An Evaluation of Romans Chapter 2 NASB
NASB Draft
1 Therefore you have no excuse, you foolish person, everyone of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL REPAY EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life; 8 but to those who are self-serving and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of mankind who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek, 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus.
17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely upon the Law and boast in God,
18 and know His will and distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to people who are blind, a light to those in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, possessing in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth— 21 you, therefore, who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one is not to steal, do you steal? 22 You who say that one is not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who loathe idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? 24 For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.
25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a violator of the Law, your circumcision has turned into uncircumcision. 26 So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will his uncircumcision not be regarded as circumcision? 27 And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a violator of the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God.
Essential Highlights
Impartial Divine Judgment (vv. 1-4)
Those who condemn others expose their guilt; God’s judgment aligns with truth and each person’s deeds.
Tanakh echoes:
Psalm 62:12: “For You will render to each one according to his work.” NASB
Proverbs 24:12: “Will He not repay every person according to his work?” NASB
Universal Accountability (vv. 5-11)
Gentiles without the Law yet obeying its moral demands demonstrate that God’s standards are universally written on human conscience.
Jews with the Law who disobey it forfeit their exceptional standing; God shows no partiality.
Tanakh echoes:
Deuteronomy 1:17: “You shall not show partiality in judgment.” NASB
Leviticus 18:5: “You shall keep My statutes… and live by them.” NASB
Recompense According to Deeds (vv. 12-16)
All will be judged by the standard they knew: Gentiles by conscience, Jews by explicit Law.
The Law’s requirements will be laid bare on the Day of Judgment.
Tanakh echoes:
Deuteronomy 30:6: Promise of a “circumcised heart” to love and obey.
Joel 2:13: God’s call to “rend your heart… return to the Lord your God.” NASB
True Circumcision Is Inward (vv. 17-29)
Mere Jewish birth or external circumcision means nothing without obedience.
True identity before God is “circumcision of the heart,” accomplished by the Spirit, praised by God, not by human ritual or boast.
Tanakh echoes:
Jeremiah 9:25-26: Warning that physical circumcision will be worthless without a righteous heart.
Ezekiel 36:26-27: God will give a new heart and put His Spirit within.
Who Is the Chapter Written To?
Primary audience: Jewish Christians in Rome who trusted in their heritage and possession of the Torah for their standing before God.
Secondary audience: Gentile believers, to show that both Jew and Gentile are equally accountable and must submit to God’s just standard.
Why Was It Written?
To correct self‑righteous judgments among Jewish believers who thought their privileges (Law, circumcision, lineage) exempted them from judgment.
To demonstrate the universality of sin and God’s righteous standard, setting up the need for the gospel of justification by faith (which Paul develops in Romans 3–4).
Highlights & Warnings
God’s Kindness Is Not Leniency (v. 4): Kindness aims to lead us to repentance—resisting it brings greater judgment.
Impartiality of God (v. 11): No one is exempt; God judges sincerely by deeds, not by ethnicity or ritual.
Danger of Mere Outward Religion (vv. 28-29): External identity without internal transformation is hypocrisy and unpleasing to God.
Good‑News Items
Conscience as Witness (vv. 14-15): Even without the written Law, those who seek truth are guided by their heart, showing God’s grace at work universally.
Promise of Inward Renewal (v. 29, echoing Ezek 36): True worship and identity come through God’s Spirit and a circumcised heart, anticipating the New Covenant’s promise (Jer 31:33).
Other Biblical References
Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12 – God repays each according to works.
Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:19 – Commands impartial justice.
Leviticus 18:5 – Obedience brings life.
Deuteronomy 30:6 – Promise of heart‑circumcision.
Joel 2:13 – Call to rend hearts, not garments.
Jeremiah 9:25-26 – True circumcision is of the heart.
CRITICAL: Jeremiah 31:31-34 - The new covenant and benefit.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 – Spirit‑wrought new heart.
Galatians 5:6; Philippians 3:3 – Faith working through love and worship by the Spirit, not by the flesh.
Summary
Romans 2 dismantles any confidence in heritage or ritual, calling all, Jew and Gentile, under God’s impartial judgment and pointing forward to the need for inward renewal by the Spirit, which the gospel alone provides.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org