Judged By The Law

For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) (Romans 2:12-15)

We left previously with the notion that God shows no partiality between the Jew and the Gentile. Paul continues in this same vein here. In verse 12, we read, “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.” Now at first glance this may seem that those without the law are off the hook, while those who grew up with the law are the ones to be judged. This is not the case, as we will see in the following verses. First, let us consider that those who have “sinned in the law.”

We see that those who had access to the law, those “shall be judged by the law.” This is significant, because many people, especially those religious folks of the New Testament era, believed that they were acceptable to God because of their hearing of the Law and being raised in the Jewish traditions among the covenant people. But we see that they will be “judged.” It was once said that the Law of the Old Testament serves as a thermometer, not as an antidote. When people get sick, they do not use the thermometer to get better, they use it to see how sick they are! Likewise, the Law shows us how “sick” or alienated from God we really are.

Verse 13 tells us that “the doers of the law shall be justified” rather than the hearers. The implication here is that the “doer” does all of the law. James 2:10 and Deuteronomy 18:13 would confirm this. Right there we see how the Law is a thermometer, showing us our infirmity. If perfection is the real standard, then all fall short.