God's Judgment and the Law
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Rom 2:16
according to my...
The Greek text of this verse begins with the phrase “in the day.” The words this will take place are not in the Greek but are supplied to tie this verse back to the main idea of this section (Rom. 2:5-13), namely, God’s righteous judgment (Rom. 2:5). Rom. 2:14-15 are actually a parenthetic idea (as indicated in the NIV). This was brought to mind by Rom. 2:13 and the Jewish prejudice against the Gentiles. The certainty of divine judgment is emphasized by the words God will judge (lit., “God judges”). The Agent of divine judgment is Jesus Christ (cf. John 5:22, 5:27; Acts 17:31). This judgment will deal with men’s secrets (lit., “the hidden things of men”) and will reveal those things and prove God’s judgment right (cf. 1Cor. 4:5). Paul’s gospel is not the standard of God’s judgment. The idea is that the righteous judgment of God is an essential ingredient of the gospel Paul preached and a reason for trusting Jesus’ finished redemption.
“Secrets” primarily refers to the motives that lie behind men’s actions.
In this section (Rom. 2:1-16) God is seen as the Creator-Sovereign of the universe conducting the moral government of His human creatures. God’s absolute standards are known. God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous impartially according to their works, which reveal their hearts. Since no human being — Jesus Christ excepted — can be declared righteous (justified) by God on the basis of his own merit, every human is condemned by God. At this point in Paul’s argument the way a person can secure a righteous standing before God has not yet been presented. Here the emphasis is on the justice of God’s judgment, leading to the conclusion that nobody on his own can be declared righteous by God.
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