Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 2:16

"in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ." — Romans 2:16 (ASV)

In the day. This verse is undoubtedly to be connected with Romans 2:12, with the intermediate verses forming a parenthesis. It implies that the Gentile world, as well as the Jews, will be brought before the judgment seat. At that time God will judge all in righteousness: the Jew by the law which he had, and the Gentile by the law which he had.

When God will judge. God is often represented as the judge of humankind (Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalms 1:4; 1 Samuel 2:10; Ecclesiastes 3:17; Romans 3:6; Hebrews 13:4).

But this does not conflict with the fact that He will do it by Jesus Christ. God has appointed His Son to administer judgment; and it will be administered not by God directly, but by Jesus Christ.

The secrets of men. (Ecclesiastes 12:14, For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, etc.; Matthew 10:26; 1 Corinthians 4:5). The expression denotes the hidden desires, lusts, passions, and motives of men; the thoughts of their hearts, as well as the outward actions of their lives. It will be a characteristic of the day of judgment that all these will be brought out and receive their appropriate reward. The appropriateness of this is apparent, for several reasons:

1. It is by these that character is truly determined. The motives and principles of a person constitute their character, and to judge them impartially, these must be known.
2. They are not judged or rewarded in this life. Only external conduct can be seen by people, and therefore, only that can be rewarded or punished here.

People with pure motives and hearts are often unjustly maligned and slandered in this life. They are persecuted, defamed, and frequently overwhelmed with disgrace. It is fitting that the secret motives of their conduct should be brought to light and vindicated.

On the other hand, people with base motives—those of unprincipled character and corrupt hearts—are often praised, flattered, and held in high public esteem. It is fitting that their secret principles should be exposed, so they may take their proper place in God's order. Regarding this expression, "the secrets of men," we may further remark:

1. The fact that all secret thoughts and purposes will be brought into judgment invests the judgment with an awe-inspiring character. Who should not tremble at the idea that the secret plans and desires of their soul, which they have so long and so studiously concealed, will be brought out into broad daylight at the judgment? All their schemes of concealment will then be at an end. They will be able to practice disguise no longer. They will be seen as they are, and they will receive the doom they deserve. There will be one place, at least, where the sinner will be treated as they ought.
2. To execute this judgment implies the power of searching the heart, knowing the thoughts, and revealing all the purposes and plans of the soul. Yet this is entrusted to Jesus Christ, and the fact that He will exercise this power shows that He is Divine.

Of men. This refers to all men, whether Jew or Gentile, unbeliever or Christian. The day of judgment, therefore, may be regarded as a day of universal disclosure of all the plans and purposes that have ever been conceived in this world.

By Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus Christ is appointed to judge the world is abundantly taught in the Bible (Acts 17:31; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5; John 5:22, 27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18; Matthew 25:31–46).

According to my Gospel. This means according to the gospel which I preach (2 Timothy 4:8). This does not mean that the gospel he preached would be the rule by which God would judge all humankind, for he had just stated that the Gentile world would be judged by a different rule (Romans 2:12).

Rather, it means that he was entrusted with the gospel to make it known, and that one of the great and primary elements of that gospel was that God would judge the world by Jesus Christ. He was appointed to make this known, and it could be called "his gospel" only because it was part of the important message with which he was entrusted.