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Timothy: Romans 2:12-16
God’s Judgment of the Gentiles

12 For as many as sinned without Law will also perish without Law. And as many as sinned within Law will be judged through Law.

13 For not the hearers of the Law are just with God, but the doers of the Law shall be justified.

14 For when nations not having Law do by nature the things of the Law, they not having Law are a law to themselves,

15 who show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience witnessing with them, and the thoughts between one another accusing or even excusing,

16 in a day when God judges the hidden things of men, according to my Gospel, through Jesus Christ.

[Literal Translation of the Holy Bible]

Dear God, my Beloved Father, I offer my gratitude to You for a new day and a new opportunity that You have given me with spiritual food, which is the Living Word of God. I thank You for Your Word, which is the strength that helps me to live a day that pleases You. I pray to Christ for additional strength and to the Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth of God’s Word. I thank Christ and the Holy Spirit for their help. I am now meditating and recording my understanding of Romans 2:12-16.

Father, I understand that the term “Law” in verses 12, 13, and 15, as well as the term used three times in verse 14, refers to the Law of God, which is the Book of the Law written by Moses, including the first five books of the Bible. It is God’s law that is reiterated to mankind and written in stone. The term “law” used once in verse 14, in the phrase ‘they not having Law are a law to themselves,’ refers to the Law of God expressed in the human conscience, as affirmed in verse 15.

Dear Father, I understand that the law written in the hearts of humans is the consciousness of God and the standards of love, holiness, and justice of God. Even before the Book of the Law was written by Moses, each person had an awareness of God and the law of God. This is why Enoch walked with God, meaning that he lived according to the law of God and pleased God. This is also why Abraham knew and obeyed the laws of God, as recorded in the Book of the Law of God in Genesis 26:5, “Because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”

Dear Father, I understand that even though humans may not have the law written in words in their hands, they still have the law expressed in their hearts, which is conscience. Therefore, anyone who has the law written in words and breaks it will be judged based on the written law. Anyone who does not have the law written in words and breaks it will still be judged according to their conscience. This means that even if their punishment is not based on the written law, they are still lost because they have gone against their conscience. This is also the meaning of verses 14 and 15.

Dear Father, I understand that justice is treating everyone equally in a public way. Meanwhile, righteousness is both just and straight. Straightness is being upright, not concealing, and evaluating everything according to conscience, which is the law of God. A righteous person is one who evaluates everything according to God’s law, behaves with everyone equally.

Dear Father, I understand that the term “conscience” refers to the awareness of the human spirit regarding the sacred world, including the awareness of God and His will. God’s will includes His laws, which are the standards of life that God has given to humanity. This awareness is also called good conscience.

Dear Father, I understand that humans can also have an evil conscience when they receive knowledge that goes against God, which is sowed by demons. Revelation 2:24 refers to this as “the depths of Satan.” The evil conscience can be called an evil conscience or a defiled conscience. If humans ignore the reprimands of their good conscience and continue to commit sins, their good conscience will become calloused and they will no longer be able to distinguish right from wrong. At that point, they will take pleasure in doing evil without being reprimanded by their conscience which became dull.

Dear Father, I understand that the day of the final judgment, as prophesied by Christ in Revelation 20:11-15, is the day when You will judge all those who do not accept Your Gospel of Salvation through Christ. Christ will judge them because He represents the Triune God as the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”; He sacrificed His life to make God’s redemption available to mankind, which they rejected.

Dear Father, I understand that on that day of judgment, all the deepest sins of each person will be exposed and judged righteously, causing the guilty to fully submit to the punishment. That will be the day when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly ones, and earthly ones, and ones under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Dear Father, I understand that this judgment will be carried out exactly as it was foretold in Your Gospel, as written in John 3:18-19 and verse 36.

Dear Father, I understand that those who have never heard of God’s written law also have the law of God written in their hearts, which is their conscience. They only need to live according to their conscience, and they will have fulfilled their duty as human beings, as taught in Ecclesiastes 12:13. I understand that they may not know much about God, like those who have the Bible in their hands, but in their hearts, they surely have an awareness of the Creator and know that they have a duty to worship the Creator. What is important is that You love everyone and want them to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, and You are just. Therefore, I firmly believe that those who have not read the Bible or heard the Gospel will receive a righteous judgment on the day of judgment.

Dear Father, I understand that the prophecy in Revelation 20:15 states that “And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.” This implies that among those who are judged, some will have their names written in the book of life. Even if they did not know the Bible or the Gospel, they lived according to their conscience, which is the law of God written in their spirit. Therefore, they deserve forgiveness through the blood of Christ, who shed it on the cross. I also understand that because they do not know the Bible or the Gospel, they will only be resurrected right before the final judgment.

Dear Father, I understand that those who preach the Gospel must be believers in the Gospel and live according to it, receiving the Gospel as their possession so that they can speak like Apostle Paul, calling it “My Gospel.” Those who preach the Gospel must mention the severe judgment that awaits those who do not believe and accept the Gospel. Preaching the Gospel without mentioning the final judgment is only preaching half of the truth, diluting the Gospel out of fear of offending the listeners, bringing psychology into the preaching of the Word of God, following one’s own will, and committing sins.

Dear Father, I thank You, Christ, and the Holy Spirit for the blessings and knowledge I have received through meditating on the Bible today. May the peace and grace of the Triune God cover me and all my brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen!

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Timothy Christian Huynh
03/09/2023