The Great Divide Series

Romans 2:6-10. 6 He will render to each one according to his works 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. (ESV)

I am sure you have been in situations in which a person, perhaps yourself, has been caught doing something wrong and has immediately begun to make excuses. “I didn’t mean to do it,” the accused one might say. Or, “But so-and-so did it first.” Or, “You just don’t understand my circumstances.” It may be the case in any given instance that the person involved really was “innocent,” because of his or her motive or because of circumstances. This is one reason why our judicial system takes so much trouble to determine motives and circumstances in criminal cases. Generally, however, the excuses people make are exactly that, excuses, and they need to be seen for what they really are. This is particularly true in our relationships to God. God accuses us of repressing the truth about Himself and of violating His moral law even while we pass judgment on others for doing the same things, but as soon as we hear these truths we begin to make excuses. We claim that we did not know what was required of us, that we did not do what we are accused of doing, or that our motives were actually good. Whenever we find ourselves doing this, we need to rediscover the principles of God’s just judgment, which Romans 2 explains.

Romans 2:6–10 speaks of two very different paths and The Great Divide in the consequences of the two paths. One is the path of good deeds, the end of which is glory, honor, peace, and eternal life. The other is the path of evil, the end of which is trouble, distress, wrath, and anger. The verses teach that there is a Great Divide, and a person is on either one path or the other. Up to this point, particularly as a result of our earlier study of verse 5, a person might conclude that the judgment of God will be a finely graded thing—extending all the way from perfect happiness and bliss on the one hand to utter misery and torment on the other, and that most of us will fall somewhere in between. This is because of the principle of proportionality in judgment, which we developed from the idea of “storing up wrath” in verse 5. As we look at people, we see that some are better than others, and some are worse. Therefore, we reason, in the life to come some should be treated well, some should be treated badly, and the differences should be relative. A person reasoning along these lines might conclude that our future existence in heaven or hell (or whatever) should be somewhat the same as our present existence, which means a mixture of good and bad for most people. Romans 2:6–10 refutes this error. There is a Great Divide, the two paths are mutually exclusive (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 226). Baker Book House.).

In Romans 2:6–10 Paul draws a clear line between two classes of people, this “Great Divide” shows the only two classes that exist: the saved and the unsaved. He shows this in three ways. He explains first 1) The Dividing of Deeds (Romans 2:6), then showing the differences between 2) The Deeds of the Unredeemed (Romans 2:8–9), and finally 3) The Deeds of the Redeemed (Romans 2:7, 10),

First, outlining the principle in the Great Divide we see:

1) The Dividing of Deeds (Romans 2:6). Speaking of God’s righteous judgment:

Romans 2:6 6 He will render to each one according to his works (ESV)

Paul emphasizes in Romans 2:6–10, declaring plainly that God will render to each one according to his works/deeds (cf. Rev. 20:12-13). This is a quote from Ps. 62:12. It is a universal principle that humans are responsible for their actions and will give an account to God (cf. Job 34:11; Prov. 24:12; Eccl. 12:14; Jer. 17:10; 32:19; Matt. 16:27; 25:31–46; Rom. 2:6; 14:12; 1 Cor. 3:8; Gal. 6:7–10; 2 Tim. 4:14; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 2:23; 20:12; 22:12). Even believers will give an account of their lives and service to Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). Believers are not saved by works but are saved unto works (cf. Eph. 2:8–10 [esp. 2:14–22]; James and I John). (Utley, R. J. (1998). The Gospel according to Paul: Romans (Vol. Volume 5, Ro 2:6). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)