If Paul’s theme was the righteousness of God, I wonder why he began the content of his letter on such a depressing note. The Gentiles were a wicked lot. Not only was their behaviour atrocious but also their hearts…their attitudes and motives, the entire direction of their lives was anti God. They had rebelled against Him to the extent that they had turned everything He stood for on its head. 

Paul’s use of “they” shows us that he was not particularly addressing his readers but rather exposing the hearts and attitudes of pagans in general. The world around them was on a downward trajectory towards eternal judgement, and rightly so because of their determined rebellion against God, their Creator. 

However, his readers, and particularly the Jewish people, were not exempt from Paul’s exposure. 

What is worse? Doing the things the pagans did with the attitude they had towards God or judging the pagans for what they did but also doing the same things despite knowing God’s law? 

Jesus opted for the latter! He came down harder on the Pharisees for their hypocrisy than He ever did on sinners. 

So, the Jews didn’t escape Paul’s scathing criticism. 

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Turns out, according to Paul, that Jew and Gentile alike are under God’s wrath. No one will escape because everyone is guilty of failing to live up to God’s standards. 

“There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile…All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬, ‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What a sobering conclusion! Why are all people guilty and under God’s wrath? Paul’s gives two reasons…

First, God has revealed Himself in creation so clearly that no one has the excuse not to recognise His presence in the world. 

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Try to argue that one away!

Second, God has written His moral law in the conscience of every baby born into this world. Every young child knows the difference between right and wrong. 

“All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬, ‭14‬-‭15‬

Why did Paul paint such a dark picture of the people of the world of Jews and Gentiles? Was it to show up the real meaning of God’s righteousness? Look at his conclusion. Gentiles…wicked to the core. Jews…also wicked in their behaviour but deluded because they thought they were righteous because they had God’s law. 

Paul’s conclusion is sobering. 

First, Paul brushed aside with contempt the foolish argument that people’s wickedness enhances God’s righteousness!

“But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Second, Jew and Gentile alike are guilty, under God’s wrath, and condemned. 

“…There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why was it important for Paul to prove the guilt of everyone, both Jew and Gentile? 

If all are guilty, then all alike are eligible to receive what God has done to deal with their guilt…

…and so, by painting a dark picture of the hopeless, helpless condition of everyone on earth, Paul has cleared the ground for his introduction to God’s magnificent righteousness in Christ. 

To be continued