All who sin apart from the law…
Romans 2:12 - “Don't just stand there looking religious. Religion can only damn you!” (Dr. Ray Pritchard)
“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.”
Romans 2:12 NIV
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans has had the same goals for the past 2,000 years — explaining salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ and emphasizing justification by faith and God’s righteousness. It does so by addressing mankind’s fallen state, the role of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and the implications for both the Jewish converts and Gentile believers of the time.
Considering Paul is targeting Gentiles and Jews in this verse, why all of the emphasis on “the law” — that is, the Law of Moses that was handed down by God to guide His people morally, spiritually, and physically? Gentiles did not receive the Law of Moses, as it was a specific covenant between God and Israel. By stating that “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law”, Paul is saying that the ignorance of the Gentiles about the Mosaic Law doesn’t exempt them from accountability.
Think of it in terms of modern law: a person cannot go out and willfully break the law, get caught, and then go unpunished by stating “I didn’t realize this law existed”. Ignorance of the law doesn’t provide amnesty from the law. Paul goes on to explain in Romans 2:14-15 that believers — both Gentile and Jew — have a moral law which governs them and holds them accountable before God. Sin is unavoidable in humanity, which makes the need for redemption through Christ so critical!
Does that next part “will perish apart from the law” mean that the sinners are going to die because of their sin? No. We all die, sinners and righteous alike. Paul is referring to eternal separation from God — the biblical concept of spiritual death. He’s also inferring that even without being subject to Mosaic Law, Gentiles are inherently sinful and are subject to God’s judgement! God’s justice applies to all humanity, whether or not they have knowledge of the law.
Moving on to the next stanza — “all who sin under the law” — refers to the Jewish converts, who know the Mosaic Law and should realize that it is a guide for living in such a way as to please God. Just knowing the Law of Moses doesn’t guarantee that someone is righteous; later in Romans (Romans 7:7-12) Paul notes that the law reveals sin, but it’s up to the individual to provide the power to overcome it. Since that has proven to be very difficult for humanity, we needed a savior!
Those who had the law — the Roman Jews who Paul was referring to — knew that it was the standard by which they would be judged. By stating that they would “be judged by the law”, Paul was pointing out that their greater knowledge of right and wrong brought with it a greater responsibility to live the law. Nobody can perfectly keep the law, which means that it is insufficient for salvation. Salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ, who told us in Matthew 5:17 that He fulfills the law.
Scottish theologian William Barclay brilliantly summarized Romans 2:12 with this commentary:
A man will be judged by what he had the opportunity to know. If he knew the Law, he will be judged as one who knew the Law. If he did not know the Law, he will be judged as one who did not know the Law. God is fair. And here is the answer to those who ask what is to happen to the people who lived in the world before Jesus came and who had no opportunity to hear the Christian message. A man will be judged by his fidelity to the highest that it was possible for him to know.
In 1992, Dr. Ray Pritchard of Keep Believing Ministries delivered a sermon that pointedly delivers the message that we need to depend on Jesus Christ for our salvation, not just “good works and your basic nice-guy morality”:
“Since judgment is according to light, religious people have the most to fear. We who know so much stand in much greater danger than the heathen who know so little. Forget about the heathen! What about you? If you are trusting in your good works and your basic nice-guy morality to get you to heaven, you will be sadly disappointed. You're not as good as you think you are. You're not as nice as you pretend to be. You don't live up to your own standards. The day is coming when you will be condemned by your own words. Your alternatives are very simple. Either face Jesus Christ now… or face Him later. Today He is your Savior; tomorrow He will be your Judge. Today you can be forgiven; tomorrow you will only be condemned. Today your record can be wiped clean; tomorrow your record will be used against you. Run to the cross! Run and do not walk. Run, make haste to the bleeding cross of Jesus Christ. Don't just stand there looking religious. Religion can only damn you! If you are Mr. I.M. Okay, then drop everything and run to Jesus. Drop your morality, drop your pretense, drop your hypocrisy, drop your excuses, drop it all and run to the Son of God. The good news is this: Jesus is ready to meet you. When Mr. I.M. Okay finally comes to the cross, there he encounters the power that will transform him into Mr. I.M. Forgiven."
Amen!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer comes from Knowing Jesus:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the truths that are contained in the book of Romans. I pray that I may never stray from the gospel of Christ, that I am a sinner and that there is nothing that I can do to merit Your forgiveness, except by grace through faith in the atoning blood of the incarnate Word of God. Thank You that I have been saved, simply because I believed that Jesus took the punishment that I deserved and thus transferred me from death to life. In Jesus' name, AMEN.