Catholic Commentary on Romans 2

"God does not show favouritism." (Romans 2:11)

The Impartial Judge

Having indicted the pagan world for its moral collapse in chapter 1, Paul turns in chapter 2 to those who pass judgment on others while doing the same things themselves. The argument is addressed first to a moralistic pagan but quickly becomes an address to the Jewish interlocutor who relies on the Law and boasts of a relationship with God. The logic is relentless: you who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? Paul quotes Isaiah: God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. The possession of the Law does not guarantee the doing of the Law.

The principle that governs the whole argument is stated simply and absolutely: God does not show favouritism. Jews and Gentiles are judged by the same standard. Those who sin apart from the Law will perish apart from the Law; those who sin under the Law will be judged by the Law. Paul even allows that Gentiles who do not have the Law can do by nature what the Law requires, showing that the requirements of the Law are written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness. The Catechism identifies natural law precisely here: the participation of every rational creature in the eternal law of God, accessible to human reason even without divine revelation, which is why all people are morally accountable (CCC 1954).

True Circumcision

Paul distinguishes the outward sign from the inward reality: a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. A person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit. This internalisation of the covenant sign prepares for his later argument that Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised, and that the true children of Abraham are those who share his faith. The Catechism connects the circumcision of the heart with Baptism, the new covenant sign that transforms the interior person by the action of the Spirit (CCC 527).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, God does not show favouritism. Neither should we in our judgments of others. Paul's warning against judging those who do what you do yourself is one of the most uncomfortable passages in Scripture because it names exactly what religious people are most prone to. Examine yourself before you examine others. The plank before the speck, as the Lord said. This is the consistent teaching of the New Testament and it begins here in Romans 2.

Prayer

Lord God, you judge impartially and you see the heart. Circumcise our hearts by your Spirit so that our religion is not merely outward. Deliver us from judging others for what we practise ourselves. And give us the honesty to examine ourselves with the same rigour we apply to the world around us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

2
God’s Righteous Judgment
(Psalms 75:1–10)
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
 
5 But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”* 2:6 Psalms 62:12 7 To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
 
9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
 
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.
 
14 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them 16 on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus,† 2:16 BYZ and TR through Jesus Christ as proclaimed by my gospel.
The Jews and the Law
 
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”‡ 2:24 Isaiah 52:5 (see also LXX)
 
25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
 
28 A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.

*2:6 2:6 Psalms 62:12

†2:16 2:16 BYZ and TR through Jesus Christ

‡2:24 2:24 Isaiah 52:5 (see also LXX)

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