Romans 2:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.

NIV: (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law.

NASB: For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves,

CSB: So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law.

NLT: Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.

KJV: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

NKJV: for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,

Some translations put parentheses around Romans 2:14–15, showing that Paul might be making a related side point with these two verses. In the previous verse, Paul argued that Jewish people living under the law did not become righteous before God merely by hearing the Law read. They had to keep the law, and keep it perfectly, in order to be truly righteous.

Speaking of obeying the law, Paul mentions that some non-Jewish people—Gentiles—end up keeping parts of the law "by nature," even though they are not required to do so by God. In other words, the human conscience sometimes prompts people to "do the right thing" even without having a written law to tell them to do it. This parallels Paul's point from earlier in this letter that God makes certain things obvious to all people (Romans 1:18–20). In this way, those Gentiles allow their consciences to become a kind of law for them to follow. They might not even know what is included in the written books of the Law given to the Israelites.

Notice that in this and the following verse, Paul is not suggesting that a Gentile who lives by his conscience will be declared righteous by God. His point, as implied here, is only that such a person is following some kind of minimum standard for right and wrong.

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.