Romans 2

Outline notes of mine:

2:1 (RSV) Therefore you have no excuse, O man, whoever you are
(NIV) You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment

2:1-5 This seems to be against hypocrites who judge others but do the same sins as those they judge.

2:6-10 If you do good & seek righteousness or if you do evil & are self-seeking, God will give each what is deserved.

2:11 "God shows no favoritism"

• What we can gather minimally from this passage is that God does not play favorites regarding giving due rewards for what we do, whether evil or good.
• These verses (6-11) do not seem to relate to how or even whether God elects people for salvation unconditionally. (i.e. the "U" of TULIP)

2:12 Those who sin while not knowing the law will perish; those who sin while knowing the Law will be judged.

• Hmm... annihilation for those who don't know any better & hell for those who do know better? There's a "secondary debate" within Christian circles over whether souls will be annihilated or eternally tormented. Could both sides of the issue be right? One verse alone can't decide that, but this verse does provoke some interesting thoughts.
• Another idea is that "perish" may have meant something different to the ancient Roman-Jewish mind than what we might assume today. Gotta do more research on this.

2:13-16 Doers of the Law will be justified, even if they don't know the letter of the Law because it is written on their hearts and can follow that. They all will be judged accordingly.

2:17-24 Talking about teachers and leaders who are hypocrites, doing the very thing they condemn in their teaching.

2:25-29 Sinning nullifies circumcision; circumcision must be on the inside, not on the outside

My overview: The chapter starts and ends with hypocrisy and explains how at judgment everyone will get what they deserve regarding rewards for good things they've done and punishments for evil they've done. However, it is unclear how the reward system will actually play out. Also, people may confuse "rewards for good things they've done" for salvation, but salvation is a separate issue - it is something unearnable by works, only given to those who have faith in Jesus the Messiah (who is YHVH Himself).