Romans 2:16

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.

This concluding statement of the paragraph shows that the theme of the general judgment on the last day was under discussion; and two more propositions relative to that final scene are added here, as follows:

IX. The final judgment will be according to the New Testament.

X. The judgment will be by Christ as Judge.

According to my gospel ... Since Paul was the principal author of the New Testament, the extended meaning of the world's being judged by Paul's gospel is that it will be judged by the New Testament, there being no disunity whatever between Peter's Gospel, Paul's Gospel, and Matthew's Gospel, etc. It is the entire New Testament that shall confront people in judgment. Jesus Christ declared of his word, that the same should judge men in the last day (John 12:48); and there is no other authentic source than the New Testament for either the words of the Master or the gospel of Paul.

By Jesus Christ ... The fact of the judgment's being "by Jesus Christ" is comprehensive: (1) Christ is to be the judge (John 5:22). (2) Christ's word is the basis of judgment (John 12:48). (3) The word of the apostles is also part of the platform of eternal judgment (2 Peter 3:2). (4) All authority in heaven and upon earth belongs to Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).

My gospel ... does not imply any difference between Paul and other New Testament authors. It is simply a term of endearment, such as "my God" (Romans 1:8). Paul's use of this expression in the context could also be his way of emphasizing the truth that the doctrine of eternal judgment was indeed a valid and prominent element in his teaching. As Murray suggested,

And when Paul says, "my gospel," he is reminding his readers that the gospel committed to him, unto which he is separated (Romans 1:1), and with which he was identified, though it was truly the gospel of grace, was also one that incorporated the proclamation of judgment for all, just and unjust. Grace does not dispense with judgment. Only in the gospel does this proclamation come to full fruition.[11]

Thus, right down to the very last word of this section (Romans 2:1-16), the final judgment of all mankind is the theme, with special emphasis on the principles upon which that judgment will be executed.

The secrets of men ... include the inner thoughts, hidden motives, all actions concealed or hidden from others. In fact, the judgment will be of the whole man, as only God sees, knows, and understands him.

By way of summarizing thoughts on these 16 verses (Romans 2:1-16), two things should be kept in mind: (1) that the subject treated in this section is that of the final judgment, handled in such a manner by the apostle as to vindicate the righteousness of the just Judge who shall conduct it, and to reveal the basic principles of God's law that will form the basis of it; and (2) that the persons to whom this passage was particularly addressed were the antagonistic Jews, who, unlike the noble Jews who formed the very first nucleus of Christians (including Paul), were in a state of utmost wickedness and rebellion against God, despite which they still imagined that they would inherit salvation because of the privileges of Judaism. As Murray expressed it,

We cannot overlook the fact that in this passage as a whole the apostle is concerned with the unbelieving Jew.[12]

Therefore, when it is reflected upon that these entire 16 verses are taken up completely by a discussion of judgment to come and directed to the enlightenment of an exceedingly wicked class of citizens who were in a state of totally rejecting Christ and denying the gospel, any allegation that this section pertains to self-righteousness and Phariseeism among Christians must be denied; although, to be sure, the principles Paul taught here are applicable to the entirety of mankind.

Romans 2:17-19, following, constitute a section where Paul pointedly applied the principles just enunciated to those persons he had in mind. They were Jews, that is, certain wicked Jews, and not necessarily all Jews, Paul himself being a noble and righteous Jew. The class confronted with these words were those who felt that their knowledge of the law of Moses, the fact of their having been circumcised, their descent from Abraham, and other high privileges which they enjoyed - that all these things would entitle them to be judged upon some other basis than a mere question of whether they were wicked or holy. It seems nearly incredible that any rational being with the most elementary knowledge of God could possibly be so self-deceived; and yet, from what is written here, it must be received as fact that the people Paul had in view were certainly so deceived. In this section, there is first an enumeration of the prerogatives upon which certain Jews based their false hopes (Romans 2:17-20); then comes a withering charge of hypocrisy (Romans 2:21-24); and next follows a particular discussion of circumcision, the truth regarding that rite being so presented that not even that honored ceremony could any longer be claimed as efficacious by those whose lives did not measure up to the covenant of which that rite was only a sign (Romans 2:25-29).

[11] John Murray, op. cit., p. 77.

[12] Ibid.