The Bible — World English Bible
Romans 2
In brief
In Romans 2, Paul addresses the person who judges others while feeling safe. He reminds us that God's judgment is according to truth and that there is no partiality with him: neither for the Jew nor for the non-Jew. Those who have the law and those who do not are both accountable, because conscience bears witness in every heart. Paul ends by saying that the true Jew is the one who is so inwardly, by circumcision of the heart. The chapter prepares the announcement of grace by showing that everyone needs God.
The chapter in 5 parts
- v. 1-5The one who judges others, and God's kindness that leads to repentance
- v. 6-11God gives to each according to their works, without favoritism
- v. 12-16Those who have the law and those who do not: conscience bears witness
- v. 17-24Teaching others without applying it to yourself
- v. 25-29True circumcision is circumcision of the heart
1Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.
2We know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.
3Do you think this, O man who judges those who practice such things, and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
4Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
5But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God;
6who “will pay back to everyone according to their works:”
7to those who by perseverance in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life;
8but to those who are self-seeking, and don’t obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath, indignation,
9oppression, and anguish on every soul of man who does evil, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
10But glory, honor, and peace go to every man who does good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
11For there is no partiality with God.
12For as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. As many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
13For it isn’t the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified
14(for when Gentiles who don’t have the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are a law to themselves,
15in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying with them, and their thoughts among themselves accusing or else excusing them)
16in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, according to my Good News, by Jesus Christ.
17Indeed you bear the name of a Jew, rest on the law, glory in God,
18know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,
19and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
20a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babies, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth.
21You therefore who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn’t steal, do you steal?
22You who say a man shouldn’t commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23You who glory in the law, do you dishonor God by disobeying the law?
24For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written.
25For circumcision indeed profits, if you are a doer of the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordinances of the law, won’t his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision?
27Won’t the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law?
28For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh;
29but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.
Key verses
Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
God's kindness and patience are not a sign of indifference: they push us to change. Paul warns the person who would take this patience for permission.
For there is no partiality with God.
God does not judge by origin, status or religious belonging. This principle prepares the central idea of the letter: Jews and non-Jews need the same salvation.
For it isn’t the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified
Hearing the law is not enough, it must be put into practice. Paul does not contradict the salvation by faith that he develops next: he denounces a religion that stays theoretical.
in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying with them, and their thoughts among themselves accusing or else excusing them)
Even those who have not received the law of Moses carry within them a sense of right and wrong. Their conscience accuses or defends, which is one reason why no one is without excuse.
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.
Belonging to God is not read on the body but in the heart, by the Spirit. Paul thus redefines what makes a true member of God's people.
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Frequently asked questions about Romans 2
What does “there is no partiality with God” mean (Romans 2:11)?
It means that God judges no one by origin, status or religion. Jews and non-Jews are treated with the same justice. Paul thus prepares his argument: everyone needs the same salvation, and no one can rely on a privilege to escape judgment.
What does Romans 2:13 mean about those who practice the law?
Paul says that God does not look only at what we hear or what we know, but at what we do. This verse does not contradict salvation by faith taught later in the letter. It denounces a religion of words, and reminds us that true faith shows itself in obedience.
What is circumcision of the heart in Romans 2:29?
It is an inner transformation, worked by the Spirit, that matters more than the outward sign of circumcision. Paul takes up an idea already present in the Old Testament: God looks for a heart that truly belongs to him. For Paul, the true Jew is the one who is so inwardly, and his praise comes from God.
What is the main message of Romans 2?
No one can feel safe while judging others. God judges according to truth, without favoritism, and everyone's conscience bears witness that he knows right and wrong. The chapter shows that the law or religious belonging is not enough, and it opens the way to the good news of grace developed in the rest of the letter.
Articles quoting Romans 2
World English Bible translation — public domain.