Law or No Law, Judgment is Certain – Romans 2:12-16

Bethel Baptist Church – David Rising

Romans 2:12-16; May 17, 2026 Sunday AM

Law or No Law, Judgment is Certain

We are in the midst of a study of Romans 2 where Paul is making his case that every single person who is born is under sin and stands in need of God’s mercy and grace.

Last week we covered verses 6-11 and saw again the fact of God’s impartiality. God will render to each person according to his deeds, and that point is especially focused upon the hard-hearted and unrepentant sinner.

Our study today continues with this theme and makes another related point – that one day, God will judge the secret things according to whatever standard applies (law or no law). Pray.

We begin in verse 12 with a point we have already heard in some way in our study of chapter 2.

1. Judgment is Sure (2:12)

12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law

12Ὅσοι γὰρ ἀνόμως ἥμαρτον, ἀνόμως καὶ ἀπολοῦνται, καὶ ὅσοι ἐν νόμῳ ἥμαρτον, διὰ νόμου κριθήσονται·

This verse speaks about judgment and the focus is both the Gentile and the Jew. He speaks of those without law – the Gentile – and those with law – the Jew.

It may have been easy for some Jews to point their finger at the Gentiles (chapter 1) and chastise them, condemn them, for their sins. But Paul turns the table on those who think they are not that bad and states that we need to be very careful about pointing the finger.

Paul has been arguing that God is an impartial judge and that what we do, based upon who we are, will have a profound impact in the final day. God renders to each man according to what he does and in the end there is a big difference.

The difference will not be based on ethnicity – whether one is a Gentile or a Jew. Rather it will be about whether one is justified in Christ or not.

Judgment is coming and it will fall on all who are deserving.

Notice Paul first speaks about those who sin without the law. I think this is a reference to Gentiles.

God promised a people through Abram. God blessed Abram and he had many children. Those children became a nation and eventually God rescued them from Egypt with a mighty hand. He then gave them His law.

Paul is stating in verse 12 that the issue is not whether one has the law or does not have the law, but rather the issue is sin – violating God’s requirements.

Paul states that as many as have sinned who do not have the law, will also perish one day without law. “To perish” (ἀπολοῦνται < ἀπόλλυμι) is a parallel idea with “be judged.” Judgement that results in condemnation results in destruction – to perish.

Judgment will happen, even for the Gentiles who do not have the Law. They still sin and they still will be judged.

Second, he speaks of those who have the law and this appears to be a clear reference to the Jews.

Those who sin in the law (ἐν νόμῳ) will face judgment in the end by the law (διὰ νόμου).

God providentially ordained that the Jews were to live their lives within the scope of the Mosaic Law which He gave, and so they will be judged according to that standard.

To sin is to violate the law, to do something wrong or to skip doing something that should be done.

We think of the 10 commandments as the Law, but there were many more requirements within the law God gave Moses for the people of Israel.

And thus verse 12 makes it clear that judgment will happen. It is a certainty. It makes no difference whether one is a Gentile or a Jew.

Now notice verse 13. If you have a KJV or a NKJV, you will notice that verses 13-15 are set apart by parentheses. This was done because the connection between verse 15 & 16 seems difficult and verse 16 seems to flow out of verse 12 better since both refer to the final judgment.

Verse 12 – Judgement is sure

Verse 16 – when God judges

2. Justification is Sure (2:13)

13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;

This verse is a restatement of verse 6 which speaks about God rendering to each one according to his deeds. Verse 7 and 10 explained how obedience and reward were attached, but this speaks of it in another sense.

The point here is that those who actually do the law are those who will be justified (δικαιωθήσονται < δικαιόω), and by justified I think Paul means to be proven to be God’s people, proven to be just and right. Those who simply hear the law are no better in the end.

This idea of hearing and not doing is what James speaks about in chapter 2 of his epistle. James urges the reader not to be merely hearers of the Word, but also doers.

There is something profoundly wrong with the one who makes it his business only to hear instruction but never to do it.

In this context of Romans, Paul’s target is the Jew primarily who will make his boast in having the Law, hearing the Law, as it were, but not actually following it.

If the police officer pulls us over for speeding and we tell him we know what law says, he will no doubt have something to say to us.

Sure, it is good to KNOW that 55 miles an hour is the limit, but I have to OBEY the law to be justified in my driving.

It is not enough to be a hearer of the law. One has to be a doer of the law to be justified.

Justification is sure because it has everything to do with following through with what we know. God saves us by His grace – we are truly transformed – and our aim and desire will be to please the Lord.

We struggle with this, to be sure, but someone who has been given new life by Christ will live that new life, even if imperfectly and with a constant struggle.

God’s people desire to follow the Lord, and that sets us apart from the world.

In verses 14-15 now Paul will explain how it is that the Gentiles who do not have the law still will be judged and why it is fair.

3. Natural Law (2:14-15)

14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

Paul has shifted now to the Gentiles and argues their guilt based on what is known as natural law.

These two verses explain why it is fair for God to judge Gentiles even though they were not given the Mosaic Law nor were under it as were the Jews.

These verses speak about Gentiles somehow doing the things in the law even though they don’t have the law.

When Gentiles obey the law, which is described here as ‘by nature’ (dative case – φύσει), it shows that they are accountable to it. Gentiles are accountable to natural law.

In other words, whatever knowledge they have of God’s standards, they are accountable to God on that basis.

Whatever light God has implanted into Gentile hearts, they are accountable to God on that basis.

Paul teaches us in chapter 1 that everyone has a knowledge of God. To some degree, we all know God exists and He is supreme.

I’ve seen some posts on social media lately making the point that in reality there are no atheists. Many claim that, argue for it, scream their conviction on it, but in reality there are none.

The ungodly and unrighteous suppress the truth about God and the law He has planted into their hearts and claim ignorance or exemption.

Paul says that won’t fly.

How do Gentiles have some law in their hearts? Verse 15 explains:

15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

We all know some things about God and His righteousness because He has stamped it upon our hearts and we are accountable to that.

The universal presence of God’s moral standards renders each person accountable to them. When we violate them, we are guilty of violating them and stand ready for judgment.

Every person regardless of their nationality, color, culture, gender – everyone was created by God in His image.

God has stamped on every heart some basic truths of the law. This knowledge is not sufficient to save, but it is sufficient to render us guilty.

This is why we are under the obligation to preach the gospel!

God will judge mankind according to the standard God has given to them, and the Gentiles thus will not escape God’s judgment. They cannot claim exemption because they were not given God’s Law as were the Jews.

And, as Paul argues, the Jews will not escape either. For simply having the Law is not enough. It is not merely the possession of that Law that is important but the doing of that Law, as verse 13 makes clear.

And of course, the doers of the Law in reality are only those who are recipients of God’s grace – the point that Paul is driving toward in chapter 3.

And so Paul argues that the Gentiles who do not have the Law still do some things in the Law, and this illustrates the point that God has given to them some light – natural law – and according to that light they will be judged.

Paul mentions the law written on the heart and also the conscience bearing witness. This is legal language about evidence: written law, bearing witness.

Our internal policeman is the conscience – that facility in us that tells our inner self whether or not we are following the truth.

Peter talks about having a clear conscience in 1 Peter 3:16.

You will recall that when David had cut off a piece of Saul’s robe, later his conscience bothered him because of what he had done (1 Samuel 24:5).

Paul will later speak about his conscience (Romans 9:1) as he speaks about his feelings about his brethren, the Jews, who to the present have not received Christ as they ought.

The conscience is that inner nagging when you get home and realize that you didn’t scan both of those cans of sauce on the self-checkout. What do you do? I do what you do – go back and make it right. It’s hard to live with that guilty conscience even if it as minor as a can of tomato sauce. It is still a wrong to be made right.

Here in Romans 2:15, Paul speaks about one’s conscience bearing witness to the truth that one knows. Their conscience will either accuse them – when they do wrong – or excuse them – when they do right.

In either case, the result is to prove that Gentiles do operate according to a standard – one that God put within their hearts. And that standard is sufficient to condemn.

Remember, all of this discussion is here with the moralist, probably the Jew, who thinks they may be exempt from God’s judgment simply because of being a Jew and having the Law.

Paul argues that obedience to the Law is the standard, not whether or not one has the Law.

In other words, in the final day, as verse 12 told us, and now verse 16 reminds us:

4. God will judge one day (2:16)

16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

As we noted at the start, this verse flows from the thought of verse 12:

12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law [judgment is sure] …16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel [God will judge one day].

One day all those secrets, if not covered by the blood of Christ, will be laid bare. God will make things right.

Notice that it is God – God the Father – who will judge, and will do so by means of His Son, Jesus. Jesus will be the judge.

He will judge, by the Father’s direction.

According to the gospel of Jesus Christ, He will be the one who will bring to light all unforgiven secret sins of mankind and deal with them.

We all have secrets – things we do not want anyone to know about. Some secrets are not moral things (like our passwords), but some are.

When we sin, we know in our hearts it is a sin. We can sin in private and no one, except God, may know about it. But God knows, and if we are not forgiven by the blood of Christ through the new birth, we will one day give an account and be judged.

Jesus’ judgment will be perfect and will penetrate to the thoughts and intents of the heart and nothing will be hidden from the judge (Hebrews 4:12, 13). No one will be able to say in that day that judgment is unfair.

It may sound strange to say that judgment and the gospel are tied together, but they are in the sense that Jesus is the common denominator. He is the Savior for those who are saved, and He is the Judge for those who refuse to receive Him and His cross.

We’re getting closer to 3:9 and 3:19 where the conclusion is universal guilt, but Paul has made a convincing argument so far.

We’ll make more progress next week in verses 17ff where the Jew is clearly in view.

Application

1. Natural law should give us zeal and courage in our witnessing. The fact that God has given each of us knowledge of Him and His righteousness to a degree gives us a foundation upon which to build in our discussions.

We might appeal to it by speaking of some commonly accepted moral standards and then argue that they exist because God has planted them in our hearts. We can also freely speak about our consciences because everyone knows that they have one and recognize its function.

2. Special revelation is the key. Natural law is not enough. We need the light of scripture, and in particular, the message of the gospel to understand the full scope of God’s ways.

3. Let us be reminded that we are to be not merely hearers of God’s truth but also doers. We may tend to hear more than we do, and so may God help us to be doers.

13οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἀκροαταὶ νόμου δίκαιοι παρὰ [τῷ] θεῷ, ἀλλ̓ οἱ ποιηταὶ νόμου δικαιωθήσονται. 14ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιῶσιν, οὗτοι νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες ἑαυτοῖς εἰσιν νόμος· 15οἵτινες ἐνδείκνυνται τὸ ἔργον τοῦ νόμου γραπτὸν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, συμμαρτυρούσης αὐτῶν τῆς συνειδήσεως καὶ μεταξὺ ἀλλήλων τῶν λογισμῶν κατηγορούντων ἢ καὶ ἀπολογουμένων, 16ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὅτε κρίνει ὁ θεὸς τὰ κρυπτὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον μου διὰ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ.