Summary
In essence, Romans 2:4 introduces another “possible explanation” for how the people in view here can be so insane as to to ignore natural revelation and natural behavior—in the manner Paul talks about in Romans 1:18ff. In verse 3, Paul asks if maybe it is because they somehow think they won’t face the judgement. But in verse 4, he uses a connecting conjunction (“or”) to introduce another possibility: perhaps these people persist in this folly not for the former reason, but instead because they show contempt for God’s kindness (that he demonstrates in delaying judgement). The sense is that were they to not make light of God’s kindness and patience, then they would not act in such a depraved way.
Content
Is the point of Romans 2:4 to equate passing judgment upon others with showing contempt for God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience? In a word, no. Verse 4 is set more opposite the “do you think you will escape judgment?” part of verse 3, rather than the “when you pass judgement yet do the same things” part.
The structure here in Romans 2:3-4 is similar to Matthew 7:3-4, in terms of how the Greek word ἤ is used in the latter verse in either context.
In both places, it is not a mutually-exclusive or, but rather a construction to introduce an additional question (i.e., interrogative clause) to provide more evidence in another way. Thayer’s lexicon gives the following cross-references for this sort of usage of ἤ: Matthew 7:4, 9; Matthew 12:29; Matthew 16:26; Matthew 26:53; Mark 8:37; Luke 13:4; Luke 14:31; Luke 15:8; Romans 9:21; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 6:16.
In Matthew 7 we have:
- Verse 3 - “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
- Verse 4 - “Or (introducing another question to make the same point) how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?”
And here in Romans 2 we have:
- Verse 3 - “Do you suppose this, O man, […] that you will escape the judgement of God?”
- Verse 4 - “Or (introducing another question to make the same point) do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
So, as I say, basically the same sort of usage.
What does all this mean, then? In Romans 2:3 Paul is trying to reason with his audience, saying that anyone who does evil will in fact face God’s judgement (no matter what they might say with their lips in their condemnation of others), since God’s judgement in this is “according to the truth” (verse 2). Then in verse 4, he poses another question, this time looking at it from the perspective not of these people thinking they will somehow escape the judgement, but from the perspective that they are spitting on God’s kindness and patience by continuing to persist in their evil. In both cases, the point is these people’s disordered and twisted thinking.
If this is all still confusing, perhaps a loose paraphrase of Romans 2:1-4 will help (note that I worded this paraphrase in the third person, while the actual text is in the second person, and I also added some things = it is a very loose paraphrase):
All these people we are talking about have no excuse, those who hypocritically pass judgement upon others while doing the exact same things. God’s judgement rightly falls upon these people. Do they suppose that somehow God won’t judge them, even though they do the same things they condemn others for? Is that why they persist in this folly of evil? Or is it that they make light of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience, not understanding that God’s kindness is what leads to repentance?
Verse 4 is therefore just another “possible explanation” for how these people can be so insane as to ignore natural revelation and natural behavior—in the manner Paul talks about in Romans 1:18ff. The sense is that were they to not make light of God’s kindness and patience, then they would not act in such a depraved way.