Romans 2:6-8 - Weighing our works

Romans 2:6-8 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.

Message: The judgment of God is according to our deeds.

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey. Chapter 2 seems to be written to the Jew though the Jew is not addressed till verse 17.

What the Lord is Saying:

I have been reading a book on the misuse of Bible verses. It has taught me to take extra consideration of the context of a verse. Looking at verse 6, it is one of those verses that I have often pulled out and applied it in a certain way. I have made this verse to be of the idea that God will recompense people in heaven according to their works on earth. In talking to an LDS person, I have heard them say that this verse speaks to how important our works are on earth because God will reward us based upon those deeds.

Now, it is not that our works on earth are meaningless because Jesus speaks in the parable of the talents of the importance of our gifts of service and the reward associated with them. And yet as I read and study now these verses, the focus of these verses is the wrath of God and the judgment of God. Verse 5 just spoke of the day of wrath or the day when God will reveal to man all that he has done and he will be accountable for his works. Going back to chapter 1, in verse 16 it mentions the power of God for salvation. Salvation is a power of God, not man. Man is to believe. And in verse 17, salvation is the righteousness of God in man. God makes  man righteous. This is the work of salvation. In contrast, chapter 2 begins to speak of the wrath of God. In verse 1, man has no excuse. Passing judgment on others doesn't excuse our own behavior. And then there is the opportunity for salvation briefly in verse 4 as God's kindness or patience in giving man the opportunity to repent and turn from their sin is clearly shown and yet in verse 5, man rejects this offer.

And so, under the wrath of God, in verse 6, God will render to each person according to his deeds. And then this is further spelled out and described in verses 7 and 8. Verse 7 tells us that those who do good will receive eternal life and in verse 8, those who are selfish and do not obey, will receive wrath and indignation.

Without Christ man will have to show that before God he has persevered in doing good and doing good wasn't just a momentary thing in one's life but it was always present (verse 7), for this person eternal life will be available. Revelation 20:12 also speaks of this when the book of life is opened and man is judged according to what is written in the book. And yet, we know, no one will be able to stand before God and state they have persevered in doing good. On the contrary, in verse 8, man is clearly seen as being selfish.

In essence, verse 7 is somewhat hypothetical because a person could never receive eternal life based upon his own good works and yet many will arrive before God and try to pull it off. 

Promise: The Lord will weight our works and reward those done in Christ's name, but they will not be the basis for whether He gives us everlasting life. For that we rely on the righteousness of Jesus alone.