Lesson 3: The Israelite Error

Apocalyptic scripture deals with the problem of keeping faith in spite of the evil and injustice in the world. It describes a time when God will suddenly intervene in the world, punishing evil and helping his people.[1]

A term that is often used for the time of God's final intervention is day of the Lord. Some of the Old Testament passages describe the day of the Lord as the time when Gentile nations are punished for their treatment of Israel.[2] Many Jews began to assume that as Jews they had nothing to fear from the judgment of God. The prophets tried to show them that they also would be judged if they were sinners (Zephaniah 1:12, Amos 5:18-27) and would not be spared simply because they were Jews; but the assumption remained.

It was difficult for Jews to accept the fact that they needed to be saved. For example, baptism was a ceremony that they used to bring Gentiles into Judaism. They did not baptize Jews. John the Baptist baptized Jews, and his practice offended some Jews who thought they did not need baptism or repentance. They thought they were favored by God because they were Abraham's children (Matthew 3:9).

In the book of Romans, Paul referred to the day of wrath (2:5) and the day when God judges (2:16). These references follow from his theme in 1:16-18, that the gospel is salvation from the wrath of God. In 2:2-3 he shocks self-righteous Jews with the fact that they also have reason to fear the day of the Lord. Even the Jews need salvation.

[1] Old Testament apocalyptic scripture includes Daniel, Zechariah, Joel, Ezekiel 37-39, and Isaiah 24-27. In the New Testament, we find Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13, 2 Thessalonians 2, and Revelation.

[2] Some examples are Zechariah 12 and Joel 3.

In this lesson, we continue with the study of Part 2 of the book of Romans. In the last lesson, we studied the passage that describes the Gentile error. This passage (2:1-29) describes the Israelite error.

Part 2 is 1:18-3:20. The main point of Part 2 is that everyone in the world has violated God's requirements and is under condemnation. No one can be saved on the basis of meeting God's requirements because every person has already violated them.

First, Paul explains that the Gentiles have rejected the knowledge of God and turned to idols and sinful desires. Then, he describes the condition of the Israelites, who had God’s law but did not obey it. We will now study the passage about the Israelites.

Here Paul changed from third person (they) to second person (you). He spoke to any people who thought the gospel did not apply to them because they already met a standard of righteousness. Most Jews were in that category, and this section does speak specifically to them (2:17); but Gentiles of high morals might also be in the same error. He shows that the person who thinks he is righteous without grace is hypocritical and guilty.

Main Point of Chapter 2

The Jews are guilty of the same sins the Gentiles commit and will be likewise judged by God.

Summary of Chapter 2

2:1, 11 make the main point. 2:1 states that Jews are equally guilty; 2:11 states that God is impartial. The rest of the chapter builds a case for the statements in those verses. They are inexcusable, just as the heathen are without excuse (1:20).

2:13, 17 show why the Jews expected to be favored – because they had received God's revelation and had religion based on it. In Romans 1, Paul established the fact that the Gentiles deserve judgment. Every Jew would agree with this. But in 2:1, Paul horrified the Jews by exposing their guilt. They had also broken the law and deserved the same judgment as the Gentiles! They had expected to be excused because they were Jews who acknowledged the law of God and had the right religion.

Millions of people today are in this category. They think that they are accepted by God because they believe in God and practice religious forms while they continue to sin.

► Are there many people in your society who mistakenly think they are Christians? Why do they think so?

► A student should read Romans 2:1-29 for the group.

Notes Verse-by-Verse

(2:1) That the Jews had no excuse corresponds to the condition of the Gentiles who were without excuse (1:20). That idea would have been just as shocking to a self-righteous Jew as it would be to the modern person who thinks he is good enough.

By judging others, they condemned themselves, because they were guilty of the same sins. Their knowledge of truth increased their responsibility. Jesus said that some cities in Israel would be judged worse than Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 11:21-24).

This verse refers to a person who thinks that he can judge others and yet count himself innocent. The rest of the chapter puts God in the role of judge and shows how different his judgment is from those who judge in a way that favors themselves.

(2:2-3) God's judgment is according to an absolute standard. God does not judge by the changing and inaccurate standards of men.

(2:4) God had given special attention to the Jews, so they thought he would also bend justice in their favor. Actually, his goodness to them was intended to lead them to repentance, not to cancel justice. Many people despise the goodness of God by seeing it as mere generosity and tolerance. What the worldly man wants from God is material benefit along with tolerance of his sin. To view God's goodness in this way is to despise it. Those who know about God are more guilty because his goodness gives them the opportunity to repent.

(2:5) The delay of time when they continued to sin instead of repenting was storing up wrath. Because they knew the truth, they were more accountable, and, therefore, the wrath of God increased against their disobedience.

(The following section is important for understanding the remainder of this chapter.)

► When we come to the judgment, will the things we did on earth be important?

The final judgment will be an evaluation of works. God will punish and reward people according to their actions. There will be different levels of punishment and reward for different people (Hebrews 2:2, Hebrews 10:28-29, Matthew 10:42, Luke 12:47-48, 2 Corinthians 5:10).

The idea that sinners are condemned only for unbelief is not scriptural. In Revelation 20:12, people are judged according to the record of their works. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says that we will all, including believers, be judged for our works. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 shows that Christians will receive varying rewards depending on their motives and diligence, and on the quality (gold, silver, precious stones; wood, hay, straw) of their workmanship. All Christians will be rewarded because all true Christians produce good works, but not all their works are equally valuable. Those works of believers which do not pass the test of quality will be consumed by fire.

Romans 2 implies that some people who have not heard the New Testament gospel will not be condemned for their works (see 2:7, 10, 13, 26-27). That does not mean that there are some people who never sinned and therefore can be accepted by works without grace; for 3:19-20 says that all have sinned. The people whose works are accepted are people who have an experience of grace called circumcision of the heart. Their works are approved by God (2:29).

This operation of grace in the heart was promised in the times of the Old Testament:

"And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live (Deuteronomy 30:6)."

Therefore, we know that the ancient Jews were saved by grace, not by works.

This grace was available to Gentiles, whether or not they had received Special Revelation.

"So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him' (Acts 10:34-35)."

Righteous works follow the change of heart, proving obedience to God. This proof is the basis of the final justification spoken of in Romans 2:13, 16, the justification at the final judgment.

The passage does not teach that a person can be saved by works, but that real obedience is what matters, not just possession of the law. This supports the point of the passage: that the Jews also need salvation because they have disobeyed.

Notes Verse-by-Verse continued

(2:7) God gives eternal life to those who seek the honor that comes from God by persisting in the works that please God.

(2:9) Here we see that the Jews’ privileges also bring greater accountability. Since the gospel came to the Jews first, they deserve the first judgment.

(2:11) This is a key verse of the chapter. Those who live in rebellion against God will be judged, with no favors given because they are religious.

James says that a man is justified not by faith alone, but also by works (James 2:24). But Paul said in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved by grace and not by works. In Romans 3:28, he said that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

So, are we justified by works and faith together, or are we justified only by faith? Did James and Paul contradict each other? No, because they were not talking about the same thing.

Paul is talking about how a person is justified before God. A person is made righteous by grace through faith.

James is talking about how a person is justified before other people. A person shows that he has saving faith by living faithfully.

The main point of James' epistle is to prove that real faith is applied in everyday living. He says that Abraham was justified by his works. A person is shown to be righteous by faith and works together. We know that a person is a Christian if he professes to be and also lives like a Christian.

Paul also affirmed that good works follow faith. In Ephesians 2:10, right after his statement that we are saved by faith, Paul said that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works.

James and Paul do not contradict each other. They would both agree that saving faith makes a person acceptable to God, and that works follow conversion and demonstrate that a person has been saved.

Notes Verse-by-Verse continued

(2:12) The written law will not be the standard of judgment for those who have never heard it. They will be condemned by the law that God revealed to them other ways. (See 1:20, 2:15.)

(2:13) That they will be justified points to the final judgment. Some people expected to be justified because they possessed the law. But knowledge of the law without obedience does not justify.

(2:14) The fact that they may do right by nature does not mean that they are naturally good without God. 2:15 shows that it is because of the law that God has written in their hearts and conscience that they can do what is right. “By nature” means that they do it by what God reveals in their nature without written scripture.

(2:15) Those who are without the written law still have the law in their moral nature and can make specific choices. This does not mean that the conscience is totally reliable. The conscience is not accurate in every detail, being influenced by environment and education; but it is a guide that is right in general. However, all people are sinners, even by that standard, because they have not always done what they know is right.

2:15, 16 show that judgment will not be just for outward deeds, but also for motives. (These verses speak of hearts, thoughts, conscience, and secrets.)

(2:16) The justification discussed in this passage (mentioned in 2:13) is not some alternative to being justified by faith. It is final justification, to be declared righteous at the last judgment.

These principles of judgment are essential to the gospel Paul preached. The gospel's good news of forgiveness is not significant without an understanding of God's judgment that will come on the unforgiven. Any error that undermines the proper view of God's justice will also undermine the gospel.

► What will happen to the heathen who have not heard the gospel? How can they deserve judgment for sin if they know no better?

Romans 2:14-16 implies that there are some who choose to do right and, therefore, will not be condemned. However, we know that no person will be saved by works. Everyone has broken the law and deserves judgment (3:9-10, 19-20). No person can be saved by the merit of his works. Therefore, if an unevangelized person is saved, it must be by grace through the atonement, even if he has not heard the gospel.

If a person reverences God, God will show him the way to come into relationship with him. Psalm 25:14 says, “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” God’s covenant shows us what is required for relationship with him. A relationship with God requires grace because all people have sinned. 

There were people such as Job, Balaam, and Noah who knew God though they had no scripture. There was Melchizedek, who was a priest of God, though he had no connection with what God later did through Israel. God can reveal himself in any culture and time. (See also Psalm 19:1-4, Romans 10:18.) The idolaters in Romans 1 were not in a depraved condition because they never knew about God, but because they rejected what they did know.

Can a heathen man be saved without ever hearing the gospel? If a person follows the truth he has, God will lead him to understand enough to seek and find forgiveness. That is salvation by grace and not by works. This is in contrast to the salvation by works which most religions offer.

So, if a person can be saved without hearing the gospel, why is it urgent for us to spread the gospel? That question will be answered further on.

Notes Verse-by-Verse continued

(2:17-20) The Jews were hypocrites because they taught the law while breaking it. They enjoyed their role as possessors of the law, discerners of right, and teachers of the ignorant. There is a note of sarcasm here as Paul lists their high claims.

The Bible can be a bestselling book even in a society that is becoming more ungodly. It shows that people see value in possessing God's law even if they are not obeying it.

People often maintain a form of religion as a cover for sin after they lose the spiritual reality of relationship with God.

(2:21-24) The Jews enjoyed condemning the Gentiles with the law, but they did not obey it fully themselves. They dishonored God by living in sin while claiming high spiritual status. Likewise, the most common objection to Christianity is that Christians are not good examples of what they claim to believe.

(2:25) They could not claim to be righteous before God on the basis of circumcision unless they were keeping the whole law. If they were breaking the law, they were the same as uncircumcised.

► What did circumcision signify?

The Jews saw two classes of people in the world: those who qualified to be in the covenant with God and those who did not. Circumcision was given as a sign of the covenant between Israel and God, but eventually came to represent the whole set of requirements for the covenant. Therefore, the Jews called the two classes of people in the world the circumcised and the uncircumcised. To be circumcised, in Paul's terms, usually means to follow the whole system of Judaism as a means of being in the covenant. (See Galatians 5:2-3 for an example of this use of the term.) To be circumcised in that sense was an attempt to be saved by works rather than by grace.

Notes Verse-by-Verse continued

(2:26) If an uncircumcised person fulfills the real intentions of the law, God will not condemn him for his lack of circumcision.

(2:27) The contrast between a righteous Gentile and a sinful Jew shows that the Jew is the guilty one, even though he has the forms of Judaism. In the same sense, Noah condemned the world by his righteousness because he showed what real obedience is (Hebrews 11:7).

(2:28-29) Circumcision was a mark of identity for a Jew, proof that he was one of the people of God. In Deuteronomy 30:6 and in several places in the New Testament circumcision symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit when he changes the heart of the sinner to be able to love and obey God.[1] This is the significance of circumcision for a Christian.

► A student should read Deuteronomy 30:6 for the group.

God promised the ancient Israelites that he would do an operation of grace in their hearts. This was not just for their descendants, but for the people hearing the message at that time.

The person described in this chapter who does righteous works without knowing scripture is a person who has received grace through faith, by accepting the truth he has.

[1] Deuteronomy 30:6, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-12

God always wanted obedience from the heart, rather than formalism and legalism, and offered grace to the people of every nation. Notice these verses from Isaiah 56:6-7.

"And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

(1) What does apocalyptic scripture describe?

(2) Why did the Jews expect to be favored?

(3) How is a person made righteous?

(4) How does a person show that he has saving faith?

(5) What did circumcision signify for a Jew, and what did it symbolize for a Christian?

Write a page describing the misunderstanding of Jews who wrongly thought they should be accepted by God. Describe people who have a similar misunderstanding today.