Romans 2.14-The Inherent Law of the Gentiles
Prairie View Christian Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday August 23, 2007
Romans: Romans 2:14-The Inherent Law of the Gentiles
Lesson # 54
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 2:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Romans 2, which contains twelve principles regarding God’s judgment of mankind.
Thus far in our studies of this chapter we have noted the first nine, which are the following: (1) Man is judged by his own standards (Romans 2:1). (2) Man is judged according truth (Romans 2:2). (3) God’s judgment is inescapable (Romans 2:3) (4) God’s judgment is delayed because of His kindness, tolerance and patience (Romans 2:4). (5) God’s judgment is measured out according to the accumulation of guilt (Romans 2:5). (6) God judges man according to works (Romans 2:6). (7) God judges man according to obedience or performance in that God rewards obedience and punishes disobedience (Romans 2:7-10). (8) God judges without respect to persons since He is impartial (Romans 2:11). (9) God judges men according to obedience to Law and not knowledge of the Law (Romans 2:12-13).
This evening we will begin a study of the tenth principle, which appears in Romans 2:14-15, and states that God judges men in direct proportion to the divine revelation that they have been exposed to in life.
In Romans 2:14, we will study that the Gentiles inherently possess a law that is manifested when they obey the principles that appear in written form of the Mosaic Law.
Romans 2:1-15, “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. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
In Romans 2:14, the word “For” is the “causal” use of the conjunction gar (gavr), which is connected to Paul’s statement regarding the Gentiles in Romans 2:12a, “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law.”
Therefore, it introduces a statement that explains the basis for which the Gentiles will face eternal condemnation even though they were not given the Mosaic Law.
Namely, they inherently possess a moral code in their souls that is manifested when they obey the principles that appear in written form of the Mosaic Law.
The conjunction is “not” connected to Paul’s statement regarding the Jews in Romans 2:13b, “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
The reason is that in Romans 2:14-15 Paul discusses exclusively the Gentile and not the Jew.
Therefore, the conjunction gar does “not” introduce a statement that explains the reason why the self-righteous unregenerate Jew is not justified before a holy God by simply hearing the Law but rather by obeying it.
Rather, the word introduces a statement that explains the reason why the Gentile will perish without the Law or the basis for which he will perish without the Law.
“When” is the temporal conjunction hotan (o%tan) (hot-an), which is employed with the subjunctive mood of the verb poieo, “do” in order to form an indefinite temporal clause that indicates a future contingency from the perspective of the time of the main verb eimi, “are” that appears in Romans 2:14.
This means that “whenever” the Gentiles who don’t have the Law obey the requirements of the Law, they inherently manifest that they possess a law, which belongs to them that is written in their hearts and not on tablets of stone as the Jews received the Law from Moses.
“Gentiles” is the noun ethnos (e&qno$) (eth-nos), which is used in contrast to the Jews and thus refers to all those individuals who are “not” of Jewish racial descent and thus “not” members of the covenant people of God, Israel and by implication this word refers to all the nations of the world.
“Who do not have” is composed of verb echo (e&xw) (ekh-o), “who do…have,” which is negated by negative particle me (mhv) (may), “not.”
In Romans 2:14, the verb echo means, “to possess” a particular object, which is identified as “the Law.”
Therefore, Paul is saying that the Gentiles “did not possess” the Law of God in written form as the nation of Israel did through Moses.
Psalm 147:19-20, “He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His ordinances, they have not known them. Praise the LORD!”
“The Law” is the noun nomos (novmo$) (nom-os), which is a reference to the Mosaic Law.
“Do” is the verb poieo (poievw), which is transitive and means, “to obey” because in context, its direct object is the substantive use of the definite article, which means, “the things” and the articular genitive form of the noun nomos, “the Law.”
To obey means, “to comply with or follow the commands, prohibitions, and instructions of another, to respond conformably in action to another, to submit something.”
If we paraphrase these definitions, we would say that the verb poieo is used with reference to a Gentile complying with, following the commands and prohibitions of, responding conformably in action to, submitting to the principles of the moral code of the Mosaic Law.
“Instinctively” is the noun phusis (fuvsi$), which refers to that which impels an object to behave as it does.
The basic idea of phusis “denoted the growing of the cosmos and of all things contained in it from their own laws” according to Burkert (Greek Religion, page 312; Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985).
To the Greek philosopher, the created order came to be regarded as ordered by laws called phusis, which governed its behavior and made it predictable.
Aristotle understood phusis teleologically, which refers to the study of the evidences of design or purpose in nature.
The phusis of a thing was what this thing was as the end product of its development (Koster, phusis, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, volume 9, page 258).
All things had “movement,” that is, they were driven by an innate impulse toward some predetermined end and that impulse was phusis (Ross, Aristotle, pages 66-68).
In Romans 2:14, the noun phusis refers to the innate impulse in man that governs his behavior.
The word “innate” means that which is inherent in the essential character of mankind.
The English word “instinct” accurately reflects the meaning of phusis in Romans 2:14 since it refers to an innate or natural impulse, inclination or tendency.
Romans 2:14, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves.”
“The things of the Law” refers to the principles that appear in the moral code of the Mosaic Law, otherwise, known as the “Ten Commandments,” or “Decalogue.”
As we noted in our detailed study of the noun nomos in Romans 2:12, it is common to divide the Mosaic Law into three parts, but though this is helpful for analysis and the study of the Mosaic Law and the way it functions, such a division is never stated as such in Scripture but rather it is seen as a unit.
Part 1: The Moral Law or the Ten Commandments. This part of the Law governed the moral life giving guidance to Israel in principles of right and wrong in relation to God and man (Exodus 20:1-17).
Part 2: The Ordinances or the Ceremonial Law. This was the spiritual portion of Law, which guided and provided for Israel in her worship and spiritual relationship and fellowship with God. It included the priesthood, tabernacle and sacrifices (Exodus 25-31: Leviticus).
Part 3: The Judgments, or the Social Law. This part of the Law governed Israel in her secular, social, political, and economic life (Exodus 21:1–23:13).
In the New Testament, the Greek word used for law is nomos, which means “that which is assigned,” hence, “usage, custom,” and then “law,” or “a rule governing one’s actions.”
Thus God’s law is His system of rules by which He shows and instructs in His will and administers the affairs of the world.
A system of rules may be tailored for different times, peoples, or purposes and as a result, in the progress of God’s revelation to man, we can see a number of different systems of law in the Scripture.
One of which is the “Law of Nature” (Natural or Inherent), which Paul mentions in Romans 2:14, “For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves.”
The “inherent law” or “law of nature” refers to God’s revelation of Himself in creation as we noted in Romans 1:18-23 and falls under the category of the eternal law of God for the Ten Commandments, which did not begin with Sinai, but originate in the essence of God Himself (see 1 Pet. 1:16).
The Ten Commandments: (1) “You shall have no gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3) (2) “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6) (3) “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7) (4) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11) (5) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.”(Exodus 20:12) (6) “Honor You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) (7) You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) (8) You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) (9) “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16) (10) “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17).
The content of the Ten Commandments is not really new since the book of Genesis reveals the fact that these formalized laws were already followed, or assumed as a moral standard:
All Ten Commandments had been part of the Law of God previously written on hearts instead of stone, for all ten appear, in one way or another, in Genesis.
They are as follows: (1) Genesis 35:2, “Get rid of the foreign gods.” (2) Genesis 31:39, “Laban to Jacob, ‘But why did you steal my gods?’” (3) Genesis 24:3, “I want you to swear by the Lord.” (4) Genesis 2:3, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.” (5) Genesis 27:41, “The days of mourning my father are near.” (6) Genesis 4:9, “Where is your brother Abel?” (7) Genesis 39:9, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (8) Genesis 44:4 7, “Why have you stolen my silver cup?” (9) Genesis 39:17, “[Joseph] came to me to make sport of me … but … he ran. …” (10) Genesis 12:18; 20:3, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
Romans 2:14, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves.”
“These” is the demonstrative pronoun houtos (ou!to$) (hoo-tos), which refers to the Gentiles who do not possess the Mosaic Law.
“Not having” is the negative particle me (mhv) (may), “not” and the verb echo (e&xw) (ekh-o), “having,” which functions as a “concessive” participle implying that Gentiles possess inherently a law for themselves in spite of the fact that they do not possess the Law in written form.
“Are” is the verb eimi (ei)miv) (i-mee), which means, “to possess certain inherent characteristics” and thus denotes a Gentile “possessing inherently” the principles that appear in written form in the moral code of the Mosaic Law.
Actually, the verb echo means, “to manifest that one possesses a certain inherent characteristic” since the word is coupled with poieo, which denotes obedience.
What Paul is actually saying with the verb eimi and poieo is that the Gentiles are “manifesting that they possess inherently a law that belongs to them and governs their conduct” when they obey the principles of this moral code.
“A law” is the noun nomos (novmo$) (nom-os), which refers to a moral code that is inherent within the soul every human being that helps to govern their conduct.
“To themselves” is the reflexive personal pronoun heautou (e(autou) (heh-ow-too), which emphasizes the Gentiles participation in possessing inherently or innately a law, which belongs to them and governs their conduct.
The reflexive pronoun heautou functions as a “dative of possession” meaning that the Gentiles possess inherently a law, “which belongs to them” in contrast to the law that Moses received in writing from the Lord.
The law of the Gentiles to whom Paul was writing was not in code but in conscience.
They did not have a specific set of rules but they did have the basic moral concepts which are contained in the Law and in particular the Ten Commandments.
Anthropologists know by research what God has revealed in His Word.
There is “absolutely no” societal group that is devoid of law in the sense of a standard of right versus wrong.
Also, all men know that they break their own laws and they suffer guilt.