Principles of God’s Judgment: Impartiality (Part 3)

Romans 2:14-15

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)

(Verse 14-15) - Anticipating such questions, Paul here states that Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, being a law to themselves. Explaining further, the apostle says, They show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.

For when - The apostle, in Rom. 2:13, had stated a general principle, that the doers of the Law only can be justified, if justification is attempted by the Law. In this verse and the next, he proceeds to show that the same principle is applicable to the pagan; that though they have not the written Law of God, yet that they have sufficient knowledge of his will to take away every excuse for sin, and consequently that the course of reasoning by which he had come to the conclusion that they were guilty, is well founded. This verse is not to be understood as affirming, as an historical fact, that any of the pagan ever did perfectly obey the Law which they had, any more than the previous verse affirms it of the Jews, The main point in the argument is, that if people are justified by the Law, their obedience must be entire and perfect; that this is not to be external only, or to consist in hearing or in acknowledging the justice of the Law; and that the Gentiles had an opportunity of illustrating this principle as well as the Jews, since they also had a law among themselves. The word “when” does not imply that the thing shall certainly take place, but is one form of introducing a supposition; or of stating the connection of one thing with another, (Matt. 5:11; 6:2, 5-6, 16; 10:19). In fact, one of the main points of this entire line of reasoning for Paul is that we ought to take this idea along with another – that is that none (but Christ) has ever perfectly fulfilled the Law – and the two combined tell us that the Law cannot justify.  That is developed later in Romans and quite at length in the Book of Galatians.

It is, however, true that the main things contained in this verse, and the next, actually occurred, that the Gentiles did many things which the Law of God required. This is a kind of a “side” issue.  The Jews possessed the Law, and did not observe it, not truly or genuinely.  The Gentiles, who, although they did not actually possess the Canons of God, actually did many of the things that are commanded in the Law.  The irony and the contrast between the two is quite profound.  Yet, the Jews looked down their noses at the Gentiles and condemned them!

The Gentiles - All who were not Jews.

Which have not the law - Who have not a true revelation, or the true written word of God. In the Greek the article is omitted, “who have not law,” that is, any revealed law. We must understand this to be a reference to the genuine article, not just a reference to the concept of law or the possession of human religious precepts.  They have surely and do surely abound in the world.  All men everywhere have laws, especially religious laws.  This is a reference to the true Law of God.  We ought to note as well that is a reference to the Mosaic Law, and in a larger sense, to all of the Law revealed in all of the Scripture.  It is not a reference to tradition or to interpretation of that Law.  That was a mistake that the Jews made – they confused their own thoughts and beliefs with the revealed will of God as seen in the Law.  That is a critical and a crippling mistake.

By nature - By some, this phrase has been supposed to belong to the previous member of the sentence, “who have not the law by nature.” But our translation is the more natural and usual construction. The expression means clearly by the light of conscience and reason, and whatever other helps they may have without revelation. It denotes simply, in that state which is without the revealed will of God. In that condition they had many helps of tradition, conscience, reason, and the observation of the dealings of divine Providence, so that to a considerable extent they knew what was right and what was wrong.

Do the things - Should they not merely understand and approve, but actually perform the things required in the Law.

Contained in the law - Literally, the things of the Law, that is, the things which the Law requires. Many of those things might be done by the pagan, as, e. g., respect to parents. truth, justice, honesty, chastity. So far as they did any of those things, so far they showed that they had a law among themselves. And wherein they failed in these things they showed that they were justly condemned. “Are a law unto themselves.” This is explained in the following verse. It means that their own reason and conscience constituted, in these things, a law, or prescribed that for them which the revealed law did to the Jews.

Verse 15 tells us there are four reasons why the heathen are lost. First, as already noted, their rejection of their knowledge of God available through His creation condemns them.

Second, as the apostle now points out, their conduct, based on the knowledge of the Law written in their hearts, condemns them. Which show - Who thus evince or show.  The work of the law - The design, purpose, or object which is contemplated by the revealed Law; that is, to make known to man his duty, and to enforce the obligation to perform it. This does not mean, by any means, that they had all the knowledge which the Law would impart, for then there would have been no need of a revelation, but that, as far as it went, as far as they had a knowledge of right and wrong, they coincided with the revealed will of God. In other words, the will of God, whether made known by reason or revelation, will be the same so far as reason goes. The difference is that revelation goes further than reason; sheds light on new duties and doctrines; as the information given by the naked eye and the telescope is the same, except, that the telescope carries the sight forward, and reveals new worlds to the sight of man.  Written in their hearts - The revealed Law of God was written on tables of stone, and then recorded in the books of the Old Testament. This law the Gentiles did not possess, but, to a certain extent, the same requirements were written on their hearts. Though not revealed to them as to the Jews, yet they had obtained the knowledge of them by the tight of nature. The word “hearts” here denotes the mind itself, as it does also frequently in the Sacred Scriptures; not the heart, as the seat of the affections. It does not mean that they loved or even approved of the Law, but that they had knowledge of it; and that that knowledge was deeply engraved on their minds.

Throughout history there have been many unbelievers who have been honest in business, respectful of their parents, faithful to their wives or husbands, caring of their children, and generous to those in need—all of which good things God’s Word commends. God’s standard of justice is reflected in many secular judicial systems, wherein stealing, murder, and various other forms of immorality are considered wrong and made illegal. Many pagan philosophies, both ancient and modern, teach certain standards of ethics that closely parallel those in Scripture.

The Bible reports many good deeds done by pagans such as Darius (Dan. 6:25-28), the city clerk of Ephesus (Acts 19:35-41), the Roman military officers who protected Paul (Acts 23:10, 17-35), and the natives of Malta who befriended Paul and his shipmates (Acts 28:10). The fact that such people did good things, knowing they were ethically good, proves they had knowledge of God’s Law written in their hearts. Therefore if those people never come to trust in the true God, their good deeds will actually witness against them on the day of judgment.

Third, the heathen are condemned because of conscience. Gentiles who do not have the privilege of knowing God’s law nevertheless have a conscience bearing witness to His law.  The word “conscience” literally means “knowledge with,” or “co-knowledge.” Synonyms of that term, most with the same root meaning, are found in many ancient languages. The very idea behind the word testifies to the fact that men recognize they have an instinctive, built-in sense of right and wrong that activates guilt. This word properly means the judgment of the mind respecting right and wrong; or the judgment which the mind passes on the morality or immorality of its own actions, when it instantly approves or condemns them. It has usually been termed the moral sense, and is a very important principle in a moral government. Its design is to answer the purposes of an ever attendant witness of a man’s conduct; to compel him to pronounce on his own doings, and thus to excite him to virtuous deeds, to give comfort and peace when he does right, to deter from evil actions by making him, whether he will or no, his own executioner: (see John 8:9; Acts 23:1; 24:16; Rom. 9:1; 1 Tim. 1:5). By nature every man thus approves or condemns his own acts; and there is not a more profound principle of the divine administration, than thus compelling every man to pronounce on the moral character of his own conduct. Conscience may be enlightened or unenlightened; and its use may be greatly perverted by false opinions. Its province is not to communicate any new truth, it is simply to express judgment, and to impart pleasure or inflict pain for a man’s own good or evil conduct. The apostle’s argument, does not require him to say that conscience revealed any truth, or any knowledge of duty, to the Gentiles, but that its actual exercise proved that they had a knowledge of the Law of God. Thus, it was a witness simply of that fact.

Bearing witness - To bear witness is to furnish testimony, or proof. And the exercise of the conscience here showed or proved that they had a knowledge of the Law. The expression does not mean that the exercise of their conscience bore witness of anything to them, but that its exercise may be alleged as a proof that they were not without some knowledge of the Law.

It is reported that a tribe in Africa had an unusual but effective way to test the guilt of an accused person. A group of suspects would be lined up and the tongue of each would be touched with a hot knife. If saliva was on the tongue the blade would sizzle but cause little pain. But if the tongue was dry the blade would stick and create a vicious, searing burn. The tribe knew that a sense of guilt tends to make a person’s mouth dry, and a seared tongue therefore was taken as proof of guilt. The making of such a dry mouth is, of course, the work of the conscience.

Consciences vary in sensitivity, depending on the degree of one’s knowledge of and feeling about right and wrong. The person who has considerable knowledge of God’s Word will have a more sensitive conscience than someone who has never had opportunity to know Scripture.

But consciences also vary in sensitivity depending on whether they are obeyed or resisted. Some years ago it was discovered that, contrary to long-held medical thinking, the gross disfiguration of the extremities that is so common in lepers is not caused directly by the disease. Leprosy does not deteriorate or eat at the flesh but rather desensitizes the nerves. Unprotected by the warning signals of pain, the leper wears down his extremities or suffers cuts, burns, and infections without knowing he is being injured.

In much the same way, the neglected and resisted conscience becomes more insensitive and eventually may stop giving warning signals about wrongdoing. Paul speaks of heretics and apostates in the last days whose consciences will be desensitized as if cauterized by a hot iron because of their persistent opposition to God and His truth (1 Tim. 4:2).

God uses the consciences of His children as vehicles for His guidance. Paul therefore makes many appeals for believers to be faithful to the leading of their own consciences and to respect the consciences of other believers (see Rom. 13:5; 1 Cor. 8:7, 12; 10:25, 29; 2 Cor. 5:11). Consistent with his own teaching, the apostle was careful to obey his own conscience (Acts 23:1; 24:16; Rom. 9:1).

Fourth, the heathen are lost because of their contemplation, their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them. This natural faculty obviously is closely related to conscience. Building on the instinctive knowledge of right and wrong that the conscience provides, even unbelievers have the obvious ability to determine that certain things are basically right or wrong.

And their thoughts - The word “thoughts” means properly reasonings, or opinions, sentiments, etc. Its meaning here may be expressed by the word “reflections.” Their reflections on their own conduct would be attended with pain or pleasure. It differs from conscience, inasmuch as the decisions of conscience are instantaneous, and without any process of reasoning. This supposes subsequent reflection, and it means that such reflections would only deepen and confirm the decisions of conscience.

The mean while – Literally “Between themselves.” The rendering in the margin is more in accordance with the Greek. The expression sometimes means, in the mean time, or at the same time; and sometimes afterward, or subsequently. The Syriac and Latin Vulgate render this mutually. They seem to have understood this as affirming that the pagan among themselves, by their writings, accused or acquitted one another.

Accusing - If the actions were evil. Excusing - That is, if their actions were good.

One another - The margin renders this expression in connection with the adverb, translated “in the mean while,” “between themselves.” This view is also taken by many commentators, and this is its probable meaning. If so, it denotes the fact that in their reflections, or their reasonings, or discussions, they accused each other of crime, or acquitted one another; they showed that they had a law; that they acted on the supposition that they had. To show this was the design of the apostle; and there was no further proof of it needed than what he here adduced.

(1)  They had a conscience, pronouncing on their own acts; and,

(2)  Their reasonings, based on the supposition of some such common and acknowledged standard of accusing or acquitting, supposed the same thing. If, therefore, they condemned or acquitted themselves; if in these reasonings and reflections, they proceeded on the principle that they had some rule of right and wrong, then the proposition of the apostle was made out that it was right for God to judge them, and to destroy them; Rom. 2:8-12.

Many ardent crime fighters and advocates for the poor, for example, do not get their motivation from Scripture or from a saving relationship to Jesus Christ. As human beings they simply cannot help but know that opposing crime and helping the poor are good things to do. Even the most godless society becomes incensed when a child or elderly person is brutally attacked or murdered. Even pagans, agnostics, and atheists are able to discern basic right and wrong.

For those four profound reasons, no person can stand guiltless before God’s judgment. The fact that they do not turn to God proves they do not live up to the light God has given them. Jesus declared categorically, “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself” (John 7:17). Paul assured his pagan listeners in Athens that God “made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27). The person who genuinely seeks to know and follow God is divinely assured he will succeed. “You will seek Me and find Me,” the Lord says, “when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).

A man of my acquaintance is an excellent illustration of God’s honoring a genuine quest to find Him. This man grew up in one of the most primitive tribes in Africa. Because he was ill-behaved and incorrigible as a child, he was frequently made to stay outside when the family had guests. Although he was severely punished by the tribe as well as by his mother, he persisted in acts of pointless mischief and even cruelty. He reports that he felt guilty and heartsick even while doing the mischief but could not seem to help himself. He knew something was very wrong with his life and would often go into the forest and pound his head against a tree, crying, “What’s wrong with me? Why do I do such things?” More than once he considered suicide.

One day one of his friends returned from a visit to the coast. Among the many fascinating stories he told was that of some people who met together every Sunday to sing and talk. When the boy asked his friend why those people met together, he was told they were singing about and praying to the God who had created the whole world. They called their God Father and believed He heard and answered their prayers.

With that small bit of knowledge about the Lord, the boy over whom the tribe had despaired decided to pray to this God himself. “I had never heard anyone pray,” he recounts, “but I decided I would just talk to this God like He was my father. I can’t explain what happened but it was an exciting experience. I wanted to know more about this God but there was no one in our village who knew anything about Him. So for two years I kept praying by myself on Sundays, hoping that some day someone would come along who could tell me about Him.”

While working on a government road project, he visited his cousin in the village where he had been born and discovered to his great surprise and delight that a group of people met there on Sundays to sing and pray to the God he had heard about. “How excited I was,” he says. “I could hardly wait for Sunday. That morning I sat in the back. I listened to a man tell about God for the first time in my life. I found He was far more wonderful than I had ever imagined. The preacher said that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son named Jesus to take away my sins. I wondered if He knew how terrible I was. I wondered if He knew the awful things I had done back in my village. But the preacher said no matter what I had done, God would forgive me and make my heart clean. I knew it was all true.”

Because that young man had been genuinely seeking God, when he finally heard the gospel the Holy Spirit confirmed its truth to his yearning heart. He knew that God had heard his prayers and had sent him to a place where he could hear the message of salvation. “I gave my heart to God that morning,” he testifies, “and it was nice to know He had a Son, too. He was really a Father, just like I had been praying to.”

Once again, this needs to be a part of my preaching and witness, and I need to call men to make it a part of theirs as well.