Romans 2:4

Context

In Romans 1:18–32, Paul indicts humanity for the sin of knowing God yet refusing to worship him. In 2:1 he then turns to address "whosoever thou art that judgest." The passage rebukes those who condemn the sins of others while doing the same things themselves, supposing that they will escape judgment. Verse 4 is a rhetorical question directed at such a person. Paul is employing a style of argument common in his day, in which the writer addresses an imaginary interlocutor, posing questions and answering them; this style is commonly called the diatribe.

The verse describes God's character with three overlapping terms:

• Goodness (Greek chrēstotēs): generous, bountiful kindness
• Forbearance (anochē): holding back punishment rather than inflicting it immediately
• Longsuffering (makrothymia): patient endurance over a long period

Verse 5, immediately following, states that unrepentant "hardness" treasures up wrath. Verses 6–11 go on to say that God judges people impartially, according to their deeds.

Interpretation

• The identity of the addressee: Many commentators point to the explicit mention of "a Jew" in 2:17 and conclude that from 2:1 onward Paul has in view Jews who possess the law. Other interpreters read the passage more broadly as addressing everyone who judges, including Gentiles who display moral superiority.
• The meaning of "leadeth": The Greek verb (agō) is in the present tense. Many interpreters therefore read it in a purposive sense: God "seeks to lead you to repentance." On this reading, the delay of judgment is not acquittal but an opportunity to repent.
• Reformed reading: Interpreters in the Calvinist tradition often connect this kindness with God's goodness toward all people, that is, common grace. They hold that this goodness calls people to repentance, but that actual repentance occurs through the work of the Holy Spirit. They also read it as leaving those who reject it without excuse.
• Wesleyan and Arminian reading: Those in the traditions of Wesleyan theology and Arminianism read this verse as evidence that God calls all people to repentance. They understand this call as prevenient grace (grace given before a person responds in faith). They also emphasize that a person can "despise" and reject that grace.

Debates and Issues

• The motive for repentance: The verse is often cited in support of the view that repentance arises more from recognizing God's goodness than from fear of judgment. Others caution, however, that reading it in isolation from the warning of wrath in verse 5 skews its emphasis.
• Judgment by works and justification: Interpreters differ in explaining how the judgment according to works that immediately follows (2:6–13) fits with the teaching on justification in chapter 3. This question is frequently raised in discussions of the verse.
• Relationship to Jewish literature: Some scholars note that the logic of this passage resembles that of chapters 11–15 of the Wisdom of Solomon, a book of the Old Testament Apocrypha. The Wisdom of Solomon states that God overlooks sins so that people may repent.

In the Korean Church

The verse is frequently cited in sermons on repentance, particularly as a warning against treating God's longsuffering as permission to continue in sin.

Related Passages

• Romans 2:1
• Exodus 34:6
• Joel 2:13
• Romans 9:22
• 2 Peter 3:9