2:16
2:14 and 15 have been a slight digression, Paul returns to the main thrust of the argument. The judgement he has been talking about will take place when God judges the world through Jesus Christ. Someone may be able to put on a front, convincing others that they are righteous, but ultimately it is God that they will need to convince, and God knows absolutely everything that we think and do. There are a couple of very important points here. One is that judgement will take place through Jesus Christ. We hear very little of Jesus the Judge, yet the Bible is clear that He is the judge. Secondly, this is part of the gospel. Judgement is part of the gospel!
2:17
These words are directed specifically against Jews who considered themselves better than others. Paul’s words bring out some of the attitudes of some of the Jews. An interesting question is who are these words directed against? Given that the letter was to the church it would seem likely that they are aimed at Jewish Christians, and that Paul is, in part, dealing with the Jew-Gentile issue within the church. However, a lot of Romans is written in a polemical style, and one where Paul is answering supposed critics. This is made clear later on where Paul deals with rhetorical questions. So it is equally possible that Paul here is more answering the question asked by Jews (Christian or not) as to why the gospel is needed. So here in 2:17 we learnt that they relied on the law and boasted in God. They might have been better to boast in the Law and rely on God.
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