Coming Judgment • Romans 2:1-13
By Laura Lee Leathers
Recently, my daughter told me, as she loaded eight large containers of Greek yogurt into her shopping cart, “Don’t judge me!” I didn’t say anything; however, my raised eyebrow and the look on my face made it clear to her that I was judging.
Face it! We all judge whether we want to admit it or not. Judging carries a certain arrogance that reveals our self-righteousness and a better-than-thou attitude. It can be based on anything, such as ethnicity, choices, culture, and customs.
When it comes to judging, here is the bottom line: only God has the authority to judge every person based upon their response to Him.
No Excuses (Rom. 2:1-5)
The Jews, at the time of Paul’s writing, considered themselves “better than” the Gentiles. After all, the Jews were God’s chosen people. Didn’t He give them the law? They spent their lives devoted to the law. Paul explains that it’s not about mere knowledge of the law but about obedience to God’s Word (2:1-16).
Warren Wiersbe, Be Right*, points out that there are four witnesses to show the guilt of the Jewish nation. First, their condemnation of the Gentiles showed that they were doing the same things (2:1-3). The second witness is seen in the blessings God gave to the Jewish nation (2:4-11).
Next is God’s Law. God judges according to truth. Wiersbe writes, “Paul made it clear that it was not the possession of the Law that counted, but the practice of the Law” (2:12-24). The final witness is circumcision (2:25-29). The physical operation represented the covenant (Gen. 17), and they depended on that rather than on an inward spiritual experience in the heart.
Have you ever judged someone and then found yourself doing the same thing? Paul writes, “You condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things” (v. 1). We are all sinners, and we will not escape God’s judgment. But everyone has a choice: accept God’s kindness, which is intended to lead you to repentance, or store up wrath with your unrepentant heart.
Perfect Standard (Rom. 2:6-11)
I have my favorite people; what about you? However, God has no favorites. Paul supports this truth by citing Psalm 61:12 and Proverbs 24:12; the Lord will “repay each one according to his works.”
This is not about a works-based salvation; it “relates to a personal response to what God has done for us, not anything we do for Him” (Lifeway).
Eternal life for those who receive God’s gift. And because of what He has done for them, they want to live and bring honor to Him. The opposite are individuals who reject God’s plan. They are deceiving themselves and thereby facing God’s wrath. Paul continues his warning: there will be “affliction and distress for every human being who does evil practices.”
I’m reminded of Dr. R.G. Lee’s famous sermon, “Payday Someday.” There is no favoritism according to God’s standard.
One Way (Rom. 2:12-13)
I don’t know how many times I have said to my children and grandchildren, “I will obey right away.” I have given them rules or requests that I expect them to obey, and when they don’t, there are usually consequences.
God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel. The Mosaic Law, given to the Jews, identified specific sins. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law. Even though there were significant ethnic and cultural differences between the Gentiles and the Jews, both groups needed salvation through Christ alone.
“Paul made it clear that it was not the possession of the Law that counted, but the practice of the Law” (Wiersbe). The “doers of the law” is not about working your way to be right with God. The individual who places their faith in Him is a doer of the law.
Notice the word “justified” in verse 13, first used in Romans. Only the individual who places their faith in Jesus is declared innocent, upright, or righteous. As we continue our journey through Romans, Paul will expound on justification in greater depth.
There are not many ways to God; there is only one way, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 CSB).
One day, in God’s courtroom, everyone will have to appear. How will God judge your heart?
*Be Right, How to Be Right with God, Yourself, and Others, by Warren W. Wiersbe (1977)
Leathers is a member of First Baptist Church, Lexington.
Comments are closed.