(Romans 2:5-16)…..5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
When I think about the world we are living in today I wonder just how long God will put up with man’s unrighteous behavior towards Him, and the rejection of His Son Jesus Christ. I wonder how long it will be before mankind sees His full blown wrath unleashed on this earth because of our disobedience towards Him. What bothers me is having family and friends that may not know the Lord, or are not walking with Him as they should. I am sure many can relate to that very concern.
Think about the righteous judgment of God for a moment. His judgment upon man is righteous, that is, it is “right,” “just,” and is in accordance with truth in God (Romans 2:2) (Hebrews 10:30-31). With this in mind, it is a fearful thing to think that God will render to each one according to his deeds. Yet God’s judgment on man is always in accordance with man’s “deed’s (Jeremiah 17:9-10) (2 Corinthians 5:9-11) (Galatians 6:6-10)
What does man receive for his deed’s? To those who are self-seeking, who do not obey the truth, who obey unrighteousness, anger (indignation), wrath, tribulation, and anguish. If there could be found one who genuinely was doing good at all times, they could merit eternal life of their own accord, but there is none. All of mankind have or will be just like the verse says….self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness. Why? Because all fall short of God’s standard of righteousness. “Indignation,” means “boiling up,” having the meaning of anger to the point of boiling and “wrath” means a swelling which eventually bursts. God’s angry wrath will come to all who do evil without respect to whether they are Jew or Gentile (Colossians 3:5-6). In contrast, what awaits those who patiently continue to do good (good works) (to do the will of God)? Glory, honor, peace and eternal life! Eternal life, not just defined as what is to come, but also what the believer possesses right now (John 17:3). Like you, I am so grateful that I know Jesus Christ intimately. I am thankful that He has come to save me, a sinner who only deserves His wrath.
But God does not give special allowances (consideration) to people because of their position in life (Deuteronomy 10:17) (Romans 10:12-13) (1 Peter 1:17). When God looks at a man, He does not see what men see (1 Samuel 16:7). So when judging man in truth, God sees only to classes of people
- The rich & poor? – NO!
- The smart & dumb? – NO!
- This denomination or that denomination? – NO!
- The well dressed or the poorly dressed? – NO!
- In God’s sight it is….
In God’s sight it is every soul of man who does evil (v.9), and every one who works what is good (v.10), to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Why the Jew first? Because they were the first to receive the goodness, mercy, and long-suffering of God. He was given greater insight into things pertaining to God (John 4:22) (Romans 9:1-5) than the gentile. We need to remember that the word of God teaches that salvation is not earned through works. God gives eternal life to those who have placed faith in Jesus Christ. The word makes that clear – (Romans 3:21-26) (5:1-11) (Ephesians 2:8-9). Only Jesus Christ could earn our salvation for us! So then man’s deed’s as referred to in (v.6) are not defining his ability to earn his salvation, but are evidence that he has salvation, or lacks salvation (James 2:14-26). You see, God’s righteous judgment is not withheld because someone has or doesn’t have the law of God. The Jew may think that he is saved because he has the law, and because he has he kept it? But there is no man who has kept the law except Christ Himself. This presents a problem! Only those who are doers (keep and perform all) of the law will be justified. How then will God accept us into His presence (Romans 10:1-4)?
What about the Gentile (all those who are not Jewish), those who never knew God’s law? They (we) still know right from wrong. Our conscience makes it evident to us. The gentile has the law of God written in their hearts. This makes known to them that there is a God (Romans 1:19-20). This knowledge then is enough to condemn us. People then will be condemned not because they have the law or do not have the law, but because they have sinned (Romans 3:23)….For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
When God judges the secrets of men He will be judging the motives of men’s actions (1 Corinthians 4:1-5). Notice how the secrets of men will be judged. By Jesus Christ (John 5:22-23). Today Jesus is offering salvation to every person who will turn to Him, repent of their sinful life in rejection of Him, and place faith in Him. Because it is Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. The salvation He provided is ours for believing His gospel. If it were not for the gospel not one of us would be spared from His wrath that is coming upon this earth for our sin. Today is the day of salvation. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord, as your Savior, repent and run into His arms so that you may escape the wrath to come.