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SECTION F – The Conduct of
Mankind (1:18 -
3:20)
Balanced
by SECTION f - The Conduct of The Saints (12:01
- 15:07)
Romans Two - verses 1 to 10
01. Wherefore, defenseless are you, O man!
everyone who is judging,
for in what you are judging another, you are
condemning yourself,
for you who are judging are committing
the same things.
The
argument here is inexorable. The man who judges others must be prepared to
submit to the same judgment himself. There is no surer way of condemning
himself than by sitting in judgment on those who commit the sins of which
he is guilty. In the day of judgment there will be little need to call
witnesses against mankind, for their own reasonings among themselves and
the standards of justice, however low, which they apply to their neighbors,
are sufficient to condemn all.
The
constant effort to uplift humanity ignores the true cause of human
depravity. These things are the result of refusing to recognize God. One of
the most alarming signs of modern times is the increasing desire to
eliminate all reference to God in every sphere of life. Education must be
strictly Godless,
business has no place for the Deity, society shuns all mention of Him, and
even many of the so-called churches have little more than a formal
recognition of an unknown God. We must be prepared for more and more of the
crime waves which periodically surge over the earth, as well as the
complete break-down of the moral fibre of so-called civilization.
Concordant Commentary
Paul has put before us the fact
that mankind is in a state of condemnation to degradation
because it does not recognise God as GOD. God has given man over to a reprobate mind, to do the things that are
not befitting his high intellect. But man still wants to have some
semblance of propriety and self-esteem. He likes to see himself better than
others around him. He looks for faults in others, and as all men come under
the same 'giving over', faults abound for his picking.
The fact is that he
recognises these actions as contravening some criteria of ethics and
morals. He is not ignorant of
this standard, of the principles on which he faults these others. Hence,
turning a blind eye to his own wrongdoings, or claiming ignorance that
these are wrong, is mere subterfuge. But, no matter what ploy he uses, he
cannot screen what he actually is from God, Who will not be taken in by
such hypocrisy. Before God, he stands just
as guilty as the others, just as
unrighteous as those he condemns. He is utterly defenceless.
Mt.7:1-5
"Do not judge, lest you may be judged,
2 for with what judgment you are judging, shall you be judged,
and
with what measure you are measuring,
shall it be measured to you.
3 Now why are you
observing the mote that is in your brother's eye,
yet
the beam in your eye you are not considering?
4 Or how will you be
declaring to your brother,
`Brother,
let me extract the mote out of
your eye,'
and
lo! the beam is in your eye? 5 Hypocrite!
Extract
first the beam out of your eye, and then
you will be keen-sighted
to
be extracting the mote out of your brother's eye.
Even within the ecclesia
which is the body of Christ, this human trait rears its ugly and insidious
head. We tend to be negatively critical of others. But, each one of us is God's achievement, being created in Christ Jesus for good works that please Him. When
we judge the actions of other believers negatively we call into question,
we denigrate, God's operation of
turning out masterpieces of exquisite workmanship. He knows precisely what He
is doing. Under the executive operations of Christ, all will come out
precisely right in exact accord to His
design and schedule.
Rom.14:4 Who are you who are
judging Another's domestic?
To
his own Master he is standing or falling.
Now
he will be made to stand, for the
Lord is able to make him stand
Rom.14:10 Now why are you judging your brother?
Or
why are you also scorning your brother?
For
all of us shall be presented at
the dais of God,
Rom.14:12,13 each of
us shall be giving account concerning
himself to God.
13 By no means, then,
should we still be judging one another,
but
rather decide this, not to place
a stumbling block for a brother, or a snare.
1Cor.4:5 be not judging anything before the season,
till the Lord should be coming,
Who
will also illuminate the hidden
things of darkness
and
manifest the counsels of the hearts.
And
then applause will be coming to each
one from God.
2Cor.10:12 For we
are not daring to judge ourselves by,
or
compare ourselves with, some who are commending themselves.
But
they, measuring themselves by themselves,
and
comparing themselves with themselves, do
not understand.
Eph.2:10
For His achievement are
we,
being created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which
God makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking in them.
We need to understand that this judging,
from the Greek krisis, is here used in a derogatory sense where the
one who judges feels that he is more righteous than the ones he makes his
judgment on. In our lives, however, there is the need to judge
others, in the sense of assessing their calibre and their abilities
and characteristics. Judgments have to be made, constantly.
1Cor.5:3-5 For I, indeed, being absent in
body, yet present in spirit,
have already, as if present, thus judged the one effecting
this,
4 in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (you being gathered,
and
my spirit, together with the power of our Lord Jesus),
5 to
give up such a one to Satan for the extermination of the flesh,
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1Cor.5:11-13 Yet now I write to you
not to be
commingling with anyone named a brother,
if he should be a paramour, or greedy, or an idolater,
or a reviler,
or a drunkard, or an extortioner.
With such a
one you are not even to be eating.
12 For what is it to me to be judging those outside?
you are not judging
those within!
13 Now those outside, God is judging.
Expel the
wicked one from among yourselves
Tit.3;10,11 A sectarian man, after one and a
second admonition, refuse,
11 being
aware that such a one has turned himself out, and is sinning,
being self-condemned.
Rom.16:17 Now I am entreating you, brethren,
to be noting those who are making dissensions and snares
beside the teaching which you learned, and avoid them,
02. Now we are aware that the judgment of
God is according to truth
against those who are committing such things.
"...we
are aware..."
This letter is not a mere academic commentary but, rather, it makes those
who are being called privy to
the real issues at hand and to how God is dealing with them. Such ‘inside’ knowledge is the
privilege of a son of God.
Rom.11:32 For God locks up
all together in stubbornness,….
We, who
are called, have been made aware
that we, ourselves, were under
this same sentence and its consequence. We should be aware that we, of
ourselves, are just as unworthy of God’s blessings as anyone else.
Eph.2:1-3 And you, being dead to your offenses and
sins,
2 in which once you walked, in accord with the
eon of this world,
in
accord with the chief of the jurisdiction of the air,
the spirit now operating in the sons of stubbornness
3 (among whom we also all behaved ourselves once in
the lusts of our flesh,
doing the will of the flesh and of the comprehension,
and were, in our nature, children of indignation, even as the
rest),
Eph.4:17-19 ... according as those of the nations also are walking,
in the vanity of their mind, 18 their comprehension
being darkened,
being estranged from the life of God
because of the
ignorance that is in them,
because of the callousness of their hearts,
19
who, being past feeling, in
greed give themselves up with wantonness
to all
uncleanness as a vocation.
Col.1:21 ...you, being once estranged and enemies
in comprehension,
by wicked
acts, ….
Gal.4:8
But then, indeed, having no perception of God,
you were slaves of those who, by nature, are not gods.
1Cor.12:2
You are aware that when you were of the nations,
you were led away to the voiceless idols, as ever you were led.
We are
being made aware that in this administration of God, those who are not
already believers and in the body of Christ are sons of
stubbornness. Those who are still to be called 'until the
complement of the nations may be entering' continue to be 'children of
indignation even as the rest' until
they are called. All such as these are still 'constituted sinners' and are still unjustified. They are powerless to reject and, hence,
continue to carry out, the works of the flesh. The spectre of God's indignation hangs over them as a
foreboding overcast. Of course, those who
are not being called will not, because they cannot, accept such an assessment.
We are being made aware that such works draw God's indignation
on the perpetrators and that it is God's lesson, and a most powerful and
practical demonstration to His creation, that such wrongdoings do not please Him and cannot be entertained in any
relationship with Him.
Let us not, however,
conclude that the afflictions and persecutions we undergo indicate that we come under God’s indignation, too.
Rom.8:1 Nothing, … is now condemnation to those in Christ Jesus.
2Thes.1:4-8 for your endurance and faith in all
your persecutions
and
the afflictions with which you are bearing—
5 a display of the
just judging of God,
to deem you worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which you are suffering also,
6 if
so be that it is just of God to repay affliction to those afflicting
you,
7 and to you who are being afflicted, ease, with
us,
at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven
with
His powerful messengers, 8 in flaming fire,
dealing
out vengeance to those who are not acquainted with God
and those who are not obeying the evangel of our Lord Jesus Christ--
That the members of the body of Christ do not
come under this condemnation is God's lesson and demonstration to His
Creation of the effect of Christ's
obedience applied on those who are
believing and how this same efficacy will affect all others at the
designated times.
Eph.3:9-11 ..to enlighten all as to what is the
administration of the secret,
which has been concealed from the eons in
God, Who creates all,
10 that now may be
made known
to the sovereignties and the authorities
among the celestials,
through the ecclesia, the multifarious
wisdom of God,
11 in accord
with the purpose of the eons,
which He makes
in Christ Jesus, our Lord;
God made man – and He is fully
aware of what He has brought into being. God knows man's inherent
shortcomings, his tendencies, his concupiscence. He knows the circumstances
from which these arise and He knows man's motives for his actions. He knows
that not one among humanity is just,
not one seeks to do His will.
Scripture states the fact.
Rom.3:10-12
…"Not one is just"--not even one.
11 Not one is
understanding. Not one is seeking out God.
12 "All avoid Him: at the same time they
were useless.
Not
one is doing kindness: there is not even one!"
Evidently, man's unrighteousness, his innate tendency
to do what is not right, is at
variance with God's righteousness, at variance with God’s character to
always do that which is right.
To reiterate, Scripture
declares that since man does not
recognise and humbly acknowledge God as GOD, He has given him over to a reprobate mind, to do that which is not befitting. This
is the evidence that ‘God’s
indignation is being revealed’. Man cannot pull himself up by his
bootstraps and is powerless, therefore, to save himself from this reality.
Man, as he now is, needs to
learn how evil the ways are that
he has been ‘given over’ to, that
his consequent actions bring down, and fully deserve, God's further
indignation. Let us be clear about this – man, as he is, deserves condemnation. God is
righteous, and He is just. God cannot
ignore unrighteousness and injustice without compromising His
integrity - His righteousness and
His justice. (It is interesting
to learn that both ‘righteous’
and ‘just’ are derived from the
same Greek word, dikaion.)
And if God has no other way
to remedy this situation, except by merely reacting to human wrongdoing, every human being would be destined to experience the harsh
reality of continual repercussive
measures.
Can God be righteous and just in dealing with man? After all, no one has requested his
own birth. Worse still, no one has asked to be born under this blanket
condemnation to God’s indignation. Would not God's indignation for actions God has given him over to
simply compound the problem and make man's case truly hopeless? Of course!
But this is thoroughly bad news, not good! Is it possible
that this is what God created man
for - his condemnation?
Scripture insists that God is love (1Jn.4:8,16). God, being What
He is, will not let His attributes be at odds with each other. For man to
enjoy the blessings God has prepared for him, his characteristics of
injustice and unrighteousness need to
be corrected. And He Who will always do that which is right, will do just that. His judgments are
corrective and righteous in every aspect.
We who are being called now
must consider the situation through the fact that God is What He is - GOD!
Rom.11:33-36
O, the depth of the
riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
How
inscrutable are His judgments,
and untraceable His ways!
34 For, who knew the mind of the Lord? or, who became His adviser?
35 or, who gives to Him
first, and it will be repaid him?
36 seeing that out of Him and through Him and for Him
is all:
to
Him be the glory for the eons! Amen!
Let us, then, scrutinise
the word of God as He reveals His mind, His
very Being, and the brilliance of His operations to us His sons whom He creates out of His love.
03. Yet are you reckoning on this, O man,
who
art judging those committing such things, and art doing the same,
that you will be escaping the judgment of
God?
Is
it not most unreasonable for the sinner to suppose that God's judgment of
him will be less searching than his condemnation of the sins of his fellow
men? The fact that His judgment is delayed and that He continues to give
the blessings of creation with a bountiful hand should lead to
reconsideration and amendment.
Concordant Commentary
In the meantime we are
given to see just how low man can go, how worthless, undeserving, and yet
how arrogant, he can prove himself to be. Man cannot help but wallow in the
quagmire of sin, quite oblivious to the fact that he presents an abject and
sorry sight to the rest of creation. For now, he is condemned to be what he is - a pitiful wretch unfit to share in the glory of God.
Man is reluctant to face
hard facts about himself, he abhors such a humiliating confrontation. He
would rather point to the failures of people around him and hold them in
contempt in his own mind while he excuses, rationalises, and justifies his
own shortcomings. He fools himself into thinking that he can get away with
such subterfuge. But God is fully aware of the true situation and He judges in accord with the facts.
There is no escape in hypocrisy! Left to himself, man will bury himself
deeper into the mire of condemnation.
Jer.17:9 Crooked is the heart above all things,
And
it is incurable--who does know it?
NIV The heart is
deceitful above all things
and
beyond cure. Who can understand
it?
Jer.17:10
I Yahweh do search the
heart, try the reins,
Even
to give to each according to his way,
According
to the fruit of his doings.
NIV I the LORD search the
heart and examine the mind,
to
reward a man according to his conduct,
according
to what his deeds deserve.
So, why would God continue
dealing with man? Is he not already a lost cause, incorrigible? Somewhere
someone certifies:
Heb.2:6
"What is man, that Thou
art mindful of him,
Or
a son of mankind, that Thou art visiting him?
NIV
"What is man that you are mindful of him,
the
son of man that you care for him?
04. Or are you despising the riches of His
kindness
and forbearance and patience,
being ignorant that the kindness of God is
leading you to repentance?
Men
should have come to realise that His benevolence and patience are meant to
lead them to repentance. But, because God does not seem to take immediate
action to mete out punishment, men, rather than recant their waywardness,
come to the conclusion that He is either ignorant of their wrongdoing or
that He does not really care. So, instead of appreciating God's kindness in
His withholding of His wrath, they 'stretch' God's patience by stubbornly
holding on to their condemned course.
Psa.10:11 RSV He thinks in his heart,
"God
has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."
Eccl.8:11 Because
sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily,
the
heart of the sons of men is fully set
to do evil.
05. Yet, in accord with your hardness and unrepentant heart
you are hoarding for yourself
indignation
in the day of indignation and revelation of the just judgment of God,
But,
the fact is that, when they prefer to ignore these opportunities they only
accumulate to themselves a deficit account which will be cleared in full
when the day comes! It will be the same for all, whether Jew or Greek,
whether pragmatist or philosopher. The time of reckoning will come and men will reap the harvest of their
wickedness and will experience
the fury of God's indignation.
Scripture
ascribes stubbornness as a characteristic of all men. They have been consigned to it and cannot come out of
its damning consequence. They are ‘sons
of stubbornness’, appointed to God’s indignation, ‘given over’ to be
examples of God’s continued indignation. There they will remain unless and
until God intervenes to adjust their situation.
Rom.11:32
For God locks up all
together in stubbornness,….
Gal.3:22 …the
scripture locks up all
together under sin,….
Eph.5:6 …the
indignation of God is coming on the
sons of stubbornness...
Col.3:6 …the
indignation of God is coming on the
sons of stubbornness--…
However,
let us not look on them disparagingly, with disdain and contempt – for we,
too, were in the same boat, wallowing in sin and unrighteousness to which
we, ourselves, were consigned and condemned. For us who have been graced
with His calling, God has
intervened. Since He has favoured us through
no worth of our own, on what grounds will God forsake the rest of
mankind without compromising His integrity?
Rom.7:14 ….
yet I am fleshly, having been
disposed of under Sin.
Rom.7:18 For I am aware that good is not making its home in me
(that
is, in my flesh),….
Eph.2:1-3
And you, being dead to your offenses and sins,
2 in which once you walked, in accord with the eon of this world,
in
accord with the chief of the jurisdiction of the air,
the
spirit now operating in the sons of
stubbornness
3 (among whom we also
all behaved ourselves once in the lusts of our flesh,
doing
the will of the flesh and of the comprehension,
and
were, in our nature, children of
indignation, even as the rest),
Eph.5:6-8 Let no one
be seducing you with empty words, for because of these things
the
indignation of God is coming on the
sons of stubbornness.
7 Do not, then, become
joint partakers with them,
8 for you were once darkness, yet now you
are light in the Lord.
Col.3:5-7 Deaden,
then, your members that are on the earth: prostitution, uncleanness,
passion,
evil desire and greed, which is idolatry, 6 because of which
the
indignation of God is coming on the
sons of stubbornness--
7 among whom you also once walked, when you lived in these
things.
06. Who will be paying each one in accord with his acts:
It
is well to consider the basis on which the judgment of mankind will
proceed. It is not all one-sided. God will not only sentence the evil, but
reward the good—if such there be. That there are none to claim His rewards
does not alter the great fact which is here laid down as the just basis of
God's dealings with mankind. He will be paying each one according to his
acts. No one can say this is not just and right. He is just as ready to
reward the good as to punish the bad. All that is needed is someone to live
up to the standard, and He will give such a one life for the eons—the same
life which those who believe get through Christ as a gratuitous gift. To
say that it is idle to speak thus, since no one can possibly claim such an
award, betrays a misapprehension of the underlying purpose of judgment.
This is not, as commonly supposed, the condemnation of wrongdoers, but
rather the payment of what is due, good as well as bad, that so the justice
of God's character may be revealed. Judgment, as a revelation of God, would
be most misleading if it made no provision for reward as well as
punishment. If no one is able to claim the reward it will not change the
essential fact that such a righteous foundation underlies God's throne.
Concordant Commentary
Is not this an entirely
fair proposition? To be paid for the work one has done, to receive what one
actually deserves? In fact, to have one’s account settled, to receive in
full what one is owed?
Rom.4:4 ...to the worker,
the wage is not reckoned as a
favor, but as a debt.
Ps.62:12
And to You, O Yahweh belongs benignity,
For
You Yourself shall pay each man according
to his deeds.
Prov.24:12 If
you say, Behold, we know nothing about this,
Does
not He Who regulates hearts
detect it,
And
He Who preserves your soul know it,
Who
will render to a man according to his
deeds?
Isa.3:10,11
Say to the righteous that good
is his portion,
for the fruit of their actions are
they eating.
11 Alack to the wicked
one; evil is his portion,
for
the requital of his hands is
returning to him.
Mt.16:27 For
the Son of Mankind
is
about to be coming in the glory of His Father, with His messengers,
and
then He will be paying each in accord
with his practice.
Salvation is God's free
gift, no works of ours of any sort can qualify us for this. However, though
the salvation of those called to be
members of the body of Christ cannot be qualified for through works,
works are an integral part of our
salvation. We are being created in Christ Jesus for good works that we should carry out as our walk in life. We are to put our salvation into effect. And for these works,
the works that please God, the works that He inspires and empowers us to
carry out, there is reward.
Eph.2:8-10
For in grace, through faith, are you saved,
and
this is not out of you; it is God's approach present,
9 not of works, lest anyone should be boasting.
10 For His achievement are we, being
created in Christ Jesus for good
works,
which
God makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking in them.
Phil.2:12,13 with
fear and trembling,
be
carrying your own salvation into
effect,
13 for it is God Who is operating in you
to will as well as to
work for the sake of His delight.
2Cor.5:10 For
all of us must be manifested in front of the dais of Christ,
that
each should be requited
for
that which he puts into practice
through the body, whether good or bad.
Rom.14:10-12 …
For all of us shall be presented at the
dais of God,
11 for it is written:
Living am I, the Lord is saying,
For
to Me shall bow every knee, And every tongue shall be acclaiming God!
12 Consequently, then,
each of us shall be giving account
concerning himself to God.
1Cor.3:13-15 …
each one's work will become apparent,
for
the day will make it evident, for it is being revealed by fire.
And
the fire, it will be testing each
one's work--what kind it is.
14 If anyone's work
will be remaining which he builds on it, he will get wages.
15 If anyone's work
shall be burned up, he will forfeit it,
yet
he shall be saved, yet thus, as through fire.
Eph.6:8
…being aware that, whatsoever
good each one should be doing,
for this he will be requited by the
Lord, …
07. to those, indeed, who by
endurance in good acts
are seeking glory and honor and
incorruption, life eonian;
This verse seems to say
that eonian life may be deserved through continued good acts and right
intentions. Truly, if one deserves God’s indignation for evil acts, is it not fair that one
deserves commendation and reward for good
acts?
This Section, from 1:18
to 3:20, however, is an
assessment of man's behaviour and tables his indictment before God. It
shows his utter degradation and total unworthiness. So, this verse poses a
‘what could have easily been’ rhetoric. If man could actually ‘endure in good acts…’, he could have earned
life eonian.
The fact is that man is unable to carry out the works that
count. At best, his ‘good works’ are self-centred and executed for his own
benefit – for personal benefit and advantage, for building and enhancing
his reputation, for recognition among his peers for his achievements, even
to show God just how worthy he is of blessings.
Mt.6:2-6
Whenever, then, you may be doing alms,
you
should not be trumpeting in front of you,
even
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
so that they should be glorified by
men.
Verily,
I am saying to you, They are collecting their wages!
3 Yet you, doing alms,
let not your left hand know what your right is doing,
4 so that your alms may
be in hiding,
and
your Father, Who is observing in hiding, will be paying you.
5 "And whenever
you may be praying, you shall not be as the hypocrites,
for
they are fond of standing in the synagogues
and
at the corners of the squares to be praying,
so that they may appear to men.
Verily,
I am saying to you, They are collecting their wages!
6 "Now you,
whenever you may be praying,
enter
into your storeroom, and, locking your door,
pray
to your Father Who is in hiding,
and
your Father, Who is observing in hiding, will be paying you.
Even within the ecclesia
there are those, whom we expect should have a better grasp of principles,
who seek recognition and reputation for their good works and who then
magnanimously present their glory
to God as their gift and contribution to His glory. They entirely misread
the concept of ‘giving the glory to God’. The glory is not theirs to give.
It is God’s achievement – and he
could have achieved it through anyone else had He so chosen. It is to His
glory that He could have achieved His goals through ones so low and
unworthy as we.
1Cor.15:10 Yet,
in the grace of God I am what I am,
and
His grace, which is in me, did not come to be for naught,
but
more exceedingly than all of them toil I—
yet not I, but the grace of God which is with me.
2Cor.10:12 For we
are not daring to judge ourselves
by,
or
compare ourselves with, some who are commending themselves.
But
they, measuring themselves by themselves,
and
comparing themselves with themselves, do not understand.
1Cor.4:6,7 …you
may be learning not to be disposed above what is written,
that you may not be puffed up, one over the one, against the other.
7 For who is making you
to discriminate?
Now what have you which you did not
obtain?
Now
if you obtained it also, why are you
boasting as though not obtaining?
1Tim.1:15
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, foremost
of whom am I.
1Tim.1:12,13
Grateful am I to Him Who invigorates me,
Christ
Jesus, our Lord, for He deems me faithful, assigning me a service,
13 I, who formerly was a calumniator and a persecutor and an
outrager:…
Eph.3:8,9 To
me, less than the least of all saints,
was granted this grace:
to
bring the evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ to the nations,
9 and to enlighten all
as to what is the administration of the secret,
which
has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all,
1Cor.3:6,7 I plant, Apollos
irrigates, but God makes it grow up.
7 So that, neither is
he who is planting anything, nor he who is irrigating,
but God Who makes it grow up.
Men are under God’s
sentence where ‘He gives them over to
a disqualified mind so that they do that which is not befitting’. So,
men simply cannot do what is fitting.
Rom.3:9-11
What, then? Are we privileged? Undoubtedly not,
for
we previously charge both Jews and Greeks to be all under sin,
10 according as it is
written, that "Not one is
just"--not even one.
11 Not one is
understanding. Not one is seeking
out God.
Rom.11:32
For God locks up all together
in stubbornness,…
1Cor.2:14
Now the soulish man is not receiving those things
which
are of the spirit of God, for they
are stupidity to him,
and
he is not able to know them,
seeing that they are spiritually examined.
Even for the chosen people
of Israel,
this sentence still holds. Without God’s intervention, there they will
remain.
2Cor.3:14-16
But their apprehensions were
calloused, for until this very day
the
same covering is remaining at the reading of the old covenant,
not
being uncovered. 15
for only in Christ is it being nullified.
But
till today, if ever the reading of Moses should be reached,
a covering is lying on their heart.
16 Yet if ever it
should reach a turning back to
the Lord,
the
covering is taken from about it.)
Rom.11:7,8
What Israel
is seeking for, this she did not encounter,
yet
the chosen encountered it. Now the rest were calloused,
8 even as it is
written, God gives them a spirit of
stupor,
eyes
not to be observing, and ears not to be hearing, till this very day.
1Cor.2:7-10
but we are speaking God's wisdom in a secret,
wisdom
which has been concealed, which
God designates before--
before
the eons, for our glory,
8 which not one of the
chief men of this eon knows,
for
if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory.
9 But, according as it
is written, That which the eye did not perceive,
and
the ear did not hear, and to which the heart of man did not ascend--
whatever
God makes ready for those who are loving Him.
10 Yet to us God reveals them through His
spirit,
for
the spirit is searching all, even the depths of God.
Jn.12:42,43
Howbeit, likewise, of the chiefs also many believe in Him,
but
because of the Pharisees they did not avow it,
lest
they may be put out of the synagogue,
43 for they love the glory of men rather than even
the glory of God.
Jn.9:20-22
His parents, then, answered and say,
"We
are aware that this is our son and that he was born blind.
21 Yet how he is now
observing, we are not aware,
or
who opens his eyes, we are not aware.
Ask
him; he has come of age. He will speak concerning himself."
22 These things his
parents said, seeing that they feared
the Jews,
for
the Jews had already agreed that
if
anyone should ever be avowing Him to be Christ,
he
should be put out of the synagogue.
08. yet to those of faction and stubborn, indeed, as to the truth,
yet persuaded to injustice, indignation
and fury,
Here, the criterion is
recognition and acceptance of ‘the truth’ of God as God. Men invent ways and systems to worship God. Yet the
god(s) they worship are those of their own choice rather than the One Who
is ‘the only true God’, the One ‘Who
operates all according to the counsel of His Own will’, the One Who
identifies Himself as ‘the God and
Father of Jesus Christ’. To believe God is to be reckoned righteous. As
long as one does not have this
faith he continues to be unrighteous.
As long as he does not hold Him in recognition as God, the One Who
determines every aspect of his life, he does injustice to Him.
2Cor.4:3,4
Now, if our evangel is covered, also,
it
is covered in those who are perishing,
4 in whom the god of this eon blinds the
apprehensions of the unbelieving
so
that the illumination of the evangel of the glory of Christ,
Who
is the Image of the invisible God, does not irradiate them.
2Thes.2:11,12 And therefore God will be
sending them an operation of deception,
for
them to believe the falsehood,
12 that all may be judged who do not believe the truth, but delight in injustice.
1Pet.4:17,18 …it is the era for the judgment to begin from the
house of God.
Now
if first from us,
what
is the consummation of those who are stubborn
as to God's evangel?
18 And, "If the
just one is hardly being saved,
where
will the irreverent and the sinner appear?"
Jn.12:37-40 Yet, after His having done so many signs in front
of them,
they believed not in Him, 38
that the word of Isaiah the prophet,
which
he said, may be being fulfilled, "Lord, who believes our tidings?
And
the arm of the Lord, to whom was it revealed?"
39 Therefore they could not believe, seeing that
Isaiah said again
40 that He has blinded their eyes and callouses their heart,
lest
they may be perceiving with their eyes,
and
should be apprehending with their heart,
and
may be turning about, and I shall be healing them.
09. affliction and distress, on every human
soul
which
is effecting evil, both of the Jew first and of the Greek,
‘Every human soul’ that does evil can expect
affliction and distress. The soul, the seat of earthly pleasures and
enjoyment, the desires of the flesh, takes emphasis here. Obviously, one
who seeks to please his sensuality is not interested in the things of the
spirit, and has no inclination towards pleasing God. He caters to the
longings of his flesh and does ‘the works of the flesh’.
Rom.8:5
For those who are in accord with flesh
are
disposed to that which is of the
flesh,…
Rom.8:7,8
the disposition of the flesh is
enmity to God,
for
it is not subject to the law of God,
for neither is it able.
8 Now those who are in
flesh are not able to please God.
Gal.5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20
Idolatry,
witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like:…
The NIV and the RSV render
the Greek ‘pasan psuchê anthröpou’ as ‘every human being’ and miss the emphasis of the
verse. Psuchê is always ‘soul’, the seat of sensation, of
consciousness.
10. yet glory and honor and peace to every worker of good,
both to the Jew first, and to the Greek.
‘…to the Jew first…’
Those of the nations had
their own systems of worship and set up their own criteria to differentiate
good works from evil ones. These, however, were entirely inadequate and
powerless to bring about a change of emphasis in their outlook from the
soulish to the spiritual, from pleasing the self to pleasing God.
The Jews, on the other
hand, were a chosen people in possession of God’s revealed standard. If at
all anyone could please God, then, it would be the Jew. If anyone could
have been truly a ‘worker of good’, it would have been the Jew with his
advantage of having ‘the oracles of God’ to guide him. But, they, too, were
doing ‘good works’ with the priority to be ‘one up’ on each other, and to
avert God’s indignation, rather than for His sake, un-distractedly.
Even the evangel, when it
came, went to the Jew first. Only when they proved themselves to be too
stubborn, and rejected the message directed to them, was it the turn of the
nations to receive their good news.
Act.13:46-49
Being bold, both Paul and Barnabas, say,
"To you first was it necessary that the
word of God be spoken.
Yet,
since, in fact, you are thrusting it away,
and
are judging yourselves not worthy of eonian life,
lo!
we are turning to the nations.
47 For thus the Lord
has directed us:
I
have appointed Thee for ‘a light of
the nations;
for
Thee to be for salvation as far as the limits of the earth.'"
48 Now on hearing this,
the nations rejoiced and glorified
the word of the Lord,
and
they believe, whoever were set
for life eonian.
49 Now the word of the
Lord was carried through the whole country.
Act.28:25-28 …"Ideally the holy spirit speaks through
Isaiah the prophet,
to
your fathers, 26
saying, `Go to this people and
say,
"In
hearing, you will be hearing, and may by no means be understanding,
And
observing, you will be observing, and may by no means be
perceiving,"
27 For stoutened is the
heart of this people,
And
with their ears heavily they hear,
And
with their eyes they squint,
Lest
at some time they may be perceiving with their eyes,
And
with their ears should be hearing,
And
with their heart may be understanding,
And
should be turning about, And I
shall be healing them.'
28 Let it be known to
you, then, that
to
the nations was dispatched this salvation of God, and they will hear."
Rom.1:16 For not
ashamed am I of the evangel,
for
it is God's power for salvation to everyone who is believing—
to
the Jew first, and to the Greek
as well.
Back to:
Index of
Articles – Romans
Proceed to:
Chapter 2, Verses 11-16
Jan 2006
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