Footsteps #245

“For God does not show favoritism. ¹² When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.” NLT (Rom.2:11-12)

In order to understand Paul’s meaning of v12 we need to remember the context. In Romans 1 Paul discussed the justifiable condemnation of the Gentiles. Then in the first half of chapter 2 he brought up the rather revolutionary idea that the moralistic Jews were equally guilty and equally subject to God’s judgment.

Even though they were God’s special people the Jews and the Gentiles stand on the same ground, and as we read v11, “God does not show favouritism”. The NLT translation of v12 puts it nicely, “When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.”

That lack of favouritism raises an objection in the minds of Paul’s Jewish readers. After all, a major difference exists between the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews have Gods’ law. That proves they are His favourites and in no way can He judge them in the same manner as the Gentiles.

Wrong! Claims Paul. It is true that we cannot accuse the Gentiles of breaking the law that they never formally received, yet it is also true, as Paul argued in Rom.1:19, 20 and will argue in Rom.2:15, that God has revealed to them a sense of right and wrong. The Lord will judge by that God given sense. That is, God will evaluate them according to their response to the revelation that He has provided them.

The same is true of the Jews. But they have a wider basis for judgment. They not only share the general revelation through conscience and nature that they share with the Gentiles; they also have God’s special revelation in the law. Thus God holds all individuals responsible for the light that He has given them. On the other hand, none have to answer for what they don’t know.

Our God, in-spite of the complexities of the world, is indeed a just Father who has no favourites. No wonder the songs in the book of Revelation extol the justice and truthfulness of His rulings. (See e.g. Rev.19:1, 2).