These are the five things I learned from reading Romans 2.

five things I learned from reading Romans 2

Romans, the letter Paul wrote to the church in Rome, is full of things everyone must know.  We don’t have to be Bible scholars to learn from it. I always read the bible like I am a beginner-because that is really what I am! So this is a bible study for beginners.

Here are five things I learned from Romans 2. In this chapter we can plainly see God’s judgement and mercy at work. There is a lot more in there, but this is what I got. 

One, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things”  Romans 2:1

A lot of us hear how we are not supposed to judge people-according to the bible it is said. That is not what the bible says. Here, as in other places in scripture, we are told to judge the way God does, and NOT the way people do. God judges in order to reclaim a lost person, we should too. The first step, then, is to repent because we hate our own sin, and receive the mercy of God. Then share that same mercy and forgiveness with the world. (John 7:24.)

Two, “For God shows no partiality” Romans 2:11.

We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). So, whatever we have accomplished for God will not grant us favor with God. Likewise, -if we are born into success, that will not save us. Whatever we accomplish, it is not enough to dispose of our sin. We have no choice but to rely on God for that!

Three, “But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God” Romans 2:17.

This amplifies that last point. Paul wrote this to the Jewish Christians of his day (yes, you can be both-Jesus is). For us, I think we can look at this as being written to the local church we attend. In other words, like number 2 above, just because we go to church, pray, read the bible and act holy does not mean we are serving God. We serve Him by living by faith and obeying Him.

Four, “But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Romans 2:29.

Paul keeps going on this point. A lot of us get tied up trying to follow the word of God exactly, not by following the Spirit behind the word of God. No, we do not ignore the bible and just do whatever ideas pop into our head and then say, “I felt God tell me…”. This passage is telling us that we must examine our motivation and make sure it is in line with God’s motivation. John 3:16 is telling us what motivated God to come to earth, the loving spread of His word should be our motivation-just like Gods.

Five, “You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” Romans 2:22.

This is a follow up to what we have already read. In Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus redefines adultery for us. It is looking with desire at a woman that is wrong, not just the act. How and what I think about is important. We should get our minds in line with God’s way of thinking. Of course we cannot do that except by grace through faith. But we can do it! See Isiah 55:7-9 and Ephesians 5:1-2.

This is not an in-depth study of this chapter but is what I learned from it.  We must change the way we think, our thoughts should imitate God’s thoughts. If we do, we will be the ones that proclaim the love, mercy, and salvation of Jesus. We can see the power of the love of Jesus for each of us in Romans 2,  and that is good news!