Romans 2:1-16

Even Respectable Men, Judges, Philosophers, Rabbis and Jews Come Under God's Judgment As Sinners (2:1-16).

Having demonstrated the sinfulness and inexcusability of the majority of mankind, Paul now turns to those who are, as it were, standing listening and nodding their approval. The philosophers had said the same thing as Paul had about the general populace. The judges recognised in what Paul had said what they had found to be true about the people who were brought before them. The Rabbis and Jews, maintaining their confidence in the Law, and seeing themselves as superior because of it, also approved. They would all have nodded their heads in agreement with Paul. But they were all sure that what he had said did not apply to them.

So Paul now turns his attention to them. He speaks to those who see themselves as having responsibility for the behaviour of mankind, both Jew and Gentile. There has always been disagreement about whether these early verses in chapter 2 are to be seen as spoken to Gentiles or Jews. That Jews are included is unquestionable because Paul speaks of ‘to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile'. But that phrase equally means that Gentiles are also included. And this is brought out by the fact that Paul carefully avoids using allusions which will pin down who is being spoken to. He is speaking to ‘moral men' generally. He must thus be seen as having in mind all who looked down their noses at others from a position of supposed superiority.

His argument is quite simple, and it is that those who claim to act as judges of others in the way that these people did, nevertheless regularly indulge in similar sins themselves, something which makes them doubly without excuse in the sight of God. For by judging others they have removed their excuse of ignorance. They have demonstrated by their judgments that they do know what is right and wrong. And yet they still behave wrongly. They must therefore recognise that God shows no favours to His ‘fellow-judges', and will judge truly. Why, says Paul, if they pass judgment on others, as they do, do they really think that they can themselves expect to escape God's judgment?

This passage splits clearly into three sections, something brought out by the literary arrangement. In the first section (Romans 2:1) we have challenges seemingly put to an individual in the form of charge (‘you are without excuse') and question (‘and do you think, O man --?' - ‘Or do you despise --?'), with the verbs in the singular as though addressing one person. In the second section (Romans 2:6) we have a change of style, and a clear chiasmus which follows Old Testament patterns. In the third section (Romans 2:12) the emphasis is on the fact that both Jew and Gentile will be judged by some form of law, ending with the warning of the coming judgment of all men by Jesus Christ. The three sections do, however, run into each other so that the whole passage also reads as one whole.