“Romans 2”

Thursday, February 02, 2017

The end of Romans 1 was primarily a condemnation of the Gentiles, who had abandoned God as Creator and who began to worship and serve the creation instead. This led them to all sorts of immorality and, God had, therefore, given them up to their own uncleanness.

Chapter Two focuses on the reality that the Jews had likewise rebelled against God and His righteousness and were, therefore, just as guilty of sin before God as the Gentiles.

The chapter contains a warning to practice the truth, not just to preach it to others. It is one thing to know and teach the truth and another thing entirely to practice it in our own lives. The Jews were good at moralizing for others, but in their own lives, they were falling far short of God’s standard.

The goodness of God should lead souls to repentance. His grace offers us a second chance to please Him and should never be looked on as an excuse to sin more. When we realize there are only two options for eternity, God’s reward or His punishment, we should be motivated to serve Him. He will judge without favoritism in the last day.

Chapter Two ends with a reminder that external actions are important as we obey the Lord, but that our hearts, what we are on the inside, will determine whether we are acceptable to God or not. It is possible to appear to others to be serving God when we really are not. The Jews needed to learn that and so do we.

--Roger Hillis

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