Romans 2:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;

NIV: if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;

NASB: and know His will and distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law,

CSB: and know his will, and approve the things that are superior, being instructed from the law,

NLT: You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law.

KJV: And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;

NKJV: and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,

Paul is building a devastating if-then statement in this section of verses. He is addressing those who would call themselves Jews, who rely on the law, and who boast in God. The prior verse referred to those who identified as Jewish, depending on the law and confident in their relationship to God.

Now he further defines the people he is talking to. These people do not simply rely on the law of Moses. Through it, they know God's will, and they use His law as a standard by which to decide if anything is excellent. They can do this because they have been so well taught from Moses' law.

After building up this group for all their knowledge and understanding, Paul will challenge their actual behavior in the following verses. The larger point he is making is about their misplaced confidence. These people have confidence that God will not judge their sin, because of their identification with the law. This is assurance aimed in the wrong place. Paul uses this idea to show how the Jewish people are as guilty as the Gentiles, and must be saved by grace and not the law.

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.

Accessed 4/29/2024 4:08:47 AM