Spiritual and/or Moral Articles

God's Law: Understanding Romans 2:12-16

by W. J. Daniel, Melbourne, Australia

I have, for some time, been perplexed by the fact that the people I rub shoulders with both in my profession as well as in my day to day living, behave in unexpected ways. Some people I know not to be Christians or whom openly profess to be atheists or agnostics, behave with dignity and show a great deal of compassion to fellow beings and are profoundly indignant of the injustices present in the world. At the same time some who vehemently assert their Christian connections and commitment are crude, show intolerance to the fellow Christians, not to mention to the rest of the mankind.

It was only when I reflected on the following verses spoken to us by the Holy Ghost through the writings of St Paul that I began to understand this paradox. The verses 12 to 16 from chapter 2 of St. Paul's letter to Romans in Bible (Contemporary English Version) read as follows:

12 Those people who don't know about God's Law will still be punished for what they do wrong. And the Law will be used to judge everyone who knows what it says. 13 God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it.

14 Some people naturally obey the Law's commands, even though they don't have the Law. 15 This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart. And it will show whether we are forgiven or condemned, 16 when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone's secret thoughts, just as my message says.