Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Thessalonians 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1 Timothy 6:3-4 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is accord…
John 3:18-21 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the o…
1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not…
Proverbs 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be save…
Revelation 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to gi…
Job 24:13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Romans 2:1-16
In the former chapter the apostle had represented the state of the Gentile world to be as bad and black as the Jews were ready enough to pronounce it. And now, designing to show that the state of the Jews was very bad too, and their sin in many respects more aggravated, to prepare his way he sets himself in this part of the chapter to show that God would proceed upon equal terms of justice with Jews and Gentiles; and now with such a partial hand as the Jews were apt to think he would use in their favour.
I. He arraigns them for their censoriousness and self-conceit (Rom 2:1): Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. As he expresses himself in general terms, the admonitio…
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, &c.--referring to such keen and determined resistance to the Gospel as he himself had too painfully witnessed on the part of his own countrymen. (See Act 13:44-46; Act 17:5, Act 17:13; Act 18:6, Act 18:12; and compare Th1 2:15-16).
indignation and wrath--in the bosom of a sin-avenging God.
Adam Clarke on Romans 2:8
But unto them, etc. -
2. He will manifest his indignation, and inflict wrath - punishment, on all who are contentious - who obstinately dispute against the truth, and obey unrighteousness - who act under the influence of the principle of sin, and not under the influence of the Spirit of God.
John Gill on Romans 2:8
But unto them that are contentious,.... This is a description of the other sort of persons to whom God will render according to their deeds, "who are of the contention"; who contend for victory, and not truth; strive about words to no profit; are quarrelsome, and sow discord among men, and in churches;
and do not obey the truth; neither attend to the light of nature, and to that which may be known of God by it; nor regard and submit to the Gospel revelation and so design both the Gentiles, which knew not God, and Jews, and others, who obey not the Gospel:
but obey unrighteousness; are servants of sin: to these God renders
indignation and wrath; wrathful or fiery indignation, the hottest o…
The Church Fathers
To the unbelieving and despisers who obey not the truth but unrighteousness, when they have been filled with adulteries, and fornications and filthiness, and covetousness and unlawful idolatries, there shall be anger and wrath, tribulation and anguish, and at the last everlasting fire shall possess them. You asked me to show you my God—this is my God, and I advise you to fear and trust him.
"But unto them that are contentious," he says. Again, he deprives of excuse those that live in wickedness, and shows that it is from a kind of disputatiousness and carelessness that they fall into unrighteousness. "And do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness." See, here is another accusation again. For what defence can he set up, who flees from the light and chooses the dark? And he does not say, who are "compelled by," "lorded over by," but who "obey unrighteousness," that one may learn that the fall is one of free choice, the crime not of necessity.
Those who doubt that there will be a future judgment of God through Christ, and who for that reason despise his patience, do all they can to discredit it as being true and certain. For they believe in wickedness. It is wickedness to deny what God has foretold. Paul mentions three things which are fitting punishments for unbelief—wrath, fury and tribulation. The locus of wrath is not in the one who judges but in the one who is judged. God is said to get angry and to take vengeance, but in reality the nature of God transcends such passions. But this is said so that we should believe that God judges sin and that he will finally take revenge. So Paul adds "and fury." This means that God will seek vengeance, adding to his anger in response to the injury which has been done to him.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Fall of man — An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their…
Resurrection of the dead — Will be simultaneous both of the just and the unjust (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28, 29; Rom. 2:6-16; 2 Thess. 1:6-10). The qualities of the resurrection body will be different from those of the body laid in…
Anger Of God, The · Is righteous — Is righteous
Death, Eternal · Is described as: Indignation, wrath, &c — Is described as: Indignation, wrath, &c
Gentiles · UNCLASSIFIED SCIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCIPTURES RELATING TO
Judgment · THE GENERAL — THE GENERAL
Righteousness · The wicked: Do not obey — The wicked: Do not obey
Strife · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Truth · Should be obeyed — Should be obeyed
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Romans 2:3-10
3. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
3. Existimas autem, O homo, qui judicas eos qui talia faciunt, et eadem facis, quod ipse effugies judicium Dei?
4. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; [64] not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
4. An divitias bonitatis ipsius toleranti?que, ac lenitatis contemnis; ignorans quod bonitas Dei te ad poenitentiam deducit?
5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God…
Live for themselves translates a rare Greek word (eritheia) that seems to convey the idea of selfish ambition or strife. Using this word, Aristotle scolded the politicians of his day for seeking public office for selfish gain rather than from a desire to serve the people (Aristotle, Politics 5.3; see also 2 Cor 12:20; Gal 5:20; Phil 1:17; 2:3; Jas 3:14, 16).
