Paul's words that God is not partial would seem clear for every believer. And, generally, speaking about it, we mean first of all the incorruptibility of God and His justice. Our expectations of God's judgment are connected first of all with the fact that in His judgment each will receive according to the merit, including the one, who for some reasons managed...
Paul's words that God is not partial would seem clear for every believer. And, generally, speaking about it, we mean first of all the incorruptibility of God and His justice. Our expectations of God's judgment are connected first of all with the fact that in His judgment each will receive according to the merit, including the one, who for some reasons managed to avoid a just judgment on earth, also as the one who sought justice from earthly judges and was not able to find it. In other words, we see in God the guardian of justice, as we understand it, such a guardian, who can make what we cannot because the fallen world according to the word of the Savior "lies in evil".
But however the purposes of God, it seems, are completely different. And the notion of justice also. His task is not the restoration of justice, but the salvation of all those, who can be saved. Of course, it is absolutely important here the spiritual and moral choice of man. It is too difficult to save someone who does not find necessary to respect the commandments given by God. And not because God gets angry with such people, but because commandments were never given by God to the people as an exceptionally moral code. They were always first of all, the description of this spiritual way, which led man to God, by deepening and strengthening his relationship with God. Or the way, which, on the contrary, led far away the man from God, if this one chose the way of the violation of the commandments. And it is not easy to save the one who runs far away from you.
And the problem here is not in the fact that God has no possibilities of influencing on those who violate the commandments given by Him, but in the fact that He respects too much the freedom of each of us to save us by force, without our agreement on it. But only if man is ready to leave behind his sin and his opposition to God, if he is ready to be converted and to repent, God accepts him as if he had no sin. God is not the guardian of morality and justice; He is the God of love and salvation.
For him, it is not important who was man, when he sinned, for Him it is important who is the man who addresses Him here and now. And really especially it is not important for God, which views and convictions holds the man who addresses Him. For him, it is not even important if the one who addresses Him is religious or not. One thing is important: how the one who addresses is going to build from now on his life: according to God's will or contrary to it. Indeed, it is only that which defines, if the one who addresses can enter the Kingdom, or will stay outside it, in the external darkness.
2
2:1 Therefore - The apostle now makes a transition from the gentiles to the Jews, till, at Rom 2:6, he comprises both. Thou art inexcusable - Seeing knowledge without practice only increases guilt. O man - Having before spoken of the gentile in the third person, he addresses the Jew in the second person. But he calls him by a common appellation, as not acknowledging him to be a Jew.See verses Rom 2:17, Rom 2:28. Whosoever thou art that judgest - Censurest, condemnest.For in that thou judgest the other - The heathen.Thou condemnest thyself; for thou doest the same things - In effect; in many instances.
2:2 For we know - Without thy teaching That the judgment of God - Not thine, who exceptest thyself from its sentence. Is according to truth - Is just, making no exception, Rom 2:5, Rom 2:6, Rom 2:11; and reaches the heart as well as the life, Rom 2:16.
2:3 That thou shalt escape - Rather than the gentile.
2:4 Or despisest thou - Dost thou go farther still, - from hoping to escape his wrath, to the abuse of his love?.The riches - The abundance. Of his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering - Seeing thou both hast sinned, dost sin, and wilt sin. All these are afterwards comprised in the single word goodness. Leadeth thee - That is, is designed of God to lead or encourage thee to it.
2:5 Treasurest up wrath - Although thou thinkest thou art treasuring up all good things. O what a treasure may a man lay up either way, in this short day of life! To thyself - Not to him whom thou judgest. In the day of wrath, andrevelation, and righteous judgment of God - Just opposite to "the goodness and forbearance and longsuffering" of God. WhenGod shall be revealed, then shall also be "revealed" the secrets of men's hearts, Rom 2:16.Forbearance and revelation respect God, and are opposed to each other; longsuffering and righteous judgment respect the sinner; goodness and wrath are words of a more general import.
2:6 Pro 24:12
2:7 To them that seek for glory - For pure love does not exclude faith, hope, desire, Co1 15:58.
2:8 But to them that are contentious - Like thee, O Jew, who thus fightest against God. The character of a false Jew is disobedience, stubbornness, impatience. Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish - Alluding to Psa 78:49"He cast upon them," the Egyptians. "thefierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble;" and finely intimating, that the Jews would in the day of vengeance be more severely punished than even the Egyptians were when God made their plagues so wonderful.
2:9 Of the Jew first - Here we have the first express mention of the Jews in this chapter. And it is introduced with great propriety. Their having been trained up in the true religion, and having had Christ and his apostles first sent to them, will place them in the foremost rank of the criminals that obey not the truth.
2:10 But glory - Just opposite to "wrath," from the divine approbation. Honour - Opposite to "indignation," by the divine appointment; and peace now and for ever, opposed to tribulation and anguish.
2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God - He will reward every one according to his works. But this is well consistent with his distributing advantages and opportunities of improvement, according to his own good pleasure.