Under Law And Without Law

Romans – A Treatise
Chapter Two
UNDER THE LAW AND WITHOUT THE LAW

Scripture Reading: verses 12-16

FOR AS MANY AS HAVE SINNED WITHOUT LAW SHALL ALSO PERISH WITHOUT LAW: AND AS MANY AS HAVE SINNED IN THE LAW SHALL BE JUDGED BY THE LAW; (FOR NOT THE HEARERS OF THE LAW ARE JUST BEFORE GOD, BUT THE DOERS OF THE LAW SHALL BE JUSTIFIED. 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: WHICH SHEW THE WORK OF THE LAW WRITTEN IN THEIR HEARTS, THEIR CONSCIENCE ALSO BEARING WITNESS, AND THEIR THOUGHTS THE MEAN WHILE ACCUSING OR ELSE EXCUSING ONE ANOTHER;) IN THE DAY WHEN GOD SHALL JUDGE THE SECRETS OF MEN BY JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL.

It requires serious concentration to follow the abstruse argument of the great apostle in this passage. Yet the truth he presents is fundamentally important to properly understanding God’s ways with us in the Christian era.

Keep in mind, this is the prosecutor’s side of evidence in bringing his charges against the sinner. A little further on in the Epistle, we shall, so to speak, hear from the lawyer for the defense. But here Paul is setting forth the charges against those who have rebelled against God, and who must be brought before the bar of God's judgment, guilty according to the deeds which they have done. Without this logical groundwork of the Gospel there would be no proper standing before God for the forgiven sinner. In other words, it is necessary that every charge be set forth in detail before the sinner can be justified on the principle of obedient faith. Remember this as we consider the Epistle.

In verses 13 to 15 we have a parenthesis which touches on the question of the guilt of those who are under law and those who are not. Concerning those under law (Israel), who were placed categorically under the law of Moses, they are guilty because they have been hearers of the law and not doers. There the prosecution rests, for it need go no further. The question at once arises regarding the Gentile: what is the prosecutor's charge against the Gentiles who were never under law and who surely cannot be held responsible for breaking a law never given to them. That is taken up conclusively in verse fourteen:

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: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.¹

As lawyer for the prosecution, Paul is setting forth the charge that because the Gentiles were not acquainted with the terms of the commandments of God under Moses, they are not clear of guilt. He reminds us that man is an intelligent being with both a heart and conscience, and even though he has never heard the law of Moses, he still has within his own being a sense of right and wrong. Having that sense in heart and conscience, his thoughts either accuse or excuse. In other words, the moment a wicked deed is done, the thoughts of man’s intelligent being either condemn or accuse him. If it is a good deed he is excused, because that is right. If it is a wicked deed he is accused, because his own conscience condemns him.

Our natural tendency is to make light of sin. This was the devil’s first temptation when he approached Eve in the Garden of Eden. He did not come with a direct accusation against God. He sowed the seed of doubt in the woman's heart. His first question to her, “Yea, hath God said?” In other words, he cast aspersion on the Word of God, raised a doubt in the woman’s mind, and found her predisposed to disobey the God who had made her. Had Eve been a creature without heart or conscience without affection toward God or her husband; had she been a creature without any sense of responsibility to her Maker, then she could not have been accused of sin. But our first parents had both of these. They had affection, which made them capable of appreciating the love of God and one another. They also had conscience, making them capable of realizing their obligation and responsibility toward Creator God.

This is still the great criterion as to whether or not we are guilty. Unless mentally incompetent, we have both heart and conscience and are capable of loving God and neighbor. Also, we are capable of realizing our obligation to our Maker and neighbor.

The charge on the part of the prosecution is that both Jews (under law), and Gentiles (not under law but having heart and conscience), are without excuse. If they have perpetrated wicked deeds they are guilty: if good, they are guiltless. Now, notice that we have not yet come to that section in this Epistle that declares all have sinned. The great legal argument has not yet reached that point. Paul is now setting forth the premises and showing that the criterion in the life of the creature is: Does he do evil? If so, he is a criminal. Does he do good? If so, he is excused. Doing good is not a merit; it is merely performing that which his heart and conscience dictate as being right before his Maker.

Now, laying aside that parenthesis from verse 13 to the end of verse 15, let us go back to verse 12 and link it with verse 16, which is the true context:

For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. . . . In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.²

Here we have an enlargement of the subject under discussion. Paul bridges over the entire court trial, so to speak. He leads beyond the legal deliberations of the court, wherein it will be settled regarding whether we are all sinners, guilty before God, or whether we can be justified. He goes beyond all that, and, when he speaks of our being brought into judgment, he says that judgment is in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ – not according to the law of Moses; not according to our conscience; not according to any other element, but “according to my gospel.”

Judgment in that day will not only be on the basis of breaking the law or performing acts of wickedness, but rather according to Paul’s Gospel. And what is that Gospel? He tells us in chapter one, it is “the gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, how we stand in relation to Christ.

Footnotes:
¹ These verses reveals that God’s righteous judgment will take into account the light people had or did not have. Paul never implied in these verses that the ancient Gentiles were all saved, because they had lived up to all the light they had; for he repeatedly made it clear that they did not do that. Therefore, it seems this parenthesis would best be viewed as setting forth the basis of judgment. Those who believe that they find some basis for what is called Paul’s universalism in this passage must go beyond what is written in order to do so. Paul’s intimation that Gentiles might do by nature the things of the law shows that the eternally righteous God will certainly take into account all of the good conduct of any Gentiles whose lives might warrant doing so, even though they were not under a specific law like the Jews; but the practical verdict had already been stated in verse 12, “that as many as sinned without law shall also perish without law.” From this, and the whole tenor of Paul’s letter, it is clear that Paul’s great proposition is that both Jews and Gentiles have failed to achieve any true righteousness, or to be justified in any adequate sense. This was due to the failure of the Jews, who, having the law, treated it as a charm or a talisman rather than honoring it by their obedience; and it was also due to the failure of the Gentiles who were not any more proficient in living up to the light they had than were the Jews. Thus, these two verses are an apostolic enunciation of the great truth that God will judge every man according to the light he has, and not according to the light he has not. If, in antiquity, there were any Gentiles who truly lived up to the light they had, one may rest assured that God will reward them. In speaking of these things, so utterly beyond the unaided knowledge of man, it should always be assumed as an axiom that “God is too wise to make a mistake and too good to do anything wrong.”
² This concluding statement of the paragraph shows that the theme of the general judgment on the last day was under discussion; and two more propositions relative to that final scene are added here, as follows: The final judgment will be according to the New Testament. The judgment will be by Christ as Judge. According to my gospel … Since Paul was the principal author of the New Testament, the extended meaning of the world’s being judged by Paul’s Gospel is that it will be judged by the New Testament, there being no disunity whatever between Peter’s Gospel, Paul’s Gospel, and Matthew’s Gospel, etc. It is the entire New Testament that shall confront people in judgment. Jesus Christ declared of His Word, that the same should judge men in the last day (John 12:48); and there is no other authentic source than the New Testament for either the Words of the Master or the Gospel of Paul. By Jesus Christ ... The fact of the judgment’s being “by Jesus Christ” is comprehensive: 1) Christ is to be the judge (John 5:22). 2) Christ’s Word is the basis of judgment (John 12:48). 3) The word of the apostles is also part of the platform of eternal judgment (2 Peter 3:2). 4) All authority in heaven and upon earth belongs to Christ (Matt. 28:18-20). My gospel ... does not imply any difference between Paul and other New Testament authors. It is simply a term of endearment, such as “my God” (Rom. 1:8). Paul’s use of this expression in the context could also be his way of emphasizing the truth that the doctrine of eternal judgment was indeed a valid and prominent element in his teaching. Right down to the very last word of this section (Rom. 2:1-16), the final judgment of all mankind is the theme, with special emphasis on the principles on which that judgment will be executed. The secrets of men ... include the inner thoughts, hidden motives, all actions concealed or hidden from others. In fact, the judgment will be of the whole man, as only God sees, knows, and understands him. By way of summarizing thoughts on these 16 verses (Rom. 2:1-16), two things should be kept in mind: 1) that the subject treated in this section is that of the final judgment, handled in such a manner by the apostle as to vindicate the righteousness of the just Judge who shall conduct it, and to reveal the basic principles of God’s law that will form the basis of it; and 2) that the persons to whom this passage was particularly addressed were the antagonistic Jews, who, unlike the noble Jews who formed the very first nucleus of Christians (including Paul), were in a state of utmost wickedness and rebellion against God, despite which they still imagined that they would inherit salvation because of the privileges of Judaism. We cannot overlook the fact that in this passage as a whole the apostle is concerned with the unbelieving Jew. Therefore, when it is reflected upon that these entire 16 verses are taken up completely by a discussion of judgment to come and directed to the enlightenment of an exceedingly wicked class of citizens who were in a state of totally rejecting Christ and denying the Gospel, any allegation that this section pertains to self-righteousness and Phariseeism among Christians must be denied; although, to be sure, the principles Paul taught here are applicable to the entirety of mankind. Romans 2:17-19, which follow, constitute a section where Paul pointedly applied the principles just enunciated to those persons he had in mind. They were Jews, that is, certain wicked Jews, and not necessarily all Jews, Paul himself being a noble and righteous Jew. The class confronted with these words were those who felt that their knowledge of the law of Moses, the fact of their having been circumcised, their descent from Abraham, and other high privileges which they enjoyed – that all these things would entitle them to be judged upon some other basis than a mere question of whether they were wicked or holy. It seems nearly incredible that any rational being with the most elementary knowledge of God could possibly be so self-deceived; and yet, from what is written here, it must be received as fact that the people Paul had in view were certainly so deceived. In this section, there is first an enumeration of the prerogatives upon which certain Jews based their false hopes (Rom. 2:17-20); then comes a withering charge of hypocrisy (Rom. 2:21-24); and next follows a particular discussion of circumcision, the truth regarding that rite being so presented that not even that honored ceremony could any longer be claimed as efficacious by those whose lives did not measure up to the covenant of which that rite was only a sign (Rom. 2:25-29).