Scripture and Footnotes, and Summary:
Online Bible courtesy of Gospelcom.net
See Romans
2 in the New King James Version
See Romans
2 in the New American Standard Bible
Beginning study on Romans Chapter 2
Part 2
11 For there is no partiality with God.
12 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;
13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before
God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.
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,
15 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,
16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge
the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
Commentary:
verse 11 Acts 10:34,35 show that God
is impartial and accepts in every nation the one who fears him and works
righteousness.
verses 12, 13 explain that it is
the doers of the law who are just God. In the same way, Jesus says that
it is those who do the will of His Father who will enter into the "kingdom
of the heavens" (Marshall's Literal English Translation, Matt 7:21) These
are the ones who enter into the narrow gate. (Matt 7:14,14)
see also John 13:1-17, esp. v 17, and
James 1:22 where James urges us to become doers of the word and not hearers
only.
verse 15, 16 Paul shows that the
Gentiles who do the right thing show that the Law is written in their hearts,
and they will be judged on the basis of that.
Summary of Today's Study:
We see here that God is a rewarder of those
who DO his will. While the scriptures talk about being rewarded with eternal
life, we are not talking about salvation by works, which will be obvious
in later chapters.
Note that on different days,
the placement of the commentary on the page will vary. Sometimes,
I will use the left pane and sometimes the right pane.
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Romans Study: Questions, Commentary, and more:
Romans is a primer on
the relationship of the Believer to The Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we are continuing with our study
on Chapter 2 of Romans.
Keep in mind, as we study,
that we want to address:
1. How am I saved?
2. Can I lose my salvation (that
is, if I commit a sin, will I find I am no longer saved)?
3. If I keep on sinning, will
I be saved?
4. Is there victory over sin?
5. If I neglect my relationship
with the Lord Jesus, what happens to my salvation?
6. Once I am saved, do I have
license to keep on sinning?
The further issues are:
7. Once I am saved, how do I
keep from sinning?
8. Is it something I do, and
thus it becomes an issue of pride? Or is it a work that God does in our
lives?
9. Can we ever expect to overcome
sin? If we do, how does it happen? How are we set free?
10. If a person backslides in
his faith, and doesn't come back to vibrant Christian faith, is he saved
if he is in that condition when he dies?
In answering my basic questions number
8, the emphasis here is on doing. But Jesus elsewhere mentions that when
we have done all, we are still to think of ourselves as unprofitable servants.
It is still true that nothing has been
said about being without sin. Questions 2 and 3 have so far been
neglected.
What is happening here?
Is Paul speaking to the saved or the unsaved
in this passage? I see it as talking to those who are in their own estimation
saved. He is pointing out that it is not enough to know the truth.
As Jesus says, it is those who do the will of His Father who will be saved.
And as James says, be doers of the word.
If it is to the saved Paul is talking,
then he is teaching that salvation is conditional to those who "by
persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality."
Paul is also laying the groundwork for
his further teaching. So far, we are getting a picture of the need
to continue to live in that new life that Christ gives us. And if
we ahve any doubt what that means, Paul is emphasizing it as a life of
doing good, and not just knowing the truth.
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