Romans 2, the key to the book of Romans. Because of Luther's influence, today it has become commonplace in sermons and literature to ignore much of chapter 2 of Romans. Far too many Christians pretend that Paul begins his message in Romans with chapters 3 and 4. In reality, chapter 2 contains many of the essential teachings that enable us to properly understand the rest of Romans.
In chapter 2, Paul completes his discussion of point one of his great argument, which point is that all mankind lies guilty before God and needs salvation. He then, by way of anticipation, introduces points. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, after our initial salvation by grace through faith, God requires us to walk faithfully with Christ, producing godly fruit for the remainder of our lives. Point 4. There is no partiality with God. Jews and Gentiles stand as equals before Him.
Believing Jews and believing Gentiles together make up the new Israel of God. Unrighteous human judgment. Romans 2:1," Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are, who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge do the same things. Paul begins chapter 2 with a continuation of his indictment against the Gentiles. After describing their wickedness in chapter 1, Paul now declares that they will answer on the Day of Judgment for their sins.
He also points to the hypocrisy of many Gentiles. These pagans railed against the immorality and wrong deeds of others. Yet so often their moral lives were no better. For example, Caesar Augustus exiled his own daughter, Julia, for her wanton adultery. Yet he was an adulterer himself. As the rest of the chapter will demonstrate, Paul is not saying that every pagan Gentile is a hypocrite, nor is he saying that they all do the very same things they condemn in others.
Rather, he is saying that many, if not most of them, are guilty of this hypocritical conduct. God's righteous judgment. Romans 2, 2 and 3. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who commit such things. And do you think, O man, who judge those who do such things and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God. Those who think that God does not notice their wicked deeds are greatly mistaken.
Chrysostom writes," Someone might say, until now I have escaped punishment." To make such a person fear, Paul says that with God, things operate differently than they do with men. In this life, one person is punished, while another who does the same things escapes punishment. But on Judgment Day, it will be different. For then, the one who judges knows the truth. Origen quotes Psalm 139:7," To show that no one can escape the notice of God. Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?" Although Paul wants to instill a healthy fear of God in his readers, he is not trying to portray God as a wrathful and merciless judge. Rather, Paul is showing that our Creator is a God who takes interest in His creation. If God allowed evildoers to go unpunished, it would be unfair to the rest of humanity. For that reason, wrongdoers will eventually answer to God.
Concerning this fact, Ambrosiaster writes," We would certainly have to call God a bad creator if he neglected his creatures after creating them." This would indicate that what he made was not good after all. However, this is not the kind of God we have. Our God is concerned about what happens here on earth. Ambrosiaster continues," Jesus says He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." 5.
If he does that, he likewise pays careful attention to those whom He has created. He rewards the people who love Him and punishes those who turn away from Him. The Day of Wrath and Revelation Romans 2:4 and 5. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, patience, and long-suffering? Not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance. But by your hardness and impenitent heart, you store up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
God bears with everyone patiently because He wants all to come to repentance and conversion. However, this should not make us slow to repent, for there is a limit to God's patience. The people living at the time of the flood discovered this fact, as did the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Irenaeus writes," No one shall escape and be delivered from his judgment. Neither Jew nor Gentile, nor believer who has sinned, nor angel. Instead, those who now reject His goodness shall know His power in judgment.
This is according to what the Blessed Apostle says, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance. However, instead of repenting, most humans misinterpret God's patience. They imagine there never will be a day of reckoning. Ambrosiaster observes that because the wicked have convinced themselves that there will be no future retribution, they remain unrepentant and add new sins to their existing ones. You store up for yourself wrath.
The phrase" store up" translates the Greek word" thesaurizo," which is sometimes rendered treasuring up. This is a form of the same word that Jesus uses in Matthew 6, where He bids each of His followers to lay up a storehouse in heaven. Origen explains that each person is actually building two storehouses in heaven. In the one storehouse, we lay up all the godly deeds of love and mercy we perform here on earth. In the second storehouse, we store up all our wicked deeds.
Theodoret writes," We are all storing up things in heaven, both our righteous acts and our sinful deeds." Chrysostom comments," Paul says that you store up for yourself wrath. Thereby, he demonstrates that it is not the judge who is storing these things up, rather the condemned person himself is doing the storing." For Paul says," You store up for yourself." The Day of Wrath and Revelation. Judgment Day will indeed be a day of wrath for the wicked.
Origen quotes numerous passages from the Old Testament that speak of this Day of Wrath. Among others, he quotes the following verse from Isaiah:" Behold, the day of the Lord is coming which cannot be escaped, a day of wrath and anger, a day to make the world desolate, and to destroy sinners out of it." Why is it called the Day of Revelation? There are several reasons. First, it will be the day on which God's wrath is revealed from heaven.
Second, it will be the day in which Jesus will be revealed in His full glory and power. In Thessalonians, Paul refers to it as the day when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, punishing those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Third, it will be the day on which the secrets of the hearts of all people, and the hidden sins of all people will be revealed.
Jesus says," Nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing covered up that will not be revealed." As Paul writes in this same chapter, who demonstrate the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness. And meanwhile, their thoughts either accusing them or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Likewise, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul warns," Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts."