Posts

Romans 2:12 – With or Without the Law

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Will

For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned within law will be judged by law

Truth to Learn

We have all sinned and are unrighteous, deserving of God’s condemnation.

Behind the Words

The expression “without law” is from the Greek word anomōs, which is a compound word made up of the privative a, implying negation and a form of nomos, meaning “law.” Although it can refer to any law in general, in the Biblical text it is almost always a reference to God’s revealed law as contained in the writings of Moses and the prophets.

“Perish” is translated from the Greek word apolountai, which is made up of apo meaning “away from” or “completely” and a form of ollumi, meaning “to destroy.” Hence, “utterly perish” would be a good translation of this word.

Meaning Explained

Paul is now giving further explanation to what he said in the previous verse (Romans 2:11,) the fact that God is not a respecter of persons. And, we saw that verse 11 was an explanation of the repeated phrase, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” God will not take into account who our parents or other ancestors are when He judges us. All He will be concerned about is whether we are righteous or not. Also, keep in mind what Paul will tell us later in Romans:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10)

Righteousness, in God’s view, is the characteristic of always doing what is right. Since we don’t always do what is right, we are unrighteous, whether we are Jewish or Gentile. As Paul is talking to the Jewish Christians in Rome, he is telling them that those who have sinned without law will perish without law (because they are unrighteous). He is saying that those who do not have the Law as laid out in the Old Testament will perish (into the lake of fire) without the law.

At this point the Jewish believers are likely to get a bit prideful knowing that they do, indeed, have the Law. So Paul drops the other shoe. He tells them that those who have the Law and transgress the Law will be judged through the precepts laid out in the Law. Since there is only one who satisfied all the Law (Jesus Christ, the righteous one), Paul is telling these Jews that they are just as condemned (and unrighteous) as the Gentiles who commit sin apart from the Law.

This particular treatise of Paul’s is going to show that obeying rules and statutes is impossible for sinful man to do whether he is a Jew or a Gentile. He will, in fact, eventually demonstrate to these Roman Christians that all of us are sinners and worthy of death apart from the grace of God. In other words, if God does not get involved in our lives and save us through His grace, we will all justly be sentenced to the lake of fire.

Application

Deep down inside we all know that we are unrighteous in and of ourselves. Thanks be to God that He declares us righteous when we believe the good news about His Son.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:11 – The Impartial Judge

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Will

For there is no partiality with God.

Truth to Learn

God judges based on truth, not on appearance.

Behind the Words

“Partiality” comes from the Greek word prosōpolepsia, which is made up of prosōpon, meaning “face” or literally, “that part of the face at or around the eyes,” and a form of lambanō, meaning “to receive.” So, literally it means that God is not a receiver of faces. By implication it means that He does not treat people differently simply based on personal characteristics.

Meaning Explained

Paul ended each of the previous two verses with the phrase, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The reason for this expression is to remind the Christians in Rome, who are mostly converted Jews, that their heritage is not something to boast about. God will judge all people alike with one exception: those who rejected His offer of salvation will receive condemnation, and those who accepted His offer of salvation will receive mercy.

Why does He treat Jews and Gentiles alike? Paul tells us in today’s verse, “for there is no partiality with God.” Samuel the prophet was sent by God to anoint the next king of Israel. When he first saw the eldest son of Jesse, he was sure that this was the one God had chosen. God told him otherwise:

But Jehovah said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance, nor to the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For man does not see as He sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

That’s exactly what Paul is saying in today’s verse. God will judge us all based on the righteousness that we possess no matter how hard we try to impress Him with our good works. We can go to Church every Sunday, read our Bibles, and pray daily. We can give to the poor and even work for a poor Christian organization and look at our low wage as “a ministry for God.” But if we are not declared as righteous in God’s Book of Life then we will be judged with all the other unrighteous ones at the Great White Throne judgment. If, on the other hand, we have recognized our sinfulness and we have humbled ourselves before God, accepting the blood of Christ as payment for our sins, then God declares us as righteous and we will not appear at the Great White Throne judgment. Instead, we will appear at the Bema Seat judgment where we will receive rewards for the good works we have done.

One final note: the works that we get rewarded for may not be the works that we expect to get rewarded for. Only those things which are done for Him, that is, to give Him glory, will be rewarded. These things that we do for ourselves (even if we claim that they are for Him) will not result in rewards. It’s sort of a catch-22. If we do any deed for the purpose of getting rewarded for it, we won’t get a reward for it. On the other hand, the selfless things that we do in obedience to God, strictly for His glory, because He is deserving, these are what will result in rewards.

Application

If you want to bless God, then serve Him humbly and faithfully. If you want God to bless you, then serve Him humbly and faithfully.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:10 – Peaceful Reward

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Will

but glory, honor, and peace to everyone working what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Truth to Learn

If we are working for God now, He will reward us later.

Behind the Words

The word translated “working” is the Greek verb ergodzomai, based on the noun ergon, meaning “work.” Ergodzomai means “to work or labor at something.” It implies putting effort into doing something. It is expressed here as a participle (working) which implies ongoing action.

The word translated “good” is to agathon, which literally means, “the good.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has just declared that the unrighteous will receive tribulation and anguish at the Judgment. In contrast, like in verses 7 and 8, he now declares what the righteous will receive.

Paul says, “to everyone working the good,” The implication is that this is someone who is continually laboring to do good. Doing what is right is not something that comes naturally to any of us because of the sin nature that we all inherited from Adam. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are even capable of doing anything truly good. And, as we all know, it takes work to continue to do good, especially when it seems that we only get taken advantage of when we do.

There is a beautiful promise to all Christians, however, in this verse. Paul tells us that those of us who continue to labor at doing good, in spite of what the world does to us, will receive glory, honor and peace from the great Judge when we stand face to face with Him.

We are not to go through this life seeking to gain glory for ourselves, and we are not to be seeking our own honor. But, if we are seeking to bring honor and glory to God through our good works, God will one day give us both honor and glory. And, on top of it all, He will give us peace. The unrighteous will not have peace. They will have tribulation and anguish, and they will be separated from the presence of God for all of eternity.

This is one of those verses that I think we all should have committed to memory for those times when we get tired of trying to do what God wants us to do; when we feel like it’s just no use; when life seems to be going downhill with no end in sight. Remember, this promise is not to just anyone! It only applies to those who have been declared righteous by God. That is, it only applies to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And, according to Paul in the book of Ephesians, the whole reason for us being saved is so we can do good works for God:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Application

We are not saved by our good works; we are saved only by the grace of God. But we are saved and commanded to do good works while we are here on this earth. And when we continuously labor to do those good works, He will reward us for it with glory, honor, and peace!

Do you want glory, honor, and peace? Then, get to work!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:9 – Payment for Worthless Deeds

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Will

tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who accomplishes evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

Truth to Learn

Tribulation and anguish are coming to those who reject God.

Behind the Words

The words “tribulation and anguish” are interesting in that, for three of the four times they are mentioned in the Bible they are mentioned together. The word “tribulation” is from the Greek word thlipsis, which literally means “pressure.” However, by application it means “that malevolent external force that is applied to a man.” In other words, those bad things that happen to us that cause us extreme stress.

“Anguish” is translated from stenochōria, which literally means “a narrow place,” but symbolically it means “great distress.” Though tribulation and anguish may seem to be the same, thlipsis is the external force and stenochōria is the resultant internalization of the stress.

The word, “accomplishes” is from the Greek katergodzomai, which means “to continually carry out a task until it is complete.”

“Evil” is from kakos, which means “bad” or “worthless.” It refers to those deeds which God considers of no value.

Meaning Explained

Paul has just told us that those who have been declared righteous and who are seeking God’s glory and honor will receive eternal life. Meanwhile, those who reject the truth of Christ, those who are more concerned with self than doing what is right, will receive the anger and wrath of God. He now reiterates these points, as if to make a clear statement that there is a distinct difference between what will happen to the unrighteous and what will happen to the righteous.

Tribulation and anguish, according to Paul, are what comes to him who, “accomplishes evil” during his life here on earth. The implication is that the worthless actions of the unrighteous were not just occasional during their lives; rather the selfish acts of unrighteousness were continual until their lives were ended. It may seem harshly judgmental to think of the unsaved as never doing anything good. However, from God’s perspective “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” That is to say, the deeds of the unsaved are worthless.

Paul now makes a very clear point to the Roman Christians, who were mostly converted Jews. They had a tendency to be proud of their Jewish heritage and of their faith. He tells them that this condemnation will come on (the unsaved) Jews and Gentiles alike. In fact the judgment will come on the Jews first (or primarily) then on the Gentiles as well. This is a strong condemnation regarding their pride, which is not a godly trait.

Application

We Christians need to be very careful that we don’t get prideful in our salvation. After all, we’re not saved because of anything that we did. Our salvation is because of what God has done for us and to us. After all, without His gift of grace, none of us would be saved. When we become prideful in our salvation we are taking the credit away from Him, and it is credit that only He deserves!

Let’s humble ourselves and praise Him for what He has done!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:8 – Self-serving Fools

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Will

but to those who are self-seeking and do not believe the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,

Truth to Learn

Those who selfishly reject God will experience His wrath.

Behind the Words

The word translated “self-seeking” is eritheia. It is based on a noun that means “to work for hire” or “to work for a wage.” The verb form is usually in the middle voice meaning that it is something that is done to (and by) oneself. When used as a noun in a negative sense, as it is in today’s verse, it refers to “someone who is seeking his own good.” It is sometimes translated as “contentious.” Clearly, it is used here in reference to someone who is only looking out for himself or herself.

The word translated “do not believe” is the Greek word apeitheō, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of peithō, meaning “to convince or persuade.” Hence, apeitheō refers to “one who is not allowing himself or herself to be persuaded or to believe.”

The word “obey” is also translated from the root peithō. It is expressed here as a participle in the middle voice, so it could be translated here as “convincing themselves.”

Meaning Explained

We talked in the previous verse about the judgment of the righteous ones who will receive everlasting life because of their belief in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Today’s verse gives a contrasting picture of the unrighteous unbelievers (all unbelievers are unrighteous in God’s eyes).

We could translate the opening part of this verse as, “but to those who are self-seeking and not being persuaded by the truth but persuading themselves by unrighteousness …”

Whereas we, through our patient endurance, will receive eternal life, those who are self-seeking and not persuaded by the truth will receive the anger and wrath of God. We see here another example of Paul’s frequent play on words. They are not persuaded (apeitheō) by the truth, so they persuade themselves (peithō) by unrighteousness.

Do you see the attitude of the unbeliever in this verse? Those who reject the good news of Christ’s death on the cross in payment for their sins, refuse to believe. They refuse to be persuaded that they are sinners and need salvation. Why? Because they are self seeking and unwilling to submit themselves to the truth and to the God of truth. Remember what Paul said in the previous chapter of this letter?

because, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful, but their reasonings became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened Professing to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:21, 22)

And what will these self-serving fools receive when they stand before the God of creation? The wrath and anger of the Almighty, Holy, Righteous GOD whom they deny!

Application

We have the antidote for this wrath; it’s called the gospel message, and we need to proclaim it to everyone who will listen. It’s not up to us to force anyone to believe, but it is up to us to proclaim the truth, whether they believe it or not.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:7 – Continual Good Works

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Will

eternal life to those who with patience in doing good seeking glory, honor, and immortality;

Truth to Learn

We are to be continually doing good works for God.

Behind the Words

There are two Greek words, men and de, which are not often translated. They are used together to indicate a comparative contrast between two things. When used in this manner they can be roughly translated as men = “on the one hand” and de = “on the other hand.” The word men appears in this verse and the word de appears in the next verse. Hence, Paul is contrasting these two groups of people.

The word translated “patience” is hupomonē, which is made up of hupo, meaning “under” and a form of menō, meaning “to remain.” Hence, it literally means “to remain under.” It is a picture of a beast of burden which chooses to remain under a heavy load rather than rebelling and shaking off the heavy load.

Meaning Explained

Abraham, though not righteous in himself, was declared righteous when he believed God (see Genesis 15:6). Paul will talk more about Abraham’s faith in the coming chapters of Romans. The important thing to note is that Abraham did not earn his righteousness, it was declared so by God when Abraham believed. It is the same with us. When we believed the message that we are sinners deserving of death and that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, God declared us righteous. The second chapter of Ephesians declares that as a result of this salvation by grace, through faith, we will produce good works which God before ordained for us to do.

This is all necessary background to understanding today’s verse. You see, today’s verse does not refer to the same judgment event as the previous verse (or the following verse). This verse is referring to the Bema Seat Judgment at which all believers will appear. It is a judgment where we will receive rewards for the righteous works we have done since salvation. These works did not earn us our salvation, they are the evidence of our salvation.

In the previous verse Paul told us that the Great Judge "will render to each one according to his deeds." Now he tells us what will be handed out to these two contrasting groups of people. In today’s verse he talks about those who patiently continue to do good, who are seeking glory, honor and immortality. That pretty much describes a committed Christian, and today’s verse tells us what they will get – eternal life. In the next verse he will tell us what the other group of people will get.

Remember that Paul is contrasting the wicked and the righteous. He is not giving a treatise on faith verses works (he will get into that later in the letter.) The point he is making is that the saved will get eternal life, while the wicked unrighteous ones will get something entirely different.

Application

As born-again Christians, God expects us to be doing good works that will build up the body of Christ. At the end of this life He will reward us for these faithful works. Will your works for the body of Christ be worthy of reward?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:6 – Judgment of Works

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Will

who "will render to each one according to his deeds":

Truth to Learn

Everyone’s works will be judged by God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “render” is apodidōmi, which is made up of apo, meaning “from” and didōmi, meaning “to give.” Hence, it means “to give away” or “to hand out.”

Meaning Explained

By itself, today’s verse makes little sense, but when tied in with the previous verse it makes a lot of sense.

⁵But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ⁶who "will render to each one according to his deeds":

Today’s verse is actually a quotation taken from the Psalms (Psalms 24:12 and Psalms 62:12). The day of wrath and judgment that is talked about in verse 5 is the judgment of the unrighteous (the unsaved.) This will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment spoken of in Revelation 20:12-15:

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, stand before the throne. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire.

The “if” clause in the last verse (Rev 20:15) is expressed as a first class condition in the Greek, implying that it is true. So this could be paraphrased as: And no one was found having been written in the Book of Life, each was cast into the Lake of Fire. This is part of the evidence that believers will not be at this judgment; only the condemned unsaved will be there.

Paul, in Romans 2:6, is expressing what will happen at this judgment as well. Notice in the Revelation passage that the dead are judged according to their works. That’s exactly what Paul is saying in today’s verse: God will render His judgment to each person according to his (or her) works.

Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior and Lord will not appear at the Great White Throne Judgment. Our names are written in the Book of Life, not because of our works, but because of belief in His work (on the Cross). That is not to say that our works won’t be judged. They will be judged at the Bema Seat (the judgment seat of Christ) mentioned in Romans 14:12 and 2Corinthians 5:10, where we will be rewarded for our good works.

Application

Just because you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior doesn’t mean that you don’t have to be actively doing godly works. We all need to be busy building up the body of Christ, doing the deeds He has called us to do. Get to work for Him!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:5 – A Storehouse of Wrath

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Will

But in accordance with your hardness and your unrepentant heart you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Truth to Learn

On the Day of Judgment God will show His wrath rather than His mercy.

Behind the Words

The word translated “hardness” is skleroteta, from which we get our medical term sclerosis, meaning hardening. It literally means “hardness like a stone” but in reference to our heart, as it is here, it refers to “stubbornness or obstinacy.”

The word translated “unrepentant” is from the Greek ametanoeton, which is a compound word made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and a form of metanoeō, which means “to have a change of heart, to change one’s thinking, to repent.”

The word translated “treasure up” is a form of thesauridzō, from which we get our word thesaurus, meaning “a treasury.” The notion is of storing up or hoarding things simply for the purpose of having them. This word is in the present active indicative form, implying present action. Paul is saying, “you are continually hoarding up wrath for yourself.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has just informed his readers that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance without which we would never respond properly to the result of our sin. All sin is abhorrent to God, and He must exact the payment for sin, which is death. Through His own goodness, however, he draws us to repentance, which is necessary in order to receive the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of His own Son. So we see that not only does God provide the payment for our sins (for which we have no one to blame but ourselves), but He also draws us to that payment by leading us to repentance.

Unfortunately there are many who will refuse to be drawn to repentance because they are too proud and will not submit to the sovereignty of God. For these, Paul now explains what will ultimately happen.

He says, “because of your stubbornness and refusal to repent you are hoarding up wrath for yourself.” This wrath will come, “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” If you read through the book of Revelation you will see that our loving God will one day pour out His wrath upon the sinful, unrepentant inhabitants of this earth. And, the ultimate result of that wrath will be the casting of unrepentant souls into the lake of fire.

Those who refuse to submit to God’s authority will be given over to all kinds of sinfulness, as we learned in the previous chapter. They will also receive the judgment for that sinfulness in the Day of Judgment. Only when it is too late will they realize that they were wrong and that they were fighting against the all-powerful Judge of the universe.

Application

Let us not be that way! Instead, let us voluntarily submit to Almighty God and repent of our sinfulness, claiming the blood of Christ as the payment for our sins.

So, what will it be; Pride and Punishment or Submission and Mercy? The choice is yours to make today! Don’t wait!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:4 – God’s Goodness, Not Ours

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Will

Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Truth to Learn

Our salvation is a result of God’s goodness, not ours.

Behind the Words

The word translated “despise” is kataphroneō, which is made up of kata, meaning “against” or denoting evil and phroneō, meaning “to think.” Hence, kataphroneō means “to think evil of.”

“Riches” is translated from ploutos, based on a root meaning “fullness.” It refers to the fullness of possessions.

The word “kindness” is from krēstotēs, meaning “moral excellence, kindness, or goodness.”

“Forbearance” is from anochēs, which is based on the word anechō, made up of ana, meaning “up” and echō, meaning “to have or hold.” Anochēs means “forbearance, self-restraint, or patience.”

The word “longsuffering” is from macrothumia, which is composed of macros, meaning “long” and thumos, which refers to “anger, fierceness or wrath.” This word refers to God’s ability to hold back His fierce wrath for a long time.

“Repentance” is translated from a form of metanoeō, made up of meta indicating “a change of place or condition” and noeō, meaning “to think or comprehend.” Hence we see that this word refers to a change in the way we think about something.

Meaning Explained

Now, putting this all together we find that Paul is asking, “Do you think evil of the great value of God’s moral excellence, His self-restraint, and His holding back His wrath, ignoring the fact that God’s moral excellence is what leads you to repentance?” What Paul is saying is, “God is very patient and suffers the pain of our sin against Him. And because He is so good, instead of squashing us like ants, He actually takes us by the hand and leads us to an attitude of repentance!”

The picture is like that of a loving father who, when his son or daughter has done something wrong, takes the time and effort to lovingly explain the effect of their wrongful action so that they realize they have done wrong and tell their father they’re sorry, asking for forgiveness. The real beauty of this is the fact that without God’s longsuffering and patience and His loving, leading way, we would not repent. For, as Paul says, “the kindness of God leads you to repentance.”

Our sin nature is ever present and it is powerful. Without the greater power of God through His kindness and without His willingness to hold back His righteous anger against our sins, we would not repent of our sinfulness. And without this repentance we would not be saved from our sins.

Praise be to God for His kindness!

Application

If this doesn’t cause you to fall to your knees with a prayer of thankfulness to God for His kindness, then you don’t underestimate the effect of your sinfulness in the presence of a holy God. God must judge sin, but He loves you as His precious child.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:3 – The Universal Judge

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Will

And, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, do you think that you will escape the judgment of God?

Truth to Learn

God will judge us all.

Behind the Words

The word “practicing” is from prassō. As we learned a few verses back this means, “to perform an action continually, repeatedly, or habitually.” It is a picture of a musician practicing his or her instrument over and over. It is expressed here as a present participle indicating current, on-going action.

“Doing” is translated from the Greek verb poieō, meaning “to make or do.” It is different from prassō in that it implies an occasional action rather than a habitual one. This word, however, is also expressed as a present participle indicating a current, ongoing condition. Hence, it refers to ongoing occasional action.

Meaning Explained

Paul is talking about the tendency for the Roman Christians to be judgmental of the pagan Romans who constantly engage in sinful practices while these mostly Jewish Christians are guilty of committing many of these same sins. He is warning them that God will judge sin and sinfulness no matter whether it is an occasional sin or a habitual sin. To God, sin is sin!

Paul is teaching these Roman Christians (and us as well) about another condition of the human mind. He just showed us that finger pointing is self-condemning because we tend to see in others what we do ourselves. But also, we all have a tendency to excuse our own actions. After all, we know why we do these things, and we can easily excuse them in our own minds. Besides, we don’t do these things very often, and yet we see others doing these things over and over again.

Let’s not miss the point here. It would be easy to read this passage and say, “We shouldn’t care how others live and we certainly shouldn’t be judgmental.” But that’s not what Paul is saying. He’s saying that before we condemn others for their sinful actions, we need to look inwardly and deal with our own sin. Clearly the sin of harlotry is one which is easily condemnable, but when Jesus was confronted by those who wanted to stone a woman (the legal penalty for adultery) caught committing this sin, He responded:

He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. (John 8:7b)

In other words, our tendency to judge others does not absolve us from guilt and the consequences of our own sin; in fact, it increases our own condemnation.

Paul is going to teach these Christians that it is not important to prove who you are descended from; rather, it is important to demonstrate who has adopted you. That is to say, faith, not heredity nor legal obedience, is the key to salvation and a fulfilled Christian walk with God. We do not, nor did we ever, earn this salvation, either by action or inheritance. It is a gift that flows from the kindness of God. That’s what makes it so precious!

Application

The next time you see someone acting in a way that you know is wrong, remember that God is the Judge of all mankind, and He will execute His judgment according to truth, not according to appearance.

In God's service, for His glory,