Romans - Verse by Verse Study - Chapter 3

Romans 3:1
1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

So after all that indictment against the Jew in chapter 2, a logical question would be: What point is there in being a Jew? If they are judged just the same as the Gentile when they break the Law, what is the point? God will address that immediately and expound on that in this chapter. But it is certainly beneficial for us to explore what God's purpose was in setting aside Israel as His holy nation. God is no respecter of persons, which was abundantly clear in chapter 2, so why make this nation that is set apart? What is the benefit of being a part of that nation?

The translation from the Greek here is pretty accurate. The question phrased "What advantage then hath the Jew?" is literally "What then is the advantage of the Jewish one?" and the other question is literally "Or what is the profit of the circumcision?" Something that may be of interest is looking at that word "advantage." It is perissos in the Greek and is used 23 times in the New Testament. It has the following definition.

perissos (an adjective, derived from 4012 /peri, "all-around, excess") – properly all-around, "more than" ("abundantly"); beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation; "more abundant," going past the expected limit [1]

This is the same word used in John 10:10 when Jesus is describing the life He brings. I will put it in italics in the verse. Jn 10:10b: "I am come that they (believers in the kingdom gospel) might have (Greek echo, meaning hold onto) life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Romans 3:2
2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

So God's answer to verse 1 is that there is significant advantage to being a Jew. The first reason is that God revealed Himself to the world through them. No other nation on earth was given the truth of God, so it should be clear to anyone that being part of Israel is very special indeed.

The Greek was eye opening to me when I was studying this. The first 3 words here are pretty accurate, but there is a preposition not included, and that is kata. More literally, it says, "Much against (kata) every manner." What was more eye-opening is the second part of this verse. The word committed is the Greek root pistheuo, which is our word "faith". This same form can be found in 1 Tim 1:11 where it is also translated committed. 1 Tim 1:11: According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

Note the difference between this and the word "committed" in 1 Tim 1:18, which is the Greek word paratithemi. 1 Tim 1:18: This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare. Paratithemi defined this way:

3908 paratithemi (from 3844 /para, "right close beside" and 5087 /tithemi, "to place, put") – properly, to set close beside (right next to); (figuratively) entrust; commit to in a very up-close-and-personal way (note the force of the prefix para) [1]

So knowing that that word in Rom 3:2 for "committed" is the Aorist tense of "faith," we could translate it as "have been entrusted." Then we have the word "oracles." That is the Greek root word logion, which is similar to, but stronger than logos (written word/declaration).  Logion has the definition "a divine declaration; a statement originating from God" [1]. There is also a definite article here, so we can translate God's first reason of the Jew being advantageous as this:

For, indeed that the divine words of the God were entrusted to them.

We have God to thank that He revealed Himself through Israel/Hebrews/Jews/Circumcision to the world. Whatever name you'd like to call them by, they were given the majority of what we call the bible today. Technically, the apostle Paul was a believing Jew as Saul after Damascus, and Luke must have been a Gentile proselyte, which would have been considered part of Israel, so it could be argued that the entire bible comes from the Jews. That's pretty advantageous in my book.

Romans 3:3
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

Knowing they were entrusted with the divine words of God, what if some of the nation of Israel didn't believe? What should happen if they chose not to believe the words God gave them? Does that mean that God's faith is made void? As if God made a mistake on the account of their unbelief? An interesting question to pose and God comes across with the immediate answer in the next verse. The same answer that God gives for a few questions in the coming chapters.

The Greek here paints an even clearer picture, as it usually does since those are the original, inspired, inerrant words God gave us. We find the word "gar" right away, which is a conjunction typically translated "for" as it is here, but the purpose is to connect the previous statement with the next one somehow. In other words, the context may have it translated differently. Indeed, actually, and after all are other ways it is translated. Here it could be translated "though" or "indeed" because we were given that the Jews were entrusted with the divine words of God. Indeed, they were given those words, but what if some didn't believe? That's the question being asked here in verse 3.

The phrase "not believe" is the opposite of "committed" in verse 3. In the Greek, the prefix "a" or alpha denotes the opposite. So here we have the root word apisteo instead of pisteo. The word "if" is "ei" which is translated if-factually. It could also be translated "since" in many cases. With all of that said, the first question has the meaning "Indeed they were entrusted with the divine words of God, so what now that some don't believe them?"

Looking at the next question asked, I'll break up a few words for further definition, but it is more literally, "Does not their unbelief abolish the faith of the God?" Again "unbelief" is of the root apisteo and "faith" is pisteo. The definite article is there referring to God. In the Greek, a  lot of questions are asked this way "Does it not...?" This is an example of this, where the negative word "me" starts the question. "Me" in the Greek is the negative that is subjective. It will negate the implication of the statement. There is another Greek word that denotes the negative, which is ou. This is used to negate objectually, ruling it out as fact. Lastly I'd like to look at the phrase "without effect." This is the compound word "katargeo," which is made up of kata and argeo. Kata typically translates as against and argeo means inactive or idle. This gives katargeo the meaning of make idle or inactive, bring to nought, abolish, or render inert. I chose to use abolish in my literal translation but all of these ideas get the point across. Did God make a mistake by giving them His words when they don't believe them? Let's look at the next verse for God's answer.

Romans 3:4
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Of course it's not God's fault. God did not make robots. He made people. People have free will and can choose whether or not to believe. The character of God doesn't change, but people change their minds frequently. People have the fallen nature (flesh) in them that quarrels against the spirit, which we'll get into in chapter 7. So God can say that He is true and every person is a liar. To back that up, God quotes Himself in Psalm 51:4.

The Greek in God's response here translated "God forbid" is really the phrase "May it never be." It comes from the negative "me" and the root word ginomai, which means to come into being. I think it's important to recognize this because of the contrast right after that. Ginomai is used again in the imperitive alongside the word "de". It's a very emphatic contrast from "May it never be that God's faith is abolished" to "Now let it be that the God is true..." The definite article is present here.

The Greek "de" is present again to add "Now every man a liar." I think it should be more emphatic than "but every man a liar." It's establishing a rock solid truth here. If we really expand it out, the first part of the verse says "May it never be! Now let it be that the God is true and now let it be that every man and woman is a liar." That sounds more like a definitive statement than what the KJV has, at least in my mind.

The remainder of this verse is also more detailed in the Greek. "That thou mightest be justifed in the sayings" is really "That in any way (Greek an) you may be justified in the words (Greek logos) of you..." The Greek "an" is an interesting word. It has this definition:

an - indicates what can (could) occur – but only on certain conditions, or by the combination of certain fortuitous causes [2]

an - a conditional particle expressing possibility, based on a preexisting condition (stipulation, prerequisite). This adds an important theoretical (hypothetical) sense to a statement which narrows down the sense of that statement. [1]

Also, logos typically means the written word or a declaration. So because it had been written and/or declared that God is true in His word, we can conclude that God is true and every man a liar.

Then we have the Greek nikao for "mightest overcome." Nikao means to conquer or overcome. It's the verb form of nike, which is the noun for "victory." Here it's in the future tense, hence, "might overcome," or we could also say "will overcome."

The last phrase in the Greek threw me for a while getting the tenses and voices to match up. "Mightest overcome when thou art judged" is an accurate translation. The idea is that God will conquer or overcome should any of the men, who are liars, bring judgement. I say that this phrase in the Greek threw me because the word to judge is in the infinitive passive form. Infinitive is just a fancy word for the base of the verb. The infinitive of running is "to run." The infinitive of sleeping is "to sleep." When a word is in the passive, it's referring to someone doing the action that isn't the main subject of the sentence. The main subject is God here in Romans 3:4, so the judging must be coming from somewhere else. Here is the word for word literal translation so you get the idea why I struggled with this for a time. The Greek is followed by the English translation in parentheses.

Hopos (That) an (in any way) dikaiothes (you may be justified) en (in) tois (the) logois (word) sou (of you), kai (and) nikeseis (will overcome) en (in) to (the) krinesthai (being judged) se (your).

Reading it that way in the English makes your brain hurt. Thank God we have had dedicated translators and the means to uncover the original meaning of the original language.

Romans 3:5
5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)

So now that we established that the unbelief of man doesn't shake the faith of God, what can we conclude from here? In fact, Paul actually writes that the unbelief of man actually commends the righteousness of God. Well if that's the case, what right does God have to take vengeance on man? If man's unbelief is glorifying Him, why is He not happy? I always get a kick out of the times Paul writes that he is speaking as a man. I think of the verse in Isaiah 55:9 and of how little understanding we have in the grand scheme of things. As mankind, we are so finite in our thinking, but come to these conclusions and start questioning God. Just take one moment in history to think about and your mind will be blown, but God knows all about it.

Let's say I share the gospel with someone and they choose to believe in the finished work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. That's wonderful, right? But this person is 30 years old and every moment of their life led them to me to share the gospel. Likewise, every moment of my life led me to be able to speak the gospel in that moment. Every interaction with every other person, place, and thing led to us getting together in that moment. Think of all the decisions that were made that affected how we were led together in that moment. If just one of them had been out of place, the meeting would not have taken place. Even if that person is 8 years old, they have had 8 years of moments that led to that meeting together. And that's just one thing, because I didn't even mention all the people and things that interacted with that person had their own moments in life that led to that particular interaction. So to keep our sanity, let's just say God is speaking to man on man's terms here to prove a point.

The word for "if" here is "ei" which means if-factually and is sometimes translated "since." Also, the word "de" is here, indicating "now." An alternative translation here would be "Now since the unrighteousness of us commends the righteousness of God, what shall we say?" The next part of this verse is different in the Greek because of the articles that are present. We don't speak this way in English so I'll just record it word for word in translation; "Not unrighteousness the God the inflicting the wrath?" The KJV is a good translation here to make sense of it in English, but I think it's interesting that articles were used for each word in that question.

Romans 3:6
6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

Here we have the familiar answer in Romans again: May it never be! God is definitely not unrighteous in  taking vengeance upon disobedient man. God was never in the wrong. Man was. Adam was the one who chose to disobey God's clear command in the Garden of Eden, and since then all of mankind has been disobedient.

The translation is nearly word for word, but missing an article in the Greek to signify the God. Also of interest may be that the phrase begins with the Greek compound word epei, which is made of epi (upon) and ei (if-factually/since). It can be translated as follows:

aptly if, introducing something assumed to be factual and fitting, i.e. as appropriate to what is assumed. Its sense is, "Assume what precedes is true, and understand what follows to be appropriate and applicable" (i.e. true as well) [1]

God will judge the world, so how else could He do that if He would be unjust in taking vengeance upon mankind? By the way, the word for world there is kosmos, which includes all of creation. It is translated world many times, but can also mean "the order." Note what Thayer says:

in Greek writings from Homer down, an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order [2]

Mankind is part of the created order. In fact, mankind plays a crucial role in the created order even if he seems so small in it (Psalm 8:4). God will judge all things through Jesus Christ (2 Tim 4:1) and He is just to judge mankind.

Romans 3:7
7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?

It's always interesting when God repeats Himself. Clearly this is a question that many of us will struggle with. To emphasize the truth, God has verses 5 and 7 asking a very similar thing. If every man is a liar, that make me a liar. Now if the truth of God abounds as I lie, why am I judged as a sinner? Aren't I helping God's cause by showing His truth?

The answer is the same as in verse 6. Of course man isn't helping God's cause by being liars. It is pointing out the truth of God, granted, but that should make us want to exchange the lie for the truth! Why are we being judged as a sinner? Because God doesn't want His children to be disobedient. Remember, God wants all men to be saved and come to the complete knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4), and His words are profitable for correction (2 Tim 3:16). We shouldn't continue as we are, as broken and depraved sinners, but put on the new man created in Christ the moment we believe that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to save us from our sins (Eph 4:17-24, Col 3:5-17). We should walk worthy of this calling (Eph 4:1, Col 1:10), to be ambassadors for Him with the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-20).

Take a moment and think about the picture God gives us with the relationship of parents to children. How would a father react if he told his son not to drop a glass on the floor, yet the son did it anyway to see what would happen and it shatters. Would that father say, "Thank you, son, for breaking that glass to prove I'm right!" and begin celebrating? Would that father not discipline his son for not obeying?

The Greek here is more emphatic than the English again. The verse starts with Ei de, which would mean "Since now." Also, the definite articles are present to have the translation "Since now the truth of the God abounded in my the lie..." The word "through" is the Greek "en" meaning in, within, or among. The rest of the verse is spot on with the Greek.

Romans 3:8
8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

Again, further expounding on the false concept that we should continue as sinners to prove God's goodness, we have this emphasis in this verse. So why are we yet judged as sinners although our lies prove God's goodness? Why can't we just do evil so that good may come? We've already looked at the answer to that, and God will most certainly answer that in the ensuing verses. But look at the repercussion of this thinking. It is described as slanderous and that those who think that way are just in their damnation. God is quite clear that there is no middle ground in this life. Each individual is either for God or against Him. If one desires to continue in evil and not trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary, God is just in condemning them to an eternity in the lake of fire. I really don't understand the logic of those that choose this fate, so again, I beseech any an all, be reconciled to God! You can enjoy an eternity with Him in Heaven forever! It just takes faith that Jesus took care of your sin problem on the cross (1 Cor 15:1-4, Eph 2:8-9, etc.). God's choice is that all are saved (1 Tim 2:4), but what is yours? Everyone has the free will to choose.

The Greek here for "we be slanderously reported" is the root word "blasphemeo", clearly where we get our word blaspheme. The word for "affirm" is the root word "phemi" which has the meaning of coming to light. That word is in the 3rd person plural, which would mean that this parenthetical though thrown in here was the Holy Spirit saying many others were blaspheming God's apostles of His grace. That hasn't changed much today, has it? We still have hatred spewed at the grace message even from other pulpits. We can certainly learn the lesson presented by James when he said that our tongues should not curse men (James 3:8-10), but also take to heart the command given through the apostle Paul in Eph 4:29. All brothers and sisters that trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross should be unified in our mutual faith (Eph 4:3-6). We should look to build each other up and not tear each other down, zealously seeking out good works to do after we understand salvation is come upon us through Christ alone (Titus 2:14).

Looking at the phrase "Let us do evil, that good may come" is a bit different in the Greek. It's literally saying "Let us practice the evil in order that the good may come." Now this last part is quite emphatic in the Greek. It literally says "The judgement of them is absolutely right." The definite article is there and the word for "just" is a compound word in the Greek consisting of "en" and "dike". En in the Greek means in or within and dike means just or right. God could have just had the word dike there, but instead emphasized it with the prefix en. Going back to my analogy of the father to his son, do you see how God wants his children to do right and not wrong? God has always abhorred the evil and keeps no secret of that throughout the bible. Sure, He won't take away salvation if one believes in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection as the atonement for their sin and that one chooses to sin. However, that one will be grieving the Spirit (Eph 4:30, 1 Thess 5:19) and will suffer loss when judgment comes for work done in the flesh (1 Cor 3:10-15, 2 Cor 5:10).

Romans 3:9
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

Therefore, what? Are we better? That's a more literal translation, but we're getting to the point of what God is building at through chapters 1 and 2. So here we are, believers in God's grace. Are we better than those others who blaspheme us? Of course not, because both Jew and Gentile are all under sin. We, though saved from sin and death through faith in Paul's gospel, are no different than any other. God is no respecter of persons (remember chapter 2 when God repeated that over and over?). God wants all to be saved. Just because we have chosen to trust in the gospel of God's grace doesn't make us better, it just makes us saved versus unsaved. Remember what God says in Ephesians 2:1-6 and 1 Cor 6:9-11. Anyone who is saved now is so by the grace of God, and was a sinner like everyone else.

God's answer is clear on this with two words in the Greek: ou pantos, which is literally "not all." The rest of this verse is spot on in the Greek.

Romans 3:10
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Now to prove Himself true again, God quotes Himself. I think of going back to verse 4 and the quote of Psalm 51:4 in that He has written it down, declared it before, and God is justified in His words. The verses quoted in Rom 3:10-18 come from Ecc 7:20, Psalm 5:9-10, 10:7, 14:2-3, 36:1-2, 53:2-3, 140:3, and Isa 59:7-8. Looking at that list I think God has quite established that there is "none righteous, no, not one" don't you?

A better translation would be "As it has been written" since the verb there is in the perfect tense. Also of an interesting note is that there is the word "hoti" in the Greek that isn't translated, which simply means "that." So we have "As it has been written, that There is none righteous." The last part of the verse I think did a good job emphasizing what is in the Greek, but wanted to show what the original words are. It's just two words: oude heis. Oude is actually a compound word of ou and de, meaning "no" and "now." Heis is the masculine form of the word "one," which matches the masculine word "righteous (Greek dike)," so the Greek says "now not one."

Romans 3:11
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

The Greek in this verse literally says "There is none the understanding, there is none the seeking out the God." Even with just the last two verses, it sure puts mankind in a dismal state. It's easy to gloss over the full extent of the effects of the fall in the Garden of Eden when Adam ate that fruit. I think Romans 3:10-18 really put that all in perspective.

Romans 3:12
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

The word for "unprofitable" here might be more accurate as "worthless." We may not think of "unprofitable" as being so bad, but God is presenting the state of all of mankind, and it is really that bad. All men and women are bent out of the way and worthless apart from God. That's what the lie gets you, as you become your own god (Gen 3:5). As your own god you now have to save yourself from the judgment of the God. It's a pretty sorry state indeed.

The last part of this verse again has the word for "practice." There is none that practice good, not so much as one.

Romans 3:13
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

The first part of this verse is literally "The throat of them a grave having been opened." It may interest some that the word for throat in the Greek is larynx. Sepulchre is the Greek root word taphos, which means a burying place. I think the next part of the verse should really say "Their tongues have been deceiving," since "deceive" is a verb in the imperfect tense, meaning it has been done before and continues onward. The rest of the verse is practically word for word in the Greek.

Romans 3:14
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

The word for "full" here is the root gemo, which means fully occupied with or filled to capacity [1]. Contrast this with pleroo, which indicates "accomplished" by a "dynamic motion moving towards" to reach the desired end (destination) [1]. Also there is telos, which can imply full (fulfilled), but this focuses on the consummating, end-purpose. Here the verbal idea is more "at rest." [1]. There are several words in the Greek that the English has as "full" and I think it's very important to understand which kind of "full" God is talking about. I would encourage the use of a concordance to get the full picture (pun intended).

Romans 3:15
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

Swift here is the Greek ekcheo, which means to pour out or bestow liberally [3]. This is a word for word translation.

Romans 3:16
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

Destruction comes from the Greek suntrimma, which means fracture, calamity, or ruin [2] [3]. Misery is also accurately translated, coming from "talaiporia," which means literally, a calloused (miserable) condition; wretchedness resulting from ongoing, intense affliction [1]. Not much else to say on these verses since they are word for word with the Greek and very straightforward in meaning.

Romans 3:17
17 And the way of peace have they not known:

Again, spot on translation. The word for known here is the Greek ginosko (gnossis) which is the knowledge by experience.

Romans 3:18
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Of note here is the word before, which is the Greek apenanti, a compound word of apo and enanti. Apo means "away from" and enanti means "before, in the presence of." So apenanti has the emphasized meaning of away from the presence of, or in view of [3]. Clearly, mankind originally has no fear of God even on the radar before they realize the truth of God, which is evident in all of creation (Rom 1:20).

Romans 3:19
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

The first thing that jumps out at me in this verse is in the first 3 words. "Now we know" is de oidamen in the Greek. De of course does mean "now," but note the different word for "know" here compared to verse 17. We have the rood oida instead of ginosko. Oida means knowledge that is intuitive or perceived and understood. It is different than ginosko which is the knowledge gained through experience. This is a very important distinction in this verse, because it is showing an important doctrine. We perceive and understand that whatever the Law says it says to those under the Law to the point they cannot speak anything to their defense and prove the that all are guilty before God.

Now the original language is quite fascinating here. There are two different Greek words for "saith" in this verse. The first, in "what things soever the law saith" is lego. Lego in the Greek means "I say" but has the idea of causing to lay down or put to sleep [1] [2]. In other words, lego is speaking to the point of a declaration or laying an argument to rest. In the second phrase, "it saith to them," we have the word laleo in the Greek. This word also means "to say," but is just that. A further definition can be to utter a sound, make one's voice heard, chatter [2] [3]. It can be used of people or animals. So here in this verse, we have God telling us that the Law has declared His truth and that truth is speaking or making noise to those in it. The word "under" is the Greek "en," meaning in or within.

The point of this chattering of truth is to stop every mouth. The Greek for "stopped" is phrasso, which has the definition to fence in, enclose; (figuratively) to stop, blocking something off so it can not spread [1]. Who could argue against God, seeing that He is true and every man a liar?

The last part of this verse is more emphatic in the Greek. First, "world" is kosmos, which is all created order. Next, we have a definite article for the God. Finally, the word "guilty" is a compound Greek word of hupo (under) and dike (justice or judicial verdict). So we could translate this as "and all the created order may become under the judicial verdict of the God."

Romans 3:20
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Wow, this is an amazing conclusion that many miss today. Working out the law does not bring justification to the flesh. Instead, what the Law does is to bring about the accurate knowledge (epignossis) of sin. It's an aid for mankind to see his depraved state and understand his need for God's restoration. Note again the declaration that NO flesh is justified by the deeds of the Law. For those in the gospel of the kingdom dispensation, works of the Law were required alongside faith in God. God had dispensed His mandate that faith plus the works is how one was saved from sin and death (Ex 19:5-6). Works of the Law alone saves no one. This should be an eye opener to all who consider themselves religious. Works will not save, even under the dispensation of the Law. Praise the Lord that we live in the dispensation of His grace whereby we are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross! No works whatsoever are required, even after salvation. But how anyone can justify themselves to live sinful lives after understanding the love of God through His grace in Christ astounds me. I, for one, will choose to be one of those who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14), presenting myself a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1) because my awesome Father in Heaven deserves every bit of praise I can offer. God does address this thought process in the next few chapters.

"Therefore" here is a compound word of dia (through or on account of) and hoti (in order that or because). This is a more emphatic "therefore" than some other therfore's in the bible. It only occurs 23 times in the New Testament, 4 of them in Romans (1:19, 1:21, 3:20, 8:7). The word "by" is ek in the Greek, meaning out of. Deeds is the Greek ergon, where we get our word ergonomic from. Justified is the Greek verb dikaioo, similar to the noun dike, meaning right or judicial verdict. The last Greek word of interest is enopios which is a compound word of en (in) and ops (eye). So literally this is "in the eye."

With all of that said, I hope the emphasis can be seen that God is putting on this verse. After putting forth the dismal state of man in verses 10-18, God makes the declaration in verse 19 that the point of His glorious, truthful Law is that no one can say anything to defend sinful behavior, and understand the guilt mankind is in. On account of all of that, working out the Law does not justify a man in his flesh, but rather sin is made very clear through the Law. Working out the Law proves God's righteousness and that all are guilty before Him. God is true and every man a liar. If the letter were to stop right here, that would be quite unfortunate, but God needs to lay down the bad news so that we understand the news to come is so wonderfully good.

Romans 3:21
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Usually, when we see the word "but" in the English we're ready for a contrast to the previous statement. That's not exactly what's in the Greek. Are you ready for more emphasis from God? "But now" comes from two Greek words that both mean "now": nyni and de. Nyn can mean now, at present, or already, but this is nyni. Nyni means precisely now [1]. Nyni is an emphatic "now" that means, "Now as it was definitely not like this before, or after." [2]. Couple that with de, which also means precisely now, and we have quite the redundant emphasis that God most certainly doesn't want us to miss. I do enjoy these moments where God is so overly emphatic, like in Eph 3:20, because you know that our loving Father doesn't want us to miss the point.

Precisely now, right now, NOW the righteousness (dike) of God apart from the Law is made clear. How? Just look at Paul's message of the revelation of the risen and glorified Savior Jesus Christ. God's justice is made manifest separate from the Law. Before it was seen through the Law as stated in verses 19 and 20. Now, now NOW it is seen separate (choris) from the Law. God will tell us exactly how in verses 22-28.

The word for "manifested" here is of the root word phaneroo, which means light at its simplest. Light was shed on this concept, so manifested is a great translation. "Being witnessed" is the Greek martureo, where we get our word martyr from, and is also an accurate translation. The rest of the verse is spot on with the Greek, but I like to point out words that may be of interest.

One other thing to say here is about these "law and the prophets." Is this the law of Moses and the Old Testament prophets? It can't be. Because we have the overly emphatic now that the righteousness of God apart from the Law is come to light. The gospel given to Paul has law and prophets of its own. I encourage all believers to search Romans through Philemon and note which individuals are mentioned as apostles and prophets of the dispensation of grace. Remember that a prophet tells forth the word of God. A prophet is not limited to predicting the future. Also, if you skip on down to verse 27 we have another law mentioned, the law of faith. Law is a general term that must be defined in the context, so we must be diligent when we see the word "law" to ask "which one?"

Romans 3:22
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

God expounds slightly on the news in verse 21 here, signifying that God's righteousness that is manifested apart from the Law of Moses is through the faith of Jesus Christ toward all that believe. This is a nutshell of Paul's gospel, but again, more will be said in the next few verses.

This verse is another where the Greek is more emphatic than the English lets on. We have yet another "de" here which is translated "Even," though it could be "now." How many times can God say something is different right now? Paul's message and doctrine is different than the Law of Moses. Oh, how I wish Christians everywhere would understand this!

Righteousness is again of the root dike. But the phrase "which is by" comes from the Greek dia. Dia at its most basic definition means through, though it could also mean "on account of." The King James version gets the verbiage correct here with the original language in that it is through the faith OF Jesus Christ. The words Jesus Christ are in the Genitive case in the Greek, which shows possession, and the possession is of faith. Unto is the Greek "eis" which is motion toward the point of. "And upon all" is not in the Greek at all. The Greek has "Now the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ toward all those believing. For there is no difference."

Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We come to one of the most familiar verses in the bible here in Romans 3:23. Chapters 1 and 2 just indicted both the Gentile (chapter 1) and Jew (chapter 2) as sinners, concluding all in the dismal state of verses 10-18 in chapter 3. Then God shows that His Word is truth (cf John 17:17) and His Law proves all to be sinners, making clear what sin is, and that no one can make a rebuttal. Then he says that something new has been manifested with several "now's." This new revelation is that the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ is toward all who believe, without regard to Jew or Gentile, because all are sinners. If we didn't catch that in the many times that God said so in chapter 2 where He is no respecter of persons, here is another reminder in 3:23. All have sinned, but all can see God's righteousness through faith of Jesus Christ if they believe.

The Greek has a couple of things worth noting. "Come short" is the word hustereo and does mean to be lacking or fall short. it is used only 16 times in the New Testament, 8 of which are in Paul's letters (Rom 3:23, 1 Cor 1:7, 1 Cor 8:8, 1 Cor 12:24, 2 Cor 11:5, 2 Cor 11:9, 2 Cor 12:11, Phil 4:12). Also the definite article is present, that all come short of the glory of the God.

Romans 3:24
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

To best make sens of this verse, we should go back before the message in verse 22 where it was emphasized there is no difference and all have come short of the glory of God. The righteousness of God is made manifest through faith of Jesus Christ toward all that believe, justifying freely by His grace through redemption in Christ Jesus. Ah, a clearer picture of Paul's gospel, where justification and salvation are through faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. This is amazing grace!

The Greek is quite interesting here, and I'll be honest in that a part of it has be a bit puzzled. First, "being justified" again comes from the Greek dike, but it is in the present tense. I think "Justifying" is a better translation there, though the same idea is in the KJV. It is in the plural, so it is referring to the "all" in verses 22 and 23. Being in the present tense, this should alert the Christian that this is the gospel for today, and it cannot be found in the Law of Moses. That means we should not be relying on water baptism (for the priests of Israel), tithes, fasting, sacraments, or anything else to justify us in the sight of God. Only by faith in the faith of Jesus Christ are we saved and justified (Eph 2:8-9).

"By his grace" is really the dative case of grace. Dative usually means the action is toward the noun in the dative. So the justifying freely is to or through the grace of him. "Through the redemption" is a word for word translation, but then we get to the part that perplexed me. The Greek that's left is tes en Christo Iesou. There's an article tes here, but it's in the Genitive, Feminine, Singular form. Christo Iesou is all Dative, Masculine, so the article can't be referring to Jesus Christ. We already have an article, also tes, denoting the redemption. So it's like there's this extra article hanging out in this verse. My take on this is that God is re-emphasizing where the redemption is. The Greek word for redemption is the only word that is in the Genetive, Feminine, Singular form, yet it already has the article tes tied to it. In other words, we would have this:

through the redemption of that (redemption) in Christ Jesus.

As I studied this chapter, I was stunned at how many times God emphasized the change of doctrine here from faith plus works under the dispensation of Law to faith alone under the dispensation of Grace. I also marveled the first time I saw the emphasis of Acts 13:2 where we have the exact moment this message given to the apostle Paul became the new doctrine. God really stresses what He wants us to know.

Romans 3:25
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

I like how God expands on each thing identified in verses 21 through 26. Look back at verse 21 where God's righteousness is introduced. What righteousness is that? It's explained in verse 22, through faith of Jesus Christ, and it's to all that believe. Who is the all that believe? Well, this "all" have sinned and are in need of righteousness as stated in verse 23. This same "all" includes both Jew and Gentile, as already determined in verse 9, so that's why "there is no difference" in verse 22. Want to know more about Jesus Christ and how God's righteousness is through the faith of Him? It's right here. Jesus Christ was set forth a propitiation through faith in Jesus' blood, to declare God's righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. More on the declaration in the next verse.

There are a few articles in the Greek that are missing in the English. First we have "Whom the God hath set forth." The Greek does not contain the words "to be" here, so it's "Whom the God hath set forth a propitiation." We could also say "as" a propitiation. We have another article denoting the faith in His blood. Remember, this is different than the gospel of the kingdom. In that dispensation, one needed to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and keep the Law of Moses. In the dispensation of grace, which has manifest God's righteousness apart from the Law of Moses, one just needs to believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that He shed His blood to cover all sins. That's why God is emphatic that this is the faith now.

The phrase "to declare his righteousness" is really "toward the proof" in the Greek. It's two words: eis (toward) and endeixis, which means display, emphasizing the character of the demonstration which is made obvious (undeniable, conspicuous) [1]. Declare sums this up well, but I think we see a clearer picture looking at the Greek. The phrase "that are past" is one word in the Greek, which is a compound word consisting of pro and ginomai:  proginomai. Pro usually means before and ginomai means to come to be, so the simple definition is "to come to be before." Also, the word for "forbearance" is paresis, a compound word of para (from beside) and hiemi (let go). It has the meaning to release something closely felt, i.e. an 'overlooking, suspension, remission' of punishment for [1].

Putting what we have together, a more literal translation of this verse may be like this:

Whom the God has set forth as a propitiation through the faith in His (Jesus') blood, toward the proof of His (God's) righteousness through the overlooking of those sins that have taken place before.

An interesting note is that the Greek has "in the forbearance of the God" in verse 26, but that's not the case in the English. Forbearance there is the Greek anoche, which does indeed mean forbearance. After I go over verse 26, I'll combine these two verses together so we can get a better picture of what is being said. The main point is that God is justifying Himself in this action to initiate this age of grace we live in, as shown in the next verse.

Romans 3:26
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

This is such an awesome declaration of God's plan to restore mankind to right relationship with Him! The same phrase is repeated here of "to declare" which I've already shown is more literally "toward the proof." The proof of what? That God is righteous, just, and the one justifying those that believe in Jesus' atoning sacrifice on the cross. By following His own rules, God made manifest this glorious gospel of His grace through Paul (1 Tim 1:11), despite what Satan has tried to do to thwart Him since the Garden of Eden.

The Greek is fascinating here. Verse 25 has the phrase "eis endeixin" which is "toward the proof, and verse 26 has "pros ten endeixin." The difference? Pros means motion towards to "interface with" (literally, moving toward a goal or destination) [1]. So God is re-emphasizing His righteousness in remission of sins moving toward the proof that He is just and the one justifying the believer in Jesus' propitiation. Both "just" and "justifier" come from the Greek root dike, but "just" is an adjective in the Greek while "justifier" is a verb. "Him which beleiveth in Jesus" is really "the one out of (ek) faith of Jesus."

Of real interest is the phrase "at this time" which is the Greek "nyn kairo." That literally means the "now season." I point this out because this is more emphasis on the change that is going on from the gospel of the kingdom through the apostle Peter, and the gospel of grace through the apostle Paul (Acts13:2, 15, Gal 2:7-9). This is a new dispensing of doctrine to fill up the word of God (Col 1:25).

So let's put verses 25 and 26 together to get the full idea of what is going on, since the Greek is split up a bit differently than in the English.

(25) Whom the God has set forth as a propitiation through the faith in His (Jesus') blood, toward the proof of His (God's) righteousness through the overlooking of those sins that have taken place before
(26) In the forebearance of the God, to move toward the proof of the righteousness of Him (God's) in the now season, to the point of Him to be the just and justifying one out of faith of Jesus.

Doesn't that declaration just make your jaw drop in awe? How amazing is our God to do this and give us this age of grace? How wonderful is it that we may inherit eternal life and complete justification of our sins through faith in the finished work of the Jesus Christ on the cross? Praise the Lord!

Romans 3:27
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Where could boasting be? There is no room for it if God did all the work through Jesus Christ If we had reason to boast it's only found in the flesh, but God said in verse 20 that no flesh shall be justified by working out the Law. Paul talks of what he could have boasted about in the flesh in Phil 3:4-6, yet concludes in verse 7 how useless that all is, especially in light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ in verse 8.

The first question is word for word in the Greek. The phrase "it is excluded" is one word in the Greek, which is the compound word ekkleio. Ek means out of and kleio means to shut, so the translation is accurate in that boasting is shut out or excluded. Why is it excluded? We should already be able to see it is excluded because justification is by faith apart from works, but our loving Father tells us again for our benefit. It is not excluded by the law of works, but by the law of faith.

Really, the question is "Through what law?" since the Greek word there is dia. "Of works" is the Greek "that of works?" by the article and Gentive case of ergon. It is important to note that the negative word "Nay" here is ouchi, which is an emphatic "Definitely not." It is stronger than the negative ou. The last part, the answer in the Greek, is "Definitely not, but rather through (dia) law of faith.

Romans 3:28
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

As if we didn't get it yet, we get another conclusion that man is justified by faith apart from works. Note how this is very different from how Jesus Christ told the rich young ruler to be saved in Luke 18:18-22. In that account, the way to eternal life is to believe Jesus is the Son of God and keep the Law of Moses. Here in Romans 3:28 we clearly have justification of the remission of sins through faith apart from the Law of Moses. God told us this truth in each verse of this chapter from 20-27. It amazes me how good at blinding Satan must be, since many Christians do not see the truth of this distinction. Especially that as I study God's Word, I find that God repeats Himself over and over again, to make sure we get it.

The phrase "we conclude" is one Greek word, logizomai, where we get our word logic from. It could also be translated "reckon," but the point is there. The words "without" is the Greek choris again, which definitely means "apart from" or "separate from." The old English meaning of without is accurate to this.

Romans 3:29
29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

Now, if we Gentiles don't get the the "all who believe" include us, we have the next couple of verses here in this chapter. The point of these last three verses is again to emphasize the difference in doctrine, but also to encourage because all can be saved by trusting in what God did through Jesus Christ on the cross.

This is an accurate translation, but the Greek again is more emphatic. The Greek literally asks, "Or is He the God of Jews only?" Then we have the more emphatic ouchi to ask "Isn't he not definitely of the Gentiles also?" If that's not enough emphasis, God gives more with the answer. The "yes" there is nai, which is "A primary particle of strong affirmation; yes, even so, surely, truth, verily, yea, yes" [3].

Romans 3:30
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

The next two verses are really once sentence. The English does a bit of disservice by adding the period after faith here. First, for "seeing" we have the Greek eiper, a compound word of ei (if-factually or since) and per (derived from peri, meaning fully concerning all about). We could translate this as "Since indeed the God is one who will justify..." The next thing to address are the prepositions. By is the Greek ek, which means out of. Through is the Greek dia and does mean through. I emphasize this because of the distinction being made here. We again have the difference of the two dispensations of kingdom compared grace, or Peter compared to Paul. Take a look at the verse again, knowing some of the Greek:

"Since indeed the God is one, who will justify the circumcision out of faith and uncircumcision through faith,"

See how this is only half of a sentence? We get the rest of the thought in verse 31 with the question that is posed. Also note that the circumcision, that is Israel under the Law, is justified by God out of faith, that is the working out of the faith Jesus is the Son of God and keeping the Law of Moses (Ex 19:5-6, James 2:17-26, Luke 18:18-22, etc.). God is also right to justify the uncircumcision, which are those in the dispensation of grace, through faith, that is faith that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is the propitiation for their sins. Two distinct dispensations. God will address what is active today throughout the rest of the epistle. Reference Rom 11:25 and 11:32 for the spoiler.

Romans 3:31
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

So since indeed the God is one, who will justify the circumcision out of faith and uncircumcision through faith, do we then make void the Law of Moses through faith? We have the familiar answer of may it never be! Quite the opposite. We establish the Law.

The Greek for "do we make void" is one word: katargeo. This is a compound word of kata and ergo, which has the idea of abolish. Literally, it's "work out against." We have the word oun, which is translated "then" but has the definition "By extension, here's how the dots connect." [1] Then is accurate, but it can also mean therefore. So the question is, "Do we therefore abolish the Law through (dia) the faith?" The definite article is here. Why? To distinguish it from the faith of Israel under the dispensation of Law. Does this new doctrine abolish the Law? May it never be!

The word "yea" is "alla" in the Greek which has the meaning of "but, rather." Establish is the Greek histemi, which has the meaning "to make to stand" [3]. What does all of this mean? This new doctrine doesn't completely do away with the Law of Moses, but rather makes it stand as something glorious that God gave. Israel is not cast aside and completely destroyed through this new dispensation, as we'll see in chapters 9 through 11, reiterating the different dispensations in 11:6. God will work around to that in the course of this letter, and He will say that Israel will all be saved one day when the Law is written n their hearts (Rom 11:1-32, Jer 31:31-34). The Law of Moses is still alive, though we do not need to obey it today for salvation. It will play its role after the dispensation of grace comes to a close at the calling home of the Body of Christ (1 Thess 4:16-17, Titus 2:13, etc.). Today we ought to obey the commands given to us by Jesus Christ through the apostle Paul. THose are the only ones we should consider obeying. I must say again, salvation only depends on our faith in Jesus' atoning sacrifice, but after learning how awesome God is to give the gift of life to us this way, don't you have zeal to obey Him and get to know Him?

References
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer [2]
Strong's Concordance [3]

Romans - Verse by Verse Study - Chapter 2

Romans 2:1
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

On account of what we just read at the end of Romans chapter 1, we now get to the indictment against those that judge. Who could these people be? Who would be in position to do so? Only those that know righteous judgement. Since we are assured that God is the only one that can pass righteous judgement in the next verse, our questions becomes, who knew God's laws and standards to be in a position to judge? This could only be referring to Israel, God's chosen nation whom the oracles of God were revealed to (Rom 3:2 and just look at the OT). Israel had the commands, laws, and statutes of God, yet we find in this verse that they do the same things that they accuse the unbelievers of doing. God is showing that even they are without excuse. They know better and pass judgment, yet they still participate, even if only rarely, in those dishonoring actions listed at the end of Romans chapter 1.

The phrase "without excuse" is the same word here as in Romans 1:20. I think it important to see what God is getting at here. The unbelievers are without excuse and are under judgment for being unrighteous. And now believers are without excuse and are under judgement for doing the same things as the unbelievers. He leaves no one out here, and will eventually get to the famous conclusion in Romans 3:23 in that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The word for "O man" in the Greek is anthropos again, meaning all mankind. An interesting word to note is that the Greek for "doest" as in "doest the same things," is prasso, which means to regularly practice. It is also in the present tense, so these things were still ongoing.

Romans 2:2
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

This verse is quite true to the original language. one thing to point out is the beginning where it says "But we are sure," which in the Greek is "de oidamen" which is more accurately "Now we know intuitively." So when those that judge, meaning point out the wrong doing of others, partake in dishonoring actions against mind and/or body, we know that God's judgment is truthful and right against any who practice dishonorable action against mind and/or body. God's truth doesn't change whether mankind behaves properly or not.

Romans 2:3
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

This is quite the indictment against the self righteous. I think of some of the Pharisees and Saducees in the days when Jesus walked the earth. If Jesus used a parable like the one found in Luke 18:9-14, referring to some that "trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others," I'm sure it was as rampant then as it is now.

God is bringing the accusation against those mentioned in the first two verses of this chapter. Just because they are in the position they are in does not make them different than anyone else. Sure, they may know the righteous standard of God and what God declares is right and wrong. Yet, they that practice those dishonoring actions will be judged by God regardless. There are several definite articles in this verse in the Greek. Also, the word "de" is not translated either. A more literal translation is this:

Do you now (de) reckon this, o man, the those judging practicing the such things, and doing them yourselves, that you will escape the judgment of the God?

God is quite emphatic when He wants to be. There really can be no question as to what He is talking about when we include those articles, right? He is calling out specifically the self righteous that pass judgment on others yet do the same things. The such things are those listed at the end of Romans 1. Finally, there is only one true God, who alone can issue judgment and justice, because He defines it.

Romans 2:4
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

What a penetrating question! First, God asks if the ones judging other inappropriate behavior if they think they will escape the same judgement of God for when they do the same inappropriate behavior. Now the other side of that is, the question in this verse, which could be summed up as: Do you look down in scorn upon God, not understanding that God's goodness will lead to repentence? Think of the accusation here. God is saying that these people doing the judging don't actually know God, or at least is asking the question to have them search themselves to see if they know God and what God has done for them to save them from this judgment.

For word studies, "goodness" is the same in the Greek as "kindness," and "longsuffering" is the same as in Galatians 5:22 when God talks of the fruit of the Spirit. The word for "forbearance" is only used here and Rom 3:25. That's kind of an eye-opener in itself which I'll say more on when I get to that verse. God is showing amazing tolerance in this age of Grace by forgiving all sins when anyone places their trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross as the atonement for sin. This age will come to an end abruptly, and it could be at any moment that Jesus Himself will descend with a shout to call the Body of Christ home (1 Thess 4:16-17). That is when He will rule "with a rod of iron" and pass immediate judgment (Psalm 2:9, Rev 2;27). The word for "knowing" in this verse is from the root gnossis, which is the knowledge by experience. This is why I could say before that God is asking if they actually know who He is. If they did, they would have the desire to change their attitude and let Him lead them there.

Understanding the gift of God's grace through Jesus Christ will stir up in the believer the zeal to do good (Titus 2:14, 3:8). That knowledge that leads to repentance comes from experience. What kind of experience? Studying God's word. Meditating on God's word. Praying to God to ask Him about His word. Spending time in fellowship with other believers and seeing the difference between a solid believer in Christ and the unbeliever. Observing the spiritual battle that takes place daily in this life. All of these things and more allow mankind to come to know God in truth, and this knowledge of His goodness should lead to repentance. Even though salvation from the judgment of God and His wrath in His dealing with sin does not depend upon our works (Eph 2:8-9, 2 Cor 12:9, Titus 3:4-7), I always ask the question: Why would you not be zealous of good works knowing the goodness of God through Jesus Christ? Quench not the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19)!

Romans 2:5
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God

Right off the bat, we have an answer to the question in verse 4 with the word "but." Fundmental English shows that this is in contrast to what was previously stated. However, the Greek would more accurately say "Against" instead of "But" since it is the word kata. Also, the word "de" is not translated again. This verse starts "Against (kata) now (de) thy hardness..." Either way it is translated, it is clear that these people don't truly know God, because they are accused of a hard and unrepentant heart. The word for "impenitent" in this verse is the antonym for "repentance" in verse 4 (same word, but it has the prefix "a" to show opposite meaning). Though the text doesn't specifically say Israel here, the unbelieving Jews would be the "best case scenario" of the moralizer described in these verses since they knew the law of God.

This verse makes me sad to read and here's why. Remember when Jesus would say when He walked on earth, that if someone came to know God but then walked away from the faith that their end will be worse than if they didn't know anything? Reference Matt 12:43-45 and 2 Peter 2:10-22 for some scripture on that. You see, they didn't have eternal salvation guaranteed under the gospel of the kingdom like we do today under the gospel of grace. It was possible to walk away from the faith after being under the status of "saved" in the gospel of the kingdom. Through the dishonorable works described in Romans 1, those that did so began to store up wrath for themselves in (Greek en, meaning "in" and not "against") the day of wrath. The unbelieving are rewarded for the works they do and will apparently suffer different degrees of wrath. In contrast, believers are rewarded for good works after we are saved through faith in Christ alone in the gospel of grace (Eph 2:8-10, 1 Cor 3:10-15, 2 Cor 5:10). Again, when someone realizes this, it is so hard for me to understand why they still pursue ungodliness, holding the truth in unrighteousness, and make their eternity worse and worse.

This "day of wrath" is a whole blog post by itself. In short, there is a day of judgment coming where God will separate the saved and the unsaved and reward according to His righteous judgement (Rev 20:11-19). I would encourage all who have placed their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ to allow God to work through them, that they may participate in those good works that God has for each of us, and be those people who are zealous for those good works (Titus 2:14). God does promise that believers are saved from the wrath to come through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ (1 Thess 1:10).

Romans 2:6
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds

I already touched on this in the previous verse about how God will distribute reward. Of note here is the word "render" in the Greek is of the root apodidomi, which is a compound word of apo and didomi. Apo means away from and didomi means give, so it has the meaning of giving from, or more accurately to give back or repay. God will justly reward everyone however they conduct themselves here on this earth in that day of of His judgement. Again the challenge is out there: Are we conducting ourselves in a godly manner? Or are we participating in dishonorable actions? Are we walking "in Christ" or "in Adam"? I am including myself in this challenge because I know of my weakness in the flesh. There's a reason God commands us to pray without ceasing. May we all be zealous of good works and allow God to guide us there.

Romans 2:7
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life

If there was any question as to what God was going to reward, the answer is found here. The reward is eternal life for those that are described in this verse, meaning those who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality. I think it best that we look to the original language for the attributes of those that inherit eternal life as described in this verse.

First, the words "them" and "to seek" are both in the dative and belong together. We could put them at the beginning and start the verse with "To them who are seeking..." Next we should list what it is that is being sought, which is everything in context in the accusative case. That gives us "To them who are seeking glory and honor and immortality..." Then we have "well doing," which is "a good work" (noun and singular) in the Greek (agathou ergou). This is in the genitive case, which typically shows possession. Also, the preposition kata, which has the idea of "against" or "according to," is found alongside the Greek root word hupomone, which means "endurance, steadfastness, patient waiting for" [1]. With all of that said, this verse may be translated "To them according to endurance of a good work are seeking glory and honor and immortality, eternal life."

Now, first glance at this verse may make one think that good works (plural) are required for inheriting eternal life. Another may view that believers must continue in doing well or working out good things to inherit eternal life. This is not the case. How can I say that? Because the the good work described here is singular. What one good work could be discussed here? I will cite another passage in Philippians in hope it brings the concept to light:

Philippians 1:1-6
1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

I emphasized the good work mentioned in verse six, but before I get there, allow me to point out a few things. First, note that the apostle Paul is writing to believers (verse 1). He goes on to thank God when he remembers these believers because they partake in the gospel of grace Paul does (verse 3-5). Then, in verse 6 he claims the confidence he has of "this thing". First confidence comes from the Greek peitho, which is the root of pistis, meaning faith. What is Paul confident or faithful in? That He which hath begun a good work in you (believers) will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Who is the "He?" It can be none other than God the Father working through His faithfulness to those believing and trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as atonement for sin. We see God's love commended toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). God then acts out of His faithfulness toward man in sealing the believer with His Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14, 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5,etc), leading the believer to repentance of dishonorable works (Rom 2:4). Note that the "good work" in Phil 1:6 is the exact same Greek words as in Rom 2:7, though different parsing (Accusative case in Phil versus Genitive in Rom).

It should be clear that those enduring in that good work will inherit eternal life, because God will not prove unfaithful. Those that have sincere faith will inherit eternal life, despite what they actually work out. The just shall live by faith (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17). God certainly encourages the believer to work out that salvation in several places, because the goodness of God should motivate believers to do so (Eph 2:10, Phil 2:12, Titus 3:8). We will struggle with this flesh (Rom 7), but God will allow us to come through victorious if we quench not the Spirit (1 Cor 10:13).

It is important to note the difference between the believer under the Law and the believer under Grace. Habakkuk was written to those under the Law, yet the just shall live by faith. All we need to do is ask, "what would faith do?" God says to obey His voice indeed and keep His covenant to those under the Law (Ex 19:5), and He will make of them a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, and a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation (Ex 19:6). What would faith do? Obey every iota of that Law. When one sinned, they would perform the right sacrifice or ceremony to be blameless according to the Law. Their faith is worked out in that way. One major difference of living under the Law, though, is that these works were required as part of salvation from sin and death. They were required to inherit that promised kingdom. Now we know that today we are no longer Law, but under Grace (Rom 6:14). Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Law and nailed it to the cross (Col 2:8-14). He did the work required, and so today the just shall live by faith as well. What would faith do under Grace? Rejoice in the Lord alway (Phil 4:4) because God did all the work required, and share the message of reconciliation at every opportunity, so that all mankind may be saved and come to know the truth (2 Cor 5:17-6:2, Eph 5:15-16, 1 Tim 2:4).

Eternal life is the ultimate goal of mankind. God made a way to restore that to us, and He could not have made it simpler on our part. God spared not His own Son and freely gives us all spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph 1:3), and all this can be ours when we do one thing: Believe. Trust that God's work through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary is sufficient to pay for our sin. God did all the work. Now it's up to mankind to trust in Him. Please, if you have not placed your faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, make today the day of your salvation!

One more thing to note before moving on to the next verse is that the Greek word "men" is present, which has this definition: an untranslatable particle, generally answered by de, each of the two introducing a clause intended to be contrasted with the other [2]. In other words, we have a contrast to compare this to, which is found in the next verse.

Romans 2:8
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

The contrast begins in this verse and continues into verse 9. This is another instance where I don't understand why the verse was broken up the way it was here. We have the contrast from those who were seeking after eternal life through the good work of God compared to them who are contentious, and do not obey the truth. These are the same as described in Romans 1 that hold the truth in unrighteousness. Here, too, it says they obey unrighteousness and are rewarded indignation and wrath, with more coming in the next verse. Let's take a look at the original language for a deeper meaning here.

Contentious is translated from the root word eritheia, which has the meaning of carnal ambition. In other words, this is a self driven motivation. This is the desire of the flesh. What is really interesting is that the word for obey here is from the root Greek word pistis, which is nearly always translated "faith," but also "persuaded" or maybe a couple of other similar words. I think that changes the meaning here, or at least helps us grasp the meaning more fully. Also, true to the definition of "men" we looked at in verse 7, we have the word "de" here in the Greek. We also have the preposition "ek" which means out of. Let's take another look knowing the original meaning of these words:

Now to those out of carnal ambition and not holding faith in the truth, but holding faith now (de) to the unrighteousness...

See the significance there? The definite articles are present to signify the truth versus the unrighteousness (adikia). Quite honestly, this can be linked back to the lie all the way back in Genesis 3:4-5. Go back and also look at Romans 1:25 where the lie is also referenced. Regardless of who you are, if you trust in the lie of Satan and not the truth of God, you're in for a world of hurt. The reward for that is only started here in this verse and continues to the next. Remember how we read in verse 5 how these moralizers, yet unbelievers, are storing up wrath for the day of wrath? First off, the reward is indignation and wrath as noted here, and more coming up.

Romans 2:9
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

The rest of the list of reward for those that belive the lie is tribulation and anguish. That's a harsh list, isn't it? Indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish. Again, to back up what I said in my comments on verse 8, God says this is the reward to Jew and Gentile who do not believe in the truth of God. There is no difference in God's eyes if someone believes the lie. The line is drawn that one is either for God or against God. There is no other category to be in.

The word for anguish is a compound word in the Greek with the literal meaning of "narrow place." There is no other recourse as a reward for those dishonorable actions for the unbeliever. There is no escape from it. Where is this reward placed? Upon the soul of every man (or woman, Greek is anthropos) that works out the evil. The definite article is present there. Note that we have works being the focus here, and that it applies to every individual. Those that don't believe the truth of God will get varying degrees of indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish based on how much evil in God's eyes they did. The root Greek word for "doeth" is katergazomai, which means to effect by labor, to bring about, or to work out [2]. The simple conclusion is that to those people practicing those dishonorable actions in Romans chapter 1, God will measure out their reward based on how much of those actions were done by each individual.

One other thing that may be of interest is how this verse ends in the Greek is slightly different in the English. The word "te" is there, which simply means both. So this verse more literally ends with "both of the Jewish one first, and of the Greek." I thought that put more emphasis on how God is no respecter of persons as is stated in verse 11.

Romans 2:10
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile

Here is a reminder of the rewards for those that believe. These would be the people who are justified in their faith and seek to work it out. They receive glory, honor, and peace. Again, this verse ends with "both of the Jewish one and of the Greek."

Let us not forget that believers are not exempt from the judgment of works. God's word is clear that believers will go through a judgment with varying degrees of rewards for those things done in the flesh. Please mark well that this has nothing to do with eternal destination as that was taken care of by the faithfulness of God and the faith of the believer in God's faithfulness. Here are 3 passages on the subject of works for the believer in the gospel of grace:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (read the chapter for context)
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10
9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Works in the age of grace do not matter in terms of salvation from sin and death. That is determined by faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Works in the age of grace do matter in terms of receiving reward from God in our eternal life with Him. These rewards are described as precious stones refined through fire in 1 Corinthians 3. It's hard for me to imagine what more reward I could have than being in the presence of God for all eternity, but I can think of nothing better than for Him to tell me things like "well done." We will find out just what these rewards are in glory. So let us press on toward that mark and run this race to win (1 Cor 9:24-27, Phil 3:14).

We have the word "de" appear at the beginning, to emphasize the contrast that has been going on in the last couple of verses. "Now glory, honor, and peace..." There are two definite articles here as well. We have the everyone working the good as a literal translation, to further emphasize God is no respecter of persons.

Romans 2:11
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

This is kind of humorous, but look back at verses 9 and 10. Is God not clear that He is talking about anyone when He references both to Jew and Greek (non-Jew)? If you missed it those two times, here is a very in-your-face third time. God is no respecter of persons. You could argue that every person is His favorite because He wants all to be saved and to come to the complete knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). But God is perfectly just in that He shows no partiality. All must come to salvation in this age by trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as atonement for sins, from the least to the greatest.

There is a definite article here too, showing the God.

Romans 2:12
12 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

I'll probably have to spend some time on this verse because I've heard of a lot of confusion with the first sentence. The confusion is that people that lived outside of when the Law of Moses was in place get some free pass to Heaven. That or they don't have to be judged by the Law of Moses because they were in ignorance of it. Take a good, close look at what it says. What is the result for sinning outside of the Law? Perishing. The Greek word is apolountai, which is a compound word of apo (away from) and ollymi (destroy). This word has the meaning of utter destruction, or being cut off in entirety. What happened to people that reject God's truth? They were cut off entirely. What about people that knew the Law but still rejected God's truth? A reading in Exodus would show the result is that they would be cut off from Israel. Anyone that rejects God's truth ultimately will end up in the lake of fire (Matt 13:42, Luke 13:28, Mark 9:44, 48, Rev 20:11-15). That's a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. But to stick with our discussion on this verse, note that it says for all those that have sinned (hamartia = missed the mark) lawlessly (adverb anomos) shall also be utterly destroyed lawlessly. There is no free pass here. They couldn't play the ignorance card, because there was always a law from God. There was always a rule to follow.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had a rule to follow. Don't eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If they obey, they live. If they disobey, they die. What happened? They disobeyed and died spiritually immediately, and brought sin into the world and death by sin (Gen 2:16-17, Gen 3, Rom 5:12). From that point on until the Law was given to Moses, what was the overriding rule? Look at Genesis 3:15. Essentially, trust that God was going to send the seed of the woman to crush the seed of the serpent. People could clearly "walk with God" during this time between the Fall of Adam and Eve and the Law of Moses. Take a look at the account of Enoch in the line of Seth in Genesis 5:18-24. Noah also was found righteous in God's sight. My whole point in this is that people at this time had to choose to live apart from God's rules, and as a result would be utterly destroyed. Bear in mind that Adam and Eve at from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They knew right from wrong and so would their children.

Compare this with the next part of the verse, which is a bit different. As many that have sinned (again hamartia) in law...Note that we have the Greek en, meaning in, and the noun nomo, meaning law. It is no longer an adverb. Clearly here we have people living inside or under the law of Moses. What is the result for these people? They will be judged through the law for those sins. Now that is not to say that they inevitably would be punished. If one followed the law, they could be blameless before God by offering the proper sacrifice (Luke 1:6, Phil 3:6, etc.). However, for those sins they committed, they would be judged according to what God's Law said.

We have this verse right after we hear about the rewards for the works done, so God is concluding how they will be judged. Those that rejected God outright and refused to be under His Law would be utterly destroyed and rewarded indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish according to God's righteous judgment. Those that accepted God's Law would be judged through that Law and rewarded either the indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish for acting in unbelief, or glory, honor, and peace if acting in belief. Remember, faith and works were both required to obtain the glory, honor, and peace under the Law of Moses. Doesn't all of this make you all the more thankful for the gospel of God's grace where the works are not required? Simply believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ saves from sin and death. What an awesome gospel we have today!

Romans 2:13
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Faith plus works. That is God's rule under the dispensing of the Law. Believe in God and do the works of the Law. Faith alone isn't enough. Read this verse again and know for certain what the conditions were for those under the Law. The book of James makes it clear that the entire Law must be followed to be blameless (James 2:10). Again, knowing of the gospel of God's grace must make you ask the question Paul does in Galatians 4:21: Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? How is that better than the gospel of the grace of God? I should say here though, that living under God's grace does not mean we live lawlessly. There are plenty of commands that God gives us through the apostle Paul which we ought to obey. But still, these are not required for salvation. Instead, good works are a privilege for those who understand who they are in Christ.

A closer look at the Greek confirms the translation here. I would just point out the definite article that signifies the God.

Romans 2:14
14 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:

Continuing the parenthetical thought, we have an explanation for those mentioned in verse 12 that sinned lawlessly. The definite article is there, signifying the Gentiles which is finally translated here in the English. These are truly people who live outside of the Law of Moses given to Israel. These are people that live against what is right as defined by God. It says that when they naturally practice the things of the Law, they are a Law to the themselves. What does that mean? It means they are proving the Law to be true when they start naturally doing those things, even though they may not have the written document in front of them. They bring judgment on themselves in acknowledging God and His ways to be true, though they reject Him as truth and worship His creation rather than God Himself.

An interesting point in word study is the word "have" and "having" in this verse both are the same root Greek word echo. The word means have, hold, or possess [2]. Whether they simply did not have the Law available, or chose to not hold to it, they couldn't help themselves but do the things in the Law anyway. We all inherently have a sense of right and wrong, but the basis of that comes from God, not a social construct. Therefore, they are the law to themselves, which has a result in the next verse.

Romans 2:15
15 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;)

For more clarity on verse 14, these same Gentiles prove that God placed in their hearts and consciences that concept of right and wrong. This is important for God to set forth because of the conclusion we're working toward in chapter 3 and to prove God is just in His judgment. Now what's interesting here is that when they do the works of the Law, they are either accusing each other of wrong doing or defending each other. Even apart from the Law, if the put to practice the things of the Law, they prove the Law, and they can bring defense for their actions.

Let's take a look at a few words in the Greek for clarification here. The word "shew" is the compound word endeíknymi, made up of en and deiknyo. En means in or within, and deiknyo means to show. Putting these together gives the idea of proving, as we think of "showing in" as the literal definition. We could also say "on display." Again they are performing the works of the Law, proving that it is from God. The word for "conscience" is another compound word suneidesis, made up of syn and eido. Syn means with, and eido is to intuitively know or perceive. So literally we have a their "with perception," which should be clear that conscience is a good translation. Also of note is the definite article, signifying their the conscience. That's a bit cumbersome in English, but I think it's important to see emphasis in the original language. Finally, the word "thoughts" is logismon in the Greek. The root meaning is "reasoning" here, and that reasoning either accuses (from kata and agoreuo, a word meaning to speak in the assembly [3]) or defends (Greek apologeomai, where we get the English word apologetics from).

Romans 2:16
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

All of this judging will be done by Jesus Christ according to the gospel given to Paul. It is emphatic that this is the gospel belonging to the apostle Paul. Remember that in Paul's gospel, which is the gospel of the mystery or the gospel of grace (Rom 16:25, Eph 3:1-9, etc.), all works will be judged. However, under the gospel of grace, believers will have salvation already taken care of and guaranteed through the sealing of the Holy Spirit, so that is not part of this judgment. Our works done in the flesh will be judged by Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:10-15, 2 Cor 5:10) and we will be rewarded what is to be for us in God's righeous judgment.

Now, I'm fairly convinced that this will take place at the same time as everyone else's judgement under whatever dispensation as mentioned in Revelation 20:11-15, because that is the conclusion of all things. We need to bear in mind that under the dispensation of God's grace, we won't taste one ounce of God's wrath (1 Thess 1:10, 4:16-17, 5:9, etc., contrast with 1 Thess 2:14-16). We will be with the Lord forever starting at the event in 1 Thess 4:16-17. On earth after that event the Tribulation period will play out (Dan 9:24-27, Jer 30:7, 31:31-34, Rom 11:25-27, etc.), then the millennial reign of Christ (Rev 20:1-7), then the final battle with Gog/Magog (Eze 38, Rev 20:7-10). After that is the judgment before all things are made new, as in the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1). This judgment is coming regardless of what dispensation someone lived in as we've seen in Romans chapters 1 and 2 already. But according to this verse, the judgement happens according to gospel given to Paul? Is that fair? Let's think about this a moment. What is Paul's gospel? It is that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day to reconcile the world to Himself (1 Cor 115:1-4, 2 Cor 5:18-19). This is really the overarching plan of God since Gen 3:15. It was given to Paul to fill up full the Word of God (Col 1:25) and so should come as no surprise that all will be judged according to it. Either people were looking forward to the fulfillment of Gen 3:15 and were joyous during Jesus' earthly ministry, obeying His commands to do the works of the Law at that time knowing that the promised kingdom was at hand, or people look back to the cross, and are joyous that God took care of all the works through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Every single person since Adam has been looking to the promise of God through the Messiah, or Christ, regardless of dispensation, and will be judged accordingly.

One final note since this is what I do, the definite article is present in the Greek, signifying the God shall judge the secrets of the men.

Romans 2:17
17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,

Now we have the indictment about to be brought down on the Jew in the next few verses. God will define what a true Jew is and establish His conclusive judgment on them as a whole. So to begin, what does a Jew do? They stand upon the Law of Moses and glorify God.

The original language here is quite different from the English and is worth exploring. I can't really do a word for word comparison so I'll just go through it all in the Greek. Literally translated, we have this:

Now since you name yourself a Jew and rest upon the Law and boast in God,

The word for "name" in my translation here is the compound Greek word epi and onomazo, literally meaning to name upon. This is the only place in the New Testament this word occurs. Rest upon is a literal interpretation of the compound Greek word epanapauo, from epi (upon) and anapauo (rest). At the beginning of this verse, we have the Greek Ei de, which translates as If (factually) now, which is why I translated it "Now since." We can use the word if in English either to present fact or possibility, and the Greek is no different. Ei is the fact and eav is the possibility forms for if in the Greek. Here's an example: "If you are my child, you will obey my voice." There is no doubt that the child is yours in that sentence. In this example, our if would be Ei in the Greek. Another example: "If it rains today, we're not going to the park." It is only possible that it won't rain, so if would be Eav in the Greek here.

Romans 2:18
18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;

Continuing the indictment against the Jew, It is declared by God that they know God's desire, His Law, and are able to prove things that differ against the Law. There are several definitions we ought to look at in the Greek here, so I'll start with the word for the phrase "that are more excellent." It is the word diaphero, which is defined as follows:

Diaphero ("distinguishing what differs") underlines the key difference in meaning involved, i.e. separating (distinguishing from) the one element in a comparison (its value) from another [1].

This same word and phrase is used in Phil 1:10. We also have the Greek word katexeo for "being instructed." We get our word catechism from there, which we understand to mean to teach foundational truth. Literally, that word means to "sound against" or "sound down to." Next, the word "his" is not in the Greek, but rather is the definite article the. And knowest the will. To whom the will belongs is implied from verse 17, in that it is God's will, but again I like to stay true to what the Greek says. Finally, the word for "knowest" here is gnossis, which again means to know by experience.

After looking at all of that, we clearly see that God is telling the Jew that they knew Him. He did reveal Himself to them and quite wonderfully at that when you consider the beginning of the Exodus from Egypt. God gave them the Law that they may definitively know what is right and wrong in day to day life. The indictment continues in the next verse.

Romans 2:19
19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,

The Jew is defined as being confident they guide those that don't see. They are the light for those that are in darkness. As we study scripture, we know the Jews are entirely of the nation Israel. I can say that because any Gentile proselytes were considered part of Israel (Lev 19:33-34). Now Israel was supposed to be the nation through which all nations would be blessed (Gen 12:3, 18:18, 22:18, Num 24:9, etc.), bringing the light of God's truth to the world. It is in this that they are confident.

What's interesting in the Greek here is that the word rendered "confident" is the same root word for faith: peitho. They had faith, or were persuaded that they are both (Greek te) a guide of the blind (physically or mentally) and a light of those in darkness (physical or moral). That seems fairly straightforward. We have one more verse describing the Jew and then can sum up each thing God tells them they are identified with.

Romans 2:20
20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

Jews further believe they are instructors of the foolish, as teaching children, because they have the oracles of God in the Law. It took four verses to define the Jew in 17 through 20 here. To recap, this is the Jew:

• Rests in the Law (17)
• Boasts in God (17)
• Knows the will by experience (18)
• Proves the things that differ as instructed from the Law(18)
• Believes themselves to be a guide to the blind in a spiritual sense
• Believes themselves to be a light to those who are in spiritual darkness
• Believes themselves to be an instructor of the foolish

Let's take a closer look at the Greek here for verse 20 since we have "instructor" and "teacher." These are different words in the Greek. Instructor is the root word paideuo, which is one who constructively corrects (disciplines) in order to train [1], or one who disciplines [3]. This is slightly different than "teacher", which is the Greek root word didasko, and means a teacher, an instructor acknowledged for their mastery in their field of learning [1]. Note how "instructor" has the focus on the one receiving instruction while "teacher" has the focus on the one teaching or instructing.

The phrase "a teacher of babes" seems a bit strange, doesn't it? The Jew looks at themselves as a master in the field of the oracles of God and believes they should teach babies? The Greek word for "babes" is nepios, which has the meaning unlearned, unenlightened; an infant, child [2]. In other words, they teach people who have no idea who God is according to their mastery of that knowledge, and they discipline those that should know better. That makes more sense, right?

The phrase "which hast the form of knowledge" is better translated "holding (echo) the form/outline/semblance (morphoo) of the knowledge (gnossis)." The rest of the verse is the literal translation.

So all of these things are what defines the Jew. Having been introduced as such, here come the accusations in the next verses.

Romans 2:21
21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

Right away, God asks a pointed question to the Jew, who believes themselves to be a teacher of the unlearned, do they really know what they are teaching? Do they practice what they preach? God already has accused them of doing he same dishonorable things with their mind and body back in verse 1 of this chapter. He drove the point home of who Israel was supposed to be and comes at them with this piercing truth again to show that even though Israel had all of this knowledge, they still could not be flawless in life. They are a sinner just like the Gentile and in need of God's redemptive help.

This verse is just about a literal translation compared to the original Greek. I think it interesting to take a look at the word "preachest," though, which is the root word kerusso. That word has the definition to herald (proclaim); to preach (announce) a message publicly and with conviction [1]. Again, being so confident in the Law, God is asking them to self examine and see if they keep the Law themselves. We will see this in the next couple of verses.

Romans 2:22
22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

This verse is pretty much a literal translation of the Greek. Again it's more self examination to see if the Jew practices what he preaches, going through different parts of the Law. The only thing missing here is the article by idols. It would read "thou that abhorrest the idols..."

Romans 2:23
23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

Now here we have another piercing statement. If the Jew, who boasts in the Law, breaks the Law in some way, don't they dishonor God? God just gave them a couple of examples, but again we keep in mind what we know from the book of James that if a Jew transgressed the Law in one way, the whole thing is broken. Of course that would dishonor God anytime anything is done against the Law. We even have a similar commands under the dispensation of the grace of God, reminding us about our actions that may dishonor Him. Remember, though, that our salvation does not depend on these works. Look at 1 Thess 5:19, 1 Cor 6:20, or a multitude of others.

This verse is very accurate to the Greek. Again, the only thing we have missing here is the definite article. It should say the God.

Romans 2:24
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

That hurts to hear from God, doesn't it? These Jews who preach the Law and yet do the same dishonorable actions as the law-rejecting Gentiles blaspheme the name of God, and it has been written. Reference Eze 36:20-23 for where it was written. God warned them from the beginning of the Law not to give into the ways of the Gentiles that live around them or they will stumble into the same dishonorable things that the Gentiles do. God told them not to intermarry with those He was going to expel from the promised land (Deut 7:3). Yet, we read that this is just what they did. Also look at the book of judges and how Israel "did evil in the sight of the Lord." Any time they walked astray and did not live according to the Law, they blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles.

This verse is directed to the Jew, but can we apply this concept to us today? Sure we can. Preachers who declare that any part of the Law of Moses should be obeyed as part of salvation today are blaspheming the name of God. Anyone who says that you must be baptized in water, or take sacraments, or communion, or confession, or any other kind of work to be saved is blaspheming the name of God. God says that we are saved by His grace apart from works (Acts 13:38-39, Eph 2:8-9, etc.). Good works should follow after salvation (Eph 2:10) but are not required for salvation. It is imperative that we test the things that differ (Phil 1:10) and rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15). God is quite clear that we are not under the Law, but under grace (Rom 6:14) and there are serious consequences for mixing the two. The book of Galatians addresses that.

This verse is spot on with the Greek.

Romans 2:25
25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

Note again that works were required for salvation for the Jew under the Law. They must be circumcised according to the Law, but circumcision is only of value if the law is kept. If they transgressed the Law in any way, they needed to do the appropriate work to be in right standing with the Law and with God. However, if they would not do the works, circumcision would not save them and it may as well not even be counted.

There are some words in the Greek to look at here for deeper meaning in the verse. Both times the word if is used, it is the Greek eav, which is the conditional if and not stating of fact. The word for "keep" is the Greek word prasso, meaning to regularly practice. The word "de" appears after the colon in this verse. It would more properly read "Now if thou are a transgressor of the law..." Finally, the phrase "is made" is more accurately "has become."

Paul addresses a similar concept of this verse in 1 Tim 1:6-11. All throughout this chapter I keep thinking how awesome God's gospel of grace is for us today.

Romans 2:26
26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

Continuing the indictment of the Jew, God really turns the tables on them saying that the Gentiles would be counted as one of them should the keep the law, contrasting that to what was said to the Jew in verse 25. That would really hurt to lose your identity. Again, isn't it nice that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption under the gospel of grace (Eph 1:13-14)? I also see that this is still hammering home the concept that God is no respecter of persons. Whether Jew or Gentile, if one should keep the law in its entirety, under the gospel of the kingdom of course, one would be counted as saved. The Jew did not get a free pass simply because he was circumcised.

There are some points on the word studies for this verse that merit going over. First, the word "keep" here is the Greek root phylasso, which has this meaning:

Phylasso (akin to 5441 /phylaks, "a military guard") – properly, preserve by "having an eye on" (J. Thayer), referring to the uninterrupted vigilance shepherds show in keeping their flocks [1]

God isn't just saying that any Gentile can be counted as circumcised simply by doing some of the Law. They must diligently keep it, as an uninterrupted vigil over it. Really, that was true of the Jew, too, under the dispensation of Law. They must diligently practice every bit of the Law to maintain righteousness. That brings me to the next word of interest, which is "righteousness." That word in the Greek is from the root dikaioma, which means "a judicially-approved act" [1]. It's not an attribute of the Law as the English may look like, but rather the actions put forth of the Law. It is a noun and not an adjective. Lastly, the phrase "be counted" is from the Greek root word logizomai, which can mean reckon, count, reason, or decide. It's where we get our word logic from. Logically, a Gentile who practiced every action in the Law would be counted as circumcised, or a Jew in other words. When Gentiles wanted to follow God in the dispensation of Law, the proselytized to the Jewish faith, which was to believe God would send the Messiah and keep the Law in its entirety. They would be counted, or reckoned, as part of Israel should they do that.

Romans 2:27
27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

Not only will the Gentile who practices the right actions of the Law be logically set as circumcised, and thus a Jew, but that same Gentile will then judge the Jew when the Jew breaks the Law. The hammer just keeps pounding. God is no respecter of persons. I can see how it would be easy for the Jew to become self righteous, being born of the chosen nation of God and given the Law. We get the apostle Paul's credentials of how he could have boasted in his flesh in Phil 3:4-6. When he was known as Saul of Tarsus, he did indeed put his stock in self righteous as he zealously persecuted the believers in Jesus as the Christ. But all of that changed when he understood the truth. After that he cared nothing for flesh and sought to know God in verity (Phil 3:7-9).

The Greek reads a bit differently than the KJV translates it. I'm going to attempt to put it together more literally:
The uncircumcision fulfilling the Law will judge out of nature you who through letter and circumcision transgress the law.

I don't see a question even posed there in the Greek, but then again, I don't consider myself a Greek scholar. An interesting note is that word "fulfilling" is the Greek root teleo, which has the meaning of accomplishment, complete, or consummate. That should emphasize again that this is a Gentile who practices the Law in its entirety. It should be easy to see that that would bring judgment on the Jew who was given the Law should the Jew transgress the Law.

Romans 2:28
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

This is the conclusion God has been building toward and will make clear in the next verse as well. The Jew isn't made from birth. Circumcision isn't just the outward sign of the flesh. The Greek might be translated this way: For the Jewish one is not in the viewable, neither the circumcision that which is viewable of the flesh.

"Jew" and "outwardly" are both adjectives in the Greek. The Greek for "outwardly" is the root phaneros, which means apparent, clear, visible, manifest [2]. I think the English still gets the point across that God is defining a Jew not based on physics alone. We have the hint that God loves obedience rather than sacrifice and looks to the heart (1 Sam 15:22, 16:7). Obedience is a willful choice and done entirely inside. it is the will that moves the physical body to perform the action. God looks to the heart and not outward appearance. We get the full conclusion in the next verse.

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The full definition of the Jew can be seen right here in this verse. It is of the spirit and the heart, not of the body alone. It is he who seeks God's praise and not that of man. It is one who has set their eyes above and not of the things of this earth, storing up treasure in heaven (Matt 6:16-21). In this respect, these attributes are interdispensational. Whoever expresses true faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross will seek all of this as well, knowing salvation is guaranteed and moved to do good works to please God the Father. The true Jew under the dispensation of the Law would happily keep the Law, knowing of the promises made to the Jew, including of the kingdom of priests that would be established forever, are far better than what this life has to offer. They would have no problem selling all they have and following Jesus Christ into that kingdom (Acts 4:32-25, cf Luke 18:18-23).

The Greek here is pretty interesting. The word for "inwardly" is kruptos, which means "hidden" or "concealed." I thought of the verses in 1 Cor 2:11-16 where only the spirit of a man knows all the thoughts the man when I saw this definition. It's what we think intuitively when we see the comparison between Romans 2:28 and 2:29 anyway, but I think this makes it even clearer what God is talking about.The rest of the language is similar to verse 28 in the Greek, where "Jew" and "inward" are adjectives. The last part of the verse is more literally "whose praise is not out of mankind, but out of the God."

This is the true Israel which at some point in the future will be a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:5-6) and as numerous as the sand on the seashore (Gen 22:17, 26:4-5). It is also mentioned in Galatians 6:16 in comparison with the Body of Christ. Two distinct groups that God has established with different commands and promises. We must always be diligent when studying scripture not to confuse the two, but rather to test the things that differ and rightly divide the Word of Truth.

References
1 - HELPS Word-studies
2 - Strong's Concordance
3 - NAS Exhaustive Concordance