#47. Romans 2:6 – Our Acts Are Judged (Judgment Series, Part VIII)

Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

[God] will be paying each one in accord with his acts…

All must be judged for their detainment of the truth. The measure of irreverence and injustice in each individual requires correction (which is what judgment is – correction.) Though the timing of each individual’s birth differs, God’s invisible attributes descried from the creation of the world are still apparent, from man’s inception to the time you read this (Rom. 1:20.) And, by the time Judgment Day rolls around (no, not James Cameron’s Judgment Day, you goof, but the great white throne,) all will be defenseless (Rom. 1:18-23, 2:1.)

Some will be judged of their treatment of Jesus Christ Himself, others of His chosen nation, others His chosen saints, and others will be judged apart from any consideration of their relation to Jesus altogether. More specifically, the means by which God judges will vary, and individuals’ acts will be viewed in relation to law, or apart from law, which will be considered in this section of Romans.

Let’s take a moment and read, again, Rev. 20:12-13, which highlight the great reality of God’s Judgment Day–

And I perceived the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And scrolls were opened, and another scroll was opened, which relates to life. And, the dead were judged by that which is written in the scrolls, in accord with their acts. And the Sea gives up the dead in it, and Death and The Unseen give up the dead in them. And they were condemned, each in accord with their acts.

Here, in the most popular passage concerning the judgment of the many, we read that acts are, again, God’s focal point on the “judgment” front. While there are some figures here which would require our attention at a later point in this series, the basis for the judgment is spoken of here in Romans 2 being one of the most prominent passages on the matter. Some will be judged by their treatment of their own nation, of their own families on a personal level, in their open averseness to the evangel of God. All of these actions are imperfect actions which will not go without correction in some capacity. Social, political, and religious wickedness, both imposed upon the self and imposed upon others, both close in intimate relation or distant, require correction. All of these acts toward each other indicate a lack of appreciation or understanding of Him, and thereof concern the “irreverence” and “unrighteousness” of man which God will be focusing on and dealing with.

The acts of an individual are contingent, as we will read later, on the type of teaching one is given over to (Rom. 6:17.) In other words, you’re only behaving in regards to what your heart recognizes to be true. This is the “subjective” side of things, and it gets into the whole, “What is truth?” and “What is my truth?” argument. Until the last few hundred years, such a philosophical consideration was relegated to a minority. With the advent of 24/7 “info-tainment,” truth has become second to how you feel about a fact, and, if said fact bristles your feathers, you are welcome to flush it out of your personal bubble.

This problem shines most clearly in the political world we live in – beginning, for example, with the very first televised Presidential debate. If you’re historically inclined, you know where I’m going with this. The difference in the “victor” of the debate depended on whether you heard the debate on the radio, or watched the debate on T.V. Most who saw the debate believed Kennedy had won – almost completely because of the dramatic colors of his suit, the flashy smile, and his eloquence – while most who heard the debate believed Nixon had won, due to his policy.

Thus began the show that politics has become, the illusive three-ring circus that confuses the populace rather than helps it. The implication for this is terrifying; knowledge is no longer important unless it dazzles you first. To adapt the problem to the religious sphere, most in the churches today are encouraged to simplify God’s word into a few short mantras, a surface level symbol or two, and emotional pomp. If it feels good to our pride-infested brains, it must be good. Instead of reading the Bible, excuses are made – “Must we read the whole thing in order to believe it?” or “Can’t I trust the preacher man’s words? He’s good because I feel he’s qualified!”

Through this, truth has been commodified.

Let me repeat that. Through the neglect of the word of God – and the ignorance to finding a proper translation which employs a linguistic methodology to know what God said irrespective of the one translating – the truth has been commodified. It is repackaged and sold back to the community who prefers not to learn what God said and instead blindly accept whatever feels right, and donate to whomever seems nicest.

Some of us intuitively recognize that the “hot takes” presented in headlines, posts, Instagram shorts, and memes are not designed to truly nurture your understanding of a given matter. They are designed to capture your attention with a feel-good quote, or a bold claim (often unproven or lacking nuance, but emotional all the same.) The result is, naturally, a fractured discourse on given matters. There is hardly nuance to any debate, and the individual who consumes them becomes more reactive and reliant on continual stimulation of novelty in order to be convinced of something. Before any proper discussion can commence, you’re manipulated into clicking the next video, or watching someone’s Facebook story, or finding some new TikTok short.

This, sadly, plays a great and terrible role in our understanding of God, for the religious discourse is arguably the most defined by personal experience as opposed to evidence from a nuanced and accurate translation of God’s word. Most church organizations today are the “TikTok” discourse of God. They give you the emotional high on Sunday, and you return the following week for another bump. It’s as addictive as these social media outlets, but with an added twist: while social media preys on your intellect, religion, in addition, plays with your pride, by recontextualizing the narrative to convey you as the “smart guy who made a decision to get away from the eternally damned” using some untapped wellspring of free will that you somehow have in this dying flesh.

In abrogating plain facts presented in the Biblical text in favor of emotional reasoning (rooted in the damnation of billions, and thus Satan’s victory, mind you,) objective truth is destabilized. It simply does not matter to the religious zealot that Paul plainly writes that God “is the Savior of all mankind” (1 Tim. 4:10) – not just once, but at least ten times (Rom. 5:18-19, 1 Cor. 15:22, 2 Cor. 5:18-19, Eph. 1:9-11, Phil. 2:9-11, Col. 1:19-20, 1 Tim. 2:4, 6:13!) Instead, something far more sinister has occurred:

God’s word is now subject to the fashion of the world. It is manipulated instead of acknowledged. Most believe that other scripture verses under a completely different evangel by Jesus somehow “cancel” or “negate” the aforementioned salvation of all (though it doesn’t – Luke 3:6-7, John 12:32, etc.) They are used to dissuade you from accepting the plain statements, which is most disturbing.

This devalues facts as they appear. Presentation supersedes objectivity now. Truth is no longer treated as identifiable. Instead, it is negotiable. According to our churches, truth is not fact based, rooted in the word of God first and foremost, but feeling based, dependent on your personal experiences and ideas. Worse still, the church’s narrative is equated to the word of God, and the two are treated as interchangeable! There is a false idea forced upon the religious man that both the word of God and the church’s doctrinal proposals were authoritative.

One of these “authorities” is fabricated. Can you guess which??

Right. This is in line with that false idea among the post-modern world – that there is “equal truth” to something. “Your” truth and “my” truth, even if “you” or “me” are undeniably making something up. According to author Susan Jacoby (in relation to American ignorance, but I think the principle holds true,) this can be called “dumb objectivity.” She says, “It’s exactly like saying, ‘So-and-so says, “two plus two equals five.” But, of course, mathematicians say that it really equals four.’” Or, in relation to the present issue, so-and-so says, “God will burn most people alive, He told me!” But of course, God says He will correct and save all.

I don’t know how we got here – ask your local historian, I guess – but truth should not be given less of or an equal platform to falsehood. All of our social media outlets thrust this “equality” notion – that, in all fairness, everyone must be given a platform to speak “their” truth, no matter how fundamentally false “their” truth may be. This dumb objectivity disguises facts, and endorses ignorance against them. In turn, this dumbs down society to that good old “taking the mark of the beast” mindset, before they even know what hit them. If the type of teaching you are given over to is false, then your actions will effectually demonstrate this all the more.

Let me briefly paraphrase Thomas Jefferson’s quote that “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” He meant this in relation to the new country the founding fathers had created, but we may extrapolate its meaning and re-apply it in relation to Paul’s evangel, and say that an educated student of God’s word is a vital requisite for our survival as believers in a world full of snares. This world does not acknowledge a fundamental, or objective truth. Instead, “fairness” is being interpreted as though falsehoods must be given the same platform as objective facts. Instead of the word of God, a provably valid resource of information, driving the discussion, man’s reasonings are treated as the primary and infallible resource.

To challenge this would, of course, ostracize one from their local church or social gathering. It would be far easier to turn off the brain and follow the sheep. Yet, according to God (Rom. 2:5,) this will not solve the issue, but forces greater judgment, and shows disbelief of God – making Him out to be a liar (1 John 5:10.) This takes us back to the root of the problem – by detaining the truth in this way, men prefer unrighteousness, and this brings about the twenty-two actions in Romans 1 which are universally deserving of death, and are in dire need of correction.

Church falsehoods and traditional myths and pre-suppositions throughout this series have no real place in a discussion of God’s statements (aside from the contrastive sense, I suppose.) They will be exposed for the falsehoods that they are, and the broken logic which pervades them, as we compare them to the facts given in Romans. God does not need to question “what is true,” for He is not subject to the deceptions and lies of the Adversary, as we are. He is not driven by Sin. He is not coerced by power. There is nothing for Him to be “corrupted” by, and no logistical argument made by man could alter this (“for them to be defenseless,” remember.)

Because of the ever-changing social fashions which the world finds itself in, as well as the incredible variants in social status which believers and unbelievers alike find themselves in, with varying opportunities, conflicts, motivations and temptations, it follows that one’s actions are, relatively, contingent on their understanding/knowledge of God which they possess during the specific time and place in which they exist. Were you born in Israel under law? Your measure of judgment will naturally differ from that of the Pharoah in Genesis, or even Exodus, neither of whom were under law. The ancient Sumerians cannot apprehend God to the capacity that an individual in the body of Christ can today. Nor can the religious Christian, by basing their belief on religious myth. Most have had to act out of instinct, out of personal conscience or moral reasoning, while others have relied on poor translations of God’s word to measure “their” truth. Still others have refused these poor translations altogether in favor of interpretive/personal dogma.

Still others simply give themselves up to corruption or lustful practice, which is, unfortunately, a direction recognized during any period in human history thus far. This is shown for us most clearly, again, in Rom. 1:29-31. All of us take different parts and measures in any of the twenty-two actions listed in those verses, and all of them stem from a disqualified mind. All men, to some degree, do that which is not befitting, for various reasons, which must be resolved.

On this note, we have express statements in our text that some are inspired by better motives, and as such have acts that do not participate in sin and evil, which will also receive recognition at the great white throne. We may point at the Ninevites, who, upon hearing the threat from Jonah, repented at his proclamation! These may be contrasted with the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, where Jesus says, in Luke 11:32–

Ninevite men will be standing up in judgment with this generation and they will be condemning it, seeing that they repent at the proclamation of Jonah, and lo! more than Jonah is here!

Another example which we may note is found in the prior verse, 11:31–

The queen of the south will be roused in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will be condemning them, seeing that she came out from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and lo! more than Solomon is here!

Here, Jesus references the queen of Sheba, who had fitted out a train of camels and had probably traveled a thousand miles to hear Solomon’s wisdom (2 Chron. 9:1-12.) Jesus unmistakably tells us of a recognition in view, in the impending judgment, of these good acts which the Queen had been able to effect. We will read, in 2:14-16, how these individuals will be judged when they, by nature, do that which the law demands.

As such, we have a very firm revelation that this will not solely be a “condemnatory” festival, but a true adjudication of both the good and the bad. There will, undeniably, be very severe corrections. However, there will, simultaneously, be severe commendations provided by the humbled. Those who repent, as was prefaced in Romans 2:4, are not despising the forbearance and patience and kindness of God, and will likely be averted from the penalty in view on Judgment Day. Those who were unrepentant have hoarded up for themselves indignation, and will face the second death, where they will miss out on the new earth with the rest of their kin.

The underlying realization that God has the individual in love, in His hands, because of what He accomplished at the cross, will guide the Day of Judgment. Keeping in mind that judgment corrects, and does not discard (lest there would be no point to the judgment,) we must humbly acknowledge that He is the only One capable of an objective, righteous judgment.

What Is the Point of Christ’s Death if We are Judged?

It is supposed that, because Christ’s death dealt with sin, God is unjust for judging us at all. Yet God is not judging us for sin, here. He is judging our actions. The two words are different. Sin, hamartia, is not in view here. Our acts, ergon, are the factor. Sin, indeed, was dealt with by Christ! But we still act. Our hand is forced; we must do things, and these must be evaluated by a just Judge, that we grow. Apart from Christ’s accomplishment, God would have no further relation with the human race, thanks to sin. But because Jesus died, He is able to set about fixing these acts, having uprooted the source of their inadequacy, which is sin.

In other words, Christ’s sacrifice handles Romans 1:18-23; and, for unbelievers, Judgment Day handles Romans 1:24-32.

Then What About Belief?

As it stands, “repentance” seems to be the only plausible course of action which Paul has presented. If Romans ended in 2 chapters, this may be the case.

But, then, what of faith? Where does faith come into view in this revelation, and what does it have to do with… well, anything? What is its value if simply changing your mind and acting meekly in view of the coming judgment may avert said judgment?

Such a question is said to contradict justification by faith. Yet Paul, when stating the theme of Romans (Rom. 1:16-17,) correlated faith with salvation – not judgment. He has only correlated repentance with judgment. As such, right now Paul is not speaking of grace, but of justice. Judgment, simply, correlates with our deeds. This is separate, then, from salvation, for God said back in Romans 1:16 that salvation concerns His deed.

This is a critical distinction that should be kept distinct in any consideration of the scriptures. We should never be mixing evaluation of our works with an enforcement of His, for the two are incomparable. Impending doom is contingent on act, not on faith. This is the only satisfactory answer to our sense of justice. We know, as a race, that one is not “better” than the other because of their different belief system, but because of their action on a given matter. It should be no surprise to us, then, that God acts on this principle in just like manner (Gen. 6-8, Matt. 10:42, 25:31-46, Rev. 20:13-15, etc.)

As such, “faith” and “repentance” do not contradict, but complement each other. Good works attest faith, and do have God’s praise (Rom. 8:2-14.) These two only begin to “contradict” each other when repentance usurps faith, and is supposed to be an entrance, or gateway, into salvation.

- GerudoKing