The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (167 page)

1:28-32
One of several lists of vices in Paul's writings (1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21). Here Paul is showing how chaos erupts in families and society when the relationship between God and man breaks down (CCC 1852-53). 
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1:32 they know God's decree:
Even the pagans possess a moral awareness of right and wrong. Because of this, they can no more defer responsibility for their wickedness than plead ignorance of God's existence (1:21) (CCC 1776, 1954).
approve those who practice them:
The Gentiles are guilty of adulation, i.e., the sin of applauding others for their wrongdoing. Praising sinners is itself sinful because it emboldens them to continue in their evil ways. 
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2:1-3:20
Paul narrows his indictment of the world to target the failures of Israel. He charges the Jews with committing the same sins as the Gentiles (3:9), even though they have the light of the Torah to order their worship and guide their behavior. Stylistically, Paul begins in this section to employ a writing technique called a "diatribe", which consists of a lively debate between a writer (Paul) and a hypothetical conversation partner (a Jew, 2:17). Authors in Greek antiquity used this question-and-answer format to explain their ideas and anticipate objections. The technique is utilized throughout Romans (2:17-23; 3:1-9, 27-29; 4:1, etc.). 
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2:3 escape the judgment of God?:
Presumption was a temptation for many Jews in the biblical period, who believed their membership in the Old Covenant and their Israelite descent would exempt them from the judgments of God (Mt 3:9; Jn 8:33). Paul attacks this mind-set and the attitude of superiority that springs from it. 
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2:4 forbearance:
The time that God gives the sinner to repent is a grace (Wis 11:23; 2 Pet 3:9). To make light of this opportunity is to show contempt for his mercy. • Forbearance differs from patience in that God is forbearing to those who sin out of weakness, but he endures with patience those who sin deliberately and brazenly. And this patience has limits, as seen when God finally acts to drown the generation of the flood and destroy the godless of Sodom (Origen,
Commentary on Romans
2, 3). 
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2:6 according to his works:
Paul looks ahead to the Last Day, when the life of every person is unrolled before God, and every thought (1 Cor 4:5), word (Mt 12:36), and deed (2 Cor 5:10) is weighed in the balance of divine justice. That God will determine his verdict on the basis of human works is a teaching that originates in the OT (Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12). It was later confirmed by Jesus (Mt 16:27) and reiterated by the apostles (2 Cor 5:10; 1 Pet 1:17). Paul is here stressing that Jews and Gentiles will be held to the same standard of judgment (CCC 682). 
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2:8 those who are factious:
Or, better, "those who are selfish". 
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2:11 no partiality:
The Jews can expect no favoritism over the Gentiles on the day God judges the world (Acts 10:34-35). It matters only that people repent of evil in time to live for God (2:7) instead of themselves and their shallow ambitions (2:8). 
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2:13 not the hearers:
Salvation is guaranteed, not to every Jew who hears the Torah read in the synagogue (Acts 15:21), but to those who put what they hear into practice (Jas 1:2225). 
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2:14 by nature:
The Greek expression can be understood in two ways.
(1)
If it modifies the verb "do", as in the translation, it means the Gentiles follow the natural law that God has inscribed on their hearts (CCC 1954, 2070).
(2)
If it modifies the verb "have", it means the Gentiles were not privileged by birth to possess the Mosaic Law. This is the sense of the expression in 2:27 (rendered "physically"). • When Paul says that the Gentiles keep the Law by nature, he means, not by nature apart from grace, but by nature that is healed and restored by grace (St. Augustine,
On the Spirit and the Letter
47). 
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2:17-29
Paul rails against the Jew who boasts of possessing the Torah but fails to practice it. Already charged with presumption (2:4), he is now charged with hypocrisy (2:23). 
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Word Study

Justified
(
Rom 2:13
)

Dikaioō
(Gk.): the verb means to "acquit", "vindicate", or "pronounce righteous" and is used 15 times in Romans and 24 times in the rest of the NT. It can describe how men make themselves out to be righteous (Lk 16:15) or verbally acknowledge the righteousness of God (Lk 7:29). In a legal context, a judge justifies the innocent when he acquits them of unproven charges (Ex 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Cor 4:4). Great theological significance is attached to this term when God is the one who justifies. Especially in Paul's writings it describes how God establishes man in a right covenant relationship with himself. This was made possible by the death of Christ (Rom 5:9), which frees us from sin (Acts 13:39; Rom 6:7) through the free gift of grace (Rom 3:24). This grace is received by faith (Rom 3:26; 5:1) in the liturgical context of Baptism (1 Cor 6:11). When God acquits the sinner, he also adopts the sinner as one of his own children, making him an heir of eternal life (Tit 3:7). For Paul, the justifying decree of God effects an inward transformation that makes us holy and righteous in his sight (Rom 5:19) (CCC 654, 1987-95).

2:19 a light . . . in darkness:
Israel was called to share its wisdom with the nations as a living witness to the ways of righteousness. • This missionary vocation has roots in the Pentateuch (Deut 4:5-8) and comes to full expression in Isaiah (Is 42:6; 49:6). Paul charges that the Jews have fallen from this high calling: instead of being a
iight
to the Gentiles, they have become
iike
the Gentiles through their brazen transgressions of the Law. 
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2:24 The name of God:
A citation from the Greek version of Is 52:5. • Isaiah reminds the people of Israel that because their iniquities drove them into exile and scattered them among the nations, the very name and reputation of Yahweh are dishonored throughout the world. For Paul, continued infidelity to the Torah among the Jews perpetuates this shameful legacy. 
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2:29 real circumcision:
Physical circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 17:9-14) and the rite of initiation into the family of Israel (Lev 12:3). However, the Torah itself teaches that circumcision of the body points to a deeper need to circumcise the heart by consecrating it to God and cutting away its rebellious inclinations (Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16). God circumcises the hearts of believers in Baptism (Col 2:1112), just as he promised Moses he would do in the time of restoration (Deut 30:6). As a result, this
spiritual
procedure makes the
literal
procedure unnecessary and outdated in the new economy of grace (1 Cor 7:19; Gal 6:15; Phil 3:3).
His praise:
A wordplay on the term "Jew", which comes from the Hebrew name "Judah" and is related to the notion of "praise" (Gen 29:35). 
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3:2 the oracles of God:
The Torah spoken to Moses and written down for Israel. This gave a great advantage to the covenant people compared to the rest of the world because it ordered their worship, gave them clear guidelines for living, and drew them closer to God. An inventory of these benefits is listed in 9:4-5. 
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3:3 faithfulness:
Despite the transgressions of Israel, Yahweh never canceled his commitment to the people or his obligations to uphold the terms of his covenants (11:1). 
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3:4 That you may be justified:
A citation from Ps 51:4. • David is pleading for divine mercy. Though crushed by the weight of his sins, he dares not accuse God of wrongdoing but insists the Lord is perfectly just in sentencing the sinner and making him accountable for his misbehavior. 
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3:8 do evil that good may come?:
Someone has accused Paul of teaching that the end justifies the means. He vigorously denies this, holding that evil actions can never be done in the hope that something good will come of them. Both the act (means) and the intention (end) must be pure for our deeds to be morally acceptable (CCC 1789). 
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3:9 under the power of sin:
Paul builds his argument to a climax with the charge that every nation is in bondage to sin and in need of salvation. Not even the Jews, lavished with so many blessings and advantages, have been able to rise above their fallen nature and crowd sin out of their lives. Supporting testimony is heard from the Scripture passages cited in the following nine verses. 
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3:10-18
Six citations from the OT confirm the charge that wickedness has flourished in Israel. The chain is made of links from Ps 14:3, Ps 5:9, Ps 140:3, Ps 10:7, Is 59:7-8, and Ps 36:1. •Many of these passages distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, suggesting that Paul is not condemning every single Israelite without exception. His point is that sin has taken hold of the covenant people as it has the rest of the world. He is likewise showing that sin, which has spread throughout the body of mankind, has also spread throughout the body of every man who is prone to use his members as instruments of wickedness (6:13). All but one of these passages highlights a part of the body in this way
(throat, tongues, lips
in 3:13,
mouth
in 3:14,
feet
in 3:15,
eyes
in 3:18). 
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