GOD’S RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT, Ron Ward
GOD'S JUSTICE
Passage: Romans 2:6~16  
Key verse: 7,8
6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”[a](A) 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor(B) and immortality,(C) he will give eternal life.(D) 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,(E) there will be wrath and anger.(F) 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:(G) first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;(H) 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.(I) 11 For God does not show favoritism.(J)
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law(K) will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey(L) the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,(M) they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets(N) through Jesus Christ,(O) as my gospel(P) declares.
Footnotes
- Romans 2:6 Psalm 62:12; Prov. 24:12
Cross references
- Romans 2:6 : Ps 62:12; S Mt 16:27
- Romans 2:7 : ver 10
- Romans 2:7 : 1Co 15:53, 54; 2Ti 1:10
- Romans 2:7 : S Mt 25:46
- Romans 2:8 : 2Th 2:12
- Romans 2:8 : Eze 22:31
- Romans 2:9 : Ps 32:10
- Romans 2:9 : ver 10; Ro 1:16
- Romans 2:10 : ver 9; Ro 1:16
- Romans 2:11 : S Ac 10:34
- Romans 2:12 : Ro 3:19; 6:14; 1Co 9:20, 21; Gal 4:21; 5:18; S Ro 7:4
- Romans 2:13 : Jas 1:22, 23, 25
- Romans 2:14 : Ac 10:35
- Romans 2:16 : Ecc 12:14; 1Co 4:5
- Romans 2:16 : Ac 10:42
- Romans 2:16 : Ro 16:25; 2Ti 2:8
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. God's just standard (6-11)
God's judgment is righteous because he is just. He judges every person according to what that person has done. His righteous standard is Jesus (16). God does not look at the outward things, but at the inner motives of the heart--at what a man seeks. Man was created to glorify God. When a man seeks glory, honor and immortality from God, God will give him eternal life. But when men are self-seeking and reject the truth to follow evil, there will be wrath and anger, trouble and distress.
2. Not what we know, but what we do (12-16)
God does not judge us by how much we know but by how we put what we know into practice. Those who know the Bible will be judged more strictly. But God created all men in his image, with consciences, so every man can know enough to be responsible for his own choices and his actions. God judges the secrets of the heart by the perfect standard, Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, I want to seek you, and glorify you. Forgive my self-seeking habits.
One Word: Who can stand before the Judge?