Romans 2.1-The Self-Righteousness of the Jews
Prairie View Christian Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday July 17, 2007
Romans: Romans 2:1-The Self-Righteousness of the Jews
Lesson # 41
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 2:1.
This evening we will study Romans 2:1, in which Paul addresses the self-righteous attitude of the Jews towards the Gentiles and in the process teaches that they will be judged according to the standards which they set for the Gentiles since they also commit the sins that the Gentiles commit.
First of all, before we approach our study of Romans 2, we must discuss who is being addressed in Romans 2:1-16 since there has been some debate among students of the Bible as to whom Paul is addressing in these verses.
In Romans 2:1-16, Paul is addressing his Jewish readers in this section as indicated in that his discussion of the Law in Romans 2:12-16 would have been more meaningful to a Jew than to a Gentile since the Law was given to the Jew.
Also, in Romans 2:17, Paul addresses the reader as “a Jew,” which would be a strange way to address his readers if in the first half of the chapter he were addressing Gentiles.
Where the Gentiles had a problem with immoral degeneracy, the Jews on the other hand had a problem with self-righteousness and so it would be difficult for them to admit that they are guilty before a holy God just as the Gentiles were.
Also, indicating that Paul is addressing the Jews in Romans chapter two is Paul’s use of “diatribe.”
In Romans 1:18-32, Paul referred to the Gentiles in the third person meaning “they” or “them” but in Romans 2, he does not use the third person.
If he were addressing directly the Roman Christians, he would have used the second person plural meaning “all of you” but in Romans 2, he does not.
Rather, Paul employs a literary style called “diatribe” in which the writer attempts to get his point across by engaging in an imaginary debate with a student or opponent.
This style involves posing frequent questions to his conversation partner or by the conversation partner as well as emphatic rejections of possible objections to a line of argument using me genoito, “may it never be!” and the direct address of one’s conversation partner or opponent.
Therefore, if Paul is not speaking to the Gentiles or the Roman Christians, then he must be addressing the Jews.
Also, in Romans 2, Paul is using the figure of “apostrophe,” which is a rhetorical figure in which a speaker or writer suddenly stops in his discourse and turns to address pointedly some person or thing, either present or absent.
In Romans 2, Paul suddenly stops in his discourse from addressing the conduct of the heathen Gentiles to addressing pointedly the self-righteous Jew.
So while the Jews are not identified in Romans 2:1-16, it is clear from Romans 2:17 and on that the principles of divine judgment in Romans 2:1-16 are also applicable to the Jew (Romans 2:17-24) and his covenant status (Romans 2:25-29).
In Romans 2:1-3:8, the apostle Paul will address the sin of the Jews and will do so in three stages: (1) Without naming his opponent, but establishes the principles of divine judgment by which the Jew is clearly condemned, thus the Jews are as guilty as the pagan Gentiles and will likewise receive the wrath of God (Romans 2:1-16). (2) Paul explains how the Law condemns (2:17-29). (3) Paul adds a parenthetical response to possible misconceptions of what he has said (3:1-8).
In Romans 3:9-10, Paul summarizes his statements made in Romans 2:1-3:8 that he has made clear that God has declared not only the Gentile guilty but also He has declared the Jew guilty before Him and thus is in need of salvation like the Gentile.
So this evening we will study Romans 2:1 and the self-righteousness of the Jews.
Romans 2:1, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”
“Therefore” is the inferential conjunction dio (diov) (dee-o), which is used to pass from one statement considered as true to another whose truth is believed to follow the former, denoting that the inference is self-evident.
In Romans 2:1, the conjunction dio enables Paul to transition from the truth presented in Romans 1:29-32 to the truth in Romans 2:1.
The inference that is self-evident from a comparison of these passages is that the same sins that the Gentiles committed, which are listed by Paul in Romans 1:18-31 were committed by the self-righteous Jew also.
Therefore, in Romans 2:1, Paul is saying that since it has been established and we agree that the immoral practices of the Gentiles listed in Romans 1:18-32 are an abomination to God, therefore, the self-righteous Jew is also without excuse since he practices these same sins, which he condemns the Gentiles for committing.
In the very act of condemning the Gentiles, the Jew automatically condemns himself because he is guilty of committing the same sins that the Gentiles commit.
“No excuse” is the compound adjective anapologetos (a)napolovghto$) (an-ap-ol-og-ay-tos), which is composed of the negative prefix a and the noun apologia, “defense,” thus the word literally means, “without defense.”
In Romans 1:18-32 all the “unrighteous” are without excuse and in Romans 2 Paul begins to demonstrate that all the “self-righteous” are also without excuse.
The “unrighteous” Gentiles are without excuse because of the universal facts of the external creation and the internal voice of conscience.
Beginning, in Romans 2:1, Paul teaches that what was true of the “heathen” in Romans 1:18-32 is also true of this new group, the Jews, who he identifies with the 2nd person singular pronoun “you” in contrast to the 3rd person plural pronoun “they,” which was used in reference to the Gentiles in Romans 1:18-32.
“You” is the interjection O (w)!), “O” and the vocative masculine singular form of the noun anthropos (a*nqrwpo$) (anth-ro-pos), “man,” which is used in a generic sense for the self-righteous Jews.
The interjection indicates that anthropos is a “vocative of emphatic, emotional address” expressing Paul’s deep emotion and concern for the self-righteous attitude of his fellow countrymen, the Jews, which he again expresses in Romans 9:1-3.
“Everyone” refers to each member of the Jewish race that is self-righteous without exception and without distinction.
“Who passes judgment” is the verb krino (krivnw) (kree-no), which means, “to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong,” and by implication, to condemn.
Romans 2:1, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”
“For” introduces a statement that explains why the self-righteous Jew is without excuse just as the Gentile.
“In that which” is composed of the preposition en (e)n), “in” followed by the dative neuter singular form of the relative pronoun hos (o^$) (hos), “that which.”
The preposition en is a marker of means and the relative pronoun refers to the sins committed by the pagan Gentiles for which the self-righteous Jew condemns them for.
Therefore, the standard by which the Jew judges the Gentiles as guilty is the “means by which” he brings condemnation on himself since he commits these very same sins that the Gentile commits.
“You judge” is the verb krino (krivnw) (kree-no), which means, “to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong,” and by implication, condemning.
“Another” refers to the Gentiles in contrast to the Jews.
“You condemn” is the compound verb katakrino (katakrivnw) (kata-kree-no), which is composed of the preposition kata, “against,” and the verb krino, “to pass judgment upon someone or something as evil or wrong after weighing the evidence and without reservation,” hence, “to condemn.”
“Yourself” is the reflexive pronoun seautou (seautou) (she-ow-too), which indicates that the subject, the self-righteous Jew is also the object of the action of the verb katakrino, “to condemn” and highlights the participation of the self-righteous Jew in his own condemnation!
Romans 2:1, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”
“For” introduces a statement that explains why the self-righteous Jew condemns himself when he condemns the Gentiles for the sins they commit.
“You who judge” is the verb krino (krivnw) (kree-no), which as we noted earlier in our study of the word, means, “to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong,” and by implication, condemning.
“Practice” is the verb prasso (pravssw), which means, “to make it a habit of practicing” and denotes a process leading to an accomplishment.
“The same” refers to the catalogue of sins listed by Paul in Romans 1:29-31.
Therefore, a principle emerges from our study of Romans 2:1 that man is judged according to his own standards.
The Lord Jesus Christ prohibited His disciples in judging others.
Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge lest you be judged yourselves. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it shall be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 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.”
The kind of judging that the Lord warned against and that Paul warns against was not justified, discerning appraisal of someone’s character based on conduct but rather a hypocritical and self-righteous condemnation of another person.
Christian love is to have discernment (Philippians 1:9) and is to properly “evaluate” the character of others whereas Matthew 7:1-2 and Romans 2:1 are not referring to “evaluation” but rather “condemnation.”
Fallen humanity tends to criticize in others those negative traits of which they themselves are guilty, which is called by psychologists as “projection.”
The self-righteousness of the Jew is based upon their false assumption that they would be accepted by God on the basis of their national identity or racial background meaning that they thought that they were saved based upon their father or progenitor, Abraham and the promises God made to Abraham.
The Jews believed that this promise guaranteed salvation for all who retained their connection with Abraham through the observance of the law and the rite of circumcision.
Therefore they expected to be regarded and treated not so much as individuals, each dealt with according to his personal character, but as a community to whom salvation was assured by the promise made to Abraham.
Warren Wiersbe commenting on the self-righteous attitude of the Jews towards the Gentiles, writes, “Certainly the Jews would applaud Paul’s condemnation of the Gentiles in Romans 1:18-32. In fact, Jewish national and religious pride encouraged them to despise the ‘Gentile dogs’ and have nothing to do with them. Paul uses this mental attitude to prove the guilt of the Jews; for the very things they condemned in the Gentiles, they themselves were practicing! They thought that they were free from judgment because they were God’s chosen people. But Paul affirmed that God’s election of the Jews made their responsibility and accountability even greater.” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, pages 519-520; Victor Books)
John the Baptist addressed the self-righteous attitude of the Jew who thought their racial background and relationship to Abraham would guarantee their entrance into the kingdom of heaven (See Matthew 3:5-9).
The Lord Jesus Christ also addressed this self-righteous attitude of the Jews (See John 8:34-45).
The Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching on the Pharisee and the Publican addresses the Jews’ self-righteous, judgmental attitude towards the Gentiles and demonstrates to the Pharisee his need for salvation and God’s righteousness (Luke 18:10-14).
The prophet Nathan was sent by the Lord to confront David regarding his sin of killing Uriah in order to cover up his affair with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba and in the process he encountered David’s self-righteousness (2 Samuel 12:1-15).
Although a self-righteous person may argue that he has not committed every sin in the book, he should remember the following facts taught in the Bible:
(1) He is capable of committing all the sins listed in Romans 1:29-31 since everyone has an old sin nature (Romans 5:12-19; 7).
Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned when Adam sinned.”
(2) By breaking one commandment, he is guilty of all (James 2:10).
James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”
(3) He has committed sins of thought which he may never have committed in actual deed, and these are forbidden by the Word since the Lord Jesus taught that a lustful look is tantamount to adultery (Matthew 5:28).
Matthew 5:28, “but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”