Romans 2:18 kjv
And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
Romans 2:18 nkjv
and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,
Romans 2:18 niv
if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
Romans 2:18 esv
and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;
Romans 2:18 nlt
You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law.
Romans 2 18 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 4:5-8 | "See, I have taught you statutes... that you may observe them... For what great nation is there that has statutes... as righteous as all this law...?" | The Law as a source of divine instruction and wisdom. |
| Ps 19:7-8 | "The law of the Lord is perfect... The precepts of the Lord are right... The commandment of the Lord is pure..." | High value and perfect nature of God's Law. |
| Ps 119:104 | "Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way." | The Law provides wisdom and discernment. |
| Isa 42:19 | "Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger...?" | Israel's spiritual blindness despite having the Law. |
| Rom 2:17 | "But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God..." | Directly preceding verse, establishing Jewish reliance/boast. |
| Rom 2:19-20 | "if you are sure that you yourself are a guide... and know his will... having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—" | Continues the list of Jewish claims/privileges from the Law. |
| Rom 3:20 | "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." | Law reveals knowledge, but doesn't justify. |
| Rom 7:7 | "...I would not have known sin except through the law." | The Law brings knowledge and defines sin. |
| Rom 12:2 | "Do not be conformed... but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God..." | Believers are to discern God's will, similar language to Rom 2:18. |
| Phil 1:10 | "so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ," | Echoes the ability to "approve what is excellent." |
| Heb 5:14 | "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." | Moral discernment as a sign of spiritual maturity. |
| Pss 40:8 | "I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." | Genuine obedience involves delighting in God's will. |
| Prov 2:1-5 | "If you incline your ear to wisdom... then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." | Acquiring wisdom and knowledge through seeking God. |
| Jer 31:33 | "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts..." | Contrast: outward Law vs. internalizing God's will in the new covenant. |
| Eze 36:27 | "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes..." | Divine enablement to obey, addressing the insufficiency of knowledge alone. |
| Matt 7:21 | "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father..." | Knowing God's will is insufficient without doing it. |
| Matt 23:3 | "So do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice." | Criticism of hypocrisy: knowing and teaching vs. doing. |
| 1 Jn 2:17 | "The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." | Emphasis on doing God's will for eternal life. |
| Eph 5:17 | "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." | Knowing God's will as a mark of spiritual wisdom for all believers. |
| Col 1:9 | "we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding," | The importance of knowing God's will through spiritual understanding. |
| Titus 1:16 | "They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works." | Professed knowledge without corresponding deeds. |
Romans 2 verses
Romans 2 18 Meaning
Romans 2:18 describes the presumed spiritual advantage of the Jewish people: they claimed to know God's divine will and to be able to discern moral excellence. This capacity was understood to stem from their unique privilege of having been formally instructed through God's Law, the Torah. Paul acknowledges this boast of intellectual and moral discernment, setting the stage for his subsequent critique that this knowledge, though real, did not always translate into obedient action or righteous living.
Romans 2 18 Context
Romans chapter 2 commences Paul's rigorous argument about God's righteous and impartial judgment, refuting any notion that one's status or heritage exempts them from accountability. After addressing Gentiles who suppress truth (Rom 1:18-32) and the self-righteous individual (Rom 2:1-16) who judges others but practices similar sins, Paul turns specifically to the Jewish audience in verses 17-29. He exposes their false security in possessing the Mosaic Law and their covenant relationship with God. Verse 18 is part of a detailed list (Rom 2:17-20) where Paul articulates the precise advantages and claims the Jewish people made concerning their Law: their reliance on it, their boast in God, their self-perception as guides to the blind, lights to those in darkness, and teachers of the foolish. Within this context, knowing God's will and approving moral excellence through Law-instruction were central components of their identity and supposed spiritual superiority, setting up Paul's powerful rebuke of their hypocrisy in the verses that follow (Rom 2:21-24).
Romans 2 18 Word analysis
- and know: The Greek verb is ginōskeis (γινώσκεις), a present active indicative. This signifies a continuous, ongoing state of knowing or understanding. It suggests not mere superficial acquaintance but a developed comprehension, implying that the Jewish audience possessed a genuine and acquired knowledge of divine things through the Law's teachings.
- his will: In Greek, to thelēma (τὸ θέλημα). This refers to God's divine purpose, moral commands, and ethical requirements for His people as revealed in the Torah. It encompasses the entirety of God's revealed instruction on how humanity should live.
- and approve: The Greek word is dokimazeis (δοκιμάζεις), a present active indicative. This verb carries the meaning "to test, examine, scrutinize, or discern in order to approve after trial." It implies a critical faculty and the ability to distinguish and pass judgment on something as good or true after careful evaluation. It's more than simply "knowing"; it's a sophisticated moral discernment.
- what is excellent: The Greek phrase is ta diapheronta (τὰ διαφέροντα), meaning "things that differ," or more specifically, "things that are superior, more excellent, or truly distinguishing." It speaks to the ability to distinguish between varying degrees of good, or between what is merely good and what is truly exceptional or spiritually valuable in a moral sense. This suggests a refined ethical perception beyond just black-and-white rules.
- because you are instructed: The Greek participle is katēchoumenos (κατηχούμενος), from which we derive "catechize" or "catechism." It describes someone who has been orally taught or formally instructed in a systematic manner. It highlights that their knowledge and discernment were not innate but were gained through diligent and specific teaching received from the Law.
- from the law: The Greek is ek tou nomou (ἐκ τοῦ νόμου). "The Law" here unequivocally refers to the Mosaic Law (the Torah), the divine revelation given to Israel through Moses. It emphasizes that this body of legislation was the explicit source of their claimed knowledge of God's will and their ability to discern moral excellence. It underscored their unique position among the nations.
Romans 2 18 Bonus section
The concept of "knowing God's will" and "approving what is excellent" as described in this verse presents a crucial distinction between head knowledge and heart obedience. While the Jewish people had a distinct revelation (the Law), mere intellectual understanding or formal instruction (katēchoumenos) was insufficient for salvation or true righteousness. This serves as a cautionary principle for all believers: possessing accurate theological knowledge or being well-taught is valuable, but it is the practical application and embodiment of that truth in daily life—walking in God's will and living out true excellence—that truly honors Him and reveals genuine transformation. The Law, while revealing God's will, could not enable obedience, setting up the need for the Spirit's work under the New Covenant.
Romans 2 18 Commentary
Romans 2:18 captures the proud assertion of Jewish people in Paul's day regarding their unique standing before God, particularly in contrast to Gentiles. They prided themselves on an intimate knowledge of God's divine will, meticulously detailed in the Torah, and their subsequent ability to discern and approve moral excellence. This intellectual and ethical clarity was indeed a special privilege stemming from God's covenant with them. However, Paul acknowledges this boast not to affirm their righteousness, but to expose the profound hypocrisy that lay beneath it in the following verses (Rom 2:21-24). The Law was given to reveal sin and define righteousness, not to confer righteousness merely by its possession or intellectual comprehension. True righteousness demanded not only knowing the Law's principles but actively and obediently living them out, something Paul's Jewish audience frequently failed to do, thus dishonoring the very God in whom they boasted. The verse, therefore, is a pivot, granting a superficial advantage to reveal a deeper, critical spiritual flaw.