Romans 2:18

τὸ θέλημα is God's will. Lipsius compares the absolute use of ὁδός, θύρα and ὄνομα. Cf. Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 19:23; Acts 14:27; Acts 5:41. Also 1 Corinthians 16:12, where God's will is meant, not the will of Apollos. The words δοκιμάζεις τὰ διαφέροντα κατηχούμενος ἐκ τοῦ νόμου are to be taken together. In virtue of being taught out of the law (in the synagogue and the schools) the Jew possesses moral discernment: he does not sink to the νοῦς ἀδόκιμος, the mind which has lost all moral capacity (Romans 1:28). But a certain ambiguity remains in δοκιμάζειν τὰ διαφέροντα : it may mean either (1) to distinguish, by testing, between things which differ i.e., to discriminate experimentally between good and evil; or (2) to approve, after testing, the things which are more excellent. There are no grounds on which we can decide positively for either.