Romans 2:4-2:11 - God's Judgements Just to All

Calvin (4/4/01)

2:4: The attack on hypocrisy continues. Such hypocrisy is often accompanied by an earthly prosperity, which deceives the hypocrite into thinking himself blessed of God, as he fails to realize that true blessing lies in salvation. Hardened in their foolishness, they come to trust their own prosperity rather than the God that provides [again, the creature rather than the Creator]. When God blesses His servants, it is to train them up in seeking their all in Him. When He gives those same earthly blessings to the transgressor, He is seeking to soften their hearts to lead them to repentance.
2:5: Hardness towards God leads straight to impenitence and onward to provocation of the Lord. Their continued enjoyment of God's blessings without rejoicing in God creates an ever greater burden of judgment for them in heaven. By unlawful use, the blessing becomes a curse. The last day is ever a day of judgment to the sinner, but a day of redemption to the faithful. (Zeph 1:15 - It is a day of wrath, trouble, destruction, and darkness. Joel 2:2 - It is a day of darkness and gloom. Amos 5:18 - It will be a day of darkness and not light.) It is also a day of revelation in that on that day, God will fully reveal His judgment of each man, the tares and wheat finally fully revealed for what they are.
2:6: Although it be true that Scripture tells us that good works will be crowned with blessing by God, there is nothing in that, nor is there here, to support the idea that any effort of ours merits such blessing. The fact of the blessing cannot be used to infer the merit of the action.
2:7: Patience and perseverance are required of the saint, for Satan ever seeks to impede their approach to God. Such approach, they will yet strive to make, seeking nothing higher than Himself, finding their glory and honor in His glory and honor. Such a striving towards God cannot but spend itself in doing good works worthy of their object.
2:8: The doubled joining of this clause may offend the esthetic, but the purpose of Scripture is not eloquence, but spiritual wisdom. The editor here points out that this section exhibits the parallelism of Hebrew poetic style, the ideas of verses 6-8 being restated (in reverse order) in verses 9-11. Rebellion is seen in the licentious, but is equally true in the hidden ways of the hypocrite. Any thought of a middle way between obedience to God and obedience to sin is removed, one must be obeying one or the other. Those who cannot stand the thought of serving God are justly rewarded by being allowed to become bondslaves to their sin. Paul expands on the future condition of the righteous and the wicked because our nature is such that strong descriptions are needed to incite a proper fear of God's judgment and a proper desire for His promises to the righteous.
2:9-2:10: Both the blessing and the judgment will begin with the Jews, for they had both the promises and threats of the Law. Both will spread from them to encompass the whole world.
2:11: The accusation is brought home. The ignorance claimed as defense by the Gentiles is stripped away, as is the false security of the Jew's boasting of their position. Yes, God has separated the Jews from all other nations as a people unto Himself, but this does not make the one or the other any less guilty. God looks not upon nationality, dignity, wealth, or any other outward condition, but looks at the heart in His judgments. Yet His election by grace of some and not others is not thus disproved. He chooses in spite of there being nothing in ourselves to warrant that choice, nothing which He could approve. Following regeneration, He shows favor to the image of His Son which He sees in us.

Matthew Henry (4/5/01-4/6/01)

2:4: Every sin contains in it a contempt for the goodness of God, for every sin displays a spurning of the goodness and forbearance He has shown towards man. (Ecc 8:11 - Because the punishment is delayed, men are convinced of the safety of doing greater evils.) It does not suffice to know that God's goodness leads to repentance, we must recognize that it leads us personally to repentance, and it is a leading, not a driving. (Hos 2:14 - He will speak kindly to us to allure us. Hos 11:4 - He leads with bonds of love, as one who removes the yoke, and feeds us. Jer 31:3 - He has everlasting love for us, and draws us to Him with lovingkindness.) Contemplation of His goodness ought to suffice to lead all to repentance, but many fail to repent for lack of such considerations.
2:5: A treasure is stored up in secret, and the treasure that sinners have stored up is hid in the heart of God - a treasure sufficient to last throughout eternity, and yet added to by every sin. (Ez 8:17 - They multiply their sins, filling the land with violence and constantly provoking God. They 'put the twig to their nose.' Dt 32:34-35 - Vengeance is laid up in His treasuries, to be dispensed in due time. Job 14:17 - My transgressions and iniquities are sealed up for storage, Job 38:22-23 - like the snow and hail stored up in heaven against the day of battle; Ge 7:11 - to be broken open and poured out at the appointed time. Ps 7:11 - God is a righteous judge, who has indignation every day, Rev 6:17 - yet there is to come a day of great wrath, against which none may stand.) God's wrath is not the heated passion of a man, but the righteous judgment of all that is contrary to His nature (Is 27:4 - I have no wrath.) That judgment which may be concealed from view in this life will be made manifest in that day (Ps 50:6 - God is judge.)
2:6: God's judgments will be according to justice, not considering position. That He so judges by our actions, is ever mentioned in Scripture as evidence of His righteousness in judging.
2:7, 2:10: Those who would gain the reward of the immortal glory and honor that adhere to being accepted by God, will ever seek His kingdom, accepting nothing less, and patiently continuing every effort of well-doing, as it leads to the desired end. Knowing and speaking well does not suffice, but must be accompanied by actions; actions which are not fitful, but persistent. Our effort must be patient to overcome all opposition and hardship we may meet in doing as we ought. The fruit of such effort is eternal life in heaven. Having sought the glory and honor that is found there, rather than that found among men, the desired glory and honor are indeed found, accompanied by peace.
2:8-2:9: 'Every willful sin is a quarrel with God' (Is 45:9 - and woe to him who so quarrels with his Maker. Ge 6:3 -God's Spirit will not strive with man forever. Job 24:13 - Those who rebel against the light do not want to know God's ways, nor to abide in them.) Truth is to be both known and obeyed and practiced. If not a servant of the truth, then one will soon become a slave of unrighteousness. The indignation and wrath that such sins cause in God lead inexorably to tribulation and anguish for the sinner. Hell is the eternal tribulation and anguish that come from unrepentant contending with God, the briers and thorns that the All Consuming Fire will consume (Is 27:4). Bow or be broken, either way God will render to you as your deeds require.
2:11: In terms of the spiritual state of man, God makes no distinctions. (Ac 10:34-35 - God shows no partiality but welcomes the one who fears Him and does right no matter the nation he may be of.) The privileges of a man are not considered, nor are knowledge and profession such as are not born out in practice. It is the true disposition of the man that God looks to, both to bless and to curse. In all this, the Jews retain the primacy that comes of their greater access to the truth, but the relative ignorance of the Gentiles will neither excuse them from punishment nor exclude them from reward. (Col 3:11 - By the renewal of Christ, there remains no distinction between classes and nationalities, but Christ is all, and in all.)

Adam Clarke (4/6/01)

2:4: Will you really ignore all the times He has tolerated your errors, the patience he has shown in the face of your repeated provocations? In choosing not to acknowledge this truth, you have rendered His efforts ineffectual.
2:5: Your hardness has led to a heart that cannot be penitent, that can no longer be respond to the cries of your own conscience. The Hebrew sense of treasure indicates a plentiful store (Dt 28:12 - From the storehouse of His treasure, the LORD will pour out rain in its seasons. Dt 32:34-35 - Vengeance and retribution are stored in His treasuries to await their due time. Dt 33:19 - They will draw out the abundance of the seas, and the treasures of the sand.) Such as create a treasure of wickedness for themselves will reap their punishment in the day of judgment. Increasing the treasure of wrath is the only alternative to improving the riches of goodness.
2:6: Each will be rewarded or punished as his life and conversation have merited.
2:7: Eternal life will be the reward of those who have persevered in doing good, despite the trials of this life.
2:8: Those who 'obstinately dispute against the truth', influenced by sin rather than the Spirit of God, will see His indignation made manifest in their punishment.
2:9: The tribulation that shall be visited upon such men is inescapable. Although the Jew may be first in the line of the punished because of his greater understanding, God sees that the Gentiles had sufficient light to repent, and chose not to, and so, deserve their punishment as well.
2:10: In contrast, the one that 'lives in a conscientious obedience to the known will of God' will have eternal blessedness, be he Jew or Gentile.
2:11: The judgment of God will not be made on basis of nation or advantage, but solely on character and conduct. As then in judgment, so now in grace. God has provided sufficient grace to every man to lead to repentance, yet some have chosen to abuse that grace in continued sin, thereby bringing the due penalty upon themselves. Nor does He give His grace in such a way that His will prevents its being effectual in the recipient. Any ineffectualness lies in the willful disobedience of the man.

Barnes' Notes 4/8/01-4/11/01

2:4: The condition Paul considers here, is that which leads one to believe himself safe and innocent because God had not yet cut him off in his sins. (Lk 13:1-5 - Jesus warns those who saw calamity as a sign of great sin in those who were killed by it, that their fate was no less certain unless they repented from their sins. The present punishment did not per force signify a greater degree of sin in the punished. Jn 9:2 - Whose sin caused this one to be born blind? It seemed a natural question to His disciples.) In the Hebraic mode of speech, riches indicate a superabundance; thus, a degree of goodness, forbearance, and patience above and beyond that presently desired by man. (Ro 9:23 - God created vessels of mercy in order to make the riches of His glory evident in them. Ro 11:12 - The transgression of the Jew became riches for the Gentile, imagine what will come of their fulfillment! Ro 11:33 - The riches of His wisdom and knowledge are unsearchable. 2Co 8:2 - In their affliction, the riches of joy overflowed in their liberality. Eph 1:7 - Our redemption and forgiveness come of the riches of His grace. Eph 1:18 - The hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in us ought to be known to us. Eph 3:8 - Paul was blessed with the duty to preach the riches of Christ. Eph 3:16 - May God grant that you be strengthened with power through the Spirit according to the riches of His glory. Col 1:27 - God willed to reveal the riches of His glory among the Gentiles - Christ in you, the hope of glory. Eph 2:4 - God is rich in mercy.) In His forbearance, He restrains His indignation in the face of manifest sins. Seeing not the immediate punishment of their sins, the sinner foolishly misunderstands God's patience with them for security, and continues sinning instead of repenting. (Ecc 8:11 - Because punishment is delayed, the heart of man is more fully committed to do evil. 2Pe 3:3-4 - In the last days, mockers will mock, following their lusts, and decrying the delay of His coming as a sign that He never will.) It is not that the sinner doesn't know the kindness of God, but rather that they have made a voluntary, and therefore criminal choice to ignore His kindness to the point of becoming ignorant. (Hos 2:8 - Israel no longer knows that God gave her the grain and wine and oil, who gave her silver and gold, using the gifts of God for Baal.) God purposes in His goodness and patience to lead us to repentance, not to greater sins. (2Pe 3:9 - He is not slow in His promise, rather He is patient, not desiring that any should perish for not repenting. Is 30:18 - He longs to be gracious, so He waits to have compassion on you. Hos 5:15 - I will wait in My place until they see their guilt and seek Me earnestly. Ez 18:23 - I have no pleasure in the wicked ones' deaths, but would prefer they turn from their sins and live. Ez 18:32 - I have no pleasure in death, so repent and live.) Repentance is more than sorrow for our condition, but must include a forsaking of, and turning from sin. God's goodness leads to such repentance by showing the sin as evil, as it reveals that the sin is committed against such a kind and merciful God. Such forbearance seen by one who continues in his sins serves to soften his heart to change, rather than the hardening that judgment is wont to bring. When one finally recognizes the mercy God has shown throughout their youth, their prime, and even into their old age, as they continue to flaunt His laws, it will so rush over his soul as to overwhelm it with sorrow. God, in His mercy, appeals to His creatures every moment of every day, placing before them the manifestations of His goodness in sun and rain, in food and clothing, in home and friends, in freedom and protection, health and peace, in the gospel and offers of life. In this display, He also sets before their eyes the depth of their ingratitude towards Him, hoping they may turn and live. The most effective preaching will consist in turning the peoples eyes to the goodness of God. Every man is obliged to forsake his sins and turn to God, for every man has sins from which to turn. The stubbornness of sin is evident in that it will cause the sinner to make his way to hell through and in spite of all the proofs of God's mercy that surround him daily. Happy is he who sees that mercy, and so mourns over his own evil estate, repenting of it to return to his Creator.
2:5: The hardened heart or mind is insensitive to all promptings, the goodness and mercy of God make no impression on it. (Mt 25:24 - The faithless slave knew his master to be a hard man. Mt 19:8 - Moses only permitted divorce because of the hardness of your hearts, your inability to accept God's true Law. Ac 19:9 - Paul withdrew because those whose hearts were hardened were speaking evil in regard to the Way.) A heart so hardened cannot but store up wrath. This store of wrath is well beyond today's need, indeed incapable of being exhausted in the course of eternity. It is reserved for future use in the punishing of sin, but the sinful, unpunished, think to have escaped, and so store further wrath up against themselves. (2Pe 3:7 - By God's Word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire on the day of judgment and destruction. Dt 32:34-35 - Vengeance is stored with God in heaven. In due time, their day of calamity will come in full. 1Th 2:16 - Those who hinder the Gospel are being filled to the full measure of their sins, for which the utmost wrath comes upon them.) Each man's store of wrath will be for himself and no other. This will play out on the day God reveals His righteous judgment of all men. (Rev 6:17 - Who is able to stand on that day? 1Th 1:10 - We wait for Jesus, His Son, who delivers us from that coming wrath. Jn 3:36 - Who believes in Jesus has eternal life, who does not has the wrath of God upon him. Eph 5:6 - The wrath of God comes upon the disobedient. Don't be fooled into thinking it's OK for you.) God's judgment on that day will be such as is right, for He is righteous (2Th 1:6 - God is just to afflict those who afflict the righteous.) The punishment God inflicts upon the wicked is not exhausted in this life, but continues. What foolishness to create such a treasure for oneself in eternity.
2:6: Each will get as he deserves, both Jew and Gentile. Deeds, in this case, does not speak of external acts, but of all that character includes: the thought life, the motives, the principles, as well as the actions. (Pr 24:12 - What we don't know, He yet knows and considers in rendering to man as his works deserve. Mt 16:27 - The Son of Man will repay each man as his deeds deserve. Rev 20:12 - As the book of life was opened, the dead were judged by their deeds as recorded therein. Jer 32:19 - God's eyes see all man's ways, and according to his deeds does God give to him.) The reward is not for their deeds, but according to them (Lk 17:10 - In doing all we are commanded, we yet remain no more than unworthy slaves who have done as they ought. No special reward has been earned by obedience.) Salvation remains a matter of Jesus' merits alone (Tit 3:5 - He saved us not because of our righteous deeds, but because of His mercy.) But the most faithful of His workers will receive the greatest rewards (Mt 25:14-29 - He who has much shall be given more, who has little, that little shall be taken away.)
2:7: Any who so persevere as to show themselves disposed to obedience to God's Law attain to eternal life. This is not the reward of some single act, but the result of a life of holiness, a character of obedience. (Rev 2:10 - Be faithful until death, in spite of all tribulations, and I will crown you with life. Mt 10:22 - You will be hated because of Me, but those who endure it will be saved. Heb 10:38-39 - The righteous live by faith without shrinking back, for God finds no pleasure in one who retreats and returns to the ways of destruction. But the faithful He is pleased to preserve.) Such faithful ones seek with an earnest and intense desire 'to forsake all their crimes, and submit to God and obey His laws.' (Mt 18:12 - The owner of 100 sheep will surely leave the 99 to seek the one who is lost. Lk 2:48-49 - When Jesus remained at the temple, His parents became concerned, and anxiously sought Him. Mt 6:33 - Seek the good of His kingdom first, and your needs will be seen to. Ac 16:10 - Paul and company sought to go into Macedonia to preach. 1Co 10:24 - Don't seek your own good, but your neighbor's good. Lk 13:24 - Seek to enter by the narrow way, for many will seek but fail to enter.) Glory and honor and immortality are put before us as the highest degrees of happiness that await us in heaven. Glory denotes all that is splendid and grand, all that is praiseworthy and majestic, which is a proper description of all that is in heaven. Honor speaks to the reward God has for His friends, and is the exact reverse of the despite suffered by His friends while on the earth. Immortality speaks to the end of corruption and decay, the things of heaven being permanent, whereas the things of earth soon vanish away. That the reward is eternal life shows clearly that the good works so rewarded must be a matter of both external conduct and inward thoughts, of character and effort in seeking His glory. (Jn 5:24 - He who hears and believes His word, believes God, and has eternal life. [How, believing, could one disobey?])
2:8: By contrast, there are those who 'contend with the Almighty; who resist His claims, rebel against His laws, and refuse to submit to His requirements.' This is true of all sinners, and is a particularly apt description of the Jews (Dt 21:20-21 - The rebellious son was to be stoned to death for his stubborn ways, so as to remove the evil of rebellion from the nation. Dt 9:7 - From their departure from Egypt, to their arrival in Canaan, they have been rebellious against the LORD, ever provoking Him to wrath. Dt 9:24 - As long as Moses has known them, they have been rebellious. Dt 31:27 - If they were so rebellious when Moses remained among them, what would become of them when he was gone? Is 1:2 - The LORD declares that His sons have revolted against Him. Is 30:9 - They are a rebellious people, and false sons, who refuse the instructions of the LORD. Is 65:2 - God has ever reached out to a rebellious people who insist on doing wrong, on doing as they see fit. Jer 5:23 - They have a stubborn and rebellious heart, turning aside form the ways of the LORD, and departing His path. Ez 2:5 - Being a rebellious people, they may not heed your words, but they will yet know that you spoke as a true prophet among them. Ez 2:8 - You are not to become a rebel such as they have been.) An unwillingness to obey the truth indicates that they considered the truth to be false; that in spite of all the ways and means by which God had displayed the light of His truth, especially to the Jew, they had refused to accept and obey that truth. (Jos 5:6 - They were forty years in the wilderness, so that all those who had refused to listen to the voice of the LORD had perished before Canaan was entered. Ju 2:2 - You were told to have no covenant with those in the land, but you did not obey. What has happened? Ju 6:10 - You were told not to worship the Amorite gods, but you have not obeyed. 2Ki 18:11-12 - They were carried away into Assyrian captivity because the did not obey the voice of the LORD, but broke covenant with Him, refusing to obey the law of Moses. Jer 3:13 - Just confess your transgression, that you have shared the worship that belongs to the LORD alone with idols, disobeying His voice. Jer 3:25 - We ought to be covered by our humiliation and shame, for we have ever sinned against God, never obeying His voice since our youth. Jer 42:21 - You have not obeyed the LORD, in what He has told you through me. Jer 43:4 - Judah's commanders disobeyed the LORD, and did not stay in Judah, Jer 43:7 - but went to Egypt. Jer 9:13-16 - Because they have forsaken My law, and disobeyed My voice, their food and drink will become poisoned, and they will be scattered amongst the nations.) They have yielded to sin, and so become servants of sin, living under its reign with no resistance offered. (Ro 6:13 - Don't present yourself to sin as tools of unrighteousness, but rather to God as tools of righteousness. Ro 6:16-17 - When you present yourself to something in obedience, you are then enslaved by that something; either to sin, leading to death, or to obedience, leading to righteousness. Thank God, that you have become obedient to Him even though you were so enslaved to sin. Ro 6:19 - Even as you used to make yourself available for sin, now make yourself available for righteousness and sanctification.) Indignation is temporary and may pass, but in wrath is a continued remembrance and hatred of evil. Wrath is the manifestation of indignation.
2:9: They will be pressed down by the pressure of the punishments that will come as reward for their sins. And not only pressed down, but pressed on from all sides, finding nowhere to turn that they may find relief. The punishment that the sinner has awaiting him is not a physical punishment, but a spiritual punishment. It awaits every man who sins, be he Jew or Gentile. However, the Jew holds preeminence in the orders of punishment, because he had been favored with a greater knowledge of God, having been taught these very things in the Law of Moses, and by the words of their prophets. (Ps 7:11 - God is a righteous judge. Ps 9:17 - All who forget God will return to Sheol. Ps 139:19 - Please, Lord, slay the wicked. Pr 14:32 - The wicked is brought down by his misdeeds, but the righteous finds refuge when he dies.) The Gentiles will also be subject to punishment for sins, as will be laid out in the next section. That this punishment is a future thing is clear, as it is contrasted with the eternal life given to the righteous, and it is quite clear to all that complete justice is quite often not given to man in this life where sinners may die prosperous, and the righteous die in tortures. (Ps 73:4 - Their death [the sinners'] is free of pain, and their bodies seem well fed.) Further, the testimony of Scripture is that such an eternal death of torment awaits them (2Th 1:8-9 - Those who don't know God, and who refuse obedience to the gospel of Jesus will be punished with an eternal destruction, apart from the Lord's presence, glory, and power. 1Pe 4:17 - Judgment must begin in God's own house, and if we are first to be judged, what is to become of those who have refused the gospel of God?)
2:10: No comments
2:11: God will deal with both Jew and Gentile on just principles. He will show no partiality, no consideration for the wealth, function, or rank of this man or that. In this, He will show Himself a righteous Judge. (Lev 19:15 - You are to judge fairly, neither being partial to the poor, nor deferential to the rich. Dt 1:17 - You are to hear the testimony of small and great equally, fearing no man, but recognizing the judgment as God's. Pr 24:23 - Partiality in judgment is not good. Jas 2:1-3 - Faith should not be held in an attitude of favoritism, giving better treatment to the rich who come among you. Jas 2:9 - Partiality is a sin.) This impartiality of God, as stated here, applies strictly to His office as Judge. (Dt 10:17 - The LORD your God is the greatest of the great, an awesome God who shows no partiality, and accepts no bribes. 2Ch 19:7 - Let the fear of the LORD be yours, making you careful in your deeds, for He will have no unrighteousness, no partiality, and no bribery. Eph 6:9 - Do not threaten those in your charge, for you are both in God's charge, and He will not be partial to you due to your position. Col 3:25 - All wrongdoers will receive the consequences of their wrongs without partiality. Gal 6:7-8 - God will not be mocked, but will give to each man according to what he has done. 1Pe 1:17 - If you believe the Father judges each man's work impartially, you ought to conduct yourselves in proper fear of Him while here on earth. Ac 10:34 - Peter came to recognize that God showed no partiality to the Jew or the Gentile.) There is no implication that He must be so impartial in distributing talents, health, and privilege to His people. These often strike us as having displayed partiality, yet His gifts to man are not given based on this one's rank or that one's wealth, but only according to His own good pleasure. To say that God must be impartial in all respects would suggest that sinners have a right to claim His favor, that He is somehow restricted from pursuing His own will, or that He is required to make all alike in every respect. Nothing in this passage has bearing on doctrines concerning election or the sovereignty of God. "Every man should tremble at the prospect of falling into the hands of a just God, who will treat him just as he deserves, and should without delay seek a refuge in the Savior and Advocate provided for the guilty." (1Jn 2:1-2 - If we sin, we have an Advocate in Jesus Christ, who is the propitiation for our sins, and for the sins of all others.)

Wycliffe (4/11/01)

2:4: To think that the lack of punishment shows God's condoning of sin is to have wrong ideas about His goodness and patience. Rather they are designed and intended to lead you to repentance, a turning away from former practices, and a beginning of a new religious and moral life.
2:5: God judges according to conduct, so a hard-hearted and impenitent man builds up a stockpile of divine wrath for himself in heaven.
2:6: His judgment will be made on an individual basis.
2:7: Those who persist in doing right show themselves to be in pursuit of glory, honor, and immortality, and so will be rewarded by the Judge with eternal life.
2:8: Those who persist in opposing right show themselves to be in pursuit of unrighteousness, and so will be rewarded by the Judge with wrath.
2:9-2:10: Works as the basis for judgment is a common picture in the NT, not because works merit reward, but because works are an indication of the inward state of a man's commitment. In these verses, the contrast is between those who constantly do evil, and those that constantly do good. The constancy of action discloses the underlying character.
2:11: No comments.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

2:4: His patient, enduring goodness is designed to lead us to repentance. Sadly, the depraved heart is often further hardened by that which was fit to melt it. (2Pe 3:9 - He is not slow, but rather patient, desiring that all would repent, and thus avoid perishing. Ecc 8:11 - When the sentence for their deeds is held off, man finds himself willing to give himself over to greater evils.)
2:5: Some see this verse as a continuation of the last: 'not knowing …., and that your stubbornness is storing up…', but that does nothing to improve the sense. The wrath so stored up will come out on judgment day. This hoarded treasure of wrath the sinner is ever increasing by his actions, and the whole of it will burst upon him in that day. And this warning is not given to 'monstrous sinners, but [to] those who boasted of their purity of faith and life.'
2:6: The truth given in this verse is expanded in the next four. (Pr 24:12 - He will weigh the heart, knowing who keeps your soul. Claims of ignorance will not avail, He will render to each according to his work.) 'The final judgment will turn on character alone.'
2:7: There is a class of men who will show by their actions a 'patient continuing' in their efforts to do good deeds (Lk 8:15 - the seed that fell on good soil, the ones who heard, held the lesson fast, and bore fruit with perseverance), showing themselves to be seekers after glory and honor and eternal life.
2:8: There is another class of men who will show by their actions a contentious resistance of the truth. Such was the case of the Jewish rulers when faced with the Gospel. (Jn 18:37 - All who are of the truth hear Christ's voice. Ac 13:44-46 - All came out to hear the gospel, but the Jews were jealous when they saw the crowds and spoke contradictory and blasphemous things. Thus they judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, leaving it to the Gentiles. Ac 17:5 - The Jews formed a mob to drag Jason from his house. Ac 17:13 - When the Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul was preaching in Berea, they went to Berea to stir up trouble. Ac 18:6 - In Macedonia, they rejected the gospel and blasphemed the Lord, so Paul left them to their own ends, and turned to the Gentiles. Ac 18:12 - The Jews dragged Paul before Gallio in Achaia. 1Th 2:15-16 - They killed the Lord and the prophets, and drove out the Christians, trying to keep the Word from the Gentiles and so prevent their salvation. Thus, they always fill the measure of their sins, for which God's wrath comes upon them to the utmost.) They choose obedience to unrighteousness rather than righteousness, and so come wrath and indignation as their reward.
2:9: Wrath and indignation are in the heart of God as the avenger of sin, the one being His settled displeasure, the latter the uprising effect of that displeasure. Tribulation and anguish are the effects of His inner affections towards the sinful, played out on and in the sinner. The Jew is first both in perdition for the unfaithful, and in salvation for the faithful.
2:10: No comments
2:11: It might be questioned how God can judge by the same standard of character both those who have had the written Revelation of God's Law, and those who haven't. This, Paul addresses in the following section.

New Thoughts (4/12/01-4/13/01)

There are a number of things I want to consider from this study. However, before I do so, I need to briefly note a dream of last night. There's not a great deal of it that I can remember clearly, but I recall being a visitor in somebody's house. I watched, as it were in the third person, our hostess open a door in the kitchen to retrieve something or other, only to find a steep descent opened into the cellar, and at its base, a stone-rimmed well in the floor. From the well, a glow of fire, and in it, a ladder descending. The sense of vertigo that enveloped both her, and myself, was palpable. Her fear was abundantly evident. But, at the moment when it seemed that descent was inevitable, a hand covered the well, fairly filling the cellar, and a voice was heard saying "This is the hand of God." A while later, the scene shifted to myself lying on a bed, pulling up the covers because I was cold. Yet each time I pulled the covers over myself something pulled them back off. At first I blamed our dog, calling to him to stop playing. At this point, on one side or the other of actually waking (the line's a bit bleary), I could see the shadow of a man-like being crouched over me and grasping the blankets to pull again, but it fled as soon as I noted its presence. Now rather more fully awake that I care to be at that hour of the night, I turned swiftly to prayer, vocal and earnest, calling on the blood of my Savior, and casting out whatever had come into the room by His Holy Name.

Where dream ended and reality began, I'll not attempt to determine from this vantage point. But, in thinking on this dream, it has been brought home that there are two covers available to a man. The first is the cover he attempts to put on himself, the veneer of apparent goodness. We are trained from an early age to 'put a good face on things.' However, God declares this for what it truly is, hypocrisy. And He condemns it. In this covering by which we attempt to fool others, we wind up fooling ourselves, and God must pull this cover from over our eyes to reveal to us our own true nature. Convinced of our goodness, we stop seeking after Him, and so approach that glowing well of destruction. Thanks be to God that there is a second cover, the cover of Jesus' own righteousness. He came to be the one righteous man, to do that which has ever been impossible for us. The righteous, spotless sacrifice, He laid down His life to pay the penalty that all our sinful ways would ever require of God's justice. This was no dance of diplomacy, such as we've seen played out recently, but a real and true satisfaction of the rule of a True and Righteous God. This cover, Satan ever tries to pull from us, for through it his attacks cannot pierce. This cover, but for the grace of God, we would all too readily cast aside, indeed in our daily actions we often seem to try very hard to do just that. But He is faithful even when we are not. He is patient beyond all comprehension to bring us to our senses yet again, and put us back under the covers where we are safe once more.

Jesus, moreso today than in a very long time, I am so thankful for the life You purchased for me, for Your willingness to walk through the anguish You doubtless felt at being separated from the Father for even so brief a time. My need for You is so very clear to me this morning, it is clear that I have been presumptuous to come before Your Holiness without You as my Advocate. I thank You that You have provided a way into the throne room of Grace, that You have taken up my defense, that You stand for me in the courts of righteousness. In You and You alone, I have my covering, and You will suffice for all my needs. Blessing and glory and honor be Yours, my Savior, my Lord.

How apt this message in the night is to this section of Scripture! I look at the notes I had culled out from the commentaries yesterday, and see so much of the same message being given through these sources, and through this very passage of Romans. Here in the first few verses, we are given the warning: We have taken God's kind patience lightly, seeing in it a license to sin the more. As Calvin has pointed out, when we attempt to cover ourselves in our own opinions, we see God's blessings upon us, but forget the God who provides those blessings. As in the previous passage, we come to think more of the creation than the Creator, and seeing our prosperity, we put our trust in it, rather than in Him. Here is a test for us! For God will bless us, because He loves us. He will also bless us that we may know ourselves the better by our reaction to that blessing. Will we receive His blessing as a cause to rejoice in Him, to revere Him all the more, or will we forget Him and idolize the blessing He gave? This test has been played out over and over in the course of history. Read the records of Israel, and see that every time prosperity came to the land, they forgot the God who had carried them through the lean times. We are no different. Look at this nation we live in today. In times of trial, America was a place of prayer and faith, but as prosperity came upon us, as the blessing for our faithfulness bore fruit, we turned it to evil ends, forgetting from whence it came. As Calvin indicates, by unlawful use, we turn the blessing into a curse. We return to a life of sinful choices, each sin showing how little we care for His goodness and patience towards us. Oh Lord! Help me to keep this foremost in my mind! That lack of caring for You, how can I tolerate it? God help me, for I know this to be true, that I have all too often pushed You from my mind that I might be free to pursue my wrongful desires. Father, forgive me. Jesus, I lean wholly upon Your defense, for I am defenseless without You. Holy Spirit, fill this house of flesh once more, that I may obey the truth in full. Indeed, it is clear to me why, as we have been told, this passage was written to warn 'those who boasted of their purity of faith and life.' The 'monstrous sinner' is far more aware of his sin than the one who thinks himself pure of faith. Lord, save us from this self delusion. Were it in us to live such a pure life for even a day, You could have saved Yourself a whole lot of anguish. Thank You, Lord, for being faithful to pull the scales from our eyes that we might see ourselves clearly.

I will note also, the clear message that is delivered in this passage: it's not the words of a man that You concern Yourself with, although they count. It's not the visible deeds of a man that You concern Yourself with, although they count. All the study I could make in a lifetime would not serve to justify me in the least. Declaring myself Your servant will not make me so. But You look to the true disposition of the man, You look at what really goes on inside me in making Your judgment, in determining the blessing or curse my life demands. As Clarke indicates, it is the one that 'lives in a conscientious obedience to the known will of God' that will find himself receiving the reward of eternal life. It is the constancy of action that will disclose the real inner man. A faith without actions is indeed, as James writes, a dead faith. But it is not the next man's deeds I am called to look upon and judge, but my own. Only You truly know the heart, and only You can truly reveal to me what lies in my heart. And what You have revealed is more than sufficient to humble me in my shame. Yet, I know I that my Redeemer lives, and I know that He has made a way for my heart to change. I know You have been working in and around me to soften me, to allow me to conform to Your molding hands. Lord, teach me Your compassion, by Your Spirit within me, working with me, make me a man after Your own heart, true to Your ways, committed to Your will. Father, I look at the constancy of my actions, and I am not pleased by what I see. Too often, my obedience is far less than conscientious, and what that reveals of me is a great need for change yet to be accomplished. I thank You that by my very desire to change I know Your presence. I thank You that even in the night, You remind me that there is no call to fear, for You are with me. You are working. You are changing, but as a careful potter, You make the changes gently, so as not to break me beyond repair. Oh, but I would that You could work this material more swiftly! Oh, that You could complete Your work even today! Jesus! Son of David! I need Your touch so much today. It's only Your love, revealed and held fast, that's keeping me held together in sight of myself. Change me, oh Lord, change me. I cannot stay as I have been. I cannot continue in callousness and intolerance. I cannot continue in prideful displays. What have You required of me, but to walk humbly before You, and yet even that proves to be beyond me. Humble me, indeed, oh God, that I might know You more.

On one final note, I will include the two Scriptures pointed out in Barnes' notes, for the juxtaposition of the stands as a great reminder to me of what my life ought to look like. The first stands as confirmation of the final verse of this passage: Partiality is a sin (Jas 2:9). How, then, could one expect God, who is righteous, and who cannot tolerate even the sight of sin, to be partial in His judgments? And Peter reminds us in 1Pe 1:17, that if we truly know this, if we truly believe that the Father judges each man's work impartially, we really ought to live like we believe it. Where is the proper fear of God in our daily lives? How dare we to do the things we so often do, knowing that His judgment will ever be righteous and true? Teach us, Lord, to love Your law, and to keep Your ways.