Romans 2:16 has its connection with what goes before very variously defined. While Ewald goes so far as to join it with Romans 2:5, and regards everything intervening as a parenthesis, many, and recently most expositors, have connected it with the immediately preceding συμμαρτ.… ἀπολογ.; in which case, however, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ cannot be taken for εἰς ἡμέραν (Calvin), nor the present participles in a future sense (Fritzsche), since, in accordance with the context, they are contemporary with ἐνδείκνυνται. And for that very reason we must reject the view, which has been often assumed, that Paul suddenly transports himself from the present into the time of the judgment, when the exercise of conscience in the Gentiles will be specially active, and that for this reason he at once adds ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κ.τ.λ[666] directly without inserting a ΚΑῚ ΤΟῦΤΟ ΜΆΛΙΣΤΑ, or ΚΑῚ ΤΟῦΤΟ ΓΕΝΉΣΕΤΑΙ, or the like (Rückert; Tholuck, de Wette, Reithmayr, Philippi, van Hengel, Umbreit; comp Estius). The supposition of such an illogical and violent leap of thought in so clear and steady a thinker as Paul is thoroughly arbitrary and wholly without analogy. Moreover, the simple temporal self-judgment of the Gentiles fits into the connection so perfectly, that Paul cannot even have conceived of it as an anticipation of the last judgment (Mehring). Quite an incorrect thought, repugnant to Romans 2:12 and to the whole doctrinal system of the Apostle, is obtained by Luthardt (v. freien Willen, p. 410 f.), when, very arbitrarily joining it only with ἢ καὶ ἀπολογουμένων, he discovers here the hope “that to such the reconciling grace of Christ shall one day be extended.” This is not confirmed by Romans 2:26. A relative natural morality never in the N. T. supplies the place of faith, which is the absolutely necessary condition of reconciling grace. Compare Romans 3:9; Romans 3:22, Romans 7:14 ff. al[668] Lastly Hofmann, who formerly held a view similar to Luthardt’s (see Schriftbew. I. p. 669), now connects ἐν ἡμέρᾳ Κ.Τ.Λ[669] to ἐνδείκνυνται in such a way, that he explains Romans 2:16 not at all of the final judgment, but, in contrast even to the latter, of every day on which God causes the Gospel to be proclaimed among the Gentiles; every such day shall be for all, who hear the message, a day of inward judgment; whoever believingly accepts it, and embraces salvation, thereby proves that he himself demands from himself what the revealed law enjoins on those who possess it. This interpretation, which would require us to read with Hofmann κρίνει (the present) instead of κρινεῖ, is as novel as it is erroneous. For the expressions in Romans 2:16 are so entirely those formally used to denote the last judgment (comp on ἡμέρᾳ 1 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14 al[671]; on κρινεῖ, Romans 2:2-3; Romans 2:5; Romans 3:6 al[672]; on Θεός as the Jdg 3:6; Jdg 14:10; Jdg 14:12 al[673]; on τὰ κρυπτά, 1 Corinthians 4:5; on διὰ ʼΙησοῦ Χ. 2 Corinthians 5:10; Acts 17:31), that nothing else could occur to any reader than the conception of that judgment, which moreover has been present to the mind since Romans 2:2, and from which even κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγ. μου does not draw away the attention. Every element in Hofmann’s exposition is subjectively introduced, so that Paul could not have wrapped up the simple thought, which is supposed to be expressed in so precious a manner, in a more strange disguise—a thought, moreover, which is here utterly irrelevant, since Paul has to do simply with the natural law of the Gentiles in its relation to the revealed νόμος of Judaism, and apart as yet from all reference to the occurrence of their conversion; and hence also the comparison with Hebrews 4:12 is here out of place. The proper view of the passage depends on our treating as a parenthesis, not (with Winer and others) Romans 2:13-15, but with Lachmann, Romans 2:14-15. This parenthetical insertion is already indicated as such by the fact, that the great judicial proposition previously expressed: οἱ ποιηταὶ νόμου δικαιωθήσονται is in Romans 2:14-15 proved only with reference to a part of mankind, with regard to which it might seem possibly doubtful: it is required by the circumstance, that without it ἐν ἡμέρᾳ has no proper logical reference whatever; and lastly, it is confirmed by the consideration that, if it is adopted, the whole is wound up not with an illustration having reference to the Gentiles, but—and how emphatically and solemnly!—with the leading thought of the whole discussion.[674]

τὰ κρυπτὰ τῶν ἀνθρ.] The hidden things of men, i.e. everything in their inner or outer life which does not come to the knowledge of others at all, or not according to its moral quality. This special characteristic of the judgment is given with reference to Romans 2:13, inasmuch as it is just such a judging that is necessary for, and the preliminary to, the realisation of what is affirmed in Romans 2:13.

κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλ. μου] contains, according to the usual view, the accordance of the assertion κρινεῖ ὁ Θεός τὰ κρυπτὰ τ. ἀνθρ. διὰ ʼΙ. Χρ. with the Apostle’s official proclamation of salvation. But the fact that God will judge, etc., was so universally known and so entirely undoubted, that the addition in that sense would have been in the highest degree superfluous; and indeed the μου in that case would have no significance bearing on the matter, since no one proclaiming the Gospel could call in question that truth. We must therefore explain it, with Pareus, Calovius, and many others, including Umbreit and Hofmann, as referring to the manner of the κρινεῖ. Paul was so certain of the sole truth of the Gospel committed to him (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 4:20 f.) which he had by revelation of God (Galatians 1:11 f.), that he could not but be equally certain that the future judgment would not be held otherwise than according to his Gospel, whose contents are conceived as the standard of the sentence. In that same Gospel he knew it to be divinely determined, to whom the στέφανος τῆς δικαιοσύνης, the eternal life and its δόξα, or on the other hand its opposite, eternal ἀπώλεια, should be awarded by the judge. But he knew at the same time the axiom announced in Romans 2:13, with which Romans 2:16 connects itself, to be not at variance therewith (comp Romans 3:31); as indeed on the contrary, it is just in the Gospel that perfection in the fulfilment of the law is demanded, and accordingly (see ch. Romans 6:8, Romans 13:8 ff.) the judicial recompense is determined conformably to the conduct, Romans 8:4; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 5:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9 f.; Galatians 5:19-23. On μου Calvin’s note suffices: suum appellat ratione ministerii, and that, to distinguish it from the preaching not of other apostles, but of false, and especially of Judaizing teachers. Comp Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8. The mistaken view is held by Origen, Jerome and other Fathers (see Fabricius, Cod. apocr. p. 371 f.), that Paul meant by his Gospel that of Luke.

διὰ Ιησοῦ Χρ.] As He is the Mediator of eternal salvation, so also it is He who is commissioned by God to hold the judgment. Comp Acts 17:30-31; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Romans 2:16. The day meant here is the same as that in Romans 2:5. Westcott and Hort only put a comma after ἀπολογουμένων, but a longer pause is necessary, unless we are to suppose that only the day of judgment wakes the conscience and the thoughts of man into the moral activity described in Romans 2:15. This supposition may have some truth in it, but it is not what the Apostle’s argument requires. The proof he gives that Gentiles are “a law to themselves” must be capable of verification now, not only at the last day. Hence Romans 2:16 is really to be taken with the main verbs of the whole paragraph, ἀπολοῦνται, κριθήσονται, δικαιωθήσονται: the great principle of Romans 2:6—ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ—will be exhibited in action on the day on which God judges the secret things of men through Christ Jesus. A final judgment belonged to Jewish theology, and perhaps, though this is open to question, one in which the Messiah acted as God’s representative; but what Paul teaches here does not rest merely on the transference of a Jewish Messianic function to Jesus. If there is anything certain in the N.T. it is that this representation of Jesus as judge of the world rests on the words of our Lord Himself (Matthew 7:22 f., Matthew 25:31 ff.). To assert it was an essential part of the Gospel as preached by Paul: cf. Acts 17:31. (Baldensperger, Das Selbstbewusstsein Jesu, . 85 f., thinks that in the circles of Jewish Pietism, in the century before Christ, the Messiah was already spoken of as the Divine judge, and as sharing the titles and attributes of Jehovah.)

In Romans 2:17-24 the Apostle brings to a point the argument for which he has been clearing the way in Romans 2:1-16. The Jew makes much of the possession of the law, but when we pass from possession to practice, he is not a whit better than the “lawless” Gentile. The construction is not quite regular, but the meaning is clear. The natural order would be: If thou bearest the name of Jew, and restest upon the law, and yet in thy conduct settest the law at nought, art not thou equally under condemnation with sinners of the Gentiles? But the construction is interrupted at the end of Romans 2:20, and what ought in logic to be part of the protasis—if in thy conduct thou settest the law at nought—is made a sort of apodosis, at least grammatically and rhetorically: dost thou, in spite of all these privileges, nevertheless set the law at nought? The real conclusion, which Paul needs for his argument, Art not thou then in the same condemnation with the Gentiles? is left for conscience to supply.

16. in the day, &c.] This sentence is often connected with the close of Romans 2:12. But the parenthesis is thus, even in the style of St Paul, highly difficult and peculiar; and Romans 2:13 stands in close natural connexion with Romans 2:12. Meanwhile the sequence of Romans 2:16 on Romans 2:15 is not hard to trace; the allusion to the Great Day is anticipatory; q. d., “These moral convictions and verdicts have their good and final confirmation in the day, &c.;” “all that was true in them will be recognized and carried out in Divine action then.”

the secrets of men] i.e. of men in general, heathens as well as Jews. The “secret things” are here named, as implying also of course the judgment of all that is “open beforehand.” Perhaps the word alludes too to the “cloke” of Jewish formality, and faith in privileges.

by Jesus Christ according to my gospel] The word “Gospel” is here used (a deeply significant use) of the entire contents of the Apostle’s teaching; of holy principles and threats of condemnation as well as holy promises of life.—“My Gospel:”—same word as Romans 16:25. The original of the phrase is not strongly emphatic, but certainly not without point. It indicates on one hand St Paul’s deep certainty of his direct Divine commission and its precise import, and on the other his consciousness (much more strongly expressed in the Galatian Epistle) of opposition to his position and doctrine. Cf. e.g. Galatians 1:6-12.—“By Jesus Christ:”—the words emphatically close the sentence; perhaps with implicit reference to the rejection, by the unbelieving Jews whom the Apostle now more distinctly addresses, of Him who is to judge the world.

Romans 2:16. Ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, in the day) It is construed with show, for the present tense is no objection; Romans 2:5 employs the present in the same general way. And Paul often says, in the day of the Lord, which implies more than against [or unto the day] 1 Corinthians 5:5—comp. before, or in the presence of 1 Timothy 5:21, note. Such as each thing was, such it shall then be seen, be determined, and remain. In that day, that writing of the law on the hearts of men will be manifest, having also joined with it some defence of upright acts, although the man be condemned [fall] in the judgment, himself being his own accuser, on account of other offences. And that circumstance implies, as a consequence, [infers] (reasoning, from the greater to the less, i.e., from the final judgment, to the judgments of conscience in the present life), accusation, or even defence, exercised in this life also, as often as either the future judgment itself is vividly presented before a man, or its anticipations, without the man’s own privity (consciousness), are at work in the conscience.—Comp. 1 John 4:17. And Scripture often speaks so of the future, especially of the last things, as that it presupposes those which precede them. The Jews at Romans 2:5, as the Gentiles in this passage, are threatened with the future judgment.—τὰ κρυπτὰ, the secrets) the conscience, and the thoughts.—Comp. 1 Corinthians 4:5. This confirms the connection of this verse with the preceding. The true quality of actions, generally unknown even to the agents themselves, depends on the secrets.—See Romans 2:29. Men judge by outward manifestations, even concerning themselves. Outward manifestations of good or evil will also be judged, but not then for the first time; for they are judged, even from the time in which they are wrought; deeds, that are secret, are then at length brought to judgment.—τῶν ἀνθρώπων, of men) even of the Gentiles.—κατὰ, according to) i.e. as my Gospel teaches. Paul adds this short clause, because he is here dealing with a man, who does not yet know Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the whole preaching as to Christ; and Christ will be the Judge; and the judgment in regard to the Gentiles, is not so expressly declared in the Old, as in the New Testament. And it is called the Gospel of Paul, as it was preached by Paul, even to the Gentiles.—Acts 17:31. All the articles of evangelical doctrine, and the article concerning the final judgment, greatly illustrate one another; and moreover, this very article, even in respect of believers, is altogether evangelical.—Acts 10:42; 1 Peter 4:5.

Verse 16. - In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ. About this verse the main question is, what previous assertion the "when" refers to. The time denoted by "when" (whether we suppose κρίνει or κρινεῖ - i.e. the present or future tense - to have been intended by the writer) is certainly the ἡμέρα of 1 Corinthians 3:13, and ether passages - the day of doom, when "every man's work shall be made manifest." Hence immediate connection of this verse with the preceding one, which would otherwise have been the natural one, seems to be precluded; for in ver. 15 the present operation of conscience, during this present life, was described. One way of making the connection obvious is by understanding ver. 15 as itself denoting the manifestation reserved for the day of judgment, when all will stand self-convicted. But not only the verb ἐκδείκνυντααι in the present tense, but also the fact of the whole verse being so obvious a description of present human consciousness, seems to preclude this view. Some would connect ver. 16 with ver. 12, of which it is in itself a natural sequence; and this connection is intimated in the Authorized Version, which includes the three verses that come between in a parenthesis. The objection to it is the length of the parenthesis. Probably the apostle, in his characteristic way, paid little regard to precise logical sequence; he only desired to express, in this concluding verse, that in the great day full justice would be done, and all that he had been speaking of would be made plain. My gospel means "the gospel committed unto me to preach" (cf. Romans 16:25; 2 Corinthians 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; 2 Timothy 2:8). The idea that it means "the Gospel according to St. Luke," said to have been written under St. Paul's superintendence, is too improbable to call for serious notice. Romans 2:16My gospel

As distinguished from false teaching Paul's assurance of the truth of the Gospel is shown in his confident assertion that it will form the standard of judgment in the great day.

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