Romans 2

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¹You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ✦ ²And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ✦ ³So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ✦ ⁴Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? ✦ ⁵But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ✦ ⁶God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” ✦ ⁷To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. ✦ ⁸But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. ✦ ⁹There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; ✦ ¹⁰but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. ✦ ¹¹For God does not show favoritism. ✦ ¹²All 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. ✦ ¹³For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. ✦ ¹⁴Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ✦ ¹⁵So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them ✦ ¹⁶on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel. ✦ ¹⁷Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; ✦ ¹⁸if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ✦ ¹⁹if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, ✦ ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ✦ ²¹you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? ✦ ²²You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ✦ ²³You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ✦ ²⁴As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” ✦ ²⁵Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ✦ ²⁶If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ✦ ²⁷The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. ✦ ²⁸A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. ✦ ²⁹No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Rom 2 ·23 Rom 9 ·14 Rom 3 ·11 Rom 1 ·10 Eph 2 ·7 Luke 12 ·6 Gal 6 ·6 Rom 8 ·6

Christ at the center

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoMike Winger — BibleThinkerMike Winger · Free · reformed
Free verse-by-verse studies through whole books plus careful apologetics — "learn to think biblically about everything." (Reformed-leaning, non-denominational.)

Pastoral

★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed
1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.
SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed
Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)
SermonGospel in Life — Tim KellerTim Keller · Free · reformed
Tim Keller's gospel-centered preaching — sermons stream free (the complete downloadable archive is paid).
ArticleRecommended NT commentaries (9Marks / Schreiner)Thomas R. Schreiner · Free · reformed
A trusted pastor-oriented guide to the best commentary on each New Testament book.
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.
VideoVerse By Verse Ministry InternationalVerse By Verse Ministry Int'l · Free · evangelical
In-depth, verse-by-verse expository teaching book-by-book — strong for working straight through a whole New Testament book.
VideoLook at the Book — John PiperJohn Piper · Free · reformed
Watch Piper trace the logic of a passage phrase by phrase on screen — a model of close reading.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Romans 2YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Romans 2David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Romans 2Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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