Romans 2.27-Obedient Gentile Conduct Would Serve As Evidence Against the Disobedient Jew
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday September 20, 2007
Romans: Romans 2:27-Obedient Gentile Conduct Would Serve As Evidence Against the Disobedient Jew
Lesson # 69
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 2:17.
This evening we will continue with our study of the twelfth and final principle of divine judgment that is contained in Romans 2:17-29, namely, that God judges according to reality and without regard of racial background or religious profession.
In Romans 2:17-24, Paul addresses his unsaved Jewish audience with regards to their arrogance related to their racial background as well as their being the recipients and custodians of the Old Testament Scriptures.
In Romans 2:25-29, Paul addresses the issue of circumcision with his unsaved Jewish audience.
In Romans 2:25, Paul teaches his unsaved, self-righteous Jewish audience that circumcision can not deliver them from eternal condemnation since disobedience to the Law negates the value of circumcision.
This passage taught the principle that Jewish disobedience with the ritual of circumcision is meaningless and unrighteousness in the eyes of God.
Last evening we studied Romans 2:26, in which Paul poses a rhetorical question, which demands a positive response from his unsaved Jewish audience.
This rhetorical question implied in a hypothetical sense that although the Gentile is uncircumcised his perfect obedience to the principles of the moral code of the Mosaic Law would make him circumcised in the eyes of God and is designed to destroy Jewish confidence in circumcision to be justified before God.
This passage teaches the principle that perfect Gentile obedience without the ritual of circumcision is righteousness in the eyes of God.
This evening we will study Romans 2:27, which teaches that obedient Gentile conduct would serve as evidence against the disobedient Jew.
Let’s read Romans 2:17-29 and then concentrate on Romans 2:27.
Romans 2:17-29, “But if you bear the name ‘Jew’ and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,’ just as it is written. For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
Now, let’s look at Romans 2:27 in detail, which as we will note is incorrectly and inaccurately translated in the New American Standard.
Romans 2:27, “And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?”
The New American Standard, New American Standard Updated version, the King James, New King James Version, American Standard Bible, the Darby translation, the English Majority Text Version, the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible, 1833 Webster Bible, the New Testament in Modern English (Revised Student Version) by J. B. Phillips and the 1912 Weymouth New Testament all inaccurately translate the Greek text of Romans 2:27 as a rhetorical question since Paul is making a statement.
Whereas, the New International Version, the Revised Standard Version, the Analytical Literal Translation, the 1965 Bible in Basic English, the Good News Bible, the International Standard Version, the Murdock translation, the 1898 Young’s Literal Translation, the Wuest translation, the New Century Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible, the Modern Language Bible, the Jewish New Testament by David H. Stern, the Living Bible and the Amplified Bible all correctly translate the Greek text of Romans 2:27 as a declarative statement.
Corrected translation of Romans 2:27: “In fact, the physically uncircumcised by fulfilling perfectly the Law will condemn you who are by means of Scripture and circumcision a transgressor of the Law.”
Romans 2:27, “And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?” (NASU)
“And” is the conjunction kai (kaiV), which is “emphatic” since it is introducing a statement that says that the Gentiles obedient conduct would serve as evidence against the unsaved, self-righteous Jew, which would be shocking to the Jew who thought himself superior to the Gentiles.
“He who is uncircumcised” the noun akrobustia (a)krobustia) (ak-rob-oos-tee-ah), which refers to the state of being uncircumcised and is a designation for the Gentile in contrast to the circumcised Jew.
“Physically” is composed of the preposition ek (e)k), and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun phusis (fuvsi$), which refers to a physical condition inherited from birth and thus a natural physical condition.
Therefore, the word denotes the “natural physical condition” of the Gentiles who were not circumcised.
The preposition ek is used with the genitive form of the noun phusis as a marker of the origin of the natural physical condition of the Gentiles.
We will translate this prepositional phrase adverbially with the English word “physically” since this best reflects the idiom in the Greek.
The English word “physical” indicates connected with the human body as a material organism, which reflects the meaning of this prepositional phrase that is used in context with the natural physical condition of the Gentile not being circumcised like the Jews.
“If he keeps” is the nominative feminine singular present active participle form of the verb teleo (televw) (tel-eh-o), which is used with reference to the ten commands that appear in written form in the moral code of the Mosaic Law that are also inherent in the soul of the unsaved Gentile.
Romans 2:13-15: “For you see, the hearers of the Law are, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely never righteous before God but rather the doers of the Law will, as an eternal spiritual truth, be justified. Since, whenever Gentiles, who, as a fact of history, do not possess the Law, obey, at any time, instinctively the principles belonging to the Law, although, these, as a fact of history, do not possess the Law, they, as an eternal spiritual truth, manifest that they possess inherently, a law, which belongs to them who, indeed by virtue of their obedient character, demonstrate, as an eternal spiritual truth and fact of history, the conduct produced by obedience to the Law as written on their hearts. During which time their conscience does confirm the testimony, namely, their thoughts alternately, at any time, making an accusation or else, at any time, making a defense.”
In Romans 2:27, the verb teleo means, “to fulfill perfectly” since Romans 2:25 teaches that the Law is only beneficial to the Jew if he always practices it and Romans 2:26 presents a hypothetical case of the Gentile being justified before God through his perfect obedience to the Law.
Romans 2:25-26, “Indeed, on the one hand circumcision is, as an eternal spiritual truth, beneficial if you should always practice the Law. On the other hand, if you should be at any time a transgressor of the Law, (then) your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcision always observes the righteous regulations originating from the Law, then, will not (God) consider and treat accordingly His uncircumcision as circumcision?”
The participle form of the verb teleo is a “participle of means” indicating the “means by which” the action of the verb finite verb krino, “will he not judge” is accomplished.
As a participle of means, teleo indicates that the Gentile will condemn the Jew “by means of” his perfectly fulfilling the commands of the Law, which are inherent in the soul of every Gentile.
The present tense is “customary” or more accurately “stative” signifying an action that takes place “continually” or is an “unbroken process” since in context Paul is presenting to his unsaved Jewish audience a hypothetical case of the Gentiles perfectly fulfilling the Ten Commandments that are inherent in their soul.
This of course will not occur since no Gentile has kept perfectly the Law of God but only Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:17-20, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Romans 8:3-4, “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Paul presents this hypothetical case in order to demonstrate to his self-righteous Jewish countrymen that being circumcised is of no value if they are not perfectly obedient to the Law.
Thus, the “stative” present signifies in a hypothetical sense the Gentiles “continually” or “always” obeying what the Law teaches.
This is something that no Jew or Gentile has been able to accomplish but only the God-Man Jesus Christ.
Romans 2:27, “And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?”
“The Law” is the noun nomos (novmo$) (nom-os), which refers to the ten commandments that appear in written form in the moral code of the Mosaic Law since it is used in context with relation to the Gentiles who did not have the entire Mosaic Law in written form but only the moral code portion of the Mosaic Law on their hearts.
“Will he not judge” is the 3rd person singular future active indicative form of the verb krino (krivnw) (kree-no), which means that the unsaved Gentile’s perfect obedience to the Ten Commandments that are inherent in their soul will serve to “condemn” the Jew at the Great White Throne Judgment of all unbelievers at the end of human history (Revelation 20:11-15).
“You” is the accusative 2nd person singular personal pronoun su (suv), which emphasizes the self-righteous Jew since in Romans 1:1-17, Paul uses the 2nd person plural to address the Roman believers and when referring to the Gentiles he uses the third person, thus through the process of elimination we know that Paul’s is speaking to the Jew.
The accusative masculine singular definite article ton precedes the prepositional phrase dia grammatos kai peritomes parabaten nomou, “who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law.
It functions as a “substantiver” meaning it nominalizes (i.e. converts to a noun) the prepositional phrase and thus we can translate it with the substantive phrase “who are.”
“Though having the letter of the Law and circumcision” is composed of the preposition dia (diaV) and genitive neuter singular form of the noun gramma (gravmma) (gram-mah), which is followed by the connective use of the conjunction kai (kaiV) and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun peritome (peritomhv) (per-it-om-ay).
The noun gramma basically means, “letter” but its range of meaning includes “musical notes, a list, a rule or law, papers, a letter or book” and “Scripture.”
In Romans 2:27, gramma refers to “any kind of written document, whether in book or manuscript form, with focus upon the content.”
In Romans 2:27, the word refers to the Mosaic Law with emphasis upon the Ten Commandments since Paul is saying that Gentile obedience to the Law will serve as evidence against the Jew in their condemnation and which Law the Gentiles did not receive in written form like the Jew but were created with it inherent in their souls.
The noun peritome, “circumcision” refers to the ritual act of cutting of the foreskin of the male’s penis and was given as a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his biological descendants that they were set apart by God and yet was not given to justify or save them and implied that they were obedient to God.
The preposition dia is used with the genitive form of the nouns gramma and peritome as a marker of the instrument by which the unsaved Jew transgresses the Law.
Therefore, the Law as well as the ritual of circumcision that was to be a sign of obedience to God were the instruments or means by which the unsaved Jew transgressed the Law.
The unsaved Jew transgressed the Law by means of disobeying Scripture, which resulted in the ritual of circumcision being meaningless since it was to imply that the Jew was obedient to God.
The privileges of the Law and circumcision became the means by which the unsaved Jew transgressed the Law because of their disobedience to the Law.
The Law and circumcision were privileges given to the Jews by the Lord and their arrogant, self-righteous response to these privileges will result in these being the means to condemn them at the Great White Throne Judgment because they were not perfectly obedient to the Law.
Romans 2:27, “And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?”
“A transgressor” is the noun parabates (parabavth$) (par-ab-at-ace), which is used to describes the unsaved Jews as those who violate the Ten Commandments that appear in written form in the Mosaic Law.
“Of the Law” is the noun nomos (novmo$) (nom-os), which refers to the Mosaic Law.
So in Romans 2:27, the apostle Paul addresses his unsaved Jewish audience with a hypothetical case that would destroy their confidence in circumcision as the means of avoiding eternal condemnation and receiving entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
He presents to the unsaved Jew a hypothetical case of the Gentiles fulfilling perfectly the Ten Commandments that are inherent in their soul, which would serve as evidence against them resulting in condemnation at the Great White Throne Judgment.
