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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. ~ Romans 2:5-11
Today, we return to our study of Romans 2 where the Apostle Paul is bringing everyone into God's court of law in order to show us that we are all guilty of falling short of His glory. In today's passage, the Apostle has turned the page from those who have rejected God and His truth to those who judge them. The problem with this second group is that they are just as guilty before God as those who practice ungodliness. These in today's passage are just as guilty as those whom they judge. These are guilty of something those who they judge are not: hypocrisy.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "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."
Beginning in v.1 of this chapter, the Apostle Paul turns his attention on those who are moral, but, they do not have a personal relationship with God. These are those who appear to be right with God but they look down their noses at those who act on their sinfulness in more degrading ways than they do.
In this verse the Apostle pinpoints the problem of these who judge others: their hard and impenitent heart. The Greek word translated "hard" here is the word from which we get our English word sclerosis. Anyone with sclerosis of any kind is on his way to death. Spiritually speaking, the Apostle is referencing the self-righteous, moral man, who thinks he sits in judgment with God on his throne with Him.
The word translated "impenitent" describes someone who has yet entered into a personal relationship with God for if they had they would not be judging the sinfulness of others. To be impenitent is to feel not one ounce of shame for our judgement of others. Those who have been forgiven offer forgiveness to others not condemnation.
The word "treasuring" means this type of person is constantly making self destructive deposits into their own ledger which one day will come due. These types of people think that their supposed morality is a kind of a bargain with God who they think has said, "If you keep a lot of rules, I'll reward your goodness." This is not the case because God righteously judges us all, and, His judgement of our sinfulness shows no respecter of persons. The only thing that enables us to avoid the wrath of God is the gospel of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "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."
God's judgment of us all will be based on how we stack up against the truth. This is why in John 14:6 the Lord Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me."
The two Old Testament passages that Paul quotes here, Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12, both are passages that warn against pride. The way we live our lives reveals what we value. Those who are being defined by God and His culture demonstrate that they value God. Thus, they will be rewarded with what they were seeking: life with God. Those whose disobedience to God demonstrates their selfish ambition, their pride will face His wrath.
The Apostle Paul makes his presentation as he does here to show that no man can produce the "deeds" worthy of God's forgiveness. In fact, this is the direction the book of Romans is going. In order for us to be declared forgiven, we must first be declared guilty. Eternal life only goes to those who trust in the perfect God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. God, at tremendous cost, provided for the believer the only way to avoid His wrath. It is realized by those who give up on our efforts to earn His favor. This is why the Lord Jesus implored us to lose our lives. It is when we submit to the death of our ambitions to measure up to the truth, which we can not do, that we find eternal life only in the Lord Jesus Christ and His merit.
In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "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."
The real problem of sinful and rebellious man is himself. It is the worship of ourselves that prevents us from seeking the God of truth. In fact, when we worship ourselves, we go the way of Satan, the one whose title means "one who opposes." And, here we see the conflict between God's righteous indignation and the moral man's unrighteous indignation.
For those without the heart change that is rendered when we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God's indignation, God's wrath, tribulation, and anguish await him. Sinfulness has a price tag and it is only the perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ that can cash that price tag in for our rightness before the holy God.
In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "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."
There is coming a day when God will welcome the righteous into His heaven and the unrighteous will go to hell. The difference will be that the ones who will enter into heaven were those who sought. They sought God's glory, honor, and peace, not their own. We do not read in v.10 that they deserved it. No, what we discover is they just sought God. And, as a result, they will be rewarded by the proof of the righteousness that had been applied to them through believing in Christ as their Savior. The hearts of those who seek God will enjoy His peace, honor, and glory. And, the only favorites God has are those who believed in His One and Only Begotten Son who shares His glory with all humble enough to cry out to Him for help.
