tamed in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves : *^which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) ^^in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
That men so impious and immoral, as those described in the preceding chapter, deserved the divine displeasure, and could never, by their own works, secure the favour of God, the Jew was prepared readily to admit. But might there not be a set of men, who, in virtife of some promise on the part of God, or of the performance of some special duties, could claim exemption from the execution of God's purpose to punish all sin ? To determine this point, it was necessary to consider a little more fully the justice of God, in order to see whether it admitted of impunity to sinners on the ground supposed. The first section of this chapter, therefore, is employed in expanding the principle of v. 18 of the first chapter. It contains a development of those principles of justice which commend themselves at once to every man's conscience. The first is, that he who condemns in others what he does himself, does thereby condemn himself, V. l^ The second, that God's judgments are according to the truth or real state of the case, v. 2. The third, that the special goodness of God, manifested towards any individual or people, forms no ground of exemp- tion from merited punishment, but being designed to lead them to repent- ance, when misimproved aggravates their condemnation, vs. 3 — 5. The fourth, that the ground of judgment are the works, not the external rela- tions or professions of men ; God will punish the wicked and reward the good, whether Jew or Gentile, without the least respect of persons, vs. 6 — 11. The fifth, that the standard of judgment is the light which men have severally enjoyed. Those having a written law shall be judged by it, and those who have only the law written on their hearts (and that the heathen have such a law is proved by the operations of conscience, vs. 13 — 15) shall be judged by that law, v. 12. These are the principles according to which all men are to be judged in the last day by Jesus Christ, V. 16.