Coachlight Bible Study
Romans Chapter Two
The Jews Need For God’s Righteousness
Paul knew that the Jew, as well as the self-righteous have a disposition to agree hardily with Paul’s conclusions about the Heathen in chapter one. In chapter one, Paul puts forth the case that the Heathen Gentile faces the perfect judgment of God. Every man has known God; if only through nature, even if this person has not seen the Scriptures. But when the Gentile knew God, he did not worship or thank God, and therefore was on a path with a spiraling progression downward. This downward path leads to false religions, sexual impurity, and eventually to a reprobate mind; meaning unable to discern right from wrong.
Paul teaches in chapter two that while the Jew and other self-righteous men would say amen to chapter one, because of their self-righteousness, they are just as guilty toward God as the Pagan Gentiles. Paul states that the Jew puts himself in the position to face the perfect judgment of God also. God judges a man by the man’s works and according to Truth. God’s judgments are also impartial whether the man is Jew or Gentile. While the Jew boasts that he knows God and His Word, often this man doesn’t follow the Scriptures. This action leads to blasphemy of God from people around this person, and makes the sign of God’s Covenant, circumcision, of no value. God’s righteousness will bring the much better sign, the circumcision of the heart. The Law Breaking Jew Is As Lost As The Heathen Gentile.
I. The Self-Righteous Is Condemned With His Own Judgment
Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
Romans 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
A. Self-Righteously Judging Others Actually Condemns The Judge
B. Even If The More Moral Man Did Not Commit The Same Sins As The Gentile
1. If This Man Lust He is In The Same Category As Adulterous Gentile
Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
2. If This Man Covet He is In The Same Category As Thieving Gentile
Mark 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: {covetousness…: Gr. covetousnesses, wickednesses}
Mark 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
3. If This Man Hate He is In The Same Category As Murderous Gentile
I John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
II. All Men Are Condemned According To Truth
Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
A. It Is Foolishness To Think A Self-Righteous Man Will Escape God’s Judgment
B. God’s Judgment Exposes What The Self-Righteous Man Tries To Hide
C. The Self-Righteous Doesn’t Know That God’s Goodness Brings Repentance
1. The Self-Righteous Man Thinks Little Of The Rich Goodness Of God
2. The Self-Righteous Man Thinks Little Of The Rich Forbearance Of God
3. The Self-Righteous Man Thinks Little Of The Rich Longsuffering Of God
4. The Self-Righteous Man Hardens His Heart
5. The Self-Righteous Man Is Storing Up God’s Judgment Upon Himself
a. He Judges Others - Doesn’t Realize He Also Needs God’s Goodness
a. He Judges Others - Doesn’t Realize He Also Needs Repentance – Change Of Mind
III. All Men Are Judged According To His Works
Romans 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Romans 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Romans 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Romans 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; {Gentile: Gr. Greek}
Romans 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: {Gentile: Gr. Greek}
A. Doing Well Is Obedience To God’s Word – Look At Verse 8
1. Cain Would Have Been Accepted If He Did Well – Obeyed God’s Word
Genesis 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: {flock: Heb. sheep, or, goats}
Genesis 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Genesis 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door…..
2. Saul Would Have Been Still Accepted As King If He Had Obeyed God
1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams…..
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from
3. Today We Do Well If We Take Heed To God’s Word
II Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
B. Doing Evil Is Not Obeying God’s Word – Look At Verse 8
1. Doing Evil Is Being Contentious
2. Doing Evil Is Obeying Unrighteousness
3. Doing Evil Is Obeying Indignation
4. Doing Evil Is Obeying Wrath
C. Judgment Toward Those Who Continue Doing Well
1. Glory - Dignity
2. Honor - Recognition
3. Peace – Tranquil State
3. Immortality – No Corruption
4. Eternal Life – Forever With God
D. Judgment Toward Those Who Do Evil
1. Tribulation - Affliction
2. Wrath – Sudden Anger
2. Anguish - Distress
E. Both Gospel And Judgment Are To The Jew First And Then The Gentile
IV. All Men Are Judged Without Respect Of Persons
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Romans 2:12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) {their conscience…: or, the conscience witnessing with them} {the mean…: or, between themselves}
Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
A. God Is No Respecter Of Persons
1. Sinners – Jew Judged By The Law
2. Sinners – Gentiles Judged Outside The Law
B. When Gentiles Do The Law – The Law Is Written In Their Hearts
1. Their Conscience Bears Witness
2. Their Thoughts Guide Them
C. God Will Judge The Secrets Of Man’s Hearts
D. Who Are Justified – (Standing In Front Of God’s Court In Righteousness)
1. Justified – Those That Hear And Do God’s Word
2. Unjustified – Those That Hear God’s Word Only
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
James 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. {deed: or, doing}
V. The Law Breaking Jew Dishonors God
A. The Jew Can Not Be Made Righteous By God’s Law Alone – He Breaks It
Romans 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Romans 2:18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; {approvest…: or, triest the things that differ}
1. The Jew Boasts In The Fact That God Gave Them The Law
2. The Law Called Wisdom And Understanding In The Sight Of The Nations
Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 4:3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
Deuteronomy 4:4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
Deuteronomy 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
Deuteronomy 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
Deuteronomy 4:7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
Deuteronomy 4:8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Deuteronomy 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
3. The Jew Trusted In The Law To Be All He Needed
a. The Jew Did Not Have To Travel To Distant College To Study
b. The Jew Did Not Have To Rely On The Philosophy Of The Gentile
Romans 2:19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
Romans 2:20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
4. The Jew Trusts His Knowledge Of The Law For His Righteousness
a. Confident He Could Guide The Gentile Out Of Un-Jewish Ways
a. Confident He Could Enlighten The Gentile Out Of Darkness
b. Confident He Could Instruct Those Without The Law Out Of His Foolishness
c. Confident He Could Teach The Gentiles Out Of His Immaturity
Romans 2:21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Romans 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Romans 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Romans 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
5. The Jew Teaching The Law To Gentiles Was Himself Breaking The Law
a. You That Teach - Do You Teach Yourselves?
b. You That Preach Don’t Steal – Do You Steal?
c. You That Say Don’t Commit Adultery - Do You Commit Adultery?
d. You That Hate Idols – Do You Commit Sacrilege? (Rob Temples)
1. The Jews Stole – From Each Other
2. The Jews Commit Adultery – Desecrate Temple With Commercialism
e. The Jews Were Ready To Teach The Law - But Broke The Law
1. This Dishonors God Who Gave The Law
2. This Causes Those That See It To Blaspheme God
Isaiah 52:4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
Isaiah 52:5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
B. The Jew Can Not Be Made Righteous By Circumcision – He Breaks The Law
Romans 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Romans 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
Romans 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
1. The Jew Trusting In Circumcision But Breaking The Law
a. His Circumcision Counts For Nothing
b. His Circumcision Is Voided
2. The Gentile Who Keeps The Righteousness Of The Law
a. His Un-Circumcision Counts For Circumcision
b. His Lifestyle Will Demonstrate The Condition Of The Law Breaking Jew
C. The Jew Can Not Be Made Righteous By His Birth – He Brakes The Law
Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Romans 2:29 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.
1. Jew Thought That Any Part Circumcised Thought Of As Perfection – Not Circumcised - Deficient
Exodus 6:12 And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
Jeremiah 6:8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. {depart: Heb. be loosed, or, disjointed}
Jeremiah 6:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
Leviticus 26:40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
Leviticus 26:41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Leviticus 26:42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
2. Outward Circumcision Alone Can Not Please God
Jeremiah 4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
3. Circumcision Of The Heart Is Loving God With All Your Heart And Soul
Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Deuteronomy 30:7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
Deuteronomy 30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
4. This Is Why Christ Instructs:
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.