Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 2:3
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
3. that thou shalt escape ] “ Thou ” is, of course, emphatic. We must remember how often the Jews of that age clung to national privilege as if it were personal immunity. It was a saying, that to live in Palestine was “equal to the observance of all the commandments.” “He that hath his permanent abode in Palestine,” so taught the Talmud, “is sure of the life to come.” (Edersheim’s Sketches of Jewish Life, p. 5.) The tendency betrayed in such thoughts is deep as the fall of man, but it has its times and ways of special manifestation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And thinkest thou … – This is an appeal to their common sense, to their deep and instinctive conviction of what was right. If they condemned those who practiced these things; if, imperfect and obscure as their sense of justice was; if, unholy as they were, they yet condemned those who were guffey of these offences, would not a holy and just God be far more likely to pronounce judgment? And could they escape who had themselves delivered a similar sentence? God is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity, Hab 1:13. And if people condemned their fellow-men, how much more would a pure and holy God condemn iniquity. This appeal is evidently directed against the Jew. It was doubtless a prevalent sentiment among them, that provided they adhered to the rites of their religion, and observed the ceremonial law, God would not judge them with the same severity as he would the abandoned and idolatrous Gentiles: compare Mat 3:9; Joh 8:33. The apostle shows them that crime is crime, wherever committed: that sin does not lose its essential character by being committed in the midst of religious privileges; and that those who professed to be the people of God have no special license to sin. Antinomians in all ages, like the Jews, have supposed that they, being the friends of God, have a right to do many things which would not be proper in others; that what would be sin in others, they may commit with impunity; and that God will not be strict to mark the offences of his people. Against all this Paul is directly opposed, and the Bible uniformly teaches that the most aggravated sins among people are those committed by the professed people of God; compare Isa 1:11-17; Isa 65:2-5; Rev 3:16.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rom 2:3
And thinkest thou that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
The sinners folly
I. Their conduct.
1. They judge others.
2. Forget themselves.
3. Dream of impunity.
II. Its folly. There is but–
1. One law.
2. One judge.
3. One judgment. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
No escaping Gods judgment
I. The Jews thought to escape it, on the grounds of–
1. Their relation to Abraham.
2. Their possession of the law.
3. Their circumcision.
4. Benefits already received.
5. Their own good works.
6. The merits of their ancestors.
7. Their ceremonies such as the Day of Atonement, etc.
II. Men in general think to escape it. With as little reason, through–
1. Wealth, power, or exalted position.
2. Poverty or insignificance.
3. Religious profession, Church membership, or sacred office.
4. Personal conduct.
5. Pious ancestry.
6. Practice of religious rites.
7. Prayers, fastings, almsgivings.
8. Afflictions.
III. The impossibility of this.
1. The Jews were solemnly warned that they should not escape (Amo 9:1-4; Psa 50:7-22).
2. The only escape is through Christ (Act 4:12), just as the only refuge from the flood was in the provided ark (1Pe 3:20-21).
3. The guilty flee, the pardoned alone escape the judgment of God. (T. Robinson, D. D.)
The gradual but inevitable advance of Divine judgment
Slow goes the hand of justice, like the shadow on the sundial; ever moving, yet slowly creeping on, with a motion all but imperceptible. Still stand in awe. The hand of justice has not stopped, although imperceptible it steadily advances; by and by it reaches the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth hour. And now the bell strikes. Then unless you have fled to Christ, the blow which was so slow to fall, shall descend over the head of impenitence with accumulated force. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
When other mens facts escape not thy censure, who art but a man; what folly and madness is it to imagine, that thine own evil deeds should escape the judgment of God! See 1Jo 3:20.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same,…. Some men may be so vain as to imagine, that though they do the same things which they condemn in others, they
shall escape the judgment of God: but such will find themselves most sadly mistaken; there is no avoiding the general judgment; all men must come to it; there will be no eluding it through craftiness and deceit, through bribery and corruption; there will be no escaping condign punishment, through might in the criminal, or through the judge’s ignorance of his crimes, or want of ability and power to punish.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And doest the same ( ). “And doest them occasionally.”
That thou shalt escape ( ). Emphasis on , “thou conceited Jew expecting to escape God’s because thou art a Jew.” Cf. Mt 3:8f. Paul justifies the bitter words of the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees. The future middle of the old verb (cf. 1Th 5:3). The Jew posed as immune to the ordinary laws of ethics because a Jew. Alas, some Christians affect the same immunity.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Reckonest [] . See on 1Pe 5:12. Intimating a process of reasoning.
Thou shalt escape. Thou emphatic, opposed to Jewish self – conceit.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) And thinkest thou this, 0 man, (logize de touto) And reasonest thou or dost thou reckon or calculate this (way) 0 man; Do you count on impunity? Isa 28:15-18.
2) That judgest them which do such things, (ho krinon tous ta tolauta prassontas) The one continually judging those practicing such things, Mat 7:2; Luk 12:47.
3) And doest the same, (kai poion auta) And you are doing them, the same things yourself, Mal 1:6; Mat 23:23; Luk 11:42.
4) That thou shalt escape the judgment of God? (hoti su ekpheukse to krima tou theou) That thou wilt escape the judgment of God? Heb 9:27; 2Ti 4:1-2; 1Pe 4:17; Jud 1:15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
3. And thinkest thou, O man, etc. As rhetoricians teach us, that we ought not to proceed to give strong reproof before the crime be proved, Paul may seem to some to have acted unwisely here for having passed so severe a censure, when he had not yet proved the accusation which he had brought forward. But the fact is otherwise; for he adduced not his accusation before men, but appealed to the judgment of conscience; and thus he deemed that proved which he had in view — that they could not deny their iniquity, if they examined themselves and submitted to the scrutiny of God’s tribunal. And it was not without urgent necessity, that he with so much sharpness and severity rebuked their fictitious sanctity; for men of this class will with astonishing security trust in themselves, except their vain confidence be forcibly shaken from them. Let us then remember, that this is the best mode of dealing with hypocrisy, in order to awaken it from its inebriety, that is, to draw it forth to the light of God’s judgment.
That thou shalt escape, etc. This argument is drawn from the less; for since our sins are subject to the judgment of men, much more are they to that of God, who is the only true Judge of all. Men are indeed led by a divine instinct to condemn evil deeds; but this is only an obscure and faint resemblance of the divine judgment. They are then extremely besotted, who think that they can escape the judgment of God, though they allow not others to escape their own judgment. It is not without an emphatical meaning that he repeats the word man; it is for the purpose of presenting a comparison between man and God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) That thou shalt escape.Emphatic. Are youbecause you are a Jewto be the only exception to this rule?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Judgest thou One of the most striking proofs of the reality of a human conscience, and of its real acuteness in breasts apparently most depraved and obtuse, is not its power of self-condemnation, but its keenness in the condemnation of others. The most reckless and unconscientious wretch will be critically and delicately sharp in analyzing and severely condemning the aberration of some good man. Paul, therefore, shows singular skill in turning the analysis of these moral critics to a keen practice upon their own cases. Shalt escape On account of the moderate amount of thy viciousness. Doubtless a less deep penalty awaits a less deep guilt. But no degree of guilt can escape by self-excuse or self-disregard; the only outlet is by confessed ruin, human repentance, and divine mercy. To that repentance Paul did not press the abandoned dregs of chapter i as being out of hearing and perhaps hopeless; but to that repentance he now presses this class, whose great danger is a denial of their own ruin, and a consequent impenitent persistence in it. They are near enough to listen, they are delicate enough to judge, and the very work to which the apostle rightly applies himself is to reveal to them their danger.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And do you reckon this, O man, who judges those who practise such things, and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?’
So let them just think about it. They have set themselves up as judges of others. Do they therefore really think that when they practise such things as they have condemned, they will escape unjudged? For God’s judgment will be especially hard on those who judge others and yet do the same things themselves, whether they be judge, philosopher, Rabbi or Jew. If they pass judgment on others and yet do these thing do they really then reckon that they will escape the judgment of God? That would be to render God unjust.
It is one of the signs of man’s depravity that men whose responsibility it is to maintain law and order, or who have the gift of speaking about the follies of mankind, or who are experts in the Law, can feel that they themselves are exempted from the strictures that they bring on others, even though they might indulge in the same sins. They feel that because they take a high moral tone they will somehow be excused, even though they fall short of what they require of others. One of the failings of the Jews was that they thought that because of their association with Abraham, and because they had the Law, they would be treated differently from others. Paul is saying, ‘no, that is not so’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 2:3 . Antithesis of Rom 2:2 , “That God judges evildoers according to truth, we know (Rom 2:2 ); but judgest thou (in the face of that proposition) that thou shalt . escape?” This would indeed be at variance with the of the judgment. Comp Mat 3:7 ; and the passages from profane writers in Grotius. The non-interrogative rendering of Rom 2:3-4 (Hofmann) is not called for by the connection with the assertive declaration in Rom 2:5 ; it weakens the lively force of the discourse, and utterly fails to suit the in Rom 2:4 , so prevalent in double questions.
] preparing with emphasis (here: of surprise) for the following . . . [588] ; Bernhardy, p. 284.
] Thou on thy side, as if thou madest an exception; opposed to the Jewish self-conceit (Mat 3:7 ff.; Luk 3:7 f.). The emphasis is not on (Chrysostom, Theophylact, and others).
] not: through acquittal (Bengel), comp Dem. 602, 2, Aristoph. Vesp. 157 al [590] , but inasmuch as thou shalt not be subjected to the of God, but shalt on the contrary escape it and be secure afar off from it. Comp 2Ma 6:26 ; 2Ma 7:35 ; 1Th 5:3 ; Heb 2:3 . According to the Jewish illusion only the Gentiles were to be judged (Bertholdt, Christol. p. 206 ff.), whereas all Israel were to share in the Messianic kingdom as its native children (Mat 8:12 ).
[588] . . . .
[590] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1824
THOSE WHO JUDGE OTHERS, JUDGED
Rom 2:3-5. Thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
HUMAN nature is the same in every age, and every place: external circumstances may make an external difference; but internally, every child of man is alike alienated from God, and alike needs the salvation revealed in the Gospel. To prove this is the scope of the three first chapters of this epistle. In the foregoing chapter, it is proved in reference to the Gentiles; and in this, in reference to the Jews But to which of these the words which we have just read are addressed, admits of doubt. We think however, that the transition to the Jews is at the commencement of this chapter, notwithstanding they are not expressly mentioned till the 17th verse: and the not mentioning of their name proceeded, we apprehend from a delicacy of feeling, and a fear lest he might, by a too direct attack, arm, as it were, their minds against him. This certainly accords with the very tender regard which he manifests towards them throughout this whole epistle: and it was the less necessary to mention them, because their contempt of the Gentiles was so fully known, and so universally acknowledged. But the characters that are addressed are the same, whether amongst Jews or Gentiles: and, as the whole force of the address will be invalidated if we do not clearly discern to whom it is delivered, we will,
I.
Shew to whom the expostulation is addressed
There were among the Gentiles some who in their public discourses inculcated a purer morality than that which was generally practised, but in their own life and conversation were guilty of the very crimes which they condemned: and so it is at this day among those who call themselves Christians. The disposition which is here reproved shews itself,
1.
In the world towards each other
[From whatever it may proceed, whether frem envy or uncharitableness, there is a disposition in all to view others in an unfavourable light, at the same time that they themselves are faulty, either in the same precise way, or in other ways to the same extent. Indeed such is the extreme blindness of human nature, that the more any are under the dominion of pride, or vanity, or covetousness, or ambition, the more they hate those in whom the same evils are predominant: the proud man cannot endure the proud; and so of the rest.
But if this disposition manifests itself amongst equals, much more does it among those who are placed at some distance from each other, whether the difference be in age, or rank, or relation, or general habits and dispositions. The old condemn the follies of the young; and the young the severity of the old. The rich inveigh against the idleness or dishonesty of the poor; the poor, against the selfishness and oppressiveness of the rich. Parents complain of their children; children, of their parents. Masters, of their servants; and servants, of their masters. In like manner, the bigot and the free-thinker, the prodigal and the penurious, the hermit and the gay, all love to indulge in mutual criminations; all overlooking their own peculiar failings, and condemning without reserve the characteristic failings of others.]
2.
In the world, towards those who profess religion
[To be religious is, with the generality, the greatest of all crimes: there is no other so little tolerated, so universally condemned. Opprobrious names are universally affixed to the godly: and the current title, whatever it may be, is sufficient to make a man despised, and shunned, and dreaded, as a public nuisance all the world over. Supposing for a moment that religious persons were unwise in laying so great a stress on religion, is there no evil in neglecting God and our immortal souls? yet the world overlook all their own impiety, as if there were no harm in it, and set no bounds to their invectives against those who serve and honour God. It may be thought that the wild enthusiast alone is the object of their aversion: but were the Apostles wild enthusiasts? Was our blessed Lord wanting in wisdom and prudence? Yet were they all regarded as the filth of the earth, and the offscouring of all things: and the very men who scrupled not to suborn false witnesses, and to imbrue their hands in the blood of an innocent man, could find no evil in themselves, but only in those who were the objects of their implacable aversion.
If an occasion arise where a professor of religion acts unworthy of his profession, what a cause of triumph is it to an ungodly world! With what exultation are his faults imputed to the whole body of religious people, and all of them condemned as hypocrites alike! The sins of the ungodly and profane are all reputed as nothing in comparison of his crime; and the whole Church of God is vilified, and God himself also is blasphemed, as approving and justifying the iniquity that has been committed.]
3.
In religious persons towards the world
[It would be well if this partiality in judging were confined to the ungodly: but there is a great tendency to it in those who profess religion. Doubtless in proportion as real humility is formed in the heart, this evil disposition will be mortified: but in proportion as pride and conceit are unsubdued the attendant evil of uncharitableness will betray itself. We have a most remarkable example of this in David, when he had relapsed into a state of grievous departure from God. When Nathan told him of a man who had taken a poor mans lamb, behold, nothing would suffice to expiate the crime but the forfeiture of life itself: so atrocious did this light offence appear, when, all his own unparalleled enormities were forgotten. We grant that this was a very extreme case; and that nothing like it is commonly to be imputed to those who profess religion: but is there not amongst many professors an utter contempt of the ungodly? Do they not frequently speak of their irreligious neighbours with contemptuous asperity, as wretched, blind, carnal creatures? The Jews designated the Gentiles as dogs, and as cursed; whilst they fancied themselves the chosen people of God: and is not a great deal of the same spirit to be seen amongst what are called the religious world? The ignorance and ungodliness of the men of this world are at once conceded as just grounds of their eternal condemnation; whilst the pride and uncharitableness, and ten thousand other evils that are found but too frequently amongst these contemptuous professors, are passed over as venial, or perhaps as having no existence in their hearts. How different was the lesson taught us by our Lord, who, when the Rich Youth came to inquire of him the way to heaven, loved him, notwithstanding he knew that the love of earthly things would ultimately overcome all those better desires which occupied his mind! Our divine Master loved him for the good that was in him, though he foresaw it would prove ineffectual for the final welfare of his soul: whereas the great mass of religious professors would have lost sight of all the good that was in him, and have treated him with unqualified contempt. But among those who with great confidence cry, Lord, Lord, there are many who will be found in as bad a condition as he: and the Disciple who betrayed our Lord with a kiss, will be found in no happier plight, than they who apprehended him with swords and staves.]
4.
In religious people towards each other
[Strange as it may seem, the different sects of religious people are as ready to anathematize each other, as to condemn those who cast off all religion. It is even an avowed tenet in the Church of Rome, that they who are not of her communion cannot be saved. And there is not a little of that same bigotry existing amongst the different professors of the Protestant faith. To be of their party is almost of itself a qualification for heaven; and a dissent from it a preparative for hell. Blessed be God! this intolerant spirit has of late years greatly abated [Note: Since the establishment of the British and Foreign Bible Society.]: but still it prevails to an awful extent, and gives but too just occasion for sceptics and infidels to triumph. But even amongst persons of the same religious community this propensity to judge and condemn one another greatly prevails. The weak will judge the strong, and the strong despise the weak. Persons, whose situations totally disqualify them for estimating aright the conduct of others who are differently circumstanced, will yet take upon them to determine with confidence the line of conduct that should be pursued, and to pass a sentence of condemnation on those who walk not in the way that seems good to them. In truth, there are but few who do not need that reproof: Who art thou that judgest another? To his own Master he standeth or falleth.]
Thus we see to whom the expostulation in our text is addressed; namely, to all who judge others, whilst they themselves do the same things, or things equally reprehensible. We proceed now to,
II.
Consider the address itself
This is extremely pointed. The interrogations shew how fearfully these persons delude themselves. The address is, in fact, an appeal to the consciences of the persons addressed; and it constitutes them judges in their own cause. It shews to all such uncharitable persons, what an awful state they themselves are in:
1.
How vain their hopes!
[All the fore-mentioned characters imagine, that they themselves have nothing to fear: but they are all in a state displeasing to God, whose judgment is according to truth against them that do such things [Note: ver. 2.]. Can any man suppose that a mere profession of religion will pass with God for the actual experience of it in the heart? or that a forwardness to condemn others will be a substitute for the performance of our own duties? Will God form his judgment upon the partial grounds which we take for the forming of ours? Will he admit as just the estimate which we have made of our own character, or be content to try us by the standard which we have used in trying ourselves? No: his law is perfect; and by that he will try all to whom that law has been revealed. He will weigh us all in the balance of the sanctuary; he will try the hearts, and weigh the spirits, of the children of men: he will not judge according to the appearance, but will judge righteous judgment. We appeal then to all, shall these uncharitable hypocrites escape? O thou, who hast thus deceived thyself hitherto, what dost thou now think? Thinkest thou, that, because thou knowest more than others, or makest a greater profession of religion than others, thou shalt escape? Know, that such a hope is vain: We are sure [Note: ver. 2.], that, if thou humble not thyself as an undone sinner, and flee not for refuge to the Lord Jesus Christ, the vengeance of God shall overtake thee; and thou shall experience the fate which thou art so ready to award to others.]
2.
How aggravated their guilt!
[God has graciously exercised much forbearance and long-suffering towards thee; and thou takest occasion from thence to conclude well of thy state, and to sit in judgment upon others who appear less favoured than thyself. But is this the end for which God has borne with thee, and displayed towards thee all the riches of his goodness? Was not that the proper tendency of all his goodness? Should it not have humbled thee as unworthy such mercy? Should it not have filled thy heart with gratitude for such distinguishing favour? Should it not have quickened thee to return to God, and to requite him to the best of thy power? Consider, O man, whether such be not the improvement which thou shouldst have made of all these mercies? and ask thyself, whether the neglecting to improve them thus be not in fact to despise them? Yes: in overlooking thine own sins, and in passing judgment upon others, thou art hardening thyself in impenitence, and pouring contempt on God himself. Alas! thou hast little thought what guilt thou hast been contracting. Thou worldly man that judgest the religious, and thou religious man that judgest the world, when wilt thou turn thy thoughts inward, and pass judgment on thyself? Know that, till thou art brought to a more equitable spirit, as it respects thyself, and a more charitable spirit as it respects thy neighbour, thou art a despiser of God, an usurper of his prerogative, and a judge of the law itself, even of that law whereby thou thyself art to be judged [Note: Jam 4:11.]. But this most awfully augments thy guilt, and prepares thee daily for a more aggravated condemnation.]
3.
How fearful their prospects!
[There is a day wherein God will judge the world in righteousness. Man has his day [Note: 1Co 4:3. See the Greek.], and God has his [Note: 1Co 4:5.]. The present is a day of grace: but that which is coming is a day of wrath. What a fearful appellation is this! a day wrath! or, as it is elsewhere called, the day of the perdition of ungodly men [Note: 2Pe 3:7.]! O hear it, and tremble, all ye who are judging others, and neglecting to judge yourselves. Against this day ye are heaping up wrath: ye are adding to the mass day by day: load upon load, mountain upon mountain, ye are piling up; and under this accumulated weight must your souls lie to all eternity. Ah! little do you think what your employment is: little do you think what shall be the issue of all your impenitence and obduracy. But thus it will be. That day is appointed expressly with a view to the revealing, and displaying before the assembled universe, the righteous judgment of God. Every sin that is committed will then be brought to light; and every one will be judged according to what he hath done in the body, whether it be good or evil. Then, whether ye will or not, your attention shall be fixed upon your own sins: you will have nothing to do then with the sins of others. O! begin now, whilst time is afforded you, to search out your own iniquities, and to seek the remission of them through the blood of Christ.]
We will conclude this awful subject with a few words of advice
1.
Do not occupy yourselves too much about others, but rather take heed unto yourselves
[There are situations, no doubt, wherein we are called to judge: nor are we ever so to lay aside the office of judging, as to think well of those who are guilty of all manner of sin; or to commit ourselves to those, whom we have good reason to think treacherous and deceitful. Nor need we so forbear judging, as to be satisfied with the state of those who live in a total neglect of God and of their own souls. On the contrary, we ought to weep over them, and pray for them, and to labour by all possible means for their salvation. But our chief concern must be with ourselves. Here our scrutiny cannot be too exact, or our anxiety too great. Here we should be afraid of entertaining a good opinion on insufficient grounds. We should judge ourselves, that we may not be judged of the Lord. Search then, and try your every way: and, not venturing to trust your own efforts, pray earnestly to God, and say, Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me; and lead me in, the way everlasting [Note: Psa 139:23-24.].]
2.
Above all things, seek to know your perishing need of a Saviour
[This is the grand scope of the Apostles argument: he is endeavouring to convince all, both Jews and Gentiles, that they stand in need of the salvation which Christ has purchased for us by his own blood. There is in the generality a fear of seeing themselves in too humiliating a point of view: but this can never be: the more we are abased in our own eyes, the more we shall be exalted in the sight of God. It is the sick that need the physician: and the more sensible we are of our disorder, the more we shall value the Lord Jesus Christ. Were there indeed any doubt of his sufficiency to save us, we might well be afraid of viewing our sins in all their extent: his blood will cleanse from all sin; and he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. In him all fulness dwells: and you need not be afraid of seeing yourselves wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, when you hear him counselling you to come to him for gold that shall enrich you, and clothing that shall cover you, and eye-salve that shall restore your sight [Note: Rev 3:17-18.]. Be nothing, yea, less than nothing, in yourselves; and He will be to you all that your heart can desire, your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Ver. 3. Thinkest thou ] This is preaching to the conscience, to the quick. Our exhortations should be as forked arrows to stick in men’s hearts; and not wound only, as other arrows. A poor hermit came to our Richard I, A. D. 1195, and preaching to him the words of eternal life, bade him be mindful of the subversion of Sodom, and to abstain from things unlawful: otherwise, said he, the deserved vengeance of God will come upon thee. The hermit being gone, the king neglected his words. But afterwards falling sick, he more seriously bethought himself, and waxing sound in soul as well as in body, he grew more devout, and charitable to the poor. (Hoveden. Speed.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3. ] Here he approximates nearer to the Jews. They considered that because they were the children of Abraham they should be saved, see Mat 3:7 ; Mat 3:9 .
, viz. ., following.
has the emphasis on it, thou thyself , ‘ thou above all others .’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 2:3 . has strong emphasis. The Jew certainly thought, in many cases, that the privilege of his birth would of itself ensure his entrance into the kingdom (Mat 3:8-9 ): this was his practical conviction, whatever might be his proper creed. Yet the indicates that of all men the Jew, so distinguished by special revelation, should least have fallen into such an error. He is “the servant who knew his Lord’s will,” and whose judgement will be most rigorous if it is neglected.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
thinkest = reckonest. Greek. logizomai. First of nineteen occurances in Romans of this important word; here, Rom 2:26; Rom 3:28; Rom 4:3, Rom 4:4, Rom 4:5, Rom 4:6, Rom 4:8, Rom 4:9, Rom 4:10, Rom 4:11, Rom 4:22, Rom 4:23, Rom 4:24; Rom 6:11; Rom 8:18, Rom 8:36; Rom 9:8; Rom 14:14. First occurance. Mar 11:31 (reasoned).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
3.] Here he approximates nearer to the Jews. They considered that because they were the children of Abraham they should be saved, see Mat 3:7; Mat 3:9.
, viz. ., following.
has the emphasis on it, thou thyself,-thou above all others.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 2:3. , thou) as distinguished from the Gentile; every one, even without a cause, makes his own self an exception [as regards condemnation]; and flatters himself, although he knows not himself, on what grounds.-, shalt thou escape?) through the loopholes, which thou seekest. Every one, that is arraigned, , tries to escape [ is the technical term for a defendant; , the accuser]; he who is acquitted, , escapes.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 2:3
Rom 2:3
And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?-Because the judgment of God had not been executed upon the Jew as on the Gentile, and the law had not been formally withdrawn from him, he imagined that he was specially favored of God. [That he trusted in his relation to Abraham, to his circumcision, and to the fact of having the law, for salvation, is indisputable. On these grounds he clearly counted on Gods partiality. Consequently, although he knew himself to be guilty of the same sins which he condemned in the Gentiles, he yet evidently did not expect God to condemn him. He expected God to overlook in him, because a Jew, what he knew he would not overlook in the Gentile, and what even he himself did not overlook; but Paul here shows that sin is sin by whomsoever committed; that sin does not lose its essential character by being committed in the midst of religious privileges; and that those who profess to be the people of God have no peculiar license to sin. This false trust is rebuked by John the Baptist. (Mat 3:7-9). The same error exists today. Many expect to be saved because they are the children of wealth, culture, refinement, or because their parents are godly.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
thinkest: 2Sa 10:3, Job 35:2, Psa 50:21, Mat 26:53
O man: Rom 2:1, Dan 10:19, Luk 12:14, Luk 22:58, Luk 22:60
that thou shalt: Rom 1:32, Psa 56:7, Pro 11:21, Pro 16:5, Eze 17:15, Eze 17:18, Mat 23:33, 1Th 5:3, Heb 2:3, Heb 12:25
Reciprocal: Jer 44:14 – shall escape Rom 1:18 – who hold Rom 2:5 – revelation Heb 7:14 – sprang
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:3
Rom 2:3. O man means the Jew who was condemning the Gentile. He thought that his being a Jew would exempt him from the judgment of God.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 2:3. But reckonest thou, etc. There is a slight antithesis here: but (although this is the case, that Gods judgment is against, etc.) dost thou reckon, etc., have this opinion, or fancy.
This, namely, what follows, the description of the man addressed: that thou shalt escape the judgment of God! This seems to have been the Jewish error; according to Rom 2:2 such escape was impossible. But it is an error not confined to the Jews. The sinner can persuade himself, and by many kinds of misconception stupefy himself, so as to believe that his sins will go unpunished. (Tbingen Bible). Ah, how common is this deception!
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 3. But thou countest upon this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
We might, with Hofmann, take the verbs and (thou countest, thou despisest) in an affirmative sense. But the , or indeed, at the beginning of Rom 2:4 would rather incline us, following Paul’s ordinary usage, to interpret these words in the interrogative sense; not, however, that we need translate the former in the sense of: thinkest thou? The interrogation is less abrupt: thou thinkest no doubt? The word , to reason, well describes the false calculations whereby the Jews persuaded themselves that they would escape the judgment with which God would visit the Gentiles. Observe the , thou: that thou wilt escape, thou, a being by thyself, a privileged person! It was a Jewish axiom, that every one circumcised has part in the kingdom to come. A false calculation. Such, then, is the first supposition serving to explain the security of the Jew; but there is a graver still. Perhaps this false calculation proceeds from a moral fact hidden in the depths of the heart. Paul drags it to the light in what follows.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? [The argument may be paraphrased thus: Yielding to the force of argument, that like sin deserves like condemnation, even you, though most unwillingly, condemn yourself. How much more freely, therefore, will God condemn you (1Jo 3:20). And we know that you can not escape, for the judgment of God is according to truth; i. e., without error or partiality against the doers of evil. And do you vainly imagine, O man, that when thine own moral sense is so outraged at evil that thou must needs condemn others for doing it, that thou, though doing the same evil thyself, shalt escape the judgment of God through any partiality on his part? Self-love, self-pity, self-justification, and kindred feeling, have, in all ages, caused men to err in applying the warnings of God to themselves. Among the Jews this error took the form of a doctrine. Finding themselves especially favored and privileged as children of Abraham, they expected to be judged upon different principles from those of truth, which would govern the judgment and condemnation of the rest of mankind. This false trust is briefly announced and rebuked by John the Baptist (Mat 3:7-9), and afterwards more clearly and fully defined in the Talmud in such expressions as these: “Every one circumcised has part in the kingdom to come.” “All Israelites will have part in the world to come.” “Abraham sits beside the gates of hell, and does not permit any wicked Israelite to go down to hell.” The same error exists to-day in a modified form. Many expect to be saved because they are the children of wealth, culture, refinement; because they belong to a civilized people; because their parents are godly; or even, in some cases, because they belong to a certain lodge, or order.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
3. But O man, that condemneth those doing such things and art doing the same thyself, do you consider this, that you shall escape the condemnation of God? The answer is an awful negative. The church member by his very attitude condemns the worldlian for sin, at the same time actually making a profession of a sinning religion. The inconsistency literally makes him a laughing-stock for devils, because his very attitude as a sinning Christian puts him under the same condemnation along with the sinful world, and sends him to the same hell.