Block Diagram

NT

Romans 2:9-10

ii. The Impartiality of Judgment (2:6-11)

a) tribulation

a) There will be ... [s] and ... for every soul of man

b) distress

who does evil,

Action-Result

a) of the Jew first

[b&] and also

Idea-Explanation

b) of the Greek,

[a] but

a) glory

b) [there will be] ... [s] and ... to everyone

b) honor

c) peace

who does good,

Action-Result

a) to the Jew first

[b&] and also

Idea-Explanation

b) to the Greek.

nasb

mine

phrasing

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Romans 2:9-10 NASB

Romans 2:9-10

9 There will be a tribulation and distress 1 for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew b first and also of the Greek, 10 but a glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew b first and also to the Greek.

notes

Romans 2:9-10 - Who is there that does good?

As anyone who calls himself a Christian if they think they are a good person. Ask them why, if they were to stand before God right now, and God asks them, "Why should I allow you into My heaven?" Most would answer, "Yes, I am a good person," or, "I have done way more good than bad things in my life," or "I am basically a good person," or something to that effect. The next two verses basically restate what Paul said in verses 2:7-8. There WILL be a judgment, and God will recompense to each person according to their DEEDS. Each person will be judged according to how they lived their lives. An important question to ask of these past 4 verses, as we touched on previously, is "does this mean that we can earn salvation, or justification, by just working hard and being good and obeying God's Word to the best of our abilities?" Many self-professed Christians might take this passage and think God has some kind of scale, whereby He measures our bad deeds against our good deeds, and if the good outweighs the bad, He will graciously allow us into heaven. This is not a biblical view, and as Paul makes clear later in Romans, NO ONE is able to earn salvation by doing good. There are two plausible and acceptable interpretations of these passages. 1) Paul might be talking about Christians here, after salvation, as those "who does good." As we saw previously, a genuine Christian will be characterized by good deeds, obedience, etc. All people, before salvation, will be characterized by bad deeds, disobedience, etc. 2) Paul might be talking about the theoretical requirements for salvation - anyone who ONLY does good, ever, from the moment of birth until the moment of death, anyone who has never sinned once, in thought, word, or deed, would, theoretically be able to earn their spot in heaven. While both option 1 and 2 could be true, and Paul could in fact have both in mind while writing this, I tend to believe that option 2 might have been more where his focus lies. The context of these verses is still Paul convincing his audience, who consists of both Jews and Gentiles, that EVERYONE is subject to God's judgment, and that EVERYONE stands guilty before the just and holy Creator of the universe. Option 2 seems to push and fit this point the most. So, everyone who does good, will receive eternal life. Who is there that does good? Well, James reminds us that "whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). Jesus reminded his Jewish audience - "You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28), in other words, doing the deed is not the only thing that makes you guilty, but even just experiencing and relishing the thought in your mind is enough to condemn you. And Paul says a chapter later in Romans - "there is NONE righteous, NOT EVEN ONE... there is NONE who does good, there is NOT EVEN ONE" (Roman 3:10-12). So who is there that does good? No one. No, obedience to the law - "doing good" - cannot save us, because the law "speaks to those who are under the Law, so that EVERY mouth may be closed and ALL the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law NO flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:19-20). As Paul says later in another epistle - "Scripture has shut up EVERYONE under sin" (Galatians 3:22). Anyone who does good will receive eternal life. Who is there that does good? NO ONE! NOT EVEN ONE. Except one man - Jesus Christ. Imputation - Our sin-ridden filth, imputed unto Christ. Christ's perfect, sinless righteousness, imputed unto us. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). What must you do to inherit eternal life? If I ask you if you think that you are a good person, your answer should not be yes. It should be, "No! I am a sin-filled wretch! I do not deserve eternal life! I deserve eternal punishment and separation from God! I deserve His wrath! That is what I have earned! For the wages of sin is death!" That, my friends, is the very first step. Mark 2:17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”