Romans 2:18

Verse 18. And knowest his will. The will or commands of God. This knowledge they obtained from the Scriptures; and of course in this they were distinguished from other nations. And approvest. The word used here is capable of two interpretations. It may mean to distinguish, or to approve. The word is properly and usually applied to the process of testing or trying metals by fire. Hence it comes to be used in a general sense to try or to distinguish anything; to ascertain its nature, quality, etc., Lu 12:56. This is probably its meaning here, referring rather to the intellectual process of discriminating, than to the moral process of approving.