Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 2:5

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;

5. after ] according to, in a way traceable to.

hardness ] insensibility, whether to love or reason.

treasurest up ] Possibly this word alludes to the “riches” of Rom 2:4; q. d., “the Divine store of loving-kindness is exchanged by the sinner for the Divine store of holy wrath”.

unto thyself ] Emphatic; more than merely “for thee.” The wrath is pure retribution, the result of sin. The sinner is the cause of his own doom.

against the day of wrath ] Lit. in the day of wrath; a pregnant phrase; “which will take effect in the day.” On “ wrath,” see note on Rom 1:18: “ The day: ” i.e. the definite time of the Lord’s Appearing, to raise the dead (Joh 6:39-40; Joh 6:44; Joh 6:54; Joh 11:24); to judge the world (Joh 12:48; Act 17:31); and to receive the saints to final glory (2Ti 4:8). In one remarkable passage (1Co 4:3) the Greek of the word “judgment” (in E. V.) is lit. “ day; ” and a probable account of this use of the word is the inseparable connexion of thought, in the early church, between the day and the judgment of the Lord.

revelation of the righteous judgment of God ] The “wrath” is as pure, just, and Divine as the mercy. Its “ revelation ” will be only the revelation of the absolute equity of “the Judge of all the earth.” This deep righteousness of the Divine anger is its most awful element.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

But after thy hardness – The word after here kata means in respect to, or you act according to the direct tendency of a hard heart in treasuring up wrath. The word hardness is used to denote insensibility of mind. It properly means what is insensible to the touch, or on which no impression is made by contact, as a stone, etc. Hence, it is applied to the mind, to denote a state where no motives make an impression; which is insensible to all the appeals made to it; see Mat 25:24; Mat 19:8; Act 19:9. And here it expresses a state of mind where the goodness and forbearance of God have no effect. The man still remains obdurate, to use a word which has precisely the meaning of the Greek in this place. It is implied in this expression that the direct tendency, or the inevitable result, of that state of mind was to treasure up wrath, etc.

Impenitent heart – A heart which is not affected with sorrow for sin, in view of the mercy and goodness of God. This is an explanation of what he meant by hardness.

Treasurest up – To treasure up, or to lay up treasure, commonly denotes a laying by in a place of security of property that may be of use to us at some future period. In this place it is used, however, in a more general sense, to accumulate, to increase. It still has the idea of hoarding up, carries the thought beautifully and impressively onward to future times. Wrath, like wealth treasured up, is not exhausted at present, and hence, the sinner becomes bolder in sin. But it exists, for future use; it is kept in store (compare 2Pe 3:7) against future times; and the man who commits sin is only increasing this by every act of transgression. The same sentiment is taught in a most solemn manner in Deu 32:34-35. It may be remarked here, that most people have an immense treasure of this kind in store, which eternal ages of pain will not exhaust or diminish! Stores of wrath are thus reserved for a guilty world, and in due time it will come upon man to the uttermost, 1Th 2:16.

Unto thyself – For thyself, and not for another; to be exhausted on thee, and not on your fellow-man. This is the case with every sinner, as really and as certainly as though he were the only solitary mortal in existence.

Wrath – Note, Rom 1:18.

Day of wrath – The day when God shall show or execute his wrath against sinners; compare Rev 6:17; 1Th 1:10; Joh 3:36; Eph 5:6.

And revelation – On the day when the righteous judgment of God will be revealed, or made known. Here we learn:

(1) That the punishment of the wicked will be just. It will not he a judgment of caprice or tyranny, but a righteous judgment, that is, such a judgment as it will be right to render, or as ought to be rendered, and therefore such as God will render, for he will do right; 2Th 1:6.

(2) The punishment of the wicked is future. It is not exhausted in this life. It is treasured up for a future day, and that day is a day of wrath. How contrary to this text are the pretences of those who maintain that all punishment is executed in this life.

(3) How foolish as well as wicked is it to lay up such a treasure for the future; to have the only inheritance in the eternal world, an inheritance of wrath and wo!

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Rom 2:5

But after thy hardness.

Hardness of heart

I. What it is.

1. Not mere callousness or insensibility of feeling.

2. But entire obduracy of soul–not of one faculty, but of all. The same word is sometimes translated blindness and sometimes hardness. There are two words, a stone, and , blindness or hardness (Mar 3:5; Rom 11:25). This hardness, therefore–

(1) Is blindness of the mind.

(2) Is fixedness of the will in opposition to God and His truth.

(3) Admits of degrees.

(a) Disobedience and secret opposition to truth.

(b) Zealous opposition and hatred of it, manifesting itself at length in blasphemy and persecution.

II. This hardness is a sinful state.

1. From its very nature.

2. In its higher form it is the state or character of the lost and of Satan.

3. It is self induced.

(1) As it is the natural effect of our depravity.

(2) As it is the natural consequence of the indulgence of sin.

As the natural consequence of the cultivation of virtue is virtue; of kindness is kindness, and so the natural consequence of the indulgence of sin is sin–a sinful hardening of the heart.

III. It is none the less a Divine judgment and a premonition of reprobation. Any degree of it is reason to fear such reprobation. The higher forms of it are direct evidence of it.

1. God exerts no efficiency in hardening the heart of sinners, as He does in working grace.

2. But it is the punitive withdrawing of the Spirit; the inevitable result of which is obduracy. God let Pharaoh alone and the result was what it was.

3. In its last stage it is beyond the reach of argument, motive, discipline, or culture; and beyond our own power to cure or remove.

Conclusion:

1. Dread it.

2. Withstand it.

3. Pray against it.

4. Avoid it by not grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit. (C. Hodge, D. D.)

Hardness of heart

This is the state of a person insensible alike to entreaties, expostulations, warnings, admonitions, and chastisements (Jer 5:3). Men become obdurate–

1. By separating themselves from God, the Source of all life, just as a branch dries up when detached from the tree, or as a limb withers when the connection between it and the heart ceases.

2. By a life of pleasure and sin, the effects of which may be compared to those of the river north of Quite, petrifying, according to Kirwins account, the wood and leaves cast into its waters; or to those of the busy feet of passers-by causing the crowded thoroughfare to grow hard. (C. Neil, M. A.)

Hardening the heart

On a winter evening, when the frost is setting in with growing intensity, and when the sun is now far past the meridian, and gradually sinking in the western sky, there is a double reason why the ground grows every moment harder and more impenetrable to the plough. On the one hand, the frost of evening, with ever increasing intensity, is indurating the stiffening clods: on the other hand, the genial rays which alone can soften them are every moment withdrawing and losing their enlivening power. Take heed that it be not so with you. As long as you are unconverted, you are under a double process of hardening. The frosts of an eternal night are settling down upon your souls; and the Sun of Righteousness, with westering wheel, is hastening to set upon you for evermore. If, then, the plough of grace cannot force its way into your ice-bound heart today, what likelihood is there that it will enter tomorrow? (R. M. McCheyne, M. A.)

Conscience deadened

As the old historian says about the Roman armies that marched through a country burning and destroying every living thing, they make a solitude, and call it peace, so men do with their consciences. They stifle them, forcibly silence them, somehow or other; and then when there is a dead stillness in the heart, unbroken by no voice of either approbation or blame, but doleful like the unnatural quiet of a deserted city, then they say it is peace. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

And impenitent heart.

The impenitent heart is one which

1. Has not repented.

2. Is not easily brought to repentance.

3. Is disinclined and unwilling to repent.

4. Is unable to repent. (T. Robinson, D. D.)

Impenitence

I. Its nature.

1. We shall better understand this if we consider what is the nature of penitence, which is a clear view of our nature and conduct as tried by the pure and perfect law of God. Connected with this there is–

(1) A consciousness that we are deservedly under the wrath of God, and the curse of that law which our sins have violated.

(2) Alarm at sin and its consequences.

(3) An ingenuous disposition to confess sin to God, without extenuation or self-defence.

(4) Grief for sin.

(5) A disposition to forsake it.

(6) And there will be no true repentance where there is not faith in Christ, as the only way by which sin can be forgiven.

2. Now, impenitence means, of course, the opposite to this. The man who is not convinced of sin, etc., is impenitent, hard-hearted towards God and religion.

3. Mark the guilt of this. It really contains in itself every aggravation that sin admits of. It is–

(1) Rebellion against the authority of God, who commands men everywhere to repent.

(2) Great insult to God: for in proportion to the excellence of any being whom we may offend should be the promptness of our mind to confess the offence and mourn over it.

(3) Great contempt of the law of God, that, after we have trampled it under foot, we should have no grief for the injury we have done it.

(4) Total rejection of the whole scheme of mercy in the gospel.

II. Its consequences.

1. The time when the punishment will be inflicted. It is very true that the moment we die we enter into heaven or hell. But neither the happiness of the righteous nor the punishment of the wicked will be complete till the judgment. This is called–

(1) The day of wrath, and it wilt be to the wicked nothing but that.

(2) A day of revelation. There will be a revelation–

(a) Of God, in the wisdom of His plans, in His mercy to His people, in His justice of the punishment of the wicked.

(b) Of Jesus Christ. No more shall it be doubted that He is the great God and our Saviour.

(c) Of man. Millions of saints shall come out from their obscurity, and shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Millions of flaming but hypocritical professors shall stand at that day unmasked.

(d) Of secrets–all the secrets of mens history.

(3) But the text speaks of it as the revelation of righteous judgment that shall come on the wicked. There will be a revelation–

(a) Of judgment itself. The punishment of the wrath of God is now revealed only partially; never, impenitent sinner, till the day of judgment will the greatness of thy iniquity be revealed.

(b) Of righteous judgment; a complete manifestation of the justice of God in the punishment of the wicked. There shall be no infidels in hell: there shall none go from the judgment seat impeaching the justice of God.

(c) Before the world. So that, while the righteous shall be honoured, the wicked will be punished before the universe.

2. Its nature. Thou treasurest up wrath. Whose wrath? If it were the wrath of an angel there would be something tremendous in it. But–

(1) It is the wrath of God–something more terrible than the imagination can compass! Solomon tells us that the wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion. But what is the wrath of a king to the wrath of God? But, perhaps, it may be said that it is only a taste of His wrath. The Scripture says wrath will come on the wicked to the uttermost; it will be unmixed wrath. Now God blends mercy with judgment: then mercy will retire.

(2) It will be wrath felt, not merely threatened. Now it is threatened, and the wicked sport with the threat; but then it will be felt.

(3) It will be everlasting wrath. What must it be to endure the unmitigated wrath of God for a moment, for an hour, for a week, for a year, for a century, for a thousand years, for a million of ages! But if, at that distance, there should be one gleam of hope appearing through the vista of darkness, hell would cease to be hell; hope would spring up; and the very idea of the termination of torment would sustain the soul under it. But oh, eternal wrath! To be obliged to cry out, How long? and to receive no answer but Forever! And after millions of ages have passed, and the question is again asked, How long? still to receive no answer but Forever!

(4) This wrath is said to be wrath to come, and because it is to come, sinners will not believe it; because it is to come, they think it never will come. But it is perpetually drawing near. It is nearer this day than it was last Sabbath day.

3. The proportion of the punishment. In the Hebrew Scriptures anything that is accumulative is accounted treasure. Hence, we read of the treasures of wickedness. The expression treasurest up wrath seems to be put in opposition to the riches of His goodness. What an idea! Treasures of love! Heaps of wrath! And you will observe the sinner is represented as the author of his own punishment. The idea conveyed is this, that there is an accumulation continually going on as long as he sins. And then, as this proportion will be according to the sin committed, so it will be according to the mercies abused and neglected. The sins of the poor heathen are light compared with ours, and the punishment will be light too. (J. Angell James.)

Treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath.–

Amassing wrath

He who perseveres in sin is not only continuing in a dangerous state, but treasuring up unto himself wrath. As a man amasses a fortune by saving up certain sums from year to year, and more and more as he goes on, so this man goes on making the wrath that will come upon him at last heavier and heavier, by adding fresh sins day after day. God does not forget; He is ready to forgive, so entirely and freely to forgive that He calls it forgetting, but He does not let things pass by forgetfulness, and therefore our deeds are treasured up against the day of judgment, and He will then render to us according to them. Prudence would always lead us to think what we are treasuring up for ourselves, for whatever we do, we may be sure we are treasuring up something. Our daily life is adding by little and little to some kind of stock that is laid up for us. In this world, if we are regular and temperate in our living, we lay up for ourselves, ordinarily, health and length of life. If, on the contrary, we are irregular, self-indulgent, or intemperate, we lay up for ourselves an accumulating stock of weakness and disease, and a debt to our nature which we may have to pay by the cutting off of many days from our time here. If we are honest and industrious, we lay up for ourselves a treasure of good character, which will serve us more and more as we grow older; if we are dishonest and idle, we lay up for ourselves a bad character, which will tell more and more against us. If we are kind and good-tempered, we lay up a treasure of the goodwill of our fellows; if we are proud and quarrelsome, we lay up enmities and dislikes, which may grow even to our ruin, and which may any day show themselves, all gathered into a mass, when we should most wish to be clear of them. And we know very well how it is sometimes when any person goes on behaving ill towards ourselves, disregarding our advice, disobeying our orders, reckoning upon our not choosing to punish; we go on a long time, it may be, to give him a chance of doing better, but at last he heaps up such an abundance and weight of misconduct, that we can bear it no longer, and we dismiss him from his employment with disgrace. So it is with a man who deals thus lightly with God, and presumes on His forbearance. God warns him again and again, but yet for a while does not execute judgment upon him. But at last comes the day of reckoning, and it is found that he has been all along heaping up for himself an evil treasure, a treasure of wrath against the day of wrath. The pleasures that are gone have left a sting behind them, the unjust gains, that seemed for a while to abide, are a witness against the covetous (Jam 5:2-4). (C. Marriott, B. D.)

Treasuring up wrath

This proves that sins will be punished according to their accumulation. A man is rich according to his treasures. The wicked will be punished according to the number and aggravation of their sins. There are two treasures, which Paul opposes to each other–that of goodness, of forbearance, and long suffering–and that of wrath; and the one may be compared to the other. The one provides and amasses blessings for the creature, the other punishments; the one invites to heaven, the other precipitates to hell; the one looks on sin to pardon it on repentance, the other regards obstinate continuance to punish it, and avenge favours that are despised, God alone prepares the first, but man himself the second. (R. Haldane.)

Accumulating wrath

It is related that some years ago, in a mountainous region on the continent of Europe, an avalanche of snow–i.e., an enormous mass of snow–came down from one of the overhanging rocks in such a vast body as entirely to dam up a river into which it fell. What was the effect produced? As the river could no longer flow, it went on forming itself into an extensive lake–threatening, whenever it should burst through its snowy barrier, to carry desolation and ruin upon men and villages in the country beneath. The larger the quantity of water suspended, the greater would be its violence when it obtained its liberty: and so it proved. The devastation caused was said to be terrible in the extreme. It is thus with every unconverted sinner. The longer he lives, the greater is the amount of wrath he is accumulating, or treasuring up, against his day of destruction. (C. Clayton, M. A.)

And revelation of the righteous Judgment of God.—

The revelation of Gods righteous judgments

1. Further on in this epistle the contrast between darkness and light is employed to depict the difference between the present time and that which will succeed the second coming of Christ (Rom 13:12). We may have been compelled to tread a dangerous path under the guidance of an imperfect light, and we can recall the difficulty of distinguishing between substance and shadow, the bewildering sense of insecurity, and our thankfulness when the day enabled us to see things as they really were.

2. The imagery then, of the apostle is exceedingly appropriate to our present condition. We are not in absolute darkness, for we have the Word of God, which is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. The road of safety is indeed sufficiently plain. But if we look beyond and around us, there are painful problems which we cannot solve, and huge difficulties which we cannot surmount. We cannot discern as yet the true proportions and nature of things; but when the day of eternity breaks, then the blinding, perplexing shadows will disappear.

3. These remarks will serve to introduce our topic. God is greatly misunderstood even by His own people. Witness the eases of Job, of Jeremiah, and of some of the Psalmists (Psa 73:1-28). And if it be so with religious people, much more must it be true of the ungodly. But a day is coming when it shall be seen that He is holy in all His ways, and righteous in all His works.

I. Consider some of the difficulties which perplex us.

1. Those which concern Gods dealings with ourselves. Not unfrequently it happens that trials befall a Christian which he cannot interpret, and he is almost tempted to think that God is not the wise and loving Father he has been led to suppose. It may be, too, that the explanation will never come in this world. God would have His children trust Him without explanation. And then the only refuge is in the words What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

2. Those connected with Gods sovereignty and mans responsibility.

(1) If there be one thing in Scripture more plain than another, it is that the offer of salvation is made to every man. And the blame of rejection is distinctly thrown upon the sinner: Ye will not come unto Me that ye might have life. Now all this points to the responsibility of man. He might come, but he refuses to come. Here, then, is one side of the truth. On the other side we are just as plainly taught that no man cometh unto Christ unless the Father draw him; that repentance and faith are both the gift of God; and that Christians can take no credit to themselves for the position in which they are placed, but that they are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, etc. In the matter of salvation He acts according to the good pleasure of His will. Many are called, but few are chosen. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. Here, then, we have another side of the truth–the sovereignty of God.

(2) Now you ask me to make these two statements consistent. I cannot comply with your demand. What I know is this, that I am bound to hold both truths without anxiety about consequences; and that there is a witness for both facts in the hearts of men. Never yet was a Christian found who would not admit that his salvation originated with God; and the man without faith in Christ, though he will say nothing, his conscience bears witness that he has been resisting by an act of his own will the gracious influences of Gods Holy Spirit; and that if he should perish in his sins, he will have no one to blame for his ruin but himself. With these testimonies we may be satisfied, and look for the solution of the difficulty hereafter. The revelation that is coming will be a revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

(3) With respect to this particular subject we may represent the two doctrines as two massive pillars standing face to face as if they were rivals. There they stand; and we look up at them, trying to trace out a point of contact. But they rise beyond our vision, and their majestic shafts are soon lost in dark mysterious clouds, and the eye can follow them no longer. But somewhere beyond the clouds–somewhere in the world of light above–we believe that they unite in some grand arch, and that there all appearance of antagonism disappears; and we believe also that that meeting point will be seen at the manifestation of Jesus Christ.

3. Those connected with the broad subject of the Divine dealings with the human race.

(1) There is one in the fact that so many centuries have elapsed since the sacrifice of Calvary, and yet so small a portion of the human race have heard the gospel.

(2) There is another in the fact that those who die in their sins will be punished eternally. This topic is one so inexpressibly painful and puzzling that we do not much wonder at the theories which evade the force of the Scriptural statements.

II. With respect to these difficulties consider–

1. That they are altogether inseparable from our present condition. Much as we should like to have everything made plain to us, it cannot be so; and it is well, too, that it should be so. We are in the night, not in the day; we have a glimmer, but not the full light: the full light comes in with the appearing of Christ. Moreover, this is the season of training. If everything were intelligible, where would be the exercise of faith?

2. That we are led to look forward to a day of explanation, a day of revelation is coming, which will be a day of revelation of the righteousness of the decisions and of the appointments of God. Wait for that day patiently. Its bright light will solve all problems, and scatter the darkness of those mysteries which now perplex and distress the Christian mind.

III. What conclusions shall we draw from our subject?

1. That the belief of the coming of a day of explanation will operate to check all hasty theorising, all judging before the time. Men yield to this temptation and invent systems of doctrine in the vain hope of escaping from the grand inconsistency of Holy Scripture. Like men in old times, occupied with squaring the circle, perpetual motion, or the method of turning everything into gold, they busy themselves with an unprofitable, because impossible, task. Yet again, men in their impatience to solve the problem of the Divine dealings with man have rejected the statements of Holy Writ. These theorists are bidden wait for the day of explanation that is coming. Thus there is in this view of the text a remedy for our natural impatience.

2. But more than this: there is much comfort in looking forward to such a time. A loving child may have most perfect confidence in his father. He is sure that what that father does is right and wise; yet he may be puzzled with the captious remarks of his fathers enemies. So he looks forward to the day of explanation. He knows that then the character and acts of his parent will receive a most triumphant vindication, and that the mouths of all detractors will be silenced, and silenced forever. Even so the Christian looks forward with delight to the second appearing of the Lord–the day of the revelation of the righteousness and holiness of God.

3. Yet in all perplexities we have an unfailing remedy available now. We can look to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Every murmur ought to be stilled, every doubt ought to be suppressed, every misgiving silenced–when we stand on the slope of Calvary. (G. Calthrop, M. A.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 5. But after thy hardness] Occasioned by thy long course of iniquity. And impenitent heart – produced by thy hardness, through which thou art callous to the calls and expostulations of conscience. Treasurest up – continuest to increase thy debt to the Divine justice, which will infallibly inflict wrath – punishment in the day of wrath – the judgment day, in which he will render to every man according to his works. The word treasure the Hebrew uses to express any kind of store or collection: – Treasure or plenty of rain. De 28:12: The Lord shall open unto thee his good TREASURE, to give the RAIN unto thy land. Treasure of punishment. De 32:34, De 32:35 : Is not this sealed up among my TREASURES? To me belongeth VENGEANCE and RECOMPENSE. Treasures of mines, i.e. abundance of minerals. De 33:19: They shall suck of the ABUNDANCE of the seas, and of TREASURES hid in the sand. So treasures of gold, silver, corn, wine, oil, c., mean collections or an abundance of such things: the word is used by the Greek writers precisely in the same sense. By wrath we are to understand punishment, as in Ro 1:18 and it is used so by the very best Greek writers. See Kypke.

The treasure of wrath, in this verse, is opposed to the riches of goodness, in the preceding. As surely as thou despisest, or neglectest to improve the RICHES of God’s GOODNESS, so surely thou shalt share in the TREASURES of his WRATH. The punishment shall be proportioned to the mercy thou hast abused.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath; this passage seems to respect Deu 32:34,35, or Job 36:13. You have a parallel place, Jam 5:3. The meaning is, Thou provokest more and more the wrath of God against thee; by heaping up sins, thou heapest up judgments of God upon thyself: just as men add to their treasure of wealth, so dost thou add to thy treasure of punishment.

Revelation of the righteous judgment of God; this is a periphrasis of the day of judgment, or of the last day: then will God visit for those sins that here escape punishment; then the justice and equity of his proceedings shall appear, and all shall have reason to approve thereof.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

5. treasurest up unto thyself wrathagainstrather “in.”

the day of wraththatis wrath to come on thee in the day of wrath. What an awful idea ishere expressedthat the sinner himself is amassing, like hoardedtreasure, an ever accumulating stock of divine wrath, to burst uponhim in “the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment ofGod!” And this is said not of the reckless, but of those whoboasted of their purity of faith and life.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart,…. The apostle goes on to show, that such persons who promise themselves impunity on the score of prosperity, shall not always go unobserved and unpunished; for there is a day of wrath and righteous judgment hastening on, and will take place after they have filled up the measure of their iniquity. There is a natural “hardness” of the heart in every son and daughter of Adam; and there is an acquired habitual hardness, which is increased by sinning; and a judicial one, which God, for sin, sometimes gives persons up unto. An “impenitent heart” is not only an heart which does not repent, but such an one as cannot repent, being harder than the nether millstone. Now men, by such hardness and impenitence,

treasure up unto [themselves] wrath: they are the authors of their own destruction; by which is meant the wrath of God, in opposition to the riches of his goodness, despised by them; and is in reserve for wicked men: and is laid up

against, and will be brought forth in

the day of wrath; which the Scriptures call “the evil day”, Am 6:3 Eph 6:13; the day fixed by God, when he will call men to an account for their sins, and stir up all his wrath against them:

and revelation; that is, the day of revelation, when Christ shall be revealed from heaven in flames of fire, the sins of men shall be revealed, and the wrath of God against them:

of the righteous judgment of God; so some copies read; that is, the day of the righteous judgment; so the Arabic version reads, “and of the appearance of God, and of his righteous judgment”; for the judgment will be at the appearance of Christ, who is God, and at his kingdom, 2Ti 4:1. The Alexandrian copy reads, “and of the retribution of the righteous judgment of God”; and so the Ethiopic version seems to have read, rendering the words, “if so”, or “seeing thy retribution may come upon thee”, and “if the judgment of God may befall thee”; for when the judgment of God shall come, as there will be a revelation of men’s sins, and of the wrath of God against them, there will be a just retribution according to their works. Or “the revelation of the righteous judgment of God”; that is, when the judgment of God, which is now hid, shall appear; and which is said to be “righteous”, because it will be carried on in a righteous manner, and proceed upon, and be executed according to the strictest rules of justice and equity.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

After thy hardness ( ). “According to thy hardness (old word from , hard, stiff, only here in N.T.) will God’s judgment be.”

And impenitent heart ( ). See just before. “Thy unreconstructed heart,” “with no change in the attitude of thy heart.”

Treasurest up for thyself ( ). See for on Matt 6:19; Luke 12:21; 2Cor 12:14. Dative case (for thyself) with a touch of irony (Vincent).

Wrath (). For such a Jew as already stated for the Gentile (1:18). There is a revelation () of God’s wrath for both in the day of wrath and righteous judgment (, a late compound word, in LXX, two examples in the Oxyrhynchus papyri, only here in N.T.). See 2Th 1:5 for . Paul looks to the judgment day as certain (cf. 2Co 5:10-12), the day of the Lord (2Co 1:14).

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Treasurest up [] . Accumulatest. Glancing back to riches. For thyself. Possibly a tinge of irony.

Wrath against the day of wrath [ ] . A very striking image – treasuring up wrath for one’s self. Rev., better, in the day, etc. The sinner stores it away. Its forthcoming is withheld by the forbearance of God. It will break out in the day when God ‘s righteous judgment shall be revealed.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) But after thy hardness, (kata de ten skleroteta sou) But according to thy hardness, or thy callousness, obstinacy of will or volition, capacity of personal choice; Instead of yielding to Gods purpose and will, Heb 3:13; Heb 3:15.

2) And impenitent heart, (kai ametaneton kardian) And impenitent or unrepentant heart, alienated affections, affections turned away from God, holiness and truth, like Festus who said go thy way, or like Agrippa who said, almost thou persuaded me to be a Christian, Act 24:25; Act 26:28.

3) Treasurest up unto thyself, (thesaurizeis seautou) Thou treasurest to or toward thyself, like the rich barn builder, Luk 12:19-21; And like the rich man who despised God and prayed too late in hell, Luk 16:19-31; and the mighty Rev 6:14-17.

4) Wrath against the day of Wrath, (orgen en hemera orges) Wrath in a day of wrath, Rom 1:18; One day the Day of Wrath and Vengeance shall fall, inexcusably, upon those who deny or take lightly this message, 2Th 1:7-9; 1Pe 4:17-18.

5) And revelation of the righteous judgment of God, (kai apokalupseos dikaiokrisias tou theou) And (of) revelation of righteous judgment of God, Act 17:31; Rom 2:16; 2Ti 4:1-2. The Wrath of God is as pure, holy, just, and equitable as his former mercy. Judgment will be administered in absolute equity by the Judge of all the earth.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

5. But according to thy hardness, etc. When we become hardened against the admonitions of the Lord, impenitence follows; and they who are not anxious about repentance openly provoke the Lord. (65)

This is a remarkable passage: we may hence learn what I have already referred to — that the ungodly not only accumulate for themselves daily a heavier weight of God’s judgments, as long as they live here, but that the gifts of God also, which they continually enjoy, shall increase their condemnation; for an account of them all will be required: and it will then be found, that it will be justly imputed to them as an extreme wickedness, that they had been made worse through God’s bounty, by which they ought surely to have been improved. Let us then take heed, lest by unlawful use of blessings we lay up for ourselves this cursed treasure.

For the day, etc.; literally, in the day; but it is put for εἰς ἡμέραν, for the day. The ungodly gather now the indignation of God against themselves, the stream of which shall then be poured on their heads: they accumulate hidden destruction, which then shall be drawn out from the treasures of God. The day of the last judgment is called the day of wrath, when a reference is made to the ungodly; but it will be a day of redemption to the faithful. And thus all other visitations of God are ever described as dreadful and full of terror to the ungodly; and on the contrary, as pleasant and joyful to the godly. Hence whenever the Scripture mentions the approach of the Lord, it bids the godly to exult with joy; but when it turns to the reprobate, it proclaims nothing but dread and terror.

“

A day of wrath,” saith Zephaniah, “shall be that day, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and wretchedness, a day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of mist and of whirlwind.” (Zep 1:15.)

You have a similar description in Joe 2:2, etc. And Amos exclaims,

“

Woe To You Who Desire The Day Of The Lord! What Will It Be To You? The Day Of The Lord Will Be Darkness, And Not Light.” (Amo 5:18.)

Farther, by adding the word revelation, Paul intimates what this day of wrath is to be, — that the Lord will then manifest his judgment: though he gives daily some indications of it, he yet suspends and holds back, till that day, the clear and full manifestation of it; for the books shall then be opened; the sheep shall then be separated the goats, and the wheat shall be cleansed from the tares.

(65) What follows in the text, according to [ Calvin ], is this, “ et Corinthians pœni tere nescium — and a heart that knoweth not to repent;” καὶ ἀμετανοητον καρδίαν, which [ Schleusner ] renders thus, “ animus, qui omnem emendationem respuit — a mind which rejects every improvement.” It is an impenitable rather than “an impenitent heart,” that is, a heart incapable of repenting. See Eph 4:19. — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

Rom. 2:5.Thou art hoping to escape the judgment of God, but instead art heaping up treasure of wrath. It is not God who treasures up, but thy destruction is from thyself.

Rom. 2:6.Account will be taken of the aim which has governed the moral action.

Rom. 2:7. To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, [to such] eternal life.Future glory is contrasted with present shame.

Rom. 2:8. denotes the spirit which seeks the victory of the party which one has espoused from self-interest in contrast to the spirit which seeks the possession of truth.

Rom. 2:9. Affliction and distress.Metaphor from a wrestler, who finds breathing difficult.

Rom. 2:12.Sin brings retribution both to those without law and to those under the law; but sentence will vary according to divine justice and mercy.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Rom. 2:5-12

Good and evil workers.Many distinctions obtain in human societies. It is sometimes amazing to see how men and women separate themselves from one another. The man with a banking account, though it be only small, does not feel himself called upon to associate with one who has to live on his daily wages. The professional man stands aloof from the tradesman. Poets in their rhymes smile at the claims of long descent, and sing, Kind hearts are more than coronets. But let a kind heart, enshrined in a physical form, covered with shabby clothes, present itself at the poets door, and will it receive a hearty welcome? Kind hearts are nice when they beat in breasts covered with pearls. Still, as of old, Lazarus lies at the gate desiring the crumbs, while the coroneted sit inside the palace at the banquet. We ask, Is the man respectable? Does the woman move in good society? There is no respect of persons with God. Can the same be said of those who profess to be His children? God looks at the internal, and not the external. Character, not reputation, is what God estimates. All classes of society, all races of men, Jews and Gentiles, are reduced to the two general classesthe workers of good and the workers of evil. To which do we belong?

I. Good workers.Draw a contrast between the good workers and the evil workers.

1. The former have a noble aim. Here reference is made, not to the act of aiming, but rather to the object aimed at. And what is that? It is immortal glory and honour. I paint for eternity, says the painter. His eternity is a few years of time. What is the good of his glory and honour when death has stripped his supple fingers of their power to handle the brush, and has robbed the brain of its ability to conceive beautiful combinations? The Christians glory and honour are not bounded by the eclipsing darkness of death, for they are immortalnot subject either to oblivion or disappointment. We get our earthly glories and honours; and we find how true are the words, Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. There are crowns in all walks of life, and heavy, aching heads are the lots of the prize-winners. Disappointments strew the pathway of earths glories as thickly as the leaves in Valombrosa. A few years hence oblivion will sit serenely smiling, ironically musing over the scene where our triumphs were gained. Truly he aims too low who aims beneath the sky. The noble aim for all is immortal glory and honour.

2. High endeavour. They place before themselves a great object, and strive with a great spiritthey endeavour. They do not say man is the creature of circumstances, and sink down in despair. In spite of opposing circumstances, through calm and storm they seek immortal honour and glory; the flag waves on the summit; and though the ground shakes with the thunder of the cannon, they pursue their upward course of high endeavour.

3. Patient continuance. Endurance is the crowning quality, and patience is all the passion, of great hearts. The patience of human workers is sometimes wonderful; but the patience of Gods true saints is ever marvellous. Here is sublime heroism. What do I see in my vision? A long crowd of witnesses pressing through the highways of life, whose patience is crowned by the inheritance of the promises.

4. Obtain satisfactory results. Glory, honour, and peace will be awarded in the final day. Who obtains these results? Who follows in the train of characters with such lofty motives and wondrous endeavours? Can earthborn spirits contend? Are their souls equal to the mighty emprise? The answer is, Ye must be born again. Only spirits ennobled and renewed by the Holy Spirit can keep company with this sublime army.

II. Evil workers are:

1. Without settled aim, for they are contentious. They may have a material aimriches, fame, power, pleasurebut they have no true moral aim. They set before themselves no high standard of duty.

2. Have no high endeavour. They obey unrighteousness. They never seek to rise above the leadings of a lower nature. Instead of leading, they are led.

3. Have impenitent continuance. This is their great crime. With hard and impenitent hearts they are storing up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath. There is no heroism about such continuance. The hard and impenitent heart goes on petrifying itself with great ease. The impenitent heart obeys unrighteousness and ignores the truth.

4. Come to a sad ending. The structure they have been building falls upon their own heads with crushing force. They have been storing up in themselves wrath against God. Thus they have been storing up against themselves wrath from God. All Gods worlds have moving through them the same divine laws and methods of operation. We sow wheat, we reap wheattares, tares. We sow wrath, we reap wrath; and fearful will the harvest be. In these days we ignore both the wrath and the righteousness of God. We say, God is merciful, and will be compassionate, and all will come right. Certainly all will come right, according to the will of the divine righteousness. The gods be good unto us, cried Sicinius, when misfortune, born of folly, was hard at hand. No, replied Menenius; in such a case the gods will not be good unto us. Shall we cry, God be good unto us, when wrath, generated by the hard and impenitent heart, is at hand? Ah! let us learn from the old heathen. Let us fly the wrath to come. Whatever the day of Gods wrath may mean, let us not venture to approach that day without due preparation. Let us feel that only he can abide the great day of His wrath in whom Christ dwells, the hope of glory. Turn to Christ; seek for His grace, power, and presence.

The fairness of the divine administration.For there is no respect of persons with God. This cannot mean that God makes no difference between man and man. He does make a difference; and not one, but many. Our world is a world of differences. Heights, depths, coloursmountain, valley, rocksea, forest, streamsun, moon, and stars,these are some of the material or physical differences that make our world what it is. Then in man there is race, nation, colour; gifts of body and mind; riches and poverty. Nor can this mean that He treats men at random, without reason or plan, irrespective of character. Nor does it mean that He has no fixed plan, but takes every man as he comes, allowing each to do as he pleases. These are the things on which the unbelief of the present day lays great stress, resolving every difficulty as to truth and righteousness and judgment to come by the reiteration of the text, God is love.

But let us consider what the apostle means by saying that God is no respecter of persons. It means two things:

I. That God has no respect to the outward appearance or circumstances of a man in dealing with him.God takes him for what he is, not for what he seems.

II. That in regard to justice and grace God does not follow mans estimates at all, either outward or inward.God has His own standard, His own way, of procedure in treating the sinner, whether for condemnation or acceptance. The usual elements which decide mans judgment have no place in Gods.

1. Gods estimate or rule in regard to justice is that the doers of the law, the whole law, the unmodified law, shall live by it.

2. Gods estimate or rule in regard to grace is that any man, whoever he be, who will consent to be indebted to the Son of God and His work for acceptance shall be accepted. This is the way in which grace shows itself to be no respecter of persons.

The apostles object is to declare these three things:

1. Gods purpose of dealing with the sons of men. He is not going to let them alone, nor to allow them to have their own way.

2. Gods plan of dealing with them. He does so as God, sovereign and righteous, yet gracious.

3. His willingness to receive any.H. Bonar.

Patient continuance.

I. A seeker.All men are seekers more or less, for the reason that no good thing is to be obtained without seeking. Wealth must be obtained by the exercise of patience and labour. Little by little must one penny be added to another. Patience must be the reward of content, honour the end of probity. And so eternal things must be the result of toil, of search, of self-denial, a constant journey to the end. We have

II. The method of seeking.Who by patient continuance. The Christian life is not an isolated or a spasmodic effort, not an individual act. A life alternating between fervour and languor will lead nowhere. Steady, unremitted work pays best both in worldly and spiritual matters.

III. The reward to be attained.Eternal life. At first sight these words seem disappointing. They represent something less than was sought. Men have sought eternal honour and eternal glory. But we are not told here that this search will be realised. The honour and glory are left out, and eternal life alone is mentioned as the gift of God.

The fact teaches

1. That we are not to limit our desires in spiritual things. Aim high, hope for the most glorious idealities of life; they will all fall short of what is in store for them that love God. But it teaches

2. That after all eternal life includes all things. The glorious gift of the Son of God shall itself possess all that is worth having. Eternal life! Shall not the most ambitious be satisfied with his immortalitywith the eternal absence of all harm, and all sin, and all evil? Surely we should in our wildest dreams desire nothing more than eternal life at the footstool of Gods throneAnd it doth not yet appear. We do not know what that eternal life shall include. And if God has given us the pledge of that, we may surely rest content.Homilist.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom. 2:5-12

What is law?The little word law must not be understood here after a human fashionthat it teaches which works are to be done and which are to be left undone, as is the case with the laws of men, which can be obeyed by works without the feeling of the heart. God judges according to the intent of the heart, and will not be satisfied by words, but all the more punishes as hypocrisy and lying those works which are done without the feeling of the heart. Therefore Paul says that nobody is a doer of the law by the works of the law.Luther.

Meritorious and gratuitous.Paul distinguishes between meritorious and gratuitous justification, the former being that which is unattainable by works of the law, the latter that which is attainable, as James says, not by faith only, but by works also (Rom. 2:15). That there is a natural revelation made to the heathen is proved by Paul by three arguments:

1. By many virtuous acts performed by the heathen;
2. By the natural operation of their consciences;
3. By their reasonings with one another, by which they excused or accused one another.Macknight.

The best for him who does the best.These suppositions agree both with Scripture and reason:

1. All men can do all that God requires of them;
2. All who do the best they can derive help from God as far as is needful;
3. They all have Christ as their Redeemer, though He was never revealed to them. Who knows whether the lot of the savage be not better than that of the philosopher, and the lot of the slave than that of the king? But this much we know, that every one ought to be contented with that state in which his wise and good Creator has placed him, and to conclude that it will be the best for him if he makes the best use of it. Upon this supposition the divine impartiality stands fully justified.Jortin.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2

Rom. 2:5. Burke and Pitt.I have no fear for England, said Pitt; she will stand till the day of judgment. What I fear, replied Burke, is the day of no judgment. So it is with us. It is the lack of judgment which makes the day of judgment so great a terror. The forgetting of the great life beyond the grave, and the consequent living as if this life were all, is due to lack of insight and shallow thinking. Eternity is disregarded because time is wasted, and so the judgment day, when all is to be accounted for, is a terrible day to think about.

Rom. 2:12. The judgment day.A clergyman once heard an infidel jestingly say, I always spend Sunday settling my accounts. The minister turned round and said, in accents of solemnity never to be forgotten, You may find, sir, that the day of judgment will be spent in exactly the same manner.

Rom. 2:12. Afraid of the Bible.A celebrated infidel once said, There is one thing which mars all the pleasure of my life. Indeed, replied his friend, what is that? I am afraid the Bible is true, was the answer. If I could know for certain that death is an eternal sleep, I should be happymy joy would be complete. But here is the thorn that stings methis is the sword that pierces my very soul: if the Bible is true, I am lost for ever. This is the Bible upon the truths of which many have lived, and in the belief of which many have died. Oh, how terribly afraid would they have been if any one had been able to show that it was untrue! For upon its truths all their hopes are built. An untrue Bible would mean an untrue Christ; and a Christless death would be a death of doom to them.

Rom. 2:12. The great hereafter.During the enlistment of soldiers for the army, a young man, though strongly urged to join the volunteers, hesitated, and finally declined. He was able-bodied and patriotic. He had always been regarded as brave. The suggestion that personal cowardice might be the reason called forth from him this frank confession: No; it is not dying that troubles me; I could stand up and be shot for my country,it is the hereafter.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(5) The one condition upon which the goodness of God will come into operation, you directly contravene. Instead of being penitent, you are impenitent, and therefore the load of wrath which you have been accumulating against yourself remains unremoved. It is only waiting for the day of judgment to discharge itself upon you.

Treasurest.The treasuring up of wrath is opposed to that heavenly treasure spoken of in Mat. 6:20. The guilt of man is accumulated little by little. I The punishment will be discharged upon him all at once, in one overwhelming tide.

Against the day of wrath.Strictly, in the day of wrathi.e., wrath to be outpoured upon the day of wrath. The great and terrible day of the Lord is a conception running through all the prophetic writings. (Comp. also, in the New Testament, Luk. 17:30; Act. 2:20; 1Co. 1:8; 1Co. 5:5; 2Co. 1:14; 1Th. 5:2; 1Th. 5:4; 2Th. 2:2; 2Pe. 3:10; 2Pe. 3:12; Rev. 6:17; Rev. 16:14.)

Revelation.There is a double revelation of Gods wrath, the one inchoate, the other final. The former revelation, that described in the last chapter, is seen in the depraved condition of the heathen world; the latter revelation is represented as a judgment or trial reserved for the consummation of all things.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

5. Hardness Unsusceptibility to divine impressions, from the fact that the conscience, though alive to others’ sins, is dead as to his own.

Treasurest As God has a riches of goodness, so the sinner may accumulate treasures of wrath.

Day of wrath (See note on Rom 2:16.)

Revelation Literally, an uncovering. While the sinner is accumulating the judgment is covered, but the day will remove the concealment and disclose the reality.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘But after your hardness and impenitent heart you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

But rather than repenting their hearts are hard and impenitent. They ignore God’s pleadings and carry on in their old ways. As a result they are treasuring up for themselves wrath, a wrath which will be applied to them in the day of wrath and righteous judgment of God when God will render to every man according to his works. There is something very sad about the thought of a man hoarding up God’s wrath, like a squirrel hoards up nuts, without realising it. Every day he adds to his sins. And every day the burden of responsibility grows larger, and God’s antipathy towards him increases. Note how the hard and impenitent heart is in total contrast to the goodness, compassion and longsuffering of the God Whom they ignore. It is man who is hard, not God.

But he needs to remember that a day is coming on which every man will have to give account, a day of wrath and of the righteous judgment of God (1Th 1:8; Act 17:31; Heb 9:27). Then man will be faced up with his sins. Then the wrath that has been hoarded up will be applied. Then God’s righteous judgment will be exacted, and He will render to each according to their works, according to how they have behaved, according to what they have done. What has been done in the dark will be brought to the light, and what has been done in secret will be made known to all. And what is worse, it will come before the attention of a God Who is holy and righteous.

Note the idea of a building up of wrath. Everything that we do is to be seen as helping to build up that wrath, for by our actions we are increasing God’s antipathy against our increasing sinfulness. Unless we repent we are building up within ourselves a mountain of sin and guilt.

‘The day of wrath –.’ The phrase is based on Psa 110:5 (see also Zep 1:14-15; Rev 6:17). Jesus applied this Psalm to Himself when demonstrating that He was greater than David ( Mar 12:36-37; Psa 110:1), and the Psalm is about the triumph of the Davidic king, who is also priest after the order of Melchizedek (compare Hebrews 7), who will judge among the nations on the day of His wrath. So there is in this a clear pointing to Jesus.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The righteous judgment of God:

v. 5. 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,

v. 6. who will render to every man according to his deeds:

v. 7. to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

v. 8. but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

v. 9. tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile;

v. 10. but glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.

The goodness of God, far from being an excuse for false security, rather, when abused, results in an aggravation of man’s guilt. He that persists in hardening his heart against the merciful intentions of God and deliberately keeps a heart that will not be converted, will, according to, in the proportion and measure of his obduracy and unrepentant heart, heap up for himself anger in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the justice and righteousness of God in His judgment. The Day of Judgment, whose coming is certain beyond the shadow of a doubt, will be the day of wrath for such a person, 2Co 1:14; Mat 11:22; Joh 6:39; 1Co 3:13; Heb 10:25. He adds sin upon sin, abuses the rich gifts of the divine goodness for the gratification of his fleshly lusts, fills out the hours of the time of grace with transgressions of the divine Law, and will thus finally reap the storm of God’s righteous wrath and eternal punishment.

This thought is now put at the head of another set of clauses, in which the certainty, the inevitableness, the impartiality, and the completeness of God’s righteous judgment is described. God will render, will pay, to every one without exception according to his deeds, Mat 25:31-46. The works of men will afford the evidence of the faith or unbelief of their hearts, they will be the visible exhibits of the condition of their minds. The apostle illustrates this meaning in both directions. To some God will render, in accordance with their steadfastness, their patient continuance, their life-work in doing good, glory and honor and incorruptibility, as to them that strive after eternal life. God will acknowledge their patient persistence in doing good by granting glory, by having the righteous shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father, Mat 13:43; honor, the distinction of reigning with Christ, 2Ti 2:12; incorruptible being and existence, an undefiled and unfading inheritance, 1Pe 1:4. Just as the believers are constantly zealous for every good work, so they also strive earnestly to be saved; and these manifestations of their faith are rewarded by the payment of God’s merciful gift, eternal life.

The apostle now pictures the opposite side. To them that are actuated by contention and partisan spirit, that are of a mean, selfish disposition, whose entire manner of living is controlled by selfishness, who therefore disobey the truth, the norm and rule for human conduct as laid down by God, and give ready obedience to unrighteousness, to the perversion and transgression of the divine truth: to these God also gives their well-earned reward, lasting indignation, which is always renewed by further anger over their unbelief and disobedience.

The apostle now makes an emphatic restatement of the double payment which the Lord dispenses, in reverse order. Tribulation or affliction from without, anguish or inward distress, the torture of an evil conscience, will come upon every soul of a person that performs, that deliberately and delightedly works, evil, upon every single person, of the Jew first, in accordance with the advantages which his nation enjoyed, but of the Greek as well. But glory and honor and peace, full, complete well-being, perfect happiness, will be the lot of him, of every person, that does that which is good, his inclination not being so active toward the evil as toward the good; and here also both the Jew and the Greek are included, for the reward of God is general. St. Paul here tells what will happen on the great Day of Judgment, just as the Lord gives information concerning the events of that day in other passages, Mat 16:27; Joh 5:29; 2Co 5:10; Gal 6:7-9; Eph 6:8; Col 3:24; Rev 2:23; Rev 20:12. The position and relation of every person toward Christ is shown by his works, and therefore reference will be made to them on the last day. By rewarding the good works of the believers with the gracious gift of eternal life, the Lord merely crowns His own work in them with His full acknowledgment in the presence of the whole world. Only by faith in the Savior are good works possible, and faith itself is a gift of God; and therefore the Last Judgment will be a glorious proof of the fact that salvation comes to men “all of grace.”

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Rom 2:5 . A vividly introduced contrast to the preceding proposition . ; not a continuation of the question (Lachmann, following Koppe and others; also Baumgarten-Crusius, Ewald), but affirmative (by which the discourse becomes far more impressive and striking) as a setting forth of the actual position of things, which is brought about by man through his impenitence, in opposition to the drawing of the divine kindness; for the words can only, in pursuance of the correct interrogative rendering of Rom 2:3 , be connected with Rom 2:4 , and not also (as Hofmann holds) with Rom 2:3 .

] in accordance with; in a causal sense. Comp on Phi 4:11 . On . . . . comp Act 7:31 . It is correlative with the previous .

] Wolf aptly says: “innuitur. irae divinae judicia paulatim coacervari, ut tandem universa promantur.” Comp Calovius; and see Deu 32:33-35 ; Pro 1:18 ; Pro 2:7 ; Sir 3:4 . For passages of profane writers, where and are used to express the accumulation of evils, punishments, and the like, see Alberti, Obss. p. 297; Mnthe in loc [604] , from Philo: Loesner, p. 246. The purposely chosen word glances back to the previous . . [605] and , to thyself , heightens the tragic nature of the foolish conduct that redounds to one’s own destruction; comp Rom 13:2 .

. ] not to be taken with Luther, Beza, Castalio, Piscator, Calvin, Estius, and many others as in diem irae (Phi 1:10 ; Jud 1:6 ; Tob 4:9 ), belongs to : which breaks out on the day of wrath . Comp 1Th 3:13 . Regarding the repetition of after Bengel correctly remarks: “ sermonis magna vi.” Whose wrath, is self-evident, without its being necessary to connect with (Hofmann), which is forbidden by the intervening . and by the previous absolutely put . The article was not required by on account of the genitive definitions; 1Co 6:2 ; Eph 4:30 ; Phi 1:6 , al [608] ; Winer, p. 118 f. [E. T. 155 f.]; Khner, II. 1, p. 524.

Paul characterises the day of judgment , and with what powerful emphasis! by an accumulation of genitives and weighty expressions, with reference to the fate of the bad as , but with reference to its general destination (afterwards Rom 2:6 ff. to be further carried out in detail) for good and bad as a day . . . , i.e. on which God’s righteous judgment (which until then remains hidden) is revealed , publicly exhibited. With the exception of passages of the Fathers, such as Justin, de resurr . p. 223, occurs only in an unknown translation of Hos 6:5 (where the LXX. read ) and the the Test. XII. Patr. p. 547 and 581.

[604] n loc. refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[605] . . . .

[608] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

5 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;

Ver. 5. Treasurest up unto thyself ] Sicut mittentes pecuniam in gazophylacium, quod, ubi iam impletur, confringitur, saith Stella upon Luke. In treasuring, there Isa 1:1-31 . Laying in; 2. Lying hidden; 3. Bringing out again, as there is occasion. Wicked persons, while by following their lusts they think they do somewhat to their happiness, shall in the end find, pro thesauro carbones, those burning coals, Psa 140:10 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

5. ] I am inclined with Lachmann to regard the question as continued. If not, the responsive contrast to the question in Rom 2:4 would begin more emphatically than with ; it would be . or . But the enquiry loses itself in the digressive clauses following, and no where comes pointedly to an end. I have therefore not placed a mark of interrogation at or at , as Lachm. does, but have left the construction to explain itself.

] not, ‘ in proportion to ’ (Meyer), but as E. V. after , ‘ in consonance with ,’ ‘ secundum ,’ describing the state out of which the action springs: see Rom 2:7 , .

. ] not admitting that to which God is leading thee.

, not for, nor = , nor should it be rendered ‘ against the day,’ as E. V. I need hardly remind any accurate scholar, that such an interpretation as ‘ for ’ is no where to be tolerated. It belongs to , wrath in the day of wrath , ‘wrath which shall come upon thee in that day,’ not to , imagining which has led to the mistake. The is the day of judgment , viewed in its relation to sinners : see reff.

. . ] the manifestation (public enforcement, it having been before latent though determined) of God’s righteous judgment . The reading . . would mean, ‘ the appearance (reff.) of God, and his righteous judgment ,’ not referring merely to the detection of men’s hearts , as Origen, Theophyl., Rckert. But the reading is not strongly upheld, nor is it according to the mode of speaking in the argument see ch. Rom 1:17-18 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Rom 2:5 . The contrasts what happens with what God designs. : contrast our Lord’s many sayings about “treasure in heaven” (Mat 6:19 ff; Mat 19:21 ). = in the day of wrath. The conception was quite definite: there was only one day in view, what is elsewhere called “the day of the Lord” (2Co 1:14 ), “the day of judgment” (Mat 11:22 ), “the last day” (Joh 6:39 ), “the day of God” (2Pe 3:12 ), “that day” (2Ti 1:12 ), even simply “the day” (1Co 3:13 , Heb 10:25 ). This great day is so defined in the Apostle’s imagination that the article can be dispensed with. But see Psa 110:5 . (109:5. LXX.) It is a day when God is revealed as a righteous judge, in the sense of Psalm 61:13 (LXX).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

after. Greek. kata. App-104.

hardness. Greek. sklerotes. Only here.

impenitent. Greek. ametanoetos. Only here. Compare App-111.

treasurest up. Greek. thesaurizo. Here, Mat 6:19, Mat 6:20. Luk 12:21. 1Co 16:2. 2Co 12:14. Jam 5:3. 2Pe 3:7.

unto = to.

the day of wrath. Compare Rev 6:17; Rev 19:15. Isa 61:2; Isa 63:4.

revelation. Greek. apokalupsis. App-106.

righteous judgment. Greek. dikaiokrisia. Only here. Compare App-191and App-177.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

5.] I am inclined with Lachmann to regard the question as continued. If not, the responsive contrast to the question in Rom 2:4 would begin more emphatically than with ; it would be . or . But the enquiry loses itself in the digressive clauses following, and no where comes pointedly to an end. I have therefore not placed a mark of interrogation at or at , as Lachm. does,-but have left the construction to explain itself.

] not, in proportion to (Meyer), but as E. V. after, in consonance with, secundum,-describing the state out of which the action springs: see Rom 2:7, .

.] not admitting that to which God is leading thee.

, not for, nor = , nor should it be rendered against the day, as E. V. I need hardly remind any accurate scholar, that such an interpretation as for is no where to be tolerated. It belongs to ,-wrath in the day of wrath, wrath which shall come upon thee in that day,-not to , imagining which has led to the mistake. The is the day of judgment, viewed in its relation to sinners: see reff.

. .] the manifestation (public enforcement, it having been before latent though determined) of Gods righteous judgment. The reading . . would mean, the appearance (reff.) of God, and his righteous judgment,-not referring merely to the detection of mens hearts, as Origen, Theophyl., Rckert. But the reading is not strongly upheld, nor is it according to the mode of speaking in the argument-see ch. Rom 1:17-18.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Rom 2:5. , but) The antithesis is between the despising of the riches of His goodness, and the treasuring up of wrath.-, hardness) Its antithesis is .- ) The antithesis is . He meant to say : to which word, later writers show no aversion; but Paul avoided an unusual term.-, thou treasurest up), although thou, O man, thinkest, that thou art treasuring up all kinds of blessedness. O what a treasure may a man lay up, during so many hours of his life, on either side! [either for heaven, or else hell], Mat 18:24; 1Ti 6:18.-) for thyself, not for the other, whom thou judgest.–, wrath-of wrath) The idea of [vehemence] of language is here conveyed with great force. Why is it, that many have no sense of wrath? [Because] The day of wrath is not yet; but it shall be.- ).[22] When refers to time, it denotes the present; , the future.[23] That day is present to God [therefore , present, is used]. But this expression may also be construed with . [Beng. seems to have construed with ].-, of the revelation) When God shall be revealed, the secrets of man shall be revealed, Rom 2:16.- ). By far the greatest weight of testimony, and the unquestionable antithesis between and , which is most worthy of the apostle (such as there is also between and , ch. Rom 3:26; Psa 50:21), confirm the reading of the particle , Rom 2:4, , , Rom 2:5, , .[24] and have respect to God, and are compared together, as and are at ch. Rom 3:25; and refer to the sinner, and are put generally. Wherefore the particle should not have been admitted, as it is by some; it is supported also by Orige[25], in his work against Celsus, in the MS. at Ble, as Sam. Battier informs us in his Biblioth. Brem., Class vi., p. 98. Instead of the Alex. MS. has . I formerly omitted to notice this various reading, which arose from its having the same letters at the beginning as the verb , and is quite out of place here; nor do I use it now to defend that which follows immediately after. Erasmus observes, that , was a word newly coined to express a thing not formerly known among [acknowledged on the part of] men.

[22] Wrath to be revealed in the day of wrath.-ED.

[23] would be against the coming day.-ED.

[24] The later Syr. Version, and Origen in three passages, also the MS., read the before . But ABG Vulg. Syr. Memph. fg. Origen in three other passages, and Lucifer, agree with Rec. Text, in omitting .-ED.

[25] rigen (born about 186 A.D., died 253 A.D., a Greek father: two-thirds of the N. Test. are quoted in his writings). Ed. Vinc. Delarue, Paris. 1733, 1740, 1759.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Rom 2:5

Rom 2:5

but after thy hardness and impenitent heart-Instead of being led to repentance by his goodness and forbearance they had hardened their hearts and used his forbearance to still further sin against him. [The word hardness is used to denote insensibility of mind. It literally means that which is insensible to the touch, or that on which no impression is made by contact, as granite or steel. Hence, it is applied to the mind to denote a state when there is no motive or impression, which is insensible to all appeals made to it. (Mat 19:8; Mat 25:24; Act 19:9). Here it expresses a state of mind where the goodness and forbearance of God have no effect.]

treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath-They had pursued the course that treasured up a severer judgment and called down on them the deeper wrath of God. [They added day by day to their sins, and therefore to the anger of God, hidden now as in a treasure house, but in safe-keeping.]

and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;-[While the judgment day will reveal Gods wrath, it will also reveal to all, both good and bad, to all intelligences of the universe, that God is righteous; that not only in the last act of judgment, but in all his dealings and dispensations, he judges righteously.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

But after: Rom 11:25, *marg. Exo 8:15, Exo 14:17, Deu 2:30, Jos 11:20, 1Sa 6:6, 2Ch 30:8, 2Ch 36:13, Psa 95:8, Pro 29:1, Isa 48:4, Eze 3:7, Dan 5:20, Zec 7:11, Zec 7:12, Heb 3:13, Heb 3:15, Heb 4:7

treasurest: Rom 9:22, Deu 32:34, Amo 3:10, Jam 5:3

the day: Job 21:30, Pro 11:4, 2Pe 2:9, 2Pe 3:7, Rev 6:17

revelation: Rom 2:2, Rom 2:3, Rom 1:18, Ecc 12:14

Reciprocal: Exo 7:13 – General Exo 8:32 – General Exo 9:27 – the Lord Exo 9:34 – and hardened Exo 11:10 – the Lord Exo 22:24 – my wrath Exo 23:7 – for I will not Num 19:20 – shall not Deu 29:24 – General Deu 32:4 – all his Deu 32:15 – waxen fat Jdg 20:25 – destroyed 2Ki 17:14 – but hardened 2Ki 22:19 – thine heart 2Ch 28:13 – add more Neh 9:16 – hardened Job 4:17 – Shall mortal Job 8:3 – God Job 21:19 – layeth Job 24:1 – not see Job 24:12 – yet God Job 36:13 – heap Job 36:18 – Because Job 36:23 – Thou Psa 9:8 – General Psa 50:6 – heavens Psa 50:21 – I kept Psa 51:4 – when Psa 58:11 – Verily there is Psa 65:5 – righteousness Psa 67:4 – for thou Psa 88:7 – Thy wrath Psa 96:10 – judge Psa 98:9 – with righteousness Psa 110:5 – in the day Psa 119:137 – General Pro 10:2 – Treasures Pro 14:2 – but Ecc 3:17 – God Ecc 8:11 – sentence Ecc 8:12 – a sinner Ecc 11:9 – know Isa 3:10 – Say ye Isa 5:3 – judge Isa 5:16 – the Lord Isa 10:22 – with Isa 17:11 – a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow Isa 26:10 – favour Isa 28:17 – Judgment Isa 30:1 – add Isa 34:8 – General Isa 65:2 – after Isa 65:20 – but Jer 2:25 – after Jer 5:3 – they have made Jer 7:26 – but Jer 18:23 – in the Jer 34:11 – General Jer 40:3 – because Jer 44:22 – could Lam 1:18 – Lord Eze 7:27 – I will Eze 11:19 – I will take Eze 14:23 – that I have not Eze 18:25 – my Eze 18:30 – so Eze 22:3 – that her Eze 24:14 – according to thy ways Eze 30:19 – General Hos 6:5 – and thy judgments are as Hos 13:2 – now Hos 13:12 – General Nah 1:2 – reserveth Zep 1:15 – is Zep 3:5 – bring Mal 3:18 – discern Mar 6:11 – in the day Luk 8:6 – General Luk 12:21 – he Luk 13:7 – three Luk 19:23 – Wherefore Luk 21:22 – the days Joh 5:30 – I judge Act 17:31 – he hath appointed Rom 2:16 – God Rom 3:5 – Is God Rom 4:15 – Because Rom 9:14 – Is there unrighteousness Rom 11:22 – therefore 1Co 3:13 – the day 2Co 5:10 – receive 2Th 1:5 – righteous 1Ti 1:16 – all 2Ti 4:8 – the righteous Heb 3:8 – Harden Heb 6:2 – eternal Heb 9:27 – but 1Pe 2:23 – judgeth 1Pe 3:20 – the longsuffering Rev 2:21 – space Rev 2:23 – and I will Rev 16:5 – Thou art Rev 20:11 – I saw

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

2:5

Rom 2:5. A hard and impenitent heart is one that stubbornly persists in a course of wrongdoing. Treasurest up means that such a life is sure to make a record that will bring the wrath of God upon it in the day of wrath; that will be the day of judgment spoken of by Paul in Act 17:31.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Rom 2:5. But. With this tendency of the goodness of God is contrasted the conduct of man. Instead of being thereby led to repentance, men allow themselves to fancy that Gods goodness is a proof that He will not punish sin.

After thy hardness and impenitent heart. As might be expected from, in accordance with and occasioned by, thy hardness, etc.

Treasurest up for thyself; thou for thyself, not God for thee. The despising of the riches of Gods goodness in forbearance and long suffering is the heaping up of a treasure of wrath (Lange).

In the day of wrath; wrath which will be revealed in the day of wrath; against is quite incorrect.

And revelation, etc. This qualifies day. Gods righteous judgment (one word in Greek) will not be fully revealed until the great day of final judgment

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Rom 2:5-7. But after thy hardness Greek, , according to thy obduracy, or insensibility of mind; and impenitent , inconsiderate, unreflecting, and unrelenting heart, by reason of that stubbornness and obstinacy in sin which thou hast contracted; treasurest up wrath Although thou thinkest thou art treasuring up all good things; unto thyself Not to him whom thou judgest: that is, Thou provokest God more and more to aggravate thy punishment. In our language, a treasure signifies a collection of things useful or precious. But the Hebrews gave that appellation to a heap, or an abundance of any thing, whether good or bad. Hence, Pro 10:2, we read of treasures of wickedness. Reader! think what a treasure of good or evil, of felicity or misery, a man may lay up for himself in this short day of life! Against the day of wrath The day of retribution, when God will fully execute wrath on impenitent sinners. Wrath is here, as often elsewhere, put for punishment, the effect of wrath. The apostle calls the day of retribution the day of wrath, to make the wicked sensible that as men greatly enraged do not suffer their enemies to escape, so God, highly displeased with the wicked, will assuredly punish them in the severest manner at length. Probably the apostle had in view, 1st, The awful vengeance which the divine wrath was about to bring on the Jews in the destruction of their city and temple, the depopulation of their country, and the dissolution of their commonwealth, which, 1Th 2:16, he calls, wrath coming upon them to the uttermost. 2d, It appears, however, by what follows, that he spoke principally of the day of final judgment; and revelation of the righteous judgment of God When God will make manifest to all the world the justice of his proceedings, both toward the righteous and the wicked. Bengelius reads, wrath, and revelation, and righteous judgment: just opposite to the three gracious attributes above mentioned; wrath opposed to goodness; revelation, when God will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, opposed to his present forbearance; and righteous judgment, when he will no longer defer to punish, opposed to his present longsuffering. Who will render to every man Both good and bad, both Jew and Gentile; according to his deeds Not according to his external privileges, or his pretences and presumptuous expectations, but according to the real nature and quality of his works. To them who by patient continuance in well-doing By persevering in a constant course of holiness and righteousness, notwithstanding all the oppositions and difficulties they meet with; (see Mat 24:13; Rev 2:10;) seek for glory That state of splendour and brightness in which the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, Mat 13:43. Honour Approbation, commendation, and praise from God and Christ, and all the heavenly host, mentioned 1Pe 1:7. And immortality , incorruptibility, everlasting life, health, and vigour of both body and mind. The words include the consummation and perfection of all those glorious qualifications and enjoyments which are bestowed on the saints in heaven. This the saints seek for; that is, desire and labour after; for, though love to God and Christ is the principal spring of their obedience, yet that love does not exclude the faith which is the evidence of things not seen, or that hope of heavenly glory and felicity which is as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast; and which, partly at least, influenced Christ himself amidst all his labours and sufferings, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, and despised the shame. Eternal life Which God will render to such.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Vv. 5. The , but, contrasts the result of so many favors received with the divinely desired effect. The contrast indicated arises from the fact that the Jews in their conduct are guided by a wholly different rule from that to which the mercy of God sought to draw them. This idea of rule is indeed what explains the preposition , according to, which is usually made into a by. The word denotes a line of conduct long followed, the old Jewish habit of meeting the calls of God with a hard and impenitent heart; what Stephen so forcibly upbraided them with, Act 7:51 : Ye stiffnecked () and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye.

Hardness relates to insensibility of heart to divine favors; impenitence, to the absence of that change of views which the feeling of such goodness should have produced.

But it must not be thought that these favors are purely and simply lost. Instead of the good which they should have produced, evil results from them. Every favor trampled under foot adds to the treasure of wrath which is already suspended over the heads of the impenitent people. There is an evident correlation between the phrase riches of goodness, Rom 2:4, and the Greek word , to treasure up. The latter word, as well as the dative (of favor!) , for thyself, have certainly a tinge of irony. What an enriching is that! Wrath is here denounced on the Jews, as it had been, Rom 1:18, on the Gentiles. The two passages are parallel; there is only this difference between them, that among the Gentiles the thunderbolt has already fallen, while the storm is still gathering for the Jews. The time when it will burst on them is called the day of wrath. In this phrase two ideas are combined: that of the great national catastrophe which had been predicted by John the Baptist and by Jesus (Mat 3:10; Luk 11:50-51), and that of the final judgment of the guilty taken individually at the last day. The preposition (in the day) may be made dependent on the substantive wrath: the wrath which will have its full course in the day when…But it is more natural to connect this clause with the verb: thou art heaping up a treasure which shall be paid to thee in the day when…The writer transports himself in thought to the day itself; he is present then: hence the instead of .

The three Byz. Mjj. and the correctors of the Sinat. and of the Cantab. read a , and, between the two words revelation and just judgment, and thus give the word day three complements: day of wrath, of revelation, and of just judgment. These three names would correspond well with the three of Rom 2:4 : goodness, patience, long-suffering; and the term revelation, without complement, would have in it something mysterious and threatening quite in keeping with the context. This reading is, however, improbable. The (and) is omitted not only in the Mjj. of the two other families, but also in the ancient versions (Syriac and Latin); besides the word revelation can hardly be destitute of all qualification. The apostle therefore says: the revelation of the righteous judgment; thus indicating that wrath (righteous judgment) is still veiled so far as the Jews are concerned (in contrast to the , is revealed, Rom 1:18), but that then it will be fully unveiled in relation to them also.

Only two passages are quoted where the word , just judgment, is used: in a Greek translation of Hos 4:5, and in the Testaments of the twelve patriarchs. The word recalls the phrase of Rom 2:2 : The judgment of God according to truth. It dissipates beforehand the illusions cherished by the Jews as to the immunity which they hoped to enjoy in that day in virtue of their theocratic privileges. It contains the theme of the development which immediately follows. The just judgment of God (the judgment according to truth, Rom 2:2) will bear solely on the moral life of each individual, Rom 2:6-12, not on the external fact of being the hearer of a law, Rom 2:13-16. These are the positive and negative characteristics of a judgment according to righteousness.

It would be unaccountable how Ritschl could have mistaken the obvious relation between Rom 2:5; Rom 2:4 so far as to connect Rom 2:5 with the notion of wrath, Rom 1:18, had not a preconceived idea imposed on him this exegetical violence.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

5. Pursuant to thy hardness and impenitent heart thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. The great Judgment Day will know no difference between the infidel and the sinning church member. They will all be sent down to hell together when they meet the righteous judgment of God, here contrasted with the false, pusillanimous judgments of men in the pulpit and in the pews, who will give to each one according to his works, not according to his profession. In that awful day every tub will stand on its own bottom. God receives no mans face (Gal 2:6). No clerical dignities and offices there. The worldly preacher and officer will go down with all worldly people, as you know none but the church will stand, and that means the ecclesia, from ek, out, and kaleoo, call. Hence none are members of Gods church but those who have responded to the call of the Holy Ghost, come out of the world and separated themselves unto God for time and eternity.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart {c} treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

(c) While you are giving yourself to pleasures, thinking to increase your goods, you will find God’s wrath.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

God’s wrath is increasing against sinners while He waits (Rom 2:5). Each day that the self-righteous person persists in his self-righteousness God adds more guilt to his record. God will judge him one day (cf. Rev 20:11-15). That day will be the day when God pours out His wrath on every sinner and the day when people will perceive His judgment as righteous. This judgment is in contrast to the judgment that the self-righteous person passes on himself when he considers himself guiltless (Rom 2:1).

"God’s anger stored up in heaven is the most tragic stockpile a man could lay aside for himself." [Note: Mickelsen, p. 1188.]

The second principle of God’s judgment is that it will deal with what every person really did (Rom 2:6). It will not deal with what we intended or hoped or wanted to do (cf. Psa 62:12; Mat 16:27; et al.).

"A man’s destiny on Judgment Day will depend not on whether he has known God’s will but on whether he has done it." [Note: A. M. Hunter, The Epistle to the Romans, p. 36. Cf. Matthew 25:31-46.]

Paul probably meant that if a person obeys God perfectly, he or she will receive eternal life. Those who do not obey God perfectly receive wrath. Later he would clarify that no one can obey God perfectly, so all are under His wrath (Rom 3:23-24). [Note: Moo, pp. 139-42. Cf. Bruce, p. 85.]

Another view is that eternal life is not only a free gift, but it is also a reward for good deeds. On the one hand we obtain eternal life as a gift only by faith (Rom 3:20; Rom 4:5; cf. Joh 3:16; Joh 5:24; Joh 6:40; Eph 2:8; Tit 3:5). However in another sense as Christians we experience eternal life to the extent that we do good deeds (cf. Rom 6:22; Mat 19:29; Mar 10:30; Luk 18:29-30; Joh 10:10; Joh 12:25-26; Joh 17:3; Gal 6:8). In this view Paul’s point was this. Those who are self-righteous and unbelieving store up something that will come on them in the future, namely, condemnation (Rom 2:5). Likewise those who are humble and believing store up something that will come on them in the future, namely, glory, honor, and immortality. Paul was speaking of the believer’s rewards here. [Note: See Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, pp. 28, 135-45.]

Other interpreters believe Paul meant that a person’s perseverance demonstrates that his heart is regenerate. [Note: E.g., Witmer, p. 445; and Cranfield, 1:147.] However that is not what Paul said here. He said those who persevere will receive eternal life. One must not import a certain doctrine of perseverance into the text rather than letting the text speak for itself.

Rom 2:8 restates the reward of the self-righteous (cf. Rom 1:18). [Note: See López, "A Study . . ."] The point of Rom 2:9-10 is that the true basis of judgment is not whether one is a Jew or a Greek, whether he was outwardly moral or immoral. It is rather what he really does, whether he is truly moral or immoral. God will deal with the Jew first because his privilege was greater. He received special revelation as well as natural revelation.

"It is not possible to draw a clear distinction between psuche (soul) and pneuma (spirit). Psuche is from psucho, to breathe or blow, pneuma from pneo, to blow. Both are used for the personality and for the immortal part of man. Paul is usually dichotomous in his language, but sometimes trichotomous in a popular sense. We cannot hold Paul’s terms to our moderns psychological distinctions." [Note: Robertson, 4:392-93.]

The third principle of God’s judgment is that He will treat everyone evenhandedly (Rom 2:11). There is equal justice for all in God’s court.

Rom 2:6-11 contain one unit of thought. Note the chiastic structure of this passage. However in this chiasm the emphasis is not on the central element, as is common, but on the beginning and the end, namely, that God will judge everyone equitably and impartially.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)