Romans 2:12-16

12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:12-16)

I have decided not to answer the second question posted below. I know, you are all very disappointed. The reason for my decision is that to explain how “doing good” results in eternal life and yet how that is not earning salvation with good works would be to explain the next six or so chapters. I hope the answer will soon become very clear.

So on to the rest of chapter 2. Paul is on a mission to explode a smug assumption of self-righteousness. He does this by pointing two terribly important aspects to the law. The first point is that law is internal as well as external. We all know what a law is. Even those ignorant of it nevertheless still have it. His evidence of this fairly bold asseration is our natural accusing or excusing thoughts. Mistakes and failures simply do not disappear from memory. Often they don’t even fade away with time. They keep accusing us, sometimes to an unbearable degree. Perhaps, you may object that this is only because of the oppressive moral standards ingrained in us since birth. But remember it is not just accusing thoughts but also excusing thoughts that prove Paul’s point. What produces guilt as well as what produces license reveals the law. The adulterer reasons that the inattention of their spouse excuses their behavior. But the excuse that justifies the breaking of the law is itself a tribute to the law’s power. There is a standard that we all assume. In one case it may keep us moral; in another it may provide license for immorality. For most of us this all very complex. Our inner life is made up of a complicated web of accusing and excusing thoughts. But the thoughts are universal, and give evidence of the nature of God’s law.

This is an important point, for it demonstrates that God’s law is not merely a moral code invented for a specific group of people at a specific point in time. No, his law is a reflection of his nature, an unchanging nature. Therefore, it is possible, at least in principle, to keep and to break the law whether or not you have possession of it. What God revealed in his law is already what our accusing and excusing thoughts tell us. The implication of this thought is pretty disconcerting. You cannot escape God’s law. It haunts you no matter how far you fly from it. Whether you spend your days in despair over your failures or in partying while excusing your behavior, the law speaks to you. And when it speaks, what do you say? One day, as Paul points out, not only the law but the Law-giver will speak, and when he does what then will you say?