Romans, Part 61

Posted on September 21, 2015 by admin

I’m continuing to look at Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer,^[1] as a description of love rather than as rules to obey. I’m still focusing on the injustice (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία) love is not glad (or, does not rejoice)^[2] about. Two different things are revealed (ἀποκαλύπτεται, a form of ἀποκαλύπτω) in the first chapter of Romans.

Two Revelations

For the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God is revealed in the gospel…

Romans 1:17a (NET)

For the wrath (ὀργὴ, a form of ὀργή) of God is revealed from heaven…

Romans 1:18a (NET)

…from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous (δίκαιος) by faith will live.”

Romans 1:17b (NET)

…against all ungodliness and unrighteousness (ἀδικίαν, a form of ἀδικία) of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία)…

Romans 1:18b (NET)

But I didn’t always think of these as two different things. As I became an atheist, though I doubt that I actually thought through these particular verses, I believed that God’s righteousness was God’s wrath, at least it was the nexus where his righteousness impacted human beings.

I returned from atheism to a semblance of faith believing that the wrath (e.g., God’s righteousness) I had not experienced had been deferred to a later time, the end, the Revelation (Ἀποκάλυψις, a form of ἀποκάλυψις). With this idea in mind I thought the wrath of God…revealed from heaven was some unspecified vengeance against every kind of unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ), wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips [Table], slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless [Table].^[3]

No matter what the Scripture said I wouldn’t or couldn’t hear that God’s wrath revealed from heaven was that God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.^[4] It was beyond my powers of comprehension that He did this so that they are filled with every kind of unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ), wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.

As long as I refused to believe that it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy,^[5] I couldn’t fathom the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God;^[6] namely, that God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.^[7] I couldn’t reason that if in his wrath He hands people over to every kind of ἀδικίᾳ, in his non-wrathful state he keeps us from that same ἀδικίᾳ. And I didn’t perceive that the true nexus of the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel is his love in us,^[8] the love that is the fulfillment of the law,^[9] the fruit of his Spirit.^[10]

Half a millennium or so before Paul penned his letter to the Romans ἀδικίᾳ was a Greek goddess. “There is also a chest made of cedar, Pausanias wrote, “with figures on it, some of ivory, some of gold, others carved out of the cedar-wood itself. It was in this chest that Cypselus, the tyrant of Corinth, was hidden by his mother when the Bacchidae were anxious to discover him after his birth. In gratitude for the saving of Cypselus, his descendants, Cypselids as they are called, dedicated the chest at Olympia.”^[11] Carved on the chest are the figures of a “beautiful woman…punishing an ugly one, choking her with one hand and with the other striking her with a staff. It is Justice [δίκη] who thus treats Injustice [ἀδικίᾳ].”^[12]

I’ll explore some sayings about δίκη (Dike) as a revelation of the religious mind, making no attempt to distinguish the creative reasoning of human beings from lying spirits.^[13] “Next he [Zeus] led away bright Themis (Divine Law),” Hesiod wrote, “who bare the Horai (Horae, Seasons), and Eunomia (Good Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who mind the works of mortal men.”^[14] “[S]he sits beside her father, Zeus the son of Kronos (Cronus), and tells him of men’s wicked heart, until the people pay for the mad folly of their princes who, evilly minded, pervert judgement and give sentence crookedly.”^[15]

The latter saying sounds more like Satan the accuser than justice (Revelation 12:7-10 NET):

Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. So that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan (Σατανᾶς), who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth,^[16] and his angels along with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser (κατήγωρ, a form of κατηγορέω) of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses (κατηγορῶν, another form of κατηγορέω) them day and night before our God, has been thrown down.”

Perhaps δίκη gives a glimpse into how Satan perceives himself. It certainly gives me a different impression of Plato’s eulogy: “With [Zeus],” Plato wrote in Laws, “followeth Dike (Justice), as avenger of them that fall short of the divine law; and she, again, is followed by every man who would fain be happy, cleaving to her with lowly and orderly behavior…”^[17] It sounds like a revelation of Satan’s own longing and ambition. “To thee revenge the punishment belong, chastising every deed unjust and wrong” says the Orphic Hymn 62 to Dike.^[18] This is essentially the meaning of δίκη in the New Testament (Acts 28:3, 4 NET).

When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. When the local people saw the creature hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice (δίκη; KJV: vengeance) herself has not allowed him to live!”

Even when the goddess is forgotten the noun δίκη retains her meaning and purpose (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10a; Jude 1:6, 7 NET).

With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will undergo the penalty (δίκην, a form of δίκη; KJV: punished) of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed…

You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgment of the great Day. So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, since they indulged in sexual immorality (ἐκπορνεύσασαι, a form of ἐκπορνεύω) and pursued unnatural desire in a way similar to these angels, are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment (δίκην, a form of δίκη; KJV: vengeance) of eternal fire.

Philostratus tired of δίκη or the inability of vengeance to produce righteousness in, or secure justice among, human beings: “I am sure that Dike (Justice) will appear in a very ridiculous light; for having been appointed by Zeus and by the Moirai (Fates) to prevent men being unjust to one another, she has never been able to defend herself against injustice.” In the New Testament δίκη has nothing to do with overcoming ἀδικία in human beings. Rather, God’s mercy and his love in us through faith in Jesus’ faithfulness crucifies our ἀδικίαν (a form of ἀδικία) and resurrects our new lives into his righteousness through the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 7:5, 6 NET).

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.

For this reason we also, Paul wrote the Colossians, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves…^[19]

The word translated righteousness in—the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel—is δικαιοσύνη (Dikaiosyne), not a goddess but a daimona (δαίμων ^[20]). “In the ancient Greek religion, daimon designates not a specific class of divine beings, but a peculiar mode of activity: it is an occult power that drives humans forward or acts against them: since daimon is the veiled countenance of divine activity, every deity can act as daimon…”^[21] The Orphic Hymn 63 says, “O blessed Dikaiosyne, mankind’s delight, the eternal friend of conduct just and right: abundant, venerable, honoured maid, to judgements pure dispensing constant aid, and conscience stable, and an upright mind…”^[22]

To the religious mind Dikaiosyne merely dispenses “aid.” Of course in the New Testament the daimon does not merely “aid” but possesses and takes control, not for anything resembling righteousness: two demon-possessed (δαιμονιζόμενοι, a form of δαιμονίζομαι) men coming from the tombs met [Jesus]. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.^[23] As Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man from the town met him who was possessed^[24] by demons (δαιμόνια, a form of δαιμόνιον). For a long time this man had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs.^[25]

Ancient Greeks were not unaware of these phenomena, they attributed them to κακοδαίμων: “The Hellenistic Greeks divided daemons into good and evil categories: agathodaimōn (ἀγαθοδαίμων “noble spirit”), from agathós (ἀγαθός “good, brave, noble, moral, lucky, useful”), and kakódaimōn (κακοδαίμων “malevolent spirit”), from kakós (κακός “bad, evil”).”^[26] I assume this determination was made according to how well the daemons’ activities corresponded to the determiner’s own desires: the κακοδαίμων thwarted as the ἀγαθοδαίμων aided those desires. The derivation of δαίμων is “From δαίω daiō (to distribute fortunes)” according to Strong’s Concordance.

To the religious mind Dikaiosyne dispenses “aid” to those who make pure judgments. I’m reminded of Peter’s surprise that Cornelius summoned him because an angel appeared and told him to do so: I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him.^[27] That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,^[28] –I have not come to call the righteous (δικαίους, a form of δίκαιος), but sinners to repentance,^[29] –is a difficult truth for the religious mind to accept.

It is the truth suppressed by unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ). The religious mind jealously guards its own righteousness as its own peculiar possession. In my opinion Paul experienced a theological crisis^[30] over this trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance, and we read the Holy Spirit’s solution to that crisis when we read his letter to the Romans (Romans 3:5-9 NKJV).

But if our unrighteousness (ἀδικία) demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust (ἄδικος) who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just. What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

All unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ) is sin…^[31] God will reward each one according to his works…wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ).^[32] The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders, and with every kind of evil (ἀδικίας, another form of ἀδικία) deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved. Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false. And so all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil (ἀδικίᾳ) will be condemned.^[33]

What shall we say then? Is there injustice (ἀδικία) with God? Absolutely not! For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.^[34]

For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.^[35]

This gives me a fairly extensive idea of the truth love rejoices about and the ἀδικία it does not. Love is not glad about injustice (ἀδικίᾳ), but rejoices in the truth.^[36] Do not extinguish the Spirit,^[37] Paul wrote the Thessalonians. I will suggest that the quickest way to extinguish the Spirit is to take credit for his fruit or to believe that his fruit is anything but the gift of righteousness.^[38] [W]hen the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior.^[39]

I’ll continue in the next essay.

Romans, Part 62

Back to Romans, Part 65

^[1] Romans 12:12 (NET)

^[2] 1 Corinthians 13:6 (NASB)

^[3] Romans 1:29-31 (NET)

^[4] Romans 1:28b (NET)

^[5] Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

^[6] Romans 11:33a (NET)

^[7] Romans 11:32 (NET)

^[8] John 17:26 (NET)

^[9] Romans 13:10b (NET)

^[10] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

^[11] Pausanias’ description of the Chest of Kypselos and other items at Olympia

^[12] Pausanias’ description of the Chest of Kypselos and other items at Olympia

^[13] 1 Kings 22:19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4; Ephesians 2:1-3 (NET)

^[14] http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/HoraDike.html

^[15] ibid

^[16] I am very confused whether this is still future are already past: Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!” So he said to them, “I saw Satan (σατανᾶν, a form of Σατανᾶς) fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:17, 18 NET)

^[17] http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/HoraDike.html

^[18] ibid

^[19] Colossians 1:9-13 (NET)

^[20] Then the demons (δαίμονες, a form of δαίμων) begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” (Matthew 8:31 NET)

^[21] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(classical_mythology)

^[22] http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Dikaiosyne.html

^[23] Matthew 8:28 (NET)

^[24] ἔχων [2192] δαιμόνια (literally, “had demons”)

^[25] Luke 8:27 (NET)

^[26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(classical_mythology)

^[27] Acts 10:34, 35 (NET)

^[28] 1 Timothy 1:15 (NET)

^[29] Luke 5:32 (NET)

^[30] https://religiousmind.net/2012/10/07/romans-part-23/; https://religiousmind.net/2012/08/04/romans-part-7/; https://religiousmind.net/2012/06/12/pauls-religious-mind/; https://religiousmind.net/2013/04/17/romans-part-42/

^[31] 1 John 5:17a (NET)

^[32] Romans 2:6, 8 (NET)

^[33] 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NET)

^[34] Romans 9:14-16 (NET)

^[35] Romans 11:29-32 (NET)

^[36] 1 Corinthians 13:6 (NET)

^[37] 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NET)

^[38] Romans 5:17 (NET)

^[39] Titus 3:4-6 (NET)

Paul’s OT Quotes, Romans 2

Posted on August 9, 2012 by admin

Paul	Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint)	NET Bible (Greek parallel text)
He *will reward each one according to his works*: Romans 2:6 (NET)	σὺ ἀποδώσεις ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ Psalm 62:12 Table	ος αποδωσει εκαστω κατα τα εργα αυτου Romans 2:6
	ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ Proverbs 24:12	ος αποδωσει εκαστω κατα τα εργα αυτου Romans 2:6
Jesus		NET Bible (Greek parallel text)
…he will reward each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:27 (NET)		αποδωσει εκαστω κατα την πραξιν αυτου Matthew 16:27

The only significant differences between these two quotations is that the Septuagint began with σύ (you) in Psalm 62:12 and Paul’s quote began with ὅς, translated as he at the beginning of a new sentence. Who would have been a more accurate translation as a dependent clause. The note (14) in the NET says as much: “Grk ‘who.’ The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.”

Paul

Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint)

NET Bible (Greek parallel text)

the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you

Romans 2:24 (NET)

ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν

Isaiah 52:5

ονομα του θεου δι υμας βλασφημειται εν τοις εθνεσιν

Romans 2:24

The Septuagint recorded God speaking as ὄνομά μου (my name) while Paul spoke in Romans of ονομα του θεου (the God’s name, or the name of God).

Addendum: October 26, 2020
My Greek has improved some over the last eight years, so another table comparing Paul’s quotation from Isaiah 52:5 follows.

Romans 2:24a (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 52:5b (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 52:5b (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸ γὰρ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ δι᾿ ὑμᾶς βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν	δι᾽ ὑμᾶς διὰ παντὸς τὸ ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῗται ἐν τοῗς ἔθνεσιν	δι᾿ ὑμᾶς διαπαντὸς τὸ ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι
Romans 2:24b (NET)	Isaiah 52:5b (NETS)	Isaiah 52:5b (English Elpenor)
For…“the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”	Because of you, my name is continually blasphemed among the nations.	On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.

A comparison of translations from the Masoretic text and Septuagint follow:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 52:5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 52:5 (NET)	Isaiah 52:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 52:5 (Elpenor English)
Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually (וְתָמִ֥יד) every day (כָּל־הַיּ֖וֹם) is blasphemed.	And now, what do we have here?” says the Lord. “Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing, those who rule over them taunt,” says the Lord, “and my name is constantly (tamiyd, ותמיד) slandered all (כל) day long (yowm, היום).	And now, why are you here? This is what the Lord says, Because my people were taken for nothing, you marvel and howl. This is what the Lord says, Because of you, my name is continually (διὰ παντὸς) blasphemed among the nations.	And now why are ye here? Thus saith the Lord, Because my people was taken for nothing, wonder ye and howl. Thus saith the Lord, On account of you my name is continually (διαπαντὸς) blasphemed among the Gentiles.

Since the Masoretic text had continually every day (NET: constantly…all day long) and the Septuagint had continually here, I’ll assume that Paul softened his message a bit from the original rather than that he had access to another (more original) version of the Septuagint.

Tables comparing Proverbs 24:12 and Isaiah 52:5 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and Proverbs 24:12 and Isaiah 52:5 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Proverbs 24:12 (Tanakh)	Proverbs 24:12 (KJV)	Proverbs 24:12 (NET)
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?	If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?	If you say, “But we did not know about this,” won’t the one who evaluates hearts discern it? Won’t the one who guards your life realize and repay each person according to his deeds?

Proverbs 24:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Proverbs 24:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃς οὐκ οἶδα τοῦτον γίνωσκε ὅτι κύριος καρδίας πάντων γινώσκει καὶ ὁ πλάσας πνοὴν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς οἶδεν πάντα ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ	ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃς, οὐκ οἶδα τοῦτον, γίνωσκε ὅτι Κύριος καρδίας πάντων γινώσκει, καὶ ὁ πλάσας πνοὴν πᾶσιν, αὐτὸς οἶδε πάντα, ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ
Proverbs 24:12 (NETS)	Proverbs 24:12 (English Elpenor)
If you say: “I do not know this person,” be aware that the Lord is familiar with the heart of everyone, and he who formed breath for all, he knows everything, he who will render to each according to his deeds.	But if thou shouldest say, I know not this man; know that the Lord knows the hearts of all; and he that formed breath for all, he knows all things, who renders to every man according to his works.

Isaiah 52:5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 52:5 (KJV)	Isaiah 52:5 (NET)
Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.	Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.	And now, what do we have here?” says the Lord. “Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing, those who rule over them taunt,” says the Lord, “and my name is constantly slandered all day long.

Isaiah 52:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 52:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ νῦν τί ὧδέ ἐστε τάδε λέγει κύριος ὅτι ἐλήμφθη ὁ λαός μου δωρεάν θαυμάζετε καὶ ὀλολύζετε τάδε λέγει κύριος δι᾽ ὑμᾶς διὰ παντὸς τὸ ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῗται ἐν τοῗς ἔθνεσιν	καὶ νῦν τί ἐστε ὦδε; τάδε λέγει Κύριος· ὅτι ἐλήφθη ὁ λαός μου δωρεάν, θαυμάζετε καὶ ὀλολύζετε. τάδε λέγει Κύριος· δι᾿ ὑμᾶς διαπαντὸς τὸ ὄνομά μου βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι
Isaiah 52:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 52:5 (English Elpenor)
And now, why are you here? This is what the Lord says, Because my people were taken for nothing, you marvel and howl. This is what the Lord says, Because of you, my name is continually blasphemed among the nations.	And now why are ye here? Thus saith the Lord, Because my people was taken for nothing, wonder ye and howl. Thus saith the Lord, On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.

Back to Romans, Part 9

Romans, Part 10

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Back to To Make Holy, Part 2

Romans, Part 9

Posted on August 8, 2012 by admin

The warning Paul gave those with stubborn and unrepentant hearts breaks quite naturally into two columns.

He will reward each one according to his works:

Romans 2:6 (NET)

…eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality…

Romans 2:7 (NET)

…but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.

Romans 2:8 (NET) Table

…but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.

Romans 2:10 (NET)

There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek…

Romans 2:9 (NET)

For there is no partiality with God.

Romans 2:11 (NET) Table

…and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Romans 2:12b (NET)

For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law…

Romans 2:12a (NET)

The Jews of Paul’s day may have wanted to label the left column “Jews” and the right column “Greeks” or “Gentiles.” We might want to do something similar with “Church Folk” and “Unchurched Folk” or “Religious” and “Irreligious.” But Paul was quite careful to label the columns himself: For it is not those who hear (ἀκροαταὶ, a form of ἀκροατής) the law (νόμου, a form of νόμος) who are righteous (δίκαιοι, a form of δίκαιος) before God, but those who do (ποιηταὶ, a form of ποιητής) the law (νόμου, a form of νόμος) will be declared righteous (δικαιωθήσονται, a form of δικαιόω).¹

He will reward each one according to his works:

Romans 2:6 (NET)

those who do (ποιηταὶ, a form of ποιητής) the law (νόμου, a form of νόμος)

Romans 2:13b (NET) Table

those who hear (ἀκροαταὶ, a form of ἀκροατής) the law (νόμου, a form of νόμος)

Romans 2:13a (NET)

…eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality…

Romans 2:7 (NET)

…but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.

Romans 2:8 (NET)

…but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.

Romans 2:10 (NET)

There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek…

Romans 2:9 (NET)

For there is no partiality with God.

Romans 2:11 (NET)

…and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Romans 2:12b (NET)

For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law…

Romans 2:12a (NET)

Paul continued to explain why the two columns should not be labeled “Jew” and “Gentile” rather than “Doer” and “Hearer” of the law. For whenever the Gentiles (ἔθνη, a form of ἔθνος), who do not have (ἔχοντα, a form of ἔχω) the law (νόμον, another form of νόμος), do² (ποιῶσιν, a form of ποιέω) by nature (φύσει, a form of φύσις) the things required by the law (νόμου, a form of νόμος), these who do not have (ἔχοντες, another form of ἔχω) the law (νόμον, another form of νόμος) are a law (νόμος) to themselves. They show that the work (ἔργον) of the law (νόμου, a form of νόμος) is written in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend them, on the day when God will judge (κρίνει, a form of κρίνω) the secrets (κρυπτὰ, a form of κρυπτός) of human hearts, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.³

The word translated do in those who do the law will be declared righteous is the Greek word for poet. For in him we live and move about and exist, as even some of your own poets (ποιητῶν, another form of ποιητής) have said, “For we too are his offspring,”⁴ Paul preached in Athens. It is derived from ποιέω, to make, to do. Our word poet bears no trace of a relationship to making or doing. A poet of the law might be indistinguishable to me from a hearer of the law. I might imagine that a poet of the law, rather than doing the law, writes pretty sonnets about the law, or worse, writes his own laws to establish his own righteousness.

If I recall how often Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites⁵ (ὑποκριταὶ, a form of ὑποκριτής, actor) and assume that Paul was very sensitive to this, his choice of words becomes clearer. It relates to the Greek theater. The actor wore a mask, with a megaphone built in to artificially amplify his voice. He played a part and spoke lines written for him by a poet. But when a poet performed on stage, he wore no mask. He spoke his own lines with his own voice from his own heart.

I believe it is important, especially in the how-to portion of Romans, to keep it straight that fulfilling the law, becoming a doer or poet of the law, was Paul’s point. This focus can protect me from stumbling over the things he wrote that are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures.⁶

One of the things that made it more difficult for me to fully embrace Paul’s teaching was that I never heard anyone quote Paul’s concept—you are not under law but under grace—as a means to an end of fulfilling the law or becoming a doer of the law, not even as a reason why sin will have no mastery over you.⁷ It was always quoted as justification for some sin the speaker wished to continue indulging. Whenever I asked my elders about the things I thought I was learning from Paul, they assumed I wanted to indulge some secret sin and responded with something like, “No, you really have to do it!” They had no way of knowing, I suppose, that they were encouraging me to keep on trying to have my own righteousness derived from the law.⁸

Though Paul and James may not have agreed fully on all aspects of the law and its relationship to believers in Jesus Christ, on these two things—becoming a doer rather than a hearer, and not judging—they were in complete agreement. And I quote James to demonstrate these two points and conclude this essay.

By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message (λόγῳ, a form of λόγος) of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. Understand this,⁹ my dear brothers and sisters! Let every¹⁰ person be quick to listen (ἀκοῦσαι, a form of ἀκούω), slow to speak (λαλῆσαι, a form of λαλέω), slow to anger (ὀργήν, a form of ὀργή). For human anger (ὀργή) does not accomplish¹¹ (ἐργάζεται, a form of ἐργάζομαι) God’s righteousness (δικαιοσύνην, a form of δικαιοσύνη). So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message (λόγον, another form of λόγος) implanted within you, which is able to save your souls. But be sure you live out (ποιηταὶ, a form of ποιητής) the message (λόγου, another form of λόγος) and do not merely listen (ἀκροαταὶ, a form of ἀκροατής) to it and so deceive yourselves. For if someone merely listens (ἀκροατής) to the message (λόγου, a form of λόγος) and does not live it out (ποιητής), he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who peers into the perfect (τέλειον, a form of τέλειος) law (νόμον, another form of νόμος) of liberty (ἐλευθερίας, a form of ἐλευθερία) and fixes his attention there,¹² and does not become a forgetful listener (ἀκροατής) but one who lives it (ἔργου, a form of ἔργον) out (ποιητής) – he will be blessed in what he does (ποιήσει, a form of ποίησις).¹³

Do not speak against (καταλαλεῖτε, a form of καταλαλέω) one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against (καταλαλῶν, another form of καταλαλέω) a fellow believer or¹⁴ judges (κρίνων, a form of κρίνω) a fellow believer speaks against (καταλαλεῖ, another form of καταλαλέω) the law (νόμου, a form of νόμος) and judges (κρίνει, another form of κρίνω) the law (νόμον, another form of νόμος). But if you judge (κρίνεις, another form of κρίνω) the law (νόμον, another form of νόμος), you are not a doer (ποιητής) of the law (νόμον, another form of νόμος) but its judge (κριτής).¹⁵

Addendum: October 3, 2020
Tables comparing Romans 2:14; James 1:19, 20; 1:25 and 4:11 in the NET and KJV follow.

Romans 2:14 (NET)	Romans 2:14 (KJV)
For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves.	For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιῶσιν, οὗτοι νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες ἑαυτοῖς εἰσιν νόμος	οταν γαρ εθνη τα μη νομον εχοντα φυσει τα του νομου ποιη ουτοι νομον μη εχοντες εαυτοις εισιν νομος	οταν γαρ εθνη τα μη νομον εχοντα φυσει τα του νομου ποιη ουτοι νομον μη εχοντες εαυτοις εισιν νομος

James 1:19, 20 (NET)	James 1:19, 20 (KJV)
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.	Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
῎Ιστε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί· ἔστω δὲ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχὺς εἰς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι, βραδὺς εἰς τὸ λαλῆσαι, βραδὺς εἰς ὀργήν	ωστε αδελφοι μου αγαπητοι εστω πας ανθρωπος ταχυς εις το ακουσαι βραδυς εις το λαλησαι βραδυς εις οργην	ωστε αδελφοι μου αγαπητοι εστω πας ανθρωπος ταχυς εις το ακουσαι βραδυς εις το λαλησαι βραδυς εις οργην

For human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὀργὴ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δικαιοσύνην θεοῦ οὐκ ἐργάζεται	οργη γαρ ανδρος δικαιοσυνην θεου ου κατεργαζεται	οργη γαρ ανδρος δικαιοσυνην θεου ου κατεργαζεται

James 1:25 (NET)	James 1:25 (KJV)
But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out—he will be blessed in what he does.	But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ παρακύψας εἰς νόμον τέλειον τὸν τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ παραμείνας, οὐκ ἀκροατὴς ἐπιλησμονῆς γενόμενος ἀλλὰ ποιητὴς ἔργου, οὗτος μακάριος ἐν τῇ ποιήσει αὐτοῦ ἔσται	ο δε παρακυψας εις νομον τελειον τον της ελευθεριας και παραμεινας ουτος ουκ ακροατης επιλησμονης γενομενος αλλα ποιητης εργου ουτος μακαριος εν τη ποιησει αυτου εσται	ο δε παρακυψας εις νομον τελειον τον της ελευθεριας και παραμεινας ουτος ουκ ακροατης επιλησμονης γενομενος αλλα ποιητης εργου ουτος μακαριος εν τη ποιησει αυτου εσται

James 4:11 (NET)	James 4:11 (KJV)
Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge.	Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Μὴ καταλαλεῖτε ἀλλήλων, ἀδελφοί. ὁ καταλαλῶν ἀδελφοῦ ἢ κρίνων τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ καταλαλεῖ νόμου καὶ κρίνει νόμον· εἰ δὲ νόμον κρίνεις, οὐκ εἶ ποιητὴς νόμου ἀλλὰ κριτής	μη καταλαλειτε αλληλων αδελφοι ο καταλαλων αδελφου και κρινων τον αδελφον αυτου καταλαλει νομου και κρινει νομον ει δε νομον κρινεις ουκ ει ποιητης νομου αλλα κριτης	μη καταλαλειτε αλληλων αδελφοι ο καταλαλων αδελφου και κρινων τον αδελφον αυτου καταλαλει νομου και κρινει νομον ει δε νομον κρινεις ουκ ει ποιητης νομου αλλα κριτης