#48. Romans 2:6-10 – God Pays (Judgment Series, Part IX)

Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

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

to those, indeed, who by endurance in good acts are seeking glory and honor and incorruption, life eonian,

yet to those of faction and stubborn, indeed, as to the truth, yet persuaded to injustice, indignation and fury, affliction and distress, on every human soul which is effecting evil, both of the Jew first and of the Greek,

yet glory and honor and peace to every worker of good, both to the Jew first, and to the Greek.

The entire passage above concerns us with God’s payment. This may sound strange to some who have recognized that God is indeed in control of the entire story (as He Himself is undeniably alluding to, in 1:22, 24, 26-28, etc.) God uses this term, pay, because there is an active, relative story going on that demands our attention. It is fundamental that He involves you in the story, for He is not demeaning your existence to some petty or small, insignificant place. It is often claimed that God “doesn’t care” about your immediate situation, your personal life, the events which transpire around you or to you, good or bad, even, on the grounds that you are a small, fractal piece of this ginormous universe. I point, in response, to our Lord’s words, in Luke 12:6-7–

Are not five sparrows selling for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. But even the hairs of your head have all been numbered. Then do not fear! You are of more consequence than many sparrows.

Though experience with evil may give us the emotional feeling that God is “mad” at us on a personal level, or “hates” us, the truth is that He does not even forget the smallest sparrow. For the past few weeks, as I write in the late hours of night (or early morning, depending on your perspective,) I hear a bird chirping just outside my window. Me and my wife, Amaris, left our house one evening to try and find him. Sure enough, we found him, perched close to the trunk of a small tree in the parking lot. He was shy, and flew to a higher branch, but he chirped along all the same.

Now, it’s such a simple thing. A little bird, doing nothing but chirping along. He’s not working. When he’s hungry, he’ll find a worm, or some other edible, maybe find a mate, migrate when the air is no longer fit for him, and perchance return with younglings in due time.

God cares for this bird. He keeps it alive, actively. He keeps its wings fluttering, its little heart beating, it has just the perfect weight in its bones to stay aloft, and it sings songs with its unique pipes unmatched. What is its outcome? Will it become food for some larger predator? Is its species in decline? That’s God’s place – but the very fact of its existence should note that an all-knowing God has not forgotten it.

You, in turn, with a developed brain, the ability to reason, and the inherent desire for social communion, are of more consequence. God does care, on a factual level, and no experience of evil changes this.

The payment in view in our present passage aptly demonstrates this. It is nothing sort of righteous dealing. God is playing perfectly fair, here. He does not judge you for sin – which came about and was imposed upon you prior to your existence – but for the actions that you, the living individual, actively commit. He judges two classes of people, and does this by considering their actions, which reveals their character and their aim.

Endurance

We may first deal with the endurance in good acts. The word endure is one of my favorites in the text. It is hupomeno, “UNDER-REMAIN.” The term means, literally, to “be under stress.” To remain under something. Idiomatically, it could be translated to “remain behind.” Paul uses the term in variation over twenty-five times. This, here, is our first introduction to the term – not in regards to something painful, but in relation to good acts. The idea seems to be that, because of sin, it is actually more difficult for us to endure in good acts than anything. We will see this concept be flipped on its head later in Romans 5:3-4.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that any who remain under good acts are showing that they are in fact seeking glory, honor, and incorruption. These are three wonderful ideals, which many fairly crave. The reward for remaining under these acts are, naturally, the very same reward which was gifted to Jesus Christ, for His ability to remain under good acts, who always sought glory, honor, and incorruption. If anyone else is found matching this description, then by all means! God will not hesitate to bestow life eonian as a justly earned reward for such an event.

I think you see the situation, yeah? Does anyone match such a description? While a genuine repentance of one likely averts a negative judgment, there are no known independent claimants of this positive judgment, as Paul himself is unsubtly leading toward (Rom. 3:10-11,) and has already stated (Rom. 1:29-32.) God is just for making the assessment that, if one does remain under this perfect state, they could freely boast in themselves as their savior, and, in truth, if they didn’t acknowledge themselves as such, they, too, would be subject to hypocrisy!

Yet the fact is that none of us endure in good acts. Every single human, to some degree, is factious. We, literally, cause strife with each other. If we don’t start it, we perpetuate it. If we don’t perpetuate it, we start it. If we (somehow) did neither, we have no stand of which to speak, in or out of faith. It’s a sad catch-22 that has no positive result. This, along with being unpersuadable, is a giant concoction of futility that sets out with nothing to prove, and ends with nothing to prove. It is entirely out of accord with the facts!

It’s easy for me to point at the sectarianism of the church today as the greatest example of this. Many today attempt to avoid the label altogether by calling themselves “non-denominational.” This is a fair attempt to escape the sectarian charge, but it is not without flaw. For most, the study of the scriptural text is simply picking a translation, under the blind supposition that “you get the same idea” with any translation you read, and thus excusing any potential discrepancy between the English version in view and the inspired Greek or Hebrew. Yet every translation needs to be verified carefully, and is not without flaw. Even now, in studying Romans, we’ve seen a few… interpretive idioms in Romans 1. To grasp at any old version, read through it, and claim that you are now a believer of God’s word may be heartfelt, but it is, unfortunately, inconclusive.

It is not, I think, that we all “wish” to stand perpendicular to truth. I am fully persuaded that there are many reasonable minds which crave any sort of stability in this life. Many wish for a careful study of “spirit,” to calm their own. Many wish for a careful study of “soul,” for their own peace. Many wish for a real, genuine look at the one true God of scripture – what is He about, and why is His book so damn long?? The problem is that many are not able to handle this heat – this realization, in the middle of chapter 2. It is a painful shock, like being tossed in freezing cold water in the middle of a cool day. It’s a scathing review of humanity, and, while we wish for the conclusion of verse 7, we all find ourselves face to face with the reality of verse 8.

Reality Check

Verse 8, apart from the only One deserving of verse 7, is our fate. Many who claim a non-denominational view have stood just as askew of Paul’s evangel as any other denomination. There’s too broad a spectrum there to pick apart, but… that’s kind of just it, isn’t it? The fact that there’s such a large group able to mix the truth with lies, or, in some cases, refuse entirely to acknowledge some plain statements of Holy Writ, is demonstrable proof toward God’s statement, here. A half-truth is a whole lie. We remain stubborn and factious to the truth.

This earns us indignation and fury, for we already know that when one alters the truth of God into the lie, the effect is dishonorable emotions and a disqualified mind (1:25, 28-31,) leading to a deserved death (1:32.) We are, then, persuaded to injustice, the path of which has, again, been mapped for us already (1:18-32.)

It may be asked, “Why do the ‘works of the flesh’ in Galatians 5:20 include ‘fury,’ meaning that, for us, fury is a bad thing, but it’s supposed to be okay that God employs it here as a form of repercussion?” It’s a good question, but it operates under the supposition that we are like God. It’s asking the question from the Rom. 1:23-25 point of view, as opposed to the Rom. 9:19-24 point of view.

God, unlike us, has complete control over His feelings and emotions, knowing exactly how much to inflict, and exactly how long it must last in order for us to become educated. If it were up to man, the fury would reign eternally, which is exactly how and why many teach this lack of forgiveness for their enemies, instead throwing them into a place of eternal torment. But God knows the exact amount of time one needs to face this judgment, for His anger lasts only a moment, and the evil inflicted is temporal, not eternal (Ps. 30:5, Ecc. 1:13, 1 Cor. 15:26-28.)

The affliction is the external circumstance, being thlipsis in Greek, “CONSTRICTION.” The distress is the internal struggle resulting from the external circumstance, being stenōcoreō, “CRAMP-SPACE.” Every one of us has experienced both, because we all effect evil.

Still Not the Evangel

How on God’s green earth can any of this be a “well-message”?? Is there any hope here that some would truly endure in good act and receive life eonian?? If we are all deserving of death, and thus fury, indignation, affliction, and distress, are inflicted upon all of us, then how can any be honored with life as some righteous requital?? This passage cannot be referring to the salvation of any individual, as this is still not in view for another forty verses.

However, when we acknowledge this, the beauty of the passage, for all its harshness, is revealed. When we do finally look at the evangel, we will be able to appreciate this passage in a new light, recognizing the true power of the salvation which is considered in Romans. Without this necessary juxtaposition, righteousness vs. unrighteousness, God’s work of salvation could not be as dramatically incredible as it is. The salvation is so powerful that all consideration of this judgment, as beneficial as it is in learning Who God is, will become a thing of the past for us. The evangel resolves this issue, being the answer to an otherwise insolubly hopeless situation.

The Jew First…

The Jew is Paul’s firsthand audience in Romans. Their rejection of their Messiah is written in the best-selling book on the planet, and, second to the knowledge that Jesus Christ died on the cross, is the knowledge that His own people are the ones that gave Him up. The Jewish community, to this day, has not realized the full import of their evil deed, and yet it will be dealt with fully at the Day of Judgment.

I previously wrote a brief writing titled, “Is Romans a “Jewish” Letter?” In this article, I pointed out the fact that Romans is a preparatory letter, written apart from the evangel of the circumcision (Rom. 3:21,) but not without connection to it (Rom. 14:17.) The later letters, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, are the highest unfoldings in scripture, and are where we should be standing today. They contextualize Romans, modifying it slightly to accord with our celestial calling, as opposed to the Jewish terrestrial calling.

This is important, for it helps us recognize why Paul makes statements such as this, “To the Jew first, and to the Greek as well.” It’s a helpful reminder that the Jewish objector is still the focus, but they are on the way out in favor of the impending Ephesians epistle. Even in 1 Corinthians, Paul knows that the secrets of Ephesians are about to be publicly relayed (1 Cor. 2:6-8.)

But why does Paul say it here, specifically, in the middle of the discussion of “judgment?” It is specifically because they are the ones given the law, from Moses on. They will specially receive the strictest judgment, having been closest to Yahweh, under His watch, and having received His oracles personally. It is notable that the Jews actually knew better. They did not solely have His attributes descried from the creation of the world, but also His express word where His powerful doings and sovereignty and wisdom are relayed. Some, especially the priests who misused His word, will face greater indignation, and stricter judgment (Matt. 7:21-23, 23:13-17.)

The Worker of Good

In this explanation of God’s corrective measures, the glory and honor are mentioned twice. This is not mere repetition, but specific prose to highlight God’s heart. The consummation of all things will be glory, but it will not come about because of judgment, but because of Christ’s saving work.

In verse 7, we read the phrase “glory and honor and incorruption.” In verse 10, however, we read the phrase “glory and honor and peace.” The words “incorruption” and “peace” are different because they correspond to the two larger components of the evangel, first being “grace” (Rom. 3:21-4:25,) the other being “conciliation” (Rom. 5:1-8:30.) The reason “glory” and “honor” are mentioned twice is because man’s works are what need judged. This “glory” and “honor” are the third component of salvation, our expectation, yet they are presented first in line with the immediate context of judgment, a concept of which all are in dire need.

In that, we see an even greater value in salvation, and we haven’t even covered the evangel yet! The wages for the worker of good in view are unattainable at present, apart from God’s power into salvation. Under grace, these “rewards” are not “rewards,” but gifts brought about by God.

Now, it must be noted that, just because “work” is ineffective in relation to man’s attempts at self-righteousness, does not mean that “work” is a pointless or mindless discussion altogether (this would be “throwing the baby out with the bath,” and unless your name is Anthony Jeselnik, I believe that “throwing babies” is off the table.) God uses the human frame to great effect with His spirit operating in them (Phil. 2:13,) making conduct as much an integral and complementary part of the doctrine, even as the woman is the complement of the man, or the body the complement of the Christ.

In Conclusion…

When we let go of man’s personal feelings concerning God judgment, and instead concern ourselves with God’s actual claims concerning His judgment, we find a much fairer situation at hand. I find that man’s disdain or hatred toward God stems from common myths spread about how He judges. But no one can honestly look at verses 6-10 here and say, “This is wrong.” God is ready to reward the good! So ready, in fact, that He mentions it twice! That no one is able to come forward and claim these rewards do not change the fact that they would be given.

It is a tough, but critical lesson. There are good individuals in the world! But there are none who attain to the righteousness which Jesus consistently practiced, and this is the simple truth. God’s payment will be shown, and demonstrated righteous, at the great white throne. It has provision for any righteous individual, if any individual laced in sin were able to invoke it. The foundation of the judgment is righteous, and will be the basis of His dealings with us.

- GerudoKing