Romans 2:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

NASB: 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;

CSB: All who sin without the law will also perish without the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

NLT: When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.

KJV: For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

NKJV: For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law

In the previous section of verses, Paul divided all of humanity into two categories: Those who lead good lives and are given eternal life by God (Romans 2:7) and those who are self-seeking and earn God's wrath (Romans 2:8). God will judge each person according to that standard, Paul wrote, no matter whether Jew or non-Jew.

This seems, at first, like an endorsement of salvation by works. However, as Paul will show later, the first category is empty. Nobody is able to escape their own selfish and disobedient nature. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," he will say in Romans 3:23.

Now Paul begins to answer all of his readers who are asking, "What about the law? Won't the law protect the Jews from the wrath of God?" Paul describes two more categories for humanity: those who sin "apart from the law" and those who sin "under the law." Paul is referring to the law of Moses, given to Israel by God at Mount Sinai, as described in Exodus 20 and beyond.

Notice that both of these categories contain those "who have sinned." There is no third category of people, no group who have not sinned. Sinners without the law of Moses to follow—the Gentiles—will die and be judged by God without the law, because their sin is still sin. Sinners under the law—Jewish people who adhere to the rituals and sacraments of the law of Moses—will be judged by God according the law of Moses when they die. Each person is held to the standards of their own knowledge, and as Paul has already pointed out, God has given every person enough knowledge to be without excuse (Romans 1:18–20).

The point Paul is building towards is that the verdict will be the same in all cases. All have sinned, no matter what standard of good and evil they lived under.

Romans 2:12–29 describes two groups of people, with an emphasis on how their sin relates to their knowledge of God's written Law for the nation of Israel. Here, ''Gentiles'' are those who sin apart from the law, while ''Jews'' are those who sin under the law. Paul shows how, in both cases, God will judge people based on whether they kept the law and were circumcised in their hearts. Even Gentiles who follow the law out of sincerity would be regarded by God as truly Jewish. Meanwhile, God will discount the Jewishness and circumcision of someone under the law who breaks the law and does not have a sincere heart. Paul will show in the following chapter that, in truth, no one can keep the law.

Romans 2 springs a trap on any religious person who read Paul's lists of sins at the end of Romans 1 and thought it wasn't about them. Paul calls them out for making themselves judges when they are also guilty. He shows that God will judge everyone, including those under the law, based on their works. This prefaces this letter's theme of salvation by grace, through faith, rather than by works. Many benefits come with having the law, but only if those under the law keep it. Jewishness—circumcision—must be an inner state, not just an outer one. Paul will show in the following chapter that none of us really meets those conditions.

Having just concluded a list of terrible sins humanity indulges in as a result of rejecting God, Paul turns to religious people and says, ''This applies to you, too.'' Nobody can judge arrogantly, because we are all guilty. Even God's people the Jews will stand before Him in judgment based on their works. Having the law only matters if someone can keep the law. Paul asks his Jewish readers why they don't and shows that they must be Jewish and circumcised in their hearts for it to matter. In the following chapter, he will show that nobody can keep the law.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.