“For if the nations that have given the law [des Mose] do by nature what the law requires, these (who do not have the law) are law to themselves, who display the work of the law written in their hearts, with their conscience witnessing to them, and their reasoning accusing or even defending them among themselves – on the day when God will judge the hidden things of men, according to my gospel, through Jesus Christ.”
Romans 2:14-16
Adaptation to reality
In the previous considerations, it was justified that Paul writes to the church in Rome, where he deals with both Jews and Gentiles. Both groups are part of the community. So it is not about Jews or gentiles in general, but about those who are part of the faith community in Rome. He mentions them in his letter. Those who are not Jews come from the “nations,” that is, from the other peoples.
In three chapters (Romans 1-3) Paul settles accounts with all self-righteousness of men. Since we as humans like to point the finger at others and consider ourselves “perfectly OK” to “blameless,” Paul goes into detail about all the evasive maneuvers we can consider in this way. Of course, he specifically addresses the situation of his listeners. It is thus addressed both to the Jews in the community and to the gentiles. People outside the community he also names.
Paul names these groups, changing perspective every now and then so that he can say in the end that no one is righteous, not even one (Rom 3:10). He is concerned that one group after another be freed from supposed advantages and that all people stand equally before God.
“For with God there is no respect of person!”
Rom 2:11
Paul is well on the way to adapting the church to the reality of God, who treats people 100% equally. Supposed advantages are deceptive in view of the radical view of God.
The controversy in the early communities
The Jews in the church in Rome knew the law. The law is good. Preferences were derived from this and again and again Paul (himself also a scribe, a Pharisee from the best family. Phil 3,4-6) had to deal with those who wanted to make the law binding also within the church. The thought was not so far-fetched, for didn’t the church in Jerusalem do the same?
The crux, however, is that Paul took a different direction with his gospel of grace. His focus was not on the fulfillment of the prophecies for Israel. He did not have in mind a messianic kingdom in which all salvation for non-Jewish peoples would come via Israel. He did not see the church he was calling out as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, or a holy nation, as Peter did for the Jewish community in Jerusalem (1Pet 2:9). Peter thinks of a people returned to God, as the prophets foresaw. With the fulfillment would then also come the prophetic task of serving the other nations priestly. We read this only in Peter, not in Paul. Paul speaks of other things, of a different calling, which were sometimes difficult for Peter to understand (cf. 2Pet 3:15-16).
This background and this argument were quite real. There were differences between the churches that were under the care of the 12 apostles and the churches that were built by Paul. The Epistle to the Romans was written at a time when the apostles were all in the process of formulating their tasks. Not everything was clear from the beginning. The same was true for the community members. Not everything was set in stone for them. There was no New Testament to simply fall back on. However, there were individual letters, and the apostles and traveling Bible teachers stopped by the churches directly, sometimes living with them for extended periods of time.
That’s why there are questions among people, for example, about the meaning of the law. And those who saw in the Torah a great blessing, or even a necessity, they were specifically addressed here in Romans. Paul makes a correction, an adjustment. He does this in view of the universality of God’s justice, which transcends the Law of Moses, the Torah for the people of Israel. So the Torah is not wrong and Paul does not have a negative picture of the “law”, but he starts from a different premise, which is broader.
The nations are law to themselves
The Law was given by God exclusively to Israel. No other nation had to obey the law intended for Israel. The idea that the 10 Commandments apply to us, for example, is completely absurd. There is no “biblical” justification for this. The church today has nothing to do with the law (Ex 19-20, Acts 14:16). To claim otherwise is completely absurd. When churches and congregations talk about the 10 Commandments as the basis for ethics and justice, or even when believers think they “must at least keep these commandments,” a sober consideration of the Bible is missing.
A comparison: I live in Switzerland. Logically, I am subject to the laws of Switzerland. Now all other countries have laws as well. These laws are excellent and they need not be doubted, but they do not apply to me because I am not at home there. It is the same with the law for Israel. It applied only to those people, and it is not a law for the church or community of today.
Paul makes this obvious here when he speaks of the “nations that have not the law” (Rom 2:14). That is unmistakable. The law was never given to the nations. The apostle must now defend himself here against the fact that the law is nevertheless smuggled in via a back door, so to speak. If I live today as a believer from the nations (the non-Jewish peoples), then the Law does not apply to me. In saying this, I am not devaluing the law, but it has no relevance to me because God never gave it to the nations. This requires sobriety.
Paul now assumes this, but immediately continues with an astonishing statement:
“Those who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires”.
Rom 2:14
Paul says here: People by nature, that is, by themselves , can fulfill the requirement of the law. These people act in their lives exactly as the law requires. Friends once told of an extended assignment in a nursing home in Israel. They volunteered as a Christian in a Jewish environment. It was a selfless commitment, borne of love. An elderly Jew spoke of how he was struck by the way these young people did their outreach. In his eyes, they were tzaddikim, righteous people, even though they were not Jews and did not follow the “law.” I have rarely heard this differentiation in Christian circles, but it is valuable.
Likewise, Paul, as a Jew, speaks of the fact that the concrete attitude of life cannot be hidden. He speaks of people who naturally do what the Torah requires. This does not mean the purity commandments or, say, kosher food, but the attitude of life, works, mercy (Zech 7:9).
What is so amazing about these verses? Paul liberates the church from a partial view of this world. The vision and reality for Israel is there, but there is still an expanded vision. That is liberating. He does not impose the Jewish law on the believers from the non-Jewish nations, but explains here that it works quite differently for the nations:
“Thus these (who do not have the law) are law unto themselves.”
Rom 2:14
The problem with original sin
This portrayal might seem uncomfortable to many Christians. This probably has to do with the fact that in many Christian churches a dogma is anchored that does not exist anywhere in the Bible. It is the doctrine of original sin. From this doctrine it is deduced that man is not capable of anything at all and is only sinful from the ground up, that is, from birth. It is a gloomy picture of man, which does not exist in the Bible. Neither Moses nor the prophets, neither Jesus nor the apostles ever spoke of original sin. All have taken sin seriously, but it has never led to a derailment from the image of man as taught by the idea of original sin.
Original sin establishes a great deal of disaster in the lives of believers. People are sinful, can do nothing, accomplish nothing, are thoroughly sinful, lost, gloomy, and there is no escape. Man is supposed to be bad from the bottom up! Now the difference with what Paul says here is unmistakable. He confesses that there are people who by nature do what the law requires. This is not compatible with a doctrine of original sin. Therefore, I do not recall ever hearing a sermon on Romans 2:14-16. What is written there does not fit at all into the traditional understanding.
Today, it may be tantamount to liberation to simply be able to be a good person without being immediately beaten down with the religious club. You just have to look around you and see that there are many good people who also do good. This is independent of religion, nationality, age, gender or church affiliation. It is not the case that only Christians belong to the good guys. Those who do and can do good are by no means free of error. Differentiation is needed here.
Paul’s statement must be understood in context. As noted earlier, the apostle’s point is to portray all people for once as hopelessly overwhelmed before the presence of God. This post is no exception. It is not said here that human beings can fulfill all righteousness. That is not the issue. Paul is concerned to clarify how this is for the nations who had not received the law. These are law unto themselves.
The conscience of a person
As catastrophic as the doctrine of original sin is, according to Paul, the starting point for every human being is healthy and sober. Why can you say that? Well, God has endowed man with many useful abilities. Specifically, he mentions two things here that we can use as a compass in this world:
- Our conscience
- Our considerations.
It is not that without law we are on a hopeless odyssey. Nor is it that without law there would be no morality. This is not the case. The scientist Frans de Waal has demonstrated this impressively in his book “Man, the Bonobo and the Ten Commandments: Morality is Older than Religion” (ISBN-13: 978-3608985047). There he proves that the bonobo apes have morality, although they do not belong to any religion.
Morality is possible without law. It is these abilities that we have as humans that influence our actions. God judges us according to our works, as is the case in every judgment the Bible mentions. It is our reflections that give direction and evaluation to our actions.
“These are law unto themselves, who display the work of the law written in their hearts, their consciences witnessing with them, and their considerations accusing or even defending them among themselves.”
Rom 2:15
The day when God will judge the hidden things of men
The apostle now puts the previous statement into a very specific context. He has a clear outlook and a breadth of thought that he is happy to pass on to the Romans. The judgment of what people do is not given to us, but it is once important before God. It is not we who should judge (and, for example, urge the nation-believer to obey the law), but God will judge “the hidden things of men” one day.
This will be on a specific day, which is not defined here. The focus in the text is on God. He will judge. It is about His judgment, not my judgment of others.
Extraordinary is now the addition of Paul. He wrote that this day will come, but the judgment is special. God judges …
“According to my gospel, through Jesus Christ.”
Rom 2:16
Whoever still has the idea that God deals mercilessly with everyone and that we have to be constantly afraid of Him, learns completely new things here with Paul. When God judges, it will be “according to my gospel, through Jesus Christ”. Twice in the Epistle to the Romans Paul calls it “my gospel” (Rom 2:16; Rom 16:25). It is not the gospel of the 12 apostles, but it is a gospel of its own, characterized by grace, which comes to us through Jesus Christ. Some of it concerns mysteries that Paul keeps receiving (Rom 16:25-26). New things are created. When God judges, when once Jesus Christ Himself sits on a throne of judgment, then, according to this gospel, judgment will take place. He calls it “my gospel” and we should listen carefully to understand that.
