Romans 7-8 The Cancer of Sin and Life in the Spirit

Romans 7

Romans 7:1 Paul takes a different perspective than Jesus did in the beatitudes.  In Matthew 5:3-10 Jesus talks about the happiness and blessedness of those who have certain attitudes and behaviors. Paul looks at the Law as having jurisdiction over us as long as we live. (We will see that his perspective changes on chapter 8.) Jesus went on to to explain that the Law would not be done away with, but must be met to enter the kingdom of heaven. How did Jesus reconcile these? The same way Paul does in Romans 8. Paul repeated this statement in Galatians 5:1.

Romans 7:2-5 Paul did not discuss divorce, but simply used the prohibition of adultery while married as an illustration (a metaphor) of our sin when we are under the Law. Jesus said words about divorce and adultery that closely parallel what Paul said. (Matthew 5:27-32) The difference is that Jesus was illustrating purity of heart and actually talking about lust, while Paul is making an analogy to a legal distinction and trying to illustrate a difficult theological truth. 

Romans 7:6 There is no shortcut or magic deliverance from sin, only death to the flesh so the life of the spirit is released. Consider modern treatments for cancer, which usually involve combinations of one or more of surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation. Cancer is found in tumors, but residual cells that may have been released by tumors that are removed surgically can create new tumors. Radiation and chemo kill these rogue cells, but also kill a lot of healthy cells as well, to make sure that all of the cancerous cells are dead. Cancer cells infiltrate healthy tissue in their insidious campaign to reproduce and spread. The parallel to sin is obvious. The healthy cells lack any ability to eliminate invading cancer cells. The penalty of death is paid by these otherwise healthy cells.

Romans 7:7-9 Coveting was the tenth command given to Moses. (Exodus 20:17) It is the only commandment that is internal, not an action. Perhaps that is what makes it so insidious.

Romans 7:10-13 The commands were intended to bring life by helping us as humans to live full lives. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned that no one can serve two masters, about storing up treasures on earth, and how earthly treasures’ effect on our hearts. (Matthew 6:19-24) 

Romans 7:14 Paul echoes Jesus’ words that whoever commits sin is the slave of sin. (John 8:34)

Romans 7:15-25 The internal struggle that everyone faces is to do what is good, even though we know deep down that it is right and want to do it. We can try to exercise self-control, or blame “the law of sin” inside us. In our right minds, we want to be rescued. Paul is deluded in his mind if he thinks it is master over his nature, but his mind is also able to discern righteousness and sin, and also desires to do what is right. They can’t all be correct at the same time. There is some comfort in knowing that even Paul had this struggle. Most likely, the truth is that our sin nature is not just part of our mind, but is an infection in the heart.

Romans 8

Romans 8:1-4 This is God’s answer to the dilemma posed in 7:21-25. It contrasts directly the Spirit of life as against the law of sin and death. God’s law is satisfied in those in Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit. Since most of our experience is with a lifestyle of sin and suffering, it seems to me that Paul is vision-casting here. This is what God’s ideal is for us, we could live this way if we live according to the Spirit, not the flesh. 

Romans 8:11 Jesus’ body was resurrected. We can have life now! The implication is that if the Holy Spirit dwells in us, as Jesus promised, then that Spirit is working in us to bring His life to us, even as we struggle to receive it because of the works of the flesh described in earlier chapters. God will ultimately have His way in the lives of those who choose Him.

There are many aspects of life in  the Spirit

• Romans 8:1  There is no condemnation.
• Romans 8:4  We will fully meet the Law’s requirements.
• Romans 8:6  We can have a mind of life and peace.
• Romans 8:10  Righteousness brings life.
• Romans 8:11-13  Life in mortal bodies in which fleshly misdeeds are put to death.
• Romans 8:14-17  We are children of God and His heirs.
• Romans 8:17-21  We share in Jesus’ sufferings and glory.
• Romans 8:23-27  The Holy Spirit prays through us without words. Perhaps a reference to glossolalia. (1 Corinthians 14:2) These prayers are in accordance with God’s will.
• Romans 8:28  God works all things for good.
• Romans 8:37-39  There is no separation from God.

Romans 8:18-23 Earth will become like heaven when God’s kingdom is established here. We are agents to bring this about through the Holy Spirit. The birth of the new creation is directly tied to our bodily redemption.

Romans 8:31-39 gives five questions, some rhetorical, and answers.

• Romans 8:31 (rhetorical) If God is for us, who can be against us?
• Romans 8:32 (rhetorical) Since God did not spare Jesus, in order to rescue us, how will He not give is all things?
• Romans 8:33 (rhetorical) Who brings charges against us (Gods elect)? God justifies us.
• Romans 8:34 Who condemns us? No one. Jesus intercedes for us.
• Romans 8:35-39 Who separates us from the love of Christ? In this list of troubles, beings, events, and aspects of the universe, nothing trumps the love of God in Jesus. Psalm 44:22 is quoted to demonstrate that trials and tribulations are nothing new, especially for those who fear God, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are overcomers of it all.

The rise and fall of everything … in this universe.

 

One universal pattern that we see in life is that nothing lasts forever. Whether it is people who are born, mature, age, and eventually pass away, or nations, or institutions, or even stars everything eventually come to an end. This can be attributed to the second law of thermodynamics, which simply states that in a closed system entropy always increases.   Entropy is a measure of the ability of energy to do useful work, lower entropy meaning more available capability; as useful work is done, entropy increases. (A comparable measure exists for information.) There is even something called the “heat death of the universe”, which is that future condition when matter and energy are uniformly distributed so that nothing ever changes, the ultimate outcome of the 2nd law of thermodynamics

Consider human lives. Our DNA defines our body structure from the inside, with the environment acting on the outside. As we age, our DNA degrades due to a variety of factors. As a result, our bodies also begin to decay beginning after early adulthood. Of course, environmental factors like smoking, alcohol consumption, environmental toxins, poor diet also contribute to bodily decay. The only thing that drives healthy development from conception to adulthood is the healthy DNA at birth, and healthy lifestyles thereafter.

The rise and fall of the Third Reich was documented by Shirer. The decline and fall of the Roman Empire was a series of books by Gibbon. The decline of the Spanish Empire is not nearly so often discussed, but it goes something like this. After defeating the Islamic invaders and ejecting them from the Iberian peninsula in 1492, Spain very quickly took on the task of exploring and conquering the New World that Columbus had just discovered. They discovered that the pagan religion of the natives in America practiced human sacrifice on a scale that apparently surpassed that of the ancient Canaanites.  This is documented in Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness by Warren Carroll. The Spanish took on the task of conquering the Aztec empire and evangelizing the people. This was completed in a very short time on historical scales, and coincided with the establishment of an empire covering more than half of Central and South America, and a good part of North America. Sadly, Spain drifted from this evangelical fervor to focus on collecting as much gold and silver as could be collected and shipped back to Spain. Secular history records factors that were efficient causes of Spain’s decline, such as debt default, hyperinflation, the collapse of domestic industry, and over-reliance on the  imports of precious metals from the new world. But the final cause was their turn from God to materialism. 

We could do a similar analysis of the decline of the British empire, but that is left as an exercise for the reader. (The London Missionary Society and the banker mindset portrayed in the Mary Poppins movie are clues.)

There is a hint of what is not subject to the second law. The origin of the universe. The source of the DNA that infants have at conception. The power that enabled Spain to quickly conquer so much territory and so many people. The power of God lies outside this universe and is not subject to this seemingly universal principle. It is related to the child’s question, if God created everything, who created God? Or Aristotle’s immovable mover. Some things are outside our comprehension. 

The real question is what the implications are for us. How we live. What we prioritize. The decisions we make. Our goals in life. Because it can end in decay and failure, or growth and success. Our choice to pursue God or man will ultimately determine the outcome. When our body inevitably decays, what will be our legacy? Have we left our children a heritage of faith and faithfulness? What have we left our society, that part of the world we have contact with? Material wealth, money, or human institutions that will crumble like crumbling ruins of the Roman Empire? What Jesus offers is eternal life. How can we share that? 

Part of our society has a greatness mindset, but what made America great? Was/is it John D  Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J P Morgan, Henry Ford, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg? George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, FDR? Martin Luther King, Jr., Thomas Paine, Susan B Anthony,  William Lloyd Garrison, Booker T. Washington, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham,  D. L. Moody,  Billy Sunday? What meets the test of lasting greatness?

 

Movie Review - Angel Studios Young David

The impact of leaders’ life choices on legitimacy.

The Angel Studios animated movie about young David is not a Hallmark movie. The Biblical basis of the movie is clear from beginning to end, but the key empowering trait of this movie is the character of David lived out in action. Sometimes intense action. The confrontation of the Israelites with the Philistines and the Amalekites includes not just tribal warfare, but also pagan worship that was their source of empowerment. Goliath, in particular, is shown in direct defiance of YHWH, screaming at Him in the heavens. King Saul’s mental illness is clearly portrayed as due to demonic influence, that David’s worship songs overcome when he sang. 

But this isn’t primarily about evil spirits or spiritual warfare - that is just the context for David’s character, his love for God, his influence on those around him, to show why he was the true and correct king of Israel. There are several songs that match the circumstances and needs of the situation at hand. He knows the names of his sheep. He confronts a lion to protect them. He is often challenged by both people and circumstances and is able to summon up his faith in God to meet the challenges. The movie makes evident to a young audience a lifestyle of walking with and serving God, that it is not easy because life is not easy, but that with God is worthwhile. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, although the movie ends just as peace comes to Israel, but does not portray it in action, just its arrival.

One theme of the movie is that when government leaders do not do what is right, the people are divided. Some choose to follow the government, some choose to honor and serve God. The resulting social and cultural friction makes them vulnerable to outside threats. In the movie, the Philistines and the Amalekites are the threat. The Israelites become prey to strong and united evil. But these evil tribes become weak when God-honoring Israel is united in serving Him. And it is clear that the source of governmental strength or weakness is the righteousness or its lack in the king, as the  government surrounds and follows him. When the king sins, the consequences for the nation are division, unrest, and vulnerability. (The movie does not go this far, but we know from Scripture that later in David’s reign, it happened again.)

A philosophical rabbit-trail. Saul and David were both kings but the observations above apply equally to leaders or rulers regardless of how they came into power. We now have presidents and prime ministers and autocrats of various types who came into power by many different mechanisms. Elections (some rigged, some free and fair), political negotiations, revolutions, coups d’etat, and inherited (very rare these days). Saul was the peoples’ choice because he was tall and looked the part. David was chosen by God and had to prove himself while God was simultaneously training and preparing him, eventually acknowledged by the people. From whence does legitimate political power come? This movie does not directly address the divine right of kings, asserted during the 17th and 18th centuries, but speaks to legitimacy. A ruler who serves God wholeheartedly brings blessing to those he or she governs. When that ruler falls short, the people are impacted, and when they turn from God, the people they rule suffer. Regardless of their claimed doctrine - economic, social, political - their practice of righteousness, or lack thereof, is the litmus test of their reign. And it goes without further elaboration, this applies to leaders at all levels.

Returning to the movie, the graphics and the music are very well-done. The prophet Samuel is portrayed oddly, without a forehead; I haven’t figured out if this is significant. David’s mother sings a few songs to encourage him and to talk about the stuff of life, like God weaving a tapestry in your life that is made up of threads that are individually just thread. The animations are sometimes so lifelike the viewer might think they are photography. 

Overall, the movie is designed to appeal to and inspire young men ages ten and up, but it also lifts the spirits of adults as well. 

Romans 5-6 The Problem of Pain, and the non-sequitur of grace

Romans 5

Romans 5:2 & 11 Paul boasts in God’s provision of redemption in Christ, and in the glory of His grace. Boasting is generally considered an unattractive behavior, but Paul is not boasting of anything he did, but of what God has done.  Praise of God for His nature and character is part of our worship, glorying in who and what He is. Paul joins in this worship.

Romans 5:3-4 This is glory - sufferings that produce perseverance that results in character which then gives hope in God’s love. It is hard for us to understand how suffering can lead to love, but this is the mystery of redemption. We imitate and grow to be like Christ by persevering as God builds character in us, to ultimately experience God’s love tangibly. Here we have the Biblical explanation of the so-called problem of pain. Why does a good God allow innocent people to suffer? Because He is building in them perseverance and character, so that they can ultimately experience the glory of God’s love, both receiving it and sharing it with others. This can only become part of proven character through the testing that comes from suffering. Our decision to love as God loves will therefore be implemented by Him in this way. 

Romans 5:6-8 Our only value is what God invests in us, if we receive it. We bring nothing of value on our own. The right time for Christ to die for us was while we were sinners, not waiting for us to get our act together. We could never have earned Christ’s redemption of us. 

Romans 5:14 Adam had one command, and he broke it. (Genesis 2:17, 3:6) Hence, death was ceded dominion over humankind, even though the law of Moses came later.  But Adam was warned. It wasn’t just a ‘thou shalt not’. God told Adam the consequences of that forbidden act.

Romans 5:15-17 The extravagance of the gift is the overflowing of grace, justification, righteousness, and reigning in life. Even with all of the above - suffering, sin, lack of intrinsic virtue - God doesn’t grudgingly rescue us, but extravagantly gives to us.

Romans 5:18 The condemnation for all people was explicitly identified in their continual sin and wickedness in the time of Noah. (Genesis 6:5) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8) Noah was blameless (not sinless!) in the eyes of the Lord, and walked with Him faithfully. (Genesis 6:9) This did not result in justification for the human race, but did save us from total extinction. Only Jesus could bring justification to humanity as a whole. Eventually Noah died. (Genesis 9:29) 

Romans 5:21 A contrast in reigning. Sin’s reign results in death.  Grace’s reign through righteousness brings eternal life through Christ. 

Romans 6

Romans 6:1-4 In this chapter, Paul explores the basic non-sequitur of the idea that since we are not under the law, but under grace, we can continue to sin because death has been defeated. (6:14-15) Jesus didn’t die on the cross, rise from the dead, and bring us the grace of forgiven sin so we can live in the flesh and revel in sin, but instead so that we can enjoy the glory of the Father. After our decision and deliverance comes discipleship (6:11-13)

Romans 6:13-14 There is a daily, or hourly, or minute-by-minute process of commitment, obedience, and action. Every part of ourselves is included in this process - body, soul, spirit, family, earthly possessions, and anything else that is part of our life.

Romans 6:15 The non-sequitur is this. If grace frees us from the law and sin is no longer our master, it does not follow to use this freedom to return to sin. It makes no sense to go back to an evil master after Someone has paid for you to no longer be a slave. 

Romans 6:20 & 22 There are two types or flavors of slavery. Enslavement by compulsion, external force, which describes slavery to sin. Its wages are death. Alternatively, there is slavery by choice, submitting to a Master we love and trust, and gives us the gift of eternity with Him.

Romans 6:21 The reason to reprogram ourselves to make sin not a normal part of life (which takes decision and effort to follow through) is to avoid returning to jail or enslavement leading to death.

Romans 6:22 it is important to understand that holiness is not the same as Pharisitical legalism. Holiness is not defined by rules-following. Holiness is setting ourselves apart for the good and just and righteous deeds. We joyously do the things Jesus calls us to do, with our whole heart. These things are unique and different for each person, but Jesus demonstrates them and talks about them in the gospels. And then He calls us each individually to certain specifics. Holiness is doing what He calls us to.

Romans 6:23 The bottom line is life or death. We each individually choose.

Romans 3-4

 Romans 3

Romans 3:1 Jews carry a privileged responsibility. Having God’s direct revelation is something they should share with the world, but also implies a duty to live in accordance with it. And when they did, they were blessed in all the dimensions of life that they obeyed His word in. But the ultimate test, when they wanted to do their own thing, was that there were both natural and spiritual consequences. God gave them the whole gamut of truth. 

Romans 3:4-8 opens with a quote of Psalm 51:4, David’s song of repentance after he had been outed for his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. David acknowledged that he had sinned against God, who was justified in judging him for his sins. This leads Paul into a brief tangent (3:5-8) about the idea that if sin was an occasion for God to reveal His righteousness through mercy, then we should sin to create opportunities for Him to do so. Paul agreed that this is an absurd idea.

Romans 3:10-18 The theme of all these quotes is that we have to go beyond saying we are sinful to truly believing it, so that we can truly repent. Repeating the words “I have sinned”    is superficial if our heart isn’t engaged. Paul was acquainted with this, having been at the stoning of Stephen, and approving it by guarding the cloaks of those who threw stones.

• 3:10 quotes Psalm 14:1, talking about the vile deeds of moral fools.
• 3:11 quotes Psalm 14:2, to the effect that no one understands this enough to seek God.
• 3:12 quotes Psalm 14:3, (and Ecclesiastes 7:20), emphasizing the universality of sin, leading up to Romans 3:23. (Most likely Solomon quoted David to support his rumination on the meaninglessness of life.)
• 3:13 quotes Psalms 5:9 & 140:3 Throats, tongues, and lips all participate in vile sin, from David’s day to our own. Whether it is deceit, poison, or verbal assassination.
• 3:14 quotes Psalm 10:7, continuing the assessment of the mouth.
• 3:15-17 quote Isaiah 59:7-8, slightly rearranged, on the utter depravity of humans, that God yet promises to redeem those who will be (Isaiah 59:16-21).
• 3:18 quotes Psalm 36:1, in which David contrasts the wickedness of evil men to the love of God.

Romans 3:21-22 If God were not holy, existence would be hideous, because evil would rule the roost. But God revealed righteousness in Jesus, and the new life He gives to those who believe. 

Romans 3:23-24 is just a statement of fact, not a condemnation. He already fully explained the universality of sin. The fact is, we can’t save ourselves. Does the word ‘all’ in verse 24 imply that ultimately everybody will be saved? Paul later explains that this means he is talking about all those who are justified by faith. (3:28)

Romans 3:25-26 God sacrificed Jesus to demonstrate His love for us. His righteousness is love. Justice becomes justification when God’s love takes action, as it did in Christ. 

Romans 3:27-31 returns to the question posed in 3:1. Jews having received God’s revelation cannot thereby boast being the chosen of God, His favorites, because it is faith that justifies. Faith in Jesus, although it justifies apart from works, nevertheless upholds the law, as he will explain.

Romans 4 Abraham’s faith

Romans 4:1-3 In Genesis 12:1, God took the initiative and Abraham responded in faith. We are told later in the Genesis account that his belief was credited to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)  As Hebrews 11:8-12 explains, Abraham journeyed by faith to a land he did not know, to live as an alien, before Isaac was born, but it was of the same fabric of faith.

Romans 4:4-8 God blesses us with faith in us, enabling us to respond in faith. Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2 about the blessedness of being forgiven. This is the beginning of David’s psalm of  reflection, probably after the Bathsheba affair (see Psalm 51). In the subsequent verses of Psalm 32 David reflects on guilt, repentance, forgiveness, and God’s instruction. (Psalm 32:3-11).

Romans 4:9-11 Paul points out that Abraham’s circumcision came after his faith was reckoned to Him as righteousness. (Genesis 17:24) Hence, circumcision was an act of obedience, not a condition of God’s favor. This sign was a seal of the righteousness he already had by virtue of faith, and was passed on to his heirs in faith.

Romans 4:13-15 Righteousness that comes through faith, if perfected, needs no law because it is manifested as love. (13:10) Legalists completely miss the point because if they try to earn rewards by following the law, they will fail; and they miss out on the promises of faith.

Romans 4:16-21 It seems like Abraham sets a very high bar for faith. But in making him the father of nations, God’s obvious intention was for them to imitate him. (Genesis 17:5), so that these nations understand that they came about through Abraham’s faith, and that faith was credited to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6) Paul is very explicit that bringing life from the dead, in referring to Abraham’s body and Sarah’s womb, is the focus of this faith. Paul will later explain about spiritual life.

Romans 4:22-23 Paul parallels Abraham’s fathering a child at age 99 and Sarah’s conceiving and giving birth at age 90 to Jesus’ death and resurrection. (He does not refer here to Abraham’s offering of Isaac - see Hebrews 11:17) Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead for our justification, in a fulfillment in greater power of the restoring of Abraham’s and Sarah’s reproductive capacity. Perhaps Paul was echoing in a slightly different perspective Jesus’ words that we must be born from above. (John 3:3-8)

Romans 1-2

Romans 1

Romans 1:2 The good news was promised in Isaiah 53, among other places.

Romans 1:3-4 Jesus as the Son of David was announced in Matthew 1:1 according to the flesh (genealogically), as the Son of God by the Holy Spirit (Psalm 2:7, Matthew 3:17, 17:5), and a rather mixed genealogy by Luke (Luke 3:23-37). Luke draws out the seemingly bizarre mixed divine and human ancestry, which would have been anathema to Jews, whose exposure to such resulted in giants like Goliath and the mongrel races like the Nephilim, Rephaim and Anakim  that inhabited Palestine before God told them to exterminate the demon seed. (Genesis 6:4) But that was because human understanding of war in the heavenlies was (and still is) limited. God was determined to rescue humanity from Satan and from sin, and to pay a very high price to do so. Jesus was further anointed the Son of God in power by the Holy Spirit through resurrection from the dead. (Luke 24:46-48)

Romans 1:5 Paul’s call to preach to the gentiles was first revealed to Ananias.  (Acts 9:15).

Romans 1:7 Paul opens  by pronouncing a blessing of charis and shalom on his readers in Rome, from both the Father and from the Son. Grace brings God’s unmerited favor to bear. This includes peace with Him, as well as peace with each other, one of the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22)

Romans 1:8 Paul starts by thanking God for these Roman believers (whom he had not met) and their reputation.

Romans 1:12 Mutual encouragement in faith is the basis of Christian community, e.g., the church.

Romans 1:14-15 Did Paul view the Romans as wise or foolish? Clearly, those who received the gospel were not foolish in God’s eyes. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

Romans 1:17 In quoting Habakkuk 2:4, Paul clearly states that faith is the basis of righteousness, both for conversion and through life, to the last. Living by faith is making our daily actions line up with the One we trust. This is righteousness.

Romans 1:18-23 Everyone knows right and wrong, some just don’t want to act on it. Sin is rooted in deliberate unbelief, rejection of God. 1:18 presents clear alternatives - either receive grace or experience justice. In 1:20-21, God reveals Himself both directly through knowing Him, and through His works. God’s creation reveals both His power and His nature and character. 1:21 echoes Genesis 8:21, that human hearts after the fall were and are continually bent towards sin. 1:22 echoes Proverbs 1:7; fools despise knowledge and instruction. God’s detestation of worship of images of humans and animals is clear. (Deuteronomy 4:16-18)

Romans 1:25 The worship of created things is well documented. (Exodus 32:1-6; 1 Kings 12:28-30; 2 Kings 18:4)

Romans 1:26-27 The consequence of homosexuality is recorded in Genesis 19:24-25 in burning sulfur that destroyed not only cities, but also vegetation. Why does God so detest homosexuality? We fallible humans are likely to allow each person to do their own thing - to each his own. This is just speculation, but perhaps God hates it because it perverts the picture of Christ and His bride, the church, that He intends in the marriage of a man and a woman. But if that is the case, why does God ‘give them over’ to this if they worship the creature rather than the creator? Speculation again, but perhaps this is a fundamental confusion about existence. We are the contingent beings, He is the non-contingent, uncreated, first cause of everything else. We reproduce through male-female participation in an act (granted, not always of love). He is the only one who is able to produce life in any other way, e.g., to create man from dirt. Even in in vitro fertilization, the components come from a man and a woman. To worship the creature and not the creator violates His paradigm for existence and He makes it known unmistakably.

Romans 1:28-32 The loss of spirituality was the loss of humanity, since God created man to walk in fellowship with Him. (Genesis 3:8) They did not live as God intended humans to live. 1:29-31 enumerates the kinds of wickedness that follow from a depraved mind. Vices crowd out virtues. 1:32 As a capstone, wicked people encourage each other in practices that result in death, the opposite of encouraging each other in faith that is highlighted in 1:12.

Romans 2 attempts to clarify the difference between legalism and doing what is right.

Romans 2:1-5 What is the sense in judging others for what we ourselves do? Even without God, we are really judging ourselves. Is it some psychological search for justification in our own eyes, or a cathartic release of guilt? But in contrast,  God shows kindness to those who do these things, to lead us to repentance. What we really need is not catharsis, but a change in our actions, not just release from guilt.

Romans 2:5-8 echoes an Old Testament theme. God will reward each person according to what he or she has done. Cause and effect on a spiritual plane.  (Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12)

Romans 2:9-11 God does not use categories like Jew or gentile (or Catholic or Mormon or Muslim) in  judgment. He judges individuals. He does not show bias or favoritism. When we talk about trouble and distress, some draw a distinction between punishment and discipline. But at the bottom line, is there a difference? If the point is that experiencing consequences causes us the not repeat the causal behavior, they are essentially the same. 

Romans 2:12-16 The difference between legalism and doing what s right: whether people know the law or not, it is what they do that matters. 2:15 repeats 1:18-20, that everyone has right and wrong written on their conscience. Their own conscience will accuse or defend them on the day of judgment.

Romans 2:24 quotes directly from Ezekiel 36:20-22 and Isaiah 52:5, after a lengthy exhortation about legalistic hypocrisy. Ezekiel refers to the exile, and the reputation that the Jews had because God expelled them from their land because of their sin. God’s name was profaned among the nations because He judged them thusly.   In Isaiah, God says that His people were oppressed without cause and the oppressors howled (with victory or laughter) that God’s people were in exile, His name was profaned, and He will redeem them. Isaiah 52:5 is a lead up to the announcement of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).

Romans 2:25-29 Circumcision is used three different ways in the Old Testament. In Genesis 17:9-14 it is a sign of the covenant He made with Abraham. In Leviticus 12:3 it is part of the law. In Deuteronomy 30:6 He speaks of circumcision of the heart, which Paul references here. In Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking of Jews who have returned from exile, having been banished because of disbelief and sin, then repent and return to faith. When that happens, He promises to change their hearts by cutting away the carnal, fleshly desires of the heart so that they can purely desire and love God. So Paul here extends this to believers, Jew and gentile, who genuinely turn to Christ.