran to the king and told them what they saw. The king was furious. How could this man not even extend an ounce of the mercy he was shown to someone else?! The king had this man thrown into prison for his evil behavior unit he could pay off his own gigantic debt. In a sense, he held that man to the same judgement call he extended to his own debtor. (An interesting piece to observe… reminds me of Matthew 5:7!)
The man in this story would have been far better off if he had let the mercy he was extended seep deep into his soul and impact his actions towards others.
The Moneylender/Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman (Luke 7:36-50): Here, a woman offers an extravagant act of love to Jesus while others stand by, not understanding it. It’s in this moment that Jesus tells a story to his friend Simon about a moneylender. Two people owed money to a money lender. The first guy owed way more than the second guy. The lender forgave both of their debts. Which guy would have more love for the lender? Of course, the first guy! Jesus celebrates this woman’s love and knows its rooted in her understanding of the mercy she was extended.
The woman in this story is celebrated because she understands the mercy that was given to her, and was poured out (literally) in love.
I think these parables illustrate this idea quite well: God is abundantly rich in mercy. He is kind, generous, and extremely patient. It’s off-kilter when we ignore this grace and run around like we have any right to condemn others for what they do.
We have received an abundant outpour of mercy. We are to treat that mercy as a big deal—not “despising” or having “contempt” for it, as it says in verse 4, but we are to understand the gravity of his grace, letting humility permeate our steps.
Romans 2:5-8
Just as we read early in chapter one of Romans, the truth about God’s character is evident to all. (Romans 1:20) Those who reject his nature, his ways, and his invitation to grace—by being stubborn and unrepentant—will be given what is just and fair accordingly.
While that might sound harsh, it’s important to remember that this letter to the Romans was being written to a mixed bag of religious backgrounds: it was being written to people who viewed Jewish law-keeping as a means to righteousness—sometimes twisting things to fit their own agenda—as well as Gentiles who had no religious background (but maybe some general philosophies of morality). Paul is coming in and shaking it all up by reminding people that we, as humans, don’t get to make the rules.
God is the righteous judge and we have no place to be setting the rules and judging others accordingly. Our place is to acknowledge God’s rules, and the incredible mercy he shows us as he draws us to himself by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 2:9-11
The reality that there will be a final judgment day is good news for the one who seeks God and his ways, and bad news for the one who doesn’t.
I feel that’s what these verses really boil down to. We are offered eternity in the person of Jesus, and also, know that there is a form of judgement/reward for those of us who believe. In the same way, those who reject Jesus, or who persist in seeking “self” and rejecting God’s truth will have to face up to that in the end. (For more on heavenly rewards: Matthew 5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:10)
God is impartial in regards to our backgrounds. (Galatians 3:28-29) What matters is who presently seeks him and embraces his ways. (To clarify: by embrace, I mean to walk in his way of love in our daily life, and ultimately, to seek his Way of salvation by Jesus.)
May we mind that all his ways are good:
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV
Praise God that it was his way to send Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for all of our sins. His way is a way of generous salvation and not condemnation:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17 NIV
All of God’s “little-w” ways culminate in the “big-w” Way found in the person of Jesus. He is “the Way, the truth, and the life!” (John 14:6)
It’s this way that we are to yield to, receive, believe, and let overflow out of us.
Romans 2:12-16
Here, Paul takes a turn into the concept of our consciences. He opens with a bold statement worth unpacking:
“All who sin apart from the law will perish apart from the law… all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.” Romans 2:12 NIV
This verse jumped off the page at me. Because it one breath it addresses both the Jews and Gentiles; it addresses those who kept the law, and those who didn’t know the first thing about it. To put it frankly: neither route was getting anyone marked as “righteous”.
Check out this verse from Romans 3:
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. Romans 3:20 NIV
Basically, what Paul seems to be getting at in Romans 2:12 is the idea that if you observe the law, you’ll end up deserving condemnation for what you fail to upkeep. And if you are unfamiliar with Jewish law, well, you’ll perish without it.
The fact is, that God’s law—as summarized in Matthew 22:37-40: “Love God. Love others.”—is written on our hearts. We know it deep in our consciences and it causes our thoughts to say “Yep, that’s right!” Or “Nope, that feels wrong.” Ours thoughts defend us or accuse us. (2:15)
Notably, our consciences can be damaged, seared, or overly sensitive. (1 Timothy 4:2) They are subject to sin just like our minds, hearts, and bodies. That is why the wrap-up in 2:16 is crucial: It drives the point home that we will be judged in truth and without partiality through Jesus Christ.
That’s the Gospel: in all the messiness of our worlds, our law-codes, our morality, and our consciences… we will be judged in fairness and truth, through the person of Jesus Christ—and by a God who is characterized by kindness, mercy, and patience.
Romans 2:17-25
Paul specifically addresses the Jewish teachers in this section, calling out hypocrisy and it’s detrimental effects.
Building on previous ideas, Paul explains that simply being well-acquinted with the written law-code of the Old Testament isn’t enough to bring about true righteousness of the heart. These people knew the law inside and out. They boasted in all it contained, and yet their hearts were far from the righteousness of God.
This fact became evident to the Gentiles (non-Jews) as they came to blaspheme the name of God in response to the conduct of those who boasted in His Name. It was upside down and backwards—a situation in need of saving!
Romans 2:25-28
Let’s just get this whole circumcision thing covered right out of the gate.
Here was the deal: circumcision was a ritual done by Jewish males according to Old Testament law. It was a physical removal of the foreskin of Jewish males, thought by some to be symbolic of the spiritual removal of impurities. Circumcision was used in the Old Testament to set God’s people apart from the rest of the world; it was a physical representation of their being a people consecrated to God.
Now, we know that we are sealed by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and that we are known as God’s people by the love we show one another according to the circumcision of our hearts. (Ephesians 1:13-14, John 13:35)
So, as you can imagine, this was a hot topic to the Jewish people, and understanding it’s significance after Jesus came was a really big deal.
Having this background knowledge helps shed light on what we read here in the book of Romans. You see, circumcision was an act of faith and submission to the one true God, but people started putting more stake in the actual act of circumcision rather than the faith it represented.
There’s this nice little piece from Romans 4 that talks about Abraham’s faith in the Old Testament and his circumcision. To be honest, I found it a bit challenging to track with, but if you can take it slowly, it’s so insightful. I pray the Holy Spirit highlights good things in this bit ahead for you!
This passage ahead describes how Abraham’s faith brought about his righteous standing with God, and how he was then circumcised as a symbol of that faith. (The faith he had before he was circumcised.) Maybe you’ve heard the children’s song where he’s referred to as “Father Abraham”! This section clarifies that Abraham is actually the father of faith, not the father of law/circumcision. Okay, that’s enough from me! Here’s the scripture:
Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Romans 4:9-12 NIV
To drive the point home, there is this prime passage from Galatians that describes our new life in Christ—and how we are to boast or be filled by our identity in Him—knowing faith in Jesus that makes us righteous—rather than rituals such as circumcision. Check out the passage:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Galatians 6:14-15 NIV
Yes and amen! True transformation happens by the regeneration of the heart by the work of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is given to us in faith, when we trust in the atoning work of Jesus on our behalf.
The person who is undergoing their heart being transformed is concerned about what the Holy Sprit is doing within them more than they are concerned with what other people are doing around them. May we desire to please Jesus first and foremost, as described in Romans 2:29.
Beauty in the Book
God has always been for people. We see it all of scripture, like in Romans 5:8 which reminds us that God lovingly spared nothing to save, even for the ungodly. And I’ll quote John 3:16-17 until the cows come home! In which, we are told that God sent his son Jesus not to condemn the world, but to save it. He’s just so good.
Sometimes, I think there’s a smear campaign on the good name of God. Actually, I know there is! I believe all the powers of darkness would do anything to hide the magnificent light of God displayed in the person of Jesus. Thankfully, God said, “not so!”
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV
His glory and goodness have been irrevocably put on display in Christ. Here, the good truth of God’s character has been revealed: He’s the most kind, most compassionate, most generous, most sacrificial One there is. (Furthermore, He’s the most powerful in the universe! What a comforting combination.)
For the tender heart, sometimes these passages of judgement can be scary. But that’s just the thing—for the tender heart. For the one reading about God’s righteous judgement and quivering a little, it’s likely that you fall into the category of one who desires to persist in doing good. (2:7) And if this reality has you shaking in your boots because you’ve totally neglected God or any sort of a pursuit of him, let this be the loving discipline you need to turn to the God who truly, mercifully, and compassionately saves!
He doesn’t just save us from an eternity in hell, he saves us from ourselves. He saves us from our self-destructive (and others-destructive) pattern that wreaks havoc on our world, our relationships and our souls. He is the God who saves. In this passage, it becomes clear that his mercy takes the center stage, as he deals patiently and compassionately with us, urging us to do the same with others. He’s calling hypocrisy out and calling believers in: to come to him in truth, allowing the work of the Holy Spirit to transform our inner being, knowing that we have always been fully dependent on his mercy, from start-to-finish.
He is the merciful, patient God who saves us. May we know his mercy to us and may it shine through us!
