Accomplices

Romans 2:1 Accomplices

The text shows that the Jews were no less guilty that the Gentiles, and that they needed the benefit of the same salvation . . . they had greater light than the Gentiles; and yet that they did the same things. Still they were in the habit of accusing and condemning the Gentiles as wicked and abandoned; while they excused themselves on the ground that they possessed the Law and the oracles of God, and were his favorite people (Barnes) Those like the Jews are in Churches today. They’ve been baptized, they go to church, they belong to a church, they keep the rules, and they act on a moral basis outwardly. They’re self-righteous, they try to do what’s right, and they just don’t think they’re going to be judged. They say, “I’m might screw up occasionally but I asked Jesus into my heart, I’m saved. God would never judge me. I mean I’ve been a good person.” But in the end the will incur God’s wrath. Asking Jesus into your heart and living like Jesus is in your heart are two different things.

Identification of Sinners Therefore you

Paul previously addresses the deplorable and depraved sinful behavior of the Gentiles (1:18-32), here he focuses on the despicable behavior of the sinful self-righteous behavior of the Jews and moralists. He divides humanity into two groups, Jews and Gentiles, throughout Romans (1:16, 2:9, 3:9, 9:24, etc).The scope is primarily to the Jews but also is broader than just the Jews. Although the behavior describes the Jews, he doesn’t directly identify them until v. 17. Paul paints a morbid picture of the debauchery of the Gentiles (1:28-32), but now all Gentiles were abandoned by God to sexually and socially promiscuous behavior. (John Scott). Many Gentiles, like Seneca, held moral virtues, exposed hypocrisy, advocated equality among all human beings (F.F. Bruce). So the text “you” can be considered directed not only to the Jews, but “moral” Gentiles and all moralist, including professing Christians who think they are exempt from God’s judgement because they have not sunk into the pagan immoral extremes Paul has previously mentioned “therefore” (Mac Arthur).

There are similarities between 1:32 and 2:1-3 Both groups have a certain knowledge of God as creator (1:20) or as judge (1:32, 2:2), and both contradict their behavior, they “do such things” (1:32, 2:2) as Paul described. The first group does things they know to be wrong and approve of others doing the same (1:32), . . . the second group does what they know to be wrong and condemn others who do them, which is hypocritical. The first group disassociates themselves entirely from God’s righteous decree, in regard to themselves and others; whereas the second group deliberately identify themselves with God’s decrees by setting themselves up as judges, only to find that they are being judged for doing the same things (Scott).

Intelligence about sin

The knowledge of God’s word brings responsibility for Godly behavior. Greater knowledge brings greater accountability (James 3:100.

Recognition of Sin: practice the same things Every Jew and Christian knows what sin is. Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4) Gk Hamartia sin, it means to miss the mark, to err, be mistaken, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong and to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin. So sin is missing the mark, Sin

is knowing what to do and not doing it (James 4:17) It is falling short of the Glory of God (Rom 3:23). Sin is vile, ugly, odious, malignant, pestilent, hideous, spiteful, abominable, and deadly (Bridges). When the Jews (and Christians) should have been glorifying God with their behavior they actually were blaspheming his name among the Gentiles by their behavior (2:24, Is 52:5). There is no doubt as Paul was detailing the sinful behavior of the Gentiles (1:29-30), the Jewish (and Christian) readers could identify their own sinfulness in the list. Sin is more than wrong actions, unkind words or even those evil thoughts that we never express. Sin is a principle or moral force in our hearts, our inner beings. Our sinful behavior is simply expressions of the principle of sin residing in us (our flesh Rom 7;8-11), even in those whose hearts have been renewed. (Bridges) If not dealt with sin can become a destructive cancer that becomes the fertile soil in which “acceptable” sins can grow (Bridges)

Repercussions of sin: you condemn yourself God will judge sin, all sin. God is just, and his just judgment is coming not only on the so-called pagan people who live in sin, but also on the moral and religious people who disdain the pagan people, while doing many things that show they don't trust and love God. (Piper). To be just he has to respond to sin according to his righteous standard. God is perfect and cannot be satisfied with anything less than perfection (Matt 5:48). We all fall short of his divine standard and are therefore deserving of judgment, however good we might be. This is why the perfect righteousness of Christ must be imputed to us by faith. (Boice). Previously Paul spoke of God’s wrath or judgement upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (1:18). This encompasses both believers and nonbelievers (1 Cor 5:10, Matt 25:31ff). Believers even though they have escaped condemnation and unbelievers alike will stand before the judgement seat of Christ. We will all stand alone before God (Sproul). Sin brings death (Rom 5:12, 6:23) and those who “practice” sin deserve to die (1:32). Judgement for sin is inescapable (1:20, 2:1). Judgement for sin is not just at the end of time, but now. The wrath of God is revealed (present tense) (1:18). Many, even believers, continue in sin because they don’t “see” the immediate out pouring of his judgment on their sins. So they continue unabated in their rebellion. But, God is judging sin, by giving them up to the sinful lusts of their hearts (1:24), dishonorable passions (1:26), and a debase mind (1:28). God’s judgement is dispensed when He gives someone over to their own sinful desires where if they continue in sin will eventually destroy His creation and ultimately destroy themselves (Ferguson) The problem is that our critical faculties are so well developed (and hidden) that we become experts in our moral evaluation of others, we can hardly plead ignorance of moral issues ourselves, thus we condemn ourselves in condemning others (Stott). People are self-condemned when they practice what they condemn in others (Romans 2:1) (Coffman) When you show the law of God as applied to somebody else, you prove that you know that law, and in knowing that law you condemn yourself. If you show that you can judge everybody else, then you show that you ought to be judged by that same standard. If you know it so well to apply it to other people, you better make sure it isn’t going to be applied to you. (Matt 7:1-5) To exaggerate the faults of others and minimize our own is a fatal flaw among believers. The Jews (and many Christians) thought they were exempt because they were “good people”. Not only are you not exempt, you’re even more inexcusable, and you prove it because you are applying the law to somebody else, which proves you know it, and it’s going to condemn you, too.” (MacArthur)

Implication regarding Sin

Most Jews in Paul’s day believed in the idea of performing certain moral or religious works produced righteousness. The thought they could earn God’s favor and therefore eternal life by keeping the Mosaic law. The believed they were exempt from God’s judgement simply because they were Jews. They were firmly convinced that God would judge the Gentiles for their idolatry and immorality, but that no Jew would ever experience such condemnation. They held because they were the seed of Abraham even if they were sinners and disobedient towards God they would still share in eternal life. (MacArthur). The principal ground on which the Jews expected acceptance with God, was the covenant which he had made with their father Abraham, in which he promised to be a God to him and to his seed after him. They understood this promise to secure salvation for all who retained their connection with Abraham, by the observance of the law and the rite of circumcision. They expected, therefore, to be regarded and treated not so much as individuals, each being dealt with according to his personal character, but as a community to whom salvation was secured by the promise made to Abraham (Hodge). Paul was affirming here that God's conclusion of Jews under sin was upon exactly the same basis of his having so included the Gentiles, that is, upon the basis of their wickedness. It was the peculiar guilt of those persons here spoken of that, despite their wickedness, they imagined themselves to have been the heirs of eternal life because of descent from Abraham, membership in the chosen race, circumcision, etc. The same temptation exists today when people think to be saved through membership in some group, or because they have been baptized, or because they attend church, or partake of the Lord's supper - or upon any grounds whatever apart from obedient faith in Christ's teaching and that holiness invariably identified with membership in the body of Christ. (Lenski)

Involvement in Sin

Although the Jews may be innocent of the vices mentioned, they nevertheless fell short of God’s righteous, higher standard (Bioce). the Jews could not justify their condemnation of the Gentiles. The reason their condemnation was unwarranted is found in1b. The Gentiles had sinned but the Jews were guilty of these same sins. When the Jews saw the Gentiles sin, they were quick to judge and condemn. When they looked at their own lives, they refused to acknowledge they were guilty of the same wrongs. (Price). Thus, they were inexcusable in their sins, that they must be condemned in the sight of God, on the same ground on which they condemned the Gentiles; to wit, that they had light and yet committed wickedness. If the Gentiles were without excuse (1:20) in their sins, much more would the Jew, who condemned them, be without excuse on the same ground. This does not mean that they were inexcusable for judging others; but that they had no excuse for their sins before God; or that they were under condemnation for their crimes, and needed the benefits of another plan of justification. (Barnes) Here the Jews are pronounced guilty of the same sins of which he had accused the Gentiles, affirming, that the Jews had offended as much against the law of Moses, as the Gentiles had offended against the law of nature; and consequently, their censuring and judging others, when they did the same things themselves, would render them totally inexcusable at God's tribunal. (Burkitt). There is a tendency to be critical of everybody except ourselves. We are often as harsh in our judgment of others as we are lenient towards ourselves. We work ourselves up in to a state of self-righteous indignation over the disgraceful behavior of other people, while the very same behavior seems not nearly so serious when it is ours rather than theirs. (Stott) Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:1-10) We all need stones thrown at us rather then casting stones at others. You can be a highly respectable person morally, and yet ungodly. The most ungodly people are those whose ideas of God are most typically wrong, are those who have never really felt that they are sinners (or that their sin is not that bad compared to the horrendous sins of others). The Jews said they were the people of God, and used the name of God, and went regularly to the temple, yet they were guilt of ungodliness. They were envious, deceitful whisperers, backbiters, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil, covenant-breakers and unmerciful just to mention a few that Paul lists in 1:29-32. (Lloyd Jones). No one can understand and appropriate salvation apart from recognizing that he stands guilty and condemned before God, totally unable to bring himself up to God’s standard of righteousness. (Mac Arthur). John Newton said, I am a great sinner and Christ is a great savior” Until we plummeted the deeps and twistedness and subtlety of our own sinfulness, we may sing about Amazing Grace, but we will never feel that grace is amazing (Ferguson).

Insights for Saints

God be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13) This cry of a penitent tax collector must be the mantra of every born again believer. Far too often sin is deflected away from the saints. It is deflected to those outside the church toward those who have flagrant sins, abortion, homosexuality, pornography, etc. It is easy for believers to condemn those obvious sins while ignoring our own sins of gossip, pride, envy, bitterness, and lust . . . . Christians also deflect sin by being more concerned about the sins of society (causes) rather than the sins of the saints . . . we often indulge in . . . the respectable or even acceptable sins without any sense of sin. Our gossip or unkind words about a brother or sister in Christ rolls easily off our tongues without any awareness of wrongdoing. We harbor hurts over wrongs long past without any effort to forgive as God has forgiven us. We look down our religious noses at “sinners” in society without any sense of a humble “there but for the grace of God go I” spirit (Jerry Bridges in Respectable Sins). We judge others when we forget our own sinfulness and our daily need for God’s mercy. Just because mercy has been given once doesn’t mean it’s not needed again and again. His mercies never come to an end they are new every morning. (Lam 3:22-23). As long as we dwell in this body (the flesh) we will daily battle sin and we daily need and new outpouring of God’s mercy and grace.