Main points of the passage:
v.1 The one who judges is without excuse when it comes to judgement, because they do the same things they accuse others of.
v.2 God is in the right to judge these people because they practice the very same thing
v.4 Jews cannot afford to presume on God's mercy on the position, this is not an excuse to not stop sinning but rather it should really lead them to repentance
v.5 God is eventually going to judge all people, just because he is patient now does not mean that the sinner will escape the judgement of God.
Question: If you can tell who a person who is going to be saved by the works they do, can you tell who is not going to be saved by the things they do. In other words if good works and walking by the Spirit characterise the Christian life, does sin and a hard heart characterise the unbeliever's life?
v.6 God will judge everyone fairly and without preference or favour
vv. 7-8 God will reward those who seek him and condemn and punish those who are selfish and self-seeking
Thought of John: is there a distinction that needs to be made here, between seeking good for ones self and seeking God and then doing good. Is one then justified by seeking God and not seeking good works?
vv. 9-10 Paul here shows two alternative realities punishment for the wicked and glory, honour and peace for those who do good. Paul twice makes the point here that everyone gets based on their works and not their heritage.
Thought of John: Is this the early stages of the comparison between Adam and Christ?
v.11 God judges without preference
v.12 Both the Jew and the Gentile shall be judged
v.13 it is important to note in this passage the context, Paul has just said those who seek after good will receive glory, honour and peace. I disagree with Moo here, he says p.148 that Jews would have thought that doing the Law or the intent to do the Law would lead to salvation. Those who seek Yahweh and are in covenant with him will have salvation. Moo does not seem to think of Judiasm as a religion of grace here. In particular I have a problem with the last part "Paul affirms the principle that doing the law can lead to salvation; but he denies (1) that anyone can so "do"the Law; and (2) that Jews can depend on thir covenant relatiosnhip to shield them from the consequences of this failure" (p.148) . Paul here does not mention here that no one keep the Law here, whilst this is true that no one can keep it, it feels like it misses the point of the passage. I think Paul is saying that possession of the Torah is not enough, but actually doing good is what is required of you, that is not to presume on the kindness of God's riches but rather the Torah would call for repentance.
v.14 This verse must be read in context of v.13, Paul has just established that having the Torah is no advantage to the Jew, here he is establishing that the Gentile is at no disadvantage because they do good works apart from the Torah. They in affect show they are doers of the Law without hearing the Law.
vv.15-16 Paul here is still showing that the Gentiles by nature prove that they have the Torah in some limited sense and that even their conscience bears witness to this fact. This leads to the inevitable conclusion that God is one day going to reveal the secrets of all men. Showing that Christ will judge not only those works done in public but also the thought, attitudes and heart of men
Moo here has done a reasonable job of interpreting this passage. It would have been good though if he tried to keep the in mind the larger picture whilst looking at the nuts and bolts of the passage. One thing I would like to explore myself, is what does it mean to be a doer of the Law? This phrase confuses me but i like it.
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