Romans 2:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

NIV: For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

NASB: for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified.

CSB: For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.

NLT: For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.

KJV: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

NKJV: (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;

Some of Paul's Jewish readers had made the mistake of thinking that by simply being Jewish, they would be declared righteous by God and spared from His wrath for their sin. After all, they were under the law of Moses. Most Jewish people grew up listening to the books of the Law read aloud from the time they were infants. By definition, they were "hearers" of the law. They knew the words. They understood the big ideas. And they were part of the chosen people of Israel.

Paul argues that just being under the law and hearing it regularly was not enough to save anyone. Hearing the words of Moses's law could not make anyone righteous. In order to be declared righteous in God's eyes, one must obey the law. In fact, Paul will later point out that a person living under the law would have to obey the law perfectly, in every way, in order to be declared righteous by God. Nobody was able to do that until Jesus arrived.

This passage of Romans parallels the message of the book of Hebrews, which clarifies how the old covenant, including the law of Moses, was never meant to save man from sin. It was only meant to teach mankind, to prepare them to accept a Savior (Hebrews 10:1–10).

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.