To the Jew First, and Also to the Gentile

Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:6-11)

Some of this we looked at in the last post. What I want to talk about is the last verse (Romans 2:11): “For there is no respect of persons with God.”

We see also a phrase in Romans 2:9: “of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.” It is repeated with the preposition “to” instead of “of” in 2:10. In the Old Testament, people had to become Jewish to become a part of the covenant family. There was the rite of circumcision, and people were expected to adhere to the Law of Moses. (Note we are not talking about salvation here, but of the old covenant!) The Jewish nation was entrusted with the oracles of God, and rightly recognized that their God was the true God who created the world and everything in it. In many ways, they had a special status, where their nation was lifted above the nations of the world.

But we also see “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.” When facing God’s wrath, being Jewish in and of itself does not give anyone any advantage with God for salvation. The coming verses will flesh this out in detail.

We could say the same of those born in a Christian home versus those who were not. The only advantage of those with Christian parents is that they have exposure to God’s Word. Such family status, however, does not turn you away from God’s wrath. You may find it silly to say so, but there are people out there that actually believe that a Christian’s children are automatically saved because the parents are! Maybe it is a coping mechanism due to the stress of wanting their children to be saved, or to relieve themselves of the duty of teaching Christ... but either way, this is very wrong, and is contradicted by these verses here.

Do not trust in your heritage; you need the same Savior as everybody else. “There is no respect of persons with God.”