Verse by Verse

¹² For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law

Law, the first time it is used here is, specifically, the revealed law, not just a principle — everyone will be judged on the basis of what has been revealed to them.

The second law is external law, not conscience.

The final law refers to the Law of Sinai, the Old Testament law.

Perish = loss of well-being, not loss of being. There is no word in Scripture that speaks of total annihilation.

Sin brings forth death — period — apart from the law.

Those without law will be judged, just not on the basis of the law.

Those with the law will be judged on the basis of the law.

¹⁰ but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

¹¹ For there is no partiality with God.

Peace = acceptance with God and the happiness that results

works = a simple effort as opposed to the perseverance of evil in verse 9.

no partiality = without regard for circumstances of birth.

⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,

⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

self-seeking= those who create rivalry or factions, those who resist the will and way of God.

Obey = habitual course of conduct, yielding to and cooperating with unrighteousness, by impulse

Wrath = the feeling of God’s anger.

Indignation = the manifestation of the feeling.

Tribulation = suffering

Anguish = shut up without the possibility of escape, distress.

So, wrath is God’s attitude toward sin, indignation is His expression of that wrath. Tribulation is the result of His expression and anguish is the realization of what is taking place.

Soul = person

Because the gospel was to the Jew first, so are the consequences of unrighteousness. With greater privilege comes greater responsibility.

First = especially

What Paul is doing in these verses is establishing that God rewards the good. Soon he will show that there are no good to reward.

⁶ who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:

⁷ eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;

The judgment for the unsaved will be before the Great White Throne where those who do not believe will receive differing degrees of punishment based on their knowledge and behavior.

The judgment for the saved will be at the Judgment Seat where believers will be rewarded according to their deeds.

doing good — In this dispensation this means trusting Christ. Only what is done in Christ is good. The first step is faith. Then, and only then in Christ one can continue to do good.

Glory = rewards

Honor = God’s esteem

Immortality = should be translated “incorruption.” We already have immortality.

God would reward the good — if there were any. But in Romans 3:10, Paul says There are none righteous.

⁴ Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

⁵ But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Goodness = kindness

Forbearance = willingness to tolerate, withholding punishment

Longsuffering = patience which continues forgiving until the hope of repentance is gone

Not knowing — willful ignorance

Repentance = a change of mind

treasuring up = stockpile God’s wrath by impenitence

In other words — Are you ignoring and sneering at God’s patience with your sins? Don’t you know that His patience is intended to show you your need to turn to Him? The more you ignore Him, the greater will be your punishment.

  ² But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

³ And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

According to the truth — according to facts with nothing hidden, according to God’s unerring assessment.

Judgment — In verse 2 “judgment” is an adverse sentence. In verse 3, it is the carrying out of the sentence.

Paul is referring to the moralizer who is of the opinion that he doesn’t sin because he doesn’t sin outwardly and that he will escape judgment. Paul says that that person sins inwardly (and probably outwardly too) and will not escape judgment.

1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

The “therefore” is referring to the fact of the universal knowledge of sin and its consequences as mentioned in 1:32.

Paul is saying that moralists — by which he means “civilized” people such as the Jews, Greeks and Romans — are wrong for judging the heathen (Gentiles) because they are guilty of the same sins inwardly as the heathen are outwardly.

When you recognize sin in others, you prove your own awareness of right and wrong and so are without excuse for your own sins.

judge = distinguish between right and wrong and pass and adverse sentence on

Same things — referring in particular to the sins mentioned in 1:29-31.

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Who — this word indicates that the statement to come refers back to the list of sins in verses 29-31.

Knowing the judgment of God — again, deliberate denial of God

Judgment — what God has declared to be right

Commit (practice) = course of conduct

Death — termination of life plus Divine penalty

Do — repeated acts

Pleasure — hearty approval of sinfulness

The progress in this verse is this: Men sin, then justify it in themselves, then condone it in others.

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.

Filled = saturated (not just tainted), full up

Unrighteousness = injustice, not right with God

Covetous = wanting more

Envy = disquiet with other’s advantages

Debate = strife

Whisperers = conveying information detrimental to others

Backbiter = evil speaker

Disobedient to parents = not persuaded by

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.

Did not like — forgetting God is a deliberate action, a self-willed choice. Man refused to remember God, so God rejects man as if he failed a test.

God gave man over to what man wanted.

Reprobate = unapproving, undiscerning

To do those things — restraining influences are removed

Not convenient = not fit, not of benefit to man’s nature as God’s creations

Psalm 14:1-3 — The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.