ROMANS 2:6-16
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Verses 7-11 expand on verse 6 and show that God judges fairly.
(Vs 7) "Patient continuance" means to cheerfully continue without any slips. Some people use this passage to say that salvation is by works, but think! Who has ever constantly done well? Or has constantly sought for glory and honor from God? From where do people normally seek glory and honor? If anyone could constantly do well, God would give him eternal life. That’s fair. In Luke 10:25-29 Jesus told a man to keep God’s law from the heart, without sin, and he’d get eternal life. Do you see a problem with that? Romans 3:10-12 says, "there is none righteous, no, not one:... there is none that seeketh after God.... there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
(Vs 8,9) "Contentious" means to have disagreement and strife. Those who disagree with the truth about what God is like, and obey a god of their own imagination as seen in chapter 1:19-25, will get indignation and wrath. Their evil works earn tribulation and anguish.
(Vs 10) Any good that a man does will be rewarded. Remember though, can an unsaved person do any good? See also Rom 8:7,8; Is 64:6; Jer 13:23 These verses give God’s perspective on human nature and are worth remembering! This is where the Bible differs from religions which give rules or guidelines to improve human beings in order to make them acceptable to God.
"To the Jew first and also to the Gentile" in verses 9 and 10 refer to God’s judgment of mankind, not the body of Christ. If you take the body of Christ out of God’s time line, you see God’s judgment coming on Israel first in the tribulation of the 70th week of Dan 9:24-27, ( Is 4:2-4; I Peter 4:17) and then the Gentile judgment at Christ’s return to earth (Mat 25:31-32).
(Vs 11) God does not play favorites. Family or religion does not bring anyone special treatment, and the Jews no longer have a favored status. All are judged by the same standard of perfection by God. (Principle #4)
Now let’s continue with Romans 2:12-16.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Verses 13-15 are in parenthesis, so let’s skip them temporarily and look at verses 12 and 16 together without interrupting the thought.
(Vs 12 & 16) The effect of sin is the same with or without God’s law. Sin produces death. Look up Rom 5:12-14. However, if a person doesn’t have the law, he is not judged by it in the day of Rev 20:11-15. Principle # 5 is that God’s judgment takes into account the truth available to a person. See this principle in Luke 12:47,48 and also in Mat 11:21-24. What does that say about unbelievers in America compared to those in countries without Bibles?
Principle # 6 is that God judges the secrets of men’s hearts, their motives, not just their actions. "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Heb 4:13
Principle # 7 is that God judges by Jesus Christ. John 5:22-23 says, "For the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." The first time Christ came to earth, He came to save the world, but the next time He will come as the Word to judge. John 12:47,48 & Rev 19:11,13,15.
Principle # 8 is that God judges "according to my gospel". According to Paul’s gospel, the Gentiles as well as Israel will be judged. Do you remember from class # 1 why Paul’s gospel is so unique and so important to us? Verses, please. (In Class 5, I said there were 7 principles, but I found an extra one!)
Now let’s go back and consider verses 13 to 15.
(Vs 13) Just knowing right from wrong does not justify anyone.
(Vs 14) This verse shows every man has a conscience, even if they do not have God’s law. (Notice that the Gentiles do not have the law. Who did?)
(Vs 15) "The work of the law" is guilt. The law shows sin and condemns it. Rom 3:19,20; 4:15
The conscience does this too. The way we usually get around guilt in our thoughts is to "accuse" others and shift the blame to them, so we can "excuse" ourselves and those we like.
(Vs 16) God sees right through to the secrets of man and will judge fairly on that day!
348