What does this part of Romans 2:14 mean? I highlighted the part I don’t understand.<\/p>\n
Romans 2:14 KJV “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n\t “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them<\/em>” (Romans 2:14-15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Paul stated, “For there is no partiality with God<\/em>” (Romans 2:11). Because of this, everyone who sins will be condemned, whether they had access to a codified law or not (Romans 2:12). It isn’t knowledge of the law that is the critical matter, but whether a person does what the law commands (Romans 2:13).<\/p>\n Paul proved that the Gentiles have sinned (Romans 1:18-32), but someone might claim that God’s condemnation of them is unfair. After all, they didn’t have anything telling them that what they were doing was wrong.<\/p>\n However, an important point is being overlooked: Morality doesn’t come from law. In other words, the law doesn’t determine what is right or wrong. The law only defines what is right and wrong. It doesn’t make an action right or wrong; it simply states what already exists in clear terms. For example, in science, we have a law of gravity. Now, gravity existed long before Newton came up with the law of gravity.\u00a0The law of gravity defines how gravity operates, but it did not create gravity.\u00a0Murder is wrong. The law only explains that murder is a sin. The law did not make murder into a sin. Unlike man’s laws, which are sometimes arbitrary and inaccurate, God’s law accurately defines what exists. It is the truth (Psalms 119:142).<\/p>\n Having a written law is an advantage (Romans 3:1-2), but it isn’t an absolute requirement for knowing that some things are right and some are wrong.\u00a0For example, it is universally seen as wrong to kill another person without justifiable reason, honesty is considered more noble than lying, and marriage between a man and a woman is to be respected. Different societies will make exceptions, but a basic understanding of right and wrong is present. Thus, as soon as a person makes a moral judgment that is in agreement with God’s law, he shows sufficient understanding to be accountable. If someone says it is wrong to steal my food, then he understands that stealing is wrong and condemns himself if he steals money from someone else.<\/p>\n While the Gentiles’ knowledge of morality would not be complete, there would be enough there to judge their actions against what they understood, their understanding either excusing them or accusing them. This is why the Greeks felt guilty over some of their actions. Their conscience bothered them when they went against what they knew to be wrong. In other words, even though they didn’t have a document containing the laws of God, their understanding becomes equivalent to a law. This is what is meant by saying that they “are a law to themselves<\/em>.”<\/p>\n Paul already showed that the Greeks had sufficient knowledge to know God existed (Romans 1:18-23). Therefore, they stood condemned by their own knowledge for idolatry. Even adding just what a person instinctively knows, no one keeps his understanding perfectly. All stand condemned before God.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: What does this part of Romans 2:14 mean? I highlighted the part I don’t understand. Romans 2:14 KJV “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.“ Answer: “For when Gentiles who do not have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[177],"class_list":["post-92496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6796,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-were-the-patriarchs-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":92496,"position":0},"title":"How were the Patriarchs saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How are those in the patriarch times saved if there was no hope for them? Was it because of Jesus' death that all (who tried to live good unto God) were saved before Moses and the Ten Commandments? Please explain. Answer: \"And for this reason He is the Mediator\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47096,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-the-gentiles-be-guilty-of-sin-when-they-did-not-have-the-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":92496,"position":1},"title":"How could the Gentiles be guilty of sin when they did not have the Law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was trying to figure out the comparison (or contrast) between Romans 2:12-16 and Romans 7:7-11 \"For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24952,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-correct-that-before-the-gospel-the-gentiles-were-still-under-the-patriarchal-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":92496,"position":2},"title":"Is it correct that before the Gospel, the Gentiles were still under the Patriarchal law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your article on Cornelius was a devout man. I have been taught that Cornelius, a Gentile, was still under the Patriarchal law since the Law of Moses was give to the Jews. This was the beginning of the change when the gospel was offered to both Jew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15782,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-law-of-moses-in-effect-while-melchizedek-lived\/","url_meta":{"origin":92496,"position":3},"title":"Was the Law of Moses in effect while Melchizedek lived?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was the Law of Moses in effect while Melchizedek lived? Answer: Melchizedek was a contemporary of Abraham (Genesis 14:17-24). Moses was a descendant of Abraham who lived about 500 years after Abraham died. Therefore it would be impossible for someone to live under a law that was not given\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48075,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-law-of-moses-applicable-to-gentiles\/","url_meta":{"origin":92496,"position":4},"title":"Was the Law of Moses applicable to Gentiles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about the passage in Colossians 2:11-14: \"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21055,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-the-american-indians-prior-to-their-contact-with-christianity-could-they-have-been-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":92496,"position":5},"title":"What about the American Indians, prior to their contact with Christianity? Could they have been saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering if the American Indians in America prior to 1492 were saved despite their isolation from the rest of the world. Answer: You might as well also ask about the people prior to Christ. The Israelites had God's law, but most of the world did not have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Answer:<\/h2>\n