EXTERNAL rituals do not produce INTERNAL changes. For in posing as judge and passing sentence on another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge are habitually practicing the very same things [that you censure and denounce]." It always denotes “to pass an adverse sentence”. Nygren ( Romans , p117f) shows the Jews believed in two separate standards of judgment. You must meet God, and that as He is, not as you might wish Him to be. Wuest: Therefore, you are without a defense, O man, everyone who judges, for in that in which you are judging another, yourself you are condemning, for you who judge practice the same things. When the preacher thundered out in his sermon, “And God is going to judge the idolaters,” the brother shouted, “Amen!”. (Then Jesus explained why we had better be careful judging with wrong motives or from a critical, condemnatory spirit) For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." ]— ὁ κρίνων, thou that judgest) being removed [i.e. ponder well the subject. 1897. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain.BibliographyBarnes, Albert. The theme of moral decay is continued in this section of the epistle, and it is here that we learn the Jews were as bad as the Gentiles. Used by permission of Broadman Press (Southern Baptist Sunday School Board). The only other use of anapologetos is in the previous chapter where Paul writes that "since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen (note the "seeing" of the "invisible attributes, which he goes on to explain - what they see of the Creation generates an inner seeing so to speak), being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." (Genesis 3:12), Eve blamed the serpent declaring "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." ὦ ἄνθρωπε πᾶς ὁ κρίνων] Just as Paul, Romans 1:18, designated the Gentiles by the general term ἀνθρώπων, and only brought forward the special reference to them in the progress of the discourse; so also he now designates the Jews, not as yet by name (see this first at Romans 2:17), but generally by the address ἄνθρωπε, which however already implies a trace of reproach (Romans 9:20; Luke 12:14; Plat. — Paul intended to bring in all men guilty before God, as appears by what he says in the 19th verse of the third chapter, ‘that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.’ He had already proved the inexcusableness of the Gentiles, and he here proceeds to do the same respecting the Jews, whom he addresses directly, and not in a manner only implying that he refers to them, as is supposed by Professors Tholuck and Stuart. And he must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion." "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". This was eminently the case with the Jews. Nothing can well be more evident than that, having finished his description of the "ungodliness and unrighteousness" of the Gentiles-against which he had said that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven" (Romans 1:18) - he is now proceeding to deal with the other great division of mankind-the Jews. BibliographyBurkitt, William. So often we look at others' weaknesses without considering our own. God's Righteous Judgment - Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. This document has been generated from XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) source with RenderX XEP Formatter, version 3.7.3 Client Academic. 4. Therefore thou ar inexcusable, Oh man, that judgest another, and by doing the same things condemnest thyself. Thou canst make no apology or pretence, why the sentence of death and condemnation, which is due to others, should not likewise pass upon thee. : Wherefore thou art without excuse, O Prayer of Manasseh , whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things. That much—and more—is quite clear. In the second, Romans 2:17-29, he applies it directly to the Jew. Condemn (2632) (katakrino from katá = against + kríno = judge) means to pronounce sentence against, condemn, adjudge guilty. It is not the badness of man but the goodness of God that brings us to repentance (Luke 15:17-19). The reasoning of the Apostle is clear and convincing. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. It means the Jews could not justify their condemnation of the Gentiles. Warren Wiersbe addresses the interpretation of this first section writing that "Bible scholars do not agree on whom Paul was addressing in Romans 2:1–16. Passing judgment, by implication, means condemning. I’ve always been able to control the elements of my life, dominate my environment without hurting others. That men so impious and immoral, as those described in the preceding chapter, deserved the divine displeasure, and could never, by their own works, secure the favor of God, the Jew was prepared readily to admit. (Romans 2:1). God's eternal, intrinsic righteousness is the theme Paul was developing in the latter part of Romans 1 and in the first 16 verses of this chapter, that part in chapter 1 being concerned with God's righteousness in dealing with Gentiles, and the first 16 verses here referring to another class of persons, the non-Christian Jews. The result of such a judgment is commonly condemnation." August 24, 2014. They committed all kinds of wickedness, omitting none which ever came into the mind of man; esteeming the worst of evils to be good, and meeting with that reward of their iniquity which was proper, and a judgment worthy of God.” The apostle, Mr. Locke thinks, represents the Jews as inexcusable in judging the Gentiles, especially because the latter, with all the darkness that was on their minds, were not guilty of such a folly as to judge those who were not more faulty than themselves, but lived on friendly terms with them, without censure or separation, thinking as well of their condition as of their own. Thus, they were not guilty, in the time of the apostle, of idolatry; but of the other crimes enumerated in the first chapter, the Jews might be guilty. When there is nothing in the context to fix the reference, the most general substantive must be chosen. Vv. And while that of nature only acts as long as a fear of punishment hangs over the conscience, and the heart remains the same as it was before: that of grace brings with it a thorough change, and the life is reformed. But here, as we have above said, God is heading off from escape first the proud "judges" of others, of every sort,--the moralists, and moral philosophers, all the "moral" folks,--the "whosoevers" that "judge"; and, second, those who would escape the consciousness of guilt and judgment by running under a "religious" roof-- whether a Jewish shelter, as in Paul's day, or a "Christian" one, in our day. But the fact that he can judge sins in others shows that he knows the difference between right and wrong. I, p. 55. p. 452 B, and the passages in Wetstein, Ellendt, Lex. Some have argued that the principal referent for the passage is the moral Gentile who has not sinned like other Gentiles in the ways Paul has outlined in 1:18-32. The verb are (eimi) is present tense indicating that they were continually without excuse. But this death business … I can’t beat it. doest = practisest. The Lord will render to every man according to his deeds. Jesus taught that the lustful look, for instance, is tantamount to adultery (Matt. But in this instance the word does not point backwards to the first chapter, but rather anticipates that which follows. That judgest— That usest thy knowledge in condemning others rather than in repenting for thyself. Thus, also kings and emperors have enacted severe laws against the very crimes which they have constantly committed themselves. So that,” adds he, “had the Romans delayed to come against these execrable persons, I believe either the earth would have swallowed them up, or a deluge would have swept away their city; or fire from heaven would have consumed it, as it did Sodom, for it brought forth a generation of men far more wicked than they who suffered such things. It would not be a just principle of interpretation to press this declaration as implying that precisely the same offences, and to the same extent, were chargeable on them. So Christians have the *Holy Spirit to speak for them on earth (Romans 8:26). Others have prejudices; we have convictions. If you have Christ, you have already met Him! Therefore. The use of this word is an instance of the apostle‘s skill in argument. (Romans 2 - The Expositor's Greek Testament), Vine explains therefore - Because of the universal facts of the voice of conscience and the knowledge of the divine condemnation and punishment of sin and of the consequences of practicing evil and consenting with it, in spite of that knowledge. Romans 3:19. This proposition, like all the others Paul outlined, is corroborated and backed up by the other sacred writers. In the present context krima means to pass unfavorable judgment by criticizing or finding fault. As discussed by several of the references below, "therefore" could refer to what Paul has just said in the last half of Romans 1. The design of this and the following chapter is to show that the Jews were no less guilty that the Gentiles, and that they needed the benefit of the same salvation. The design of this and the following chapter is to show that the Jews were no less guilty that the Gentiles, and that they needed the benefit of the same salvation. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/romans-2.html. But the meaning is, (and indeed the verses which follow explain it,) as men are accepted in Christ, or as they reject Christ in their own souls. "Wherefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.". 1983-1999. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/romans-2.html. Men often practise what they condemn in others, without considering that in so doing they condemn themselves. The people here mentioned were non-Christian Jews who had refused to accept the Saviour, had projected their hatred of Christianity into the second generation, and at that very moment were intent on hunting Paul down and killing him, and who were declared by this apostle a little later in this very chapter to have been profaners of sacred things (Romans 2:22), thieves (Romans 2:21), adulterers (Romans 2:22), impenitent and hardhearted (Romans 2:5). Watch our overview video on the book of Romans, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Many Christians admired Seneca and his strong stand for "morals" and "family values". There will need no remark, to those who read this epistle with the least attention, to prove that the judging which St. Paul here speaks of, refers to that aversion which the Jews generally had to the Gentiles: insomuch that the unconverted Jews could not bear the thought of a Messiah who admitted the heathen equally with them into his kingdom; nor could the converted Jews be easily brought, for a considerable time, to admit them into their communion, as the people of God, now equally with themselves; so that they generally, both one and the other, at that time judged them unworthy the favour of God and incapable of becoming his people any other way than by circumcision and an observance of the ritual parts of the law;—the inexcusableness and absurdity whereof St. Paul shews in this chapter. Romans 2:1-16: You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you … Really, but not explicitly, therefore, he here addresses the Jew, as included in the previous condemnation, but as thinking himself all the while the "judge" of heathen sinners. You declare those acts to be criminal of which you are yourself guilty. In the sequel, he specifies and unfolds the charge thus generally preferred." The object of the apostle, therefore, now, after having exhibited the wretched condition of the pagan world, is to show the Jews, without, however, at first distinctly naming them, that, notwithstanding their self-satisfaction and censoriousness, they were involved substantially in the same guilt and danger, and that their ceremonial observances would have no efficacy in saving them, since God will judge men by their inward character, and not by the outward rites which they perform. Commentaries on Romans. There can be no reasonable doubt that the typical unbelieving Jew was the focus of Paul's attention in this place. That judgest - Ὁ κρινων, the judger; thou assumest the character of a judge, and in that character condemnest others who are less guilty than thyself. But the Jew opposed it: he abhorred the Gentile, and contradicted the grace which honoured and saved him. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/romans-2.html. But this sorrow differs wholly from godly sorrow and true repentance, wrought in the heart by sovereign grace. Then in the 6th and following verses, he comprehends both, Jews and Gentiles.— ἀναπολόγητος, inexcusable.) We cry, "Those people ought to be stoned!" It would not be a just principle of interpretation to press this declaration as implying that precisely the same offences, and to the same extent, were chargeable on them. 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