In the previous chapter, Paul showed God's progressive judgment of men who suppress the knowledge of God within them, ultimately reveling in their own darkness and rejecting the light. This sink into depravity was so bad, that ultimately these unbelievers would uphold and admire those who did these wicked things and taught others to do the same. Mind you, this depraved man is not so bad that he can't do "good" as if he's incapable of it. This depraved man knows that he can do "good" but won't! This depraved man is guilty, not because of something outside of himself but out of his own choosing.

These specific people would agree that God's judgment of those sinners in the previous chapter is a proper and right thing. They would stand in the cosmic courtroom on the side of God agreeing with the Holy One that these sinners should be judged...and yet, by the very fact that they point out this need for judgment, they are in effect saying they should be judged because they practice the same exact rejection. What makes these moralists think they will escape God's judgment?

Well, God hasn't judged the moralist so this moralist would likely think that he or she is okay. In fact, this moralist would very likely think they're going to heaven on account of their general goodness--the Jewish authorities were particularly guilty of this sin...those Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes.

Then again, there are many moralists in this day and age who stand on the side of God and point out many sins that are being done and they're in the same situation as those Jewish Authorities of Jesus' Day. How many in Christendom condemn Sin X and yet allow sin Y or Z? How many in Christendom reject the singular nature of Jesus' Gospel and embrace the "many roads" approach to reaching heaven. "Ah," some of these may say "Jesus, Ghandi, Buddha, Mohammed...all the same group. Great men, all believers in God."

These people, like this moralist in Paul's letter, is not receiving immediate judgment in the sense of being given over to the sins of the heart, but (in their trampling over God's patience, kindness and forbearance) they store up wrath for later. They ignore that God's kindness is there to lead them to repentance and they wind up storing up wrath for the day when God's righteous (unlike the moralist's hypocritical and unrighteous) judgment is revealed.

This Day of Judgment will be a day where a person's works are judged. The example Paul offers here is a hypothetical one because later on he goes on to prove how none are capable of their own accord to achieve salvation. But, if it were possible, hypothetically speaking, the day of judgment will question if a person's works have made them possible to earn eternal life by perseverance (constantly, unstopping) in doing good seeking glory, honor and immortality. This is, Paul will later conclude, is utterly impossible. What he is doing here is illustrating the point that all men are sinners, both the heathen and the moralist and that both are guilty sinners.

For this day of wrath is on those who follow their own selfish ambition and do not obey the truth and follow after unrighteousness. This affliction will be first for the Jew and also for the Greek or, if you wish, supplant this with Gentiles.

Which truth is? It is the truth of the Gospel of which Paul spoke of earlier. This obedience is that obedience that results in a person realizing their own shortcomings and accepting what the Lord has done in their place. An obedience to the gospel of salvation!

The verses then go on to state that there is no partiality with God and yet, there seems to be partiality in the way He is judging. He judges the Jew first and then the Gentile...why?

Note the flow of the argument in this chapter...the Jew, or moralist, should know better. We will discover in later chapters that the Jews were given the prophets, the scriptures, the glory and so on. With all this evidence, the Jews should know better and yet they rejected the Gospel of God. God has revealed himself to the Jews so that they would be a means to reach the entire world yet they suppressed God's revelation...repeatedly. God is no respecter of persons in that these Jews, who think because they have been the Oracles of God, have nothing to worry about, are seriously mistaken.

But Paul is not speaking specifically of the Jews just yet, he'll refer to them in later verses. He is speaking here of moralists (although the Jews happen to be moralists as well)

Do these moralists think that they are not sinners? Do they believe that they are not like those heathens? They are EXACTLY like those heathens in that they have sinned. The heathen has sinned without a Law (as in the given Law yet against their own internal meter of conscience and morality) and the moralist, or Jew, has sinned with a given Law (by either obeying their conscience or obeying the given commandments)!

Oh philosophers and moralists with your good works and righteous upstanding, repent of your hardened heart! Oh man who stands on the side of God and pointing out the wickedness of the world and yet do not repent of the wickedness of your repeated rejection of God, realize your sin!

The grossest sinner and unbeliever is in the same exact boat as the moral and upright unbeliever!

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