No Respect of Persons. Romans 2:11-12 It is common practice for people to think more highly of some people than they do of others. A person's occupation, family name, social position, and wealth, or lack thereof, affect our attitude towards each other. We rarely meet or even know of a person who acts impartially toward all men. But with God, it is very different. He always sees through holy eyes and measures everyone by His truth. Our tendency toward partiality is based on how it will be to our "advantage." God's impartiality as the Righteous Judge is true because He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart of every person, not just their deeds.
V.11. When God judges everyone, He will do it equally and fairly; v. 6. Those who do what God wants will have eternal life; v. 7. Those who do evil will suffer God’s just wrath; v. 8. They will suffer because of that, v.9. The ones who do what God wants will receive blessings from God, v.10. God judges all people without partiality, v.11.
V.12. God's righteous judgment is not only because one has committed sin but because a choice has been made to sin. When a person has been given light, they will be judged by that degree of light. People are not condemned for what they don't know but for what they do with what they know. There is a difference made between people based on their responsibility to the light.
The light of the law which the Jews had (and by which the knowledge of sin is clearly defined) gave them precise guidelines for living. If they choose to sin, the written law is condemned against them. The evil works of those who never had the law are enough to judge them righteously because there is light in every man. In both cases, the choice of going against the light they have is why they will perish.
"Perish" does not mean a person is annihilated. It does mean that the reason for one's existence in the first place has been misplaced by the choice of sin they have made. That choice has eternal consequences. Whether condemned by the law of conscience and the light one has or condemned by the written moral law - both will experience eternal punishment. Eternal life, when refused for the "pleasures of sin for a season," will never be experienced by those who reject the light. "They loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."
"Doers, not Hearers.” Romans 2:13-16 Every person has a witness from God as to what is right and wrong. The Jews had the law of Moses contained in the Torah. Gentiles have the natural law in which creation gives evidence of the power, order, intelligence, and emotion of divine power. Conscience gives evidence of the holiness of God in that it is placed in everyone by nature. We have been made in the image of God with a mind, emotions, and the ability to make choices.
In order to be justified before God, there has to be perfection, both to keeping the law written in the Torah perfectly, as well as responding to natural laws that surround us and can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, and even smelled. The big challenge we have is to face the depravity of our sinful hearts and the consequences resulting from our choice to sin. There is unmistakable judgment coming, which no one can avoid. Degrees of punishment will be met depending on how much light has been rejected.
V.13. To hear the law of God read or to read it for oneself does not mean a person is pleasing God. There is a greater responsibility to obey when greater privilege has been given. The judgment of God is according to the performance of what one knows and the light of truth one has. "To whom much is given, much is required." The truth of God does nothing for a person who does not obey it. Resting in a false sense of peace because of one's knowledge of truth is a great deception leading to great condemnation.
The "doing" of the law does not clear us from the guilt of sin, but it is the response of one who knows that is what God's judgment calls for. Knowing and hearing the truth differs from obeying and acting in faith on what we know to be true. When our sins have been forgiven, we are justified (cleared of all guilt), and we are able to enter into a personal relationship with God.
V.14. All over the world, in the many cultures that differ from others, people care for the sick, restrain from murder, and in other ways are a law to themselves because, as moral beings, they are aware of right and wrong. They are not fulfilling the "work" of the law, the written words, but there are standards the human conscience establishes. In spite of those inward workings of conscience, people do not live up to their own standards. Humans are stubborn, willful people who often cross the parameters and barriers of their own making for pleasure, personal advantage, or just because of a prohibition. Even when the law is written, there is the need for "the work of the law" within us to make us do what is right.
In the writing of this passage of scripture, Paul anticipated the questions opponents would ask and answered them before they had a chance to even ask them. This is a good way pass on truth to skeptics and those who have not thought through the whole purpose of God reaching down to sinful people through the Gospel message. Preempting the unbelief of those who obey not the Gospel heads them off “at the pass” and sets the course of a dialogue. There is evidence of God’s moral law in every society. It has been implanted in our human nature.
V. 15. We all have to admit to our sinful humanity because none of us have lived up to any standard of righteousness, written or not. Often, we fail to live up to our own standards, much to God's standards. So, the judgment of God's is according to what we do, not what we hear. And there is another judging principle - the secrets of the heart. All secret things will be brought into the light of God's holiness.
All unbelievers will stand before the Lord who will be seated on “The Great White Throne,” and there they will realize from the “things written in the books” that they have been living under the all-seeing eye of God from their conception until their death. Also, every believer will be brought to the judgment seat of Christ where the "hidden things" will be brought into the light, and the "counsels of the heart" will be seen for what they are. The motives behind the "doing" will be examined, and praise from God will be righteous and just.
V.16. Those who are unsaved and unforgiven will have their secrets judged by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Righteous Judge, appointed by God to expose the secrets of men. There is no redemption for sin offered there. No one is exempt from that judgment, even if they didn't have the privileges others had. Those of greater privileges will have more severe judgment because of the favor that was shown to them, which they rejected. The choice to sin is the subject that is being judged. All have sinned by nature, but the choice to not obey the creation of God, the goodness of God, and one's own conscience leaves one openly condemned.
"Christian" privilege and "Christian" profession will not cover the choice of not trusting Christ as one's own personal Savior nor living out that personal testimony before men. Those who didn't have the privilege of hearing the Gospel will be judged by the law written in their hearts. Judgment will be based on the accusation or approval of one's own conscience and conduct. Righteous work is written in the heart of everyone and maintained by each one's conscience. Long before a written law existed, the law was in man's heart. From that law, no one can escape.
Conscience There is no excuse for people not to understand the fact of responsibility to divine authority. God has placed in the heart of every person the part of our human spirit called “the conscience” to make us aware of the right and wrong of situations that come across our paths. The natural course of mankind generally is to do what pleases me now rather than what I know is right. It is so easy for the conscience to be ignored. After that comes the searing of the conscience, and then the light seems to go out of the conscience. The blinding of the conscience is no excuse for wrong behavior or belief because it is my choice to obey or disobey it initially. When we choose any kind, we must accept the consequences of that choice and all that follows afterward. How sad it is when we do not take advantage of that built-in regulator that He has placed within us. People from all religions, walks of life, nationalities, and cultures will come before the Judge of all the earth to face Him whom they had ignored.