Romans 2:1-5: The Judging Jew is Unrighteous

Introduction

Outline

Romans 1:1-17 - Introduction

Romans 1:1-7 - Introduction

Romans 1:8-15 - Paul's Thankfulness and Desire to come to Rome

Romans 1:16-17 - Our Eschatological Hope in the Gospel

Romans 1:18-3:20 - The Unrighteousness of Humanity

Romans 1:18-23 - The Wrath of God Upon the Unrighteous

Romans 1:24-32 - The Unrighteous Give over by God

Romans 2:1-5 - The Judging Jew is Unrighteous

Romans 2:1 - The Judging Jew is Condemned

Romans 2:2-5 - The Judging Jew is Destined for God’s Wrath

Purpose of Book

The purpose of Romans is the righteousness of God

Main Point

The unrighteous judging Jew is revealed to be unrighteous just like the unrighteous Gentile

Summation & Diagnosis

In the previous passage, God actively gives the Gentiles over to their sin. He is personally and punitively, though not vengeful or spiteful, involved in giving the Gentiles over to their sin. God condemns homosexuality as unnatural and unbiblical. Then Paul lists off 21 different sins the Gentiles are guilty of in their rebellion against God. These 21 sins represent total rejection of God. Finally, those who perform and even approve of these sins are in danger of hell fire.

In Romans 2:1-5, Paul changes his target audience. The Gentiles are no longer primarily in view, it is the Jews who are not saved. In Romans 2:1, Paul subtly changes to an unrighteous Jew by revealing he is guilty because he practices the very sins they judge. Then in Romans 2:2-5, the eternal destination of the unrighteous Jew is revealed.

Romans 2:1 - Exegesis

Let us now look at the Scripture in Romans 2:1:

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

In the book of Amos, God gives judgment oracles upon seven of Israel’s neighbors. Scripture says in Amos 1:2 that God roared from Zion against these nations - Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and even the southern kingdom of Judah. At this point, the northern kingdom Israel would have felt proud. Our neighbors deserve the judgment of Yahweh, but we have lived well. However, the hammer falls and the eighth judgment oracle is given… to Israel. This is what happens in Romans 2:1-5. The unrighteous Jews in the Roman church would have swelled with pride listening to the sins of the Gentiles. Just as they let their guard down, the Holy Spirit reveals how they are guilty before God as well.

Paul in this section uses “you” in the singular. He is writing against an imagined unrighteous Jew in a diatribe. The unrighteous Jew would have celebrated God’s wrath being poured out upon the unrighteous Gentile just like the Israelites in Amos, but he is just as guilty because he is unrighteous. The Spirit of God perfectly reveals how the unrighteous Jew is guilty before God deserving His wrath.

This verse starts with therefore, so we must ask, what is the “therefore” there for? This therefore is a continuation of Romans 1:18-32. So, because of everything in those verses - you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges.

Why? For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. So, the unrighteous Jew is not condemned simply because they issue judgment on sinful behavior. No, they are condemned because they act as a judge issuing judgment to the unrighteous while they practice the very same evil. So, their judging is not the issue. Paul would have expected a Jew to agree that the sins in the previous passage were egregious. Those sins were violence against God. The issue here is that they judge while simultaneously practicing the same sins as the unrighteous Gentile. The judging Jew seeks to find the wicked Gentile as unrighteous and yet, God finds the unrighteous Jew guilty.

Romans 2:1 - Conscience

The unrighteous Jew has unjustly judged the Gentile. The one who judges others for sinful behavior actually practices what he judges. This reminds us of David’s unrighteous judgment. 2 Samuel 12:1-14:

And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” 7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.

David had broken the tenth commandment (coveting), then he broke the seventh commandment (adultery), and finally he broke the sixth commandment (murder). David did issue righteous judgment against the rich man, but he failed to see his sin before God. The unrighteous Jew in Romans 2:1 is David. He judges the Gentiles accurately. They are sinful. They have suppressed God. They are unrighteous. They would have agreed with Paul. Yet, like David, they practice the same sins they judge!

Judgment against sin was not the issue for the unrighteous Jew. In fact, Scripture calls us to judge one another. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13:

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Paul’s desire is for the church in Corinth to be holy and spiritually health. As such, judging the sins of a brother or sister is necessary. Those who are consumed by unrepentant sin should be excommunicated. So, biblical and accurate judging is not the unrighteous Jew’s sin. The sin is judging while practicing the same sins. The unrighteous Jew is not innocent or righteous before God. No, the unrepentant Jew stands before God without righteousness. He is condemned!

Romans 2:1 - Use

What’s interesting to me is that the Jew’s judgment of the unrighteous Gentile is correct. The Gentiles are guilty before God because they have suppressed the knowledge of Him and His truth. God’s wrath is being applied to the unrighteous Gentile. Furthermore, this Jew would agree that God’s wrath is being personally and punitively poured out. Isn’t that interesting? How can it be that the Jew knows all of this and yet continues to sin? How can he have that depth of intellectual knowledge and yet actually fail to apply it to himself? How can we do the same? How can we accurately judge the sins of others while fail to live righteously ourselves? In someways, aren’t we just like this Jew? Yes, we are righteous, but our wandering hearts judge others while we partake in the same sins.

Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 7:1-5:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

How can Paul say to judge others when Jesus says “judge not.” It seems like a contradiction! However, as always, context is king. The judgment Jesus speaks of here refers to an individual making judgments without loving concern. This person judges with a false sense of superiority. They look down upon the person they are judging. Love is lacking in judgment. What is the result of this type of judgment? The unloving judgmental person invites God to judge them. This is a harsh, but very real, warning. If you judge others without love, you openly invite God to judge you the same way - without mercy. This is a dangerous place for us. We constantly need the mercy of God. Without His mercy we are left to sin, shame, and eternal damnation.

Yet, isn’t this a great danger for us? Aren’t we quick to judge others while we ourselves engage in sin? Isn’t it easier to point out the sin in our spouses, children, friends, coworkers, neighbors, political figures, etc.? Isn’t that much more comfortable?

So, how can we then accurately judge unlike the unrighteous Jew? How can we not fall into this great danger? First, we must ever be aware of our own sin. Jesus commands that we first take the log out of our own eye. Our hearts must be ever soft before God. We must not grow hard to the sin in our lives. We must daily take account of our flesh and wandering hearts. Our flesh desires sin, but the Spirit within desires holiness. We must be repentant over our own sin before we go to another brother or sister.

Second, we judge in love. If we judge for the sake of judgment, God will judge us the same way. How utterly terrifying it is to think of being judged by God without mercy. This love motivates us to not simply judge others, but to encourage and exhort them in Christlikeness. Our judging should come from a heart that desires to see our family grow into the image of Christ.

Third, we should keep Galatians 6:1 in mind when judging others:

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

The manner in which we approach one in sin is through gentleness. This spirit does not provoke the one who is being judged. The one who is judging must confront the one in sin with dignity. The unrighteous Jew did not judge in this manner regarding the Gentiles. The unrighteous Jew unlovingly judged the unrighteous Gentile and his result? Judgment without the mercy of God. Let us never get here. Let us always, always, always seek to have a soft heart before God so that when we do need to judge another Christian it is full of love and humility ultimately seeking their godliness.

Romans 2:2-5 - Exegesis

Let us now look at the Scripture in Romans 2:2-5 where we shall see the end result of the unrighteous Jew:

2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Paul, and the unrighteous Jew, know that God’s judgment rightly falls on those who practice what this Jew practices - judging while practicing the same sins. The Jew would have agreed with Paul’s premise. God is just and He will judge those who practice sin because of truth. Furthermore, it is right for God to do this. God will not accept sin. It would be unloving of Him to merely accept the unrighteous Jew because he believes Gentiles are unrighteous before God. This is a universal truth, not a personally held conviction as our culture believes. God will certainly judge those who judge others while sinning.

Now in verses 3 and 4, Paul’s diatribe skills are clearly on display as he really presses in on the conscience of this unrighteous Jew. The word for suppose means to calculate or reckon. The calculation can be made and the result of the equation is he will not escape the judgment of God. The Jew may try to reckon that he is innocent because he is unlike the unrighteous Gentile, but this is merely human reckoning. He says, “I’m not as bad as the Gentile. They have entirely suppressed the knowledge about God! They are engaged in homosexuality and all the other sins. I’m not like them!” However, God’s reckoning has this unrepentant Jew listed as guilty and as such he is under the wrath of God just like the unrepentant Gentile. He is just as bad. He may be free of homosexuality, but he cannot escape the vice list in Romans 1:29-31. God cannot and will not judge the Gentiles as guilty, but deem this Jew who practices unrighteousness as innocent. Paul’s sarcastic question in verse 3, “Do you think you really are the exception to God’s righteous judgment? Are you really that self-deceived?

Now in verse 4 Paul heightens his diatribe revealing that this Jew is that self-deceived AND treats God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience with contempt! The word for presume on means to despise. This imagined unrighteous Jew actually despises God’s patience as he continues in wicked sin. Paul and this Jew would agree that God is rich in kindness, forbearance/tolerance, and patience. However, the Jew does not repent! The Jew does not realize the purpose of God’s kindness which is meant to lead him to repentance. God, in His utter mercy, has not brought total judgment and wrath upon this Jew. However, the Jew rejects God’s mercy and kindness because he fails to repent and turn to God through Christ Jesus. The ultimate aim of God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience? Repentance.

Romans 2:5 starts with “but” signifying that the delusional thinking of the Jew is just that - delusional. He is not special and God’s wrath will still be applied to him. Though he agrees that the Gentiles are guilty he does not see his own condemnation. The sin of all this is rooted in his own heart. His heart is not soft towards God. His heart is not even neutral towards God. His heart is hard and unchanging. Repentance is not close to his heart. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus does not move him. What will be the end for this man? Eschatological judgment. He has no share in the New Covenant. He is not storing up treasures in heaven, but instead is storing up wrath. God will pour out His wrath upon this man on the day of judgment. He is guilty now and will be found guilty in the future. God’s righteousness in salvation is not applied to him. However, God’s righteous judgment will be applied.

Romans 2:2-5 - Conscience

Repentance is far from this imagined Jew’s mind. Though Paul is writing in a diatribe to an imagined person, a Jew who was unrepentant would have felt the knife go into their heart. The conviction of hearing they are just as guilty as an unrepentant Gentile would have rattled them. These people needed to do what unrepentant Gentiles need to do… repent! However, the history of Israel is one filled with unrighteousness and a lack of true repentance.

Hebrews 3:7-13 recalls the exodus generation:

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. 10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ 11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Immediately after seeing the wondrous works of God the exodus generation hardens their hearts to God. He delivers them and their response is rebellion. This only continues throughout the Old Testament. Both the northern kingdom and southern kingdom are taken into exile because they rebel against the Lord. Rebellion is a common theme for the Israelites in the Old Testament. Yet, their rebellion only continues through the New Testament. Acts 2:22-23:

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Peter attributes the death of Christ to the Jews. In their hardened hearts, they failed to see God’s redemptive plan. The Messiah had come. The Messiah died. The Messiah rose from the grave. The Messiah took the punishment and sin for His people. Yet in all this, their hearts were hardened. However, upon hearing Peter’s message some repented. Their hearts were circumcised and they experienced true repentance.

Repentance is a word that has lost it’s theological meaning in our churches today. It has been defined as simply “changing one’s mind.” This may be the literal definition in the Greek, but true biblical repentance is much, much more than just thinking differently about God. There is a deep theological meaning to repentance. True repentance encompasses one’s entire being and life direction. True repentance is an act whereby a person entirely turns from sin or rebellion against God and puts their faith in Him alone for salvation following Him for the rest of his life. I’ll say that again, True repentance is an act whereby a person entirely turns from sin or rebellion against God and puts their faith in Him alone for salvation following Him for the rest of his life. Biblical repentance is not just a mind change. Repentance is not just thinking differently about God. Repentance is a comprehensive life change toward following God. Those who have intellectually acknowledged Jesus as Savior, but have no life change reveal a heart that has not had true repentance.

In this diatribe, Paul writes to an unbelieving, unrighteous Jew who has not repented. Yet, is that you today? Have you truly repented of sin? Does your life reflect the fruit of true repentance or does you life look exactly the same before you claimed to be God’s? If there is no difference, would you consider the possibility that you are not truly His?

For those of us who are His, we are not the unrighteous Jew here, but do we not also at times seek to make excuses for our own sin? Do we presume on God’s kindness? Do we think that we are the special case and God will not discipline us for our sin? Far too often we do presume on the riches of God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience. We know He is a patient Father. We know He is kind towards us. We know He loves us deeply. So how can we then continue in our sinful ways? Does the love of the Father towards us no longer move us? Does the sacrifice of Christ no longer grip our hearts? Do we resist the indwelling Spirit as He provokes us while we sin? Do we presume on God?

Romans 2:2-5 - Use

I pray to God that we do not presume on His kindness. I pray we do not despise His kindness by continuing to enjoy the sins of the flesh, the enemy, and the world. Though the reality is sometimes we do presume on the great riches and grace of Christ Jesus. We grow apathetic in mortifying our sins. As a result we presume on His kindness. How can we presume on His kindness when faced with the reality of His humiliation? Matthew 27:27-31:

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

How can we take this for granted? How can we take the grace of God for granted? Do we not realize the great cost of salvation? The brutal murder of Jesus the Son of God is how we’ve been atoned. Will we continue to take this for granted? How do we then not presume on God? Let us consider Romans 8:13:

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

How do we not presume on God’s kindness as Christians? We do not live according to the flesh, but we mortify the deeds of the body! How can this be done? Only by the work of the Holy Spirit! Those who continue to live according to the flesh will face eternal damnation. They prove themselves not to be truly of Jesus’ kingdom. However, those who are killing the desires of the flesh through the Spirit will inherit eternal life. Their mortifying the deeds of the flesh prove that the Holy Spirit dwells within them. So how do we not presume? We fight, every day, every hour, every minute against the sins of our flesh. We do not take lightly the work of Christ on the cross. We, with the Spirit’s enabling, overcome the sinful desires of our flesh.

Sin is not a cute puppy that we keep in our lives. No, sin is a lion. In a moment, sin can overcome us and leave us with violent wounds. The wounds run deep and take time to heal. Sin is not a pet to tame, but a lion to be slain. First, we must ask the Spirit to show us our sin. We can often be blind to our own sin because sin is not merely behavioral. Sin, first, is an issue of the heart. Since we, like the judging Jew, are unaware of the full depravity of our flesh, we must ask Him to make us aware of the dark parts of our own hearts. Next we confess our sin to God. 1 John 1:9 gives us a great promise:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession is needed as we meditate on the sin the Spirit has revealed to us. Third, we seek to mortify the sinful desire that has captured our hearts. We ask the Spirit to enable us to overcome the sin, then we actively fight against the sin, and finally we give the Spirit praise for giving us victory over the sin. Finally, we focus on the glory of God. No sin can stand before His glory. His glory is so radiant that sin and sinful people are brought to ruin before Him. We live for His glory knowing that one day we will be ushered into eternity for His glory. So, let us not be the judging Jew today. Let our hearts be soft before His glorious presence. Let us see the great cost of the death of Christ and let us seek to mortify the sin in our hearts so that we do not presume on the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience. The judging Jew’s destination is hell, BUT our’s is eternal life where the glory of God fills the city of God!