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

“If God will judge the secrets of men … surely the God who will judge is he to whom belong both the law and that nature which is the rule for those who do not know the law. But how will he conduct this judgment? "According to my gospel," says the apostle, "by Christ Jesus." The law and nature are vindicated by the gospel and Christ.”

“"In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel." See how he again puts that day before them, and brings it close to them, battering down their conceit, and showing, that those were to be the rather honored who without the Law strove earnestly to fulfil the things of the Law. ... For the conscience and reason doth suffice in the Law's stead. By this he showed, first, that God made man independent, so as to be able to choose virtue and to avoid vice. ... And why does he put the words "accusing or else excusing?"-for, if they have a Law written, and show the work of it in them, how comes reason to be able to accuse them still? But he is not any longer speaking of those only who do well, but also of mankind (Gr. the nature) universally. For then our reasonings stand up, some accusing and some excusing. And at that tribunal a man needeth no other accuser. Then to add to their fear, he does not say the sins of men, but the secrets of men. For since he said, "Thinkest thou, that judgest them that do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God;" that thou mayest not expect such a sentence as thou passest thyself, but mayest know, that that of God is far more exact than thine own, he brings in, "the secrets of men," and adds, "through Jesus Christ according to my Gospel." For men sit in judgment upon overt acts alone. And above too he spake of the Father alone, but as soon as he had crushed them with fear, he brought in the mention of Christ also. But he does not do barely this, but even here, after having made mention of the Father, he so introduceth Him. And by the same things he raises the dignity of his preaching. For this preaching, he means, openly speaks out what nature taught by anticipation. Do you see with what wisdom he has bound them both to the Gospel and to Christ, and demonstrated that our affairs come not here to a stand, but travel further. And this he made good before also, when he said, "thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath:" and here again, "God shall judge the secrets of men."”

“After the Apostle has confuted human judgment, by which the gentiles and the Jews mutually judged one another, and has commended the divine judgment, here he proceeds to show that those things in which the Jews gloried do not suffice for salvation; and first he shows his proposition, second he resolves the things that could be said to the contrary, in chapter 3, at the words "What then is the advantage," and so on. The Jews gloried in two things, namely the law and circumcision, which was not from the law of Moses but from the fathers, as is said in John 7:22. First, therefore, he shows that the law heard or received did not suffice for salvation. Second, he shows the same concerning circumcision, at the words "Circumcision indeed," and so on. Concerning the first he does two things. First he proposes what he intends, second he manifests his proposition, at the words "For when the gentiles." Concerning the first he proposes two things, one by excluding, the other by asserting. For he excludes what the Jews supposed, namely that they were justified by the mere hearing of the law. Hence he says: thus it has been said, "they that have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; for not the hearers of the law," by the very fact that they hear the law, "are just before God," even if they are reputed just before men. Matthew 7:26: "He that heareth my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man." James 1:23: "If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer," and so on. Second, he affirms that the doers of the law are just, when he says "but the doers of the law shall be justified." Matthew 7:24: "Every one therefore that heareth my words and doth them shall be likened to a man," and so on. James 1:22: "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only," and Psalm 110:10: "A good understanding to all that do it." But concerning this second point there seems to be a difficulty, since below, at 3:20, it is said: "By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him." Therefore no one is justified by the fact that they do the works of the law. But it must be said that "to be justified" can be taken in three ways. In one way it can be taken as to reputation, so that someone is then said to be justified when he is reputed just. Ezekiel 16:51: "Thou hast justified thy sisters," namely by reputation. And according to this, "the doers of the law shall be justified" can be understood, that is, they shall be reputed just before God and men. Second, by the execution of justice, inasmuch as they carry out works of justice. Luke 18:14: "This man went down into his house justified," namely because he had done the public work of justice by confessing his sin. And in this way is verified what is here said, "the doers of the law shall be justified," namely by carrying out the justice of the law. Third, justification can be taken as to the cause of justice, so that he is said to be justified who newly receives justice, as below, 5:1: "Being justified therefore by faith," and so on. But it is not understood here in this sense, that the doers of the law are justified as though they acquired justice through the works of the law. For this indeed cannot be, neither as to the ceremonial works, which did not confer justifying grace, nor even as to the moral works, from which the habit of justice is not acquired, but rather it is through the infused habit of justice that we do works of this kind. Then, when he says "For when the gentiles," he manifests his proposition. And first he shows that the doers of the law, even if they are not hearers, are justified; second, that the hearers of the law without observance of the law are not justified, at the words "But if thou art called a Jew." Concerning the first he does three things. First he sets forth the dignity of those who observe the law without having heard it; second he manifests what he had said, at the words "who show the work of the law"; third he proves it, at the words "their conscience bearing witness to them." Concerning the first he touches three things as regards the gentiles. First, their lack of the law, saying "for when the gentiles who have not the law," namely the divine law, which they have not received. For the law was not given to the gentiles, but to the Jews, according to Ecclesiasticus 24:33: "Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices, and an inheritance to the house of Jacob, and the promises to Israel." And Psalm 147:20: "He hath not done in like manner to every nation." Deuteronomy 33:4: "Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob." From which it is clear that the gentiles did not sin by not observing the ceremonial precepts of the law. Second, he commends in them the observance of the law, when he says "do by nature those things that are of the law," that is, the things which the law commands, namely as to the moral precepts, which pertain to the dictate of natural reason, just as it is also said of Job that he was just and upright and fearing God and withdrawing from evil. Hence he himself says: "My foot hath followed his steps, I have kept his ways." But what he says, "by nature," presents a difficulty. For it seems to lend support to the Pelagians, who said that man could keep all the precepts of the law by his own natural powers. Hence "by nature" must be expounded as meaning through nature reformed by grace. For he is speaking of gentiles converted to the faith, who by the help of the grace of Christ had begun to keep the moral precepts of the law. Or "by nature" can be said to mean through the natural law showing them what is to be done, according to Psalm 4:7: "Many say: who sheweth us good things? The light... is signed," etc., which is the light of natural reason, in which is the image of God. And yet this does not exclude that grace is necessary to move the affection, just as also through the law is the knowledge of sin, as is said below, 3:20, and yet further grace is required to move the affection. Third, he shows their dignity, in this namely, that although not having such a law, they "are a law to themselves," inasmuch namely as they perform toward themselves the office of the law, instructing themselves and inducing themselves to the good, because, as the Philosopher says in the Ethics, law is speech having coercive force, proceeding from a certain prudence and intellect. And therefore it is said in 1 Timothy 1:9, that "the law is not made for the just man," that is, he is not compelled by an exterior law, but "is laid down for the unjust," who need to be compelled from without. And this is the highest degree of dignity among men, namely that they are induced to the good not by others but by themselves. The second degree is of those who are induced by another, but without coercion. The third is of those who need coercion in order to become good. The fourth is of those who cannot even be directed to the good by coercion. Jeremiah 2:30: "In vain have I struck your children, they have not received discipline." Then, when he says "who show," he shows how they are a law to themselves, which indeed we can take by way of a likeness to the law that is proposed by an exterior man, which is customarily, on account of weakness and for the sake of memory, committed to writing; and likewise those who observe the law without exterior hearing of the law "show the work of the law written," not indeed in ink, but, first and principally, "by the Spirit of the living God," as is said in 1 Corinthians 3:3. Second, also by human diligence, Proverbs 3:3: "Write them in the tables of thy heart," namely the precepts of wisdom. Hence here too it follows "in their hearts," not on parchment, nor on tables of stone or bronze. Jeremiah 31:33: "I will give my law in their bowels, and in their heart will I write it." Then, when he says "their conscience bearing witness," he proves what he had said, namely that the work of the law is inscribed in their hearts, through certain works which announce a writing of this kind. And, first, he sets down those works, of which one is the testimony of conscience, which he touches when he says "their conscience bearing witness to them," which indeed is nothing other than the application of knowledge one has to judging concerning some work, whether it has been well or ill done. Hence conscience of this kind sometimes gives testimony concerning good, according to 2 Corinthians 1:12: "This is our glory, the testimony of our conscience," but sometimes concerning evil, Ecclesiastes 7:23: "Thy conscience knoweth that thou also hast often spoken evil of others." But no one can bear testimony concerning some work, that it is good or evil, except through having knowledge of the law. Hence this very fact, that conscience bears testimony concerning good or evil, is an evident sign that the work of the law is inscribed in the heart of man. Another work is accusation and defense, which cannot exist without knowledge of the law. And as to this he says "and of their thoughts," that is, by their thoughts, "accusing or also defending," that is, accusing them or defending them, after the manner of the Greeks, who use genitives in place of ablatives. And this "one among another." For there arises in a man, concerning some deed, a certain knowledge that accuses, when for some reason he thinks that he has done ill. Psalm 49:21: "I will reprove thee, and set before thy face." Isaiah 3:9: "The shew of their countenance hath answered them." Sometimes too there arises a certain knowledge that defends, when for some reason he thinks he has done well, according to Job 27:6: "My heart doth not reprehend me in all my life." And between this accusation and defense the testimony of conscience holds a place, by which one stands. It can also be read otherwise, so that it is said "their own conscience bearing witness to them," which conscience namely is not only of works, but also of thoughts, of which namely a man has conscience; but the first reading is better. But because testimony, accusation, and defense have a place in judgment, he treats, second, of judgment of this kind, showing the time when he says "in the day," which he says not to designate a quality of time, but the manifestation of hidden things. 1 Corinthians 4:5: "He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness." Sometimes, however, it is called night on account of the uncertainty of that hour. Matthew 25:6: "At midnight there was a cry made." Now the thoughts accusing or defending are said to be "in the day of judgment," not those which will then exist, because then to each one salvation or damnation will be manifest, but the defense or accusation of the thoughts which now exist, and the testimony of conscience which now exists, will be represented to man on that day, the divine power bringing it about, as Augustine says, in Book 2 of the City of God. But the knowledge of those thoughts which remain in the soul seems to be nothing other, as the Gloss says, than the guilt of punishment or the merit that follows from them. He also shows the author of the judgment, saying "when God shall judge." Psalm 95:13: "He shall judge the world in equity." He also determines concerning what things the judgment will be, when he says "the secrets of men," concerning which men now cannot judge. 1 Corinthians 4:5: "He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness." He also shows the teaching from which faith concerning this judgment is had, when he says "according to my gospel," that is, preached by me. Matthew 12:36: "Every idle word," and so on. Now he says "my gospel," although he could not say "his baptism," and he is a minister of both, because in baptism nothing of man's industry operates, but in preaching the gospel the industry of the preacher operates, Ephesians 3:4: "As you reading may understand my knowledge in the mystery," according as you are able. Afterward he sets down to whom the judgment has been given, when he adds "by Jesus Christ," who namely has been constituted by God "judge of the living and the dead," as is said in Acts 10:42, and John 5:21-22: "The Father hath given all judgment to the Son," who namely will appear in judgment to the good and to the evil: but to the good according to the glory of his divinity, Isaiah 33:17: "They shall see the king in his beauty," but to the evil according to the nature of his humanity, Revelation 1:7: "Every eye shall see him."”

“And knowest his will,.... Not the secret will or purpose of God; nor his revealed will in the Gospel, for of this they were ignorant; but his declared will in the law, showing what is to be done, and what is not to be done: to know which in express terms was a privilege, that other people had not; but then the bare knowledge of this will be of no avail: for persons may know their Lord's will, as the Jews did, and not do it, and so be worthy to be beaten with many stripes: and approvest the things that are more excellent: or "triest the things that differ"; from one another, and from the will and law of God; or as the Syriac, "discernest" "things that are convenient"; agreeable, which are fit and ought to be done: and having tried and discerned them, they approved of them in their judgment as the things more excellent; but then they did not put these excellent things in practice which they approved of; and the knowledge and approbation they had of these things, arose from their being instructed out of the law, and not the Gospel; for the excellent things of the Gospel, they had no discerning, knowledge and approbation of; see Phi 1:10.”

“In the day when God shall judge - And all this shall be farther exemplified and proved in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ; which judgment shall be according to my Gospel - according to what I am now laying down before you, relative to the impartiality of God, and his righteous procedure in judging men, not according to their opinions or prejudices, not according to revelations which they never possessed, but according to the various advantages or disadvantages of their political, religious, or domestic situation in life. Much stress has been laid on the word, φυσει, by nature, in Rom 2:14, as if the apostle designed to intimate that nature, independently of the influence of Divine grace, possessed such principles as were sufficient to guide a man to glory. But certainly the term cannot be so understood here. I rather think that the sense given to it in Suicer's Thesaurus, vol ii. col. 1475, reipsa, revera, Certainly, Truly, is its sense here: for when the Gentiles, which have not the law, φυσει ποιῃ, Truly, or in effect, Do the things contained in the law, etc. This seems to be its sense in Gal 4:8 : When ye knew not God, ye did service to them which φυσει, Certainly are no gods; i.e. are false gods. Suicer quotes Cyril of Alexandria, (sub Anathematismo iii. in Actis Ephesinis, p. 212), speaking of the union of the two natures in Christ; he calls this union φυσικην, natural; that is, says he, αληθη, true, or real. He adds, that the word should be thus understood in Eph 2:3 : We were by nature, φυσει, children of wrath; and says, φυσει αντι του αληθως· φυσει is here used for αληθως, Truly; We were Truly, Incontestably, the children of wrath, even as others. That is, like the rest of mankind, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and, consequently are exposed to punishment. Some think that this text refers to the natural corruption of man; but, although it is true that man comes into the world corrupt, and that all men, since the fall, are very far gone from original righteousness, yet it is not clear that the text in Eph 2:3, speaks of any other thing than the effects of this degeneracy. I prefer this sense, in the passage in question, to that which says the light of nature, or natural instinct, is here meant; for I know of no light in nature that is not kindled there by the grace of God. But I have no objection to this sense: "When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do, by the influence of God upon their hearts, the things contained in the law, they are a law unto themselves; that light and influence serving instead of a Divine revelation." That the Gentiles did really do the things contained in the law, in reference to what is termed natural justice, and made the wisest distinctions relative to the great principles of the doctrine of civil Rights and Wrongs, every man conversant with their writings will admit. And in reference to this the word φυσει may be legitimately understood thus - they incontestably did the things contained in the law, etc. The passage in Rom 2:15, Their thoughts - accusing or excusing one another, certainly does not refer to any expostulations or operations of conscience; for this is referred to in the preceding clause. The words accusing, κατηγορουντων, and excusing, απολογουμενων, answering or defending one another, μεταζυ αλληλων, among themselves, are all forensic or law terms, and refer to the mode of conducting suits of law in courts of justice, where one is plaintiff, who produces his accusation; another is defendant, who rebuts the charge and defends himself; and then the business is argued before the judges. This process shows that they have a law of their own, and that to this law it belongs to adjust differences - to right those who have suffered wrong, and to punish the guilty. As to the phrase written in their hearts, it is here opposed to the Jewish laws, which were written on tables of stone. The Jews drew the maxims by which their conduct was regulated from a Divine revelation: the Gentiles theirs from what God, in the course of his providence and gracious influence, had shown them to be right, useful, and necessary. And with them this law was well known and affectionately regarded; for this is one meaning of the phrase, written in the heart. It was from this true light, enlightening the Gentiles, that they had so many wise and wholesome laws; laws which had been among them from time immemorial, and of which they did not know the origin. Thus Sophocles, in the noble speech which he puts in the mouth of Antigone: - Ου γαρ τι νυν γε κὐχθες, αλλ' αει ποτε Ζη ταυτα, κοὑδεις οιδεν εξ ὁτου φανη "Not now, nor yesterday, but evermore These laws have lived: nor know we whence they came." Antig. ver. 463-4. These are the laws, νομινα, which the Spirit of God wrote originally on their hearts; and which, in different forms, they had committed to writing.”

“In the day, &c.--Here the unfinished statement of Rom 2:12 is resumed and closed. shall judge the secrets of men--here specially referring to the unfathomed depths of hypocrisy in the self-righteous whom the apostle had to deal with. (See Ecc 12:14; Co1 4:5). according to my gospel--to my teaching as a preacher of the Gospel.”