Notes on Romans 2

Except in a jury trial, a judge has several functions in deciding a case: a determination of the facts; how applicable law applies; rendering a decision, and, in a criminal case, imposing a sentence.  In order to be a judge, though, the person must be given authority in that position, either by appointment or election.  When we judge other people, the main problem is that we lack the authority to do so.  That is a function that God reserves for himself, in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 4:1).  We can certainly judge if something is right or wrong, but it is not up to us to judge the person involved.  For one thing, as pointed out in this and other passages, we are judging others as sinners when all of us are sinners.  Our reaction should not be to condemn others, but to repent of our own sins, and seek God's forgiveness.  We should not hate others because of their sin; we should direct our hatred at the sin itself, and its sources: the world, the flesh, and the Devil

We aren't judges; all of us are on trial.  The only hope we have of being found "not guilty", of being justified, is through faith in Jesus Christ.  That applies to the whole human race, as affirmed in the last chapter.  Every one of us is born with the consciousness of right and wrong, as part of our nature.  Whether we ever hear the name of Jesus Christ or not, God still holds us accountable for what we do, based on whether we accept or ignore the guidance of conscience.  Christ died for the sins of us all; I don't pretend to know how God judges those who never had the opportunity to know Jesus, but this passage affirms that even some of those will be saved.  When the day of judgment does come, and sentence is passed, no facts will be in dispute, and justice will be done.  Christ himself, through whom life is given, will himself determine those who have accepted him, and those who reject him.  He will also be the give of eternal death.

The passage speaks to those who are righteous in their own eyes, but not God's.  Self-righteousness is not reserved for the Jews, but they considered themselves, and themselves alone, God's chosen people.  No one else was privileged to enjoy God's blessings and promises.  It is common for cults, in our day, to declare that everyone not belonging to their group is going to hell.  Even some presumed Christian churches seem to take that attitude.  This habit of condemning others while excusing ourselves takes another form, too, one that also took root among the Jews: legalism.  Obeying a set of rules becomes a path to salvation, a fleshly substitute for faith in Christ.  As with the Pharisees, such teachers and leaders impose burdens on others they make no real attempt to carry themselves.

Because someone is a Jew, Paul says, doesn't mean they should be counted among God's people, which they called the circumcision.  Rather, the standard is one one of righteousness, not of heritage.  Similarly, coming from a Christian home, and growing up in church doesn't make someone a Christian, but what they do with Christ.  In the Catholic church, being born in a Catholic family and being baptized with the appropriate ritual as an infant is all that is required to assure that the person belongs to Christ.  Even some Protestant churches, out of the Anglican tradition, practice infant baptism, with a similar view.  The belief is just as wrong as that of the Jews that God's favor was their birthright.  We are God's by our choice, not our genes, and that choice is the one of accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  The work that makes the difference is the one that the Spirit does inside us, not the work of some ritual, such as adult or infant baptism, or the consequence of an accident of birth.