“(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified” (Romans 2:13).
There is great value in reading or listening to God’s Word, just as there is value in possessing a map that guides us to our intended destination. However, a map is only useful if we are prepared to follow its direction. In a similar manner, it is possible to hear or read God’s Word but fail to follow its instruction.
Our text from Romans 2:13 highlights the importance of hearing and acting upon God’s Word. The New Testament epistles of James (James 1:22-25), and 1 John (1 John 2:3-6) underscore this need as well. In fact, Jesus addressed this very subject on several occasions…
“Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock” (Matthew 7:24 CEV).
“As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, ‘Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.’ He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!'” (Luke 11:27-28 NIV).
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21 NLT).
While the need to listen and act upon God’s Word is a subject of great importance, there is a larger context to this portion of Romans chapter two. That context involves the question of whether we can be made right with God by keeping the Old Testament Law. We can understand the idea behind this section in the following manner: if our path to righteousness with God consists of keeping the Old Testament commandments, then we must keep them in their entirety without fail. As a result, justification through the Old Testament Law is contingent upon flawless obedience to everything it commands.
Much like a construction worker, Paul the Apostle is building towards a conclusion based on the foundation he is establishing here in Romans chapter two. Paul will complete that process in the following chapter when he erects the last structural component of his argument: “No man can justify himself before God by a perfect performance of the Law’s demands—indeed it is the straight-edge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are” (Romans 3:20 Phillips).
This reference to justification presents us with an important theological concept that we will explore at greater length in our next study.