12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
Essentially, the point in verse 12 is building toward our understanding that everyone on Earth falls short of God's glory. The Gentiles did not have the Hebrew Law to establish a relationship with Him, and the Jews failed to meet the Law. The Jews will be the focus of Paul in the next section, so this is a bridge. As can be seen in the Book of Hebrews, the Law could not pay the price for sins or provide lasting resolution to the sin problem humanity has; rather, the Law shows people their sin. Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament as the only thing that could solve the sin problem.
Many Jews in this time felt that they would escape judgment because they possessed the Law. Paul refutes that in this section. As I mentioned yesterday, James 2:10 teaches that the transgression of one part of the Law makes a person guilty of all of it. To be a doer of the Law in this passage, the Israelite would have had to be perfect for their entire life in respect to the Law. Not much later (Romans 3:23), Paul will point out that everyone has sinned; thus, all Jews will be judged as if they had broken the entire Law, or been like the Gentiles who were without the Law. The Old Testament sacrifices could never cleanse people from sin. The Gentiles (non-Jews) of verses 14-15 are described by one commentator as "Gentiles who manifest in their behavior an innate awareness of God's moral demands."1 The reference alludes to those who, as prescribed in chapter 1, recognize at some level the moral demands built into them by their divine creator. For example, it is pretty much universally held in human culture that murder is wrong. Many animal species kill their own with no moral objection or consequence, yet human culture universally recognizes it as wrong. Why? Because they are doing by nature what was programmed into them as they were created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1-2).
Finally, Paul, being commanded to preach the Gospel (Romans 1:1), reminds his readers that the final judgment will not be by the Old Testament Law but by Jesus Christ.
1. Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, vol. 6 of The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse, F.F. Bruce, and Gordon D. Fee (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996), 151.
Applications:
This passage is one of those that we will encounter in the Book of Romans where the primary application is theological. By that, I mean that the primary application is the change our mindset to agree with what this passage teaches.
For those who do not have faith in Jesus Christ for salvation from eternal death, their actions will be condemned by Him who paid for their sins. For those who have accepted Christ for salvation, they will not be judged because there will be nothing to judge. Christ has taken all of their sin on Him and given them His righteousness.
Previous Devotional Enrichment from Romans
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