Chapter 2
V1-2 judge/krino. Under NO circumstances are we to ever judge other unredeemed human beings, even if one is living in covenant relationship with Elohim as a new man, for we were once lost and it is only by the grace and mercy of Elohim that we are afforded this privilege, which is not accomplished by any work of ours. Instead we should fervently fight spiritually against the forces of darkness to win those souls that are lost, as we once were. We are condemned to sin by the very DNA inherited from our first Adamic father, so no matter how good our deeds may be, we tend to buckle from time to time under the constant, continuous pressures we are subjected to by the cohorts of Satan, visible or invisible. We still reside in corruptible bodies, and hence have no right to throw stones from our glass houses. Only the judgment of Elohim which is truth, may be dispensed upon any of His creation.
It is crucially important however, to be aware of the restriction and the right to judge those who are in the body of Messiah, who may have gone astray in their walk, in order not to allow them to contaminate the rest of the members of the body. This is to ensure that the Holiness of Yeshua our Messiah is not blasphemed cf 1 Cor chapter 5.
V3-6 If Elohim were so patient to wait for us to surrender to him (cf Daniel ch 4 where Nebuchadnezzar, despite his most vilest of atrocities, still found favour and forgiveness, once his soul surrendered with a contrite heart to the true Elohim), then who are we to be so impatient to condemn those who are yet to see the light and truth of Messiah, as we so graciously did before it was too late for us? Those who judge the lost, shall without doubt be judged too, possibly inclusive of every sin committed prior to being redeemed by Yeshua’s blood even. This is not a matter to be trifled with. It surely can disqualify, deem redundant and declare null and void all the other good that you might have done in your life prior to judging others, as v6 clearly warns.
V6 cf Ps 62:12-Clarifies that the mercy/chesed/grace of Elohim renders to every man according to his works. Faith is not mentioned because it is presumed that one would be expressing that faith through exemplary works. The two (faith and works) are NOT mutually exclusive and must both be concurrently operating in a believer’s life.
V7-11 There shall be 2 judgement days/periods:
a. Bema seat judgement-that of the righteous after Yeshua’s second coming cf 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Cor 9:24-27 and
b. Great white throne judgement-That of the unrighteous after the millennial reign of Yeshua on earth cf Rev 20:11-15
V7 clearly states that patient continuous good works/deeds for the purpose of seeking eternal life which is composed of glory, honour and immortality. The ‘once saved always saved’ doctrine is immediately relegated to the trash can, and the doctrine of ‘faith only’, devoid of Torah-keeping/ good works, is also immediately disqualified cf Jm 2:14-26; Matt 7:21-23,26-27; Tit 3:8
V9-11-although Elohim is no respecter of persons, His judgement begins with those entrusted with His Torah and gospel cf 1 Pet4:17-18; Eze 9:6; Heb 13:17.
V12 age-old question has remained almost unanswered as to what happens to those Gentiles, who never had the opportunity to hear the gospel, on the day of judgement. Will they be unfairly condemned to the lake of fire? Or might they through ignorance be granted a free pass into eternal life? The answers lie in this whole chapter, commencing in verses 5 and 6, where we are informed of the yardstick that shall be used by our great Judge Yeshua, the Messiah cf Jn 5:22,27. Our deeds on earth, shall be used to judge mankind. Mankind is composed of body, soul and spirit. The soul defines who we are where our mind, will and emotions are expressed. The soul’s decisions are either susceptible to the carnal inclinations of the flesh, wherein is the law of sin; or to the warnings of the mind where our spirit resides, which we loosely refer to as our conscience. It is in the mind wherein the law of Yehovah inherently resides that defines good and evil cf Rom 7:18-25. Hence to those over the course of history, who never had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Torah truth, their response to their conscience to choose good over evil versus their susceptibility to succumb to the evil nature of the flesh, will be used to judge them, outside of the parameters of the codified Torah of Moses. Those who have had the opportunity to know of Torah, however shall be more accountable as there will practically be no excuse for having not abided by the written law that defines good and evil. Also, cf Rev 20:12-15.
V13-16 Why is it that Paul’s epistles are claimed to do away with the law when he clearly in more than just this instance reiterates that Torah-keeping is central to a believer’s life? V13 clearly states this. We are indeed justified by faith, yet those of faith need to be doers of the law in order to qualify their faith! Even Gentiles with a good heart, unknowingly do Yehovah’s will to their eternal benefit. Judgement shall be based on the secrets in men’s hearts, wherein the Torah is written in this new covenant prophesied of in Jer 31:33.
V17-23-the Jews inclusive of all grafted into the commonwealth of Israel Rom 11:20-24, are expected to know Torah and to uphold it in fullness if they are to qualify their faith. Coals shall only be added upon the heads of self-appointed gate keepers of truth, who fail to live exemplary Torah-keeping lives in the midst of the very congregations that they preach to. By teaching that Torah is null and void, these deluded shepherds have led innumerable members of the flock astray, and shall account for their folly to a greater degree than the congregation members cf Matt 23:13,15; 7:21-23
V24 cf Isa 52:5; Eze 36:21. Both these OT passages clearly define in the narrative blasphemy of YHVH’s name being due to sacrilege of the Torah. Paul is simply doing a commentary on these passages and not nullifying them.
V25 The Jews accepting of Yeshua as Messiah, were greatly perturbed by new converts in Gentile lands partaking in communion with Elohim in their Synagogues on their Sabbath assemblies. They still had the proselyte mentality of forcing circumcision upon new Gentile converts, before even teaching them the basic tenets of scripture which would elucidate the need for eating Kosher, circumcision etc. They were putting the cart before the horse, and this most likely was a hindrance for Gentiles to accept conversion, as they did not understand the need.
The council of Jerusalem in Acts 15: 1-21 stipulated that the new Gentile convert, devoid of understanding was at the very least required to observe the weightier commandments of Torah outlined in Acts 15:20, and were to then with time be educated every Sabbath in the synagogues of Moses’ teachings of Torah, in order to in a sense bring them up to speed gradually. A gung-ho approach of conversion is in most instances met with hostility as opposed to patient preaching and teaching with a defined end goal cf Matt 10;16.
Note: being circumcised is a necessity as a sign of faith in YHVH, sealed in the immutable Abrahamic covenant of Gen 17:13-14, Eze 44:7,9. However it is not a ‘once saved always saved’ covenant as the Jews in Paul’s time believed, as the rest of Torah must needs be observed. Paul later on explains how Abraham was redeemed first through faith and circumcised 25 years later.
V26-29 The uncircumcised refers to the ignorant Gentile, oblivious of Torah which was never preached to them. The circumcised refers to the Jew who knew Torah and should know better to observe it. Paul’s argument here is that why major on outward circumcision as a delineating factor and external identification mark of a believer, yet totally disregard the rest of Torah. This is a haughty, ethnically bigoted approach of identifying oneself as a believer, coupled with hypocrisy of the highest order. The uncircumcised ignorant Gentile whose conscience is clean and in line with the fundamental basis of Torah of loving thy neighbour as thyself Gal 5:14, is far better off than the nit-picking Jew cognizant of Torah, who chooses to major on part of Torah yet lives a loveless life and has total disregard of his neighbour cf Matt 23:23-24
In summary Rom 2, if it is read side by side with Matt 23, where Yeshua rebukes the scribes and Pharisees, it will be readily understood that Paul (who was a Pharisee of Pharisees, and hence knew of their nature) had the exact same understanding as Yeshua regarding how Torah was meant to be observed. Ch 2 and following chapters give a step by step guide into breaking down the preconceived misconstrued notions of the Jewish pharisaic mind of his day, which strove to keep in bondage the messianic believer (both Jew and Gentile). There were over 7000 laws created by the Pharisees from their Babylonian captivity through to Yeshua’s time, that ring-fenced and strangulated the simple essence of the 613 Torah laws, making it almost impossible for their victims, the Israeli congregation from fellowshipping with our heavenly Father.