Judgement According to Works Romans 2:1-11

Judgement According to Works

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 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.

As one studies the Word of God, sometimes, so-called “problem passages” are found. The passage which is now before us could be termed a “problem passage.” A “problem passage” is a passage which seems to teach something that is contradictory to the rest of revealed truth. The “problem” in this passage is: If men are saved by grace apart from meritorious deeds, how is it that eternal life is said to be given to those who continue in “well doing?” (Rom.2:7) This is the question we shall keep in mind as we study this passage in its context.

As Paul wrote to the Romans, he began to speak to them of the judgement of God upon sinners. (Rom 1:18 KJV) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. He reaches the conclusion that those who commit such sins as are named in Romans 1:21-32 are worthy of God’s judgement. The problem was, however, that the Jewish people rejoiced in their heritage and felt that it (their heritage) was all they needed to be right in the sight of God. (See Mt.3:12; Jn.8:31-36) These people were very judgmental of others. Paul reminds these people that they were committing the sins for which they condemned others. (See Romans 2:17-24) He asks these people if they truly thought they would escape the judgement of God or, if they were simply walking over God’s goodness because of the hardness of their hearts. (Romans 2:3-5) Regardless, Paul declares that God would judge every man, Jew or Gentile, according to his deeds. (Romans 2:6)

God’s Judgement Is Righteous

The judgement of God, which shall be revealed, is a righteous judgement. (Romans 2:5) In fact, when Paul states that the people know the judgement of God (Romans 1:32), he is saying the people understand that God will judge sin because He is a righteous God. (One need only see the Greek root word for judgement to understand the import of this statement.) We also find that, although we may condemn others for things we are guilty of, God’s judgement is “according to truth against them which commit such things.” (Romans 2:2) WE find multiple places in the scriptures which speak to us of God’s righteousness in judgement: Abraham pleaded for mercy upon Sodom saying, “shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis. 18:25) David praised God saying, (Psalms 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. We also find that, one day, the hosts of Heaven shall magnify the Lord saying, “true and righteous are His judgements.” (Revelation 19:2) Thus, it is evidenced to us that, when God enters into judgement with man, He judges righteously.

Before we move on to another portion of this topic, let us notice that God has a standard by which He judges all men. Not only does God judge righteously, He also judges “according to truth.” (See Romans 2:2) Justice and judgement are also the habitation of the throne of God (as we have seen in Ps.89:14). This being so, we know that God judges according to the criteria of truth and righteousness. Anything that is not true or righteous shall not abide the judgement of God. (See Ps.1:5,6)

Judgement According to Works

When men stand before God, they will be held accountable for the deeds they have done in this life. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to tell us, “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10-12). We see, then, that every one of us shall stand before God to give account of our lives. After experimenting with all sorts of sin, Solomon came to realize that man’s duty was to keep God’s commands, because we shall stand before God in the judgement. (Eccl 12:13 KJV) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Christ also made the statement that men would be judged according to their works: “Matt.16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

Having read these passages of the word of God, we must conclude that man stands before God accountable for each deed he has done in this life. We will not be held accountable for the deeds of others, just our own: (Rom 14:12 KJV) So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Gal 6:5 KJV) For every man shall bear his own burden.

The Different Rewards

The Bible speaks, in this passage, to us of God “Romans 2:6-10 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile” Our reading tells us there shall be rewards given to those who are judged. The rewards are basically categorized as eternal life and wrath. The reward of those who patiently continue in well doing is eternal life. We will notice later that eternal life is not given as a result of well doing but, is given to those who consistently do good. Christ said that those who would lose their lives for his sake would save the same (Mark 8:35-37). This salvation will be consummated when “the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matthew 16:27) Jesus also stated that, when men were raised from the dead, those who have done good shall have life eternal: “John 5:28,29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Bearing in our minds the fact that God shall judge righteously without respect of persons, we find this to be true with those who preach the word of God, as well. Those who are faithful proclaimers of God’s word shall be saved: “1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Once again, the good works do not give (nor secure) to the doer eternal life. Eternal life, rather, is given to those who continue in well doing. There is a scriptural distinction between the two, which we shall see later.

While those who consistently do good shall receive eternal life, Paul also declares that God’s wrath is to be poured out upon those who do not obey the truth: “Romans 2:8,9 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.” The scriptures speak in very vivid language concerning this in the epistle to the Ephesian church: “Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” The unregenerate Ephesians had walked with the “children of disobedience” and [before they were saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-10) were “the children of wrath, even as others.”] Why were these people facing the wrath of God? Because they “walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.” (Ephesians 2:2,3) Paul also warned the Colossian church about sin by telling them that sin was the cause of God’s wrath against the children of disobedience: “Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Thus we see that wrath is the reward of those who consistently live sinfully.

One question that comes to mind about those who live in sin and that is; “Why are the damned spoken of as being condemned because of disobedience?” Paul spoke of this disobedience while writing to the Thessalonian church. He gives the reason as being a disobedience to the gospel: “2Thessalonians 1:6-10 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” To obey the gospel is to believe the gospel record. (See Romans 10:16,17) To say that God pours out His wrath upon the disobedient is another way of saying “He that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16) If a man believes the gospel, he will obey the commands of God, for “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17,26) The disobedient are facing the wrath of God because they would not believe the gospel and continued in a life of sinning against God.

Interestingly enough, as we progress in our study of this passage, Paul speaks again of the reward of those who do good: “Romans2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.” I believe this speaks even more to us of the blessings of the righteous. While the wicked are treasuring up unto themselves wrath (Romans 2:5), the righteous are laying up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19,20). Let us consider the glory, honour, and peace that shall be given to those who work good in their lives. We are plainly told of the glory that shall be given to the children of God (Romans 8:29,30) and, Paul speaks of his rejoicing in “hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2) In fact, we know that “Colossians3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him ye in glory.” At that time, we shall also receive a new body that shall be fashioned like unto the body of our glorified Christ (Philippians 3:21). The scriptures also speak to us of honour that shall be given to the righteous: “Matthew 25:34-40 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Finally, we read of the wonderful peace that shall be enjoyed by the children of God: “Revelation 21:3,4 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” This verse (Romans 2:10) does not speak to us of something which can be added to our salvation but, rather, describes the great glories which await the righteous in the eternal world. It is a description of the eternal life mentioned in verse seven. Oh, what wonderful joys the righteous have to look forward to!

There Is No Respect of Persons With God

(Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.)

Paul has already established to us that the judgement of God is according to truth and righteousness. Now, to further explain God’s righteous judgement, he tells us that it is a judgement that is not based upon who a person is. God shall not look with more favor upon certain people than others in the judgement. God shall judge strictly according to men’s works. Although, today, men pervert judgement and sell favors, it is not like that with God. God always judges righteously. King Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) admonished the judges he set over the land to judge after a godly manner: “2 Chronicles 19:7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.” Our God shall always judge impartially. Never will you find the judgement of God to be partial or unjust. These things being true, we can certainly expect our God to judge all men according to their deeds, preferring none above the other.

Does This Teach Works for Salvation?

As you have read this article, you have probably thought, “How can this teaching be consistent with the doctrine of salvation by grace alone?” That is the question I shall try to answer at this time. It is of great import that we notice the inspired writer goes on to tell us that, “Romans 3:10-12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” It is extremely obvious to even the most unlearned of readers that a man in his natural state can do nothing that is good enough to merit salvation. Christ also declared to us that a corrupt tree couldn’t bring forth good fruit. (Matthew 7:18) We are told, again, that it would be as easy for the Ethiopian man to change his skin color, or the leopard to change his spots, as it would be for the sinner to do that which is good. (Jeremiah 13:23) Paul goes on to say that the law of God makes man guilty but does not justify him. (Romans 3:19,20) Thus we see that a man is not saved by his good deeds. “Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Paul continues to say, however, that there is a righteousness available to man. This righteousness is given without a man doing good deeds. It is the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. We are justified by the grace of God because of the saving work of Christ on our behalf. (Romans 3:21-28) This justification is an imputing (accounting) of the righteousness (good deeds, merits) of Christ to us. The righteousness of Christ is put on man’s account when he believes. “Romans 4:24 it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” “Romans 3: 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” With this in mind, we see that the good, which is accepted, is not of ourselves but is of God.

We must also understand that those who do good do not receive eternal life as a result of their goodness, as though their good deeds merited salvation. On the contrary, this same apostle declares that men are saved by grace apart from works. We are, however, created to walk in good works as the children of God. (Ephesians 2:8-10) Furthermore, we are plainly told that, “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17,26) Faith also, we are told, worketh by love. (Galatians 5:6) Simply put, all true believers shall do good deeds. This does not teach sinless perfection. This does teach us that God’s children shall walk (consistently live) in the light and, the blood of Jesus covers the mistakes we make. (1John 1:7) We are told that we may distinguish between the children of God and the children of the devil by observing their lives. Those who consistently live righteously are saved and, those who consistently live in sin are not saved. (1John 3:7-10) In fact, we are told that, if one professes to know God but doesn’t obey God, is a liar. (1John 2:3-5) Thus we see that good works are to be expected in the lives of those who profess Christ.

Have You Been Justified by Faith?

I realize that, in this day, when easy prayerism, decisional regeneration and easy believism are the core beliefs of so many that, it is unpopular to even give a hint that many professing Christians may not be saved. After all, they say they have believed Jesus; to say that something is expected of them after salvation is to (in their minds) add works to the gospel. Evidently, Paul did not embrace this faulty theology, however: “ Hebrews 6:9 we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” The great apostle realized that good works would accompany salvation. This issue is the issue that separates the wheat from the chaff. Many people who have professed faith in Christ will be very shocked when they stand before God in the judgement. Christ described this happening in these words: “ Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” In spite of their professions, all they did was evil. Maybe they had done many charitable deeds but they had done nothing to the glory of God. For this reason (being workers of iniquity) they shall be condemned. Oh, my friend! May this never be your end! “2Corinthians 13: 5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus, I beg you to obey from the heart that form of doctrine which has been delivered you. (Romans 6:17) “Romans 10: 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” If you will believe in the God who raised up Jesus from the dead, Christ’s righteousness will be placed in your account. You, then, can walk in good works and know that you shall inherit eternal life, glory, honour and peace.

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