In Chapter One of Romans, Paul sees the world as having been hauled into court to meet God, the Judge. Paul is the prosecuting attorney, and as such, he has read the indictment against a sinful world. The primary charge is that they have forsaken God, their creator. As a result, God has forsaken them to their sins. This has resulted in a terrible spiral downward into an abyss of darkness which incurrs the wrath of God expressed against them and their actions. Now, in chapter two, Paul responds to two separate groups in the prisoner's dock. One group is made up of Gentile moralists. Their defense attorney protests that he and his group is righteous since they are against evil and evil doers, so much so, that they teach against wrong doing while upholding right principles. Paul clearly points out that their supposed morality is null and void, as the things that they see wrong in others, they too practice. They are like doctors who can correctly diagnosis small pox, but have the disease themselves. Not only can they not cure it, their infected persons are actually spreading it! The next group trying to defend themselves against the piercing thrust of the sword of truth as wielded by Paul, are the Jewish religionists. Their chief defense is that they are blood descendants of Abraham and stewards of the Word of God handed down to them by their spiritual hero, Moses. Paul is very familiar with their false presumptions to special standing with God outside of Christ. Their position against the truth of God is the same sinking sand that Paul once blindly planted his own feet in! Paul reveals that the Jewish religionist is in much the same position of the Gentile moralist, in that he condemns others for what he himself practices. Only he is worse off than the moralists, because he has taken the physical possession of the Word of God and the wonderful spiritual heritage handed down from his forefathers as a justification for living a proud, sinful life! Paul acknowledges that it is indeed a great privilege to have God's Word, but it also brings a great responsibility! The law is useless to those who do not obey it and it also makes the disobedient one who has it doubly culpable. Jesus taught that the servant who knew his Master's will and did not obey it would be punished much more severely than those who disobeyed unknowingly. And, Paul adds, if a man (Gentile) obeys the law ignorantly, his ignorant obedience will add condemnation to you Jewish religionists' willful disobedience! Perhaps the picture before us is of all humanity hearing the awful indictment against them read by Paul, the Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. The great mass of people are silent, knowing they are guilty before God. Paul has just prevailed with the word of truth; the moralist's protests have been silenced by the evidence. The Jewish religious leaders reluctantly find their place in this great company of silent sinners as they stand amid the useless rubble of their noble heritage. Chapter three will have a great summing up of the charges against humanity by the Master's attorney, Paul. Is there any hope for them …for us? Let's keep reading Romans!