How does Romans 2:15 connect with Jeremiah 31:33 about God's law? Setting the verses side by side • Romans 2:15 — “since they show that the work of the Law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them.” • Jeremiah 31:33 — “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law within them and write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.” Law written on every heart from creation • God engraved a moral code into all people, Jew and Gentile alike. • The conscience is God’s built-in witness, echoing His standards even where Scripture has not yet been heard. • Genesis 1:27 shows humanity created in God’s image; Romans 1:19-20 adds that what may be known about God is evident within people. • This inner testimony leaves no one truly “lawless”—it either accuses or excuses every thought, word, and deed. Promise of an inner law through the new covenant • Jeremiah anticipates more than a conscience; he foresees a supernatural heart-transplant. • Ezekiel 36:26-27 describes God giving a new heart and Spirit so His people “walk in My statutes.” • Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16 cite Jeremiah to confirm the promise is fulfilled in Christ, applied by the Spirit. • 2 Corinthians 3:3 pictures believers as “a letter of Christ… written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts,” fulfilling Jeremiah’s vision. One Author, one Law, two stages 1. Creation: the law “written on their hearts” universally (Romans 2:15). 2. New covenant: the law “written on their hearts” salvifically (Jeremiah 31:33). • Stage 1 convicts; stage 2 converts. • Stage 1 reveals guilt; stage 2 grants grace and power to obey. • Both stages affirm the same moral law—holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). Implications for daily life • Conscience matters—heed it, inform it with Scripture, and keep it clear (Acts 24:16). • Salvation matters more—only the new covenant heart can love God’s law and do it (Psalm 40:8; Romans 8:3-4). • Evangelism connects to both truths: every person already senses God’s standards, and every person needs the gospel that writes those standards in power. |
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